Zhao Cunzhi thoughtfully took his family and retired to the side parlor, leaving the main living room entirely to the five experts so as to not disturb their discussion and investigation. He only left Butler Zhou waiting outside, ready to be summoned at any moment.
The door clicked shut, cutting off all outside noise. With only the five of them left in the room, the relaxed atmosphere instantly turned serious.
Wu Suowei was the first to speak, breaking the silence. He turned to Wu Daoqing beside him with a humble and polite demeanor.
“Junior Brother, you’ve only just arrived at the manor and haven’t had time to look around. The four of us arrived half a day earlier than you, so we’ve already done some preliminary scouting and uncovered a few clues.”
“So, I’ll start by sharing what we have. Let’s sync up so we can pool our resources and crack this case together.”
Wu Daoqing nodded quickly. He already had a highly favorable impression of these people who were going to help him investigate the Zhao family’s strange occurrences. “Thank you, Senior Brother. Please, do tell.”
“Not everyone, just me. This morning, I looked into some written records related to the Zhao family. This happens to be my area of expertise.”
Zheng Gang pushed up the black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose and chimed in.
“So, let me explain. I carefully went through the complete Zhao family genealogy book, as well as old manuscripts, land deeds, and account books left in the ancestral home. I’ve already ruled out most natural factors.”
“Zhao Cunzhi’s claim that the members of the Zhao family have never lived past thirty-five isn’t entirely accurate.”
“During the Qing dynasty and earlier, although the average lifespan wasn’t long, the genealogy book clearly records that quite a few ancestors safely lived to their forties and fifties.”
“Then, I ruled out certain possibilities, such as the chance that some of these people were adopted or not biological children.”
“The calculation method is a bit complicated. It’s a highly professional model we learn in archaeology, so I won’t go into detail. Since none of you study this, I’d probably just confuse you.”
“In short, my conclusion is what I mentioned earlier: this strange phenomenon hasn’t existed for as long as our client thinks. It actually started during the Republican Era.”
Hearing this, Wu Daoqing stopped mid-nod. He caught a critical loophole and immediately pressed further.
“With the wars in recent history, if the Zhao family ancestors died before thirty-five, why must it be due to the strange phenomenon? Couldn’t it just be because of the chaos and instability of those times?”
Floating nearby, Bai Ci nodded in silent agreement. This was exactly what she was wondering too.
And honestly, did historians really have such a bizarre mathematical model that could calculate whether someone was biologically related to a family?
Rather than believing in such an absurdly powerful model, she was more inclined to think that the archaeologist had used his class skills to obtain definitive information.
“That’s a standard possibility, but after running my calculations, I’ve already ruled it out.”
Zheng Gang waved his hand dismissively, his tone firm and full of confidence.
He certainly sounded convincing.
“Don’t overthink it. The results from the model are absolutely reliable.”
“Furthermore, I cross-referenced the genealogy book's generational gaps, changes in handwriting, and paper aging, which only further proves the credibility of this conclusion.”
“This rule of dying by thirty-five for the Zhao family was completely established during the mid-Republican Era.”
Seeing how confident Zheng Gang was in his findings, Wu Daoqing—who had never gone to college due to poor grades after high school and was instead picked up by his master to learn the ways of a Heavenly Master—chose to respect and trust the reputation of the expert before him.
He really was undereducated. To think that such things could actually be calculated with math!
This was a textbook example of how an innocent, naive kid gets completely hoodwinked.
“Aside from that, there is another strange thing.” Zheng Gang frowned slightly, preparing to present a second anomaly—one that he had yet to solve.
“However, the clues I currently have aren’t enough, which has left me stuck in my deduction.”
Did you think this was just a humorous way of speaking?
You would be wrong. It was literal.
Zheng Gang was looking at his class skill panel. Because the third node of a complete deduction chain remained unlit, he was unable to reach a precise and flawless conclusion.
“The Zhao family’s genealogy book was recently compiled. Judging by the paper and printing quality, they spared no expense.”
“Every recorded name in there has their birth date, marriage, children, and year of death meticulously documented. This is enough to show how seriously the family takes this matter.”
“But looking at the whole thing, there is a highly irrational issue. There are frequent generational gaps in the records. Every few generations, a massive chunk of information goes missing.”
This was indeed very abnormal.
Yet, compared to the superficial frequent gaps, the core resilience of this family was the truly bizarre part.
You’re telling me a family suffers a disaster every so often, yet inevitably rises again after a period of time?
Even novels about destined protagonists wouldn't dare write a family history like that.
While Bai Ci was pondering this, she felt Ming Yi's intent to act. He seemed to want to say something.
When the main soul wanted to use the body, a well-behaved benevolent soul had to learn to politely go offline.
Thus, she willingly relinquished control of the body.
In the next instant, a naturally sharp male voice rang out.
“Don’t waste your time obsessing over genealogy books and old ledgers.”
“There is something spying on this manor.”
“A little bug hiding in the dark is staring at your every move and listening to every word of your discussion.”
Hearing this, Wu Suowei realized he had to take advantage of this powerhouse. He immediately cupped his hands with a solemn and respectful expression.
“May I ask, Lady Ming, what kind of creature is causing trouble? And where is it hiding? We beg for your guidance so we can deal with this shadowy pest.”
This was a tactical retreat to make an advance.
Though he really wanted to ask, Lady Ming, can't you just destroy that spying eye yourself?
But that would sound a bit too demanding.
Forget it. The early stages of an instance weren't that dangerous anyway. Running some errands would serve as a good way to farm favorability with the NPC.
Ming Yi was usually too impatient to explain trivial matters. If Wu Suowei hadn't consistently shown proper respect and impeccable manners, he wouldn't have bothered to reply at all.
He suppressed his impatience and briefly delivered the key information.
“From the moment I stepped into this manor, I sensed a prying gaze. It is stealthy, vile, and utterly repulsive.”
“I originally intended to crush this little spying bug directly to teach it an unforgettable lesson.”
“However, I underestimated its cunning. The moment it realized I was locking onto its location, it immediately severed its tail to survive, abandoning its medium of detection and fleeing entirely.”
Before his voice even faded, Ming Yi lowered his gaze and raised his hand, making a grasping motion in the air with his slender, well-defined fingers.
From Ou Li and Bai Ci's perspective, it looked as if an invisible object in the void was being forcefully seized and dragged down.
The other four could not see the movement in the void. They only saw a thin, yellow paper figure drifting down from midair and landing on the solid wood tea table in front of them.
Rate on N.U.
