TGCFNM -Chapter 235 Crybaby

Hearing this, Chu Ling lifted her head and looked toward the ghost not far ahead who had been staring at them the whole time. Instantly, the hairs all over her body stood on end, and she shot to her feet.

“My lord, what’s wrong?” Xiao Hua asked curiously.

Chu Ling felt as though even the breath leaving her mouth came out in white mist. Her feet felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar—so frozen she couldn’t take a single step.

Wan Sanjin curiously poked Chu Ling’s hand, then immediately withdrew it in shock. “Did the food arrive late, so you got so angry you turned cold?”

Chu Ling slowly raised a hand to brace herself against the table and fixed Wan Sanjin with a sinister gaze. “I see dark energy gathering at your brow. Tonight, the Crying Ghost will surely come looking for you—and take you along to cry with it.”

Wan Sanjin whimpered and clung tightly to Su He’s arm, refusing to let go.

At that moment, the ghost finally drifted over. After stopping beside Chu Ling, it reached out and lightly poked her—then, in disbelief, poked her several more times.

Ghost Scholar looked at the miserable state of the ghost and asked curiously, “How did you die?”

Chu Ling was also curious. The ghost’s death looked truly tragic—bleeding from all seven orifices was one thing, but it was also missing an arm and a leg.

“I believe I died of poisoning,” the wretched ghost replied.

Ghost Scholar’s eyes showed understanding. “You were… a scholar?”

The ghost tried to cup his hands in greeting and say yes, but with only one hand left, he could only clasp the air before him and bow slightly. “Yes.”

Ghost Scholar looked at him with some regret. “What is your surname and name? Where is your home? By whom were you harmed? Do you remember who the murderer was—or whether there were accomplices?”

“My surname is Cheng, given name Dian. I was a county magistrate on my way to take up my post in Yuchuan. My ancestral home is Wanhe County. I have only an elderly mother at home. I do not know who harmed me, nor did I have any companions,” Cheng Dian said.

Chu Ling drew in a sharp breath. He had been a colleague—though she didn’t know how long he had been dead.

Just then, the dishes were brought out, and Chu Ling sat back down.

Ghost Scholar looked at Cheng Dian. “If there’s anything else, we’ll discuss it later. Think carefully—see if you’ve forgotten anything. Also… was that crying ghost you?”

Cheng Dian shook his head. “It wasn’t me.”

Chu Ling paused with her chopsticks mid-air. Could there be a second ghost?

Xiao Hua ladled a bowl of hot soup for Chu Ling. “My lord, have some hot soup.”

Chu Ling accepted it. “All of you, drink some hot soup too. That way, if you encounter a ghost at night, your bodies won’t grow cold so quickly.”

The moment she said this, the entire first floor fell silent. Then, almost immediately, overlapping voices called out for hot soup.

Wan Sanjin said pitifully, “We’re all fellow sufferers.”

Chu Ling sipped her soup. She had no such fellows.

After the meal—

Wan Sanjin shamelessly dragged Su He upstairs, then hurried to his own room to grab a quilt and carried it into Su He’s room, deciding to sleep on the floor that night.

Chu Ling also rolled her sore neck and entered her room. After shutting the door tightly, she sat down properly and looked at the miserable ghost. “Please, sit. Tell me everything again in detail.”

Cheng Dian nodded slightly and recalled the past. “I do not know how many years I have been dead. I only remember that I was a jinshi of the twenty-first year.”

Chu Ling let out a low exclamation in surprise. “You’ve been dead for seventeen years.”

Cheng Dian looked dazed. Had he really been dead for seventeen years already?

Chu Ling looked at him and summarized, “Your name is Cheng Dian. You were a jinshi of the twenty-first year and were on your way to take up your post as county magistrate of Yuchuan. You died in a relay station. There was no one else around you. You don’t know who poisoned you, nor what kind of poison it was?”

Cheng Dian nodded.

