“Young Master Dennis excitedly shouted at the master… ‘Anyone can see that the woman married you to seize our family’s property. Only you are still in the dark. You’re old and senile, bewitched by her. I won’t let this happen. If you refuse to remove her name from the will, I’ll find another way!’” Barton imitated the person’s tone as he recounted the story. “After the young master said that, the master roared, and then the gunshot rang out. I was so startled at the time that I almost fell out of the tree. Luckily, I was close to the trunk and managed to grab it and slide down. Later… I ran into the house and met everyone in the second-floor hallway.”

This Barton seemed to be an honest man, not very cunning, just a bit gossipy. It was only natural for a servant in a wealthy family to be interested in the scandals of their masters.

Feng Bujue believed that Barton’s description might have been embellished, but the basic meaning should not be too far off. So, Brother Jue tentatively asked, “In other words… you think this ‘another way’ is…” He made a gesture of slitting his throat.

“Mmm…” Barton nodded vigorously, his eyes wide.

“That’s a bit of an assumption, isn’t it?” Feng Bujue said. “Earlier in the foyer, I didn’t see their relationship was so tense that it was a matter of life and death.”

“No… you don’t understand, Mr. Feng.” Barton leaned forward and said, “I’ve been a gardener here for eight years, so I know a few things…” The gossip in his soul seemed to be ignited, and he narrated earnestly, “Madame Odette married the master seven years ago, when she was only twenty-eight, and Master Coulston was fifty-five. You should know what outsiders think of such an May-December romance…”

“Yes… a pear blossom crushing a crabapple.” Feng Bujue interjected, “Beautiful…” He had a longing look on his face.

“Uh… what did you say?” Barton asked, puzzled. It seemed that the system’s built-in translation function could not convey Feng Bujue’s meaning.

“Nothing, I just thought of something irrelevant.” Feng Bujue instantly changed to a serious expression and brought the topic back, “I think, even if they don’t say it on the surface, most people still think… Madame Odette married Mr. Lovecraft for the money.”

“Yes.” Barton responded and continued, “So you can probably guess the reaction of the master’s three children when they heard the news.”

“Three children?” Feng Bujue asked, “Is there another one besides Dennis and Jack?”

“Yes, the master also has a daughter, Miss Nancy.” Barton added, “Young Master Dennis and Young Master Jack are both children of the first wife, while Miss Nancy is the child of the master and the second wife.”

“Is Miss Nancy in this villa now?” Feng Bujue asked.

“No, but she should be arriving today.” Barton replied, “Actually, usually only the master and madame are here. The eldest young master and his wife live in the city, Miss Nancy works in Vienna, and the second young master… seems to be a wanderer. But every year at this time, they all come back and stay until Thanksgiving before leaving.”

“Hmm…” Feng Bujue quickly sorted out the family’s situation in his mind and said, “I understand… please continue.”

“Okay.” Barton continued from where he left off, “When the master announced that he was going to marry the young Madame Odette, everyone in the family naturally thought that this woman was after the master’s property. Of course, at that time, Young Master Jack was busy being a rock star, and Miss Nancy was still in college. Although they had some complaints about this matter, it didn’t reach the point of being completely unacceptable.”

“But Dennis’s attitude was more intense.” Feng Bujue followed up.

“That’s right.” Barton said, “I’m about the same age as Young Master Dennis, and I actually understand him quite well. If I also had a wealthy old man who wanted to marry a stepmother who was five or six years younger than me, I would object too.”

“In short, the conflict between the two of them was foreshadowed from that time on, right?” Feng Bujue said.

“Yes, so over the years, Young Master Dennis and Madame Odette’s relationship has been very tense, but they all pretend to be quite polite on the surface,” Barton replied.

“Oh…” Feng Bujue pondered, “From what I’ve heard so far… the focus of the problem seems to be Master Coulston’s will. Do you know anything about that?”

Hearing this, Barton recalled for a few seconds and said, “Hmm… that was… in the winter three years ago. One afternoon, the master suddenly had a stroke in the study. Although he finally escaped danger, in the days that followed, he had to rely on a cane. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the always healthy master. After that, his physical condition deteriorated. A few months later, he found a lawyer and made a will…”

Feng Bujue interjected, “Could it be… that the madame made him make it?”

“Uh… I don’t know about that.” Barton said, “But Young Master Dennis seems to think so, and he argued with the master many times about the will. I remember one time they argued very fiercely, and everyone in the house heard the young master shouting in the room, ‘That woman is a witch! She should be tied to the stake and burned to death!’”

“Hmm…” Feng Bujue pondered for a moment, then said, “So… why… are you telling me these things?”

“Because I really don’t know who to turn to for help, Mr. Feng.” Barton said with a worried look on his face, “The master firing the gun today really scared me, and so did Young Master Dennis’s words… I feel like something bad is definitely going to happen if this continues. The master and madame are usually very nice to me, and I don’t want to see any of them suffer an accident or do anything that hurts people’s lives.” He paused for a moment, “I saw you in the hallway earlier, and you seemed incredibly calm when facing the sudden situation. I could tell from your eyes that you are a remarkable person. That’s why I came to tell you these things. I thought, maybe you could talk to the master or the young master and persuade them not to do anything foolish.”

Feng Bujue’s expression remained unchanged as he listened. He was silent for a while before saying, “In the end, I’m just a passerby who had a car accident in the mountains. I’m not qualified to interfere in the Lovecraft family’s affairs.”

Barton lowered his head, revealing a disappointed expression.

Feng Bujue continued, “In my opinion, you’re a bit oversensitive, Mr. Barton. Everyone says a few angry words… especially when they’re out of control.” He spread his hands, “What witch, stake, those are obviously metaphors. That phrase ‘another way’ might refer to… resorting to litigation or something like that.” He stood up and patted Barton on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mr. Barton, nothing will…”

“Ah–” A woman’s scream suddenly rang out, interrupting Feng Bujue’s words.

The system voice followed closely: [Current mission completed, main mission updated]

In the menu, the line [Stay in the villa and wait for the case to happen] has been checked off, and a new mission appears: [Investigate the crime scene and wait for the police to arrive]