291: Investigation deadlock

Bianzhou is a prosperous place; although not everyone lives in perfect comfort, both the overall economic level and the sense of well-being among the populace are quite good.

However, due to the recent missing persons cases, the entire prefecture has been thrown into panic. Many ordinary people, especially those with young talents in their families—such as capable scholars or young experts skilled in martial arts—dare not even step out of their doors on a daily basis, fearing that they might suddenly vanish one day.

"According to the previous case files, those who went missing disappeared while they were at home. Hiding at home, isn't that foolish?" Tang Ku, accompanied by Di Renjie, walked slowly along the main street of Bianzhou.

"The Holy Monk is right... Well, please follow me. This is the residence of Yang Shuqing, the victim of the first disappearance case. He and I both went to the capital to take the imperial examinations at the same time, and we both passed as Ju Ren, but he never received an official appointment and thus remained idle at home. He was far better than me; he was proficient in both literature and martial arts, and his Tiandun Sword Technique was masterful... However, on the day of the Qiqiao Festival, he disappeared after returning home with his wife.

At that time, his wife went out to cook him a bowl of wontons, and when she brought them in, she only saw all his clothes scattered messily on the floor, while he himself had vanished without a trace!"

Di Renjie explained while leading him into the residence ahead.

"This Yang Shuqing was quite wealthy, it seems..."

Tang Ku looked at the courtyard. Although it wasn't a massive complex with six courtyards, it still had two sections, front and back. The courtyard was spacious, with simple rockeries and pavilions; he clearly wasn't short on money.

Entering the courtyard, Tang Ku immediately spotted a woman sitting on a stone bench, her face full of sorrow. She appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. A maidservant standing behind her was urging her, "Madam, you haven't had any food or water for two days. If this continues, I fear your body won't be able to bear it!"

The lady shook her head helplessly and smiled bitterly, "Your master has been missing for a full month now. My heart... I am both worried and terrified. I truly fear that he has already been... by some evildoer. Sigh, Yang Lang, oh Yang Lang, where have you gone..."

Tang Ku and Di Renjie exchanged a glance. Di Renjie couldn't help but clear his throat, stepped forward a few paces, and said, "Is Madam in good health? Di Huaiying has come to visit presumptuously, and I hope you will forgive me!"

The woman was startled for a moment, then immediately stood up and bowed slightly to Di Renjie and Tang Ku, "Huaiying, you've come. Sigh, these days, my heart has been so heavy... In such circumstances, I can only take it one day at a time... Perhaps one day, I will follow your elder brother."

"Madam, you must not say that..." Di Renjie said hurriedly, "This is a high-ranking monk from Chang'an who has come specifically to investigate the missing persons cases. You could take the Holy Monk to the place where he disappeared; perhaps there is still hope!"

"Really?"

Yang Shuqing's wife exclaimed in surprise, "Then... then, Holy Monk, please come with me!"

Although Yang Shuqing's wife was not a widow, under the current circumstances, having two outsiders—and men at that—enter her home would usually invite criticism. However, she was now desperate and clutching at straws, so she could no longer care about such things.

This was the couple's bedroom, arranged simply and neatly. All sorts of daily necessities were there, nothing was missing, except for the master of the house.

The case files stated that there was only one door here. There was a window on the back wall, but it was like a ventilation opening, and a person could not get out through it.

And the house servants, yard workers, and maids had not seen their master come out through the main window or the door. When the mistress of the house brought the wontons in, she only saw his clothes lying on the floor.

"...So, you didn't see him come out either..." Tang Ku looked around the room and frowned slightly, "After your husband returned, or rather, on the way back, was there anything unusual about his behavior?"

"This..." Madam Yang thought carefully for a long while before finally saying, "There was indeed something strange... When passing through the front gate, his expression was indeed dazed for a moment. He hadn't walked a few steps before he started shouting that he was hungry and wanted me to make him wontons... Come to think of it, we had eaten quite a bit while strolling on the street, so he shouldn't have been that hungry... Hmm, I thought maybe he was tired, and as a grown man, a larger appetite is normal, so I went to the kitchen to busy myself... However... however, when I returned, he..."

Tang Ku nodded, having roughly understood the sequence of events in his mind.

After chatting a few more simple words, they bid farewell. Before they left, Madam Yang almost knelt down to beg him, hoping he could find her husband. It took all of Tang Ku's persuasion to finally make her stop her tears.

Afterward, led by Di Renjie, Tang Ku visited the families of several other victims. Some were like Yang Shuqing, from wealthy families; others were from impoverished households, barely able to afford a full meal; still others were wealthy individuals without other family members. Among them were also clerks from the county magistrate's office, minor officials from the prefecture, and even the son of a prefect sent to this area... People of various statuses and from every social stratum had gone missing. There was almost no discernible pattern to the victims.

"...However, it is not entirely without a pattern!"

Di Renjie stood at the street corner and reported to Tang Ku, "These people are all between the ages of 20 and 35. Half of them are proficient in both literature and martial arts, and are highly skilled in both. Among the other half, thirty percent are martial artists—strong and robust; although their martial arts aren't considered top-tier, they are the type that ordinary people cannot get close to. The remaining twenty percent are Confucian scholars with outstanding literary talent, and all of them are intelligent... It can be said that they all possess exceptional qualities... Hmm, after investigation, I also discovered one thing: they have all performed acts of chivalry on the street. The martial artists go without saying, but even those scholars were able to speak out righteously in front of evildoers; their courage is indeed extraordinary!"

Tang Ku stroked his chin. From these victims' homes, he couldn't detect anything amiss. There was no evil Qi, no Demonic Qi, no Immortal Qi, and no existence of any supernatural power.

Either the demons who snatched these people had the ability to mask their Qi, or these perpetrators were not demons, ghosts, or characters like immortals or Buddhas at all.

In other words, it was highly likely that this was the work of humans, and they had used some method unknown to them to capture these people.

As for why they were being captured, he couldn't find any leads.

"Thinking carefully, although they are not very famous nationally, they are considered local talents... Could there be some organization recruiting soldiers? But there's no need to capture them in this way, and even strip them of their clothes..."

Tang Ku curled his lips, "Does such a technique exist in this world? One that targets only the human body and excludes everything outside of it... Uh, wait, besides techniques, there seems to be another system in this world..."

Suddenly, he looked at Di Renjie and smiled, "Magistrate Di, are you interested in performing a play with Poor Monk?"