Chapter 12: Skeletons in the Vats Part 1

Sang Chencao’s suspicions were more than just hollow wind. She had long noticed that the woman in the white dress usually sat in absolute stillness; it was only when others began rattling dice cups or engaging in other diversions that her fingertips would twitch in imitation.

That cold detachment didn’t look like the itch of a gambler, but rather the act of a mimic.

It was as if the woman in white had never witnessed such pastimes before. She was like a child learning to walk or a parrot learning to speak, following the world’s movements step by tentative step.

The Knife-Lending Sect was undoubtedly a secluded one, but Sang Chencao had never heard of a sect so isolated that its members were this ignorant of the world. If they were truly so disconnected from common affairs, how could they possibly perform their divinations and prophecies?

Sang Chencao smiled to herself. Judging by the way this woman constantly avoided her gaze, she didn’t look like much of a fortune-teller anyway. A true divine calculator could know all things through deduction alone; this woman in the white dress, however, still had to resort to a meticulous autopsy.

Feng Yun’ai caught the mockery in the other woman’s tone. “At such a time of crisis, and at such a young age,” she said coldly, “what schemes could she possibly have had?”

“It is precisely when one is at a dead end that the heart turns most sinister.” Sang Chencao’s voice dropped an octave as she leaned in closer. “You do not understand. When forced by circumstance, even the purest soul can give birth to the most profound evil.”

The veil of the bamboo hat shifted slightly; Feng Yun’ai had likely turned her head away to avoid the proximity.

The worker who had spoken earlier chimed in again. “I remember when she first arrived. Her clothes were rags, yet she wandered Listening Moon Town claiming she wanted to buy a house. Everyone thought the girl was mad, but a certain old bastard realized she actually had some money on her. He ‘sold’ her this building, which would later become the Yao Yao Inn.”

“What did she want a house for?” Sang Chencao asked, her curiosity piqued.

The worker shook his head. “We only knew she was desperate for a place to stay in town. Later, she found out that the house the old man sold her wasn’t even within the limits of Listening Moon Town. By then, she’d been swindled out of every cent she had.”

“Young, alone, and in an unfamiliar place. Pitiful,” Sang Chencao remarked with a light scoff, her tone devoid of even a shred of actual pity.

The worker continued, “The house had been vacant for years back then, occupied by beggars. To tell you the truth, I was one of them. When we heard someone had bought the place, we planned to drive them out. Who could have known… the buyer was just a little girl?”

The various workers in the inn exchanged glances. Most of them had been those very beggars.

They began to tell the story in turns, explaining how they had originally intended to get justice for the girl. Unfortunately, the old swindler had refused to open his doors. Not long after, he had packed up his belongings and moved his entire family away from Listening Moon Town, never to be seen again.

Since such a large building couldn’t be left to rot, everyone had pitched in with ideas, and thus, the Yao Yao Inn was born.

Looking at it this way, these workers were actually quite kind-hearted. Otherwise, there was no way Lin Yaoyao could have transformed a dilapidated ruin into the establishment it was today by her strength alone.

“In all these years, countless people from the martial world have come and gone. We’ve never heard of the Innkeeper having a grudge against anyone,” the worker said, shaking his head.

“Her background—did she never mention it?” Feng Yun’ai asked suddenly.

Everyone’s gaze shifted toward a young girl sitting nearby. She was the very child Lin Yaoyao had carried into the Listening Moon Sand River in swaddling clothes all those years ago.

The girl startled. Her expression had remained one of lingering confusion from the start. After a long silence, she lowered her head and murmured, “Sister said… the Lin family were merchants. Someone destroyed our home and killed our kin.”

Feng Yun’ai remained silent. She sensed the person beside her suddenly whip her head around, finally shifting her intense interest away from Feng Yun’ai.

“A young girl carrying enough wealth to buy a whole estate… it seems you didn’t come from an ordinary family,” Sang Chencao said, her words laden with hidden meaning. “Could it be a blood feud that brought you to this state?”

“It was on the trade route. We were set upon by bandits.” The girl was terrified, her eyes blinking rapidly in panic.

“Details,” Sang Chencao commanded, tapping her fingers on the tabletop.

A long moment passed before the girl spoke again. “Sister said the Lin family caravan rescued two sickly people on the road. They gave them plenty of food. Later, those two leaked information to the sand bandits. To rob the caravan, they… they killed everyone. Sister grabbed a bundle in the chaos and carried me away.”

“So, they rescued two Living Yamas who came to collect their souls.” Sang Chencao looked at the woman in white. “They were nearly wiped out to the last soul. Tell me, shouldn’t she be calculating? Shouldn’t she be ruthless?”

Feng Yun’ai’s voice was cold. “Are you implying that Hu Cheng was one of the people they rescued?”

Sang Chencao laughed. “Or perhaps he was one of the bandits. It’s just a guess. Am I not allowed to guess?”