Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 207 Unraveling the Mystery, a Demon Hides in the Brothel

Upon seeing this place, the young students behind Master Yan frowned.

To these scholars, even a glance at such a brothel was an eyesore.

"Teacher, would a monster hide in a place like this?" a student couldn't help but ask again.

“The more crowded and chaotic the place, the more conducive it is for evil spirits to hide their forms,” Master Yan said in a deep voice, then turned to Chen Ye, “Inspector Chen, it seems I’ll have to trouble you to go in and take a look.”

Chen Ye smiled slightly, "Master is joking. There is no hardship in serving the court. Please wait a moment while I go in and scout ahead."

After saying that, he straightened his black official robes and strode towards the gate of Tingyuxuan.

Tingyuxuan truly lives up to its reputation as the top money-spending den in Pingkangli; the spectacle at its entrance alone is extraordinary.

Two rows of tall, slender girls stood in front of the door to greet guests; each one had a graceful figure and a beautiful face.

Seeing Chen Ye approaching in his Xuanjing Division official robes, they were not afraid at all; instead, their eyes lit up and their smiles became even sweeter.

"Oh, this official looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting Tingyuxuan?" A young woman leading the group greeted him, swaying her slender waist.

Chen Ye frowned slightly, subtly avoiding her almost touching body.

"Get your manager out here to see me." Chen Ye's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.

The girl's smile froze as she was intimidated by Chen Ye's chilling aura.

She was also perceptive and knew that the man in front of her was not someone to be trifled with, so she dared not be frivolous anymore and quickly bowed and said, "Sir, please wait a moment, I will go and invite our Madam Rong out."

After saying that, he turned around and hurriedly ran into the building.

Chen Ye stood at the door, his gaze sweeping across the building.

The first floor was a huge hall, decorated in a magnificent style. In the middle was a high platform where singers played the zither and sang, while the area below was full of guests who were having fun, clinking glasses and making merry.

Soon, a plump, still charming middle-aged woman wearing a royal blue brocade cheongsam walked briskly down the stairs, surrounded by several pimps.

She wore exquisite makeup and held a long pipe in her hand. Upon seeing Chen Ye, she immediately broke into a warm smile.

"Oh my, what brings you here, sir? Please come in, please come in!"

This woman is Rong Mama, the person in charge here.

Chen Ye didn't move, he just stared at her coldly.

Madam Rong felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but she still maintained a smile on her face: "Sir, is there something you need? Our Tingyuxuan is a legitimate business, always law-abiding, and we have never shortchanged a single penny in taxes."

"I'm not here to audit taxes," Chen Ye said calmly. "I'm here to find someone."

"Looking for someone?" Madam Rong was taken aback. "I wonder who Your Excellency is looking for? As long as they are from Tingyuxuan, just say the word and I will call them over immediately."

“I’m not sure if she’s from here,” Chen Ye said as he stepped into the hall. “All I know is that she has a very distinctive smell.”

Rong's mother followed behind him, her mind filled with unease.

What do you mean by a "unique scent"? Every girl in this building smells wonderful.
Chen Ye stopped when he reached a secluded spot at the back.

"Sir, who are you looking for? Please give me a name, or even just a description of what they look like," Rong's mother asked cautiously.

Chen Ye withdrew his gaze and turned to look at her.

Have any new employees joined your team recently?

“Newcomers?” Madam Rong thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, “Reporting to the official, there really haven’t been any recently. The girls in our Tingyu Pavilion are all trained from a young age, and each of them has unique skills that cannot be compared to those unorthodox methods outside.”

"Is that so?" Chen Ye's lips curled into a cold smile. "Has anyone gone missing recently, or... died?"

Rong's mother's expression changed instantly.

"Sir, you can't speak carelessly! We're in business, and good fortune is our top priority. How could someone die?"

Chen Ye stared into her eyes and asked, word by word, "I'll ask you one more time, did you or didn't you?"

