Chapter 316: Divination

Chapter 316: Divination

Upon hearing Li Huowang's disbelief, the peddler’s face immediately showed a trace of embarrassment.

“That’s just what the old man at the village entrance told me. They say that ghost wants to be reborn, so it stole many children who hadn’t reached their first birthday. And because it had been cooped up in the underworld for too long, it came to torment young maidens.”

“So you’re saying that in Cangshui County, children have gone missing and numerous women have been defiled?”

“Ah yes, yes, yes! A Taoist priest is truly powerful—those few words can replace what I’ve said for ages!”

Li Huowang frowned. If all that happened was children being stolen and women defiled, then the local magistrate should have sent constables to arrest the culprits rather than notify the Heavenly Observing Bureau. There must be something more, something this footpad didn’t know.

Li Huowang raised his whip and struck the horse’s flank. The carriage immediately burst into motion.

Just before the city gates were closed, Li Huowang finally arrived at Cangshui County. The guards, upon seeing the official badge from the Heavenly Observing Bureau, quickly summoned a constable to escort him to the county magistrate’s residence.

“Shuffle shuffle shhh…” Irregular footsteps occasionally echoed beside Li Huowang.

Observing the young men rushing past with torches, Li Huowang asked the constable leading the horse ahead, “Who are these people?”

The constable clasped his fists together. “Your Excellency, they are the night watchmen drawn from the county by the magistrate himself! Now that the people of Cangshui County are in panic, curfew has been declared. Anyone caught wandering outside will be seized on the spot!”

Li Huowang nodded understandingly and said no more.

“Woo...” The unfamiliar surroundings seemed to unsettle the steed, which kept pressing its black snout into Li Huowang’s embrace.

Yet as Li Huowang scanned the desolate streets, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Soon, Li Huowang arrived at the county office. The magistrate clearly knew he was coming and was already waiting at the gate with a group of officials, standing beside the two great stone lions.

“Your servant greets Your Excellency!” As the well-dressed magistrate bowed, his clerks—the deputy magistrate, chief clerk, and jailor—also bowed their heads in unison.

Li Huowang looked down from the carriage at the magistrate, who appeared to be in his forties, slightly shorter than average, standing out prominently among the crowd.

“No idle talk. Let us go inside. Matters of importance await,” Li Huowang said, turning to lead the way into the hall, followed swiftly by others.

“Rustle rustle…” The sound of papers flipping filled the chamber as everyone bent forward carefully, watching Li Huowang examine the case files.

When the tea on the table no longer steamed, Li Huowang laid down what he held. “Nine children missing, five young maidens defiled?”

The magistrate stepped forward quickly. “I believe the number of defiled women far exceeds that figure. It’s just that they are ashamed to report it to the authorities…”

“And that’s all? Only these few incidents?” Li Huowang’s gaze locked onto the magistrate’s eyes.

A cold drop of sweat slid down the magistrate’s forehead. He bowed to Li Huowang first, then turned to the others and said, “All of you may leave. Constable Zhou, have the entire compound surrounded.”

The clatter of footsteps faded away. In the room, only Li Huowang and the magistrate remained.

“Your servant’s name is Lou. Though not originally from Cangshui County, my hometown is also in the Jiangnan Circuit. As a local official, seeing my people so terrified and unsettled cuts my heart like a blade! I beseech Your Excellency to rescue them from the flames of disaster!” With tears in his eyes, Lou magistrate knelt before Li Huowang.

This bow was heavy indeed. From the previous incident, it was clear that the magistrate and Li Huowang were not in a superior-subordinate relationship.

He wondered whether this was genuine concern or merely a performance for Li Huowang. “Let us speak plainly. Besides these matters, what else has happened in Cangshui County?”

“There have been some thefts, but they are trivial! Please see.” Lou magistrate took out a map from the side table and slowly spread it before Li Huowang.

It was a detailed map of the entire Jiangnan Circuit. Beside it lay Yinning City and Niuxin Mountain, located in the Zongluo Circuit.

The Great Li Dynasty consisted of six circuits, varying in size. The Jiangnan Circuit was among the smallest.

“Your Excellency, look here,” Lou magistrate pointed to several small dots on the map. “Such incidents aren’t limited to Cangshui alone! In the surrounding counties—Pingcheng, Anshan, Panshui—fifteen in total, similar events have occurred!”

Li Huowang gazed at the scattered points on the map. At last, he understood why Tuoba Danqing had taken action over such a minor matter.

Even the smallest things, when piled high enough, become major issues.

Li Huowang picked up the map and studied it closely. “So many places—how many children would that mean we’re losing?”

“A total of fifty-seven. And the number keeps growing. I enforce strict discipline here, so Cangshui County is still manageable. But elsewhere, there are already those spreading false rumors and inciting rebellion.”

“Why steal children who are over a year old...” Thinking back on his experiences in this world, he sensed that the children’s fates would be grim.

“Your Excellency, please save the people from fire and water!” Lou magistrate bowed deeply once again.

“No rush. You mentioned some women were defiled, right? Bring them to me so I can see.” Since both incidents occurred simultaneously, he needed to understand the full picture.

Soon, a dazed woman was brought before Li Huowang. Yet when questioned, she could not explain clearly.

She couldn’t tell who had defiled her or when. Had it not been for her parents noticing something amiss, she might not even have reported it herself.

For a moment, Li Huowang felt utterly at a loss.

As the saying goes, one excels in one’s specialty. This kind of matter wasn’t really his forte.

“No, I’m not without a solution.”

Looking at the departing woman, Li Huowang thought for a moment, pulled out his talisman book, flipped through it, and turned to Lou magistrate. “Do you have human bone? A wide one.”

Since Chen Blind Man said these talismans could divine, perhaps now was the time to try.

“Human... human bone?” Although puzzled, Lou magistrate still ordered the constable to fetch some.

As dawn approached, the requested bone arrived—a skull.

“Your Excellency, rest assured—it’s definitely human bone, freshly dug from a graveyard,” the constable said with a flattering smile.

Li Huowang drew a yellow paper from his sleeve with one hand, bit open his own fingertip, and quickly scratched a mark on it.

“Hastily rushing, Yin Moon, I obey the command, divining to ward off calamity!”

A copper coin was pressed onto the skull according to the talisman. With a crackling sound, the skull split along several cracks.

Li Huowang stared intently at the fissures, consulting the records in his talisman book to interpret the omen. “Hmm… this reading…”

(End of Chapter)