Ren Ling’s expression was already in disarray, his face pale as he said, “Catcher Li, a major incident has occurred in Night Bridge.”
“Young Master Ren, don’t panic. Speak slowly,” Li Si said, looking at Ren Ling, who had already lost his composure.
“Lord Jiang is dead!” Ren Ling uttered.
“Jiang Zhenshan?” Li Si hurriedly said, “How could Jiang Zhenshan die? What exactly happened?”
Ren Ling’s face was full of confusion. He slowly shook his head and said, “I don’t know what happened either. I received a letter from Lord Jiang asking me to come to his residence. But when I arrived at the Jiang Residence, it was already engulfed in a sea of flames. Everyone in the Jiang Residence perished in the fire.” Ren Ling paused slightly, the expression in his eyes becoming fearful as he said, “At that time, the fire was too fierce—there was simply no way to rescue anyone. I stood outside the Jiang Residence and heard someone inside shouting a phrase. They shouted until their voice was hoarse, heart-wrenching…”
“What phrase?” Li Si asked.
Ren Ling spoke word by word: “The vengeful spirit’s revenge!”
“The vengeful spirit’s revenge? Could they be talking about Yan Zige!” Wu Wen’s face tightened as he spoke.
“The people who came later to fight the fire all heard that shrill scream. They were frightened out of their wits. Everyone’s hearts are in a panic, and they all want to leave this inauspicious place. Catcher Li, I know you’ve done your best regarding the case of my father’s tragic death. You can leave as well.” Ren Ling’s face was filled with sorrow. “My mother is gravely ill, so I, along with the people of the Ren Residence, will also be leaving soon.”
“I know Catcher Li is steadfast and impartial, but the things happening in Night Bridge are too strange. First, my father perished under the sword of a dead person, then there was the tragically dead Zong Yuan, the countless poisoned fish in the Jade River, and finally Lord Jiang, who perished in the sea of flames. Too many people have died in Night Bridge. Though it was my mother who repeatedly requested to leave, I no longer have the courage to continue facing this either.” Ren Ling spoke with disheartened dejection.
Li Si slowly nodded. “Young Master Ren can leave with peace of mind. I will not let Old Master Ren die an unexplained and unjust death. I will certainly find the true culprit behind this. However, I still need Young Master Ren to answer a few questions for me.”
Li Si obtained the answers he wanted from Ren Ling’s mouth. Wu Wen said, “Catcher, what do we do next?”
Li Si smiled slightly and pointed to the pile of broken porcelain shards that had been delivered to the corner of the study, saying, “Very simple—puzzle assembly.”
When Li Si and Wu Wen walked out of the study, they discovered that very few people remained in Night Bridge Town. Li Si came to the Jiang Residence after the great fire. The Jiang Residence had only left behind a large expanse of black ash. The air was permeated with a pungent smell of scorched wood. Li Si felt his mouth dry. Following along the broken walls, he came to the right wing of the Jiang Residence. The wing had been burned beyond recognition—almost nothing intact remained. Li Si raked through the ashes, as if searching for something.
Li Si suddenly shouted at Wu Wen to stop, “Don’t move!”
Wu Wen, who had just arrived, had one foot suspended in midair. He said urgently, “Catcher, what’s wrong!”
Li Si stared fixedly at Wu Wen’s feet. Wu Wen couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. Beneath his feet was actually a skull that had been mostly burned away, with only the black bones of the mouth and nose portions remaining. The rest had probably long since turned to bone ash.
Li Si swept away the debris from the black bones and turned his head to ask Wu Wen, “Where’s Xiao Ning’s letter?”
“Oh!” Wu Wen hastily took out the letter Xiao Ning had just sent by carrier pigeon from his bosom. Li Si took the letter, read through it once, and murmured, “As expected. These ghosts, demons, gods, and devils are not infallible. They always leave behind spider silk and horse tracks.”
Hearing Li Si speak, Wu Wen knew there must have been some gains. Sure enough, Li Si turned to Wu Wen and said, “Wu Wen, do you still remember what I told you? The killer set up a trap for us and prepared a bag for themselves. Now we’ve already found the string of the bag. Next, we only need to—lure them into the trap.”
Li Si looked back at the large expanse of ashes around them, feeling only a darkly burning flame growing hotter bit by bit in his chest. Li Si wandered lost through the ruins. His gaze gradually drifted away, looking toward, looking toward the distant, isolated, quietly flowing—Jade River.
