"Dawn has arrived. Please leave your rooms." The voice broadcasted over the speakers.
"It's over already?" Wen Jiexi jumped up.
"Jiexi…why don't I go out and see the situation! I guarantee that I will catch the killer immediately!" Dango had been watching the game from the sidelines and wanted to participate too!
If you catch the killer immediately, where is the fun in that? Wen Jiexi flicked the little ghost's forehead.
She opened the door and everyone gathered one after another.
"Who was the first person to die?" Lan Yuyan rubbed his eyes and asked Wen Jiexi who was the first one to come out.
"I don't know." Wen Jiexi shrugged.
The crowd gathered at the table slowly and only one person was missing…old man Mu Du! Old uncle Mu has died! Wha….the old man was the first to die! That's a little sad…
"So the first one to die is big brother Mu…." Shi Junmao lamented.
"But there are no clues at all, how are we supposed to find out who the killer is?" Wen Ting asked with a doubtful gaze. Just now, they had only received information on their phones about the killer coming out and the doctor saving people. There were some screams and then finally it was dawn again.
At this moment, a white figure rushed out and ran in front of everyone.
Uh…..the figure was wearing a big bear costume while covered in tomato sauce. Mu Du's face was not spared from the tomato sauce either as a generous amount was spread across his face. As for why everyone could tell it was tomato sauce…well, the liquid was too thick to be seen as blood, and the lumps that fell smelled strongly of tomato.
Mu Du wore a big coarse white cloth with the big words 「I have a grudge.」 written in ketchup on his clothes. Uh…what was going on?
The voice on the broadcast sounded out again,
"The murdered victim has used a special artifact that allows their spirit to receive an out-of-body experience. He is here to provide clues for one minute."
"Out-of-body experience?"
"Is a spirit supposed to look like this?"
The survivors complained loudly but stopped when they saw Mu Du began to gesture something with his hands above his head. He waved above his head and then put his hands on his sides before flapping his arms like a duck. He turned around, twisted his hips, and wiggled his butt before finally pulling 'something' out of his butt.
Everyone just stared at him blankly. They were completely unable to figure out what Mu Du was trying to express.
"Can someone explain what is going on?" Wen Ting asked.
"Big brother Mu, you….can't talk?" Shi Junmao asked with a strange expression. He couldn't help it. The current Mu Du was really funny and when he wiggled his butt and made those obscene gestures….
"Since Brother Mu is only making gestures that means as a spirit he can't talk and everything he wants to say can only be expressed in body movements." Chu Heling said
Mu Du almost knelt and bowed on the floor at Chu Heling's words. Finally! Someone who understood him! He could tell that everyone was confused and could only gesture mreo wildily. It wasn't his fault that the crew told him he couldn't outright point at the killer or provide any clues that were too direct! He couldn't even show them to the room of the killer! He could only provide clues that demonstrated the characteristics of the killer, but that was super difficult!
"Times up! May the ghost please leave! Hei Bai Wuchang has come to collect your soul, please follow them!" When the voice cut off, two figures ran out. They both wore masks on their faces but one wore white clothes with the word 'Bai' on his clothes and the other wore black clothes with the word 'Hei' on it. They then forcibly dragged Mu Du away….(T/N: Heibai Wuchang: two deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. One wears black and the other wears white)
The remaining nine: "….."
"Poor thing."
"He died so miserably…"
"Uh, so, can anyone guess what Brother Mu wanted to say?" Lan Yuyan asked.
"Penguin?"
"We don't have any penguins here."
"Belly?"
"Except for Brother Mu who had a bear belly, everyone here is in good shape."
"I only saw him make some obscene gestures…"
"Ahem…I feel the same way…"
Mu Du who was dragged behind the scene: "Why must I suffer 10,000 points of damage even in the afterlife!"
"Tail." Yan Haocheng spoke out suddenly and everyone turned their eyes towards him.
"Brother Mu was pantomiming something long coming out of his behind just now. I think he was trying to express the characteristics of the person who killed him. And so with our current state of dress…he should've been indicating something about a tail."
"Ai! Even if a tail is a clue, everyone here has a tail! The only difference is the length." Wen Ting sighed as she propped her chin in her hand.
