I walked towards the north room, my steps faltering, the stench of blood growing stronger with each step.

Stepping through the door, I looked up, and my legs went weak, nearly collapsing beneath me!

Mei-shen was sitting upright on a chair in the north room, but she had already breathed her last!

Her mouth was wide open, her jaw seemingly dislocated, the inside a bloody mess, her tongue torn out by the root.

Her eyes had been gouged out, two lines of bloody tears flowing from the empty sockets, down her cheeks, and dripping onto her chest.

Her hands rested on the armrests of the chair, each palm, both shoulders, and her lower abdomen pierced by a sharp bronze dagger! The five daggers looked like steel nails, pinning her firmly to the seat!

I had never seen such a gruesome death, it was simply torture! The scene before me was worse than any nightmare I'd ever had!

At that moment, I felt like I couldn't breathe, my legs were leaden, and I couldn't move an inch.

Then, from behind, came Uncle Mei's wails, Jiang Yongguang's exclamation of horror, and Xiao Liang's scream…

All the sounds mixed together, turning my brain into mush!

I saw Uncle Mei rush towards Mei-shen like a madman, shouting in anguish, "Yulan! Yulan!"

Jiang Yongguang and Lao Li quickly stopped Uncle Mei, preventing him from disturbing the scene.

Xiao Liang was trembling all over, but she still came to me first, grabbing my arm and saying, "Chen Rongsheng! Get a grip! Get a grip!"

I bit my lip, telling myself that I couldn't lose it!

With something like this happening to Mei-shen, Uncle Mei must be devastated. I'm the only man in this family now, I can't afford to lose it!

We still don't know where Little Mei is. The most important thing is to find Little Mei immediately!

I raised my hand and slapped myself hard, trying to clear my head. Then, I braced myself and began searching room by room!

"Little Mei!"

"Little Mei!"

"Little Mei, where are you?"

I searched while calling out her name, not even neglecting the closets. I turned Uncle Mei's house upside down, searching the kitchen, toilet, warehouse… leaving no corner unchecked!

But I still couldn't find Little Mei!

Not even a trace of her!

She seemed to have vanished into thin air!

The more I searched, the more anxious and afraid I became. I was really worried that Little Mei had suffered the same fate as Mei-shen!

I searched the house three times, but still couldn't find Little Mei. Xiao Liang had been searching with me the whole time, and she was calmer than I was.

Finally, she concluded, "Chen Rongsheng, Little Mei isn't in the house. Why don't we go ask the neighbors? Maybe Little Mei has gone to hide at a neighbor's house."

I nodded quickly, grabbing at the last straw, and went out with Xiao Liang.

We went to the homes of the neighbors on both sides and asked them door to door.

I asked if they had seen Little Mei, or if they had heard any unusual sounds coming from Little Mei's house.

The neighbors shook their heads blankly, saying they hadn't seen her.

Not only had they not seen Little Mei, but they hadn't even heard the slightest unusual noise. Such a terrifying tragedy had occurred next door, and the neighbors hadn't heard a thing!

I didn't want to accept this fact. I felt that Little Mei must have hidden in one of the neighbors' houses.

I took Xiao Liang with me and knocked on doors, calling out Little Mei's name.

But after searching house after house, there was still no sign of Little Mei. All the neighbors said they hadn't seen her. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air!

My legs were weak from running, my throat was hoarse from shouting, and finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I stumbled and fell flat on my face.

The ten thousand yuan that Jiang Yongguang had given me flew out of my pocket and landed on the ground in front of me.

Looking at the thick kraft paper envelope, I finally couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Little Mei! Look how much money I've made for you! Where are you! Who am I going to make money for without you! Come back! Come back and marry me! Didn't we agree that you'd be my wife! Little Mei, come back!"

I cried, gasping for breath, like a child who couldn't find his way home.

Xiao Liang quickly helped me pick up the envelope, then helped me to my feet and softly comforted me,

"Chen Rongsheng, don't worry, let's go back and take another look. Maybe Little Mei just went out to take shelter, and she'll come back when it's safe. Sometimes no news is good news."

Xiao Liang's words did have a soothing effect on me, because although we hadn't found Little Mei, at least we hadn't found her body!

If Little Mei had been killed like Mei-shen, her body would have been discovered long ago.

"Yes, yes, yes! You're right! Little Mei is so clever, she must have escaped in time! She's hiding in a safe place now, and she'll come back when the danger is over!"

I wiped away my tears and nodded.

"Then let's go back now, Uncle Mei needs to be taken care of after such a big incident," Xiao Liang said softly.

I nodded and followed Xiao Liang back towards the house.

When we entered, we saw that many people had come to the courtyard. These were all Xiao Liang's colleagues, and a few were from the Xiaoling Guard. They had already sealed off the scene and were collecting evidence.

Uncle Mei looked like he had lost his soul, squatting at the entrance to the courtyard, staring blankly into the distance. When he saw me come back, he stood up quickly, his lips moved, but he couldn't say anything.

I knew he wanted to ask me if I had found Little Mei.

But seeing my expression, he guessed the answer.

I quickly stepped forward and comforted him, "Uncle Mei, Xiao Liang and I both think that Little Mei must have escaped in time when she encountered danger. She's hiding in a safe place now, and she'll come back when the danger is over."

Uncle Mei nodded gently, his eyes reddened, and two lines of tears streamed down his face.

He squatted down again, wiping away his tears as he said, "It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's because I'm a corpse fisherman that I've lost my virtue and suffered retribution! Yulan was implicated by me, that's why she died so tragically! It's all my fault! It's all my fault!"

I quickly went over and hugged Uncle Mei, and said in a low voice, "Uncle Mei, don't say that, this isn't retribution! Debts have debtors, grievances have those responsible. No matter who harmed Mei-shen, we'll find him and avenge Mei-shen!"

But Uncle Mei said despairingly, "Avenge her? I don't even know who to take revenge on! Lao Li and the others looked at the scene and said that this case is very strange! It doesn't seem like a normal murder case at all! And the bronze swords on Yulan's body… those are… those are from the ancient Shu Kingdom!"

Hearing Uncle Mei say this, I suddenly remembered the five bronze daggers that had pinned down Mei-shen.

They did look like文物 (wénwù - cultural relics) from an ancient Shu tomb, but how could relics that had been unearthed for thousands of years be so new and sharp!

And Mei-shen's method of death was too cruel. It really didn't seem like an ordinary murder, but rather like an ancient and evil sacrificial ritual!

I really couldn't figure out, who on earth killed Mei-shen?