Wife is hell

Chapter 89 (6,000 words)

After a long day of running around, Jiang Mu returned home and fell asleep almost immediately.

I slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up.

After a quick breakfast, Shi Yuhuan brought over a stack of newly drawn talismans for him to examine.

Looking at the thick stack of talismans and then at the woman's faint dark circles under her eyes, Jiang Mu felt a pang of pity.

"Sister Yuyu, we made enough talismans last time, there's no need to rush. You should get more rest."

Shi Yuhuan smiled faintly and gestured with her slender fingers in sign language: "It's alright, I'm just idling around anyway."

Jiang Mu shook his head secretly.

Fortunately, I didn't tell her that a single Runyu talisman could fetch a hundred taels of silver, otherwise Sister Yuyu probably wouldn't have been able to sleep.

At this moment, Yan Wenxiu walked in carrying a bowl of steaming hot medicinal soup.

Seeing this, Jiang Mu's face fell, and he said in a mournful voice:

"Auntie, please don't stay up any longer, I'm all better now!"

Perhaps it was Dr. Mei's words that had an effect, because even though Jiang Mu had long since recovered, Yan Wenxiu still brewed kidney-tonifying soup for him every day.

In her heart, Jiang Mu is now her son-in-law.

For the sake of my daughter's future happiness, I must make sure this son-in-law is in top physical condition.

Especially after Jiang Mu got into a fight yesterday and came back looking listless, Yan Wenxiu increased the dosage of his medication.

"What's so good about it? A cold a few days ago kept you in bed for several days, which shows you're still weak. Let me tell you, you brat, this is a very nourishing prescription, and it cost me a lot of money."

Yan Wenxiu scolded her irritably.

Looking at Jiang Mu's worried expression, Shi Yuhuan couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. Her eyebrows curved, and dimples appeared on her cheeks, exuding an indescribable gentle and charming beauty.

"Yuju, keep an eye on him for your aunt and make sure this kid drinks all his medicine."

Yan Wenxiu confessed.

Shi Yuhuan nodded vigorously, indicating that she would definitely complete the task.

After Yan Wenxiu left, Jiang Mu quickly approached Shi Yuzhu and pleaded in a low voice, "Sister Yuzhu, please have mercy and help me pour some out. This stuff is just too bitter."

Should we pour some out?
Shi Yuhua slightly widened her clear almond-shaped eyes, a hint of anger appearing on her face.

She quickly used sign language:

"This was cooked by Aunt An with great effort for you, how could you waste it like this?"

"The problem is, this thing is completely useless."

Jiang Mu looked helpless.

Dr. Mei really caused him a lot of trouble.

Shi Yuyu didn't care about any of that. Her bright eyes were fixed on him, clearly intending to personally supervise him as he finished drinking.

Jiang Mu decided to act spoiled, leaning back on the bed and drawing out his words:
"Oh dear—I have no strength at all, I can't get up."

Shi Yuhua reached out to pull him, but Jiang Mu was like a piece of chewing gum, lying on the bed without moving.

She pursed her soft lips, as if she had no other choice but to pick up the medicine bowl herself, stir it gently with a porcelain spoon, scoop up a spoonful, and bring the dark brown medicine to Jiang Mu's lips.

The woman stubbornly held up the spoon, her watery eyes fixed on him.

Seeing her persistence, Jiang Mu finally gave in and reluctantly opened his mouth.

Shi Yuhua's lips curled up slightly, her expression a little smug.

However, as soon as the medicine entered his mouth, Jiang Mu's eyes widened suddenly. He pointed to his mouth and gasped for breath, looking as if he had been burned.

Shi Yuhua was startled, only then realizing that she hadn't blown it.

She quickly put down the medicine bowl, took out her personal handkerchief, and held it to the man's lips, gesturing for him to spit it out.

Jiang Mu waved his hand repeatedly, pointing to his mouth and then to the bowl of medicine, indicating that it shouldn't be wasted.

Then, he rolled his eyes and made a "blowing" sign.

Shi Yuhua instantly understood what the other person meant, and two red clouds instantly rose to her cheeks.

But after hesitating for a moment, she finally obediently bent down, leaned close to Jiang Mu, slightly parted her cherry lips, and blew a warm breath into the man's mouth.

I wanted to blow on the medicine in his mouth to cool it down.

Jiang Mu stared at her intently from close range.

Her lips were soft, plump, and luscious, like newly blooming roses, with a healthy pink sheen and subtle fine lines visible on them.

Through the slightly parted lips, one can glimpse pearly white teeth and delicate cloves.

