Leaving the innkeeper's house, the three of them soon arrived at his neighbor's house.
At this time, the neighbor's house was still undergoing a funeral, and the coffin was erected in front of the main hall in the yard. There was a coffin under the coffin, and there were mourning flags hanging all around. There were only an elderly woman and a middle-aged woman.
Those wearing sackcloth and mourning stood before the soul.
Chai Yan could see the old woman's face from a distance. She looked haggard at the moment, her eyes were dull, and she didn't even notice anyone coming in. The middle-aged woman had her back to the door, so she couldn't see her for the time being.
As soon as the innkeeper entered the door, he said: "Mrs. Zhang, sister-in-law of the Zhang family, I have invited the Immortal Changshengzi for you..."
Hearing the shopkeeper's voice, the old woman and the middle-aged woman turned their heads together.
"Oh, the immortal is here..."
The old woman immediately stood up and came out to greet him, while the middle-aged woman quickly knelt on the side in front of the spirit.
"Chief Immortal, this is..."
"Wait a moment, the deceased is the greatest, so I will give you a courtesy first."
Just as the shopkeeper was about to introduce the Zhang family to Chai Yan, Chai Yan raised his hand and interrupted him.
Then, Chai Yan walked to the mourning shed with a big gourd on his back. He took six incense sticks from the table, lit them with the flame of a candle, and gave three sticks to Jimo Qiao behind him.
Then, Chai Yan raised the incense, bowed to the coffin three times, and finally inserted the three incense sticks into the incense burner on the table.
When Chai Yan got out of the way, Jimo Qiao followed suit and stepped forward to bow and offer incense to the deceased.
After the middle-aged woman kowtowed in thanks, Chai Yancai asked: "Shopkeeper, these two are..."
The shopkeeper immediately introduced: "Chief Immortal, this is Mrs. Zhang, and this is my sister-in-law from my hometown."
"Mrs. Zhang, sister-in-law of the Zhang family...Pindao Capital Red Sand Temple, Changshengzi." Chai Yan greeted him very politely and introduced himself.
"It turns out to be Immortal Changshengzi. Please sit down quickly." Mrs. Zhang motioned to the chair outside the funeral shed.
Chai Yan walked slowly and sat down, while Jimo Qiao stood beside him.
Immediately afterwards, Chai Yan asked: "Mrs. Zhang, Sister-in-law of the Zhang family, and the shopkeeper should have told you just now that the price of Pindao's performance is really not cheap, so before the ritual begins, Pindao still has to ask
Ask, do you have any objection to the eighty taels of silver?"
Chai Yan asked this not because he didn't believe the innkeeper, but because he needed to personally confirm that there was no disagreement about the price. Otherwise, after he finished the ritual, wouldn't it be embarrassing if the other party came to lower the price again?
The old lady said: "Immortal Son Immortal Chang, I heard from the shopkeeper that you usually charge one hundred taels for a religious ceremony, but today you only charge us eighty taels, so... how can we have any objections? Yes.
Right, daughter-in-law?"
Zhang's sister-in-law nodded hurriedly: "Yes, mother is right, we have to thank the immortal for coming."
Chai Yan nodded slowly and said: "In that case, go get the yellow paper and ink..."
"Okay, okay, daughter-in-law, go quickly..." Mrs. Zhang nodded immediately and urged her daughter-in-law to get the things.
Taking advantage of this time, Chai Yan said: "Mrs. Zhang, is this your son who passed away?"
Mrs. Zhang said sadly: "Yes, it is my son who died. His name is Zhang Xuechao, he is just forty years old this year..."
Chai Yan nodded slightly and asked again: "I just heard from the shopkeeper that Mr. Zhang passed away suddenly, and it was a bit strange. I wonder if Mrs. Zhang can tell Pindao what happened that day?"
"Alas..." Mrs. Zhang sighed and said feebly: "Such a fairy, my son is usually very filial, obedient, and very good to his daughter-in-law. Just one night two days ago
, our family had dinner, and Xue Chao went to the backyard to drink tea,
My daughter-in-law and I stayed in the house because we had to do embroidery work. However, my daughter-in-law and I chatted and embroidered for nearly an hour, but neither Xue Chao came into the house... Normally, Xue Chao came into the house.
I won’t drink tea for that long, but that day..."
Speaking of this, Mrs. Zhang choked up a little.
Chai Yan asked: "Mrs. Zhang, does your son have to drink tea in the backyard every day?"
