CHAPTER 150: CHAPTER 129 ABNORMAL PEOPLE

The owner of this house was named Huai Rui, over thirty years old. His great-grandfather had once been a Minister of the Secretariat and held the Duke’s title more than a hundred years ago.

However, the grace of a gentleman fades within five generations.

By Huai Rui’s generation, although they still resided in the advantageous Victory Square and maintained a decent life through their shops and lands, he could only start as a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue.

Huai Rui, disfavored in officialdom, did not fare any better in his romantic life. Years ago, rumors spread of his affair with Zhao Sanniang, a married woman from South City. Her merchant husband made a public fuss at the Wannian County government office or outside the Ministry of Revenue almost daily, stirring major commotions.

Huai Rui did not adamantly deny it or shift the blame onto the woman. Instead, he decisively offered twenty thousand strings of coins to the merchant, asking him to divorce his wife.

Once Zhao Sanniang was divorced, Huai Rui held a grand wedding ceremony and formally married her.

A year later, Zhao Sanniang fell gravely ill and died. Huai Rui never remarried and often wrote sorrowful poems to remember his deceased wife.

Their relationship, in the eyes of the public, shifted from an immoral affair during marriage to a passionate and unwavering love.

Surprisingly, this improved Huai Rui’s reputation in Chang’an and smoothed his career path. He now held the position of Gold Department Doctor in the Ministry of Revenue.

The Gold Department Doctor managed the trade in the East and West Markets, a position considered highly lucrative, which didn’t even require accepting bribes to amass a huge fortune through legitimate means.

So he’s quite the man of deep affections.

Li Ang, listening to the passersby chattering one after another, contemplated thoughtfully.

"Huai Dalang’s mother, the old lady of Huai Mansion, is getting old and her mind isn’t as sharp; she needs someone to take care of her. Recently, she even talked about having nightmares frequently."

"To ease his mother’s mind, Huai Dalang specifically invited monks and Daoists to perform rituals and ceremonies. Today is the last day."

"If you ask me, the old lady of Huai Mansion is probably worried about the Huai family legacy having no one to inherit it, hence the nightmares. Since Zhao Sanniang’s death, Huai Dalang has neither remarried nor taken concubines and has remained childless. If they don’t adopt someone from distant relatives, their lineage might genuinely end."

"Yes, having no children is indeed problematic."

Those outside the walls of Victory Square, listening to the chants of the monks and Daoists, casually discussed topics that soon shifted toward ensuring family lineage and the blessings of many children.

Even Li Ang’s name came up in the conversation. He was labeled as the Wen Qu Star, the Medicine King God, and an incarnation of a fertility deity. It was said that hanging a portrait of Li Ang at home could increase the chances of a couple conceiving, and so forth.

What is all this nonsense? Has my image among the common folk really become this?

Li Ang, with a forehead full of metaphorical dark lines, silently mounted his horse and left, thoughts swirling in his mind.

Victory Square, Huai Rui...

Mo Si’s sensing was pointing directly to that mansion.

If there really were Mutated Objects there, it was important to ascertain what they were.

Li Ang, openly known as an Academic Palace Disciple and the rights owner of products like Allicin, had no overlap in professional dealings with the Ministry of Revenue’s Gold Department, nor any social interactions with Huai Rui.

To explore the mansion and investigate without exposing the existence of Mutated Objects, lest they get seized by the garrison, he might need to employ some special methods.

With fewer responsibilities over the winter break, Li Ang returned home and, as usual, fed Mo Si materials such as gold ingots and Mystic Iron.

After nightfall, he walked to a tavern outside Victory Square. Posing as a love-stricken, drunken young wastrel, he rented an upper-floor private room facing Victory Square to discreetly observe the activities at Huairui Mansion.

"It is now Xu Zheng hour, roughly eight o’clock in the evening, and Huai’s Mansion still hasn’t lit any lamps."

Li Ang peered out the window, his eyes narrowing slightly.

In winter, it gets dark very early. The large households in Victory Square would have their lamps lit by this hour. They usually extinguished their oil lamps to retire for the night around Hai Zheng hour or 11 p.m.

Li Ang waited another two hours, until around midnight, just as the tavern was about to close.

A carriage approached from the distance, slowly entering Victory Square and stopping outside the side gate of Huai’s Mansion.

"Hmm?"

Li Ang immediately perked up, watching intently.

Soon after the carriage stopped, a burly man descended quietly, a cloth-wrapped object that looked like a Broadsword attached to his waist.

Following that, three more figures disembarked. First, an old man, stooped and leaning on a cane. Then, a scholar with a jade-white complexion, holding a folding fan. Finally, a dwarf wearing a mask, carrying two swords on his back.

The carriage quietly departed. The four individuals stood in the shadow of the gate, with the burly man tapping lightly on the side door. As the door opened from the inside, they stepped in, their figures vanishing from sight.

The burly man, the old man, the scholar, the dwarf... Their actions were stealthy and suspicious. Could it be... because Chang’an City has recently been cracking down on private gambling houses, these four are here to play mahjong at Huai’s Mansion?

An implausible guess popped into Li Ang’s mind. He shook his head, placed the money for the private room on the table, went downstairs to settle the bill, and then exited the tavern.

During the New Year season, every household was celebrating.

