TEFSCBSS Chapter 129

Chapter 129: The Next Missing Person

[Note from the author: I’m running a fever, but I still finished the update, sob sob.]
[Caught a cold playing a “High Society” series murder mystery script—it’s freezing outside, the wind was howling! But the over-the-top drama never fails. I got a character that left me confused, constantly questioning who I was. Highly recommend Fog Over Yunfu!]

Everyone looked at each other, and a few of the bystanders quietly raised their hands.

“I… I drank with Butcher Liu last night.”

“Me too.”

“We were trying to guess who the killer was and even placed some bets.”

“We got so into the analysis that we ended up drinking across the street at the fancy restaurant.”

“It got late, so we all went home together. Butcher Liu seemed pretty drunk. He told us to go ahead and said he’d sober up a bit—if not, he’d just crash for the night in the main hall of the script shop.”

“We all knew he kind of helped out at the script shop, and the restaurant is just a few steps away, so we didn’t think much of it and left.”

The others who drank with him nodded—they confirmed the story.

After they finished talking, No. 5 turned to Zhao Si, who usually locked up after making sure everything was cleaned up for the night.

Zhao Si understood what he was getting at and said, “Last night, when I finished cleaning up, the restaurant across the street had already closed. I didn’t see Butcher Liu come in, so I don’t think he returned to the script shop.”

“Maybe he sobered up and went home? Or something happened to him on the way?” someone guessed.

Chunya nodded. Though she slept in the back courtyard, she’d also helped clean up and hadn’t seen Butcher Liu at all.

That made things even more suspicious.

With no other leads, the group headed to the restaurant to ask the staff on duty that night.

The waiter was still fast asleep. They worked shifts—one day on, one day off—and he was currently in rest mode.

Still dreaming, he heard buzzing noises. Thinking it was a bee, he waved his hands until he realized it sounded like people talking.

Startled, he opened his eyes and saw a crowd gathered around his bed.

“Uh… what are you all doing here?!”

He was nearly scared to death. Good thing it was still daytime—at least it wasn’t ghosts.

Since No. 5 was Butcher Liu’s good friend, he was chosen to speak on behalf of the group.

“Hey buddy, do you remember Butcher Liu and his group drinking here last night?”

“Oh, Butcher Liu? Of course! Who around here doesn’t know him? All our pork comes from his place—it’s top-notch!”

The waiter dutifully slipped in a promo for the restaurant. The manager, standing in the crowd, gave him a big thumbs-up. Bonus incoming.

Encouraged, the waiter perked up. “Yeah, they were all here last night—I served them myself. They ordered lamb hotpot, some cold dishes, peanuts, and a few jugs of our special pine-nut wine…”

He kept going, even starting to list signature dishes, until No. 5 had to cut him off.

“Okay, okay—do you remember when they left?”

“Uh… I think a few people left first. Butcher Liu stayed behind, nibbling on some side dishes. Said he’d leave soon, so I didn’t bother him.”

“I was busy cleaning the place—wiping tables, mopping floors. When I finished, he was gone. Left the money on the table.”

“To be honest, he overpaid. I ran out to give him some change and saw someone helping him down the street.”

“I couldn’t leave the restaurant since we hadn’t locked up yet. Figured I’d see him today and could return the change then.”

His story lined up with the others’, but added a key detail—someone had helped Butcher Liu away.

“Can you describe the person who was with him?” No. 5 frowned and started jotting down notes. The other contestants did the same. Only the foreign envoys stood there awkwardly, unable to contribute.

The waiter shook his head, still half-asleep.

“I honestly don’t remember clearly. It was dark at the end of the alley. I just saw the person was wearing dark clothing.”

“As for their height, definitely not as tall or strong as Butcher Liu. That guy’s one of the strongest men around, probably only matched by the carpenter from the Li family.”

“Butcher Liu was leaning completely on them, so I’d say the person only came up to his shoulder.”

“But it was far away, and they weren’t walking normally, so I can’t be sure of the exact height.”

“Looked kinda thin.”

“And they were facing away from me—I couldn’t see their face.”

With this new information, it felt like they finally had a lead. Maybe they could track down the suspect.

But… the description was so vague, it could match half the town.

After all, next to someone as burly as Butcher Liu, anyone would look short and skinny.

Still, the height detail seemed useful. Based on the margin of error, the person would come up to around Butcher Liu’s shoulder.

No. 5 did a quick mental comparison. “I’m pretty close to Butcher Liu. I reach his ear, so whoever took him probably comes up to about my eyes or nose.”

As soon as he said that, everyone stood straighter and began comparing their height to his.

And then—silence.

Yeah… turns out a lot of people matched that height range.

No. 5 pressed on. “Butcher Liu wouldn’t go off with someone he didn’t know. Anyone he’d go with, I probably know too. Aside from neighbors, that mostly leaves the regulars at the script shop.”

He paused again.

That narrowed it down to basically everyone here.

At this point, No. 8 quietly raised a hand. “Question: If the previous missing cases—Zhao Xiaogou and Su Li—used the ‘Lady in the Painting’ scroll as a clue, why wasn’t there one for Butcher Liu?”

“Going by the timeline, shouldn’t he have been the first one pulled into the scroll?”

No. 8 finally had a smart moment. His question sparked a new round of debate.

“That’s true. If Butcher Liu went missing too, he should’ve appeared in the scroll.”

“Right, and as the first person!”

“Maybe the scroll just shows people in the order we discover the cases?”

“We found out about Zhao Xiaogou first, so he was the first one in the painting.”

“Then Su Li was second.”

“By that logic, the scroll should now show the third person—Butcher Liu.”

“Yeah, let’s open it and check!”

Thinking that made sense, the contestants had No. 5 and No. 2 unroll the scroll again, hoping to see a new figure.

But when they opened it—

Nothing.

The scroll was completely blank. The Lady in the Painting… had vanished.