"But when we questioned the innkeeper, from his attitude and account, we could tell that these residual souls trapped in obsessive memories have fixed triggers."
"This means that outside of specific times and specific places, these residual souls should not be seen elsewhere."
The little fox analyzed for Ye Tiancheng.
He said, "However, besides these two types of existences, and combined with our previous experiences, there should be other species in this Xiaojing City, those that are non-human, even filled with malice."
Ye Tiancheng also thought of this matter, after all, they were troubled by these non-humans every night, almost developing a significant phobia towards knocking sounds, especially those that were unusually intense and violent, and screams.
As the little fox analyzed, his expression also turned a bit grim, saying, "Since the entity behind Xiaojing City is cultivating through such evil methods and keeps so many malevolent non-humans, it's naturally impossible for them to have kindly restrained them."
"But these non-humans, once they have harmed people, find it difficult to endure a peaceful life. Periodically, they must harm lives to be satisfied. Some non-humans harm people not because it benefits them, but because this behavior has become an addiction."
"It would be very difficult to keep so many such beings confined within Xiaojing City and prevent them from causing destruction and chaos."
"Therefore, to appease them, ordinary human existence can also serve as their outlet."
Upon hearing this, Ye Tiancheng could no longer listen and blurted out his curse without restraint, nor did he control his volume.
Suddenly, everyone else in the room, including Lin Yanqin, looked at Ye Tiancheng.
The moment Ye Tiancheng spoke, he realized he hadn't controlled his emotions. Thus, facing everyone's questioning gazes, Ye Tiancheng quickly assured them he was fine.
As for what he and the little fox were discussing, it would certainly be told to Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping later.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping hadn't wasted their time in Lin Yanqin's room.
They thoroughly searched the entire room, paying meticulous attention to every detail, not letting go of any clue. However, there were too few traces, and finding clues about the thief was clearly not an easy task.
But Nie Chongyang and the others did not intend to give up easily.
They planned to use this as the first clue, eliminate possibilities, estimate every option, and then find a direction to pursue.
Ye Tiancheng's assurance of being fine clearly indicated he had something to say, but it was not convenient to say it at Lin Yanqin's place.
Nie Chongyang and the others did not press further. After all, Ye Tiancheng would definitely tell them when they returned. Therefore, their main attention was still on asking Lin Yanqin questions and finding clues.
After Ye Tiancheng and his group finished their topic, Nie Chongyang began to question Lin Yanqin.
Nie Chongyang asked Lin Yanqin, "Miss Lin, we may need your active cooperation in finding clues and answering some questions. Is it convenient for you?"
Lin Yanqin naturally had no objections.
As long as she could find the ruby pendant left by her mother, how could Lin Yanqin find it inconvenient?
Lin Yanqin immediately replied, "I have no problem. Whatever you need me to cooperate with, whatever you need to ask, if I can do it and I know it, I will definitely cooperate!"
Nie Chongyang nodded, then said, "We want to reconstruct the events of the first scene, that is, from the morning you discovered your ruby pendant missing, to your search for the ruby, and then to you leaving the room. All the details during this process."
"Can you do this?"
Lin Yanqin thought for a moment after hearing Nie Chongyang's request and then replied, "I can only say that I will try my best to tell you everything I can remember. But my memory is limited, and I'm not very confident that I can remember all the details perfectly."
Her expression showed some worry, and she nervously asked, "Will this have an impact?"
Nie Chongyang smiled and replied to Lin Yanqin, "Miss Lin, you don't need to be too nervous."
"Just reproduce what you can remember. If some parts are blurry, try to present what you can remember. If there are some crucial points, we can notice them and give you some guidance and reminders, perhaps it will help you recall some important clues."
Lin Yanqin then nodded somewhat nervously and fully agreed.
What Nie Chongyang asked Lin Yanqin to do was something she had already done once when she first brought the four of them to her room. However, at that time, it was just a rough walkthrough.
At this moment, what Nie Chongyang requested was slightly different.
Nie Chongyang asked Lin Yanqin to try and restore the details.
Because after mutual discussion, it was confirmed that there were no particularly private scenes for Lin Yanqin during this process. On the other hand, to help Lin Yanqin immerse herself and recall more details, and for Nie Chongyang and the others to observe,
The final discussion result was to have Lin Yanqin perform a scene reenactment as much as possible.
Lin Yanqin was extremely cooperative due to her eagerness to find the ruby pendant. If Ye Tiancheng and the other three men were not good people, Lin Yanqin's attitude would have made her very vulnerable to misfortune.
