The Chen Family is in Danger

A Xia looked around warily. "Who? Who's there?"

"A Xia... A Xia..."

The voice kept calling from behind.

Closer and closer.

It felt like a girl was slowly approaching her.

A Xia turned to look, but saw no one.

"A Xia... A Xia..."

The voice grew nearer, as if coming from her own back.

A Xia felt something clinging to her back. She reached to grab it, but caught nothing. Yet she clearly felt a heavy weight pressing down, forcing her to bend over.

This terrified A Xia.

She suddenly remembered that the Master's elder brother had come once, bringing a mirror and placing it in the southeast corner of the living room.

Now, the Master's elder brother, Li Wenqing, was no ordinary man.

Word had it he was a military graduate of the imperial examination, skilled in extraordinary martial arts. Appointed by the court, he had just arrived in Honghe County to serve as County Magistrate.

Besides his martial prowess, Li Wenqing also knew some methods for catching ghosts and warding off evil. That mirror he sent was special—its frame was inlaid with Five Emperors Coins.

Back then, Li Wenqing had said: this mirror can reflect evil and stabilize the house.

Thinking of this, A Xia hurried to the southeast corner of the living room.

She walked step by step toward the mirror, only to find the thing on her back growing heavier, slowing her pace. She used almost all her strength just to reach the bronze mirror.

The mirror sat on a corner table, round and about the size of a human head. Its surface was thick with dust, too blurry to reflect clearly.

Huff! Huff!

Perhaps driven by survival instinct, she gasped for breath. Trembling, she reached out and wiped the mirror's surface...

As the mirror cleared, she saw in it—

A girl in a bright red Xiuhua Dress was clinging to her back, hair disheveled, skin sloughed off to reveal flesh and blood beneath. The girl's mouth was open, calling out over and over.

"A Xia... A Xia~"

A Xia's hair stood on end in terror, and she screamed instinctively.

"Ah!!"

"Heh heh~"

Xie Cui was sleeping soundly in her room when a piercing scream jolted her awake.

"A Xia?"

Worried about A Xia, Xie Cui forced her weary body up, wrapped herself in a cotton jacket, and left the bedroom.

As soon as she reached the living room, a biting cold wind hit her, making her shiver.

"This A Xia, leaving the door open in the middle of the night..."

Xie Cui moved to close the door, but after two steps, she saw A Xia standing in the corner of the room, facing the bronze mirror, head bowed, motionless.

"A Xia, what are you doing standing there?"

A Xia remained still, her back to Xie Cui.

Xie Cui walked over and patted A Xia's shoulder. "A Xia, why are you planted here..."

Before she could finish, A Xia turned stiffly, slowly.

A face full of holes—tongue, eyes, and nose all gouged out. What should have been a young girl's smooth, plump cheeks were now wrinkled, skin stretched over bone.

Even Xie Cui, at over thirty, gasped in shock and fell to the floor.

Before she could think, she saw something moving in the bronze mirror. She scrambled up and leaned in to look, and through the mirror she saw... a girl in a red Xiuhua Dress clinging to A Xia's back, using sharp nails to dig into A Xia's flesh, sucking away her life force mouthful by mouthful, turning A Xia into a dried corpse.

"Ah!"

Xie Cui scrambled to return to the bedroom, but as she stood, she felt an immense weight on her back. Looking back at the mirror, she clearly saw that red-clad girl now clinging to her own body, grinning at her...

Xie Cui's pupils dilated. Every last shred of composure shattered, and she blacked out, losing consciousness.

After a long while, Xie Cui stirred again. Gone was her former steady demeanor; she hopped and skipped out of the living room like a child, her voice turning into a little girl's lisp.

"Grandma said our Li family's secrets can't be known by outsiders. The Xie Manor people are all dead, but there's still that Chen boy who wandered into the Ghost Land last time..."

"Chen boy, I'm coming for you, hee hee~"

Now, after leaving Li Manor, Li Yu went straight to the County Office.

The County Office's entrance was still imposing and grand, with two red lanterns hanging.

Don't underestimate those two red lanterns.

This is the blessing of Goddess Hong Deng, and such a reward is not easily obtained.

