Chapter 543 - 267: Thankfully, It’s Not (3)

Chapter 543: Chapter 267: Thankfully, It’s Not (3)

As the saying goes, attending a monarch is like keeping a tiger company... Qing Shisan had never felt this way before. But ever since Zheng Xiu was enfeoffed as the Red King, Qing Shisan would, from time to time, inexplicably sense an august authority from him, one that could rival an Emperor’s. This made Qing Shisan feel secretly gratified that the little sapling of yesteryear had grown into a towering tree, but he was also deeply wary. He wondered what Path the Red King had now stepped onto, as he seemed to change from one moment to the next.

Currently, only Heaven, Earth, Zheng Xiu himself, and Feng Bei knew of his Prisoner Path. His family in the mansion, including the trusted members of the Brotherhood, only knew that Zheng Xiu’s mastery of Miracle Techniques was profound. They knew he could change between a small and large horse at will, his methods as unfathomable as a god or a ghost. But they still had no idea what his actual Path was.

They once thought Zheng Xiu walked the "Rich Merchant" Path. But as they met more people, they realized no such Path even existed, and they gradually dismissed that suspicion. Now, as Qing Shisan felt the surging pressure from behind him, a strange thought inexplicably surfaced in his mind—’Emperor’!

’It can’t be, it can’t be.’ Qing Shisan shook his head forcefully, trying to cast aside the absurd idea.

As they neared the Red King Mansion, Zheng Xiu, who had been silent the entire way, suddenly spoke in a calm tone:

"Are there any of Grandpa Gui’s paper mache people left?"

Qing Shisan immediately understood Zheng Xiu’s intentions and nodded in response. "There are plenty."

Under the Zheng Clan was a paper offering shop that handled funeral affairs. The Gui Family had passed down the "paper mache" craft for generations. Grandpa Gui, a man in his seventies, walked a branch of the Skillful Hands Path—"Paper Mache Craftsman." The paper figures he made were used as vessels for captured souls. They were thrown into boiling oil or cut with scissors, and the Human Soul inside the paper figure would experience everything realistically, as if it were happening to their own body.

At the crack of dawn, Scarface Liu, who had just become the Star of Sin Destruction, was hurriedly called back to the Red King Mansion to work overtime.

The four women walked the Orchid Path, and their soul-capturing work had become much more skillful than before.

In the dungeon, Jing Xuemei had just begun her Flute Melody. As the notes rippled through the air, the two small paper figures captured by the iron-faced Scarface Liu underwent a bizarre transformation, their faces twisting to mirror the terrified expressions of the husband and wife.

When Jing Xuemei played her Flute Melody, Qing Shisan’s expression turned grim, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking two steps back. He hadn’t noticed it before, but hearing the Melody now, he faintly felt his own Human Soul stirring, on the verge of floating out of his body.

’As expected of the "Orchids" who cultivate so diligently with the Master day and night. HISS... This is terrifying!’

Qing Shisan secretly mused that the Celestial Dao truly rewards the diligent and decided he didn’t want to linger. After all, running the Eternal Purgatory wasn’t the Brotherhood’s main line of work. He invited Zheng Xiu to the study for some tea while he waited.

While Jing Xuemei was downstairs capturing the souls, Zizi, Pingping, and Lily each displayed their talents. Lily sang, Zizi played the zither, and Pingping massaged Zheng Xiu’s shoulders. It was a scene of utter luxury that would make anyone envious. Yet Zheng Xiu’s mind wasn’t on any of it. He was idly flipping through case files, waiting for the results of the "interrogation."

The sun rose, the rooster crowed, and the sky brightened.

Qing Shisan emerged from the Eternal Purgatory, bringing back news with a peculiar expression on his face.

"Master, we have a lead."

With a wave of his hand, Zheng Xiu silenced the singing and the zither music. Pingping, however, continued to massage her master’s shoulders with just the right amount of pressure.

Since no one present was an outsider, Qing Shisan didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point:

"The moment they were thrown into the boiling oil, they couldn’t take it. They confessed everything."

"But the paper mache figures are top quality, so I had Scarface Liu put them through all the remaining tortures just to be sure. There shouldn’t be any inconsistencies."

"It turns out that over twenty years ago, in Yanzhou’s Yun County, the couple found a baby in swaddling clothes on their doorstep."

"Inside was a baby girl."

"Second Lady was the one they found."

"They were kind-hearted at the time, so they adopted her and raised her for a few years."

Zheng Xiu was stunned, but then he let out a sudden sigh of relief.

He had initially assumed this monstrous couple were Second Lady’s biological parents. ’Thankfully, the interrogation proved they aren’t.’

Qing Shisan added, "They said there was also a Jade Pendant in the swaddling clothes, and on it was a single carved character: ’Charm’."