PCA Chapter 156

“Again? Will this ever end?” Knowing it was someone playing tricks, Qu Ling’er wasn’t as afraid anymore. He jumped out of bed, about to open the door, but was stopped by Su Cen.

 

“I’ll go.” Su Cen put on his robe, got out of bed, lit a candle, and went to open the door.

 

As the door opened, Su Cen was surprised: “Grandmother Lu?”

 

Grandmother Lu’s claw-like hands immediately grasped Su Cen’s wrist, her gaze urgent, her speech unclear as she repeated: “Little Nine… gone…”

 

Su Cen and Qu Ling’er rushed to the room where Lu Xiaojiu and Grandmother Lu stayed. They found the bedding still spread out on the bed, but the person was gone. Su Cen examined the door—the bolt was intact with no signs of damage.

 

Su Cen asked Grandmother Lu: “When did the person disappear?”

 

Unfortunately, the old woman was not only deaf but also had poor eyesight. She just kept repeating “Little Nine is gone,” completely ignoring whatever Su Cen asked.

 

Su Cen frowned slightly, supposing the old woman must have woken up, found Lu Xiaojiu missing, and then knocked on their door. She probably didn’t know exactly when Lu Xiaojiu had disappeared.

 

Qu Ling’er was puzzled: “We were in the courtyard the whole time trying to catch whoever was playing those ghost tricks, but we didn’t see Little Nine come out.”

 

“It must have been earlier,” Su Cen said. “Otherwise, he would have had no reason not to come out and look with all that loud knocking. There’s also another possibility…”

 

Seeing that Su Cen had stopped mid-sentence, Qu Ling’er moved closer and asked: “What else?”

 

Su Cen pursed his lips: “Perhaps… it was Lu Xiaojiu who smeared the eel blood on the door.”

 

Qu Ling’er felt a chill in his heart and glanced at the old woman sitting there. The scene of the old man sharpening his knife in the moonlight the previous night immediately came to mind. Who could guarantee that other people in this village were normal?

 

Fortunately, the old woman was still slumped on her stool, muttering to herself, not looking like she could harm anyone. Qu Ling’er felt slightly relieved and asked Su Cen quietly: “What do we do now?”

 

“Let’s find him first,” Su Cen said after thinking for a moment. “He can’t leave the village, so he should still be somewhere inside. Let’s split up and search.”

 

Qu Ling’er nodded and was about to leave when Su Cen pulled him back, taking out the map from his robe and handing it to Qu Ling’er. “Be careful. We’ll meet back here in half an hour.”

 

Qu Ling’er left through the gate and headed west. Su Cen thought for a moment, then headed directly east, passing through a winding path to find a solitary thatched cottage standing quietly under the moonlight.

 

He had assumed that at this hour everyone would be asleep, but looking over the wicker fence, Su Cen saw a lone figure sitting in the yard, holding a pipe, gazing up at the moon.

 

There was no sign of Lu Xiaojiu.

 

Just as Su Cen was about to leave, he heard someone smack their lips in the yard and say, “Since you’re here, come in.”

 

Su Cen was startled but decided to accept the situation. He stepped forward.

 

Unlike the other households in the village with their gates tightly closed, the old man’s wicker gate was open. Su Cen entered and called out “Senior” to the old man’s back. Only then did the old man turn around, squinting at Su Cen through exhaled smoke: “It’s so late, what’s happened?”

 

Su Cen replied: “Lu Xiaojiu from the village has disappeared. I’m looking for him.”

 

Even through the wrinkled face, Su Cen could tell the man was frowning. “Disappeared? How did he disappear?”

 

“There were no signs of a struggle in the room, and the door wasn’t broken. He probably left by himself,” Su Cen wasn’t sure why he was explaining all this to the old man, but he still told him everything he knew. “I’m not familiar with the village. May I ask if you know where Lu Xiaojiu might have gone?”

 

The old man squinted, took a puff of his pipe, and after a long while, slowly exhaled and said: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll go find him.”

 

“You know where he is?”

 

The old man extinguished his pipe and stood up slowly. “I’m just about to go look for him.”

 

By the fading light of the pipe, Su Cen frowned: “Your hand is injured?”

 

The old man lifted his hand nonchalantly to look at it, saying as he walked: “I was careless while killing fish, got cut by fish scales.”

 

Su Cen stood still: “I suspect it’s not a cut, but a bite, isn’t it?”

 

The old man stopped and turned back, eyeing Su Cen. The two stood facing each other, momentarily at an impasse.

 

After a while, Su Cen said: “Tonight, someone smeared eel blood on our courtyard gate to attract bats that would knock on the door, trying to frighten us.”

