After Steward Fan clearly explained the situation from last night, he bid farewell and departed.
He had originally just come to say hello.
Last night, the actions of the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs made him realize that the two young ladies before him were by no means ordinary.
His Hou family had acted somewhat overbearingly at Hu Yu House last night, and Steward Fan couldn't help but overthink, fearing he might leave a bad impression on the two young ladies, which was why he came to express his thanks so courteously.
After listening to Steward Fan's narration, the few people and one cat looked at each other in dismay.
Originally, the ghost story, apart from Princess Yuan An, was mostly considered a rumor by the Three Little Ones.
But with the direct and confirmed words of the person involved, even the Three Little Ones couldn't help but waver.
Because even Ankang, who had read extensively, had never seen detailed records of ghosts in any book.
This extensive reading was not an exaggeration; ever since the Three Little Ones could visit Thousand Stars Pavilion once a month, Ankang's reading volume had soared.
Although she was still mainly researching content about the Northern Territory recently, she also incidentally read a lot of popular science content about this world.
Ankang had once read a book describing various life forms in the world, but she remembered that there was no description of ghost clans in it.
But facing the situation Steward Fan described from last night, Ankang couldn't help but wonder if there was a possibility that ghost clans existed but couldn't be categorized as life forms.
"Sister, this is much more interesting than the case assigned to us!"
While the Three Little Ones were still confused, Princess Yuan An was already so excited that her eyes glowed.
"Ah?"
The Three Little Ones hadn't expected that Princess Yuan An wasn't afraid of ghosts at all; on the contrary, she was very interested.
In fact, Li Xuan and Ankang were also a little curious about the origin of this female ghost.
Ankang wanted to fill her knowledge gaps, while Li Xuan felt uneasy.
If ghosts truly existed in the world, Li Xuan needed to figure out if he could kill them.
Ever since he started cultivating, he had been particularly concerned about whether there was anything outside of his power system.
After all, that meant trouble he couldn't solve.
If it was truly as Steward Fan said, that ghost fire could silently ignite a person, Li Xuan had to consider whether he could prevent such a situation from happening.
Who knows, perhaps one day Ankang and Yu'er would also be targeted by ghosts.
"Sister, why don't we investigate this female ghost's matter today?"
"It just so happens that we haven't decided what to do today, haven't we?"
Princess Yuan An suggested enthusiastically.
Li Xuan clearly saw the Flower-Clad Eunuchs' expressions turn ugly.
Immediately, one person stepped forward, knelt down, and advised:
"Two young ladies, the talk of ghosts is ethereal and baseless."
"Most likely, someone is playing tricks behind the scenes."
"The methods Steward Fan spoke of can be achieved by some masters."
"Carelessly getting involved might provoke retaliation from that master."
"Please, two young ladies, think twice."
It was his duty, and he had to say these words even if it meant biting the bullet.
And sure enough, Princess Yuan An completely disregarded these words.
"Don't forget, we left the palace this time precisely to investigate cases."
"Now that a murder has occurred, how can my sister and I pretend not to know?"
"And who knows, this might even be part of the competition."
When Princess Yuan An brought up this point, the Flower-Clad Eunuchs could no longer refute her.
Then, Princess Yuan An also smiled and continued:
"Besides, so what if there's a master? Can they be more powerful than you all?"
The Flower-Clad Eunuchs exchanged glances, their faces turning bitter.
It proved that Princess Yuan An was not lacking in emotional intelligence; rather, she used her emotional intelligence selectively.
The Three Little Ones were originally curious about this case as well; now that Princess Yuan An had played the 'bad guy,' it saved them the trouble of speaking up.
Seeing that the Flower-Clothed Eunuchs were silent, Princess Yuan An smiled triumphantly, then said to Ankang:
"Sister, after we finish breakfast, I'll go investigate the rumors of that female ghost. How about we meet back here at noon?"
Princess Yuan An already had her desired direction for investigation, so she set it immediately.
Seeing that she already had an idea, Ankang also nodded:
"As my younger sister wishes. I'll go investigate other related people, and at noon, we'll compare the clues we have."
Last night's events had piqued their interest.
They quickly finished breakfast and then departed, splitting into two groups.
Princess Yuan An was like a different person compared to when she went to investigate her own case yesterday, full of energy.
