Daishan Turns The Wind Chapter 4

The Painter’s Case (Part 4)

Feng Yuluo put on a convincing act, occasionally worrying about what he would do if his lie was exposed.

He still remembered seven days ago, a hundred miles to the west, a figure in ragged, scorched clothes ran past in a blur, clutching his trousers as if fleeing for his life. His face was covered in black ash, but his eyes were eerily bright, like someone who had just struck gold.

That was Feng Yuluo.

After realizing he hadn’t died, he simply ran out.

He knew what he was doing was highly unethical—to be precise, it was a massive moral failing—but he had no choice. He was already this old; if he ruined his reputation now and became a target of public scorn, he truly wouldn’t have the face to live.

He had to resort to this desperate measure, not only to save himself but also to protect the deity with the most promising future.

Feng Yuluo had been struck by lightning and was temporarily unable to speak. He could only tighten his belt and run like the wind.

He had lived too comfortably for too long. Several hundred years had passed, and not only did he forget to bring money for his escape, but he didn’t even know where he was going. He just took a small path and kept running, relying entirely on luck. Three days later, he finally realized that Yuanbao’s clone was located in Hongmao City.

He ran all the way here and accidentally fainted from hunger. Old Li, a kind woodcutter, passed by and gave him half a biscuit. Feng Yuluo then relearned how to chop wood and earn money, and how to pick and sell fruit.

After all that effort, he hadn’t caught Yuanbao’s clone, but he himself had been caught.

It wasn’t a total loss; there was still a case that needed solving.

In short, both of them had their own concerns.

The next day, Old Li and Feng Yuluo chopped wood early and sold it. Old Li carried a basket of wild fruit himself, found a busy street corner, sat down, and chatted with people.

Zhao Zisheng, Feng Yuluo, and Shan Wuzhou, meanwhile, went to examine the graves. They affixed talismans and checked for demonic energy, confirming that the deaths of the other six people were unrelated to the Infant Immortal.

Rumor had it that they were claimed by the Infant Immortal, so they dared not be buried in the ancestral graveyard. The six graves were specially placed in the Green Mountain Cemetery outside the city.

People often came to sweep the graves, so it wasn’t completely desolate.

All the talismans were checked. There were no signs of demons or monsters at work, but some of the graves contained malevolent energy underneath, suggesting something was suppressed there.

Shan Wuzhou signaled the other two to step back.

He walked up to one grave, activated a spell formation, and extracted the object inside: a red brick with a jade-like texture.

The red color looked as if it had been cast with blood. Strange patterns were carved on both sides, with a heavy dot in the center, resembling an eye or a cave, capable of sucking a person in.

Even Shan Wuzhou felt momentarily dizzy and nauseous when he held it.

Seeing that something was wrong, Feng Yuluo rushed over, knocked the black brick away, pressed the web of Shan Wuzhou’s right hand, and shouted, “Wuzhou? Wake up!”

It was the first time Shan Wuzhou had encountered such an evil object. Sour bile kept rising in his throat. He said uncomfortably, “What is this?”

Feng Yuluo squeezed the joints of his fingers and pushed his back with the other hand, forcing Shan Wuzhou to vomit a mouthful.

“Let me look at it later. Are you feeling better?” Feng Yuluo asked anxiously, not forgetting to warn Zhao Zisheng, “Little Zhao, don’t touch that thing.”

Zhao Zisheng nodded repeatedly, standing far away. From her angle, she vaguely saw that the patterns on the red brick looked like flowers.

Shan Wuzhou recovered, though he still felt a little sick.

Zhao Zisheng said, “Red Datura? The carvings look like Datura flowers. Is it poisonous?”

Feng Yuluo tore off a corner of his clothes, wrapped the red brick, picked it up to examine it, and then forcefully split it open.

Embedded in the center was a small black pill, still covered in dense, intricate patterns that were hard to identify.

Zhao Zisheng hesitated, “Black Datura?”

Red outside, black inside. Interesting. Feng Yuluo asked if the two flowers had any special meaning.

Zhao Zisheng replied, “The black one represents unpredictable death and implies revenge. The red one signifies a bloody love, meaning a willingness to sacrifice one’s life for you.”

