Chapter 206 - 203: A Bloody Case Caused by 5 Copper Coins

In the darkness, Song Ciwan’s heart skipped a beat.

She was overcome by a horrifying sensation, as if she were enveloped in thick, viscous mud. Although her eyes could move, her ears could hear, and her mind was working, her limbs were stiff and heavy, impossible to move for the moment.

All she could hear were several sets of footsteps outside—soft, ghostly, and drawing closer.

The night wind blew through the village. In the darkness, it seemed as if there were countless pairs of eyes, countless voices—whispering, screaming, rolling, and howling.

But it all seemed so distant, as if separated by layer upon layer of gauze curtains and thick drapes.

Song Ciwan could only hear her own heartbeat growing more and more frantic. THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!

The footsteps outside crossed the threshold, and a faint, acrid stench wafted in.

The footsteps entered the courtyard. It sounded like someone kicked something. With a soft THUD, the sound of a shoe hitting flesh reached her ears.

"Oof!" a muffled, booming voice said. "What the hell is this? These Scholars have no class, sleeping in the courtyard!"

Another, gruffer voice spoke in a hushed tone. It sounded somewhat familiar to Song Ciwan.

The voice said, "If they weren’t in the courtyard, we wouldn’t have been able to use this Soul Reviving Incense so easily! Now shut up and get a move on! Be careful, go around them. If you make another sound and wake up that Gao guy, I’ll skin you alive!"

The booming voice said sheepishly, "Hehe, Fourth Brother..."

Fourth Brother slapped him sharply, and the voice immediately fell silent.

And Song Ciwan had finally recognized him. The so-called "Fourth Brother" had to be Sha Si from Huai Xi Village!

’Sha Si is actually raiding the Gao Family’s home at night,’ Song Ciwan thought. ’So even though they’re all strange beings in the same Deceitful Realm, they don’t get along.’

’What could the Gao Family possibly have that would make Sha Si go to such lengths to investigate at night?’

’And what is this Soul Reviving Incense?’

’Is it a knockout gas or something else? What harm does it do? Can it be cured?’

The more Song Ciwan’s thoughts raced, the clearer her mind became.

The heavy, mud-like sensation that enveloped her also seemed to be loosening its grip.

A flicker of joy ignited within her, and she focused her will even more intently.

Sha Si must have brought two "people" with him. Song Ciwan could tell from the footsteps; there were three "people" in total.

The three "of them" carefully stepped over the students lying in the courtyard and followed the red light into the Gao Family’s main hall.

As they passed through the main hall, the booming voice couldn’t help but complain again. "Damn it, this Gao Family is so annoying. They keep all these memorial tablets for dead people in their house all day long. As if anyone doesn’t know they have dead family members. Is that really necessary?"

Sha Si hissed, "Wang Zhu!"

Wang Zhu fell silent. The three sets of footsteps crossed the main hall and felt their way into the Gao Family’s coffin room.

The next moment, Song Ciwan’s eyelids suddenly felt warm, as if a light had been produced over there.

A wave of heat reached her from a distance. It was as if Sha Si and his men had lit a torch in Mr. Gao’s room!

Sha Si directed them in a low voice, "Everyone get to it. Start searching! We’ll split whatever copper coins we find three ways. No one is to pocket anything for themselves, understand?"

The other two said in unison, "Understood!"

Then came the rustling of fabric. The three were indeed searching Mr. Gao’s body.

Out in the courtyard, however, Song Ciwan was a little stunned. She had assumed these guys had come to Mr. Gao’s house in the middle of the night because he had some incredible treasure, or because they were hatching some sinister plot...

’But the truth is, these three seem to be here only for the Ancestral Dragon Coins on Mr. Gao’s body?’

’Ancestral Dragon Coins... In the world of the strange, do they really hold such a great allure?’

’If that’s really the case, doesn’t that mean... that I’m the one who led these three villagers here?’