Rong's mother felt uneasy under his sharp gaze, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Just then, Chen Ye's heart began to stir.

Where did this jinx come from? Why is he asking about dead people right away?

Wasn't Xiao Cui's matter already resolved? Could it have been discovered?

No, absolutely not! If the authorities find out someone died here, will Tingyuxuan still be able to stay in business?

We need to figure out a way to get rid of him quickly!

Hearing this heartfelt sentiment, Chen Ye understood.

Something did happen.

"It seems Rong's mother isn't going to tell the truth." Chen Ye's voice turned cold. "To tell you the truth, I know you all have powerful backers, but the case I'm investigating is already earth-shattering. If something really happens, no one can protect you, so you'd better think it over carefully!"

After saying that, he turned to leave, and Rong's mother was so frightened that she almost collapsed to the ground.

After all, she knew what was important since she could make a living in a place like this, so she dared not hide anything anymore and said in a low voice, "Sir, please calm down, I'll tell you!"

Chen Ye snorted coldly and remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

Rong's mother wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and said in a trembling voice, "About two weeks ago, a girl named Xiao Cui in the building accidentally fell from the third floor while cleaning her room, and died on the spot."

"He fell to his death?"

"Yes...yes." Rong's mother's eyes darted around. "We didn't dare report this to the authorities, afraid it would affect our business, so...we handled it privately."

"Where's the body?"

"They buried him in a mass grave outside the city."

Chen Ye looked at her, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Accidentally falling to his death? It's probably not that simple.

However, his purpose in coming today was not to investigate the cause of death of a little girl.

"Besides Xiao Cui, has anyone else been in trouble?"

"It's gone, really gone!" Rong's mother shook her head like a rattle drum.

Chen Ye narrowed his eyes.

Rong's mother's words, "It's really over," were spoken with absolute certainty, but he clearly heard a completely different sentiment in her voice.

God help us, please don't let him ask any more questions!

That old lady is not someone I can afford to offend. If she finds out I said one more word, I probably won't even know how I died!

It was obvious that this Rong's mother was afraid, and she wasn't afraid of the government, but rather of someone in the building.

Chen Ye sneered inwardly, then said in a deep voice, "Zhang Jingzhi, the Vice Minister of Rites, a second-rank official of the court, had his entire family of thirty-seven wiped out overnight. Do you think your little Tingyuxuan can handle such a high-profile case?"

Rong's mother's body trembled violently, and the color drained from her face at a visible speed, turning her ashen white.

Chen Ye stared into her eyes and continued to press her: "Or do you think that offending that new guest in your building would have more serious consequences than offending the government?"

Rong's mother suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with fear and disbelief as she stared at Chen Ye.

How could he know?
How could he know that a new guest had come to the building?
Thinking of this, she could no longer bear it. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground, her voice trembling with sobs: "My lord, spare me! It's not that I intentionally concealed anything, it's just... it's just that I can't afford to offend that lady!"

"Speak," Chen Ye said, his tone completely calm.

“It’s the new top courtesan, Miss Bai.” Madam Rong’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “She…she’s not from Tingyuxuan. She came to us on her own a month ago.”

"She said she had nowhere to go and wanted to stay here for a while, as long as she had a quiet courtyard. In return, she could help train the girls at Tingyuxuan and even occasionally perform on stage." Rong's mother swallowed, her face full of lingering fear.

"I was bewitched at the time. She was as beautiful as a fairy and had a good temperament. I thought she could definitely bring a lot of business to our Tingyu Pavilion, so I... I agreed."

"Who knew that strange things would start happening one after another after she arrived."

"First it was Xiao Cui. She was originally a maid who served this Miss Bai, but she suddenly disappeared. Miss Bai said she didn't know where Xiao Cui went either."

"But the very next day I found Xiao Cui's body in the woodshed in the backyard!"

Rong's mother's voice was extremely low, as if she were telling some terrifying taboo.

