Chapter 49

The hall was filled with sobbing.

Desperate to save his own life, Zhang Jiu had called out name after name in front of everyone, along with the terrible things he'd done. The lowly victims in the crowd had been dealt another devastating blow.

Someone sobbing, rushed at him.

But how could an ordinary person stand a chance against a cultivator?

Before the person could get close, Zhang Jiu kicked them flying, his face twisted in a sneer. "You brought this on yourselves!"

Then, his face contorted with cruelty, he turned to Zhou Qingyang and said, "Captain Zhou, better to kill an innocent than let a guilty person go! That Heart-Plucking Monster must be hiding among these people. Why not kill them all and be done with it?"

At his words, the crowd immediately descended into chaos.

Some wept, some begged, and some cursed.

Two maids even ran straight toward a nearby pillar, weeping as they tried to kill themselves. Fortunately, the guards stopped them.

Sun Ping finally couldn't hold back. Her face ashen, she said, "Head Zhang, are you trying to silence us by killing every last servant in the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion? Are you going to come here and serve us tea, wash our clothes, and make our beds yourself from now on?"

Zhang Jiu had exposed his own shameful deeds in front of everyone. He'd already thrown caution to the wind.

Even so, he still feared this manager a little. Hearing her words, he forced a smile. "Sister Sun, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean all the servants."

Sun Ping snapped, "Every servant you named works at the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion! Every one of them has value, and every one has a person responsible for them. You can't just kill them because you say so! If the people above investigate, not just you, the head of the guards, but even the Town Guard Bureau won't be able to bear the consequences!"

Zhang Jiu's expression changed, and he didn't dare say another word.

Zhou Qingyang hurriedly tried to placate her. "Sister Sun, please don't be angry. We're only here tonight to catch the Heart-Plucking Monster. We won't kill innocent people at random. And as for what Head Zhang just said, you needn't take it to heart. We at the Town Guard Bureau would never break the law."

His gaze swept across the people in the hall, and he called out, "Everyone, don't worry. We're only here to catch the monster tonight. We won't hurt any of you. Once we've checked you and confirmed everything's fine, we'll let you go at once!"

Only then did the terrified servants begin to calm down a little.

Zhou Qingyang immediately ordered his men to check the next person.

Then he turned to Zhang Jiu and asked in a low voice, "Is that all? Is there anyone else?"

Zhang Jiu grimaced. "That's everyone."

Zhou Qingyang raised his eyes and looked over the people Zhang Jiu had named. He frowned, then turned back to him. "Head Zhang, you'd better tell the truth. The people you named are all servants. You haven't laid a hand on any of the girls in the pavilion?"

Zhang Jiu looked utterly innocent. "Captain Zhou, you know the girls here are the bosses' money trees. At most, I'd pay them to sleep with me, or sweet-talk them into it. As for forcing them to do anything, even if you gave me a few more lives, I wouldn't dare."

By then, the people from the Town Guard Bureau had finished checking everyone.

The people Zhang Jiu had named were all clean, with no injuries on their bodies.

The Demon Detecting Stone had found nothing unusual either.

Zhou Qingyang asked in confusion, "Could the monster not be in this pavilion? It's hunted you several times, so it must have a grudge against you. If it isn't here, then outside—"

"Wait!"

Just then, Zhang Jiu seemed to remember something. His expression shifted several times in rapid succession, and he abruptly raised his head to look toward the second floor.

Zhou Qingyang's eyes lit up. "What is it? Have you thought of something?"

Zhang Jiu's eyes widened. His expression shifted again and again, then he suddenly shouted, "I know! I know! It's her! It has to be her!"

"Who?"

Zhou Qingyang hurriedly asked.

Luo Qingchen also turned his icy gaze on him.

