In the mansion.
These past few days of sleeping rough in the wind and dew had left the two without a proper meal. Faced with a table laden with succulent fish and meat, they wasted no time and tucked in with gusto.
Snake’s swallowing was lightning-fast. Were it not for the need to avoid suspicion, she could have gulped down an entire roast chicken in one go without so much as a gasp for air…
Once they had eaten their fill, Du Xuan wasted no time resting and resumed discussing the case with Fang Qian.
The killer had a very specific target in these crimes—beautiful women—and bringing them into the mansion carried considerable risk.
“Could we have those people brought here for a look?”
But now officials from the Demon Subduing Division had arrived.
With her here, whether the newcomers were man or ghost, none would slip away easily!
It was not long before attendants escorted the protected women before Du Xuan.
The moment they heard it was someone from the Demon Subduing Division, several of the courtesans’ eyes lit up. They pressed forward without a shred of restraint.
“Sir, you must protect me well!”
“I’ll sleep in your room tonight, all right?”
“I know just how to serve a man~”
“Ladies, please compose yourselves!”
Du Xuan’s cheeks flushed red. She shook out her sleeves, shaking them off.
“See?” Little Snake said from the side, popping fruit into her mouth. “I told you I’m pretty reserved compared to other girls. You just wouldn’t believe me.”
“You, compared to them?!”
To catch the killer’s eye, a woman needed to meet two criteria: exceptional beauty and a penchant for flaunting it.
Those who possessed both traits were most often found in the pleasure quarters…
These courtesan ladies were, of course, stunningly beautiful, their voices soft and intoxicating, their skills in service unmatched. Wherever they went, they were the center of attention.
Unfortunately for them, they had run into a snake demon beauty.
The moment Yin Luan took her place at Du Xuan’s side, every other beauty in the room seemed to fade into the background.
The courtesans’ competitive fires ignited at once.
“Chest that big? Must be padded!” “Waist that slim? Must be corseted!” “Legs that long? Must be… hmph, must be some demon in human form!”
“Young lady, mind your tongue,” Du Xuan said with a frown. “I am an investigator from the Demon Subduing Division. This is an assault on my professional judgment!”
“Yes… sorry, I spoke out of turn…”
Not all those under protection were women of the pleasure quarters. Some were proper young ladies from good families.
They were far more demure, content to gaze from afar, a faint blush occasionally coloring their cheeks.
Who would have thought this Demon Subduing Division official would turn out so… refined? They had imagined a brutish fellow like a butcher, but instead, here was a scholarly figure of elegant bearing and handsome features.
Well, he might lack a touch of rugged masculinity, but he was ten thousand times more pleasing to the eye than those hulking brutes!
Du Xuan swept her gaze over everyone present. Then she took a few steps back, and in an instant, her presence transformed.
She held her breath, clearing her mind of all emotion and desire, shutting out the external world to observe with pure inner sight.
This was a foundational skill for every member of the Demon Subduing Division: the Aura Viewing Technique.
No evil spirit, no matter its kind, could entirely conceal its baleful Qi—though the mightiest great demons and ghosts could suppress it through sheer power.
In most cases, the Aura Viewing Technique left such foul auras with nowhere to hide.
Du Xuan lifted her eyes.
The courtesans showed nothing amiss; in her vision, they were ringed in faint white glows.
The magistrate was fine too, his body hale and hearty. The killer had not marked him as prey.
Her gaze lingered on the remaining women.
This one… was off.
The Aura Viewing Technique drained the mind fiercely. Having spotted her target, Du Xuan prepared to release it.
Hiss, hiss.
“Your eyes are beautiful.”
Yin Luan leaned in close, her face mere inches from Du Xuan’s.
This rascal…!
Startled, Du Xuan faltered in her withdrawal.
For a split second, the pupils before her warped into something inhuman—slitted like a serpent’s.
But the vision lasted only an instant, gone before her mind could fully register it.
“You…!”
Du Xuan panted for several breaths before finally quelling the technique’s lingering effects.
“Sorry,” Yin Luan said, sticking out her tongue. “I’ve never seen it before… That was the Aura Viewing Technique, wasn’t it?”
Du Xuan shot her a glance but let it slide. She turned to one woman amid the group ahead.
“If this lady would stay behind, please. Everyone else, return to your rooms for now. I’ll reinforce the mansion’s defenses shortly. I doubt our killer is bold enough to try anything.”
The others departed. The one Du Xuan had asked to remain was a delicate young woman whose pretty features were marred by exhaustion.
Li Shi was the Eldest Young Lady of a prominent family in Huai City, an old established clan with deep ties in both official and merchant circles—a true noblewoman from a great house.
“Milord, I…”
Li Shi said, a touch of nervousness in her voice.
“Don’t worry, there’s nothing seriously wrong with your condition,” Du Xuan reassured her. “I simply used the Aura Viewing Technique and spotted a wisp of black smoke clinging to you. It might not have been left by the culprit, but it does mean you’ve come into contact with some ‘inauspicious object.’”
“An inauspicious object?”
“Many items carry an aura of ill omen,” she explained. “Weapons stained with blood, a butcher’s cleaver, spirit tablets from haunted homes, or the personal belongings of those who met tragic ends, for instance.”
“I…”
Li Shi’s slender brows furrowed slightly, as though she were racking her brains in recollection.
“I shouldn’t have touched anything like that. My father is exceedingly strict; he only permits me to engage with things like the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting.”
This Eldest Young Lady was every inch the refined noblewoman—she never spoke carelessly, much less threw herself into someone’s arms.
“That’s odd,” Du Xuan mused. “Think back carefully once more. You appear frail and your qi is weak; it’s clear you haven’t slept soundly in days. Is something weighing on your mind?”
“Well…”
Li Shi’s brows knitted together again. After a moment, as if struck by a memory, she spoke haltingly.
“I’m afraid you’ll laugh at me if I say it, Milord, but these past few days, my mind has indeed been foggy. Every time I drift off to sleep, I hear a voice.”
“A voice?”
“It seems to be a woman’s voice. I can’t make it out clearly, but it feels like she’s muttering ‘Why?’ ‘It’s not fair,’ ‘You all deserve to die’… Milord, have I been frightened out of my senses?”
“Hmm…”
Du Xuan’s expression grew grave.
Nightmares weren’t uncommon amid Huai City’s tense atmosphere lately, but they wouldn’t leave evil qi coiled around someone.
This matter was far from simple.
She drew a sheet of talisman paper from her bosom, stepped over to the candle, and gently warmed it over the flame. A faint character for “Zhen” emerged on its surface.
“This is a Suppressing Spirit Talisman from the Demon Subduing Division,” Du Xuan said, handing it over. “Keep it with you, go back and get a good night’s rest, then reflect on whether you’ve encountered anything suspicious lately. Any clue at all, no matter how small—come and discuss it with me.”
“Thank you, Milord.”
Li Shi accepted the talisman, her complexion brightening somewhat. With a polite curtsy, she was escorted back to her room by attendants.
“To influence the mind through mere indirect contact,” Du Xuan exhaled, murmuring to herself. “If this truly is an evil spirit, its power must far exceed our expectations…”
