Chapter 123 Yuwen Chengdu
Above the sky, there was a rumbling sound of thunder and the clouds were as dark as ink, as if it would rain at any time.

After seeing the horrific scene in General Xilin's temple, Di Renjie, Zeng Tai, Li Yuanfang and others, the better ones remained silent, while those with weaker psychological endurance even became dazed and behaved inappropriately.

Those horse hoof prints disappeared again in the depths of Mang Mountain and could not be found. Di Renjie and others had no choice but to return to Enji Manor.

In Enji Village, headless corpses were carried by yamen runners to an open field in the village, and the villagers watched from afar.

No one dared to speak, only fear was clearly visible on everyone's face.

Pang San stood in the crowd, his face pale and a little scared.

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the crowd, and Uncle Pang Jiu was seen squeezing in with difficulty, supported by his two sons.

When he saw the scene before him, he immediately trembled all over, like sifting chaff, and complained in a trembling voice: "I told you long ago that it won't let us go! Everything is over!"

Pang San looked at him doubtfully: "Uncle Jiu, who do you think won't let us go?"

Uncle Jiu's body was shaking constantly, and his voice was filled with fear: "Ghost, it's a ghost! I didn't expect it to appear again after sixty years!"

At this moment, a deafening thunder exploded overhead, and soon afterwards, raindrops began to fall in a steady stream, adding a bit of desolation and terror to the gloomy scene.

That night, Di Renjie stayed at Enji Manor.

Zeng Tai was very frightened today, but he still tried his best to serve Di Renjie: "Master, this is the bundle that the yamen runners found in that yard today."

Di Renjie opened the bundle, which contained neatly folded clothes and an identity document.

"Fang Gensheng was born in the second year of Zhengsheng, and his family name is from Ying County, Dongdao, Jiangnan." Di Renjie read out.

The bailiffs were escorting Fang Gensheng to Di Renjie.

Di Renjie waved his hand and said, "Let him go."

As soon as Fang Gensheng was freed from his restraints, he immediately jumped in front of Di Renjie and reached out to grab his beard.

"Hey, old man, your beard is so long." Fang Gensheng smiled foolishly.

Li Yuanfang was standing by and pushed Fang Gensheng to the ground, and was about to go forward and catch him.

"Hey, Yuan Fang, don't hurt him." Di Renjie hurriedly stopped him.

Di Renjie squatted in front of Fang Gensheng and said with a smile: "Is my beard funny?"

Fang Gensheng nodded and said foolishly: "You are Taishang Laojun!"

Di Renjie coaxed him like a child: "Yes, by the way, I am Taishang Laojun."

However, Fang Gensheng suddenly shouted in horror: "No, you are not! You lied to me!"

Di Renjie patiently replied: "I didn't lie to you. I really am the Supreme Lord Lao."

Fang Gensheng suddenly screamed, his voice full of fear: "You are a ghost! You are a headless ghost!"

He suddenly fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly: "Grandpa Ghost, please forgive me! Please forgive me!"

Di Renjie frowned: "Headless ghost? What does a ghost look like?"

"Ghost... ghost... ghost..." Fang Gensheng kept repeating this word. The image of the evil ghost from last night seemed to appear in his eyes. He rolled his eyes and fainted again.

Di Renjie was startled and immediately grabbed Fang Gensheng's wrist to take his pulse.

After a while, Di Renjie breathed a sigh of relief: "This man must have seen the murderer, that's why he is so scared."

Li Yuanfang and Zeng Tai showed puzzled expressions: "Has he seen the murderer?"

Di Renjie nodded and instructed: "Carry him to the bed. I will give him acupuncture. When he wakes up, everything will be clear."

Zeng Tai asked in surprise: "Master, do you mean his madness can be cured?"

"Of course, I said his madness was caused by fear. It's called 'qi confusing the heart', also known as 'phlegm confusing the heart'. It's fake madness." Di Renjie explained with a smile.

Several yamen runners carried Fang Gensheng carefully to the bed as instructed. Di Renjie sat firmly beside the bed, took out a cloth bag from his arms, skillfully selected several silver needles, and inserted them into Fang Gensheng's forehead and chest respectively.

After the acupuncture was finished, Di Renjie stood up and said calmly: "Okay, now we just need to wait for him to wake up."

Li Yuanfang still had doubts: "Sir, there is one thing I don't understand. If he really saw the murderer as you said and was scared crazy by the murderer, then how could the murderer easily let go of someone who saw his true face?"

