Volume 1, Chapter 59: Twins, Python Robe and Jade Tablet

"Mom, Dad is right. Without hard evidence—only details and our own judgment—the village chief is a man who strictly adheres to the rules. If we tell him now, it will only alert the enemy. He won't just wrongfully execute someone on a whim, and the villagers wouldn't accept it either. Dad couldn't find any proof even after going into Yu Jiang's house, so what makes you think the chief would? If we act rashly now, Yu Jiang will immediately try to figure out who exposed him. Since Dad was likely the only person who recently entered his home, he would definitely become the prime suspect, and we'd be targeted," Luo Bin interrupted, explaining things before Luo酆 could.

Luo酆 always made sense, but his tone was far too rigid. Besides, between husband and wife, people naturally had their own independent thoughts; having Luo Bin mediate made it gentler and much easier for Gu Ya to accept.

Sure enough, Gu Ya did not voice any objections, though her face turned paler and her eyes filled with even greater tension.

"People can never avoid making mistakes forever. In any case, we have already set our sights on him. Next time, if he leaves the slightest trace or clue, we can just gently pull a few strings and let the village chief intervene," Luo酆 spoke up once more.

"Mhm, right, exactly!" Gu Ya's mood improved considerably at that.

"Xiao Ling has never had any contact with that Yu Jiang anyway, and under normal circumstances, she wouldn't even cross paths with him. She also only knows a broad list of suspects, so there really wasn't any need to say too much. Dear, Xiao Shan, let's eat," Gu Ya said, handing out chopsticks to the father and son.

Luo酆 picked up his bowl.

Gu Ya placed a piece of food into Luo Bin's bowl with her chopsticks.

Then, looking slightly puzzled, she asked, "Xiao Shan, why aren't you eating?"

"Mom, Dad, wait for me a moment."

Luo Bin stood up and hurried into his bedroom.

Once inside, he spat out the piece of plastic wrap and tucked it into his pocket. Then, picking up the gold earring from the table, he quickly returned to the main room and placed the golden ornament right on the table!

Luo酆 wore a puzzled look.

Gu Ya's expression shifted slightly as she asked, "Xiao Shan, did you steal something again? Or is this something you stole a while ago? You have to return it to its owner."

Luo Bin: "???"

A wry smile instantly twisted his features.

The original owner of this body was truly a hopeless case. It seemed he hadn't just harassed Zhang Yunling, loafed around with Zhang Jun's gang, but was even prone to petty theft and pilfering?

"I didn't steal it, Mom. I found this. But... it belongs to Zhu Qianqian."

Taking a deep breath, Luo Bin laid out all his suspicions regarding Chen Xianxian in full detail.

Earlier, he hadn't planned to speak up, partly because he lacked concrete evidence, and if Luo酆 acted rashly, it would only alert the target. However, judging by how Luo酆 handled the situation with Yu Jiang, he was a man who placed much greater value on solid proof—or rather, he understood the village chief well enough not to do anything foolish.

Moreover, this matter genuinely involved Zhang Li and Gu Yiren.

If no one else had been dragged into this, Luo Bin would have certainly dealt with Zhang Li on his own, dead or alive, just to give Gu Yiren closure. But this situation happened to entangle other people. Furthermore, the other party was even plotting against him.

In that case, he couldn't afford to rely on wishful thinking or take unnecessary risks; he had to properly utilize the means at his disposal to ensure his own safety. Besides, Gu Yiren being completely on her own was genuinely dangerous. Once Zhang Li could be found, at the very least, he would protect Gu Yiren, and hopefully learn to be a bit wiser in the process.

Amidst these racing thoughts, Luo Bin recounted every single detail of what he knew about Chen Xianxian.

Luo酆 furrowed his brows deeply.

Gu Ya listened in utter bewilderment, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Those two sisters... are they really that strange?"

"If it weren't for the business with Zhu Qianqian, I'd say the older sister has her eyes set on Xiao Shan. That woman is completely fickle and wanton; you can't go anywhere near her. But getting mixed up with Zhu Qianqian... wait, that doesn't make sense either... Chen Xianxian is a notorious seductress who leads men astray, while Chen Xianxian is much more well-behaved. There's no reason for them to harbor malicious intentions..."

Luo Bin was stunned.

Sisters?

What was Gu Ya talking about?

One moment she was calling Chen Xianxian a seductress, the next she was saying she was well-behaved, and then fickle and wanton...

"Xiao Shan, the way you're talking—not only is your mother confused, but even I'm completely lost. Can't you even tell the difference between those twin sisters?" Luo酆 spoke up again.

This was a massive influx of information, but it was also a warning... Luo Bin's heart suddenly sank, filling him with extreme shock.

A memory flashed instantly back into his mind.

It was back at the place where they drew lots. The village chief had called out Chen Xianxian's name, and sure enough, Chen Xianxian had stepped forward and explicitly said, "My older sister is at home."

At the time, he hadn't thought much of it; he only felt that Chen Xianxian looked familiar, that he knew her and had seen her before...

Twins sharing the exact same name? What kind of joke was that?

