Chapter 18 Undercurrents

The fat man couldn't help but shudder. Even Mr. Zhang was untrustworthy? He still remembered that on the night the haunted incident occurred in the inn, it was Mr. Zhang who saved them.

"Perhaps it's all an act. Don't worry about it," Jiang Cheng said, glancing at the fat man, knowing what he was thinking.

"Zhu Jie and Tang Qisheng don't show anything for now, but they may be lying in wait, waiting for an opportunity."

It took a long time for the fat man to recover. Jiang Cheng's calm tone gave him confidence. He comforted him, "Don't worry too much, Doctor. We will investigate everything thoroughly. I believe in you!"

"Even if there's something wrong with those few, we still have four people. Four against four, we won't be at a disadvantage."

The fat man's intention was to cheer Jiang Cheng up, but Jiang Cheng suddenly withdrew his gaze and looked at him. The unfamiliar expression in his eyes made the fat man's heart tremble.

The emotion in his eyes vanished in an instant. The fat man was a very sensitive person, and he could clearly perceive the complexity of Jiang Cheng's mood.

Jiang Cheng's first reaction upon hearing those words was disappointment, but when he realized that it was the fat man who said them, the disappointment turned into deep worry.

The fat man belatedly realized what was happening, and couldn't help but slowly widen his eyes as he looked at the silent compartment, "You don't mean Li Bai and the others..."

"It's not impossible," Jiang Cheng interrupted the fat man, his tone becoming firm and unfamiliar. "These two haven't been in contact with us for very long, and they also appeared in the Xixieming Mountain spiritual incident at the same time."

The fat man fell silent upon hearing this. He lowered his head, looking at his shoes. Li Bai had bandaged the wound on his face, and Li Bai had helped him change the dressing.

As for Yao, Shun, and Yu, there was no need to mention them. They had risked their lives to help him several times. He could completely feel their friendship. If all of this could be faked, then he really couldn't believe what was real, what... couldn't be faked.

Seeing that the fat man was silent, Jiang Cheng understood what he was thinking, and comforted him after a while, "These are all just my guesses. There is no more direct evidence at present. I can also feel Li Bai, Yao, Shun, and Yu's kindness to us, but this time the situation is different. This is the new president's world, and it's specially designed to deal with us. I must be very careful."

There was another sentence that Jiang Cheng didn't say. In order to take care of the fat man's feelings, he would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. Just like what Shao Tong said, this was a road of no return, and they had to do their best.

"I understand," the fat man raised his head, his expression full of determination, as if he had changed into a different person. "I fully support your actions. I know it's been very difficult for you, Doctor. I can only help you to a limited extent, but I won't hold you back."

"I'll always be on your side," the fat man said firmly after a pause.

Jiang Cheng reached out and patted the fat man's shoulder, then nodded, "Let's go back."

The sky was completely bright, the darkness was dispelled, and a new day had finally arrived. Hope was a luxury in such a place, but no one ever gave up chasing it.

After calming down for a moment, the fat man pushed open the door of the compartment and chatted with Jiang Cheng by the table.

Before long, everyone woke up one after another, and they didn't mention the matter of the three leaving the compartment not long ago, as if they were all fast asleep and didn't know anything at all.

There were footsteps outside the door, and soon they reached the door.

"Have all the masters rested well?" The voice outside the door was very young, and it sounded somewhat familiar if one listened carefully. "The Marquis asks all of you to come over. He said he wanted to explain some things before the masters depart."

A relatively young man was standing outside the open door. The man looked good and was dressed appropriately, not like an ordinary servant.

"You are..."

Looking at this face, it was a bit familiar. After a while, Jiang Cheng and the others realized that this man had appeared next to General Yuwen before.

The man bowed to everyone and said politely, "The masters have a good memory. This humble one is under General Yuwen's command and had the honor of seeing the masters' demeanor."

His words were beautiful, but Jiang Cheng didn't care much about them. Instead, he asked, "Is the Marquis asking us to set off now? Should we pack our things here?"

The man nodded repeatedly, "The masters can do as they please. I don't really understand the masters' rules, but once you leave the gate of this courtyard, you probably won't be coming back."

"The masters don't want to come back either, do they?"

Looking at the man's smiling face, the fat man couldn't help but be a little wary. The other party obviously knew something, and the more he looked at this smiling face, the faker it seemed, as if it had been painted on.

Everyone began to pack their things. Li Bai packed the necessary medicinal herbs, then tied the package to his body. Yao, Shun, and Yu hid the map, as well as a few books, all of which were old books he had found from bookstores, related to the Chun Shen Lake or the nearby humanities and geography, as well as some anecdotes and strange stories.

There were few unfounded things in the missions, and these anecdotes and strange stories were likely to contain some clues, which they still needed to carefully distinguish.

After doing these things, the group followed the man through layers of guards and came to a familiar courtyard.

Zhu Jie observed as he walked. The mansion was like two different worlds during the day and night. Last night, they were tormented by ghosts, but no one appeared, not even a sound. But in the blink of an eye, it was dawn, and these servants and guards suddenly emerged from who knows where.

They had been to this courtyard before. Inside was the residence of the Marquis of Zhennan.

But this time they were stopped again. General Yuwen, with a saber at his waist, stood in front of the courtyard gate. There were also several fierce-looking guards nearby, all of whom were unfamiliar faces.

Everyone became more vigilant, but their expressions remained normal. Jiang Cheng cupped his fist at General Yuwen and said politely, "General Yuwen, we are here to see the Marquis on the Marquis's orders."

General Yuwen smiled freely, "Masters, the Marquis was feeling unwell just now. The physician who came to treat him told him to rest. I can just tell you what needs to be said."

Although they knew that something was wrong, everyone still didn't dare to make any rash moves. These soldiers with sabers all emanated a fierce aura, and they didn't seem like ordinary guards.

"I just received a report saying that something happened at the ancestral hall. Do you... know about this?" General Yuwen narrowed his eyes, his gaze becoming sharp.

But Jiang Cheng and the others were also old hands, and they all pretended to be shocked, "The ancestral hall... what happened there?"

"That woman, she's dead."

"Dead?" Li Bai's face was pale, and it was unclear whether he was shocked or just hadn't rested well.

"How could this be? She was fine when we left last night," Zhu Jie also chimed in.

"We also found a corpse in the ancestral hall. The corpse was very strange, packed in a bamboo basket, limbs broken, a very miserable death," General Yuwen's voice was cold.