CHAPTER 13: CHAPTER 12: MR. ZHU

"Master, since we’ve discovered it, why not just get rid of it all at once! Let’s see how these dirty things harm people again!" Fu Lu asked, puzzled. "Why should we carefully put everything back in place?"

"Recently, in the Qingshui County, the rumors about the Ghost Immortal have been intensifying. The human lives involved are not just the one we found last night.

The murderer, after killing, braved the heavy rain at night to transport the corpse away, not wanting the death in the Ghost Immortal Temple to spread, perhaps to repeat the trick in the future.

If we removed all of this and smashed the urn, how would we catch the turtle?" Lu Qing gestured to Fu Lu, "Go quickly."

Fu Lu now understood and quickly, together with Fu Wen, made a lot of mud, and carefully blocked the bamboo tube hidden inside the altar, and carefully pushed the statue back to its place, also thoughtfully brushing away the marks on the altar.

Zhu Yu, standing for a long time, got a bit tired, so she simply sat down on the straw to wait, propping her elbow on her leg, resting her chin in her hand, and absent-mindedly daydreaming.

The previous night, the deceased had clearly lost most of their blood while dying, yet there was very little blood on the ground.

The previous night, when Zhu Yu tossed and turned restlessly, she speculated in her heart where all that blood had gone.

Today, hearing Fu Wen say that before he smelled the strange fragrance, he first smelled a hint of blood, she had a rough guess in her heart.

But why?

If it was just about releasing a seductive fragrance, why add human blood? Could it be some sort of strange catalyst?

Regarding things like autopsies, Zhu Yu felt she was quite proficient, a piece of cake, but touching on things like sedatives and strange poisons, she was utterly clueless.

When she snapped back to reality, the brothers Fu Wen and Fu Lu had already finished, brushing the dust from their hands and bodies, and were uniformly looking at Lu Qing, waiting for his instructions.

Zhu Yu got up to take a look and found that Fu Lu had deliberately gone behind and stuffed the mouse hole he had pried open earlier.

She was secretly surprised, not expecting such a brawny man could be so meticulous in his work.

Lu Qing stood before the statue, eyes on the place where the corpse had lain the night before, pondering, and he did not speak for a long time.

"Master..." Fu Wen asked after a moment, "In this case, should we notify the local government office here?"

"No need, I originally thought that upon discovering the body, we should see how the local government handled it, but now that the body has disappeared, there’s no need to disturb them early." Lu Qing seemed to think of something and relaxed his brow, turning to Fu Wen, "You investigate this area carefully, search in places where people rarely go, see if you can find where the murderer hid the body."

"What about this Ghost Immortal Temple... shouldn’t I secretly keep watch here?" Fu Wen didn’t dare disobey Lu Qing’s orders but felt somewhat unwilling, his hand clenched into a fist at his side, clearly still angry about being drugged, "In case he repeats his old tricks, we’ve already blocked the bamboo tube for the seductive fragrance. As long as I ambush nearby, once he shows up, I’m sure I can capture him!"

"This shabby temple, where do you plan to hide secretly?" Lu Qing asked back.

Fu Wen opened his mouth and found he couldn’t really answer.

There’s no cover around this shabby temple, only a small wood behind it, which can serve as a hiding place at night, but won’t hide much during the day.

The shabby temple itself is even less worth mentioning. It’s just a low adobe house, the tiles on top are probably crumbling after all these years, and it’s not convenient to lie on it.

"To set up such a mechanism in this shabby temple, it means the other side is more familiar with the area than you are." Lu Qing shook his head at Fu Wen, "How do you plan to guard and catch him in a place the opponent is more familiar with?"

Hearing Lu Qing, Fu Wen, though a bit disheartened, recognized the current situation, nodded: "Master, I was too impatient!

Rest assured, I will find that hiding place for the body! Just wait for my news!"

With that, he clasped his hands in a salute and dashed outside, but was pulled back by Lu Qing’s grip on the back of his collar.

"Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay chopping wood. You should have sobered up enough by now; go to Fu Lu’s bundle, get some dry clothes, change, and then go." Lu Qing gave Fu Wen a gentle push toward Fu Lu, a bit helplessly.

It was evident that Fu Wen indeed had a point to prove, hurriedly taking the dry clothes and going behind to change, setting off ahead, quickly disappearing from sight.

Lu Qing paced to the temple’s entrance, looked up at the sun in the sky, then turned to Zhu Yu, "I wonder if Madam would accompany me for a walk around the nearby Qingshui County?"

Looking at his leisurely demeanor and light tone, anyone might think he intended to take Zhu Yu on a leisurely outing.

After the heart-to-heart the previous night, naturally, Zhu Yu wouldn’t refuse, and she gave Lu Qing a smile full of "sincerity": "I’d be delighted."

Lu Qing smiled back at her, then instructed Fu Lu, "From now on, while outside, Madam will be acting as my Chief Historian. You are to address her as Mr. Zhu."

From the day of his master’s wedding, Fu Lu was already astounded by the "reviving the dead" skill of the unassuming man who appeared at the banquet, only to later discover that the person was the newlywed Madam, nearly biting his tongue in surprise.

Witnessing the previous night, how calmly Madam examined the corpse, her knowledge and courage were unlike ordinary women, and he already deeply admired her.

He was a martial man, usually not caring much about rules except for Lu Qing’s orders, always impatient with formalities and strict codes.

Hearing Lu Qing say that from now on, the formidable Madam would act as "Mr. Zhu," he felt an inexplicable excitement, eagerly anticipating more eye-opening experiences, caring about nothing else.

"Yes!" Fu Lu grinned broadly, saluting Zhu Yu exaggeratedly, "Subordinate greets Mr. Zhu!

Rest assured, Mr. Zhu, as long as I, Fu Lu, am around, I’ll definitely ensure your safety!"

"Much appreciated, much appreciated!" Zhu Yu returned the gesture with a cheerful smile.

Setting aside her wish to be a wealthy idle person, the shocking and unconventional way Lu Qing used people, and his personal attendant’s attitude towards her, made Zhu Yu see him in a different light.

Before marrying, while at her family home in Shuo Country, she inadvertently displayed some intellect and courage unlike other women, but her father and brothers mostly held the attitude of "what can a woman like you understand?" dismissing her with a laugh.

That feeling of being underestimated was truly frustrating.

She wanted to bide her time and lay low, while others saw her as nothing, which are two entirely different matters.

Just for this reason alone, she found herself somewhat forgiving of Lu Qing’s prior action of secretly adding calming powder to her tea and snacks.