Quickly, Li Yu disappeared into thin air.
Old Gong returned to my night jar on my waist, his eyes still twinkling, looking at the nighttime fireflies, and then glancing outside the house.
Fumu looked at me, but a hint of bitterness and regret marred her expression.
"It's fine," I shook my head.
Just, I still feel a sense that cannot be described.
Although I was cold towards Li Yu before, knowing that he was worried about Fumu and didn't trust me, my anger decreased instead.
This further shows that Li Yu has no problem with Fumu and is a good friend worth getting to know better.
Fumu directly sent him away and even said harsh words, which was too decisive, even for her.
Misunderstandings can be explained clearly.
I expressed my thoughts.
Fumu's expression was even more bitter, and she sighed lightly, saying it wasn't that simple.
She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually... if it weren't for the extensive network of Liang's family and the deep underground connections in Jianghuang City, I wouldn't have come here."
“I had already guessed that you would want to investigate the situation with the Luo family. If there are no exhumed bodies in Jianghuang City's morgue, it should be very difficult to learn anything about it, unless you're lucky enough to stumble upon something by chance,” Fumu explained again.
However, her answer didn't match the question and only made people more puzzled.
Fumu's eyes flickered with a hint of complexity as she said, "A long time ago, I came to Jianghuang City with the people from the Divine Lord Bureau. That's when I met Li Yu. She was just being chased down the mountain by a Taoist temple, even surrounded by a group of Taoists who wanted to formally punish her."
"In itself, the Divine Lord Bureau shouldn't be involved in these things. However, the people who recognized Li Yu knew that she came from the Liang family, a prominent branch family in Jianghuang City. Plus, the size and behavior of the Taoist temples in Jianghuang City varied greatly, making it very difficult to predict. Many times, some branch families were wrongly killed. As Li Yu belonged to the mainstream branch family of Liang in Jianghuang City, there was no reason for anyone to kill her. Therefore, the Divine Lord Bureau people intervened with their numbers, barely defeating the other side and saving her."
Fumu opened up and talked about many things.
Since then, she learned that Li Yu had secretly promised to marry a Taoist monk from a temple, but she hadn't realized that the young monk was the son of the temple's abbot and also the only apprentice he had taken on, making it impossible for him to have any connection with branch families.
The Taoist monk disappeared ever since and never saw Li Yu again. Li Yu went up the mountain to question him, but he denied knowing her. She then caused a commotion at the temple, leading to the abbot's disciples hitting her severely.
In reality, Li Yu did not retaliate in earnest.
The Liang family had a connection with the Foxes, and within the clan, there were not only white foxes skilled at confusing people's minds, but also foxes called Xinkun that were as terrifying as evil ghosts. Xinkun were violent and tempestuous, and they enjoyed scalping people. Whenever they appeared, they would rip off the scalp of all nearby living beings, causing them to die in immense pain.
The white foxes can attack the heart. If a Taoist has an unrighteous heart or a weak spot, they will be beset by heart demons and tempted.
As for the Xinkun, it's because they are never killed that they are like evil ghosts. Even if they are injured, they will crawl back up even if they have wounds, and they must scalp people to death.
Moreover, since the Liang family does not do evil, no one wants to provoke them.
She paused and then continued, "At that time, my sister had just been killed by Sun Zhuo, and I was harboring resentment. When I told Li Yu these things, she completely lost faith in men, especially Taoists."
"Since then, the Divine Lord Bureau took advantage of this incident to involve the Liang family in many matters, and our relationship became more harmonious. Li Yu and I grew closer, and we became good friends."
I looked at her with a sudden understanding.
Fumu wanted to speak but hesitated.
Old Gong muttered under his breath, "Miss wanted to be friends, but the stinky woman didn't want to... it's not the Taoist's fault. If she was just a little... "
"……Old Gong," Fumu furrowed her brow and looked at Old Gong again.
Old Gong chuckled and squeezed himself into the night pot, only revealing half his head.
Fumu seemed to have said everything, but it also felt like she didn't say it all.
Old Gong seemed to understand, but I didn't grasp the deeper implications.
"No worries, just don't have any dealings with her. She won't do anything again, so you can rest assured," Fumu said with great certainty.
"Okay." I nodded, not mentioning the matter again.
Fumu breathed a sigh of relief, glanced around the room again, and her eyes flashed with an additional hint of alarm.
Her gaze finally landed on the copper mace in my hand.
"This artifact... it's not simple."
"At least, I haven't heard of anyone really killing the Xinkun. At most... the other party's strength was too powerful, and the Xinkun couldn't withstand it."
A slight chill ran through my heart, and I glanced at those beastly things again.
No wonder, Li Yu reacted so intensely when she heard my voice on the phone and knew I was still alive.
And it's no wonder... that Old Gong couldn't kill either of the two Xinkun, and it was me who had to hit them with a stick.
I mumbled to myself, "Maybe, we need a fierce ghost or corpse to see how this artifact's abilities really are."
"Mhm..." Fumu nodded.
Then, we left the place.
We could only catch a ride back at the street corner where I first arrived.
When we got on the bus, Fumu looked out the window and seemed to be looking for something.
I didn't look closely.
Fumu can definitely be trusted. If she says Li Yu doesn't have any more problems, there won't be any.
Even if there are any changes, Fumu would sense them.
However, there is a problem with using Liang's family's network to investigate the matter about exhumed bodies. It seems to be a fruitless effort.
With all these events happening, how could I expect Liang family, especially Li Yu, to handle the matter?
Therefore, when we returned to the courtyard of our residence, I directly asked Fumu if we should leave Jianghuang City. And I expressed my thoughts.
Fumu shook her head, telling me that she wouldn't leave.
She hesitated for a moment before saying, "If Li Yu didn't deceive me, there indeed is someone who has found out about the exhumed bodies. She mentioned this to me when she saw me, but she said it's unnecessary to go, as she believes..."
Fumu pursed her lips and changed her tone slightly, speaking softly, "Li Yu gave me all the location information of that person. Tomorrow, we'll go and find him."
My heart rate suddenly sped up.
I didn't actually expect that there would be such a twist in the story. Could it be that Li Yu wasn't deceiving Fumu at all? Was there some truth to it?
Fumu looked a bit weary, but she didn't go to her room first. Instead, she helped me clean up and tend to my wounds before going to rest.
Old Gong was uninterested and only had half his head out of the night pot, as if lost in thought.
After this restless night, I was actually quite tired, but once back in the room, my head was surprisingly clear. I was thinking about the matter of the exhumed bodies.
After struggling to suppress these thoughts, I finally sat down by the bedside.
I removed the umbrella cover and placed the copper mace on the edge of the bed, quietly staring at it.
After a while, I closed my eyes and made a decision.
