It's likely that someone lived here within the last ten years.
“I’ll go with you.” Jing Lan smiled faintly, but the determination in her tone was unquestionable. An Xin looked under the bed for a while, then casually pulled out a pair of cloth shoes.
The shoes were covered in dust, but strangely, one shoe looked newer than the other. An Xin casually flipped the sole over and saw that one was more worn and the other was less so. Suddenly, she had an idea and got up to walk outside.
Because it was late at night, the wind on the mountaintop was slightly chilly.
An Xin had only taken a few steps when she turned back to look at Jing Lan behind her. Bathed in the moonlight, he was like a piece of exquisite jade. He had followed her all the way without saying a word, yet he was an undeniable presence.
An Xin looked away without saying anything more and continued walking towards the top of the mountain.
An Xin walked upwards, her brows furrowing more and more deeply, sensing something ominous.
The moonlight poured down, and the higher she went, the steeper the path became. An Xin had no choice but to climb. Even though she was in good physical condition, she was starting to feel the strain. When her foot stepped on a protruding rock, she suddenly slipped, and with a "crack," she fell to the ground.
At the critical moment, a hand grabbed her. The force of her rapid fall made the hand tremble slightly. The next moment, she felt the world spinning. When she came to her senses, she had been lifted up and landed steadily on the mountaintop.
An Xin glanced down the mountain. The slope was steep, and a fall there would likely be fatal. Relieved, An Xin said, "Thank you."
Jing Lan glanced at her, then looked ahead and said calmly, "There's a lake."
An Xin trembled and suddenly turned around. Under the vast moonlight, a lake was shrouded in moonlight, with a light mist rising from its surface, like mercury spread out.
There's actually a lake here!
An Xin stepped forward. Huge stones were piled up around the lake, forming a semi-circular arc that encircled the lake, leaving only an opening facing them.
Those who have never climbed to the top of the mountain probably have no idea that there is a lake at the top of Duanfeng Mountain!
The lake water seemed to have flown in from nowhere, yet it was unknown how such a high mountain could have formed such a lake.
An Xin suddenly frowned. She remembered that this mountain was formed by a volcanic eruption many years ago, and the volcano had never erupted since then!
In this light, it's not surprising that there are lakes here.
An Xin took a deep breath. So, this lake is the crater of the volcano that erupted back then!
Since there is a lake, judging from the location of Duanfeng Mountain, those people in Fengxian Village who heard the sound of water should have been able to hear it as well. In other words, the strange sound of water may very well have come from here!
But Duanfeng Mountain is so high, even if there is water, how could it be heard clearly at the foot of the mountain?
Only a very heavy rock falling into the lake could possibly cause such a loud splash...
An Xin's gaze suddenly fell on the pile of stones around the lake. Her eyes were deep and unfathomable. She paused and walked towards the stones. After going around to the back of the boulder, when she saw the scene in front of her, An Xin's face turned deathly pale!
---Aside---
Sorry girls, it's so late. The power was out for half a day, and I didn't have time to tell you. Group chat, please?
Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Kiss
It was a rotting corpse, lying diagonally on a pile of stones, its appearance gruesome, and the air was filled with a pungent stench. An Xin subconsciously covered her mouth, paused for a moment, and then walked towards the corpse.
This body, if she hadn't climbed to the top of the mountain, would probably never have been discovered. But what was the body doing climbing up there? And why did it die?
An Xin approached and roughly examined the body. The degree of decomposition was alarming; the person had probably been dead for more than a month, and given that it was summer, the condition was even more severe.
An Xin's gaze fell on the corpse's legs, then she narrowed her eyes and turned back to ask, "Is there a knife?"
Jing Lan said softly, "I rarely carry a dagger..." With his strength, even if he carried a knife, it would only be a burden. As he spoke, he casually picked up a branch. "What are you going to do with it?"
An Xin said, "Take off the shoes of this corpse, and try not to touch the corpse's balance." The cause of death can probably only be determined in the previous life. With the body decomposed to this extent, it is impossible to determine the cause of death.
An Xin's gaze fell on the scattered stones beneath the corpse, lost in thought. When she came back to her senses, she saw that Jing Lan had already taken off his shoes, but she didn't know how he had done it.
An Xin couldn't help but smile and say, "Thank you for your trouble, Prime Minister."
Jing Lan smiled faintly and said, "Miss An, you're too kind."
An Xin stepped forward, took the shoes from his hand and examined them closely. She stood in front of him, head bowed in thought, and he lowered his head slightly, his gaze also falling on the shoes.
When An Xin flipped open the sole of the shoe, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked up abruptly.
She raised her head so suddenly that he was caught off guard, and her forehead bumped heavily into his chin.
An Xin winced in pain, rubbing her forehead and hurriedly asked, "Are you alright? Hey, why are you looking down?"
Jing Lan was both amused and exasperated, but she raised her hand and placed it on her forehead, asking, "Did you hurt yourself?"
An Xin rubbed her forehead and looked at his concerned expression, then chuckled and said, "If you don't feel pain, I reckon you don't feel pain either."
Jinglan smiled faintly: "It hurts terribly."
An Xin rubbed her temples, paused for a moment, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Sorry..."
Jing Lan casually took out some ointment to reduce swelling and said, "Is there anything strange about these shoes?" As he spoke, he picked up the ointment and gently applied it to An Xin's forehead. His fingertips had a warm touch, which was not abrupt but as gentle as a spring breeze, making people feel completely unprepared.
An Xin's gaze darkened as she said, "If I'm not mistaken, this corpse is the 'murderer' known as the 'strange man'!"
Jing Lan's fingers suddenly paused: "The strange man is already dead? Then the series of murders in Fengxian Village weren't his doing?"
An Xin now truly felt a pain in her forehead. She raised her hand to rub it again, but Jing Lan grabbed her finger. An Xin was slightly taken aback. Jing Lan smiled gently and said, "I've applied ointment. Don't wipe it off. The swelling will go down soon."
An Xin nodded and turned the shoes over, saying, "The stone house we saw when we came here must belong to the strange man, because his legs were of different lengths, and the wear and tear on his shoes varied depending on how he walked. I also found a pair of shoes similar to these in the stone house, with the left shoe worn more and the right shoe worn less, just like these shoes. Although we can't be completely sure that this corpse is the strange man, he disappeared a month ago and never appeared in people's sight again. Then the murder case in Fengxian Village happened, and people naturally blamed the murder case on the strange man, which led to our misjudgment of the murderer!"
Jing Lanqing said softly, "In that case, the murderer is someone else, but we don't know why this strange person died."
An Xin fell silent. She turned and glanced at the strange man's corpse, pondering for a long time before saying, "Things are getting more and more complicated. If the sound of water is coming from this lake, then the murderer should appear in this area. But why would they make the sound of water?"