The restaurant was especially busy today. As soon as we entered the Phoenix Tail Restaurant, a waiter came up to us and said, "I'm sorry, sir, all the tables are full. Please wait a moment at the tea table outside. As soon as a table becomes available, I will reserve it for you."
Feng Yi asked doubtfully, "These guests aren't from Yi'an County, are they?"
The waiter was taken aback and hurriedly stepped forward, lowering his voice to say, "To be honest, young master, I'm not very clear either. I haven't heard of any major events happening in Yi'an County recently. However, the death of that drunkard Chen Guangzhi has been the talk of the town."
An Xin's gaze swept across the restaurant, and a strange feeling arose within her. Although the restaurant was packed with people, it was unusually quiet. The people who originally wanted to make a lot of noise now unconsciously lowered their voices. Her gaze swept over them one by one, and they were all ordinary people with ordinary faces. In terms of appearance, Feng Yi was the most outstanding.
Feng Yi's eyes flashed, and he looked at An Xin and whispered, "Let's wait at the tea house first."
An Xin did not object and sat down at a teahouse. Her gaze casually swept across the building. Eight men were sitting at the table opposite her, all dressed as ordinary people. However, six of them looked nervous and seemed restless. The man sitting in the head seat wore coarse cloth clothes, had a sallow complexion, and black hair that was long and thick. His hair was of exceptionally good quality. Such a appearance would make him disappear in a crowd, so there was nothing strange about it. However, An Xin still felt something was off. Upon closer examination, she realized that this strangeness stemmed from the man's demeanor.
Yes, although his appearance was ordinary, his temperament was outstanding, like a supreme jade, radiating an extremely beautiful luster.
How could someone with an ordinary appearance possess such an ethereal quality?
An Xin couldn't help but glance at the person again. Then, as if sensing something, the person looked at her. At that moment, An Xin's heart trembled.
Those eyes were like a clear spring in an empty valley, or a beautiful jade under the moon, like a beautiful dream floating in the light mist, striking one's heart almost instantly and leaving one breathless.
His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before shifting away.
An Xin was overwhelmed with emotion.
Isn't it a bit strange that such an ordinary-looking face could possess such captivating eyes?
Feng Yi tugged at An Xin's finger, and An Xin suddenly looked at him. Feng Yi's eyes flashed, and he gestured for her to look elsewhere.
Only one person was seated at the round table, while people at the surrounding tables cautiously scanned their surroundings, as if they were unknowingly encircling that person.
He was still dressed in ordinary clothes, with his arms crossed, sitting there motionless like a stone statue.
It was still his aura, a cold, almost deathly aura. Even though he kept his presence under control, An Xin could still feel it. The oppressive, hellish chill seemed to isolate him in a vacuum.
This is so weird...
Looking at the other side, there was indeed a person wearing a cloak and a wide robe.
Looking around the entire restaurant, this person was probably the most unique. His attire exuded an aura of the martial arts world. As he raised his hand to drink tea, An Xin immediately noticed his hand—long, slender, and fair, with delicate, jade-like flesh… It was a woman's hand!?
An Xin was filled with turmoil. Her intuition told her that something serious must have happened, otherwise why would so many strange people have come to visit?
Turning her gaze away, An Xin glanced unintentionally at the crowd. Even just a glance made her heart tremble violently. There was a figure standing at the street corner, as beautiful as the moon, as if the light in the world was brightened by that person. But the next moment, that person's figure disappeared into thin air!
An Xin is an absolute atheist! She admits that many things are mysterious and difficult to explain, but anything that can be explained is man-made, and she firmly believes that there is absolutely no God in this world.
Even her time travel can be explained using the theory of relativity.
But just now, in broad daylight, did she encounter a ghost? How could a person simply vanish into thin air?
Feng Yi seemed to sense something was amiss, but clearly, he didn't perceive any unique qualities in those people; he only saw subtle clues that were difficult for ordinary people to detect.
Suddenly, the person sitting alone at the table stood up and walked out as if no one else was there. As he passed An Xin, An Xin suddenly threw a teacup at him. The teacup was thrown with a cunning move, and anyone who touched it would be injured.
However, An Xin only used her own pure strength and did not have any internal energy, so even if she was injured, she would not actually cripple the person.
The man seemed oblivious and walked straight ahead. But at that moment, An Xin felt a powerful killing intent. If killing intent could kill, she would surely be shattered by now.
With a "crack," the cup was grabbed, but it was an ugly-faced man who was obviously disguised as well, with only his cold eyes that seemed to want to kill.