Watching Princess Yuan An depart in a hurry, the Three Little Ones, along with the remaining half of the Flower-Clad Eunuchs and the eunuchs responsible for records, stood outside Hu Yu House.
"Young lady, where are we going now?"
Yu'er pushed Ankang's wheelchair and asked.
"Li Xuan, what do you say?"
Ankang lowered her head and asked Li Xuan, who was in her arms.
Li Xuan thought for a moment, then immediately wagged his tail, writing a few names on Ankang's palm.
"Zhao Four, Aymu, Zhou Mama, Dr. Fang, Steward Fan."
Originally, there should have been a female ghost, but Princess Yuan An was already investigating that lead, so they didn't need to specifically investigate it again.
If they could gather relevant clues along the way, that would naturally be best.
For now, there was no need to actively investigate.
Looking at the names Li Xuan wrote on her palm, Ankang also nodded.
"Hu Yu House's courtesan, Aymu, has disappeared, and Zhou Mama is currently confined within Hu Yu House by the Hou family."
"As for Steward Fan, he's already been questioned once, and it's unlikely we'll get anything more from him."
"Right now, Zhao Four and Dr. Fang are the most suitable to investigate."
Ankang summarized, already having an idea.
"Let's go find Dr. Fang first; I saw him in Hu Yu House earlier."
At this moment, a quick-witted Flower-Clothed Eunuchs had already returned to Hu Yu House to inquire and quickly came back with an answer:
"Young lady, Dr. Fang has finished being questioned by the officials and has already returned to his clinic."
"The address of the clinic is here."
The Flower-Clothed Eunuchs presented a hastily written note to Yu'er, who was pushing the wheelchair.
Yu'er unfolded it in front of Ankang, allowing her to clearly see the words on it.
"Good, let's go there first and take a look."
The group headed towards the address on the note.
In just a moment, they arrived at a small alley not far from Hu Yu House.
Compared to the prosperity of Flower Street, this place seemed much more dilapidated.
And in the shadows of the alley, many figures were hidden.
These people, with dull eyes, were either lying or sitting, like a group of walking corpses. Seeing Ankang and her group enter the alley, they all turned their cloudy eyes, curiously scrutinizing them.
Li Xuan frowned, observing these people huddled in the alley.
Due to the tall buildings on both sides, even though it was daytime, the light in the alley was very dim.
And a foul odor emanated from here, making one feel nauseous.
The way these people looked at Ankang and Yu'er made Li Xuan very uncomfortable.
However, these fellows quickly saw the Flower-Clad Eunuchs responsible for security.
Although the Flower-Clad Eunuchs were no longer wearing their inner palace robes but ordinary warrior attire, their figures were all tall and burly, and their long-term martial arts training gave them a cold, sharp aura.
As the Flower-Clad Eunuchs' sharp, hawk-like gazes swept over them, all the people hiding in the alley's shadows looked away, not daring to look any longer.
Li Xuan also hadn't expected that such 'rats' could be hidden within the seemingly prosperous East Market's Flower Street.
These people's physical condition and expressions were somewhat off; they looked as if they had excessively consumed drugs.
"It seems that behind any prosperity, there will inevitably be shadows."
Li Xuan scrutinized these people, curious as to how they had become so inhuman and ghost-like.
At the end of the alley were several dilapidated houses.
And according to the address they had previously inquired about, the inconspicuous house at the end of the road was Dr. Fang's medical clinic.
However, there wasn't even a plaque hanging in front of the clinic, so it was unclear how Dr. Fang usually received patients.
If they hadn't inquired beforehand, no one passing by would have known this was a medical clinic.
A Flower-Clothed Eunuch stepped forward and knocked on the door, but there was no response even after a long time.
At this moment, a crack opened in a door next door, though no one knew when.
"Who are you people?"
A hoarse voice suddenly came, startling the Three Little Ones.
Behind the door crack was a white-haired old woman, her dark skin a bit red from the sun, and her face full of dense wrinkles.
She opened one eye, which was almost too difficult to open, and cautiously sized up Princess Ankang and the others.
"Excuse me, old woman, we are looking for Dr. Fang. Is he not home?"
The old woman saw Princess Ankang sitting in a wheelchair and opened her door crack a little wider, revealing half of her body.
"Dr. Fang went out last night and hasn't returned yet."
"Are you here to see a doctor?"
