One ask Questions, one Strikes

The next morning, Ying yue was up early, while Zhen yan still remained in his sitting position at the table, intently watching the incense burner.

Only when Ying yue started to leave the room did he get up. After a quick breakfast, Ying yue went to the notice boards that had been set up all over the city. Apart from a few wanted posters, goods on offer and some suspicious-looking black market activities, there was no recognizable information about the wet woman.

Ying yue had expected as much, so her next step was to go directly to the city guard office. The man looked tired, as if he had spent much longer in discussions yesterday. When he saw Ying yue, a shadow flitted across his face. Ying yue put a hand around his fist and bowed, the gesture of respect lighting up the city guard's expression. He sat up straight.

»What can I do for you?« he asked kindly. »This Wei Meng has been pestering me all night, insisting on being allowed to question the farmers and laborers outside the city.« He sighed. »Please don't tell me you doubt that I'm doing my job properly, too.«

Ying yue shook his head. Wei meng and Xueling insisted that evidence might have been suppressed. It was not uncommon for officials to be reluctant to deal with the concerns of the lower classes, but this man did not appear corrupt or unreliable to him. And since things were usually quiet in Shuisheng, he had no reason to want to make his work easier.

»No, I want to see the case from thirty years ago that you mentioned!« he declared. The official's smile froze. He shifted uneasily in his seat. »Is there a problem with that?« Zhen yan asked behind Ying yue's back, catching a warning look. But the man ignored the demon's impertinent behavior and rubbed his forehead with effort.

»Well, not usually. But the missing person who was later found in the Yinhu was a noblewoman,« he hemmed and hawed. Ying yue understood. Without the family's consent, they were not allowed to snoop around in the business of the nobility, even if it was a cultivator of the Bai Clan. He had a cold sweat on his forehead when Ying yue turned around, he realized that Zhen yan, the poor city guard, was almost boiling under his gaze. He pushed the demon out of the room and sat down opposite the man.

»Who would I have to ask to be allowed to see the file?« he asked conciliatorily. The man took a deep breath, but seemed to come to the conclusion that it was better to give him something before the demon walked through the door again.

»This was before my time, excuse me a moment!« he said. Then he began to rummage through the countless rolls and papers. The shelves bent under the weight of the files and in some places the dust swirled when the city guard pulled something out.

»My superior had personally investigated this case. But the longer he looked into it, the more unstable his mental state became. There were even rumors that she had been murdered, but there was even a suicide note that she had written herself.

Her mother identified her handwriting,« he explained. Then he plopped a bound, faded file onto the table. He sat back down at his chair and leafed through the yellowed pages. Then he swallowed and brushed back the strands of hair that had come loose from his braid.

»Chen!« he said softly, then cleared his throat. ‚Chen Qianfan.' Ying yue saw how the young man was twisting. »I assume that Chen Qianfan is not unknown in Shuisheng?« he asked. But the city guard avoided his gaze and stowed the file in a drawer in his desk.

Ying yue followed him with his gaze. It wouldn't be difficult to take the file, but without official permission, anything he uncovered would be null and void. He stood up and bowed to the city guard with a hand clasped around his fist. As he was leaving, Zhen yan caught up with him again.

»How are you going to find him?« the demon asked.

»It won't be that hard. If I'm right, we've already walked past him,« Ying yue replied and led Zhen yan through the alleys and streets she had crossed yesterday after their arrival. And indeed, in a wide side street decorated with colorful fabrics, flags and lanterns, they found what Ying yue had been looking for. In large letters across the opulent entrance was written Yinghua Pavilion, and below that: Owner: Cheng Qian fan.

»A brothel!« Zhen yan summarized. His expression reflected recognition and anticipation, but also embarrassment. Ying yue rolled her eyes. »I'm not surprised that you recognize such an establishment!« he said calmly, but there was also something like displeasure in his tone of voice. »I'm more surprised that you know what such a place is for,« Zhen yan replied.

»Turning to abstinence is essential for a cultivator and not synonymous with stupidity. Of course I know what a brothel is, and I also know the relationship between man and woman. Children don't fall from the sky!« he replied angrily. Zhen yan laughed, but quickly hid his face behind his sleeve.

»So it's not the first time you've visited such a place?« Zhen yan smirked. Ying yue almost tripped over the stairs when he went to knock on the door. His ears had turned a bright red again and there was a delicate pink hue on his cheeks as well when he turned to Zhen yan. »This is purely professional,« he hissed, swallowing the anger the demon sparked in him.

