Running A Cemetery in North America

Who is the murderer? Why would anyone kill? Will there be another victim?

Will it be their turn when the time comes?

"So much time has passed since Monica's scream, yet not a single servant in this entire ancient castle has come by to check. Isn't this a bit too strange?" Bai Qianqian spoke up.

"That Balian is definitely suspicious. Of all times to hold a bidding session, why choose yesterday, and specifically in this ancient castle in the mountains? This snowstorm and overnight stay could very well be a scheme. But why target us? Frankly, I'm just here doing the dirty work for my boss. Setting such a trap to harm me is pointless."

Shen Sanjing smirked indifferently and turned to look at Sun Yan and the other two in the room: "Could it be that you three have some special status?"

Sun Yan ignored his inquiry and instead focused on the corpse of Monica nailed to the painting.

To nail a grown woman twenty centimeters above the ground is definitely not something an ordinary person can do. The perpetrator must have immense strength and a towering stature.

Otherwise, it would be impossible. As this thought emerged, the image of Brian, the black man, suddenly flashed in Sun Yan's mind.

Among the people he's seen in the ancient castle, Brian seemed to fit the criteria the most.

However, he was also here for the bidding, and Monica wasn't the one who secured the Wind Stabilizing Pearl, so he did not seem to have a motive for murder.

"We should go find others and ask. The snowstorm outside — who knows if it will stop by tomorrow? The mountain road is snowed in, and leaving is even harder for us. Now that a murder has occurred, we must quickly find the killer, or else all of us are in danger."

Bai Qianqian rarely voiced an opinion, but immediately pinpointed the crux of the problem.

Their reason for leaving and returning was due to the heavy snow blocking the road, making it impossible to get out of the mountain.

All of them were trapped in the mountain now; if they couldn't find the murderer, there's no guarantee the culprit wouldn't strike again.

"Alright, let's follow the lady's advice and find Brother Ni and Yamashita to discuss this. Also, it's a chance to verify whether they have any connection to this matter."

Shen Sanjing readily agreed, then slyly smiled and said, "Miss, once we leave this mountain, could we exchange WeChat? Maybe hang out for some hotpot when you're free, sounds fun?"

Bai Qianqian tucked her hands into her pockets and decisively walked away.

Sun Yan watched her back, deep in thought.

For a young woman to come to a place like this alone, without a bodyguard, indicates she possesses some extraordinary qualities.

Moreover, despite the murder, everyone present displayed no change in expression, didn't seem overly terrified. Clearly, none of these individuals were ordinary.

Sun Yan glanced back at Monica, nailed to the painting, took out his phone, snapped a picture, and followed Bai Qianqian.

Shen Sanjing and Zhao Chuan Yi immediately caught up, and soon the four of them reached the door of Brian's room.

Shen Sanjing knocked on the door shouting, "Brian! Brian, are you there? Open up."

After a long while, just as Sun Yan began to wonder if something had happened to Brian too, a frustrated curse suddenly sounded from inside the room.

"F**K! Do you people know what time it is? Disturbing others' sleep, what on earth are you trying to do?! A bunch of pigs!"

The door opened, revealing Brian standing there, wearing only briefs, glaring furiously at Sun Yan and the others.

Bai Qianqian silently raised her hands to cover her eyes.

"Still sleeping? There's been a murder. Monica is dead." Shen Sanjing said nonchalantly.

Brian's face instantly shifted to one of shock: "What, what did you say?"

"There's a murderer in this ancient castle. Stop sleeping and come with me to find that Little Ghost. We need to gather everyone first, then go ask Mr. Balian what's really going on. He lives in such a large castle; surely he's hired a security team. But now that someone's dead, not a single person from the castle has shown up. It might be a ploy specifically against us."

"Oh, oh, give me a moment."

Brian hurried back into the room, quickly dressed, and emerged, prompting the group to head over and knock on Yamashita Kojirō's room door nearby.

But despite knocking for nearly a minute, there was no response, causing a sense of foreboding to rise in all their hearts.

"Let me."

Brian immediately kicked out, his strength indeed formidable. After three or four kicks, the lock broke apart.

Everyone rushed into the room, only to find it empty, with no sign of Yamashita Kojirō.

"Is this guy also a victim? Could the murderer be him? Why would an old man come here to kill?" Shen Sanjing muttered in puzzlement, surveying the room.

Sun Yan silently scanned the room, finding no clues. Clearly, Yamashita Kojirō's disappearance wasn't the work of the Evil Spirit.

"Looks like only the five of us are temporarily clear of suspicion."

Zhao Chuan Yi sighed, "Should we wander around the castle? Even finding a servant to ask some questions would be good. Sitting here waiting to die is bad for us; who knows what the murderer wants to do next? We must be prepared in advance."

At this moment, Sun Yan's gaze fell upon something on the bedside table.

It was an exquisite gold-edged plate, with chicken bones and forks and knives placed in it.

Seems like Yamashita Kojirō got hungry at night and had the servants send him a late-night snack.

Sun Yan's eyes twitched slightly as he noticed the word 'angel' printed on the edge of the plate — meaning Angel in English.

"Angel…" Sun Yan rubbed his chin, feeling rather perplexed.

It seems that finding Balian first would be best to see if Monica's death is connected to him, before considering anything else.

Half an hour later.

Sitting on the castle hall's sofa, Sun Yan and the others were silent, faces somber.

Just moments ago, they had searched the entire ancient castle, including every room, the kitchen, and even the basement, but didn't find a single person.

At this moment, besides them, there was no sixth person alive in the castle.

This strange, bizarre situation undoubtedly made everyone nervously apprehensive; outside, the mountain was snowed in, with temperatures below zero — leaving only led to certain death without heat.

If Balian and his people weren't disgruntled, they absolutely wouldn't have left the castle at this time.

But the castle was only so large; Sun Yan's group had searched every possible hiding place.

If they were still in the castle, they would have left some traces.

This sudden evaporation cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.

"Do you think Balian and his people are hiding in a secret chamber, monitoring our every move through hidden cameras?" Shen Sanjing suddenly spoke.

Brian's accumulated frustration finally exploded, as he stood up and shouted around the room: "Come out! Balian! I know you're here, come out! What do you mean by this? We are just employees sent by our boss; what do you want by trapping us here, what gain do you have by killing us? Come out!"

Yet the hall remained silent, with no response to Brian's outburst.

Zhao Chuan Yi covered his ears and advised, "Don't waste your energy; it's useless. Just stay put quietly. As long as we stick together, he shouldn't be able to do anything to us,

the key now is to hold out till morning and see if the snow shows any signs of stopping. Once it stops, we'll leave immediately; this is their territory, and if you want an explanation from Balian, you'll need to bring your bodyguards to confront him."

Brian sat powerlessly back on the sofa, agitatedly rubbing his head.

But suddenly, Brian collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Seeing this, Shen Sanjing was startled and quickly moved to check, but before he could touch Brian, his eyes rolled up and he fell to the ground.

Sun Yan immediately became alert, but before he could react, he blacked out and fell onto the sofa.

Zhao Chuan Yi and Bai Qianqian followed suit, falling unconscious one after another.

Soon, the hall was left with no one awake.