"How much hatred must one have?" Qin Nan sighed, feeling a chill creeping up his spine.

Jian Fan ignored him and examined the body closely. "The person who castrated him isn't necessarily the murderer."

Qin Nan agreed, "There's no obvious blood on the clothes, which means they were cleaned up after the castration. We just don't know whether he died first or was castrated first."

It was unclear who had cleaned up the deceased, as there were no visible bloodstains on the clothing. That was why they hadn’t noticed the issue right away. However, it was evident that the castration had occurred recently, as the wounds were still quite pronounced, with some blood visible around the edges despite the cleanup.

"That's terrifying," Lin Junru finally snapped back to reality, her words reduced to a mere exclamation.

Jian Fan, who had been crouched down, stood up and said, "I'll check the left side; you take the right?"

Qin Nan nodded. "Sounds good."

Once they agreed, they quickly got to work, dividing their tasks to thoroughly investigate the crime scene.

Lin Junru stood there for a moment, her gaze shifting from Qin Nan to Jian Fan and back again, blinking in confusion.

For some reason, she felt a bit superfluous.

However, Lin Junru didn’t let herself remain idle. After a brief moment of contemplation, she joined the search for clues.

Qin Nan started by checking the bed but found nothing. Next, he moved to the cabinet, where he discovered an account book. The contents were odd.

The first page recorded purchases made by the family ten years ago, starting with ten bags of rice, priced at five hundred thirty-seven taels of silver.

The murder mystery was set in ancient times, but it didn’t specify which dynasty or if it was fictional, so Qin Nan had no idea about the prices, but it definitely didn’t match what was written in the book.

Qin Nan tucked the account book away and continued searching for clues.

Meanwhile, Jian Fan was examining his side.

He found a shard near the bookshelf and looked over at the round table in the room.

On the table was a complete tea set, including a purple clay teapot and three matching cups, and the color and design matched perfectly with the shard he held.

A tea set shouldn’t have an odd number of cups, and the implications were clear.

The crime scene consisted of just this one room, not too big or too small. After thoroughly checking their respective areas, the two switched places to recheck everything, while Lin Junru wandered around on her own.

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After they finished inspecting the crime scene, the three regrouped and returned to the main hall.

They were the first to arrive.

Jian Fan chose his previous spot and sat down, pretending to doze off. Qin Nan sat beside him, mentally piecing together the clues they had gathered.

Lin Junru was probably the most restless among them.

"Qin Nan, do you think we came back too early? Should we go back and check again? Maybe we missed other clues," Lin Junru said, sounding a bit anxious.

Qin Nan's thoughts were interrupted by her words, and he felt a twinge of annoyance but didn’t show it. "Miss, don’t worry too much. We don’t have to identify the murderer in this round. I think it’s better for us to sit down and calm down."

Lin Junru didn’t agree but saw that both Qin Nan and Jian Fan seemed opposed to her idea. She swallowed her thoughts and nodded with a smile. "Okay, I’ll listen to you."

But inside, she began to regret teaming up with Qin Nan and Jian Fan.

Although Lin Junru sat quietly, her restlessness was evident on her face. Qin Nan noticed and internally judged her as a poor partner.

Clearly, she wasn’t a good teammate. A confused ally often did more harm than good.

Xia Zeqin and his two teammates were the second group to return.

As he entered, his gaze swept over Jian Fan before landing on Qin Nan. "Oh, that was quick."

Qin Nan's thoughts were once again interrupted, and he felt a hint of envy toward Jian Fan, who seemed so unapproachable, highlighting his own disadvantages at that moment.

Qin Nan chose not to respond.

Xia Zeqin greeted everyone and sat down, not caring whether Qin Nan replied.

Lin Junru leaned in eagerly.

"Xia Zeqin, how did it go on your side?" she asked, her expression exaggerated. "We checked the body, and you won't believe it—our father was castrated! It's horrifying!"

Qin Nan shot Lin Junru a glance, frowning slightly.

"Castrated?" Xu Tian spoke up, then fell silent, her brow furrowed as she seemed to ponder over it.

Lin Junru wanted to respond but was taken aback by Xu Tian's reaction. A hint of displeasure crossed her face, but she quickly perked up and continued to Xia Zeqin, "Xia Zeqin, why do you think the murderer castrated our father?"

"Didn't you ask your teammates?" Xia Zeqin replied with a smirk.

Lin Junru was momentarily speechless. "They don’t seem to think the person who castrated him is the murderer."

"Having a brain is a good thing; too bad you don’t have one," Xia Zeqin retorted.

Lin Junru: "..."

Although Qin Nan didn’t speak up, he had been attentively listening to the conversation. He couldn’t help but smirk at Xia Zeqin’s witty remark.

Xia Zeqin showed no intention of engaging further with Lin Junru, closing his eyes to pretend to doze off. His female companion followed suit, while Xu Tian remained silent.

Lin Junru felt a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent.

The remaining six players returned together.

Once everyone was present, Xia Zeqin opened his eyes. "Can we start now?" he asked, then, without waiting for a response, turned to Qin Nan with a serious expression. "Qin Nan, we found a letter in your room."

Xia Zeqin placed the letter on the table for everyone to review.

Qin Nan shrugged. "I already mentioned during introductions that my relationship with the old man was poor. I despised him for wronging my mother. He didn’t want me involved in the family business, and my mother died because of his betrayal. I’ve had no intention of hiding anything."

"What I want to ask isn’t about that," Xia Zeqin replied.

Qin Nan's expression shifted slightly. "You can speak directly."

"I wasn't very certain until just now when Lin Junru mentioned that father was castrated. Your mother’s death was entirely due to your father’s philandering, having illegitimate children, and constantly seeking mistresses, showing disloyalty in love. Therefore, you have a motive to kill him and to castrate him. Of course," Xia Zeqin suddenly smirked, "that’s not what I’m really getting at."

Qin Nan frowned.

"You've hidden clues, Qin Nan," Xia Zeqin stated flatly.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.