Chapter 11 Clues

"Now that the ghost is gone, let's hurry," Zhou Rong said, scanning the surroundings. In the dim environment, his heart was filled with unease. "Everyone spread out and search. I'll go to the kitchen."

"I'll stay nearby, in case the ghost suddenly returns," Pei Qian immediately said.

After speaking, the two looked at Jiang Cheng. Now, only the second floor remained unsearched.

Clearly, they were leaving the unfamiliar location to him.

"Exciting!" Jiang Cheng suddenly exclaimed.

The tense Zhou Rong was so startled by Jiang Cheng's sudden shout that his soul almost flew away. Pei Qian was even worse; due to his age, he suddenly felt a wetness beneath him.

"Then... then we'll leave it to Mr. Yin."

Zhou Rong, his face pale, finished speaking and didn't linger, heading straight for the kitchen door. The ghost had come out of this door, and the sound of chopping vegetables had come from there not long ago.

Pei Qian now felt genuinely afraid of Jiang Cheng. This person... seemed to have something wrong with his mind. To avoid being implicated by Jiang Cheng, Pei Qian also chose to distance himself, heading off to search in another direction.

Jiang Cheng strolled to the vicinity of the stairs. He didn't go upstairs immediately, but after thinking for a while, he suddenly squatted down, pressing his ear tightly against the wall near the stairs.

Because of the angle, Pei Qian couldn't see him for the moment and assumed he had gone upstairs.

A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the floor inside the building.

Jiang Cheng's gaze slowly swept over the steps of the staircase. In several places, the dust seemed to have been brushed away.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and then he strode up the steps, his movements seemingly broad and unrestrained, but the sound he made was barely audible.

Choosing a spot with a good view, he crouched down. Here... he found several footprints.

The footprints were messy and unclear, as if someone had left them while running frantically.

Combined with Pei Qian's account, this should be Jiang Zhongyi, left behind before his death.

He carefully distinguished the several footprints and quickly determined that these were not the footprints of one person, but of two, and judging by the size, they should be two adult men.

He immediately thought of Ben Fu, who had disappeared on the first night.

It seemed he had also likely been here, and had also been attacked by the ghost here.

Just as Jiang Cheng stood up, preparing to change positions and carefully examine the remaining footprints, a flash caught his eye, and his leg, which was about to land, suddenly stopped.

Right where he was about to step, he found another footprint.

The size of this footprint was significantly different from the previous two; it was smaller and narrower, as if left by a woman.

Thinking of this, he immediately looked down at his feet.

Next to where he was standing, there were also traces of dust being brushed away.

It was as if... there had once been a woman, using the same movements as Jiang Cheng, choosing to stand in the same spot, observing the footprints on the stairs.

A different emotion appeared in Jiang Cheng's eyes for the first time.

He looked up at the dark corner of the stairs, and then slowly retreated.

Just as he turned around, he suddenly saw a face appear behind the kitchen door.

It was Zhou Rong.

But at this moment, compared to before, he seemed even paler.

Pei Qian also returned after searching around.

Jiang Cheng pretended to have searched upstairs and walked down the stairs, looking as if he had found nothing.

"How is it?" Pei Qian looked at Jiang Cheng and asked in a low voice.

Jiang Cheng shook his head, feigning profoundity.

Pei Qian licked his lips, quickly glanced at the stairs, and then asked in a strange tone, "Why didn't I hear any footsteps upstairs? Mr. Yin isn't afraid and didn't search, is he?"

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng immediately moved aside, clearing the way to the stairs, and stared at Pei Qian with a very aggrieved expression, saying, "If you don't believe me, go up and see for yourself."

Pei Qian glanced at the dark corner at the end of the stairs, and his throat couldn't help but bob.

"I think... I think you can come in and take a look."

Zhou Rong's voice was rather strange, as if he was trying hard to suppress it, as if if he didn't suppress it, he would throw up.

At the same time, an indistinct smell of blood wafted out of the kitchen.

Pei Qian's face instantly turned ugly, probably thinking of something.

But in the end, he still moved his feet and walked over with Jiang Cheng.

Zhou Rong retreated, making way for the two of them at the door.

Pei Qian walked in first, followed by Jiang Cheng.

As soon as they entered, a strong smell of blood hit them in the face, mixed with a foul odor of rotting meat.

On the ground was a dark, large stove, built entirely of stone bricks, with a thick layer of yellow mud smeared on the part that touched the lime floor.

There were several celadon bowls in the place where the tableware was stored, scattered and messy, most of them missing edges and corners.

There was also a huge basin covered with a wooden board.

The dark stove was stained with blood, it was practically like a dismemberment scene from a movie.

It wasn't like it; this was it!

Zhou Rong had obviously seen what was in the basin, so when he lifted the wooden board covering the basin this time, he just took a deep breath, but Pei Qian's face turned white in an instant.

Inside the basin... was chopped meat, some of which was strangely colored and should be internal organs.

Even more terrifying was that they saw a finger in it, which had been cut with a knife, the bone had been chopped, but there was still some flesh connected to it.

His stomach churned, and Pei Qian, the weakest of them all, finally threw up.

Jiang Cheng jumped back to dodge it.

Zhou Rong was a step slower. By the time he wanted to dodge, it was too late, and some filth splashed onto his shoes. He quickly retreated.

The lime floor was covered with blood.

Although the blood was not dry, it had become sticky and thick. Stepping on it made a "creak creak" sound, which made people feel nervous, and also left a shallow footprint.

"Huh?" Jiang Cheng suddenly said.

Zhou Rong immediately looked at Jiang Cheng, but before he could speak, he heard the latter lower his voice and cautiously say, "Did you hear any sound just now?"

"What... what sound?" Pei Qian asked in horror.

"It seems to be upstairs," Jiang Cheng said quickly as he turned and walked towards the door. "You stay here, I'll go take a look."

"I'll go with you," Zhou Rong followed.

Suddenly, his arm was grabbed, and his figure paused.

"Mr. Zhou," Pei Qian's face was very ugly, but he still grabbed Zhou Rong's arm and said in a low voice, "Let him go alone, we... we'll look for clues first, the ghost is coming back soon."

In the few seconds of delay, Jiang Cheng had already left the kitchen and was out of sight.

Zhou Rong slowly turned his head, looking at Pei Qian's face full of sorrow, and after a few seconds, suddenly smiled: "Okay."

"I have already found a clue," Zhou Rong said as he retreated backward.

His posture was rather strange, and he also had much strength. The weak Pei Qian was almost dragged along by him.