“There are… white bones!”

Someone shouted loudly.

Those people who kept pushing onto the stage fell silent upon hearing this.

Countless gazes followed to look, and indeed they saw the pile of blood-soaked skeletal remains dug out from the yellow earth!

Ribs, finger bones, skull, foot bones… all clearly visible.

Extremely horrifying!

Those who had originally grabbed Troupe Master Tao all let go and retreated backward.

Their faces filled with fear.

Continuous screaming.

Troupe Master Tao was still in a daze. When he turned to look, he also saw the skeleton.

His legs went weak from shock.

His palms turned cold.

He nearly collapsed to the ground.

He thought: It’s over, it’s over, completely finished.

With such an incident happening on his stage, the glory of his Zhao Family Troupe had reached its end.

Song Zhi was also pushed backward again by the crowd, but his foot slipped and he fell to the ground.

“Crash…”

All the bottles and jars he was carrying smashed onto the ground.

Soy sauce and salt spilled everywhere.

Everything stained his plain-colored clothing.

A complete mess!

He didn’t seem to notice the white bones on stage yet.

He was only busy picking up his various items.

Meanwhile, Ji Yunshu, who had been acting as an audience member on the second floor, felt her sensitive nerves twitch when she heard the words “white bones,” her brow furrowing slightly.

She looked over.

There was indeed a skeleton on that stage!

She was just about to stand up when Jingrong grabbed her hand and quietly told her: “This has nothing to do with us!”

Indicating she shouldn’t get involved!

This place was, after all, not Dalin.

Ji Yunshu had no choice but to sit quietly.

The constables patrolling outside heard such a commotion coming from the theater house and seven or eight of them rushed in quickly.

“Chief, there’s a skeleton up there!” a junior constable said.

The lead constable’s expression tightened upon seeing it, and he immediately ordered the constables beside him: “Quickly seal off this place. No one is allowed to leave.”

“Yes!”

Several constables immediately closed the theater house’s main gate.

No one was allowed to leave.

The theatergoers all began to stir restlessly.

The lead constable was, after all, a government official and wasn’t afraid. He walked straight to the white bones and looked them over.

Squinting, he asked: “Who’s in charge here?”

Troupe Master Tao came to his senses and stepped forward trembling: “Officer, it’s… it’s me!”

“Where did these white bones come from?”

“This…”

“This what? Answer honestly!”

“This humble one doesn’t know!” Troupe Master Tao panicked and looked at Theater Master Tang, asking anxiously, “What on earth is going on?”

Master Tang shook his head: “I don’t know either… How could white bones appear out of nowhere from perfectly good yellow earth?” He then pointed at Xiao Qu, “She discovered it first.”

The Ghost Lady, Xiao Qu, had already been helped up by someone, but her whole body was curled up in a young girl’s embrace.

Crying softly.

Trembling all over.

Troupe Master Tao asked her with a shocked expression: “Xiao Qu, what’s the story with these white bones?”

Xiao Qu sobbed and turned away: “I… don’t know. I… only saw that finger.”

The lead constable’s eyes narrowed even more. He simply crouched down to examine carefully, muttering: “Already reduced to a pile of white bones. Who knows who died?”

Someone in the theater troupe had sharp eyes. Seeing that finger, they said: “This… this is Wang Jun.”

“Wang Jun?”

“Wang Jun has a cross-shaped scar on his middle finger, and there’s also a black birthmark beside the fingernail. Look, that finger has them.”

Troupe Master Tao and the theater troupe members looked carefully.

Indeed!

“That’s right, it’s Wang Jun.”

The lead constable asked: “Who is Wang Jun?”

“He’s the leading male role in this play. We haven’t seen him all day today. We never thought… he actually died.”

It was truly too strange!

The theater troupe members were shocked beyond measure.

Their backs all felt cold.

At this moment, a junior constable came up to ask the lead constable: “Chief, what do we do now?”

“First go notify County Magistrate.”

“Yes!”

While the junior constable went to notify the County Magistrate, the lead constable also had his remaining subordinates interrogate the theater troupe members one by one.

They also questioned those who came to watch the play.

To see if there was anything suspicious.

By now, Song Zhi had already picked up all his spilled items and only then discovered a murder case had occurred here.

He was quite calm, holding his things and quietly sitting to one side.

Several constables came up to the second floor.

Seeing Jingrong, Ji Yunshu, and the others wearing Dalin clothing, they approached and asked: “Who are you people?”

Jingrong raised an eyebrow and replied: “Merchants doing business in this area.”

“Speak more clearly.”

Jingrong rotated the teacup in his hand, the corner of his lips curving: “Officer, we are all proper merchants doing silk business. We heard that Yiwu has a famous play called ‘Ghost Lady Buries Her Husband,’ so since we had time this evening, we came to watch.”

“Just this?”

“If the officer doesn’t believe us, you can go ask at the inn where we’re staying.”

The junior constable also found it troublesome and got to the point: “The deceased is called Wang Jun. Do you know him?”

“We’ve never met him.”

“Really don’t know him?” The constable’s tone was unfriendly.

Clearly showing regional discrimination!

Jingrong’s patience wore thin, and he shot a sharp look at the constable.

The constable’s heart trembled. He swallowed and stepped back two paces, saying: “Well… until the matter is cleared up, you’re not allowed to move around freely.”

Then he went to question others.

Ji Yunshu kept staring at the white bones on stage, her gaze darkening somewhat.

Bai Yin raised his eyebrows and said: “Looks like if this isn’t cleared up today, we probably won’t be able to leave either.”

At this time, the county magistrate of Yiwu arrived.

The county magistrate was surnamed Zhuo, in his forties, and had been an official here for over ten years.

The lead constable quickly stepped forward to report the situation.

After hearing it, the magistrate asked: “Is the deceased confirmed to be Wang Jun?”

“Based on the scars and birthmark on that finger bone, everyone in the theater troupe confirms it’s Wang Jun.”

“Have all the people in the theater troupe been interrogated one by one?”

“We’ve asked. They said Wang Jun left the theater troupe yesterday afternoon and hasn’t been seen since, so the young male lead role was also replaced.”

It seemed there were no other clues!

Troupe Master Tao came over pleading: “My lord, you must find the murderer! Wang Jun was usually very peaceful, didn’t gamble or drink, was a good person, and had no enemies at all. But now he’s died so miserably. My lord, you must seek justice for him!”

Magistrate Zhuo had a stern expression: “Who was the last person to see Wang Jun?”

“It was me.” A clown actor stepped forward.

Magistrate Zhuo asked: “When was this?”

“Yesterday at the end of the You hour.”

“What was Wang Jun doing then?”

The clown actor said: “After rehearsal ended, he said he wanted to go out for a walk. I didn’t ask much.”

“You’re certain it was the end of You hour?”

“This humble one is certain.”

Suddenly—

Someone below said: “I saw Wang Jun last night.”

Hmm?

Everyone’s gazes turned to look.

An old man who had come to watch the play said: “At the end of Xu hour last night, I saw Wang Jun rush out of Song Zhi’s room in a great hurry, with Song Zhi chasing after him.”

Song Zhi?

The theater troupe members erupted in commotion.

Song Zhi, who had already gathered his things and sat to one side, was startled for a moment, but his reaction wasn’t strong. He stood up with an innocent expression on his face and said: “Oh! Wang Jun did indeed come looking for me last night.”