Xuantian slowly withdrew his gaze and turned his head, intending to discuss something with Zhou Yixian.
But—
Across the square table, Zhou Yixian and his granddaughter had already vanished, along with the skewer of candied hawthorn on the table.
Never mind. They would meet again soon anyway. The Wang Family had offered a generous bounty, and knowing Zhou Yixian, he would certainly go there to try his luck.
With that thought, Xuantian tossed down a tenth of a tael of silver, rose with Tian Buyi, and headed southwest.
The blazing sun stood high overhead.
In Heyang City, most streets lined with shops bustled with people. Cries of vendors, laughter, and haggling filled the air.
Only one district in the western part of the city was an exception.
Longevity Road sounded like a pleasant name.
Yet this street contained almost every funeral shop in Heyang City, with a mortuary built at its far end.
For that very reason, the entire street was unusually deserted.
Even when customers came, they hurried in and out, unwilling to linger.
The mortuary housed the bodies of travelers who had died far from home and those who had met untimely deaths. Few living people cared to approach it ordinarily.
But today...
The half-closed mortuary gate creaked open, and Du Bishu sauntered inside.
The moment the gate opened, the pungent stench of corpses struck him. Dead leaves and spirit money tumbled through the air, while the courtyard's lone pagoda tree shook its branches.
Rustle, rustle—
If their observations were correct, Squire Wang's three drowned young sons lay there.
Because... faint, ink-black threads lingered around the three coffins!
Each small coffin was less than four feet long, crafted from fine nanmu wood and adorned with gold and silver. They plainly came from a wealthy household.
However, yellow