TEFSCBSS Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Does This Echo the First Question?

Han Yueyi glanced at Wang Bokao, wondering why he had seen the writing so easily.

Comparing their heights, he instantly understood—after all, Wang was a bit short. It made sense. Someone shorter could naturally spot the writing on the wall near the vent at a glance.

“What did it say? Stop overreacting.”

“Yes, yes, Master Wang, tell us what it says!”

Bearing the weight of everyone’s anticipation, Wang Bokao steadied his nerves and read aloud, muttering to himself at first:
“Under the bright heavens, there are no ghosts. But if there are, seek the Third Prince!”

Han Yueyi: … Having you as a friend is truly my good fortune.

Wang squinted, carefully reading each word:
“Not born sisters, yet called sisters; the younger kills the elder, replacing her in marriage. A soul full of grievance lingers, unable to reincarnate. Now, her husband is dead, leaving one more. At the third watch of the night, when yin and yang are reversed, the living shall perish, and the dead will rise again!”

Hold on a second—this requires some unpacking.

Butcher Liu scratched his head, his brain buzzing. “Scholar Wang, break it down for us! It’s like something’s trying to crawl into my head, but I don’t get it!”

Wang Qingmu sighed, noting the equally confused faces around him. He had no choice but to translate it into plain language:

“The message says that two people, who were not originally sisters, were regarded as such by others. Then, the younger sister killed the elder sister and took her place in marrying the elder’s fiancé. The deceased elder sister died unjustly, unable to move on. Now, her former husband is dead, and there’s one person left who must die. At 11:45 p.m. tonight, the living and the dead will swap places, and the dead will return to life.”

Hearing this, the group collectively inhaled sharply—they kind of understood, but also didn’t.

“Something about sisters? Wait, wasn’t there a similar dynamic in the first riddle? Let’s think about this.”

Back in the first scenario, the answer was that the younger sister killed the elder just to meet a man.

Combining it with the bloody writing now, could it be that today’s newlyweds are the same younger sister and the man who appeared at the funeral?

And now there’s another twist—was the man the elder sister’s original fiancé?

This was getting messier and messier. Where exactly had Zhao Boss traveled to? This place had the strangest people!

If Su Li had known what they were thinking, she might have laughed herself to death. If they realized this bizarre tale happened in the future imperial capital—and that this “Zhao Boss” was none other than the main character of their story—they’d lose their minds.

The group tried to piece the relationships together.

“Could this be a case of vengeful ghosts seeking justice?”

“Definitely! I mean, the groom’s ex-fiancée was murdered, and now he’s here happily remarrying. What a heartless man.”

Heartless Han Yueyi scoffed. “I don’t buy it. If it were truly a vengeful ghost, there’d be far stranger and more direct ways to exact revenge. Why pick a latrine and use a hairpin to stab someone?”

The crowd agreed that he had a point, but for now, no one had a better theory.

Han Yueyi stepped forward and pulled Wang Bokao down from his perch. “Let me see if there’s a way to move the corpse blocking the door so we can open it and investigate further.”

“Sounds reasonable. We’re counting on you, Third Prince.”

The townsfolk began warming up to Han Yueyi. Despite his slightly unserious demeanor and the ridiculous sight of him perched on the latrine, he didn’t carry the airs of royalty and seemed approachable.

Butcher Liu, especially, took a liking to him. “Third Prince! Whatever you need, just say the word! My strength may be all I have, but point me in the right direction, and I’ll get it done!”

Han Yueyi straightened up, thanked the crowd, and leaped back onto the pile of stones, continuing his observations.

“The groom is sitting with his back to the door, completely blocking it. His position is a bit odd.”

“This door opens inward. If the groom had been attacked upon opening it, his body would’ve fallen backward, outside the latrine, where everyone could see it.”

“So, he must have entered, closed the door, and turned toward the latrine before being stabbed.”

“Therefore, the second question is answered—the groom died after entering the latrine.”

The crowd nodded in realization, while Su Li clapped lightly in admiration. “Correct! Congratulations, you’ve earned one silver tael and a flower lantern.”

Han Yueyi tilted his head slightly—this kind of riddle wasn’t enough to stump him. He motioned for his attendant to collect the prize and continued theorizing.

“Now, since he died after entering and turning away from the door, we have two possibilities.”

“First, someone was hiding inside the latrine, waiting to strike.”

Several in the crowd clapped their hands, lamenting that they hadn’t spoken up sooner with the same thought.

Only Wang Bokao sneered, muttering about ghostly vengeance.

Han Yueyi quickly dismissed the first theory.

“But there are two major flaws with that idea.”

“First, in such a small space, even if the attack were swift and fatal, there would’ve been noise. And with someone of the groom’s size, wouldn’t he have noticed another person in the latrine? Even a door opens differently when there’s a body behind it.”

“Second, if the killer hid inside, how did they escape without being seen? There was no other way out, and it’s ridiculous to think they could flee through the pit.”

“Thus, the latrine must’ve contained only the groom at the time of his death.”

“Which brings us to the second possibility: a mechanism was used for remote killing.”

“The groom likely triggered the trap by stepping on a specific spot, releasing the flying hairpin that struck his chest, killing him silently.”

“And that,” he concluded, “is the answer to the third question.”

Su Li nearly applauded aloud. Not bad! He’s solving the mystery of his death like a pro!

Even though Han Yueyi’s explanation was thorough and logical, not everyone was convinced.

“Impossible! Impossible!” Wang Bokao shouted dramatically. “It has to be ghostly revenge!”

“Think about it—if a ghost did it, wouldn’t everything still make sense?”

The crowd hesitated, reconsidering the possibility, especially with the bloody writing on the wall.

Han Yueyi pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Ever since a few years ago, when Wang Bokao became obsessed with the supernatural, these arguments had become all too familiar.

Butcher Liu rubbed his shiny bald head. “Ghosts or not, let’s just open the door and see for ourselves.”

He turned to Han Yueyi. “So, Third Prince, if you think the wall opposite the door is important, we’ll leave it intact. But does it matter if we tear down the others?”

Before anyone could react, Liu punched through the adjacent wall, creating a gaping hole.

Then, with both hands, he yanked down the entire wall.

Wang Qingmu glared at him. “You brute!”