Charles Foster said, “You’re not stupid, at least you know Henry Bell was hidden away. But where was he hidden?”

William Clark was about to speculate when David Bennett gestured for him not to say more.

At this moment, the three of them were walking into the farmland at the foot of the mountain, where people were plowing the fields with oxen.

David Bennett glared over, and the old yellow ox happened to turn its head and glance at him. Man and ox locked eyes for a moment, then the old ox turned and ran.

The man driving the ox, furious, rushed to chase after it, but David Bennett dashed forward, grabbed him, and pinned him to the ground...

Soon, he returned with a satisfied smile on his face: “Sure enough, Henry Bell didn’t escape into the mountains. He’s been locked up in the Zhong family’s earthen prison.”

As he spoke, a look of dissatisfaction appeared on his face: “Master Cao, what’s going on with this Zhong family? The patriarch died under strange circumstances, and the news of his death was kept secret, which is also odd. Then, in such a big family, they pick a fool to be the new patriarch—now that’s even stranger!”

William Clark gave him a look of respect: “Didn’t expect Richard Bennett to be so sharp beneath that rough exterior.”

David Bennett hitched up his belt and snorted, “I can be both rough and sharp, you know!”

Charles Foster led them out of the fields and found a clean stone to sit on. He said, “That’s not all. There are plenty of strange things. The strangest is the thing hanging around the necks of the children in the inner residence. Xiao Qi, did you get the coin they were wearing?”

William Clark handed him a coin and said, “I got it. I tricked a kid with some chestnuts to take it off and show me, then swapped it with a copper zhu.”

Charles Foster took the coin and nodded approvingly: “Very good. Heh, looks like there’ll be a show to watch tonight.”

David Bennett asked, “Master Cao, what is this coin?”

Charles Foster played with the coin and said, “What coin? This is a suì coin!”

David Bennett looked shocked: “This is a suì coin?”

William Clark asked in confusion, “What’s a suì coin?”

David Bennett looked at him with disdain: “You don’t even know what a suì coin is? It’s lucky money!”

Charles Foster kicked him: “Don’t pretend to know what you don’t! This is a suì coin, not lucky money, though the two are somewhat related. Take a look yourselves—what’s special about this coin?”

William Clark had already examined it. He said, “This isn’t a coin issued by any dynasty. There’s no reign title on it. It just says ‘peace suppresses suì’.”

Charles Foster chuckled, “That’s right, ‘peace suppresses suì’. But it’s meant to be hung on the dead to suppress evil spirits. If you hang it on the living, heh, it’s the other way around—suì suppresses peace!”

Suì coins are rare items, privately cast by Taoist practitioners. They’re not for market circulation, but for burial with the dead. Ordinary deaths don’t require them; they’re specifically for those who died unjustly or violently.

The way to use them is to hang them on the forehead of the deceased. They serve two purposes: first, to prevent the dead from turning into vengeful ghosts or zombies; second, as passage money for the dead to use in the underworld.

Because every suì coin has been in contact with fierce ghosts and evil spirits, they’re filled with yin energy. Placing them on children suppresses their yang energy, making them appear like spirits themselves, so ghosts will see them as their own kind and won’t harm them.

But the children don’t understand this. They think the coins they wear are money, so they show them off, wanting to buy chestnuts.

When Charles Foster saw this, he realized that Henry Bell was telling the truth about the Zhong family being haunted. Robert Bell definitely knows the inside story. Just now, when he saw the children showing their suì coins, he was worried Charles Foster would notice something strange, so he tried to drive the children away.

“So, the Zhong family clearly knows there are ghosts, but they don’t dare let the Astronomical Bureau find out. Why?” Charles Foster asked.

“They’re up to no good, doing things they can’t let others know about,” David Bennett immediately replied.

William Clark nodded in silence.

If even David Bennett could figure it out, what more was there to say?

He said, “Whatever kind of ghost it is, everything will be revealed tonight. Without their suì coins, the children will encounter ghosts tonight. They’re from the inner residence, precious to the family. When chaos breaks out in the Zhong family, we’ll take advantage of the confusion to sneak into the earthen prison and confront Henry Bell and the others.”

Charles Foster gave him an approving glance.

This kid can get things done—big things!

Chapter 010: Infant Spirit

They had to wait until night to act.

Xiamaling was too far from Fulong Village to go back and forth, so they stayed nearby during the day.

Conveniently, an official road crossed Xiamaling toward the village, and there was a tea stall on the road selling sorghum noodles and bamboo-roasted meat.

The three of them ate there at noon, and again in the evening.

Bamboo-roasted meat was a delicacy: chicken skewered on thin bamboo and roasted, needing no seasoning—just a sprinkle of salt made it deliciously fragrant.

The three ate happily. William Clark sighed, “I didn’t expect to find such good food in the countryside.”

Charles Foster looked at the thin bamboo and said, “Tasty as it is, the owner is a bit too thrifty. I bet these bamboo skewers are reused—probably still have the last customer’s saliva on them.”

David Bennett grinned proudly, “That’s why after lunch I broke all my bamboo skewers. Ha! How’s that for cleverness?”

“You really are a clever one,” William Clark praised. “But if you don’t break them, you might eat your own saliva. If you break all the ones you used, then you can only eat someone else’s saliva.”

Suddenly, the clever one was left with a lot of question marks.

In March, the Xiang River’s spring waters are level, and the full moon and gentle breeze make for a perfect night journey.