Tang Shun carefully recalled, "It was quite late at the time, probably close to 11 PM."
Jiang Xiaoxiao asked Qiu Hong to continue inquiring about the details, while she went to the backyard, calculating the time provided by Tang Shun to deduce the direction.
The final result pointed towards the northern mountain.
"The northern mountain?" Jiang Xiaoxiao stood up and asked Xie Xun, who had been accompanying her from behind, "What's at the northern mountain?"
Xie Xun's expression turned solemn as he slowly uttered two words, "Imperial tombs."
Previously, Old Master Nie's secret agents had uncovered that Murong Yuan was secretly plotting to open the tomb of the former Emperor.
Xie Xun had actually requested Jiang Xiaoxiao's help to unseal him due to this very matter.
Little did they know that Xie Xun was now in the capital, and Murong Yuan and the person in the black robe behind him were still unwilling to give up.
Jiang Xiaoxiao said, "The imperial tombs should have guards, right?"
"The Imperial Guards," Xie Xun nodded. "They are all top-notch experts capable of defeating a hundred foes, but it's useless against those from the Profound Sect, as they can easily overcome your spells."
"However..." Xie Xun paused for a moment, "With the strength of the person in the black robe, if they wanted to break into the imperial tombs by force, it should be an easy task. Why would they resort to such a scheme?"
"It's highly likely that they cannot get close to the imperial tombs," Jiang Xiaoxiao explained. "The evil arts cultivated by their true form must have absorbed a significant amount of yin energy from ghosts. As a result, the yin and evil aura surrounding them is too heavy. In places like temples and imperial tombs, they would be unable to approach, or else they might harm themselves and even their true form."
Xie Xun was still puzzled, "If even the person in the black robe cannot approach the imperial tombs, ordinary ghosts would have even less chance of getting close. Then why did they bring so many ghosts to the imperial tombs?"
"Not ghosts," Jiang Xiaoxiao corrected. "According to Tang Shun's description, the 'father' he saw had already developed livor mortis, meaning they were corpses."
"Corpse summoning?"
"Possibly something similar. We need to go to the imperial tombs immediately to see what the person in the black robe is planning to do."
"Oh, right." Jiang Xiaoxiao remembered someone else who could be useful. "Qin Fengmian seems to know how to summon corpses. We should bring him along."
During the previous case on Sophora Lane, Qin Fengmian was possessed by a male ghost and lost all consciousness. He had no idea how Jiang Xiaoxiao had subdued that evil ghost, only hearing the descriptions from Qiu Hong and Liu An afterwards.
However, those two were honest people, and the exciting story from their mouths became bland and flavorless.
Qin Fengmian was feeling glum when he heard that he could join this case.
"Really?" Finally feeling useful, Qin Fengmian had a righteous expression, "Don't worry, Director. I have dealt with corpses for years, let alone corpses, even bones, I can summon them!"
Jiang Xiaoxiao gave him a few instructions, "Our goal this time is for you to use all your lifelong knowledge to reclaim those corpses from the other side."
"Lifelong knowledge?" Qin Fengmian raised his eyebrows, "Do you have to be so dramatic?"
His ability to summon corpses was recognized by his family clan.
If he didn't want to experience the world, he would have become the heir by now.
With his skills, he still needed to use his lifelong knowledge to fight for corpses?
Seeing his overconfident attitude, Qiu Hong quickly reminded him in a low voice, "Fengmian, don't take the Director's words lightly. It's better to be mentally prepared in advance, so you don't panic when the time comes."
Since the Seventh Senior Brother had spoken, Qin Fengmian didn't say anything else. After packing up, he rode a horse and followed Jiang Xiaoxiao and Xie Xun's carriage, heading towards the northern mountain and the imperial tombs.
This time, Jiang Xiaoxiao brought along two subordinates, Qin Fengmian and Qiu Hong.
Qin Fengmian's ability to summon corpses was perfect for the current case.
As for Qiu Hong, up until now, Jiang Xiaoxiao had not seen any particularly outstanding skills from him, but this person was reliable and steady.
With Qin Fengmian's temperament, he needed someone like Qiu Hong to supervise him.
Before leaving the city for the northern mountain and imperial tombs, which were quite far from the imperial city, Xie Xun specifically asked to stop and eat at a restaurant first.
Huatian Restaurant was an official restaurant, so Xie Xun, being a prince, did not need to pay.
The manager personally served the group, not only offering their signature dishes from the kitchen but also arranging a private dining room for Xie Xun and Jiang Xiaoxiao upon Xie Xun's request.
Currently, Xie Xun could not assist Jiang Xiaoxiao with his martial arts, so he could only constantly use his mind to devise strategies.
Additionally, he would monitor Jiang Xiaoxiao's eating habits.
Although Jiang Xiaoxiao had never mentioned it herself, after such a long time together, Xie Xun realized that eating more was beneficial for her.
Jiang Xiaoxiao had a severe "imprinting" issue. She remembered Xie Xun's cooking skills, and no matter how delicious the food was elsewhere, if it tasted different from Xie Xun's cooking, in her eyes, it all had the same flavor.
Yes, a flavor that could barely fill her stomach and prevent her from starving.
Xie Xun didn't eat much himself but spent the entire meal peeling shrimp for Jiang Xiaoxiao.
After finishing the meal, it was almost noon.
This was the perfect time to go to the imperial tombs, as they would arrive before nightfall.
Even if the person in the black robe had any plans, they wouldn't let those corpses run amok in broad daylight.
The well-fed Jiang Xiaoxiao was in high spirits, occasionally parting the carriage curtains to look outside.
Qiu Hong said worriedly, "Your Highness, Director, if we go to the imperial tombs at this hour, we may not be able to return tonight."
At their current speed, they would arrive at the imperial tombs at the earliest by dusk. After dealing with the situation there, it would be deep into the night by the time they returned.
Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced at Xie Xun.
She didn't mind herself, let alone the imperial tombs, she could even sleep in a graveyard for a night without issue.
Moreover, as long as she didn't transform into her child form, not sleeping for a night would have no effect on her.
But it was different for Xie Xun.
Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao looking at him, Xie Xun gently stroked her head and said softly, "There's no need to worry. The imperial tombs have a place to rest."
Whenever an emperor or consort was buried, a large group would go to the imperial tombs, making it impossible to return within a day.
Therefore, a villa was specifically built near the imperial tombs for resting.
When the former Emperor's consort was buried, Xie Xun, as the filial son, had gone once and still remembered it vividly.
The group arrived at the villa near the imperial tombs by dusk.
Without an imperial edict from Emperor Hongtai, they could not directly enter the imperial tombs.
The person in the black robe was likely in the same situation.
The villa had dedicated attendants to manage it.
Upon learning that it was the King of Chu, they quickly arranged rooms for them.
After dinner, night had completely fallen.
Qin Fengmian and Qiu Hong came to Xie Xun's room together.
"Director, shouldn't we take action now?" Qin Fengmian jingled the Soul-capturing Bell in his hand, eager to get started.
Ever since joining Bai Cheng's ranks, he hadn't been able to go corpse-retrieving for a long time.
Recalling how Jiang Xiaoxiao had urged him to use all his lifelong skills to snatch corpses from others, he couldn't wait to find out who this formidable adversary was, someone able to surpass even their corpse-retriever clan.
