Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

Xiao Yan stepped into the study of the Qianqing Palace and kowtowed to Emperor Shengzhi. Gao Jian came out at the right time and Emperor Shengzhi raised his hand to signal.

"What do you have to report?"

"The demon has been captured," Xiao Yan said. "He's hiding in the underground chamber of a porcelain shop on North Street. He'll be dead by the time we get there."

"Underground Palace?" Emperor Shengzhi asked, "Have they investigated the cause of death?"

"I, along with the Northern City Military Commission, have examined the demonic being. There are no injuries on his body," Xiao Yan said. "There are no signs of a struggle at the scene either. The incident happened suddenly, and the porcelain shop assistants appear to have been unaware of it. He has been taken to the Northern Pacification Commission."

As he spoke, he took out the straw man and spread it out in his hands.

"We only saw this straw man on the altar. The person cursed was none other than Lu Yuanpan. The demon used his magic to make Lu Yuanpan seriously ill and nearly die. I suspect the curse was too vicious, causing karma to backfire and kill him."

Emperor Sheng Zhi stood up and walked over, took the straw man in his hand and looked at it, then glanced at the steel needles and hair notes, feeling incredible.

"This sorcery is so powerful. How is Judge Lu?"

"President Lu is still receiving acupuncture and medication, and the situation is critical." Xiao Yan said worriedly, "You can't get out of bed yet."

Emperor Shengzhi gripped the straw man tightly. "How could a scoundrel from the underworld be so brazen as to murder an official of our imperial court? This is truly outrageous."

"Your Majesty." Xiao Yan looked at him. "Counselor Lu suffered this disaster. I suspect it may be related to the matter of Lord Fang."

Emperor Shengzhi was reacting when Xiao Yan continued.

"Everyone knows that Lord Fang was saved by Judge Lu. As the Emperor said, how could a cunning man from the underworld murder an official of the imperial court for no apparent reason? This is unheard of and unseen in our dynasty for many years."

Emperor Shengzhi pondered and hesitated, "Are you saying... someone in the court did this on purpose?"

Xiao Yan agreed with this and analyzed, "Lord Fang was saved, but Judge Lu suffered. This is clearly revenge for the man Lu ruined. We have to get rid of him. If this kind of evil magic happens again in the court, there will be no one left to help."

"Although Judge Lu himself is proficient in this kind of healing technique, he was unable to escape the curse of the sorcery. Your Majesty can imagine that this man and the sorcerer have already put the court in a precarious position. Moreover, it is not just that..."

Emperor Shengzhi's eyes were filled with anger and he asked, "Anything else?"

"It was a reward for the two beauties given to Lu Yuanpan." Xiao Yan said, "The demon was able to cast his curse successfully because those two beauties stole Lu Yuanpan's personal belongings and then passed them on to him through the Qinghua Pavilion.

"Your Majesty, those people were all tributes from foreign envoys. Now, they are openly using your rewards to harm our officials. I'm afraid the implications and purpose behind this are more than just a simple court struggle."

"What did you say?" Emperor Shengzhi was surprised for a moment, "That hand actually reached out to my side? How bold!"

He glared and threw the straw man to the ground. "Torture those two women and the people from the Qinghua Pavilion severely. I must make them reveal the mastermind behind this."

At night, Lang Si took the account book to the Zhenfu Division and saw that no one was in Meng Kui's office, so he grabbed someone and asked him.

"Where's Commander Meng?"

Jinyiwei said: "Captain Tu is interrogating in the cell. He went to the cell."

Lang Si rushed into the cell and saw Meng Kui standing outside the interrogation room door watching Tu Yizhou being interrogated.

He clutched the account book tightly and paused for two seconds before walking forward. Meng Kui heard footsteps and turned sideways. "That's pretty fast."

Lang Si handed the item over with a blank expression, "I hope you can settle the matter as soon as possible."

Meng Kui took the account book, rolled it up naturally and held it in his hand, a smile on his lips, "Don't worry, if you are sincere, then I will do my best."

He stopped looking at Lang Si and turned to the interrogation room. Seeing the guy tied to the rack inside screaming in pain, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh, you said this... there really is a demon at work. These people are so audacious that they dared to harm an official of the imperial court. They truly deserve to be killed. My Pacification Office will definitely give the emperor a satisfactory answer."

Lang Si sneered at his hindsight behavior. He rolled his eyes and stared at the guy with bleeding mouth and nose and gave him instructions.

"I really don't know how that man died. I also don't know who the owner of Qinghua Pavilion is. I only know his last name is Wan. The shop assistants didn't all come here at the same time. I've only been here less than two months, and I'm just following orders. I don't even know the two women. Only the short one has been to the shop twice, once to hand over something, and the second time to deliver a message."

Tu Yizhou asked: "What news?"

The waiter said, "The girl told me that the young man was alive, and that magic tools were seen in his room. Then, the soldiers broke in, and when they searched, they found the Taoist priest dead. It happened so suddenly that we were completely unaware of it. I just speculated that the Taoist priest was killed by the young man's magic. That's all I know."

The three of them were stunned by these words. Tu Yizhou's face turned pale and he subconsciously looked outside the door. Lang Si's expression was similar. He suddenly had a bad premonition and stared at Meng Kui sideways.

Meng Kui frowned and walked slowly into the house, Lang Si followed him in. Tu Yizhou looked at him worriedly, and seeing Meng Kui's serious face, he asked the waiter.

"What do you mean by that young man killing the Taoist priest?"

Thick blood was hanging from the guy's mouth, and he spoke vaguely.

"That girl said that there were incense, candles, and magical instruments in the young master's room, which looked like the things that magicians in their country use to perform rituals. The Taoist priest didn't have any injuries when he died. My guess is that he must have been killed by the young master's spell, otherwise how could he die for no reason?"

Meng Kui narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked in a tone of voice that seemed to be seeking confirmation, "If there are no scars, then the food must have been poisoned."

"I'm innocent." said the guy.

"That Taoist priest lives in the underground palace every day. We take turns to deliver food to him every day. How could he have poisoned him? We dare not make any mistakes in our boss's orders. If you don't believe me, the food we sent in today hasn't been touched yet. The coroner will find out once he investigates."

Meng Kui lowered his eyes in thought, then slowly turned to look at Lang Si and the others. "If this matter is proven to be true, then Court Judge Lu is suspected of being in cahoots with the demonic being?"

Lang Si was eager to argue, but he quickly analyzed, "Lord Fang was critically ill, and Judge Lu came to his rescue. He hid a magical weapon, and that demon died in a secret room. Each of these events is truly unbelievable."

"Commander Meng's claim that Lu Yuanpan is an accomplice of that evildoer is pure nonsense," Lang Si said.

"If he was an accomplice, why was he the one being murdered and left bedridden? This fellow was originally in cahoots with the demon. Their plan was exposed, so of course he would make false accusations now. How could you take it seriously, sir?"

"What Lang Qianshi said is wrong." Meng Kui disagreed.

"There were disagreements among the accomplices, and when they killed each other, this dynasty has banned witchcraft since its founding. This is a well-known fact. Now, there are so many disturbances in Jin'an City, causing panic among the people and the court. There are also witnesses who have confirmed it."

"To sum up, this matter is of no small importance. We, the Northern Pacification Division, must give an explanation to the Emperor and the people. There must not be the slightest mistake or omission. What do you think, Mr. Lang?"