A clap of thunder again split the sky, and a drizzle began to fall.
The wild man's body was soaked by the rain, and the weeds he wore no longer served to cover him, revealing a scrawny, wax-yellow arm.
It really was a person.
Xia Yunting squinted, scrutinizing him.
The intelligence he had received before stated that wild men often appeared here and seemed to be related to the case.
As the wild man turned its head, a gaunt face was revealed, with sunken cheeks that made its eyes bulge outwards, giving it a terrifying appearance. Its nose and mouth were tiny, almost imperceptible, and its lips were pressed into a thin line.
Upon seeing Xia Yunting, a gleam of excitement shot from its large eyes. It let out a strange cry and sprang forward.
Xia Yunting dodged to the side, but when he looked down, the wild man had vanished. Instead, a weight settled on his back.
A pair of bony arms wrapped around Xia Yunting's neck. He felt a chill on the back of his neck as something rubbed against him.
The wild man pressed itself against Xia Yunting, seemingly in ecstasy, making strange sounds as if its throat had been cut.
"Wuwuwu... Wulawala..."
The wet, slippery, and cold sensation made Xia Yunting feel utterly disgusted.
"Get down!"
His expression turned stern. He grabbed the wild man's arm and flung it away.
"Ahhh... scared..."
The wild man fell to the ground, rolling in the mud.
The rain intensified, plastering the wild man's hair into clumps.
It shivered, looking up at Xia Yunting with fear in its eyes.
Xia Yunting frowned. After a moment, he tentatively asked,
"Can you... speak?"
The wild man tilted its head. Seeing that Xia Yunting made no move, it opened its mouth and emitted a strange tone.
"Wuwuwu... wawawawa..."
It sounded like a mute who had just learned to speak, unable to find the right pitch.
Had its throat been damaged?
He wondered if that girl could treat it.
Just as he considered taking the wild man back, it seemed to sense his thought. It let out a strange cry and scrambled up to the treetop in a flash.
Its agile movements and swift pace were faster than any monkey's, and Xia Yunting couldn't catch up.
He looked up at the treetop, somewhat surprised.
The wild man grabbed two leaves to shield its face, thinking it wouldn't be seen. However, its large, round eyes were fixed on Xia Yunting, an unmistakable gleam within them.
"Guanguan... at the river, zhou, virtuous lady, gentleman..."
Guanguan jiū jiū, by the river's bank, a virtuous lady, a gentleman's delight.
Although the wild man only uttered a few broken syllables, Xia Yunting's mind automatically filled in the rest.
"Guanguan jiū jiū, by the river's bank. A virtuous lady, a gentleman's delight..."
He recited it aloud. It was a poem describing love.
Suddenly, the wild man flickered and vanished.
Ghost House.
"You mean I just need to gather herbs and sell them to Jishetang?"
Rong Zhi tapped the table with her finger, deep in thought.
Jishetang was the apothecary where she had first brought Xia Yunting to get medicine, and it was also where the shop assistant named An Ping had told her that Chu Qingze was a disciple of Medicine King Valley.
Could there be a connection between them?
As she pondered, Chu Qingze misunderstood.
"What? You don't want to do it? Do you want to see patients yourself?"
He clutched his chest, his expression conveying "Don't push your luck."
"Let me tell you, the people of Changping County only recognize me as a doctor. They won't easily believe anyone else. Only that fool Zhang Yajing would be so easily fooled by you! This is the only business deal. Providing medicinal herbs to Jishetang is also helping me. I can help you negotiate a good price. As for anything else, no discussion!"
"Alright, it's settled then."
It wasn't as if she was doing it for the money anyway.
As soon as she spoke, Rong Zhi abruptly changed the subject.
"Why are you keeping your distance from me?"
Her gaze fell on Chu Qingze's clenched fist.
He seemed... very nervous.
Chu Qingze's face stiffened, and he retorted stubbornly,
"I can't beat you."
"That's not right..."
Rong Zhi rested her chin on her hand, as if recalling something.
"The last time I saw you, you ran away scared."
"I, Chu, have always avoided women."
He said, shifting further back, even though there was no more space behind him.
"I've heard of avoiding women, but this is the first time I've seen someone who's afraid of women upon seeing them. You're sick, you need treatment!"
Rong Zhi said this and began to approach Chu Qingze.
"What are you doing? Don't come any closer!"
Chu Qingze covered his chest and retreated, but the room was small, and he was soon forced into a corner.
Rong Zhi grasped his pulse.
"Since we know each other, I can treat you for free. Don't be shy."
"No, no, no... I don't need your meddling!"
Chu Qingze threw her hand off, his face turning pale.
"You... get away from me!"
Rong Zhi didn't move. From the look of it, he wasn't faking.
There was no such illness in her memory. Discovering it suddenly piqued Rong Zhi's interest. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Why are you so nervous? I'm helping you."
Chu Qingze glared at her.
"If you touch me again, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself!"
Chu Qingze adopted a look of one who would rather die than yield. He glimpsed a figure approaching outside the door and had a sudden idea, raising his voice.
"Young lady, how can you do this? You're a married woman. How can you do this to your husband?"
Rong Zhi was stunned. Why was he suddenly acting?
She realized what was happening and turned her head, only to see Xia Yunting pushing the door open, bringing in a gust of damp, cold wind.
He was completely drenched, his expression grim, lost in thought.
