I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 68

Hong Jing had just stepped out of the yurt and was standing to the side lighting a cigarette. Seeing the trio led by Qi Yan approaching from a distance, she exhaled a puff of smoke and greeted them with a smile: “Oh, Director Shi, Teacher Jiang, little Teacher Tang.”

Tang Shanshan was still a high school student in reality. Being suddenly addressed as “Teacher” made her pause instinctively, and she looked awkward and shy for a moment.

Hong Jing’s gaze was calm, carrying a hint of a smile. To be honest, every time Qi Yan spoke with Hong Jing, she felt as though the woman was some kind of detached master. There was an air about her, from head to toe, of being completely uninvolved. It was this inexplicable feeling that made Qi Yan feel she was neither purely a player nor purely an NPC; she was truly impossible to read.

Forget it, Qi Yan thought. Everyone looked like a hybrid right now anyway, except for Meng Jiumo. That idiot was an NPC at a glance.

“Is Boss Hong finished with the inspection?” Qi Yan walked over naturally to strike up a conversation.

Hong Jing nodded and pointed behind her. “Does Director Shi want to take a look? If you do, you can go in now; the policeman who was with me has already left. Ever since the search started, his behavior became very mechanical. I do not know why, but he is like a wound-up machine.”

Qi Yan’s heart jolted, but she did her best not to let the internal tremor show on her face. She merely feigned surprise and whispered, “Could this be the legendary dereliction of duty?”

Hong Jing arched an eyebrow. “Who knows? Does Director Shi want to see?”

Qi Yan waved her hand. “Forget it, there is nothing worth seeing. I am not interested. Right now, I just want to know when we can leave. Once things here wrap up, I have to rush back to headquarters to report.”

She played the role of the rich second-generation heir who could not care less about the case perfectly. Her acting was truly at its peak.

Hong Jing then looked at Jiang Miao. “And Teacher Jiang?”

Jiang Miao also shook her head. “I am not interested either. I just hope the police move faster and let us go. We still have a project to finish back at school.”

Hong Jing chuckled and spread her hands. “Actually, there was nothing special in Teacher Meng’s room. They just found a set of discarded pajamas. The police seemed quite concerned about them, though I could not see anything special about the clothes myself.”

Pajamas? Qi Yan speculated silently. She wondered what connection those pajamas had to the case and why the police cared so much about them.

Having failed to extract much useful information from Hong Jing, the group temporarily split up and returned to their respective rooms. Qi Yan used the team system to ask Jiang Miao a question: “Based on the currently known clues, plus the ones you know personally, can you roughly guess who the killer is, Sister Sanshui?”

Jiang Miao replied quickly: “No.”

No, meaning that even though Sanshui held some clues she could not speak of yet, piecing them together with the others still was not enough to pin down the killer. They were still missing a very critical piece of the puzzle. It remained to be seen if Dai Qi would discover anything in Hong Jing’s room next.

Also, there was Yin Xin. There had been no news of her until now; Qi Yan had a feeling that Yin Xin’s side might hold a key clue.

While waiting in the room, Qi Yan and the reappeared Bai Qing went over the current clues together.

“He Xueyan was sexually assaulted by her boss, Zhao Ruibin, for a long time. He even took her on business trips to engage in sex-for-money trades with clients. Her motive is glaringly obvious, and her behavior does not seem like someone who has been replaced by a player.”

No matter how skilled a player’s acting was, unless they were an award-winning actress, they could not fake such genuine panic and revulsion.

“But looking at her like that, I do not think she is a ghost either,” Qi Yan hesitated. “She seems a bit too weak. Since I first met her, she has shown almost no emotion other than fear and terror.”

Bai Qing looked at her and offered a reminder: “Do not forget that in White Water Town, Cuilan did not act like a ghost either.”

Qi Yan remained silent.

Cuilan was truly the first nightmare of Qi Yan’s life. She was the kind of person Qi Yan would not be able to forget no matter how many years passed. The impact of that Beginner’s Instance had been immense. That night, hiding in the basement of Cuilan’s house with Bai Qing and overhearing the conversation between the mother and daughter, had become a recurring guest in her nightmares for a long time.

Qi Yan had to admit, Cuilan really had not seemed like a ghost at all. From start to finish, she appeared frail and trembling; she even acted terrified when insulted by that bald man. Yet, beneath that fearful exterior, she had killed the bald man that night and nailed him to the large upright drum beneath the sacrificial altar.

Appearances can be deceiving for humans, and even more so for ghosts.

Qi Yan scratched her head. Her gut told her He Xueyan was not the ghost, but she had no evidence. In this script-kill mode story, evidence seemed more important. Furthermore, remembering Cuilan made her lose confidence in her intuition.

“Let us keep analyzing. Anyway, the grudge between He Xueyan and Zhao Ruibin is likely that; the motive is straightforward. Other than her, the motives of everyone else are currently unclear, and there are many unresolved issues surrounding them. The most noteworthy one is Dai Qi. Why did she go to such lengths to take on this design? Why did Zhao Ruibin help her forge a fake resume? And what is her purpose for hiding her identity as a Northern Rong person?”

