Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 162 The Tenth Person Killed
"She was an old lady, she was in her sixties or seventies. It's rare for someone to live to seventy, she has lived long enough."

"what is her name?"

Qian Fang's lips moved slightly. She glanced at Su Youde, who was standing there in a daze, and stammered, "Lin Niang, her name is Xie Lin Niang."

The old woman had her hair neatly combed into a bun and wore a black dress, giving her a very gentle appearance.

Her skin was fair, and she had a faint, pleasant fragrance.

As Qian Fang spoke, her expression grew increasingly grim. "After all ten of us have finished speaking, the time that person mentioned will soon be here."

To this day, Qian Fang still vividly remembers the deathly silence in the secret room.

"This time, Chen Ying couldn't hold back any longer. He said he didn't want to die. I didn't want to die either. My Kang'er was waiting for me to save him. If I died, his father would soon remarry and have a new, healthy child. Who would remember my Kang'er? He would either die young or grow up amidst ridicule and humiliation..."

My Kang'er is still waiting for me, I have no other choice!

Upon hearing this, Su Youde immediately chimed in, "Yes! We had no choice! If Chen Ying hadn't brought it up, we would all have died together! But he spoke up, and now there's no going back! I don't want to die either!"

If I were to die quietly there, what would all the medicine I've taken over the years mean? What would all the things my father and brothers have done to save my worthless life mean?

Qian Fang wiped away her tears. "Cheng Yuan hasn't even figured out which son is his yet. How can he face his ancestors? Granny Xiang hasn't taken back the oil mill yet, watching those three unfilial sons fight tooth and nail over the family property... Chen Ying hasn't even confessed his feelings to his cousin..."

Ultimately, who would want to die if they could be alive?

Zhou Zhao listened attentively, silently observing the expressions of the two.

While Qian Fang was describing the identities of the ten people and the circumstances at the time, Su Youde remained completely at ease and did not show any surprise.

Clearly, Qian Fang did not say anything that he did not know or that was unexpected.

Her eyes flickered as she looked at the two of them. "So, you killed Xie Linniang together?"

Qian Fang remained silent this time, but Su Youde beside her became agitated. "We had no other choice! An old woman who doesn't die is a thief. She's an old woman with no children; even if she dies, no one will care about her. Even if she doesn't die in the secret room, she'll die of old age and illness in a few years!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhao's gaze turned cold.

Su Youde was clearly very excited and didn't notice Zhou Zhao's change at all. He continued to shout, "I'm actually a good person too. If she falls on the road, I can take her to the clinic without hesitation. If she has no food, I'm willing to give up my food immediately."

But in that situation, everyone looks out for themselves! She has only herself to blame! Look, we all chose her. What does that mean? It means she's the one who deserves to die! She's had enough of living, but we haven't!

By the end, Su Youde practically roared.

Zhou Zhao gave him a mocking look, and Su Youde felt a chill run down his spine, goosebumps instantly rising all over his body.

"You still haven't said why Xie Linniang went to the secret room as the post said."

When Qian Fang spoke about everyone before her, she explained everything in detail, even frankly stating that all of Cheng Yuan's wives and concubines had affairs with other men. She didn't mention the snake catcher, but she emphasized it again.

Why did neither of them mention Xie Linniang? There must be some hidden reason behind it.

As expected, when Zhou Zhao asked the question, Su Youde and Qian Fang both lowered their heads.

"What, too ashamed to say it?"

Su Youde clenched his fist, and when he looked up again, his eyes were bloodshot. "Now that things have come to this, what is there that can't be said? Xie Linniang is a kind-hearted woman. She specializes in raising orphans. She is not very wealthy, yet she has raised many orphans. Her wish is for all those orphans to be safe and well, and for them to find their families before she dies."

Since she's so kind and compassionate, what's wrong with sacrificing herself to save the nine of us?

Zhou Zhao was silent for a moment after hearing this, then sneered, "Your words are truly shameless!"

Su Youde, however, cried.

“I didn’t want to be so shameless, but what else could we do? We all chose Xie Linniang. She died peacefully, without saying a word. After she died, we put her head on the statue…”

Su Youde cried as he pulled out the human head sculpture hanging around his neck from his clothes.

The one-horned, baring-toothed creature was indeed exactly the same as the one Zhou Zhao had seen back then.

"The man's voice came from outside the secret chamber door. We put on the statues as he instructed. Then the door opened, and the man was gone. In front of the door were nine boxes, each with our names written on it."

I don't know what's in other people's boxes, but mine contained a small medicine bottle. I had a doctor examine it, and they said it wasn't poisonous, but I was too scared to take it... I didn't take it!

As Su Youde spoke, he took out a small bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him.

Zhou Zhao took it and opened it. Inside were five red pills with white patterns on them, which looked like poisonous mushrooms.

She then looked at Qian Fang.

Qian Fang, understanding immediately, took out a small bottle and placed it on the table as well. "Mine is also a medicine bottle, containing twelve brown pills. But I've already given them to the child..."

As Qian Fang spoke, she took the initiative to remove the bottle cork and turned the bottle upside down on the table.

"But after my Kang'er took it, there was no improvement. From then on, I felt something was wrong. How could there be someone in this world who could fulfill everyone's wishes? That's not something a human could do; it's something a god could do!"

So afterwards, I lived in constant fear, always feeling that this matter would never end. But after waiting for half a year, besides the human head sculpture hanging around my neck that I dared not take off… the man had said that I had to wear it constantly, and if I took it off, I would be killed.”

Su Youde, who was standing to the side, nodded vigorously after hearing Qian Fang's words.

"Yes, I don't dare to take it off. I've been wearing it all the time. For the past six months, I've been restless and my health has been deteriorating. After we left in a hurry that day, I haven't seen him again, and I haven't dared to ask him anything, for fear that some nightmare might reappear."

Only today, upon hearing this, did I realize that they were all dead... Now only Qian Fang and I are left! Just when I was terrified, Qian Fang came to my door and asked me to come to the Court of Justice with her!
We'll be killed sooner or later if we stay out here! That person isn't letting us leave; they want to kill us, their fearful prey!

"Lord Zhou, I don't want to die! Even more, I don't want to be chopped up and fed to the pigs after I die! Please catch the murderer! Save me! Save me!"