An Xin opened her eyes wide and suddenly burst into tears.
Feng Yi was momentarily stunned and looked at An Xin in surprise.
An Xinru, like a spoiled little girl, wiped her eyes with her hands, glared at her feet, and cried loudly, "You bullied me! You bullied me!"
Feng Yi was dumbfounded: "Huh?"
An Xin burst into tears, yelling, "You bastard! You dare touch me! You dare touch me!" With that, An Xin grabbed the remaining cups and dishes and threw them at Feng Yi in a chaotic manner.
Feng Yi hurriedly dodged, but seemed to realize something was wrong, and kept coaxing, "Okay, okay, don't cry, I was wrong, alright?" But for some reason, a faint blush rose on his cheeks.
The ugly-faced man frowned and glanced at An Xin, then, as if receiving some kind of instruction, left nonchalantly.
That overwhelming killing intent vanished instantly, and when An Xin looked for the person again, he had already disappeared without a trace.
An Xin then grabbed Feng Yi's arm and bit him hard, causing Feng Yi to cry out in pain. At the same time, the person in the wide robe and straw hat slowly left. A fragrant breeze wafted by, and An Xin's eyes flashed. It was indeed a woman, but something seemed strange about her.
Immediately afterwards, the ordinary-looking black-haired man walked past An Xin. An Xin subconsciously turned around and glanced at him, only to see that the man's gaze swept over her, and a smile seemed to appear on his lips.
An Xin felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had been seen through, but the next moment he slowly walked away.
The once bustling restaurant was now much emptier. The waiter looked puzzled and said, "Hey, it was packed just a moment ago, how come it's all empty now! Could all these customers be a group of people?!"
An Xin's gaze darkened, then she looked up at Feng Yi and smiled, "I want to eat Sichuan-style chicken."
Feng Yi: "..."
Chapter Thirty-Two: No One Needed
Mouthwatering chicken is known as "famous throughout Sichuan and Chongqing, and its flavor surpasses that of the twelve prefectures of Jiangnan". It combines spiciness, freshness, aroma and tenderness. Take a bite and you will have an unforgettable experience!
Looking at the table full of delicious food, An Xin smiled with great satisfaction. Her eyes were naturally bright and cheerful, and when she smiled, her eyes curved like crescent moons, and her pupils were as black as stars. She didn't give people the impression of being a beauty that could destroy a country, but she was pleasing to the eye and warmed people's hearts.
A smile flickered across Feng Yi's eyes as he paused, slightly stunned by the row of teeth marks on his arm.
“Uncle Chen was a heavy drinker, so it’s reasonable for him to drown in a wine vat,” An Xin said. Feng Yi, who was in a daze, suddenly came to his senses. In terms of solving cases, he and An Xin were somewhat similar.
“Chen Guangzhi offended many people during his lifetime, but three people are the most suspicious. One is Li Ergou, a rogue from Huaxi Village; another is Qin Dazhu from Huadong Village; and the third is Wang Lu from Huanan Village, which is your village.” Feng Yi said in a slightly deep voice.
“Wang Lu?” An Xin raised an eyebrow; the name seemed familiar.
"Well, it's said that Wang Lu had an affair with Chen Guangzhi's wife, Sun Lüping. When Chen Guangzhi found out, he beat Wang Lu half to death while drunk." Feng Yi recounted the information he had gathered in detail.
What were these people doing at the time of the incident?
"Li Ergou was with Chen Guangzhi. Li Ergou was addicted to gambling, but he always lost. He had borrowed several taels of silver from Chen Guangzhi, but later reneged on the debt. Chen Guangzhi threatened him several times that he would kill him if he didn't pay back the money. On the day of the incident, Li Ergou invited Chen Guangzhi to drink, seemingly to return the silver, but no money was found on Chen Guangzhi." Feng Yi frowned slightly. Li Ergou had a motive, but there were no witnesses to prove his alibi, which was very suspicious.
"Okay, continue."
"Qin Dazhu and Chen Guangzhi originally had a good relationship, but later they accidentally fell into the swamp behind Huanan Village. At that time, Chen Guangzhi struggled to climb out of the swamp and then abandoned him. Qin Dazhu almost lost his life, so he resented Chen Guangzhi for not helping him and was always looking for an opportunity to take revenge. When the murder occurred, he said that he was at home and that his wife could testify for him."
“The testimony of close relatives is not credible,” An Xin said calmly.
“All three of them are suspicious, and that’s the most troublesome part.”
