Card Room C505 – Silver

Shao Qingge had several reasons to think of leaving clues with silver. Firstly, silver was the currency in circulation during ancient times. Secondly, silver might oxidize in time but as long as no one deliberately destroyed it, there was no problem engraving something on silver and keeping it for 20 years. The third reason was that Mr Shao bought a safe at the bank in the Q secret room and used the star coins to leave clues in Morse code. This approach gave Shao Qingge some inspiration.

Ye Qi wondered, “In this chaotic world, where can you find so much silver?”

Shao Qingge thought about it and took out the ATM Machine card from his card pack. “I always thought this ATM Machine card was too useless as an S rated card. Now I found that it is actually very useful. Not only can it be used to withdraw money anywhere but it can also be converted into the corresponding currency according to the secret room.”

Ye Qi's eyes lit up. “I remember that in the previous interstellar world, you used the ATM to directly withdraw star coins. Can you withdraw silver this time? There is so much silver. Will the ATM machine just spit it out?”

Shao Qingge explained, “This card can change its appearance according to different secret rooms. For example, I want to take out the silver needed for this secret room and the mouth of the cash machine will become large to accommodate the money. After entering the data, all that will come out is silver.”

Ye Qi, “……”

As expected of an S rated card. There was no need to worry about money in any world as long as they had this card.

Shao Qingge had a large amount of savings and it would be even more uncountable if converted into silver. He glanced at the data display of the ATM and took out hundreds of silver. Then he said in his mind, “I plan to engrave all the clues we found on the silver. Then I will place the silver in a wooden box and bury it in a place where Xiao Lou's group might find it.”

Ye Qi couldn't help complaining. “We are talking about 20 years. What if the silver you bury is found by others and taken away as a treasure?”

Shao Qingge was also worried about this. He thought for a moment before saying, “Let's think well. In 20 years, what places will Xiao Lou's group go to and others are rarely willing to go to?”

Ye Qi blurted out, “The Zhao and Chen houses? Professor Xiao will go to these two places to investigate while the residents of the town won't go there. Two families inexplicably went missing and they believe it was done by a ghost. These two places are haunted houses and generally won't be approached.”

Shao Qingge raised a question. “However, they will only become haunted houses in 17 years. This happened three years in the past in Xiao Lou's timeline. These two families won't disappear for the next 17 years. In particular, the Zhao family have always lived here. If they renovate the yard or build a house and dig up the clues we have hidden, won't our effort be in vain?”

Ye Qi was stunned before realizing the problem.

Assuming that Xiao Lou's timeline was Timeline 0, the murder happened three years in the past. Meanwhile, he and Shao Qingge were 20 years in the past. There were a whole 17 years to go until the murders took place. The people of the Zhao family and Chen family didn't have an accident so it naturally wasn't suitable to place the clues in their houses.

In addition, currently most of the courtyards of Qingfeng Town were in tatters and there was no Drunken Moon Lake in the middle of the town, let alone the Fulai Inn. This was completely incomparable with the neat and orderly Qingfeng Town 20 years later. In other words, many of the houses were built several years later, including the Zhao and Chen houses.

Ye Qi scratched his head. “So what do we do? Is there another place where outsiders are less likely to go and Professor Xiao will investigate there?” He carefully went through everything they experienced since entering the secret room and his eyes lit up. “I have a place in mind. Do you want to check if it works?”

Shao Qingge heard Ye Qi's words in his mind and smiled slightly. “I also know what to do.”

_______________________________________________________________

The timeline of three years ago.

Tang Ci and Lu Jiuchuan found the eldest daughter-in-law Qin Yurou and her son in the Zhao house. This confirmed that the Zhao family's memorial hall was arranged by this woman.

In fact, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang had already analyzed this point. It was because the Zhao family's mourning hall had the memorial tablets of the grandfather, grandmother, parents and four brothers and sisters. Only Zhao Zeping's wife and child were missing.

If the Zhao family was completely wiped out then there would be no descendants to set up the memorial hall. Someone had arranged the memorial hall for the Zhao family so there must be a survivor in the extermination case.

Qin Yurou left the Zhao house with the child. Tang Ci and Lu Jiuchuan looked at each other and continued to search the Zhao house.

The thing that puzzled the two of them was that there was no rattle-drum in the room of Zhao Zeping, the eldest son.

“There was no rattle-drum in the Zhao house when the incident occurred. However, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang searched the Zhao house three years after the incident and found a rattle-drum with a tiger painted on the surface.” Tang Ci was silent for a moment before analyzing it. “If the rattle-drum was left behind by the murderer who committed the crime, we should've found it as well. This proves that the rattle-drum was deliberately left in the Zhao house after the Zhao family disappeared.”

Lu Jiuchuan frowned. “The murderer came back and it took them some time before they left a rattle-drum? Or is it someone else who left it, not the murderer?”

Tang Ci thought about it. “It is possible that it is someone else. We should continue using the drone to monitor the movements of the Zhao house.”

“If the rattle-drum in the Zhao house was placed by someone else, this person most likely also left the one in the Chen house. Why don't we go to the Chen house to check it out?”

Tang Ci nodded and left the Zhao house with Lu Jiuchuan.

Qingfeng Town was shrouded in soft moonlight in the middle of the night and not a single pedestrian was visible on the street.

