Chapter 226: Chapter 194: Sickness Ghost’s Trail

The morning light was dim, and the carriage and horses headed west.

Three tall horses led the way, while a small donkey cart followed behind. Sang Que held the reins, and Xia Chan sat beside her, wrapped in a fluffy fox fur cloak, holding a steaming roasted sweet potato, her face covered in black ashes.

The roasted sweet potato was prepared early by Yu Da for Sang Que and Xia Chan, specifically delivered along with some frequently used materials for Exorcism Witchcraft. He reminded Sang Que to be cautious and not to overstep on the journey.

Xuan Yu disliked the cold, clutching its paws as it lay in the carriage. It had managed to get a soft, snow-white fox fur cushion from He Buning, making its black and shiny fur stand out even more.

Beneath the fox fur cushion was a small red wooden box containing items that Hua Qianmian had secretly delivered this morning. Ten pounds of glutinous rice had already been sold for a thousand taels, with Sang Que receiving six hundred taels.

Ten pounds of glutinous rice less than fifty coins exchanged for six hundred taels from the Deceit Dynasty was a definite profit.

Knowing Sang Que was going on duty, Hua Qianmian exchanged the six hundred taels into various denominations of silver notes, silver ingots, and copper coins for her convenience.

Of course, all this money belonged to Xia Chan. Even though she had passed her four-day period of financial loss, this money would still belong to Xia Chan, preventing future issues.

Sang Que had appointed Xia Chan as the financial manager of their little family this morning. Xia Chan knew this was an important and significant role, felt very happy, and promised Sang Que she would manage the family’s money well.

The box was bundled up with Xia Chan’s hair, and no one could take money without passing through her.

Besides this, Sang Que had taken next month’s salary in advance—five coins per month for a Copper Traveler and ten coins per month for a Silver Traveler.

Sang Que suddenly regretted her decision to donate five coins to the temple; why did she say she’d donate her entire salary for the next month? Now she was promoted and had a raise, but the money still couldn’t be kept.

The journey to Fengning City required passing through Bailong County. The first day went uneventfully, with an overnight stop at a post station. On the second day, they passed a fork in the road, and Sang Que had Xiao Liu drive the donkey cart while she rode Xiao Liu’s horse, speeding towards “Baoguang Temple” to fulfill her vow.

Without stopping, she managed to catch up to He Buning in the middle of the night at the post station, resting for two hours.

At this point, Sang Que had no remaining curses or vows to fulfill, only the gap between her rank and the Heart Lamp needed to be bridged. This could be balanced quickly by handling deceit cases and gaining public recognition of her Silver Traveler status.

While traveling at night, various Evil Spirits approached. Sang Que released the Yin Child to handle these spirits and to complete the trigram of the Yansheng coin.

Once completed, she donned the Night Traveler mask, and those spirits were deterred by the mask’s intimidation, refraining from attacking.

Unfortunately, the copper mirror now held the Golden Child, preventing her from seizing the suicide rope, which was low-level yet handy in critical moments.

Her current Merit Points couldn’t exchange for a similarly tiered item, and the Evil Suppression Bureau had rules requiring captured ghosts to be handed over to the Evil Ghost Bureau. Private retention wasn’t allowed, though one could apply to use items held by the Evil Suppression Bureau for free.

The next day, passing Bailong County, their group didn’t enter but met Qin Ze at the roadside, who had been waiting long.

Qin Ze drove the Corpse Recovery Man, specializing in water-related deceit cases, and had stationed himself in Bailong County until New Year’s Eve to handle abnormalities in the Lake District.

Upon seeing Qin Ze, Sang Que nodded at him from her seat on the donkey cart shaft.

In the bitter cold, even wearing cotton clothes, he was still dripping wet, shivering from the cold wind. The grass leaf in his mouth kept vibrating, and the small wooden dagger at his waist shone from oiling.

“Captain He, here’s the recent six-month list of unhandled deceit cases around Bailong County and the Lake District, sorted by severity as per your previous letter instructions.”

Qin Ze handed He Buning a booklet, and as He Buning browsed, he asked, “Is there any unusual activity over in Pinghu Village?”

