absurd deduction game.

Before long, the family doctor, who lived on the estate, was hurriedly summoned and gave Sarah emergency treatment when she collapsed.

The initial diagnosis was an acute stress reaction caused by excessive emotional excitement, accompanied by brief respiratory depression and fainting. Fortunately, no irreversible damage was caused.

After the doctor gave her an injection to calm her nerves, he confirmed that she was out of danger and just needed to rest quietly. Then, Mrs. Funnel gestured for her to bandage the self-inflicted knife wound on Anthony's arm.

At this moment, Sarah had been placed in a quiet guest room on the second floor. She was lying on a soft bed, her face still pale, her breathing weak but steady. Clearly, the drug was taking effect, and she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Carlos stayed in the small living room with Madame Fernell. His gaze fell on Fernell, and he couldn't help but marvel at how stunningly beautiful she remained, even after the chaos she had just experienced, especially...

Her emerald green skirt, like frozen lake water, spread across the chair, making her bare neck appear even whiter and longer. Her face was slightly paler than usual, but this pallor softened her noble air, and the subtle fragility made her look even more charming than usual.

“Thank you, I’m fine, Mr. Carlos,” Mrs. Fernail said, her voice like silk soaked in ice water, carrying just the right amount of victim’s weariness, yet maintaining an undeniable composure. “It is truly shameful that you have witnessed such a disgraceful scene.”

“Madam, you flatter me. This is my duty, and my detective work pays great attention to after-sales service.” Carlos smiled slightly. “It is my honor to share the burdens of such a beautiful lady as you. I just didn’t expect things to develop to this point.”

As Mrs. Fernail listened to his words, a faint, self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips, as if mocking Anthony's clumsy self-inflicted injury plot, or perhaps lamenting the absurdity of the situation.

She didn't say much, but instead turned her gaze back to Carlos. Her deep eyes seemed to have developed a sense of dependence beyond social etiquette because of today's help, and she looked at him gently.

Carlos raised an eyebrow: "Mrs. Fernail?"

Fennell lowered her eyes and withdrew her gaze.

A moment later, she suddenly stood up gracefully, her skirt brushing against the chair without making a sound: "Words of thanks are simply not enough to express my gratitude."

Mrs. Fernail's voice was gentle, yet carried an air of unyielding authority: "Please allow me to brew you a cup of black tea myself. I have some rare treasures from the East in my collection; their aroma is quite unique and might help to dispel some of tonight's...unpleasantness."

As she spoke, she gracefully walked towards the exquisite mahogany tea cabinet in the corner of the room.

While Carlos held Fennell back, Yu Xing silently left the living room and walked along the thickly carpeted corridor to the door of the guest room where Sarah was staying.

He gently opened the door and walked in.

Only a small lamp on the bedside table was lit in the room, its dim light outlining Sarah's peaceful sleeping face and the room's luxurious yet cold furnishings.

A young maid who was in charge of taking care of Sarah was standing by the bed with her hands at her sides. When she saw Yu Xing enter, she bowed slightly.

Yu Xing walked to the bedside and sat down in the armchair that the family doctor had just sat in.

His gaze fell on Sarah's face, scrutinizing her calmly.

She was indeed very young, and even in her sleep, there seemed to be an unyielding melancholy and fear between her brows.

"Have you seen this young lady before at the manor?" Yu Xing asked, her voice low so as not to wake the person in bed, but her gaze remained fixed on Sarah's face, as if she were talking to herself.

The maid paused for a moment, then respectfully replied in a low voice, "No, sir. This is the first time I've met this... Miss Sarah. Mr. Anthony has never brought her back before."

She paused, seemingly realizing her words weren't precise enough, and cautiously added, "Of course, unless... unless Mr. Anthony hid it exceptionally well beforehand, and we didn't even notice."

Yu Xing nodded almost imperceptibly to indicate that she understood, and said in a flat tone, "There's no need to take care of things here for now. You can go out now and close the door behind you."

"Yes, sir." The maid answered respectfully without hesitation, quietly left the room, and gently closed the door behind her.

"Click."

After the soft click of the door lock closing, the guest room fell completely silent, with only Sarah's faint but regular breathing and Yu Xing's almost non-existent presence.