"Brother Mu's gestures seem to point to a long tail so short tails can be removed from the picture." Chu Heling said softly. Then she imitated what Mu Du did just now when he patted his butt and then stretched out to pull the air.
"If that's the case, then neither Jiexi and I are suspicious. Since I am a panda and Jiexi is a sheep, we basically don't have any tails." Shi Junmao said.
"But this is still very little we can work with! How are we supposed to guess correctly with this little information!" Wen Jiexi said in distress. That only cleared two people but there were still seven people left. Hah, why didn't Brother Mu give them more clues? Or something more simple and understandable?
Mu Du: Don't blame me! This is what the crew told me to do! What can I do! And this old man clearly gave you guys so many clues! Why did you guys only understand the worst clue! You're breaking my heart!
Old Zhan patted Mu Du on the shoulder: You are old now, no need to be so aggressive. You're just too vulgar for them to understand.
Mu Du: Beat it!
After racking their brains a little more, everyone still couldn't think of anything and decided to split up to search for the treasure instead. Wen Jiexi naturally ran up to Su Chenyu and whispered,
"Sister Su, let's go upstairs and take a look!"
"Alright." Su Chenyu nodded.
"Let's go, let's go! I look forward to seeing what kind of treasure it is!" Wen Jiexi ran excitedly towards the stars but stopped right when she was about to jump onto the steps. She turned around and waited for Su Chenyu to catch up.
"Don't run too fast. Be careful of falling." After saying so, Su Chenyu naturally grabbed Wen Jiexi's hand. She held the fair hand while rubbing a thumb lightly across the other's knuckles. She felt the little fellow's hand was so soft and tender to the touch…such a good feeling. Just like the person itself, so soft and cute.
"Let's go."
"O-ok." Wen Jiexi stared at her hand that felt so warm. She seemed to have felt something trace over her hands, was it her imagination? She didn't have much time to think about it when she heard Su Chenyu's words and decided to just nod obediently as she followed SU Chenyu up the stairs.
Sitting in her chair, Li Lingqing tilted her head and asked Chu Heling,
"What do you think about the two of them?"
"They're relationship is not bad." Chu Heling calmly took a sip of tea and glanced at the two people walking side by side.
"I am looking forward to….when this show finally broadcasts. Not only will it be a hit with the audience, but it will also be a hit for those in the upper stratum as well." Li Lingqing smiled and then grabbed Chu Heling's teacup without asking before drinking the rest of the tea in one gulp.
"You…Didn't I boil a cup for you earlier?" Chu Heling looked around in a panic, a little afraid that Li Lingqing's actions just now were caught on camera.
"Don't worry, they will cut this part out. And…baby's tea tastes sweeter than mine." Li Lingqing leaned forward with a smile and then nipped Chu Heling's ear lightly.
"Wha…." Chu Heling stood up abruptly, her face a flushing red as she glared angrily at Li Lingqing and then cursed quietly under her breath,
"You stinky pervert!"
Seeing the figure turn to leave, Li Lingqing quickly ran up to Chu heling's side and whispered quietly,
"Heling…you're so cute…"
Meanwhile, Wen Jiexi and Su Chenyu have arrived on the third floor. In addition to the separate bedrooms, there was also a study and what seemed to be a parlor on the third floor. They entered the study first.
Inside the study was a vast collection of books and each one of them was neatly arranged with not a single speck of dust in sight. It seems the owner of this castle was a bit of a neat freak and cleaned it regularly every day with care. Just how did the crew find a place like this.
"There are so many books here, even some that have gone out of print." Wen Jiexi studied the books carefully and curiously reached out to take one off the shelves. The book in her hands was a title that was published over 30 to 40 years ago. The cover was old but it was well maintained without and signs of damage or mold. Wen Jiexi couldn't bear to open it as she was afraid she might get the book dirty by accident. These were precious books that have gone out of print…if one was damaged, where can one even buy another copy!
"It seems the master of this castle loves to read." Like Wen Jiexi, Su Chenyu also grabbed a book and then flipped it open carefully.
