Chapter 276: with translation of chapter title

Although Han Duo's words were very reasonable, however, because QingSongShu and Seventh Master were in a coma, Pangzi had almost lost his reason; although he still retained a tiny bit of clarity, it was obvious that he no longer listened to my and Han Duo's advice.

As a friend, rationally I should let Pangzi go crazy like that. But in reality, I followed him. I believe many people would have the same thought as I.

When you cannot stop your friend, you can only do your utmost to assist and protect him. Of course, the premise is that this friend is your true friend, not the kind who is a brother when rich and demands your life when poor.

When Pangzi, Han Duo, and I rushed to the room where we found QingSongShu, we discovered no valuable clues. This murder case, as always, was brutal. But it seems the killer has changed!

The room was filled with a strange and scorching aura, like the song sung by Han E that lingers for three days. Even after two days, this aura still lingered in the room. It was not the heat of the Huaguang method; instead, it evoked an indescribable loathing.

"Go back, we've searched everywhere; even if there were any valuable clues, they'd probably have been taken by the police." We searched relentlessly for over three hours, even under the bed, yet found not a single clue.

"No, I will stay here and wait for him to come back; I believe he will!" Pangzi clenched his fists tightly; I had never seen him like this—always laughing and joking Pangzi now showed such ferocity.

"Let's go, QingSongShu and Seventh Master are still inside Chan Yi Hall!" I tugged at Pangzi's sleeve.

If only I could find my master right now, I sighed dejectedly; but suddenly, my eyes lit up, and I involuntarily thought of someone.

Yao Yirong's father, Yao Song…

Right, he is QingSongShu's junior fellow disciple, a contemporary of theirs, well-informed; maybe he has a solution! My eyes lit up, I tightly grabbed Pangzi's sleeve and shouted excitedly: "Pangzi, let's go find Yirong's father—you forgot, he and our master are from the same era."

Pangzi's eyes finally regained a glimmer of light; the dazed him finally sparked his fighting spirit.

"Come on, let's go find him now and beg him to save my father and QingShu." Pangzi's hand tightly gripped mine, his expression agitated.

"Don't rush, let's first return to Chan Yi Hall, have something to eat, and go to the Yao residence tomorrow morning." I shook my head; Pangzi had not consumed a drop of water for almost a whole day.

"Yes, yes, let's first go back to Chan Yi Hall; I'll cook for you, eat and drink well to gain strength, and tomorrow we'll go find what Hai Sheng mentioned… the… rice dumpling guy." Han Duo interjected hurriedly, but Yao Song and rice dumplings seem like two different concepts.

I gave Han Duo a look of utter conviction, slung my arm around Pangzi's shoulder, and walked out of the shabby hut. I hailed a taxi from the street, which took us back to Chan Yi Hall.

Perhaps I was just too tired; not long after getting in the car, I fell into a heavy sleep. I don't know how much time passed when Han Duo suddenly shook my shoulder, pointed outside the window, and asked in surprise: "Hai Sheng, look, why is there a bloody person on the street?"

Under the dim streetlamp, a person covered in blood lay beside the small path. No, more accurately, a blood-covered person was collapsed there. Although he had fallen to the ground, his hand still pressed hard against the ground, dragging himself forward, struggling to crawl ahead.

This is what I saw in the direction Han Duo pointed; although it was a bloody person, I didn't pay much attention. However, just as the car passed the bloody person and I happened to turn my head back, I froze instantly.

What kind of eyes were those—blood-red yet revealing determination and unwillingness, with veins bulging on his face, yet both hands still pressed hard against the ground as he moved forward. What was he persisting for, and where was he trying to go!

Because of him, all kinds of thoughts surfaced in my mind; however, after this moment of confusion, my bewilderment turned into shock.

Even though blood obscured his features, I recognized those eyes and the outline of his face. He.... was actually Yuan Qiu.

"Stop the car, that's Yuan Qiu..." I shouted at the driver; when he suddenly slammed the brakes and stopped, I flung open the door and sprinted back without hesitation.

"Yuan Qiu, is that really you? How did you end up like this?" I approached the blood-covered person, wiped away the blood with a handkerchief, and confirmed it was indeed Yuan Qiu.

"You... you've come, that's great; I finally found you." Yuan Qiu said weakly; his tightly knit brow finally relaxed, as if his sole obsession had been to find us.

"Never mind talking, this place isn't far from Chan Yi Hall—quickly carry him back; the tendons in his feet have all been severed." Pangzi opened his mouth wide, trembling as he spoke; Yuan Qiu's condition was truly shocking.

