Volume Two: Inheriting the Legacy, Brocade Robes Soaked in Blood Chapter 145: Vampire Phantom

Early the next morning, Yang Ning led Tang Nuo toward the Eternal Peace Hall. Not knowing the exact location, he asked Duan Canghai to accompany them.

The Eternal Peace Hall was situated near the Wende Bridge by the Confucius Temple. Though not particularly long, this street boasted three different pharmacies, all of which, judging by their lintels and facades, were long-standing, time-honored establishments.

Upon arriving before the Eternal Peace Hall, Yang Ning realized it was indeed quite substantial. Among the three pharmacies, the Eternal Peace Hall surpassed them all in scale. The interior was exceptionally spacious, spanning four bays from left to right. The left three bays were connected into a single, open apothecary, while the final bay on the right housed the clinic mentioned by Gu Qinghan, which was arranged in a very concise manner.

Before even stepping inside, a faint scent of medicinal herbs drifted out. Yang Ning glanced into the main hall and saw two or three shop assistants tending to several customers who were having their prescriptions filled.

Instead of rushing into the pharmacy immediately, he walked over to the last room on the right and looked inside. Although it was just a single chamber, it did not appear cramped. At that moment, three or four people were huddled together, whispering softly about something.

Yang Ning entered first, followed by Duan Canghai. Tang Nuo walked in after them, glancing around the room. The men were so engrossed in their conversation that none of them noticed anyone had entered.

Duan Canghai gave a deliberate cough. Possessing a robust constitution, he deliberately raised his voice, causing two of them to look up. Among them, a man of around sixty years old spotted Duan Canghai, immediately stood up, and smiled, "What brings you here?" Catching sight of Yang Ning behind him, the old man instantly suppressed his smile, hurried forward, and cupped his hands in greeting, "Your Lordship!"

Duan Canghai smiled and said, "Master Song, His Lordship has brought Miss Tang here to take a look around. Did you know?"

"Yes, yes, I was informed." Master Song smiled as he looked toward Tang Nuo, who was observing her surroundings. "This must be Miss Tang, right?" He sized her up from head to toe. Although a smile still lingered on his face, a trace of undisguised disdain flickered in his eyes.

Yang Ning smiled. "Are you all chatting? I hope we aren't interrupting."

The other men had also stood up by now. Having learned Yang Ning's identity, they successively cupped their hands and said, "Greetings, Your Lordship."

Master Song replied, "Your Lordship, these are all colleagues from the neighborhood. We usually like to gather here to discuss medical techniques."

Yang Ning thought to himself that while chatting was fine, there was no need to dignify it with the grand title of discussing medicine. Since they were all in the same profession, bluntly speaking, they were competitors; it was impossible for anyone to reveal their true expertise. Nonetheless, he smiled and said, "Discussing medicine and exchanging knowledge is a good thing. No wonder you were all so absorbed."

Master Song and the others exchanged glances before lowering their voices. "Your Lordship, we were discussing a rather bizarre matter."

"A bizarre matter? What kind of matter?"

Master Song hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice further. "Your Lordship may not be aware, but something strange has been happening in the capital. It seems... it seems like demonic spirits are at work."

Yang Ning was slightly taken aback. He thought to himself that these men were doctors, yet they were bantering about ghosts and spirits. Duan Canghai had already asked from the side, "What kind of demonic spirits?"

"Blood-sucking spirits," one of the men nearby said cautiously. "Someone was found dead in an alley, almost all the blood in their body sucked dry, leaving nothing behind but skin and bones. It's truly terrifying." Even in broad daylight, as these words were spoken, the men nearby seemed to feel a chill, and some could not help glancing around nervously as if a spirit might be lurking nearby.

Tang Nuo, who had been observing her surroundings, heard this and turned her gaze toward them as well.

Duan Canghai frowned and asked, "Blood-sucking spirits? Have any of you seen them? How could such a bizarre thing happen?"

"None of us have seen them, but Master Lan, the coroner at the Capital Yamen, has seen them," another man immediately chimed in. "Master Lan and I studied under the same master; we're junior and senior fellow apprentices and often drink together. Lately, whenever I invited him for a drink, he always found an excuse to decline. Last night, we finally managed to get together, and that's when he told me about this bizarre occurrence."

Yang Ning asked, "He has seen the spirit?"

"Not quite," the man shook his answer. "However, the corpse from which the spirit sucked the blood was personally examined by Senior Brother Lan. He said that just looking at that corpse gave him nightmares that would last a lifetime. In our profession, what kind of dead bodies haven't we seen? Once you've seen enough corpses, there's nothing left to fear. Senior Brother Lan is a coroner at the Capital Yamen; he sees far more than we ever do. Since he described it that way, it must be utterly horrifying."

"Is the corpse currently at the Capital Yamen?" Duan Canghai frowned. Clearly acquainted with this doctor, he asked, "Doctor Huang, when did this happen?" He added suspiciously, "If such a bizarre event occurred in the capital, how is it that I know nothing about it?"

Duan Canghai was a forthright and generous man. As the commander of the guards for the Marquis of Jin'yi's estate, although the estate was currently facing a decline, it had enjoyed boundless glory for many years, giving him extensive connections throughout the capital. He frequently interacted with people from all walks of life, both in the underworld and the mainstream society.

To put it bluntly, Duan Canghai was essentially the ears of the Marquis's estate in the capital. Whenever anything happened in the city, the news usually reached his ears very quickly. If such a strange event had taken place and he knew nothing about it, it was simply unacceptable to him.

