Chapter 51: Secret Chamber

    Jin Jiuchi and Nian gathered around the table to read the newspaper clipping. If the one in Nian’s pocket was focused on the tragedy of Miss Zhao’s wedding, then the one Tang Ye found covered the news about two other victims, Liu and Dong.

    [Shocking news! Two more murders are discovered in Shishen Apartment!

    Following the tragedy that befell Zhao (18), the police discovered two other dead bodies that are confirmed to be done by the same person. Liu (36) and Dong (45) are found in the secret chamber in the kitchen a few days after their death. Liu’s preliminary autopsy report suggests that she died from a poisonous spider bite, while Dong’s autopsy revealed multiple small bite marks, likely caused by rats, leading to his death from blood loss. Until now, the police are still investigating the motive behind these seemingly random murders.]

    Nian lowered his eyes in thought. He and Jin Jiuchi had visited the back kitchen before, but they never realized that there was a secret chamber inside because they were focused on searching for the journal.

    By any chance, could the thing he had been looking for in this Cycle was hidden there all along?

    He knitted his brows and told Tang Ye, "You are right. There must be something inside the secret chamber, but..." he let a hint of suspicion bleed into his tone. "How do you know that we can find the tickets there?"

    Tang Ye cleared his throat and explained, "Actually, it has something to do with my skill card. It gives me a kind of premonition and the percentage of accuracy can reach up to sixty percent. I know it’s kinda low right now, but don’t you think it’s worth exploring? After all, we are talking about the return tickets here!" He flashed a grin toward Xinxin, who in response nodded again and again like chicken pecking rice, but before he could turn to ask for the other two’s opinion, Nian suddenly felt his vision turn dark for Jin Jiuchi had reached out without a warning to cover his eyes.

    "Y–Yang Rouchuan?" he stuttered out in surprise.

    He had just wanted to ask what was going on when all of a sudden, a powerful arm wrapped around him from behind, causing him to crash into a familiar and overly heated embrace.

    "Don’t look at him," Jin Jiuchi warned in a low and dangerous growl, catching everyone off guard.

    Jin Jiuchi had always acted friendly and easy-going all this time that it was such a surprise to see him react so openly hostile toward someone else. Nian grabbed Jin Jiuchi’s hand covering his face and pulled it down to see the man narrowing his gaze threateningly at Tang Ye, whose smile was frozen on his face.

    Thanks to Jin Jiuchi’s foolish and silly antics, Nian could almost ignore how attractive the man was. But when he was looking all serious like this, with his jaws clenched tight and eyes as dark as onyx that flashed in a deadly glint—

    Nian froze in shock. Wait a minute... b–black eyes??!

    He hurriedly grabbed onto Jin Jiuchi’s toned arms and went on his tippy toes to catch the man’s eyes, but when Jin Jiuchi looked down at him, he found that the man’s eyes were silver as usual without a hint of black.

    Nian was flabbergasted. Was he hallucinating just now? Or...

    As the atmosphere had rapidly turned awkward following Jin Jiuchi’s threat that came out of nowhere, Nian cleared his throat and sent Tang Ye an apologetic look, "I’m sorry, let me talk to him for a while. Feel free to go to the kitchen first, we will catch up to you later." After saying that, he tugged on Jin Jiuchi’s wrist and dragged him out of the dining hall.

    They walked to the opposite direction of the back kitchen and stopped near the locked entrance, and only then did Nian let go of his hold. He turned and demanded in an angry hiss, "What’s wrong with you? You acting like this will only warrant unwanted suspicion toward us!"

    Instead of answering, Jin Jiuchi asked, "Nian’er, do you know why pitcher plant is considered a predator?"

    "What—" Nian was taken aback by this random question that popped out of nowhere, but Jin Jiuchi did not give him a chance to reply as he continued to say,

    "It’s because of the sweet scent they emit to capture their prey. They make you relax, make you lower your guard down, and the next thing you know, you are trapped with no way out." He took a step forward and Nian, for some unknown reason, retreated. Again and again until his back bumped into the wall with Jin Jiuchi towering above him. The light from the atrium fell on his back and drenched his silhouette in shadows, making his already aggressive feature look even more intimidating.

    Nian pressed himself closer to the wall as he felt shivers running down his spine. T–This was crazy... why did he have the feeling that he had become the prey Jin Jiuchi was stalking and spying on?!

    "The same goes with liars," Jin Jiuchi added, his voice dipped into a low whisper. "They will put on a beguiling and harmless appearance to trick you, but when the time comes, they will not hesitate to strike."

    Nian hastily stretched out his hand to stop Jin Jiuchi from taking another step, with his palms ending up pressed against the man’s solid hard abs. "Y–You... You can just speak like this. There’s no need to get so close!"

    "I am irritated," Jin Jiuchi ground his teeth to suppress the discomfort burning through his entire body. "This hunger irritates me. And smelling his scent doesn’t help at all, Nian’er."

    Nian almost blurted out, ’So what do you want?!’ when his peripheral vision caught sight of Tang Ye and Xinxin walking out of the dining hall.

    Sucking in a breath, he ducked his head low and escaped from the cocoon of Jin Jiuchi’s shadow until there was at least one meter of distance between them before putting on an aloof expression as if nothing happened at all.

    "Brother Yang, Little Brother!" Tang Ye waved at them from afar. "We will be waiting for you there!"

    Nian gave them the ’OK’ signal and after making sure that both of them had already disappeared from sight, he turned back to Jin Jiuchi with a glare.

    .

    .

    A/N:

    Jin Jiuchi’s weakness: Nian’s smile

    Nian’s weakness: Jin Jiuchi in serious (hungry) mode