Note: Consider to Support this story in patreon.com/flokixy if you want me to continue update
Earlier, it was said in the Demon Suppression Division that Wu Datong had a younger son besides Wu Liren, but now it's said that before Wu Liren was born, Wu Datong had an elder son –
Although the two statements are inconsistent, rather than saying Wu Dajing is senile, it's more likely that he was affected by the malevolent spirit.
But with the same memory interference, and his mention of a malevolent spirit manifesting when Wu Datong's son was born, Zhao Fusheng could confirm that this unspeakable malevolent spirit was likely Wu Datong's 'eldest son'.
"This is Wu Datong's eldest son, called – called –"
Wu Dajing's hand was still in the motion of flicking off dead skin, but when he mentioned Wu Datong's eldest son, he couldn't recall his name.
"What's his name? I can't remember." As he spoke, Wu Dajing's eyes began to redden, his lips cracked, and his expression grew somewhat deranged; he was clearly not quite right.
Zhao Fusheng sensed the increasingly dense malevolent spirit aura. The bloodshot veins in Wu Dajing's eyes grew thicker, and two streams of nosebleed slowly trickled from his nostrils –
Not good!
Her pupils contracted. With a shake of her sleeve, the Arm of the Beggar Ghost, which she had tucked in her cuff, slid out and was instantly grasped in her palm.
Zhao Fusheng gripped the shriveled ghost arm and struck Wu Dajing's head forcefully, shouting sternly:
"Forget it if you can't remember!"
A crisp "thud" sounded.
Only the power of a malevolent spirit could deal with a ghost.
After this strike, the lingering vibrations caused the malevolent, sinister chill to recede instantly.
The bloodshot eyes of Wu Dajing, who had previously been twisted and frenzied, gradually faded, and his expression became confused. Zhao Fusheng's heart pounded like a drum. She raised her right arm, loosened her grip, and the ghost arm she had held in her palm 'whooshed' back into her sleeve.
The Human Skin Scroll clutched in the ghost's hand silently turned to ashes. Zhao Fusheng's heart bled as she heard the Investiture of the Gods system prompt that another 1 point of merit had been deducted.
Fortunately, the strike had a clear effect, and the invisible malevolent spirit was forced back again.
"Officer Zhao –" Wu Dajing didn't know what had just happened. As he spoke, two streams of nosebleed flowed down his upper lip and into his mouth.
"Ah, ptui – ptui – What's going on, I'm bleeding from the nose –"
The village elder exclaimed, but quickly sighed and wiped the blood away with his palm:
"It seems the symptoms have worsened from traveling these past few days."
"..." Zhao Fusheng hadn't figured out how to comfort him, but she didn't expect him to have already found a reason to convince himself.
He seemed completely unaware that he was entangled by a malevolent spirit and could die at any moment.
"You..." Zhao Fusheng hesitated, about to speak, but Wu Dajing said very frankly:
"Adult, you don't need to worry about me; this is an old symptom." He chuckled twice, casually wiping the blood from his palm onto the carriage wall.
Finally, with blood still in his mouth, he spat several mouthfuls of bloody saliva onto the ground, causing Zhang Chuanshi, who was driving the carriage, to repeatedly turn his head and curse incessantly upon seeing the scene:
"You plague-ridden bumpkin, spitting on the ground everywhere, how disgusting."
"..." Wu Dajing was a little embarrassed by the scolding and quickly extended his foot to rub away the bloody saliva on the ground.
Zhao Fusheng realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately stopped Zhang Chuanshi:
"Shut up."
Zhang Chuanshi turned around and glared fiercely at Wu Dajing, but he dared not talk back to Zhao Fusheng.
"What's wrong with your symptoms?" She ignored the resentful Old Zhang and turned to ask Wu Dajing:
"How long ago did it start?"
"You may not know," Wu Dajing sighed when this topic came up,
"This ailment of mine is hereditary. My mother also used to have nosebleeds often."
"But did you see a doctor?" Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred upon hearing this.
A terrifying thought crossed her mind. She looked at Wu Dajing, who seemed completely unaware, and asked subtly.
"Just a nosebleed, what's so strange about that..." Wu Dajing was surprised by her question:
"In the countryside, getting injured and bleeding a little is commonplace; there's no need to see a doctor."
Zhao Fusheng saw that his beard was still stained with blood drops, and couldn't help but point to it. He lowered his eyelids, followed her gaze to the bloodstains at the tip of his beard, and quickly wiped them away.
"Your mother didn't have this nosebleed problem in her early years, did she?" Zhao Fusheng asked subtly.
Wu Dajing's palm was stained with blood from his beard, and he subconsciously wanted to wipe it on the carriage wall, but the corner of his eye glanced towards the front of the carriage – Zhang Chuanshi was honestly driving.
But this old man was a bit fierce, having reprimanded him several times before, showing extreme disdain for him.