Even prestigious local families like the Xie Manor and Chen Mansion are unqualified to hang red lanterns.

Hanging a red lantern means the household has received the favor of Goddess Hong Deng, and no Evil Spirit may enter. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to offending Goddess Hong Deng, and there would definitely be no good outcome.

Looking across all of Honghe County, aside from the villages under the Red Lantern Society that can hang one red lantern, very few other forces enjoy such grace. Even if they do, they can only hang an extremely small red lantern.

The County Office, with two large red lanterns hanging at its gate, is the first of its kind.

Besides the red lanterns, stone lions stand on either side of the main gate, and beneath the eaves at the entrance sits an upright petition drum. Above hangs a horizontal plaque: Clear-Sighted and Honest.

On the left hangs a vertical plaque: Uphold Laws and Principles, the Nation Endures in Peace.

On the right, a matching vertical plaque: Punish Evil and Wickedness, the People Rejoice Always.

Although the imperial court's authority has waned and treacherous officials hold sway, the Great Gan Dynasty still maintains a fragile unity on the surface, and there are no shortage of upright scholars and renowned figures.

Li Yu's elder brother, Li Wenqing, is one of them.

The previous County Magistrate was incompetent and corrupt, impeached and dismissed from office. Li Wenqing arrived with the court's expectations, harboring the ambition to reform the decline of the local government.

Since taking office, Li Wenqing has indeed been diligent in government affairs and led by example. In just a few months, he has already noticeably improved the atmosphere at the County Office, earning high praise even from the Magistrate himself.

When they reached the side hall, Li Yu saw Li Wenqing as soon as he entered.

Li Wenqing was not tall, nor particularly sturdy, but carried the refined air of a scholar.

Seeing Li Yu approach, Li Wenqing smiled slightly. "Li Yu, you've come at the right time. I just learned a technique for using the Five Emperors Coin. Come and practice with me. When we go down to the countryside and encounter Evil Spirits, it'll give you an extra layer of protection."

Li Yu had no mood to practice any Five Emperors Coin. He immediately explained the situation. "Brother, something terrible has happened at the Xie Manor..."

As a military graduate from the special imperial examination and an official sent by Nanyang Prefecture to reform the County Office, Li Wenqing was not flustered. Instead, he took out a set of Five Emperors Coins and tossed them to Li Yu. "These are Five Emperors Coins I brought from the Nanyang Prefecture Office. They can dissolve evil energy and suppress spirits. Keep them close to your body, and they can save your life at a critical moment."

Then, Li Wenqing pulled a broadsword from the cabinet.

This broadsword differed from standard military blades. Two rows of densely packed Five Emperors Coins were embedded in the spine of the blade. The handle was made of black walnut wood, also possessing spirit-suppressing properties.

"Hurry and come with me to the Xie Manor."

Li Yu added, "Should we call a few constables?"

"Constables are useless against Evil Spirits. Just you and me."

By the time the two of them rushed to the Xie Manor, it was already the dead of night. As soon as they entered the gate, they felt an inexplicable, bone-chilling coldness. Everywhere they looked, servants and maidservants were hanging dead from crooked-neck trees.

Seeing this scene, Li Yu drew a deep breath.

He knew the Xie Manor had suffered a calamity, but he never imagined... the scene would be so eerie and tragic.

Li Wenqing gripped his broadsword and quickly ran to examine the maidservants and servants hanging from the crooked-neck trees. Frowning, he said, "The deceased show no signs of struggle. They were killed instantly by hanging. And every one of them has a terrified expression, meaning they saw something horrifying before death. The Evil Spirit has already left. Where does Third Master Xie live?"

Li Yu snapped back to reality. "The western compound?"

"Take me to see Third Master Xie quickly." Li Wenqing dashed westward. Li Yu hurried to lead the way.

Soon, the two reached the western compound and saw Third Master Xie lying by the water vat in the yard, his upper body submerged in the water.

Li Wenqing pulled Third Master Xie out, only to find he had been drained into a dried corpse.

