Chapter 249: Chapter 217: Evil Ghost Bureau

As soon as Sang Que entered Half a Day’s Leisure, the young attendant’s eyes lit up, and then he pretended to be busy cleaning tables and sweeping as if he didn’t recognize her.

Yu Da was also happy to see Sang Que return, but his first question was whether she had brought back any local specialties, to which Sang Que awkwardly shrugged.

She was down to her last seven copper coins in Tianliang City, not even enough to buy a bowl of meat soup, let alone any specialties to bring back.

Yu Da, having worked all morning, just started his lunch. Sang Que chatted with him a bit; nothing unusual had happened in the city lately, just the occasional strange event quickly identified and resolved, and nothing like the Gambling Ghost incident had happened again.

This was mainly because, after the Gambling Ghost incident, Cui Cheng reformed all the Day Traveling Envoys, significantly increasing their efficiency, making the city more stable.

After finishing lunch with Yu Da, Sang Que went with him to visit Granny Zhuang.

Granny Zhuang indeed showed symptoms of dementia, looking dazed and muttering names of bizarre cases Sang Que had never heard, which Yu Da said were past city events that probably few apart from Granny Zhuang still remembered.

During this time, Wei Ziyan had been by Granny Zhuang’s side, caring for her. She usually handled sacrificial matters at the Merit Office and wasn’t particularly busy.

Since the beginning of this year, Wei Ziyan had been gradually taking over the archives Granny Zhuang managed. She would officially take charge next year without issue, though she didn’t possess Granny Zhuang’s great memory and needed two helpers.

Wei Ziyan rarely went out or interacted with others, so it was only Sang Que’s third time meeting her today.

After chopping wood and sweeping snow at Granny Zhuang’s house, Sang Que and Yu Da prepared to leave.

Just then, Granny Zhuang, instead of resting, suddenly rushed out of the house, stubbornly clutching the doorframe, shaking her head and shouting.

“I won’t sleep. If I sleep, I won’t wake up. My son is back. He came to see me. I have to wait for him. I won’t sleep!”

Seeing this, Wei Ziyan sighed helplessly, “Granny causes a scene like this every day. She hasn’t closed her eyes for two days, holding on, unwilling to sleep, waiting for her son to come back. A few days ago, she even mistook Kou Er for her son and only slept after holding Kou Er’s hand.”

Kou Er is actually Kou Yushan. He has an older sister, making him second in the family.

Wei Ziyan continued, “But Granny can only sleep for less than an hour before being frightened awake by nightmares. With her handling bizarre case files often and having such a good memory, she frequently has nightmares, relying on calming soup over the years. Her current state may be due to overusing calming soup.”

All medicine is toxic to some extent, perhaps this is the price Granny Zhuang pays for her extraordinary memory.

As dusk approached, Sang Que parted ways with Yu Da at the street corner, as Yu Da continued his patrol.

Sang Que returned to her small courtyard, waiting for Hua Qianmian to visit.

*

At that time, deep within the Evil Suppression Bureau’s underground.

He Buning descended step after step downwards, surrounded by darkness, with only the torches on the stone walls illuminating a small area. The bone-chilling cold and oppressive gloom gave him a sensation akin to entering the Nine Netherworld.

Upon reaching the deepest part of the underground, two stone doors appeared before He Buning. Various fierce evil spirits were carved on them, lifelike, as if twisting and struggling in the flickering torchlight, sending shivers down anyone’s spine.

“Night Travel Captain He Buning requests an audience with General Cao.”

He Buning called out loudly outside the stone doors, his voice echoing and gradually twisted, resembling ghostly wails.

Shortly after, the stone doors opened from the inside, opened by a prison guard of the Evil Ghost Bureau, with a bloody “slave” character on the right side of his cheek.

Most of those who became prison guards in the Evil Ghost Bureau were death row inmates from various places. They were branded by General Cao with a Ghost Slave Seal, destined to spend their lives underground.

If any of the evil ghosts’ seals loosened, they would be the first to die.

He Buning walked inside, flanked by cells along a damp path. The cell pillars were mainly made of Thunderstruck Wood inscribed with talismans, and the floors and walls were great blocks of Ten Victory Stone.

Every cell door had a prison guard standing by. The guards looked pale, lifeless, their breathing the only indication they were not dead.

The cells housed various items, including broken wine jars, farming hoes, dressing tables with talismans, and blood-stained swaddles emitting cries of infants.

He Buning kept his eyes down, daring not to look or listen too much, quickening his pace toward the depths.

The underground of the Evil Ghost Bureau was arranged in an Eight Diagrams pattern, each setup purposeful. Upon reaching the central position, a desk was placed at the crossroads of several paths.

A middle-aged man in a scholar’s robe, with a goatee, held a candle in one hand and a brush in the other, painting and writing poems with ink on paper.

At a first glance, nothing seemed wrong, but upon closer inspection, a ghastly white hand reached out from the darkness, holding the man’s wrist as he painted.

On the ground, many discarded paintings were scattered, the ink-rendered figures on them turning their heads to reveal terrifying faces, all looking at He Buning.

This was the Yin Walking General stationed in Qinzhou, Cao Huiyuan. Although his title was general, he was a scholar by nature; Huiyuan wasn’t his real name but a title he earned as the top scorer in the Spring Examination. Since then, he had always been called Cao Huiyuan.

Since the battle in Fengning City, when he failed to contain the Yin Child and got severely injured, falling from Sixth Level to Fifth Layer, he’s been confined in the Evil Ghost Bureau.

He could suppress the spirits in the Evil Ghost Bureau, and the evil aura of those ghosts could suppress the spirit he controlled, preventing it from backfiring and killing him.

His Heart Lamp and hierarchy were not yet balanced, requiring more incense from the Day Travel and Night Travel members to maintain himself.

Only He Buning and Cui Cheng were aware of this matter within the Wangshan Town’s Evil Suppression Bureau.

“General Cao, the end-of-year Xunzhou patrol has concluded…”

He Buning briefly informed Cao Huiyuan about what happened during the Xunzhou patrol.

Cao Huiyuan continued painting, but upon hearing about the ghost eye missing in Tianliang City, his hand trembled, ruining a painting instantly.

He looked up at He Buning, “Did you see the Yin Child?”

He Buning remained expressionless, “No.”

Cao Huiyuan put down his pen. He had access to the Yin Child matter, so he knew things He Buning didn’t.

Now he suspected the Yin Child had been welcomed back by the barbarians in Yunzhou. Two ghost eyes were enough for the Yin Child to return to Fourth Layer, making her capture afterward difficult.

Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. Having just returned from inspecting Xunzhou, Cao Huiyuan did not reprimand He Buning, merely instructing, “Tomorrow is the New Year’s Eve sacrificial ceremony. Make sure to check the city gates and ensure everything is in order.”

Special Eight Diagrams Mirrors were installed on the city gates of Wangshan City, preventing outside evil spirits and ghosts from entering, though they couldn’t stop Yin Walkers from passing.

Cao Huiyuan and He Buning exchanged questions and answers about the Xunzhou patrol details. He Buning then took his leave.

Before leaving, He Buning saw the coffin holding the Gambling Ghost, placed in a nearby cell.

He previously thought the capture process seemed too smooth, as if something was amiss. Now, knowing Sang Que controlled the Yin Child, it no longer seemed strange.

Upon leaving the Evil Ghost Bureau, the winter sun’s warmth dispelled the underground cold, but He Buning still went straight to inspect the city gates without resting.

He also wondered if Sang Mulan had returned. If she couldn’t make it for New Year’s Eve, he’d bring Xia Chan to stay with him and Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu for the night watch.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep