"Could the problem lie with the bride?" Officer Huang suddenly shifted his line of questioning.

"Hmm..." Old Master Gu fell into deep thought. "I think it’s possible. After all, they still haven't found the bride's head, have they? Maybe she was the real target. And, on that very day, it was her wedding. What are the odds?"

"Have you seen the bride?" Officer Huang asked.

"She was carried in on a grand sedan chair. I glanced at her as she stepped out. My, she was a beauty."

Old Master Gu glanced at Qing Ling, "She was just like you—radiant, beautiful, with jet-black hair, like a fairy descending from the heavens. Everyone was envious, thinking to themselves, ‘What great fortune did Hua Zi accumulate in his past life to marry someone like her?’"

"I've figured it out!" Wang Zikai slammed the table, startling everyone. "Gentlemen, have you seen *The Benevolent Magistrate*?"

"Yes," Fatty Jun responded weakly. "You’re saying... it was Chang Wei?"

"Exactly! It must’ve been some pervert from the village who, tempted by her beauty, plotted to steal the bride. But his plan was exposed, and in a fit of rage, he killed the entire family..."

"But that doesn't explain why he dismembered them," Fatty Jun muttered.

"Hah! Little brother, you don’t understand. Let me explain it to you!" Wang Zikai stroked his chin, acting mysterious, while Gao Yang felt like the *Detective Conan* theme song was about to start playing.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"It’s called reverse psychology! Who would suspect that a simple act of lust would end with an entire family being murdered and dismembered? The police wouldn’t even consider it. Isn’t that the perfect way to get away with it?"

Gao Yang paused for a moment, feeling that there was some twisted logic in Wang Zikai’s rambling. But after thinking more carefully, it didn’t hold up. How could mere lust drive someone to dismember an entire family? The cost of such a crime was too high. Moreover, there were no signs of a struggle at Hua Zi’s house—the entire incident happened in the courtyard.

Fatty Jun thought for a long time before shaking his head, "Kai, I still don’t think it adds up... If you were that pervert, would you do something like that?"

"You’re the pervert! Your whole family’s perverts!" Wang Zikai snapped, "Do you think a pervert’s mind works the same as a normal person’s?"

"Kai, your brain works in mysterious ways. If you wouldn’t do it, I’m sure the pervert wouldn’t either..."

"What did you just say, you fatso? Say that again if you dare!"

"I'm fat, but don’t curse me to die! It’s bad luck to say such things late at night..."

As the two idiots bickered, Gao Yang's head began to throb again. Suddenly, he noticed Officer Huang and Qing Ling’s faces had turned grim, their eyes glinting with cold murderous intent as they stared unblinkingly at Old Master Gu across the table.

Gao Yang glanced over, and a chill ran down his spine!

Old Master Gu continued to drink his tea as if nothing was amiss, but translucent, scale-like keratin was slowly sprouting from his arm. The rough, wrinkled skin on the back of his hand began to morph into a slick, reptilian texture. His fingernails grew longer and sharper, turning into two-centimeter-long gray-brown claws.

Then came Old Master Gu’s eyes. The whites of his eyes slowly turned yellow, laced with fine patterns, while his pupils were compressed by some invisible force, forming narrow black slits. In just a few seconds, his human eyes transformed into those of a lizard—cold and precise, like two finely crafted glass marbles.

At that moment, Old Master Gu’s body was undergoing a partial transformation, right in front of four awakened ones and a lost beast.

Yet Old Master Gu didn’t attack. He remained seated, calmly sipping his tea.