He timidly retracted his hand, agonized for a while, and then, with a pained expression, wiped the blood from his palm onto the side of his cloth shoe. Only then did he answer Zhao Fusheng's question:
"Early years? No, no." He shook his head repeatedly:
"My mother was always strong and healthy, and didn't have this problem."
"When did the nosebleeds start then?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.
Wu Dajing thought for a moment, looking confused:
"When... My old mother died decades ago..."
But soon, as if remembering something, his eyes lit up:
"But I vaguely remember that my third son was just eight years old that year."
When he said that, Zhao Fusheng remembered something:
"That is, the year Wu Datong's eldest son was born?"
As Zhao Fusheng's words fell, for some unknown reason, her arm itched excruciatingly. She couldn't help but rub her arm vigorously several times through her clothes, until her arm felt a little hot and painful, before the itching finally subsided.
When Wu Datong's 'eldest son' was mentioned, Wu Dajing's expression was momentarily confused again.
Zhao Fusheng simply said:
"You just said that when your third son was seven, Wu Datong was unmarried, and one day he suddenly excitedly said he had found a wife."
Her memory was excellent.
And this matter was related to clues about the ghost case, so no detail could be overlooked. Thus, she had almost firmly remembered Wu Dajing's words and repeatedly replayed them in her mind, fearing she might miss a crucial clue.
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes!"
Wu Dajing, reminded by her, suddenly nodded:
"Adult has an excellent memory."
"A year later, Wu Datong's son was born. Your mother went to help with the delivery, right?" At this point in Zhao Fusheng's questioning, she was already quite certain.
"Yes, yes, yes." Wu Dajing nodded quickly.
"Then your mother passed away not long after Wu Datong's son was born, right?" As Zhao Fusheng's words fell, Wu Dajing nodded vigorously:
"Half a year!" He then clapped his hands together forcefully:
"How could I forget my mother's death date? I'm getting old! Old!"
He sighed twice:
"I remember now, my mother passed away on September 17th, and Wu Datong's son was born on July 31st." He had been struck by the ghost arm, temporarily suppressing the influence of the invisible malevolent spirit, and it seemed to have opened the floodgates of his memory:
"On the day he was born, my mother came back after helping, regretting that –"
At this point, he showed a wary expression, as if there were some things he didn't want to say. But seeing Zhao Fusheng staring intently at him, though she said nothing, her gaze carried a sense of coercion. He sheepishly said:
"These matters shouldn't be spoken of, but now Wu Liren's family has all disappeared, and it's unknown whether they're dead or alive –"
Then, he changed his tone:
"But Adult, can you keep it a secret for me? I'm old, and whether I live or die doesn't matter much, but my family has several generations, over a dozen people – if Wu Liren knew I was spreading rumors about his family, he wouldn't let me off."
With the emperor far away, for people in remote mountain villages, the village chief was akin to a local emperor, capable of deciding the fate of an entire family.
Zhao Fusheng had a premonition that Wu Dajing's next words would be quite important. She said:
"This matter concerns a ghost case; I cannot guarantee complete secrecy in everything, but I can guarantee that Wu Liren will not be able to trouble you or your descendants."
This case was related to malevolent spirits. Wu Liren's family was probably already dead by now; their bodies just hadn't been found yet.
Even if he weren't dead, with Zhao Fusheng's current status, preventing him from retaliating against Wu Dajing's family would be effortless.
"Your word is enough." Wu Dajing, hearing her say this, seemed to have a great weight lifted from his heart, and continued:
"My mother said that on the day this child was born, something strange happened." As he recalled the memory, fear appeared on his face:
"Before that, we hadn't seen Wu Datong's wife, only knew of such a person. Until this time –"
"My mother arrived at his house, and he hid his wife very tightly. The room door was locked, and the windows were all boarded up. At that time, the woman still had a breath left. When my mother went in, she grabbed my old mother's hand and cried out, 'Mother, help me.'"
The lighting was dim at the time, so Wu Dajing's elderly mother didn't get a clear look at her face, but from her voice, she could tell the woman was quite young.
Wu Dajing held out a hand, making a 'two' with his fingers:
"My mother estimated that this girl was no more than twenty years old."
One must know that Wu Datong was quite old at the time, a well-known old bachelor in the village, poor and old, and famous far and wide. Who would marry their young daughter to such a man?
"And though the girl was thin, her hands were very soft, without calluses. My mother then guessed that Wu Datong had probably abducted a young lady from somewhere..."
He sighed:
"My old mother thought so at the time but couldn't press the matter, because the girl's situation was critical. The child hadn't been born yet when she took her last breath."
The adult was gone, so how was the child born?
Zhao Fusheng's eyes flickered. Wu Dajing lowered his voice a little:
"Wu Datong panicked then and cut open his wife's belly with a knife."
This answer was within Zhao Fusheng's expectations, but she still frowned upon hearing it.
Wu Dajing's mother was greatly frightened by Wu Datong's actions at the time. When she regained her senses, it was Wu Datong holding the child, asking her to help.
With such a thing happening, oil lamps must have been lit in the room. Only then did Wu Dajing's old mother clearly see her surroundings.
