Chapter 33.3
âShut up!â Short and Skinny gave White-collar Woman a hard look.
White-collar Woman accused, âYouâre a thief!â
Xiao Tangqiu froze and suddenly remembered that Short and Skinny had held onto his thighs for quite some time. He subconsciously reached for the hemostatic agent in his trouser pocket. Sure enough, it was gone.
âYou stole my hemostatic spray?â He glared at Short and Skinny.
Short and Skinny threw out a vicious reb.u.t.tal, âDonât you dare frame me!â
The middle-aged man also instinctively touched his pocket and soon he cried out, âWhereâs my wallet? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Did you steal my wallet?â
When the others saw this, they reacted by checking their pockets as well. One by one, they cried, âWhereâs my wallet?â
âMy wallet is missing too!â
âThat guy must have stolen it!â
âI didnât! I didnât!â Short and Skinny turned as red a tomato but the next moment, he was thrown down to the floor by the newbies, as a bunch of items was confiscated from his pockets.
âThis is my wallet!â
âMy wallet! And my gold chain!â
âd.a.m.n thief! Letâs beat him to death!â
Everyone took back their belongings in a rage, repeatedly punching and kicking the man. The louder he shouted, the harder they beat him. Later, even those who didnât have anything stolen took part in the mob beating. A fist followed by a knee and so onâ¦â¦
Short and Skinny curled up into a ball, still firmly protecting his amputated hand.
After Xiao Tangqiu got back his hemostatic spray, he couldnât help but frown at the sight before him. âIf you continue beating him, heâll die.â
But the angry mob refused listen to any other opinions, perhaps taking it out on Short and Skinny to vent their anger and fear. They punched and kicked for a while until White-collar Woman screamed, âGhost! Thereâs a ghost!â
All of a sudden, as if they had been poured with cold water, the angry mob calmed down and looked at White-collar Woman.
Her trembling finger was pointing at the puppet on the cupboard, âThe puppetâ¦â¦ The puppet has moved againâ¦â¦.â
The crowd looked at where White-collar Woman was pointing at and immediately felt a chill run down their backs. G.o.d knows when the puppet had moved it hands. It was originally holding the axe in both hands in a relaxed position, but now it was holding the axe up high, just like it was about to hack off something.
And the strangest thing was, the puppet was originally facing the center of the room, but now it had turned slightly to face them, so the raised axe was pointed in their direction.
The crowd immediately dispersed in fear, while Short and Skinny was left alone where the axe was pointed at.
Short and Skinny had been beaten to a half-conscious state. He curled up on feebly on the floor, shaking as he held onto his amputated hand.
Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly. He wasnât sure if it was his illusion but he felt as if the corners of the puppetâs lips had curved upwards a little when the crowd had scattered just now.
Its blue eyes also seemed to glow with strange light under the dim candlelight.
This puppet was really too strange, and on top of that, someone had inexplicably lost a hand. From this experience, naturally, no one dared to stay in this room. They looked at each other in silence before someone suddenly said, âLetâs get out of here right now! Anyway, thereâs nothing of interest in this room!â
His words were q
uickly echoed by the others. The middle-aged man spat at Short and Skinny who was still on the floor. âIâll let you off this time! What a good deal you got! There are so many of us, so the next time you steal, weâll beat you to death!â
Short and Skinny had blood all over his face. He couldnât even say a complete sentence and could only whimper in fear. The middle-aged man gave him another hard kick and left with the crowd.
In a blink of an eye, only Xiao Tangqiu, Tang Mianmian and Lu Siâer, as well as Short and Skinny, who couldnât get up from the floor, was left in the room.
âShall we go too?â Lu Siâer timidly asked Xiao Tangqiu.
âLetâs search this room first,â Xiao Tangqiu glanced at the puppet. âDonât touch that thing. Be careful.â
Lu Siâer asked doubtfully, âDidnât the others already look in here? They said there was nothing in this room.â
Before Xiao Tangqiu could answer, Tang Mianmian snickered, âToo many cooks spoil the broth! When there are so many people in a team, people get lazy and slack off. What can they find with so many of them crowded into one room? Maybe they didnât look properly at all and were just fooling around, thinking to let someone else look for clues!â
Xiao Tangqiu nodded; he thought the same way. âThose newbies have little experience. Letâs search again, especially at the cornersâ¦â¦ Didnât we find the small wooden box and pocket watch under the bed and in the pillow?â
Lu Siâer nodded, suddenly enlighted, then rolled up her sleeves and rummaged through the room with Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian.
