Chapter 142 Fallen into the Trap

Thanks to "Midwinter March" for the Heshi Bi jade.

Ding Wu walked in.

"My lord, I've found out. This Wu Chunhua used to be a famous courtesan at the Green Willow Pavilion. Later, she caught the eye of an official in the imperial court who intended to take her home as a concubine. The older courtesans at the Green Willow Pavilion all assumed Wu Chunhua was going off to live a life of luxury and had no idea she had come to the Taoist temple. They all said that once she became a wealthy lady, she wanted nothing to do with her old sisters, and one after another..."

Ji Changge glared at Ding Wu. "Did they say who the official was?"

"It is said to be some high-ranking official in the court, but no one knows specifically who. That man visited once or twice, and each time he was very secretive—even the madam had no idea. In the end, he paid a large sum of money and took her away in the middle of the night. After that, no one ever saw Wu Chunhua again," Ding Wu continued.

"Since no one knows, how can they be certain he was an official in the court? Perhaps he was a wealthy merchant," Wen Jing said, looking at Ding Wu. It seemed Ding Wu's gossiping habit was truly incurable; the moment he heard gossip, he completely forgot about investigating the case.

"This... that is also possible."

Ji Changge shook his head and continued to ask, "Did this Wu Chunhua have any children?"

"Yes, I heard she originally had a daughter. When Wu Chunhua left, she didn't take the child with her, which is understandable. Wu Chunhua was going off to get married; how could she possibly bring her along? Besides, the madam was unwilling to let her go. Although she was young, she was already a budding beauty, and the madam was counting on her to earn money when she grew older. A few years later, that girl ran away on her own one day and her whereabouts became unknown."

It seemed highly likely that Wu Chunhua's daughter was Ruan Qinglian. To think Ruan Qinglian had managed to find her way to Huaqing Temple, attained the position of Holy Maiden there, gained the trust of Abbot Feng, and then, after lying dormant for all these years, finally exacted her revenge on her enemies. The more Ji Changge thought about it, the more a chill crept down his spine.

"Also, that Huang Jingxian turned out to be the daughter of Lord Huang Yongxing," Ding Wu added.

"Huang Yongxing?"

This name was not unfamiliar to Ji Changge. Three years ago, this name had been linked to a case involving the embezzlement of disaster relief funds. At the time, many individuals were implicated, and Huang Yongxing was among them. To think Huang Jingxian was his daughter.

"This is bad, my lord!" A guard suddenly rushed in hurriedly.

"What has happened?" Ji Changge's gaze turned sharp, a thought flashing through his mind: Ruan Qinglian had finally lost her patience.

"Someone sneaked in just now, and your subordinate discovered that one of the skull specimens is missing," the guard said.

"Take me to see."

That skull was an important piece of physical evidence; the culprit was actually audacious enough to steal it in broad daylight. Their boldness was simply too much.

When Wen Jing, Ji Changge, and the others arrived at the dissection room, they discovered that one of the skulls was indeed missing.

"With so many of you here, you still couldn't catch the person?" Ji Changge's cold gaze swept over the guards.

All the guards lowered their heads.

"My lord, we only heard a sound inside the room and found the window open. When we pursued them outside, there was no trace of anyone to be found. The thief's speed was simply too fast," a guard said softly.

Ji Changge surveyed the room. It was impossible to vanish that quickly. These guards were well-trained; even if they failed to catch up, they shouldn't have lost sight of the person entirely. The intruder must still be hiding somewhere here.

"Surround the Lingyun Hall. Not even a fly is allowed to fly out," Ji Changge commanded coldly.

Before his voice had even faded, a sound suddenly came from outside the building, and a white figure flashed past.

"Ruan Qinglian!"

Ji Changge turned, leaped through the window, and flew out, followed by a group of guards.

"Wait for me!"

Dongsheng placed one foot on the window sill, struck a pose as if about to leap down, and froze mid-air. Then, second-guessing himself, he pulled his foot back. He realized a crucial problem: he didn't know how to use martial arts; jumping down from here would either kill him or break a leg.

Turning around somewhat awkwardly, Dongsheng braced himself for Wen Jing's mockery, only to find that Wen Jing wasn't looking at him at all. He instantly breathed a sigh of relief, adjusted his expression, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Oh no." Wen Jing's face paled.

"What is it?" Dongsheng barely finished asking when he saw Wen Jing sprint off in the direction Ji Changge had just chased after.

Dongsheng scratched his head and hurried to follow.

Wen Jing chased for quite a while without catching even a glimpse of Ji Changge, and a panting Dongsheng soon caught up.

"Ah!"

A scream suddenly echoed from not far away. Wen Jing and Dongsheng hurriedly ran toward the sound.

When they arrived, they saw a young Taoist nun shivering as she squatted to one side, still screaming continuously.

Wen Jing stepped forward, grabbed her hands, and asked, "What happened?"

Hearing the sound, the young nun finally stopped screaming. She raised her head, pointed to a dilapidated, abandoned hut ahead, and said, "Just now, a lot of people ran past with knives."

"Was it the official who questioned you last time?" Wen Jing asked.

The young nun nodded repeatedly.

"Go back first. It's dangerous here."

The young nun shook her head. "I'm scared. I'd better stay with you."

To think this young nun was such a coward. Wen Jing was speechless, but said gently, "Then stay right here and don't move. Following me is even more dangerous. I'll come back to find you in a moment."

