In the dim dormitory, Chen Ji stood calmly beside a bed. He held up his oil lamp and leaned in to observe, only to discover blood tears flowing from everyone’s eyes.

The blood tears did not flow down the tear ducts but streamed outwards, across the temples and down to the sideburns, indicating that the victims had died in their sleep while lying in their beds.

Chen Ji raised the oil lamp higher and looked up at the rafters.

There was no one hidden, and no killer could be found.

The footsteps in the corridor earlier had appeared and vanished suddenly, as if a vengeful spirit trapped in the inn had killed dozens.

The maids and servants of the Chen family, thirty-four people in total from both dormitories, had been joyfully preparing to travel to the capital just over ten days ago. Today, they lay inexplicably dead in Guyuan.

Such was the impermanence of life.

Xiaoman stood at the doorway, hesitant to enter the room. “M-Master,” she stammered, “they died so horribly. Why are they all bleeding from their seven orifices, as if their souls have been sucked out?”

Chen Ji glanced back at her. “I thought you feared nothing in heaven or on earth,” he remarked.

Xiaoman’s voice trembled as she asked, “Master, aren’t you afraid?”

Chen Ji no longer bothered to hide his true feelings from Xiaoman. He reached out and felt the carotid artery of a corpse; there was no pulse. The body still had residual warmth, indicating death had occurred not long ago.

Thump, thump, thump, footsteps echoed from the stairs.

Lady Liang, supported by Dongzhi, slowly descended the stairs. “What was that scream just now?” she said unhurriedly. “This isn’t our own residence; don’t make such a fuss and shout, lest outsiders hear and say my Chen family doesn’t know manners… Ah!”

As soon as Lady Liang stepped into the dormitory, she immediately recoiled in horror, losing all composure. Fortunately, Dongzhi caught her, preventing her from falling to the ground.

Lady Liang took a deep breath for a moment, then forcibly swallowed. Looking at the dark doorway, she asked, “W-What happened?!”

Hearing her scream, Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao quickly rushed downstairs. “Mother, what’s wrong?” they asked.

Chen Wenzong tried to enter the dormitory, but Lady Liang clutched his sleeve tightly. “Wenzong, don’t go in,” she warned, “it’s unclean in there!”

Chen Wenzong calmly replied, “Mother, I am a juren with official qualifications. Possessing a righteous spirit, ghosts cannot come near me.”

With that, he broke free from Lady Liang’s grasp and walked in to examine the scene.

When he first saw so many corpses lying together, bleeding tears, Chen Wenzong’s body swayed for a moment, but he quickly composed himself.

He looked at Chen Ji. “Was this why you rushed downstairs earlier?” he asked.

Chen Ji nodded. “Xiaoman wanted to ask the inn staff for a new quilt,” he explained, “but found the inn staff dead behind the counter, bleeding from his seven orifices.”

Chen Wenzong suppressed his fear and examined the bodies one by one.

Zhang Xia took two steps forward and whispered beside Chen Ji, “How did they die? This room originally housed twenty servants, but now there are only nineteen bodies…”

Before she finished speaking, footsteps were heard again from outside in the corridor.

Xiaoman quickly ducked behind Chen Ji, peeking out half her head to discreetly observe the corridor corner.

Lady Liang retreated in a panic, pulling Dongzhi in front of her as a shield. Chen Wenxiao stumbled backward onto the ground, scrambling away on all fours.

The next moment, Wang Gui emerged from around the corner. He stopped short upon seeing everyone. “Madam, Young Masters… why are you all here?” he asked, startled.

Chen Wenxiao demanded hysterically, “Are you human or a ghost?!”

Wang Gui looked bewildered. “What do you mean, Second Young Master? It’s me, Wang Gui! Don’t you recognize me?”

Chen Ji strode forward, first checking the temperature of Wang Gui’s wrist, then looking down at the shadow beneath his feet, confirming it was indeed Wang Gui. “Where were you just now?” he asked.

“I went to the latrine,” Wang Gui replied, bewildered.

Chen Wenxiao scrambled to his feet and loudly demanded, “Everyone in the room is dead! Why are you the only one unharmed?”

“Dead?” Wang Gui’s voice rose in astonishment. “Young Master, who is dead?”

Chen Wenxiao pointed to the dark doorway. “Go in and see for yourself!”

Wang Gui entered the room cautiously, then gasped and stumbled back out, his legs weak with fright. “What happened? They were fine just a moment ago!”

Everyone retreated to the courtyard, keeping a good distance from the rooms. Lady Liang murmured in the cold wind, “Is this inn haunted? Perhaps we should leave quickly and go to the Commander’s Residence to find Master.”

Chen Wenzong shook his head. “Mother, Guyuan is not peaceful at night. They dare to rob in broad daylight, let alone in the dark. If we leave rashly, we might encounter criminals on the road again.”

Chen Wenxiao suddenly interjected, “Then someone must go and tell Father. This is too important; we must ask him to return and take charge.”

But who would go?

Everyone exchanged glances, no one speaking first.

Wang Gui looked at Chen Ji and stammered nervously, “Third Young Master, you should go. You have that sorrel horse, it runs fast!”

Xiaoman immediately pointed her finger at Wang Gui’s nose, glaring furiously. “Why should my young master go?” she snapped. “Didn’t your mother teach you…”

With that small finger pointed, she began a tirade.

Xiaoman was truly furious this time and verbally lambasted Wang Gui without restraint.

Lady Liang angrily interrupted, “Enough! When did my Chen family produce such a vulgar maid? Tomorrow, I will sell you off and leave you in Guyuan.”

