Xiao Hua widened her cat eyes in astonishment: “My father has been possessed? Impossible. The imperial palace is fortified with special formations that prevent evil spirits and ghosts from approaching. Even among the Xuanjing Office personnel, only Xie Shouzheng can freely enter and leave the palace.”
Lin Qingyue said: “The imperial study was filled with guards and palace maids. We were standing some distance apart, merely exchanging casual remarks. At first, I didn’t even notice anything unusual. It wasn’t until later that I accidentally noticed his eye sockets were somewhat red. That wasn’t a normal pathological change, but rather an abnormality caused by contamination with some kind of malevolent energy.”
“Father…” Xiao Hua worried so much that she wished she could immediately rush to the palace to investigate.
But she quickly calmed down.
After all, she was currently just a cat. If she recklessly returned, not only would she be unable to save anyone, but she might also alert the enemy.
“Let’s go to the Xuanjing Office to find Xie Shouzheng!”
Just as they reached the entrance of the Xuanjing Office, the sound of horse neighing came from behind, followed by Dongfang Yan’s persistent voice: “Lin Qingyue!”
Lin Qingyue turned around and saw Dongfang Yan dismounting from his horse, still wearing his court robes from earlier.
“Why didn’t you take the prince’s mansion carriage home?”
He had clearly given her a way out, so why couldn’t she show some appreciation?
He had already returned to the prince’s mansion and was preparing to change clothes to receive guests.
But then his subordinate came to report: “The princess consort refused to return, and didn’t even take the prince’s mansion carriage.”
So Dongfang Yan, without even changing his court robes, hurriedly chased after her.
“You didn’t resign from your duties at the Xuanjing Office?”
“No.”
“Lin Qingyue, need I remind you that as my princess consort, you represent my dignity! Even an ordinary wife should consult her husband before making any decisions!”
“Consult you? Sorry, that’s not a habit of mine!”
Lin Qingyue couldn’t be bothered to waste more words on him and entered the Xuanjing Office gate with the cat.
Though Dongfang Yan was furious, he ultimately valued his reputation too much to publicly abduct someone in broad daylight.
After calming down, he began to feel that something wasn’t quite right.
Lin Qingyue had previously appeared gentle and understanding.
Why had she suddenly become like a different person these past two days? Not only was she defying him, but she was even lowering herself to mingle with those riffraff.
Come to think of it, everything seemed to have started after the homecoming visit.
Could it be that she was upset because he showed excessive concern for Zhen’er? Was she playing hard to get?
In the backyard of the Xuanjing Office.
Before Lin Qingyue even approached, she caught a strong scent of blood.
Xie Shouzheng was gathered with a group of subordinates, examining a corpse with its skull shattered.
The rat demon Da Mi covered his nose and said: “This is too disgusting. Can’t we move the corpse outside?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. What if we scare the commoners by placing it outside?” After saying this, Xie Shouzheng made two retching sounds.
Turning around and seeing Lin Qingyue, he quickly waved her over:
“We have a case. Come take a look.”
The crowd immediately scattered, making room for Lin Qingyue—actually, they were more than happy to get as far away as possible.
When Lin Qingyue approached for a closer look, she couldn’t help but frown.
The male corpse’s head was shattered, covered in bloody mess. In the wound, there was a thread-thin worm about half an arm’s length long, wriggling.
The sight was spine-chilling and indescribably revolting.
Xie Shouzheng explained, “This man was the owner of Dongsheng Restaurant. He accidentally fell from upstairs this morning, hit his head, and died on the spot. It seemed like a simple accident at first, but then a strange worm crawled out of his skull.”
“The Magistrate’s Office couldn’t handle it, so they brought the body here. I was eating noodles at the time… Well, I doubt I’ll ever want to eat noodles again.”
He then pointed at Da Mi, “Report the information you’ve gathered to Deputy Envoy Lin again.”
Da Mi cautiously glanced at the Tabby Cat, “Could we… let the cat leave first?”
Lin Qingyue said, “No.”
Xie Shouzheng scolded, “Coward! That cat Xiao Hua hasn’t even looked at you properly—clearly not a mouser! Get on with your report!”
“Uh… alright.” Da Mi nervously rubbed his hands together and began recounting the victim’s details.
“The victim was named Li Dongsheng, owner of Dongsheng Restaurant, 60 years old. He enjoyed drinking and eating fish sashimi. His restaurant specialized in fish sashimi dishes.”
“Before the incident, there were no reports of any health issues. He even married an 18-year-old concubine last month—quite vigorous for his age. Last night, he feasted with friends all night, probably had too much to drink, which led to his fall from height.”
Xie Shouzheng took over, “Initially, I suspected the worm in his brain was a parasite from eating raw fish. But it didn’t seem right—this worm carries a sinister aura, neither fully demonic nor entirely insect-like, truly unheard of and unseen before.”
Lin Qingyue’s expression turned grave, “Indeed, it’s no ordinary parasite. This creature should be classified as a sinister demon called ‘Ephemera Silk’—a spawn divided from mayfly demons. Mayflies live for just a day, and Ephemera Silk has an even shorter lifespan. The only way to extend its life is through parasitism.”
“Once Ephemera Silk enters a human body, it travels to the brain and takes control of the host. It can even mimic human habits and behaviors, making it difficult for even close relatives to detect anything amiss.”
“During early infection, the victim’s original soul remains conscious but unable to speak or control their body. After three years of infection, the original consciousness completely dies, and the body becomes a puppet of the Ephemera Silk.”
“Hence, Ephemera Silk has another name: ‘Marionette Worm.’ It turns the host into a marionette, manipulating them at will.”
“Most importantly, the appearance of one case of Ephemera Silk means there are already numerous undetected infections.”
Everyone shuddered upon hearing this.
“What should we do? How do we identify the infected? And… Deputy Envoy, how do you know all this?”
Xie Shouzheng had many questions. Though Lin Qingyue was now merely his deputy, he had unconsciously begun relying on her as his pillar.
Lin Qingyue knew this because, in her previous life, the World of Cultivation had experienced a large-scale Ephemera Silk infection.
At that time, nearly half the population of an entire county was infected.
Worse, the local magistrate lacked sufficient knowledge of Ephemera Silk and couldn’t distinguish between the infected and uninfected.
Ultimately, the Daoist priest in charge ruthlessly ordered the extermination of the entire county’s population.
The cruelest irony was that after the massacre, they discovered the Daoist priest himself was also infected. And a new wave of infections continued to spread.
Fortunately, someone later developed a method to identify the infected, averting a catastrophic disaster.
“I happened to see it in the countryside before,” Lin Qingyue brushed over her past with a single vague remark.
“Mayflies survive by parasitism. Once they leave the human body or the host dies, they lose their power and die within an hour.”
As Xie Shouzheng spoke, he saw the worms in the deceased’s head writhe a few times before becoming still.
Da Mi quickly added, “From the time Li Dongsheng died from a broken head to now, it’s exactly been an hour!”