She truly has a slender waist that sways gently in the east wind, and cherry lips that exude a fragrant mist.

Yuju is really good.

The actress in blue, watching the performance from the sidelines, couldn't help but marvel:
"If any family could marry such a gentle, considerate, and understanding wife, their ancestors' graves must be emitting flames instead of green smoke."

After finally finishing the medicine, Shi Yuhua gently wiped the medicine stains from Jiang Mu's lips with a handkerchief, and then took the bowl and spoon to the kitchen to wash them herself.

Just as she returned to the house and was about to pick up the talisman paper to continue drawing, Tang Jinxian arrived.

It's clear that the investigation into the cellar last night made progress.

Today, Tang Jinxian wore a smoky purple gauze long jacket, quite different from her usual capable style, with a moon-white narrow-sleeved silk shirt underneath and a pleated gauze skirt in the same color scheme.

Her skirt, layered and swaying gently with her steps, resembled flowing wind and swirling snow, exuding a unique elegance.

Her already slender and graceful figure was surprisingly harmonious when wrapped in this scholarly dress, adding a touch of gentle charm rarely seen in everyday life.

As usual, Shi Yuhuan put away the talisman, bowed respectfully to Tang Jinxian, and then tactfully withdrew.

"Why is she always in your room when I come here?"

Tang Jinxian frowned and asked as she watched Shi Yuhuan's departing figure.

Jiang Mu said, "That's normal. Sister Yuyan lives next door. Our two families have always been close and have a very good relationship."

"Oh."

Tang Jinxian gave a casual reply, but her gaze swept over the bed without leaving a trace, and she muttered under her breath, "A man and a woman alone together, they should at least be more discreet."

Avoiding taboos is a joke.

This woman with the big millstone is quite nosy.

Jiang Mu changed the subject and asked, "Oh right, I almost forgot to ask, has my spiritual item been approved yet?"

Tang Jinxian slowly shook her head:
"It hasn't come down yet. The approval process for spirit items is always complicated and will take some time. I will give it to you when it does. I came here now because of what happened in the cellar last night; I have already found some clues."

Jiang Mu asked, "A new spiritual disaster case?"

Tang Jinxian sat in the chair and began to speak:
"It's not exactly a brand new case. Based on our investigation, and combined with the case file records that Yu Zhengqing deliberately left behind, we can confirm that the rotten heart in the bowl is Huang Xiang'er's. Moreover... it was removed before she died."

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Mu's eyes: "Before you die?"

Tang Jinxian said with a solemn expression:

"The spiritual object that Huang Xiang'er obtained was not bound to her voluntarily. Rather, someone used a very special secret method to forcibly transfer and merge the spiritual object that originally belonged to someone else into her body."

Jiang Mu was stunned.

Is this even possible?

He immediately thought of the eerie altar in the cellar chamber and realized:
"You mean Huang Xiang'er traded her own heart for the right to use that spiritual object? No wonder she was so eager to die later and didn't resist at all."

"good."

Tang Jinxian nodded.
"The person behind the scenes used a sacrificial array to forcibly transfer the spiritual object, helping Huang Xiang'er complete her revenge. Based on this, it can be inferred that the mysterious person is very likely a 'spiritual medium'."

Spiritual medium?
Jiang Mu asked, puzzled, "What is a spirit medium?"

Tang Jinxian gave a detailed explanation.

The "spiritual medium" she refers to is not the kind of "spiritual medium" who communicates with ghosts and gods, but specifically refers to a very rare type of person who is born with or has awakened special sensory abilities.

Such people can vaguely sense the existence of spiritual entities and even glimpse the "laws" governing their operation.

"So, this mysterious person can sense the appearance of 'wild' spiritual creatures? And then use an array to abduct them and move them in advance?"

Jiang Mu clicked his tongue in amazement.

I never expected there to be someone with such a peculiar ability.

At that moment, he saw Tang Jinxian staring at him with a half-smile, as if she could see right through him.

Jiang Mu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

On second thought, he suddenly realized.

Pointing to himself, he said, "You think I'm a medium too?"

"Is not it?"

Tang Jinxian's red lips curved slightly.
"Mu Jiang, do you think you can fool others? From the very beginning, with that string of tassels, to the death pattern in the last spiritual disaster case, you know it all."

Just because you don't tell and I don't ask doesn't mean you can keep it a secret. If I hadn't covered for you and covered for you, you would have been arrested as the murderer long ago.

Jiang Mu was speechless for a moment.

Seeing the man remain silent, Tang Jinxian thought she had guessed correctly and became even more smug, while also feeling quite emotional inside.

