Just as Shen Luohe was about to speak, Hua Xijian frowned with confusion:
“This worm is acting rather strange today.”
She reached toward her waist and pulled out the red-skinned gourd containing the female worm from her sash.
Following her gaze downward, the group saw that the red-skinned gourd was trembling incessantly, and whatever was inside seemed desperate to crawl out.
“Earlier, Fellow Daoist Shen mentioned that these wine worms were bred by your master and come in male-female pairs. The one in your hand is the female, which means the one in the Qu family’s possession must be the male.”
After a moment’s thought, Nan Zhi understood:
“The pair has been separated for so long, but they must still share some innate connection. Now that the male worm is right here, the female is naturally agitated.”
“Master did mention that,” Hua Xijian nodded, explaining. “Wine worms come in pairs of male and female, born together. Throughout their entire lives, they never betray one another or seek another mate. If one dies, the other quickly stiffens and dies as well. Compared to other spirit insects, wine worms are much harder to raise.”
“Even insects possess such loyalty and devotion, yet some humans are worse than bugs.” Shen Luohe shook his head with a heavy expression, turning to look at Nan Zhi. “Fellow Daoist Nan, since you took this case, by regulation, it falls upon you to see it through. Do you have any plans in mind?”
“Plans, of course I have them, but I must first ask whether Wanniang is willing.”
Nan Zhi looked at Wanniang beside her and spoke earnestly:
“Though Wang Fugui is dead, the truth cannot simply vanish with his passing. I plan to first report this matter to Lord Commissioner, explaining every detail thoroughly to overturn the verdict for the Qu family. That will also prevent anyone from using this against us in the future.
“We will also need to coordinate with the neighboring county yamens to make the truth about this corpse worm wine public. If mortals drink too much wine steeped with this corpse worm, Yin energy accumulates in their bodies, easily attracting evil spirits and causing lingering harm.
“Furthermore, it depends on what Wanniang wishes to do moving forward. If she wants to reincarnate, I will seek out fellow cultivators versed in the arts of Yin and Yang to find a way. And if Wanniang has any other unfulfilled wishes, as her friend, I will naturally help her see them through.”
“That matter happened so long ago. Overturning the verdict would inevitably cause a massive stir. The official who presided over my Qu family’s case back then was bribed by Wang Fugui, and by now, he has risen steadily through the ranks to become a high-ranking official.”
A flicker of hope ignited in Qu Wan’s eyes, only to quickly fade.
“Every commoner knows that within the imperial court, officials shield one another, and each magistrate is shrewder than the last. What official under the heavens would be willing to take on a decades-old case with neither living witnesses nor a living victim to press charges?”
—She was not wrong.
Back then, the Qu family had been wealthy and influential. Without the backing of an influential benefactor, Wang Fugui could never have swallowed up the Qu family’s estate purely through false accusations.
Though they did not know every detail of the past, they could easily guess much of it:
The official who had colluded with Wang Fugui in this crime thirty years ago, even if exceptionally dull-witted, would have climbed the bureaucratic ladder through sheer seniority by now.
The old Qu family case involved many interests. To most, the matter had long been settled and sealed.
If Nan Zhi stepped forward now to right the Qu family’s wrongs, it would threaten to derail those officials’ ascendant careers.
—She would inevitably become a target for everyone.
Thus, helping Wanniang exact vengeance was simple, but overturning the verdict for the Qu family would be far more difficult.
Shen Luohe gently waved his fan, letting out a soft sigh.
Hua Xijian’s eyes brimmed with even greater sympathy.
Cultivating the Dao did not mean completely detaching from the secular world and ignoring mortal affairs. They had seen their fair share of bureaucratic darkness and official corruption.
“Who says the Qu family case has no victim to press charges?”
Nan Zhi gave a mysterious shake of her head, smiling cheerfully at the group:
“I’ve heard that the Prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, Lord Bao Zheng, possesses a crescent moon mark on his forehead and is born with spiritual vision, allowing him to judge the living by day and the dead by night.