Doctor Huang explained, "Actually, very few people know about this even now. The Capital Yamen has strictly sealed off the news to prevent outsiders from finding out. If my senior brother hadn't had a few too many drinks, not a single whisper would have leaked out."

Yang Ning nodded slightly. If this was indeed true, Prefecture Magistrate Mo Zheng naturally had to impose a strict blackout on the information. After all, these were extraordinary times: the Emperor had passed away, and the Crown Prince was about to ascend the throne. Undercurrents were already churning within the capital; they certainly could not allow other disturbances to throw the populace into panic.

"So you're saying this didn't happen just recently?" Duan Canghai asked.

Doctor Huang lowered his voice even further. "Actually, this started more than two months ago, and the most recent incident occurred just three days ago." He held up three fingers. "Up to now, three people have died, all of them drained of their blood, leaving only skin and bones like dried corpses. Two of them were bailiffs from the Capital Yamen, and the identity of the third person is completely unrecognizable." Fear flickered in his eyes. "I heard those bodies couldn't be identified by facial features at all; they had to rely on their clothing. Two could be recognized because they wore the uniforms of Capital Yamen bailiffs, but the remaining one couldn't be identified at all."

Master Song added from the side, "The capital has been under martial law lately. Citizens are not allowed out on the streets at night. Once the hour of You passes, every shop must shutter its doors and close up. Aside from patrolling bailiffs and imperial guards, no one is allowed to wander about."

Yang Ning frowned. "If these really are blood-sucking spirits, why do they only target people on the streets instead of breaking into houses?"

"They must be wandering lone ghosts, roaming only the streets," Doctor Huang said with a lingering sense of dread. "It's precisely because of the capital's curfew that those corpses were first discovered by people from the Capital Yamen, allowing them to keep it under wraps. My senior brother said that Lord Mo, the Iron-faced Judge, has been pulling his hair out over this. As the Prefecture Magistrate, with people being murdered one after another in the capital, if he fails to find the culprit, the imperial court will certainly hold him accountable. But this isn't the work of ordinary mortals—it's the haunting of evil spirits. No matter how formidable Lord Mo Iron-face might be, how can he fight against a ghost?"

Duan Canghai said in a deep voice, "Let this conversation end right here. Since Magistrate Mo has ordered the Capital Yamen to maintain strict secrecy, the news should not be allowed to spread." He looked coldly at Doctor Huang. "Doctor Huang, you might not like hearing this, but you didn't witness any of this firsthand; you merely heard it through the grapevine, and you have no business spreading it outside. As you yourself said, Master Lan, the coroner, spoke out of turn while drunk, already violating Magistrate Mo's orders. If you continue to publicize this here, once the Capital Yamen investigates, you won't be able to wash your hands of it, and you'll drag your senior brother down with you."

Doctor Huang's body shuddered, and he said with a wry smile, "I... I was just chatting here idly. I had no... no intention of spreading it on purpose."

Duan Canghai said, "Let it end here." He turned to the others. "None of you are to discuss this matter again, not even with your family members." He raised a hand to his neck, made a slashing gesture, and uttered a crisp click sound before continuing, "You all know what times these are. If you really stir up trouble, not a single one of you will escape the consequences."

The men all turned pale and quickly echoed, "We won't speak of it, we won't speak of it."

Seeing that Duan Canghai had frightened Master Song and the other doctors out of their wits with just a few words, Yang Ning smiled and said, "There's no need for you all to be scared either. As long as you keep your mouths shut, nothing will happen." He turned to Tang Nuo and asked, "Miss Tang, how do you find this place?" Then, turning back to Master Song, he said, "Master Song, this is my friend. Her medical skills are exceptional, truly capable of bringing the dead back to life. She wishes to stay and practice here for a while. I hope you can introduce her around and look after her in the future."

Master Song forced a smile and said, "Of course, of course." The other doctors, who had been preparing to leave, turned their gazes toward Tang Nuo upon hearing Yang Ning's words. Seeing that Tang Nuo was a young woman, they immediately felt a wave of contempt. Noting that she looked less than twenty years old, their disdain deepened. Though none of them dared to voice their thoughts, they found Yang Ning's praise of her "miraculous skills" utterly ridiculous in their hearts.

"Miss Tang, this is the front hall," Master Song said, putting on a warm facade for Yang Ning's sake despite his inner disdain for the young woman. He raised a hand to point toward the rear, where a two-meter-wide grand screen separated the front and back sections of the room. "Beyond that is the inner hall. For more delicate ailments, or for female patients, examinations are generally conducted in the back. Because this street is close to the Confucius Temple, the foot traffic is quite heavy, and our Eternal Peace Hall is a time-honored establishment, so we get a fair share of patients coming through our doors. I'm getting on in years; although I'm the resident physician, sitting here all day does take a toll on my stamina. It's truly a blessing that the Third Madam sent someone over to say Miss Tang would be coming to help out."

Though his words were polite and a smile remained plastered on his face, anyone could tell he was not genuinely pleased.

Yang Ning swept a glance across the room. Not only Master Song, but the other visiting doctors as well, were eyeing Tang Nuo with skeptical gazes filled with undisguised contempt. Yang Ning understood the reason all too well; these veteran practitioners were masters of their trade and naturally looked down upon a young woman.

This was only human nature.

Yang Ning silently thought that Gu Qinghan had considered things thoroughly. If she had abruptly set up an independent clinic for Tang Nuo alone, it surely would have been a desolate place with scarcely a visitor.