“However, Dai Qi did bring out the clue of the Northern Rong tribe. Zhao Ruibin took this project so seriously and went through so much trouble to forge a resume to get her onto the team; it is likely this project is inextricably linked to the Northern Rong.”

Qi Yan quickly searched for information regarding the Northern Rong on her phone. Northern Rong was the current name of the neighboring country to the north, but it had not always been called that in this world’s history. Throughout thousands of years of Northern Rong’s development, the name Northern Rong had only appeared briefly for a 200-year period in the middle. It was not until modern times that the name was used again.

Qi Yan’s attention inevitably fell on those 200 years. Her intuition told her the answers she wanted, and the clues Jiang Miao could not talk about, lay there.

According to online records, during those 200 years two millennia ago, the dynasty of the Central Plains was called Rui. The Great Rui Dynasty lasted for a full eight hundred years, even longer than the Zhou Dynasty Qi Yan knew from the real world.

“The Great Rui Dynasty in this story-world was incredible, ruling for over eight hundred years.” Qi Yan could not help but marvel. The rulers of that dynasty must have been exceptionally powerful.

Bai Qing, having lived for over a thousand years in the real world and witnessed many shifts in power, agreed: “Indeed, quite impressive.”

“Wait?” Qi Yan suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

“What is it?” Bai Qing leaned in to look at the phone screen with her.

Qi Yan pointed at the screen. “Following this Great Rui Dynasty, there was a five-hundred-year period ruled by Empresses.”

“Empresses?”

“Yes. And the most coincidental part is that the beginning of the Empresses’ reign was almost perfectly synchronized with the disappearance of the Northern Rong’s national title.”

In other words, according to the historical records of this world, the rise of the Empresses’ rule in the Great Rui Dynasty was accompanied by the destruction of the Northern Rong state.

Qi Yan was suddenly intrigued; this coincidence was too significant to ignore. The city of Zhu, where they were now, was the frontier of the Great Rui Dynasty back then, and this very grassland was a mandatory passage during the conflicts between Northern Rong and Great Rui.

This coincidence absolutely had a special meaning. The truth of everything might be hidden within this specific period of history.

However, the information found online was not a professional historical record. Many details could not be explained; the conquest of Northern Rong by Great Rui was mentioned in only a few brief strokes, and even the names of the generals who led the troops were not listed.

“There is a high probability the Story has tampered with things, preventing you from finding more information online,” Bai Qing said casually. “That is how the rules of the Story work. There are lots of restrictions.”

That was indeed the case. Qi Yan tried searching further, specifically for the fall of the Northern Rong, but the result was still nothing.

“The more the Story tampers with it, the more it reminds us how important this history is.” Qi Yan spun her phone and sneered. “The Story’s rules are a case of being too clever for its own good. I am definitely going to piece together such a vital piece of history! And I am very interested in learning how that first Empress successfully took the throne. A five-hundred-year era of female rule is truly fascinating.”

In the room for half an hour, someone from the criminal investigation team came to inform her that today’s search had concluded. They were free to move around for the rest of the day but were not allowed to leave this pastoral area.

“The herdsmen will prepare dinner and notify everyone when it is time to eat. For now, please rest well.”

Once the police had left and silence returned to the outside, Qi Yan rolled over and sat up, musing, “It is about to get dark. I wonder if anything will happen during dinner.”

Bai Qing gently put an arm around her shoulder. “Do not be afraid. I will be watching over your safety at all times.”

Ever since the incident at the Carnival where their cold war led to Qi Yan being turned into a doll, Bai Qing had been exceptionally attentive to her safety within the Story, protecting her to the point of barely blinking.

Sometimes Qi Yan worried she would get exhausted, but Bai Qing was quite persistent, repeatedly emphasizing that her spiritual power had recovered significantly and that merely focusing on Qi Yan’s safety was not enough to tire her out.

Since she could not talk her out of it, Qi Yan stopped trying. The two rested in the yurt for a while longer until sunset, when a herdsman came to call Qi Yan for dinner.

The dining hall was in a separate large yurt. When Qi Yan entered, everyone else had already arrived, but the atmosphere was subtly off. It felt somewhat oppressive.

As usual, she sat down next to Jiang Miao. Qi Yan exchanged a glance with her, her eyes asking what was going on.

Using the motion of serving soup as cover, Jiang Miao whispered, “They just had a fight, specifically Dai Qi and Meng Jiumo.”

Those two could not stand the sight of each other. They had argued in the afternoon, and now they were at it again. Given the tense atmosphere, it seemed even more heated than the daytime row.

Qi Yan understood immediately. It must be because they had uncovered clues about each other. Were they pointing fingers?

This should be good.

