Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 342 - 341: Jade Pendant

The group couldn’t hear those harrowing screams anymore, so they returned to the room and shut the door again. Not long after, there was movement outside.

The talismans hurriedly stood guard on both sides of the door, ready to strike at any unexpected guest who might burst in.

With a series of footsteps, a shadow approached the door, and then Lu Yan’s voice came in: "It’s me, open the door."

The talisman cautiously opened the door, and seeing that it was indeed Lu Yan outside, politely stepped aside to let him in.

"Brother hasn’t returned yet?" Once inside, Lu Yan noticed that Lu Zhang and Yan Shu were awake, but Lu Qing was nowhere to be seen, so he asked the nearby rune.

The rune shook his head, "Not back yet."

Lu Yan nodded, went straight to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and noticed that everyone present had a silver needle in their hands. Subconsciously, he touched the fingertip that had been pricked painfully earlier, relieved that he didn’t have to endure that pain to remain alert.

"Speaking of which, earlier when I left this courtyard, I followed the high wall to the left to explore, and after going a bit farther, I found that my head suddenly became very clear. Previously, I had to work hard to fight off the drowsiness, but after going a bit farther, I suddenly wasn’t sleepy anymore." He hadn’t been seated long before he felt that overwhelming drowsiness again, and while trying to endure it, he spoke to Yan Daoxin.

"It seems this is specifically meant for this courtyard, fearing that we’d wander outside!" Yan Daoxin listened to him, becoming even more certain, "We’ll have to search carefully again at dawn tomorrow to see if there’s some hidden mechanism we’ve missed!"

After a while, Lu Qing returned. He appeared just as clear-headed as Lu Yan had earlier, without the signs of struggling against drowsiness.

After returning, Lu Qing took paper and pen from his luggage and asked Lu Yan to sketch out the half of Immortal Castle he had explored based on his memory.

The two stood on opposite sides of the table, focusing on recalling and jotting down the buildings and paths they remembered. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they had a rough map of Immortal Castle.

The group huddled around the table, looking at the map spread on it.

The map was drawn rather crudely and roughly, but its general layout was clear.

Yan Shu turned his head this way and that, looking at it from several directions for a long time: "This is a... maze?"

Zhu Yu didn’t expect the interior of the Immortal Castle to have such a layout either.

On the day they arrived, she thought they were walking down a long, straight path, only to realize afterward that due to the influence of the seductive fragrance, they experienced hallucinations, and realized that the previous turn was actually much closer than it seemed.

Now, seeing the map Lu Qing and Lu Yan separately explored and drew, if there was a word to describe the paths inside the Immortal Castle, Zhu Yu could only think of one—"twisting and turning."

So it turns out, the realization that a turn was just behind wasn’t an illusion; the long straight path part was the illusion?!

"The layout of this Immortal Castle resembles an Eight Trigrams Array, it’s easy enough to navigate along the tops of the walls.

The twist is, these walls are built so high that once inside, walking step by step, even without the seductive fragrance, it’s not easy to find the way; one would get lost in turning after turning, not to mention the interference from the fragrance." Lu Qing said.

"No wonder, all the way, I walked very cautiously, on guard for someone to suddenly rush out.

But there was no sign of any night patrol, only distant voices, and they never came near me.

I’m guessing, the locals also know it’s hard to find a way out once inside, so they don’t bother to send too many people on night patrol?" Lu Yan speculated.

"So, this mysterious seductive fragrance in the courtyard is meant to put us into a deep sleep so that we don’t wander around.

And this fortress doesn’t just aim to trap us, but every household living inside?" Zhu Yu concluded after hearing Lu Yan’s words.

"People..." Lu Yan furrowed his brow and shook his head, "I investigated along the way and found that the courtyards I passed were pitch black, with no lights or sound, everything was utterly silent.

Do you know the feeling I got? I just felt like, in this courtyard, there was no one at all." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"There are people, but indeed it’s strange." Lu Qing roughly confirmed the location on the map, pointing to a small square representing a courtyard, "In this spot, I saw no one around and quietly sneaked into a household’s courtyard.

It was indeed dark and quiet there. I intended to spy from the window to see inside, but after a long careful look, I found that no one was resting in the beds, instead, there were several figures slumpily sprawled on the ground.

With no movement, I couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead; I only vaguely observed some dim firelight and swirling green smoke inside, possibly from an incense burner."

"An incense burner again!" Zhu Yu instinctively wanted to clench her fist, inadvertently poking the Cow Hair Needle pricking her finger, reminding her of the "waking tool" stuck in her, quickly loosening her grip, "Then what happened? You pierced the window paper, wouldn’t the smell leak out?"

Lu Qing nodded, noticing Zhu Yu’s worried gaze, discreetly gave her a reassuring look: "Indeed, the scent made me feel dizzy once I smelled it.

I didn’t know what it was, fearing it would cause trouble, I immediately left."

"What smell? Is it similar to the one on the skirt that old steward brought during the day?" Zhu Yu quickly asked.

"There’s nothing similar at all." Lu Qing shook his head, meanwhile, reaching from his chest, he took out an item and placed it on the table, "I spotted something shining under the moonlight at a corner of the wall, and seeing no one around, went down to pick it up."

The others fixed their eyes on the table, discovering a large chunk of Jade Pendant, strung with a green silk cord, its jade hue light, and its surface shining brilliantly, no wonder Lu Qing spotted it from atop the high wall.

The others did not have a particularly strong reaction, but Lu Yan sprang up from the chair, quickly grabbed the Jade Pendant, examined it carefully, and his expression immediately changed.

"I recognize this item!" His face flushed with anger, "This belongs to a tax collector I sent out, an item he never parted with!

He’s the only child in his family, and when he got a position under me, his family felt dignified and handed over the ancestral Jade Pendant before his marriage, to make him appear decent outside.

Everyone who works under me would recognize it, there’s no mistake!"