Zuo Lin'an, standing on the distant mountaintop, had been watching the two of them the entire time.
When he saw Lin Xiaolei trying to confirm the path of survival, he didn't find it funny.
Instead...
“I didn't expect him to actually find the right place.”
“It's just a pity...”
If they had followed the plot first and completed the first main quest, they might have successfully opened the path of survival just now.
Oh, wait, that's not right.
If they had completed the quest 【Investigate the Truth】 before setting off, they wouldn't even have had the chance to reach the white mist.
Because his specter body would have hunted them down the entire way until both of them were dead.
Seeing Lin Xiaolei's utterly dejected look, the old Daoist shook his head helplessly.
“Let's go. It took us several hours to get here. If we don't hurry, it might be dark by the time we get back to the old residence at the summit.”
Just as the old Daoist had said, by the time they returned to the mountaintop, it was indeed getting dark.
Or rather, it was already dark.
After all, the sky was so gloomy that even if night hadn't fully fallen, it wasn't much different from nighttime.
The two of them walked back to the mountaintop under the cover of night, both of their faces looking quite grim.
On their way up the mountain, they had passed by a certain spot and suddenly realized that the bloody stench that had previously lingered there was completely gone. When they looked for the woman's corpse, they couldn't find a single trace.
Her scattered body parts had vanished without a trace at some point. Furthermore, the area was so clean that it didn't look like it had been cleaned up by a human.
Because if it had been a human, no matter how well they cleaned, some residual scent would have remained. Yet, that spot was so clean it was as if no one had ever died there.
They couldn't think of any other explanation besides ghosts.
In other words, after they left, a ghost had appeared and taken the corpse away.
Returning to the summit, the two looked at the empty bluestone platform. It was sparsely covered with withered leaves. As the night wind blew, the limp leaves fluttered up before listlessly drifting back down.
Lin Xiaolei turned his gaze to the lanterns hanging on both sides of the front door.
“I remember those weren't there last night.”
The old Daoist said casually, “That's because we weren't here last night.”
“They probably hung them up today because we went out and hadn't returned yet, so they lit two lanterns to guide our way.”
Lin Xiaolei raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so?”
Just then, the front door opened, and Feng Xingyun appeared in the doorway.
“Masters, you're back. Please, come inside.”
They exchanged a glance and could only steel themselves to walk in. After all, they had no other choice right now.
In other areas, several paper puppets trotted along, agilely scaling the walls to enter the courtyard. Under the cover of night, they quickly hid themselves to scout for danger.
Once they confirmed it was safe, they felt a slight sense of relief and followed Feng Xingyun toward the dining room.
They hadn't felt much of anything in the middle of the night yesterday.
But looking at it now, the entire old residence was dimly lit, with many areas appearing old and decayed.
The plants in the courtyard were completely withered, resembling bared-clawed ghosts in the dim night. Coupled with the ancient architectural style, the carvings, and so on...
Combined with this eerie atmosphere, no one would object if someone called it a haunted house.
Lin Xiaolei instinctively rubbed his arms. To be honest, he was actually a bit scared now.
Stepping into the dining room, the bright lights inside dispelled the darkness, along with the chill in their hearts.
At this moment, Zuo Lin'an was sitting inside, having his meal.
When the old Daoist and his grandson entered, he glanced over. Without standing up, he casually gestured for them to sit down.
“You two masters have been busy all day and didn't even return for lunch. You must be hungry by now. The food is ready, so please come and eat.”
The old Daoist pulled Lin Xiaolei down to sit, showing no signs of guilt or unease.
“It was fine, we just walked around a bit. However, I am quite ashamed. After a whole day, we still haven't found any useful clues.”
Zuo Lin'an didn't seem to mind at all.
“It's fine.”
“I'm already very grateful that you're willing to help, Master. Besides, the two of us have also searched for several days before this, and we've basically covered all the places nearby. It's not surprising that you didn't find anything.”
“My only hope now is to wait for tomorrow, for Master's daily divination, to see exactly where my brother is.”
His tone was very firm.
“Whether my brother is dead or alive, I must confirm it.”
The old Daoist nodded silently and joined in the meal, but Lin Xiaolei felt that something was off.
His gaze swept across Zuo Lin'an, then quietly darted to Feng Xingyun.
Combined with what Zuo Lin'an had said earlier, as well as his tone and attitude from their first meeting until now...
Hmm...
Something was wrong!
Lin Xiaolei felt that these two were highly suspicious!
However, since they were still in the dining room, he couldn't say much. He waited until they had finished eating and returned to their guest room before speaking up.
“Grandpa, I think this young master and his butler are very suspicious.”
The old Daoist didn't look surprised.
“Then why don't you tell me what's wrong with them?”
Lin Xiaolei paced slowly around the room and began to explain his thoughts.
“Judging by this Mr. Yao's own words, his relationship with his twin brother should be very close and intimate, yet his brother has gone missing.”
“Yet, from last night when we first met him until now, he has acted completely normal.”
“He doesn't seem anxious, nor does he seem sad. Even his tone of voice is incredibly flat.”
“When he mentioned during dinner that he wanted to confirm whether his brother was dead or alive, that tone... I just felt like it didn't sound like concern.”
“Instead... it carried a hint of murderous intent.”
The old Daoist raised an eyebrow. “Really? How come I didn't sense any murderous intent?”
Lin Xiaolei quickly walked over and sat down beside him.
“Oh, Grandpa, you wouldn't know about these things. But I've watched so many TV shows and read so many novels. What kind of melodramatic plot haven't I seen?”
“If you ask me, this Mr. Yao's relationship with his brother might not be good at all. Coming back to their hometown this time was probably his decision, and his brother was forced to come along!”
“I bet that growing up, this brother's illness was simply too troublesome and cost too much money!”
He pointed out the window.
“Just look at this old residence. Look outside. Whether it's the location or the surrounding environment, it looks like a perfect place to murder someone and bury the body.”
“As for why he's still staying here to search for his brother, I suspect... it's because his brother realized he wanted to kill him and ran away. As for where he ran to...”
The old Daoist didn't say whether he agreed or not, but instead raised his own question.
“Do you still remember the photo we saw earlier? How do you think Mr. Yao's brother's health was?”
Lin Xiaolei said with absolute certainty,
“He doesn't have long to live, and his body is extremely weak.”
After saying that, he fell silent himself.
This place was clearly deep in the mountains. How could an extremely weak invalid who didn't have long to live possibly escape? And how could he remain missing for days on end?
After all, neither Zuo Lin'an nor that butler seemed like simple characters. There was no way they would let someone escape under their noses.
Rate on N.U.
