TEFSCBSS Chapter 103

Chapter 103: Case Closed (Part 2)

Number One slapped Number Eight across the room before continuing the story.

“In short, I went down to the stage as promised and found Yue Niang and Wan Niang. That’s when they told me about the curse of the Zhi.”

“Zhi, a monstrous beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, is rumored to love eating humans.”

“Especially human hearts.”

“Everyone in their brothel knew about it. That Madam Qin was an accomplice to the killer. She regularly selected young virgins and sent them to a dark room, where their hearts would be cut out and delivered to Lord Sun.”

“That girl Xiaoyu went mad because she saw the corpse of one of her dead companions.”

“One of her closest friends was called Xiaomei. The two of them were very close, and whenever there were holidays or festivities, they’d take turns sneaking out together.”

“One day, it was Xiaoyu’s turn to clean, but she snuck out to have fun. Xiaomei covered for her.”

“The next day, Xiaoyu found Xiaomei’s body in an abandoned hut out back—her heart was gone.”

“At first, Xiaoyu thought she had been killed by a criminal and wanted to report it. She went looking for Madam Qin, Yue Niang, and Wan Niang, hoping to report it to the authorities.”

“But before she could speak to Madam Qin, she overheard her talking to Lord Sun.”

“That’s when she found out—Xiaoyu was supposed to be the one to die that night. But when they couldn’t find her, they saw Xiaomei, who was the same age and born in the same month. So they killed Xiaomei instead.”

“She saw it with her own eyes—Madam Qin opened a wooden box, and inside was a freshly cut, still-bleeding heart.”

“Lord Sun didn’t say anything. He just took the heart and said he was bringing it back for his ‘young master.’”

“That’s everything Xiaoyu saw. Terrified, she turned to Yue Niang and Wan Niang.”

“But in fact, they had known the truth all along. They knew this wasn’t an isolated incident. They had been planning revenge and didn’t want Xiaoyu to go to the authorities and alert the enemy. So they lied to her about a curse.”

“After all, Lord Sun appeared to be extremely powerful and deeply connected to the government. Reporting it would have done nothing.”

Number Eight, now crawling back to the table, slammed her palm down. “I don’t get it! Why wouldn’t reporting it work? If the magistrate won’t act, there’s still the patrol bureau, the Ministry of Justice—and if all else fails, petition the Emperor himself!”

Number One just stared, unwilling to reply.

Number Two spoke up instead. “She was just a brothel girl. She had no connections. How could she possibly skip ranks and report it that high? Even if Madam Qin didn’t destroy the body, do you think all those other girls who went missing didn’t notice anything?”

“Moon Pavilion never lacked wealthy patrons. If any of the girls had raised an alarm, surely one of their clients would’ve investigated.”

“But nothing happened all this time. That tells you just how powerful the person behind all this is.”

Number One nodded. “Exactly. And Yue Niang and the others—well, they were in the know.”

“You remember the case with the daughter of the traitor?”

“Wan Niang said that she, Chunya, and another girl named Liu Yun came to the brothel together. Wan Niang was the traitor’s daughter.”

“But Liu Yun owed her life to Wan Niang and offered to switch identities to protect her from having to serve clients.”

“Liu Yun became one of the girls instead. Madam Qin saw her value and didn’t force her into service. She waited for the right time, planning to auction her off.”

“Liu Yun was kindhearted and generous. She used her earnings to help poor families.”

“That scholar everyone talked about—he didn’t love Chunya. He was in love with Liu Yun.”

“He tried to gather enough silver to buy her freedom. But the day after he succeeded, he was told she had gone missing.”

“But Liu Yun hadn’t simply vanished. Later investigations showed she’d been sold to Lord Sun. She disappeared the same night.”

“Madam Qin claimed she was taken to the lord’s estate to enjoy wealth and luxury. But Yue Niang and the others knew Liu Yun would never agree to that. If she had, she would’ve left them a message.”

“When more girls started disappearing, they finally uncovered the truth. Every girl who went missing had been killed by Madam Qin and that so-called Lord Sun.”

Number One sighed and took a sip of water. “They never gave up on their plan for revenge. They worked with the scholar to uncover the truth.”

“But they also knew how dangerous their enemy was. Even if they had evidence, they would likely die before it reached the court. That would bury the truth of Liu Yun’s death—and the deaths of all those poor girls.”

Number Five frowned. “So… they decided to make a public spectacle out of it? Make sure everyone knows?”

Number One nodded.

Number Five spoke again, voice low. “Then the scholar… and Chunya… did they die?”

Number One covered her face with a hand and sighed. “If they hadn’t truly died, how could they have created such an uproar?”

“If their deaths weren’t mysterious and dramatic, how would it have shaken the city and reached the Emperor’s ears?”

“The truth is—the scholar never even got on the lantern float. He had merely chatted with the performers and left footprints under the guise of a tour.”

“When the float passed by, he’d already regrouped with Liu the Butcher and Chunya.”

“You remember how there was a time gap where neither side could confirm the other’s alibi? That’s when they acted together.”

“Liu the Butcher cleared out all the customers and blocked the stove, covering what Chunya and the scholar were doing.”

“It was Chunya who performed the act—cutting out the scholar’s heart and slashing his face.”

“As for the blood, they had already laid thick cotton cloth on the ground. Once he died, they stuffed it under the stove and burned it all.”

“Then she put on the same shoes as the dead man and walked down the alley—first backward, then retraced her steps in the same rhythm.”

Everyone fell silent, stunned. None of them had expected the truth to unfold like this.

Number One’s voice trembled slightly. “And then came the so-called ‘midnight plan.’”

“The scholar’s letter—it was sent to Yue Niang and the others.”

“Chunya wasn’t burned alive at the noodle stall. She returned to Moon Pavilion and went to the same small room where Liu Yun had died. There, Yue Niang and Wan Niang burned her already heartless body. Then, they quietly transported the remains back to the noodle stall.”

“Liu the Butcher had already scorched the place with fireworks to make it look like an accidental fire.”

“And that… was the truth behind the deaths of the scholar and Chunya.”

“They didn’t have to die. But they said they didn’t want to see more innocents suffer. They didn’t want those poor dead girls to die without justice.”

“They were the only ones—only they—willing to die. One for love, one for vengeance.”

The group murmured, overwhelmed. No one could speak.

In the audience, people sat frozen in disbelief. Some burst into tears—for the sacrifices, for the justice, and for the fury they felt toward the true culprit.

And yet… the case wasn’t over.

Who was the true murderer?