Detective Su Wuming

Qi Cultivation Layer 1's magic power could only support Su Haoming in casting three Basic Spells, and even then, only the Wind Spells that best matched his Spiritual Root. If he switched to other spells, he'd be lucky to manage two.

Still, this power system's recovery wasn't too bad.

Su Haoming had tested it back in the castle: when his magic power was completely drained, he could recover fully in about ten minutes.

Of course, that assumed he had Spirit Stones on hand. If he relied solely on converting food, no matter how nutritious, it would take at least an hour.

Taking advantage of the fact that his Elder Brother and Uncle Qian hadn't returned yet, Su Haoming began setting up an Alert Barrier on the courtyard gate and walls.

Calling it a barrier was generous—it was really just simple air currents and Wind Ropes.

These Wind Ropes coiled around the walls and eaves. Once someone stepped into the area, the airflow would be disturbed, letting Su Haoming know about any Wind and Grass Movement without even leaving his room.

Setting all this up cost Su Haoming three full spells and twenty minutes of recovery time.

By the time he finished, the sun had already hurried westward, and the sky was far dimmer than before.

Su Haoming sat cross-legged on the bed, gripping a Spirit Stone to restore his magic power.

Just then, the Wind Rope at the courtyard gate was triggered.

Eyes still closed, Su Haoming felt the feedback from the airflow and quickly identified the visitor—

His Elder Brother was back!

He opened his eyes, tucked the Spirit Stone into his robe, and strode quickly out of the room.

"Elder Brother!"

Su Haoming smiled and clasped his hands to his Cousin.

Su Wuming was about to respond when he suddenly paused, eyeing Su Haoming with some suspicion.

For some reason, he felt that his younger cousin carried something indescribable—something that made him seem more confident and detached than the Su Haoming he'd seen that morning...

Confidence was one thing, but detached?

Could that word even apply to his cousin?

It must be an illusion!

Su Wuming shook his head, then said softly, "Earlier, I saw no movement from your room and thought you were asleep, so I didn't disturb you. Are you rested now?"

"Refreshed and clear-headed!"

Su Haoming said, his face glowing with energy.

Su Wuming gave him a dubious look, then nodded. "Good!"

With that, he turned and hurried past Su Haoming.

"Hey, hey!"

Su Haoming's composure shattered instantly. He quickly stopped his Elder Brother and asked in a low voice, "Elder Brother, what about Yin Shirou?"

Su Wuming paused mid-step, hesitated for a moment, and decided the matter was indeed relevant to his cousin. "I just went to Lu Lingfeng's residence to inquire. Your Firearm was too powerful—one shot shattered Yin Shirou's internal organs. By the time the Jinwu Guard caught him and carried him out of the Ghost Market, he'd already lost all signs of life..."

"Is that so? What a pity..."

Su Haoming's face fell with disappointment.

Su Wuming also felt a pang of regret. He'd already confirmed that Yin Shirou was the supplier in charge of selling Chang'an Black Tea—at least the one pushed to the forefront.

A living Yin Shirou would have been far more valuable than a dead one!

Since Yin Shirou was already dead, if Su Haoming wanted to push the case forward, he'd have to step in himself.

After a moment's thought, he lowered his voice again. "Elder Brother, there's one more thing. I've been meaning to ask since morning—why do you smell of Soul Returning Incense?"

"Soul Returning Incense?"

Su Wuming blinked in confusion. "What's that?"

Su Haoming explained, "A type of preservative incense. Applied to a body, it can keep a corpse from rotting for months."

Su Wuming's pupils contracted. He reached into his robe and pulled out a piece of red cloth, thoughtful. "So this is called Soul Returning Incense."

Seeing the red cloth, Su Haoming already knew the plot, but he played along with a gasp. "That's it!"

"The smell on it is Soul Returning Incense. Elder Brother, where did you get it?"

Su Wuming said quietly, "This red cloth was cut from the murdered Bride's body. I suspected it was some kind of preservative incense at the time, but I didn't know its origin."

He paused, then turned to face Su Haoming. "You've known all sorts of strange and wonderful things since you were a child, so I won't ask how you know this. Just tell me—what is the origin of Soul Returning Incense?"

"Thank you for trusting me, Elder Brother!"

Su Haoming breathed a sigh of relief, then said seriously, "I don't know how to make Soul Returning Incense, but I know its raw material should be a rare flower from the Western Regions. They say even ghosts use this flower to preserve their bodies."

Ghosts?

Su Wuming was startled again, then mused, "Come to think of it, when I was in the Ghost Market, I ran into a strange Old Beggar. He caught the smell on me and was terrified out of his wits, shouting that he'd seen a ghost. Could it be that he recognized the Soul Returning Incense?"

Hearing this, Su Haoming immediately realized that the so-called Old Beggar must be Fei Jishi.

