"Miss Su... Miss Su," stammered Master Lu, his tone cautious as he addressed Su Yanke. The powerful aura she exuded had left a deep impression on him, especially when he introduced her to Ji Yicheng. He'd nearly buckled under the pressure and had only managed to stay upright by clinging to the doorframe.
Su Yanke added another helping of vegetables to Xiaobao's bowl. Without looking up, she replied calmly, "Don't worry. I'll handle it today."
"Yes, yes, yes. That's great," Master Lu nodded vigorously, his smile now more sincere.
"Shall I lead the way for you later?"
Su Yanke thought for a moment and nodded. It was a good idea. It would save them some unnecessary time.
"Xiaobao, after you finish eating, go take a hot bath and have a good rest. A good sleep will make you feel better tomorrow," she said gently.
Xiaobao paused mid - bite. Looking up with his big, watery eyes, he pleaded, "Sister, can't you take me with you? I'll be very good!"
"Sister knows you're good, but your health is more important. Get well first, and leave the rest to sister, okay?"
Xiaobao usually obeyed Su Yanke without question, but this time, he didn't want to. A sense of unease and anxiety had welled up inside him. He didn't know where it came from or how to explain it to Su Yanke. But he knew Su Yanke's temper, so he reluctantly agreed. Otherwise, there was no way she'd let him go.
"Okay," he replied, his head down, voice muffled.
Su Yanke ruffled his hair.
After Xiaobao finished eating, Su Yanke settled him down before setting off with Master Lu to the crime scene.
"Can you tell me what happened at that time?"
"Sure, but we don't know much. We were all too scared to get close. All we saw was a grinning human skin," Master Lu's voice trembled as he reached the end of his sentence.
Su Yanke had expected as much. She'd just hoped to get lucky. So, she wasn't too disappointed when she realized there was little new information.
"Did you hire anyone to investigate?"
Master Lu hesitated for a moment before answering, "No. This would damage the academy's reputation if it got out. So, I hope Miss Su... "
His voice trailed off. He knew his request was unreasonable. They'd locked someone up without evidence, and now they were asking for her help while expecting her to keep quiet.
But Su Yanke's response surprised him. She readily agreed.
She knew that resolving this case would be beneficial for Xiaobao. Once everyone knew he was innocent, they might feel guilty and treat him better in the future. Xiaobao would be studying here, and she had to consider his future.
"Here we are. This is where the first body was found," Master Lu said.
Seeing his legs shaking, Su Yanke decided not to make things difficult for him. She told him to wait outside while she went in alone.
As soon as she opened the door, a cold gust of air hit her. She sniffed gently, surprised. Instead of the expected stench of decay, there was only a faint sour smell.
The room had four small beds, similar to a modern college dormitory, but without the upper bunks. In the middle was a large wooden table.
The room was now covered in dust and cobwebs. The quilts were haphazardly strewn on the beds, indicating the chaos of that day.
Suddenly, something caught Su Yanke's eye. There was a conspicuous yellow object on the middle bed. She walked closer to take a look.
A terrifyingly grinning face stared back at her. Her pupils dilated in shock.
It was really a human skin!
Although it was wrinkled, it was still recognizable. It had all the features of a human face - nose, eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. There were even flaps of skin on either side, presumably the ears.
Su Yanke touched the skin through her clothes. It was thin and light.
She examined it carefully. It was intact, without a single cut mark, as if the person had been completely emptied out.
Suddenly, she noticed a bulge in the pocket of the clothes. She felt it with her hand. It was cold to the touch, like a ring?
She took it out. Sure enough, it was a silver ring with a small black - purple stone in the middle.
Su Yanke frowned. She quickly took out the small stone Dr. Liu had given her. It was the purple copper coin!
Why was it in this person's pocket?
Master Lu waited outside for a long time, but there was no sign of Su Yanke. The room was completely silent. His anxiety grew. Just as he was about to muster the courage to go in and check on her, Su Yanke emerged from the room.
Master Lu let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, he didn't have to go in. Before he could ask about the situation, Su Yanke told him to take her to the location of the next body immediately.
Her tone was so serious that Master Lu instinctively obeyed. He didn't even dare to ask why.
Su Yanke wanted to verify if all these people had come into contact with the purple copper coins and if they all had them on their bodies.
Soon, she found traces of the purple copper coins on the other bodies. One was already on a person's hand, another was hanging around a neck, and the rest were in the pockets of their clothes.
The situation was clear. Now, all that was left was to verify her theory.
Su Yanke returned to the first room. She isolated herself from the others and placed all the purple copper coins in front of her. She was waiting for nightfall. She wanted to see how these purple copper coins could turn a living person into a human skin.
As she waited, she fell asleep. She was woken up by the cold. The temperature was already low, and at night, it dropped even further. She hadn't covered herself with a quilt.
She tried to rub her arms to warm up, but her limbs were surprisingly stiff.
She could still sense her body, but she couldn't control her movements. Even raising her hand was a struggle.
She tried to open her eyes to see what was going on, but her eyelids were too heavy.
She had no choice but to use her spiritual energy to warm up her body. Only then did she realize that her spiritual energy was almost depleted!
What was going on?
She remembered that she'd replenished most of her depleted spiritual energy before. Why was it gone now?
The situation was beyond her expectations. The most important thing now was to regain consciousness. It took her a while to regain control of her body.
The first thing she saw was darkness. The only source of light was the glow emitted by the purple copper coins.
She thought about what had happened to her before. Suddenly, it dawned on her. She knew how these human skins had come about.
Just as she was about to go out and tell everyone her discovery to clear Xiaobao's name, a powerful suction force came from behind her. Her body was quickly lifted off the table. She reacted quickly, but one of her feet was already sucked in. She struggled desperately, but the suction was too strong. It was useless.
She was心急如焚. She wasn't worried about her own situation but about Xiaobao. If something happened to her, Xiaobao would be blamed for this for the rest of his life.
In her anxiety, she called out Xiaobao's name. Almost immediately after she called out, the door was pushed open.
She looked up and was stunned.
"Xiaobao! How... How did you get here?"
"Sister! What's going on? Sister, I'll pull you out!"
Xiaobao's face turned pale when he saw Su Yanke's situation. His lips were white, and his hands were shaking as he grabbed onto her. He was terrified that something would happen to her.
But if even Su Yanke was powerless, what could Xiaobao do?
The veins on Xiaobao's hands bulged as he pulled, but Su Yanke's body was still being sucked into the black hole.
Su Yanke was no longer anxious. Now that Xiaobao was here, she could tell him what she knew and clear his name!
"Xiaobao, listen to me. These human skins are the result of the purple copper coins. Later, take these coins out and ask Master Lu to investigate their origin. Follow the clues, and you'll surely solve the case! Do you understand?"
Tears welled up in Xiaobao's eyes when he heard Su Yanke's words. Even in this situation, his sister was still thinking about him, while he was helpless.
Su Yanke's body was almost halfway in, up to her shoulders.
As the end approached, Su Yanke felt strangely calm. She started talking to Xiaobao about the future. She told him to visit Uncle Ji more often, not to be bullied, and to study hard. The family would depend on him in the future.
"Xiaobao, let go. After I'm gone, you'll have to walk your own path. Don't be afraid. Sadness and parting are part of life. Be brave and move forward. Don't look back. Never look back!"
"No! No, sister. I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me alone!"
"Xiaobao! It's too late. Let go quickly. Otherwise, you'll be sucked in too!"
Instead of letting go, Xiaobao moved closer.
Su Yanke noticed that something was wrong with Xiaobao. Was he trying to be sucked in with her?