The room fell silent for a moment.

Yu Xing's gaze remained fixed on Sarah's face. Suddenly, she spoke, her voice steady and clear, breaking the deliberately created tranquility: "I know you're awake. There's no one else here. You can open your eyes."

His words were like pebbles thrown into a still lake. One second, two seconds... a crystal tear, without warning, slid down Sarah's tightly closed eye, quickly disappearing into the hair at her temples and the soft pillow.

Then, her long eyelashes trembled a few times before she slowly opened them.

The shame he had felt in the living room was gone from those amber eyes; instead, they held a deep gaze, a mixture of sorrow, fear, and extreme caution.

She looked at Yu Xing, her lips pressed tightly together, and remained silent.

Yu Xing studied her expression, leaned forward slightly, and spoke in a softer tone, yet with an undeniable guiding force: "You seem... not to be crying because you were caught cheating. Can you tell me? What was the reason for your tears now, and for your sobbing in the corner earlier?"

Sarah remained silent, but another tear uncontrollably overflowed from her eye, sliding down her pale cheek and leaving a damp, cool mark.

Her eyes struggled, as if a thousand words were stuck in her throat, yet she was firmly imprisoned by invisible shackles.

Seeing this, Yu Xing's lips curled into a very faint smile. He lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret, and a flash of red on the tip of his tongue carried a strange, seductive power that made people want to trust him: "I'm not with Mrs. Funel~ If you have anything you want to convey, now may be your last chance."

"Tell me, things can't get any worse, can they?"

Sarah's pupils suddenly contracted, her body trembled violently, and she struggled to prop herself up with her arms, staring intently at Yu Xing.

Her lips trembled violently, as if she were using all her strength to make a sound, but only some broken, meaningless breaths came out of her throat.

Finally, she closed her eyes in despair, shook her head violently, and her shoulders slumped down, as if all her strength had been drained away.

Yu Xing understood: "Can't you say it? Someone has placed some kind of restriction on you?"

Faced with this question, Sarah found even the simple act of nodding incredibly difficult, as if an invisible force was stopping her. However, her eyes twitched violently under her eyelids a few times, and that subtle physiological reaction was already a silent, urgent response.

really.

Yu Xing thought to himself.

He sensed no trace of the foul aura characteristic of cultists in this woman. Unlike Mrs. Fernail, whose aura was deliberately clean, hers was mixed with a chaotic curse power, as well as fragments of her own negative emotions such as fear and despair.

Such perceptions actually seem more real.

He had previously speculated that at least one party in this affair was a cultist who chose to detonate order at this moment in order to create chaos. Now it seems that Sarah's suspicion can be ruled out for now.

So, this woman who seems to be his "mistress" might be able to give him some of the truth.

"Don't be afraid." Yu Xing's voice lowered, carrying a reassuring tone.

Under Sarah's bewildered gaze, several ethereal, eerie branches, seemingly woven from shadows and moonlight, silently emerged from behind Yu Xing. They swayed and danced, possessing an inhuman beauty and a chilling aura. With a thought from Yu Xing, the sharp tips of the branches became rounded, softening their aggression, like hazy phantoms.

Under Sarah's shocked and even slightly fearful gaze, the ethereal tip of the branch gently and effortlessly probed into her brow.

An invisible link appeared between the two.

“Now, the restrictions in your consciousness are temporarily ineffective.” Yu Xing’s voice rang out directly in the depths of Sarah’s mind, clear and calm. “You can tell me anything you want to say directly in your mind.”

The other end of the connection fell into a deathly silence.

After about ten seconds, a very faint, trembling, young female voice cautiously entered Yu Xing's senses:

"Can...can you really...hear me?" The voice was filled with caution and confusion, but also carried a glimmer of hope.

“Yes.” Yu Xing’s response was concise and affirmative.

This simple confirmation instantly shattered Sarah's reason; her emotions surged, and the voice of her consciousness rose, filled with unspeakable terror and urgency:

"Run! Run!! Get out of here!"

Almost at the same time she issued this desperate warning—

"Boom!!!"