"I can leave a message for Dr. Fang for you."
The old woman's attitude was noticeably gentler than before.
Even though Princess Ankang was accompanied by the intimidating Flower-Clad Eunuchs, she seemed less wary of them than at first.
"Old woman, I'm not here to see a doctor."
"Last night, Dr. Fang saved my cat."
"I specifically came to thank him."
Princess Ankang picked up Li Xuan from her arms, and Li Xuan cooperatively let out a sweet meow.
"Oh, I see."
It was clear that after seeing Li Xuan, the old woman's gaze softened even more.
"Dr. Fang might be back soon, you can wait at the door."
"Or, you can come back later."
"I will mention to Dr. Fang that you came."
The old woman said, about to close the door again.
Princess Ankang's eyes immediately flickered, then she smiled sweetly and asked the old woman:
"Old woman, can we borrow your place to rest our feet?"
"We're a bit tired from the journey."
The old woman looked back at them, then released her hand from the door.
"Whatever you want, anyway, if you want to come in, I can't stop you."
"Uh..."
Princess Ankang's expression immediately froze, unsure what to do.
This made it seem as if they were forcing their way into a private residence.
At this moment, the old woman's voice came again from behind the door:
"Come in."
With these words, Princess Ankang finally breathed a sigh of relief, then instructed the Flower-Clad Eunuchs:
"The others stay outside the door; one person accompanying us inside is enough."
The Flower-Clad Eunuchs nodded and immediately set up a perimeter nearby.
The Flower-Clothed Eunuchs who had been carrying Li Xuan last night followed them into the old woman's courtyard.
Li Xuan then realized that this Flower-Clothed Eunuchs was actually a small team leader.
After entering the door, they discovered that the courtyard was quite large.
However, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds, clearly not having been well-maintained for a long time.
There were three low houses encircling the courtyard, a good layout facing north and south.
Moreover, this area was some distance from Flower Street, and those tall buildings couldn't block the sunlight here.
Just across a small alley, they had gone from the bustling and lively Flower Street to such a seemingly dilapidated farmhouse courtyard.
"I can't believe there's a place like this in the East Market."
Li Xuan had thought that the East Market, where every inch of land was precious, would only have "tall buildings and grand mansions," but he never expected there to be a place that looked much like the countryside.
"This is even more like a slum than Baoning Ward."
In the courtyard, there was a moss-covered stone table, with several damaged stone chairs next to it.
Fortunately, Princess Ankang had brought her own chair, otherwise they would truly have nowhere to sit.
The old woman took out a kettle and a few coarse bowls, placed them on the stone table, and curtly said, "Help yourselves."
Then, the old woman sat down nonchalantly and began her needlework.
Yu'er stepped forward, picked up the kettle, first poured a bowl of water for the old woman, and then poured a bowl for Princess Ankang.
The old woman couldn't help but raise her eyes, glanced at Yu'er and Princess Ankang, who was holding Li Xuan, then quickly withdrew her gaze and continued with her needlework.
"Old woman, are you very familiar with Dr. Fang?"
"Just neighbors."
The old woman seemed to have no desire to converse, answering concisely.
Li Xuan couldn't help but smile slightly; it seemed it would be difficult for Princess Ankang to inquire about anything today.
"Old woman, what do you think of Dr. Fang?"
"He's quite good."
"Is Dr. Fang's medical skill good?"
"It's alright."
"Hu Yu House caught fire last night, did you know?"
"Oh."
"I heard there are ghosts on Flower Street, old woman, aren't you afraid living here?"
"No."
"…"
After more than a dozen such back-and-forths, the old woman's answers became increasingly concise, eventually devolving into mere grunts and hums in response to Princess Ankang's questions.
Princess Ankang was deeply discouraged, feeling as if she was not cut out for investigating cases.
But Princess Ankang couldn't be blamed for this.
She had lived in the deep palace for many years, and the person she interacted with most was Yu'er.
Now that she was out of the palace, encountering all sorts of people, her social experience was truly insufficient to help her obtain the answers she wanted from others.
It might seem easy for officials to interrogate, but in reality, there are techniques involved.
The most important point among them is understanding people.
One must first understand what kind of person the other party is before being able to pry the desired information from their mouth.
