The way Lu Jiuchuan and his companions left clues for Xiao Lou was by carving a spider mark unique to Chu Huaying on the beam hanging from the roof of the Zhao family's house, and then hiding a letter in a crevice in the beam. Besides clues personally written by their senior, the letter also contained Tang Ci's " drone." The card contains a large amount of footage obtained from the investigation by Brother Jiu and his team.
Since Lu Jiuchuan and his group are in a world that happened three years ago after the Zhao and Chen families disappeared, no one lives in the Zhao and Chen families' courtyards. Leaving clues on the roof of the Zhao family's house would not be easy for outsiders to find, but Xiao Lou would definitely go to the crime scene to investigate, which is arguably the safest way.
However, since Ninth Brother and his group are only three years away from the present, it's easy for them to think of the Zhao family and the Chen family. But Shao Qingge and Ye Qi are different. If Shao and Ye really went to twenty years ago, Qingfeng Town was at its most chaotic at that time. With a time span of twenty years, it won't be easy for Xiao Lou to find clues smoothly.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang: "If they left the clues in the courtyards of the Zhao and Chen families, it would be easy for their descendants to discover them after twenty years. I think, given Ye Qi's intelligence and CEO Shao's caution, if they were to leave clues, they would definitely consider their security and ensure they reach us. Is there a place that existed twenty years ago and still exists today, and that few people go there?"
The fewer people go there, the lower the probability that the hidden clues will be discovered.
Yu Hanjiang frowned and thought carefully for a while. Suddenly, he thought of a place.
Xiao Lou had obviously thought of it too, and the two of them exclaimed in unison, " Mass Grave?!"
Twenty years ago, a famine struck Qingfeng Town, killing many people. After the famine, the bodies that no one had disposed of were buried on the mountaintop, which is how Mass Grave got its name.
When Xiao Lou and his group entered the secret room, they were in Mass Grave.
Over the years, Mass Grave has been littered with corpses, left unattended. As a result, many graves are overgrown with weeds, and some bodies are left without even tombstones, abandoned and devoured by wild dogs and crows.
Three years ago, due to the collective disappearance of the Zhao and Chen families and the appearance of the white-clad female ghost, the town was once again filled with the legend of "a vengeful ghost claiming lives." Everyone believed that the vengeful ghost came from Mass Grave, a place with too much yin energy, and no one dared to go there.
Yu Hanjiang said, "If the clues are in Mass Grave, the chances of them being taken by outsiders are very low. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to go there. Even if there are tomb raiders with ulterior motives who want to steal gold and silver jewelry, they wouldn't set their sights on Mass Grave. After all, the people buried there are all poor people, and there are no priceless burial objects there."
Xiao Lou said, "I wonder if CEO Shao and Ye Qi have thought of this? Let's go to Mass Grave and check it out as soon as possible."
The two hit it off immediately, and their teammates, overhearing their conversation, all agreed. Liu Qiao asked, "Shall we go together?"
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "The murderer might be near Mass Grave. If all six of us go together, it will be too much of a commotion. How about this, the four of you stay at the inn, and Hanjiang and I will go investigate. Teacher Qu, take a card with Li Qingzhao's name on it. If we run into trouble, you can use Li Qingzhao's mark to bring us back."
Qu Wanyue said, "No problem. It's just that Li Qingzhao's mark has a 5-minute delay, so you need to let me know in advance to start the mark."
Xiao Lou said, "Don't worry, my Compass invincible circle can last for ten minutes, and it's enough to hold off the opponent if we really encounter danger."
Qu Wanyue was relieved and took the [ Li Qingzhao ] card from Xiao Lou's hand.
Long Sen asked, "Should I give you a [ Chameleon ] card?"
Yu Hanjiang said in a low voice, "No need, you guys keep them for emergencies. Xiao Lou and I will put on our Invisibility Cloaks and Lightness Skills and head over there. Half an hour should be enough."
