Chapter 97: Past Clues

Underworld patrol envoys generally work in pairs. Their specific roles depend on the strength of the local City God's Underworld office and the depth of the City God's cultivation and power. In simpler setups, they are divided into Left and Right Envoys. More complex arrangements, such as in Juntian Prefecture City, feature a total of eight envoys for day and night patrols, each assigned to the left or right, and further categorized as principal, deputy, auxiliary, or attendant.

At this moment, the patrol passing by the residence of the stationery shop owner consisted of the Left and Right Deputy Envoys. They observed that although the house had an unusual aura, it emitted a righteous and honorable glow, clearly not a sign of evil or malevolent spirits.

“Whose residence is this? There must be some wondrous fortune here!”

“This is probably not something evil. Let’s go in and investigate together!”

The two yin envoys, treading on an ethereal wind, passed through the walls and entered the fairly decent residence. They arrived outside the owner’s study.

Due to the hot weather, the study’s doors and windows were open. The two yin envoys could see a middle-aged man in casual clothes, the stationery shop owner Pang Su, leaning over his desk, writing with a brush.

Upon reaching this spot, there was no longer any abnormality; not a trace of the radiant glow remained.

The two yin envoys exchanged a glance, intending to step through the doorway. However, the moment they crossed the threshold into the study, the spiritual energy of their ghost-officer robes blurred as if an invisible ripple had passed through them, before they finally entered the room.

Although the sensation was extremely faint, as patrol envoys, they were inherently keen and knew something significant had definitely occurred.

Approaching the man who was writing, they saw a subtle yet profound aura emanating from the calligraphy scroll spread out on the desk. The four large characters 'Evil Cannot Triumph Over Good' on the scroll exuded a sense of righteousness and uprightness, making it difficult for the ghostly forms of the yin officials to gaze upon it for long.

It is said that one can know a person by their calligraphy. The depth of the writer’s cultivation was unfathomable, but his profound artistic conception and character were evident.

The two yin envoys were awestruck. They took two steps back, exchanged another glance, and then, surprisingly, cupped their hands slightly towards the calligraphy scroll before exiting the study.

It wasn’t until the two ghost officials had departed that the stationery shop owner, who had been engrossed in copying, belatedly reacted, looking out towards the door.

“Oh, wasn’t it cooler just now? That breeze was really brief…”

Because of the calligraphy scroll’s presence, the approaching ghost officials did not make the shop owner feel the usual chilling cold; instead, it was a refreshing coolness, much desired on a summer day.

***

In the western part of Juntian Prefecture City, Ji Yuan continued to wander the streets alone. It was now just after sunset; although darkness had fallen, a trace of twilight afterglow could still be seen on the western horizon, while the sky overhead was already filled with stars.

With longer daylight hours, it was actually quite late. In the short time since Ji Yuan observed the steamed bun seller from afar outside the gambling den, more than half of the hurried passersby on the street had already disappeared.

Even though it was a time of peace and Juntian Prefecture had not enforced a curfew for a long time, few people still roamed the streets at night.

Ji Yuan adjusted his satchel and reached inside, pulling out a wine bottle. It was the same one he had bought 'Thousand-Day Drunken' in Chunhui Prefecture, but now it merely contained Qingguo wine, purchased from a common tavern in Juntian Prefecture for only twenty cash per catty.

He pulled out the wooden stopper tied with red cloth, took a swig of wine, and walked towards a distant inn. Ji Yuan’s plan was to rest for the night, search thoroughly the next day, and try inquiring at the prefecture government office. If he still found no clues, he might have to shamelessly seek some special assistance.

In Juntian Prefecture City, among the establishments that closed latest at night, brothels were one, gambling dens were another, and a small number of inns also counted.

Inside the Hong’an Inn, people were still drinking and dining in the ground-floor lobby. The light from the hanging lamps in the hall was quite sufficient, and the innkeeper was busily clacking an abacus behind the counter.

When Ji Yuan entered, the innkeeper had just finished calculating an account, looked up to smile at the guests, and then reset the abacus beads.

“Innkeeper, do you still have any vacant rooms?”

“Yes, yes, we have rooms of the 'Heaven' and 'Profound' grades. The 'Heaven' room costs 120 cash, and the 'Profound' room is 80 cash.”

The innkeeper had already opened his ledger and picked up a brush, ready to record the information.

“Alright, a 'Profound' grade room will do. I’m not sure how many days I’ll stay, so please keep this silver ingot as a deposit.”

“Very good, very good, honored guest, please wait a moment. By the way, do you have any taboos or special preferences?”

