Chapter 115: The Unforeseen Turn

Fang He is dead!

“Chen Fang is dead too!”

At 2:16 AM, Wang Zheng hurriedly gathered everyone together, not even bothering with Fang He’s earlier plans.

He now felt as lost as a headless fly.

He didn’t care about Chen Fang’s death – after all, he was just cannon fodder destined to fall. But he never expected that neither of them managed to send even a single message before dying!

The plan was to trade a few expendable lives for intel on the vengeful ghost, yet the one they valued most, Fang He, mysteriously died!

“How could he die!?”

“He survived so many supernatural incidents. There’s no way he was going to die! Even if something went wrong, with Fang He’s abilities, there should have been some sign of trouble!”

Seeing Wang Zheng panic, Yenir’s gaze darkened as he quickly asked.

“No messages sent at all?”

“Can you pin down roughly when they died?”

Hearing Yenir’s voice, Wang Zheng’s panic subsided slightly, and he hurriedly replied:

“Fang He sent out the list, but said nothing else.”

“Time of death…”

“All I can say is that both of them died at roughly the same time. I had told them to send a message every hour, and I only sent someone over when I noticed Chen Fang hadn’t checked in.”

“On the ground… there’s nothing left but a half-eaten foot!”

Yenir nodded slightly, understanding the shock etched on everyone’s pale faces.

Normally, a seasoned awakener like Fang He wouldn’t take unnecessary risks – let alone court death. His sudden demise suggests that the little girl’s home isn’t as safe as he’d assumed.

In fact, it might even be infested with vengeful ghosts!

With that in mind, Yenir decisively stated:

“First, Fang He must have known something he didn’t share with us, causing him to underestimate the danger in the courtyard.”

“Second, his death may have enraged the little girl, provoking a ghostly assault. It doesn’t mean she died as soon as they entered – otherwise, we would have been in trouble during the day.”

“Third, he managed to send out the list without any sign of distress, which means he believed he was safe at that moment.”

A glint flashed in his eyes.

At first, everything seemed fine, and he had the chance to send the list — meaning Fang He must have done something else after retrieving it…

“If I’m not mistaken, after getting the list, Fang He must have gone looking for something else, which led to his untimely end.”

At that, Yenir nodded slightly to signal Wang Zheng to stay composed:

“Tomorrow morning, use the list to apprehend the suspects.”

“The list should be accurate. Once you capture someone, bring them straight to the little girl and see if you can uncover more information…”

“I’ll slip into the courtyard while the little girl is out. I suspect Fang He discovered something crucial—a clue that cost him his life.”

The situation was more uncertain than they’d expected, and Yenir could only figure out what Fang He had found.

“You’re going back again!?”

Chen Yong gasped in surprise:

“You’re still going?”

“I’m worried…”

Yenir shook his head, cutting him off:

“Once the little girl is out, it should be safer. Besides, if we go during the day, I can definitely make a run for it if things go south.”

“If we don’t go to find out what Fang He saw, we might miss an important clue.”

After his words, Chen Yong and Wang Zheng exchanged a glance, and in their hesitation, they chose not to object further. Yenir’s calm tone left no doubt that danger was real.

But having already invested so much and enticed by the prospect of a replica, they weren’t willing to back down now.

With Fang He gone, the two had no choice but to rely entirely on Yenir.

“Alright, that’s enough for now.”

“From now on, stick together. Since Chen Fang died without sending any messages, it means these ghosts are far more terrifying than we imagined.”

“There’s no way extra lives would fetch any useful intel. Tomorrow, once you capture someone and bring them to the little girl, report everything to me, and I’ll act accordingly.”

After giving the brief instructions, Yenir subconsciously glanced from the second floor toward the pitch-black courtyard, already piecing together his suspicions.

…….

The next morning.

At dawn, the sleepless group watched as the little girl left early, seemingly on her way to the riverbank to fetch water.

“Let’s move!”

“We’re going to capture someone now!”

“Lord Ye Lin, please be careful!”

Not wasting another moment, Chen Yong, armed with the list, led his team to various spots around the Settlement, ready to make arrests.

Minutes later, Yenir stood alone not far from the little girl’s home, gradually extending his spiritual senses.

“Fang He’s death… Was it because he was seen, or did he see something?”

According to Yenir’s perception, the courtyard still held only an old man lying in bed. Aside from an inexplicable chill, nothing seemed amiss.

“There was no danger when he found the list; Fang He had time to search for something else… but then he died suddenly.”

“That suggests the list and his death scene are together – or at least not far apart.”

“The little girl showed no signs of distress when she left, which implies she might not have encountered Fang He last night. Otherwise, given her vigilant nature, she would have acted differently if ghosts were around.”

“Either the little girl remained unaware of an intruder, and Fang He was killed directly by a ghost,”

or, “the ghost was left behind in the house while the little girl withheld the information, venturing out without worry…”

“Either way…”

After rapidly weighing all possibilities, Yenir had formed a rough plan. All that remained was for Chen Yong to capture someone and bring them before the little girl to gauge her reaction.

……

“Tie them up! Take them away!”

Activating a Silence Barrier, Chen Yong and his team quickly subdued the Settlement’s leader – a first-stage awakener – who was sound asleep.

Startled by being suddenly bound, the middle-aged man panicked and cried out:

“Officers! What is this? Why are you arresting me?!”

With a cold snort, Chen Yong delivered a swift kick to the middle-aged man’s stomach and retorted harshly:

“What’s your story?”

“You drove Zhang Xuemei to death, and now you question us?”

“Tell me—what did you do back then?”

Stunned into silence for a moment, the bound middle-aged man soon began clamoring for justice.

“Nothing, officer!”

Clutching his stomach and still reeling from Chen Yong’s strike, the middle-aged man looked pale.

“We really didn’t kill her! It was her own misfortune at the river!”

Seeing that the middle-aged man stubbornly refused to speak, Wang Zheng wasted no time ordering his subordinates to capture more suspects:

“Arrest everyone on the list and bring them to the little girl for confrontation!”

…………