"Where was Chen Guangzhi before he died?" An Xin tapped her chopsticks on the table casually. In fact, she already had a vague image in her mind, but she didn't have enough evidence to confirm it.
"At the distillery in the west of the county, Li Ergou said that Chen Guangzhi went to the toilet during that time and never came back."
An Xin pursed her lips and said, "The Sichuan-style chicken tastes good."
Feng Yi: "..."
****
The county's West Distillery was a place with a rich aroma of wine, a perfect spot for drinking. A group of drunkards gathered to drink heartily, telling extremely lewd jokes. As soon as An Xin stepped into the distillery, she immediately attracted the covetous eyes of the crowd, their gazes like those of wolves and tigers. An Xin knew without even thinking what they were thinking.
As soon as the shopkeeper saw customers arrive, he immediately trotted over and said with a smile, "Miss, sir, is there anything you'd like?"
An Xin asked casually, "Where did Chen Guangzhi drink?" She really did like to get straight to the point...
The shopkeeper's smile froze on his face. He then looked An Xin up and down and said in a sarcastic tone, "This man... I've never seen him before."
An Xin suddenly laughed and said, "Oh, how would you know he's a man if you've never seen him before, shopkeeper?!"
The shopkeeper's expression suddenly froze. He glared at An Xin and said, "I said I've never seen him, and I haven't! We have wine, but we don't have him!" News of Chen Guangzhi's death had spread throughout the streets and alleys of Yi'an County. Who would want to be associated with a dead man?
Especially for business people, the topic of death is a major taboo.
An Xin casually took out a silver ingot, held it up in front of the shopkeeper, and then placed her other hand on his wrist with a smile: "You may not know, but I'll make sure you don't know where you lost this paw of yours!"
The shopkeeper's face suddenly turned pale. The pain in his wrist made him immediately back down. He hurriedly smiled and said, "I was just joking with you, miss. I'll take you there."
Although it was a corner, it had obviously been cleaned up, and no traces were found. An Xin glanced at Feng Yi and said, "Want to go to the restroom together?"
Feng Yi's lips stiffened. Why did those words sound so strange?
An Xin tilted her head and asked, "Shopkeeper, where is the outhouse?"
The shopkeeper shuddered and looked at An Xin strangely. What kind of young lady would talk about the outhouse so casually? But, shocked by An Xin's methods, the shopkeeper still casually pointed behind him.
An Xin turned and left. Feng Yi knew that if Chen Guangzhi had an accident there, there would definitely be clues. But the thought of going to the restroom with An Xin made him feel...
Just as An Xin had predicted, the latrines in ancient times were just like the latrines in her previous life...stinky!
She pinched her nose and walked in nonchalantly, while Feng Yi stood awkwardly to the side, feeling the wind mixed with the smell of the outhouse.
An Xin searched the toilet carefully, then looked up at the toilet wall. The toilet wall was made of mud and the surface was uneven. There was a note in the corner. An Xin's lips twitched. She picked up a corner with her fingertips. The note was already wet and most of the writing on it had blurred. Only three characters could be made out: Mao, Ge, etc.
An Xin narrowed her eyes slightly. It seemed that the place on this note was where Chen Guangzhi was murdered!
Feng Yi glanced at the words on the note, his cheeks still flushed, yet a serious expression also appeared, making his face exceptionally radiant.
An Xin stood up and said, "Mao probably refers to the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), Ge is likely a location, and Deng probably means waiting. So, putting it all together, it means at a certain moment during the hour of Mao, in a certain Ge, I'm waiting for you! What kinds of Ge are there in Yi'an County?"
Feng Yi crossed his arms and pondered for a moment before saying, "Qingying Pavilion, Green Gauze Pavilion, Twilight Rain Pavilion, and the abandoned Fragrant Mist Pavilion." But... this Green Gauze Pavilion...
Chapter 33: Male or Female?
There were no clues at Qingying Pavilion, Muyu Pavilion, and Xiangwu Pavilion, so the only clue left was Green Gauze Pavilion. An Xin stopped outside Green Gauze Pavilion, frowned, and said, "This is Green Gauze Pavilion? We seem to have passed by here three times. Why didn't you say anything?"
Feng Yi, standing to one side, looked slightly flustered, then said seriously, "You'd better not go here. I'll go instead."
An Xin raised an eyebrow.
Feng Yi continued, “Women have always cherished their reputation. I’m afraid this filthy place will tarnish your… your… purity.”
An Xin twitched her lips. Was there something odd about using the word "pure" to describe her?
But according to Feng Yi, this place must be a brothel?