So far, they have been able to identify only four of the dead. The nearest one is the watchman. Further ahead, a middle-aged businessman who was on his way at night was found dead unexpectedly on the street. There was also a woman who was a thief, but the stolen things were still in her arms and no one had taken them away. The first person to die was a beggar. Although he was only in his twenties, he was a madman from birth and was reduced to begging for a living. He was found dead by a bridge.
"Except for the lack of blood around them, they were all killed at night." Han Zhang said.
"If we insist on having more things in common, it's not like there aren't none." Xie Zhe thought for a while.
"You mean?"
"Their status is very low, and it is difficult to arouse suspicion. Maybe rich people have bodyguards when they walk at night. No matter how skilled the murderer is or how many people he can challenge at the same time, he probably doesn't want to make things worse."
"Indeed... except for the merchants who act alone, the others are beggars, thieves, and watchmen. Although it is not a small matter for someone to die every now and then, Wanlong City is too big, and it is difficult for the deaths of these people to attract people's attention. . I remember that the vendor is from another country, right? Then it is unlikely that anyone in the local area can redress his grievances."
"Are these people scattered and scattered?"
"Not sure."
The two were discussing in their room when someone suddenly pushed the door open and entered. The door was unlocked, and it was the two girls in the next room who came. Ling Huan came over with a large piece of paper in his hand, and Mi Yin moved the candlestick. The paper was spread on the table, and she pressed the candlestick against the edge of the paper again to prevent it from rolling up. It turns out that this is a map of Wanlong City, and it is very detailed. There are a few circles on it, and the ink hasn't dried yet. They should have been painted by the girls themselves. Amiao went under the table to rest, as if she had no interest in their "career".
"This is……"
"The positions of the deceased are circled. As you can see, they are not fixed. Generally speaking, the locations of these crimes are more east of the city, but the distance between each circle is not fixed and irregular. On the west side of the city There are many wealthy businessmen and officials, so... the security here is a little worse."
Ye Linghua pointed at the circles and explained them carefully, completely ignoring the surprised looks of Xie Zhe and Han Shang. Their eyes kept turning back and forth from the map, Ling Quan and Mi Yin. After a long while, Xie Zhe said stumblingly:
"You, you... also know?"
"It's strange that you want to hide your virtues." Xue Miyin sighed, "Men really can't hide secrets."
"We heard you sneaking out of the house yesterday, so we followed you quietly for a while. Originally, we were worried that you would be too vigilant and find us. But... Miyin said that Amiao can create a small The barrier, people inside the barrier will walk silently like cats. We thought we could know what you were going to do now, but in the end, you jumped over the wall one after another and quickly jumped from the roof. If we start running, we won’t be able to catch up..."
"But Miss Ye heard what you were discussing. So, you are not the only ones collecting evidence, but we are too. We got the maps and information from places like wet markets, theaters, roadside stalls, etc. That's it. In places where news spreads the fastest. Of course, some are exaggerated..."
Han Chang glanced at Xie Zhe and said, "Well, our final idea was right, but we just didn't have enough time."
"Don't be embarrassed."
"Hey, it's not me who picks sour apples."
Ye Lingquan pressed his hands on the map and smiled softly. She interrupted the argument between the two, which seemed to be changing the topic, and asked:
"So why are you hiding this from both of us?"
They both fell silent. This question is not easy to answer. They don't think that the simple words "for your own good" can solve the problem. Xie Zhe glanced at Han Shang, as if he didn't intend to speak anymore. In desperation, they had no choice but to let the "glib-tongued" vixen answer for them.
"First of all, I think it's better not to tell you about such bloody things. Ling Huan, you haven't experienced anything like this since you were a child. We don't want to burden you with such things that can cause panic. As for Miss Xue, Having encountered unfortunate things, it is not easy to start looking for a life of your own..."
Ling Huan hadn't spoken yet, but Mi Yin spoke first: "I know, but I have the right to choose any kind of life. Whether I am alone in the future or living with my friends, these overt and covert things in the world, I don’t even think I should be kept in the dark – let alone the people around me. Since you know what I’ve been through, you should know that it’s nothing.”
Xie Zhe and Han Zhang nodded in agreement as if they were students being criticized by their teacher.
"You are so worried about scaring me... I have experienced a lot of weird things with you along the way. I have even seen scary living corpses. Will a few dead corpses scare me?"
When he said this, Ling Huan was still smiling, but Xie Zhe felt faintly worried. He hesitated for a long time and said to her:
"Although life and death happen day and night, I...we still don't want you to think that this is a common thing."
Ling Huan was slightly startled.
