"It's alright." The flame extinguished, and Chen An looked at Chu Qingze and Zhang Yajing. "You can go back now. Remember to keep your heads down as you walk, and don't look back no matter what you hear."
Chu Qingze, about to ask something, jumped out of the coffin upon hearing this. He bowed again with Zhang Yajing and they left the woods, heading towards the imperial city.
"Why aren't we leaving? Is there something here that hasn't been resolved?"
"Of course, my beauty. You still owe me a favor. I was afraid that the commotion we might cause later would make them embarrassed if they heard it."
As expected, this person was still sharp-tongued.
However, considering his methods of dealing with the corpses earlier, Rong Zhi didn't show any anger.
This person was useful to her.
"Why did the female ghost put them in coffins?"
"She mistook them for her own kind."
"Why?"
Logically, the aura of the living and the dead were vastly different; they shouldn't be mistaken for each other.
"Perhaps it's because they stayed with the female ghost for too long. Aura is something that emanates and can be absorbed. Once tainted, they'll be seen as kin. The female ghost slept deep underground, and naturally, she'd want to take her kind to the same place she is."
"Then where did these coffins come from?"
Could the female ghost have bought the coffins herself? How was that possible?
"Look at these coffins, they look at least ten years old. These are the female ghost's original coffins."
Rong Zhi leaned closer to take a look. Indeed, the coffins were very old.
Rong Zhi still didn't quite understand.
"Since my friends have already been buried, why did the female ghost still enter the city? And why does she appear nearby every night?"
"It means there are still people nearby with a similar aura!"
"Who?"
Chen An's gaze fell on Rong Zhi.
"Are you talking about me?" Rong Zhi pointed at herself, disbelieving.
"I don't know why, but your aura is much stronger than the two of them combined. Do you also have a hobby of collecting corpses?"
Rong Zhi frowned. It was probably from spending time with so many corpses in the mass grave a couple of days ago, which caused her to absorb more aura.
But she couldn't reveal this.
She looked around.
"Are there any other corpses here?"
If another incident like this occurred, it would cause chaos.
This time, Chu Qingze was lucky to encounter Chen An. If he had been unlucky and no one had saved him, wouldn't he have lost his life in vain?
"I can help you look, but… I've already helped you with so much for free. I can't get nothing out of it, right?"
He winked at Rong Zhi, his intentions obvious.
Rong Zhi smiled back, "Don't worry, you'll have your reward for helping me."
Their eyes met, and a silent understanding seemed to form between them.
Chen An smiled in satisfaction and began to wander around with Rong Zhi.
It looked like a casual stroll, but Rong Zhi keenly observed his thumb tapping between his fingers, as if calculating something.
His expression was serious, and he exuded a strange sense of reliability.
Rong Zhi suddenly realized that because Xia Yunting and the Grand Tutor's manor were on opposing sides, Rong Zhi instinctively harbored hostility towards Chen An. However, Chen An was genuinely helping her with this matter.
Perhaps, unconsciously, her inner bias towards Xia Yunting had influenced her judgment.
This was not how it should be.
"Here."
Chen An suddenly stopped.
Rong Zhi stopped too, looking at the flat ground. If Chen An hadn't pointed it out, she would have thought it was just ordinary grassland.
She picked up a nearby branch and began to dig into the soil.
"What are you doing?"
"Aren't we supposed to dig out the coffins?"
"The deceased haven't turned into zombies, why are you digging up their graves?"
"..."
Embarrassed, Rong Zhi dropped the branch and quietly stepped aside.
Chen An took out a bundle of red thread from his sleeve, pulled out a strand, threaded a few copper coins onto it, and wrapped it around the roots of a nearby tree, encircling the area.
"What is this for?"
"To restrict their movements. From now on, even if the deceased smell the aura of their own kind, they won't turn into zombies."
Rong Zhi looked at the thin red thread, feeling it was somewhat unreliable.
"What if someone accidentally damages these things?"
"Then it will be useless."
"...Is there no better method?"
"Yes, but I don't know it."
"..."
The two of them wandered in the wilderness for over an hour, inspecting almost every inch of land. Chen An found five locations and encircled each with red thread.
"Something's not right…" Chen An looked around strangely.
"What's not right?"
"This is a mass grave. Why are there so few corpses buried here? Even if they've all turned to bone, their aura should remain."
Rong Zhi thought to herself, of course there were few, many corpses had already been dug up.
Chen An didn't dwell on this issue.
"Alright, my beauty. The corpses in this place have been dealt with. It's time for my reward, isn't it?"
Rong Zhi smiled, "Don't rush. We'll talk about it after we get into the city. It's not good to be seen like this in the wilderness."
"True."
Chen An reverted to his playboy demeanor, and he and Rong Zhi returned to the imperial city, arriving at a small courtyard.
"This is a secondary residence of my Chen family. No one usually comes here. Come in, my beauty!"
He pushed open the door. Rong Zhi stepped inside and found the place fully furnished. The furniture was clean and appeared to be well-maintained.
It seemed Chen An had kept many female companions outside.
He sat on the bed and beckoned Rong Zhi over.
Rong Zhi sat beside him, smiling radiantly.
"My beauty…" Chen An grabbed Rong Zhi's arm.
Rong Zhi leaned in, her smile deepening. Suddenly, with a burst of strength, the smile on the person in front of her froze.
"How do you feel? Numb all over?" Rong Zhi stood up and pushed Chen An, turning him around so he sat cross-legged with his back to her.
