# 1167
Chapter 1168: Doubts
As the pool of blood spread, pale, terrified corpses flickered into view before Lin Qiye's eyes.
Corpses were not living things and could be recorded by Black Pupil's [Secret Observer].
When all the people inside the mansion had been slaughtered, the three-toed footprints walked out the door and circled around the house, as if searching for something.
Finally, it discovered Li Jianbai lying by the drainage ditch, instantly slashed his neck, and the next moment Li Jianbai's corpse also appeared before Lin Qiye's eyes.
After finishing this, the footprints pressed slightly into the ground and never moved again.
Lin Qiye frowned tightly, looking up at the sky.
That monster had flight capability. Once it ascended into the sky, it would leave no traces whatsoever—even Black Pupil couldn't track it.
Lin Qiye sighed, sent Black Pupil back to the hospital, and his vision returned to the present scene.
"How did it go?" Baili Pangpang and the others asked as Lin Qiye opened his eyes.
"Not a human. It's a 'Mystery' with a three-toed foot that can fly. It flew here from the sky, killed everyone, and flew away afterward. I couldn't track it." Lin Qiye reported honestly.
"A 'Mystery'?"
Upon hearing these words, Shi Wenxuan's brow furrowed deeply.
"Is there a problem?" Lin Qiye asked.
Shi Wenxuan pondered for a moment before sighing and saying, "To be honest with you, our Linjiang City has had no 'Mystery' appearances for nearly four years..."
"Four years?" An Qingyu was startled. "How is that possible? The arrival of 'Mysteries' is related to population density. Even remote Anta County has at least one 'Mystery' invasion every year. Linjiang City is a second-tier city—how could there be no 'Mysteries'?"
"I don't know either." Shi Wenxuan said苦笑. "I've been stationed here as a Night Watch for over three years now. I genuinely haven't seen even a shadow of a 'Mystery'. Sometimes I even wonder—if this city doesn't have 'Mysteries', then what's the point of us Night Watch existing here? I've applied to transfer several times, but my superiors keep telling me to stay, just in case."
"Is this what Commander Zuo meant by the peculiarity of Linjiang City?" Lin Qiye mused. "No 'Mysteries' appearing for four years is indeed suspicious."
Four years...
Why did this timeframe feel so familiar?
Lin Qiye recalled the fire the children mentioned last night at Hanshan Orphanage. Wasn't that also about four years ago?
Coincidence? Or...
"What do we do now?" Jiang Er floated in the air and asked. "We only know that the one who exterminated the Li family was a flying 'Mystery', but how do we find it?"
"Right now, the only method is a comprehensive search." Cao Yuan spoke up. "That 'Mystery' killed the Li family estate last night, so it probably hasn't left Linjiang City yet. With Qiyen's spiritual perception and Qingyu's rat swarm, finding it is just a matter of time."
"Since that's the case, let's split up and search. Maybe we'll find other clues."
After discussing, the group split up to search Linjiang City for the "Mystery". Just as An Qingyu was about to leave to spread "Fish Seeds", she noticed Lin Qiye still standing in place, dazed.
"What are you thinking about?" An Qingyu walked up.
Lin Qiye gazed at the drainage ditch where Li Jianbai's corpse had been. After a moment of contemplation, he said:
"I think... this incident might not be as simple as a 'Mystery' invasion."
"Why?"
"Because that 'Mystery' was looking for him." Lin Qiye raised his hand and pointed at the drainage ditch.
"Li Jianbai?" An Qingyu was stunned. "What do you mean?"
"That 'Mystery' descended from the sky, killed everyone in the mansion, and then didn't immediately leave. Instead, it circled around the estate, as if searching for something...
It wasn't until it found Li Jianbai and killed him that it flew away from the scene.
In other words, Li Jianbai was its target from the very beginning?
But that doesn't add up. If it was just a randomly appearing 'Mystery', why did it specifically need to find and kill Li Jianbai? And looking even deeper—why did this 'Mystery' choose to descend upon the Li family estate to go on a killing spree, instead of somewhere else?"
Lin Qiye's words made An Qingyu's brow furrow deeply.
"Are you saying... there's someone behind this 'Mystery'? Its real target was Li Jianbai and the Li family estate?"
"That's a possibility." Lin Qiye thought for a moment.
"In any case, spread your rat swarm throughout Linjiang City first and try to locate that 'Mystery'. I need to go out for a while."
"Where are you going?"
"Hanshan Orphanage."
...
Hanshan Orphanage.
Creak—!
The old iron door was slowly pushed open. A boy in a blue-and-white school uniform, backpack slung over his shoulders, walked in from outside.
The rain was heavy—so heavy that the world between heaven and earth was shrouded in mist. But the boy carried no umbrella. Rainwater dripped from his black hair onto his soaked uniform, yet his expression didn't change in the slightest. His deep, dark eyes were as calm as an abyss.
He walked across the courtyard and stopped in front of Director Liu's office. Water dripped from his clothes onto the gray-black floor, quickly forming a wet patch.
At this moment, Director Liu was sitting at his desk with his back turned, staring blankly at five bank cards on the table.
"Grandpa Liu." The boy suddenly spoke in a low voice.
In the dim office, Director Liu was startled and quickly turned around.
Seeing the drenched Wu Quan standing at the door, he immediately stood up and rushed toward him. "Xiaoquan? Why are you soaked like this? Didn't I put an umbrella in your backpack this morning?"
Director Liu quickly helped him out of his soaked jacket, worried he might catch cold. But Wu Quan seemed not to care at all. He simply stared quietly into Director Liu's eyes.
"Grandpa Liu, we don't need to move. The Li Group has disappeared. No one will come to cause trouble anymore.
We can stay here safely forever, waiting for Brother Qingzhu to come back...
We'll never be apart."
"Disappeared?" Director Liu was stunned, then nodded. "I heard about it this morning. We're not moving."
Hearing these words, Wu Quan's expression finally relaxed slightly. His gaze fell on the five bank cards on the table.
"Where did these cards come from?"
"Oh, your Brother Qingzhu's comrades left them for us before they departed."
"Comrades?" Wu Quan was puzzled. The faces of Lin Qiye and the others flashed through his mind. "Why would they give us these things?"
"...I don't know."
Director Liu sighed.
In the dim office, silence reigned except for the sound of rain striking the window. After a long while, Director Liu finally murmured:
"Young Shen... he wouldn't have gotten into any trouble, would he?"
Wu Quan's pupils contracted sharply.
CRACK—!!!
A ferocious bolt of lightning tore across the sky in an instant.
"Impossible!!" Wu Quan instinctively took half a step back. Those dormant black eyes rippled with unprecedented emotional turbulence. "Brother Qingzhu will be fine... he'll be fine!"