Even though officials are from the yamen, they will encounter various people who don't tell the truth during interrogations, and at that point, they will inevitably have to resort to coercion and inducements.
Although Princess Ankang was exceptionally intelligent, her level in this aspect was too low to get the answers she wanted from the old woman.
Princess Ankang started getting rebuffed repeatedly shortly after, and couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened.
Dr. Fang also didn't return for a long time, and the atmosphere in the courtyard began to become silent and awkward.
"Hmph, it seems I, Grandpa Meow, will have to personally step in!"
Li Xuan stood up and kissed Princess Ankang's pouted lips.
She was now feeling introverted because of the old woman, so Li Xuan had to comfort her properly.
After being kissed, Princess Ankang stroked Li Xuan, which made her feel better.
After comforting Princess Ankang, Li Xuan jumped out of her arms.
Li Xuan walked with cat-like steps, slowly approaching the old woman, then feigned nonchalance and lightly brushed the old woman's rough hand with his tail.
The old woman paused her needlework and looked up to see Li Xuan observing her from the corner of his eye.
Li Xuan shifted his gaze, let out a sweet meow, then turned his backside to the old woman, pretending to leave.
The old woman retracted her gaze, about to resume her work, but then her hand felt itchy again.
It turned out that Li Xuan had ambushed her again when she wasn't paying attention.
This time, his body was even closer; the old woman could touch Li Xuan just by reaching out.
The old woman ultimately couldn't resist and, as if by some strange impulse, reached out and stroked Li Xuan's head.
Li Xuan acted coy, pretending to be no match for the old woman, and resignedly allowed himself to be petted.
"What a troublesome little darling."
The old woman spoke the longest sentence since they entered the courtyard, almost making Princess Ankang burst into tears of emotion.
The old woman's petting became smoother and smoother, and she completely put down her needlework.
Li Xuan also purred, rolled around, and acted adorable, using every trick in the book, making the wrinkles on the old woman's face bloom like chrysanthemums.
Princess Ankang and Yu'er exchanged glances, both seeing the amusement in each other's eyes.
As Li Xuan amused the old woman, her lips naturally loosened.
After petting Li Xuan for a while, the old woman sighed and said to Princess Ankang:
"Little girl, you want to ask about the ghost haunting Flower Street, don't you?"
Previously, Ankang had asked many questions, and the haunting was just one of them.
But Ankang wasn't foolish; she immediately nodded.
"Old woman, do you know anything?"
The other party might only want to answer this question now, or only knows about this matter.
But no matter what, it's best to follow the old woman's words for now.
"On this Flower Street, if not daily, then certainly every month, quite a few girls die."
"It's not impossible for one or two with strong grievances to turn into vengeful spirits."
"Little girl, don't you agree?"
The old woman said, stroking Li Xuan's fur without lifting her head.
Ankang, however, frowned upon hearing this.
"Why do people always die on Flower Street? Doesn't the government care?"
Ankang wondered if there was a serial killer on Flower Street.
The old woman shook her head and chuckled at her words.
The moment she opened the door, she could tell that Ankang was a child who lived in a different world.
And these words further confirmed her guess.
"Little girl, do you know what kind of business is conducted on this Flower Street?"
Ankang's face flushed slightly, but she still nodded.
However, the old woman shook her head.
"No, you don't know."
"When guests pay for a girl for a night, that night the girls are the guests' possessions."
"Meeting gentle guests is naturally good."
"But the problem is, there are also those brutal guests."
"Every month, girls on Flower Street are played to death by guests."
"Human desires are like a bottomless abyss, never to be satisfied."
The old woman sighed with emotion, then continued:
"Dr. Fang has to collect several corpses from the brothels on Flower Street every month. When Dr. Fang returns, you can ask him."
"So, it's only right that Flower Street is haunted."
Ankang felt a little uncomfortable hearing this, and asked the same question again, puzzled:
"What about the government? Don't they care?"
The old woman couldn't help but glance at Ankang again.
In their part of the world, they hadn't seen such a pure child in a long time.
"To a brothel, the girls are merely commodities for sale."
"If a commodity breaks, you just pay for it."
"According to different contracts and different statuses, the compensation also varies."
"I've lived for so many years, old woman that I am, and I've never heard of anyone being imprisoned for killing a girl in a brothel."
Ankang wanted to say more, but the old woman interrupted her first.
