Din’s gaze hardened.

  – “Did you find anything?”

  H?u K? placed a paper bag on the table.

  – “Together with Anh Tú, we found the animal fur they called black cat fur. But in reality, it belongs to an extremely rare spirit beast.”

  Din quickly took the sample from the bag. He examined it carefully, his vampire senses instantly sharpening. After only a few seconds, recognition flashed across his eyes.

  – “This is the fur of a Black Spirit Lynx. In the natural world, this creature is unimaginably rare — so rare that humans believe it exists only in mythology.”

  Yin picked up a few strands and inspected them closely.

  – “The Count is right… but this is Saigon. How could a spirit lynx possibly exist here?”

  Erion stepped beside Din, staring intently at the strands in his hand.

  – “Why can’t I sense anything? There should be a detectable energy frequency.”

  He glanced toward the imp servants — bat-faced demons with some of the keenest senses imaginable.

  – “You couldn’t detect anything either?”

  One of them shook his head.

  – “We didn’t sense any aura at all.”

  Another scratched his head.

  – “Every night, we patrol the area in shifts, but we found nothing unusual. For example, the youngest daughter of that D?ng family and her two foreign friends — they’re witches. Not only us, but even the masters could sense them immediately.”

  L?p Thành suddenly recalled something.

  – “Earlier, Anh Tú mentioned that he’s lived with his wife’s family for quite some time, but today was the first time he’s ever seen this kind of fur.”

  Trang tilted her head, puzzled.

  – “So that means… this person only appeared recently?”

  Din shook his head slowly.

  – “No. We’ve been outplayed — for a very long time.”

  Erion clenched his fists, visibly unsettled.

  – “Damn it… why is everything getting so tangled? We don’t even know where to start.”

  Nh? Phu spoke calmly, trying to steady the situation.

  – “General, please stay calm. Right now, you should consider going to D?ng’s house. Earlier, he asked us to deliver wedding invitations to you and His Highness.”

  Yin nodded.

  – “Then we’ll have to go there ourselves.”

  Din immediately stopped him.

  – “Wait. H?u K?’s group was just there. If we move in right after them, whoever that is will become alert immediately. We need to think this through very carefully before making a move.”

  ??i Ng?c’s expression turned grave.

  – “The moment I stepped into the courtyard, I sensed the presence of a spirit beast. Once inside the living room, the concentration became even stronger.”

  Chen frowned thoughtfully.

  – “Were you able to tell who it was coming from?”

  ??i Ng?c shook her head.

  – “If I knew who it was, things wouldn’t be this complicated right now.”

  H?u K? was still puzzled.

  – “Earlier, not only ??i Ng?c, but I also sensed it very clearly… yet I couldn’t tell who the scent was coming from.”

  Trang looked toward H?u K?’s group.

  – “So at that time, who was present at Uncle D?ng’s house?”

  Nh? Phu recounted the details carefully.

  – “There were D?ng and his wife, the eldest daughter Anh ?ào, the youngest daughter Anh Ph??ng, the son-in-law Anh Tú, and Huy’s parents. There was also Aunt T?, the housekeeper. The two witches weren’t there — probably went out. As for Huy and Anh Th?, they were out trying on wedding dresses.”

  Din nodded slowly, as if piecing things together.

  – “D?ng and his wife, Anh ?ào, Anh Th? — their family is already well known to us. Anh Tú is out of the question. Anh Ph??ng and the other two are witches. The remaining two are centipede spirits. Each of them has a distinct energy frequency. Aunt T? is just an ordinary human who’s worked there for over twenty years, since Princess Trang was still a child — so she’s definitely not it.”

  L?p Thành agreed.

  – “Anh Tú said today was the first time he’d ever seen that kind of fur. That means anyone who’s lived in the villa long-term shouldn’t be a suspect. So… who’s left?”

  ---

  Inside Deep’s penthouse apartment, the atmosphere was just as tense.