Chen Ji said calmly, “Madam, please calm your anger. Now is not the time to sell off maids. Let’s focus on how to survive.”

Zhang Xia suddenly pulled Chen Ji aside and whispered, “Four years ago, there was an unsolved case in the capital: a seventh-rank Censor suddenly died at home, reportedly bleeding from all seven orifices. Six family members died. Seven years ago, in Shaanxi Prefecture, there was another unsolved case: a fifth-rank Prefect died suddenly in his private residence where he kept concubines, exhibiting the same death symptoms, with four people dead. This type of death is extremely rare. While rumors speak of vengeful spirits, I believe it’s poisoning. However… I’ve never heard of such a potent poison before.”

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then turned to Chen Wenzong. “Brother, did you have dinner at the inn?” he asked.

Chen Wenzong shook his head. “No,” he replied.

Chen Ji then looked at Lady Liang. “Madam, did you eat?”

Lady Liang replied, “No.”

Chen Ji then looked at Wang Gui. “What about you?”

Wang Gui, his face pale, replied, “No, the food at this inn was too crude and unpalatable.”

“It must be poisoning,” Chen Ji stated calmly.

Assassins are very particular about their poisons.

In storytellers’ tales, people often die bleeding from their seven orifices after being poisoned, used to add a horrifying element to the narrative. However, in reality, it’s not easy to make someone bleed from all seven orifices after being poisoned.

But Chen Ji knew of one type of poison that could: cardiac glycosides.

An overdose of cardiac glycosides causes the poisoned person’s heart muscle to contract rapidly, leading to multi-organ failure, a sharp increase in blood pressure, and ruptured capillaries.

When combined with strong sedatives, it could silently cause someone to bleed from their seven orifices and die.

Chen Ji was certain that the killer had poisoned the inn’s food. Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, Lady Liang, and Wang Gui, being accustomed to fine dining, naturally couldn’t stomach the inn’s coarse food, thus fortuitously escaping.

As for himself and Zhang Xia, they had eaten too much mutton at noon and thus couldn’t eat dinner.

A thought stirred in Chen Ji’s mind: Was it the border army who administered the poison?

Was the sudden delivery of mutton a coincidence, or was it a deliberate act, out of respect for Mr. Wang, to ensure they ate too much beforehand and avoided the poisoned food?

Chen Ji lowered his head in thought: If it truly was the border army attempting to poison the Chen family, what could their motive be?

The Chen family had just arrived, holding no recent grievances or old enmities with the border army. A little trouble at the city gate was understandable, being a minor issue, and no one could do much about these rough soldiers from the border garrisons.

But now, thirty-four family members of an imperial official of the fourth rank have been poisoned to death. If this news reaches the capital, it will become an earth-shattering major case. This is no longer merely a Chen family matter but concerns the dignity of the imperial court and will undoubtedly be thoroughly investigated.

What would the border army gain by doing this? Was it merely to cripple the Crown Prince’s influence?

Things were not that simple.

At that moment, Chen Wenxiao said to Xiaoman, “Since you don’t want Chen Ji to go, then you go to the Commander’s Residence.”

Xiaoman rolled her eyes. “I’m not going,” she retorted. “I am the Young Master’s maid; I will only go if the Young Master tells me to.”

Chen Wenxiao said furiously, “Chen Ji, look at your maid! She has no manners, daring to speak to her masters like this!”

Chen Ji calmly replied, “You should focus on how to survive tonight. Assassins intend to poison the entire Chen family. We were fortunate to survive because we didn’t eat the inn’s food. If they discover their failure, they might return. If you want to live, quickly send someone to the Commander’s Residence. The rest of us should stay together here and wait for Lord Chen to return with the Crown Prince’s personal guards for rescue.”

Zhang Zheng said brashly, “You’re all too slow. If not, I’ll… Ow!”

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Xia fiercely pinched the soft flesh on Zhang Zheng’s waist and whispered, “Brother, shut up. Let’s follow Chen Ji’s plan. Now is not the time for your recklessness.”

Chen Wenxiao looked at Wang Gui. “You go!” he ordered.

Wang Gui flinched backward. “Me? Second Young Master, I don’t know where the Commander’s Residence is.”

Chen Wenxiao said furiously, “If you don’t go, who will? My Chen family has supported you for so many years; even a dog would know to bark a few times by now!”

Chen Wenzong admonished in a low voice, “Chen Wenxiao! A gentleman chooses his words carefully!”

“I wasn’t wrong, though…” Chen Wenxiao mumbled softly.

Wang Gui’s expression shifted several times. He looked at Lady Liang, but she looked away, saying nothing.

He gritted his teeth. “Second Young Master is right,” he began, “I’ll go right away…”

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Wenzong said in a low voice, “As the Master said, ‘Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.'”

He turned to Zhang Xia and said, “Second Miss Zhang, may I borrow your warhorse? I will go to the Commander’s Residence immediately to ask Father to bring back the Crown Prince’s personal guards.”

Zhang Xia thought for a moment and said, “Zaobao certainly won’t let you ride her. Take my brother’s horse instead.”

Chen Wenzong nodded. “Very well,” he said.

Lady Liang quickly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. “Wenzong, absolutely not!” she cried. “You are a man of noble standing; a gentleman does not place himself under a tottering wall…”

Chen Wenzong took a deep breath and, feigning composure, explained, “Mother, ‘a gentleman does not place himself under a tottering wall’ is not applicable here. It means a gentleman should prevent danger before it arises, not that he should be timid. You need not say more. Chen Ji is right; we cannot delay any longer, lest the assassins return to commit more murders.”

With that, he led the warhorse out of the stable, mounted it despite Lady Liang’s attempts to stop him, and galloped into the night.