Chapter 192: Chapter 164: Key Clue

Without needing Wei Wu to say anything, Yu Da, quick-eyed and quick-handed, already helped Sang Que collect the items from Wei Wu’s hand, along with those on the ground, gathered them all up, and ran in front of Sang Que.

Wei Wu’s eye twitched slightly, leaving no room for regret, as he coldly flicked his sleeve and snorted.

Yu Da said to Sang Que, “These are two Substitute Death Grassmen, along with a Ghost Bracelet and your Token, you should hold onto them first.”

Sang Que expressionlessly opened her satchel, and Yu Da cheerfully placed the items inside, leaving a small black ruler about the length of a forearm and a palm-sized piece of wood in his hand.

Yu Da explained, “This ruler is a Taoist Magical Artifact called the ’Heavenly Gang Ruler.’ All four sides of the ruler are inscribed with Taoist symbols, and it feels like it’s made of Yin Chen wood, capable of repelling evil spirits. Keep it by your side, and it can also absorb the forces of evil erosion.”

Turning back to Wei Wu, Yu Da asked, “Mr. Wei, this ruler should be able to repel a fourth-layer Evil Ghost, right?”

Wei Wu was furious, yelling, “Of course it can!”

Yu Da smiled and said to Sang Que, “Look at these cracks on the Heavenly Gang Ruler; they indicate that the ruler has a limit to how much it can bear. The power will definitely grow weaker with use until it breaks, so you need to be careful. And there’s this.”

Yu Da stuffed the ruler into Sang Que’s bag. The remaining piece of wood had a gap in the middle, like pages of a book that could be opened, containing carvings of two strange-looking people inside, resembling Evil Ghosts—one smiling and one crying.

Upon seeing this, Yu Da’s pupils quivered lightly, prompting the perceptive Sang Que to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“This is a type of Yansheng Technique called ’Connected Branch.’ The wood was carved from the joined part of two trees. The usage…”

Yu Da paused for a moment.

“You apply the blood of two people to the faces of the little figures, and then intertwine the two people’s hair around the wooden piece to link their lives together, allowing the crying figure to bear all the pain for the smiling figure, even death.”

In the Deceit Dynasty, things like blood, hair, nails, and personal belongings are indispensable mediums for performing Yansheng Techniques and curses.

Sang Que was startled upon hearing this, and couldn’t help but glance at Wei Wu.

Despite carrying an assortment of items, he was unwilling to take any risks in imprisoning Evil Ghosts, while also possessing objects like the ’Connected Branch,’ clearly intending to make others die in his place at critical moments.

It’s incredible that such a person could become the Golden Travel Captain, showing just how blind Cui Cheng must be!

Yet, sensing Sang Que’s disdainful gaze, Wei Wu stubbornly asserted, “The life of a Day Traveling Envoy is much more crucial than that of an ordinary person. At critical times, sacrificing an ordinary person to exchange for a Day Traveling Envoy who can solve sinister cases, what’s wrong with that? It’s also for the sake of saving more people.”

Sang Que didn’t wish to speak further, taking the items from Yu Da’s hand and placing them into her bag.

She had no intention of leaving the Evil Suppression Bureau yet. Following proper procedures, this sinister case will eventually be handed over to the Night Traveler division. If He Buning doesn’t return, it might drag on for a few more days, but when things get serious, the Day Travel Captain Cui Cheng would undoubtedly order her to go directly.

Hence, Sang Que couldn’t avoid it; her earlier resignation fuss was merely a tactic to score some benefits.

After all, the meager salary of a Night Traveler simply wasn’t worth risking her life for.

Moreover, she had discovered some clues others hadn’t noticed yet, which would help trace the origin of the Gambling Ghost, a key reason she dared to take on this case.

“You, come over here.”

Sang Que gestured with her blade towards Xue Er and strode towards the opposing gambling den. The three behind-the-scenes owners were still kneeling at the entrance, the exits of the gambling den plastered with talisman papers and surrounded by black dog blood and vermillion.

Xue Er trembled all over, fearing that Sang Que would call him into the den together, but could not defy Wei Wu’s glare.

Yu Da gave Wei Wu a smile and followed along.

Watching their retreating figures, Wei Wu sneered with a snort, “You’ll have to spit out everything sooner or later, just wait and see!”

From across the street, Sang Que inquired of Xue Er.

“Are all those related to the gambling den here?”

By now, Xue Er was impressed with Sang Que entirely and nodded fervently, “The behind-the-scenes owners of the gambling den are just those three, the remaining ones—some muscle and those managing accounts, were… were killed by Mr. Wei.”