Su Chenyu was standing next to the window as she flipped open the book, the golden light shining brightly down onto her. Combined with her action of studiously reading a book, the SU CHenyu who usually appeared cold and indifferent seemed so peaceful and carried traces of warmth on her face. This slight change made Wen Jiexi's heart throb painfully.
Why is Sister Su so beautiful!
"Ah…." At this moment, a hand stretched out and lightly pinched her on the nose. The surprised Wen Jiexi let out a gasp and raised her head. It was Su Chenyu who had suddenly appeared by her side that pinched her nose.
"What are you looking at that has caused you to fall into a daze?"
"N-Nothing!" Wen Jiexi said, shaking her head. She couldn't just say she was stunned by the other persons' beauty! That's too embarrassing!
"It seems like there is nothing special here, let's go somewhere else." Su Chenyu calmly took Wen Jiexi's hand and walked out. At the same time, she was thinking that the little fellow was a little slow…she needed to be more proactive it seems.
While Su Chenyu quietly thought about this, the voice sounded out again.
"It's getting dark, please go back to your rooms."
"Sister Su, I'm leaving first." Wen Jiexi quickly released Su Chenyu's hand and ran back to her room.
Su Chenyu watched Wen Jiexi's retreating back and then looked down at her still warm palm. She felt a little uncomfortable inside her heart when the little fellow had let go of her hand. She didn't know how she should approach and treat this person who felt so special to her. Maybe she should ask for advice from some people.
The second person to die this time was Wen Ting. The already foreboding atmosphere got even heavier this time.
"The murdered victim has used a special artifact and has become a zombie. She is here to provide clues for one minute."
On Wen Ting's forehead was a yellow talisman with the same three words 「I have a grudge.」written on it. Her animal costume now had a Qing dynasty outfit thrown over it and she wore dark red pants. Her entire face was pale from all the powder the crew rubbed onto her and the floor boomed loudly from all the hopping she did.
"Can zombies speak….." Lan Yuyan was the first to ask a question.
"How can they…" Shi Junmao said blankly.
"So we have to play charades again?" Lan Yuyan said in distress.
But unexpectedly, Wen Ting didn't play along or give them any clues at all. She just jumped up and down while dancing like she was high on drugs.
The voice on the broadcast: "Time's up!"
The remaining eight survivors: "What?!!"
"Wagagaga! I finally had the honor to dance in a zombie costume! It was really fun!" Wen Ting said while laughing loudly.
The voice on the broadcast: "Zombies are forbidden to speak! The Reaper will now come for you!"
A figure with a plastic sickle, a mask on his face, and bandages on his hands and limbs appeared to take Wen Ting away.
The remaining eight survivors: "….."
"So…." Wen Jiexi began hesitantly when Lan Yuyan jumped up and said,
"So we can do this even when we're dead! How interesting!" Then he patted Shi Junmao on the shoulder and chuckled in amusement.
Wen Jiexi decided…it was best if she didn't treat this game so seriously…even when they die…it didn't really matter. Though….where was the policeman? Why is the policeman's presence so weak?
"Let's keep searching on the third floor." Su Chenyu patted Wen Jiexi on the shoulder.
"Ok." Wen Jiexi noticed that most of the people had left their seats. It seemed that they decided to ignore Wen Ting's performance just now.
While walking around the third floor, Wen Jiexi scanned each corner carefully as if she was afraid she would miss something. She also touched every part of the walls she could see. Just in case there was a secret mechanism that opened up to a secret passage just like in those old mystery novels!
As a result of her actions, when she knocked on one of the walls, she found an obvious difference to the other walls as this one part was hollow.
"Sister Su, this wall is hollow." Wen Jiexi waved to Su Chenyu.
"Eh." Su Chenyu walked over and knocked. It really was hollow. She knocked around the wall and found that the hollow area was about half a meter wide and was shaped like a square.
"How do we open it, is there any secret lever or button?" Wen Jiexi asked. Su Chenyu leaned forward and then whispered something into Wen Jiexi's ears.
"Will there be a problem if we do this…" Wen Jiexi hesitated.
"Nope, the crew will pay for everything." Su Chenyu waved a hand and said.
