Chapter 42

Chapter 42

“Ignore it?” Chen Sheng’s face twisted in rage.

“This is your Inn! How can you just ignore it!

“I’m your guest. There’s a problem with your room, and the person sharing it with me was killed for no reason. Why should I have to pay the price! You said before that there was nothing suspicious about your Inn! We only stayed one night and someone died. What do you have to say for yourself!”

The Innkeeper’s expression darkened, his face showing a hint of anger.

“Honored guest! I call you that out of courtesy, but everyone saw exactly how the person in your room died!

“It was broad daylight when you pushed her off the balcony. Everyone on the street can testify to that. Isn’t it a bit much for you to start slinging mud at our Inn now?”

Chen Sheng’s face began to twitch. “Stop talking nonsense. She wasn’t human anymore by then. I killed a Monster!”

“Hmph!” The Innkeeper let out a cold laugh. “Defend yourself however you like. Monster or not, everyone saw you kill her.”

He gave the man a sharp glare. “I told you yesterday that the rooms on the 2nd Floor were yours to choose from. There are so many empty rooms. If you insist on squeezing into a room with someone else, go discuss it with them yourself. It’s no use coming to me.”

Ignoring Chen Sheng’s attempts to grab him, the Innkeeper flicked his sleeve and headed downstairs without looking back, the floorboards creaking under his weight.

Chen Sheng clenched his fists and glared at the Innkeeper’s retreating back. Then, he turned his gaze toward the room across from him. With an air of someone who wouldn’t give up until he got inside, he began to pound on the door again.

The person inside was clearly annoyed by the noise and started cursing.

“Are you fucking done yet? Can’t sleep without someone to hold your hand?!”

Chen Sheng ignored the insults and kept banging on the door. His movements grew more violent until he finally began kicking the door over and over.

The Inn’s doors were made of wood-thin panels that relied on a simple wooden bolt. They weren’t built to withstand a grown man’s frantic kicking.

After about half an hour of this commotion, the person inside finally couldn’t take it anymore and opened the door to let him in.

If the door got kicked down, the loss would outweigh the gain if something happened during the night.

Guan Doujin watched the man enter the room before closing their own door and turning back.

“You probably heard that. That man was making a scene about switching rooms.”

Chu Yue sat up. “Which room did he go into?”

“Which one do you think? Zhang Duo’s. The three of them are in a four-person room. Besides, Zhang Duo and her man look like veteran players, so naturally, he’d want to latch onto them.”

“Oh.”

Shen Yubi pulled up his blanket. “Alright, it’s late. Everyone get some sleep.”

The three of them fell silent and slept until dawn.

When they stepped out of the room, nothing seemed amiss. They were the last to head downstairs, finding the rest of the group already gathered in the Hall.

Chu Yue counted the heads; surprisingly, no one had died last night.

Chen Sheng was sitting at a dining table, though he sat all alone. He was mechanically shoveling food into his mouth, looking drained and dazed.

Since no one was dead, Chu Yue didn’t pay it much mind. After finishing his meal, he asked the Innkeeper for some strips of cloth. He returned to his room and tied back his wide sleeves and the hem of his robe, even putting on a pair of gloves.

By the time they headed out, the stalls outside were already set up. When the three of them reached yesterday’s spot, the vendors there had changed. There was no sign of the two from the day before.
They wasted no time today and soon arrived at Zhou Laoda’s house.

Pushing the door open, they found the courtyard still overgrown with weeds. Guan Doujin had picked up a stick from somewhere and tapped the ground as he walked-a literal application of the proverb ‘beating the grass to startle the snakes.’

Directly across from the main gate was the central hall, the very place where the man yesterday said Zhou Laoda’s son had held his wedding ceremony.

According to him, that specific paper-cut was pasted on the wall inside.

A Double Happiness character was still stuck to the door. After more than a decade, the red paper had faded to a pale white. A dilapidated padlock hung from the center of the door, which Shen Yubi pulled off with a slight tug.

As they pushed the door open, a wave of dust mixed with a musty odor rushed out. Having been deprived of sunlight for a long time, the room felt eerie and gloomy; a chill settled over them the moment they stepped inside.

The general layout of the interior was visible at a glance.

Based on the man’s account, Zhou Laoda’s family of four died not long after the son’s wedding. They hadn’t even had time to tear down the decorations hung for the ceremony.

However, after entering, the three of them failed to find the massive paper-cut he had described.

It wasn’t that there was nothing there, but the paper-cut they found was just an ordinary Double Happiness character without any intricate patterns.

Could someone have secretly swapped it out?

The three of them rummaged through the room but found nothing. They moved on to check the other rooms.

In one of the rooms, they actually found a large number of empty wine jars.

The jars were unsealed, clearly having been drained by someone.

If the man’s story was true, Zhou Laoda’s family was considered wealthy. Once the wedding festivities were over, it was impossible for them to have left so much trash uncleaned.

So, what was really going on here? When exactly did Zhou Laoda’s family die?

They searched for a long while without gaining any clarity. After their thorough investigation, the only thing they could be certain of was that, aside from the house itself, there was nothing ‘wealthy’ about Zhou Laoda’s home.

The display shelves might have held something once, but they were empty now. Aside from some ordinary furniture, the house was stripped bare.

Had someone taken the wealth after the family of four died? Was it the town residents or the authorities?

Today’s visit had yielded no results yet again.

However, on their way back, they encountered the same two people from yesterday at the same spot.

The pair was still manning their stall. They acted as if they had never met the trio before, smiling cheerfully and recommending their paper-cuts when the three looked over.

Chu Yue’s eyes swept over the stall, and he suddenly came to a halt. He walked over, picked up one of the paper-cuts, and asked, “How much for this?”

Seeing a potential customer, the woman’s face lit up with joy.

“This one is cheap, only five copper coins.”

Chu Yue gave a mocking snort and tossed the paper-cut back onto the stall. “Even though my family has money to burn, I’m a merchant. I came to your town to source goods. There’s no need for you to fleece me like this, is there, ma’am? No matter how exquisite a paper-cut is, you wouldn’t dare sell it for five coins a piece, especially not this pattern.”

Then, he suddenly changed his tone. “Though, for something a bit larger than this… it might be possible.”