According to what Brother Lin had told him, Fei Jishi's real name was Fei Yingjun. He was the youngest disciple of the Medicine King Sun Simiao and would later become the medical backbone of the Tang Gui main group.

"That must be it."

Su Haoming nodded.

Su Wuming thought for a moment, handed the red cloth to his cousin, and asked again, "Yansheng, help me calculate—if we wanted to soak a piece of this red cloth to the same degree, but large enough to wrap an entire corpse, roughly how much Soul Returning Incense would we need?"

Su Haoming kneaded the red cloth in his hand and shook his head. "That would be far too much!"

Su Wuming mused, "Such a massive quantity of Soul Returning Incense would require no small amount of raw materials... I suspect the killer might have a regular channel for obtaining those materials!"

Su Haoming nodded. "I think so too."

Su Wuming continued, "Where do you think is most likely?"

Su Haoming said casually, "When it comes to exotic flowers and herbs from the Western Regions, that would be the Western Market Office!"

"But I already met with Kang Yuanli, the Western Market Commissioner, yesterday. He said he didn't recognize this Soul Returning..."

Before he could finish, Su Wuming's voice cut off abruptly, then he sneered, "What a fine Commissioner Kang!"

Seeing that his elder brother had begun to suspect Kang Yuanli, Su Haoming pressed the advantage. "Elder Brother, I have another question—why would the killer dress the corpse in clothes coated with Soul Returning Incense?"

Su Wuming hesitated. "To keep the corpse from decaying?"

Su Haoming countered, "And why keep the corpse from decaying?"

"..."

Su Wuming pondered for a moment, then suddenly lifted his head, eyes sharp. "For making tea... and for a ritual!"

He caught on that quickly?

Su Haoming was a bit surprised, but kept his expression cooperative. "Making tea and a ritual?"

"Exactly!"

Su Wuming lowered his voice. "While investigating the Missing Bride Case, I noticed that every time a bride went missing in Chang'an County, a batch of black tea would appear shortly after. So I concluded there must be a connection between the two."

"Plus, when I visited Attendant Official Pei earlier, he served me Chang'an Black Tea. I smelled a pungent, bloody odor from the tea..."

Su Haoming played along. "Elder Brother means the raw material for Chang'an Black Tea is those missing brides?"

Su Wuming shook his head. "Not certain yet, only highly likely... Besides, if it were just for making tea, this amount of Soul Returning Incense would be excessive!"

"Therefore, I deduce that the Soul Returning Incense has another use."

"Perhaps to help the killer preserve the corpses, to set up some kind of eerie, supernatural formation!"

The more Su Wuming spoke, the brighter his eyes grew. "Yansheng, think carefully—each missing bride in Chang'an is spaced out over time. If the ritual requires a certain number of corpses, wouldn't Soul Returning Incense be needed to keep them from rotting?"

"Coincidentally, I've seen a formation before that allows corpses to be hidden in specific positions, ensuring their resentful spirits don't gather."

"If that's the case, then the eight brides who disappeared earlier should already be buried!"

With that, he spun around sharply, fixing his gaze on Su Haoming. "Where's the map?"

"In the study."

Without a moment's hesitation, Su Wuming strode toward the study.

Before long, Su Wuming walked out with a full smile, a map laid out on the desk in the study behind him.

"Yansheng, do you know why I came back?"

"...No."

"To get money, buy meat, reward the constables, and make a second trip to the Ghost Market!"

Su Wuming turned his head, smiling at the map on the desk. "Though heavy rewards bring brave men, my little favor is far from a heavy reward, let alone enough to drive those old veterans!"

"So I've changed my mind. I should start with small tasks—send them to find the missing brides' bodies. Once they find them as I expect, it will establish my authority."

"Then I'll give out rewards and bring up the Ghost Market—perhaps it'll be different then."

"This is the wisdom of the ancients, the old trick of Shang Yang!"

Su Haoming smiled and cupped his hands. "Elder Brother's wisdom leaves this foolish brother in awe!"

Su Wuming chuckled. "Yansheng is too modest. As they say, each has their own specialty. I specialize in solving cases—if I didn't have even these tricks, wouldn't I have wasted all these years I've lived longer than you?"

With that, he looked up at the sky and said hurriedly, "Alright, time's running short. I need to get to the government office!"

Watching Su Wuming's hurried retreating figure, Su Haoming couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He had Brother Lin's help to know the case in advance, while Su Wuming, relying only on the information at hand, could unravel the threads and catch the killer's inadvertent slip.

Indeed, when it came to investigation, ten Su Haomings were no match for Su Wuming!

After a moment's thought, Su Haoming opened the chat group.

[Su Haoming: The closer I get to the Imperial Court, the more I feel my own inadequacy...]

[Su Haoming: Brothers, I've made up my mind!]

[Su Haoming: I'm giving up the Imperial Examination and becoming a carefree hermit!]