The production crew that is currently watching the two: "…."
"Alright then! Sister Su, please stand back a bit! Let me give this a try!" Wen Jiexi nodded and then confirmed that Su Chenyu had retreated back a fair distance. She breathed in and then clenched her fist, lifting it up behind her before slamming her full strength into the wall.
BANG!
Wen Jiexi looked at her fist that had penetrated straight into the wall and blinked. Then she turned to look as Su Chenyu while saying in an awkward tone,
"This wall is more fragile than I thought."
Production crew: Goddamn! Although this wall has been tampered with, most adult men must use at least 80% of their strength to make even a little dent. Yet, this person dares to say the wall is more fragile than they imagined! Can you not provoke people like this!
She shook her fist stuck in the wall and the wall easily shattered into pieces. Inside the hollow area was a square chest. Wen Jiexi took the chest out and placed it onto the table outside. The decoration was simple and dusty but it looked like a real treasure chest.
Wen Jiexi studied the chest and discovered there was a keyhole on the chest.
"This needs a key to unlock it…could it possibly be hidden in another place?" Wen Jiexi patted the dust off her hands.
Su Chenyu reached out and tapped the chest lightly. Then she looked at Wen Jiexi and pointed at the box,
"It's made of wood. The leather on it was also pasted on. They're cutting corners again."
Production crew: Well we're sorry for cutting corners, ok!!! (sarcastic)
"Wood, huh?" Wen Jiexi raised her eyebrows. She already knew what Su Chenyu was going to say and raised her fist. Wen Jiexi seemed to turn into a sharp knife as she slashed down onto the chest.
Bang….
The wooden chest was instantly broken into two. Wen Jiexi shook her hand and flipped the wooden chest upside down.
"Let's see what's inside." What came out was another chest. So it was a chest inside a chest, huh? There was a dent on it from when Wen Jiexi had broken the first chest.
Wen Jiexi tried to pry the box chest but it seemed that she had broken the lock mechanism or something that caused the chest to be stuck. After trying to pry it open a few more times, Wen Jiexi got impatient and directly pulled the chest apart. Finally, the thing inside was revealed. It was a stuffed doll biting on a roll of paper.
"This is…."
"No need to worry about it." Su Chenyu grabbed the rolled-up paper from the doll's mouth.
Production crew: Why can't you follow the script! First, you were supposed to look for the secret button and then the key! Then when you finally open the chest, you were supposed to jump fright at the sight of this scary doll! Let the audience see your frightened faces! Yet, you dismantled all our efforts and let our crew's hard work go to waste! You're undermining our show! You bunch o-of….saboteurs!
It's a pity, however, that the duo who were labeled as saboteurs could not hear their thoughts. Of course, they probably wouldn't care even if they can hear the crew's thoughts. Su Chenyu would probably just sweep a cold look at them and say, Hmph, you want us to follow your script? No way.
"Sister Su, what does it say?" Wen Jiexi asked.
"That this treasure is fake." Su Chenyu shook the paper in her hands that had a smiling joker's face on it.
"Eh?! There are even fake treasures?!" Wen Jiexi felt both surprised and a little disappointed as she curled her lips.
"It seems they have a lot of fakes prepared." Su Chenyu looked at Wen Jiexi's lost expression and felt a little unhappy as well. She even cursed the production crew in her heart and labeled them as terrible people.
Production crew: You're blaming us now?!!
"Let's go look some more. Maybe the real treasure is still hiding inside the walls." Su Chenyu said and patted Wen Jiexi's head.
"Alright."
And so, the two of them banged on the walls along the way and Wen Jiexi practically turned into a gecko as she groped the walls, her whole body almost plastered against it.
When the 'night' came, the third person who died was Huo Lin'er. At first, everyone waited for the dead soul of Huo Lin'er to appear and give them clues. They waited and waited, determined to try their very best this time to pry for clues when….
The voice on the broadcast: "The murdered victim says they're too ashamed to come out. May the remaining survivors keep working hard."
The remaining seven survivors: What?!
"Just how bad is it that they are too ashamed to even come out?" Wen Jiexi muttered.
