Chapter 469 - 238: The Child-Seeking Case (2)

Chapter 469: Chapter 238: The Child-Seeking Case (2)

Some said the widow was a jinx on her husbands. Others claimed she was like a wasp’s stinger, concealing deadly venom to murder her own spouse. In short, the rumors were wild and grew more outlandish with each telling. The matter reached Ye Weiyang, who sent people to investigate, but they ultimately found nothing and closed it as an ordinary case.

Since it wasn’t deemed a supernatural case, the Government Office issued a public notice to clear the air. Unexpectedly, this notice only made the "Wutong God" inexplicably popular in the area. More and more newlywed young women hoping for a child went to the temple to pray. And it was miraculously effective. Every woman who prayed for a child, within as little as ten days or as long as three months, happily conceived.

The sinister part came later. This "child-seeking craze" raged on for half a year. At first, the husbands of these young women were fine. But over the past month, the husbands of the women who had gone to the Five Passes Temple to pray for children began dying one after another, all of them perishing on their wives’ bodies.

This affair gave the Lu Town Government Office a splitting headache. They couldn’t find anything unusual and even went so far as to seal the Five Passes Temple. However, the temple had neither monks nor nuns—it was just a bare, unmanaged "widow temple." The Government Office couldn’t find anyone to blame, leaving them utterly stumped. It was right at this time, just as the Disaster Prevention Bureau’s banners were being raised across Daqian, that this bizarre "child-seeking case" landed on the Bureau’s desk, now a thick case file.

After Xi’er finished speaking, she took a sip of tea.

Behind her, the screen window was bright against the dark, while the candlelight within the room flickered faintly. It looked like she was in a premium room at an inn.

After listening quietly, Feng Bei and the Orange Cat performed the exact same action at the same time: the woman and the cat simultaneously raised a hand (or paw), cupped their chins, and struck a pose of deep thought.

Zheng Xiu thought it was weird.

But with a case to solve, the Red King got down to business.

"Have you investigated it?" Zheng Xiu asked.

Xi’er nodded. "I have. Those who died earlier have already been buried. I was hesitating on whether to dig them up, waiting for your approval, Your Highness. As for the most recent deaths, I took a look, questioned the forensic doctor, and had one of the male corpses autopsied. We found that his kidneys were dark and failing, his male member was atrophied, his face was ashen and his lips were dark, and his eyelids were swollen. It’s consistent with essence depletion and yang deficiency."

"Get to the point."

"Basically, they died from sexual overexertion."

"Oh, how Lord Shi died." Now Zheng Xiu understood completely. "Anything else unusual?"

Xi’er was taken aback for a moment and couldn’t help but ask, "That’s... not considered unusual?"

"It is." Zheng Xiu thought for a moment. So many strong, healthy young men being drained dry and killed by their own wives at the same time was indeed a "supernatural case." He then said, "What about the temple?"

Hearing this, Xi’er immediately rolled her eyes. "Prince, surely you’re not thinking of sending me in, are you?"

Zheng Xiu was about to casually say, "Just trying it out won’t get you pregnant," but on second thought, this time it really might lead to a happy event. So he asked, "What’s your plan?"

The reason Xi’er found the case tricky was simply that the investigation had reached a crucial point where she could not proceed. The clue of the "Five Passes Temple" was so obvious that she couldn’t just ignore it. But if she did investigate, and there was truly something strange at work inside, Xi’er, even without a man, might end up creating a baby out of thin air. It was too dangerous.

"Understood. I’ll send a man to go."

Xi’er stammered for a moment, but the considerate Red King instantly understood her predicament and resolved the matter right there. Xi’er agreed with a smile. Just before ending the call, Zheng Xiu suddenly remembered something and pressed, "Wait, do you know who investigated this case when the first victim was reported?"

Xi’er quickly replied, "It was Xu Shu." She glanced at the Pillar Phoenix next to her, who was striking the same pose as the kitten, and her lips twitched. She reminded him, "The Xu Shu who’s dead."

Now Zheng Xiu understood completely. Xu Shu had an impetuous personality. Based on the timeline, he had investigated this "child-seeking case" when it first occurred, then immediately rushed to the Shu Region to intercept and kill Feng Bei. He could be called a model worker in Ye Weiyang.

Model worker or not, by investigating in such a hurry, he could have only scratched the surface. It would be a miracle if he had actually managed to solve the case.

After ending the call, Zheng Xiu looked out at the night, ran through the list of capable and available people in his head, and then used the Eternal World Painting to call Shadow Puppetry Jun Buxiao, one of the seven members of the Dawn Department.

