Chapter 118

The more I thought about it, the more I felt there were too many secrets hidden within this matter, and I had to uncover every single one of them. After nightfall, Mufeng and I sneaked into the Palace Archives. Moonlight struggled to pierce through the narrow gaps in the windows, spilling onto the dust-covered floor and forming faint pillars of light. The air was filled with a scent that combined aged paper and rotting wood, as if whispering tales of the vicissitudes of time. Inside the archives, rows of tall bookshelves were piled high with dense stacks of case files. I took a deep breath, slowly walked toward the nearest bookshelf, and gently brushed my fingers over the yellowed pages, an inexplicable sorrow welling up in my heart.