Judge Dee paused, eying Nameless without saying another word, picking up another sticky-rice-filled red date.

‘It’s indeed a fabulous meal from the temple kitchen.’

The young monk got the hint, rose with a bow, and withdrew respectfully from the room.

Tucking the silk scroll of Xuanji’s calligraphy under his arm, Yang walked out of the curiosity store near the center of the town.

The village called Jiangling was in walking distance, also close to the Xianyi Nunnery. He decided to further his inquiries with Xuanji’s neighbors first.

To his pleasant surprise, he found the scroll of her calligraphy provided him a ready pretext, and convincing evidence, as an antique dealer’s servant inquiring for more business opportunities in the field.

As it turned out, however, the village people invariably avoided talking about Xuanji like the plague. With or without the pretext, mentioning her name seemed to be capable of bringing them bad luck because of the black fox spirit.

‘Don’t ever bring up her name to me. What an evil, shameless bitch! She ruins herself, the men around her, and the nunnery, too. An ominous black fox spirit indeed!’

‘But have you ever seen a black fox spirit skulking around in the neighborhood?’ Yang asked.

‘A number of people have seen the damned black fox spirit in the neighborhood. Don’t ask me any more questions about the evil bitch from hell.’

Another villager turned out to be even more dramatic in response.

‘I have to spit three times on the ground for talking to you about the damned slut,’ she said, spitting spitefully far more than three times and stamping her foot forcefully, too.

Spitting three times was a superstitious practice, Yang knew, for people to try to ward off evil spirits possibly lurking around them.

‘A different question, then,’ Yang said, changing his approach. ‘Can you tell me something – if not about her – about the visitors to the nunnery?’

‘She’s simply evil incarnate, drawing those men to their dire ends. Some of them are rich and successful – you could tell by the number of servants following obsequiously behind them. Some were mysterious and well guarded. When they were with her, the village folk could hardly come close to the nunnery. Quite a few times, black-attired guards were seen patrolling around the front and the back doors of the nunnery.’

‘Seriously! But can you tell me why?’

‘She’s such a notorious woman. For a visitor with high social status, it would not have done him any good if others bumped into the sight of the lascivious, notorious fox spirit moaning and groaning in his arms.’

‘But how can those tall tales about the black fox spirit be so credible?’

‘Of course they are real. I saw one with my own eyes.’

‘When and where?’

‘Near the backyard of the nunnery. Not long before the murder of that poor maid, I think. A black fox scurried over toward me in the dark night – near that particular corner of the nunnery backyard. No wonder the maid’s body came to be buried there shortly afterward.’