Chapter 55: The Vanishing Woman

"This..." Su Tingting finally figured it out, "That child was the child of the dead woman, snatched by Troupe Leader Bai to blackmail her. This... this Troupe Leader Bai is truly a beast!"

Originally, Su Tingting thought it was beastly enough for the Feng family to spend silver to buy Xi Yao's life, but she hadn't expected Troupe Leader Bai to be even worse. Reluctant to part with his own daughter, yet also reluctant to lose the silver promised by the Feng family, he found someone to impersonate Xi Yao and sell herself to the Feng family. This way, he both obtained the silver and kept his daughter safe—killing two birds with one stone.

Once this was clear, everything made sense. No wonder the entire Bai Family Troupe ran off immediately after getting the silver. If Master Feng had seen through them, he would have caught them and skinned them alive!

Furthermore, this was also why the evil arts had no effect. The person buried with the dead was not Xi Yao at all; the Birth Date and Time didn't even match. It would have been a miracle if it had worked.

In short, Master Feng had been played for a fool by these people from the Bai Family Troupe; neither group was any good.

After figuring this out, only one question remained before them. Su Tingting looked at Yang Xiao, "Then who is this poor dead woman?"

After a moment of silence, Yang Xiao gave the answer, "This woman's singing style was excellent, even comparable to the star performer Xi Yao. She was definitely not a nobody; she must have had a place within the Bai Family Troupe. We just need to find someone familiar with the Bai Family Troupe's team and ask which woman in the troupe had a good singing voice and a child, and it will be clear."

"Right, right, right! You really have a way!" Su Tingting became excited. According to what Kuang Hongyi said before, as long as they investigated the ins and outs of the story in the Nightmare World, their mission would be considered complete, and they could go home!

After leaving Li Si Hutong and finding a carriage, the group arrived at Yingke Lou after a bumpy ride. This was the venue where the Bai Family Troupe used to perform.

After getting off the carriage, the scene before them surprised Yang Xiao and Su Tingting somewhat. Su Tingting gazed at this three-story wooden building located at the street corner. Its design was still somewhat grand, but it was clearly in disrepair; the wooden windows were loose, and when the wind blew, one could hear a creaking, strange sound.

"This... this is Yingke Lou?" It must be said, it was vastly different from the bustling, crowded scene in Su Tingting's imagination.

Although the main door was still open, there was almost no one inside. A waiter with a white towel draped over his shoulder sat in the shade of the steps outside, looking listless. Seeing people arrive, he didn't even come forward to greet them.

The carriage driver was quite emotional, saying that Yingke Lou was not what it used to be and had truly declined, getting worse day by day. In the past, there were still old patrons to support it, but now... the driver shook his head and led the carriage away to find a place to park.

Yang Xiao didn't care about that; he wasn't here to watch a play, just to gather information. Taking Su Tingting with him, the two walked into Yingke Lou with a swagger.

Inside the empty main hall, only one table of guests was seated. Facing them was a large stage built from wooden frames, with several paintings related to opera hanging behind it. A young waiter from behind the counter walked over, bowing his waist with a fawning smile: "Two masters, what would you like to eat?"

Now Yang Xiao confirmed that Yingke Lou had indeed fallen into decline. In a large opera house, when guests enter, one doesn't first introduce which troupe is performing today, which famous actor is anchoring the show, or what play is being sung, but instead asks directly what they want to eat. This wasn't a restaurant.

Yang Xiao scanned the empty stage, "No play today?"

The young waiter was stunned for a moment, then bowed even lower, smiling apologetically: "This master must be visiting the shop for the first time. Currently, our shop has no resident troupe. To hear a play, you have to wait for days ending in six, like the sixth, sixteenth, or twenty-sixth. Only around those days do troupes from out of town come to perform."

Yang Xiao looked around and sighed with deep emotion, "I'm not exactly a new guest. I came here 10 years ago. I didn't expect it to be in such a state now."

"You've been here before?" The young waiter was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, I remember it was under the Bai Family Troupe's banner at the time. I must say, their singing was truly excellent. I came here today specifically for them," Yang Xiao said naturally.

