Chapter 285: Black Ebony and White Ivory

Squeak—

The heavy iron door, sheathed in copper, was yanked violently outward; the investigation team inside the warehouse all turned their heads, following the sound to see Chief Ebunick standing at the threshold, belly protruding.

“You’d better give us a reasonable explanation, Chief,” said a man in straight-leg jeans and a brown leather jacket, his face dark. “Didn’t I say this place is off-limits to outsiders?”

“Ah, this…” Chief Ebunick instantly deflated; his earlier bravado vanished without a trace. Just moments ago, he’d been single-mindedly focused on solving the case—investigation meant going to the warehouse, so he had to go to the warehouse, he must go to the warehouse, no matter what, he absolutely had to go to the warehouse…

That stubbornness, unyielding even by ten oxen, evaporated the instant he stepped through the warehouse door; only now did he realize what he’d just done. He stood frozen at the threshold as all eyes in the room fixed on him. Ning Zhe felt as if he’d just witnessed some unnamed Tiger Brother standing on a Shenyang street, loudly declaring himself an idiot to passersby.

“This… evidence, yes, evidence. We found scattered black footprints behind the stable’s water tank—the intruder must have stepped on coal, so…”

While the Chief recounted the events, Ning Zhe’s gaze swept the scene, quickly assessing the situation.

There were six people in the warehouse: four men and two women, standing on either side of a small wooden table—a folding table, clearly not original to Fan’s Castle, but brought in from outside.

Something appeared to be placed on the table, but the warehouse was dimly lit, lacking illumination; Ning Zhe could not make out what it was, so he turned his attention instead to the members standing beside the table.

All four men were in their prime, tall and muscular—including the man in the brown leather jacket. In stark contrast stood the two women on the opposite side.

The older woman wore crisp trousers, a fitted white shirt, and a black waist-cinching vest, with thick-heeled knee-high boots. A tie was knotted at her chest; her professional attire radiated authority. Her shoulder-length flaxen hair was cut neatly, giving her an overall air of sharp competence—like a butler.

In the woman’s hand was a black umbrella identical in style to those held by the officers, already open. Beneath its dark canopy stood a girl of about fifteen, slender and poised, her long, wavy black hair cascading like seaweed, a golden iris pinned to one side.

Ice as her bones, jade as her skin—this was Ning Zhe’s first time in real life, without any beauty filter, seeing someone who truly deserved the phrase “ice-skin, jade-flesh.” Her skin was cold-white as snow; yet she wore only a black pleated dress embroidered with delicate iris patterns, over which she draped a large black suit jacket—apparently taken from the butler.

The all-black attire made her palm-sized, pale face stand out even more—like the first winter snowfall landing on the charred ruins of an autumn forest, so white it seemed fragile enough to shatter.

The instant their eyes met, Ning Zhe instinctively looked away; a nameless intuition throbbed violently at his temple, signaling mortal danger.

So she must be the Ascended sent by the Van Fliemistret family.

Ning Zhe silently observed the others in the warehouse, wondering if one of them might be a second Ascended.

At that moment, Chief Ebunick finished explaining why he’d forcibly entered, then added: “I’ve sent two officers through the drainage pipes into Zhong Lou. If you need, I can connect you to their radios now—or take you to the scene.”

“What did you say?!”

The investigation team clearly knew the castle’s secrets—their expressions shifted instantly. But Ning Zhe noticed the black-dressed girl’s face remained utterly unchanged; she stood quietly beneath the umbrella, eyes slightly lowered, as if deep in thought.

“Connect the radio immediately. I need to know where they are.” The man in the leather jacket stepped forward; Chief Ebunick trembled as he handed over the radio, which was snatched from his hands at once.

By now, Officers Camack and John had already entered the labyrinthine network of hidden passages beneath Fan’s Castle. Though furious, the leather-jacketed man did not rebuke them; he swiftly asked a few questions, quickly pinpointed their location based on their descriptions, and ordered them to exit immediately.

While this unfolded, the six members of the investigation team folded the table and exited the warehouse one by one. Chief Ebunick trailed behind with a forced smile, and the group prepared to leave the underground area.

Only then did Ning Zhe get a clear view: what had been on the table was a chess set. A box of black ebony, its lid carved with the River Chu and the Han Boundary.

The pieces were white ivory, engraved with black and red clerical Chinese characters.

Undoubtedly, this was a Chinese chess set, held in the arms of the black-dressed girl in the suit jacket.

“Foreigners, huddled in a warehouse playing chess?” Ning Zhe wondered. He already had a hunch: this chess set might be one of the investigation team’s special Ascension artifacts.

Perhaps because his identity as “Fan Daike” was incomplete, Ning Zhe had no memory of any artifact resembling this chess set, nor any idea of its function.

With Chief Ebunick anxious, the six investigation members lost in thought, and Ning Zhe harboring hidden motives, the group emerged from the passage and returned to the castle’s first floor.

In the grand entrance hall of Zhong Lou, the leather-jacketed man unfolded the folding table and placed it in the center of the hall. The butler, umbrella still open, and the black-dressed girl, cradling the chess box, stepped to the table and reset the pieces.

At that moment, two officers appeared at the hall’s entrance, grimy and dusty—Camack and John, having just crawled out of the tunnels.

“Stop.”

As they tried to enter, the butler spoke coldly. The four male members of the investigation team instantly drew their guns; the two officers froze, exchanging uneasy glances at the doorway.

No mistake. One move. One shot. One internal content—seen!

The black-dressed girl raised her hand, picked up a red piece, and pushed the “pawn” forward one space. Then the butler nodded: “You may enter.”

Camack and John looked at each other, then stepped hesitantly inside. The leather-jacketed man pointed his gun at Chief Ebunick and Ning Zhe and said: “You two—go take off their gloves and check them.”

Though confused and furious, Chief Ebunick had no choice but to comply. Ning Zhe walked to the door without hesitation, smiled at Officer Camack, and said: “Please cooperate with the investigation.” He then removed Camack’s white gloves, already smudged with coal dust.

Camack’s hands were unharmed—no visible wounds, only a faint scrape on his wrist, likely from scraping against the drainage pipe.

“Chief, what’s going on?” Officer John asked as he obediently removed his gloves. “Why have all of you come up? Did you find a lead on the intruder?”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t,” Chief Ebunick replied evasively. He took John’s right glove off—it was also intact. But as the Chief reached for John’s left glove, something unexpected happened.

Snap—

Officer John’s left arm snapped out, locking the Chief’s throat. His right hand pressed a gun against Ebunick’s temple and roared: “Everyone—don’t move!”

Simultaneously, the four guns of the investigation team all snapped toward him.

Ning Zhe promptly displayed shock and fear, raising both hands and stepping back two paces, shouting: “Stay calm, John! Don’t be reckless!”

John was already a ghoul.

(End of Chapter)