Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies Chapter 1258: Suspicion Appears

Chapter 1258: Shadows of Suspicion

The sharp, sudden screams piercing the air immediately drew everyone’s undivided attention. Since this specific courtyard was reserved for honored guests and housed only Zhang Yi’s team, any disturbance here was bound to trigger an immediate reaction from the Pagyi Family.

Zhang Yi’s brow furrowed. He swiftly rose, rinsed himself clean with the available water, and began dressing. His attire was deceptively simple: a base layer of underwear, a form-fitting black combat suit, his Hidden Dragon exoskeleton armor, and finally another combat layer to mask his true equipment. Despite the multiple layers, the armor remained sleek, appearing as nothing more than necessary protection against the bone-chilling cold.

Stepping outside, Zhang Yi found Liang Yue already on standby in the courtyard, while Old You and Fatty Xu hurried out shortly thereafter.

As he crossed the threshold, the scene in the yard came into full view. A lifeless body lay twisted on the snow, a wide crimson stain expanding into the frozen ground. Several terrified maids hovered nearby, paralyzed by fear and unwilling to approach the corpse.

Zhang Yi felt a sudden jolt as he recognized the deceased. It was the same captivating woman who had just entered his room under the guise of assisting with his bath. Now, her throat had been cleanly slit, and the resulting flood of blood had mingled with the snow, creating a macabre, vivid contrast that looked eerily like blossoming red plums.

Zhang Yi remained silent, deep in thought. If any intruder had entered the courtyard, his senses would have picked them up instantly. The total lack of warning suggested only two terrifying possibilities: either the killer possessed a method to bypass his Mind Domain entirely, or the murderer was already inside the courtyard and someone the woman trusted completely, allowing them to strike with lethal silence and speed.

While Zhang Yi stayed quiet and his companions exchanged confused glances, the Pagyi family maids directed suspicious, sidelong glares at him. Zhang Yi didn’t flinch; if this was a staged trap, it was quite pathetic.

Lhobu arrived shortly after with a contingency of soldiers. His expression shifted sharply as he took in the scene, yet his priority remained clear: he stepped forward and bowed deferentially to Zhang Yi. "Honored guest, I apologize deeply for this intrusion. Please, do not take this unfortunate incident to heart!" He immediately signaled his men to clear away the remains and sanitize the courtyard.

Zhang Yi fixed him with an icy gaze and asked, "Was this woman dispatched by your command?"

Lhobu looked bewildered by the inquiry. "Sir, I fear there is a grave misunderstanding." His confusion seemed genuine, and the soldiers standing guard echoed his perplexed demeanor.

Zhang Yi scoffed, his voice cold. "She entered my quarters under the pretense of bathing me. Are you telling me you weren't the one who orchestrated this?" He needed clarity; he had no interest in lingering disputes with the Pagyi Family.

Lhobu gasped, his mouth agape. "Impossible! That woman was the twenty-seventh concubine of our family head!"

Zhang Yi was left momentarily speechless. He rubbed his nose, thinking that Pagyi Gesang was certainly extravagant with his hospitality if he were willing to lend out his own concubine to bathe a guest.

Lhored continued urgently, "There has been a terrible misunderstanding. Regardless, we must leave this matter until my lord returns. Please, I beg you to put this out of your mind." He bowed deeply once more and oversaw the removal of the corpse. Even though the woman had been a recent favorite of Pagyi Gesang, Lhobu knew the hierarchy of values; he had been ordered to treat Zhang Yi with the same deference as the family head himself, so he chose not to press the issue or raise his voice.

Left in silence, Zhang Yi felt a lingering frustration. He recalled the odd look on the woman’s face when she started the bath and realized he had been plunged into a web of intrigue the moment he stepped into Lhasa City.

Old You nudged him. "So? What actually happened? Did she come to your room?" Old You’s eyes glinted with a mix of confusion and a knowing, suggestive glint.

Zhang Yi cast a quick glare toward Liang Yue, noting that Mu Yan was currently anchored to her shadow, ensuring everyone was accounted for. "Spare me the nonsense. You know perfectly well that if I were actually doing something, you wouldn't see me for hours. I have no clue what her issue was."

"Then how did she end up dead right on our doorstep?" Liang Yue asked, her brow furrowed.

Zhang Yi shook his head. "I haven't got a clue.’

Suddenly, Yang Xinxin’s voice surfaced through their communication channel. "Brother, you say you sensed nothing? With your abilities, a murder in such proximity should have been an obvious signal to you."

Zhang Yi sighed. "And yet, the reality remains: I detected nothing."

Yang Xinxin immediately transmitted several high-resolution images of the crime scene to the group. "I’ve studied the body. The throat was slashed with a precise, razor-sharp edge, but the weapon doesn't fit the profile of a standard blade. Did you miss the object left in the snow?"

Upon magnifying the images, the group finally spotted it: a sharp, ornate hairpin half-buried in the bloodied slush.

"That hairpin... it seems to be hers," Zhang Yi murmured.

Yang Xinxin spoke with clinical detachment, "That leads me to believe this was a suicide. That is the only logical explanation for how it occurred without triggering your senses."

Zhang Yi felt more perplexed than ever. "But why commit suicide? Because I rejected her advances? Does her vanity run so deep that a refused bath drove her to such extremes? That sounds absurd."

"Perhaps it was a desperate mission," Yang Xinxin countered thoughtfully. "Someone intended for her to reach you, and when you rejected her, she had no alternative but to pay with her life."

Zhang Yi stuffed his hands into his pockets and laughed drily. "What, so it’s my fault now?"

"Of course not, brother," she replied. "However, this incident is clearly a smokescreen for something deeper. A high-ranking concubine offering herself to a guest only to take her own life upon refusal? There is a calculated conspiracy buried under all of this."