Qin Ze shook his head, “No, everything’s normal. I visited recently and during the Cold Clothes Festival and Winter Solstice, several villages around Ping Lake held temple festivals for Qingjiang Envoy. We’re confident Qingjiang Envoy will soon recover to protect Ping Lake’s villages again. Also, everything’s fine with Qiao Ying’s family.”

He Buning nodded and, upon reaching the last page, his expression tightened as if realizing something, prompting him to review it again, focusing on some deceit cases.

“Why weren’t these cases grouped together? They’re all sudden deaths with corpse transformations occurring within a few days of each other. Haven’t you noticed the locations form a line?”

He Buning became a colonel in just six years, not only due to his strength but also his sharp mind and sensitivity to deceit cases, far surpassing the ordinary.

Qin Ze leaned over to study the few deceit cases He Buning pointed out. Viewed alone, encountering Evil Spirits leading to sudden death and corpse transformation was common. Due to differing locations, no one paid extra attention.

But upon He Buning’s remark, as Qin Ze recalled the map, his eyes widened, “These cases lead from Fengye Ridge directly towards Fengning City.”

He Buning glanced at Sang Que, “Last time at the Fengye Ridge bandit lair while capturing Qu Tianhe, he released a Sickness Ghost that could kill just with its coughing sound. Qu Tianhe continually nurtures corpses; those killed by the Sickness Ghost transform into zombies, which fits his profile. Bring out the map.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liu quickly retrieved the map scroll from the saddle pack, opening it with Xiao Wu in front of He Buning.

Sang Que also got down from the donkey cart to check.

Comparing the deceit case locations, He Buning’s finger moved toward Fengning City’s direction, eventually landing thirty miles outside the city at Shikeng Village, at the foot of the mountain.

Xiao Liu shivered all over, “Leader, with Fengning City’s reconstruction, stones are transported from Shikeng Village. It’s not just villagers there; there are also many laborers and craftsmen, at least five or six hundred people.”

Xiao Wu’s expression also turned grave, “The Sickness Ghost can kill with just a cough. If unprepared, these people would die instantly, and after corpse transformation, they’d likely head to Fengning City. Moreover, from the recent Sickness Ghost-caused deceit case location up to Shikeng Village, there’s still Meishu Village in between; it’s worrying…”

“Qin Ze, immediately ensure thorough investigation of these locations’ deceased, making sure all remains are kept clean to prevent summoning a Plague Ghost.”

“Okay!”

“Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, and Sang Er, let’s hurry to Meishu Village!”

Once He Buning issued the order, everyone sprang into action.

Three horses galloped in the lead, while the black donkey pulled the cart to the limit, running as if ready to fly.

The group didn’t stop at the post station but continued traveling, with Xiao Liu and Xiao Wu carrying food and water, accustomed to handling meals on horseback.

Sang Que and Xuan Yu, jostled by the donkey cart, nearly felt sick, unable to eat. Yet Xia Chan sat steadily, eating, drinking, sleeping without delay.

From Bailong County to Meishu Village, crossing the Lake District typically took a caravan or escort agency about seven days. They traveled swiftly for four days, resting only when the horses couldn’t continue, arriving at the nearest post station to Meishu Village.

Every post station in the Xuan Dynasty was strategically planned and built with input from Feng Shui Masters, and apart from special times like Yin Soldiers Crossing, or ghostly nights, Evil Spirits rarely approached post stations.

After resting overnight at the post station, they resumed the journey the next morning. Shortly past noon, they reached the outskirts of Meishu Village.

Before entering the village, the cart-pulling black donkey suddenly stopped, intending to turn tail despite Sang Que’s tugging at the reins.

“Be careful!”

The black donkey’s anomaly triggered Sang Que’s alertness, and as she spoke, two individuals suddenly lunged from the nearby woods, growling like beasts.

Resembling zombies but more agile, their bodies were covered in festering and malodorous sores.

If Sang Que’s judgment wasn’t wrong, these villagers had already become Ghost Slaves to the Sickness Ghost.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep