“Second Young Master.” Seeing that Qin Nan didn’t move, the old woman urged him again.
Qin Nan felt a bit flustered. Remembering Jian Fan's earlier warning, he dared not defy the NPC. He nodded and quickly left the courtyard.
He decided to step away for a bit and return after 8 PM to reassess the situation.
After exiting the deceased's courtyard, he found a corner nearby to stand in for a while. When the system clock struck 8 PM, he made his way back to the deceased's courtyard.
Just a few steps later, he noticed that the old woman was no longer there. He had no idea where she had gone or if she had left the courtyard entirely.
The light still shone from the deceased's room, but there were no shadows inside. Qin Nan frowned slightly. He had entered through the main gate, and since he had been waiting not far from it, if anyone had left through the main entrance, he should have seen them.
With a belly full of questions, Qin Nan knocked on the deceased's door.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was no response from within.
After some contemplation, he ultimately chose to push the door open and enter.
The room looked much like it had during the day, except for one crucial difference: there was no longer a corpse. No, to be precise, the body had simply changed positions.
There was no blood-stained Tai Chi diagram on the floor, but the deceased was now seated at the desk with a dagger plunged into his chest, blood pouring out steadily. Qin Nan’s gaze immediately shifted to the deceased's forehead.
There were no injuries on the deceased's forehead.
As he stepped forward to check on the deceased, the latter suddenly lifted his head and looked directly at Qin Nan.
This development took Qin Nan by surprise, leaving him momentarily stunned. Before he could react, the next sequence of events made his eyes widen in disbelief.
A figure suddenly appeared in the room, wearing the same outfit as him, sharing the same height and build, but lacking a face. When it saw the deceased look up, it panicked for a moment, then quickly approached, grabbing an inkstone from the desk and smashing it down onto the deceased with a loud "bang."
Blood quickly seeped from the deceased's forehead. He stared in disbelief at the faceless figure before his vision went dark, and he fainted.
What the hell?
Qin Nan’s eyes widened, and he felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
It seemed he had made a poor choice.
Since stepping out of his room, every action had been a decision, and this particular choice meant that he, the Second Young Master, had just added more force after discovering his father, the deceased, had been stabbed.
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In other words, the one who stabbed the deceased wasn’t the murderer, but he could potentially be implicated.
After knocking the deceased out, the faceless figure paused for a moment, then looked down at the inkstone in its hand, quickly making a decision. It took the inkstone and swiftly left the crime scene.
As the faceless figure exited, Qin Nan sensed another silent wave of energy.
The environment around him began to change rapidly. He felt as if he were still standing in place, yet the scenery shifted, seemingly following the faceless figure as it left the crime scene, threw the inkstone into a lake, and then ran back to his own room.
Once the surroundings transformed back into his room, the feeling of silent energy returned, and the line of text, “The night of the murder,” vanished completely.
So… had he returned?
What a foolish thing to do!
Qin Nan raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
The events had already occurred, and regretting them was futile. He quickly calmed himself and began to sort through the clues at hand.
First, the deceased must have been stabbed during the time he was chased away by the old woman after being discovered. The most likely culprit was the person who had been talking to the deceased in the room, who appeared to resemble the Eldest Young Master but was not him.
Analyzing what Xiao Cui had told him, it was clear the deceased had summoned the Eldest Young Master. Based on his earlier observations, Qin Nan boldly speculated that this was a choice Xia Zeqin needed to make.
He could have met with the person sent by the deceased or may not have gone at all. However, the person Qin Nan had seen could not possibly be Xia Zeqin. Therefore, he could temporarily rule Xia Zeqin out as the one who had stabbed the deceased.
The person resembling the Eldest Young Master had stabbed the deceased and then left the scene. As for him, the Second Young Master, Qin Nan’s face darkened at the thought. Knowing that his father favored the older brother and wanted to hand over the business to him, he felt resentment and charged into the deceased's courtyard.
According to the logic of the script, the Second Young Master wouldn’t go to the deceased’s courtyard seeking clues about the murderer, making this speculation the most reasonable. His subsequent actions would likely reflect those of the Second Young Master in the script.
After bursting into the deceased’s courtyard, he found his father seemingly in conversation with the Eldest Young Master. He decided to hide and eavesdrop, but was discovered by an old woman who chased him away. After being found out, he lingered at the door, unwilling to leave, and eventually returned to the deceased’s courtyard, only to discover the injured deceased.
After the deceased regained consciousness, for reasons unknown—perhaps a desire for the deceased to die or sheer fear—the Second Young Master grabbed the inkstone and knocked the deceased out, then left.
Two injuries had already appeared, but what about the third…?
Qin Nan recalled that the deceased had only been bleeding from his chest, meaning the clothing below was clean. While the deceased was still alive, it would have been impossible for anyone to castrate him without leaving traces.
This meant that after the Second Young Master left, someone else had castrated the deceased and truly killed him, ultimately staging the scene to create the Tai Chi diagram.
Thinking this through, Qin Nan felt a bit relieved.
As long as he wasn’t the murderer, things weren’t hopeless. At least, his situation was better than that of the actual killer.
However, remembering the old woman who had discovered him, Qin Nan felt a headache coming on. Tomorrow’s investigation could involve questioning the household staff, including that old woman. If they learned he had sneaked into the deceased’s courtyard before the death, his suspicions would only grow.
After all, this game wasn’t about the murderer always dying; it was about being recognized as the murderer.
Qin Nan had to admit he had created a significant mess for himself.
As he wallowed in frustration, Jian Fan had begun to take action.
When the line “The night of the murder” appeared before him, Jian Fan remained calm. He sat in his room for a while without encountering any NPCs or strange events. Once he confirmed that no incidents would trigger, he left his room.
However, his destination was not the deceased’s courtyard but rather—the residence of the eldest lady.