"This Evil Spirit is truly vicious, directly sucking the lifeblood from the living. If it keeps absorbing people's qi and blood, it will only grow stronger and become even harder to deal with." Li Wenqing cursed the ghostly entity, then crouched down to close Third Master Xie's eyes, his tone filled with emotion.

"Third Master of the Xie Family, thank you for dissecting countless Mad Demon Disease patients over the years. Outsiders looked down on you, always thinking you practiced a lowly trade. But I've read your dissection and analysis records—you were truly a talent. You did a lot for Honghe County, though others never knew.

Rest now. I will send this Evil Spirit down to accompany you in death!"

With that, Li Wenqing carried Third Master Xie's body outside. Li Yu followed behind, his eyes moist. "Third Brother Xie~"

When they reached the Central Courtyard, Li Yu saw the body of Xie Liangming, the Master of the Xie Family, and the body of the Xie Family's wife... All eighty-plus members of the Xie household were dead, not a single survivor.

Compared to the grief of the Xie family's massacre, Li Yu was more worried about his own wife.

He knew his wife was a person of deep emotion and had a very close relationship with Third Brother Xie. Earlier, Xie Dong's death had left Xie Cui heartbroken. If Xie Cui learned that the entire Xie family had been wiped out, he didn't know how devastated she would be.

Li Wenqing was much more efficient, moving quickly to examine each corpse. "All the deceased have moisture on them. This means the Evil Spirit has long dwelled in cold, watery places. A large fire is needed to suppress such a spirit. Its killing methods are extremely brutal, leaving no chance for resistance. Even a few guards at the Five Viscera Realm were killed instantly... Damn it!"

Li Yu was startled. "Brother, what's wrong?"

Li Wenqing said, "The Evil Spirit clearly came to the Xie Manor for revenge... Your wife is also a member of the Xie family!"

Li Yu suddenly understood and ran out like a madman, shouting, "Wife!"

Li Wenqing grabbed his broadsword and chased after Li Yu, hoping silently: Let us be in time. Second Brother and Xie Cui have a good relationship. If Xie Cui has been harmed, Second Brother will never recover.

They ran all the way to the Li Manor. Li Yu saw A Xia's tragic corpse, then rushed into the bedroom, but Xie Cui was not there. His head buzzed with a loud ringing, and he cried out in grief, "Wife!"

Li Wenqing inspected the living room and the surrounding area, thinking to himself: Xie Cui is most likely gone.

But he still comforted Li Yu. "Second Brother, don't overthink it. Since we haven't seen your sister-in-law's body, there's still a glimmer of hope. The most urgent matter is to find her. Think carefully—who came to inform you earlier? What exactly did they say? Tell me every word without missing a single one."

Li Yu knew the situation was critical. Every moment of delay put his wife in greater danger. He forced himself to recall and spoke slowly. "In the evening, Ma San, the guard of the Chen Mansion, came to tell me..."

"How did Ma San know the Xie Manor was in trouble?"

"Ma Tie was ordered by the Second Young Master of the Chen Family to deliver the Chen Mansion's horses and carts to Third Master Xie. When he arrived at the Xie Manor, he found the people there had been struck by disaster."

Li Wenqing thought for a moment. "This Ma San is lucky to be alive. No wonder I saw three coachmen in different uniforms hanging from the beams in the Xie Manor. Those three coachmen must have been the ones the Chen Mansion sent to deliver the horses to Third Master Xie."

Li Yu admired Li Wenqing's attention to detail. "But what should we do now?"

Li Wenqing said, "I did see extra horses and carts in the Xie Manor's stable, so Ma San wasn't lying. From this, we can infer two things. First, the Second Young Master of the Chen Family must have visited the Xie Manor during the day and made a deal with Third Master Xie. Second, why did Third Master Xie need horses and carts? Obviously, because he sensed danger and wanted to move his belongings. There were indeed signs of packing in Third Master Xie's yard. He just didn't have enough time."

With that, Li Wenqing said, "Hurry and come with me to the Chen Mansion. The Second Young Master of the Chen Family might know something. And I have a feeling—the Chen Mansion is in danger too. They might be next."

PS: You readers are amazing—you've pushed the book to #29 on the new book chart. Thank you! Could you spare some monthly votes to push it a few more spots?~