Fulefang is where the wealthy and powerful of Fushui County live. The most famous one is Mr. Chen's. The gate is painted red and has copper buckles. There are two stone lions squatting outside. Above the door is a plaque with the words "Chen Mansion" written in golden letters.
Across the street was a plaque of the neighborhood, and below it people from nearby areas gathered in small circles, secretly looking over there, whispering to each other.
"This morning, I heard screams coming from Mr. Chen's house. Guess what happened? Three people died this time, including Mr. Chen's concubine."
"It's so powerful, could it be caused by a ghost?"
“… I heard from Wang Banxia from Qiaoluo Street that it was because they offended the Tai Sui God and brought disaster upon themselves.”
“I don’t know how the people inside survive… Hey, Captain Zuo is here!”
Amidst the mixed whispers, someone shouted, and everyone looked back, then made way for them. The sound of horse hooves came closer and closer. On the horse's back, the man had two sharp white long-handled knives on his back, a high nose and a wide mouth, a small tuft of short beard on his chin, and a solemn and dignified face.
He passed through the memorial archway, and with a whoosh, he reined in his horse and stopped outside the Chen residence. He glanced at the people watching over there and called over a few constables.
"Scatter everyone away, don't come near here."
The four detectives took the order, ran over, held the hilts of their knives and shouted at the crowd, extending the cordon beyond the archway.
Captain Zuo turned around and walked up the steps with his deputy and ten detectives. They knocked on the door a few times and soon the lacquered red door creaked open slightly.
The man who revealed half of his old face was the doorman of the Chen residence. Upon seeing a group of people dressed as officials outside, he hurriedly opened all the doors.
"Where is your Mr. Chen?" Captain Zuo took off the cloak behind him and handed it to his deputy, then walked in.
The old doorman followed closely and came under the eaves.
"Reporting to Captain Zuo, the official was frightened and is recuperating in his bedroom."
Captain Zuo nodded and continued walking forward. On both sides were potted pine trees welcoming guests. The road continued all the way and passed the feng shui wall painted with mountains, rivers and forests, and he arrived at the front yard.
Many people from the mansion gathered in the front hall at this time, most of them were dependent relatives. When Captain Zuo brought people over, they could hear the noisy sounds from inside from outside. There were also children playing on the stone steps outside the door, but as soon as they walked away, they were picked up by the adults in the family and brought back to the hall.
A brave boy was sitting on the stone steps, playing with stones. When he heard the footsteps, he raised his head and called out, "Hello, uncles."
Captain Zuo stroked his head, strode into the hall, and clasped his hands.
"Everyone, I am Zuo Zhengyang, the chief constable of Fushui County."
With such a thing happening at home, most people in the hall looked unhappy, and the women and children were even more nervous and frightened. When they saw the people coming from the yamen, they thought they had grasped hope and swarmed over.
"Captain Zuo, you must find out what's going on in this mansion. I don't believe it's the work of ghosts."
"... Captain Zuo, how about you help find a mage to help us calm down first?"
The person who spoke first had no right to discuss the matter. After being shouted at, an old servant in charge came up to greet him.
"Captain Zuo, please come this way. The officer has already gotten up and is waiting for you in the side yard."
"please!"
Zuo Zhengyang nodded, made a gesture of invitation, and followed the steward to the side yard. This was a courtyard with three entrances and three exits, a long corridor, a waterside pavilion, a rockery and a flower garden, but at the moment, it looked a bit eerie.
As we approached the gate of the side courtyard, we saw from afar an old man in a robe with gold threads and copper coins, supported by two maids. Next to him was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a scholar's robe and holding a paper fan. He looked elegant and handsome, like a scholar going to the capital to take the imperial examinations.
"Mr. Chen!" Zuo Zhengyang went over to greet him and asked his deputy to take people in to check the body first.
The old man was a little excited, and his white beard was shaking slightly.
"I heard that Captain Zuo is about to be promoted. I am honored that you are able to come here this time. I am very grateful. Thank you very much!"
Seeing Chen Yuanwai thanking him twice, Zuo Zhengyang didn't bother to be polite anymore. He walked inside and said, "Zuo can only find out the cause as soon as possible and give an explanation to Chen Yuanwai and the deceased."
"Captain Zuo." Chen Yuanwai suddenly asked in a low voice, "People are saying that my birthday party has offended Tai Sui... or is something sneaky. What do you think..."
Zuo Zhengyang waved his hand and walked past the old man.
"Zuo doesn't believe in gods and ghosts"
Walking forward, there were three bodies covered with white sheets in the side yard. The deputy who had checked came over.
"Boss, these corpses have no wounds on their bodies. Their faces are blue and their lips are white. They are not poisoned. They seem to have been frightened to death."
Zuo Zhengyang went over and uncovered the white cloth. It turned out to be Mr. Chen's concubine. She was young and beautiful, but unfortunately her face was distorted, her eyes were wide open, and bulging blood vessels could be seen around the corners of her eyes.
