As I was reviewing the Bei Yan family's records, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine.

The Bei Yan family wasn't considered a large clan, nor did it have any branches, but the entire family numbered close to two hundred people.

Over the past decade, these individuals had died one after another in various ways. Approximately one-third of the deaths were attributed to accidents, while the remainder were due to illness.

The manners of death didn't suggest that the Bei Yan family had been targeted for murder. However, the timing raised significant suspicions – the number of deaths was too concentrated.

Didn't the Bei Yan family question this?

They probably did.

However, Bei Yan Jingyun, as the family head and a top-tier术士 (shùshì, Daoist adept), was capable enough to stabilize the Bei Yan family, allowing them to slowly wait for their deaths.

I pushed the records to Feng Ruohang: "Looking at it this way, Bei Yan Jingyun definitely has a problem!"

While Feng Ruohang was reviewing the documents, Wang Xiaohuan returned with intelligence as well.

The intelligence Chen Shuyu obtained was more detailed than Jing Henyun's, but the general content was the same.

However, Chen Shuyu's information contained a clue that Jing Henyun had not mentioned.

The Bei Yan family was originally the Bei Gong family, before changing their name to Bei Yan later.

A surname is a symbol of a family. Changing a family name must be due to a major event, or to escape disaster.

Legend has it that Sima Qian's descendants split into two branches, one adding a stroke to the character "Si," changing the surname to "Tong," and the other adding two strokes to the character "Ma," changing the surname to "Feng."

This was to prevent Sima Qian's *Historical Records* from angering Emperor Wu of Han again, bringing disaster to the family.

After reviewing the information, Feng Ruohang said, "Judging from the records, the culprit impersonating Bei Yan Jingyun hates him to the core. I mean, he hates Bei Yan Jingyun himself."

"If the other party was just seeking revenge on the Bei Yan family, he wouldn't have needed to imprison Luo Qingyan for ten years, let alone attack Jing Henyun."

I understood what Feng Ruohang meant: the culprit was deliberately using Bei Yan Jingyun's identity to torment his woman. He was not only occupying and humiliating Bei Yan Jingyun's woman but also making those women hate Bei Yan Jingyun.

Once his goal was achieved, he wouldn't choose to kill. Jing Henyun was the best example.

Bei Yan Jingyun's wife, Luo Qingyan, might have discovered the other party's disguise, which is why she was imprisoned.

I pondered, "Do you think the culprit might be looking for something in the Bei Yan family?"

"If it were just vengeful ghosts killing people, they generally wouldn't drag it out for too long."

"Vengeful ghosts also know that there are術士 (shùshì, Daoist adepts) in this world. The longer they delay, the more likely the victims are to hire術士 (shùshì, Daoist adepts) to deal with them. Therefore, vengeful spirits prefer quick resolution."

"The culprit has been delaying in the Bei Yan family for ten years, most likely to investigate the Bei Yan family's secrets."

"Also! Bei Yan Yunyi is ranked fourth among young術士 (shùshì, Daoist adepts). Could it be that she couldn't see that the Bei Yan family was being haunted by ghosts and gods?"

"Or is it that she hasn't been in the Bei Yan family for the past ten years?"

I paused here and said, "I feel like the culprit seems to be afraid of Bei Yan Yunyi and her brother, which is why he fled in a hurry before they returned."

Feng Ruohang pondered, "Bei Yan Jingyun's strength is extraordinary. The culprit isn't even afraid of Bei Yan Jingyun, so why would he be afraid of his children? Could it be that the Bei Yan siblings have something that can restrain him?"

I turned to look at Wang Xiaohuan, "Did Little Orange and the others investigate Bei Yan Yunyi's affairs?"

"Just found out!" Wang Xiaohuan said, "After Bei Yan Yunyi became famous, she and her brother disappeared at the same time."

"They appeared once a year ago, and then disappeared again."

"That's all Little Orange's side can find for now."

I gently tapped the table and looked at Jing Henyun, "Sister Jing, the clues you've given me are too few. I'm afraid I won't be able to find the culprit's whereabouts."

Jing Henyun said, "When Luo Qingyan came to me, she once told me that if I wanted to avenge Bei Yan Jingyun, I could go to this address to find someone. That person can give me the clues I want."

Jing Henyun pushed a folded piece of paper in front of me.

After unfolding the paper, I found that it was just a corner torn from somewhere. If I wasn't mistaken, it should be the corner of a painting or map.

The blank space on the paper had an address written on it.

I asked curiously, "Can I ask who I can find at this address?"

"A woman, another one of Bei Yan Jingyun's women." Jing Henyun said, "That's all I know."

"Bei Yan Jingyun has quite a few women!" I frowned, "Sister Jing, I have two questions to ask you now."

"The first question is, besides Yue Hai Lou, what else did Bei Yan Jingyun leave you? This point is very important."

"The second question is also the most crucial. If I encounter the Bei Yan Yunyi siblings on this mission, and they don't allow me to investigate Bei Yan Jingyun's whereabouts, what should I do?"

Jing Henyun is my employer, that's true, but術士 (shùshì, Daoist adepts) don't meddle in their employers' family affairs. Any disputes within the employer's family are resolved by the employer themselves.術士 (shùshì, Daoist adepts) only do their job.

Bei Yan Jingyun's own daughter and son won't allow us to investigate his death or avenge him.

What's the point of this mission?