Mingting, you guessed correctly.

My father couldn’t bear to do it, so the real Zheng Huaiyou is still alive.

But I cannot tell you.

Not only can I not tell you, I must find a way to protect her.

Xie Zhifei slowly continued: “Right, this method was too ruthlessly cruel, which is why there was a second path.”

Pei Xiao: “Secretly sending the child away?”

Xie Zhifei nodded: “Find a prosperous, clean family and send the child far away. In any case, she absolutely could not remain at the Zheng residence.”

Li Buyan strongly agreed: “Third Master’s analysis is correct.”

“So here’s the problem.”

Xie Zhifei’s gaze shifted to Huang Qi.

“Yan Sanhe always lived in Haitang Courtyard. The child who was sent away could never return to the Zheng residence. The two had no connection whatsoever. How could the heart demon be related to that child?”

Huang Qi scratched his head in frustration: “Right, there doesn’t seem to be any connection.”

Pei Xiao frowned, somewhat hesitant: “Then… we don’t need to investigate this lead further?”

Xie Zhifei: “We probably won’t uncover anything anyway.”

An indescribable feeling rose in everyone’s hearts.

They didn’t know if that child was dead or alive. If alive, how was life treating her?

Eighteen years old—she should be married by now.

“Now let’s talk about that corpse.”

Everyone’s gazes turned toward Third Master.

Third Master’s chin was slightly raised. Combined with those peach blossom eyes that no longer tilted upward and seemed rather somber, he gave people an ineffable sense of heartache.

“Given Old General Zheng’s character, he arranged even Yan Sanhe’s escape route. To be absolutely safe, I think he must have found a substitute for Yan Sanhe.”

Li Buyan had actually thought of this issue too and quickly said: “This substitute must have been the same age as Yan Sanhe, similar build, similar appearance.”

“Moreover…”

Pei Xiao narrowed his eyes: “…wouldn’t have been kept in the residence, but definitely nearby.”

Zhu Qing thought for a moment: “Besides Old General Zheng, the shadow guard Zhang Tianxing should also know about this substitute’s existence.”

“Right, right, right!”

Huang Qi said hurriedly: “Ten years ago, when the massacre of the Zheng family officially began, Zhang Tianxing sensed something was wrong and immediately went to find the substitute.”

Ding Yi slapped his forehead hard: “The one who died in that great fire was actually Yan Sanhe’s substitute.”

“Yan Sanhe was only eight years old. The Old General absolutely would not have told her about her true identity. Naturally, she wouldn’t know about the substitute’s existence either.”

Xie Zhifei slowly exhaled: “So that substitute has no connection to Yan Sanhe’s heart demon either.”

Young Master Pei’s face completely fell, dropping into a deep ditch.

This has no connection, that has no connection—what exactly is Yan Sanhe’s heart demon connected to?

Just then, Xie Zhifei’s voice suddenly rose: “Actually, I’ve also thought of a problem.”

“Speak quickly!” Pei Xiao couldn’t wait.

“Yan Sanhe always had Zhang Tianxing secretly protecting her. We don’t need to doubt Zhang Tianxing’s skills or loyalty at all. So then…”

Xie Zhifei laid out the greatest doubt swirling in his heart.

“The night the massacre occurred, why did Yan Sanhe still lose her life?

The Master said there were no knife wounds on her body. So exactly how did she die?

Also, who killed her?

Could her death be related to her heart demon?”

Questions surged like tidal waves, one after another.

Just then, a somewhat cool breeze blew from somewhere, stirring up fallen leaves everywhere and raising goosebumps on everyone’s bodies.

“Ten years ago, Yan Sanhe was only eight years old. An eight-year-old little girl hadn’t experienced anything. What obsession could have become a demon?”

Xie Zhifei’s voice was exceptionally calm: “So I think we need to walk on two legs.”

Li Buyan now looked at Xie Zhifei with approval no matter how she looked: “Which two legs?”

“One leg continues investigating the osmanthus fragrance. The other leg investigates Yan Sanhe’s true cause of death.”

“Saying that is the same as saying nothing.”

Pei Xiao rolled his eyes at him: “The key is how do we investigate?”

Xie Zhifei: “Hero Li, Ding Yi, Huang Qi—you three buy up everything on the market made with osmanthus.”

Pei Xiao didn’t understand: “What’s the purpose of doing this?”

What can be eaten, I’ll taste.

What can be smelled, I’ll smell.

What can be used, I’ll use.

I lived with her for eight years. Except for sleeping, we were together almost every moment.

I want to use these things to stimulate my sense of taste, smell, and sight, to see if I can find any clues.

Xie Zhifei had so many thoughts in his heart, but when they reached his lips, they were simply: “Investigate one by one.”

Li Buyan immediately said: “Huang Qi and I are enough. Leave Ding Yi for you. Huang Qi, let’s go!”

Without another word, Huang Qi followed Li Buyan out.

Young Master Pei was somewhat worried and shouted at their retreating backs: “Did you bring enough silver?”

“I have enough.”

Li Buyan tossed back four words without turning her head. Young Master Pei withdrew his gaze: “Speak. How do we investigate on our end?”

Xie Zhifei rubbed the stubble on his chin: “Return to the estate. Find Lu Da.”

Pei Xiao was confused: “What do we need Lu Da for?”

“He’s a shadow guard. He knows best how to kill someone without anyone knowing.”

Xie Zhifei raised his eyes slightly: “Let’s first go through how many ways Yan Sanhe could have died!”

Pei Xiao’s heart jumped, cold sweat instantly pouring out.

…

Returning to the estate, the sky had already darkened. Tangyuan set out the meal.

Xie Zhifei waved his hand. Tangyuan immediately closed the door and left.

“Lu Da.”

Xie Zhifei had no appetite at all and got straight to the point: “To kill someone without leaving wounds on the body, what methods are there?”

Lu Da didn’t even need to think before answering: “The simplest is poison, preferably colorless and odorless. This kind of death looks just like falling asleep.”

Xie Zhifei frowned: “What else?”

Lu Da: “Cover the mouth and nose—death by suffocation. This method of death is quite painful and involves violent struggling.”

Xie Zhifei’s frown deepened: “Anything else?”

Lu Da: “Strangle the throat—death by suffocation. While struggling, the death expression will be very ugly.”

Xie Zhifei: “Would it leave bruises?”

Lu Da was silent for a moment: “From the capital to Yunnan Prefecture took Zhang Tianxing ten days. There would still be some bruising, but we can’t rule out that Miss Yan’s body was special.”

Xie Zhifei: “What else?”

Lu Da: “If one has martial skills and internal energy, a single palm strike could also be fatal.”

As these words came out, Pei Xiao’s eyes immediately widened: “Could it have been Zheng Huantang who did it?”

Xie Zhifei’s expression changed. He stood up abruptly: “You all eat first. I’m going to see Yan Sanhe.”

“She’s already dead, what’s there to…”

Xie Zhifei’s steps faltered slightly.

Seeing this, Pei Xiao slapped himself and hastily corrected: “Go look for a bit then come back. Cold food gets stuck in the throat.”

Without looking back, Xie Zhifei strode into the night.

The night was very dark. The distant trees were shadowy and indistinct, much like Yan Sanhe’s death—in a black haze, revealing shadows barely visible or not visible at all.

According to Lu Da’s explanation, both Father and Mother could be the murderer who killed Yan Sanhe.

But he knew very clearly in his heart—only one person was most suspect!