Wife is hell

Chapter 6 The Familiar Sound of Bells
Jiang Mu and An Chenghu politely declined Tang Jinxian's offer to send them off in a carriage and left the patrol office on foot.

The sun was setting in the west, and the air was hot and dry.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians, and various stalls lined both sides of the road, with vendors constantly calling out their wares.

Along the street, the red-lacquered buildings were filled with the sounds of string and wind instruments early in the morning. Several girls dressed in light gauze skirts held round fans and began to solicit customers, ready to act as living bodhisattvas on their pilgrimage.

Upon seeing the handsome yet masculine Jiang Mu, the hearts in her eyes almost spilled out from under her skirt.

An Chenghu was a little hungry, so he bought two hot roasted sweet potatoes from a roadside stall and handed one to Jiang Mu. He led the horse side-by-side down the bustling street.

The goose waddled along behind the two, and if it saw the mischievous child, it would deliberately flap its wings to peck at him.

The child screamed in fright before returning with his head held high.

A typical example of a domineering mother.

"You shouldn't have acted that way just now."

An Chenghu took a bite of sweet potato and suddenly said.

Jiang Mu blew on it and carefully bit open the crispy outer layer: "Why?"

An Chenghu sighed and lowered his voice:

"Chief Tang was parachuted in from the capital just two months ago. Although he is a powerful figure, he is still no match for the local bully."

She is currently not firmly established in Yancheng, and has very few trustworthy and capable people around her, so her situation is actually quite difficult. Your quick wit today has already caught her eye.

The Patrol Office specializes in handling cases of spiritual disasters, which are extremely dangerous. I don't want you to get involved. Even more so, I don't want you to become a pawn that can be discarded at any time in the power struggles of those above.

Jiang Mu smiled, unconcerned: "It doesn't matter."

Having experienced that humiliating ordeal in the cave, it would be difficult for him to remain a coward.

Tang Jinxian is a woman with a strong personality at heart.

Not killing him doesn't mean we'll feel at ease.

Instead, they are more likely to try to keep him within their sight and firmly ride on his back.

"But you really surprised me today, kid." An Chenghu changed the subject, looking at him curiously. "Where did you learn those deductions?"

Jiang Mu pointed to his head:

“I used to follow you around solving cases a lot, Uncle An, and I absorbed a lot of information. Now that my mind is clearer, those things seem to come to mind on their own, and I can even think a few steps further ahead.”

An Chenghu had no doubts.

In the past, he did indeed often take care of his mentally challenged nephew by his side.

"A wandering Taoist priest once said that a fool often becomes extremely intelligent after he has gained enlightenment. It seems there is some truth to that. You're just a bit late in gaining enlightenment, kid."

Jiang Mu simply smiled and then asked, "Uncle An, what are your plans for the investigation next?"

"Before the investigation, we must go to the county government office and report this matter to the county magistrate."

An Chenghu finished the sweet potato in a few bites, clapped his hands and said, "Even with Chief Tang's instructions, the proper etiquette cannot be neglected. Acting beyond one's rank is a major taboo in officialdom."

Jiang Mu expressed his understanding.

Although Tang Jinxian held a high official position, An Chenghu's superior was, after all, Magistrate Yang. Giving prior notice would have saved him from a lot of unnecessary trouble.

“Yancheng has a large population, and even if the scope is narrowed, screening is still like finding a needle in a haystack.”

An Chenghu pondered for a moment and said, "Tell me, is the murderer's mother still alive, or is she already dead?"

Jiang Mu carefully recalled the murderer he had seen that day and said:
"That guy has a very strong sense of violence about him. Even when he tries to lower his voice, you can still tell he's young. He's also impulsive at times. I reckon he's no more than twenty years old."

"Under twenty years old..."

An Chenghu analyzed, "In that case, his mother is very likely still alive. This narrows down the possibilities considerably."

If we focus our investigation on women who come from decent families, are widows, are plump, and have a habit of wearing white, we should be able to find some useful information.