On the far shore of the Jade River under the setting sun, a bustling crowd surged out of Night Bridge like a large black worm. Old Jiutou put down his wine cup and picked up a few peanuts to toss into his mouth. He chewed carefully, savoring slowly. Before long, a faint sound of the door being pushed came from outside. A thin, small figure tiptoed in, not noticing Old Jiutou behind the screen, and started searching for things directly in the room. The thin figure rummaged through boxes and cabinets for quite a while, growing increasingly anxious and letting out faint panting sounds.
“No need to search. What you’re looking for is here.” Old Jiutou suddenly spoke, pushing aside the screen and looking at the thin figure in his bedroom—it was none other than Little Qizi, his face full of embarrassment.
Little Qizi hadn’t expected Old Jiutou to be hiding behind the screen. He grinned and laughed, saying, “So Uncle Jiu is here. I, I just now was…”
“Are you looking for this?” Old Jiutou pointed to a green jade wine pot on the table beside him. Little Qizi’s eyes lit up, but glancing at Old Jiutou again, he hurriedly shook his head and said, “No, I’m not looking for this emerald jade wine pot. It’s your treasure. I’m just randomly looking for some fun things.”
“No need to lie, kid. Ever since last month when I let you drink a pot of fine wine from my wine pot, you’ve been thinking about it day and night, haven’t you?” Old Jiutou smiled slightly. “Acting like this as a child, you’ll become an old drunkard when you grow up.”
“Heh, since Uncle Jiu already knows, Little Qizi won’t hide it anymore. This jade wine pot is truly miraculous. I only drank one pot from it, but I savored it for three full days. Moreover, there’s a special taste in the jade pot—not the taste of wine, but more like the fragrance of rouge. After drinking it, one feels like floating on air.”
“You little brat, and you’re floating on air?” Old Jiutou scolded. Little Qizi laughed. “I saw these words in a book and just used them casually. But that feeling should be about the same.”
Old Jiutou poured Little Qizi a cup using the green jade wine pot. Little Qizi hurriedly poured all the wine down his throat, and when finished, didn’t forget to lick his lips with his tongue—truly savoring it endlessly.
“Good?” Old Jiutou asked.
“Good, so good, extremely good.” Little Qizi kept nodding.
Old Jiutou suddenly pushed the green jade wine pot toward Little Qizi and said, “Little Qizi, do you want this jade wine pot?”
“Of course I want it…” Little Qizi said without thinking, then shook his head again. “No, this jade wine pot is Uncle Jiu’s treasure. I can’t take it. If I could normally borrow it to drink two pots, I’d be very content.”
“You’re not greedy, kid. You’re very much to my taste.” Old Jiutou simply placed the green jade wine pot in front of Little Qizi and said, “I can give you the wine pot. This thing doesn’t have much use for me anymore now, but I can’t give it to you right now.”
“Really, Uncle Jiu! You’re not joking with me, are you?” Little Qizi’s face was full of joy, then he asked, “When will Uncle Jiu give it to me? Will I have to wait a long time?”
Little Qizi looked as if he already couldn’t wait.
Old Jiutou laughed and beckoned with his finger. Little Qizi obediently leaned his ear over. Old Jiutou quietly told Little Qizi the time. Upon hearing it, Little Qizi kept grinning foolishly.
Little Qizi left completely satisfied. Old Jiutou tidied up a bit, put away the green jade wine pot, and left his bedroom himself.
There weren’t many people in Linglong Wine Pavilion. Since the great fire at the Jiang Residence, there were almost no Night Bridge people left. Old Jiutou was even thinking about whether he should leave as well. Feeling lost, he came outside the elegant chamber of Qiangong Linglong’s pavilion, wanting to talk with Qiangong Linglong.
Suddenly, Old Jiutou heard a strange man’s low voice coming from inside the elegant chamber: “Excellent. This flawless plan has been proceeding very successfully. Next comes the most crucial moment. Miss, are you prepared?”
Then came Qiangong Linglong’s ghostly sigh: “The plan may be flawless, but must you really do this? Killing so many people, your hands stained with blood—have you already forgotten what I instructed you?”
The man gave a cold snort and said, “This isn’t my fault. If you want to blame someone, blame them for forgetting their own identities. They deserved to die!”
Upon hearing this sentence, Old Jiutou’s heart trembled with shock, making a slight sound. Old Jiutou immediately quietly descended the stairs. Before he reached the bottom, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, and his entire body lost consciousness, falling forward.
In the instant Old Jiutou lost consciousness, he seemed to see Qiangong Linglong’s lotus-white skirt hem, quietly stopping before his eyes.