Chapter 1 What Do You Think?

Seeing the puzzled expressions on Jiang Cheng and the others' faces, Lu Qin asked, "What do you think of this courtyard?"

Recalling the white lanterns hanging in a row along the corridor, the fatty couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. "Those white lanterns are quite scary, like the ones used for funerals. Could it be… could it be someone died in the Marquis's residence too?"

"You guys came in later, and it was already completely dark, so you might not have seen the layout of the courtyard clearly. But we saw the green bricks and tiles, the winding paths leading to secluded spots. Even in the entire Marquis's residence, the scenery here is top-notch, and it exudes a gentle charm everywhere."

"And this room, look at the layout here, the bed, the table, the embroidery on the screen, and the carvings and workmanship of the wooden furniture…"

Following Lu Qin's guidance, the fatty and the others began to pay attention and carefully examine the room. After this inspection, the doubts in their hearts deepened even further. "This is a woman's room?" Yao Shunyu suddenly said.

"It's the entire courtyard, tailor-made for a woman." Zhu Jie corrected, "And this woman is very important to the Zhennan Marquis. Even if she's not his primary wife, she must be one of his beloved concubines."

Jiang Cheng stroked the wooden table with its glossy surface, then walked to a wooden bed, bent down, and carefully examined the edges of the bed. After a moment, he straightened up, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Seeing this scene, Tang Qisheng, who was sitting at the table, suddenly said, "You can't figure out why this furniture is so new, right?"

Jiang Cheng looked at him, nodded, and said with a hint of caution in his steady tone, "It is indeed very strange. This courtyard looks like it's been built for years, but these furniture pieces, apart from looking a bit old, are actually new. There's no obvious wear and tear on them, which means no one has lived here since it was built. So, why go to the great expense of building this courtyard?"

Before one wave subsided, another rose. Tang Qisheng stood up, walked to the back of the door, pointed outside, and said, "Did you notice the road leading to this room when you came?"

"Don't you think this road is too long and too straight?" Tang Qisheng asked two questions in a row, clearly implying something.

In Jiang Cheng's impression, this kind of graceful residential architecture usually emphasized compact layout and exquisite construction, with twists and turns everywhere, stacking rocks and planting trees to achieve the effect of a different scene at every step, and a painting at every ten steps. But as Tang Qisheng said, the road leading to their room was too straight and too long, creating an obvious sense of separation from the style of the entire courtyard.

Because they were too rushed when they came, and the sky was dark, they had overlooked this point.

Zhang Qizheng walked to Tang Qisheng's side and looked in the direction he was pointing, as if he could see the scene outside directly through the door. After a few seconds, Zhang Qizheng seemed to have thought of something, frowned, and blurted out, "It's a Wubei Xiang (dead-end alley)!"

"That's right, it's a Wubei Xiang. This isn't an architectural mistake, but a feng shui layout set up by an expert, with the purpose of channeling all the evil energy of the entire house into this room."

Tang Qisheng clenched his fists, his face showing unwillingness. He was also careless. He didn't realize this until after he had moved into this room. The other party's level was very high. From the outside, it was almost impossible to find any flaws. Only by looking out from this room after actually entering it could you see the subtlety of the layout.

The fatty was confused by what he was hearing. Fortunately, Li Bai saw the fatty's embarrassment and helped him explain: "The so-called Wubei Xiang, also known as a dead-end alley, is a type of feng shui layout, referring to a house at the end of an alley, with only one road, and it's straight and directly facing the house."

"Feng shui emphasizes that the road leads to smooth qi, smooth qi leads to rising luck, while Wubei Xiang represents no way to go, and the end of vitality, violating the dead-end evil in feng shui taboos. It will cause the evil energy of the entire alley to directly impact the house. In minor cases, it will lead to financial loss, illness, and bad luck. In severe cases, it will attract some evil things that can only limp and drag their feet in a straight line, and then there will be a bloody disaster."

Hearing this, the fatty felt a cold wind blowing behind his head. He didn't expect that such a straight road could have so many interpretations. But that wasn't the end of it. Zhang Qizheng continued, "This feng shui layout of Wubei Xiang also has different levels of danger. The more depressed the place, the heavier the evil energy. For example, the Wubei Xiang formed in places like mass graves and cemeteries is even more dangerous. The most dangerous is also known as Juehu Xiang (family extinction alley)."

"Fortunately, although our place is not very popular, with only a few of us, it is not a cemetery after all, so… so as long as we are careful, nothing will happen, right?" The fatty said with a bitter face. He didn't know if he was analyzing the current situation or comforting himself.

Suddenly, a voice floated over faintly, "That's not necessarily true. Don't forget that dead baby blood was splashed on the maze we came through. This courtyard… driving a few living human stakes into the ground wouldn't be too much, would it?" Shao Tong showed a creepy smile, tiptoed, and tapped the ground with his toes one by one, "Maybe there are some under here."

Hearing this, the fatty's face changed, and the faces of Tang Qisheng and the others also became ugly. Everyone seemed to be looking at Shao Tong's feet. How could such a joke be made casually?

Zhu Jie, who had long been dissatisfied with him, was the first to speak, "Shao Tong, watch your mouth, be serious. No one is in the mood to joke with you. I don't care if you're a night watchman or from some organization, here, you have to abide by the rules here. We're all in the same boat. If you kill us, you won't survive either."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Zhu Jie successfully pushed Shao Tong to the opposite side of everyone, and by the way, insinuated him, linking him to the night watchman, which meant that Shao Tong and Lu Qin came together.

Originally, Zhu Jie had already prepared to fall out with Shao Tong. After all, on the night Gao Yanqing died, Shao Tong and Lu Qin seemed to have seen a scene they shouldn't have seen. But who would have thought that Shao Tong, who had just had a weird smile on his face, would suddenly become cowardly? It wasn't cowardly, but rather he started acting shamelessly, "Okay, okay, since you're not happy, I, the Daoist, won't say anything. What's the point of me, a chanting Daoist, arguing with you? I'm a monk, and monks don't lie."

What was all this?

Zhu Jie couldn't figure out what kind of background this Shao Tong had, but there were more important things to do right now. In short, whether he admitted it or not, his goal had been achieved. He had tried to break through this layer of window paper and sow the seeds of doubt. The others here were not fools either, and they would naturally weigh the relationship between Lu Qin and Shao Tong.

Suddenly, everyone stopped talking. A series of light footsteps sounded outside the door.