"Not every day, but when the weather is nice, Xue Chao likes to drink a pot of tea after dinner." Mrs. Zhang replied.
Chai Yan then said: "Mrs. Zhang, please continue..."
Mrs. Zhang nodded slightly and continued: "Later, my daughter-in-law and I went to the backyard together, but when we got there, we saw that Xuechao was... out of breath..."
Thinking of her son's death that day, Mrs. Zhang could no longer hold back her tears.
Chai Yan understood the pain of losing a loved one, so he did not rush to ask any more questions, but let Mrs. Zhang cry for a while.
Mrs. Zhang took out her handkerchief and wiped her tears. After adjusting her emotions, she said, "I'm sorry, Immortal, I can't help but feel sad when I think of my son who died unjustly..."
Chai Yan nodded to express his understanding, and then asked: "Mrs. Zhang, can you tell Pindao what the cause of your son's death was?"
Mrs. Zhang said in frustration: "Wu Zuo said that he died of poisoning."
"Poisoned?" Chai Yan frowned and asked, "What kind of poison did you get?"
"I don't know, they haven't found out what he did until now." Mrs. Zhang slowly shook her head.
Jimo Qiao, who had been standing nearby, suddenly said: "Could it be that your son's enemies deliberately poisoned him and killed him?"
Mrs. Zhang immediately shook her head vigorously and denied, "It's impossible, it's impossible. My son is loyal, courteous and courteous to others. He is always remembered well by his neighbors and friends, and he has never been spoken of negatively by anyone!"
The innkeeper also confirmed: "Immortal chief, fairy aunt, my brother Zhang's character is known to the whole street, and even the entire Fuyuan Town. He has never had any enemies in his life."
"Yes, my son is a good man. He always smiles to everyone and never sins against anyone." Mrs. Zhang said.
Chai Yan nodded, tentatively believing what they said, but deep down he still retained his own opinion. Maybe Zhang Xuechuan was good in every way before, but it is unknown that he will have a different personality later on!
At this time, Zhang Xuechao's wife took yellow paper, ink and other utensils needed for the ritual from the house.
Chai Yan asked Jimo Qiao to catch the thing, and then asked: "Mrs. Zhang, is the poisonous pot of tea that your son drank at that time?"
"Yes, there was poison in that pot of tea, but the strange thing was that the silver needle couldn't detect it even after repeated attempts. Later, Zuo found a rabbit and gave it some tea. The rabbit died soon after." Zhang
The old lady replied.
Chai Yan immediately asked: "Who brewed that pot of tea at that time?"
The Zhang family's sister-in-law understood what Chai Yan meant as soon as she heard it, because someone from the Yamen also asked the same question, so she quickly replied: "Immortal, I was not the one who made the tea, nor was it my mother. You don't know, my husband was alive before his death."
He likes to drink tea the most, so he has very high requirements for making tea. Whenever he makes tea at home, he does it himself and never lets us do it."
"Yes, Immortal, what my daughter-in-law said is right. My son always makes his own tea and drinks it. He is always dissatisfied with the tea made by others," Mrs. Zhang said.
Chai Yan asked: "What about the tea leaves? Can you show them to me?"
Zhang's sister-in-law said: "It's gone. They were all taken away by the government officials. There is nothing left in the family."
Chai Yan asked: "What did the people from the yamen say?"
Mrs. Zhang sighed and said: "Oh, I said it still needs to be investigated, but there is nothing to say for the time being..."
"Chief Immortal, Immortal Girl, why don't we start doing the rituals now? Look at the sky, it's going to be dark soon."
The shopkeeper felt that Chai Yan asked too many questions, just like a detective investigating a case. He just wanted to finish the ritual as soon as possible and then take them to his home.
When Mrs. Zhang heard what the shopkeeper said, she immediately nodded and said: "Yes, Immortal, please start doing things as soon as possible. I heard that your gourd can collect monsters and ghosts. You must have worked hard to clean up the unclean things in this house for us."
Take them all away, otherwise my daughter-in-law and I will not be able to sleep well at night."
Chai Yan was happy when he heard this. He turned to the shopkeeper and asked, "The shopkeeper has great eyesight. He can tell at a glance that my gourd can capture demons!"
The shopkeeper smiled sheepishly and said: "Immortal, I saw that you didn't seem to have any other magic weapons around you, just this shocking big gourd, so I thought, it must be a very powerful thing.