“Catcher, Hero Lou? You’re here—I had such a hard time finding you!” Wu Wen’s voice came from behind Li Si. Li Si turned around and indeed saw Wu Wen, whose facial expression at this moment didn’t look too good either. Li Si lowered his gaze slightly and saw the little girl beside Wu Wen—Lou Tianshe!

Lou Tianshe smiled: “See, I told you they’d definitely be here!” Wu Wen nodded with a smile: “Yes, yes, you’re amazing!”

Li Si smiled. Lou Tianshe rushed to Lou Ao’s side, tugging at Lou Ao’s clothing: “Father, let’s go. The acrobatic troupe elder brother hired is about to start performing. If you’re not there, I won’t be able to watch.”

Lou Ao looked at his little daughter snuggling against him, nodding with a smile: “Alright, Father will go now.” As Lou Ao spoke, he nodded at Li Si and followed Lou Tianshe forward. Wu Wen circled to Li Si’s side, curiously asking: “Catcher, you two have been out here so long—what exactly did you talk about?”

Li Si grabbed Wu Wen’s shoulder, smiling: “Hero Lou said…” Wu Wen listened carefully: “What did Hero Lou say?”

Li Si whispered in Wu Wen’s ear: “He said he wants to give you Third Miss.”

“Ah, what?” Wu Wen nearly jumped on the spot. Watching Li Si walk away with a mischievous smile on his face, Wu Wen quickly followed.

When Li Si and Wu Wen returned to the great hall, Lou Ao was already seated at the head table. What somewhat surprised Li Si was that the maid Qingdie was also seated at the table.

Xiao Ning saw Li Si return and stood up: “Catcher, did something happen?” Li Si smiled and shook his head: “No. Just taking a walk in the manor.” After Li Si finished speaking, he also sat down.

Lou Tianfan emerged from a side hall nearby, coming to Lou Ao’s side: “Father, the acrobatic troupe is all ready. Today they have their signature act, ‘Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon.’ Do you want to watch?”

Lou Ao nodded. Before long, the courtyard in front of the great hall gathered a troupe dressed in strange, comical attire. After the troupe master said a few auspicious words to Lou Ao, they began their performance. Lou Tianshe seemed very happy, constantly clapping her hands. The acrobatic troupe’s performance was indeed splendid, dazzling to the eye, and one’s mood unconsciously became much lighter and more cheerful.

The acrobatic troupe’s finale act was precisely “Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon!” The so-called “Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon” actually meant setting up a target in the arena, shooting an arrow from a longbow first, then closely following with a second arrow. The arrow shot later would overtake the arrow shot first during flight and pierce the bullseye. This was “Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon.” This acrobatic troupe’s “Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon” seemed even more innovative because the red-robed person shooting the longbow had his face covered with black cloth.

Lou Tianshe in the great hall seemed somewhat disappointed for some reason, suddenly saying to Qingdie beside her: “This isn’t good to watch at all—nowhere near as spectacular as Sister Qingdie.”

Hearing this, Qingdie’s face actually showed a faint smile. Li Si on the side interjected and asked: “Third Miss, does Qingdie perform acrobatic acts?”

Lou Tianshe glanced at Li Si: “Of course. And the most, most, most spectacular!”

“Oh, now I’m curious.” Li Si asked with a smile: “What act does she perform?”

Lou Tianshe also seemed interested: “That was three years ago. Father specially invited a very powerful acrobatic troupe from outside to celebrate second brother’s coming-of-age ceremony. Sister Qingdie was in that acrobatic troupe. She was also the finale act. A bluebird perched on her shoulder, and whenever Sister Qingdie extended her hand, the bluebird on her shoulder would laugh like a person and even imitate snoring sounds—it was so interesting.”

Li Si’s gaze shifted to Qingdie’s face, continuing to ask: “Oh, really? Then why didn’t Qingdie stay in the acrobatic troupe afterward but remained at Budong Manor instead?”

Before Lou Tianshe could answer, the consistently silent Qingdie suddenly spoke: “Second Young Master paid money to purchase me. Catcher Li, do you have any other curiosities about me?” Qingdie’s gaze shifted slightly, staring at Li Si. Li Si seemed unwilling to meet her gaze, smiling: “No more.”

At this moment, in the courtyard in front of the hall, “Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon” was already prepared. A man in a large red robe with thick black cloth wrapped around his face drew his bow, swung his shoulders, and called out softly: “Fly!” An arrow already left the string in response. Immediately the man swiftly shot a second arrow, simultaneously calling out softly: “Chase!”

Several people in the hall only saw the second arrow fly past the first arrow like a shooting star piercing the moon, then pierce straight through the target.

