Chapter 37, Stop 22: Portrait

Chapter 37: Station 22: Portraits

Si Shuhao had studied a bit of world fashion history and could tell that the attire of these figures leaned towards the "Edwardian Era."

It was a prosperous period before World War I, when the industrial revolution's boost in productivity led to an apex of indulgence among the upper class. In certain contexts, it was also referred to as the "Belle Époque."

Women wore fitted dresses with large, yet simply designed wide-brimmed hats, and their clothing featured a myriad of bright colors.

Men, on the other hand, donned various colored formal suits, with bow ties adorning their necks in different styles.

The prosperity brought about by industrialization allowed the old nobility to enjoy a more abundant material life than ever before, a fact reflected in the richness of their attire.

However... the faces and skin tones in these portraits were diverse, more akin to those of casual visitors at a photography studio rather than meticulously crafted family portraits. They seemed like souvenirs left behind by tourists at scenic spots.

With Mona Lisa-like smiles, the people in the portraits gazed gently but lifelessly at passersby and the doorways.

As Ming Yiyang looked at these portraits, a faint purple hue shimmered in his eyes.

An unbearable stinging sensation suddenly assaulted his pupils, compelling him to quickly avert his gaze.

This astonishing transformation suggested that the portrait might harbor a power greater than his own.

Biting back the pain, he swiftly scanned the painting once more—

Something was slithering within its depths, indistinct as a black serpent.

Before he could discern it clearly, he was forced to shut his eyes due to the searing agony.

When he opened them again, the purple tinge in his irises had faded, but the lingering impression of that intense pain served as a stark reminder that this world's dangers surpassed his expectations.

Recalling the elusive serpent, he discreetly prodded at the hanging bamboo slips beneath his scarf with a finger.

-

The presidential suite was surprisingly bright.

A semicircular balcony poured in a large expanse of cold light, starkly white yet undeniably excellent for illumination. Yan Qiling sat on the sofa, flipping through the room service menu with great interest, while Si Shuhao and Chi Zihe explored the suite with excited cries, as if they were truly on vacation.

Ming Yiyang followed behind them, feeling not only his eyes, but also his head ache.

Promised to work together, but our boss is having more fun than anyone.

...So tempted to give him a punch to snap him out of it.

The suite isn't large, but its layout is clear at a glance, with partial mezzanine levels that create an illusion of spaciousness.

The living room facing the balcony is sunken, providing a great view, albeit posing an obstacle for emergency exits.

Through the balcony window, Ming Yiyang could see the ski resort located on the rear slope.

It was a typical cable car ski resort, but due to the heavy snow and wind, the cable cars were currently not in operation.

To the left of the living room was a semi-open bathroom with a bathtub.

On the right, a staircase led upward, adding another hindrance to escape routes.

A corridor ran along the stairs, and at its end hung a still life painting—Ming Yiyang hastily grabbed a cloth to cover it completely, as he was now uncomfortable with all portraits.

On the left side of the corridor were two bedrooms.

The spacious master bedroom was equipped with an ensuite bathroom, a design that seemed particularly conducive to ghostly apparitions.

The smaller bedroom only had a toilet.

Ming Yiyang made a decisive judgment on the spot: "We'll sleep in this one at night."

Si Shuhao was slightly displeased; she had originally set her sights on the luxurious master bedroom with exceptional natural lighting.

In response, Ming Yiyang scoffed, "Don't you fear that Sadako might crawl out of the bathroom in the middle of the night to find you in such a vast room?"

Si Shuhao allowed herself a brief mental visualization of the scene and immediately wilted.

—Survival was indeed paramount.

Chi Zihe affixed yellow charms to every entrance and, after paying his respects, noticed no abnormalities around him. Finally, he turned to Yan Qiling with a serious expression, reminiscent of remembering their true mission:

"You two need to set off now. Although it's morning, night might fall in just a few minutes. The more time we spend here, the less time we have to explore the rest of the hotel."

