Chapter 419 - Garden
This time, because they heard loud and large movements, the other guests can't finally sit still in their rooms. And because more people acted, the Pei family can't act indifferent anymore. Thus, Pei Tingming got off of Li Hua's bed, covered himself and walked towards the garden area where there are many people that have gathered.
A servant saw him arrived and immediately approached him to report. "Master, someone… someone…" he stammered. Though, even if he wouldn't say it, but anyone could guess what happened.
Someone died. And everyone knows of it, since they had heard the victim scream. They know why he died. It's because the victim came out of his room. But, as to how he died…
They all looked at Pei Tingming. "Shouldn't the Pei patriarch give us an account of the victim's death?" one of the guests asked..
Although they know why the victim died, but they should know how he died. And with the rules the servants told them earlier, it is easy to guess that Pei Tingming is well aware of what is happening on the premises of his home. He knows that there is something dangerous happening in the night, yet he didn't even inform them about it and even dared to let them stay in a dangerous place. Although he informed them, but it was only during their stay!
Can they still leave now knowing it's dangerous to wander at night? Can they still leave when someone died strangely and suspiciously?
Pei Tingming's brow twitched and he turned, wanted to ask back "am I the one who killed him? How do I know how he died?" to the person who asked, but he didn't. He held himself back not to be sarcastic since he is the host, and that he can't offend any of the people currently present.
Oh. Except for those four new faces. Who the hell are they? He thought, then suddenly vaguely remembered that his younger niece Pei Li seemed to invite them? How bold she is! Is she the host? He secretly sneered and forced a smile towards them before he turned back to the person who asked to answer.
Yi Bing, Huo Ling, Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye noticed Pei Tingming smiled at them before he retracted his gaze.
"Huh? Why did he smile at us?" Jiu Ye asked, puzzled.
Shi Jiu's brows knitted and he frowned. "Is he brewing something again?" he asked.
"Who knows?" Huo Ling shrugged. "Maybe he was disappointed that only one person died." He carelessly said.
Yi Bing who knows Pei Tingming was just being polite. "…" can you stop being so prejudiced? How big is the hole in your brain? He thought and ignored them.
But, before Pei Tingming could answer, they all heard a series of rushing footsteps. The Pei family has arrived, along with Wu Deguang who was standing beside Pei Ru, covering her to keep her from feeling cold. Then, his gaze fell to the corpse that everyone was surrounding.
"Lord Xu?!" he exclaimed when he recognized the victim. "What happened to Lord Xu?! Why is he dead?!" he asked and looked around. His gaze fell on Pei Tingming.
Pei Tingming's darkened after seeing Wu Deguang's suspecting gaze.
Pei Ru moved and approached Lord Xu's corpse, then inspected it. "He died after he was drowned." She spoke.
"'drowned?!" they exclaimed in shock.
"Right… I thought something was strange, but now I realized that there are no ponds here. I didn't even see a stream." One of the guests spoke. "So, how can lord Xu die when there is no any body of water here in the garden?" he asked.
"How did you know he died in the garden?" someone with a sharp mind asked.
They turned and saw it was Ke Hanying, the local tyrant of Anhu Town, who spoke.
The guest who spoke about the garden turned. "Wasn't his corpse found in the garden?" he asked back. "Anyone would assume that he died in the garden after seeing his corpse here." He explained.
Ke Hanying saw that his answer has no flaw so he didn't speak again.
"This Ke Hanying is an upright man." Jiu Ye commented as he whispered to Shi Jiu.
"I can see it." Shi Jiu nodded in agreement as he looked at Ke Hanying.
Although Ke Hanying has a sharp tongue, but he knows when and where to stop. He is also arrogant, but that's because he is confident with his strength and knows who is easy to offend and who he shouldn't offend.
That guest who Ke Hanying questioned, Du Lubo, saw Ke Hanying retreated and his expression turned ugly, clearly feeling displeased. He thought Ke Hanying is playing around and just want to lose him face. "Who is he?" he whispered to his friend who went with him. They are from another place, Anhai, which is by the sea.
"Ke Hanying, the local tyrant of Anhu." His friend answered.
Although Ke Hanying is a local tyrant, but he isn't the mayor of the Anhu. He also is operating behind-the-scenes with his businesses. So, he is famous only to his town, the other towns near his town, or the towns which has frequent business with the Anhu. Since Anhu has a big lake, they don't have much business with the Anhai because they can get fishes and shrimps in the lake. So, Du Lubo and his friend isn't familiar with Ke Hanying.
Hearing the words 'local tyrant' and 'Anhu', Du Lubo didn't speak anymore. Not because he is afraid of Ke Hanying, but because Anhu is bigger than Anhai. It isn't worth it to make enemies with others. He, as the chief of the village, knows how to weight the situation.
"They are?" Jiu Ye was looking at Du Lubo and his friend, but he is asking Shi Jiu.
"They are the guests staying next to my room." Shi Jiu answered.
Shi Jiu's room is next to Du Lubo, and on the other side is Jiu Ye's. Next to Jiu Ye's room is Huo Ling's, and then Yi Bing's.
"Where are they from?" Yi Bing asked.
"Anhai Village, situated by the sea." Shi Jiu answered. "The person who was questioned by the local tyrant is the chief village, Du Lubo. From their conversation, the local tyrant's name is Ke Hanying, from Anhu." He told them.
They nodded, noting down the names of the people and the places.
"There was a pond here before." Pei Tingming spoke, reminding them of his forgotten presence. "But, we buried it with soil." He told them.
"Why?" another guest asked. "As I've asked earlier, is this related to the second young master's death?" she asked.
Shi Jiu didn't wait for Jiu Ye to ask him who she is as he spoke. "Ji Qiuxin. She's from the Anlin Tribe." He said. "She is their priestess." He added.
"'priestess'?" Huo Ling looked at her.
"The Anlin Tribe is located in the foot of the mountain, near the forest." Shi Jiu said. "Their priestess has the highest position in the tribe, as she is the advisor of the chief and also divine the weather as well as calamities for them. Because of it, they believe her lifespan will shorten, so they highly respect her." He explained.
"How do you know this?" Huo Ling asked.
"I heard one of the guests' wife talked to her after she recognized her earlier while we're on our way here." Shi Jiu answered.
"You're amazing! You're very observant!" Huo Ling gave him a thumb's up.
Yi Bing who was silently standing on the side almost looking like the statue next to him heard Huo Ling praised another man and he felt displeased. He decided to show-off his abilities in the next situation.
Pei Tingming naturally recognized her, since he's the one who invited her here. But, just as he was about to answer, Pei Ru spoke.
"Greetings, priestess. I apologize for not noticing your presence earlier thus I neglected to greet and welcome you." Pei Ru said and slightly bowed to Ji Qiuxin.
Ji Qiuxin, although a priestess, but she is fairly young. She blushed in embarrassment after being addressed as an elder. Her previous mighty aura when she tried interrogating Pei Tingming earlier has disappeared. "No, no. It's fine!" she waved her hand. "No need to be overly polite…" she muttered.
Pei Ru admires the priestess of the Anlin Tribe because of her wide range of knowledge about medicine that has been passed down from generations of the priestesses. The Anlin tribe has only a priestess, not a priest. Because of this, the value of women in the tribe also became higher as who knows who will be the next priestess or who will give birth to the next priestess?
"No. You deserve it." Pei Ru smiled at her before her expression turned serious. "Let me answer your question." She said.
Pei Tingming's expression changed and he suddenly got a bad feeling. "NO, YOU – " he called to Pei Ru.
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