False evidence

Chapter 472 Painted Skin (22)

When talking about this, Tong Xiangnan was full of guilt, saying that if he hadn't given Lao K confidence before, Lao K's mental resilience might not have been so bad.

His condition had just begun to improve when he suffered another blow, causing his emotions to fluctuate wildly, which ultimately led to his breakdown.

……

Back at the bus station, the rain was pouring down.

The small restaurant was not open for business.

When I called Yan Fengwei, it said he was out of service area; the same thing happened when I called Cao Xinyun.

"How could this happen?" I had a bad feeling.

Check the time: 12:03. Could they have gotten in the car first? Impossible. After a terrifying night, they definitely wouldn't act on their own again.

Old K said, "Don't you think the problem might not actually be with the car?"

I glanced at the small restaurant and nodded subconsciously.

The proprietress I met during the day was not the same one I saw last night. She also said that the original owner of the shop was indeed a fat woman, but she died in a car accident.

And Xiaohong, after I came to my senses, there was no WeChat for her on my phone, and she wasn't in any of the photos either.

It's not necessarily true that there's something wrong with the small restaurant itself, but the series of strange events last night started here.

First it was Li Meizhi, then Erpang, Zhao Qi, Liang Yuan, and now it's Yan Fengwei and Cao Xinyun's turn. We must find out the truth about this as soon as possible, otherwise their lives could be in danger.

I suggested we go to the restaurant to take a look, and Old K said we should go together.

I was worried about Tong Xiangnan's health and reminded him that my uncle had a brain tumor.

Old K smiled wryly: "Since life and death are preordained, a little rain won't make a difference."

I didn't insist any further and gave him the only umbrella in the car.

The two got out of the car and arrived at the restaurant entrance, but the door was locked from the inside and there were no lights on inside.

Looking back now, it feels even more wrong.

At this hour, including the bus stop, there are hardly any buses running. Even if it weren't raining so heavily today, the shop shouldn't be open so late. Who are we doing business with? Nobody's taking the buses; are we doing business with ghosts?
Old K suddenly said, "I remember you said that you heard the sound of chopping filling when you were here yesterday."

I was about to nod when I suddenly realized what he meant.

Nowadays, large dumpling restaurants and steamed bun shops all use meat grinders. How could such a small, dirty shop still chop the filling by hand?

I said, "Let's go take a look at the back."

The two walked to the back of the house and found a small door, but it was locked.

"You wait outside, I'll climb over the wall and get in."

Before Old K could reply, I took a few steps and climbed onto the top of the wall.

Looking down, I saw that the courtyard was piled with a lot of miscellaneous items, and both the front and back rooms were dark.

Taking advantage of the sound of the rain, I didn't hesitate and went straight into the yard.

The moment my foot touched the ground, a dog barked from the corner.

My nerves tensed up instantly, and I cursed myself for being careless.

The instant I heard the dog bark, I felt something indescribable spread across my back.

It wasn't power, but rather a violent and eccentric aura.

If things go my way, we'll have to climb over the wall and get out immediately.

However, under the impact of such a powerful aura, my first reaction was to suddenly turn my head and stare wide-eyed in the direction from which the shout came.

It's really not my fault. The doghouse was right between the front house and the courtyard wall. Even if you looked at it from the top of the wall during the day, let alone in the middle of the night when it was raining heavily, you would probably think it was a pile of broken asbestos tiles.

Just then, a large dog poked most of its body out of its den and stared at me menacingly.

This dog looks like a mix of a wolfhound and a mongrel, perhaps from a restaurant. It's actually a size bigger than Shuanzhu, like a small leopard, baring its teeth and glaring at you, it's creepy to look at.

Strangely enough, the dog only barked once and then stopped. It stared at me in the rain, its eyes filled with confusion.

Soon, doubt turned into fear, and it actually tucked its tail between its legs, backed away to its kennel, and lay there motionless.

"You damned bastard!" I thought I heard someone curse in my ear.

The sound was hoarse, like a broken gong; though not loud, it made my eardrums ache.

I was taken aback and hurriedly looked around. Suddenly, I turned around and was surprised to see someone standing behind me.

"I'll do it again..."

I couldn't help but mutter a curse under my breath.

The person in front of me was dressed in formal clothes and was holding a black umbrella. Who else could it be but Tong Xiangnan, no, Old K?
"How did you get in?" I asked in a low voice.

Following his gaze, they saw that the small door had actually opened.

Old K chuckled softly, "Do you know what magicians are best at but can't actually use in practice?"

That's when it dawned on me. A magician isn't just skillful with their hands, but also has sharp hearing and eyesight. While underwater escape acts may involve hidden mechanisms, the key in an emergency is being able to unlock them in a very short time.

With that skill, opening ordinary old-fashioned civilian locks would be a piece of cake.

"You're too impatient." Old K smiled and shook his head, turning his head to look at the doghouse. "It seems to be afraid of you."

I pursed my lips and shook my head, thinking to myself, what could it possibly be afraid of? Does it know I'm a veterinarian and is afraid I'll give it a shot? The reason it's acting so cowardly is probably because it's afraid of something else.

The peculiar feeling I had just experienced had vanished, and the large dog no longer posed a threat.

I gestured to Old K, signaling him to keep watch, and tiptoed to the front window.

There are restaurants in front, and no curtains on the back window.

I channeled the Yin energy of the water ghost contained within the white fish jade pendant into my eyes and peered through the window.

It was just an ordinary restaurant kitchen. Although it wasn't big and the utensils were old, it was kept clean and tidy. It was clear that the owners were a hardworking couple.

At this hour, with such heavy rain, the shop owners must be sound asleep.

Thinking to myself, I gestured to Old K again, crossed the yard, and came to the window of the back house.

Presumably because the window faces the yard, the curtains were just casually drawn and not completely covered.

At this moment, my yin energy intensified, making not only my vision sharp but also my hearing highly sensitive. As soon as I reached the window, I heard faint snoring coming from inside.

Looking through the crack in the window, I could see a double bed facing the window.

Although it's currently the transition between spring and summer, it still gets cool at night after it rains.

From my angle, all I could see was the blanket on the bed, and I could vaguely make out two people underneath, but I couldn't see their faces.

However, I vividly remember the size of that fat woman from last night. Judging from the bulge in the thin blanket, the person in bed shouldn't be her.

I stepped aside two paces to clear the window and turned to look at Old K.

But then they saw Old K holding an umbrella, standing at the small doorway, pointing in one direction.

There were two more rooms over there. Judging from their size and dimensions, the small rooms were obviously outhouses.

The bigger one...

I thought of Xiaohong again, and without the slightest hesitation, I tiptoed to the eaves of the house.

This room is a bit strange. It faces the courtyard and originally had a window. But for some reason, the window has been bricked up.

I looked into the back room and walked along the wall to the door of the room.

Seeing the old-fashioned rivet latches and padlocks on the door, I couldn't help but think, "The door is locked from the outside, so there's definitely no one inside. This house is really old; you can hardly find such old wooden doors and old locks in the city these days."

As I turned my head, I seemed to see out of the corner of my eye that Old K made a move.

I didn't see it clearly, and I didn't think it was a big deal. In this situation, if there were any real problems, he would definitely have spoken out to warn people, instead of gesturing across the yard.

Old-fashioned wooden doors with latches have a characteristic: when locked from the inside, they can barely be secured. However, when locked from the outside, the length of the chain will always leave a gap.

I reached out and gently pushed the door open. I heard a soft sound, and a crack about an inch wide appeared.

Peeking through the crack in the door, I only glanced inside, and my adrenaline surged instantly…

(End of this chapter)