Suspicion

The shop was divided into two sections, front and back. The front was used to sell and display items.

The back was where people lived. Our group made our way behind the shop.

The moment we entered the backyard, the stench of blood hit us head-on. Looking closely, we saw four corpses on the ground.

One of them, dressed somewhat like a shopkeeper, lay sprawled on his back, arms and legs spread wide. There was an exaggerated wound across his neck.

The white bone inside was visible, and a huge pool of blood had spilled beside him.

The other four corpses lay on the ground in all kinds of positions as well.

Without exception, each had an exaggerated wound across the neck, and pools of blood dotted the courtyard floor.

Flies buzzed around the corpses, flying back and forth over them. It was summer, and the sun was blazing.

Most of the blood had already dried, with only a small patch in the very center still wet.

I walked over and crouched beside the bodies, examining them. Every one of them had only a single fatal wound to the neck—killed with one slash.

I thought to myself, The killer must have been an expert. Just look at that blade work.

There had been no flashy flourishes or unnecessary movements at all. One person, one slash each—clean and decisive.

Just as I was about to turn back and share my thoughts with them, I suddenly heard two retching sounds behind me, one after the other. "Ugh..."

I turned around and saw Jiang Yujie and Yun Yao. One clung to the wall, while the other was on the ground with both hands braced against it, vomiting nonstop. "Ugh... ugh..."

I could not help feeling a little surprised. Aren't they from great lineages?

What were great lineages? They were supposed to be people who had seen grand scenes and weathered great storms. By all reason, they should not have been losing their composure like this.

I immediately stood up and went back, voicing my doubts to Jiang Yujie and Yun Yao.

"Bullshit. Who said descendants of great lineages had to go through this stuff?" Jiang Yujie said, sprawled on the ground with a pale face.

Yun Yao's little face was pale too as she said, "Most descendants of lineages cultivate at home or listen to their elders' teachings. At most, getting into a fight with someone is already considered impressive."

I sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine. Let's get out first. Looking at you two, there's no way you can investigate anything."

Of course, there was another reason. I had not thought much of it at first.

But when I saw the yellow-and-white vomit on the ground, my own stomach began to churn like the sea overturning.

At my words, Jiang Yujie and Yun Yao nodded like chickens pecking at grain.

Then they fled in the direction we had come from, panicked and scrambling. They moved as if a vicious dog were chasing them from behind.

After the two of them left, I carefully circled the scene once more.

Only after finding absolutely nothing did I come out. I saw the two of them rinsing their mouths with bottled water.

"Have someone deal with the bodies. Let's go back first," I said to Yun Yao.

Yun Yao nodded, then called several people over and told them to do as I said.

They clasped their fists and answered, "Yes," before going inside to move the bodies and clean the courtyard.

I looked at the two of them and said, "Let's go back first. I examined the scene, and it was handled very cleanly.

They were basically killed with one slash each. No other traces were left behind."

Yun Yao nodded, and we got into the car before heading back to Yun Mansion.

Jiang Yujie asked me in surprise, "You were so calm from beginning to end. How are you acting like nothing happened?"

Yun Yao held the steering wheel as she tilted her head slightly to look at me. Sitting in the back seat, I noticed that her foot was trembling faintly.

I thought to myself, When the hundred ghosts chased me in the village, those things were far more terrifying than this.

Some had rotten faces, while others had eyeballs hanging from their faces, swaying like little bells.

Then there had been the underground Corpse Nest, which went without saying.

Bodies covered head to toe in maggots, bodies reduced to nothing but skeletons—there had been too many corpses of every kind.

And then there was Huang Wenbin, the Little Puppy I had killed, and those students turned into human sticks and stuffed into jars...

I had seen things far more disgusting than this. They were only a few corpses. What was there to make such a fuss about?

I merely replied that it was nothing, perhaps because I had lived in the mountains for too long.

The rest of the way back to Yun Mansion passed in silence.

Halfway there, Jiang Yujie even joked that I was definitely a man with a story.

I waved it off and said no, then asked Jiang Yujie instead, "You can still laugh after that? Have you already forgotten what happened just now?"

The moment he heard that, Jiang Yujie's face crumpled into a ball, and nausea rose in him again.

He told Yun Yao to stop the car, then got out and retched for a long time without vomiting anything. Perhaps there was truly nothing left in his stomach.

Seeing Jiang Yujie like that, Yun Yao got out as well, leaned against the car, and dry-heaved twice.

She did not throw up anything either. Then Yun Yao shot me a reproachful look.

Jiang Yujie, meanwhile, lay on the ground with tears welling in his eyes, dry-heaving without pause.

The two of them then repeated what they had done earlier, rinsing their mouths with bottled water. Seeing this, I sat in the car and burst into laughter.

When we returned to Yun Mansion, we sat in the living room. No one spoke first. I took out a cigarette and smoked by myself.

Perhaps they knew I smoked, because there was an ashtray on the table.

Yun Yao finally spoke in a low voice. "What do we do? These are all the clues we have now."

After thinking for a while, I said, "Check whether the shop recently received any valuable items, especially something people would fight tooth and nail over.

Then check whether anyone came to ask about it, or whether any of the shop assistants or the shopkeeper

had an argument with anyone. Arguments between customers inside the shop count too.

Finally, find a way to locate the expert stationed at the shop. Dead or alive, we need to see them."

Yun Yao listened to my suggestions, then summoned someone and instructed them to carry them out immediately.

After that, I asked Yun Yao suspiciously why, after something like this had happened,

Grandpa Yun had shown no reaction at all. Yun Yao said that her grandfather had handed the matter over to her entirely.

He said that he wanted to test Yun Yao's ability to handle affairs, and Yun Yao had taken it all upon herself.

Yet she had handled it like this. At that point, Yun Yao lowered her head and fell silent...

Before long, the butler entered. His surname was Bai, though I did not know his given name.

Holding a small booklet, he hurried in and said, "Miss, we have a clue."

At that, all of us stood and looked at Butler Bai.

"Take your time and tell us what clue you found." Seeing Butler Bai so out of breath that one breath could not catch up to the next, Yun Yao spoke.

Butler Bai began to explain. "Last month, this Hidden Shop received a Yin Bead, and then the Hidden Shop released news of it.

At the time, quite a few people came to ask about the price, but the price of this Yin Bead was never settled.

It was not until Young Master Chen named a price that no one offered anything higher.

Originally, they had planned to trade directly with Young Master Chen, but Young Master Chen said he had not brought that much money with him

and needed to wait a few days. But the Hidden Shop's rule was that whoever offered the highest price and paid first would get the item.

The shopkeeper of that Hidden Shop refused him outright. Later, Young Master Chen said to wait one more day.

He promised that he would pay the next day. The shopkeeper knew he was Young Master Chen, so he agreed.

But after waiting a day, Young Master Chen still did not come to pay.

Just then, someone offered a price even higher than Young Master Chen's and was able to pay on the spot.