The voice on the broadcast: "Seeing everyone's puzzlement, let me explain. The soul of the dead victim is supposed to appear in front of you guys as an underwear model. They were supposed to put on some lingerie and then appear in front of you guys."
Making a girl wear only lingerie in front of everyone?!! What are you, the devil?!!! Everyone complained the same thoughts loudly in their hearts.
"My God, how can you treat a girl like this?!!" Lan Yuyan verbalized everyone's feelings. To ask a girl to only wear their underwear….if it was a male maybe…no, even a man would feel ashamed, let alone a girl. No wonder the victim chose not to appear in front of them.
The voice seemed to feel wronged and said, "It's not my fault, this was assigned beforehand! This was an accident!"
Hey, hey, you're supposed to be the ominous broadcaster. How can you answer our words so casually and try to sound cute at the same time! Don't forget that your current voice setting is a hoarse male's voice. Being cute will only send chills down our spine!
"This game is gradually breaking down…." Wen Jiexi sighed. Of the three people who died, the first they couldn't understand, the second just hopped around and danced, and the third was too ashamed to come out. Ah, how can we get any clues on the killer? Just who is it!!
"Let's go, Jiexi. Let's continue to look for the treasure. It seems like that is all we can do right now. As for the killer….let's leave that alone for now." Su Chenyu walked over to Wen Jiexi. She swept her eyes around the crowd but didn't say anything more.
"You're right, it's better to go search for the treasure." Wen Jiexi didn't care anyway. She is the doctor, not the policeman. It was not her job to find the killer.
A certain someone who is the policeman: No, no, no, shouldn't we be working together?! How can you do this!
Unfortunately, Wen Jiexi couldn't hear the policeman's thoughts and decided to follow her Sister Su instead. Wherever Su Chenyu goes, she goes! She was just like...a devoted attendant.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wen Jiexi continued to break down the walls. Wherever there was a problem in the walls, she would just break it down. If there was a treasure chest, she simply opened it and gave it to Su Chenyu. Everyone else watched speechlessly at the Wen Jiexi who seemed to be injected with chicken blood and grabbed their tools as they prepared to fix the broken walls. As for the rest of the survivors…they naturally couldn't compare to Wen Jiexi and Su Chenyu's speed.
Production crew: Stoppppp! You guys are vandalizing property! How will we explain to the owner later!
And so, because of everyone's 'hard work', the walls were no longer walls anymore and the crew watched blankly as the other players shouted amongst each other,
"Ah….I only got a key, but what does it open?"
"This part is hollow….they're cutting corners even when building a house…what if the house was to collapse…"
"There are too many fakes! Is there really only one real treasure chest?"
"Why is there something so disgusting in this chest!"
Wen Jiexi and Su Chenyu were able to find a total of five boxes and smashed them open. Two of them had keys inside while the other three held the same scary dolls.
"We don't need the keys to put them on the table and leave it for the others to take it." Su Chenyu said while looking at the two rusty iron keys in her hands.
"Yeah, it's faster to open them directly." Wen Jiexi agreed.
Bang!
At this moment a loud noise sounded out. It was Lan Yuyan. He was holding a pan he found in the kitchen and smashing the treasure chest he found. After smashing it several times, he was able to open it. When he noticed their gazes, Lan Yuyan said embarrassedly,
"Ah, finding the key is too troublesome…this is more convenient."
Wen Jiexi: Even the sunny boy, Lan Yuyan, is willing to use brute force!
BOOM.
A treasure chest fell from the third floor and slammed into the ground…Bang!
A bench fell from above and hit the treasure chest, smashing the chest into pieces.
Wen Jiexi looked up to find Li Lingqing standing on the third floor and smiling at the four of them. Chu Heling who was blushing beside her looked rather embarrassed.
"It seems nobody really needs the keys." Wen Jiexi rubbed her nose and then promptly threw the keys into the trash.
Production crew: You….you bunch of saboteurs!!!
T/N:
Sidenote: In China, zombies or 'jiangshi' that often appear in mythology wear Qing dynasty styled clothing and hop around with their legs stuck together. They don't exactly fit your typical description of 'zombie' as their not ragged monsters with skin peeling off their faces.