In this world, spiritual mediums are a very rare and precious commodity.

The imperial court once intended to search for spiritual mediums in the world and assign them to the patrol offices in order to prevent the occurrence of spiritual disasters.

Unfortunately, it failed in the end.

It's not just that they're scarce; each time a spiritual medium senses something, they're consuming their own life force, resulting in a rather short lifespan. Therefore, no one wants to be recruited.

Four years ago, the Yancheng Patrol Office had a spiritual medium, but he has long since passed away.

To this day, the imperial court has not dispatched any new spiritual mediums.

This clearly demonstrates their scarcity.

This is also the main reason why she wanted to recruit Jiang Mu.

However, considering the side effects of being a medium, she did not report it to the commander-in-chief.

Otherwise, the commander-in-chief will definitely come to demand the person at all costs.

Once Jiang Mu is transferred, he is very likely to be overused until he is exhausted and burnt out.

This is a situation she absolutely does not want to see.

"Back to business."

Tang Jinxian said solemnly, "We have made a preliminary deduction as to who the mysterious person who fused the spiritual object with Huang Xiang'er is."

"who is it?"

Jiang Mu was somewhat surprised.

Are these incompetent officials really that efficient?
"Judge!"

"Judge?"

"Correct."

Tang Jinxian said, "This is this person's nickname. We don't know whether this person is male or female, or what their real name is."

However, this person was the number one wanted criminal who had been on the wanted list of the patrol office for many years.

He began his activities in the underworld more than a decade ago, specializing in killing wicked criminals who had committed heinous crimes but remained at large, including officials and powerful figures. Each time he killed someone, he would rip out their heart.

Later, he left a sentence on the city wall: "Good and evil will eventually be weighed, and this heart is the hall of law!"

It caused quite a stir at the time, and the capital's general command dispatched a large number of experts to investigate, but they were never able to capture him.

About six years ago, this person gradually faded from view, turning to assisting others in their revenge behind the scenes, becoming increasingly elusive and difficult to track.

What a judge!
Jiang Mu couldn't help but clap his hands and cheer after hearing this.

Tang Jinxian continued:

"Judging from the secret chamber in the cellar, it was clearly a place of worship for the 'Judge'. From this, we can infer that the Judge has been in Yancheng all these years."

Jiang Mu asked, "Could the man that Pan Sheng'er and the others chased away be the Judge?"

Tang Jinxian gently shook her head:
"We are doing our best to track down this person. But judging from the physical characteristics described by Pan Shenger and Madam Yan, the person is more like a wanted fugitive that the county government issued a warrant for some time ago."

He must have just stumbled upon the cellar and used it as a hiding place.

If he were truly the judge, he could have easily hidden in a secret room when the servants discovered the cellar, and wouldn't have been so easily exposed.

Jiang Mu was speechless.

Is that place some kind of auspicious feng shui location?
That's how you attract wanted criminals.

"In addition, we also sent people to investigate Pan Shenger's husband, after all, that is his home."

Tang Jinxian said, "If I have any clues, I will tell you."

"Where is that maid named Xiaonan?"

"There is currently no conclusive evidence to suggest that her disappearance is directly related to the spiritual disaster case, and the investigation is still ongoing."

Jiang Mu nodded.

Tang Jinxian gazed at him with her beautiful eyes, her tone softening slightly:
"Mu Jiang, I will keep your identity as a medium a secret. In the future, you should also be careful not to casually try to sense spirits, as it can harm your body."

Hearing the woman's heartfelt worry and concern, Jiang Mu felt a warmth in his heart.

Big Soft Candy's self-righteous overthinking inadvertently saved him a lot of trouble.

After the business was finished, the room fell silent for a moment.

Jiang Mu, trying to make conversation, casually asked, "How have you been lately?"

It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned it, because it instantly stirred up Tang Jinxian's memories of last night. Her pretty face flushed bright red, and her legs involuntarily pressed together. "Oh no!"

Tang Jinxian stood up, turned around with a flick of her sleeve, and stormed off.

Jiang Mu was completely confused.

What did this lady do to offend this time?

Women who are on their period are indeed more irritable.

After resting for a while, Jiang Mu still took Shi Baolu to the yamen to report for duty.

Although it was a bit late, we still had to make an appearance.

Inside the yamen, Jiang Mu recalled the naked body of the eighty-year-old woman lying dead in the street, and stopped Jiang Xiaoyuan, who was about to patrol the streets, and asked:

"Xiao Yuan, is the old lady's body still in the mortuary?"

"correct."