“None whatsoever.”

The innkeeper nodded and swiftly weighed the silver in front of Ji Yuan. Then, he picked up his brush and wrote in the ledger: “Profound Grade Room Two, one male guest, no taboos…”

With his eyes on the ledger, the innkeeper also called out.

“Youfu, please take this guest to Profound Grade Room Two~~”

A response came from the direction of the kitchen.

“Coming right away~~”

Ji Yuan took this opportunity to chat briefly with the innkeeper.

“Innkeeper, has this inn been open for a long time?”

“Heh, it’s an old establishment. It’s been renovated once and rebuilt once. It was passed down from my great-grandfather.”

“Oh, indeed. So, it seems the innkeeper is very familiar with the west side of the city?”

The innkeeper finished writing the entry and smiled at Ji Yuan.

“Naturally. Is there any particular place you wish to visit, honored guest? Feel free to ask me if you don’t know the way, and I can also offer suggestions if you’re unsure where to go.”

“Hahaha… That’s exactly what I had in mind. To be honest, I’m something of a wanderer myself. I heard that decades ago, a 'Sword Immortal Zuo' emerged from Juntian Prefecture. I wished to pay my respects, but I can’t find where the Zuo family lived. It’s not a major issue, but it’s rare for me to pass through Juntian Prefecture, so it would be a small regret.”

Long journeys were not easy, a relatable topic in this era.

“Sword Immortal Zuo?”

The innkeeper took another close look at Ji Yuan, his gaze lingering on the cloth-wrapped object on Ji Yuan’s back, which he presumed was a weapon.

“Few people ask about the Zuo family these days. To be honest, when I was young, the Zuo family was still a renowned and prominent clan. Unfortunately, they gradually faded away… I’m not a martial artist, so I don’t know many details, but I only know that during their most difficult years, the Zuo family had monthly funerals and yearly mourning flags… Alas…!”

Ji Yuan’s brows furrowed. After a full day of asking, he had finally found someone with some knowledge of the Zuo family, only to receive terrible news. The innkeeper spoke lightly, but Ji Yuan, imagining himself in the Zuo family’s shoes, could feel the stifling weight of their plight back then.

“Are there any descendants of the Zuo family left?”

“Perhaps they’ve all died out, or perhaps there are still some. After all, the Zuo family was so vast back then; it wouldn’t be surprising if there were a few illegitimate children.”

After a moment’s thought, the innkeeper continued speaking to Ji Yuan.

“It’s impossible for you to visit the Zuo family’s mansion, honored guest; that property has long since changed hands. However, there’s a sword forge outside the city. Although it has only made kitchenware and other common items in recent years and its name is not prominent, it’s said that all the weapons used by the Zuo family back then came from there, including Sword Immortal Zuo’s weapon!”

Ji Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands in gratitude to the innkeeper.

“Many thanks for the information, Innkeeper!”

“You’re too kind, too kind!”

The innkeeper returned the gesture.

Just then, a young attendant wearing a cloth cap finally rushed out from the kitchen area, enthusiastically greeting Ji Yuan.

“Honored guest, please follow me, upstairs, please, upstairs!”

“What took you so long? Were you relieving yourself?”

The innkeeper, with a stern face, scolded him.

The upstairs room was standard. After receiving a tip worth five 'Tongbao' coins, the attendant happily and efficiently brought water to fill the tub for Ji Yuan, who was preparing to bathe. During the process of pouring the water, Ji Yuan continued to chat with the attendant, but the attendant genuinely knew nothing about the Zuo family.

The next morning, Ji Yuan left the inn, found a shop to buy some meat buns, and prepared to leave the city. He wasn’t departing Juntian Prefecture entirely, but heading to the sword forge near Yuanzi River outside the city — which was now, in fact, an ordinary blacksmith’s shop primarily making farm tools and kitchenware.

Since Zuo Li’s original sword, which was now Ji Yuan’s Green Vine Sword, might have been forged there, it was naturally the most valuable place to investigate.

However, as he walked towards the city gate, he once again encountered the man selling steamed buns. Upon seeing Ji Yuan, the man quickly shouldered his carrying pole and fled into the distance.

Ji Yuan merely cast a distant glance at the retreating figure with the carrying pole as he passed by, then continued walking out of the city without stopping.

Even true immortals have personalities and tempers, let alone Ji Yuan. Regarding the vendor’s situation, one could only say that blessings and misfortunes have no fixed gate; they are brought upon oneself. With so many things in the world, Ji Yuan couldn’t possibly manage them all.