The young nun had no choice but to nod.

Wen Jing turned and ran toward the small hut the nun had pointed out. Strangely, not a single sound could be heard, and a sudden, ominous foreboding gripped her heart.

"Why is there no one here?" Dongsheng looked at the empty room in astonishment. The little nun had clearly said Ji Changge and the others had run in here, so why were there no people and no sound at all?

Could they have been tricked by that little nun?

Looking at the chaotic footprints on the ground, many people should have been here; the young nun probably hadn't lied.

Just as Wen Jing prepared to step inside, Dongsheng grabbed her by the arm. "There must be a trap inside. We can't go in. Let's go find more people."

Wen Jing pushed Dongsheng's hand away and retorted, "Where are we going to find people?"

"Uh..." Dongsheng suddenly remembered that all the guards had followed Ji Changge away. Where on earth could they find anyone right now?

Wen Jing cautiously pushed the door open and walked inside, only to hear footsteps behind her. Turning around in a hurry, she locked eyes with Dongsheng's timid gaze.

"Didn't I tell you not to come? Why did you follow me anyway?" Wen Jing said irritably.

Dongsheng wore a crying face. "I don't know the way back. I'm so scared."

Wen Jing sighed and continued walking forward. Suddenly, she felt her footing vanish beneath her; the ground simply disappeared. Her entire body experienced a sensation of weightlessness before crashing heavily onto something unknown.

"Ow! It hurts so much!"

The voices of Dongsheng and the young nun rang out from beside her.

"Why did you guys fall in too?!" Ji Changge's roar came from nearby.

Looking at Ji Changge's furious face, Wen Jing knew they had all fallen into a trap. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by two violent coughs. The air in this cellar was truly nauseating. Damn it, why was it always a cellar?!

Striking a fire starter, Wen Jing finally managed to see her surroundings. She discovered her hand was resting directly on a human bone, while her foot was planted on a human skull. All around were severed limbs gnawed clean by rats. Even as a forensic pathologist accustomed to seeing corpses, she couldn't help feeling her scalp tingle.

The young nun beside her shrieked and recoiled as a massive rat leaped off her body, only to be sliced in half by a guard's blade.

Looking at the cellar, which resembled a slaughterhouse, Wen Jing felt somewhat nauseous. She had a psychological shadow regarding such enclosed spaces; why did every killer love choosing cellars as murder sites?

Before Wen Jing could vomit, Dongsheng beat her to it, his eyes filled with terror.

"What on earth is this place? Feiran, aren't you skilled in martial arts? Just fly up!" Dongsheng urged anxiously.

Ji Changge shook his head helplessly. "I've already tried. The floor is exceptionally solid and cannot be broken through at all."

Hearing this, Dongsheng panicked. "What?! Then are we just going to wait here to die?"

"Calm down first. I'm looking for an exit," Ji Changge said calmly.

"Calm down my foot! If we die here, wouldn't all our previous efforts be in vain?"

Highly agitated, Dongsheng kicked a few bones from beneath his feet toward the wall. The bones bounced off the wall and clattered onto the ground.

Ji Changge grabbed Dongsheng by the shoulders, looked into his eyes, and said, "We are not going to die here. Stay calm and patient."

Meeting Ji Changge's steady, composed gaze, Dongsheng gradually calmed down. He trusted Ji Changge; over all these years, Ji Changge had never let him fall into a position of mortal peril, and this time he would certainly turn misfortune into safety as well.

"Everyone, search carefully and see if there are any mechanisms or hidden devices," Ji Changge instructed the guards.

By the flickering light of the fire starter, Wen Jing surveyed the cellar. It was not very large and looked as though it hadn't been used for a very long time.

"Ah! A ghost!" The young nun let out another terrified shriek.

Wen Jing walked over with the fire starter and spotted a skin-and-bones, mutilated face with sparse hair clinging to it—it was a mummified corpse.

"Don't be afraid, it's just a corpse," Wen Jing told the young nun.

With a pale face, the young nun cowered in the corner, too terrified to move an inch.

"How did you guys fall down here?" Wen Jing asked, looking at Ji Changge.

"We chased Ruan Qinglian up to the building above, and then we fell right through into this place. Why did you two chase after us?" Ji Changge asked, puzzled.

Wen Jing shook her head. "That person wasn't Ruan Qinglian at all. Stealing the skull was just a trick to lure all of us into this trap."

Seeing Ji Changge's uncomprehending expression, Wen Jing continued, "Didn't you notice? The skull she stole wasn't Wu Chunhua's, but Huang Jingxian's. If it were truly Ruan Qinglian, she definitely would have taken Wu Chunhua's skull."

Ji Changge was slightly startled. Viewed from behind, that figure was clearly Ruan Qinglian. Who on earth was it, and why would someone impersonate Ruan Qinglian?

"Besides, if it were Ruan Qinglian, how could even you fail to catch up? That person's martial arts are clearly far superior to Ruan Qinglian's."

A remarkably soft and delicate face flashed through Wen Jing's mind. If she wasn't mistaken, it must be Liancheng. He hadn't left yet. Although it wasn't Ruan Qinglian, he was inextricably linked to her.

"Then who could it be?" Ji Changge muttered to himself.

"It's Xuan Yu."

A slow, leisurely voice suddenly drifted from the corner.

(To be continued...)

Translator's Note: Thanks to "Midwinter March" for the Heshi Bi jade~~ Thank you, uncle~~~~~~~