Chapter 20: Class A Yellow, Lotus Lake (9)

Standing outside the door were two young women, one tall and one short. From their clothing, the man instantly recognized them as the recently arrived daughters from the manor.

With an expressionless face, he asked, “What do you want?”

Xu Yiliu smiled and said, “So many things have happened recently, the villagers are restless. We thought of asking you to put on a performance to lift everyone’s spirits. It doesn’t matter what you sing—just pick what you’re best at.”

She caught the flicker of temptation in the man’s eyes, but he immediately shouted, “We won’t do it. Find someone else!”

The door slammed shut so hard it made Ji Xianxing step back two paces.

Xu Yiliu glanced sideways toward the neighboring room and noticed some faint noises.

Who are those words meant for?

She looked at Ji Xianxing, then calmly walked to the adjacent door and knocked again.

This time, the door didn’t even open; angry curses in a language they couldn’t understand came from inside.

Xu Yiliu whispered to Ji Xianxing, “What language is that?”

“I’ve never heard it before,” Ji Xianxing replied.

Xu Yiliu guessed this must be the troupe leader, whose attitude, as Ge Hua had said, was utterly dreadful.

However, since they could understand the man outside, they should understand their language too. Choosing another tongue was probably out of respect for their families, unwilling to offend them completely.

She thought for a moment, then gave Ji Xianxing a small push backward.

Ji Xianxing looked at her, puzzled.

Xu Yiliu stretched her limbs, stepped back five or six paces, tensed her muscles, and sprinted forward. Nearing the door, she raised her leg and delivered a powerful flying kick.

The force of her body weight broke through the wooden door in an instant.

Wood splinters scattered, and Ji Xianxing stared blankly at the woman inside, who was stooping to pick up her clothes from the floor. For the first time, her gaze turned dull.

This was going too far...

Xu Yiliu clapped her hands, her face stern and serious. “Two people have died in this village—one is the daughter of the Kong family. The safety of our Snow Moon Pavilion is severely threatened. The eldest daughter of the Fang family is still here. The forces of the Fang, Ji, Kong, Chen, Xu, and Ge families will arrive soon. Yet you all shut your doors and hurl insults at us. Are you the culprits responsible for these crimes?”

The woman, still brushing wood chips off her face, ignored everything else and finally stopped speaking in that incomprehensible language. “It’s none of our business! Our troupe is innocent. You ladies can investigate all you want; if you find anything, it’ll be your skill.”

“Who knows if you’ve cleaned up the traces inside by shutting the door?” Xu Yiliu frowned fiercely. “If you won’t accept our goodwill, must we send our servants and guards to burst in for you?”

Before the troupe leader could respond, Xu Yiliu grabbed a broom leaning against the wall and struck the door violently. The damaged wood trembled, splinters flying, and her face disappeared amid the debris. “Our Xu family is a military household. If anyone dares to commit a crime, they should be ready to face the consequences.”

The troupe leader was shocked. “Miss, you’re mistaken! I’ll have everyone open their doors immediately. You can investigate; I guarantee there’s nothing unusual!”

Xu Yiliu snorted, “How do I know you haven’t swept everything clean? What are you waiting for? Go!”

The leader staggered off, knocking on each door and whispering sharply with a grim expression.

Soon, all the troupe members’ doors were opened.

Ji Xianxing looked at Xu Yiliu in disbelief.

Xu Yiliu shrugged as she brushed off the wood chips, “Street smarts. Since we’re pretending to be wealthy, we use it to the fullest.”

She had many side jobs and met all sorts of people. Most would frown when seeing young faces, thinking well-mannered youth were easy to bully and manipulate.

The saying “kindness invites exploitation” was all too true.

Ge Hua and Ji Xianxing were university students, polite to the point of helplessness. Ji Xianxing couldn’t even make a fuss. Ge Hua looked refined, so these people figured offending them was no big deal and naturally didn’t take them seriously.

As for calling themselves a “military family,” that was just Xu Yiliu’s bluff.

This troupe had long lived in the village and, as Fang Xiaoyi said, rarely spoke with outsiders. They were probably unaware of outside news, so even if their lies were exposed, it wouldn’t matter much.

Ji Xianxing blinked, lowered her eyes, and watched Xu Yiliu quietly.

Xu Yiliu swaggered into each room, inspecting simply but found nothing amiss.

The only suspicious one was the first man they encountered—he kept his head down, his eyes shifting nervously when raised, as if hiding something.

Suddenly, Xu Yiliu recognized him.

That build...

He was the man who entered the ancestral hall last night.

She wanted to smack her head, hating her slow reaction.

But she knew her dullness was due to lowered intelligence. Glancing at Ji Xianxing, she saw her expression was calm—she had probably noticed it long ago.

She asked firmly in a circle, and when it came to that man, her tone became especially severe, “Where were you last night?”

The man evaded the question, “I didn’t...”

“Where were you!” Xu Yiliu raised her voice. “Did you kill someone?”

The man panicked, waving his hands, “I only went... I didn’t go anywhere! I was just sleeping in my room. I didn’t kill anyone.”

The troupe leader suddenly stared intently at him.

He immediately lowered his head.

The old woman from the elderly couple in the troupe said, “Xinwa, you and the troupe leader are married. She can vouch for you.”

The troupe leader fixed her gaze on the man, her dark skin seeming even more somber: “He didn’t go anywhere.”

Xu Yiliu took the opportunity to ease up. “Since you’ve proven your innocence, I’ll end here today. Two people have died in this village within two days. The killer may still be among you. It’s best not to say anything reckless. We all want peace and must avoid bringing trouble upon ourselves.”

Everyone agreed.

The two walked briskly away from the troupe’s enclosure. Only after some distance did they hear slapping sounds.

At the corner, Xu Yiliu looked back and said, “That man is getting beaten.”

Ji Xianxing replied, “They’ve stayed here longer than the steward. The ancestral hall belongs to them.”

“Judging by how he was beaten, that ancestral hall seems like some forbidden place,” Xu Yiliu said. “And he was so familiar with it yesterday—it’s clearly not his first time inside.”

Forbidden places always hide secrets.

The troupe members were tight-lipped about the recent deaths. They didn’t look entirely innocent. The contamination was definitely linked to that ancestral hall; whether the hall itself was the contamination, like in the previous case, she didn’t know.

She reached a conclusion: “We must enter that ancestral hall.”

Ji Xianxing suddenly turned to her and asked out of nowhere, “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Those large, dark eyes were chilling, and Xu Yiliu became alert. “What did you say?”

“No problem,” Ji Xianxing tilted her head. “Just curious about your answer.”

Xu Yiliu considered it. “It’s hard to say. If you’re thinking about it, that’s fine. Are you scared of ghosts?”

She certainly didn’t believe someone who cleared top-level missions would be afraid of ghosts.

Ji Xianxing stepped around and turned away. “Not afraid. Let’s go.”

She lost interest in the topic.