"Strange incidents"?
Lu Yuan was first startled, then said somewhat strangely,"What strange incidents?"
Auntie Qin's jade hand waved lightly, seemingly also troubled by those chaotic rumors.
"There are many, all kinds of messy things that popped up during this time."
"First, the big butcher shop in the west of the city reported to the authorities."
"They said that overnight, all the fresh pork and mutton in the warehouse was covered with a layer of grayish-white strange frost that couldn't be wiped off no matter what."
She paused, lowering her voice a few notches.
"The meat stank to high heaven, smelling worse than if it had rotted."
"What's even more sinister is that all the workers who entered the warehouse developed high fevers that same day, speaking delirious nonsense continuously."
Butcher shop?
Lu Yuan frowned in thought but didn't make a sound.
Auntie Qin pursed her full red lips, recalling as she spoke, "There are also some small merchant households who say that in the middle of the night they can always hear uniform door-knocking sounds, like people lining up outside."
"Mixed with the knocking sounds are the crackling of abacus beads."
"The next day, these merchants either had errors in their account books or customers coming to return goods."
"Or else clerks got injured. In short, nothing went smoothly."
Hearing these descriptions, Lu Yuan fell into contemplation.
These things all sounded inseparably related to the word "fortune."
Auntie Qin looked at Lu Yuan, those seductive eyes carrying more solemnity.
"Many such sinister incidents have occurred in the city, all starting to break out intensively during the time after Zhao Qiao'er returned."
"Although on the surface it has nothing to do with her, but... this is too much of a coincidence."
When things are abnormal, there must be demons.
Lu Yuan deeply agreed with Auntie Qin's words. He looked up and asked, "Didn't White Cloud Temple send Daoist Masters to look into it?"
Auntie Qin immediately nodded, her voice sweet yet clear.
"Of course they did."
"But these things only happened recently. The Daoist priests from White Cloud Temple are also investigating, it's just..."
She shook her head.
"Haven't heard that they've discovered anything."
Lu Yuan fell silent again then was this related to Auntie Qiao'er's matter?
From what he could see currently, it really didn't seem so.
Moreover, if these strange incidents suddenly occurring weren't coincidences, there really was someone manipulating things behind the scenes but just looking at these two incidents, it shouldn't be the Life-Severing Family's doing, right?
It seemed more like the work of the Fortune-Handling Family...
Fortune-Handling, specializing in prying into and finely adjusting destiny and fortune.
What was all this, such a mess!
As Lu Yuan's thoughts tangled into a mess, a piercing night wind swept by, the bone-chilling cold suddenly bringing Lu Yuan back to his senses.
He turned back and saw Auntie Qin's little face frozen red in the cold wind, breathing white air while rubbing her hands.
Only then did Lu Yuan notice she was wearing far too little.
She only wore a gray cloak on the outside that barely covered her hips.
Her upper body looked warm, but those voluptuous beautiful legs wrapped in glossy black stockings were completely exposed to the cold wind.
Especially those open-toed high heels, clearly a summer style.
"Tss!"
Lu Yuan felt cold just looking at her.
"Auntie, hurry back. Next time you go out, wear more!"
"In the dead of winter like this, how can you not know about cold and warmth!"
Hearing this, Auntie Qin not only didn't appreciate it but charmingly shot him a glance, her voice full of coquettish reproach.
"Isn't it all because of you, you little rascal."
"Hmph, you don't even know to compliment Auntie."
"I specially wore this outfit for you, Auntie's legs are about to freeze stiff!"
These words left Lu Yuan completely bewildered, "What does this have to do with me?"
Song Meiqin immediately stamped her feet, her entire beautiful body trembling slightly, saying coquettishly, "Of course it's because of you!"
"You little thing, don't you just love seeing Auntie dressed like this!"
"That summer, every time Auntie dressed like this, your eyes were glued to my legs and couldn't move away!"
Lu Yuan: "..."
The embarrassment of being caught red-handed left Lu Yuan unable to say a word.
Good heavens!
He thought he had hidden it well!
Turns out this beautiful auntie's heart was clear as a mirror!
But Lu Yuan felt this couldn't be blamed on him.
With Auntie Qin's body full of white beautiful flesh, who could resist not looking a few times!
With a top-quality mature beauty like Auntie Qin, even a eunuch would grow it back!!
Lu Yuan was about to say something but suddenly felt something was off, immediately raising his eyebrows, "Nonsense!"
"You didn't even know I was coming today!"
Seeing his expression, Auntie Qin immediately showed a cunning smile like a little fox, her voice soft and seductive.
"How would Auntie not know?"
"We both arrived at the Zhao residence one right after the other!"
"Auntie's carriage had just turned onto this street when I saw you at the door talking to Wang Fu."
She proudly raised her chin.
"As soon as Auntie saw you, I immediately went back to change into this outfit."
"Otherwise, would Auntie be crazy enough to wear this out in the dead of winter?!"
After speaking, Auntie Qin's jade hand painted with alluring purple nail polish lightly pinched the glossy black stockings on her voluptuous thighs, then suddenly released.
"Snap!"
A light sound, the stockings snapping back taut, making the beautiful flesh of her thighs tremble.
