Translator: CinderTL
"This sword is heavier than I expected," Pan Du said, picking up the peachwood sword that had fallen beside the taoist.
To his surprise, though the sword was made of wood, it weighed no less than an iron sword. Its surface was coated with a layer that might have been glaze or some other kind of plating.
Moreover, its sharpness was astonishing. When he lightly brushed his thumb against the blade, it immediately cut him, drawing a small bead of blood.
"This sharp?" Pan Du exclaimed in surprise.
There were a few words carved on the hilt, but they were too blurred to read.
Before they could examine the sword further, they heard strange footsteps outside the Gate, followed by a figure appearing in the doorway.
"You've seen enough. Leave now. This is the Feng Family's forbidden ground, and outsiders are never allowed here," Crippled Liu said, his face dark as if everyone owed him money.
It seemed they had been granted a special exception for their investigation.
Seeing Crippled Liu's hostile expression, Pan Du quietly put down the peachwood sword.
His attention was entirely focused on the sudden appearance of Crippled Liu, and he didn't notice a single drop of blood welling from his wound. The drop landed precisely on the straw effigy he had discarded earlier.
"Is it alright to just leave the body here like this?" Jiang Cheng asked Crippled Liu.
"Someone will take care of it," Crippled Liu replied, turning and walking toward the exit. "Come on, I'll take you back to your rooms."
Linghu Yong pressed, "It's still early. We could take a walk around the area. Director Qiao sent us here to investigate this case. If he finds out we're slacking off, we'll be punished."
Mentioning Director Qiao served as both a shield and a probe. By now, everyone could clearly sense the strangeness of Feng Manor.
It was an intuition honed by repeated encounters with supernatural events. Feng Manor now felt like an iceberg hidden beneath deep water.
What they had seen so far was just the tip of the iceberg.
The deadly part lay beneath the surface, in the shadowy figures faintly visible beneath the water.
Hearing this, Crippled Liu turned, his single eye fixed on Linghu Yong. After a long moment, he said, "This is Feng Manor. Since you've come here, you must abide by our rules."
"This is the first time I'm saying this. I won't repeat it," Crippled Liu said in an unusually cold voice. "Not even your Director Qiao himself would be treated any differently."
"Rules are rules, and no one can break them!"
Linghu Yong's imposing manner was completely suppressed by Crippled Liu, even losing ground in their eye contact. But then a voice spoke in his ear.
"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible," Jiang Cheng said slowly. "With so many people already dead, are we really going to cling to these outdated rules and hope for even more deaths?"
"And who gave you the authority to speak to investigators like this?"
"As a servant of the Feng Manor, instead of worrying about your master's troubles, you're interfering with those here to help. Do you want the Feng Family to survive this crisis, or do you want them all to die?"
Jiang Cheng's words grew more forceful with each sentence. He began calmly, but soon his tone shifted to sharp rebuke, showing Crippled Liu no respect.
"We're here at the arrangement of the Feng Family's head and Director Qiao. When did it become your place to dictate terms?"
"That's right!" Fatty, who seemed to have been simmering with resentment toward Crippled Liu for a long time, immediately chimed in as the doctor opened fire. "If you don't want us here, go tell Director Qiao to send us back. Do you think we actually want to be dealing with this mess?"
As Jiang Cheng and the others raised their voices, Crippled Liu's aggressive tone softened. "Don't misunderstand," he said. "I'm doing this for your own good."
"The weather's bad today. It's likely to rain soon. I wanted you to go back and rest early," Crippled Liu said mysteriously. "When the weather's bad, you're more likely to be targeted by those things."
"Stop beating around the bush. What things?" Huai Yi asked.
Crippled Liu gave a strange look and gestured with his single eye toward the corpse on the ground. "I don't know exactly. But did you see the taoist's face? Need I say more?"
Since entering Feng Manor, they had only encountered Crippled Liu. No one wanted to make things too tense with him. After all, he was the only lead they had in the manor, and his importance was obvious.
Their original intention had only been to pressure him. Otherwise, his constant interference would make their investigation difficult.
Moreover, their probing had revealed that Crippled Liu wasn't as tough as they had initially thought.
As if to corroborate Crippled Liu's words, a clap of thunder soon echoed through the air.
Indeed, it was about to rain.
The sky darkened visibly.
Staying at the scene where the Ghost had just killed was clearly unwise. Everyone followed Crippled Liu as he led them away.
But no one noticed that just as they turned to leave, the straw effigy stained with Pan Du's blood twitched.
And the bronze mirror happened to be facing the direction they were walking.
In the mirror, their figures gradually receded—one, two...
Including Crippled Liu, there were thirteen people in total.
A patch of the mirror's surface fogged over, blurring one of the figures.
This figure clung tightly to Pan Du's back, its gait stiff and unnatural. Each step caused half its body to swing with it, like a scarecrow.
Perhaps Jiang Cheng's earlier words had taken effect. When Crippled Liu spoke to them again, his tone was much softer, devoid of the arrogance he'd shown earlier.
"Everyone," Crippled Liu said after escorting them back to their rooms, his expression still anxious. "No matter what happens tonight, try not to go outside."
"If you have urgent matters, handle them during the day. You can investigate the case then too."
Jiang Cheng and the others didn't object. In supernatural events, staying indoors at night was an ironclad rule.
This was especially true for those who had just entered an instance and hadn't yet pieced together the clues. After all, clues could be found slowly, but life was only lived once.
Only after witnessing Crippled Liu disappear at the end of the corridor did they close the gate and gather to discuss their theories.
"What do you all think?" Zhao Xingguo looked up, his voice steady and mature. "Let's hear your thoughts."
Chen Qiang spoke first, his hand rubbing his collar, a habit he seemed to have when thinking. "So far, all the victims have been members of the Feng family or helpers hired by them."
"Therefore, this supernatural event is likely a revenge killing, with a clear target: the Feng family. The goal is to wipe them out."
Revenge killings were common in supernatural events. Jiang Cheng and the others had encountered several, including the Ghost School incident, Xiao Shijian Village, and the Song Dynasty Instance.
"But who could hold such a deep-seated grudge against the Feng family?"
The moment this question was asked, the image of the Ghost Train—the Mayflower, packed with ghosts—flashed through everyone's minds.
(End of the Chapter)
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