Wu Wen was the first to clap and cheer, shouting: “Excellent archery!” Li Si nodded and also applauded in praise.

Everyone thought “Chasing Stars and Pursuing Moon” had already ended, but the red-robed man in the courtyard actually nocked three more arrows. “Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!” Only three wind-breaking sounds were heard as three arrows had already flown toward the target. Wu Wen had already excitedly stood up from his seat: “He’s going to chase three arrows with one arrow!” After hearing Wu Wen’s words, other people in the hall also turned their gazes to watch the three arrows that flew out. But in this very instant, the red-robed person suddenly shot one more arrow. The arrow’s speed far exceeded the previous three times, and the arrow’s direction was no longer the target in the arena but shot toward Lou Ao in the great hall.

Before Lou Ao could react, Lou Tianfan before him, seeing Lou Ao in danger, had already thrown his entire body forward, wanting to use his body to block the flying arrow. But the arrow was too fast. After Lou Tianfan flew across, he only managed to reach the arrow’s tail with his right hand but still failed to stop it.

With a pu sound, the sharp arrowhead had already pierced into Lou Ao’s chest. Lou Ao looked at the arrow shaft still swaying before his chest, reached out to overturn the table in front of him. Lou Ao’s face showed disbelieving surprise, then he actually laughed loudly. His gaze turned across the faces of everyone before him—Li Si, Wu Wen, Xiao Ning, Lou Tianfan, Lou Tianming, Qingdie. Li Si was shocked by the scene that suddenly occurred. Lou Ao’s entire body leaned into Li Si’s embrace, his mouth whispering lightly in Li Si’s ear: “I said… some things done wrong… are wrong for a lifetime… this is my retribution, my retribution.”

Lou Ao’s voice slowly weakened, finally disappearing completely. Li Si checked Lou Ao’s breathing and shook his head slightly toward the others. Lou Tianfan seemed very agitated, roaring angrily: “I’m going to kill you! Avenge my father!” Lou Tianfan rushed toward the red-robed person in the courtyard. The red-robed person, after shooting the last arrow, had been standing motionless in place. At this moment, he suddenly fell to the ground with a thud.

Lou Tianfan rushed up, yanking off the red-robed person’s black eye cloth in one motion. The acrobatic troupe master in the arena glanced once and couldn’t help but cry out: “No, he’s not one of our troupe. We don’t know him, don’t know him at all.”

Lou Tianfan’s grief and hatred over losing his father had nowhere to vent. He stepped forward and grabbed the troupe master’s collar fiercely: “You definitely conspired together, wanting to kill my father, then come rob Budong Manor’s secret manual, right?”

The acrobatic troupe master seemed scared witless, only shaking his head vigorously, unable to speak. The other acrobatic troupe members huddled together, not one daring to make a sound. The fury in Lou Tianfan’s eyes grew increasingly intense. He shouted: “I’m going to kill all of you to avenge my father!”

“Even if you killed all of them, it would be useless.” Li Si suddenly stopped him, saying word by word: “Because the one who killed Hero Lou wasn’t them at all, but you, Lou Tianfan.”

As soon as Li Si said this, everyone couldn’t help but look at Lou Tianfan in surprise. Lou Tianfan’s originally extremely angry face actually showed a trace of panic, but then he laughed loudly: “Catcher Li, what nonsense are you spouting? My father was shot to death by this acrobatic troupe—everyone saw it. How can you slander me with such baseless words?”

Li Si’s gaze was like two sharp blades staring straight at Lou Tianfan: “Some things, even if you see them with your own eyes, aren’t necessarily true.” As Li Si spoke, he suddenly opened Lou Ao’s chest. The killing arrow still pierced Lou Ao’s body at this moment. Strangely, near the arrow wound were also large patches of purple-red wounds. Moreover, these purple-red wounds didn’t look like external injuries but rather like colors manifesting from within Lou Ao’s body. Li Si pointed at the purple-red wounds on Lou Ao’s chest: “An ordinary sharp arrow at most would only injure Hero Lou but wouldn’t be sufficient to take his life. Because after the arrow entered Hero Lou’s body, it would encounter the inner force protecting the heart meridian, preventing it from being fatal. The true cause of Hero Lou’s death was a surge of inner strength hidden behind this sharp arrow. These purple-red wounds were formed when the two forces of inner power collided, completely rupturing the blood vessels near the heart!” When Li Si said this, he suddenly paused, walked down from the great hall, came beside the red-robed person, and said indifferently: “Although he possesses extraordinary archery skills, he himself has no inner power. Therefore, that fatal inner strength didn’t come from him. During the process of the sharp arrow flying into Hero Lou’s chest, the only one who touched the arrow shaft was the eldest son. Although it appeared earlier that you disregarded your own safety wanting to save your father’s life, in reality, the one who truly wanted to kill him was you. Am I right or wrong, Eldest Son?”