"Is Auntie lewd?"
Auntie Qin squinted her eyes, smiling as she looked at Lu Yuan, breathing like orchids.
Lu Yuan: "???"
Seeing Lu Yuan remain silent, Auntie Qin became unwilling, moving closer with coquettish reluctance, "Say it~"
"What can't we say between us~"
The old man said that people should be honest.
Lu Yuan met Song Meiqin's expectant gaze, his expression sincere as he heavily nodded.
"Lewd!"
Hearing these words, Song Meiqin wasn't angry at all but instead laughed until her body shook.
She leaned close to Lu Yuan's ear, whispering in a voice only the two could hear, "Lewd is right."
"This outfit is foreign goods I specially bought when my younger brother and I went to Lushunkou this autumn."
"I bought it back specifically to wear for you, you little thing~"
At this point, Auntie Qin's tone carried a trace of complaint.
"But you were good, I waited and you didn't come, waited more and you still didn't come."
"Made Auntie's new outfit go out of season!"
Lu Yuan couldn't help but curl his lips, "Just wear it next year then. It won't go bad sitting there."
But Auntie Qin was unwilling, her voice sickeningly sweet.
"Wait for next year for what?"
"Whenever you come to Auntie's house, Auntie will wear it for you every day."
"Auntie has even lewder ones at home. That place Lushunkou is full of Western stuff..."
A blush floated across her absolutely beautiful face, her voice even lower.
"Those Western women are truly shameless, their underwear is just a string!"
Lu Yuan: "..."
If this conversation continued, something was bound to happen.
He hastily cut it off.
"Alright, alright, at the main gate, aren't you cold?"
"You hurry back. I still have serious business to handle here!"
Hearing "serious business" and thinking of the sick and weak Zhao Qiao'er in the bedroom, Auntie Qin stopped fooling around.
She lightly nodded her delicate chin and said seriously,"Then dear boy, be careful in all things. If there's any new news from the Public Safety Corps, Auntie will send someone to tell you."
"As soon as I get back, I'll have my younger brother send a squad to guard outside the Zhao residence."
Lu Yuan nodded without saying anything, only thinking in his heart that it better not be Squad Leader Awei who comes then under Lu Yuan's gaze, Auntie Qin twisted her large lewd bottom and got on the carriage.
Lu Yuan turned and returned to the Zhao residence, the relaxed expression on his face instantly disappearing.
The strange incidents in the city were definitely not coincidental.
Lu Yuan didn't return to the room to eat but directly called for Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an.
"We're not waiting. Search now!"
The three held compasses, bagua mirrors and other ritual implements, conducting a carpet search of the enormous Zhao residence from the front courtyard to the back residence.
Night gradually deepened, past seven in the evening.
After working for over two hours, the three had finished searching the enormous Zhao residence.
The results were shocking.
Besides the "disease qi drawing" in Zhao Qiao'er's room.
They also found several sinister and vicious filthy things under the bed boards in the servants' rooms, at the bottom of the water vat in the kitchen, and even in the crevices of the rockery in the garden.
As for who placed them...
Someone who could freely enter and exit the back courtyard and tamper with the beams in Auntie Qiao'er's bedroom, the range of suspects was already very small.
Soon, all the maidservants in the Zhao residence's back courtyard were taken away by Wang Fu for overnight interrogation.
Lu Yuan no longer cared about these trivial matters.
He only cared about two things now.
One was the curse-breaking backlash that would begin at the zi hour.
The other... were the series of strange incidents occurring in Fengtian City really related to the Life-Severing Wang Family?
If they were related then what exactly was the Life-Severing Wang Family trying to do?
...
Zhao residence, back courtyard, main room.
Lu Yuan sat at the table, one hand holding a spoon, mechanically shoveling food into his mouth.
His other hand rapidly flipped through that yellowed handwritten book the old man had given him.
His gaze was like lightning, scanning at ten lines per glance through all the records about the "Life-Severing Wang Family."
Auntie Qiao'er had been tormented by the Disease-Drawing Talisman for seven days, her body extremely weak.
Only after Lu Yuan personally fed her porridge and watched her fall into deep sleep did he have time to sit down.
All the maidservants in the residence had been taken away for interrogation. The work of attending to people could only be done by himself.
When the rice in the bowl was nearly gone, Lu Yuan's hand holding the spoon suddenly froze in mid-air.
His gaze was riveted to a line of text on the page.
Hm?
"Malevolent Slaughter Register"!
Life-Severing Wang Family, secret inherited ritual implement!
A human skin book recording all information on those killed by curses, capable of nurturing their residual malevolent qi...
When necessary, all the malevolent qi in the "Malevolent Slaughter Register" can be completely released!
Wait... wait a moment...
Those two incidents Auntie Qin just mentioned...
Could they not be about fortune but rather... the Life-Severing Wang Family cultivating malevolent qi?!
Why would they suddenly start cultivating malevolent qi during these days after Auntie Qiao'er returned?
And what are they cultivating malevolent qi for...
Lu Yuan pondered...
Soon, Lu Yuan's pupils sharply contracted.
Oh no!!
It's because of me!!
The Life-Severing Wang Family is coming for me!!