Chapter 7

No need to refine it, the Heavenly Official's Blessing Pill transformed into true qi and flowed into his eight extraordinary meridians.

Wang Qilin immediately knew that this pill was a good thing.

He was enjoying the warmth inside when a cold wind suddenly blew in.

A window opened abruptly.

Wang Qilin's face turned serious as he looked at the half-open window.

There's something fishy about this inn!

So he went to find Xu Da to ask about the inn's past.

Xu Da was practicing with a stone lock in the courtyard, a heavy one weighing about forty to fifty pounds, which he twirled around effortlessly, like a donkey turning a millstone.

Wang Qilin couldn't help but clap, "Impressive!"

Xu Da, who loved an audience, performed even more enthusiastically when he noticed the onlooker. The large stone lock moved from his fist to his shoulder, over his head, through his legs, behind his back, and in front of his face, as if he were playing with it.

Finally, he threw the stone lock high up, then with one hand on his waist and the other raised above his head, he caught the falling stone lock, shouting, "Heavenly King Holding the Pagoda!"

Wang Qilin had been hoping to see him slip, but it didn't happen.

Disappointed!

Xu Da wanted to continue performing, but Wang Qilin stopped him, "Don't practice anymore. I need to talk to you. There might be a ghost in this inn..."

"A poor ghost?"

"No."

"A lecherous ghost?" Xu Da laughed and raised his eyebrows at him.

Wang Qilin, annoyed, said, "No joking. There really is a ghost. The window in the records room opened by itself yesterday, and the window in my bedroom did the same today, just like the door in the morgue closed by itself last night."

Xu Da was skeptical, "Really?"

Wang Qilin decided to show him the facts.

He went to close all the doors and windows in the inn, then brought Xu Da to hide on the rooftop, looking down from a high vantage point.

But the space on the rooftop was small, and Xu Da was tall and robust, so they had to huddle together.

Gradually, Xu Da's breathing became heavy, and his hot breath kept hitting Wang Qilin's face.

Wang Qilin turned his head and glared at him, "What are you doing?"

Xu Da said, "You're making it hard for me to breathe."

Wang Qilin moved to the side, trying to create more space.

Xu Da, who liked to take advantage, spread out and took up more space as Wang Qilin moved.

Wang Qilin, helpless, bent his legs to push against Xu Da's waist.

Xu Da was unhappy, "You're hurting me."

Wang Qilin, angry, said, "Why are you so fussy?"

Xu Da was also angry, "If you pull back your legs, I'll be fine."

The two were about to fight when a window in the records room slowly opened from the inside...

They strained their eyes to look, but saw no one behind the window!

Seeing this, Wang Qilin drew a sharp breath, "Did you see that?"

Xu Da stopped being playful, his mouth wide open, drawing in cold air as if he had a fan in his mouth.

Then a calico cat jumped out from behind the window.

Xu Da deflated, "Hey, look at your courage! This is the master's pet, named Hu Pi. It was Hu Pi who opened the window."

Wang Qilin realized he had made a mistake and complained, "Can you blame me for being timid? You've been here for a year and didn't even know Hu Pi could open windows?"

Xu Da, righteous, said, "Who cares about such trivial matters? You scared me so much that I'm hungry now. Will you treat me to a bowl of braised mutton for lunch?"

"In your dreams! Unless you give me that Nine-Grass Great Tonic Pill, then I'll treat you."

Xu Da looked at him in shock, "How weak are you that you need two Great Tonic Pills? Be careful you don't burst the quilt. We only have one set of bedding each."

"That's none of your business. Do you want to eat braised mutton or not?"

"Yes, I want to."

"Then hand over the Great Tonic Pill!"

"I can't hand it over, I can only produce it."

"You can't keep more than a few ounces of lard in your dog's belly, yet you eat so fast!"

Footsteps sounded on the street, followed by Du Cao's voice, "In broad daylight, what are you two doing up there?"

Wang Qilin turned around and saw Du Cao leading a burly young man with a sullen face quickly approaching the inn's entrance.

He jumped down and bowed, "Greetings, Master Cao."

Du Cao nodded, "I went to the clinic this morning. You two did well."

They had a time difference; he went to the clinic when Wang Qilin and Xu Da were just returning.

Wang Qilin wanted to tell Du Cao about last night, but Du Cao said first, "Go open the hall. This young man has something to tell me."

The burly young man had dark skin and was wearing a blue homespun robe with narrow sleeves and loose pants. Despite the cold weather, he only wore straw shoes and no socks, clearly a tenant farmer who had just come from the fields.

