Chapter 58: East City Glamour Corpse (Part 3): My Little Disciple is Inexperienced in the World Part 2

Shang Shan was already seething with rage, as if flames burned around her. “Grandma, don’t worry! I’ll definitely go to the Wen Family and get you justice!”

With that, she leaped up and charged toward the door. Driven by fury, she could have dashed several li away in an instant. But Mu Qian Tan stood right at the entrance and did not move aside. Wanting to leave, Shang Shan had to squeeze past her, but she didn’t want to brush against her, so she said, “Make way.”

Mu Qian Tan lowered her gaze to look at her. After a moment, she said, “Did you ask about the queue for handouts?”

Shang Shan’s boiling blood instantly cooled as she realized she had overlooked a key detail.

They had encountered the old lady on the main street. After her son’s death, amid her immense grief and struggle—wishing she could die alongside him—she had still gone out to claim something important.

The girl turned back into the house, where Jiang Yuanqi had already asked. The old lady pulled an unremarkable wooden token from her sleeve.

“While I was making a fuss outside the government office, a young man seemed unable to stand it. He thought we were too poor to afford a coffin for my son… so he told me there was a place giving them away for free as a good deed. After getting this token, there would be…”

That thing had wreaked havoc in the city for months, claiming many lives. Now, even in broad daylight, the people of Rice Wine Town dared not venture out, avoiding strangers like the plague, and no one could sell their rice wine. In such perilous times, those forced to go out at night were the desperately poor or those in urgent need of money—people treated like weeds.

When such people died, they were just dust scattered by the wind. No one cared except their closest kin.

From this, the elegant woman in blue who distributed the tokens must have been a kind soul. She had noticed this need and provided these poor folk with what they most desperately wanted but couldn’t afford: coffins. Making them took time, so she issued tokens to claim them later.

What this mother had dragged her ailing body out to collect was simply a proper burial for her son.

After settling the old lady, Shang Shan stormed out, full of righteous fury. At the alley mouth, she spotted something she hadn’t noticed on the way in: shards of porcelain plates scattered on the ground, along with a lunchbox that had spilled out a pile of expensive foods, jumbled together on one plate. It didn’t look bought—it seemed like leftovers packed up after a banquet.

Jiang Yuanqi picked up the lunchbox and flipped it over. In the corner was a bold “Wen” character.

This must have been the spot where the son died. He had brought this lunchbox back, probably rewarded by the Wen Family host after the feast ended.

These were rare delicacies he never saw in daily life. He must have carried them home joyfully, eager for his mother to taste them, only to be brutally murdered just short of home. The scattered food fragments were no different from his spilled lifeblood.

Shang Shan said nothing. She dashed out of the alley, grabbed a passerby to ask for the Wen Family’s location, and shot off like a swift arrow.

When she arrived at the Wen Family estate, it was indeed a prosperous compound. The Wen Family plaque hung high, the white walls seemed hard to scale, the pitch-black gates were thick and firmly shut, and two double happiness characters were pasted on the doorframe—clearly, a joyous event had taken place.

Bits of red firecracker paper littered the base of the wall. Shang Shan strode up and pounded on the door. “Anyone there!”

After just a few knocks, a response came from inside, as if someone had been waiting right behind it. The door opened to reveal a servant, who sized up the masked stranger and asked oddly, “Who are you? A beggar?”

Shang Shan quickly explained the whole story. The servant’s face darkened with disdain. “You’re the one that old hag sent? Here to make trouble? Get lost!”

As he tried to shut the door, Shang Shan braced it open with her hand and snapped angrily, “There’s still evil out there causing chaos. Holding an event at a time like this and delaying the day laborer so long got him killed, and you people don’t care at all? Does your family have no conscience?”

The servant spat. “Our family never shorts anyone their pay—we give more than others. We’re good to everyone, of course we have conscience. Didn’t he come to us for that very reason? He knew it was dangerous outside but stayed for the money anyway. He got himself killed—his bad luck. Plenty of roads in the city, but he took the alley. If he doesn’t deserve to die, who does? Those who should die will die sooner or later. Don’t come here trying to scam us!”

These words were too vicious. Shang Shan was dumbfounded and shoved the door wider. “You’re celebrating a wedding at home while others are preparing funerals! It was late—why not let him stay overnight? If you valued even one human life, you wouldn’t have sent him rushing home in the dark!”

The servants were astonished that this seemingly slender girl possessed such immense strength. She shouldered the door shut and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Come here! Someone’s breaking in!”