Shan Wuzhou frowned upon hearing this. He said, “This thing is extremely evil. It was probably placed specifically in the grave. The other five graves must have them too.”

On the tombstone were the deceased’s name, birth and death dates, and another identity: the deceased wife of so-and-so.

Feng Yuluo said, “It’s used to prevent corpse transformation and to lock the soul and absorb spiritual energy. They were murdered, but the blame was shifted to the Infant Immortal. Fearing their vengeful spirits would seek retribution, they placed this object to bind their souls and deny them peace.”

The mountain breeze was warm, and the vegetation was lush.

Zhao Zisheng felt a wave of darkness wash over her. “Why? And by what right? What about Yan Xin? Is Second Master Wang going to use this evil object to suppress my friend’s soul too?”

Feng Yuluo quickly said, “Don’t worry, we know about it now. We definitely won’t let him do that.”

Zhao Zisheng lowered her eyes, her breathing unsteady.

Looking at these young lives, Feng Yuluo felt deeply distressed. Suddenly, his gaze fixed on the inscription.

“Why are they all ‘deceased wife’?”

He calculated the birth and death dates for each person and found that all the deceased were only in their early twenties.

Yan Xin was the same.

Shan Wuzhou stood up abruptly. He had never witnessed such a heinous act of murdering people close to oneself. He couldn’t contain his anger. “These beasts, killing for wealth!”

Zhao Zisheng felt a chill run through her entire body.

After being enveloped in coldness for a long time, Feng Yuluo took off his outer garment and wrapped up the fragments to keep as evidence. The other five graves also contained these objects, but they couldn’t be removed yet. The yamen officials needed to dig them up themselves, or the evidence might be dismissed.

The three bowed in apology, promising to find the truth quickly and restore peace to their souls.

On the way, Feng Yuluo, suppressing the chill in his heart, asked for details about Yan Xin.

Zhao Zisheng said they met while studying at a private school. Both were slow to warm up, and it took five years for them to become close and ten years to develop a deep friendship.

Later, the Wang Estate proposed marriage, and Yan Xin married into the family.

Life changed drastically after the marriage. It became difficult for Zhao Zisheng to see Yan Xin. Even when they spoke privately, they were watched by several pairs of eyes.

Zhao Zisheng was also asked by her own family not to disturb Yan Xin. She didn’t understand why getting married made it inconvenient to see friends. Because of this, she demanded of her own fiancé that things absolutely could not be like that.

But Yan Xin grew increasingly frail, and Zhao Zisheng was very worried. She often endured cold stares to visit her.

Yan Xin had originally been healthy and robust, not weak at all, but ever since she arrived at the Wang Estate, she was constantly sick and taking medicine. Initially, Zhao Zisheng thought it was just difficulty adjusting to married life, but now it seemed the plot to murder her for wealth had been premeditated.

Shan Wuzhou, however, said, “It should be more than just that.”

His sudden remark sent a chill down their spines.

Zhao Zisheng immediately asked what else there could be.

Shan Wuzhou said with a cold face, “Seven consecutive murders, the fabrication of the Infant Immortal rumor, and the placement of such evil objects in the graves—I just feel that all of this is too vicious, and the motive is likely not simple.”

Feng Yuluo was concerned about Zhao Zisheng’s state, fearing she couldn’t handle it. He said, “Let’s go find Old Mo and see what he’s found out. We need to summarize the circumstances of these seven people and see what is strange about them.”

Shan Wuzhou then asked if Yan Xin had hinted at anything to Zhao Zisheng during that last period.

Zhao Zisheng shook her head. “Yan Xin didn’t like to complain or air her grievances. Even when she was that sad, she always smiled when she saw me. We usually just drank tea and chatted about everyday life, or she would read while I painted.”

That meant Second Master Wang hadn’t shown any murderous intent, and Yan Xin hadn’t noticed anything.

Feng Yuluo pondered, “Did she express any hopes for you? For example, advising you to marry later?”

He had just learned that Zhao Zisheng had a fiancé. If Yan Xin was unhappy in her marriage, she should have warned her friend.

