The Puzzle of the Past

Chapter 17: Puzzles of the Past

Qi Zhiyong was not in a good mood.

Besides him, He Qiong, the most valuable and seemingly most confident of the dependents, had died inexplicably in the basement.

Only the sisters, their clothes stained with mud, returned to the hostel. They had been weeping in each other's arms since their return, adding a mournful atmosphere to the bonfire party.

The sound of crying irritated Qi Zhiyong. He slammed his plate.

"Enough! Don't waste precious time crying!"

The two women finally stopped and took out tissues to wipe their swollen eyes.

Speaking of which, Qi Zhiyong suddenly interjected.

But Wu Xian curiously asked, "What grudge did they have?"

"They only took over Ping'an Hostel two years ago. Before that, it was run by a couple named An."

But the experience gained during the seminar made him understand what the old man wanted to do.

A woman named Zhao Juan, driven mad by her husband's death, committed suicide at Ping'an Hostel due to excessive grief. The room she died in was 406.

This news was like a jigsaw puzzle, connecting the clues obtained earlier. The story that had unfolded here was gradually becoming clear.

Ten years ago, they committed multiple major crimes in the vicinity, including the original hostel owners, the Canteen Owner, and the Yisu Zhao Juan.

"The Canteen Owner's son disappeared years ago. When he was found, he was already a dried corpse. The police speculated he starved to death. This matter is related to Chen Yan."

His instincts told him that understanding what had happened here might be more beneficial for survival than blindly improving his strength.

"So that's how it is..."

Wen Chao was a changed man from yesterday. He seemed to have aged ten years overnight. At this moment, he didn't look like a university professor at all, but more like a lost and wandering old man.

This evening gathering ended hastily.

For the sake of ideals and research, he hadn't drunk alcohol for thirty to forty years.

His final conclusion was that robbing a black evil force was the most convenient way.

Wu Xian returned to his room, washed up, and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, organizing all the information he had gathered from the beginning until now.

But this sounded like an ordinary case.

Thump, thump-thump!

As a detective, Wu Xian had studied what to do if he couldn't obtain weapons through legitimate channels.

"No one... lied to me!"

Shi Ji described his encounter at the canteen, omitting the matter of the statue. He also added some information.

The Su Huilan sisters continued to sob, unable to provide any valuable intelligence. They kept mumbling about how they had caused He Qiong's death and didn't want to live anymore, which was completely meaningless.

But today, there was no need to care about those things.

The hostel owners, Wang Zhiwu and Yu Yinghua, Mr. Wang from Fuxin Garden, and the Hungry Ghost from the community canteen, the four of them belonged to the same criminal gang.

This was also the reason Wu Xian was attacked by an evil spirit from the beginning.

Room 406.

This clue ends here.

He knew what would happen in his heart. Even if he was awake, he couldn't do anything. He had already made contingency plans for any unforeseen circumstances.

Wu Xian's eyes lit up: "How did you reply?"

"I didn't reply. I killed him."

"And you?"

Wu Xian, with his legs clamped around the quilt, slept soundly.

The Breaking Door Wraith let out a roar.

In the empty corridor, heavy footsteps echoed. The Breaking Door Wraith appeared on time.

"Satisfying!"

The Canteen Owner still wanted to kidnap Yu Yinghua, but Yu Yinghua had already disappeared by then, so the next kidnapping plan had to be aborted.

"Hee hee, let's play, let's play."

Wu Xian stared thoughtfully at Wen Chao's bag. The bag contained tape, wooden boards, firecrackers, steel pipes, and some miscellaneous items like bottles, jars, and electronic components.

"This old man didn't gain much. I just picked up a pile of junk."

Whether it was Yu Yinghua's knocking or the Greater Wraith's door-breaking, they only made him open his eyes groggily for a moment.

Qi Zhiyong frowned and looked at Shi Ji again.

The footsteps stopped, and a massive figure suddenly appeared at the door of Room 408.

"This old man is not simple!"

The breaking door wraith lifted its large foot and kicked the wooden door. The sturdy wooden door was torn open like scrap paper. Its huge, ugly head poked into the room, but it saw nothing.

These footprints drilled into Wu Xian and the others' room.

He found a diary behind the canteen counter, which recorded the whole story.

A newspaper reported a piece of news.

After speaking, he opened the small wine bottle and took a big gulp of Erguotou. He was then choked by the strong liquor and coughed non-stop, his old face instantly turning red.

The starving ghost was named Chen Yan. He came to Fu Yuan City to visit his relative Yu Yinghua.

"Let's all talk about today's findings. The dead are dead. We still need to find a way to survive."

"I went to the hostel's darkroom today and found some documents. The owner of Ping'an Hostel is named Wang Zhiwu, and his wife is Yu Yinghua. I think everyone remembers this name."

Wu Xian nodded and picked up the conversation, talking about his discovery.

The hostel's darkroom was the last place Wu Xian went to today.

One day, two days, three days...

"Roar!"

The next second, the lights in the corridor went out. When the lights came back on, the breaking door wraith had disappeared. On the lime marks on the ground, a row of tiny footprints was left.

Two years ago, this criminal gang retired from the underworld. The ringleader, Wang, and his wife took over Ping'an Hostel. Mr. Wang and Zhao Juan were entangled, and the hungry ghost was kidnapped. They gradually couldn't hide...

He found a newspaper in the secret room.

And how could it become the starting point of the evil spirit disaster in this world?

Wu Xian was speechless.

Qi Zhiyong only cared about information that would help him survive the night. Wen Chao was a bit tipsy from drinking. The Su sisters were still crying. No one cared about this story.

Three o'clock in the morning.

Chen Yan was eventually starved to death in the canteen filled with countless foods!

"Another very interesting point is that the An couple deliberately kept the check-in records for a period ten years ago, and the names Wang Zhiwu and Yu Yinghua also appeared in these check-in records."

This wasn't carelessness, but rather unnecessary.

When Chen Yan came to eat, he was recognized by an enemy who ran the canteen. The canteen owner kidnapped him. During the day, he was locked in the basement and provided with nothing but basic drinking water. At night, food was placed in the canteen, his mouth was gagged, and he was tied to a pillar in the middle of the canteen.

Speaking of which, I met a wandering wraith today who called himself An Xin. He told me that his daughter went missing ten years ago, and his wife became mad because of it. He was worried that no one would take care of his wife after he died and asked me to help him.

"Mark... there are... living people here."

"Hee."

Wu Xian, who was asleep, suddenly heard a childish call.