Bai Su looked at Chu Ling and said, “There are roughly three kinds of poison that can cause someone to bleed from all seven orifices. One is Qingfeng Drunk. It’s the most toxic—after ingestion, the face turns purplish-black. That’s not Cheng Dian. Another is Scorpion Tail Poison; after taking it, the face swells. Judging by Cheng Dian’s appearance, that’s not it either. So that leaves the last one.”

“The last one is Anning Dew. After taking it, a person looks as if they’ve fallen asleep, and their complexion remains good. But slowly, the poison seeps into the lungs and organs, and eventually the person dies bleeding from all seven orifices. However, this method of death is the cleanest and most presentable, so when imperial consorts in the harem are ordered to die, this poison may be used.”

Chu Ling turned to Cheng Dian and asked in surprise, “Did you offend some powerful figure?”

Cheng Dian looked bewildered. “My lord, I’m only a minor jinshi. That’s why I was posted far away to Yuchuan. I’ve never even brushed against the sedan chair of any important person, much less offended one.”

“Then how did a poison from the imperial harem leak out—and end up killing you?” Chu Ling couldn’t figure that out.

“Think carefully again,” Ghost Scholar said. “Did you happen to meet anyone by chance? Perhaps you traveled together for a while and stayed at the same post station?”

“Yes!” Cheng Dian looked at them. “There was a woman with her hair styled like a married lady’s. She looked kind and said she was looking for her younger brother. We were headed in the same direction, so we traveled together for a stretch.”

“And then?” Chu Ling pressed.

“There was nowhere nearby to stay, so I asked her to pretend to be my elder sister so we could lodge together. We agreed to stay just one day, and she said she would leave the next morning.”

“And the result?” Chu Ling asked.

Cheng Dian lowered his head awkwardly. “I have a weak constitution and caught a chill, so I couldn’t move. The lady took very good care of me for several days. After I recovered, she left. But a day later, she came back—with her younger brother. At that time, there were no rooms left, so the station master arranged a cleaned-up woodshed for them.”

Chu Ling and Ghost Scholar exchanged a glance before continuing, “What did her brother look like?”

“I didn’t see clearly. She said he didn’t like meeting strangers. I stayed another three days to recover before preparing to leave. They were also getting ready to go. That night, we even had a meal together as a farewell,” Cheng Dian recalled. “During the meal, her brother wasn’t there—he ate in his own room.”

“And then you died,” Chu Ling said.

Cheng Dian nodded. “I died in the post station.”

“Where were your remains buried? And do you know why one of your arms and one of your legs were severed?” Chu Ling asked.

Cheng Dian looked at his empty sleeve and missing leg, sorrow rising in his eyes. “I was buried in the abandoned vegetable garden behind the post station. As for why my arm and leg were cut off—I don’t know.”

Chu Ling suddenly stood up. “Wait here.” With that, she stepped out and knocked on the door next door.

Wan Sanjin opened it at once. “My lord? What’s wrong? Are you scared of the crying ghost too, so you’re coming over to sleep?”

Chu Ling rolled her eyes. “Ask Su He—does our next stop pass through Yuchuan?”

From inside, Su He responded, “Yes, we pass through. Brother Sanjin planned the route so we wouldn’t need to stop in Yuchuan and could head straight to the next place to save time.”

Chu Ling gave a small nod. “We’ll stop in Yuchuan. I have something to handle.”

Su He came over and replied, “That works too. It’ll only delay us a day or two—still manageable.”

Chu Ling nodded. Just as she was about to return to her room, a sudden sound drifted through the air.

Wan Sanjin instantly turned pale and grabbed Su He’s arm. “S-Su He, did you hear that?”

Su He looked surprised. “There really is a ghost crying.”

Chu Ling glanced around. Lights were flicking on in every room, and the wailing sound of ghostly sobbing continued to echo in her ears. She made a decision.

“Let’s go find this crying ghost.”

Wan Sanjin shook his head like a rattle drum—no way was he going.

Chu Ling smiled sweetly. “That’s fine. We’ll all go. You can stay in the room by yourself. Just be careful.”

Wan Sanjin looked on the verge of tears. “I’ll go.”