The light was on in the victim's room.

  The Second Master approached and knocked on the door. “Father, are you there? I need to speak with you.”

  Silence enveloped the room.

  He knocked again, “Father?”

  Still no response.

  The victim didn’t seem to be inside, and the elderly woman Qin Nan had seen twice before was also absent from the courtyard.

  The Second Master hesitated for a moment but soon decided to push the door open.

  The door was unlocked, and he stepped inside. The room's furnishings were nearly identical to how they would appear five years later when the murder occurred. After a quick glance around, Qin Nan lost interest and refocused on the Second Master.

  He scanned the room.

  The victim was indeed not there.

  The Second Master looked puzzled and muttered to himself, “Where could Father have gone? How strange.” Just as he seemed ready to leave, he suddenly stopped and turned to stare at a wall.

  Qin Nan followed his gaze.

  There was nothing unusual about the wall—just a plain wall.

  However, the Second Master, who clearly knew the layout of his father's room better than Qin Nan, stared at the wall for a long time before moving toward it.

  He knocked on the wall.

  To Qin Nan’s surprise, it sounded hollow.

  The Second Master was equally taken aback, seemingly not expecting his suspicion to be true. His gaze swept the area as he began to feel around, and whether by luck or intuition, he managed to open the wall.

  Behind it was a dimly lit passage.

  Without hesitation, the Second Master took a candle from the room and entered the secret passage, following the flickering light.

  Qin Nan didn’t need to move; the environment around him shifted in real-time as the Second Master ventured deeper.

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  The passage was dark, but soon it opened up.

  At the end of the passage was a secret chamber, illuminated by numerous candles, making it bright enough to see everything clearly.

  The chamber was large but eerily devoid of furnishings. In the center lay a coffin.

  The Second Master was clearly shocked by the sight before him. After a moment, he stepped forward to the coffin.

  It was open, revealing a body inside.

  Stunned, the Second Master stared at the figure within, then hesitantly reached out to check for breath—none. The body was already cold, and he stumbled back in fear.

  Qin Nan was equally baffled.

  A secret chamber in the victim's bedroom, hiding a corpse? This was absurd.

  The corpse lacked a face, making it impossible for Qin Nan to identify it, but judging by its size and attire, it appeared to be a woman. Just as he pondered this, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

  The Second Master discovered a female corpse that resembled the eldest daughter.

  The eldest daughter?

  Qin Nan was shocked.

  This meant that the corpse was related to the eldest daughter.

  As Qin Nan contemplated this revelation, the Second Master suddenly gasped, his face turning pale as he looked up, his body trembling slightly. Qin Nan followed his gaze, confused.

  To his horror, a large Tai Chi diagram loomed above them. The original black and white had morphed into black and red, casting an eerie glow under the candlelight. Then, Qin Nan glanced down at the ground beneath him and quickly stepped aside, realizing the area he had been standing on.

  Above them was the Tai Chi diagram, and it was mirrored below.

  The difference was that the red section beneath them was pulsating, and a faint scent of blood wafted up. This meant that the red area they were standing on was likely composed of blood.

  Qin Nan felt overwhelmed.

  This wasn’t just a melodramatic plot; it had turned into a horror story with supernatural elements. The notion of reviving the dead? The implications of the victim’s words were staggering.

  The woman in the coffin was the eldest daughter’s mother. The victim intended to resurrect her within the body of the eldest daughter, and the key to this resurrection involved a daughter or granddaughter related to him?

  Qin Nan suddenly looked down at the blood-like Tai Chi diagram.

  Could it be that he needed their blood?

  A chilling thought crossed his mind.

  Was the victim planning to kill his own daughter or granddaughter to use their blood to resurrect the eldest daughter’s mother?

  Not only was the victim not a womanizer, but he was also a lovesick fool? To save his beloved, he fathered numerous children, only to consider sacrificing them for her resurrection? Qin Nan was at a loss for words—what kind of absurd development was this!

  Yet, this somehow connected to previous hints.

  Lin Junru had mentioned that the victim was very fond of her.

  Of course he was fond; this was the body of his future beloved. How could he not be? And why had all the younger brothers married, while the second brother, who clearly had a beloved, remained unmarried? He likely didn’t dare to marry!

  Not knowing was one thing, but once he did, how could he bring his beloved into this? Who could guarantee that he would have a son instead of a daughter? It seemed the Second Master wished to avoid entangling anyone, and rather than risk losing his own bloodline, he chose not to have any at all.

  Suddenly, he thought of the Third Young Master and the Third Young Lady.