The Return of the God Level Assassin

1184 YUNYUE VS FENGHUANG (XIX)

SU YUQI couldn't manage to say a word; the old man rambled on without pause, seemingly unaware that she might have something to say. He shifted his cane, his free hand flailing slightly, before his face brightened with sudden realization. "Oh! Speaking of which," he began, his voice picking up speed. "The strangest thing happened just a moment ago. I was wandering about, as I mentioned—you know, trying to find the blasted lavatory—but then I saw them! Red footprints, clear as the nose on my face, leading right to this door." He jabbed the air with his cane as if to emphasize the spot. "Bright red, one after the other, and I thought to myself, 'Well, now that's peculiar!' Seemed only right to follow, don't you think? Thought I might find someone in need of help. So I opened the door, and, well—" He laughed nervously, gesturing toward her. "That's when I nearly bowled you over, young man!"

Su Yuqi's expression didn't change. She already knew about the footprints, having seen them earlier, but something about the old man's demeanor made her feel like he might reveal something useful if she let him talk. Feigning ignorance, she tilted her head slightly and said, "Footprints?" The old man nodded emphatically. "Yes, yes, that's right! I saw them leading here plain as anything. But then, as I was just explaining…" His voice trailed off, and he frowned slightly. His gaze dropped to the floor, his expression growing puzzled. "Now, hang on," he murmured, leaning forward as if to inspect the floor more closely. "Where are they now? There were footprints—clear as day—leading right to that door," he said, gesturing behind him toward the connecting door between the train cars. "I saw them stop just in front of it. But here…" He turned back to Su Yuqi, his expression bewildered as he gestured to the floor around them. "Nothing. Not a trace. Gone! Just like that."

He hesitated, his cane tapping lightly on the floor as though he were working out the mystery aloud. "It's the strangest thing. I thought they'd continue on, you know? Into this car. But they didn't. They just… disappeared. As if…" He trailed off, looking at Su Yuqi with wide, questioning eyes. "As if someone stepped through the door and vanished into thin air!"

Su Yuqi's pupils widened subtly at his words, and an unsettling thought surfaced in her mind.

The old man stopped himself, straightening up and shaking his head as if to dismiss the thought. "Ah, but that's silly, isn't it? Just an old man's imagination getting the better of him." He chuckled nervously, his eyes darting around the corridor. "Best not to dwell on such things."

Su Yuqi watched the old man shuffle away, his cane tapping unevenly against the floor as he disappeared down the corridor, still muttering to himself. Once he was gone, she glanced down at the floor, her thoughts racing. If the footprints didn't continue past the door… It could only mean one thing.

The owner of those footprints hadn't walked passed the train car where the incident happened.

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Morganite: [After encountering that strange old man, I also ran into another one—the one causing trouble in the train car after the incident. Like Miss Thompson, he claimed he had forgotten something and came back to retrieve it. But we already know he isn't a passenger from that car, which only made his actions more suspicious. In fact, it almost felt like he was trying too hard to appear suspicious—which, in itself, was suspicious.]

Luo Yan read through the messages Su Yuqi had sent. Out of all of them, the one that caught his attention the most was about the eccentric old man. At first glance, he might seem like nothing more than a strange old man, but if one looked closely, there were hidden meanings in his words. Su Yuqi must have noticed this as well; otherwise, she wouldn't have placed so much focus on him.

AmazingYoungMasterJin: [So, we're basically certain now that the troublemaking old man is part of team Fenghuang, right?]

Morganite: [In my opinion, yes.]

White Marsh: [How about that Miss Thompson? Do you think he's also a member of team Fenghuang?]

Upon reading that, Luo Yan suddenly recalled what he had seen the previous night before falling asleep. When Luo Yan and the mother-daughter duo settled into their new cabin, Miss Thompson quickly grew uneasy, as if she had suddenly realized she'd left something behind. She told Mrs. Thompson about it, and before the older woman could stop her, she had already rushed out of the cabin.

Mrs. Thompson scolded her daughter as soon as she returned, but Miss Thompson only apologized without offering any explanation. Later, as Luo Yan discreetly glanced over at her after she had settled into her bunk, he noticed her pulling a handkerchief from her bosom and holding it tightly, cradling it as if it were a cherished treasure.

Luo Yan hadn't thought much of it at the time, but after reading Su Yuqi's account of seeing Miss Thompson last night, he couldn't shake the feeling that he now understood her little action of hugging that handkerchief.

Noctis: [No, Miss Thompson genuinely went there because she forgot something. However, that doesn't completely clear her of suspicion. There's still a chance she's a member of team Fenghuang, and retrieving that item could have been part of her individual task.]

In his opinion, Miss Thompson was likely just an NPC with a detailed backstory. Why else would she hug that handkerchief when she thought no one was watching? Contrast that with the old man they suspected of being a member of Team Fenghuang—he was drawing attention to himself, almost as if he wanted to be noticed. Miss Thompson, on the other hand, seemed to be doing the exact opposite. ℟Ａ₦o͍βЕʂ

Compared to Miss Thompson, he was more interested in learning about the strange old man. Shen Ji Yun seemed to feel the same way, as he sent the following message to their team channel:

YUN: [I'm more curious about that eccentric old man. Su Yuqi, what's your take? Could he possibly be Sherlock Holmes?]

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