Xiao Tangqiu
looked around while he searched. The layout and decoration of the room was similar to Mariaâs room. Of course, all the rooms in the castle were similar, but after carefully looking up and down, he couldnât help but ask the other two, âDo you feel thatâ¦â¦ this looks like a childâs room?â
Lu Siâer said hesitantly, âBut there arenât any children in this castle! And if Lippin.o.bert had children, how could there be no pictures of his children at all?â
âThere isnât a picture of Maria in the castle either,â Tang Mianmian disagreed. âMaybe he never even cared for Maria. Aside from Lily Marlene, no other woman matters to him.â
Lu Siâer paused for moment, and had to admit that Tang Mianmian might be right. Lippin.o.bert married three wives in total, but the castle was only filled with pictures of Lily Marlene and there wasnât a single portrait of the other two women.
Xiao Tangqiu pointed to the cupboard in the corner. âIt looks like there are some childrenâs toys over there, which is why I figured this is a kidsâ roomâ¦â¦ But this room should have been vacant for a long time, just like Mariaâsâ
Tang Mianmian climbed out from under the bed and casually lifted the pillow and quilt but he found nothing. He was feeling disappointed but got excited by what Xiao Tangqiu just said, âLeave it to me! Iâll look at it!â
âThereâs nothing in the bedside drawers,â Lu Siâer said, turning over the other furniture in the room. âThis room is so empty. No wonder they didnât find anything.â
Tang Mianmian moved a stool over and reached for the items on top of the cupboard. He brought them down to take a look but found that they werenât of any importance. There was a teddy bear, an old musical box, a faded haircomb and some dried flowers.
âThese look worthless, no wonder nothing wasnât stolen,â Tang Mianmian muttered. âA pile of junkâ¦â¦ but for a child, these may be precious treasures.â
Xiao Tangqiu stared at the teddy bear and suddenly said, âI have a bold idea.â
Tang Mianmian understood what he meant immediately. â
The h.e.l.lo Kitty Murder
case of hiding the body? Do you tear open this stuffed toy?â
Xiao Tangqiu nodded, âButâ¦â¦.â
âBut this stuffed toy could also be considered as a doll or a puppet.â Tang Mianmian raised an eyebrow, âWhat if itâs also part of the puppets that Lippin.o.bert said we canât damage?â
âYeah,â Xiao Tangqiu sighed. âI just thought about it too.â
Tang Mianmian picked up the stuffed toy, shook it and patted it. âBut this teddy bear is quite small and doesnât look like it can hide anything.â
Xiao Tangqiu turned his attention to the musical box. He opened it and looked inside. âIt seems to be broken.â
The lid of the musical box was covered in dust. There was a little girl in red leather shoes inside but the music didnât play and the little girl didnât dance.
It suddenly occurred to him that Meng Xinghe had also sent him a musical box a long time ago. When it was opened, it would play
â
Für Eliseâ
and a little girl in a ballet dress would twirl around slowly.
At that time, he had particularly disliked this gift, thinking that a musical box was a gift for girls.
Tang Mianmian picked it up shook it. âThis thing doesnât look like it can hide anythingâ¦â¦.â
âIt seems that this room is really empty,â Xiao Tangqiu said with a helpless smile on his face. âForget it. Itâs almost midnight. Letâs go back to our rooms.â
Tang Mianmian was about to say something, but Xiao Tangqiu quietly blinked at him. He immediately caught on and nodded slightly.
âItâs late now, so letâs go back and get some rest. Weâll continue looking tomorrow.â Xiao Tangqiu turned to Lu Siâer. âGo to bed early and donât come out if you hear anything.â
Lu Siâer nodded at once.
Seeing that they were about to leave, Short and Skinny immediately struggled to get up, but he was beaten so badly that he couldnât stand at all. He could only move forward bit by bit, wriggling on the floor as he whimpered, as if begging them to take him with them.
Xiao Tangqiu hesitated for a moment. He wasnât a kind or good person, but he couldnât bear to watch this man die here. âWe can take you to the second floor, but I donât think theyâll let you into their room. I donât trust you either, so you can only stay in a room by yourself.â
It was better to stay alone than die in this strange room. Short and Skinny nodded desperately. Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian helped him out of the room.
Lu Siâer frowned faintly and seemed to disapprove of Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmianâs actions. However, she didnât say anything until all four of them left the room. Suddenly, her expression turned ugly. âThe puppetâ¦â¦ it moved again!â
Xiao Tangqiu turned to look, and sure enough, the puppet had turned to face in their direction. Its axe was pointed to the door where they were.
Lu Siâer immediately backed away from them. âYou shouldnât have taken him away. The housekeeper said that whoever damages the puppet will be punished!â
Xiao Tangqiu flattened his lips. âLetâs go.â
âIâll go back to my room first,â Lu Siâer said, shaking her head. She couldnât understand why Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian were helping a thief. âIâll see you tomorrow.â
Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian looked at each other and nodded. They were holding up Short and Skinny and were about to walk away when the door behind them suddenly slammed shut.
Xiao Tangqiu froze. The next second, a faint melody suddenly sounded from the room behind him.
That was a melody he was familiar with.
It was Für Elise.
The mellow, ethereal melody of the musical box softly echoed throughout the silent and gloomy castle.