Unidentifiable...
His already uneasy heart grew even more unsettled.
Just then, the swaying carriage suddenly came to a stop, and Ma Tie's voice came from outside. "Second Young Master, we've reached the back gate of the County Office. Shall I carry you down?"
Chen Mo nodded. "All right."
Ma Tie was tall and strong, and skilled in martial arts. Carrying fifteen-year-old Chen Mo was no effort at all.
Ma Tie had once been an old constable at the County Office, so he knew his way around. With the silver Chen Mo had given him to smooth the way, they passed through without a hitch and soon reached the Archives Room, where they were stopped by an old clerk dressed in a dark-green scholar's robe.
Ma Tie tried every argument he could think of. "Our Second Young Master wants to look through some case files. Uncle Li, please make an exception."
The old clerk addressed as Uncle Li glanced at Chen Mo on Ma Tie's back, smoothed his cuffs, and adopted the manner of a learned scholar. "I know the Chen Family is a prominent clan in the county, but the Archives Room holds important records, including household registers, tax accounts, and judicial case files. No outsider may enter without the Magistrate's written permission. I'm only following the rules..."
Chen Mo took out a banknote worth one hundred taels. "My elder brother came down with Mad Demon Disease some time ago and, sadly, passed away. I miss him and want to look through the records to find out why he died. Please make an exception."
Clerk Li glanced at the banknote, looking rather disdainful. "How could men of letters like us bend our backs for money? The Magistrate entrusted me with guarding this important Archives Room. I absolutely cannot neglect my duty. Second Young Master, please don't make this difficult for me."
Chen Mo took out two more banknotes and stacked them with the first, making three hundred taels in all. He pressed them into Clerk Li's hands. "I truly miss my late brother. Please understand."
Clerk Li stared at the three banknotes in his hands, his whole body trembling.
Three hundred taels!
His annual salary for handling documents at the County Office was only ten taels of silver.
Three hundred taels... That would take thirty years of hard work.
What staggering wealth.
He'd long heard that the Chen Family's Second Young Master was lavish with his money, but he hadn't imagined he was this lavish.
After a moment's deliberation, Clerk Li agreed.
Clerk Li accepted the banknotes and cupped his hands toward Chen Mo. "Young Master Mo's devotion to his brother is deeply moving. I've always admired those who value loyalty and affection. I'll take you inside."
Whether Chen Mo was truly devoted didn't matter. What mattered was that he'd given Clerk Li far too much to refuse.
Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief.
So money really did talk.
The Archives Room was vast. Documents and volumes were neatly arranged on the shelves according to the principle of "one file for each office."
Chen Mo had Ma Tie set him down beside a long table. Before long, Clerk Li brought over a large stack of case files concerning Mad Demon Disease, then stood respectfully at Chen Mo's side, ready to answer any questions.
Chen Mo picked up the files and began reading them one by one.
"Jingtai 38th Year: In Li Village, Qinghe Town, under the jurisdiction of Honghe County, a widow suddenly went mad while working the fields and bit thirteen villagers to death. She was eventually killed by constable Zhou He. Upon examining the body, coroner Xie Lianghong discovered a baby face on her abdomen."
"Jingtai 42nd Year: A newborn in Li Village, Qinghe Town, suddenly went mad and gained immense strength, biting its mother to death... Upon examining the body, coroner Xie Lianghong discovered a baby face on its abdomen."
"Jingtai 48th Year: A pregnant woman in Li Village, Qinghe Town, suddenly went mad... Upon examining the body, coroner Xie Lianghong found another baby face on her abdomen."
"Jingtai 48th Year: More than three hundred people in Li Village, Qinghe Town, all fell ill and went mad. They charged out of the village and began biting people indiscriminately. Fortunately, Goddess Hong Deng appeared in response to their prayers and quelled the chaos."
As he read through one old case after another, Chen Mo's heart climbed into his throat, and he could barely breathe.
From Jingtai 38th Year to the present, Jingtai 68th Year, the records documented more than a hundred cases of Mad Demon Disease over the past thirty years. Almost everyone who contracted it had died.
The handful who survived were cured only after Goddess Hong Deng, moved by their offerings of incense, sent a Red Lantern Attendant to them.
It was clear that once someone contracted Mad Demon Disease, the only way to survive was under Goddess Hong Deng's protection.
There was no other way.