Sang Que glanced at the bodies around, frowning slightly, recalling Yu Da’s earlier comments about how, fearing the unchecked freedom to kill by the Evil Suppression Bureau, many weren’t forthcoming with the truth.

Yet, with things being handled this way by Wei Wu, it was impossible to extract information using Yu Da’s friendly approach anymore.

“You three, what’s your shoe size?”

Hearing Sang Que’s inquiry, the three men who were about to faint from kneeling raised their heads in confusion. Two of them visibly enjoyed lives of comfort, bearing portly figures dressed in brocade garments.

The other middle-aged man appeared leaner and somewhat fierce-looking, but in the presence of Wei Wu, who had the power over life and death, he had to kneel obediently.

Sang Que casually thrust the Hundred Victory Saber into the blood pool on the ground. It hadn’t sated its thirst for a long time, and wielding it always brought an insatiable hunger akin to the side effects of Recovery, easily inciting irritability.

With so many bodies around, after a brief silence for the dead, Sang Que made full use of the circumstances.

Retracting her gaze, Sang Que pointed to the slimmer middle-aged man, “Take off his shoes.”

Xue Er didn’t react for a moment, but Yu Da, suddenly recalling something, hurriedly stepped forward to remove the man’s shoes. As the man tried to resist, Sang Que’s blade pressed directly on his neck.

The shoes were taken off, and under Xue Er’s puzzled gaze, Yu Da dipped the shoes in the nearby blood pool before stamping a print on the ground. He then measured it with his hand, retreating three steps in shock.

“It’s you! The person who left footprints in Buiyi Lane was you!”

On hearing this, Xue Er assumed Yu Da was saying the man was the Yin Walker controlling the Thousand-faced Ghost, and he apprehensively stepped back.

Sang Que found it speechless, these people would always step back first in the face of any issue, showing no venture spirit whatsoever.

Moreover, this person wasn’t a Yin Walker at all; he bore no evil spirit aura.

Seeing through the disguise, the man paled with fright, drenched in cold sweat, and turned to kneel before Sang Que.

“Spare me, sir, I didn’t kill anyone, nor did I lead the ghost there. None of this has anything to do with me.”

“Yuan Gui, you son of a bitch!” Wei Wu abruptly charged out, attempting to rebuke the middle-aged man, but before he could finish, Sang Que’s icy gaze turned towards him.

“Why don’t you do it?”

One sentence deflated Wei Wu’s brashness completely. Reluctantly, he lowered the foot poised for a kick, retreated with a snort.

Sang Que looked down at the trembling Yuan Gui, her knife still poised at his neck, “Tell everything thoroughly from start to finish.”

“Yuan Gui, oh Yuan Gui, to think you caused all this.”

“You’ve ruined us!”

The other two middle-aged men lamented and accused bitterly, having suffered due to a suddenly emerged Gambling Ghost.

Yuan Gui dared not further hide now and quickly explained, “I had no choice, all my property was invested in the gambling den. Without the income from the den, my whole family couldn’t even pay the city tax. My two sons were failing their studies, unable to earn any prestigious titles; without money for bribes, they would have to serve in the military or forced labor, and once they leave, there’s no return!”

“Get to the point!” Sang Que muttered quietly.

“Yes, yes, to the point. That night, I was overseeing at the den, too exhausted and fell asleep, only to be awakened by a gust of eerie wind. When I awoke, I found no one in the den and saw a raggedly dressed person exiting the door. I was muddle-headed, and eerily followed suit.”

“Then I saw that gambling ghost reached Buiyi Lane and… killed those people. Afraid that the Evil Suppression Bureau would trace back to the den, I…me…I cut off the faces of the deceased, disguising them as murders by the Thousand-faced God.”

“When did the Gambling Ghost appear?” Sang Que asked.

“I…I don’t know…”

Just as Yuan Gui finished speaking, a flash of blood streaked across his neck, chilling his entire body. Yuan Gui raised his hand to touch his neck and felt blood.

Sang Que spoke deeply, “I’ll ask you one last time, the Gambling Ghost, when and from where did it appear?”

Sang Que’s blade was poised across Yuan Gui’s neck, progressively applying pressure.

Gulp!

Yuan Gui swallowed a nervously fearful gulp, “I’ll tell, I’ll tell everything. It’s the coffin; it’s the coffin in the gambling den. The Gambling Ghost crawled out from that coffin the night before last! It must be that fellow Wu Renxing who turned into the Gambling Ghost!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep