Chapter 81: Witnessed with My Own Eyes

Long strands of hair were lifted by the wind, now faintly showing a touch of white.

As they fluttered, they blurred Ji Li’s sight.

Yet his eyes remained wide open, filled with shock and doubt.

He stared fixedly at the elderly woman’s face, studying every inch of her skin, finally settling on the distinctive tear-shaped mole beneath her right eye.

Fang Shenyan seemed to sense a change in the man beside him.

“What’s wrong?”

After a moment of silence, Ji Li spoke the impossible truth that had nonetheless unfolded before him.

“The mistress of the Li Mansion looks exactly like the ghost bride…”

Fang Shenyan drew in a sharp breath, carefully following Ji Li’s gaze and examining her again.

“Truly… not a single difference?”

Ji Li didn’t reply, but the deep gloom on his face was answer enough.

Waves of turmoil churned in his heart. He had never imagined things could become so tangled.

She’s rather pretty, isn’t she? So this is the ghost for this mission? A bride? Haven’t you been pulled into the sedan yet?

Just as Ji Li stood silent, the second persona that hadn’t surfaced for a long time suddenly emerged, spilling out a stream of pointless chatter, interrupting Ji Li’s spiraling thoughts.

With Fang Shenyan beside him, Ji Li had no time to respond. He was about to speak when voices rose from the chamber below.

The elderly woman and Chen Fu had begun to talk.

But Ji Li was some distance away, standing in the wind; by the time their words reached him, half were scattered.

This was when the third persona proved its worth.

It began translating the conversation below.

Elderly Woman: “The five strangers who arrived today happen to fill the missing number.”

Chen Fu: “Indeed. Just two more days, and we’ll complete the final step.”

Elderly Woman: “We’ve sent out thirteen coffins over these past days. Can we prepare…”

Chen Fu: “Don’t rush. Wait for tomorrow’s outcome.”

Ji Li kept his gaze fixed on them, listening as the third voice relayed each word.

Fang Shenyan, tilting an ear, caught only fragments. Seeing Ji Li so intent, he stayed silent.

When the two figures finally left the hidden room, Fang Shenyan asked, “Did you catch it?”

Ji Li nodded. There hadn’t been much, only a few sentences, but they carried weight.

He organized his thoughts and spoke:

“It seems a plan is brewing inside the Li Mansion.

Whatever it is, the elderly woman stands to gain the most, which is why she’s so determined.

Chen Fu is more like the executor, pulling the strings.

Perhaps that’s why he came—to carry it out.

From her words, they’ve held thirteen funerals since half a month ago, thirteen coffins.

Their aim is to complete this plan.

And the five of us seem to make up the exact number they need.”

Fang Shenyan swung onto the beam, pondering Ji Li’s words, then suddenly realized something.

“If that’s the case, could the missing servants and maids be tied to it?

Perhaps they’re conducting a ritual of some kind, and the disappearances explain the funerals.”

But Ji Li shook his head, countering:

“They’ve used empty coffins for the funerals. If they sacrificed living servants, where are the bodies?”

“Whatever the case, their sights are clearly set on us.

There’s much we don’t understand, but maybe we can use the simplest approach…”

A sharp light gleamed beneath Fang Shenyan’s glasses, and the lingering scent of blood on him seemed to rise again.

Ji Li glanced at him, immediately understanding. Fang Shenyan wanted to seize the elderly woman and Chen Fu. If they were just humans, matters could become far simpler.

Only…

“From the start of this mission, I was pulled into the sedan, facing the ghost bride alone.

Since then, only you all have known I exist.”

It seemed that Chen Fu and those men in white no longer remembered me, the bridal sedan, or the wedding procession.

What worried me more was that the elderly woman’s scheme might be deeply tied to the ghost bride.

And with that ghost still hiding in the shadows, if we strike first, could we disrupt—or even ruin—the mission’s course?”

Ji Li’s concern was not unfounded. So far, everything inside the Li Mansion pointed only to plots among the living, with no sign of any ghost.

Another secret weighed on him: before the mission began, there had been that ghost who trailed him all the way, slipping into the moat…

Could it be the same as the ghost bride?

Fang Shenyan stayed silent, but after a moment something seemed to click. He slapped his palm.

“No, wait!

If the elderly woman and the others are just people, how did they know the staffs were coming?

Even if that’s part of the mission’s setup, it doesn’t explain what happened with you!”

Ji Li froze, instinctively asking, “What?”

“Their plan was missing five people, yet from the start there were six staffs!

You were dragged into the sedan and vanished from the Li family’s memory—that was pure accident!

But why did they account for even that accident?

Don’t you think it’s too unreasonable?”

Those words exposed yet another glaring contradiction in the mission so far: an impossible coincidence.

Ji Li hesitated, then pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and said to Fang Shenyan:

“We’re still missing a piece of information. We’ll need to keep searching.”

Just then, a faint door-closing sound came from beneath the eaves.

Chen Fu appeared out of the darkness, heading toward the rear courtyard.

Fang Shenyan blinked, thought for a moment, then said to Ji Li:

“I’ll follow him, see if there’s anything else to learn.”

Ji Li nodded. “Same time tomorrow, on this beam.”

With that, he watched Fang Shenyan swing down and slip after Chen Fu.

But Ji Li remained, sitting on the roof, smoking.

He lifted his gaze to the sparse, moonlit sky, drew a hard breath, as though making a decision.

They never mentioned the portrait of the ghost bride, yet they look exactly like the woman in it.

I suspect their plan is tied to that painting!

The third persona spoke gravely in his mind, which seemed to be why Ji Li hadn’t left.

When the cigarette finally burned out, Ji Li pinched the butt, tucked it into his pocket, buttoned his coat, and pulled on black gloves.

He climbed down from the roof, took out his tools, and prepared to pry open the elderly woman’s door.

“I’ll see it with my own eyes—then everything will be clear.”