Chapter 120 Nighttime Investigation of Qingyunling Orphanage: Lin Chen Angrily Investigates the Truth at the Bottom of the Well

The cry of a night crow came from half a li ahead.

It was short and low, its trailing sound torn apart by the mountain wind in the wild grass beside the old official road.

Zhou Tie pulled on the reins, his iron spear held horizontally at his horse's side, his voice kept low.

"Inspector, there's a whistle signal from Shen Yue."

He Jian pressed his right hand onto the short blade hidden in his sleeve, a corner of the medicinal bandage on his left arm visible in the night.

"How many?"

Zhou Tie tilted his head to listen.

"One."

Lin Chen dismounted, his boots sinking into the wet mud by the roadside as his gaze fell upon the dark mountain pass ahead.

"One person."

He Jian also dismounted and handed the reins to Zhou Tie.

"I'll go."

Zhou Tie frowned at him.

"Your left arm is still injured. It's not easy to sneak up on a sentry in the trees."

He Jian slid the short blade from his cuff into his palm, his voice barely a whisper.

"It's fine. I use my right hand for the knife."

Zhou Tie was about to speak again, but Lin Chen raised a hand to stop him.

"Be careful not to alert anyone outside."

He Jian nodded, his figure hugging the roadside bushes as he moved forward, soon swallowed by the darkness.

Zhou Tie watched his back, a curse suppressed under his breath.

"Every single one of them thinks they're made of iron."

Lin Chen led his horse back two steps into the shadows by the road.

"You're the same."

Zhou Tie paused for a moment, looking down at his cloth-wrapped thumb web.

"This minor injury of mine is no hindrance."

Lin Chen looked ahead.

"As long as you can grip your spear. Don't try to be unnecessarily brave."

Zhou Tie grinned, his voice softening.

"Don't worry, Inspector. The spear has broken, but the man hasn't."

No sounds of fighting came from the woods ahead.

Only a few leaves fell, brushing against branches with a faint rustle.

A moment later, Shen Yue appeared from behind a slope by the road, her short blade sheathed at her waist and her hem covered in bark fragments.

She walked up to Lin Chen and spoke in a low voice.

"The hidden sentry was in a tree, Blood Refining Realm. He Jian has dealt with him."

Zhou Tie glanced behind her.

"Where is he?"

Shen Yue said.

"Hanging between the branches. His throat was sealed, so no blood will drip down."

Zhou Tie looked at Lin Chen.

"Continue?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Dismount and proceed on foot."

The four of them led their horses behind the ruined wall of an old post station by the official road, tying the reins to the roots of a withered tree.

Shen Yue led the way, her footsteps light against the grass, making almost no sound.

After half a quarter-hour, a broken bridge appeared in the mountain hollow ahead.

The water beneath the bridge had long since dried up, leaving only a black ditch filled with rotting leaves and rubble.

Zhou Tie crouched at the bridgehead, his fingers pressing against the edge of a wooden plank.

"Inspector, these three planks are newly replaced."

Shen Yue also crouched to take a look.

"The nails aren't rusty and the wood grain is still damp. Ten days at most."

He Jian returned after circling the side of the bridge.

"There are hoof prints under the bridge. They've come and gone more than once."

Zhou Tie withdrew his hand from the plank, his face darkening.

"People have been entering and exiting frequently of late."

Lin Chen stepped onto the bridge, his pace never faltering.

"They think no one can find this place."

Zhou Tie followed, his voice tinged with suppressed fury.

"After tonight, they'll know better."

Lin Chen glanced at him.

"Save the people first tonight."

Zhou Tie's throat bobbed as he swallowed.

"Understood."

Beyond the broken bridge, the old official road branched into a narrow path heading west.

Both sides of the narrow path were lined with pine forests. The needles hung low, and the mountain wind whistled through the branches with a dense, rustling sound.

Shen Yue stopped ahead, half-crouching as her fingers brushed the mud.

"There are wheel ruts here."

He Jian crouched down beside her.