Zhao Zisheng shook her head again. “She never said anything like that. Yan Xin never wanted to trouble others. After all, this kind of thing isn’t something we can decide. What I could do was choose the Shen family, whose status was lower than mine, among the people my parents approved of. I was afraid of the strict rules of high-ranking families. However…”

The two men looked at her.

Zhao Zisheng remembered. “She did ask me to open a painting studio. Does that count as a hope for me? She often said that I painted very well, and if I opened a studio, many customers would buy my paintings, and I could meet like-minded friends.”

Feng Yuluo looked thoughtful. “Yan Xin probably didn’t want you to be confined to the inner quarters.”

Zhao Zisheng’s eyes widened. She recalled Yan Xin’s happy expression when she said those words, and a deep sadness slowly welled up.

The three of them, heavy-hearted, hurried to Old Li.

Old Li was somewhat familiar with the locals here. After chatting all morning, he had gathered a lot of information about the seven victims.

They were all good girls, and their families were well-off. It was a pity they met with disaster and died so young.

Old Li specifically asked about anything unusual.

Someone mentioned that these girls originally had full, healthy faces, bright eyes, and were considered blessed, both in terms of family background and their own fortune. Many people had sought their hands in marriage.

But the strange thing was that after they married, they remained childless and started falling ill.

One daughter from a small wine shop, who was originally cheerful and open-minded, became melancholic and depressed after a year of marriage, as if she had become a different person.

Then, she was targeted by the Infant Immortal.

Someone else chimed in, winking and saying that those girls had the ‘husband-prospering’ look, and their fortune had been sucked dry by their husband’s family, which led to sickness, weakness, and susceptibility to evil spirits.

Feng Yuluo was surprised. “‘Husband-prospering’ look?”

“‘Husband-prospering’ look?” Zhao Zisheng murmured blankly.

Old Li said, “I asked around. There’s an old man, nearly eighty, who knows a bit of bone-reading and fortune-telling. He said he had seen the Wang family daughter-in-law, the Bai family daughter-in-law, and the eldest daughter of the wine shop family. They indeed had faces of wealth and lucky birth charts, destined to be noble people with good lives. To meet such an end, he said, was simply fate being unpredictable.”

“Birth charts?” A flash of lightning crossed Feng Yuluo’s mind. He quickly asked Zhao Zisheng what Yan Xin’s birth chart was.

He noticed she looked somewhat dazed and called her name several times.

Zhao Zisheng snapped back and recited Yan Xin’s birth chart, asking what was wrong.

Feng Yuluo calculated in his mind. Yan Xin’s chart, with a Jia Yin day pillar, showed strong wealth and official stars—a perfect, wealthy, and noble destiny.

He had seen the birth dates of the others on the tombstones in the cemetery and remembered a few. Calculating their charts, he found they all had excellent destinies.

Yet, after marriage, their spirits declined, they were constantly sick and taking medicine, until they were murdered and their souls suppressed by evil objects after death.

What Infant Immortal claiming lives? This life-and-death scheme was clearly planned from the moment their birth charts were known and the marriage proposals were made.

Old Li saw the horror on Old Feng’s face and was somewhat intimidated, daring not to speak further.

Shan Wuzhou instantly understood the truth. He felt disgust and anger, sighing. He pulled his master, reminding him that Zhao Zisheng was present, and urged Old Li to speak freely.

Feng Yuluo calmed his expression.

Old Li said that the Bai family’s daughter-in-law was the first to be harmed by the Infant Immortal. At the time, they cried so terribly, but now the son has already gotten engaged.

“What?”

Old Li also found the matter repulsive. He said, “It was a quiet engagement. The other party is the Provincial Governor’s daughter. She suddenly took a liking to the young master of the Bai family and insisted on marrying him. No amount of persuasion worked. They had no choice but to agree to a wedding a year from now.”

Feng Yuluo sneered, “What a ‘sudden liking.’ I bet she was also cursed.”

It now seemed that behind these seven murders, there must be a mastermind who could read fortunes, possessed the rare Si Cao Red pigment, and understood soul-suppressing evil arts.

Seven direct murderers and one calculating accomplice.

Feng Yuluo took a deep breath and asked Zhao Zisheng where the rare Si Cao Red pigment could be bought.

