Duanmu Huai was already raring to go, ready to prove his strength in a fierce battle with his opponent.

But...…

"Clang——————"

Listening to the crisp sound of the bell, looking at the black and white portrait in front of him, Duanmu Huai looked utterly disheartened.

The reason was simple, there were no suspicious points.

According to the information Duanmu Huai gathered, Grandpa Xiujin's death was quite normal. Recently there was an earthquake here, and when everyone went out to seek refuge, Grandpa Xiujin, who had trouble with his legs, accidentally fell while coming out, and unfortunately hit his head on a nearby stone.

He was an elderly man to begin with, and such an accident happening—if he survived, it would have been a real mystery.

Moreover, many people were watching at the time and could testify that Grandpa Xiujin indeed fell by himself, so there's… definitely no case here.

You can't really say the earthquake was suspicious! In Japan, these earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and typhoons are as common as daily meals.

So, like the diary described, they really just came back for the funeral, to take care of the aftermath for this relative?

However, Duanmu Huai did not give up, after all, he was experienced, he had seen a lot, and many games started like this. Come back for a relative's funeral, and then accidentally discover some hidden seal or secret in their home… a possibility not unheard of!

Just wait to search the house after the funeral and you'll know!

Of course, given Duanmu Huai's status, he didn't even need to search the house, as he was established as this grandpa's relative, meant to handle his affairs. So, after the funeral, Duanmu Huai could legitimately use dealing with relics as an excuse to thoroughly search Grandpa Xiujin's home from top to bottom!

However...…

"It's like seeing a ghost, really nothing here?"

Standing in the empty living room, Duanmu Huai felt numb. Grandpa Xiujin lived in an ordinary farmhouse, a one-story building with a small yard, raising some chickens in the back. It wasn't some private mansion with hidden basements. The warehouse only had some farming tools, which Duanmu Huai had also searched through, finding no strange ancient books or special relics. He even used his Thousand Eyes ability to scan the entire house, resulting in———nothing.

There truly was nothing.

This isn't scientific, it makes no sense.

Duanmu Huai scratched his head, utterly puzzled. He believed he hadn't missed anything, as everything had been thoroughly checked over by him. To be sure, he even had Shajuye help out, to see if she might trigger the plot.

The result was nothing happened.

"Brother?"

At this moment, Shajuye's voice rang out, and Duanmu Huai turned his head to see the young girl in a black sailor suit standing quietly in the hallway, watching him with her usual displeased expression.

"The last car carrying the supplies just left."

"Oh, it's already this late, huh."

Hearing Shajuye speak, Duanmu Huai realized it was already dusk, with the sky outside stained a deep red. The entire courtyard was now empty, nothing left. Shajuye walked into the living room, glanced around the now-cleared-out rooms, and sighed softly.

"So, it's all over now. Honestly, I never imagined coming back like this…"

"When people die, they turn to off candles. All we can do is let the deceased rest in peace."

Duanmu Huai said faintly, then turned around.

"Alright, let's go."

"Sure, brother…"

Shajuye nodded, hugging her arms, and glanced around.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know why, I always feel uneasy, as if something is watching us from the shadows…"

"Uh… maybe it's just your imagination."

Duanmu Huai coughed, silently retracting the Thousand Eyes from the shadows.

It seemed that the biggest threat to Shajuye in this place was indeed himself.

They naturally had no place to stay here. Originally, they could have stayed at Grandpa Xiujin's house, but Duanmu Huai thought it was too inauspicious to stay in a place where someone just passed away. Shajuye also seemed unsettled due to sensing Duanmu Huai's Thousand Eyes at the time, unwilling to stay there any longer.

Fortunately, there was an inn in this small town, so Duanmu Huai and Shajuye chose to rest there. Perhaps due to the exhaustion from traveling, the funeral, and the cleanup afterward, Shajuye went back to her room to bathe and rest after dinner.

Duanmu Huai also finished bathing and changed clothes, but he didn't go to rest; instead, he headed to the town's bar.

After all, having found no clues in Grandpa's house, the only option now was to see if the bar held any.

Duanmu Huai's arrival at the bar caused a slight stir, yet people didn't pay much heed. According to the system's description, Duanmu Huai and Shajuye grew up here as children, everyone knew them. Particularly Duanmu Huai—as described by the system—was hard to forget.

Duanmu Huai took this as a compliment.