But upon hearing the words "Bai Family Troupe," the waiter's face changed instantly. He looked around, and seeing no one was paying attention, he pulled Yang Xiao and the other to a secluded seat, "Two masters, keep your voices down. Let me tell you, you won't be able to hear the Bai Family Troupe's plays anymore. Not just here at Yingke Lou, you won't hear them at any other venue in town either. They... their boat sank, and the entire troupe died in the river at Laoniuwan Wharf."

After chatting for a few sentences while feigning surprise, Yang Xiao pretended to be curious and asked about the Bai Family Troupe, "I remember they were a famous, large troupe, with at least 20 or 30 people. By the way, were you working here 10 years ago?"

"I... I was only taken in by the manager in recent years. I came here as a refugee before. But the matter of the Bai Family Troupe is known to the whole town; you can ask around." The waiter didn't seem to want to waste time on this topic and pointed to the signature dishes hanging on the wall, his expression fawning, "Master, why don't you see what you'd like to eat?"

Yang Xiao didn't talk nonsense and ordered a few hearty dishes, as they were hungry after all. At the same time, he took out a small piece of broken silver, placed it gently on the table, and gave the waiter a look that said, "you know what I mean."

The waiter, who had originally intended to go serve other guests, couldn't move his feet, his eyes fixed intently on the silver.

"Little brother, look, the two of us came here today specifically for the Bai Family Troupe. It's quite a pity we can't hear them. Who in your shop is familiar with the Bai Family Troupe?" Yang Xiao asked.

The waiter swallowed hard, "I... our shop's old accountant. The manager of Yingke Lou has changed several times, but the accountant has never changed. He must know those people from the Bai Family Troupe."

"Call him over for me." Yang Xiao pushed the silver toward the young waiter.

Almost snatching the silver, the young waiter was grinning from ear to ear; clearly, he had never seen such a generous guest. The next second, he looked around vigilantly, and finding no one was paying attention, he hid the silver in his sleeve, "Masters, please sit slowly. I'll go call him for you right away. However..." The waiter looked at Yang Xiao, pursing his lips, seemingly having some hidden difficulty.

"Don't worry, I won't speak of this matter," Yang Xiao pointed to the sleeve where the waiter hid the silver and said with a smile.

"Understood, masters, please wait a moment!"

In three or five minutes, the young waiter brought over an old man in a long gown with a goatee, looking quite upright. The old man looked Yang Xiao and Su Tingting up and down, then cupped his hands to them, his tone filled with confusion, "Two masters, do... do we know each other?"

Yang Xiao didn't talk nonsense, smiling as he took out a silver ingot and placed it gently on the corner of the table.

The old accountant was stunned for a moment, then sat down with lightning speed. His sleeve brushed lightly over the corner of the table, and he tucked the silver into his sleeve. The next second, his face full of wrinkles, he bowed his head and said fawningly: "Two masters, I felt like I recognized you from afar. What instructions do you have for me?"

From high moral integrity to servility, the old man maintained it for less than 5 seconds. Yang Xiao asked: "Old accountant, I'm here to ask about something. How many people were there in the Bai Family Troupe in total? Did they really all perish at Laoniuwan Wharf?"

"Sigh, you're talking about that matter. It's true, they all died. Let me think, um... counting Troupe Leader Bai, there were 25 people in the troupe with jobs," the old accountant said with certainty.

"Are you sure?" Su Tingting pressed.

The old accountant nodded repeatedly, straightened his back, and put on an air of indisputability, "Of course. Their monthly wages all had to be collected from me. How could there be a mistake?"

Now it was Yang Xiao and Su Tingting's turn to be confused. How could it be 25 people? It made no sense; it should have been 26, after all, one had to count the poor woman who was sunk in the lake.

"Was there any female performer who had a child? Have you heard of one?" Yang Xiao continued to ask.

The old accountant smiled and shook his head, "Master, you're joking. An opera troupe doesn't keep idle people. How could anyone be allowed to bring along a burden? No, no, absolutely not."

Once these words were out, Yang Xiao's face darkened. No child, and one person missing. Where on earth did this woman pop out from?