The dishes were all served, and everyone started eating one by one. No one was in the mood for small talk. He Xueyan, in particular, looked pale and distracted. Qi Yan’s gaze brushed over He Xueyan’s face without lingering; she felt a great deal of sympathy for the woman now but did not show too much on the surface.

The dinner table was calm at first, but before long, Meng Jiumo and Dai Qi started arguing again.

“Is there something wrong with you, woman? How many times has this been? I am telling you, do not push it! Do not think I am giving you face!” Meng Jiumo jumped up directly, completely disregarding the gentlemanly demeanor he tried to maintain.

Qi Yan looked at the large red wine stain on his white sweatshirt and silently stuffed a piece of roasted mutton into her mouth.

Dai Qi was still clutching her wine glass, saying intentionally, “I am truly sorry, my hand slipped.”

“Bullshit! You did that on purpose!” Meng Jiumo pointed at her, trembling with rage. “You say your hand slipped? The glass is perfectly fine in your hand, but the wine just happened to fly onto me!”

“Heh, I just cannot stand the sight of some people acting all sanctimonious. Eating at the same table as a murderer makes me sick!”

As soon as Dai Qi said this, everyone was stunned. Qi Yan stopped chewing and looked up steadily at the two of them.

Meng Jiumo was stunned at first too. Once he realized what Dai Qi was implying, his face turned beet red. He pointed at Dai Qi and cursed furiously, “Who are you calling a murderer? You make yourself clear!”

“I did not name names, but you sure got anxious, did you? Good! The fact that you are jumping like this probably means I hit a nerve!”

“You bitch!” Not only was Meng Jiumo’s face red, but even his eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Dai Qi by the throat. “I will choke you to death!”

Dai Qi was caught off guard by the sudden attack. She only managed to grab his wrists with both hands but was losing ground to the natural strength gap between a man and a woman.

He Xueyan was currently like a startled bird; any sudden movement terrified her. When Meng Jiumo lunged, she was so frightened she knocked her bowl and chopsticks to the floor.

“Meng Jiumo!” Hong Jing, who was closest to them, stood up abruptly. She grabbed Meng Jiumo’s collar with one hand and twisted his arm with the other, pulling hard. When he did not budge, she pulled again.

It was not until Jiang Miao also went over to intervene that the crazed Meng Jiumo was finally pulled away. Dai Qi covered her mouth and coughed violently, her gaze toward Meng Jiumo cold and mocking.

“You are so violent and irritable, unable to control your emotions even slightly. That is exactly how murderers are!”

“You bitch! I am going to kill you! Let me choke her!” Driven to lose all reason by Dai Qi’s repeated verbal provocations, Meng Jiumo was acting like a complete madman who had lost the ability to think. He cursed and struggled to get back to Dai Qi to finish the job.

Qi Yan watched the raving Meng Jiumo and frowned slightly.

Soon, the police stationed nearby arrived. Their first reaction was to rush in and restrain the frantic Meng Jiumo, then take him back to his own room to be watched.

After learning the circumstances of the fight and hearing that Dai Qi had called Meng Jiumo the murderer, the criminal investigation captain asked her why she said that. Her answer was: “Bloody clothes were found in his room. Plus, he is the only man here; only he would have the strength to sever President Zhao’s head with such a heavy weapon in one strike, right? Is it not obvious?”

Bloody clothes?

Qi Yan and Jiang Miao quickly exchanged a look. Both of them took note of this, waiting for a chance to ask more.

Although Dai Qi spoke with conviction, there was still no direct evidence at this stage to prove Meng Jiumo was the killer. The police simply took him back to his room and assigned two people to watch him.

Given the police reaction, the bloody clothes did not seem enough to prove Meng Jiumo’s guilt. So, what did Dai Qi’s words mean?

After dinner, Qi Yan went back to her room first. Jiang Miao took the opportunity to chat with Dai Qi for a bit, mainly to probe for information on why she was so sure Meng Jiumo was the killer.

“Boss Hong and the police found a set of black pajamas in his room. At first, they could not see anything because the clothes were solid black, but after the police took them away, they found they were covered in blood.” Dai Qi scratched her hair in frustration. “I asked the police, and they said the clothes have been sent to the forensics department for identification. Currently, they cannot confirm Meng Jiumo is the killer! Why are they being so slow?”

Why else? Because things obviously were not that simple. Even if Meng Jiumo was the killer, the entire story had not been smoothed out yet; the police certainly would not arrest someone and close the case now.

Jiang Miao found an opportunity to relay Dai Qi’s words to Qi Yan. Qi Yan lay on the bed in deep thought and said, “The blood-stained clothes are indeed critical. But what I care about most is why Meng Jiumo lost his mind after just a few sentences during dinner. Why was he so easily provoked into losing all reason by a few suspicions from Dai Qi? He does not strike me as someone that stupid.”

Bai Qing lay half-beside her and said softly, “Someone placed a curse on him. That person was at the scene; I could feel it.”

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