Jiang Xiaoyuan scratched his head, puzzled, and asked, "Why are you so concerned about an old woman's corpse?"

Jiang Mu smiled and said, "I'm used to investigating cases with Uncle An, and I always want to get to the bottom of things. Let's go, Brother Jiang, let's go to the mortuary together."

……

The mortuary was filled with a strong stench of decay mixed with the smell of herbs, making one's nasal passages feel tight.

Jiang Mu covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, his brows furrowed as he approached the corpse covered with a white sheet.

Shi Baolu stood to the side, grinning foolishly, eating sweet potatoes.

The old woman's body was indeed severely decomposed, with multiple ulcers on her skin and flesh, making her face unrecognizable. Judging from her outline and gray hair alone, she did indeed resemble an octogenarian.

The guards who were watching over the mortuary said they were going to burn it down in the next couple of days, since no one would claim it anyway.

At first, Jiang Mu was just doing a routine check, but gradually, he noticed something was amiss.

"Baoluo, go find a pair of gloves."

Jiang Mu's voice carried a hint of solemnity.

Shi Baolu quickly ran to the guards who were watching over the mortuary and asked them for a pair of coarse cloth gloves.

Jiang Mu put on gloves and carefully parted the rotting flesh on the side of the corpse's neck, his fingertips touching the bones below.

"Something's not right," Jiang Mu muttered to himself.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Xiaoyuan asked.

Others also curiously gathered around.

Jiang Mu pointed to the corpse's collarbone and said:

“A slender collarbone with a narrow gap is a characteristic of young women’s bones. In an octogenarian, the collarbone will become thicker and the gap will be wider due to osteoporosis.”

He then gently rotated the corpse's wrist.
"And the wrist bones are generally dense and do not show the degenerative bone lesions common in the elderly."

Everyone looked completely bewildered.

Jiang Mu reached down further, his fingertips tracing the corpse's pelvis.

"This is a typical characteristic of women of childbearing age, and it is absolutely impossible for an octogenarian to have the same skeletal structure."

"so……"

Jiang Mu stood up, took off his gloves and threw them aside. "This body is that of a young woman."

A young woman?

Everyone looked incredulous.

At that moment, Jiang Mu suddenly thought of Xiao Nan, the missing maid of Pan Sheng'er's family.

According to Mo Hai'er, before Xiao Nan disappeared, she gave an apple to an old lady begging for water at the door.

When the old woman died, she was clutching half a rotten apple in her hand.

An unclaimed "old woman's" corpse and a young maid mistakenly believed to have eloped are both related to apples.

So--

Jiang Mu's heart skipped a beat.

An absurd yet bizarre conjecture surfaced in his mind.

He immediately had someone summon Pan Sheng'er.

About half an hour later, Pan Sheng'er arrived.

To avoid frightening her, Jiang Mu did not let her see the corpse, but only asked her to talk in the courtyard outside the mortuary.

"Madam Pan, how old is Xiaonan this year? How tall is she approximately?"

Jiang Mu asked.

Pan Sheng'er didn't understand why Jiang Mu was concerned about her maid again, so she honestly replied, "Twenty years old, about four feet eight inches tall, not very tall, and rather thin."

"Does she have any distinctive physical characteristics?"

"special?"

Pan Sheng'er lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up:
"By the way, Xiaonan has a slight limp in her right leg. It's not very noticeable, but you can see it when she walks fast. She said she fell when she was little and injured her leg bone, and it hasn't fully healed yet."

Is your right leg lame?
Jiang Mu's eyes flickered.

After seeing Pan Sheng'er off, he returned to the morgue and examined the body again.

Height and build are compatible.

There is a healing scar from an old fracture in the middle of the right tibia.

The healed bone is slightly shorter than the left leg by half an inch, and the angle at the joint is somewhat abnormal.

All the clues have come together!

The body that was mistaken for an octogenarian was not an unknown old woman at all, but the missing maid Xiaonan!
This conclusion stunned everyone.

A twenty-year-old maidservant was transformed into the corpse of an eighty-year-old woman in a short period of time.

Jiang Mu remembered the apple and realized that this was yet another case of spiritual disaster.

He instructed Shi Baolu to stay at the mortuary while he went to the patrol office.

Inside the patrol office, Tang Jinxian was reviewing the judge's files when a subordinate came to report that Jiang Mu urgently needed to see her.

The woman's heart skipped a beat; she had a bad feeling.

This guy never brings good news when he comes.

She didn't believe that the other party would make a special trip to visit her.

Sure enough, after listening to Jiang Mu's report, the woman held her forehead with her hand, speechless.

