"The former owner of Dakeluosa Manor was one of them. Through various channels, he secretly took in women who had nowhere else to turn, hiding them in the manor. Because of his status, nobody ever suspected him."
"Then one day, a letter of denunciation was sent to the law enforcement authorities. That was how the former owner's secret—harboring witches—was exposed."
"That night, crazed people stormed the manor with torches. They seized its owner and hanged him from a crooked tree on the grounds."
What the Town Chief said was more or less what Jiang Cheng already knew. Perhaps noticing Jiang Cheng's impatience, the Town Chief lowered his left hand and made a calming gesture. "Don't rush me. Let me explain."
"Do you know why they hanged him?" The Town Chief looked at Jiang Cheng and the others.
"Wasn't it because he was harboring witches?" Bai Xiaojie asked softly. The answer seemed obvious, and she didn't understand why the Town Chief was asking again.
The Town Chief shook his head, his tone suddenly turning strange. "Those people searched the entire manor but couldn't find a single witch. The women had vanished."
"Not only were the witches gone, but everyone else in the manor had disappeared too. The former owner was the only person left on the entire estate."
"Did he hear about the search and move the witches and everyone else somewhere else beforehand?" Miao Qing offered a reasonable explanation.
"No." The Town Chief shook his head again. "Those people disappeared after that. They truly vanished. So many people, and no one ever saw them again. It was as if they'd been erased from the world."
The Town Chief's voice suddenly grew somber. "In the manor's rooms, they found proof that the women had been there: their clothes and the things