After ordering a glass of wine, Duanmu Huai sat aside and started listening to the people chatting here. As expected, just as Duanmu Huai thought, these people were talking about Grandpa Xiujin's death, and then, following humans' usual divergent thinking, they naturally moved the conversation from Grandpa Xiujin's death to… the earthquake.

"Speaking of which, the earthquakes have become more and more intense recently."

"Really?"

"Yes, wasn't Tamura at the construction site also killed because of the earthquake? Sigh, his son is only nine years old, how unfortunate."

"Was Mr. Tamura also because of the earthquake?"

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai curiously inquired, and soon someone nodded.

"That's right, I remember he was inspecting the machine that day, and then suddenly there was an earthquake. Sigh, he didn't even have time to run before he fell down directly… how tragic…"

"Come to think of it, earthquakes seem to be particularly frequent lately, and the animals in the mountains have also become much more aggressive."

Another man chimed in.

"I went hunting up the mountain before and even saw bear-like paw prints on the outskirts…"

"Have you reported it?"

"Of course I reported it, but to be honest, there's no good solution. They just told everyone to be careful and avoid going into the mountains for the time being…"

"Speaking of which, what on earth is going on with these earthquakes? There's nothing on the news."

"Are the people at the earthquake bureau good for nothing? When you need them, none step up!"

Those who drank too much naturally began to complain, and Duanmu Huai could also understand this. After all, with earthquakes, there's no clear source to address the problem. Apart from having a drink to vent dissatisfaction, there's indeed nothing much to do.

And the intelligence Duanmu Huai gathered from these people was only threefold.

First, earthquakes have been occurring more frequently. According to them, the elderly who have lived here for many years said they've never seen such frequent earthquakes before.

Second, seemingly due to the earthquakes, the beasts in the mountains have started becoming aggressive. Several people have already reported being attacked by wild animals, and some have even witnessed monsters—of course, everyone unanimously believes it might have been mistaking bears for monsters.

Third, well… this can only be considered additional information. Because the people at the earthquake bureau are not taking action, a teacher named Yamahara, who is responsible for teaching geography in this small town, went into the mountains to investigate and detect the source of the earthquakes. This testimony comes from a convenience store worker, who said that before leaving, the teacher bought a box of mineral water and a sleeping bag at the convenience store, clearly planning to stay in the deep mountains for a long time.

Of course, what caught Duanmu Huai's attention was still the second piece of information, the beasts in the mountains—although many believe it's merely mistaking a bear for a monster, Duanmu Huai still plans to take a look. After all, from the current perspective, there are no useful clues from the old man, so it's necessary to see if there's something wrong with this place itself…

So, the next morning, after breakfast, Duanmu Huai left the inn with Shajuye, heading towards the mountain.

The reason for bringing Shajuye was quite simple. When having breakfast, Duanmu Huai mentioned wanting to take a walk around the nearby mountain, so Shajuye expressed she wanted to go along as well…

What could he do in such a case? He had to take her along.

It's just that…

"Huff… Huff…"

Being a typical delicate and frail girl, Shajuye was evidently not suited for mountain climbing. She was already gasping for air, exhausted, just halfway up the mountain.

"That's why I told you, you could have just taken the cable car."

Seeing Shajuye trailing behind with trembling legs, Duanmu Huai helplessly rolled his eyes, while the latter panted and glared at Duanmu Huai disapprovingly.

"Then why didn't you take it, brother?"

"Do you think if I sat on it, that thing wouldn't collapse?"

Duanmu Huai spread his hands, staring at Shajuye. The latter was silent for a moment, then sighed once more.

"We're already this far, I need a break… ah…"

At that moment, Shajuye suddenly frowned and covered her nose.

"What's that smell, it's awful…"

"Smell?"

Duanmu Huai was stunned for a moment, then he sniffed carefully, and sure enough, a foul smell hit him. However, this smell was not unfamiliar to Duanmu Huai; it was…

The stench of a decaying corpse!

"Rustle, rustle…"

At the same time, the bushes not far away began to shake, as if something was approaching.

"Shajuye, get behind me."

As Duanmu Huai spoke, he moved in front of Shajuye, clenching his fists, while Shajuye seemed to instinctively sense some danger, uneasily stepping back.

Duanmu Huai stared at the bushes, only to hear the rustling sound getting closer. Then—with a sudden rushing sound, a tall black shadow burst out from the bushes, roaring as it lunged towards Duanmu Huai!

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