"A heavy carriage."

Shen Yue nodded.

"It was here during the day. The wheel marks haven't been covered by the night dew yet."

Zhou Tie cursed under his breath.

"A carriage for clearing the scene?"

Lin Chen looked in the direction the ruts led.

"Let's go in and see."

After walking another three li, an iron gate appeared at the mouth of the valley.

The iron gate was ajar, the latch hanging to one side, unlocked.

Seeing the latch, Zhou Tie's expression grew even grimmer.

"The gate isn't even locked. Are they just waiting for someone to haul away the bodies?"

Shen Yue pushed the iron gate, and the hinges let out a low, raspy groan.

"There are lights inside."

He Jian leaned close to the gap in the door and watched for a moment.

"Three men patrolling outside the courtyard wall. Their steps are weak—Body Tempering Late-Stage."

Lin Chen pressed his hand onto the hilt of the black abyss. Inside his Dantian, the Golden Core rotated slowly, sending thick True Qi spreading through his Meridians.

He closed his eyes.

The auras within the courtyard reached his ears.

Over a dozen weak breaths were gathered in the row of wooden huts at the very back, like flickering flames suppressed by the wind.

There were two stronger auras in the room to the right, carrying the scent of alcohol and disorganized True Qi.

The three sets of footsteps outside the courtyard wall were circling with uneven intervals and low alertness.

Lin Chen opened his eyes.

"Shen Yue, He Jian, take the three outside."

Shen Yue nodded.

"The two on the left are mine."

He Jian said,

"The one on the right is mine."

Zhou Tie lowered his voice.

"What about me?"

Lin Chen pushed the iron gate open.

"Follow me inside."

Zhou Tie gripped his iron spear, his fury barely contained.

"Fine."

Shen Yue and He Jian split off, their figures flitting along the base of the wall.

Lin Chen and Zhou Tie crossed the courtyard, heading straight for the room on the right where candlelight was visible.

The sound of wine bowls hitting the table came from inside.

A man spoke slurringly.

"We'll finish clearing before the hour of the rat. What's the rush? The valley entrance is sealed. Who could possibly come?"

Another man laughed.

"What I'm anxious about is that old geezer at the bottom of the well. He's been writing for ten years and his hands still aren't ruined. It'll be easier just to bury him tonight."

Hearing this, Zhou Tie spun the iron spear in his palm.

"Inspector."

Lin Chen kicked the door open.

The wooden door slammed against the wall, the candlelight inside flickering violently from the gust of wind.

Two guards were sitting at the table. One was still holding a wine bowl, while the other reached for a blade by the wall.

When the guard with the wine bowl saw the black abyss at Lin Chen's waist, the bowl slipped from his fingers, splashing wine all over his clothes.

"Who's there?"

Zhou Tie stepped inside, his spear shaft sweeping out and striking the wrist of the man reaching for the blade.

The sound of bone cracking filled the room. The man began to scream, but Zhou Tie jammed the butt of his spear into his mouth.

Zhou Tie pinned him against the wall, his teeth clenched.

"Make one more sound and I'll make sure you never speak again."

The guard who had been holding the wine bowl tried to back away, but Lin Chen was already standing before him.

The black abyss remained in its scabbard, but the scabbard itself was pressed against his shoulder.

The guard's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.

"Mercy, my lord! I'm just a gatekeeper!"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"The keys."

The guard's hands shook as he fumbled at his waist.

"I have them, I have them! Right here!"

Zhou Tie snatched a ring of keys from the other guard's waist and noticed a folded slip of paper on the corner of the table.

"Inspector, there's something here."

Lin Chen took the paper and unfolded it.

"Finish clearing before the hour of the rat. Transport the bodies to the back slope. Bury the one at the bottom of the well alive."

Zhou Tie leaned over. After reading just one line, his grip on the spear shaft tightened until his knuckles turned white.

"Before the hour of the rat?"

Shen Yue walked in. There was no blood on her short blade, but her expression was even colder than before.