Di Renjie smiled and explained, "There are two reasons. First, the murderer may not be afraid of being exposed; second, the murderer may intend to leave a survivor."

Li Yuanfang still hesitated after hearing this: "This... this seems unbelievable." Di Renjie smiled and said: "Everything is possible. This madman speaks with a Jiangnan accent, which is consistent with the record on the identity certificate in the bundle. This man was able to come to the capital alone from Jiangnan, which shows that he was originally mentally normal."

"It was just that it rained heavily last night, so he ran to Enji Village to stay overnight. Unexpectedly, he witnessed the murderer's horrific scene and was extremely frightened. He lost his mind and became confused."

After hearing this explanation, Li Yuanfang nodded reluctantly.

As they were talking, Fang Gensheng yelled, sat up from the bed, and gasped for breath. It seemed that he was also having a nightmare.

He turned his head and saw Di Renjie and his two companions. He screamed again and shrank into the corner.

Seeing this, Di Renjie comforted him, "Don't be afraid, we saved you. This is Lord Zeng, the magistrate of Yongchang County."

Fang Gensheng looked up at the three people with trembling hands, and nodded reluctantly, his eyes full of fear and anxiety.

This man had seen the murderer, and the hope of solving the case rested with him. Zeng Tai was gentle for once: "Don't be afraid, your name is Fang Gensheng, from Ying County, Jiangnan, right?"

Fang Gensheng trembled and responded: "Yes."

Zeng Tai continued to ask: "Why did you come to Yongchang County?"

Fang Gensheng replied, "Go to Xiaoyang Village in Laiting County next door to visit relatives."

Zeng Tai asked in confusion: "Since we have come to Laiting County, we should take the official road. How did we end up here?"

Fang Gensheng explained: "I heard that passing through the Mang Mountain behind Enji Manor would lead to Laiting County, so I wanted to take a shortcut, but unexpectedly I ended up here."

Di Renjie coughed lightly and got to the point: "Fang Gensheng, what did you see last night at the Jiang family compound at the west end of the village?"

Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden thunder outside the door. Fang Gensheng was so frightened that his face turned pale and his whole body trembled even more violently.

Di Renjie quickly comforted him: "You are safe now, there is no need to be afraid. Just tell me what you saw last night."

Fang Gensheng's teeth kept chattering as he trembled and said, "Ghost, ghost, a headless evil ghost..."

Di Renjie was surprised and looked at Li Yuanfang and Zeng Tai, and they both sighed softly.

Di Renjie confirmed again: "Did you really see a ghost?"

Fang Gensheng nodded affirmatively.

Di Renjie asked: "What does a ghost look like?"

"No head, wearing armor..." Fang Gensheng recounted in detail what he saw and heard last night.

After listening to Fang Gensheng's description, Di Renjie was so shocked that he could hardly speak. He stood there in a daze, staring at Fang Gensheng, as if trying to see more from his expression.

However, according to Fang Gensheng's description, Li Yuanfang picked up the brush and kept drawing on the paper.

Zeng Tai wondered, "What are you drawing?"

Li Yuanfang did not answer.

After a while, he put down his pen, handed the paper to Fang Gensheng and said, "Take a look at this."

Fang Gensheng took the paper carefully, took a look at it, then screamed in horror and threw the paper away.

He knelt on the kang, his hands trembling, almost unable to control his emotions.

Di Renjie picked up the paper and saw a pair of ancient boots and a strangely shaped weapon drawn on it.

He asked Li Yuanfang softly: "Yuanfang, what is this?"

Li Yuanfang replied solemnly, "That was the old-style tiger-head iron foot armor that was popular in the army during the chaotic times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the pre-Sui Dynasty. That weapon was the famous weapon of Yuwen Chengdu, the Lieutenant General of the Brave Army - the Phoenix-winged Golden Halberd!"

"Sir, now you understand, this headless ghost is Yuwen Chengdu!"

A loud thunder sounded, startling Di Renjie, and the paper in his hand slowly fell to the ground.

The tragic scene in the General Temple, the pattern of the bleeding eagle, the headless ghost in armor in Fang Gensheng's mouth, the deep footprints on the official road...

The clues of the case flashed through Di Renjie's mind one by one.

"Am I really wrong?" Di Renjie's belief was shaken again.

(End of this chapter)