Furthermore, he had officials from the local police station as accomplices, cleaning up his mess. This suggests that he, or his mother, was also involved with the police station.

Jiang Mushen agreed, adding:

"Judging from the injuries on those women, they were mostly caused by the left-handed accomplice. This shows that the mastermind was just watching from the sidelines and rarely participated."

An Chenghu stroked his chin and asked, "Logically, the one who should have wanted to torture that kid the most was just watching from the sidelines. Why do you think that is?"

After some thought, Jiang Mu voiced his inner conjecture:
"Either that kid has a peculiar fetish, enjoying watching others commit sadism. Or he's very aloof, has obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness, and looks down on those women."

Although these women were the 'fakes' he was looking for, they were ultimately not as noble as the 'real one' in his heart.

An Chenghu chuckled and lightly kicked Jiang Mu's butt: "You brat, now that you've got a brain, you're always thinking about these dark things. The old, silly Jiang was much more pleasing to the eye."

The goose quacked happily when it saw Jiang Mu get kicked in the butt.

As a result, he was kicked away by Jiang Mu.

"It's not that I'm cynical, the facts are right in front of me."

Jiang Mu is innocent.

"Alright, the truth will come out once we catch the culprit."

An Chenghu handed the reins to Jiang Mu, "I'll go to the county office to report to the county magistrate first. You go straight home."

"Oh, by the way, tell your aunt to stop by Mei's shop and get some good wine while she's cooking dinner tonight. We uncle and nephew can have a couple of drinks. I happen to have something to discuss with you."

"What are you discussing?"

"We'll talk about it tonight."

An Chenghu waved his hand and turned to walk towards the county government office.

……

Upon arriving home, Jiang Mu led the horse into the stable and also forced the white goose to eat some hay.

Just as I was about to go find my aunt, a shout suddenly came from outside.

"wood!"

Jiang Mu turned his head and saw a big, round head peeking out from the other side of the low wall, waving at him. "Mu Tou, we have a baby! Come and see!"

"Can't you speak a little quieter?"

Jiang Mu looked helplessly at this guy named "Shi Baolu".

The other party was Mu Jiang's best friend.

They live right next door.

The fact that someone can become best friends with a fool indicates that they must be exceptionally gifted.

Moreover, this guy had been jilted before.

As everyone knows, annulment of an engagement comes with a mysterious buff.

Once upon a time, he, like Mu Jiang, was a handsome young man with delicate features.

After being jilted at the altar, the ordinary man suddenly developed a gluttonous side. His appetite skyrocketed from one bowl of rice per meal to eight bowls, and he rapidly expanded horizontally, becoming a round ball.

He successfully became the quintessential chubby best friend in old-school online novels.

The future is boundless.

But most importantly, this guy has two older sisters and one younger sister, and the two older sisters are incredibly beautiful.

When they were young, the children often played together. Mu Jiang especially liked playing with Shi Baolu's second older sister, Shi Xueying.

You should share anything delicious or fun with your partner as soon as possible.

Simply put, he's a sycophant.

Once, while the two were playing in the street, Shi Xueying was almost hit by an out-of-control carriage. Mu Jiang pushed her away, but was seriously injured and almost did not survive.

During that time, Xiao Shixueying stayed by Mu Jiang's bedside and cried, saying that she wanted to be Mu Jiang's wife in the future.

However, time will eventually heal all wounds.

As he grew older, the simple-minded Mu Jiang was gradually disliked by his playmates.

Shi Xueying also deliberately distanced herself.

Only Shi Baolu, who was equally simple-minded, and the newly grown eight-year-old Shi Shuangsui, always hung out with Mu Jiang.

"Wood, come and see!"

Shi Baolu waved his hand, while carefully covering his chest with his other hand.

Jiang Mu walked over.

Then I saw that the other person was holding a little chick.

"Hehe, how about it? This is our first child."

Shi Baolu was very pleased with himself.

Jiang Mu was speechless.