Sure enough, the next moment she heard the three of them talking again. "That student has quite a bit of money on him. Since he gave money to Mr. Gao, he must have plenty more stashed away. After we take the money from Mr. Gao, we’ll go look for that student!"

Song Ciwan: ...

Then, from inside, the booming voice exclaimed, "I found some!"

Wang Zhu said joyfully, "Two, two copper coins, hahaha..."

Immediately after, another, high-pitched voice said, "Over here, I got three, three of them!"

Sha Si, however, frowned and said angrily, "I didn’t find a single one. This is outrageous!"

Outside, Song Ciwan froze, then thought: ’Wait, Mr. Gao should have at least fifteen copper coins on him. How could Sha Si say he didn’t find any?’

The thought had barely crossed her mind when, in a flash of Spiritual Light, she realized the truth. ’This isn’t a case of Sha Si not finding any! He must be deliberately hiding the fact that he found some copper coins!’

Sure enough, the next moment Sha Si was heard saying, "Alright, so we found a total of five copper coins. Heh, five coins, three people... how are we going to split this?"

Wang Zhu immediately chuckled. "Five copper coins. I found two, Mo Hou’er, you found three, and Fourth Brother, you didn’t find any. So why don’t we have Mo Hou’er give you one? That way, nobody loses out, right?"

Logically, this proposal made sense, but it instantly drew dissatisfaction from two people.

Mo Hou’er’s high-pitched voice snapped in annoyance, "Why should *I* be the one to give one to Fourth Brother? Wang Zhu, why don’t you give one up?"

At the same time, Sha Si also roared, "Wang Zhu, we agreed to split the copper coins evenly, but you’re not willing to give me a single one? What’s the meaning of this? Don’t you forget, it was your Fourth Brother here who brought the Soul Reviving Incense!"

Wang Zhu’s booming voice sounded deceptively simple and honest. "But if I give you a copper coin, Fourth Brother, I’ll only have one left. That’s not an even split either. How about we have Mo Hou’er give you another one? He found three, after all."

At these words, Mo Hou’er grew even more furious. "You rotten Wang Zhu’Er! You’re just bullying me because you think I can’t do math, right? So you’re the only one who doesn’t have to give up a damn thing!"

Wang Zhu just said, "You say I won’t give up a thing, so why don’t you, Mo Hou’er? You give something up... Ptooey! Why don’t you give a coin to Fourth Brother right now? Why are you just clutching them and not moving?"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, he greased his heels and bolted!

He really ran. His footsteps reached the door of the coffin room when Sha Si let out a furious roar, "Wang Zhu’Er, you’re courting death!"

Sha Si was even faster. He sprinted with a series of heavy THUMPS, caught up to Wang Zhu in an instant, and lunged to snatch the copper coins from his hand.

Wang Zhu, of course, refused to yield, and the two "men" started fighting.

Song Ciwan couldn’t see, she could only hear them struggling, the sound of fists hitting flesh, occasionally punctuated by Wang Zhu’s pained screams and Sha Si’s furious shouts. Although it seemed neither had won yet, she figured Sha Si probably had the upper hand.

Then came Mo Hou’er’s thin voice, neither too loud nor too soft, trying to break up the fight. "Hey, hey, why did you start fighting? Wang Zhu’Er, you should just give in. If this keeps up, be careful Fourth Brother doesn’t beat you to death."

As Song Ciwan listened, she felt the heavy sensation on her body grow lighter and lighter. It seemed she would soon be able to move freely!

Just then, she heard Wang Zhu let out a terrible scream, followed immediately by the thick stench of blood.

"AARGH!" Wang Zhu shrieked, his voice raw with agony. "My hand, my hand! My hand is broken, AARGH—"

Before his agonizing screams could fade, a clear, childish voice rang out from inside the house. "Huh, what’s going on? Was I asleep? Am I home? You... what are you doing in my house?"