"Hmm? What are you afraid of?" Lin Ji's expression suddenly turned serious.
Old Li hesitated for a while, carefully glanced around, then whispered, "That Flower Granny... might be a monster!"
"You know?" Lin Ji stood up directly from his chair, "If you know about this, why didn't you report it to the authorities?"
Old Li, with a troubled face, nodded towards the four corpses in the hall.
Lin Ji understood, sighed lightly, and waved his hand, "Forget it, just tell me everything you know."
Old Li hurriedly agreed, saying, "It was about three years ago when the master brought Flower Granny to cure Madam's heart ailment. At that time, Flower Granny did not ask for any reward but said she had an important matter in the future for the master to handle."
"Did Mr. Liu agree directly? He's just a local landowner in the county, daring to make such promises?" Lin Ji raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not, the master also hesitated at that time, only agreeing to do what was within his capabilities. He didn't dare to agree to anything that went against morals. But Flower Granny insisted that her matter wouldn't cause any trouble for the master, and it wouldn't cost much money. So the master agreed in the end."
At this point, Old Li seemed visibly nervous.
"For the next three years, Madam's illness did not recur. Therefore, Madam often mentioned that if Flower Granny ever came, she should help her with whatever she needed."
"And then?" Lin Ji inquired.
"And then... it was a month ago!" Old Li suppressed his fearful emotions and continued, "A month ago, Flower Granny came again. She had the master do something, but the master didn't disclose it to me."
"But that night, the master and Madam didn't spend the night at home; they only returned the next morning."
"You're the steward, and you didn't know where they went?"
"The master was secretive when mentioning Flower Granny, and I'm just a servant, so I didn't dare to ask too much," Old Li explained.
Lin Ji gestured for Old Li to continue.
Old Li nodded and said, "Then, half a month ago, Flower Granny came again! This time, the master didn't see her directly; he had me drive her away."
"At that time, Flower Granny asked me to pass on a message, asking if the Liu family was reneging on their promise."
At this point, Old Li trembled all over.
"The master then said... what did he say?"
"What did he say?"
"He said that cursed monster had repaid what was owed to you and was not allowed to come to the Liu family again! Otherwise, he would report to the authorities and have the monster hunters catch you."
Old Li subconsciously looked towards the four corpses in the hall.
"And then, it was the events of last night."
After finishing, Old Li looked at Lin Ji again.
"Captain Lin, that's all I know, what do you think?"
"I have a headache." Lin Ji did not respond to Old Li's words, his brows furrowed, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Undoubtedly, the Liu family's matter was most likely the work of this monster named Flower Granny. But to find this Flower Granny, there was not a single clue, and he wasn't sure if he could handle it.
"Lu Cong, have Song Er go to the county to inquire and see if we can find out where Mr. Liu and his wife went a month ago."
Before Lu Cong could respond, Old Li suddenly spoke, "Captain Lin, I suddenly remembered something."
"What is it?"
"I remember the master had a habit of jotting down some daily occurrences when managing business or looking at account books. There might be clues in the account books."
Lin Ji couldn't sit still, "Lu Cong, you go inquire, and Old Li, you come with me to check the account books."
"Captain Lin, I've already resigned, is it appropriate for me to go back to the account room?" Old Li clearly wanted to slip away.
Lin Ji glanced at the troubled Old Li, then looked at Liu Lingling beside him, saying, "You can go back, Miss Liu, you can take me."
"Then I'll take my leave." Old Li quickly left, looking visibly shaken.
After Old Li and Lu Cong left, under Liu Lingling's guidance, Lin Ji arrived at the Liu family's account room.
Finding the most recent account book, upon flipping it open, indeed, there were some trivial events recorded in the blank spaces of the accounts.
Soon enough, Lin Ji found the account from a month ago.
"Flower Granny demanded a Yin Wood puppet for her daughter's marriage."
"Went to the outskirts of the city with Madam, saw a fox demon carrying a sedan chair."
"The fox demon married the wooden puppet, directly transforming into human form, truly chilling."
The related events were recorded in a fragmented manner, perhaps due to the limited space in the account book, mostly describing the experiences of Mr. Liu in a single sentence.
While Lin Ji was contemplating, Miss Liu suddenly asked, "Captain Lin, what does it mean to use a Yin Wood puppet for marriage?"
Lin Ji glanced at Liu Lingling.
Originally not intending to explain, but considering that the deceased were Liu Lingling's parents, he casually said, "The most challenging aspect of a monster's cultivation is transformation. Humans are the most intelligent beings and being able to transform into human form is of great benefit to a monster's cultivation."
"Therefore, to transform into a human form, besides those monsters with innate talents, ordinary monsters like fox demons need to go through human experiences."
"Human experiences?"
"It's more or less like speaking human language, doing human things, and so on," Lin Ji explained casually.
"Using a Yin Wood puppet for marriage is not uncommon. Here, Yin Wood does not refer to gloomy wood but the wood from the coffin of a deceased person."
Lin Ji continued, "The coffin of a deceased person absorbs human aura. Using it to make a wooden puppet is to deceive others."
"Then, the monster who wants to transform, under the witness of a matchmaker, marries the wooden puppet, which helps them overcome the most difficult hurdle in monster cultivation, transformation."
At this point, Lin Ji suddenly realized.
After all the fuss, the Liu family owed a favor to the monster, and they were deceived into acting as 'matchmakers'!
No wonder Mr. Liu was asked to make a Yin Wood puppet for marriage, isn't that what a matchmaker does?
Then, inviting Mr. Liu and his wife to attend the wedding, with the matchmaker witnessing the event, naturally completed the process.
"It seems that there is another transforming monster near Qingyang County, in addition to that Flower Granny. It's troublesome," Lin Ji looked at Miss Liu and said, "Miss Liu, this matter is almost clear. It seems that your father refused some request from Flower Granny half a month ago, which angered Flower Granny, leading to this case."
"After I return, I will send a dossier to Liang City, and there will be a wanted order for Flower Granny. Such harmful monsters will not be let off by the Celestial Enforcement Bureau. Miss Liu, please rest assured."
After saying this, Lin Ji prepared to leave.
Knowing the real culprit was of no use since Flower Granny was not in Qingyang County. Finding her would be impossible, so they had to rely on the wanted order.
If Flower Granny dared to cause trouble in Liangzhou in the future, once discovered, the local monster hunters would take action.
But just as Lin Ji was about to take his leave, Miss Liu suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Miss Liu?" Lin Ji was puzzled.
"Captain Lin, Flower Granny saved my mother's life, but my father treated her so rudely. Do you think this is a case of karmic retribution?"
"Karmic retribution?" Lin Ji furrowed his brows slightly, pondered for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile.
"Flower Granny saved Mrs. Liu, and Mr. Liu helped her daughter transform. They shouldn't owe each other anything."
"Is that so?" Miss Liu let go of his hand.
After nodding, Lin Ji quickly left the Liu residence.
As he left, his face was grim.
(End of Chapter)