Translator: Cinder Translations
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Finally, they heard the sound of seven drumbeats. The mist over the lake gradually dissipated, and the moonlight spread across the surface, giving the entire lake a deathly stillness.
Everything had vanished.
As if nothing had ever happened.
The only change was that Tang Shirou was gone.
"It's over," Zuo Jing said, her tone tinged with disappointment, though it seemed to carry other emotions as well. She turned to An Xuan and the others and said, "Come take a look. See what we found."
Pushing aside a few bundles of firewood stacked in a hidden corner of the wall, An Xuan approached. Under the moonlight, he saw a person curled up in the corner.
This person had their hands and feet tied, with something stuffed in their mouth. Upon seeing someone approach, they let out muffled cries and tried to squirm further into the corner.
"Who is this?" Qin Jian asked, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at the person.
"We caught them earlier," Zuo Jing explained, staring at the person. "Shortly after you left, the gate was suddenly locked. While we were discussing how to get out, we heard some movement nearby. We followed the sound and caught them."
After speaking, Zuo Jing deliberately glanced at the fatty and added with a serious tone, "If it weren't for Brother Wang's quick reflexes, they would have almost gotten away."
An Xuan turned his head to look at the fatty, his eyes scanning the man's large frame.
The fatty met An Xuan's gaze with a confident look, as if to show how capable and strong he was.
"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Wang," An Xuan said.
"It was nothing."
"Was it this person who locked the gate?" You Qi, who had been terrified by the paper figure in the sedan chair earlier, finally spoke up, though his voice still lacked confidence.
"Probably not," Xia Meng replied. She pointed toward the lakeside, which was in the opposite direction of the gate. "We found him in the bushes by the lake."
"Did you interrogate him?" An Xuan suddenly asked after a moment of silence.
At this, Zuo Jing's expression turned strange. "This person... seems to have some mental issues. He hasn't said a word, and judging by his appearance, he's been wandering for a long time."
"Is he a homeless person who wandered in from outside?" Qin Jian asked, now able to make out the person's appearance under the light. Their clothes were so dirty that their original color was unrecognizable, and they were torn in many places.
Their face was also smeared with dirt, making it impossible to see what they really looked like.
"Unlikely," Shi Liaozhi said in a low voice. "Although this mansion doesn't seem heavily guarded, it's not the kind of place where a homeless person could just wander in."
"Besides, when we were catching him earlier, he clearly knew the layout of this place very well. If it weren't for Brother Wang jumping up and catching him from the broken wall, he would have escaped."
Hearing this, An Xuan's expression gradually darkened. After a moment, he said, "Whether he has mental issues or not, we'll find out soon enough."
He pushed aside the weeds and approached the person, crouching down halfway. His dark eyes stared intently into the other's eyes. "I don't have time to waste with you, so I hope you'll answer my questions honestly."
He reached out and slowly placed his hand on the person's shoulder, his index and middle fingers slightly bent. In the next second, his thumb suddenly pressed hard into the soft area above the collarbone.
The sudden intense pain caused the person to struggle violently, but in front of An Xuan, it was all in vain.
Using torture before asking questions was a common psychological tactic in interrogations. The benefit was that it could significantly reduce the opponent's meaningless resistance and save time that might otherwise be wasted on lies.
Beads of sweat dripped from the person's forehead, showing just how much pain they were in.
"Enough," the fatty said. "You haven't even asked any questions yet. What do you expect him to say? If it were me, I wouldn't tell you a single word!"
Staring at the suffering and helpless person, the fatty hardened his heart and refused to pity them. But in his mind, he couldn't help but connect the person's torment to the fact that he had been the one to catch them.
Moreover, this person looked quite young, probably around twelve or thirteen years old—still a child.
An Xuan released his grip and pulled the rag out of the person's mouth. In a cold voice, he asked, "What's your name? Why are you here?"
"Huff— huff—" The person leaned weakly against the wall, staring at An Xuan and gasping for breath. The fear in their eyes was almost palpable.
"Still not talking?" An Xuan narrowed his eyes, seemingly convinced that the person was faking it. He reached out again, intending to repeat his earlier tactic.
But just as his hand moved forward, it was suddenly grabbed by the person in front of him. In the next moment, they bit down hard on his hand.
"Ah!"
The person, who had been tied up, somehow managed to free themselves and suddenly lashed out. After biting An Xuan, they used their head to knock him over, causing An Xuan, who was already crouching unsteadily, to fall backward.
Then, they turned and lunged toward the ground nearby, disappearing after a few movements.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the others reacted, the person was already gone.
Xia Meng quickly chased after them and found a hole the size of a dog's den beneath the broken courtyard wall.
It seemed the person had escaped through there.
An Xuan clutched his hand, blood seeping through his fingers. It was clear the bite had been deep.
His face trembled slightly from the pain, and his eyes looked murderous.
The fatty, on the other hand, seemed somewhat amused, though he didn't dare show it too openly given An Xuan's expression.
"How did you let them escape?" Shi Liaozhi immediately protested, shouting at An Xuan, "We went through so much trouble to catch them, and you just—"
Before he could say anything worse, the others stopped him.
Although the rehearsed play had ended, making too much noise now could lead to more trouble.
It was said that Young Master Huang would perform at night, but aside from them, no one else in the mansion had come to watch.
The housekeeper, the middle-aged woman, the dark-faced man, the young maid—none of them had shown up.
More importantly, even Master Huang hadn't come.
The entire mansion was eerily silent, as if everyone had died.
After calming down, the group quickly packed up and, not daring to delay any longer, retraced their steps back to their quarters. Only after closing the door did the fatty let out a long sigh of relief.
Although it was just a temporary lodging, it felt like a rare comfort at that moment.
Xia Meng, upon returning, went straight to the table and poured herself a full cup of water, gulping it down as if it could wash away some of the fear that had built up.
"Save some for me!" Jiang Cheng said, staring at her.
"Doctor," the fatty said, as if something was bothering him. But before he could ask, Jiang Cheng's tone suddenly became serious. "Can't figure out why An Xuan let that person go?"
(End of the Chapter)
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