 

“To draw blood from an eel, one usually chops off its head. But eels are aggressive meat-eaters and slippery to handle. If not done properly, one can easily get bitten,” Su Cen stared at the old man’s hand hanging by his side. “That’s an eel bite, isn’t it?”

 

The old man raised his hand and smiled: “You can determine it was me just from this small wound?”

 

“Not necessarily,” Su Cen replied. “Using bats to frighten us without any intent to harm—it was merely to instill fear and make us leave this village.”

 

Su Cen smiled with modest courtesy: “Doesn’t this seem familiar to you, Senior? Isn’t it just like when you were sharpening a knife in the middle of the night to scare us?”

 

The old man was momentarily taken aback, then chuckled, “How do you know I was only trying to scare you?”

 

Su Cen answered honestly: “You don’t seem like a bad person.”

 

The two exchanged looks, then both smiled. The old man stood with his hands behind his back: “You’re an interesting young man.”

 

Su Cen took this as a compliment, lowering his head with a slight smile. In the clear moonlight, it was like a gentle breeze passing over his face—quite pleasing to the eye.

 

The old man asked further: “What exactly do you want to do in this village?”

 

Su Cen stood straight in the moonlight, his eyes reflecting the stars above: “Hold one’s heart like a balance, with reason as the fulcrum, punish the wicked in the world, and restore peace to the prosperous age.”

 

The old man stood for a long time before murmuring: “Well said, ‘Hold one’s heart like a balance, with reason as the fulcrum’…”

 

“Those were the words of Lord Chen Guanglu, the former Minister of the Dali Temple,” Su Cen explained. “He had a manual called ‘Chen’s Criminal Law,’ which is still regarded as the standard by judicial officials throughout the land. I’ve had the fortune to read some of it, and this was inscribed on the title page. This Senior…”

 

“Are we still looking for Lu Xiaojiu?” the old man interrupted.

 

Su Cen rubbed his nose embarrassedly, “He’s the senior I respect most. Once I start talking about him, I can’t stop. Please forgive me.”

 

“You go back first,” the old man waved, dismissing him. “When I find Lu Xiaojiu, I’ll naturally send him back.”

 

Su Cen bowed in farewell. Just as he reached the door, the old man called out from behind: “If you want to leave, come find me before dawn. After tonight, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

 

When Su Cen returned to Lu Xiaojiu’s home, Qu Ling’er was already waiting at the door. Seeing Su Cen return, he shook his head dejectedly, “Brother Su, I couldn’t find him.”

 

Su Cen nodded, “Let’s wait a bit longer and see what happens at daybreak.”

 

Just as they were about to enter the courtyard, Su Cen’s gaze lingered on the coffin at the entrance. Its red lacquer was peeling off, giving it a cold, frosty appearance in the moonlight.

 

Su Cen touched the coffin lid, then suddenly applied force, pushing it hard.

 

The creaking sound of compressed wood was particularly distinct in the silent night. The coffin lid wasn’t as heavy as it appeared; Su Cen didn’t need much effort to push it open a crack. A musty odor wafted out, and as both peered inside, they confirmed it was indeed empty.

 

Qu Ling’er looked at the coffin, then at Su Cen, “Brother Su, what’s wrong?”

 

Su Cen shook his head. Just as he was about to turn away, something faintly gleamed in the moonlight.

 

Su Cen reached into the coffin and extracted a piece of silver from a crevice.

 

Qu Ling’er was startled: “This… isn’t this…”

 

“This village has no trade or commerce, so they have no need for silver,” Su Cen closed the silver piece in his palm. “So this must be what we gave to Lu Xiaojiu today.”

 

Qu Ling’er took the silver and examined it for a while, “But why would it be in the coffin? Where is Lu Xiaojiu?”

 

Su Cen stared at the coffin for a moment, then placed his hand on the lid again, “Ling’er, help me.”

 

Together they pushed the lid open and searched thoroughly inside the coffin but found nothing more. Su Cen knocked on the bottom, producing a hollow echo. Qu Ling’er exclaimed, “There’s something underneath!”

 

Su Cen felt around the coffin walls and indeed found a slightly protruding secret panel. When he pressed it lightly, a gap immediately appeared in the bottom board.

 

“Go get a candle,” Su Cen instructed.

 

After Qu Ling’er returned with a candle, they lifted the false bottom of the coffin to reveal a stone staircase.

 

Su Cen asked: “Are you afraid?”

 

Qu Ling’er shook his head, “With you here, Brother Su, I’m not afraid.”

 

Su Cen smiled gently and led Qu Ling’er down the stone steps. The faint candlelight soon disappeared beneath the moonlight.

 

At the same time, in a room in the big mansion, a melodious bell rang out. After being relayed through layers of people in black, the news finally reached a man in white: “Someone has entered the game at the Dui position.”

 

 

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