In fact, it wasn't his first time in a place like this. But he had never been as embarrassed as he was now. His head was burning and his heart was racing, and an inner voice smirked that a married man had no business here. He brushed aside all his worries and knocked on the large, winged entrance door. It took several knocks and shouts for the door to be pushed open with a creak.

»It's so early in the morning, neither the girls nor the customers are awake,« complained a stout, corpulent woman. But when she saw Ying yue, all anger was instantly blown away.

»Young sir,« she cooed, pulling him energetically over the threshold. If you prefer to be alone and avoid the hustle and bustle of the evening, I can provide you with a selection of excellent women,« she said conciliatorily, pressing her breasts against his arm.

Zhen yan had entered behind them and gently but firmly released Ying yue from her embrace. With a cold look in his eyes and an even colder voice, he said, »That's not why we're here!« The lady let her gaze slide over Zhen yan and although it was clear that she would have preferred to greet the two as customers, the shine faded from her eyes and the warmth in her voice. When she realized that the two of them were not here for pleasure. She stood in their way.

»Only paying customers are allowed to enter the Yinghua Pavilion. If you are not here for pleasure, then why?« she asked, slightly irritated. Ying yue had a firm grip on Xiaodan and his arms crossed, almost as if he were preparing to defend himself.

»We want to talk to the head of the house, Chen Qian fan!« he said. The skepticism in the eyes of the matriarch was clearly visible to her.

»What is it about? I take care of all the needs of the Yinghua Pavilion myself...«

»It's not about the Yinghua Pavilion, it was just the only clue we had,« Ying yue objected and looked at the woman seriously. The plump little woman seemed to become more and more dissatisfied with him.

»The master greets his important guests every evening, try your luck tonight and now get out of here. If you're not here for fun, then the girls need to rest!« With that, she pushed Ying yue back out just as forcefully as she had dragged him in. A few seconds later, the heavy double doors slammed shut in front of them.

Ying yue rubbed the bridge of his nose when he realized that they were not alone on the street. The young woman who had introduced herself as Xueling yesterday was standing a few meters away from him, looking at him with a frown.

The shabby man had taken up a dismissive position next to her, standing with his legs apart, arms folded, and eyeing the young swordsman disparagingly from top to bottom. Ying yue inwardly groaned. Never before had a visit been so embarrassing.

He had already hunted down an envious and vengeful ghost in one of these establishments on one or two occasions. Most of the time, the resentment remained because the women competed with each other and not infrequently killed each other for well-paying guests who told them the blue of the sky. But no stay had been so unpleasant.

»It's not what it looks like,« he weakly defended himself. Xueling quickly looked elsewhere to hide the blush on her face, Wei meng laughed.

»There's nothing unusual about that, I've met a few cultivators who went hunting for a piece of ass,« he laughed uproariously, putting a suggestive spin on the word ‚hunting.' Ying yue took a deep breath. »Believe what you want, why are you here?« he asked. Wei meng's eyes darkened. ‚Why should I share the fruits of my labor with you?' he snapped.

»Labor?« Zhen yan replied, now interfering, and his gaze slid over Wei meng to the sign above the double doors. The man blushed with anger.

»There are no missing and/or drowned persons in

the surrounding fishing and farming families,« Xueling replied. ‚There is only one young girl who disappeared about a month ago, but we have received a tip about where she might be.' She pointed to the Yinghua Pavilion.

»Xueling!« Wei meng reprimanded her harshly. Xueling hung her head, but defended herself.

»Wouldn't it be more effective to work together instead of against each other?« she asked, looking back and forth between Wei meng and Ying yue. Ying yue considered this for a moment. The city guard was right, there were no unresolved missing persons cases and it would indeed be wiser to work together than to stand in each other's way.

Since Xueling had already shared her findings, Ying yue had no choice but to respond if he wanted to maintain the rules of courtesy. He clasped his hand around Xiaodan and bowed slightly.

»Bai Yingyue!« he introduced himself. »I am investigating the latest case of a woman who drowned in Yinhu. However, I need the consent of her family. Chen Qianfan!« he answered, pointing to the engraving of the shopkeeper.

Xueling's gaze lingered on the young man, a slight blush spread over her cheeks and Ying yue also scrutinized her cautiously. Up close, she seemed even younger, maybe nineteen? She had tied her hair up in a braid and swapped her colorless hanfu for a black martial robe.