Considering the rational distribution of combat abilities, Chi Zihe, being somewhat incapacitated as a nonentity, was tasked with ingratiating himself with Si Shuhao and lurking within the crowd to gather information.

Ming Yiyang and Yan Qiling, on the other hand, would take bold actions, conducting intense investigations.

Combining these strategies, Chi Zihe was confident that they could uncover crucial information about the Unseen Master, thus aiding their escape plan.

Yan Qiling put down the service menu, showing no disagreement.

Just as they were about to leave, hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by a knock on the door. Simon's aged voice sounded through the door, carrying an unusual tone of anxiety.

"Is Mr. Yan present? There's been an incident downstairs!"

Yan Qiling pushed open the intricately carved wooden door to find Simon standing outside, his expression grave.

Aside from himself, there stood a fair-haired youth clad in a deep blue cotton-padded jacket behind him.

The youth possesses a pair of exceedingly pure cerulean eyes, yet those pupils lack focus, complementing his exquisite features and rendering him reminiscent of a meticulously carved doll.

To his surprise, the person under Simon's protection turned out to be someone with such stunning looks. Out of professional instinct, Yan Qiling couldn't help but take a few more glances.

In the lull, Simon spoke up:

"By the sanctity of the spirits, a man has met his end in the first floor's public restroom!"

Death so soon? !

The four individuals wore vastly different expressions.

Without hearing their response, the blond-haired young man, also known as Simon's employer, Patland, added in a soft tone:

"We've entrusted Mr. Qi Yongxin with securing the scene. If you don't have anything else to attend to, it would be best for you to go down and take a look; it might be related to the rules."

-

The man who had died was named Song Yuan.

Song Yuan merely introduced himself and mentioned his station on the vehicle; after that, he didn't engage in much conversation with the others.

When the rooms were assigned, he seemed to have chosen to follow Qi Yongxin. Back then, he appeared quite reserved, standing quietly in a corner, counting on his fingers without drawing attention to himself.

Now, his lifeless body knelt before the urinal with his head submerged inside. His hands hung limply at his sides, palms twisted backward.

This was certainly not a comfortable way to die.

Blood spatter radiated from his neck and head, splashing upward and downward in two distinct streams.

One trail followed the vertical path of the urinal, reaching all the way up to the ceiling. Even now, blood continued to drip from the edge above the urinal, indicating the severity of the scene.

The other trail had stained the urinal red, overflowing onto the countertop below, forming a reflective pool of blood that shimmered, casting a ghastly reflection of the corpse.

At the front desk, the female receptionist was in the process of contacting the police. Qi Yongxin was the only one brave enough to approach the body, accompanied by the male receptionist from earlier.

Qi Yongxin's face was ashen, while the male receptionist remained expressionless.

Upon seeing Yan Qiling and the others arrive, Qi Yongxin hurried over to brief them on the situation.

"Since everyone is here, I'll explain what has happened."

"First, it was Rao Haocang who found the body. His wife fainted from the shock, so they're both not here at the moment."

"Our initial plan was to hold a discussion in room 320 later, to compile information and coordinate our efforts for a swift progression. Then Song Yuan said he needed to use the restroom, so we all went to 320 to wait for him."

Seeing no response, he added, "Room 320 is my room, and I also booked a presidential suite."

Ming Yiyang felt like he was hearing irrelevant details. "Cut to the chase. How was he discovered, and what condition was he in when found?"

Qi Yongxin sensed his impatience but remained calm. "He was delayed for about ten minutes. Rao Haocang went to look for him with his wife and found that the public restroom's main door wouldn't budge. They called a staff member to unlock it, and then you saw what happened next."

"The body hasn't been touched by anyone, at least not after I arrived."

Ming Yiyang didn't buy this explanation.

"Does your room 320 not have a bathroom? Why did he need to come out here? Or does he not have his own room? Why insist on using the public restroom?"

