CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 38: SOUL-ATTRACTING INCENSE

Under normal circumstances, a sudden kowtow from Lu Jingxing would have startled Zhu Yu, but at this moment, her ears only caught one phrase—"loss of smell."

Lu Qing was evidently the same: "You say you lost your sense of smell overnight? How did that happen?"

Lu Jingxing lifted his head, his gaze somewhat bewildered, seemingly prepared for this Lord Imperial Censor to investigate the Lu Family’s distillery for monopolistic practices. However, when the other party asked about something else, he found himself momentarily at a loss.

"This occurred without any warning, as if it just happened overnight." He seemed dazed, as though he too found his response unbelievably absurd. "Everything was fine, and then that morning, when I got up for breakfast, the food didn’t taste right, and I thought the cook was being lazy and not doing a good job.

Later, I went to the outhouse... that’s when I realized I couldn’t smell a bit of the stench, and then I discovered that it wasn’t just me, nearly everyone in the house had turned out like this.

We called a doctor to take a look, but even he couldn’t figure it out. Mother said it’s most likely divine retribution for the Lu Family’s misdeeds; if Heaven intends to punish us, then we should accept it."

Zhu Yu glanced at Lu Qing, knowing she wanted to say something, and he nodded slightly, signaling her to speak.

Seeing this, Zhu Yu spoke to Lu Jingxing: "You don’t have to kneel outside the door, come inside to talk."

Upon hearing the person beside the Imperial Censor speak, Lu Jingxing didn’t dare to make any immediate moves. He hurriedly looked at the Imperial Censor, and seeing no reaction, he cautiously stood up, carefully stepped inside, walked a few steps forward, and knelt down again five feet away from the two of them.

The distance was sufficient.

Through her mask, Zhu Yu sniffed with her usually sharp sense of smell and indeed detected a faint fragrance coming from Lu Jingxing.

This scent was already quite familiar to Zhu Yu, having encountered it after the Ghost Immortal Temple and the wine vats.

"Lu Jingxing, I ask you, have you or your elder brother ever gone to the Ghost Immortal Temple outside the city to seek wealth?" she inquired.

Lu Jingxing did not know Zhu Yu’s identity, but seeing her dare to question before the Imperial Censor, he guessed she must be someone significant, not daring any neglect, he quickly responded: "Sir, I truly don’t know anything about a Ghost Immortal Temple, and I’ve never been there!

My elder brother, though not well-read, has always been a non-believer in deities, never setting foot in even ordinary temples, let alone a Ghost Immortal Temple!"

Never been to the Ghost Immortal Temple?

Zhu Yu frowned. If he hadn’t been there, how could the scent on him be explained?

She quickly thought of a possibility: "Has your family recently purchased any incense that you hadn’t used before?"

Lu Jingxing, surprised, raised his head at her words: "The fact that you even know such trivial things, sir?

Although it’s not incense, our family has recently bought some such items.

My sister-in-law did indeed buy some ’Soul-Attracting Incense’ from a traveling Taoist about half a month ago.

As my brother’s life was unknown for so long, our whole family was very anxious, unable to trace him, and the longer the days dragged on, the more we feared for his safety.

My sister-in-law bought this ’Soul-Attracting Incense,’ placing it all over the house and sending much to the distillery, instructing the staff there to light incense everywhere, saying that the scent would guide his soul back home if my brother had met with mishap outside.

Though I’m not a believer, I knew that doing so would give my sister-in-law some peace of mind, so I didn’t stop her."

"How long was that ’Soul-Attracting Incense’ burned in the house and at the distillery? Was there anything unusual about it compared to other incense?"

"It burned from morning till night, roughly for seven or eight days.

Initially, it didn’t smell very good, somewhat like an iron rust odor, but it dissipated soon, and afterward, there was no strange smell, only a stronger fragrance than ordinary incense." Lu Jingxing was puzzled, not understanding why the opposite party wanted to ask such trivial matters.

Though he was still confused, Zhu Yu’s thoughts were becoming clear: "So your distillery’s wine soured after those seven or eight days, the yeast became foul after those days, and even your family’s sense of smell dulled after those days. Am I right?"

Lu Jingxing had never linked these things before, but now being questioned by Zhu Yu, he furrowed his brows in contemplation, his face showing surprise: "Yes! Sir! Just as you said, that is precisely the case!

There couldn’t be such coincidences in the world; perhaps all this... is related to that ’Soul-Attracting Incense’?"

Zhu Yu didn’t answer but instead asked: "Was that ’Soul-Attracting Incense’ also burned in your backyard?"

"The backyard wasn’t burned because there is a stable. On the first day, my sister-in-law had planned to light it there as well, but as soon as the incense was lit, the horses became restless, so it was abandoned, and no incense was burned back there." Lu Jingxing shook his head.

With his answer, Zhu Yu had a grasp of the situation.

The skinny servant Zhu Yu encountered outside the Lu household, who looked after the back gate, had escaped, perhaps being the only one who didn’t lose his sense of taste and smell because the horses in the stable reacted strongly to the incense.

This indirectly confirmed that the strange "illness" which even the doctor couldn’t explain that afflicted the Lu Family was indeed linked to that fragrance.

Zhu Yu’s gaze passed over the kneeling Lu Jingxing to the rune at the doorway.

That night at the Ghost Immortal Temple, the rune had also been tainted with a similar scent due to seductive fragrance exposure, but in the following days, no abnormalities were found.

Why was it that, despite such similar scents, some suffered significant issues while others remained unscathed? Was it simply because the rune was only exposed once and didn’t face any other symptoms, or was there another reason entirely...

She sniffed again, trying to recollect and compare in her mind.

The human sense of smell carries strong memories; one might forget, but one never truly loses the memory of a scent once smelled.

The fragrance on Lu Jingxing, whether compared to the seductive scent on the rune that day in the ruined temple or the one on the wine vats, was extremely similar, yet not entirely the same, as if with a slight two- or three-tenths difference.

However, since Zhu Yu had never worked in the fragrance business, it was difficult to pinpoint the difference immediately.

Wait a minute...

Fragrance formulation...

Zhu Yu felt like a new direction for thought had suddenly opened up.

As she pondered deeply, Lu Qing began to ask Lu Jingxing other questions.

"So Lu’s revenue in Qingshui County for the past few years, is it true that eighty percent was to pay tribute to Li Wencai?" he confirmed with Lu Jingxing.

"Indeed so! My elder brother’s malevolent actions were inexcusable, yet it was all under Li Wencai, County Magistrate Li’s coercion.

Li Wencai wielded absolute power in Qingshui County; after boarding his villainous ship, my brother found turning back impossible. Over these years, 80% of the gains ended up in his coffers.

After my brother’s mishap, Li Wencai saw that Lu’s had well and truly lost any chance of recovery and discarded us like an old shoe.

Only upon falling into such a state did I realize how hard life was for those whose livelihoods were taken, full of regret as the family’s distress deepened.

I used to think the Lu Family, punishable with heavy crimes, faced divine retribution, and our downfall was due to our sins, with no one to blame.

Even when we were well-off, we couldn’t escape Li Wencai’s grasp, and now we are unable to do anything against him.

Unexpectedly, officers came today, saying they were taking me to see the Imperial Censor.

I heard the Imperial Censor is impartial and unyielding; I earnestly plead with you, sir, to thoroughly investigate Li Wencai!

I am ready to take full responsibility for Lu’s sins, but the corrupt Li Wencai must not be allowed to escape punishment!" Lu Jingxing said with a face of indignation.