From Mu Jiang's hazy memory, he recalled that some time ago, the two of them saw an old hen lay a brood of chicks, and on a whim, they stole some eggs and took turns sitting in the grass nest to incubate them.

It's no wonder the two became best friends.

"Wood, you name our child."

Shi Baolu licked his lips.

Jiang Mu thought for a moment and said, "Let's call him A-Kun."

Even a bad joke is still a joke.

Little Blackie will always be Little Blackie.

"Ah Kun?"

Shi Baolu paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "This name doesn't sound good. Oh well, whatever you say goes."

Oh, by the way, my second sister got accepted into Divine Phoenix Island. And Elder Zhao even personally took her on as a disciple—that's amazing! She's leaving in a few days.

"Oh, congratulations!"

In my memory, Shi Xueying seemed to have a great talent for cultivation.

It's not surprising that they are valued.

However, Jiang Mu still doesn't understand the martial arts of this world.

Aside from magical artifacts similar to magic weapons, I didn't see anything about flying on a sword, so I guess the skill level isn't very high.

Moreover, he could not sense any fluctuations in spiritual energy.

"Also, my eldest sister said—Oh! My second sister is back, I'm leaving now. If she finds out I'm not supervising my younger sister doing her homework and am sneaking out to play, she'll definitely scold me."

Shi Baolu turned and ran away, disappearing from sight.

Jiang Mu turned his head and saw a luxurious carriage parked outside the other party's courtyard.

A girl in pink jumped off the carriage.

The girl was tall and slender, with a refined and graceful demeanor.

It was Shi Xueying.

Then, a handsome young man in fine clothes and a girl in a yellow dress followed them down.

The three chatted and laughed.

Jiang Mu glanced at it, heard his aunt calling him for help from the kitchen, and then turned and left.

I had only taken a few steps when I suddenly felt dizzy and faintly heard a bell ringing in my ear.

The ringing was intermittent, like a summons.

"Xiao Jiang!"

Inside the kitchen, Auntie's voice grew even louder.

The bell sound suddenly disappeared.

Everything is back to normal.

Jiang Mu, regaining his senses, frowned, looked around in confusion, muttered something, and went into the kitchen.

……

Next door, in front of Shi Baolu's house.

The girl in the yellow dress clutched a small brass bell tightly, her pretty face slightly pale.

"Senior Sister Jiang, what's wrong?"

Shi Xueying inquired with concern.

Feeling the magical artifact in her hand subside, the girl in the yellow dress secretly breathed a sigh of relief, shook her head and forced a smile: "It's nothing, I'm probably just a little tired from cultivating these past few days."

"Senior sister, is this the spiritual object in your hand?"

The handsome man asked curiously.

"Yes, it is a refined spiritual object, also called a spiritual artifact."

The girl in the yellow dress nodded and said with a smile,

"Once you enter Phoenix Island and cultivate diligently, you will also have the opportunity to become a Spirit Master like me. Once you become a Spirit Master, you will be able to fuse with and control such spiritual beings."

Shi Xueying was puzzled: "But I heard that the patrol office usually detains spirits, for fear of causing disaster."

The girl in the yellow dress explained with a smile:
“Spiritual objects can indeed cause disasters, but if you can successfully control and integrate them, you can actually prevent spiritual disasters from happening.”

After all, some spirits cannot be captured by ordinary people alone; they require the help of spiritual beings like us. There are also spiritual beings within the patrol office.

This is why the imperial court has been vigorously promoting cultivation in recent years—in hopes of finding more cultivators who can become spiritual beings, thereby curbing even greater spiritual disasters.

The two seemed to understand but not quite.

The girl in the yellow dress didn't explain much, but put the bell back on her waist, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Strange, why did my spirit suddenly go out of control just now?"

"It seems... he wants to find his master?"

The girl in the yellow dress immediately found her absurd idea laughable, thinking to herself:

“I am its master, what else is it looking for? It’s probably because it was overused before. My master said that if a spiritual object is overused in a short period of time, there is a risk of it going out of control.”

(End of this chapter)