"The fingers were clenched and the elbows were raised high. I think he wanted to cover his face and not see anything, but he didn't have time to do so..."
He gently touched the dead man's arms and other parts, and then checked the other two bodies, one of which was the night watchman and the other was the guard in the mansion.
"They are the same as the previous bodies."
Captain Zuo covered the body with the white cloth again and asked his subordinates to take the body back to the yamen for further autopsy by the coroner. After that, he returned to Mr. Chen.
"Whenever the opera singer appears, someone dies?"
Mr. Chen looked at his son beside him and spread his hands: "Indeed, even if we move to a farm in the suburbs, we will follow you."
"When will it appear?"
"How would I know? Sometimes it comes every other day, and sometimes it doesn't show up for three or five days."
Over there, Captain Zuo's face darkened. He looked at the three corpses being carried away, as if thinking about something. After a moment, he raised his hands and said, "I will be in the government office these days. If the opera appears in the mansion, send someone to find me immediately."
"Captain Zuo! Captain Zuo!"
Mr. Chen tried to persuade him to stay, but Zuo Zhengyang just waved his hand and walked out. He probably wanted to make a summary of the matter first, report it to the county magistrate, and suppress the rumors circulating outside.
The noisy courtyard gradually quieted down and the gate closed again. The young man next to the old man walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, occasionally looking to the side yard, then walked back and stopped in front of the old man.
"Dad, we can't go on like this. The people in the government office are waiting, but we can't wait any longer."
As he said this, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his gentle and handsome face. At a certain moment, he didn't even want the paper fan anymore, grabbed Chen Yuanwai's hand, and knelt down with a bang.
"If my son is dying, who will wear mourning clothes, hold the spirit tablet, and cry and see you off after you pass away, Dad! You have to think of a way. The Chen family will be extinct in the future, and no one will take over your huge family business."
"You!!" Chen Yuanwai was so angry that he was shaking all over. He broke free from the maid's hand and hit the young man on the head twice. "It's all your fault, you bastard."
The young man knelt on the ground and took two steps, pulling the hand that was hit.
"Dad, why did you get yourself into trouble by scolding me? We should think of a solution quickly. How about posting a notice outside and inviting some powerful wizards?"
The maidservant kept helping the old man to calm his breath. After a while, Mr. Chen finally recovered, sighed, raised his hand weakly and waved.
"Put it up on the notice..."
At the same time, outside the Chen Mansion, Zuo Zhengyang looked at the two big characters on the door plaque.
The deputy brought the horse over and came close to him: "Boss, how are we going to get out?"
"If you don't leave, are you going to sit there and wait?"
Turning around, Zuo Zhengyang took the reins and said, "I'm afraid the Chen family's father and son are hiding something and are unwilling to tell us. In that case, let's wait for them to suffer more."
After saying that, he jumped on the horse, shook the reins, and shouted, "Gee!" He left Fulefang with his men, and ten constables followed closely behind in a line.
On the bustling long street, a group of nine people sat under the eaves, still thinking about how to solve the problems in the village.
In the distance, the sounds of horse hooves and footsteps could be heard passing by. Lu Liangsheng stood under the eaves and watched a figure riding past with a double-handled weapon on his back, with some envy in his eyes.
The voice of Toad Taoist suddenly rang out from within the package.
"You entered the Tao directly, but he took a long time to get a vague inclination to enter the Tao. What is there to envy?"
Lu Liangsheng turned around and saw half of a toad's face exposed through the gap in the package. He quickly looked around and saw that no one was noticing, so he spoke in a low voice.
"Those who practice martial arts can also enter Taoism?"
The toad narrowed his eyes, looking through the gaps in the package, the long and narrow streets, the sky, the white clouds, and the flying birds, then he responded softly to his apprentice's words.
"Why not? Look at that bird. It may become spiritual one day while flying, and enter the door of cultivation. There are many mountain spirits and ghosts in this world, let alone humans. A stonemason who carves stones over the years may gain enlightenment if he has some realization. A monk who sits cross-legged in front of the Buddha and recites scriptures may also write with great spirit one day. A drinker who indulges in mountains and rivers may also be a hermit. It is not uncommon to enter the Tao through martial arts."
After stopping talking, Toad Taoist turned around and suddenly started talking about something else.
"Liangsheng, don't practice the formula that your master taught you to practice facing the moon anymore. I have another formula that is suitable for you."
Lu Liangsheng didn't realize that the word "suitable" was emphasized a bit, but he said it jokingly.
"Then won't I have to start all over again?"
Toad looked up at the sky and recalled something.
"It's okay to start over. I don't know how many people want to start over again on the path of cultivation."
Having said this, his eyes turned to the long street. Someone started running, and then someone else followed behind, shouting loudly.
"There's something interesting to watch. Mr. Chen has posted a notice to recruit talented people. Whoever can get rid of the evildoers in the mansion will be rewarded with 500 taels of silver—"
There was an uproar on the long street.