Several servants immediately rushed over from inside and pushed against the door together with all their might, yet it didn’t budge an inch.

The one in front grew anxious and blurted out, “She’s just a servant girl, a short-term hire at that. Why would we let her stay overnight? Do we even have a place for her?”

He was merely a servant himself, yet he referred to others as slaves. Shang Shan was so furious she laughed. “Even if you didn’t want to keep him before, now that the incident has happened, shouldn’t you at least show some concern for his mother? He worked for your family, after all, but you refuse to compensate! You don’t even inquire and shove his mother out the door—what’s that supposed to mean? If it were your family member who died, how would you feel? Could you really be so indifferent? Call your boss out here to explain!”

The servants strained with all their strength, faces flushed red, but they couldn’t hold back the girl from prying the door open. They watched as it was about to swing wide. Suddenly, the extraordinarily handsome youth behind the girl stepped forward, grabbed her, and pulled her back several steps.

Shang Shan raged, “Why are you grabbing me? Let go!”

Jiang Yuanqi said, “Are you really going to force your way in?”

Shang Shan was already fuming, her blood boiling in her veins—she couldn’t hear a word. She forced out, “Yes! I’m breaking in! I’m going to settle accounts with the Wen Family Head! Beat him senseless!”

Jiang Yuanqi channeled spiritual power to restrain her. “Calm down, Miss Shang. The priority right now is that glamour corpse, not this!”

At these words, Shang Shan finally stopped surging forward. She panted heavily, snapping back to her senses.

Seizing the moment, Jiang Yuanqi said, “You’re no ordinary person. You’re an immortal cultivator, a disciple of a renowned sect. Every action and word ties back to your master and your sect. If you use immortal power to storm a mortal household and raise a ruckus, you might achieve your aim, but if news spreads, it’ll be trouble for both you and your master.”

This struck home. Shang Shan swallowed hard, her hot blood cooling. She glanced back at the woman standing not far behind.

The woman showed no embarrassment on her face. Her gaze held a trace of disdain, as if she had anticipated this impulsive outburst.

Shang Shan clutched her sleeve and pouted.

She hated when her master looked at her like that.

Jiang Yuanqi earnestly continued, “Do you remember now?”

Shang Shan said, “I remember.”

Mu Qian Tan averted her gaze and let out a cold sneer.

Remembering again—and so quickly, too.

The servants behind the door saw she had stopped causing a scene and hurriedly tried to slam it shut. But the leader suddenly noticed something and exclaimed with a “hey,” pulling the door open wider instead.

“Miss is back!”

Four sedan bearers carried a sedan through the gate. The passenger, dressed in elegant blue robes, was none other than the woman from the coffin shop who had provided the casket!

They had assumed the entire Wen Family consisted of scoundrels, yet here was Miss Wen performing such a kind act. It left them baffled.

Fearing more trouble, the servants urged the bearers to hurry inside. Once they entered, the gate sealed shut once more, tight as ever.

Shang Shan shook off Jiang Yuanqi’s restraining hand and fumed, “Tonight, I’ll catch that ghost first, then come back to deal with the Wen Family Head. At minimum, make him pay compensation! Otherwise, what will that grandma do?”

New Year’s Money trotted to her feet and rubbed against her calf. Jiang Yuanqi, seemingly swayed by her passion, nodded. “Miss Shang truly has a kind heart. Alright, we’ll return later.”

Mu Qian Tan scoffed mockingly to herself: How hypocritical. This guy didn’t care one bit about the old lady’s future—he just wanted to placate her before things escalated out of control.

Shang Shan finally exhaled in relief, ready to tackle her pressing worry. She wondered aloud, “I wonder if Miss Wen knows what her family did. If she does, she’d be heartbroken.”

Jiang Yuanqi said, “In these times, you can’t judge by appearances. Providing a coffin doesn’t make her wholly good—it might just be for show.”

Shang Shan’s little face scrunched up in confusion, clearly overwhelmed by complex human motives. Jiang Yuanqi suggested, “Why not go ask?”

The thing only appeared at night, and it was still early. They had time to wait, so gathering information couldn’t hurt. Shang Shan said, “But there aren’t many people out here… Ah, I know! Let’s ask the coffin shop owner!”

The shop dealt directly with victims’ families and might know details about the East City Ghost. Worth a shot.

True to form, Shang Shan dashed off. The two trailed behind at a leisurely pace. It looked like a trio on a mission, but in truth, only one burned with zeal to solve the case.