That left Chen Mo feeling horribly insecure.
What was he supposed to do about his own Mad Demon Disease?
His eldest brother had gone mad and died, yet no attendant had come from Goddess Hong Deng.
When Chen Mo's own illness had struck, the one who came was an old Daoist—not an attendant sent by Goddess Hong Deng.
It seemed that although the Chen Family was a prominent clan in the county, they counted for very little in Goddess Hong Deng's eyes.
Chen Mo forced down his unease and continued reading the later case files.
Then he found his elder brother's file.
[Jingtai 68th Year: Chen Shu, age eighteen. On the evening of the sixteenth day of the eighth month, at the hour of the boar, he was drinking with the top courtesan, Su Mei, at Spring Breeze Tower when he suddenly went mad and lunged at her, biting her. The tavern guards managed to restrain him. He was taken back to Chen Mansion, where Chen Yin Fu invited an old Daoist to perform an exorcism. He died three days later.]
[Jingtai 68th Year: Constable Zhang Da fell ill and was imprisoned. He died one day later.]
[Jingtai 68th Year: Constable Li Er fell ill and was imprisoned. He died two days later.]
[Jingtai 68th Year: Constable Wang Wu fell ill and was imprisoned. He died three days later.]
Pointing to the last three files, Chen Mo asked, "Why did these constables die at different intervals after falling ill, even though they all did the same job?"
Having accepted the money, Clerk Li answered with extra warmth. "Young Master Mo is keen-eyed indeed. As for the reason... I don't know."
Chen Mo had a feeling there was a reason behind it, but the records from ancient times were too rough to investigate properly.
"Do you know what caused their deaths?"
They were locked up in prison after falling ill and died within a few days?
It was suspicious.
Clerk Li shook his head. "For the exact cause, you'd have to ask coroner Xie Lianghong."
Suppressing his dread, Chen Mo put on a calm front. "Could I copy these files and take them home to study?"
The files were complicated, and Chen Mo couldn't remember every detail all at once. He needed to take a copy home and compare them carefully; perhaps he'd spot something else.
Clerk Li looked troubled, but remembering the money Chen Mo had just given him, he found it hard to refuse. "I'll copy them for you myself."
Before long, Clerk Li had rolled up the copied pages and handed them to Chen Mo with both hands. "Every word is here. Please keep them safe."
Chen Mo accepted the pages, his spirits low.
His trip to the County Office had taught him only that Mad Demon Disease was terrifying. He'd found no genuinely useful information, nor any way to break the curse. His heart remained in a state of panic.
He did have a Golden Finger that could identify things. If only he could find someone with Mad Demon Disease and identify them...
The thought immediately lifted Chen Mo's spirits, and his mind raced.
Since Mad Demon Disease broke out so often, there was a good chance the County Office had imprisoned some patients. Even a corpse would do.
After all, not every household was like Chen Mansion, with martial artists around to subdue and bind those who fell ill... When it happened in an ordinary household, they usually reported it to the authorities.
At that thought, Chen Mo looked up at Clerk Li. "Has the County Office recently taken in any patients with Mad Demon Disease?"
At the question, Clerk Li shuddered, his face filling with terror. "Yes. Just yesterday, a village woman in Qinghe Town fell ill. She bit two families to death, and Captain Wang eventually locked her up. She's in the jail now."
Chen Mo was overjoyed inside, but kept his expression calm. "Please take me to see her."
When Ma Tie and Qiulan heard Chen Mo wanted to see a patient with Mad Demon Disease in the jail, they both jumped in fright. Qiulan was especially terrified, shrinking her neck into her shoulders.
Clerk Li also looked apprehensive. "Young Master Mo, patients with Mad Demon Disease are currently out of their minds. They're extremely dangerous."
Chen Mo replied, "She's locked up, isn't she? I'll just take a look. It'll be fine."
Clerk Li clearly wasn't willing, but having accepted the money, he felt too awkward to refuse. "Please follow me."
Seeing that she couldn't stop Chen Mo, Qiulan gathered her courage and said to Ma Tie, "Ma Tie, make sure you protect the young master."
Ma Tie tightened the broad saber at his waist. "Don't worry. I may only be a late-stage Skin Refining Realm martial artist, but I won't let anything happen to the young master."
With that, Ma Tie carried Chen Mo on his back and followed Clerk Li toward the County Office jail.
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