“My ass, there’re only eleven at most.” Zhou Zishu replied, “Those in the shrine died under your little maid’s hands.”

“So it’s still definitely you.” Wen Kexing held out his hands, “These hands of mine; ever since I left home to join jianghu they have not been stained with any blood, even that of a chicken, much less a human. How can it be possible that I have offended anyone?”

Zhou Zishu didn’t spare him a glance.

That prompted Wen Kexing to walked faster, standing in front of the other with an exaggerated expression of seriousness. “It might be hard to believe because of how I look, but I swear I’m a good person.”

Zhou Zishu nodded, “Of course, Mister “Good Person” Wen. Now that it’s clear I’m just a murderous demon, it’s better for you to get out of my way.”

Wen Kexing seemed to ignore the half-hearted nature of the response as he still wore a blinding smile, “I will leave you alone once you admit that you’re wearing a disguise.”

Zhou Zishu smiled back, “How generous of you.”

“Please, don’t mention it.”

Zhou Zishu side-stepped him to go forward.

Wen Kexing followed two steps behind, still smiling.

The water of the spring flowed quite rapidly. Zhou Zishu kicked a rock down there, but it was unable to see the true depth. It twisted and turned in a complicated pattern, and there also seemed to be fish but they swam too fast to be visible. Zhou Zishu was not good at swimming, the best he could do was holding his breath for a long time underwater so he would not die instantly upon jumping down. After examining, he decided it was better to stay away from it.

The cave seemed to connect to many paths at all directions, since the sound of their footsteps and conversations could travel real far. Suddenly, Zhou Zishu stopped walking. “Brother Wen, look.”

Wen Kexing followed his gaze to a pile of bones not too far away.

He mumbled, “Shouldn’t the path to the Yellow Spring be lined with equinox flowers? And the dead should only have their souls left, why are there bones here?”

Zhou Zishu flicked at the bones, holding up a half-destroyed skull on one hand and the matchbook on another, sizing it up carefully. “This skull was crushed, the part where it connects to the spine seems to be slashed… Hm? No, the wound is uneven, there are teeth marks here. Did an animal bite them?”

“Can an animal bite someone’s head off?” Wen Kexing asked.

Zhou Zishu picked up a thigh bone. “Teeth marks… More teeth marks, they’re quite small…”

He was hit with a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them before somewhere. But he had never been a coroner1, so the memory slipped his mind at the time.