socalfunplaces Page 520
Page 520
However, she was later kidnapped by human traffickers and brought to a large mansion in the capital, not the mansion where everyone is now.
This house was inhabited by many women as beautiful as her, and even a group of handsome young men.
Their daily routine consisted of sleeping with the guests who came and went from the mansion and providing them with entertainment. Most of the people who came and went were officials from the imperial court.
The female ghost had served many people, but she still felt pain and resentment in her heart. However, she was also afraid of death, so she could only endure the humiliation.
Later, a man named Tamraha took a liking to her, and she became his exclusive lover, which improved her situation somewhat.
But on one occasion, she overheard Tamraha talking to a big shot, and the conversation touched on words like "Yunzhou," "artillery," and "machinery."
So she was killed and thrown into the well.
After her death, she became a vengeful ghost, trapped in a well, forming a female ghost whose soul had not been annihilated. She then followed the underground current to the bottom of the well in this abandoned house.
The expressions on everyone's faces became complicated, because they had all just seen the important figure talking to Tamraha on the screen. They all recognized him, as this person was actually a second-rank official.
Minister of Works, member of the Qi Party!
However, before the group could even speak, a hand appeared on the screen—a red hand!
Everyone recognized it; it was the demonic hand that had been growing on the black-robed man's body not long ago!
The demonic hand circled the female ghost once, then exhaled a large amount of black mist, enveloping her.
Then, the demonic hand spread its five fingers, facing everyone in the courtyard in the image, with what appeared to be a mocking face in its palm.
"Hehehe...we will meet again."
Everyone turned to look at Xu Qi'an, because the demonic hand was intentionally or unintentionally staring at him!
Xu Qi'an felt a chill run down his spine. If the assassin wanted to kill him, it was because he had received orders and his consciousness had not disappeared.
But why is this evil hand targeting him too? He's just a lowly investigator!
The scene abruptly ended, and a silence fell over the courtyard.
Yang Qianhuan pressed Yang Yan's brow, pulled the female ghost out and put her into the magic artifact, then exhaled a breath of turbid air.
"After a whole night of work, I've gained a banshee and a ghost, but what I truly desire is that demonic hand..."
Yang Yan's face was pale, clearly having just experienced the negative emotions of a woman being humiliated and persecuted.
"Old Yang, you've worked hard." Jiang Luzhong patted Yang Yan on the shoulder, his tone full of concern.
Xu Qi'an also looked at Yang Yan with pity. Old Yang had just endured dozens of humiliations from Tamraha, and he was really pitiful.
“That’s fine… but the Minister of Works is clearly involved in a major case of treason and collusion with the enemy, and we must report this to Lord Wei immediately.”
Yang Yan gritted his teeth, his voice trembling slightly.
Currently, the eunuch faction holds the most power in the court. Although the other factions are somewhat weaker, they still have considerable influence over major affairs of the court, only relative to the eunuch faction.
Xu Qi'an was even more puzzled. What was this demonic hand up to? Was it using the female ghost to tell him that it would come back?
Wait a minute, could it be that the night watchman and Yang Qianhuan discover the female ghost, and then uncover the Qi Party's treasonous act of colluding with the enemy?
So who exactly is the person behind the collusion with the demon race? Is it an enemy force of the Qi Party?
Yang Qianhuan took the female ghost away, but couldn't sense the location of the demonic hand, which was a great pity.
The four night watchmen were all seriously injured and somewhat frustrated, because they had failed to catch the demon's hand and had only obtained the black-robed assassin's corpse.
Xu Qi'an was frightened by the black hand he had just encountered and dared not go home.
"My lords! The house where they abducted women and boys is located in the inner city. We'll raid it now!"
Jiang Luzhong, mature and prudent, said, "Ning Yan, this case of human slave trading is unrelated to the Sangbo case. We should report to Lord Wei first before taking any action."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Nangong Qianrou immediately said, "Speed is of the essence in war! The demonic hand might have come from Sangbo and might have fled there. Let's go after it and capture it!"
Afterwards, the four Golden Gongs looked at each other and understood what Nangong Qianrou meant.
Yang Yan, Nangong Qianrou, Jiang Luzhong, and another person named Zhang Kaitai.
What happened today can't be kept secret anymore. There are many people around who have seen it, and someone might be tipping off the people behind the slave trader.
While Xu Qi'an still has the authority to investigate the Sangbo case by imperial decree, we should first seal off that house, preserve the evidence, and catch the perpetrators red-handed.
We can just ask Wei Yuan to fill in the missing document later.
The group quickly reached an agreement and immediately led their men to a mansion.
"Surround them!"
Yang Yan shouted, and the weakest of the servants immediately surrounded the house with torches.
A silver-gonged man stepped forward and slashed through the red-lacquered gate with a single stroke. The night watchman rushed inside and encountered a squad of private soldiers with swords at their sides.
