Chen Xiaomeng’s face darkened. The sharp end of a hairpin slipped out of her left sleeve. Jiang Cheng was silent for a few seconds before he suddenly said, “I was joking to ease the mood.” He raised his head to say officiously, “I’ll go first.”
Chen Xiaomeng put the hairpin back and moved to let him through. Jiang Cheng silently moved through the door. He looked out through the creak. Pressured by Chen Xiaomeng, he slowly opened the door. He waited a little bit before leaving. The whole inn was silent.
They didn’t walk up the stairs but planned to examine the first floor. After all, if they went upstairs and they were ambushed, they would be stranded upstairs. Chen Xiaomeng stayed about two metres away from Jiang Cheng. She had made the decision that if there were really an ambush, she would abandon Jiang Cheng and rush to the third floor to grab Qian Jianxiu. In that case, she only hoped that Jiang Cheng could buy her more time.
They checked the bathroom first. After all, Jiang Cheng spawned there, so the place was special to him. Due to the lighting issue, the place was dark. The low ceiling was covered in cobwebs. Brown stains appeared at the corners. There was also a horrible stench. They opened all the cubicle doors, and they were empty. They shared a look and retreated.
Then, they came to the kitchen door. That was the only location they hadn’t explored on the first floor. If they hadn’t found anything there, there was a high chance the villagers would not have arrived at An Ping Town.
That would be good news, but they didn’t look happy. That would also mean that their friend had succeeded and might have already left the world through the door.
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and opened the kitchen door. The creak snapped their heartstrings. Chen Xiaomeng glared at Jiang Cheng, blaming him for making such a loud noise. However, Jiang Cheng knew that this was not his issue. He didn’t use much force. Someone had tampered with the door.
Regardless, this had already happened. They slipped into the kitchen. A sharp iron blade appeared in Jiang Cheng’s hand, and Chen Xiaomeng had a hairpin. A few seconds passed, and nothing changed.
Chen Xiaomeng was confused. Jiang Cheng seemed to understand something. He walked deeper into the kitchen. Chen Xiaomeng turned to close the kitchen door and maintained a safe distance from Jiang Cheng.
Chen Xiaomeng’s face darkened. She got a sniff of something unpleasant. It was blood.
After Jiang Cheng entered the room, he moved a bundle close to the wall. Chen Xiaomeng frowned. From her perspective, a pair of exposed feet was revealed.
Jiang Cheng slowly knelt down. He removed the light blue floral apron that was used to cover the victim’s face. Naturally, it was the inn boss, Qian Jianse. His body was placed in a fetal position. His arms were tied behind his back. The cloth was stuffed into his mouth. His eyes were wide. Blood was all over his body. It looked harrowing.
Chen Xiaomeng found two more corpses in the small room. One of them was a pregnant woman. They had seen her before. She was Qian Jianse’s pregnant wife. The other was a young man. He looked prepubescent. They hadn’t seen him before. From his clothes, they suspected he was the inn’s waiter.
All three of them had their necks sliced. The cut was clean and smooth. Jiang Cheng stood up and walked to the window that was blocked by a bamboo curtain. He yanked off the curtain. Light flowed into the room.
The two carefully examined the three corpses. They realised that other than the fatal cut on Qian Jianse’s neck, there were many irregular wounds on his body. Combine that with his bound hands and stuffed mouth, and it was quite clear that he was tortured before his death. The culprit was their ‘friend’. The goal of the torture was to get information from him.
As the room brightened, they found a light trail of bloody footprints on the oily floor. The prints led outside. They followed the prints and arrived at the corner of the kitchen. The place was very secluded. A few bamboo brooms were piled up there. There was also a large water vat. There was also where the footprints disappeared.
Chen Xiaomeng became alert. She suspected that was where their friend was hiding…
To her surprise, Jiang Cheng strode forward and moved the brooms away. He found a hidden door behind the water vat and the brooms. The door was only high enough to allow a squatting adult to crawl through. The door had a copper door ring on it. Jiang Cheng held his breath. When he pulled on the ring, he quickly hid behind the vat. Thankfully, nothing shot out from behind the hidden door.
Then, he carefully poked his head out.
Light filtered out of the door. An exquisite candle stand was placed at the corner. A white candle burned quietly on the stand. A small wooden ladder appeared in Jiang Cheng’s view. There were bloody footprints on the ladder steps.
Jiang Cheng silently moved back to Chen Xiaomeng’s side. “Last time when I met you at the Qian Family’s abandoned house, how did you get in there?”
Chen Xiaomeng didn’t want to answer him at first, but Jiang Cheng’s expression was different from before. She even sensed a threat from him. She couldn’t understand the meaning behind his question, but she still answered it, “I climbed to the second floor using the rope.”
“Have you not been to the first floor?”
“No. I was still searching the second floor when I sensed someone coming. You guys triggered the ghost and…” Chen Xiaomeng didn’t continue. Jiang Cheng knew what happened next. He narrowed his eyes. “It’s Lee Lu.”
Chen Xiaomeng blinked. “Her?”
“Yes. I found a set of small footprints on the staircase of the Qian Family’s old house.” He looked at Chen Xiaomeng. “I thought you left them there. Now I know that I was wrong.”
Chen Xiaomeng’s eyes glowed. It dawned on her.
Lee Lu used the excuse of a sprained ankle to stay back to guard the Qian Family Courtyard alone. Only she had the time to explore the Qian Family’s old house without raising any suspicions.