"At that time, we were discussing in the main hall, and it just happened to be close to the public restroom. Everyone saw how urgent Song Yuan was."

Neither Di Chen nor Meng Liangchen contradicted Qi Yongxin's explanation; the situation was indeed as described.

"So urgent, huh."

The young man drawled, his eyes, veiled by silver lashes, carrying a mocking skepticism, clearly indicating disbelief.

He seemed about to say something even more provocative, but Yan Qiling, lost in thought beside him, softly interrupted, directing a question to the attendant instead:

"If the police can't be reached, what will you do with this body?"

The male attendant's face suddenly broke into a smile, as if triggered by a pre-programmed response. Then, realizing its inappropriateness, his expression turned neutral once more:

"We can't leave him like this. We'll have to store him temporarily in a refrigerated unit until the police arrive and take over."

Yan Qiling hummed in response and glanced at the displeased young man whose conversation had been interrupted.

"For the police to reconstruct the crime scene more easily, let's take photos of Mr. Song Yuan's body first."

Without waiting for the male receptionist's approval, Yan Qiling had already pulled out a pair of rubber gloves borrowed from a passing janitor and put them on.

"Let's get to work."

Ming Yiyang, though disinclined to respond verbally, cooperatively took out his phone and started snapping pictures of the corpse from various angles.

After taking just a few shots, Ming Yiyang noticed something amiss and turned to Qi Yongxin, who was standing idly by.

"Where's his head?"

Seemingly surprised by their remarkable composure, Qi Yongxin wore an odd expression and didn't answer immediately.

Chi Zihe, unperturbed by the grim situation, chimed in casually,

"Maybe it was severed and taken away, or chopped up and flushed down the urinal."

Yan Qiling reached out to grasp the corpse's shoulder, gently lifting its bent body.

Ming Yiyang snapped a few shots of the neck region and selected one to zoom in on:

"The fracture surface is incredibly smooth, not indicating a slash wound... It somewhat resembles an injury caused by a cutting machine, but there's a significant amount of charring around the cut, as if it was burned by something."

With plastic gloves on, Yan Qiling dipped his fingers into the bloodwater and felt the leakage:

"The pipe must have been clogged, causing some debris to be flushed down."

Removing his gloves and discarding them in the trash, he calmly walked over to the sink to wash his hands:

"We'll need to check the sewage disposal tank. If anything was flushed away, we'll surely find bone fragments or the like."

Ming Yiyang diligently captured all necessary photos and even inspected every door in the bathroom to ensure no clues were missed. Satisfied, he said:

"Alright, I'll lead the way. Let's go."

Their indifferent demeanor amidst the grim scene displeased Qi Yongxin, who had finally grasped the gravity of the situation.

"Before we head to the sewage disposal tank, shall we clarify our roles first? Are the two of you planning to stare at wastewater all day?"

Yan Qiling turned to look at him, his yin yang eyes resembling two serene, colorful pools, revealing neither agreement nor disagreement.

But Simon, with an insightful understanding, asked:

"Mr. Yan, do you need to collect Song Yuan's blood?"

"Very well."

Yan Qiling wore that gentle smile again:

"Apologies for the inconvenience. I'll be going to check the situation with... Mr. Xiao Ming. We won't be joining you for the rest of the task."

Ming Yiyang glanced at him, on the verge of speaking but then holding back.

Yan Qiling pretended not to notice and spoke calmly to the others:

"When you're carrying out your tasks, try to pair up. If there's any information, we'll synchronize later."

He seemed to possess an innate charismatic mystique that compelled others to submit to his arrangements without question.

Ming Yiyang typically detested such veiled commands, but witnessing Qi Yongxin's utterly miserable expression, he couldn't help but relish in schadenfreude, finally appreciating the subtle yet piercing charm of Yan Qiling's words.

After all, it wasn't him who was being targeted. He was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.