Chapter 157: Uncovered

“Pa!”

“Scumbag!”

Mu Yi came out and saw the old woman, she slapped Cui Xiang’s face.

Cui Xiang came back to her senses. She looked terrified. After having been slapped, she only knelt down, she didn’t dare say anything.

Mu Yi didn’t have any compassion for her, she was on the enemy’s side, even if she was forced.

And pitiful people were also pathetic.

And regarding the old woman, Mu Yi found her extremely annoying. But it wasn’t time to settle accounts with her yet.

When the old woman saw that Mu Yi didn’t intend to attack, she thought he was afraid. So she was becoming more and more arrogant.

“Little Taoist priest, if you kneel down before me, admit your offenses and beg for mercy, I may be magnanimous, I won’t tell that you insulted me a moment ago.” said the old woman looking happy.

Mu Yi didn’t understand why she was so confident? Was it because of the yamen? Was it because she had a special walking stick?

“Who the hell do you think you are?” said Mu Yi glancing at her disdainfully. Then, he sat down on a chair.

“You…” the old woman was furious. Mu Yi despised her. She was so pissed off that her hair bristled all over her body.

“Ma’am, calm down. When the members of the yamen come, we’ll see if he continues acting so arrogantly.” said the housekeeper trying to cheer the old woman up. Then, he took a chair and made her sit down too.

They preferred staying near Mu Yi because they didn’t want him to escape and they didn’t want him to destroy clues.

Mu Yi ignored them, he suddenly tilted and said: “Do you want to get your revenge?”

Cui Xiang raised her head. The housekeeper and the old woman looked at Mu Yi. They didn’t understand to whom he was talking.

“I think you didn’t die content. How could we let your murderer free and unfettered?” continued Mu Yi.

“You’re talking nonsense.” said the old woman. Her face turned deathly pale but she tried to be brave.

“I’m talking to your daughter-in-law, of course.” said Mu Yi glancing at the old woman.

“You’re purposely making a mystery of a simple thing. Dead people can’t talk.” said the old woman calmly.

“Indeed, usually, dead people can’t talk but your daughter-in-law didn’t die content and she suffered a wrong. Her soul won’t go to the netherworld yet. Her death must be avenged for her soul to be free, and for her to go to the netherworld and then reincarnate.” said Mu Yi indifferently. The three others shuddered and their hair bristled though. Did it mean that there was a ghost in the room?

“You stinky Taoist priest! You’re talking nonsense. death ends all troubles. There is no soul.” said the housekeeper. He tried not to show he was scared as well.

“You’re weaklings so of course you can’t see souls. I, poor cleric, have been practicing cultivation for some time now and I can see things you can’t. Right now…” said Mu Yi suddenly looking at the old woman. He continued: “Right now, she is next to you!”

“Ah!”

When Mu Yi said that, the old woman shouted, she sensed some cold air brushing against her skin, her hair bristled, she felt petrified. Her flesh was crawling. She lost balance and fell down on the ground again.

Thee housekeeper was so scared he didn’t have time to react and catch her, he looked terrified.

Cui Xiang’s teeth chattered. Her eyes were wide open.

“Hey, she’s on your left now.” said Mu Yi to the old woman.

“No! Don’t come near me!” said the old woman. She looked hopeless. She felt cold. She kept slapping the air around her. She was scared to death.

“No, she’s on your right now.” said Mu Yi calmly seated on his chair and watching.

“There, hurry up.”

said someone outside. The people the old woman had called to rescue her were arriving.

An old man who looked furious arrived first. When he saw the old woman on the ground, he was stupefied and said: “What’s going on?”

“Mister Zhao, that’s the Taoist priest. We accepted to host him and not only didn’t he express his gratitude but he also humiliated the lady of the clan, she’s dead now, she committed suicide by biting off her tongue because she didn’t want to get raped. She didn’t die content.” said the housekeeper trying to sound extremely sad.

“That Taoist priest is utterly devoid of conscience!” said the old man furiously when he heard that.

“You better think carefully before talking. Are there witnesses? How could you be sure I am the murderer? Only because they say so?” said Mu Yi to the old man neither hastily nor slowly.

