Guard Zhan Seems a Bit Afraid of Ghosts!

Nan Zhi silently protected her purse and turned to the waiter. “Excuse me, I didn't order these?”

Dressed in bright red official robes, Zhan Zhao strode upstairs and sat down opposite her with a natural, open demeanor.

“Miss Nan, you have traveled thousands of li from Dingyuan. To me, you are a guest, so how could I let you spend your own money? The tea here at Lady Li's Tea House tastes quite good. Even off duty, I often come here to rest and drink tea. However, my salary is modest, so I can only afford to treat you to a single cup of tea.”

“I guess Officer Zhan just came out from the dungeon after meeting those two fools. You must be deeply confused right now and want me to clear things up. Consider this cup of tea my payment then.”

Knowing he was merely being modest, Nan Zhi did not stand on ceremony either. She simply pushed the tea cup slightly to her left where no one was sitting before cutting straight to the point.

“I reckon that scholar—the humble son-in-law of Lord Qi from the Northwest Circuit's Bureau of Military Affairs—must have lodged a complaint against me. No doubt he claimed I colluded with demons and ghosts to harm people and tried to steal his family's property. Am I right?”

Zhan Zhao's expression froze for a moment before he answered smoothly:

“Miss Nan, you speak frankly and straight to the point. But I suspect there must be more to this story. If you had truly acted like that, not only would the sword in my hand refuse to allow it, but you also would never have passed the Xiezhi Mirror of the Demon Suppression Division.”

Dealing with smart people really was much more pleasant.

Nan Zhi pulled out a dossier and set it on the table, then tapped the unopened jar of “Immortal Brew” beside it.

“Officer Zhan, living far away in Bianjing, have you ever heard of 'Immortal Brew'?”

“Naturally, I have. The Immortal Brew crafted by the Wang Family Distillery is sold both inside and outside Bianjing. Though for some reason, half a month ago, it became almost impossible to buy a single jar in the market.”

Uncertain of what she had up her sleeve, Zhan Zhao remarked cautiously, “Could it be related to the death of Wang Fugui, the master of the Wang family?”

“Heh, I took away the raw material for their brewing. How could they brew any more wine? Guard Zhan, you might not know this, but the Wang family's brewing rules are exceptionally strict. Every vat of aged wine requires water taken from the mother vat in their garden to make the mash. What no one knows, however, is that soaked inside that mother vat was a beautiful woman's head.”

Nan Zhi let out a cold laugh. She broke open the mud seal on the wine jar and poured some out onto the table.

The crystal-clear wine flowed across the tabletop and spilled onto the floor. Without her making a single move, a fine, long strand of hair suddenly sprouted from the spilled liquid on the table, writhing as if it were alive.

“This is—”

Zhan Zhao felt a chill run down his spine at the sight. Recalling Nan Zhi's words, he couldn't help asking further:

“So Wang Fugui used dark sorcery to brew wine, which is why there's such an evil entity inside it? But why did not a single demon suppressor across all of Bianjing notice this?”

Nan Zhi shook her head. “That, I do not know. My rough guess is that there was simply too little Yin energy in the wine. You must understand that Yin energy is like ink. If you try to find a drop of ink on a sheet of white paper, it's naturally easy. But if I disperse that drop into a lake or an ocean, how could anyone detect it? In truth, this wine does no harm to the human body. It just so happens that I recognize the owner of the head in that vat, and it just so happens that I stumbled upon a thirty-year-old unaddressed grievance.”

With that, Nan Zhi recounted everything that had happened thirty years ago in detail, hiding nothing this time—including what Wanniang sought, and how Wang Fugui had already been killed by Wanniang.

“Are you speaking of the 'Imperial Wine Case' from back then? That case was indeed famous. I still remember hearing people talk about it when I first took up my post at Kaifeng Prefecture.”

Zhan Zhao was unwilling to believe it lightly. Frowning, he said, “Ghosts are treacherous and cunning. How can you be certain that spirit did not deceive you? Miss Nan, could you truly possess the ability to read human hearts?”

Nan Zhi: “...”

She could hardly tell him she had a system, could she?

Fortunately, she was prepared.