Pangzi and Han Duo helped me hoist Yuan Qiu onto my back. I wanted to flag down a vehicle by the roadside, but because it was the middle of the night, few cars passed. Even if one did, seeing the bloody person on my back, they would speed up without hesitation and not stop for a moment.

"Yuan Qiu, hold on, we're almost there." I anxiously hurried along the road. Yuan Qiu on my back weakly urged me: "Hai Sheng, remember, you must kill Murong, you must kill her."

"What are you saying?" I suddenly froze, involuntarily stopping my steps, wondering why he told me to go to the Yao residence and why he told me to kill Murong.

"I'm sorry to you, sorry to Brother Pang, but I have never harbored any intention to harm you. Never; even when you came to my home, I did not follow his orders to put soul-controlling worms in your tea." Yuan Qiu then muttered to himself, and both I and Pangzi stopped in our tracks upon hearing his words.

"I can't do it; I don't want to harm you, but I have no choice. Please believe me, forgive me—I have never had the intention to harm you. Even when I first approached you, it was for that female ghost, but from beginning to end, I never thought of harming you." Yuan Qiu sobbed.

"Yuan Qiu, what are you saying? You approached us only for Murong." I couldn't believe it, yet Yuan Qiu's words didn't sound false.

Yuan Qiu on my back nodded weakly and said: "I have no choice; since childhood I was adopted by him, and I live merely to fulfill his grand ambition. My and Ou Yaofeng's task of studying at that school was to get close to Yao Yirong. But after you took Murong from Yao Yirong's ancient castle, my task gained another objective: to wait for the right moment and retrieve Murong from your hands."

Yuan Qiu's face flushed all over, a sign of the last flicker of life. He gripped my hand tightly and urged: "Hai Sheng, believe me—Murong must be reduced to ashes; only then can his plot be stopped. Believe me, I never intended to harm you; I never did, I had no choice, from birth to now I have never had a choice."

Yuan Qiu tightly grasped my shoulder, urging me to kill Murong while begging for my forgiveness. But when I shouted at him in anger, his body suddenly shuddered, and I could no longer feel his breath on my neck.

At the moment I realized I had been betrayed and schemed against by a friend, a torrent of fury surged in my heart. Yet, at the instant Yuan Qiu's breath vanished, what remained in me was only disbelief and pain.

The strings in my heart trembled faintly; I could not believe that Yuan Qiu had just left me like that. But when I laid him on the ground and saw his wide-open, unseeing eyes, I could no longer deny the fact.

"Who says you had no choice? At the very last moment of your life, didn't you make an open and honorable choice?" I muttered through tears, his crawling direction was toward Chan Yi Hall, to find me and Pangzi. Unfortunately, his wounds were too severe for him to recount everything fully.

Yuan Qiu reminded me of Wu Fei; before his death, Wu Fei likewise said in a listless, unwilling tone, "I have no choice." This is a kind of decadence, a willingness to submit to fate's arrangement.

"I forgive you," I said, looking at the unrepentant Yuan Qiu, my heart bleeding as I uttered the four words, then I turned my gaze to Pangzi.

"I forgive you too," Pangzi said, kneeling down, each with one hand, he stroked Yuan Qiu's eyes, gently closing his unwilling gaze.

Holding Yuan Qiu's corpse, Pangzi and I walked back to Chan Yi Hall in silence. Upon arriving, I made a phone call asking the police to come and take away Yuan Qiu's body.

The police took a brief statement from us, only noting the rough details, which we concealed; they then took Yuan Qiu's body away.

"Hai Sheng, what do you think of this?" Han Duo was flipping through the books in the cabinet, while Pangzi sat in a chair looking at me.

I shook my head, wearing a bitter, bewildered expression: "I don't know either, but Yuan Qiu told me to kill Murong. I can't figure out what connection Murong has to this affair."

Actually, my heart is avoiding the truth. This is a command Yuan Qiu gave with his life; how could it be false? I don't want to believe Murong is involved in this, nor do I wish to harm her even a single hair.

"How strange, how could there be such a thing?" Han Duo, who was browsing the books nearby, exclaimed in surprise.

Pangzi and I gathered around, nervously asking: "Did you find any clues?"

We thought Han Duo had discovered some clue in the ancient texts?

"Look here? It seems to be a heretical record on cultivating souls. It also mentions the ten spirits, but a part of it has been torn off." Han Duo handed us the yellowed ancient text.