“Apart from you, who could it be? The Kang Clan is a good, loyal and indomitable clan. Our clan has never done anything wrong. The old master of the clan died of illness. That woman is the Empress Dowager, there has been an empress’ decree and a chastity arch has been erected in her honor. Everybody knows that in the region.”

“Besides, a year ago, the young master of the clan went to the national capital to take the imperial examinations but had an accident on the way. So only the young lady was left and the empress dowager took great care of her even though she is a widow. And now you came, you saw she was beautiful so you forced her to kill herself and maybe that you even raped her anyway. Eye-witnesses and material evidence are available, so stop denying!”

said the housekeeper. He sounded sure.

When Mu Yi heard that, he started thinking that the housekeeper had actually done it.

“Taoist priest, you have anything to say?” Mu Yi was starting to think the culprit was around.

The old man who had just arrived was called Zhao Quan. He also lived in that small village. He was familiar with the Kang Clan. They had never done anything wrong indeed or at least had ever heard of such a thing. The old woman and the young lady were all considered as remarkable women.

Mu Yi wasn’t from there but he had seen many liars and cheaters in his life.

Whom did Zhao Quan trust though? The answer was probably quite simple.

“Alright. Since you also think I did it, then wait here.” said Mu Yi. He wasn’t surprised.

Of course, he wasn’t worried because the old man couldn’t do anything to him. The only reason why Mu Yi stayed was for the woman who had been killed, he wanted to avenge her death.

“Wait? Wait for what?” said Zhao Quan. He was surprised and didn’t understand. Why was Mu Yi so calm?

“Wait for everybody to be here, of course.” said Mu Yi smiling. He was convinced that many more people would arrive.

Since Zhao Quan was there and Mu Yi wasn’t doing anything scary anymore, the old woman calmed down a little but she was still worried because Mu Yi looked so calm and confident.

Very quickly, someone who had responsibilities in the village and a high-official arrived.

“Officer Xue, it’s him, capture him.”

said the housekeeper to Officer Xue who had just arrived. The housekeeper was convinced that Mu Yi couldn’t do anything against Officer Xue.

Officer Xue had traveled all around the world when he was young and people used to call him Xue the Iron Fist. If he hadn’t been injured, he wouldn’t have stayed in a county town to become an officer.

Therefore, Officer Xue had rushed over, he couldn’t stand it when people made fun of him. In the past, it had happened and he had fought against that person and defeated them and then nobody had dared fight against him again.

“What’s going on here?” asked Xue Wu entering the room. He was surprised when he saw Mu Yi but he looked at the housekeeper.

The housekeeper narrated the story patiently once again. Of course, he made Mu Yi appear as a Taoist priest utterly devoid of conscience who couldn’t be forgiven.

“Please come to the yamen with me, Master.”

Against all expectations, Xue Wu didn’t even say he wanted to arrest Mu Yi immediately. On the contrary, he politely cupped his fist in his other hand before his chest and looked at Mu Yi.

Many people were stupefied, especially the housekeeper. He said: “Officer Xue, that Taoist priest is an evildoer, he’s an expert as plotting. You should enchain him first.”

“Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?” said Xue Wu glancing at the housekeeper in an ice-cold way.

“Eh…” the housekeeper’s face stiffened. What was going on? The housekeeper had given Officer Xue money in the past to maintain good relations, what was going on now?

“You know me?” said Mu Yi raising his head and looking at the investigator.

“You’re joking, Master. I’ve never seen you. How could I know you?” said Xue Wu shaking his head but he looked at Mu Yi in a strange way.

Mu Yi stared at Xue Wu. He put his hand on a table next to him and tapped it with his fingers without saying anything. Xue Wu’s facial expression looked stranger and stranger. He even looked nervous.

Even the people next to them noticed that Xue Wu looked strange.

“I am uncovered it seems. What was that prince’s social status?” asked Mu Yi suddenly.

“The only son of the second vice-president of the Ministry of Appointments.” said Xue Wu grinding his teeth after hesitating for a few seconds.