Back in the backyard, Ye Wanmian boiled water to take a bath and changed her clothes, finally getting rid of the strange smell she had picked up in the morgue.
Qi Wen was not around. With only herself in the yard, Ye Wanmian took advantage of the tranquility. She carried several medical books and the medical records written by Doctor Wang back to the room and began to read them carefully.
Xiao Jingcheng stayed by her side. He closed his eyes to rest and nourish his somewhat unstable soul.
Qi Wen didn't return until evening after listening to the opera in the teahouse. He even brought some snacks from the teahouse for Ye Wanmian.
Night fell quickly. The daytime hustle and bustle faded away, and Dongli Town soon became quiet again. Ye Wanmian sat under the grapevine in the yard, lying in the rocking chair where Doctor Wang often sat, looking up at the star - filled sky.
After so many hours, her master and the others should have left the territory of Tianyuan County by now, right?
That night, no matter what happened outside, Ye Wanmian decided not to care. When it was time, she turned off the light and went to bed.
But somehow, intentionally or not, she didn't close the door tightly. So when Sang Biao signaled to Xiao Jingcheng outside, Xiao Jingcheng easily slipped out of the room.
Sang Biao brought Xiao Jingcheng news about Taoist Yuanqi.
After leaving the morgue today, Taoist Yuanqi left Dongli Town. Sang Biao and his little dog follower quietly trailed behind him all the way until he disappeared into a mansion on the outskirts.
Sang Biao left two little dogs there to keep an eye on the place and then returned to the town.
Strangely enough, in the evening, Sang Biao smelled the same scent as Taoist Yuanqi's in an alley in the east of the town. It was so shocked that it felt something was seriously wrong!
To solve the mystery, Sang Biao and his dog lurked in Yan'er Alley in the east of the town. After nightfall, they saw a man come out of a small courtyard, go to a nearby teahouse to pack some food, and then return to the courtyard.
Dogs recognize people by smell rather than by sight.
The man's clothes and appearance were completely different from the elegant Taoist they saw during the day, but the smell didn't lie!
Sang Biao babbled all this to Xiao Jingcheng and looked quite aggrieved. It just couldn't figure out how that man suddenly appeared in Yan'er Alley. It was as if he could fly through the sky and disappear into the ground. It was really scary!
Sang Biao didn't know, but Xiao Jingcheng immediately understood the reason.
It was very likely that there was a secret passage in the mansion on the outskirts that led to the town!
As the richest gentry in Dongli Town, it was not strange for Master Chen to build some secret passages to hide and transfer his wealth.
It was said that during the great chaos when the Chu State fell, many ministers in the capital escaped from the city through the secret passages in their homes. Even in the imperial palace, there were such secret passages. But only after he ascended the throne could he learn from his father where they were hidden.
If this was really the case, it could explain how the Chen Mansion transferred the body that was sunk in the lotus pond and then placed it on the beach to pretend to be the "prince".
It could also explain why the dogs he sent to guard the Chen Mansion for so many days hadn't found any clues.
Oh, they were really cautious.
Xiao Jingcheng sneered in his heart.
No matter how cautious they were, the net of heaven was wide - meshed but never missed. They still managed to detect something fishy.
He remembered that the man surnamed Zhou had said that the young master Chen had suddenly passed away, and his body was still in the Chen Mansion. They would find a chance to bury him in a few days.
If his body was really in the Chen Mansion, they would surely take this opportunity to transfer it out. This was his best chance to get his body back.
Xiao Jingcheng told Sang Biao to keep a close eye on the man in Yan'er Alley and find out where else he went in the town.
Taoist Yuanqi was so cautious. If he was related to the Chen Mansion, he would surely not swagger into the mansion through the main gate. There must be a secret passage leading to the Chen Mansion from one of the places he often visited.
Sang Biao was extremely happy to receive the new task. It craned its neck and looked into the medical clinic, asking Xiao Jingcheng:
[General, doesn't the fairy sister have any tasks today? The desserts are really delicious.]
Fairy sister?
Xiao Jingcheng was taken aback, and anger welled up inside him.
She had only fed them desserts once, and they already missed her. What? Did they want to take his place and be raised by her?
Such ambitious schemes were really detestable!
He bared his teeth and growled at Sang Biao: [No. Stop missing her. She is mine…]
The word "master" almost slipped out of his mouth. Xiao Jingcheng was so shocked that he shivered. He bared his teeth again: [In short, without my permission, you are not allowed to get close to her or be intimate with her. You just need to protect her safety!]
Sang Biao drooped its head and agreed, then scurried away with its tail between its legs.
Whimper, the general was really fierce. It just wanted to take a bite of the cakes in the fairy sister's hand!
Xiao Jingcheng stormed back into the room. Ye Wanmian was sleeping soundly. He leaped onto the bed and rudely squeezed into her arms, nuzzling into her embrace and resting his head on her arm.
The faint and delicate fragrance of the girl instantly filled his nostrils. This smell made Xiao Jingcheng feel extremely at ease.
His movement woke the girl up a bit. Ye Wanmian didn't fully wake up, but she knew it was him. She absent - mindedly stroked his fur and mumbled:
"Da Huang, don't make trouble. It's good that master has left. Otherwise, he would scold me again..."
Instead of pushing him away, she hugged him even tighter.
But Xiao Jingcheng didn't feel relaxed at this moment. Instead, there was a hint of heaviness in his heart.
He knew that all her care and love were because he was possessing the yellow dog at this moment. The reason she decided to investigate the matter of the dead body was not because she cared about the "prince" Xiao Jingcheng, but because she was kind - hearted and able to distinguish right from wrong.
Unlike him...
He really needed to think about how to compensate her after he got back into his own body to make up for the harm he had brought to her in the past two years.
...
In the Chen Mansion.
In the dimly lit secret chamber, Taoist Yuanqi, dressed in a dark - gray Taoist robe, had a tense face. He placed his hand on the forehead of the person lying quietly on the bed and silently mumbled something.
There were several figures standing behind him. Besides Master Chen, the "Lord" was also there.
They stared intently at Taoist Yuanqi's movements, holding their breaths and waiting for the result.
After a moment, Taoist Yuanqi withdrew his hand and said, "There is no soul in his body. I've also checked the jar that sealed his soul, and the spell is still intact."
The "Lord" frowned tightly. "Then what exactly happened in the morgue today? The Prince of Mu is extremely suspicious. He almost detected something fishy."
Taoist Yuanqi said, "I once told you that I divined a hexagram for him, and there was a slight change. I think it was this change that caused the spell - casting to fail in the morgue. This person has a purple aura and an extremely strong fate. It's not surprising to have such a result."
He changed the subject. "However, as long as his soul can't find a container within forty - nine days, it will completely dissipate. The most urgent thing now is to send his body to a place where no one can find it and seal it up before the spell is fully completed."
The "Lord"'s expression softened a bit. "This time, there must be no more accidents."