Translator: Cinder Translations
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The side room was not large, and with a single glance, Qin Jian felt half of his body turn cold.
The painting was gone!
Where had the painting gone?
How could this be? Had they hidden the painting? Qin Jian's mind raced with analysis.
No, impossible. That painting clearly had issues. Forget touching it, even looking at it for too long could bring about unimaginable trouble.
They wouldn't dare.
Could it be... Qin Jian's heart skipped a beat. The painting was missing!
It had disappeared after Chen Xiaomeng came to see him!
Otherwise, why wouldn't she let him into the room to see it the second time?
She was worried he would discover the painting was missing.
Now everything made sense.
This was a trap.
They had somehow diverted the ghost's attention onto him. Now... he was the one being targeted by the ghost!
Damn it.
But what about those few sentences they mentioned...
Qin Jian's ears twitched as rapid footsteps sounded outside the door, heading straight for him. In a panic, he noticed a small gap in the rear window. He immediately pushed it open and climbed out.
"Whew—" The fatty who pushed open the door let out a long breath, then spoke in a rough voice, "Boss, no one's here."
"Don't let your guard down," Jiang Cheng said, striding in with an arrogant gait before plopping down on a chair. "That old fox Qin Jian isn't easy to fool."
"How's Old Six doing?"
"Don't worry, boss," the fatty chuckled. "Sixth Brother said everything's under control. It's just that those few sentences might give the old fox some clues. Sixth Brother is worried..."
"There's nothing we can do about that," Jiang Cheng took a sip of tea, then slammed the cup down on the table with a loud bang, startling Qin Jian, who was eavesdropping outside the wall.
"There's no absolute dead end in the mission. Even if we've shifted the risk onto that old fox, the rules still leave him a sliver of hope," Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. "It's up to him whether he can seize it."
"He won't be able to," the fatty chimed in with a lecherous chuckle.
"Old Seven, notify the others. We'll make our move tonight and try to divert the old fox's attention," Jiang Cheng rubbed the teacup with one hand, a cold smile on his face. "Let's see if his death can give us any new ideas."
"Boss, you're brilliant."
By the time everyone gathered for dinner that evening, Qin Jian's head was still buzzing.
Not only had he failed to decipher those few sentences, but the bigger surprise came from the information inadvertently revealed in the conversation between Hao Shuai and the fatty—
Big Brother.
The fatty called Hao Shuai "Big Brother."
And then he referred to him as "Old Seven."
There was also someone called "Sixth Brother."
Even more terrifying, after mentioning Old Six, the man who called himself Hao Shuai casually mentioned notifying the others...
Now the question was, how many of them were there?
Had all seven brothers arrived?
The more he thought about it, the more frightened Qin Jian became. He finally understood why Hao Shuai always seemed so confident—he had brought a lot of brothers with him.
His gaze swept over everyone at the dining table, and Qin Jian began to suspect that everyone was Hao Shuai's brother, that no one could be trusted.
"Old Master Qin," An Xuan suddenly spoke up. "Why aren't you eating?"
Qin Jian was startled, then quickly put on a natural expression and replied, "I'm not very hungry. You all go ahead."
This An Xuan was also suspicious—he was probably one of Hao Shuai's men.
Qin Jian remained on high alert.
Otherwise, why would he ask such a simple question? It didn't match his usual demeanor.
The man named Shi Liaozhi, who was busy picking up food with his chopsticks, was also suspicious. He was the only one at the table who hadn't glanced at Qin Jian even once. Was he afraid of revealing something?
Qin Jian wondered what rank this man held among the brothers.
No one could be trusted. His only way out was those few lines of poetry... only those few lines! As he thought this, Qin Jian picked up his bowl and began shoveling rice into his mouth.
Xia Meng picked up a piece of pickled cucumber, bit into it with a crisp "snap," and chewed slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she sighed at Qin Jian. This man wasn't stupid—he had just met the wrong people.
"Gentlemen," the middle-aged woman standing outside the pavilion spoke in a polite but cold tone. "It's almost nightfall. After dinner, please return to your rooms and rest."
"Don't delay tonight's lake tour," the woman added. "We wouldn't want to spoil the young master's mood."
You Qi looked at the middle-aged woman, opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He seemed to be struggling with how to address her. But as her gaze fell on him, he finally forced himself to speak. "Tonight... how exactly are we supposed to tour the lake?"
"I mean, what's the plan?" he added.
Making eye contact with the middle-aged woman seemed to require a great deal of courage. After a few glances, he had to look away.
"Choosing the bride."
The woman's answer left everyone stunned.
A few seconds later, the woman suddenly smiled. Her thin, narrow eyes squinted, and the corners of her mouth curled up in an exaggerated manner. The expression immediately reminded them of the paper figures from the previous night.
Apart from her pale complexion and makeup, the resemblance was uncanny.
"The young master needs you gentlemen to choose a bride for him," the woman said in a sinister voice.
As midnight approached.
The cold wind from the lake felt like knives against their skin. The thin opera costumes provided almost no warmth, yet no one dared to take them off.
Tang Shirou's example had taught them that these costumes likely represented their skin.
Even more bizarre was that, despite the wind on the lake, it couldn't disperse the mist that had begun to appear and float above the water.
There was no moon tonight.
The mist-covered lake resembled a pool of ink that refused to spread. Just staring at it gave off an eerie feeling.
Qin Jian stood alone in a secluded spot, about three meters away from the others. Shi Liaozhi had been standing behind him earlier, but Qin Jian had quickly moved away.
This made Shi Liaozhi frown slightly.
They had already understood the rules of this game. According to Chen Qiang, who was well-versed in folklore, this was a small pre-wedding game from a remote region of Hunan.
The idea was to select several women of similar build, dress them all as brides, and cover their heads with veils, mixing the real bride among them.
Then, the groom, who had already drunk three cups of wedding wine, would choose which one was his true love.
The only difference this time was that the setting was on the lake. They would need to row a boat to make their choice, but the basic rules remained the same.
"What's the punishment for choosing wrong?" Shi Liaozhi asked quietly.
"Nothing too serious."
Hearing Chen Qiang's words, everyone's expressions relaxed slightly.
"After the wedding banquet, the groom will have his wedding clothes removed by the bride, and then, in front of his parents, she will hit him a few times with a broom to symbolize driving away..."
Before he could finish, the fatty's face turned pale. Removing the clothes... in this context...
Didn't that mean... skinning?
(End of the Chapter)
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