Chapter 35: A Familiar Face?

The scar-faced man stared at the young girl, whose expression remained cold and unmoved, and said with a smile, "My apologies, my subordinates were ignorant."

Bai Ruyu looked at him calmly, offering no reply. What could this man possibly want?

The scar-faced man was not annoyed by her silence and continued, "Are you all heading to the capital?"

Bai Ruyu scoffed. "What if we are, and what if we aren't?"

She had never expected that even with government patrols in the area, these bandits would still dare to block the road and rob travelers.

[I Love Big Sister: Since you all like a strong man, then the young lady is mine!]
[Wind and Snow Remain: Get lost! I was here first, the streamer is mine, nobody fight me for her!]
...

"It doesn't matter, I just felt that a few people among you looked familiar." The scar-faced man’s gaze fell upon those standing behind Bai Ruyu.

Familiar people? Bai Ruyu narrowed her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. She saw Old Man Bai and Bai Dalang, their faces pale and their expressions flustered.

"You knew Bai Qingfeng and his wife," Bai Ruyu stated, her tone almost certain.

"I did indeed know them." The scar-faced man kept a smile on his lips. "Some in your group resemble Young Mistress Zhang; why are those two not among you?"

He remembered that when he was young, his father had brought a group of people down from the mountain and spent several days with them. His father had actually become friends with the couple leading the group: Bai Qingfeng and the young Mistress Zhang. He recalled that Young Mistress Zhang was pregnant at the time, and had even told his mother that if she had a girl, the two families would become in-laws.

"They are dead. I heard they were killed by bandits, and that no one accompanying them survived." Bai Ruyu stared straight into his face, speaking word for word.

The scar-faced man froze at these words. His expression darkened as he said sternly, "Impossible. Uncle Bai and Young Mistress Zhang carried our stronghold's token; people from other strongholds would never dare to lay a hand on them." He pointed at Old Man Bai and Bai Dalang. "Though years have passed and people change, their features do not. I remember those two were among them. If others died, there is no way they could have survived!"

Seeing the scarred man pointing at him, Old Man Bai trembled uncontrollably. He was all too familiar with this area. He was certain he had never met the man in front of him, so why was he pointing at him?

"Could I trouble you to come with me for a moment?"

Bai Ruyu thought for a moment, then bowed to the man. She felt it was time to seek justice for her grandfather and grandmother. She had little support for her claims before, but now there was a witness! Plus, she had the exact location of the remains of her grandparents and the others, which she had purchased from the system. She also possessed a very important piece of physical evidence!

"Very well!" The scar-faced man’s eyes deepened. Intuition told him that something major had happened.

The two walked toward the crowd, while Village Chief Bai and the others looked on in confusion, huddling together. Upon reaching them, Bai Ruyu faced them and said coldly, "Everyone, do not be afraid. This location is where my grandfather, grandmother, and those traveling with them were murdered."

The crowd erupted in an uproar. Some even burst into tears.

Bai Ruyu looked at the shifty-eyed Old Man Bai and Bai Dalang and continued, "Back then, the Zhang woman and Old Man Bai claimed that my grandfather, grandmother, and everyone else were killed by bandits. Now that a bandit is right here, why don't we let him tell everyone what happened?"

As soon as she finished speaking, an old woman ran out, her eyes red. "You! Why did you kill my son? He was only fifteen or sixteen years old!"

The scar-faced man looked grim. "I did not kill Uncle Bai, Young Mistress Zhang, or those traveling with them! They had our stronghold's token; no other stronghold would have dared to touch them."

Bandits had their own code of conduct. If they failed to follow it, they would be annexed by other strongholds, and if government troops came to suppress them, the other strongholds would not offer help.

Bai Ruyu said coldly from the side, "Then that is strange, as some people said they were all killed by bandits."

At these words, everyone’s gaze fell upon Old Man Bai and Bai Dalang. The two were sitting on a cart, their faces turning deathly white. They had never even heard of any token.

Bai Dalang stiffened his neck and stammered, "Wh-why are you all looking at us? Can you really trust what a bandit says?"

The crowd did not speak immediately. Compared to a bandit, they still trusted their fellow villagers more.

"Bandits cannot be trusted? Then why don't we go to a certain place?" Bai Ruyu said with a smile, though the warmth did not reach her eyes. It was a sight that made one shudder.

"Let's just go with the girl Ruyu," Village Chief Bai said, looking at the silent crowd and the stern-faced, scar-faced man.

After a while, the group followed Bai Ruyu into a hidden mountain hollow. The trees were dense; without someone to lead the way, it would have been impossible to find. She, too, had spent a large sum of money for the system to provide the directions.

[Stabbing Heart: My god, could this be a massive crime scene?]
[Yuzu: This environment, this atmosphere—it really looks like one.]
[Liu is the Best: Is this a case being solved?]
...

The hollow was overgrown with lush weeds, and water dripped from the rock walls from time to time. Bai Ruyu pushed aside a patch of dense weeds and spoke slowly, "This is the burial place of my grandfather, grandmother, and the others."

The crowd was shocked and crowded forward. Among the weeds lay a pile of skeletons, some missing parts. On their tattered clothes, there were embroidered characters—something Bai Qingfeng had learned from others when he was a merchant, to distribute clothes with individual names to his caravan members.

"My, my son!" The old woman with red eyes screamed. She had immediately recognized the characters on the clothes of one skeleton as her son's name. Other families recognized the writing as well and threw themselves onto the remains, weeping bitterly.

"Old Man Bai, Bai Xiuzheng, this place shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, should it?" Bai Ruyu looked with a cold face at the two men, who were now ashen-faced.

Bai Dalang tried to maintain his composure. "How would we know? It must have been the bandits who harmed them and dumped their bodies here."

"Nonsense! You told us back then that the bandits killed them, robbed the goods, and left, and that you were the only ones to escape!" Village Chief Bai’s expression was beyond ugly.

"This is our stronghold's token." The scar-faced man suddenly held up a black iron plaque with the character "Qing" engraved on it.

Bai Xiuming knelt before two of the skeletons, sobbing uncontrollably. Judging by the clothes, they were his parents.

"The bones are black; these people were poisoned," the scar-faced man said, looking at the two on the cart. "It was your doing!"

"No! It wasn't! It wasn't me!" Old Man Bai shook his head frantically. "It was the Zhang woman—yes, it was her!"

Bai Dalang chimed in as well, "Yes, that's right, it was my mother who did it; it has nothing to do with us."

Hearing this, Bai Ruyu nearly laughed out loud. This family was truly disgusting.