Chapter 571

Fu Dainian felt his scalp ache and tingle, as if her five fingers were about to pierce into his skull.

She stood behind him; he couldn't see her expression, but her voice dripped with malice, and for a moment, his mind was filled with the hateful faces of the female ghosts just moments before.

He hadn't expected one of those skeletons to be this Daoist Priest's sister.

When kin seek revenge, the very thing he feared most had come to pass.

When their loved ones were tortured to death, how could they possibly remain rational?

Fu Dainian burst into tears: "Master, I am innocent—I have nothing to do with my family!"

Pan Yun spoke coldly: "I don't care whether you're connected or not—I hold grudges against all of you. If I can't be happy, neither will you."

Not only Fu Dainian, but even Li Wenying was startled by her cold, heartless demeanor, almost believing she meant it.

"If I tell you, will you spare me?"

Pan Yun tightened her grip, her voice icy: "I can spare your family."

Seeing Fu Dainian fall silent, Pan Yun whispered into his ear: "You can refuse—then I'll torture and kill them one by one, so you can all meet in hell together."

Fu Dainian shuddered violently and immediately cried: "No, I'll tell you—I'll tell you!"

Everyone turned to look.

Under everyone's gaze, Fu Dainian swallowed hard and said: "In my study, there's a hidden room…"

County Magistrate Wu immediately led men to the Fu household.

Pan Yun turned to Li Wenying: "Watch the array for me."

Li Wenying: "You're going? Just for a moment…"

But Pan Yun had already followed after them, leaving only her back: "I'm counting on you."

Li Wenying: …

He narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off, yet couldn't quite say what.

Fu Dainian had been taken away in front of his family; they'd been scrambling to find connections and learn the truth—when suddenly the county magistrate returned with Fu Dainian in custody, they were all stunned, and immediately demanded to know what crime he'd committed.

Madam Fu hesitated and said: "Your Honor, he's an obsessed painter—if he ever offended anyone in the past, please forgive him."

County Magistrate Wu's face was expressionless: "I will handle this fairly and impartially."

Madam Fu wanted to ask more, but Fu Dainian had already pointed out the hidden room's location—she was promptly shoved out of the study by the constables, and in that fleeting glance, she saw someone move aside a row of bookshelves, revealing a door.

Madam Fu's heart lurched; a sense of impending disaster crashed over her.

She knew her husband had a hidden room in his study, but she had no idea what was inside it.

Madam Fu involuntarily stretched her neck to look—but the study door shut, blocking her view completely.

Inside the study, the people stared in shock at the paintings hanging in the hidden room.

Directly opposite the hidden room's entrance was a painting about a meter wide… a spring palace painting?

The painting depicted vast expanses of peonies, a woman with one shoulder half-bared lying back among the flowers, a man facing away, revealing only his hands—one gripping her lower back, the other pinching a peony blossom…

The woman in the painting's eyes flickered, staring directly out of the canvas—just one glance, and Pan Yun was utterly captivated, unable to look away.

A thud sounded beside her; Pan Yun whipped her head around and saw Old Master Li, entranced: "Filthy!"

Young Master Li, likewise startled back to awareness: "Disgusting!"

Old Master Li snapped out of it, nodding frantically: "Yes, filthy and disgusting!"

Pan Yun: "I was talking about you!"

Young Master Li: "Same goes for you."

Old Master Li dared not confront Pan Yun, so he glared at his son: "Rebellious brat, you—" County Magistrate Wu, the most level-headed, tore his gaze from the painting and asked: "Where's the evidence?"

Fu Dainian hung his head and pointed: "All of it's right there."

On the right wall of the hidden room stood a shelf holding over a dozen painting albums.

County Magistrate Wu stepped forward, picked one up, flipped through it, and immediately slammed it shut with a snap.

Pan Yun approached; Wu hurriedly clamped his hand over the album, his face turning ashen: "Don't look."

Pan Yun stared at him steadily: "Keeping secrets from me?"

Wu's face flushed red, then turned ashen again: "No—it's not appropriate for you. You're still a child."

Pan Yun yanked the album away: "What haven't I seen? I faced a room full of skeletons without flinching."

The album opened, revealing obscenity mixed with bloodshed.

Pan Yun flipped through each page one by one—this kind of thing, even in the 26th century, would be censored; any online posting would land the distributor straight in prison.

Pan Yun flipped through each page with a blank expression.

!

Seeing her face remained unreadable, County Magistrate Wu sighed and flipped through a few pages himself: "You've drawn them in great detail—every face, even the dates recorded."

Fu Dainian offered a servile smile: "These are the painting dates—must be noted."

Those who played with him knew Fu Dainian had a habit of sketching, and they willingly let him draw, since these paintings were only for private viewing—he'd never dare show them outside.

"Besides these paintings, what other evidence is there?"

Fu Dainian's gaze drifted involuntarily toward a box.

County Magistrate Wu snatched it up instantly—realizing it was a Lu Ban lock—and handed it to him: "Open it."

Fu Dainian sighed heavily, resigned, and unlocked it.

Inside lay a notebook and a stack of letters.

County Magistrate Wu opened the notebook, his eyes brightening—it was even more detailed than the painting albums.

It even recorded who had gifted whom, and what each had requested…

With this, they could be nailed down for good; Wu excitedly turned to Pan Yun: "Pan Daoist…"

Seeing Pan Yun still rapidly flipping through the painting albums, he paused, then hesitantly asked: "Pan Daoist… who are you looking for?"

Pan Yun lowered her brows in silence, flipping through the pages one by one; just as the album in her hands was about to end, her fingers paused, and she gently spread it fully open.

Her face was like frozen frost; she lifted her eyelids and looked at Fu Dainian, holding the album upright toward him, and asked in a low voice: "Who is she?"

Meeting her eyes filled with malice, Fu Dainian stepped back in fear, swallowed hard, then stammered: "S-she's called Chaoyan. Is she your sister?"

County Magistrate Wu stepped forward to look.

In the painting was a woman dressed in red, dancing upon a pavilion amid lotuses.

The lotuses in the lake were pink with white tones, their leaves spread like umbrellas; the woman's red sleeves fluttered downward, one hand catching them as she turned her face slightly, smiling softly—delicate and lively, pleasing to behold.

Pan Yun clenched the album, paused for a long while, then turned the page.

Turning it, Pan Yun froze.

County Magistrate Wu leaned in to look, and also froze; he turned to Fu Dainian and asked: "Is she still alive? Why doesn't the album show how she died?"

Fu Dainian painted two portraits for each victim, whether woman or man—the first depicted the most beautiful version of them as he remembered them in life.

The second showed them in torment, with their manner of death rendered in the painting; one could say his perversion rivaled that of the abusers themselves.

Fu Dainian hesitated: "S-she should be dead by now, but I didn't see her die myself—she's the only one I never witnessed dying." (End of Chapter)