Right...

No wonder Chen Xianxian's appearance had seemed somewhat erratic—one moment she had long hair cascading down to her waist, and the next she wore a ponytail.

And there was another detail...

The ponytail-wearing Chen Xianxian had a mole at the corner of her mouth?

So, *that* one was the older sister?

His thoughts instantly unraveled into a chaotic mess, primarily because his understanding of Chen Xianxian had completely flipped: the person he had seen was actually two different people.

Now, he needed to figure out which one was the older sister and which one was the younger sister...

He would have to trace the whole thing back to the beginning and sort it out step by step...

"Xiao Shan really couldn't tell them apart..." Gu Ya offered a bitter smile.

"Still, Xiao Shan, basing your judgment purely on this earring, and claiming that the Chen sisters letting you into their house is suspicious and somehow linked to Zhang Li's disappearance—that conclusion is far too arbitrary."

"It's entirely possible, you know. Didn't Zhu Qianqian lose two earrings? And that Gu Yiren is definitely hiding something," Gu Ya said earnestly. "Could it be that the Chen sisters discovered Zhang Li? Or found some trace of Gu Yiren, and genuinely had something important to tell you? It's normal that she didn't come out; it was far too late yesterday, and people aren't allowed out after dark. Especially in households in the village with only women, absolutely no one would ever let the Chen sisters stay overnight."

Luo Bin remained silent.

Pulling apart the threads of information, the twin sisters Chen Xianxian possessed completely contrasting personalities. The reason the women in the village shunned them was simply because the older sister was wanton and a seductress. The explanation couldn't possibly be more thorough.

"Let's eat, dear. Xiao Shan, eat your food too."

"Alright. Tomorrow morning, we'll go pay those sisters a visit. Whether it's the older or younger one, didn't she say she had some information to tell me? Xiao Shan and I will go together. That way, we can look out for each other and figure out what exactly she's up to."

"And Xiao Shan, stop overthinking things. Since you couldn't tell the sisters apart, no matter how hard you think about it, you won't be able to make sense of it on your own."

Luo酆 picked up his chopsticks once again.

Luo Bin kept his mouth shut and quietly resumed shoveling rice into his mouth.

Gu Ya clearly looked uneasy; she glanced at Luo酆 several times, then back at Luo Bin, opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowing her words.

As the meal concluded, the night grew deeper and darker. Yet, the surroundings didn't grow quiet—whispered voices and footsteps of varying weight passed by the courtyard, faded into the distance, and then echoed back once more.

In the dead of night, malevolent entities were everywhere.

Deep in the night, everyone had fallen asleep early. Once asleep, naturally, they wouldn't be disturbed by malevolent spirits.

At this very moment, a solitary figure was still walking along the concrete road that ran through the entire village.

No, it wasn't a living person; it was a malevolent spirit.

Its stature was exceptionally towering, easily over two meters tall, with broad, thick shoulders and a narrow waist.

It wore a python-robbed court dress, with golden thread patterns embroidered across its chest and abdomen.

Both of its hands cradled a ceremonial jade tablet.

It walked silently and steadily along the concrete road.

The lesser spirits dared not approach, trembling continuously in overwhelming terror!

It walked very slowly, its gaze sweeping back and forth across the sides of the road as if searching for something.

It turned into that narrow alley and walked all the way to the courtyard in front of the bamboo grove.

The night was deep and desolate, and the courtyard was dead silent, without a single speck of light.

It stepped over the wicker fence and walked up to the door of every single room. Because it was too tall, it had to bend its waist, crack open a sliver of the door, and peer inside.

Every single room was completely empty.

It turned around and walked out of the courtyard.

Beneath the floorboards of one of the rooms lay a tiny, cramped cellar.

Because it was nestled so close to the foot of the mountain and right beside the bamboo grove, the cellar was exceptionally damp, its walls crawling with dense, fine roots.

Gu Yiren curled up tightly in a corner, trembling as she struck a match and relit the oil lamp that had inexplicably gone out just moments before.

The flame burned with a shaky, flickering light.

Then, with a soft *puff*, it went out again.

She hugged her knees tightly with both arms, burying her face deep against them, not daring to move even a muscle.

Terror was on the verge of completely swallowing her whole.

She no longer dared to light the lamp!

Back at the courtyard by the bamboo grove.

That towering figure returned to the courtyard, its nostrils flaring slightly as if sniffing the air.

The moonlight illuminated its face—rigid, stiff, ashen, and washed with an indescribable, ghastly paleness.

This was by no means the face of a living person.

Nor was it anything like a common malevolent spirit.

In fact, a thin line of blood extended down from the top of its head, tracing a distorted, crooked rune that ran across its entire face, past its neck, and disappeared beneath the python robe.

Afterward, it walked up to one of the doors, pushed it open a tiny crack once more, and leaned in to peer inside.

If a second person were to witness this scene, they would undoubtedly be driven to the absolute limit of suffocation, or perhaps even frightened out of their wits.

It maintained this posture for a very long time, completely motionless, as if it were simply waiting.