“Moreover, because he is incorruptible, upright, and fiercely despises injustice, he has long enjoyed the reputation of ‘Clear Sky.’ The common people of Dongjing thus call him ‘Justice Bao.’
“Any ordinary official wouldn’t dare touch the Qu family’s case. But if it’s this particular lord, as long as Wanniang is willing to file a petition, he will surely restore justice to the Qu family!”
“Could it be him?”
Shen Luohe’s eyes lit up, and he tapped his fan against his forehead.
“A splendid idea! Rumor has it that Lord Bao is a Star Lord descended from the heavens, commanding great prestige across both the cultivation world and the mortal realm.”
Seeing the bewildered looks on Wanniang and Hua Xijian’s faces, he added:
“You might not know this, but Lord Bao’s capabilities are formidable. It is said he can walk through the Underworld, and even the Underworld Judges treat him with great deference.
“Once, a wealthy merchant was robbed and murdered by a couple who fired pottery basins. They burned his corpse into a pottery basin and peddled it on the streets. Later, the merchant’s soul attached itself to the basin, and through a passerby, it was brought into Kaifeng Prefecture to strike the Drum of Grievances.
“Lord Bao, who can see spirits, heard the plea and dispatched men to arrest the culprits for questioning. After a swift interrogation, the truth was brought to light.”
“Does Kaifeng truly harbor such an extraordinary man?”
Hearing that there was hope to overturn the verdict, boundless hope burst forth in Wanniang’s eyes.
Like a withered, rotting piece of wood absorbing a trace of nourishment, new shoots sprouted anew along her limbs:
“Sister Zhi! Of course I am willing! As long as I can clear my Qu family’s name, strip away the false charge of murder, and let me leave this world as cleanly as I arrived, I would gladly climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a sea of fire!”
“In that case,” Hua Xijian frowned slightly, glancing toward Manager Wang and Wang Chen nearby. “Since the decision has been made to head to Kaifeng, we should depart as soon as possible to prevent further complications.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Nan Zhi nodded, her gaze sweeping over Manager Wang and Wang Chen.
“I intend to take these two along to Dongjing to plead the Qu family’s case before anyone else realizes what happened. It will take at least two to three days for the news to spread out of Dingyuan. By then, I will already be on the road, and even if someone tries to cover this up, they won’t be able to trace my tracks.”
“How coincidental; I was just wondering how to explain our situation to you,” Shen Luohe clapped his hands and sighed softly. “The case my junior sister and I are pursuing is rather tricky, so we may need to remain in the Shouzhou area for a few more days. It is truly a pity that we cannot travel with Fellow Daoist Nan. However, I will send a message to my friends in Dongjing right away, asking them to meet and assist you along the way.
“Once my junior sister and I finish the case at hand, we will certainly head to Kaifeng to lend support to Lady Wanniang.”
“Many thanks. Though, I do have one more favor to ask.”
Nan Zhi patted the skull in her arms with a grave expression:
“This thing should serve as material evidence. I will take it with me for now, and return it to you when we meet again in the future, all right?”
Shen Luohe: “...”
Do I look like someone who really wants that thing?
...
Having decided to head to Kaifeng, Nan Zhi did not delay for a single moment.
A carriage, dry rations, water bottles, an axe, oil containers, fire strikers, waterproof tarps, cold medicine, thick mattresses, padded cotton clothes, hemp rope, oil-paper umbrellas...
She bought everything she could think of in one go.
—With her inventory, she had no worries about running out of space in the carriage anyway.
The Azure Sea Sky Boots could allow her to cover A Thousand Miles a Day and reach Kaifeng directly.
However, the two mortals and one ghost—Manager Wang, Wang Chen, and Wanniang—had no choice but to travel step by step all the way to Kaifeng.
According to Wanniang, back when she sold wine, merchants traveling from Dongjing said a round trip took more than two months.
Calculating it this way, even by carriage, it would take at least a month to reach Kaifeng.
And that was assuming everything went smoothly.
Her family was confused when they saw her packing, but the moment they heard Nan Zhi intended to go on a long journey, Chen Jingui was the first to blow up.
Rate on N.U.