"Hey! You're back just in time. Look at your wife, she's not upholding her wifely duties... Hey, hey, what are you doing?"
Mid-sentence, Chu Qingze suddenly leaped into the air, flying out in a graceful arc.
"Bang!"
Xia Yunting slammed the door shut.
An enraged scolding could be heard from outside.
"Neither of you are good people, a pair of male and female villains! Ow, it hurts so much..."
The sounds of pain faded into the distance.
Rong Zhi's mouth twitched. She looked at the man in front of her who was removing his wet clothes and asked, "Did you catch him? Was he an assassin?"
Xia Yunting didn't reply. After quickly taking off his wet clothes, he went into the kitchen.
Rong Zhi watched the closed door, perplexed.
Could he really be angry?
Surely not? They weren't a real couple, and this was supposed to be an unspoken understanding.
Actually, Rong Zhi had misunderstood.
Xia Yunting was just thinking about that case.
Two years ago, his informant within the imperial court had sent a secret report stating that many cases of human trafficking had occurred in Changping County. Further investigation revealed him as the mastermind!
Xia Yunting knew he had never done anything wicked. Moreover, he had never even heard of Changping County before.
To uncover the truth, he had sent several people to investigate, but they all ended up... dead here.
This courtyard was the temporary refuge of his subordinate who had come to investigate. There must be other evidence here. He couldn't leave until he had clarified the truth.
As for that little girl, since she said she would help him, it shouldn't matter to her whether she could return to the imperial city now, right?
Xia Yunting thought this as he soaked himself in the bathtub.
Suddenly, an unhappy figure appeared before him.
"Hey, I was just treating him. You're not really angry, are you?"
Rong Zhi waved her hand at Xia Yunting, pulling him back from his thoughts.
Rong Zhi looked helpless, seemingly pondering how to explain.
Seeing that she had misunderstood, Xia Yunting suddenly found it amusing. He didn't correct her, but instead played along, turning his head away as if angry.
Rong Zhi: "..."
He was really angry!
Had he gotten addicted to this? Did he expect her to appease him?
Not a chance!
She cleared her throat and began to speak nonsense, "Xia Yunting, you once said that even if I found someone else later, you wouldn't be angry."
Now it was Xia Yunting's turn to be stunned. Was she taking advantage of his "amnesia" to make things up?
"I have amnesia. I don't remember saying that."
"..."
"I was out in the rain, and you were clinging to another man."
Well, he was getting defensive.
The final outcome, of course, was Rong Zhi appeasing him... Not!
Rong Zhi suddenly realized that Xia Yunting was just toying with her!
Her brain must have been kicked by a donkey to even consider explaining.
That night, lightning and thunder kept Rong Zhi awake.
Xia Yunting was still recalling the wild man's words.
"Guanguan jiū jiū, by the river's bank, a virtuous lady, a gentleman's delight."
He was clearly a wild man, yet he could recite these lines. This indicated he had once been a normal person, and possibly even educated.
This village was not peaceful, with frequent human traffickers. Perhaps he had been trafficked here?
He became lost in thought and unconsciously muttered the phrase.
Suddenly, a faint voice echoed in the darkness.
"Xia Yunting."
"Hmm?"
"Are you interested in that monkey?"
"..."
The rain continued all night, only gradually subsiding by the next morning.
In the morning, Rong Zhi told Xia Yunting about her collaboration with Chu Qingze.
Xia Yunting had no objections. After all, he "had amnesia" and would accept whatever Rong Zhi said, as long as he could stay here to investigate the case.
The sun was bright outside. Rong Zhi had originally planned to go up the mountain to gather herbs today, but she suddenly heard a frantic knocking at the door.
"Is anyone inside? Come out!"
It was a weathered, middle-aged male voice, sounding impatient.
Rong Zhi opened the door. Outside stood a group of people dressed as villagers, both men and women.
Strangely, their faces were all very peculiar, more or less distorted. While not as exaggerated as Yu Cheng's, they were still terrifying, like dried old bark.
Rong Zhi was startled. Had they all been poisoned?
At this moment, a middle-aged man at the front spoke.
"Where did you come from? Why are you staying here?"
Although his voice was a bit loud, Rong Zhi could tell he meant no harm. Judging by the situation, the speaker was likely the village chief.
"Hello, uncle. We are from out of town and are just staying here temporarily."
Rong Zhi answered sincerely.
"From out of town?"
Yu Rong's face showed a hint of suspicion.
"Our village is not a peaceful place. People go missing every few days. You staying here is very dangerous."
"Thank you for the warning, but we are only staying temporarily. We'll be fine."
Seeing that Rong Zhi had made up her mind, Yu Rong had nothing more to say. Although he wanted to remind them that the house was often haunted, the young lady seemed unfazed.
"Since you plan to stay here, you'll need to register. If anything happens, the village won't be responsible."
So, they just needed to register.
It wasn't a big deal.
"Let's go then."
While the two were talking, the surrounding people were curiously peering inside.
"So this is the haunted house. I think it's quite nice. I wish I had a house this big."
"I'm afraid you'd enter with your life but not leave with it!"
"Oh, look! What a handsome young man!"
A surprised exclamation drew everyone's attention. All eyes turned towards the kitchen door.
Xia Yunting, with an apron tied around his waist, gave Rong Zhi a questioning look.
What was going on?