Chapter 13: The Faceless Corpse Part 1

Before the others could fully grasp her meaning, the white-robed woman in the veiled hat had already flicked outward.

Her movement was incredibly swift, like a shimmering reflection on water.

The woman in indigo followed closely behind. Once they cleared the wine cellar, she leapt straight from the courtyard up toward the guest rooms.

Lin Yaoyao’s door was locked, leaving them no choice but to force their way in.

Feng Yun’ai hesitated for a heartbeat. Suddenly, a gust of palm wind swept past her from behind. The door groaned and slammed inward, collapsing onto the floor in pieces.

“You—” Feng Yun’ai whipped her head around.

“Did you expect Innkeeper Lin to open the door for you?” Sang Chencao asked with a hint of a smile in her voice. “Look for yourself. Do you think she can still open doors?”

Past the broken entrance, a figure swayed gently behind a folding screen. It looked as if someone… had hanged themselves from the rafters.

With feet dangling in mid-air, there was little else it could be.

Feng Yun’ai froze for a split second before her fingers tightened around the thin blades at her side. With a flick of her wrist, a blade whistled through the air, splitting the screen apart with a sharp crack.

As expected, a person was suspended from the beam.

Lin Yaoyao had likely just kicked the chair away; her body was still swaying slightly. However, her expression already bore the marks of death.

Oddly, she did not look as though she had been strangled.

Feng Yun’ai gripped another thin blade and threw it at the white silk choking Lin Yaoyao’s neck.

The silk snapped. The body fell from the beam with a heavy thud and lay motionless on the floor.

“She’s dead.” Sang Chencao stood to the side, observing. She didn’t move to touch Lin Yaoyao at all.

The crowd trailing behind them was struck with horror. None had expected Lin Yaoyao to go to such lengths, choosing death over revealing the person behind her.

A sharp scream erupted from behind the group. The little maid tried to rush into the room, but someone caught her.

“Sister! Sister!” the little maid wailed, her voice breaking as she cried out.

“Don’t go in there!” a man said, pinning the girl’s shoulder. “There is something suspicious about Innkeeper Lin’s death!”

If it were a simple suicide by hanging, death shouldn’t have come so… abruptly. Moreover, Lin Yaoyao’s lips were dark, and her complexion looked wrong.

The little maid stiffened instantly, though her tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

Feng Yun’ai used two fingers to pry open Lin Yaoyao’s mouth. It was filled with blood, and her throat was stained red as well.

She pulled her hand back and picked up a narrow blade, lightly scraping it against Lin Yaoyao’s teeth.

“Well?” Sang Chencao’s tone was indifferent, as if Lin Yaoyao’s death didn’t surprise her in the least.

“The dosage must have been small. Is it… Red Crane Poison?” Feng Yun’ai twirled the blade before tossing it into a copper basin in the room. She didn’t seem to cherish these small blades as much as she did the sword on her back.

“She took the Red Crane Poison first. She probably didn’t expect us to find the bodies in the cellar so quickly, so before the poison could fully take effect, she chose to hang herself.” Sang Chencao spoke nonchalantly. “She was determined to die.”

“Why?” Feng Yun’ai felt a flicker of confusion.

Sang Chencao glanced over, her tone languid. “Which ‘why’ are you asking? Why she insisted on killing people here despite the other guests? Why she chose suicide over fleeing after she succeeded? Or why her hatred ran so deep?”

After a long silence, Feng Yun’ai’s white veil moved slightly—a subtle shake of the head.

She had too many questions; a single sentence from her companion couldn’t summarize them all.

Sang Chencao gave a soft “tsk” and began rummaging through Lin Yaoyao’s room. She eventually found a small bottle containing the dregs of Red Crane Poison. Turning back, she said, “From beginning to end, her heart held nothing but the desire to kill. Everything else was an illusion. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have traveled thousands of miles to this Listening Moon Sand River, carrying a babe in swaddling clothes who could have died at any moment on the road.”

She poured the remaining powder from the bottle into her palm and blew it away in one breath.

Feng Yun’ai caught her breath in surprise and leaned back instinctively.

Sang Chencao chuckled at the reaction and set the empty bottle on the table. “The amount was so small. It seems this was the only poison Lin Yaoyao prepared herself. She didn’t even know how much she needed to take to die instantly. That Spirit-Awakening Powder must have been given to her by someone else.”

The people who had been shouting for Lin Yaoyao’s head earlier now stood silent, appearing somewhat lost.

Aside from the little maid, the crowd outside was almost hushed.

The little maid’s weeping grew more mournful. She pounded against the person holding her, forcing a path through the group of high-level martial artists.

But once she stepped into the room, she stood trembling with grief and uncertainty. She hadn’t expected her sister to act so decisively, as if she had never once felt any attachment to her in this world.

Lost and afraid, she collapsed beside Lin Yaoyao. She reached out to touch her but curled her fingers back, not daring to make contact.

“Is the Sun Chasing Cult planning to invade the Central Plains again? Did they use her hand to kill Hu Cheng?” a voice rose from the crowd.

“But there is one thing I don’t understand,” another person said.

“What is it?” Sang Chencao asked.

“If the Sun Chasing Cult wanted to use the ‘Plucking the Blossom’ tournament as a cover to infiltrate the Hantian Alliance…” The man paused. “Why would they leave behind such obvious evidence as the Spirit-Awakening Powder?”