Chapter 102

Chapter 102

As long as there are poor people in the world, there will always be rich people, even in the most tragic disaster zones.

Luo Xi quickly led the way and arrived at the gates of the Lin family’s mansion. Looking at the patrolling servants and the protective bamboo spikes scattered around, he sneered inwardly before forcefully knocking on the door.

Moments later, the red-painted wooden door was cracked open slightly.

Through the gap, Lu Yan’s delicate face and expressionless eyes appeared. "Who is it? What’s the matter?"

"It’s me. How far has the Lin family fallen? They even have a blind person greeting guests?" Luo Xi mocked, arms crossed.

Lu Yan responded calmly, "Huo Qingshen ruined his face, and Miss Lin is angry with him, so only I could come."

Luo Xi didn't care about the man's fate and directly said, "We were ordered by Captain Situ to investigate something here, so let us through."

Saying this, he slapped the mansion's official seal into Lu Yan's hand and pushed the door open, stepping into the inner courtyard.

Lu Yan staggered, barely managing to grab a branch to steady herself, not even bothering to close the door, hurrying toward the main hall.

Xu Rou followed behind Luo Xi, curiously observing the still luxurious atmosphere of the Lin family, sighing, "The streets outside are filled with blood and scorched ruins, but here it’s a different world. Even the peach blossoms are still blooming."

If Xu Rou were in her shoes, she would already be worried about killing and robbing for money, not thinking about contemplating the situation.

It seems women are always difficult to understand, better not to deal with them too much.

With this thought, Luo Xi quickly followed Lu Yan, walking forcefully into the Lin family’s main hall.

At that moment, Huo Qingshen was standing inside, lowering his head, pleading with a beautiful woman dressed in silk, "Miss Lin, I will work hard, please keep me. This disfigurement is all the fault of the pawnshop’s Mistress Hu. I was just a victim, I never intended to betray the Lin family."

It seems this beautiful woman must be Lin Lanyi, the head of the Lin family.

"Shut your mouth! Although Mistress Hu is terrifying, she is always fair." Lin Lanyi said coldly, frowning, "My Lin family doesn’t want people with imperfect looks. I made it clear yesterday. If you don’t leave now, I’ll have the servants break your legs!"

Lu Yan also advised, "Huo Qingshen, you can try Dr. Yan, ability is a strict requirement, you have no other choice."

Her words were very reasonable. Huo Qingshen held his fox mask, then touched the fresh hundred taels of silver in his pocket, lowering his head dejectedly. Without saying anything further, he hurriedly left.

Luo Xi, having watched enough of the drama, bluntly asked, "You’re Lin Lanyi?"

Lu Yan cautiously replied, "Miss, they are people of Captain Situ, they said they have something to ask."

Lin Lanyi sneered arrogantly, "Oh? What’s the matter? Lin family doesn’t lend money."

Luo Xi mocked, "The Peach Blossom Land will soon have no living people left, silver is just scrap metal. You’re overthinking it."

Lin Lanyi’s expression darkened, "Then what’s this about?"

"According to reports from the local people, there have been screams of corpses and ghosts coming from the Lin family every day, which has caused great unrest." Xu Rou spoke with righteous conviction, "We’re here to investigate the safety issues of the Lin family."

Lin Lanyi turned her head, "I have over a hundred servants, and you want us to rely on you for safety? Please leave, the Lin family is as clean as it can get."

"Whether it’s clean or not, you don’t get to decide." Luo Xi stepped closer, his imposing presence evident, "We still don’t know the cause of the ghostly disturbances. If the Lin family is hiding ghosts and refusing to let anyone investigate, that’s highly suspicious. I believe Captain Situ would be more than happy to detain you and take the Lin family’s wealth to aid the Peach Blossom Land."

All the officials in this town were killed by the ghostly creatures, and Captain Situ had lost contact with the county leaders. Now, he remains unwavering for the people, whether to establish his authority in chaos or genuinely care for the people, he certainly holds the moral high ground. Meanwhile, most of the people from the Lin family are dead, and Lin Lanyi, being only eighteen, lacks the experience to resist Captain Situ, so she couldn’t refuse this matter.

Sure enough, Lin Lanyi's expression froze for a moment before she waved her sleeve, "Lu Yan, accompany them to investigate. I need to rest."Lu Yan nodded calmly, using the branch to lead the way: "Both of you, follow me."

The matter of hiding a corpse demon is not complicated, but it becomes complicated depending on whether it was actively hidden or passively hidden.

Now, with the entire Lin family practically wiped out, and Lin Feng'er, the younger brother of Lin Lan'er, also recently harmed, it’s highly likely that some strange things will happen.

So, Luo Xi paid no attention to the intentionally protective Lu Yan, and as soon as they entered the Lin residence’s courtyard, he swiftly jumped onto the roof, hiding his figure like an assassin in the mist.

The housekeeper behind Lu Yan panicked: "The patrolman is gone!"

Lu Yan, being experienced, understood Luo Xi’s thoughts and objectives very well. Frowning, she said, "Quickly, search the entire mansion. We must find him. If Miss finds out a big man is running around, she'll have us all killed!"