Only now did he notice that the two curved daggers on her sides were connected by a long silver chain around her waist. The name Shengsi was engraved on the broad blade. Zhen yan pushed his black mop of hair into her field of vision and gave Xueling a cold look, feigning friendliness. »Zhen yan,« he introduced himself coolly and distantly. ‚We are married,' he remarked proudly.

»Nonsense!« Ying yue hissed and pushed him back to his position, three steps behind him. Xueling frowned in confusion. Wei meng, on the other hand, gave her a sidelong glance that said nothing would surprise him anymore. Finally, he took a deep breath.

»A friend of the girl who disappeared without a trace a month ago told us that she took a job at the Yinghua Pavilion. If that's true, we've lost our lead,« he admitted. ‚But why are you reopening a case from thirty years ago? Even if the drowned woman had held a grudge, surely it would have dissipated by now?' he asked.

»First, we have to rule out the most obvious solutions,« Ying yue replied. »There are cases in which deceased people have only vented their resentment much later. Even if thirty years is a long time. If a stranger who was only visiting had drowned in the Yinhu, there would be no reason to attack the local fishermen. A visitor could not have such a deep grudge against the people of Shuisheng,« he said.

»It would be more likely that an old dead person has awakened,« agreed Wei meng.

»What now?« Xueling asked. It was clear that she was asking whether or not she would work with them. Wei Meng took a long look at the young swordsman and the demon standing behind him. Ying yue returned his gaze.

»There's no harm in working together. We'll make faster progress that way, and once other cultivators arrive, declaring the case a night hunt will cost us our reward. I'd rather share with four than with two dozen,« Wei Meng snapped at last. Ying yue nodded.

»We should still work more effectively in teams and meet here again tonight. We'll talk to Chen Qian Fan and then see what happens!« he suggested.

»What are you planning?« Wei meng asked.

»I'll ask the farmers and fishermen about the case from thirty years ago. Even without the family's consent, they often talk. They don't care about the rules of the upper class any more than the nobility cares about the peasants,« Ying yue explained. Wei meng relaxed a little.

»We will accompany the fishermen who go out today and provide escort protection. They are afraid, but if they stop working, their families would starve,« said Xueling. After they had discussed the matter, they set off.

The city was large, but Bai Yingyue found his way through the network of streets and alleys with ease, and finally followed a narrow stone path with a low wall that led out of the city and down to the rice fields. His dark blue robe, with silver embroidery, billowed with every step.

Before he began the interrogation, Xueling and wie meng took their leave and continued down the path to the fishing boats that were moored to the jetties. They were greeted with vigorous arm waving. Ying yue tapped a wooden fence with his sword, attracting the attention of an old woman who was weaving baskets and hadn't even looked up.

She gave the young cultivator a scrutinizing look and looked at the great demon behind him with contempt. Even though Zhen yan behaved in an exemplary fashion and smiled kindly, most people felt uncomfortable and overwhelmed by his presence when he was around.

»Madam,« Ying yue greeted her kindly and even managed a polite smile. Zhen yan craned his neck when Ying yue's mouth curved upwards, but he was ignored by him. Visibly disappointed, the demon slumped his shoulders. »Madam, we are investigating the case of the wet woman and have questions about the drowned woman from thirty years ago. Do you know anything about it?«

Ying yue asked. The woman snorted and jerked her head, but she didn't deign to speak to them; only when they had walked on and were almost out of earshot did she mutter mockingly, »The Lords Cultivators are coming, hear me, we are saved!« Zhen yan turned around once more and gave them a look with a hint of murderous darkness before turning back to Ying yue.

»Shouldn't she be a little more grateful? Or does she think that just because her husband is a rice farmer, he is safe?«

»We are not necessarily welcome everywhere. Since the cultivators have dedicated themselves to the goal of immortality and have committed themselves to the advancement and mastery of qi as well as physical and mental abilities, they increasingly set themselves apart from ordinary mortals. People are afraid, mostly of what seems unnatural and abnormal to them, and even though we are well-respected and held in high regard, not everyone looks at us with kindness,«

Ying yue replied without turning around. »They're jealous!« Zhen yan summarized briefly and snorted as he took a last look at the woman who was openly looking after them with envy. They walked on when Ying yue stopped in front of a house where a group of women had gathered in the courtyard. They laughed and divided the work among themselves while they gossiped.

