After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

Xiao Si will never come back.

Let's just consider the colleagues who aren't coming back as dead.

Filled with grief and indignation, Tang Li endured the humiliation and hardship, and set off alone on the road to the warehouse.

During this time, I got lost twice, drooled three times while watching the sect disciples flying around using their light-footed skills, and stopped to listen to some gossip.

By the time she finally found her way to the warehouse after wandering around for so long, she had no idea how much time had passed.

Tang Li was heading to warehouse number three. After handing over her identification token and registering her name, and hearing the warning from the disciple guarding the door that "you are only allowed to take incense, and you are not allowed to touch anything else," Tang Li finally stepped into the warehouse.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Just then, a notification sound suddenly rang out.

Tang Li's steps suddenly stopped.

The system, which had been as quiet as a chicken all day, suddenly displayed a new notification.

[System notification: Side quests have been updated.]

Side quest? Was the last side quest you hadn't finished...?

A bad feeling suddenly crept into Tang Li's heart: Was it too late for her to leave the warehouse as if nothing had happened?

Side Quest 2: Please uncover the truth behind Steward Li's death.

Tang Li's vision went black.

Li—Manager—

At that moment, she had no other thoughts, only pondering one thing:

Is she actually the female protagonist of some detective manga? Wherever she goes, people die?

Although Liu Lang had just given Tang Li orders earlier today to kill Steward Li within three days, judging from his wording, he didn't have any hope for Tang Li's fighting ability. His main intention was to have Tang Li hang herself in Steward Li's room, causing trouble for Steward Li and giving Liu Lang a handle to use against her.

Tang Li was planning to kill Liu Lang within three days, but she didn't expect that Steward Li had already gone ahead of her.

In the darkness, her soul loosened slightly, and the already fragile contract between her and Liu Lang vanished completely, along with the pink oleander in her sleeve, which withered away.

But Tang Li didn't feel much joy at the unexpected relief; instead, she frowned.

She looked around the warehouse.

The large storeroom was filled with a jumble of miscellaneous items, with several rows of shelves. Perhaps because some items needed to be stored away from light, the few windows were all tightly closed. The only source of light was a candlestick that Tang Li had received from the gatekeeper before entering.

All right.

It is now known that Manager Li has died in some unknown corner of the warehouse;

It is unknown whether the murderer who killed Manager Li has already left the scene.

Five-year-old Tang Li must rely on the candlestick in her hand to bravely venture into the warehouse and uncover the truth behind Manager Li's death.

Tang Li cursed incoherently in her mind; she really wanted to turn around and leave.

In the eerie atmosphere, Tang Li insisted on getting a few sticks of incense. Having a few sticks of incense at least showed that she had a legitimate business in the storeroom, and that discovering Manager Li's death was an accident.

After turning around a few more shelves, Tang Li suddenly stopped. Even though she was mentally prepared, she was still startled by the tall figure in front of her and broke out in a cold sweat.

Manager Li, who had been bossing Tang Li around this morning, was now hanging himself in a corner of the warehouse.

It hung upright in mid-air, its clothes dangling, its lips a ghastly blue, and its face bluish-purple.

The tip of the tongue protrudes slightly between the teeth.

In short, it perfectly matches Tang Li's few stereotypes about people who hang themselves.

Five-year-old Tang Li stared blankly up at him, feeling a soreness in her neck.

The rope that strangled Manager Li was a thick hemp rope that ran through the roof beam. However, the murder weapon was not specific to any particular direction, because there were dozens of bundles of hemp rope piled up in one corner of the warehouse, and to anyone who looked at them, they were exactly the same as the one that had strangled Manager Li.

There was a fallen stool at Steward Li's feet. Tang Li hesitated and thought that, looking at the scene, it would be plausible to say that Steward Li committed suicide.

Manager Li was still wearing the same robe as before. Tang Li was not able to put him down. Her gaze was fixed on Manager Li. His robe was very neat, and the rope around his neck was clean, without any signs of struggle.

Well, this seems to prove that... Manager Li did not commit suicide.

Because he had already lost consciousness before being hoisted from the roof beam. Otherwise, even if he had been determined to die, his body's instincts would most likely have made him scratch the rope around his neck with his fingernails before he died.

Tang Li thought that in such an assassin sect, no one would fail to see that the scene of Manager Li's death contained an implication of a violent death.

but.

Tang Li thought, her eyes almost cold, her heart pounding heavily.

She thought that at least for now, she didn't have to worry about people suspecting her after they discovered Manager Li's death.

There was one other person present.

The man huddled at Steward Li's feet, his fingers digging deep into his hair, whimpering convulsively. It was as if he couldn't accept what he had done.

Tang Li's gaze fell on her, and she thought absently: Before she arrived, was this person here, surrounded by a lifeless corpse and this thick darkness?

It just so happens that it's someone she knows.

It was a woman, slender and tall, who was the girl Tang Li had casually grabbed when she first arrived at the banquet hall to ask about things. She told Tang Li that the visitors were from the Iron Calculation Sect, and she also deliberately tucked Tang Li into a corner so that she wouldn't be discovered and forced to work.

That kind face and gentle eyes flashed through her mind. She remembered her saying she had other errands to run and needed to leave urgently—could it be…?

And so we meet again.

Tang Li walked to the woman's side and patted her shoulder as gently as possible, which still startled the woman.

"Sister, what's wrong?" A childish voice rang out in the scene, accompanied by the flickering candlelight, which intensified the eeriness of the atmosphere.

The girl raised her head in despair, her face devoid of color, her eyes swollen and red, her once gentle almond-shaped eyes now bloodshot.

"I...I," she said desperately, her lips trembling, "I killed Steward Liu."

Tang Li scrutinized her slender wrist. She didn't have the skills of a martial artist and couldn't tell how strong someone was. She just thought to herself, "Could you be a hidden master as well?"

Tang Li sat down beside her and asked, "Why, sister?"

At that moment, all sorts of doubts surfaced in her mind: Could it be that Manager Liu had taken a fancy to the girl's beauty and summoned her to the storeroom to do something improper?

She examined the woman by the dim candlelight; there were no injuries on her body or face.

The girl just stared blankly at her, repeating, "I killed Manager Liu, I killed Manager Liu..."

Tang Li tried to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, tell me first..."

Before the child's innocent voice could finish offering comfort, the girl seemed to finally break down, the immense pressure completely shattering her fragile nerves.

A piercing scream, the kind only someone with nowhere else to turn could utter.

The girl suddenly stood up.

"Murder—I killed someone!" The desperate wail echoed throughout the warehouse and penetrated its thick walls.

Tang Li suddenly stood up and looked in the direction of the warehouse door.

The disciples guarding the door must have heard her voice too.