Especially since Lin Yanqin was so beautiful and wealthy, it was difficult not to arouse the malice of bad people.
Lin Yanqin started her demonstration from before going to sleep, performing actions like taking off jewelry. Of course, she couldn't really put on makeup in front of the four big men.
Then she sat on the bed, made the motion of taking off the ruby pendant, putting it under her pillow, and then lying down to rest.
Of course, she couldn't sleep for an entire night. She just lay down to make a gesture and then pretended to wake up.
When Lin Yanqin performed the action of getting out of bed, it was evident that the ruby pendant was very important to her. When she got out of bed, before even sitting up, her first reaction was to reach under her pillow to find the ruby pendant.
Then, Lin Yanqin found nothing.
Afterward, she demonstrated herself rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find things, until she finished and made the motion of walking towards the room door, intending to leave.
After stopping, Lin Yanqin asked Nie Chongyang, "The situation this morning was roughly like this. Can you tell if you've discovered anything?"
Nie Chongyang made a gesture to Lin Yanqin and said, "No rush."
He thought and reviewed, then said to Lin Yanqin again, "Next, please cooperate a bit more."
Lin Yanqin agreed.
Nie Chongyang led Lin Yanqin around the room, pointing out some places and asking about her impressions, and pressing for details.
Lin Yanqin found it somewhat difficult to recall, but her overall attitude was very cooperative.
When everything was truly finished, Nie Chongyang said to Lin Yanqin, "Let's stop here for now. We will help you consolidate the clues, make eliminations, and deductions."
Saying this, Nie Chongyang paused again.
"However, Miss Lin, what Ye Tiancheng reminded you of earlier is indeed very reasonable and necessary. Based on the clues we currently have, your ruby pendant was likely indeed taken by someone."
"Therefore, your situation is truly precarious, and you must take good care of your safety."
Lin Yanqin immediately clenched the handkerchief in her hand and lowered her head, hiding her expression.
After a while, Lin Yanqin raised her head again, forced a smile, and said to Nie Chongyang, "So it's true. I'll remember and be more careful."
After saying this, Lin Yanqin was filled with worry.
This preoccupied look remained on her face until Lin Yanqin escorted Ye Tiancheng and the other three out of the room.
Ye Tiancheng and the others saw it but did not expose it.
After returning to their own room, Ye Tiancheng and the others went through another round of activity before resting. Once seated, they had the leisure to discuss what had happened earlier.
Liang Ping said, "Miss Lin Yanqin must have lied. The ruby pendant is indeed lost, but I think she knows something, but due to some concerns, she chose to conceal it."
Nie Chongyang also nodded in agreement, saying, "I think so too."
Hearing Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping's conclusion, Ye Tiancheng asked with interest, "What makes you say that?"
Nie Chongyang explained to Ye Tiancheng, "This situation is relatively easy for us to judge. We have handled many cases before and have seen many situations. We are quite familiar with this kind of circumstance."
"After all, we have seen many similar situations."
"I think the reason Miss Lin Yanqin chose to conceal some things might be because she knows, or suspects, who committed this act. Perhaps she even knows this person and has a close relationship with them."
Ye Tiancheng frowned and pondered, "That doesn't seem to make sense either?"
Nie Chongyang asked, "What doesn't make sense?"
Ye Tiancheng said to Nie Chongyang, "If she really knows who took the ruby pendant, and she is so eager to get it back, even if she chooses to conceal some details for some reason, she wouldn't hide the clues so tightly, as if she's afraid we'll find out who did it."
"In this way, how can we possibly find out where the ruby pendant went?"
"If it's destined not to be found, why would she act so anxious, and why would she bother us? Moreover, I also feel that her urgency and anxiety don't seem entirely faked."
Liang Ping said, "This situation is hard to say. Perhaps she's afraid that if we pull out one thread, the whole thing will unravel, and things she doesn't want us to know will be exposed."
Ye Tiancheng raised an eyebrow slightly.
"If Lin Yanqin really knows the person who stole the ruby pendant, and even doesn't want to expose them, but that person only took Lin Yanqin's ruby pendant, then what would this person's identity be?"
Nie Chongyang's fingertips lightly tapped the surface of the bedside cabinet.
He said, "This depends on what the meaning symbolized by Lin Yanqin's ruby pendant is in this incident."
After listening, the little fox interjected, "If we put it that way, judging from the meaning of the ruby pendant, its preciousness, based on what we know so far, there are only two possibilities, right?"
Nie Chongyang said, "Indeed."