Ping An Town belonged to Ping An County and was the most basic administrative unit, on par with townships and pavilions, but the chief official held no official rank.

In this ancient world with inconvenient transportation, unless there was a major event to report, the townships and pavilions below would only report to the county government twice a year.

Chen Yuan had only heard of Ping An Town; he had never been there.

However, the name gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

"Brother Zhao, have you ever been to Ping An Town?"

Chen Yuan turned his head and asked from horseback.

"I came here a few years ago. A very strange thing happened in Ping An Town. Captain Huang personally led people to investigate, but unfortunately, they didn't find anything in the end."

"Strange?"

Chen Yuan became interested.

"Yes, in a relatively remote village in Ping An Town, twenty-three households all disappeared. That was a major case a few years ago."

"Didn't they find any traces?"

"No, that village is too remote and rarely interacts with outsiders..."

"Was it done by demonic cultivators?"

"I don't know. There were no clues, so it was eventually shelved." Zhao Ning shook his head slightly.

After two hours, near noon, Chen Yuan, Zhao Ning, and several yamen runners finally arrived at Ping An Town. Zhao Ning led Chen Yuan to the home of the chief official, Liu Laosan.

Although he held no official rank, Liu Laosan had considerable power in Ping An Town. His family was well-off, and he wore fine cloth, quite different from the coarse linen worn by the common people.

"And who is this?" Liu Laosan cupped his hands towards Zhao Ning and looked at Chen Yuan with a smile.

"This is Chen Yuan, a constable who joined last year... This is Master Liu San..." Zhao Ning introduced with a chuckle.

"What Master Liu San, Constable Chen can just call me Lao Liu." Liu Laosan waved his hand.

Chen Yuan nodded with a smile.

"What brings you two constables to my Ping An Town today? Does the county magistrate have any orders?" Liu Laosan asked tentatively.

Chen Yuan and Zhao Ning exchanged glances and whispered:

"We're here to investigate some fugitives. County Commandant is furious and ordered a thorough investigation of all townships and pavilions in the county, so... the two of us were assigned to Ping An Town."

"I see..." Liu Laosan looked relieved.

As long as they weren't coming for him.

"You two constables must be tired from your journey. Why not rest here for a while?"

"Then we'll be imposing..."

......

After some toasting and drinking, Liu Laosan's cheeks began to flush, and his voice became slurred and swaying. He grabbed Chen Yuan and said:

"Brother Chen, you..."

"Brother Liu, has anything unusual happened in Ping An Town recently?" Chen Yuan asked softly. Zhao Ning had already passed out on the table.

"Unusual... let me think, I don't think so... Oh, right, Old Chen and his wife died three days ago... Pretty... pretty weird..."

Liu Laosan said, hiccuping.

"How so weird?" Chen Yuan became interested.

"Them two..."

Chen Yuan frowned and left Liu Laosan's house alone, wanting to investigate Old Chen's home.

According to Liu Laosan, Old Chen and his wife were hardworking and hadn't provoked anyone, but they died strangely on the night of three days ago.

It was as if they had been buried underground for a long time and become mummies. Someone took one look and was so scared that they couldn't close their eyes for a day and a night. Their bodies were still at home, and few dared to approach.

After asking a few idlers in town, Chen Yuan found Old Chen's house after many twists and turns.

It was a very dilapidated little courtyard, the door tightly closed, with New Year's couplets from years past pasted on the door, but they had completely faded and looked as if they were about to fall off in the wind.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

Chen Yuan held the long knife at his waist and gently knocked on the door with one hand.

Although Old Chen had died, Chen Yuan learned from Liu Laosan that they had a son who was fourteen or fifteen years old, who hadn't left the house for the past few days.

Chen Yuan wanted to ask further, but Liu Laosan was already motionless.

No one dared to help at his house. The people in town all said that his family had provoked evil spirits and had been drained of their essence. The evil spirits were still in their home.

Even if someone wanted to help out of neighborly affection, they didn't have the courage.

"Rustle..."

A faint rustling sound came from the courtyard.

"Creak..."

The door was pulled open from the inside, and a young boy appeared before Chen Yuan.

The boy was not very old, with a white hat tied on his head and a linen robe with several obvious patches on his body.

The boy looked calm, with clear eyes under thick eyebrows, and looked quite determined. He was holding a cut-out paper figure in his hand.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked calmly.

Chen Yuan frowned. With such a catastrophe in his family, a boy of just over ten years old shouldn't be so calm, as if what happened in his home wasn't a funeral.

"I am Chen Yuan, a constable, here to investigate the death of your parents," Chen Yuan said in a low voice.

The boy was stunned for a moment, looked Chen Yuan up and down, and whispered:

"Please come in, sir."

Chen Yuan walked into the small courtyard with a plain expression, carefully looking around. It was very simple, nothing unusual, except for some wood shavings piled together in the yard.

"What are you doing with this?"

"Making coffins for my parents."

"You're so young, and you can do this?" Chen Yuan was surprised.

"I learned it before..."

"What's your name?" Chen Yuan asked.

The boy was silent for a long time and lowered his head and said:

"My parents always called me Ping An..."

"Ping An, Chen Ping'an!!!"

Chen Yuan muttered to himself, why is everyone called Chen Ping'an now?

Huh?

Why "everyone"?

"Your parents must have hoped you would be safe and sound."

Chen Ping'an did not answer. He went back into the hut and continued to whittle wood shavings with his tools, wanting to complete the last piece of wood.

Chen Yuan stepped into the hut. What appeared before him was a large coffin with many flaws, lacking the most important coffin lid, and a faint smell of corpses emanated from it.

Chen Ping'an was grinding the wood expressionlessly, paying no attention to Chen Yuan's looking around. He showed no curiosity, and did not cry out for the truth about his parents' deaths.

Chen Yuan covered his nose lightly and leaned forward. He saw two withered corpses, with grim faces and wide eyes, as if they had encountered great fear before their deaths.

He gently lifted the coarse cloth covering them with a knife. Chen Yuan examined them carefully, but there were no obvious wounds on their bodies, only a red dot on the back of their necks.

"Why didn't you report to the authorities?" Chen Yuan asked as he observed.

"What's the use of reporting to the authorities?" Chen Ping'an didn't look up.

"Were you home the night your parents died?"

"Yes."

"Did you feel anything unusual?"

"Yes."

Chen Ping'an raised his head and stared at Chen Yuan.

"Where?"

---

Thanks to Maple Blood Remnant Sun for the reward of five hundred points.

Seeking monthly tickets

"I didn't die..."