Zhang Jiu's face lit up with excitement. "Captain Zhou, I just thought of someone! Back then, when her father tried to force her into becoming a prostitute here, he called a bunch of people over to rape her. He called me, too. I brought several men and tortured her for three days and three nights. At first, she kept trying to kill herself, but in the end, she gave in. Thinking it over just now, I realized something terrible! Most of the people who've died in town over the past few months were among those who raped her back then! So now I'm certain the culprit is her! She must be the Heart-Plucking Monster!"

At those words, everyone in the pavilion stared in shock.

Sun Ping abruptly raised her head to look toward the second floor.

She knew exactly which girl Zhang Jiu meant.

A powerful killing intent burst from Zhou Qingyang. He shouted urgently, "Who is it? Tell me her name!"

Zhang Jiu gritted his teeth, looked toward the second floor again, and said bitterly, "Zhao Yun!"

Zhou Qingyang immediately looked up and shouted, "Where is Zhao Yun? Step forward!"

At that moment, a young woman upstairs said in a panic, "A-Yun and Qingmei are fighting in their room! Qingmei called her a slut, and A-Yun got mad and started cursing back from the doorway. Then Qingmei rushed inside..."

"Move! Everyone, follow me upstairs!"

Zhou Qingyang immediately waved his hand and led the others charging toward the second floor, their faces brimming with killing intent.

Zhang Jiu drew his sword and followed behind them.

But just then, a woman's terrified scream suddenly rang out from the first room on the second floor!

"Ah—!"

The scream was shrill and piercing, making everyone in the pavilion shudder.

The girls by the railing were all so frightened that their faces paled, and they began screaming too.

"Out of the way!"

Zhou Qingyang's expression changed. He hurriedly sped up, charging to the door of the first room.

The Town Guard Bureau's men and Zhang Jiu followed close behind.

"Captain Zhou, what happened?"

Zhang Jiu reached the doorway and asked in a trembling voice, then looked into the room.

At the sight, his face went bloodless.

A headless corpse stood rigidly in front of the vanity mirror! Blood spurted from its severed neck like water from a fountain!

The carpeted floor had become a bright-red pool of blood!

On the screen beside the window was a terrifying claw mark, smeared with blood!

Zhang Jiu asked in a trembling voice, "Where's the monster? Where's Zhao Yun?"

Luo Qingchen had also reached the doorway.

The headless corpse in front of the vanity mirror wore a pale blue gauze dress. After spraying out a great deal of blood, it swayed and fell to the floor.

A blood-soaked woman stood beside it, mouth wide open as she screamed without stopping.

The blood-soaked woman was Qingmei!

When Zhang Jiu saw her clearly, he froze, his face full of shock. Then, unable to believe it, he looked back at the corpse on the floor.

The headless corpse was Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun was dead...

Killed by the monster...

"What did you see just now?"

Zhou Qingyang hurriedly gripped his sword, rushed into the room, and asked.

Qingmei trembled all over, her face deathly pale. She still had her mouth wide open, screaming hoarsely.

"Speak! What did you see?"

Zhou Qingyang grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard several times.

Only then did Qingmei stammer, pointing toward the window as she sobbed, "M-monster..."

Just then, someone downstairs shouted urgently, "Captain! A shadow just rushed over the courtyard wall and into the Black Forest!"

"After it! Hurry!"

As soon as Zhou Qingyang heard that, he led his men downstairs.

Zhang Jiu stood frozen in the room for a few seconds, then hurriedly turned and followed them.

Qingmei screamed and stumbled out of the room too, but her legs gave way, and she fell face-first onto the corridor outside.

The pavilion was thrown into chaos.

Meanwhile, the first room fell quiet.

Luo Qingchen stood alone inside, staring at the headless corpse on the floor and the dark-red blood pooled everywhere, still as a wooden statue.

The thick stench of blood filled his nostrils.

But at that moment, not a single impulse stirred inside him.

No one knew how long passed.

His gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked at the slender fingers curled inside the corpse's sleeve.

The fingernails were red as blood.