Outside the window, a sudden clap of thunder roared, followed by several blinding flashes of lightning, like pale giant pythons tearing through the dark night, instantly illuminating the dimly lit room as bright as day, before abruptly extinguishing them.

The shadows in the room were dispelled for a moment, but then returned in an even heavier form, enveloping everything.

It's going to rain again.

Yu Xing looked out the window, then turned back to Sarah: "Calm down and tell me, what do you know?"

Sarah's chest heaved violently under the covers; clearly, the earlier reminder and the white light outside the window had left her unsettled.

She tried to calm her breathing, her voice trembling as she spoke:

"I...I'm not his mistress! Professor Anthony didn't cheat on me at all!"

Her voice was trembling with excitement: "We...we're cooperating! Cooperating in investigating Mrs. Furnell!"

Yu Xing's lips curled up in a barely perceptible arc, carrying a hint of pleasure.

He finally caught Fernel red-handed.

Without interrupting, Yu Xing simply conveyed a brief thought through the mental connection: "Go on."

Sarah took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and then began to recount her long-buried past.

……

Sarah's brother, Tate, was also an investigator for the Republic.

Five years ago, a bizarre case caught Tate's attention—in a remote town, all newborns within six months were stillborn with two heads.

Tate followed the clues and eventually focused his attention on the town of Yolikev. He said goodbye to young Sarah and then left. However, he disappeared without a trace.

Sarah, who was only fourteen years old at the time, waited day and night, but in the end she only received a cold pension and a notice that she had died in the line of duty.

Her brother's death became an unhealable wound in her heart, and also planted a seed of revenge and a desire for proof.

After growing up, Sarah, with her excellent grades, resolutely applied to the university in Yolikef, the place where her brother last disappeared.

She remembered that her brother's research notes mentioned a history professor named Anthony, so she chose the history department without hesitation and began to observe Anthony intentionally or unintentionally.

She soon discovered that the seemingly refined professor was behaving rather strangely. He would often fall into a long period of blank stare with empty eyes; sometimes he would secretly engage in some clandestine activities, but as soon as someone approached, he would immediately return to normal and pretend nothing was wrong.

One day, Sarah finally couldn't hold back any longer and found an opportunity to confront Anthony directly, asking if it was related to her brother's disappearance.

To her surprise, Anthony did not panic. Instead, after carefully examining her for a moment, he asked in a trembling voice, "You...you are really Tate's sister?"

After confirming Sarah's identity, Anthony felt as if he had found a safe haven to confide in, revealing the terrible truth that had been weighing on his heart for years:

Five years ago, when Tate investigated the case of the two dead babies, some initial clues did indeed point to Anthony and his wife, Fernand.

At the time, Anthony still trusted his wife completely, believing that Tate had wronged them, and was quite resistant to the investigator.

However, Tate's subsequent investigation ruled out Anthony as a suspect and solemnly informed him that the problem lay with Fernail.

Anthony was incredulous and completely unable to accept this conclusion until Tate orchestrated a scenario that allowed Anthony to witness the truth firsthand.

He saw Fernail, dressed in the black robes of a cult, sneak into an abandoned small factory, where she was brewing some kind of ominous potion using human limbs as materials.

At that moment, Anthony was struck dumb, his faith and love collapsing simultaneously.

He fearfully sought help from Tate, who advised him to remain silent for the time being, pretend to be unaware, and wait until he continued his investigation and gathered more solid evidence before exposing Fernal. At that point, Anthony would be able to escape danger.

Anthony was tormented. He truly loved his wife, so even after witnessing the dark scene, he tragically hoped that Fernail might have simply gone astray and that there was still a chance to win her back.

However, this glimmer of hope was quickly shattered by harsh reality.

When Anthony went to the hotel where Tate was staying, hoping to discuss a more amicable solution, he witnessed a horrific scene he would never forget—Tate was dead.

And Fernal, his beloved wife...

They were humming a pleasant tune as they enthusiastically dismembered the body.

She was so focused that she didn't notice Anthony's suppressed breathing behind the crack in the door.

A dark green butterfly flew from Tate's corpse to Fennell's fingertip. Fennell smiled, her beautiful red lips curving upwards, and gently kissed the butterfly's wing. (End of Chapter)