That bastard, how did he dig up another case of spiritual disaster?

"Did you sense it?"

Tang Jinxian asked.

"No," Jiang Mu said innocently. "I just found out by accident."

Tang Jinxian muttered, "A constitution that attracts disaster."

Despite her complaints, she was aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"You mean, someone impersonates an old lady, pretending to ask for water, and gives young women apples. After eating the apples, they turn into old ladies and then die?"

"At present, this is most likely the case."

Jiang Mu nodded, "However, this is only my initial speculation. There should be other undiscovered victims. I suggest that the patrol office investigate carefully."

Tang Jinxian didn't hesitate and immediately opened a case for investigation.

Following Jiang Mu's suggestion, they organized a team to thoroughly investigate the recent disappearances of young women.

Pay special attention to clues related to "Apple".

The efficiency of the patrol office was indeed impressive; they found four similar cases the very next day.

In both cases, a young woman gave an old woman water, accepted an apple from her, and then mysteriously disappeared.

What alarmed Jiang Mu even more was that, while chatting with Yan Wenxiu and Shi Yuhua, Shi Yuhua recalled encountering an old woman begging for water.

Jiang Mu was truly shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Yu-zhu was very vigilant. If Shi Yu-zhu had accepted that apple, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

After all, the golden amulet he gave could withstand swords and spears.

However, it has little effect on such bizarre curses from spirits.

At the same time, he found a mark outside the gate of the Shi family compound, which he guessed was left by the old woman.

Jiang Mu was both shocked and furious.

"Damn it, he actually made a move on my fragrant Yuyu, that old bastard deserves to die."

He began to think about how to investigate the murderer.

Unfortunately, only Xiao Nan's body has been found so far, and too much time has passed, so the "Heavenly Secret Tracing" of the Donghuang Taichu Bell cannot work.

Unless another fresh corpse appears.

Perhaps Jiang Mu's idea had an effect, because just two days later, the yamen discovered another corpse.

However, this time it was Shi Baolu who made the discovery.

When he was patrolling the streets with Jiang Xiaoyuan, he said he heard someone calling for help and went into a small alley.

They found the body of an old woman.

However, the autopsy showed that the old lady had been dead for an hour.

Shi Baolu couldn't possibly hear any cries for help.

Later, everyone assumed that Shi Baolu had heard someone's cries for help, and as a result, they discovered the body by mistake.

But Jiang Mu doesn't think so.

"The yin energy here is very heavy, and there are traces of remnant souls that once existed here."

"I smelled the scent in the air and said..."

"That fat man must have heard the woman's remnant soul's cry for help. But ordinary people's remnant souls don't last long, unlike mine. And sometimes, the soul may not even appear."

Jiang Mu stared at the "old woman's" corpse on the ground and took out the Donghuang Taichu Bell.

The runes on the bell have recovered a little.

One use of "Tianji Tuying" should be enough.

Jiang Mu told Shi Baolu to drive everyone else out of the alley and to stand guard at the entrance, then he rang the bell.

As his consciousness faded, Jiang Mu instantly found himself in the alleyway where someone had been standing for hours.

In the video, an elderly man is seen crawling on the ground with difficulty, clutching half a rotten apple, his face filled with fear.

Even though crawling was difficult, she was unwilling to put down the apple in her hand.

Just then, a sound of footsteps slowly approached.

It was a person wearing a black cloak and whose face was completely covered; judging from his build, he was a man.

"Another one has escaped."

The man's voice was muffled.

He squatted down, took a bright red apple from his pocket, and placed it on the old man.

In the blink of an eye, the apple in the old man's hand rotted completely.

The old man grew increasingly frail and eventually his life was drained away.

The man picked up the bright red apple, turned around, and left.

The scene ends here.

When Jiang Mu regained consciousness, he felt extremely dizzy.

He underestimated the side effects of "Heavenly Secrets Tracing Shadows." After all, it was a high-level spell, and now that he was back in reality, his head was in excruciating pain, just like before.

Staggering, he slumped against the wall and collapsed to the ground.

Countless fragmented memories swirled through my mind like sand.

He could faintly hear Tang Jinxian's urgent calls.

Jiang Mu didn't know how much time had passed, but when he regained some consciousness, he found himself back home.

Tang Jinxian was beside him, seemingly talking to someone.

"You mean, the only way to bring him back to his senses is... that?"

"He's not a baby."

"Have you tried it before? Is it very effective?"

"Alright, you do it, let me see how you do it."

-

P.S.: Today's update is complete, 6400 words.

(End of this chapter)