"So many injuries?"
"How cruel..."
"Killing someone would've been enough. What kind of grudge could make someone torture a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old child so mercilessly?"
No one present could bear to see such a brutal killing.
Ning Yan let out a breath, steadying herself. "Judging by Ji Shou's findings, the so-called Yin Ghost was most likely the work of a Word Spirit, meant to deceive the people. Perhaps we can follow that lead and discreetly investigate whether there are any suitable Literary Scholars in Jinli Commandery."
That would narrow the scope of the investigation considerably.
But Shen Tang shook her head and rejected the suggestion.
She frowned. "That would make too much of a commotion."
They had made this trip precisely to avoid alerting the enemy. Shen Tang leaned back against the armrest, closed her eyes, and tapped her fingers against the table at irregular intervals. The assembled officials murmured among themselves, exchanging what they knew, their brows never easing.
That was what worried Ning Yan, too. "Indeed. If we do nothing, then so be it, but once we act, we must strike at the heart of the matter. The question is, where do we break through...?"
There were clues, but which one could serve as their point of entry?
Shen Tang turned to look toward the window lattice. "Wait."
After she spoke, the room fell into a peculiar, unspeakable silence.
At her words, Ning Yan looked toward Qi Shan, Chu Yao, and the others.
She tried to read their progress from their faces.
The Director of the Department of Host and Guest glanced around, unable to join the conversation.
As the head of one of the Ministry of Rites' four departments, this matter had nothing to do with his field. It fell outside his authority, so there was no