"The whole room was filled with blood!" Wu Dajing said:
"The child also had problems; its whole body was ice cold, completely unlike a living person –"
Wu Dajing's mother had experience attending to newborns. His own wife had already given birth to three children, and each time, she had assisted the village midwife.
But no matter how she massaged, this newborn child neither cried nor fussed.
"What was strangely peculiar was that the child had its eyes open, and looked alive." Wu Dajing now seemed to recall all the memories from that year, describing some details with exceptional clarity:
"My mother guessed that perhaps because the mother died in difficult childbirth, the child was 'stifled' in the womb for a long time, missing the time for reincarnation, and thus lost its soul?"
He said.
These words were spoken clearly and articulately, no longer as rambling as before. Even Zhang Chuanshi, who was in front, found it somewhat strange and turned to glance at him.
"After that, Wu Datong repeatedly cursed the bad luck and rushed my mother home."
Wu Dajing's old mother was also greatly frightened by him, so she dared not linger and quickly went home.
Later, she sighed: "Saying she was afraid Wu Datong would kill her at that time."
Although this person was someone she had watched grow up since childhood, and she could be considered Wu Datong's elder, as he grew older, Wu Datong's personality became increasingly eccentric.
He had somehow acquired a young wife who couldn't be seen in public, and even when she was pregnant and giving birth, he wouldn't let anyone see her. When the woman died in difficult childbirth, he actually dared to cut open her abdomen to retrieve the child.
"My mother guessed that this girl's identity was unusual," he said. "After that, I didn't hear anything about Wu Datong's child. Instead, not long after, my mother started having nosebleeds, and then took to her bed, never recovering."
Not long after, she passed away.
"After her passing, someone came to the village to ask if anyone had seen a woman, saying that a wealthy family's young daughter from the county had gone missing –"
At this point, Wu Dajing glanced at Zhao Fusheng:
"I remembered my old mother's dying words, and I suspect it might have been this person!"
"Then did you report it?" Zhao Fusheng asked.
Wu Dajing immediately averted his gaze, stammering:
"No, no, I wouldn't dare –" He waved his hands ceaselessly, shaking his head like a rattle-drum:
"The person was well-dressed and very anxious, looking somewhat fierce. I was only guessing; how would I dare stir up trouble? Moreover, this was Wu Datong's family matter, nothing to do with me. How could I interfere in such busybody affairs?"
Zhao Fusheng sneered twice.
Seeing this, he felt somewhat guilty, his lips moving as if to defend himself, but Zhao Fusheng did not dwell on that question:
"What happened next?"
"Nothing after that; how could they find anyone?" He saw Zhao Fusheng return to the original topic, and he couldn't help but feel relieved:
"Although I guessed it was the same person, it was always just a 'guess,' and couldn't be confirmed. Even if it was the same person, after so long, the body would have been buried in the ground already; how could it be found?"
Moreover, at that time, the other party had only investigated and searched village by village, without any evidence. Thus, after routine questioning yielded no results, they quickly left.
Wu Datong had done a good job of keeping it secret before, and in this round of crisis, he didn't reveal any flaws, temporarily escaping disaster.
"Not long after, Wu Datong came to borrow money from me." Perhaps Zhao Fusheng's previous questions made Wu Dajing feel a bit guilty,
and he quickly brought the topic back to Wu Datong:
"He said his old mother was bleeding from spitting, and feared she wouldn't live long.
He wanted to borrow some money, so that if his old mother passed away, he would bury her and then take the child to make a living elsewhere, leaving Goutou Village."
It seemed that the previous visit to Goutou Village by someone looking for a daughter made Wu Datong feel guilty and want to flee his hometown.
Zhao Fusheng pondered:
"Spitting blood endlessly?"
"Not clear." Wu Dajing said:
"The villagers didn't associate with him. After he got a wife, he didn't allow us to go to his house either. Anyway, not long after, his mother died."
He said:
"I lent him some copper coins and helped arrange his mother's funeral. As soon as his mother was buried, he left Goutou Village."
Zhao Fusheng asked:
"Do you know where in Wan'an County he went, and what kind of work he did?"
Wu Dajing said:
"I heard he found a patron in the city. He later had someone bring money back to me and mentioned that the patron was like – like surnamed –" At the critical moment, his memory seemed to become confused again.
Perhaps the power of the ghost arm was too weak to suppress the invisible malevolent spirit, or because he was indeed old, and the events had happened decades ago, he couldn't remember clearly.
But this past event involved a ghost case; Wu Datong's past was the 'cause,' and the disappearance of Wu Liren's family was the 'effect.' If the clue was broken, it would not be favorable for Zhao Fusheng's mission.
Her heart tightened, and just as she was about to speak, Wu Dajing pondered for a long time, as if finally remembering something, and said happily:
"I remember now! He said his patron was surnamed Zhang, and ran a paper effigy shop in the city!"
🚨 Note : Consider to Support this Story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access +300 advance Chapters & 2 Chapters Daily and To Support The Daily Update