"Little girl, do you know how much tax the brothels on Flower Street pay each year?"
Hearing this, Ankang's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
"Everything in this world, ah, it all comes down to one word: 'profit'."
At this point, the old woman had lost the desire to continue speaking.
Ankang was silent for a long while before she quietly said,
"Old woman, yesterday at Hu Yu House, I saw that there seemed to be more than just girls there."
Hearing this, the old woman laughed heartily, then choked herself, and quickly drank a mouthful of the water in front of her.
She then wiped away tears and said,
"Yes, yes..."
"Now, anything can be sold."
"If someone buys, someone sells."
"Hahaha..."
The old woman laughed incessantly, full of mockery, though it was unclear who she was mocking.
Ankang looked at the old woman's smile, but it never felt right, leaving her feeling uneasy.
Just then, the sound of a door panel being moved came from outside the courtyard.
The old woman stopped laughing, pushed Li Xuan's backside, and said to Ankang,
"Dr. Fang is back, you two go find him."
Ankang nodded knowingly, picking Li Xuan up and holding him back in her arms.
"Old woman, we've caused quite a disturbance today."
"We'll come visit you again next time."
However, the old woman waved her hand dismissively:
"If you know it's a disturbance, then don't come again."
Ankang gritted her teeth, maintained a smile, and stubbornly said,
"Old woman, we will definitely come again!"
The old woman shook her head, muttering softly,
"The little girl is quite stubborn."
The old woman's voice was just loud enough for Ankang to hear, causing a vein on her forehead to twitch.
For Ankang, with her good temper, to be provoked to such an extent, the old woman's skill was indeed remarkable.
After bidding farewell to the old woman and exiting the courtyard, they happened to see Dr. Fang, who had just removed his door panels and opened for business.
Dr. Fang suddenly saw so many people coming out of the adjacent courtyard, and immediately frowned.
But when he saw Li Xuan in Ankang's arms, his frown relaxed.
"Oh, it's you."
Dr. Fang didn't recognize the others, but he recognized Li Xuan.
At this moment, Ankang calmed herself down from the annoyance she'd felt with the old woman, then smiled and said to Dr. Fang,
"Dr. Fang, last night we heard you saved Li Xuan, so we specifically came to thank you."
"No, no, it was just a small matter."
Dr. Fang quickly waved his hand, and seeing that the group had no intention of leaving, he could only say,
"Why don't you all come in and sit for a bit?"
Dr. Fang had only been polite; after all, his medical clinic was very small, there was no way it could accommodate so many people.
But the next moment, Ankang happily nodded and said,
"Then we won't be polite!"
Dr. Fang didn't expect the young lady in the wheelchair to be so impolite, but his words were already out, so he had to accept it.
"Uh, my humble abode is crude and not worthy of your presence, please forgive me."
With that, Dr. Fang walked in first.
Yuer pushed Ankang into the house.
The threshold of Dr. Fang's house had been worn smooth, so the wheelchair rolled right in.
However, his place was much smaller than the courtyard next door.
The front area, used as a medical clinic, was very cramped.
After Yuer pushed Ankang inside, there was no room for more people.
The leader of the Flower-Clad Eunuchs could only stand with one foot inside the house and one foot outside.
Inside, there was a table and two chairs, presumably only one patient could enter at a time for treatment, which offered excellent privacy.
On both sides of the room were two medicine cabinets, occupying most of the small space, and a strong smell of medicinal herbs could be detected upon entering.
As soon as they entered the room, a meowing sound echoed.
Ankang and Yuer both looked at Li Xuan, who had an innocent expression.
"Hey, hey, that's clearly not my voice, okay?"
"Its meow is far from mine."
Li Xuan thought, displeased.
And just at that moment, a dirty cat walked out from behind the house.
This cat looked a little bigger than Li Xuan, but the whole cat looked as if it had rolled around in the dirt several times, covered in dust, and also seemed to have escaped from the fire at Hu Yu House last night, looking smoke-stained and scorched.
However, upon closer inspection, they realized that this was simply the cat's fur color.
"What an ugly tortoiseshell!"
Li Xuan couldn't help but exclaim.
Thanks to Wang Ergou from the neighboring village, Angel Loves to Laugh, Mediocre and Old Iron, Nai Bai Di Xue Zi, and Give Me a Kiss for their generous support.