The housekeeper cupped his hands: "Yes."

Xu Rou coldly looked at Lu Yan: "Stop pretending. Is there a corpse demon in this mansion or not?"

Lu Yan blinked her lifeless eyes: "Of course not. Would I put myself in danger just to obey someone like him?"

Xu Rou crossed her arms: "You’re not obeying him, you're just protecting your own job. After all, there's nowhere else that will take you except the Lin mansion."

"Say what you will." Lu Yan was very calm: "We're the same. Let’s go. You search, I’ll lead the way, and we won’t interfere with each other."

Xu Rou glanced at the mist, knowing that if there were any clues, Luo Xi would find them. She decided to hold Lu Yan back: "Fine, let’s check room by room."

Meanwhile, Luo Xi moved swiftly. Though he didn’t have Su Ziyan’s remarkable hearing, he relied on his experience to search the Lin residence inside and out. In the end, he focused on the heavily guarded backyard, which, aside from a dry well and storage room, also had a cellar entrance. It was very quiet now, but still suspicious.

Why wasn’t Lin Lan'er letting her housekeepers protect her? What was she watching here?

Could it be that she really was hiding a corpse demon?

It wasn’t out of the question.

After all, although corpse demons are terrifying, if they are turned from loved ones, it changes everything.

Thinking this, Luo Xi casually took out a firestarter he had stolen from the kitchen, quietly set the dry hay pile behind the storage room on fire, and then lifted a large stone to smash down on the wooden planks of the cellar entrance from the roof.

The chaos and loud noise instantly disrupted the backyard housekeepers’ attention.

Some screamed, some ran to fight the dirty water to put out the fire, and some aimed arrows at Luo Xi's towering figure. The situation was extremely chaotic.

Luo Xi nimbly took cover behind scattered rocks, listened intently, and finally distinguished another sound amidst the noise—the desperate, beast-like growl of a corpse demon. The sound was continuously coming from the cellar entrance, revealing the location of the corpse demon.

Luo Xi, who would always calculate things carefully, could never act alone against dozens of housekeepers unarmed. Besides, capturing the corpse demon wasn’t meaningful.

He just hid, and in the thick smoke, he grabbed a housekeeper trying to put out the fire, tightly squeezing his throat and questioning: "Who’s hiding in the cellar, turning into a corpse demon and not dealing with it? Is it Lin Lan'er's relative?!"

The housekeeper was scared half to death, his throat making cracking sounds, and his face turned purple.

Luo Xi ignored the other’s struggles: "Think carefully and answer me, or I’ll snap your neck right now."

With that, he loosened his grip a little.

The housekeeper’s voice was hoarse, stammering: "It... it’s... Young Master..."Luo Xi recalled the name of the NPC: "Lin Feng'er?"

The housekeeper nodded nervously.

"I see, I understand now," Luo Xi understood the mission's story and immediately stood up, planning to report to Captain Situ.

However, at that moment, Lu Yan had already arrived with Xu Rou, hurriedly heading to the scene of the fire.

A housekeeper anxiously reported, "It was that patrolman who started the fire, but he's very skilled and sly. We don't know where he's run off to!"

Lu Yan urgently said, "Why aren't you looking for him?"

"You knew you wouldn’t handle this well! Close the gates. We must catch them. If Captain Situ arrives, he'll certainly take all our Lin family's wealth," Lin Lan'er appeared, her gaze cold as she stared at Xu Rou. "And this female patrolman, perfect. She can be fed to Feng'er. When Situ comes looking for people, you can say she’s already left."

Xu Rou was thinking about how to deal with Lu Yan quietly, but she never expected the situation to take such a sharp turn, with even the NPC targeting her. Unfortunately, it was already too late for her to escape.

The fierce housekeepers, fed by the Lin family’s rations, immediately followed orders and rushed toward Xu Rou!

Xu Rou, without a weapon, fought back against three or four strong men, but was ultimately pinned to the ground, screaming, "Let go of me! Let go! Why are you feeding a perfectly good person to the corpse demon? The corpse demon has lost all sense! It's a monster!"

Lin Lan'er remained unmoved: "That's my brother, what do you know?"

She then turned away and ordered, "Find the male patrolman and deal with him too."

Lu Yan lowered her head and responded, "Yes, Miss, don’t worry."

Luo Xi, hidden in the shadows, watched as Xu Rou was pushed into the cellar entrance. As the wooden board was opened, a foul smell wafted with the smoke, confirming the existence of the corpse demon.

He hesitated for a moment. He was not related to her, and even if he saved Xu Rou, this girl would eventually die due to a lack of money. He steeled his resolve, stood up, climbed over the wall, and planned to report to Situ first before heading off to help Xi Yu.

However, just as Luo Xi had escaped to the street, he immediately heard the cold system notification.

[Unfortunately, the corpse demon is rampant, and the streamer Xu Rou has perished because of it. Everyone, please stay vigilant.]

Luo Xi clenched his fist.

Was he guilty? Was he upset?

No, his feelings were far more complicated than the entanglements within the story.

He didn’t resent himself; he resented Yuntai and the Cyber Company. But this emotion was something he could never express to anyone.