"Xiao Cui didn't have a single wound on her body. She just lay there in the pile of firewood with her eyes open and a smile on her face. Her body was ice cold, as if her soul had been taken away!"

Chen Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.

Because Rong Mama's description is exactly the same as the deaths of those people in the Zhang family!
“I was terrified. I wanted to report it to the authorities, but this girl in white found me and warned me not to do anything, or Xiao Cui would end up like me. I was so scared that I didn’t dare to say anything. I could only lie to the outside world and say that Xiao Cui had accidentally fallen to her death and secretly buried her.”

"From then on, I never dared to go to her courtyard again, not even to get close. But this Miss Bai acted as if nothing had happened, playing the zither and painting every day, and occasionally singing a song on stage. Because she was beautiful and sang well, she quickly became famous. Those high-ranking officials and nobles were willing to spend a fortune to hear her sing a song, and they almost wore down the threshold of our Tingyuxuan Pavilion."

Rong's mother almost burst into tears as she spoke, "Sir, everything I said is true!"

Chen Ye's eyes grew cold.

The entire household of Zhang Jingzhi, the Vice Minister of Rites, consisted of thirty-seven people, all of whom died in bizarre circumstances, their souls drained. Xiao Cui, a maid at Tingyuxuan, also died in the same way.

All of this points to a young woman named Bai who appeared out of nowhere a month ago and took the top spot at Tingyuxuan.

Chen Ye's ears were always open, so he could clearly hear the almost overflowing fear deep in Rong's mother's heart.

This is enough to prove that Rong's mother was not lying.

"Which courtyard does she live in?" Chen Ye's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"It's...it's that little pavilion at the very back of the yard, called Lanyue Xiaozhu." Rong's mother pointed in a direction, her voice trembling. "No one but her is allowed to go in there normally; it's very quiet."

"What are her habits? Or is there anything special about her?" Chen Ye continued to press.

“A special place…” Rong’s mother tried hard to recall, “She never drank the water here. I heard from Xiao Cui when she was alive that she only drank one thing…”

"What to drink?"

“Dew.” Rong’s mother lowered her voice even further. “Xiao Cui said that Miss Bai only drinks the dew collected from flower petals in the early morning, and doesn’t drink anything else.”

Drinking only dew? Living a life untouched by worldly concerns?
Chen Ye sneered inwardly; this monster was quite good at pretending.

Having clarified all the details, Chen Ye turned and walked towards the gate of Tingyuxuan.

Outside the door, Master Yan and his students were still waiting.

Upon seeing Chen Ye emerge, Master Yan's gentle gaze immediately fell upon him, and the young students behind him also looked on with curiosity and inquiry.

"Inspector Chen, how is it?" Master Yan asked.

"We have a lead." Chen Ye succinctly recounted the information he had obtained from Rong's mother.

When they heard that the murderer might be a female demon who had taken up residence in a brothel and had even become the top courtesan, the young students' faces immediately showed expressions of shock and disgust.

"Outrageous!" one of the most hot-tempered students couldn't help but shout in a low voice, "How dare this monster be so arrogant, hiding in such a filthy place, using his beauty to amuse people, while secretly committing such inhumane acts! He deserves to die a thousand deaths!"

"Teacher, let's rush in now and capture that monster to rid the people of this scourge!" Another student was also filled with righteous indignation, looking as if he couldn't wait to take action.

In the eyes of these academy disciples, brothels were already places of filth and depravity, and now that demons were lurking there, their crimes were compounded.

"Quiet." Master Yan frowned slightly and gently reprimanded him.

The two students immediately fell silent, but their expressions remained full of resentment.

Master Yan looked at Chen Ye with a hint of approval in his eyes.

He hadn't expected that Chen Ye would uncover such an important clue in just a short time inside. The people of the Xuanjing Division really did have their own ways of doing things.

"Inspector Chen, what do you think should be done about this?" Master Yan ignored his student and instead asked Chen Ye for his opinion.

