Chapter 105: People Are No Longer Human

Pan Yueqing let out a couple of soft chuckles after Pan Haiyun stopped her with a smiling rebuke. She took off the wine pouch from her waist and took a sip, temporarily relieving her dry mouth. Then, looking at Su Jing whose face was still pale, she said with a hint of helplessness, "Uncle, if there really were ghosts in this world, that Qian fellow wouldn't be so complacent."

Su Ruoqing sat down beside Pan Yueqing. His expression was very serious. "The situation in the entire Suoyue City is not optimistic." He briefly told them what he had seen and heard when he went to arrest that young man. Seeing Pan Haiyun's frown getting tighter and tighter, Su Ruoqing's voice unconsciously softened.

The yamen guards were stationed at all the major intersections. The moans coming from the alleys sounded as terrifying as the underworld. All these suffering people were the subjects of the Northern Qi. This was the most suffocating part. Lin Shuzhi hammered the table angrily. The iron armor made a dull sound when it hit the wooden table. "I'll go and kill that dog official right now!"

"We have no evidence," Pan Haiyun shook his head and looked up with an unusually calm expression. "We didn't see it with our own eyes. Moreover, even if we did, the common people don't trust us at all. We can persuade one person, but we can't convince a hundred. It would be very easy for Qian Cheng to harm us secretly."

"I can't even kill him. It's really making me angry!" Lin Shuzhi was suddenly extremely furious.

"Regarding this..." Su Ruoqing suddenly spoke up, drawing the attention of the three of them to himself and Pan Yueqing. He exchanged a glance with Pan Yueqing and smiled, saying, "A Yue and I have an idea..."

The next day, Qian Cheng had just woken up. He stretched himself, yawned, and was about to call his beautiful sixteen-year-old concubine to serve him to take a bath. At this moment, the secretary rushed in in a hurry. As soon as he opened the door, he shouted loudly, "Master! Master! Something's wrong! Something's really wrong!"

"What's wrong?!" Qian Cheng was startled by him and quickly turned around, revealing a mouth full of golden teeth.

The secretary was scared out of his wits. He stammered to Qian Cheng, "The courier station... At the courier station... There are ghosts!"

Qian Cheng looked up and saw that the secretary's face was pale with fear. When the concubine beside him heard about the ghosts, she let out a cry of alarm, and a basin of water immediately spilled onto the ground. Upon hearing this, Qian Cheng was somewhat irritated. He slapped the concubine hard, knocking her to the ground, and angrily scolded, "Damn it! What are you panicking for?!" Looking at the secretary, he felt a bit more at ease and asked, "What about Prime Minister Pan and the others?"

"Oh! Master! How can you still care about them at a time like this!" The secretary stomped his feet in a hurry, and his voice even had a hint of sobbing. Qian Cheng hunched over and looked at the secretary with a sinister expression. "Shut up! What are you afraid of? We've done nothing wrong!" When he said this, his eyes were menacing. The secretary was startled by his gaze and nodded timidly, numbly responding with an "Yes".

Qian Cheng's eyes rolled around. He waved his hand and, looking at the secretary who came closer, gave some worried instructions, "Send someone to find a Taoist priest or a master. It's better to be prepared... Be prepared in advance."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Su Ruoqing and Pan Yueqing riding horses passing by the yamen. Pan Yueqing even deliberately turned her head to look at Qian Cheng. Qian Cheng was just a bit stunned. When he came to his senses, he lifted the hem of his clothes and hurriedly rushed out, calling out to the two of them who were riding away on horseback, "You two! What's going on?!"

He still had that obsequious and servile look.

Su Ruoqing stopped his horse, turned around, and cupped his hands in salute to Qian Cheng. Then he said, "Commander Qian, are there any eminent monks or demon-catching Taoist masters in your area?"

Qian Cheng nodded numbly, looking completely confused at Su Ruoqing. "Why are you looking for eminent monks and Taoist masters?"

"There's no time to explain. Just tell me where they are first!" Su Ruoqing's face was filled with great anxiety. As soon as he finished speaking, Pan Yueqing brandished her sword and rode through an alley that was guarded by yamen runners not far away.

Qian Cheng watched as he was blocked by Su Ruoqing and didn't dare to order his men to stop them at all costs. He saw Pan Yueqing turn the scabbard of her long sword and knocked the yamen runner who was holding a long stick to attack. Then she turned around and stabbed, pushing the man back two steps. The yamen runner was in pain and became furious. Pan Yueqing turned around and looked at the yamen runner who rushed forward with a calm expression. She pulled the reins, and the horse turned around. With a posture as if its hooves were treading on the moon, it kicked the leading yamen runner several meters away.

"Isn't Fengxiang Temple in this direction?" Pan Yueqing's three-foot-long sword emitted a cold light, and she spoke calmly to the yamen runners who were hesitant to step forward.

"It's in this direction!" Seeing that the situation was not good, Qian Cheng stepped forward and kicked the yamen runner closest to him. He scolded in a low voice, "You useless thing!" Then he forced a smile at Pan Yueqing and Su Ruoqing who came from behind, saying, "It's in this direction. But there are too many sick people here. I'm afraid it will infect you two young masters. How can I explain this to Prime Minister Pan and the Marquis..."

He was trying to persuade Pan Yueqing and the other to take a detour. Unexpectedly, Pan Yueqing didn't fall for his tricks at all. She whipped the horse and was about to leave without looking back, saying, "My father wants to see you. You'd better go and meet him first!" Her expression was calm, which made Qian Cheng unable to figure her out to some extent. Of course, Qian Cheng didn't want them to go in, but a team of twelve infantrymen who had followed from not far away, holding long spears, had just arrived. This made Qian Cheng, who had some evil intentions in his heart, immediately hesitate to act for fear of causing trouble.

Since Prime Minister Pan had said he wanted to see him, even if he had the courage, he didn't dare not to go.

Qian Cheng paced back and forth in the yamen a few times, and with a gloomy face, he ordered someone to prepare a sedan chair.

After Pan Yueqing and Su Ruoqing recklessly rushed in, when they confirmed that there were no spies following them, Pan Yueqing let out a sigh of relief and stopped in front of a small courtyard that reeked of stench. "This should be their home."

"There are dead people here," Su Ruoqing frowned. The smell of decay was really pungent. Pan Yueqing ignored it and stepped forward to knock on the copper ring on the door. Su Ruoqing dismounted and grabbed Pan Yueqing's hand. "You don't have to go in."

"It's okay. I'm not afraid," Pan Yueqing said indifferently. Just as she finished speaking, the door creaked open. A terrifyingly thin old woman with gray hair showed up through the crack. Because she was so emaciated, her eyes seemed particularly prominent, and she didn't look like a normal person. Before Pan Yueqing could speak, the old woman looked at them extremely guardedly and said, "There's no one here! Stop asking! Get out!"

Pan Yueqing blinked. "Are you the grandmother of this family?"

The old woman sneered. "Where did this stupid kid come from? If I'm not the grandmother of this family, who else could I be?"

"Your grandson didn't come back last night. Do you know that?" Su Ruoqing stepped forward and stood in front of Pan Yueqing.

"Him... Anyway, he's going to die. It doesn't matter where he dies." The old woman's eyes trembled for a moment, showing a flash of sadness and pity, but her words were completely devoid of warmth. Perhaps seeing that Pan Yueqing and the other didn't say anything more, the old woman suddenly became angry. She stretched out her thin hand and grabbed Su Ruoqing's collar. "What! You won't even spare an old woman and a child?!"