"Watchmen, do you have a warrant for the arrest?"
In response to the shouts of these private soldiers, Xu Qi'an replied, "I am acting on imperial orders to investigate the Sangbo case. There may be criminals hiding here! Arrest them all!"
It was already past midnight, and faint sounds of string and wind instruments and women's laughter could be heard from deep within the courtyard. However, with the outbreak of conflict in the front yard, the entire courtyard became agitated.
The night watchman quickly dealt with the private soldiers, then stormed into the inner courtyard and arrested more than a dozen guests on the spot, many of whom were officials in the imperial court.
"The night watchman..."
Upon seeing the night watchman's uniform, the men immediately collapsed to the ground, trembling all over.
These private club-style residences allow for more intimate discussions, and the women here are simply discarded if they die, a stark contrast to state-run brothels.
The women and boys here were all children of ordinary families. They were captured and played with by the powerful and wealthy simply because of their outstanding looks. When they were killed, they were thrown into a well.
Although Xu Qi'an liked going to the brothel, he was different from those people.
With these abducted women as witnesses, it can be confirmed that this is a human trafficking organization, so the future of these officials is basically over.
"No clothes allowed! Everyone squat down!"
The raid ended quickly, and at Xu Qi'an's suggestion, the guests squatted down in the courtyard.
"A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!"
An official, naked and enjoying the cool breeze, stood with his neck stiff and shouted loudly!
"Swoosh!!" Xu Qi'an raised his knife and brought it down, and a head with a white beard rolled to the ground, blood splattering and the stench of blood filling the air.
"Heh, I've never seen such a request before. You say you'll kill me, so I'll kill you." Xu Qi'an sneered.
“Lord Cao…Lord Wang…hiss…Lord Tang is indeed short and sharp.” Zhang Kaitai looked at these people with a cold smile. Many of them held high-ranking positions and he knew them all.
Then, he approached a middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy man and said, "Who's behind you? If you don't tell me, I'll kill you right now!"
This is the owner of the house, and also the mastermind behind the human trafficking ring.
"I only want to make connections with some powerful and influential people; I have no powerful backers."
Zhang Kaitai did not persist. He knew that there were plenty of ways to deal with this kind of person once he entered the night watchman's office.
Just then, Yang Qianhuan's voice suddenly came from inside the courtyard.
"So it was the Witch God Cult's method after all; it couldn't escape my discerning eyes!"
Xu Qi'an and several Jinlu followed the sound to the backyard and found Yang Qianhuan standing next to a well, which was emitting a foul stench.
This is the well where corpses were dumped, and the female ghost's body is also in this well. According to the female ghost's memory, there should have been a pile of corpses in this well.
"Indeed, it was the methods of the Witch God Cult that sealed the resentment. According to the information I just received from the female ghost's empathy, Tamraha is also from a region under the Witch God Cult's rule."
Yang Yan seemed reluctant to talk much about empathy, but he clearly had more information than the others.
The Cult of Witchcraft!
Xu Qi'an suddenly understood: in other words, it was the Qi faction that was colluding with the Witch God Cult!
The most likely explanation for the murder of the Taikang County Magistrate by the Witch God Cult is that the Qi faction wanted to frame the Prince of Zhenbei.
The demon clan behind the Demon Hand lured Xu Qi'an here, intending to use the night watchman to eliminate the Qi faction.
Those who cooperated with the demon race were the forces in the court other than the Qi faction.
Of course, this is just a guess.
After a night of turmoil, dawn finally broke, and Xu Qi'an and the four Golden Gongs told Wei Yuan everything.
Wei Yuan never expected that the investigation into the Sangbo case would lead to the major case involving the Minister of Works.
Without an imperial edict, even a night watchman cannot touch a high-ranking official of the second rank, so this matter must be reported to Emperor Yuanjing.
What followed was a court dispute, and there was nothing Xu Qi'an could do about it.
The trail went cold again with the demon race. The key was the demonic hand that the demon race had drawn out, but they failed to capture it.
The Qi Party case, which was triggered by the "devil's hand," can be described as an unexpected twist of fate.
Xu Qi'an saw hesitation in Wei Yuan's eyes, because presenting this evidence would surely bring down Liu, the Minister of Works, an important figure in the Qi faction.
The night watchmen have made too many enemies in the court. In Emperor Yuanjing’s view, this attack on the Qi faction is Wei Yuan eliminating dissidents and trying to make himself the sole ruler.
Emperor Yuanjing's trust in Wei Yuan has recently diminished significantly, and Wei Yuan can sense it.
However, the Qi faction was involved in a major case of treason and collusion with the enemy, and Wei Yuan would feel even more uneasy if it were not reported.
As Xu Qi'an walked out of Haoqi Pavilion, he suddenly felt that he had been tricked again.
The forces behind the Sangbo case dealt a heavy blow to the Qi faction with this move, but it also made the night watchman even more distrusted by the emperor.