"The outside is cleared. No one escaped."

He Jian followed behind her, a small bloodstain on his cuff.

"The third sentry post at the valley mouth has also been dealt with."

Lin Chen handed the paper to Shen Yue.

"Seal it."

Shen Yue took it and scanned it. Her breathing hitched for a moment.

She pulled out some oil paper and folded the note inside.

"They were already getting ready to act."

Zhou Tie looked at the guard on the floor.

"How many people are locked in those wooden huts?"

The guard's lips trembled.

"Ten... over a dozen."

Zhou Tie pressed the butt of his spear against the man's chest.

"Exactly how many?"

The guard sounded like he was about to cry.

"Fourteen! There are fourteen alive!"

He Jian spoke up.

"And the one at the bottom of the well?"

The guard shook his head frantically.

"The one down there is Zhou Huaiyi. I only delivered food; I've never been down there."

Lin Chen took the keys and turned toward the row of huts at the very back.

Zhou Tie grabbed the two guards by their collars and tied them to the pillars of the house.

"You'd better pray those children inside are still alive."

One of the guards said in a trembling voice,

"They're alive, they're all alive! The clearing hasn't started yet!"

Zhou Tie looked back at him.

"I'll make sure Liu Buyu records that statement in your confession for you."

The windows of the wooden huts were all nailed shut with boards, and an iron lock hung on the door.

The keyhole was worn shiny, showing it was opened and closed frequently.

Lin Chen tried the third key, and the lock clicked open.

As the door opened, a wave of sour, foul stench billowed out—a mix of urine, sweat, and rotten food that made Zhou Tie turn his head away instantly.

"These animals."

The interior was pitch black.

Over a dozen pairs of eyes looked up from the corner. There was no crying, no shouting.

The oldest boy looked to be about twelve or thirteen, so thin his shoulder bones jutted out against his clothes. The smallest child huddled behind the others, still clutching half a blackened steamed bun.

Lin Chen did not go inside.

He sheathed the black abyss and crouched at the door, his hands empty.

"We are from the Patrol Division. We are here to take you out."

No one moved.

The boy at the front stared at the blade at his waist, his lips trembling violently.

"Are you here to pick someone?"

Zhou Tie stood outside, his expression shifting.

"Pick someone for what?"

The boy didn't look at him, his eyes fixed on Lin Chen.

"They always say that the ones they pick are going to a good place."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"We're not picking anyone. We're taking all of you."

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

The boy's tears rolled down his face, but his body remained huddled in place.

"All of them?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Not a single one will be left here."

The smallest child poked their head out from behind the pile and whispered.

"After we go out, will we be sent back?"

Shen Yue walked to the doorway, placed the water skin and a few pieces of dry rations on the threshold, and then stepped back two paces.

"Eat if you're hungry; no one will snatch it from you."

No one in the room dared to move.

Shen Yue sheathed her short blade as well, her voice softening.

"I'll stand further away; you can take it yourselves."

After a long while, the smallest child crawled to the threshold, grabbed the dry rations, stuffed them into their mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed.

He choked until his face turned red. Shen Yue crouched down and pushed the water skin over.

"Drink slowly."

The child hugged the water skin, tears falling near the opening.

"Big sister, are you really not from the Wang family?"

Shen Yue looked at him.

"We are not."

Zhou Tie turned his head away, suppressing the anger in his throat.

"The people of the Wang family don't have the guts to save you."

The oldest boy finally moved.

He stood up, leaning against the wall, his legs shaking violently, yet he still stood in front of the other children.

"Where are you taking us?"

Lin Chen replied.

"The Governors Mansion."

The boy pursed his lips tightly.

"Will people get beaten there?"

Zhou Tie gritted his teeth and spoke.

"If anyone dares to hit you, I'll break their hand first."

The boy glanced at him, as if he couldn't believe such words.

He Jian stood by the door, his right hand pressing on his short blade, his left arm hanging at his side.

"What is your name?"

The boy looked down at the ground.