For ordinary people, the Heavenly Listener's Office, which dealt with ghosts and spirits, was even more mysterious and terrifying than the government. So the young man bent his waist and缩缩的像大雨中的麻雀。

进了堂屋坐下，杜操抿了一口茶，他不言不语，面色阴郁，不怒而威。

王七麟问话，青年结结巴巴地说：“青、青天大老爷在上，小人贱名钟二牛，我爹名叫钟大牛，我爹没念过书、没有文化，便给俺哥起名钟小牛，给俺起名钟二牛，给俺妹妹起名叫……”

在他颠三倒四、絮絮叨叨的诉说下，三人勉强听懂了怎么回事。

这钟二牛来自下马岭钟家，是钟家的佃户，这次来是因为钟家闹鬼了，他媳妇被鬼闹得要寻死，出于无奈他来听天监报官想让他们去救救自己媳妇。

至于他媳妇被鬼闹成什么样，钟二牛倒是描述出来了，可他焦急紧张之下逻辑不清，王七麟最终也没听明白，只知道他媳妇时不时的变得跟个小孩一样。

等他说完，杜操沉声问道：“下马岭钟家我很熟悉，你们钟家家长钟有福曾经拜访过我几次，既然钟家闹鬼，钟有福为什么不来找我？”

钟二牛‘扑通’一下子又跪下了，他磕着头叫道：“大老爷明鉴，俺们家长死了。”

杜操皱眉道：“钟有福死了？他才刚过而立之年呀。真是可惜，这是个厉害人，他是怎么死的？”

钟二牛道：“俺是种地的下宅，上宅的事不清楚，不过听人说是得了急病。”

杜操又问道：“你媳妇被鬼缠上是什么时候？”

钟二牛说道：“大约是三四天前。”

杜操沉默了一下道：“我知道了，明日我会带人去钟家看看。”

钟二牛着急：“大老爷，你能不能今天去看看？”

杜操淡淡地说：“你放心，我去之前，你媳妇不会出事。”

他伸手从袖子里弹出一张符箓：“回去把这个贴到她心口，我保她十二个时辰内鬼邪不侵！”

看着钟二牛带着符箓欢天喜地地离开，徐大回过头来说道：“操爷，你身子还是不舒服？”

杜操放松了紧绷的面皮，咳嗽一声露出几分疲态，道：“无妨，只是有些精神不佳，再让我歇上一天就没事了。”

徐大道：“要不然把这案子拖拖吧？这几天天气冷，我猜你是中了风寒。”

杜操摇头道：“不是风寒，我心里有数。这案子不能拖，恐生变故。”

然后他又古怪地笑了笑：“钟家家长过世，我这个旧友却没有得到消息。嘿嘿，接着他们家里又开始闹鬼，那我必须得去看看他们这是搞的什么鬼！”

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In the hall, Du Cao sipped his tea, silent and stern, his face dark and imposing.

Wang Qilin asked the questions, and the young man stammered, "Great, great justice, Your Excellency, my humble name is Zhong Erniu. My father is named Zhong Daniu. He never went to school and had no education, so he named my brother Zhong Xiaoniu, me Zhong Erniu, and my sister... "

Through his rambling and incoherent narration, the three of them barely understood what was going on.

Zhong Erniu was from the Zhong family in Xia Ma Ling, a tenant farmer. He had come because the Zhong family was haunted by a ghost, and his wife was being driven to suicide by the ghost. Out of desperation, he had come to the Heavenly Listener's Office to report the incident and ask them to save his wife.

As for how the ghost was affecting his wife, Zhong Erniu did describe it, but in his anxious and tense state, his logic was unclear. Wang Qilin ultimately didn't understand much, only that his wife occasionally behaved like a child.

When he finished, Du Cao asked in a deep voice, "I am very familiar with the Zhong family in Xia Ma Ling. Your family head, Zhong Youfu, has visited me several times. Since the Zhong family is haunted, why didn't Zhong Youfu come to me?"

Zhong Erniu fell to his knees again, kowtowing and calling out, "Your Excellency, our family head is dead."

Du Cao frowned, "Zhong Youfu is dead? He was just in his thirties. What a pity, he was a capable man. How did he die?"

Zhong Erniu said, "I am a tenant farmer, and I don't know much about the upper family, but I heard he died of a sudden illness."

Du Cao asked, "When did your wife start being haunted by the ghost?"

Zhong Erniu said, "About three or four days ago."

Du Cao was silent for a moment and said, "I understand. I will bring people to the Zhong family tomorrow."

Zhong Erniu was anxious, "Your Excellency, can you come today?"

Du Cao said calmly, "Don't worry, your wife will be fine before I arrive."

He reached into his sleeve and produced a talisman, "Take this and stick it on her chest. I guarantee that no evil spirits will harm her for twelve hours."

Watching Zhong Erniu leave happily with the talisman, Xu Da turned back and said, "Master Cao, are you still not feeling well?"

Du Cao relaxed his stern expression, coughed, and showed signs of fatigue, "It's nothing, just a bit of fatigue. I'll be fine after resting for a day."

Xu Da said, "Why don't we delay this case? It's cold these days, and I suspect you caught a cold."

Du Cao shook his head, "It's not a cold, I know what it is. This case can't be delayed, or something might happen."

Then he smiled strangely, "The head of the Zhong family is dead, and I, an old friend, didn't get the news. Heh, and now they're being haunted by a ghost. I must go and see what's going on!"