WBICDPH Chapter 34 Part 2

A deep sense of unease settled over him—the panic that comes when events slip beyond everything you think you know.

Something was wrong.

The timeline didn’t match.

If Chujì had gone straight to Mantingchun after borrowing the silver, then her disappearance couldn’t have been related to Dongsi. At that time, news of the marquis taking a concubine hadn’t spread yet. Dongsi hadn’t died—let alone become a ghost capable of abducting Chujì.

Then why had Chujì disappeared?

Lin Jin could barely hold on to his teacup; even his voice carried urgency.

“Second Master, do you know which route Miss Chu would have taken from Zuixian Pavilion to Mantingchun?”

According to Second Master Qin, Chujì had been uneasy the entire way back from the capital, plagued by a sense of foreboding. Afraid something might go wrong if she delayed, she wanted to leave the city with her friend as soon as possible. Seeing her anxiety, he’d suggested she rest at his residence while he fetched the person for her.

But Chujì refused. She took the silver and, unable to sit still for even a moment, hurriedly said goodbye and rushed toward Mantingchun.

It had been a snowy night—just like this one.

By the time they left Second Master Qin’s residence now, night had fallen again. He led them first to Zuixian Pavilion, then toward Mantingchun through its rear exit.

If one took the main roads between the two places, it required several long detours. Given Chujì’s state of mind, she wouldn’t have chosen that route. So he led them through the back alleys instead.

Along this path, after leaving Zuixian Pavilion, they passed a tall enclosing wall. Lin Jin hadn’t noticed it during the day when he took the main road, and at night it was too dark to see clearly. Looking up now, he could make out only a few rooftops inside.

Since this wasn’t the focus of the matter, he soon put it out of his mind and continued following Second Master Qin.

Over the past two days, Lin Jin and Han Ao had grown familiar with these back alleys. This stretch was especially deserted—they hadn’t seen a single lantern even after walking for some time.

Lin Jin tightened the cloak Second Master Qin had lent him and followed along, but the farther they went, the more something felt off.

He tapped Han Ao.

“Ah Han, when we left the city administration office last night, didn’t we also take a back alley? Why does this feel different?”

“Because it is different,” Han Ao said, pointing at the wall beside them. “We passed this place yesterday too, but from the other side. The two routes look similar—it’s normal to mix them up at night.”

“Is that so…”

Lin Jin frowned slightly, staring at the wall in thought.

When they reached an intersection, he suddenly stopped. The others halted as well, looking at him in confusion.

Lin Jin was staring fixedly at a particularly dark side path.

Zhongyun City’s layout was unusually orderly. Every household compound was neatly enclosed by walls—like the large estate they had just passed, or Mantingchun’s rear courtyard ahead.

The narrow lane before him was squeezed between the walls of Mantingchun and the neighboring estate. It wasn’t wide—just enough for three people to walk abreast—but—

“What are you looking at?” Han Ao asked, puzzled, patting Lin Jin on the shoulder.

“This path. This is the south wall of Mantingchun’s rear courtyard. There should be a small door here—we came out through it last night and waited in the alley for Miss Liu’s news, didn’t we?”

“Yes.”

“But look.”

Lin Jin took out a light-gathering talisman from his storage pouch and cast its glow deep into the alley.

The light pierced the darkness and stopped at an abruptly placed wall in the middle of the path.

“If this alley were formed between two courtyards, it should run straight through. Why is there suddenly a wall blocking it? What purpose does it serve?”

“Well…” Second Master Qin explained,

“You may not know this, but the alley used to be open. Later, the estate behind Mantingchun—the one we passed earlier—was purchased and turned into an academy. The academy’s main gate is on the east side, Mantingchun’s on the west, but Mantingchun also opened a small door in its south wall. People frequently used that door, and a few drunken patrons wandered east and stumbled into the academy, causing trouble more than once.

“The academy owner was displeased and even argued with Mantingchun’s madam over it. The academy refused to endure the disturbance; the madam refused to seal the door. Neither side would give way, so they split the alley in two and built a wall in the middle to block it off.”

Lin Jin nodded thoughtfully, but he wasn’t ready to dismiss the place.

He trusted his instincts. Something about this wall felt wrong.

He walked slowly into the alley. Before he could piece together the fragments in his mind, he suddenly heard strange rustling sounds from the other side of the wall.

Listening closely, it sounded like fingernails scraping at brick, accompanied by indistinct muttering.

Lin Jin raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Han Ao. Han Ao immediately understood, grabbed him, and in a few swift bounds placed them securely atop the wall.

It was far too dark to see clearly, so Lin Jin summoned the light talisman again and cast it down the other side.

When the light illuminated what lay below, his eyes widened in surprise.

Scratching at the brick wall was none other than Mantingchun’s madam. The old woman looked like she’d been through something terrible—her face and clothes smeared with soot and grime, utterly disheveled.

And not far behind her, crouched low, was a small shadow.

That was…

“Qiuqiu?”