After discussing it with their teammates, the two set off for Mass Grave, just outside the town, before it got dark.
The vines along the cliff edge had been cut off, so they had to take the mountain path.
Beyond this grove, a winding path leads to the mountaintop. This is the same path the Zhao and Chen families took three years ago when they disappeared. Those people were controlled by strange voices and followed this path to Mass Grave, where they ultimately met a tragic end.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang are wearing Invisibility Cloaks, and Yu Hanjiang uses the Lightness Skill Card to carry Xiao Lou through the air.
A breeze was blowing at dusk, and the two used the roadside trees as footholds, leaping swiftly. Even if people were around, they couldn't see them; they would only assume that the trees were swaying gently because of the wind.
Within five minutes, Yu Hanjiang brought Xiao Lou to Mass Grave.
Last time, when Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou, Ninth Brother, and Tang Ci came to Mass Grave to perform an autopsy, the murderer was likely nearby. Not only did they cut the vines that were climbing down the cliff, but they also used sorcery to control the surrounding corpses, using zombies to attack them. Therefore, this time, Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou were extra careful and deliberately wore invisibility cloaks.
The surrounding area was littered with rotting corpses and numerous tombstones.
Xiao Lou tried to avoid touching the corpses on the ground and focused his investigation on the tombstones.
Last time they came in a hurry, only able to dissect the body of the Zhao family's maid to analyze the cause of death. They also discovered an unnamed grave under the shade of a tree in the distance, which was very clean and had been regularly offered food. Xiao Lou speculated that the tombstone might belong to a relative of the murderer. As for the other tombstones, they didn't have time to investigate them before being besieged by the zombie horde.
I happened to be wearing an Invisibility Cloak this time, so I can take a closer look.
Grave of my late father Chen X, and my beloved mother Lin
The Tomb of XX...
Most of the tombstones in Mass Grave were inscribed, clearly erected by later generations. These were likely names of deceased passersby from Qingfeng Town, none of whom warranted particular attention. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang split up to investigate. Suddenly, Yu Hanjiang's deliberately soft voice came through Xiao Lou's earpiece: "Look ahead, two o'clock."
Xiao Lou immediately followed Yu Hanjiang's instructions and went over there.
Amidst a haphazard collection of graves stood a tomb that looked no different from its surroundings, made of ordinary stone. However, the inscription on it startled Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang—
" The Tomb of Shao Qingge and Shao Ye Qi ".
Xiao Lou: "..."
Yu Hanjiang: "......"
Xiao Lou almost subconsciously opened the contract book and glanced at it.
The fact that Shao Qingge and Ye Qi's names are still listed indicates that they are still alive. Therefore, the fact that they created a "joint burial" in Mass Grave is clearly a clue left for their teammates.
Xiao Lou sighed and rubbed his forehead: "A joint burial tomb? This must be CEO Shao's idea."
Even if Ye Qi left clues with a grave, he couldn't possibly bury the two of them together; he would only leave behind " Ye Qi's Grave".
Yu Hanjiang said expressionlessly, " Ye Qi has changed his surname to Shao again. It seems that they did indeed go to the world twenty years ago and found some clues. Since that world is too far away from now, they can only bury the clues in Mass Grave's grave?"
Xiao Lou was both amused and exasperated: "Shall we dig it open and see?"
The spider mark left by their teammates for Hua Ying, the letter from their senior, and the drone from Tang Ci are relatively normal clues. CEO Shao and Ye Qi, however, went too far, creating a whole grave.
To find clues, they'll have to dig up the grave.
Yu Hanjiang acted decisively. When Xiao Lou told him to "dig it up and take a look," he dug up the grave without hesitation.
Inside the grave was a wooden coffin. Due to its age, the surface of the coffin was partially damaged. Yu Hanjiang took out a sharp military knife and cleaved the coffin open with a single stroke.