  Deep ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

  – “A military-grade firewall bearing the sigil of Demon King Satan… I don’t buy it. It could be some organization fabricating it and attaching a fake emblem.”

  Charles immediately objected.

  – “That’s not possible. The security architecture is highly abnormal — I’ve analyzed it thoroughly. Don’t forget, I’m good with IT too. And what about the cases of Mr. Nhan and Mr. Phúc? Those were like encountering a ghost in broad daylight. Then there’s Trang’s biological parents — there’s absolutely no information on them anywhere.”

  Join glanced at the ziplock bag on the table, containing several strands of black fur.

  – “And then there’s the appearance of extremely rare Black Spirit Lynx fur… right here in Saigon… inside Anh Ph??ng’s living room.”

  Mary sighed in frustration.

  – “Everything’s hit a dead end. We don’t even know which direction to approach this from.”

  ---

  Back at the Gothic Villa,

  Chen proposed a bold idea.

  – “We’re already known to Huy’s family — the centipede spirits. The witches can recognize us too. So… what if we target those who don’t emit any energy frequency at all?”

  Erion frowned.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  – “No energy frequency means they’re human. But if we use mirror-based illusions, it only triggers fear — it won’t force them to reveal anything. And a direct attack on humans is out of the question.”

  ??i Ng?c nodded.

  – “If we use magic or manifest ourselves in front of humans, it’s dangerous for both sides.”

  Nh? Phu agreed.

  – “Our identities would be exposed, causing serious trouble — and they’d end up like My, the mistress…”

  The imp servants had been thinking as well. Suddenly, one of them spoke up.

  – “What if it’s one of the neighbors?”

  Chen nodded thoughtfully.

  – “That possibility can’t be ruled out. Among the neighbors who regularly interact with D?ng’s family, there’s only the family of Mr. Tài, who lives directly across the street.”

  After hearing the imps’ suggestion, everyone temporarily shifted their line of thinking toward a new possibility: The scent of a spirit beast and the black spirit lynx fur might not have originated from inside C?u D?ng’s house at all, but from the surrounding households — specifically Mr. Tài’s family in the villa directly across the street, since they frequently interacted with D?ng’s family.

  But Din immediately shook his head.

  – “Yin and I have been to Mr. Tài’s house before. There wasn’t the slightest trace of anything. If there were, I would have sensed it right away.”

  Yin nodded in agreement.

  – “That’s right. I didn’t notice anything unusual either. Their family is completely human.”

  Trang added,

  – “We ran into them yesterday at B?n Thành Market. Only the centipede spirit family and the three witch kids emitted energy waves. Everyone else was perfectly normal.”

  L?p Thành rubbed his forehead in frustration.

  – “Why does every lead just cut off like this… there’s no trail to follow at all.”

  Chen returned to his earlier idea, this time explaining more clearly.

  – “What if we release a few small energy pulses — nothing that would harm humans? If someone is hiding, they’d be forced to reveal themselves.”

  Din thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

  – “That could work… but we’ll have to calculate every step very carefully.”

  ---

  Deep’s Penthouse

  The atmosphere here was no less suffocating. Deep had run out of ideas to the point of irritation.

  – “Enough. Let’s go eat. Every lead is a dead end right now — my brain can’t process anything anymore.”

  Charles, who had been piecing together clues in his head, suddenly froze. He recalled a sentence Demon King Satan had spoken when he appeared in the mirror — identical to something he had heard before. Combined with Deep’s discovery that Mr. Nhan didn’t exist in any database at all…

  – “I’ve guessed it right… but wait. Deep is human. If I say this out loud, he might end up hospitalized for psychological treatment just like My.” — Charles thought to himself.

  To avoid revealing his thoughts, he quickly followed Deep’s lead.

  – “You’re right. Let’s go eat. My head’s completely locked up too.”

  Join stood up.

  – “Maybe once we relax a bit and clear our heads, we’ll find a new clue.”

