WBICDPH Chapter 23 Part 1

Chapter 23: Three Threads, Two Ends

Zhui Tang was already strikingly alluring, her beauty carrying an almost soul-stealing charm. With the vivid rouge on her lips accentuating her features, she looked even more breathtaking.

Lin Jin stared straight into her eyes. After a long moment, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

“Then let me ask a different question. Miss, do you know the girl named Shuang’er from this morning?”

“Shuang’er?” Zhui Tang raised an eyebrow faintly.
“You mean Qiao Shuang’er, the one her own father sold here this morning? When Mama brought her in, I did catch a glimpse of her. She was quite pretty.”

“Where did she go?”

“That, I truly don’t know. You can ask Mama downstairs. I’m only the courtesan; the other girls’ affairs aren’t under my charge.”

“Then what about the injury on your face?”

“I angered Mama and received a bit of discipline. That’s my private matter—does the young master intend to pry into that as well?”

By this point in the conversation, Zhui Tang’s reactions had already confirmed one thing for Lin Jin: she definitely knew something—but she wasn’t willing to say it.

Since she was determined to conceal the truth, there was no point in pressing further.

Lin Jin glanced at Han Ao beside him. Han Ao immediately understood, stood up, and walked to the window. He flung it open and raised a hand, letting out a sharp, piercing whistle into the night.

Very soon, a white figure swept out of the rear alley. With a few light bounds, it landed on the window frame and entered the room.

At some point, Liu Fuxin had changed back into women’s clothing. She wore a flowing plain-white dress, her long hair gathered into a simple bun that fell down her back. As she landed, the twin silver-and-jade bracelets on her wrists chimed softly against each other. Paired with her gentle, serene features, the title “Bright Moon Immortal Healer” suddenly felt vividly real.

The moment she appeared, Zhui Tang—who had been sitting by the bed—startled.

Her eyes widened slightly. For an instant, her expression was blank, then it slowly turned into surprise. She looked at Liu Fuxin, opened her mouth, and seemed about to say something.

But before she could—

Smack!

Before a single word left her lips, Zhui Tang’s body swayed, and she collapsed limply onto the bed.

Han Ao still had his hand raised, frozen in the posture of chopping the back of her neck. He hadn’t noticed Zhui Tang’s reaction at all. When he met the complicated looks from Lin Jin and Liu Fuxin, he scratched his head in confusion.

“What? Wasn’t this the plan? ‘If we can’t get useful information, then have Miss Liu temporarily play the role of Miss Zhui Tang and try to pry information from the others in Mantingchun.’ If she’s going to replace her, don’t we need to knock out the real one first?”

At the very least, you could’ve let her finish speaking.

“…It’s fine. This works,” Lin Jin said, half laughing and half exasperated, offering some reassurance.

Liu Fuxin didn’t react much. She simply smiled and shook her head, then stepped forward to lay Zhui Tang properly on the bed, tucking her in. After that, she took out a pill from one of her twin jade bracelets and fed it to her.

“This medicine will let her sleep soundly through the night. During that time, I’ll take her place.”

As she spoke, Liu Fuxin formed a simple hand seal. Spiritual light enveloped her briefly, and when it faded, her appearance and figure were identical to Zhui Tang’s.

The disappearance cases at Mantingchun were far too unusual. The victims were all people from the bottom of society—just as Zhui Tang had said, whether a courtesan lived or died was something no one cared about. After so many years, it would be extremely difficult to reopen the case. Moreover, Lin Jin had the strong feeling that this matter was far more complicated than they imagined.

Ordinary people were instinctively afraid of ghosts. Since it was already known that this case involved ghost cultivators, under normal circumstances, it shouldn’t have been buried so thoroughly. Humans loved excitement and gossip—Lin Jin believed that if such a thing had truly happened, even the faintest rumor of Mantingchun being haunted would have been turned into sensational stories, spreading through the streets. It wouldn’t be the case that no one knew anything, to the point that they had to dig through archives at the city administration office for information.

Yet now, there wasn’t a single supernatural rumor. Not only was Mantingchun not feared as a haunted place, but it was also brightly lit every night, filled with music and revelry. That left only two possibilities: either no one realized the disappearances were connected to ghosts, or everyone at Mantingchun knew perfectly well—but for some reason, they had a tacit agreement to keep it buried and say nothing.

Lin Jin leaned toward the second possibility, especially after Qiao Shuang’er’s disappearance today and Zhui Tang’s reaction when the matter was mentioned.

Where had Qiao Shuang’er gone? Why couldn’t she appear? Was the scream from the rear alley really hers?

If Qiao Shuang’er had disappeared, why didn’t the madam pursue it, but instead tried to conceal the truth from the clients? What unforgivable mistake had Zhui Tang made to incur punishment? And why was she unwilling to explain it?

Since the issue originated within Mantingchun, gathering information from the inside was undoubtedly the most efficient approach. However, Lin Jin and Han Ao were both men and couldn’t disguise themselves as courtesans. Thus, this task could only be entrusted to Liu Fuxin.

Later that evening, Liu Fuxin went through the motions, acting as Zhui Tang and seeing Lin Jin and Han Ao out of Mantingchun.

She had been thinking about how to coax information out of the madam and the other courtesans. But just after she sent Lin Jin off and turned around, she saw the madam leaning against the stair railing, staring at her with a gloomy gaze.

Liu Fuxin’s expression didn’t change. She walked over and bowed respectfully.

“Greetings, Mama.”

“Hm.” The madam snorted, then swept Liu Fuxin up and down with an extremely cutting gaze.
“You seem to be in good spirits. Since you managed to hook a noble young master like that, I’ll let you off this time. We’ll consider the matter of Qiao Shuang’er settled—but only this once. If you dare pull something like this again, don’t blame me for showing you no mercy!”

At the mention of “Qiao Shuang’er,” Liu Fuxin’s eyes darkened slightly.

It was already deep into the night. There were far fewer guests in the main hall on the first floor than before, and everywhere there were overturned wine jars and drunken men. Nearby, courtesans were helping men upstairs. Seeing this, the madam paid Liu Fuxin no further attention and hurried over to lend a hand, smiling and chatting as she did.

Liu Fuxin withdrew her gaze and went upstairs toward her room.

Through the thin wooden door, the sounds of laughter and revelry spilled out, circling her as she passed. She wasn’t disturbed by them, but her thoughts drifted.