Song of Silent Promise

25. Demons And Ghosts (8)

When they made their way to Man Zui's residence, the rain had eased. The sound of three people's shoes against the wet slippery path, as well as the occasional trickle of water from the roof eaves were what Xu Yejing focused her mind on.

A part of her was still feeling disconcerted; He Xiang's memories had now become hers as well. Recalling the memories of 'Ye Jing' she had obtained in the imperial palace vault, was it truly her own? Or just some ghost she had not met?

Darkness had set in; apart from the two guards still stationed outside the front gate, there was no one else in sight. In contrast to the noisy clamor earlier during the day, the residence currently felt much more despondent.

Only the sound of flowing water made its way to everyone's ears. Like a sigh of ten million unspoken grievances.

Xu Yejing walked past the front door and paused slightly under the beams, her fingers hung in mid-air, as though she was touching something invisible. Fu Yan and Fu Chun threw her a glance; the former did not say anything, but Fu Chun nodded in understanding, "What you've just felt is the barrier set up by Fu Yan. The fact you are able to feel it, it means your true essence has begun to stir."

She then whispered towards Fu Yan, "Pan Lang and He Zhanyi might have acted without orders, but Yejing's experience turned out to be a fortune. In that vault, some sort of trigger has awakened her core."

Fu Yan merely scoffed in response, thus Fu Chun tactfully said nothing further. As the three walked in, they found Man Zui sitting to the side of He Xiang's coffin. The tea on the table had long gone cold, but Xiao Yang was nowhere in sight.

Fu Chun set a few fire charms to light some lanterns; fire licking from behind the blurry glass cast creepy swaying shadows of people and furniture on the wall.

With a corpse inside the room, a normal person would be frightened and even expected some sort of horror occurrence. However, Xu Yejing knew more than anyone, He Xiang had never meant anyone harm in life, and would not in death as well.

"I thought about it again and again in my mind," Man Zui spoke without looking up, "I still cannot fathom, why would he harm He Xiang? He always said... he had a life debt... . Then, why did he harm He Xiang?"

Fu Yan took out his whip. It was no more than a baton at the moment; but Xu Yejing knew perfectly well, with an instill of its master's qi, the whip would immediately brighten even the darkest night.

"Duhan's Left General Man Ge-ershu," Fu Yan spoke, "You possess as much brain as you do martial arts. When you know the answer, perhaps the woman's soul can finally rest."

The three of them, followed by Man Zui, walked to a different courtyard. This separate small building housed the kitchen. From the fuzzy sensation Xu Yejing felt as she left the corpse room and into the kitchen, she knew she had entered another barrier-protected area.

In the kitchen, the pot on the stove still emanated faint smoke, but the fire underneath was already nothing more than dying embers. Xiao Yang sat calmly on a stool in a corner. From the strewn wood blocks, burnt objects on the floor, and cut impressions on the wall, one would know he had tried to escape earlier. A kitchen knife lied silently on his lap, probably the instrument he had used to cause those deep indentations on the door frames.

In fact, the kitchen door was always ajar. But without the barrier master's explicit consent, the one trapped within would not have a chance to get out. Of course, this would be useless if the person possessed higher cultivation than the barrier master.

While they were heading towards the kitchen, Xu Yejing heard the story from Fu Chun. Before fetching Xu Yejing in the nearby river, Fu Chun had told Man Zui that Xiao Yang was the main suspect, but had not said any explanation apart from the fact the tea served to them had been drugged with hallucinants. Before Man Zui could recover from his surprise and ask questions, Fu Yan had dragged Fu Chun away to wait for Xu Yejing by the riverside.