The two of them moved on the walls and soon came to the Chen house. At this time, the Chen house was empty and dark. Tang Ci was about to enter when Lu Jiuchuan gently grabbed his hand and whispered in his ear, “There is someone in the courtyard!”

Tang Ci hadn't noticed the situation in the yard at all but Lu Jiuchuan reacted sharply. He saw the dark shadow and pulled Tang Ci to hide behind a tree. The two of them held their breaths. They stared at the door of the Chen house and saw a man in black hurrying out of the Chen house and walking towards the end of the alley.

The light was dim at night and the other person was wearing dark clothes. The two of them couldn't see the man's face clearly so they just followed silently.

The man in black walked very quickly. He was obviously familiar with the roads in the town. He walked around several corners in a row before disappearing at the end of Xiushui Lane where Qin Feng lived.

Lu Jiuchuan looked at Tang Ci and frowned slightly. “The man in black just now was Qin Feng?”

Tang Ci was puzzled. “Why did he go to the Chen house? Don't tell me… he put the rattle-drum there?”

“Go back and take a look.”

The two of them returned to the Chen house and walked into the room of Chen Yu and his wife. Mrs Chen had just given birth to a child. There was a cradle in the bedroom and many children's clothing next to it. Lu Jiuchuan raised the Night Pearl and got closer to observe. In the faint light of the Night Pearl, the two of them found a familiar rattle-drum.

It was the rattle-drum with the tiger painted on it.

Three years later, Liu Qiao and Old Mo entered the Chen house for the first time and the rattle-drum was found by Liu Qiao.

It turned out that this was left by Qin Feng, not the murderer.

The two of them left the Chen house and returned to the inn.

Chu Huaying and Gui Yuanzhang had not yet gone to bed. The four of them summarized and analyzed the clues found today.

Lu Jiuchuan touched his chin. “Qin Feng's behavior is very strange. He first questioned Han Ningshuang and after returning home, he changed into black clothes to go to the Chen family. Then he left a rattle-drum with a tiger painted on it in the cradle of the Chen family's newborn child.”

Tang Ci said, “The child of the Chen family isn't a tiger, yet Qin Feng left behind a rattle-drum with a tiger on it. He seems to be hinting at something?”

Gui Yuanzhang added, “Now it is certain that Han Ningshuang knows who the murderer is. She flew a white kite on the night of the crime to create the rumor of a powerful ghost seeking lives. This definitely isn't a coincidence. She must've discussed it with the murderer in advance. The murderer was outside the town at that time and used a special rattle-drum to lure the people of the Zhao and Chen families to the mass burial site. Meanwhile, Han Ningshuang stayed in town to fly the kite.”

Chu Huaying said calmly, “This grandmother should've raised several children and it is possible that they are working together for revenge. Qin Feng didn't participate in the revenge plan but he obviously guessed the identity of the murderer and the targets of the murderer's revenge. So over the years, he only recorded those who have been killed and who might be killed in the roster but he didn't stop it.”

Huaying's words made Tang Ci open up a new way of thinking.

Qin Feng's roster did record the names of many people. Some were killed and some were alive.

He knew the murderer and knew who the murderer was going to take revenge on, causing him to compile the roster. This was a reasonable speculation.

Tang Ci carefully analyzed the context of the entire incident. “20 years ago, there was a famine and the grandmother who raised them was tortured to death. These people cut off the grandmother's hands and feet to eat, leaving a serious psychological shadow on the children. After growing up, Han Ningshuang and the others came back to take revenge. Qin Feng didn't know about this matter because he was separated from Han Ningshuang for many years.”

He paused and continued to analyze it. “However, the Zhao family and Chen family went missing and there were loopholes in the testimonies of those who saw the ghost. Qin Feng immediately thought of Han Ningshuang so he went to her for verification. Han Ningshuang confessed in front of Qin Feng but he didn't believe this incident was done by her alone. Now it seems that Qin Feng already knows who the murderer is.”

Lu Jiuchuan agreed. “Three years later, there are still people going missing. This proves that this criminal team has been cleaning up the descendants of those who killed their grandmother. Qin Feng knows about it but he hasn't stopped it. His mood should be very contradictory. Judging from the conversation between him and Han Ningshuang, he personally doesn't agree with the extreme practice of destroying the entire family. On the other hand, he can't let go of the death of his grandmother and the murderer is avenging their grandmother. He is in no position to stop it. This is why he did such contradictory things?”

Tang Ci looked at him. “That's right. After all, Qin Feng is a child raised by his grandmother and he can't stop his friends from getting revenge for his grandmother. However, he doesn't want the people of Qingfeng Town to be wiped out one by one so he took the initiative to leave the clue of the 'rattle-drum' in the Zhao and Chen houses. He probably hopes that one day, someone will appear who can find out the murderer of this ghost killing case and stop them from retaliating crazily?”

It wasn't easy for him to stop it but he couldn't bear the slaughter of the innocent descendants in the town, causing him to leave clues at the scene of the crime. This way, Qin Feng's abnormal behavior could be explained.

Lu Jiuchuan wondered, “How many children did the grandmother raise? We have to follow Han Ningshuang. She must know the murderer. Qin Feng might've alarmed her so maybe she will go to talk to the murderer about the next plan?”

Chu Huaying stood up calmly. “Leave it to me to follow her. I won't sleep tonight and will stare at her.”

Lu Jiuchuan told her, “Okay. Huaying, be careful.”

Partially proofread: Paranoid Kitten

Chapter end