She lowered her head and stared at the map blankly, thinking about something. Han Zhang and Xue Miyin looked at them without speaking. Ling Huan didn't know what Xie Zhe meant, but felt that he knew. Does he want to say...if he gets used to these things, he will no longer have any respect for life? Although the words were not spoken, she faintly heard some subtext. She suddenly felt a little sad, because what Xie Zhe said seemed to be right. If you were still lying peacefully at home, knowing what kind of adventures you would experience in the future, you would definitely turn blue with fear and refuse to go out. She mustered up her courage at the beginning, and used a little ignorance as courage to boldly get into the world for her cousin Yin Quan. Looking back now, she was extremely naive.
At that time, weren't you worried that one day you would suddenly die?
What if she was lying in these places surrounded by black ink?
Seeing that the atmosphere was not quite right, Han Chang immediately spoke to smooth things over. He clapped his hands and bent down to the two girls across the table, showing some apology.
"I haven't finished speaking yet. Secondly, we are afraid..."
"What are you afraid of?" Miyin didn't know what these two elders could be afraid of.
"I'm afraid you won't agree."
Xue Miyin frowned and asked why.
"Because we are going to...Xueyan Valley to find Yun Waijing, right? Although it was me who wanted to go at the beginning, but I was too unorganized along the way, which might make you feel insincere. I am used to it. I have such a leisurely day. Don’t laugh at me, I believe in fate. There are some things, I know it’s useless to rush. If it doesn’t happen, it means the fate has not arrived. Although I will not deliberately waste time, but I won’t rush to buy time. And I have been with you for so long, especially staying with Lao Xie for a long time. The kindness of the gods and Buddhas has soaked me through. Sometimes I feel, If I don’t help someone when I see them in trouble, that’s simply unjustifiable.”
"That's good." Xue Miyin was not stingy with his praise, "I'm not that anxious, after all, you can also collect intelligence on the road. I envy you, and you still have the desire to help someone, I just feel numb. I also I don’t think anyone is wasting my time...but I’m just lazy and annoyed. I don’t want to help anyone.”
"But you helped us." Ling Huan suddenly turned to look at her, "In our eyes, you are indeed good."
"...Maybe it's fate. I don't know." She answered vaguely.
Afterwards, they put together the intelligence they already had. What is certain now is that everyone said that even the autopsies of those who died under mysterious circumstances did not reveal a drop of blood from their bodies. Furthermore, the deceased were all the kind of people who would not arouse suspicion even if they disappeared. I am afraid that the perpetrators had specially investigated them. Finally, the time of committing the crime is not fixed, but the interval is basically more than three days. In other words, if they want to continue investigating in Wanlong City, they have to stay for this long.
"Actually, it doesn't matter if we just leave like this." Han Chang said, "The things Guihai wants to investigate include these."
Ling Huan was a little worried: "Would this seem like we are... too cold-blooded?"
"Things happen every day when someone is facing death, and it is not everyone's obligation to act bravely."
Xie Zhe frowned, feeling a little complicated. At first, everyone was very supportive of the pursuit of the mysterious man, but now they are starting to think about running away again. Of course, all this is understandable, after all, what they can do is too limited. We have encountered many weird people and strange things along the way, and living corpses are the biggest threat at the moment. His conscience felt vaguely uneasy. Although there had been many such moments in his life, he did not get what he wanted every time.
Eventually, they argued and came to a conclusion: stay for three more days. If nothing happens in Wanlong City in the past three days, then the previous mess will be left to the Guihai clan and the city lord's forces to investigate. They are just passers-by here, eating, drinking and having fun in the city and contributing to the development of the city's tourism economy are already a great honor. There are some things that you just can't do enough.
The girls are finally going back to the house to sleep. Ling Hu left the map here and went to his room with Mi Yin. After talking so much, she was already very sleepy and yawned again and again. After lying on the bed, Xue Miyin fell asleep earlier than her. Listening to the even breathing coming from beside him, Ling Huan couldn't fall asleep peacefully. Especially in the dead of night, the affected area on her right wrist began to itch again. After all, the hand had only scratched a layer of skin, and the wound was slightly swollen. There was a red line in the center, and the blood did not flow out properly. Compared to the long wound that Han Chang had been slashed and burned, what was this small problem?
It’s almost time to heal now, right? After such a long time, it’s time to untie the gauze. Although she was almost used to having a stiff wrist, it was still somewhat inconvenient. I heard that a particularly serious wound will become worse if it is kept covered with gauze. Fortunately, the weather hasn't gotten hot yet.
What she didn't know was that Amiao was always looking at her with round eyes. It stretched out its little paw, patted her wrist gently, and licked her stiff fingertips. Although Ye Linghua couldn't see it and this subtle feeling could be ignored, the weird discomfort gradually subsided. She crawled out from under the covers and sat down by the window. Ling Huan opened the window and looked for the source of the gauze in the faint night light. A gust of cool breeze blew in, Xue Miyin wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and turned over. She was probably a little cold and she needed to hurry up.
