Chapter 81: Convening of the Second Rose Meeting

After observing the old man's injuries, Yan Jing shifted his gaze to the woman preparing to treat him and the person beside her.

"I'll do it."

The rather handsome young man standing beside the woman spoke up.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with bright eyes and white teeth. His eyelashes were exceptionally long, fluttering slightly like silver feathers when he spoke. Although he couldn't quite compare to Mu Rao, he possessed a distinct youthful charm.

Yan Jing had only taken note of the man's appearance because he noticed that the relationship between him and the woman seemed unusual.

They stood closer to each other than anyone else, and they omitted all honorifics when they spoke.

Even though there appeared to be a twenty-year age gap between them, the looks they exchanged were enough to prove they shared an intimate relationship.

"Mm."

The woman nodded and made room for him.

The man crouched down and opened his hand.

Fleshy sprouts burst from his palm, eventually forming a sharp-tipped flesh tentacle that plunged straight into the elder's forehead.

Clusters of dim light rapidly transmitted through the tentacle into the old man's body. At the same time, streaks of black Weird Energy were drawn out.

"What Yu Mo is performing right now is the 'Nursing' technique, an essential part of reproduction."

The woman beside them, who was nearing forty, explained, "This method can heal another person's injuries by expending one's own life essence."

It was one of the First Tier abilities of the Life Pathway.

Standing to the side, Yan Jing made a mental note of this.

He could sense the Weird Energy fluctuations radiating from the man. It felt within the bounds of the First Tier, but there was no telling how far he was from the Second Tier.

Suddenly, he raised his head in alarm, feeling a gaze fixate on him from within the crowd.

He quickly scanned his surroundings but didn't spot anyone suspicious.

Even Rose and her group were staying over on the other side with Old Master Liu.

Who could it be?

He trusted his intuition; someone had definitely just been watching him.

It could only be someone from the crowd around him.

Either from Virtue Bridge or Dandelion Manor.

While he pondered, the man's healing treatment reached its end.

After Yu Mo retracted the flesh sprouts back into his palm, Yan Jing noticed that his pitch-black hair now held quite a few strands of silver.

This was likely the price of the ability.

As for the old man lying on the ground, his condition had visibly improved. Though his eyes remained tightly shut, his complexion was much rosier, and his expression was no longer twisted in pain.

"There is a limit to the nourishment a recipient of 'Nursing' can endure. We can only heal him to this extent."

The woman spoke up, "Given Elder Kindness's current injuries, he should be fine after resting for nearly a month."

"The most pressing matter right now is to send him somewhere safe to recuperate."

"I'm afraid that won't do."

At that moment, a voice thick with exhaustion drifted in from the doorway.

It was a man in his forties wearing pajamas covered in stars and moons, and a triangular nightcap on his head.

His very presence seemed to radiate drowsiness. Soon, a wave of yawns swept through the crowd.

The man approached, looking toward the woman leading the Dandelion Manor group, and spoke through a yawn. "Ma'am, you should know what this banquet means to us. While I deeply regret that Elder Kindness was injured in the explosion,"

"I'm afraid we still can't rule him out as a suspect."

As soon as he said this, the Virtue Bridge residents glared at the man with righteous indignation.

Yet the man didn't panic in the slightest. He wiped away the tears squeezed out from his yawn and drawled, "Ms. Yu Mu, right? Although you've been managing Dandelion Manor on her behalf for the past few years, Madam Yu must have given you some instructions."

"If she hasn't, then you'd best listen to me, because my brother has been leaving me with instructions all these years."

The implication was clear: the management over at Sleepland maintained a much tighter relationship.

He was privy to far more secrets.

Yu Mu's expression shifted at his words.

"Mother naturally left instructions regarding this banquet as well."

"Is that so?"

The man chuckled. "My brother told me that Madam Yu would be too occupied to look after you all. It seems his intelligence was flawed."

Yu Mu's face darkened even further at this remark.

Anyone could hear that he was subtly hinting that Madam Yu, the manager of Dandelion Manor, was embroiled in some sort of trouble.

Listening to their exchange, Yan Jing's eyes flickered.

If he remembered correctly, the mayor of Sleepland hadn't made a public appearance in years either.

The timeline seemed to perfectly align with Madam Yu's absence.

Although the man and woman had clashed right from the start, they quickly reached an agreement regarding whether anyone could leave:

They would maintain their original strategy and forbid anyone from leaving the building.

Going by their conversation, this banquet was of extraordinary importance. It wasn't just a marriage alliance between the two factions, but carried a profound symbolic meaning that affected the entire landscape of Old Sin City. It had been in the works for years.

If they threw themselves into chaos over a petty bomber, the banquet's symbolic weight would be severely diminished.

The man also guaranteed that he would ferret out the bomber in short order.

"It's a bit of a hassle, but let's go with that."

With the matter settled, the man and the woman led their respective groups away.

Yan Jing took it all in before turning and heading back to his corner.

Soon after, Chen Nian, who had just finished giving Old Master Liu a scolding, walked over.

The first thing he said upon seeing Yan Jing was a solemn, "I've somewhat changed my mind."

He had prepared a whole slew of arguments, fully intending to persuade Yan Jing.

But Yan Jing simply said mildly, "What a coincidence. So have I."

...

...

Shortly after, the Second Rose Bar Meeting convened in secret.

This time, in addition to the four main participants, there was also a recorder: Tiger.

Guarding the door were Rose and One-Eye.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Rose and One-Eye; Yan Jing just didn't want to leak his plans to too many people.

The larger the group, the easier it was to draw attention.

There were countless ways to pry a person's mouth open, and not everyone could withstand them.

He would ask for Rose and One-Eye's help if necessary, but they couldn't be core participants.

As for Tiger, he was included because Yan Jing still held his Zipper Button.

"Anomalous Energy Detection complete. All clear."

"The meeting begins."

Old Master Liu excitedly declared the commencement of the Second Rose Meeting.

"Based on our past experience,"

Yan Jing tapped his finger lightly against the table. "Solving a case requires five elements: the motive, the method, the time, the location, and the murder weapon."

"As it stands, the time, location, and weapon are all confirmed, but the motive is unclear and the method is unknown."

"And we only have one clue."

Yan Jing pointed to the simple sketch of a woman on the piece of paper in the center of the round table.

"And that is this waitress."

Though he didn't want to interrupt at such a critical moment, Chen Nian couldn't help but frown as he stared at the drawing.

"Isn't this just a stick figure?"

"What stick figure?"

The artist, surnamed Liu, was not pleased. "Have you ever seen a stick figure with boobs?"

At this, even Yan Jing was dumbfounded.

"Hold on."

"Weren't those bombs?"