This question startled the students, and their gazes toward Chen Ye became even more complicated.

In their view, capturing demons and monsters was the academy's duty, so why was the teacher asking for the opinion of a henchman from the Xuanjing Division?

Chen Ye ignored their gazes and calmly analyzed, "That demon dared to commit a massacre of an entire family under the emperor's nose, and it could extract the souls of thirty-seven people in an instant. Its strength is unfathomable. Moreover, there are many people and eyes in Tingyu Pavilion. If we rush in in a big way, and we alert her and she escapes, it will be difficult to find her again."

"Moreover," Chen Ye paused, then continued, "since she was able to kill the entire Zhang family silently, it means she has a way to keep quiet. If a fight breaks out in this bustling city, and she becomes desperate and starts killing indiscriminately, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even thousands of people in Pingkang Lane would likely suffer."

Upon hearing this, the students who had been clamoring to rush in all turned pale.

They were only thinking about slaying demons and monsters, but they forgot that this was the densely populated capital city. Once they started fighting, innocent civilians would be affected, and no one could bear the responsibility.

Master Yan nodded in agreement: "Inspector Chen is right. It was my students who were rash. This matter really needs to be considered carefully."

He turned to look at the students who looked ashamed and calmly instructed them: "Slaying demons and monsters requires not only passion and skill, but also strategy and wisdom. At all times, we must put the safety of the people first. This is the foundation of our academy."

"The students know they were wrong." Several students bowed in unison, their attitude sincere.

After reprimanding the students, Master Yan turned his gaze back to Chen Ye: "So, in Inspector Chen's opinion, what should we do next?"

"Testing the waters," Chen Ye uttered.

"All our intelligence comes from that madam, and we still need to confirm whether it's true or false. We also need to know just how strong this Miss Bai is, what her background is, and what her weaknesses are."

"So I want to go in and meet her first."

"You're going alone?" Master Yan raised an eyebrow. "That's too dangerous!"

"Don't worry, Master, I know what I'm doing." Chen Ye smiled. "You've probably heard about my reputation before. It's perfectly normal for a spoiled brat to appear in a place like this. Even if she has some suspicions, she won't immediately connect me with Zhang Jingzhi's case."

"I'll go in first to investigate and see what she really is. You and the other talented students from the academy will stay outside to provide support. If anything changes, we can help each other out."

This plan sounds bold, but it's the safest approach at the moment.

Master Yan pondered for a moment, and finally nodded: "Alright, as you say, you can keep this jade pendant."

As he spoke, he took out a warm, white jade pendant from his sleeve and handed it to Chen Ye.

"This piece of jade is infused with my righteous energy, which can resist the charm and mental attacks of evil spirits to a certain extent. If you encounter fatal danger, crush it immediately, and it can block an attack for you. I will also sense it immediately."

Chen Ye took the jade pendant and sensed that it indeed contained a pure and enormous energy.

"Thank you, Master." Chen Ye didn't stand on ceremony and put the jade pendant directly into his pocket.

Having finished explaining, Chen Ye didn't linger and turned to walk into Tingyuxuan.

The students from the academy watched his retreating figure with complicated expressions.

"Teacher, is he really capable? That's a ruthless monster who kills without blinking an eye!" a student couldn't help but worry.

Master Yan slowly said, "Don't underestimate him. This boy is calm and decisive, and he is no ordinary person. Moreover, didn't you notice? From beginning to end, there wasn't a trace of fear on his face."

Only after the teacher reminded them did the students realize what was happening.

Indeed, from the horrific scene he witnessed at the Zhang residence to the discovery that the murderer was a demon of unfathomable power, Chen Ye's expression remained largely unchanged.

Putting everything else aside, his composure alone far surpasses that of ordinary people.

At the same time, Chen Ye first found a place to take off his official robes, and then returned to Tingyuxuan to find Rong Mama.

"Take me to see this white girl."

(End of this chapter)