Chapter 30: Are You Trying to Steal the Credit?

Could it be that the power of my eye is to see things that happened in the past?

Piecing together the strange vision before him and recalling the moment when the ancestor of the Xu family pressed that pearl into his left eye, Xu Ye was now certain: his left eye had been transformed into a ghost soldier by that old ancestor.

“Close your eyes, quickly!”

Just as Xu Ye was about to take a closer look at the man fleeing over the wall, his view was suddenly blocked by a delicate face, tinged with a hint of reproach.

“Oh.” Xu Ye hurriedly obeyed.

Truth be told, he was struggling to keep his eyes open; the longer he did, the more an agonizing, burning pain throbbed in his eye socket.

“Look at you, bleeding again. I told you to keep your eye closed, but you never listen. Now it’ll have to be bandaged for days again.” Lin Buyu grumbled as she wiped the blood from Xu Ye’s face.

“I won’t do it again next time,” Xu Ye replied, still wearing a mischievous grin, though his mind lingered on the scene his left eye had just revealed: If what I saw with my left eye truly was what happened, then the young man who escaped over the wall is very likely the real culprit behind the massacre at the Cao residence.

Suddenly, the landscape scroll hanging in the room sprang to life, rolling itself up and reverting to its original form, standing upright by the door. With a loud crash, the door was smashed open.

A figure surged in, carrying a scorching, righteous aura as fierce as a blazing fire.

Xu Ye looked carefully—it was none other than Sun Wuchang of the Sixth Banner, whom he had met once at the magistrate’s office.

“So this is the strength of the Constable of the Ghost Suppression Bureau?” Feeling the pressure radiating from Sun Wuchang, Xu Ye was secretly alarmed. Compared to him, the vengeful ghost they had just faced was nothing at all.

“Hm?” Sun Wuchang glanced around the room, and upon noticing the vengeful ghost collapsed by the wall, his small eyes flashed with surprise.

“Iron Mask, your skills have improved. You actually managed to hold out this long.” Sun Wuchang’s gaze fell upon Iron Mask, then his eyes shifted, and he grinned.

“It wasn’t me…”

“Scholar, come in. The others wait outside.” Iron Mask started to explain, but Sun Wuchang cut him off and called the scholar in from outside.

The scholar stepped into the room, and when he saw the corpse of the vengeful ghost on the floor, his face was filled with disbelief.

“Scholar, you did well this time. You managed to trap the fierce ghost in time. The two ghost officers from the Third Banner wouldn’t have lasted until I arrived.” Sun Wuchang smiled at the scholar.

The scholar was taken aback, then his eyes brightened and a sly smile appeared on his lips: “I merely followed your instructions, Sun Wuchang. Killing this fierce ghost was all thanks to your martial prowess.”

Hearing their exchange, Xu Ye was stunned at first, then, feeling both furious and amused, thought: So they’re planning to steal the credit!

“Sun Wuchang, it was Iron Mask and Xu Ye of the Sixth Banner who slew the fierce ghost. Are you trying to claim the credit for yourselves?” Lin Buyu rose indignantly.

Seeing the righteous young woman standing before him, Xu Ye felt strangely moved, and sighed inwardly: She’s still too young. If they dare to seize the credit, they must have their reasons.

Iron Mask, meanwhile, simply frowned and did not protest.

Sun Wuchang merely smiled at Lin Buyu’s words, then glanced at the scholar.

The scholar nodded, raised the fractured Qinghu inkstone in his hand, and shouted, “Collect!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the corpse of Cao’s daughter in the corner was drawn into the inkstone.

“Iron Mask, though you didn’t manage to slay the fierce ghost, you at least contributed. When the case is closed, I’ll mention your efforts.” The scholar looked at Iron Mask with a smug smile.

On the road back to the magistrate’s office.

“I’m so furious, so furious, so furious!” Lin Buyu, sitting in the carriage, pounded her fists on the seat.

“Easy, easy—don’t hurt your hands. If you must, hit me instead.” Xu Ye laughed, patting his thigh.

“You can still laugh!” Lin Buyu rolled her eyes at Xu Ye, disappointment written all over her face.

“You risked your life to kill that fierce ghost, but now all the credit goes to that Sixth Banner fellow who abandoned his comrades and fled. It’s infuriating!” she exclaimed.

“Miss Buyu is right. This credit should belong entirely to Brother Xu. That scholar deserves punishment for his lack of virtue. It’s my fault for not being more careful—if I’d gone to the office for a voice stone, we’d have proof and he couldn’t lie his way out.” Iron Mask bowed his head, full of self-reproach.

“Big brother Iron Mask, you can’t blame yourself. Who could have guessed that Sun Wuchang and the scholar from the Sixth Banner would be so treacherous and shameless?” Lin Buyu, seeing Iron Mask’s regret, felt a bit embarrassed herself.

“No need to reproach yourself, brother Iron Mask. Sun Wuchang clearly doesn’t want us from the Sixth Banner to claim the credit. Even if you had a voice stone, they’d find a thousand reasons not to report our achievements. Don’t underestimate their shamelessness.” Xu Ye comforted Iron Mask.

The voice stone they had mentioned was a device that records sound, much like a cassette tape; the Ghost Suppression Bureau used it to document evidence.

“I’m ashamed. Clearly, Brother Xu is the one who suffered most, and yet you’re the one comforting me.” Iron Mask raised his head with a bitter smile.

“A blessing in disguise, who knows if this loss won’t turn out for the best?” Xu Ye remained unconcerned.

He said this not because the credit meant nothing to him, but because both his investigative intuition and what he’d just seen with his left eye told him that the Cao family’s case was far more complicated than it appeared. The Sixth Banner’s hasty conclusion—whether fortune or calamity followed—was anyone’s guess.

“What do you mean, ‘a blessing in disguise’?” Lin Buyu looked at Xu Ye in confusion.

Seeing the bewildered blue eyes of Lin Buyu, Xu Ye realized that this world had no such saying.

“It’s something I read in the ancestral records of my family,” Xu Ye replied, once again invoking the old ancestor as he roughly explained the story to Lin Buyu.

“So, Brother Xu, you really believe there’s more to the Cao case?” Iron Mask finally caught Xu Ye’s implication.

“Yes,” Xu Ye nodded. “At the very least, I’m certain that the people in Cao’s residence weren’t killed by a single person.”

“If that’s true, when the Judge of the Underworld rules on the case, the Sixth Banner may be punished.” Iron Mask’s face finally showed a smile.

“Do you mean the Judge can identify the real culprit?” Xu Ye asked, surprised.