“Naturally, I conducted investigations through various channels to verify what Wanniang said. Moreover, before he died, Wang Fugui personally confessed that he poisoned the wine and bribed the presiding judge to frame the Qu family. This is the old case dossier retrieved from the Capital Judicial Bureau. Anyone with eyes can see through it at a glance. Although various judicial officers signed and sealed it from top to bottom, the Qu family's case was handled with far too much haste. Most absurdly of all, Wang Fugui, as an adopted son of the Qu family, also handled that batch of poisoned wine. Yet not only did he emerge completely unscathed, but the Qu family's entire estate ended up in his hands.”

Nan Zhi handed over the dossier that Xu Zi had just “borrowed” from the Capital Judicial Bureau that afternoon, pointing specifically to the name of the presiding judge from back then. “Officer Zhan, does this name look familiar to you? It's fine if you don't recognize it. This Ma Wuyan is Wang Fugui's in-law, Wang Chen's father-in-law, and the maternal uncle of Qi Mingyuan from our Northwest Circuit's Bureau of Military Affairs.”

Ma Wuyan. Wang Fugui. One was the presiding judge back then. The other was the Qu family's adopted son who had completely washed his hands of the murder case. Years later, those two had actually become in-laws. Even an idiot could see there was fishiness going on.

Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment before understanding dawned on him.

The Demon Suppression Division possessed immense power; though it could capture ghosts and step beyond normal bounds to make arrests, it remained independent of the imperial court and could not meddle in state politics. No wonder she had traveled thousands of li to deliver these people here.

“I will take the dossier first and ensure it reaches Lord Bao's desk tonight.”

A look of admiration appeared on Zhan Zhao's face. “Just for a promise, Miss Nan was willing to brave such hardships and travel all the way to Bianjing. You truly possess extraordinary righteousness and loyalty. I am moved by your trust in me. Rest assured, I despise nothing more than those who abuse power for personal gain and bully others. Back when I roamed the jianghu, I also slew a few corrupted dog... ahem, officials who colluded with merchants to oppress the common people. If this matter proves true, Lord Bao will certainly seek justice for Lady Qu and clear the names of all thirty-seven members of the Qu family. The tea in your cup is still warm, and the pastries here are delicious. Feel free to finish your tea before leaving, Miss Nan. I shall take my leave first.”

Having suddenly learned of such a major case and obtained the dossier, Zhan Zhao was eager to verify the truth and took the dossier with him as he turned to leave.

As he turned, his eyes seemed to play tricks on him—standing behind Nan Zhi was a female ghost clad in mourning clothes!

Her long hair veiled her face, and a purplish-red long tongue hung down over her chest. On her pale, greenish-white face, a pair of pitch-black eyes without any whites rolled slightly upward.

From somewhere out of nowhere came a faint, ghostly sigh: “Thank you.”

Zhan Zhao's posture stiffened. Yet, with forced composure, he walked downstairs, though his pace was noticeably hurried.

...

Wanniang remained silent for a moment before looking down at Nan Zhi. “That Guard Zhan seems a bit afraid of ghosts!”

Munching on a pastry, Nan Zhi glanced at her dangling long tongue, then at that pale, terrifying ghost face and the jet-black pupils utterly devoid of white. She really didn't have the heart to tell her the truth:

Even though they had spent a lot of time together, whenever Wanniang suddenly popped up behind her—gloomy, eerie, and jet-black—it truly was quite frightening.

—She was scary enough to apply for a job as Sadako or Kayako and get hired on the spot.

It really was no wonder Zhan Zhao was scared.

Seeing that Nan Zhi had complete faith in Kaifeng Prefecture to restore her innocence, Wanniang inexplicably calmed down as well. Tidying her hair, she simply sat beside Nan Zhi to drink tea.

How could she not believe in them?

That was Kaifeng Prefecture, after all.

When she was little, watching television with her aunt, whenever that big, dark-faced man appeared and the stirring, passionate music started playing, Nan Zhi knew the bad guys were about to meet their end.

—Although this wasn't the Great Song of history, those three guillotines were genuinely housed inside the Kaifeng Prefecture Yamen.

If Bao Zheng were not righteous in his actions, how could he ever have earned the title of "Clear Sky"?

Nan Zhi broke off a piece of pastry and stuffed it into her sleeve, prompting a rustling sound from within her cuff.

After a moment, a pair of tiny paws reached out, swiftly snatching the pastry before disappearing again.

—It was the little hedgehog Nan Zhi had saved from Ma San.

Having been away for so long, she really missed Corn a little bit.

Once Wanniang's business was wrapped up, she would head home to take a look first.

Nan Zhi let out a soft sigh of relief.