Zhao Zisheng said there was a street to the south with painting studios opened by people from all over. They sold many rare and strange painting papers, brushes, and pigments. They could go ask there. She would go find her knowledgeable former teacher. It was the teacher who taught her about Si Cao Red, and perhaps he could offer help.

So, they split up.

Old Li continued selling fruit, looking at the back of Old Feng, who wore coarse cloth but had an extraordinary demeanor. He thought he was wrong; Old Feng’s mind was perfectly fine.

Arriving at South Street, they found it indeed dazzling, with paintings, tools, and many artists painting on the spot lining the road.

Feng Yuluo and Shan Wuzhou visited several shops but found nothing. At the largest studio, they only found a tiny bit of Si Cao Red, priced at ten taels.

There were dozens more shops on the street. Searching like this would take too long, and Second Master Wang, that bastard, was already preparing for the funeral today.

Feng Yuluo found a talkative and well-connected shop owner. These people must have private dealings and their own social circles. He asked the owner to help find Si Cao Red, saying that he was… he didn’t look the part, so he changed his story, saying Shan Wuzhou was a major figure who needed to use wood and jade to carve a miniature palace. The tiles needed red, and the lintel required the even more vibrant Si Cao Red.

They needed about a handful’s worth and asked for help collecting it. The price was negotiable.

Afterward, the two found a place to wait and discuss how to handle the case.

Feng Yuluo planned that if they found the seller of Si Cao Red, they could check the transaction records to see if anyone else had bought a large amount of the pigment there. Then, they would check which of those people also bought a large quantity of cinnabar watermarks. By following this trail, they could find the mastermind.

People came and went on the street. Many young girls came in groups to enjoy the calligraphy and paintings, discussing their understanding of art and sharing beautiful imaginations, some cheerfully and some in soft whispers.

Looking around, they were all good children with pleasant appearances and lively temperaments. Yet, someone was secretly observing them, coveting their destinies, and using cruel methods to strip them away and transfer the fortune to themselves.

Shan Wuzhou found the whole situation utterly absurd.

“They were well-matched in status and had compatible birth charts. They could have worked together to bring prosperity to their families, yet they resorted to such bloody cruelty. Can fortune acquired at the cost of others’ lives truly bring prosperity to a family? Won’t using such evil arts result in karmic backlash?”

Feng Yuluo looked at his indignant disciple, finding it difficult to answer. Excessive greed leads to the loss of humanity; the world simply has many dark sides.

Suddenly, he remembered the Bai family, who had become engaged to the Provincial Governor’s daughter. He mused, “The Bai family originally couldn’t have reached that level, but they suddenly became in-laws. These people use evil arts to seize their wives’ fortune. Could it be used to climb higher in social status by marrying into better families?”

Shan Wuzhou sneered, “And after they climb, will they devour another wife and climb even higher?”

Feng Yuluo said, “Don’t worry, these people won’t have a good end. If there are obstacles on this path, I have other ways to deal with them.”

Shan Wuzhou looked at his master’s determined expression, and his anger subsided slightly.

After all, Shan Wuzhou was only twenty years old and had been cultivating on the mountain. He had never seen such things and found it hard to accept.

After more than half an hour, the shop owner returned, bringing a middle-aged man who was richly and appropriately dressed, with a somewhat gentle and refined demeanor.

He had Si Cao Red pigment and could sell it to them at a high price, though the quantity was limited.

Feng Yuluo immediately started haggling. “What high price? I need this much; you should give me a discount. Why are you taking advantage of the situation?”

The man reasoned, “This item is too rare and precious. If you take this much at once, I won’t have any stock left, which will affect my reputation later. In short…”

Feng Yuluo quickly interrupted, “Fine, we want a handful. Give us all the quantity you have.”

The leading shop owner played the mediator. “Oh, this is all there is. This was saved up through great effort.”

Shan Wuzhou’s eyes shifted slightly. “What, someone else also requested this much Si Cao Red? Could you ask that person to sell it to me? I’ll pay extra.”

The two men hesitated.

Feng Yuluo boasted, “The item we are making is for a major figure above. You’d better cooperate.”

The shop owner looked troubled. “We can’t reveal a customer’s privacy…”

So, it was true. With lives at stake, Feng Yuluo immediately grabbed both men and threatened, “Speak.”