  Mary nodded in agreement.

  – “Yeah. I’ve had a headache this whole time.”

  ---

  Back at the Gothic Villa

  The living room remained heavy with tension. Everyone hesitated, unsure whether they should use magic to lure the hidden target out. Just as they were still debating, a noise sounded from outside the gate.

  A black Maybach came to a stop.

  Erion glanced out and let out an annoyed sigh.

  – “That snake is here again. Why do I always have to see that face?”

  Din shrugged, as if it were nothing new.

  – “You’re both sons-in-law of the Demon King now. How could you not run into each other every day?”

  H?u K? looked toward the gate.

  – “His Highness probably has some important information.”

  As Trúc Di?n, Arian, and Master V?nh stepped out of the car, Erion clicked his tongue in annoyance.

  – “Not only did that snake show up, but even my brother-in-law came along.”

  H?u K? tried hard not to laugh.

  – “There’s no helping you, General.”

  Din could only give in as well.

  – “What can you do? The General is a few hundred years older than his brother-in-law, after all.”

  The imps whispered among themselves.

  – “Honestly, the General is the oldest one in the group.”

  Yin raised a hand to his mouth as a warning.

  – “Shh! Keep it down, or he’ll freeze all of you on the spot.”

  The three newcomers strode straight into the living room. Erion shot them a side glance, his voice full of irritation.

  – “This is our house, not some abandoned place. You just barge in like you own it.”

  Trúc Di?n frowned.

  – “There’s something urgent. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to come here either.”

  L?p Thành asked immediately:

  – “What’s so urgent, Your Highness?”

  Trúc Di?n planted his hands on his hips.

  – “My father-in-law just revealed a detail about the black spirit lynx.”

  Everyone in the room turned to look at him. Din spoke up,

  – “We’ve been stuck here too. We found black spirit lynx fur in D?ng’s house, but we have no idea who it belongs to.”

  ??i Ng?c nodded.

  – “Anh Tú said he lived with his wife’s family for quite a while and never saw this kind of fur. There was no trace of spiritual energy either. It only appeared today… which means that person must have shown up recently.”

  Master V?nh shook his head.

  – “No. The Demon King said this individual has been by Princess Trang’s side since she was very young. He’s been secretly protecting her every moment.”

  Trang’s eyes widened.

  – “How could that be? When I was little, there were only Uncle D?ng’s family and Aunt T?. There was no one else… don’t tell me it was Aunt T??”

  H?u K? asked further,

  – “What exactly did he say about this mysterious figure?”

  Arian explained:

  – “Father said he’s also an ancient divine beast, like Trúc Di?n. The crown prince of the Feline Clan, of royal blood, the same age as Erion… over a thousand years old.”

  The imps shook their heads vigorously. One of them commented,

  – “That can’t be right. Aunt T? is a woman. And besides, Princess Trang has already awakened — why would she still stay in D?ng’s house?”

  Erion ground his teeth.

  – “Why didn’t that old Satan just tell us everything outright?”

  Yin shrugged.

  – “He wants us to use every last bit of our IQ.”

  Nh? Phu analyzed calmly,

  – “Black spirit lynxes are masters of disguise. He can copy anyone he wants. But there’s something I don’t understand: Anh Tú has been living there as a son-in-law for a long time and never noticed anything. Yesterday, when we met them at B?n Thành Market, we didn’t sense anything either. Yet just now, we clearly smelled the aura of a spirit beast.”

  Master V?nh’s gaze grew deep.

  – “Disguise techniques also have flaws.

  Like makeup on a woman — it fades as the skin naturally secretes oil. Not to mention weather, movement, and the surrounding environment… all of which cause the disguise to wear off.”

  ??i Ng?c nodded and continued,

  – “That’s why women always carry powder and lipstick to touch up… so that means.”

  Erion immediately understood.

  – “I get it now. The Serpent Clan agents only detected his scent this morning because the disguise had faded, and he hadn’t had a chance to fix it yet.”