"A-Shi."

Lin Chen said.

"A-Shi, you bring them out first; the courtyard has been cleared."

A-Shi looked outside the door.

"What about Grandpa Zhou in the well?"

Lin Chen looked at him.

"We will save him."

A look of change finally appeared on A-Shi's face.

"You know Grandpa Zhou?"

Zhou Tie said in a low voice.

"We came here for him, and for you as well."

A-Shi turned to look at the children behind him, his voice raspy.

"Come out."

The children crawled out of the room one by one. Some were unsteady on their feet, some clutched their dry rations tightly, and some, after reaching the doorway, didn't dare to look at the sky, only huddled at the base of the wall, shivering.

Shen Yue took off her outer robe and draped it over the smallest child.

The child grabbed the hem of the robe and whispered.

"Big sister, aren't you cold?"

Shen Yue glanced at him.

"I'm not cold."

Zhou Tie muttered in a low voice.

"The mountain wind is scraping against our faces, and you say you're not cold."

Shen Yue turned to look at him.

"Head Zhao isn't here; are you learning to be as talkative as him?"

Zhou Tie was choked by this.

"I'll shut up."

Lin Chen looked at He Jian.

"You and Zhou Tie guard this place."

Zhou Tie spoke immediately.

"Inspector, where are you going?"

Lin Chen looked toward the back of the courtyard.

"The back slope."

When A-Shi heard the words "back slope," his face turned pale instantly.

"You can't go there."

Shen Yue asked.

"Why?"

A-Shi hugged his arms, his voice trembling as he lowered it.

"The people who were picked and never came back are all over there."

Zhou Tie's expression darkened completely.

"How many?"

A-Shi shook his head.

"I don't know."

The smallest child grabbed Shen Yue's outer robe and spoke timidly.

"Carts would go by at night, and the next day the grass would be shorter."

The courtyard went quiet.

Lin Chen looked at Shen Yue.

"Let's go."

Shen Yue nodded and followed him toward the back slope.

The back slope was behind the Yiyang Foster Home; the slope wasn't high, but the weeds grew in a disorderly fashion.

The moonlight fell on the grass leaves, revealing patches of soil with varying heights and colors.

Shen Yue crouched down and used her short blade to scrape away a layer of soil from the ground.

The blade tip had barely entered the soil for three inches before it hit something hard.

She paused for half a breath, then used her hand to brush away the dirt.

A small piece of white bone was exposed.

Shen Yue's hand stopped at the edge of the dirt, not digging any further.

"Inspector."

Lin Chen stood behind her, looking at that piece of bone.

"Mark it."

Shen Yue took a strip of cloth from her sleeve and tied it to the grass root nearby.

Her voice was lower than usual.

"The first spot."

The two continued to investigate along the areas where the soil color was abnormal.

"The second spot."

"The third spot."

"The tenth spot."

"The twenty-first spot."

Each shallow burial point was not deep; some were wrapped in rags, some had scattered skeletons, and some were mixed with broken wooden tablets in the soil.

Shen Yue marked them one by one, her fingertips covered in mud.

She asked.

"Should we dig them all up?"

Lin Chen said.

"Mark them first, and wait for the Criminal Division and The Coroner to arrive."

Shen Yue nodded.

"I will record it."

She took out paper and a brush from her robes, and by the moonlight, wrote down the location, depth, and state of the remains.

When writing the thirty-seventh spot, her brush tip stopped on the paper.

Lin Chen looked at her.

"What is it?"

Shen Yue looked at the dirt pit, her breathing heavy.

"This one hasn't been dead long."

Lin Chen crouched down and saw that the flesh and bone exposed under the rags had not yet completely rotted, and the color of the soil was also fresh.

Shen Yue pressed the paper against her knee, and the brush tip fell again.

"The thirty-seventh spot, shallow burial less than one foot deep, time of death no more than one month."

After she finished writing this line, the mud on the back of her hand was dampened by the night dew.