The mirror surface of the Eternal World Painting flickered. Dreamlike, blood-red light and shadow sketched out a masked face in a few simple strokes.

Shadow Puppetry Jun Buxiao followed the [Actor] Path. He wore a mask even in the dead of night. The mask had openings for the eyes and mouth, and it depicted a cheerfully smiling face.

Jun Buxiao spoke in an exaggerated voice, "Well, if it isn’t the great Lord Red King! To what do I owe the pleasure of this late-night summons? Hehehe..."

Zheng Xiu summarized the case in four sentences:

"There’s a loose end in Lu Town left by Xu Shu."

"A Five Passes Temple where anyone who prays gets pregnant."

"Several men have died from sexual overexertion."

"It’s inconvenient for Xi’er, so you go investigate."

As soon as Jun Buxiao heard this, his gleeful laughter stopped abruptly. He jerked his head away, turning out of the mirror’s view. When he turned back, his mask had changed to a "crying face." "Prince, are you sure you want me to go?"

Zheng Xiu was puzzled. "You know about this case?"

Jun Buxiao shook his head vigorously. "I don’t, I don’t, I don’t!"

Zheng Xiu asked again, "Then what are you panicking about?"

Jun Buxiao turned his head again, and his mask changed to a "shocked.jpg" face. "Prince, are you sure... a man can’t be affected by the Magic?"

He was implying he was almost certain something supernatural was involved, referring to it as "Magic."

"We have Spirit Binders, and we have Physicians."

Zheng Xiu didn’t know if Jun Buxiao understood his subtext. What he meant was, if it was a type of Magic that a Spirit Binder could dispel, there was no need to panic; it could be solved. And if he really encountered a type of Magic that a Spirit Binder couldn’t dispel, there was still no need to panic—they had Physicians, so he could just give birth.

Jun Buxiao seemed to have understood. He nodded reluctantly. "Since it’s a Bureau case... Prince, can I bring a partner?"

"Within the Dawn Department, you have the authority to commandeer anyone with a lower rating than you. Just submit a simple written request and have Secretary Jiang stamp it." Finally, Zheng Xiu added a solemn reminder, "Find a man."

"Alrighty then." Jun Buxiao silently switched to a mask with an even more tragically crying face.

Zheng Xiu said, "More money."

"The Prince is wise! This case will be solved!" Jun Buxiao accepted the order with a grin and departed.

After the call ended, Feng Bei, who had been in a thoughtful pose just like Mao’er, lifted her head. A trace of puzzlement appeared in her eyes. "You’re not interested in this case?"

A smile appeared on Zheng Xiu’s face. "Of course I am." He naturally knew why Feng Bei was asking and answered proactively, "But I’m the boss now. I can’t possibly handle everything personally." Zheng Xiu winked at Feng Bei. "Remember what I used to say was the secret to becoming the Richest Person?"

Feng Bei rolled her eyes. The guy used to brag about his experiences from time to time back when he ran an inn.

"You have to know how to order people around."

The Disaster Prevention Bureau divided supernatural cases into four grades: A, B, C, and D.

Putting the other three levels aside, their assessment method was very casual, almost based on mood. Only "Level A" was different, having four key indicators: Mystic, Deceitful Object, Ghostly Realm, and Zhu. As long as a case involved any one of these four indicators, it could be rated as "Level A." Level A cases were of critical importance. Zheng Xiu would dispatch at least a "Pillar Level" agent to handle them, make contact with a Mystic, or retrieve a Deceitful Object. If a Ghostly Realm was truly encountered, the bureau chief himself would take action, all for the sake of advancing as a [Prisoner].

Moreover, the presence of a Ghostly Realm was highly likely to be related to Zhu. Zheng Xiu had already stressed the importance of this to Yin Qingqing and Jiang Gaoyi. The two of them were responsible for screening cases, and if they ever encountered a Level A case, they were to report it to Zheng Xiu immediately.

It was said that Jun Buxiao set out with his partner early the next morning. The Prince felt a measure of gratification toward such a motivated young man.

Taking advantage of the lull, Zheng Xiu finally remembered to pay a visit to Ximen Bei to see if he could fleece anything from him. Unexpectedly, he was greeted at the door by a young Scholar’s Attendant. The attendant was fair-skinned and clean-cut, and treated him politely. "My master has gone out to gather material. I beg the Prince’s forgiveness."

Sure enough, following the Scholar’s Attendant’s finger, Zheng Xiu saw a basket placed to the side. Inside the basket were many brocade gift boxes with notes attached. It seemed they were all gifts from wealthy ladies in his circle who were captivated by Ximen Bei’s literary talent.