Xu Qing tore off his long robe, ripping it into two pieces: one to simply cover the corpse, which he handed to Shang Shaoyang.
The child was about three years old, not very heavy, just a little small thing. Shang Shaoyang took the cloth wrap; although the child in front of him was merely a corpse, he was equally at a loss, afraid of waking the child from its slumber.
Xu Qing freed his hands and used another piece of fabric to wrap the child's two little legs.
"What does Brother Xu plan to do about this matter?"
Under normal circumstances, Shang Shaoyang's instinctive choice would be to report it to the authorities, but at this moment, he wanted to hear Xu Qing's suggestion.
"Report it to the authorities!"
"How could a normal family's child be treated like this?" Xu Qing picked up the tattered box from the ground and said, "I once learned from the forensic doctor, Senior Brother Wang, about examining corpses. This child's body is not yet cold and seems to have died from asphyxiation, yet there are no obvious signs of struggle. There must be an untold hidden truth here."
Xu Qing did not choose to perform funeral rites for the body and watch the little girl's traditional lantern show because he understood that once the Sutra of Salvation was used, the little girl's ghost would cease to exist.
Currently, the Heaven-Reaching Road is cut off. Even those with great magical powers in the world have no way to go to the underworld and conduct a questioning.
Xu Qing, too, did not. He wanted to know the true cause of the little girl's death and did not want her to be forcibly given funeral rites before her obsession was resolved.
Ghosts exist, each with their own obsession. What exactly is the little girl's obsession...
Xu Qing carried the tattered box, Shang Shaoyang held the cold corpse that had died and decayed, while Chen Liu'Er and the little girl turned their heads, holding hands and following the two towards the Government Office.
When they reached the entrance of the Government Office, the little girl stopped and wouldn't go any further. Chen Liu'Er seemed used to this and waved his hand, signaling the little girl to wait outside. She waved back, as if saying goodbye.
"Why isn't she coming with us?" Shang Shaoyang asked, puzzled.
"The Government Office is filled with armory and Evil Qi, and it's where the official seal resides, the heart of the county. Weak ghosts naturally fear it and are unwilling to come in."
"I didn't expect Brother Xu to know about these divine and ghost matters."
Xu Qing glanced at Shang Shaoyang, raising an eyebrow: "For a funeral shopkeeper who often deals with the dead, it's quite reasonable for me to know a few things related to the yin side of dealing with the dead, isn't it?"
"That's true, speaking of which, Brother Xu, your shop and the place where this child was buried are both shady and cool. Could it also be haunted?"
Xu Qing decisively denied: "The reason haunted places are so shady and cool is not just due to the influence of the ghosts' obsessions and resentments. There's also a geomancy aspect. Do you remember what was near the place where she was buried?"
"A big locust tree?"
"In the trade, it's often said that in the world there are Five Ghost Trees, and the locust tree is the chief among them. Look at the character for locust, '槐', wood on the left, ghost on the right; it's the only tree named after a ghost."
As they walked, Xu Qing said, "This tree carries heavy Yin energy, and the little girl's body… and home were just below this locust tree. If it had been elsewhere, it would've likely already decayed into bones."
Chen Liu'Er kept his head down, following behind the two, seeming to understand yet not quite. As they were about to reach the hall, Shang Shaoyang looked back and said, "Little Liu'Er, it's getting late. Hurry home. Don't sneak out to play, or else you'll worry your adoptive mother and nurse, understand?"
Chen Liu'Er stood still, not listening to Shang Shaoyang, rather kept looking at Xu Qing. Only after Xu Qing nodded did he run off.
"Why does the child listen to you so much?"
"Children are straightforward and maybe they see me as a straightforward adult, so they listen to me."
"..."
It's like you're saying I'm not straightforward or pure inside!
Feeling stuck, Shang Shaoyang decided to stop talking to Xu Qing altogether.
When they arrived at the hall, the constables immediately went to invite the county magistrate to ascend for the inquiry.
Chen Guangrui asked the constable who entered the hall and the constable said it was Young Master Shang.
Shang Shaoyang? His distant wife's brother-in-law?
Chen Guangrui's brows furrowed tightly. This troublesome brat who never stays still better not have gone off heroically punishing villains again, only to come to him for help with the aftermath.
Yet this heir always performs acts of virtue and justice on the moral high ground. If he were not sensible, bullying the weak, Chen Guangrui might have long exercised righteous family discipline and retired to his hometown!
By this time, darkness had fallen, and Chen Guangrui hurried from the passage connecting the back hall to the main hall.
Once seated, he saw Shang Shaoyang carefully holding the wrapped corpse, as well as the familiar pale-faced young man beside him.
Chen Guangrui's heart sank. Seeing Shang Shaoyang was one headache, but seeing a Scholar from the Xu lineage was a genuine cause for stress.
It's not surprising Chen Guangrui reacted this way because all the Scholars from the Xu lineage he had encountered in the past weren't easy to handle. They seemed silent but each bore tricky issues, likely bringing another major case to test him!
A Scholar from the Xu lineage plus his particularly trouble-prone in-law, could they be planning to assassinate the Emperor?
Alert, Chen Guangrui immediately gathered all his energy. With both rows of constables holding water-fire staffs, warmly anticipating the magistrate's decision, he spoke once the gavel struck:
"Who is below the hall, what grievance do you have, speak quickly!"
"..."
Shang Shaoyang was used to it. Every time he came to the hall, his official brother-in-law always pretended not to recognize him, decidedly flouting friendship and family ties upon achieving status!
"Merchant from Qingzhou, Advanced Scholar from the Year of Yi-Si, Shang Shaoyang, greets your honor."
Xu Qing looked at Shang Shaoyang in surprise, not expecting this scion to have a scholarly distinction.
"Person from the Jin Sect, Scholar from the Year of Xu-Ji, Shopkeeper of the Funeral Shop, Coffin Shop, Shroud Shop, and Paper Mache Shop, Xu Qing, greets your honor."