Sure enough, there were no remains inside the coffin; instead, there was a large box.
Yu Hanjiang took out the box and whispered, " The treasure chest left by Shao Qingge."
Xiao Lou: "..."
It's like finding a treasure chest given to you by an NPC when playing a single-player game.
Digging up graves to find a treasure chest —only CEO Shao could come up with such a thing.
Xiao Lou glanced around, worried about being discovered, and hurriedly said, "Let's go back first." He pressed his earpiece and notified Qu Wanyue, " Teacher Qu, please activate the teleportation."
Qu Wanyue immediately set up Li Qingzhao's teleportation array in the inn.
It was time for the Invisibility Cloak. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, clutching their treasure chests, turned to head down the mountain.
Just then, a strange sound suddenly rang in their ears, exactly the same "clanging" sound they had heard when they went to the top of the mountain to examine the body. The crisp and melodious sound was particularly clear in the quiet Mass Grave.
Xiao Lou's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately took out his Compass and drew a large circle on the ground: "Watch out!"
Almost the instant he took out the Compass, the surrounding corpses suddenly rose up one after another, like puppets being manipulated, and surrounded Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang.
Yu Hanjiang held the treasure chest with one hand and raised the military knife with the other, slashing cleanly in all directions. A flash of white light appeared, and wherever the blade touched, several nearby zombies were cut in half at the waist by Yu Hanjiang!
Limbs were flying all around. Xiao Lou handed his back to Yu Hanjiang and quickly drew a circle.
Fortunately, Compass is now... The card was already at max level, and the drawn circle could be used immediately. The invincible circle was successfully generated in less than 2 seconds. Yu Hanjiang quickly retreated to Xiao Lou's side, and the zombies that pounced on the invincible barrier created by Compass were all bounced back.
The howling of hordes of zombies echoed around them.
But with Compass's protection for the next 10 minutes, they wouldn't be afraid even if they were overwhelmed by a massive horde of zombies. Moreover, Qu Wanyue had already activated the teleportation marker, so they could quickly return to the town's inn.
Xiao Lou stayed inside the barrier, looking at the menacing zombies around him, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Yu Hanjiang's face was icy as his gaze swept rapidly around the surroundings—he guessed that the people in Mass Grave might be Qi Ran and Han Ningshuang, but he didn't call out the names of these two suspects directly. Their revenge plan wasn't over yet; there were still descendants of the person who killed the old woman in the town. Xiao Lou whispered in Yu Hanjiang's ear, "We have to find a way to catch the murderer."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Okay, let's go back first and check the clues left by Shao Qingge."
Zombies relentlessly attacked the invincible circle, but Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou stood calmly within the barrier. Five minutes passed quickly, and Li Qingzhao's teleportation marker took effect. The scenery blurred before their eyes, and they were safely back in their premium room on the second floor of the inn.
Qu Wanyue approached with concern: "Are you alright? I think I heard a zombie howling in my headphones?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: "It's nothing, just another zombie attack. Luckily, we found a clue left by CEO Shao."
Yu Hanjiang placed the treasure chest on the table, opened it, and took a look—
Inside was a chest full of gleaming silver coins, each engraved with characters. Starting from the first row, reading the characters together revealed the clues Shao Qingge had written for everyone.
Long Sen couldn't help but say, "Rich people leave clues in a way that's different from everyone else's."
Qu Wanyue's expression was complicated: "It seems that CEO Shao was influenced by Q Secret Room. " Inspired by Old Mr. Shao leaving clues with banknotes from his safe? Did he leave us a treasure chest filled with silver?
Xiao Lou chuckled lightly: "He put..."
The treasure chest was buried in a tomb, and it was even the joint tomb of Shao Qingge and Shao Ye Qi.
Teammates: "......"
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CEO Shao ordered his teammates to dig up graves to find clues.
Ye Qi:???? Why put my name on the tombstone, and why make me have the surname Shao?