An Xin scoffed at him, saying, "I think you're not heartbroken, but rather overjoyed! After all, having a beauty by your side and soaking in a hot spring together is a wonderful thing."
Yan Zhen raised her finger and pinched her chin, her eyelashes curved, and said with a smile, "Yes, with a beauty by my side, let's take a bath together. Hmm, is Xin'er's clothing dry?"
An Xin said through gritted teeth, "It's wet."
Yan Zhen leaned close to her ear, his voice as melodious as a zither, yet with a hint of wickedness, and whispered, "Since you're still wet, why don't we continue?"
An Xin's face flushed red to her neck, and she glared at him through gritted teeth: "Yan Zhen, get the hell away from me!"
Chapter Eighty-Five is you
Following the trail of blood, An Xin stopped in front of a room. She exchanged a glance with Yan Zhen, then slightly stepped aside. Yan Zhen struck out with a palm strike, and with a loud bang, the door was flung open, followed by a strong stench of blood.
An Xin casually covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, cautiously walked to the door, and looked into the room. From her angle, she saw that the room was empty. She frowned slightly, slowly walked in, and her gaze fell on the bed. Her eyes suddenly darkened!
On the bed lay a corpse, dressed in white, headless, and clearly no longer breathing.
Yan Zhen said calmly, "He's dead."
An Xin stepped forward, her gaze carefully sweeping over the corpse. She knew, of course, that the body was dead. The problem was that all the corpses she had encountered these past few days were headless bodies that were likely already dead, and they all looked similar to the one in front of her. Could this be the terrifying corpse she encountered every night?
Something seems off.
An Xin's gaze fell on the corpse's shoes—a pair of ordinary cloth-soled shoes, extremely comfortable and lightweight. The soles were spotless, without a speck of dust. An Xin frowned, then her gaze fell on the corpse's clothes: a very ordinary white cloth shirt, also spotless. Aside from that, there was nothing unusual. Finally, her gaze settled on the corpse's neck. The cut was uneven, indicating the head had been recently severed, leaving the neck covered in blood that stained the bed red…
It was just cut down recently?
Based on speculation, the headless corpse would inevitably touch the ground every time it appeared, so the soles of its shoes would inevitably pick up dust. She also remembered that when she first saw the headless corpse, its white shirt was stained with blood.
But this headless corpse was not only clean in clothes, but even the soles of its shoes were clean. Could a headless corpse change its clothes by itself?
An Xin sighed and touched the corpse's wrist. There was no pulse, and the body was cold; it was completely dead.
The appearance of this headless corpse is too strange. If this headless corpse is the same one she has seen before, why doesn't it run away this time?
An Xin stood up, her gaze falling on the ground. A carpet covered the floor, leaving no footprints. An Xin ran her fingers over the carpet's soft fibers, a sudden thought striking her. She abruptly stood up and said, "I understand!"
Yan Zhen was suddenly taken aback, raised her eyelashes to look at her, and said, "Oh?"
An Xin said with a somber expression, "Everything will happen tonight."
****
As soon as night fell, An Xin yawned and slowly stepped into the garden. Because of the hot spring, there was a misty atmosphere everywhere, and even the bright moon hanging high in the sky was covered with a thin layer of mist, making it look hazy, eerie and beautiful.
An Xin held a red candle in both hands. The wind blew the candle flame, making it sway gracefully. In the candlelight, her shadow was stretched thin and long, swaying with her steps.
Sudden!
A dark shadow appeared behind her. An Xin suddenly stopped and watched as the shadow on the ground grew larger and closer. Just as it was about to reach her, An Xin suddenly turned around.
Under the pitch-black night sky, red paper lanterns suddenly lit up all around, but An Xin, with lightning speed, abruptly smashed the red candles at the headless corpse.
Even though the headless corpse wanted to escape, it didn't expect An Xin to suddenly pull such a move. The red candle fell and rose up, bursting into flames with a bang. The candle wax dripped down, suddenly making the fire on the headless corpse burn even more fiercely, and the sizzling sound became particularly clear in the dark night.
An Xin slowly approached the headless corpse, watching it gradually burn to ashes before her eyes, a chilling smile curving her lips.
"Let me go! Let me go!" came an angry voice struggling, and then a figure was thrown in front of An Xin.
Yan Zhen walked over slowly and said casually, "When I caught this girl, I was quite surprised. I wonder what Xin'er thinks?"
An Xin's expression suddenly darkened when her gaze fell on the figure on the ground. "It's you!?"
New candles were lit in the room, and An Xin's face flickered in the candlelight.
Yan Zhen, on the other hand, was lazy and seemed completely unaware of the chilling aura in the room.
The figures on the ground had their heads bowed, their hair disheveled, and their expressions were obscured.
"Speak," An Xin said, seemingly having calmed the turmoil in her heart, her composure revealing no trace of emotional fluctuation.
The figure on the ground trembled slightly, but remained silent.
An Xin picked up her teacup, bringing it to her lips, but suddenly flung it away, the scalding tea splashing onto the figure on the ground with a "bang." She coldly demanded, "Didn't you hear what I said?! An Wan, you tell me everything from the beginning, word for word." Ever since the day the people were thrown into chaos, this younger sister had vanished without a trace. Even though she loathed her, she still had people diligently searching for her, never expecting that the mastermind behind her daily struggles with the headless corpse was none other than An Wan!
Ha! After disappearing and then suddenly returning to the An family, she naturally didn't bother to ask where she had been all these years. But whenever her parents asked, she would always come up with a bunch of excuses that sounded pitiful and pathetic. But as insightful as she was, how could she not know how full of holes those excuses were?
They said they suffered all kinds of bullying and humiliation, that they were not fed or clothed, and that they did all kinds of hard labor for others!
The scalding tea splashed onto An Wan, the teacup shattering on the ground with a crack. An Wan abruptly looked up, gritting her teeth, and said, "An Xin, don't think you're so great! How much suffering and grievances have I endured leaving home all these years? And you? You have your parents' love and Ling Xiyao's favor, you never have to worry about food, clothing, or anything else. Don't forget, without me, why would you enjoy all this?!"
An Xin's gaze suddenly turned cold, and she sneered, "Enough with the nonsense, I'll just ask you, what's the deal with this headless corpse?"
An Wan sneered, "What's wrong with playing around when you're bored?"
An Xin's smile slowly stiffened and hardened: "Fine, then I'll play with you. I heard that the Duke of the State has a peculiar hobby. He keeps a whole scorpion den in his mansion. Whenever he encounters a disobedient servant, he throws him into the scorpion den to feed the scorpions. Since you've disappeared, then you might as well really disappear. It will save your parents from worrying about you, and I can keep this affection all to myself."
An Wan's expression suddenly changed: "An Xin, how dare you!"
An Xin raised an eyebrow: "You try and see if I dare." With that, she got up, casually grabbed the rope binding An Wan, and pulled her away.
An Wan felt a chill run down her spine, and her voice immediately softened: "Sister, I was forced into it too!"
An Xin remained silent and continued to pull her away.
An Wan's body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground, trembling as she said, "It's...it's Ming Jiao!"
An Xin suddenly narrowed her eyes and glanced at Yan Zhen without leaving a trace. Yan Zhen also lazily raised her eyelashes and glanced at An Wan.