Chapter 284: The Black Umbrella

“Banuto.”

“Hm?”

A familiar voice called from behind—seemingly his mother’s. Before he could think why his mother, who lived in the countryside mansion, would be here, Officer Banuto instinctively turned around, following the sound. But he saw nothing.

Hss~

A cold wind brushed silently past. A white-haired old woman with curly hair had somehow crouched on Banuto’s shoulder, exhaling a chilling, icy breath that snuffed out the flames blazing on his shoulder.

Thud. Banuto’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, his pupils instantly losing all light.

When a man dies, his lamp goes out.

Ning Zhe shoved the Ghost of Extinguished Breath’s tongue into his pocket, swiftly stripped Banuto’s uniform off and put it on himself, taking along his sidearm, stun baton, and a large black umbrella.

From Ning Zhe’s observations, every officer stationed at the castle’s entrances and exits carried such a wide black umbrella, though its exact purpose was unknown.

Dressed in the uniform, holstering the pistol, Ning Zhe raised the black umbrella and looked up at the sky—it was clear, cloudless today.

Ning Zhe hid Banuto’s corpse and sent one or two brief greeting messages via Banuto’s phone to his mother, brother, girlfriend, and other relatives. The instant replies came in, Ning Zhe’s facial features shifted, and the previously ill-fitting uniform now fit him perfectly.

“Alright, let’s go.” Ning Zhe carried the black umbrella and followed the flower-lined path to the lecture hall.

Chief Ebnik stood before the lectern, intently flipping through the dusty copy of the “Apricot Leaf Scripture.” Hearing footsteps at the door, he looked up and asked, “What is it, Banuto? Any report?”

“I found something near the stable, Chief,” Ning Zhe said, expression unchanged. “There are strange marks on the bottom of the pool behind the stable—like human footprints. Should you go check?”

“Really?” Chief Ebnik paused, then nodded. “Call Karmak and John. Take me there.”

“Understood.”

Ning Zhe left the lecture hall and, per the chief’s orders, fetched the two officers named John and Karmak. The three of them, along with the chief, bypassed the laundry room and arrived at the stable on the west side of the bell tower.

Horses were precious creatures, requiring careful care. The wooden stable’s roof was covered with neatly trimmed thatch, better than the living conditions of some servants. Behind the stable was a square, broad water pool, connected to the eaves’ drainage pipes, used to collect rainwater.

The boiler room workers would carry red-hot stones into the pool to boil and disinfect the water before it could be used for the horses’ drinking. If they mixed cold water with soybean meal, the horses would get diarrhea.

Thus, not only were the horses’ living conditions superior, but even their diet surpassed that of ordinary servants.

But Vanessa Castle had long been unoccupied, so no horses were kept, and the pool held no water. Chief Ebnik ordered his officers to bring a ladder, climbed into the pool, and stared thoughtfully at the black stains near the drain outlet.

“Looks like coal residue…” Chief Ebnik crouched down, touching the chaotic footprints on the pool’s bottom: “The intruder must have been in the underground boiler room—his shoes picked up coal dust.”

“Karmak, John, crawl through the drainpipe. Banuto, come with me—we’ll check the basement.” The chief swiftly assigned tasks.

Ning Zhe faithfully played the role of Officer Banuto, following behind the chief into the bell tower, idly examining the black umbrella in his hand.

When the chief and his two colleagues accepted him as “Officer Banuto,” Ning Zhe gained fragments of Banuto’s memories from their misdirected perception:

They were all officers of the Breshet Town Police Department, dispatched on this external duty. Their main task was to seal off the roads around Vanessa Castle and assist the special investigation team sent from above in probing the stolen artifacts case at Vanessa Castle.

This black umbrella was not brought by the Breshet Town officers themselves—it was issued uniformly by higher command, with special notation in the “read-and-burn” operational manual:

【When you hear sounds resembling a woman’s scream or cry, immediately open the umbrella until the sound fades or disappears.】

【If the umbrella is accidentally lost, immediately seek help from the nearest companion—two people may temporarily share one umbrella.】【Never remain in Vanessa Castle without an umbrella. Ensure your safety and leave as soon as possible.】

“So my earlier guess was right—the ‘special investigation team’ sent from above is likely personnel from the Fliem Mistret family.” Ning Zhe glanced at the chief’s shoulder ahead, his mind settling:

“There’s at least one Grade-Ascended within this team, likely even a higher-grade one. His ghost is tied to the umbrella and is lethally dangerous. A woman’s cry or scream signals imminent peril. But as long as you hold the umbrella, you can partially evade that dangerous rule…”

In just a glance, mere minutes, Ning Zhe had deduced the initial form of the unknown Grade-Ascended’s rule. Though the Rule was simple and crude in its lethality, it excelled in information gathering.

As he pondered, Chief Ebnik passed through the first-floor hall of the bell tower, nodded to the officer on guard at the entrance, and the two entered a side chapel through an unremarkable door—beyond it lay a downward staircase.

Vanessa Castle was built to military fortress specifications, with a labyrinthine network of secret passages. Unless you’d lived here for years, even with a structural map, you’d easily get lost in the tunnels.

“Found anything inside?”

“We found scratches on the boiler room’s floor and walls—likely made by blunt tools…”

Chief Ebnik exchanged a few words with the officer at the boiler room door, then entered with Ning Zhe.

This was Ning Zhe’s first time entering the real Vanessa Castle. It resembled his dream version in broad strokes, yet was vastly different.

Since it was open to the public as a tourist attraction, the real Vanessa Castle had been specially modified. The giant boiler in the center of the boiler room had its furnace door removed, the floor swept clean of all coal dust—only a few decorative bags of coal sat beside the furnace door, to prevent tourists from getting dirty while taking photos.

Not a single error in content!

Chief Ebnik briefly inspected the few bags of coal in the boiler room and found no suspicious traces.

“So the intruder’s coal dust didn’t come from the boiler room,” the chief frowned. “But where else in the castle could there be coal?”

“The warehouse,” Ning Zhe reminded him.

“Right—the warehouse!” Chief Ebnik snapped his fingers. “Good point, Banuto. We should check the warehouse.”

But as they prepared to leave, the officer at the door blocked them.

“You can’t go there, Chief,” the guard shook his head. “The investigation team’s superiors are currently examining the warehouse. No unauthorized personnel allowed until their investigation concludes.”

“Am I unauthorized?” Chief Ebnik widened his eyes.

“It’s a direct order from above…” The guard offered a helpless smile.

“I know it’s an order,” Chief Ebnik grunted. “But I found clues at the drain outlet of the pool—information that could help the investigation team. Let me report it.”

The guard’s smile froze. “You really can’t go, Chief…”

“Move aside! I say I’m going—I’m going!” Chief Ebnik shoved past him and strode out of the boiler room. “Banuto! Follow me!”

Ning Zhe offered an apologetic smile to the guard he’d bumped into, then hurried after the chief.

(End of Chapter)