TEFSCBSS Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Heart-Eating Demon (Part 2)

“Is that true?”

Number Five took a deep breath—he hadn’t expected this butcher, Liu, to be so aggressive. Was he planning to dine and dash?

Chunya still looked shaken and pleaded, “Sir, you see, I’m just a poor girl trying to make a living. Could you help me get those ten coins back? Otherwise, I’ll have worked all day for nothing.”

Number Five straightened with a serious expression. “Don’t worry. I won’t tolerate anyone disturbing public order.”

With righteous conviction, Number Five strode toward Butcher Liu. Just then, Candidate Number Three had finished questioning Liu, and the two quickly switched places.

Number Five said, “Butcher Liu—Liu the Brave, I hear you owe the wonton stall owner ten coins from that day?”

“What? I owe money? Impossible!” Butcher Liu widened his eyes like he’d just heard something outrageous.

“Oh really? Wasn’t it you who ate ten bowls at her stall, scared off her other customers, and then didn’t pay?”

“Pah! Don’t believe her nonsense. I was protecting her! She should be glad I didn’t charge a protection fee. And now she wants to charge me?”

Number Five rubbed his ear. “Protection?”

“Yeah, of course! Why else do you think the one who died that day was a man and not her? I’m practically a living guardian god. I sensed she’d be in danger that day, so I went there on purpose.”

Number Five… was baffled. Something about this conversation just didn’t sit right. It was like Liu was talking utter nonsense.

“How did you know she was in danger?”

“Gut feeling.”

“So… the person who should’ve died was the stall owner?”

“Gut feeling!”

“Why do you think she would’ve died if not for you?”

“Gut feeling, you idiot!”

Number Five: …Thanks for that.

He gripped his charcoal pencil tightly. He wanted to smack Liu upside the head, but he had to stay calm. The square below was packed with people—no violence, don’t ruin your image.

“Okay, let’s change topics. Did you know the victim?”

Butcher Liu scoffed. “Who didn’t? That was the broke scholar who thought he could marry the stall lady just because he could recite a few cheesy poems.”

Number Five couldn’t help but feel a little personally attacked by that comment.

“Wait—you’re saying the victim was romantically interested in the stall owner?”

“That’s right. I live right across from him. Last night when I got home, I overheard him telling a friend he was planning to propose to her.”

Butcher Liu’s expression turned grim as he went on, “There’ve been rumors going around lately—lots of young girls have gone missing. And they all had one thing in common: someone proposed to them shortly before they disappeared.”

“We still don’t know what happened to them. So when I heard the scholar was going to propose, I figured he must be part of it—another creep trying to hurt people.”

“My sense of justice kicked in, and I got into a huge argument with him outside our building. After that, I declared I’d be sitting right at the stall the next day. Whether it was that scholar or the real culprit behind the missing girls, I’d keep watch and never give them a chance.”

“And as you can see, the stall owner is alive and well.” Butcher Liu looked around proudly, clearly expecting praise.

But Number Five had locked onto something important. “You said there’s been a string of missing girls recently? Have any of them been found?”

“Of course not. No sign of them—dead or alive. But seeing how things ended for that scholar, I’d say the missing girls probably didn’t meet a good fate either.”

Number Five frowned deeply, a growing unease in his heart. Something about this whole situation felt… very wrong.

“If young women have been disappearing, and the common thread is that someone proposed to them beforehand, then why is Chunya—the wonton stall owner—still unharmed today? Was it because the proposal hadn’t happened yet? Exactly when did the victim arrive? Did they even speak to each other? And why would Chunya claim not to know him at all?”

A flood of questions spun through Number Five’s mind, but the bell rang to signal the end of their turn, leaving no time to dwell on them.

Their group rotated to examine the body. As they inspected it, they exchanged notes.

“Number Three, who did you talk to? Any leads?” Number Five’s tone was calm, like an unspoken leader.

Number Three thought for a moment, then summarized, “Pretty much everyone was interviewed. Some recognized the victim—they said he’s a scholar who lives nearby.”

“Among the bystanders were some of the scholar’s friends. They said today was the day he was planning to propose to the wonton stall owner, and he even brought betrothal gifts.”

“He was walking across the street toward the stall, gift in hand, and just as he was about to get there, a massive lantern parade rolled by, blocking everyone’s view.”

“Once the parade passed, the scholar had vanished. But the stall was still open and running like nothing had happened.”

“His friends thought maybe he lost his nerve or was rejected, felt too embarrassed to return, and just left. So they all dispersed—some went home, some wandered the market.”

“But here’s what struck me as odd: everyone says he came to propose to her, yet the stall owner insists she doesn’t know him at all. That doesn’t add up.”

Another teammate, Number Eight, chimed in, nodding along. “Exactly. I also looked into the earlier missing girls cases. Turns out, in each case, the girl had been proposed to—and then vanished two or three days later.”

“But this time, instead of the girl disappearing, the man ends up dead. That’s strange.”

After their brief exchange, all three turned their eyes to the body lying beside the massive cooking pot.

The corpse had fallen on its back, head resting against the stove. The eyes were wide open, as if it had seen something horrifying just before death.

Next to the body was a hand-drawn map. It showed the direction the corpse had been facing—toward a dark, narrow alley.

Number Five glanced at the map, then walked to the same position the victim would’ve been in, trying to recreate the scholar’s final view in his mind.

[At that moment, a giant lantern parade passed through, blocking the scholar from view.]

[He was holding the betrothal gift, happily running toward the stall…]

But what could he have seen?

Number Five frowned. There was a gap here—something missing.

“Did either of you ask when exactly the body was found and when the parade ended?”

Number Three and Number Eight both shook their heads.

“Wait a second,” Number Eight looked at Number Five in shock. “Are you saying… this might not be the original crime scene?”

Number Three: “Huh? What do you mean?”

Number Five: “I mean, it’s entirely possible the scholar walked off—or was taken—during the parade. Then, later on, his corpse was dumped here by the stall.”

“This might not be where he was killed. It could just be where his body was discarded.”

“Whoever dropped the body here may have been trying to draw attention—or had some other purpose in mind…”

After laying out his theory, Number Five gestured for the other two to help examine the body for any clues that might reveal the scholar’s final movements.

“Hey—look at this!”

Number Three pointed at the corpse’s hand—there were traces of blood and broken fingernails.