"I don't have much to repay you with. Seeing your weak constitution, like you've indulged too much, I'll give you a set of acupuncture therapy to strengthen your body and prolong your life."
Rong Zhi smiled slyly.
She had indeed said she would repay Chen An, but she hadn't specified how.
Chen An, unable to move, twitched at the corner of his mouth.
This was not what he had expected.
About half an hour later, Rong Zhi had already left. The tingling sensation on Chen An's body had also disappeared.
He looked out at the dark night, neither laughing nor crying.
This woman was truly unpredictable.
But… why did she carry such a strong scent of corpses on her?
Rong Zhi left the secondary residence and immediately went to Bai Cao Ge, informing Cui Xi and Fang Tianhua that the person had been found.
Cui Xi looked haggard, clearly worried. Upon hearing the news, she visibly relaxed.
"Thank heavens, Miss is safe."
Although Fang Tianhua's expression didn't change much, his eyes softened slightly.
"Where was she found?"
Rong Zhi didn't mention the coffins, partly to avoid scaring them, and partly to prevent any trouble if the information got out.
"Found in the suburbs, but the person who captured them couldn't be found, they ran too fast."
"He must have drawn too much attention with his quick rise to prominence, making people jealous. Tell him to keep a lower profile from now on. He's stealing all my business lately."
Although he said this, there was no jealousy in his expression; it was a genuine, well-intentioned reminder.
Rong Zhi agreed and then went to Gu Sheng Tang, wanting to inquire about the cause and effect of the incident.
As soon as she entered, she saw the courtyard brightly lit. Zhang Yajing was burning mugwort everywhere.
"Divine Doctor Lin, you're back. That man didn't do anything to you, did he?"
Zhang Yajing, remembering Chen An, couldn't help but worry about Rong Zhi.
"I'm fine. I came to ask you all what exactly happened?"
Rong Zhi closed the door. It was already late at night, and Gu Sheng Tang was far from other residences. However, Rong Zhi was very cautious and brought the two of them into the pharmacy.
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought that corpse back." Chu Qingze was very remorseful.
"There were many patients recently, so I put her in the side room. That night, we heard a commotion outside and went to check. The corpse had opened the door by itself."
"I fainted at the time. I don't remember what happened afterward." Zhang Yajing's face turned pale as she recalled the situation.
"She dragged me outside, so I fought with her. But her strength was too great; I couldn't match her at all. She dragged me all the way out of the city and put us into coffins."
"The coffins were airtight, and we quickly lost consciousness. I thought we were dead, but to think we could still be alive."
Chu Qingze shuddered, recalling the scene of utter despair.
"When you brought her back from the mass grave, was she buried underground or lying on the ground?"
Chu Qingze didn't understand why she was asking.
"Of course, she was exposed."
The reason it was called a mass grave was precisely because many unmanaged corpses were just dumped there.
Rong Zhi nodded thoughtfully. She had thought the hundreds of corpses dug up that day were all of them, but she didn't expect there to be more.
However, after tonight, there shouldn't be any more, right?
"Miss Lin, why did young master Chen help us?" Zhang Yajing asked.
"We met by chance."
Rong Zhi suddenly remembered that she had chased after Chen An because she thought he had taken Zhang Yajing away.
If Zhang Yajing knew what Chen An had done, she would probably do more than just throw up.
"Yajing, you should disguise yourself as a man when you go out in the future. Make yourself look rougher, so you don't attract trouble."
Zhang Yajing, recalling Chen An's lecherous gaze, nodded vigorously.
"Tomorrow morning, go see Cui Xi at Bai Cao Ge. She's very worried about you."
"Miss!"
Just as she mentioned Cui Xi, Cui Xi's voice could be heard from outside.
"Cui Xi!"
The mistress and servant immediately embraced upon seeing each other.
For Cui Xi, it was just an accident, but for Zhang Yajing, it felt like a life-and-death separation.
"I'm glad you're safe. This servant was almost worried to death."
With their reunion, there were naturally many words to exchange.
"Yajing, you should get some rest early."
Rong Zhi had something to say to Chu Qingze privately.
Zhang Yajing then returned to her room with Cui Xi to rest.
After confirming that they wouldn't overhear, Rong Zhi said to Chu Qingze, "Don't go to the mass grave for a while. It's not very peaceful there."
"What happened?"
Even if Rong Zhi didn't say anything, Chu Qingze wouldn't have gone there again.
Seeing Rong Zhi's solemn expression, he realized something major might have happened.
"I don't know why, but hundreds of corpses were dug up outside the mass grave, and every single one of them looked exactly the same."
"Exactly the same?"
Chu Qingze felt a chill run down his spine. Twins and triplets existed in this world, but there wouldn't be hundreds of people who looked exactly alike.
Hundreds of people with the same appearance standing together was a frightening thought.
"Why did those corpses look exactly the same?"
"I don't know, but their appearance was very similar to mine."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qingze's face suddenly turned pale.
He vaguely recalled that when he first brought back that corpse, he had also noticed a slight resemblance to Rong Zhi.
However, the corpse was covered in mud at the time, so he hadn't looked closely.
"Many things have happened in the General's manor recently. Descendants of Xuanmen disciples have been causing trouble, which might lead to corpses reanimating and hauntings. These are strictly forbidden in the imperial city. Don't go too close to the mass grave outside the city, lest you get entangled in it."