Ning Shu walked past Xiao Lan. She took a wooden stick and used it to take out the ash in the other stove pit.

  “Here you go.” Xiao Lan handed Ning Shu a fire poker.

  Ning Shu looked at the fire poker and glanced at Xiao Lan’s face that was brightly lit by the fire.

  As Ning Shu stared at the fire poker being handed to her, Xiao Lan withdrew her hand uneasily. “Are you afraid of me?”


  “No.” Ning Shu took the fire poker. “Thanks.”


  She washed her hands using water mixed with ash and sniffed them. There was no fecal odor left on her hands, but the smell on her body remained.

  Ning Shu looked at Xiao Lan and asked, “Have you eaten yet?”


  As Ning Shu had taken the initiative to talk to her, Xiao Lan became happy. She replied with a smile, “We haven’t eaten yet. Grandma said we’ll wait until you guys finish eating.”


  Xiao Lan had a thick accent so it was difficult for Ning Shu to understand her.

  “There you are.” Mei Ziqing walked in and gave Ning Shu a black dough steamed bun.

  Ning Shu smiled and thanked her, then proceeded to munch on the steamed bun. Mei Ziqing glanced at Xiao Lan then told Ning Shu, “The advisor is calling you.”


  “Oh.” Ning Shu followed Mei Ziqing out of the kitchen. Looking back, Ning Shu saw Xiao Lan looking in their direction with vacant eyes.

  Her eyes weren’t focused at all.

  Ning Shu walked into the living room and asked the uncle, “What do you want from me?”


  “You’re on night watch tonight,” the uncle said. “Everyone will do it in pairs. You choose who you want to be with.”


  Ning Shu: …


  Nothing ever good resulted from being called by him. Why didn’t he ever call her to eat?

  Ning Shu really wanted to spit on his face.

  “I’ll go with her,” Mei Ziqing said as she stood next to Ning Shu.

  Ning Shu was a little touched and held Mei Ziqing’s hand tightly. Lil’ sis, you are so cute.

  The uncle glanced at Ning Shu. Lu Shanshan asked, “Since when have you two been so close?”


  “It’s not safe for two girls to be on night watch. Let me be on night watch tonight,” Zhang Jiasen said.

  Ning Shu: →_→


  Anyways, no matter what Zhang Jiasen says or does, Ning Shu felt that he had bad intentions.

  “No, we’ll be fine,” Ning Shu refused.

  The uncle said, “Try not to go out at night and don’t give the murderer an opportunity by moving around on your own.”


  “Yes, Advisor.” Whenever the uncle spoke, these people became as well-behaved as schoolchildren.

  After all, who could skin and dissect bodies without a change in expression like the advisor?

  Ning Shu headed upstairs to get a notebook. She wanted to record things and then slowly straighten them out.

  Ning Shu felt like her head was going to explode from having to deal with things like this which tested intelligence.

  When she saw that all the task-takers were calm and composed, Ning Shu felt anxious.

  She felt an inexplicable panic.

  Her mind was foggy.

  It was like her brain was fried.

  Ning Shu climbed onto bed and took out the notebook from her bag.

  The first victim was stabbed through her eye into the brain using an embroidery needle that was concealed in a brush. Since they were all students, they were not likely to carry an embroidery needle around with them. Besides, these students couldn’t mend their own clothes.

  Then the embroidery needle must belong to the old lady.

  If the wounds on the other victim were not actual animal bites, like the uncle said, then there must be tools that were hidden somewhere.

  Any way you looked at it, it was a crime committed by someone familiar with the house.

  “2333, something happened again,” said Mei Ziqing, walking in with a grim look on her face.

  Ning Shu got down from bed and asked, “Who?”


  Editor: Sam

  Translator: Kaho