To prevent any fires, the garrison, bad people, and Dragon Martial Army intensified their patrols.

However, Li Ang could hear such patrol movements from a distance. With a quick turn, he ducked into a shadowy alley, then vaulted onto a wall, using the architectural shadows to avoid detection.

After easily evading the patrol teams, Li Ang lay on the rooftop, silently summoning Mo Si.

SWISH—

A large amount of black threads emerged sinuously from his cuffs and collar. In an instant, they covered Li Ang completely, weaving a black, cloak-like set of night clothes.

To hide his identity, he even had Mo Si add several layers of height-increasing insoles, making him appear as tall as an adult. Mo Si also created a dragon-shaped mask for him to wear on his head, completely concealing his identity. After repeated tests, Mo Si doesn’t cause any Spiritual Energy fluctuations, so it can’t be detected by a Cultivator’s methods. Furthermore, the toughness of Mo Si far exceeds that of Mortal Iron, and it cannot be cut by swords or blades. Using it as night clothes is more than sufficient.

Li Ang silently adjusted the black dragon-shaped mask on his head and quietly arrived above the rooftop of Huai’s Mansion, eavesdropping on the conversation below.

"Surely you four are the Abnormal People introduced by Brother Kou? Tonight, the safety of the Huai family is in your hands."

Voices discussing these matters emerged from the room below; it seemed that the speaker was Huai Rui, the Gold Department Doctor.

The burly man’s voice was deep and resonant. "Huai Langzhong is being too polite," he said. "But let’s be clear beforehand: hiring the four of us will cost a total of four thousand strings of coins per day, regardless of whether any unforeseen events occur or not."

"That is only natural." Huai Rui sighed with relief. "Though the Huai family isn’t extraordinarily wealthy, we do have that amount of money. So... what are your plans?"

"Let’s first discuss the old lady’s condition," the scholar said lightly. "I heard that your elderly mother has been having nightmares where Evil Ghosts attack her, and even several days of Buddhist and Daoist rituals held in Chang’an have not been effective?"

"That’s right." Huai Rui replied with a resigned smile, "My mother is old, and her memory has deteriorated in the past few years. She frequently forgets things, sometimes even forgetting who I am, her son. Initially, when she spoke of having nightmares and waking up with unexplained injuries on her hands and feet, I thought it was a fluke. Perhaps her forgetfulness was playing tricks on her. But when it started happening more often, I knew something was wrong."

The scholar asked further, "Didn’t you call someone from the garrison to check? With your official position as the Gold Department Doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, you should have been able to invite people from the garrison, right?"

"We did, but they couldn’t find the cause either." Huai Rui spoke in a low voice, "They didn’t detect any Demonic Qi, so they attributed the cause to my mother’s delusions. They said these injuries on her limbs might just be from unintentional scratches—after all, she has amnesia and her memory is very poor."

"So, you found us through Brother Kou." The scholar nodded, adding, "The garrison is always like this, only showing up once something happens. However, one who eats the ruler’s bread must do the ruler’s bidding. Having received the money, we will definitely handle this matter properly. Has the elderly lady taken her medicine tea for calming the mind and aiding sleep?"

Huai Rui nodded. "She has had it."

The scholar continued, "What about the servants in the mansion?"

Huai Rui replied, "It’s the New Year period now, and I’ve given them leave to return home. The three remaining servants in the house are all old people, either deaf or mute. I had them go to bed early and instructed them not to open the door."

"That’s good," the scholar said. "Old Man Zhuang and I will stay with you in the old lady’s bedroom. We’ll set up an Array Formation Talisman there. If any Alien appear, we can capture and eradicate them immediately. Brother Wei will guard the courtyard, and Brother Sun will wait in the hall."

"I appreciate your efforts." Huai Rui breathed a long sigh of relief, leading the four individuals deeper into the mansion.

...

On the roof above, Li Ang silently raised his eyebrows.

From the conversation, it appeared that an elderly woman of the Huai family was tormented by nightmares. Huai Rui, seeing no resolution from the garrison, had hired four "Abnormal People."

These four individuals likely didn’t come from the Academic Palace. Judging from their aura, they were all Mid-Low Rank Cultivators. They definitely didn’t hold any official status; otherwise, they wouldn’t need to act so covertly.

Could they be from the Chang’an Ghost Market? That place seemed to harbor individuals who took money to resolve others’ crises.

Li Ang, formally a disciple of the Academic Palace, knew well how the Academy consumed astronomical amounts of resources each year to support Cultivators of all levels.

Those low-level cultivators without heritage or a Sect often had to scrape by. They worked as bodyguards, guards, construction workers, mercenaries, or private detectives, earning a few thousand strings of coins each time to buy their own talisman equipment.

Like the two Sword Cultivators who had been with Jiao Cheng.

As for the Brother Kou mentioned in Huai Rui’s conversation... He must be some kind of middleman providing intermediary services.

Li Ang blinked. His mission was to locate the Mutated Object, and he had no interest in the matters of these Abnormal People and the Huai family.

So he focused his sensing through Mo Si, directing it towards the location of the Mutated Object.

HISS—

Mo Si bristled like a frightened cat, not pointing to any specific room but instead towards... Huai Rui himself, who was gradually moving away.