Case Solved?

The whole group arrived at the Tongfu Grand Restaurant in a grand procession.

Shopkeeper Tong took Bai Zhantang straight into the kitchen.

Then Lin Ke hurriedly poured tea and milk for Jingang, Constable Xing, Butcher Zhang, and Li Hanlin.

That was right!

Butcher Zhang, Li Hanlin, and Constable Xing were going to play the corrupt trio.

The only reason was that those three were the only officials!

Nobody else could play the parts convincingly.

Butcher Zhang played Xiong, the fat bystander, while Li Hanlin played Mei Mingzi, the Short, Thin Man, and Constable Xing played Zhang San, the Tall Man.

Jingang would still play his own younger brother!

With everything arranged, Lin Ke sat on a stool beside Jingang and sank into thought, occasionally coming back to himself to offer a word or two, filling in gaps in the details...

He thought over everything they had done that day. There had been nothing wrong with Jingang. Apart from blushing for a while at the Painting Studio, he had shown no other abnormalities.

And that physiological blush was different from turning as red as a monkey's backside at the restaurant.

About half an hour later, they heard a shout from the kitchen.

"Food's coming!"

Then they saw Bai Zhantang come out carrying two plates.

Lin Ke got up and carried out another load.

Once all the dishes were served, the first thing Li Hanlin did was place a piece of meat in Butcher Zhang's bowl.

It was the meat Lin Ke had taken home from Butcher Zhang that night.

Butcher Zhang glanced at Lin Ke, who noticed and nodded to Jingang.

Butcher Zhang first ate the meat Li Hanlin had given him, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Jingang slowly brought a piece of meat to his mouth as well.

But as he did so, Wang Lin, Butcher Zhang, Li Hanlin, and everyone else nearby could not help holding their breath.

Silence fell over the Tongfu Grand Restaurant.

It was so quiet that even Bai Zhantang, who was farthest from Jingang, could hear him swallowing the meat.

Then, in an instant, Butcher Zhang sprang up and struck Li Hanlin beside him with his palm.

Li Hanlin flew backward, his face filled with shock and unwillingness. He landed exactly where Mei Mingzi, the Short, Thin Man, had died, and, dedicated to his role, lay there without moving again.

But Jingang rose and looked at Butcher Zhang, who turned toward the tall Constable Xing after sending Li Hanlin flying. At some point, Constable Xing had already retreated to the wall by the entrance.

Butcher Zhang closed in and swung an arm down. Constable Xing quickly raised both arms to block, then was knocked backward against the wall with a dull thud.

Constable Xing let his hands hang limply, matching the Tall Man Zhang San's broken arms. As he hit the wall, his feet moved too. He ran outside and lay down in the middle of the road.

This matched exactly why there had been a huge hole in the wall beside the restaurant entrance, why the Tall Man had ended up outside, and why both his arms had been broken!

Butcher Zhang took a step toward Jingang.

Jingang looked at Butcher Zhang, rising as both his sleeves billowed ceaselessly.

Jingang's face changed too. It turned crimson, as though it had caught fire!

It was even worse than when he had looked at the paintings in the Painting Studio!

Just as Lin Ke was about to compliment his acting, he noticed that Jingang's sleeves had stopped billowing.

Jingang's entire body was shaking uncontrollably.

Lin Ke knew that something really might go wrong this time!

He whipped his head toward Butcher Zhang. "Help him, quick!"

Though Jingang had already turned red all over, he raised a hand to stop Butcher Zhang before he could reach him.

"Wait!" Jingang stood where he was and closed his eyes. Then the color of his face visibly returned to normal.

At some point, Li Hanlin had stopped playing dead, gotten up, and walked over.

As he watched Jingang, who was now sitting on the floor, his expression shifted uncertainly.

A young prince of the Golden Crow Clan had already died at this inn. If Jingang died too, how could they possibly handle that?

Fortunately, Jingang gradually settled down, and only then did Li Hanlin's gaze begin to relax.

Beside them, Lin Ke recalled everything that had happened that day. At the Song-Listening Entertainment House, Jingang had merely indulged his appetite and eaten more food. Nothing unusual had happened.

But at Wang Lin's Immortal Realm Painting Studio, he had seemed somewhat excited. Lin Ke had even asked him then whether all of them turned red when they got excited.

Jingang had shaken his head at the time, explaining that it only happened when they circulated their power or were stimulated.

Where did the problem lie...? Lin Ke glanced at Jingang and, seeing that he was much more stable than before, walked straight to the spot where Jingang had eaten the meat.

About three more minutes passed before Jingang slowly opened his eyes.

Then, with a grave expression, he walked over to the plate of meat, picked it up, and examined it carefully.

After studying it for about a minute, he set the plate down and looked at Lin Ke with a complicated expression that also held a trace of admiration.

"I know what killed my younger brother now. Thank you, Brother Lin."

Lin Ke was a little puzzled. He also looked at the meat on the table.

But Jingang continued, "Do you have any more of this demon beast meat? I can pay for it! I want to take some back for my mother to examine. My younger brother ate this meat, and that was why his body was still giving off heat three days after his death."

Lin Ke nodded and turned to Butcher Zhang. "Brother Zhang, could you give him some of that meat to take back?"

"Wait here. I'll go get it!" Butcher Zhang replied.

About five minutes later, Butcher Zhang handed Jingang a piece of meat wrapped in paper.

Jingang moved to take out his money, but Butcher Zhang hastily waved him off. "A piece of meat isn't worth much. Since you know what killed your younger brother, hurry home and explain things to your family. Every extra day puts young Lin in danger."

Jingang nodded and looked around before finally fixing his gaze on Lin Ke. "There's no time to lose. I'll go back and explain the cause to my family first. I'll return to thank you another time."

With that, he turned and left. Just after he stepped outside, a money pouch floated in through the doorway, accompanied by Jingang's voice.

"I haven't paid for everything you treated me to today. I don't know if this is enough, but if it isn't, I'll make up the difference next time. Farewell!"

Everyone exchanged smiles.

Lin Ke watched Jingang leave, then turned his attention back to the meat on the table. He decisively picked up a piece and put it into his mouth.

"Come sit down and eat, everyone. Don't let it go to waste."

Holy shit!

It really did!

It melted in his mouth!

Shopkeeper Tong hadn't lied. It really melted in his mouth! What kind of cooking skill could turn demon beast meat into this?

He immediately felt that yesterday's bear paw had been wasted!

He closed his eyes and focused on his abdomen for a while. He felt nothing!

Was it because he hadn't moved around?

He stood and began pacing back and forth under everyone's puzzled gazes...

Wang Lin walked over and pressed a hand on Lin Ke's shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Master, there's nothing wrong with the meat!" Lin Ke smiled at Wang Lin. "Master, why don't you try some too? It really does melt in your mouth!"

Wang Lin rolled her eyes and withdrew her hand. "Then hurry up. The meat will get cold!"

Then everyone watched Lin Ke and Wang Lin sit at the table with a pair of chopsticks each and start eating.

This time, it was Lin Ke's turn to narrow his eyes as he watched Wang Lin.

Wang Lin closed her eyes to assess how she felt, then opened them, looked at Lin Ke, and gave a slight shake of her head.

Lin Ke pondered briefly and understood what was going on.

There were still plenty of unanswered questions. After all, behind many seemingly accidental deaths lay even more outrageous methods and motives.

But for now, at least, Lin Ke's life was safe.

"Lord Li, the case is solved!"