  Chen’s eyes lit up.

  – “That explains the timing and the spiritual scent. But there’s still one more detail… Princess Trang’s memories.”

  Trang spoke softly,

  – “I clearly remember being beaten and starved by Uncle D?ng’s family when I was little. But my body never had any injuries. And I never actually felt hungry. In my memories, they didn’t give me a single grain of rice all day… yet my stomach felt as if I had already eaten.”

  Yin frowned.

  – “Then how do we explain what the Princess experienced?”

  Arian spoke up immediately,

  – “That’s memory manipulation. Not only can he erase memories, he can act like a director rewriting the entire script of someone’s mind — making anyone affected truly believe it’s real.”

  Chen frowned, disbelief clear on his face.

  – “That kind of ability really exists? Like a screenwriter for memories?”

  Trúc Di?n nodded.

  – “Yes. That’s exactly how it works.”

  L?p Thành turned to Trang.

  – “Then in reality, the Princess was never abused by that family. All those memories were fabricated by him.”

  Din narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping.

  – “And if we think about it the other way around… D?ng’s family always intended to use violence, but every single scene was staged inside their memories by him. In the end, they never laid a finger on the Princess, yet they believed they had — and even took pleasure in it.”

  Trang whispered,

  – “Then… who is the real one?”

  Yin spoke calmly,

  – “Earlier, the Princess said that when she was young, there were only D?ng’s family and Aunt T?, the house helper. We all know about his family. That leaves only one possibility… that person.”

  Erion shot to his feet.

  – “Then we should tear off his mask immediately.”

  Trúc Di?n cut in at once,

  – “Don’t forget — memory manipulation is an extremely dangerous ability. Any one of us could become a victim.”

  Erion curled his lips into a half-smile.

  – “But not me. I’ll face him directly.”

  Master V?nh advised gently,

  – “No matter what, he has been secretly protecting the Princess for over twenty years. He isn’t an enemy. General, don’t rush things.”

  Din nodded.

  – “He’s the Princess’s benefactor. We must show him respect.”

  Chen asked curiously,

  – “So what are you all planning to do now?”

  Arian thought for a few seconds.

  – “We invite him out somewhere.”

  ??i Ng?c offered,

  – “Then… how about inviting him to eat?”

  Trúc Di?n considered it.

  – “If so, we should invite D?ng’s entire family as well. We’re acquainted with the household — inviting only the house helper to a meal would raise suspicion.”

  Trang glanced at her watch, an idea flashing in her eyes.

  – “Yesterday I heard them say they were going to have áo dài tailored today. So we can go invite the whole family, and then eat together.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Arian smiled.

  – “Little sister is right. The wedding is this Sunday — if we invite them now, they’ll definitely come.”

  ---

  At C?u D?ng’s villa, the family had just finished writing the wedding invitations, but one card remained unused. C?u D?ng tried to recall,

  – “Who haven’t we written one for yet?”

  M? Linh suddenly remembered,

  – “Yesterday there was that platinum-blond young man… I think his name was Arian, with his girlfriend H?ng Nhung.”

  C?u D?ng slapped his forehead.

  – “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have forgotten. Earlier we wrote several cards and asked them to help deliver, but I never wrote one for him.”

  Mrs. Nguy?t reminded them gently,

  – “We’re going to have áo Dài made today, right, sister-in-law?”

  M? Linh startled.

  – “If you hadn’t reminded me, I really would’ve forgotten. I’ll call Uncle Tài’s family to go together.”

  After finishing Arian’s invitation, C?u D?ng stood up and turned to Mr. Tín.

  – “Brother-in-law, help me arrange these invitations, will you? I’ll go over to the Gothic villa to give this one to Trúc Di?n’s relatives and ask them to pass it along.”

  Mr. Tín replied cheerfully:

  – “I’ve already finished everything here. You go ahead — leave this part to me.”