After hearing Li Si say everything, Lou Tianfan suddenly also laughed. He laughed maniacally, looking at Li Si and everyone in the hall: “Catcher Li, you’re the smartest catcher I’ve ever seen. That’s right—I killed him, I killed my father! What you said is very correct, not wrong at all.”

“Elder brother, why did you kill Father?” Lou Tianshe in the hall, like a tearful person, lay beside Lou Ao, crying and asking.

“Why? Hmph! Tianshe, what kind of life I’ve lived all these years—no one should understand better than you.” Lou Tianfan looked at his younger sister: “For these twenty-plus years, I’ve lived like a panting dog at Budong Manor. As long as Father said even one word, or even just glared, I didn’t dare move again, didn’t even dare breathe. What kind of life is this? This isn’t a human life at all.”

Lou Tianfan looked at Li Si again: “Catcher Li, perhaps you’re very curious. Just yesterday, my father was still desperately pleading with you to clear me of murder suspicion. If you think this way, you’re wrong—completely wrong!” Lou Tianfan rolled up his sleeve. Li Si saw a deep red wound under Lou Tianfan’s sleeve—the wound reached the bone, shocking to behold. Li Si couldn’t help but ask: “This is…”

Lou Tianfan gently touched the wound on his wrist: “This is the lesson my father left on my body after you left yesterday.” Lou Tianfan said sorrowfully: “He crippled one of my hands, only because I made him lose face in front of you. He never cared about me. What he cared about and valued was only this Budong Manor that has imprisoned the lives and souls of generation after generation of Lou family members. This is my father, this is the Hero Lou you all speak of. I had no other way. If he didn’t die, sooner or later I would die at his hands!”

Lou Tianfan suddenly paused, tears flowing: “Actually, I didn’t want to kill him either. But I’m a person, I’m not a beast—I’m also his son, I’m his dignified eldest son. I also need his love, I also need his care. If he had just shown me one-tenth, no, one-hundredth of the kindness he showed Tianshe and Tianming, I wouldn’t have harmed him, much less killed him.”

Li Si looked at Lou Tianfan, slowly saying: “Perhaps your father was good to Tianshe and Tianming because he owed them too much.”

Lou Tianfan raised his head, looking toward Lou Ao’s corpse in the hall, laughing coldly and maniacally: “If we’re talking about owing—what he owed was definitely not just one or two people, but every single person at Budong Manor! Every single person!”

Lou Tianshe, her face covered in tears, looked at her elder brother, murmuring: “Elder brother, I know Father wasn’t good to you. I understand your heart was sad and in pain, but I was never able to help you…”

“It’s not your fault, Tianshe. How could your heart ever feel good? Truthfully speaking, in this Budong Manor, who has ever truly been happy? No one, not a single person! Everyone is being tortured, everyone’s soul is suffering torment, and no one can escape. Isn’t that right?” Lou Tianfan laughed once more, only this time his smile no longer contained madness or pain—what remained was a kind of indifference after liberation.

Li Si looked at Lou Tianfan and suddenly remembered that wooden puppet of Lou Tianfan. The smile on the puppet was so similar to the smile on Lou Tianfan’s face at this moment. Could it be that the murderer could also experience Lou Tianfan’s inner pain? Or perhaps that murderer was actually Lou Tianfan himself, which is why he could reflect his own smile so authentically on the puppet?

Many questions suddenly arose in Li Si’s mind. Just as he was about to open his mouth to inquire, at this moment, from deep in the great hall, the faint sound of silk zither strings drifted over. The zither melody was melodious and moving. Listening carefully, one’s heart actually had a kind of inexplicable subtle aching feeling. Li Si couldn’t help but be entranced by the zither sound, becoming absorbed in it.

Lou Tianfan looked into the distance, murmuring: “Such a beautiful zither melody. This is a melody played for me. Perhaps in this gloomy manor, the only one who can truly understand me is you. But I already have my destination—and what about you?” The corners of Lou Tianfan’s mouth lifted slightly. His hand suddenly flashed, revealing a dagger. When Li Si tried to stop him, it was already too late. The dagger cut a very deep wound across Lou Tianfan’s neck. Blood gushed out like spring water. Lou Tianfan fell.

Li Si looked at the already deceased Lou Tianfan. He actually wore a peaceful smile—this was the quietest and most beautiful smile Li Si had seen on Lou Tianfan since meeting him.