Ye Tiancheng and his companions lived in a different environment from the people of Xiaojing City.
They were certainly not accustomed to harming others, nor did they tend to think ill of people. Sometimes, they acted according to normal logic, perhaps without considering the implications.
However, in an environment like Xiaojing City, even ordinary people with inherently good dispositions would find their minds somewhat twisted after living there for a long time. They would become more ruthless, and it wasn't strange for malice to arise in a single thought.
Therefore, while it was unexpected for them, the matter wasn't entirely surprising.
It could be said that it was somewhat imaginable.
Liang Ping silently tidied up for the innkeeper by the side. Nie Chongyang glanced back and then called out to his long-time partner.
He said, "Don't worry about this place for now. It won't have any major problems in a short while. We haven't even had breakfast yet. If you keep tidying here, will you still eat later?"
Hearing Nie Chongyang's words, Liang Ping stopped his hands.
Ye Tiancheng looked at the tragic scene before him, crossed his arms, and pondered for a moment before speaking, "We don't have to do these trivial things ourselves. Whoever made this mess should clean it up."
Nie Chongyang asked Ye Tiancheng, "Are you planning to ask that employee to clean it?"
Ye Tiancheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Isn't it perfect to call him over? Since he caused it, he should be the one to clean up the mess. Why should we suffer here?"
"It will also scare him a bit. Since that person is so heartless, we can't be too careful. He might be hiding in the dark, ready to jump out and bite us at any moment. We need to make him fear us to avoid more trouble."
"After all, we can't just kill innocent people."
Nie Chongyang sighed and shook his head, ultimately saying nothing.
After Ye Tiancheng and the other two returned to their room, they took turns using the bathroom to wash off the bloodstains before telling the little fox about what had happened across the hall.
The little fox was quite shocked upon hearing about it.
However, seeing such a scene early in the morning was somewhat off-putting. Apart from the little fox being protected, Ye Tiancheng, Nie Chongyang, and Liang Ping didn't eat much during breakfast.
After breakfast, Ye Tiancheng went out and found the employee at the front desk again.
The employee was quite bold; he was still at the front desk.
Ye Tiancheng didn't mind. It was better to have a black-hearted person openly present than someone who pretended to be good. Knowing he was malicious was better than him feigning innocence.
He asked the employee to clean up, and the employee didn't object. However, his acting skills were comparable to the innkeeper's, as he put on a look of great shock, as if he truly hadn't expected the innkeeper to die.
If not for his acting not being good enough and Ye Tiancheng having inspected the scene, Ye Tiancheng thought he might have actually believed the employee's nonsense.
Ye Tiancheng scoffed inwardly.
He didn't care whether the employee was genuinely honest or faking it.
Fortunately, such a person wasn't his subordinate. Otherwise, with such a subordinate, how could any superior sleep soundly at night?
Ye Tiancheng was not interested in watching the employee's performance. After calling the employee to clean, he returned to his room. Before entering, he could still hear the employee muttering, as if with genuine emotion.
Ye Tiancheng heard the employee saying something like this.
He said that although the boss had treated him poorly in the past, he had at least taken him in and given him a place to stay. Therefore, he was repaying the kindness by tidying up properly as a token of his gratitude.
The words sounded overly sarcastic. Ye Tiancheng shook his head and closed the room door, leaving the sound outside.
Upon returning to the room, Ye Tiancheng gave his assessment of the employee to the other three, stating that this person was by no means simple and was no less ruthless than the innkeeper. He advised everyone to be cautious and avoid provoking him.
This was the third day, and Lin Yanqin had not actively sought out Ye Tiancheng and his group.
Ye Tiancheng and his companions thought about it and decided it was best not to be too proactive, so they didn't go looking for her either. As a result, they didn't see each other at all that day.
On the fourth day, Lin Yanqin still hadn't actively come to find Ye Tiancheng and his group.
Ye Tiancheng thought about it and felt that their clues and investigation progress couldn't be stalled here. Fortunately, they had a reasonable excuse. Ye Tiancheng then took the other three with him, and the four of them went to Lin Yanqin's room together.
Ye Tiancheng knocked on the door of Lin Yanqin's room.
After a while, Lin Yanqin came to open the door, saying, "Who is it?"
Ye Tiancheng replied through the door, "It's us. Seeing that Miss Lin hasn't had any news for the past two days, we were worried something might have happened to you, so we came to check. Is everything going smoothly with Miss Lin? Have you found your ruby pendant?"
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's voice, Lin Yanqin opened the door.
Today, Lin Yanqin was wearing a high-necked, long qipao. Her face was generally a little pale, but her cheeks had two unnaturally red patches, and her lips were overly rosy, though it didn't look like lipstick.
Lin Yanqin said to Ye Tiancheng, "Thank you for your concern regarding my matter, Mr. Ye. I'm fine."
Ye Tiancheng subtly observed Lin Yanqin for a few moments, then suddenly asked her, "Miss Lin, are you feeling unwell? You look a bit pale."