Zhou Tie followed out from the courtyard, and seeing the slope full of cloth strips from afar, he stopped at the foot of the slope.

"Inspector."

Lin Chen did not turn back.

"Don't let the children come over."

Zhou Tie's voice was raspy.

"How many?"

Shen Yue closed the paper and stood up.

"Thirty-seven."

Zhou Tie gripped his iron spear, his chest heaving twice.

"Thirty-seven children?"

No one answered.

The answer was right there on the slope.

Zhou Tie turned and walked back, took a few steps, and then stopped, speaking with his back to them.

"Inspector, when we go back and open the court, I want to stand in the hall and hear how the Wang family argues their case."

Lin Chen looked at the patch of land on the back slope marked by the cloth strips.

"I will let you hear it."

Zhou Tie said.

"I also want to let them hear these names."

Shen Yue lowered her head to look at the paper.

"They might not all have names."

Zhou Tie was silent for a moment.

"Then we will find them one by one."

Lin Chen spoke.

"Liu Buyu is not here; you will record it."

Shen Yue nodded.

"Quantity, location, depth, state of the remains; all have been recorded."

Lin Chen said.

"After we return, check it against the Living accounts."

Shen Yue folded the paper and tucked it into her robes.

"If it matches, the Wang family won't be able to deny a single thing."

Lin Chen looked at the well in the courtyard.

"There is still the bottom of the well."

Shen Yue's gaze shifted over as well.

"If Zhou Huaiyi is still alive, he can fill in the final part."

Lin Chen stepped down the slope.

In his mind, the System notification sounded.

"[System detected that the host has discovered major incriminating evidence at the Yiyang Foster Home: thirty-seven child corpses, fourteen survivors, and one note with a clearing order. Achievement has been recorded.]"

"[Estimated achievement points for this: 2,000 points.]"

"[System evaluation: This achievement involves a major homicide case; an additional 500 points will be awarded during the Zi hour settlement.]"

Lin Chen did not stop.

In the courtyard, the children were all settled outside the room on the right. Zhou Tie had tied the two guards into a bundle, and He Jian stood guard in front of the wooden house.

A-Shi saw Lin Chen walk toward the wellhead and immediately stood up.

"Sir, Grandpa Zhou is down there."

Lin Chen looked at him.

"How long has it been since he came up?"

A-Shi bit his lip.

"He was already down there when I arrived."

Shen Yue asked.

"How long have you been here?"

A-Shi lowered his head.

"Three years."

Zhou Tie punched the wooden pillar nearby, causing a layer of dust to fall from it.

"Beasts."

Lin Chen walked to the wellhead.

The wellhead was covered by a stone slab, with two large rocks weighing it down.

Zhou Tie stepped forward and lifted one, his jaw clenched tightly.

"Who moves these rocks usually?"

A-Shi said in a whisper.

"The two guards move them together, opening a crack when they deliver food."

He Jian moved the other rock aside, but the movement tugged at the wound on his left arm, and he furrowed his brows.

Shen Yue saw this and said in a low voice.

"I still have the medicine Head Zhao gave me."

He Jian said.

"Save the person first."

Zhou Tie pushed the stone slab away, and a damp, foul odor surged up from the well. Several children immediately shrank back to the wall.

On the well wall, there was a ladder made of iron nails, nailed all the way into the dark depths.

Lin Chen stood at the wellhead, his voice infused with True Qi.

"Zhou Huaiyi?"

There was no response from the bottom of the well.

Zhou Tie leaned over the well and shouted down.

"Zhou Huaiyi, the Patrol Division has come to save you."

It was still quiet down the well.

Shen Yue took out a fire starter, lit it, and threw down a small piece of oil-soaked wood.

The firelight fell, illuminating the thick moss on the well walls and also revealing a thin figure curled up at the bottom of the well.

A-Shi ran forward two steps.

"Grandpa Zhou!"

The thin figure at the bottom of the well moved slightly.

After a long while, a voice so raspy it was about to dissipate came from the well.

"Finally, someone has found this place."