He knocked on the fence again and bowed, and again they looked suspicious, but they were also clearly fond of them. When he repeated his question, two of the older women exchanged a meaningful look.

»That was a long time ago, we were still young girls ourselves back then, I don't remember,« one of them waved off. One of the younger women raised an eyebrow.

»You can remember every rumor before you were born, but not...« someone quickly covered her mouth.

»We're sorry, Gongzi, but I'm afraid we can't help you!« the second called, giving the cheeky young woman a head-butt. Ying yue didn't let go of the matter so easily. He had stepped close to the fence and let his eyes glide over the women.

»The longer you remain silent, the more victims there will be,« he said. The women looked at each other guiltily, but silently agreed not to say anything. Even without an answer, their behavior clearly showed that the nobility wanted to cover up the events of that time. Someone had spared no effort to make sure that no one spoke about it even thirty years later.

So it couldn't possibly have been a simple accident. An elderly lady with deep wrinkles on her face, gray hair and a milky eye stood up. She had been peeling sugar cane with practiced hands. With heavy steps she shuffled to the fence and held out a freshly peeled cane to Ying yue.

»Take it, young man, and then please go. We have nothing to tell you!« she said in a hoarse voice. Perplexed, Ying yue took the cane from her. »At least not now,« she added more quietly, then shooed him away with a sideways glance. A crash coming from the Yinhu startled her. Only the old lady didn't look up. She turned to the other women.

»What are you so jumpy about, you old women?« she laughed. »The Youxia are fighting the Wanglian in the Yinhu!« she said and waved them off. Ying yue and Zhen yan exchanged glances. After walking halfway around the house, they were able to see from their elevated position how Xueling and Wei meng, each in their own narrow boat, were fighting ugly mutant monsters made of tangled seaweed, limbs, and fangs, flanking the larger fishing boat.

Ying yue bit absently into the sugar cane while he watched the same and yet different fighting techniques of the two.

Wei meng was rough, with fierce sweeping blows, he cut most of the Wanglian with one stroke of his saber. The boat he was standing on lurched dangerously and made waves that spilled over the edge. He doggedly pierced the water surface and separated limbs from slippery seaweed. Although Xueling displayed a similar doggedness, her fighting style was more elegant and she did not expend as much energy.

Her boat swayed gently back and forth as she let her daggers, connected by a chain, glide through the air and water. Nevertheless, she too sent arms, legs and heads flying.

A thick, lazy fog spread out from the island in the middle of the lake and slowly crept over the water surface. Xueling slid her daggers one after the other into the dense white mass and pulled them out at the same time. An icy layer had spread over the blade. She shouted something to Wei meng, who looked up and glimpsed Xueling, the fishing boat and the fog.

Finally, he signaled that they should retreat. The mortal fishermen would probably not survive for long within the fog, so the two retreated for the time being. As soon as they had begun to retreat, the fog slowed until it was only a swirling mass around the island. The remaining Wanglian stuffed the remains of their colleagues into their mouths and dived back down, chewing.

Ying yue ran down the path to the jetties and helped the fishermen tie up their boats. Wei meng swore as he ran his boat aground on the pebbly beach, and was soon covered in black, sticky blood.

»These are no ordinary water spirits!« he grumbled. ‚I've never seen anything so stubborn and ugly!' Xueling leaped out of her boat before it hit the shore, too, and tied the rope carefully to one of the pegs rammed into the ground.

Just as she waded out of the water, one of the water spirits crawled over Wei ming's boat and prepared to jump, but before it could bite the man's bare leg, one of Xueling's daggers skewered it from head to toe.

The burly, muscle-bound man didn't even look at the collapsed creature. Xueling pulled her thigh-bone long dagger out of the earth and hurled the corpse back into the water with a jerk. Immediately, hands and writhing seaweed appeared, pulling the remains back down with them, chewing and smacking their lips.

»They're surprisingly large!« Ying yue remarked and picked up one of the severed seaweed leaves. He smelled it. A putrid sweetness rose in his nose and spread to his taste buds. He coughed and tossed the piece of seaweed aside.

»It's mutated!« Zhenyan stated. The fishermen had fled from their boat onto the shore, Xueling bowed briefly before running after them to calm them down. Wei meng just grunted, but then ran after them, leaving Ying yue and Zhenyan to their own devices on the beach.