Lin Yanqin was slightly taken aback, instinctively touched her cheeks, and then quickly shook her head, replying to Ye Tiancheng, "I'm fine. Perhaps I just woke up late today and don't have much energy."
Ye Tiancheng didn't press further and simply said, "Miss Lin, please don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."
Lin Yanqin replied politely, "Thank you, of course."
With that, Ye Tiancheng brought up the matter of the ruby pendant again. He said, "By the way, Miss Lin's ruby pendant, do you still need..."
However, before Ye Tiancheng could finish, Lin Yanqin interrupted him.
Her smile was somewhat forced, and her hands gripped the doorframe tightly. She said to Ye Tiancheng, "Thank you very much for the help you and your companions have provided these past few days. However, my ruby pendant has already been found, and there's no need to look for it anymore."
This was considered a rather impolite behavior on Lin Yanqin's part.
However, at this moment, Lin Yanqin seemed to be constrained by some other factors. In any case, her speech was unnatural, and she couldn't afford to be concerned with such etiquette.
Ye Tiancheng and his companions didn't mind this, as it wasn't particularly offensive, and their tolerance wasn't that low, especially when Lin Yanqin clearly appeared to be in some kind of trouble.
After finishing her words somewhat anxiously, Lin Yanqin paused, seemingly realizing her reaction had been a bit excessive.
She calmed down slightly and then said to Ye Tiancheng, "I apologize. My ruby pendant wasn't actually lost. I just hadn't checked carefully enough before. The ruby pendant got stuck in a gap by the head of the bed. I was very anxious and didn't find it until yesterday."
"I should have told you about this yesterday, but I had something to attend to and couldn't inform you promptly, causing you unnecessary worry."
These words lacked much credibility.
Ye Tiancheng looked at Lin Yanqin's expression but had no intention of exposing her.
He paused, thought for a moment, and then said to Lin Yanqin, "Oh, it's alright. Since the ruby pendant has been found, that's good. We brothers will be going back now."
"Miss Lin, goodbye."
Lin Yanqin's state was truly poor. She was somewhat absent-minded and only caught the last few words Ye Tiancheng spoke. Then she nodded, "Thank you for your trouble these days, gentlemen."
"Gentlemen, please take care."
Ye Tiancheng nodded and led the other three away.
The little fox was clearly the most restless. He had been the first to ask Ye Tiancheng questions the day before yesterday, and he was the same today.
The little fox anxiously asked Ye Tiancheng, "Big Brother, are we just leaving like this? There's clearly something wrong here!"
"Has Lin Yanqin been threatened? Has her ruby pendant really been found? Even if it has, it wouldn't be stuck in a gap by the head of the bed. If it were in such a place, it would have been found long ago!"
Ye Tiancheng replied to the little fox, "Of course, I know there's something wrong here. But what's the use of just knowing?"
Nie Chongyang also looked somewhat serious.
He nodded in agreement and said, "Regardless of whether Lin Yanqin's ruby pendant has been found or if she has encountered anything or been threatened, the current reality is different. We are not here to investigate a case because she reported it. We are just ordinary travelers here."
"Furthermore, Lin Yanqin approached us with a matter and asked for our help. Beyond that, we have no further connection."
"Now, Lin Yanqin herself says she doesn't need our help anymore. Therefore, we can't do anything. We cannot overstep Lin Yanqin and do anything else."
The little fox hadn't expected that after investigating so much, they would be stalled at this point.
He was a little unwilling.
The little fox said, "So, are we just giving up like this? Not continuing the investigation? Just letting it go?"
Ye Tiancheng comforted him by putting an arm around the little fox's shoulder.
He said to the little fox, "Don't worry, little fox. This matter is also very important to you, so there's no reason for us to give up easily. We can't just give up every time we encounter a setback, can we?"
"If that were the case, how would you have met your Big Brother Ye today?"
"On the surface, as Nie Chongyang said, we can't do anything anymore unless Lin Yanqin commissions us. Otherwise, we have no way. However, there are ways to do things openly, and there are also ways to do things secretly."
"Little fox, don't worry."
The little fox was stunned for a moment after hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, then lowered his head slightly and pouted.
He said softly, "That's not what I'm worried about... I didn't think of these things. I just felt that after working so hard to help investigate things these past few days, to be told to give up so easily, I felt a bit indignant. But regarding the matter of the remnant soul, Big Brother, don't push yourself too hard. Let's go with the flow."
Ye Tiancheng rubbed his little brother's hair.
He said, "Big Brother knows you. I know you don't have those kinds of ulterior motives. But it's rare to encounter such a situation, isn't it fate? Even for your sake, Big Brother has no reason not to try."
"Let's see what we can do. There will always be a way."
The little fox nodded, "Mm, I understand."
Nie Chongyang also comforted the little fox, saying, "Don't be too upset. In this world, not everything goes smoothly. But if the sky falls, your Big Brother will hold it up, so if the sky doesn't fall, you can rest assured."