CH 118

(A group photo)

After a while, everyone who was seated in the hall walked upstairs, leaving only the brat on the sofa breaking melon seeds. 

Crack, crack, crack… He abruptly came to a halt.

The hall’s floor was covered with milky white marble tiles that sparkled vividly under the light of the crystal chandelier.

The brat stared at the marble in the center and noticed a small amount of blood oozing out from the gaps at the edges, then the bloodstain became larger and larger, becoming a puddle in the shape of a human lying on their stomach, the body type suggesting it was a woman.

Glug, glug— 

Small bubbles emerged in the blood puddle, and the human figure wiggled as though trying to get up.

The brat let out a “bah!” and spat out two melon seed skins, which landed on the pool of blood just as the figure was ready to crawl up.

The figure’s actions came to a halt, and the body that had condensed with much struggle dispersed, turning into specks of blood that penetrated the spaces between the marble floor tiles.

Before scooping another handful of melon seeds, the brat snorted twice to express his contempt.

He had no chance against Shen Dongqing, but couldn’t he bully such a small demon?

The brat pulled himself upstairs after stuffing the melon seeds into his pocket.

The villa had three floors. Those guests were accommodated in guest rooms on the second floor. Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen had occupied the master bedroom on the third floor, but the two owners died violently one after the other, thus it was sealed off. The Shen family’s two young masters should reside in the remaining two side bedrooms.

Only Shen Dongqing assigned the brat an empty room, leaving the brat alone while he stayed in Zhou Wenyan’s room. 

The villa appeared bright and beautiful from the outside, but the interior decor was dated and drab.

Shen Dongqing hugged a pillow and gazed up, noticing the painting opposite the bed.

The painting was entirely black, but if you looked closely, you could see that it was covered with a pair of twisted hands, stretching out from hell and dancing, attempting to grab a living person and drag them into the earth.

Except for this painting, the rest of the furnishings in the room were a frigid monochrome. At first impression, the room appeared to be a spacious coffin. 

Click—

“What are you looking at?” asked Zhou Wenyan as he strolled in.

Shen Dongqing pointed at the artwork.

Zhou Wenyan took a look at the painting before walking over and flipping the frame over. 

It’s unclear whether it was a psychological effect, but after the picture was covered, the atmosphere of the entire room altered, and the dismal vibe was swept away.

Shen Dongqing patted the spot beside him and motioned for Zhou Wenyan to join him. He leaned in close after waiting for a certain someone to sit. “Whoa, why are you so cold?” he exclaimed as soon as he touched Zhou Wenyan’s skin.

Zhou Wenyan: “Perhaps the aircon is set too low.”

Shen Dongqing didn’t give it much thought. He merely pressed the quilt against Zhou Wenyan’s body, tightly enveloping him. 

Zhou Wenyan managed to free his hands and share the quilt with Shen Dongqing.

Shen Dongqing lay down and gazed up at the ceiling. “Do you know who the murderer is?” he questioned abruptly.

Zhou Wenyan: “I don’t know.” He paused before continuing, “I was confused when I came in. Nothing is clear.”

Shen Dongqing furtively held Zhou Wenyan’s hand beneath the quilt. Probably because of being covered by the quilt, Zhou Wenyan had warmed up slightly. Shen Dongqing whispered, “It might be related to my secret…” 

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Ktflg ygfjatr kfgf delaf mibrf abufatfg.

“Tbe mjc’a rjs la,” Itbe Qfcsjc wegwegfv, ylalcu Vtfc Gbcudlcu’r ilq jcv ibbxlcu ja tlr oieaafglcu fsfilvr.

“Snfc lo la’r sbe?” Vtfc Gbcudlcu qertfv. 

Zhou Wenyan: “Once you say it, the secret is no longer a secret.”

The rules had long been established.

This was a secret group, and everyone had their own secrets. They would die once they revealed the secret, hence those with a little brain would strictly guard against it.

As a result, there was no way for the players to collaborate. 

“Fine—” pouted Shen Dongqing. He seemed to have thought of something, “Do you think the game will trick us? What if the murderer is among them?”

After all, all of the players who entered the instance had no idea what their characters had previously done. If everyone was a suspect, then conversely, everyone could be innocent.

The game just offered the players an introduction, leaving them to guess and kill each other in the villa.

“It’s not impossible,” Zhou Wenyan said with a smile. 

Shen Dongqing puffed out his cheeks: “If so, it would be too bad.”

Zhou Wenyan rubbed the top of his head.

Shen Dongqing turned over and sat up, patting the quilt hard: “Is it possible that the murderer doesn’t know he is the murderer?”

Exactly like him. 

His secret was “killing mother and relatives,” but he had no recollection of this, and he wasn’t sure if it was true or not. What should he do if the game pitted him?

Zhou Wenyan also sat up: “It’s possible.”

Shen Dongqing’s face was almost wrinkled into a baozi. He was already caught up in this problem and eager to solve it right away.

Kneading the pillow, he mumbled and analyzed: “I think the nurse should have nothing to do with it, neither should the bodyguard and lawyer…” 

After analyzing it, he concluded that no one other than himself could be suspected of the homicide.

Zhou Wenyan watched Shen Dongqing muttering to himself with a smile on his face, and finally remarked, “You’ll know when you find others’ secrets.”

“But they certainly won’t say it,” Shen Dongqing stated, cocking his head.

He said that, but he was already scheming to intimidate the other players into disclosing their secrets. 

Zhou Wenyan: “Secrets speak for themselves.”

Shen Dongqing: “?”

When he saw Shen Dongqing’s bewildered expression, Zhou Wenyan couldn’t help but laugh. Instead of sounding enigmatic, he explained, “If the secret is something everyone is doing, it will leave a mark.”

Shen Dongqing: “Then you did something bad too?” 

Zhou Wenyan repeated: “Too?”

Shen Dongqing realized what he meant and tried to hide it: “I didn’t do anything bad!” He turned over after saying this to prevent Zhou Wenyan from detecting the flaw.

He couldn’t let Zhou Wenyan know his secret because he hadn’t been told Zhou Wenyan’s secret!

Whoever is discovered first loses. 

Zhou Wenyan grabbed Shen Dongqing by the shoulders and yanked him around. When he saw his cheeks swell up in anger, he couldn’t help but reach out and poke it.

“Actually, there are loopholes in the game.” Zhou Wenyan stated.

Shen Dongqing cheered up: “What loopholes?”

Zhou Wenyan: “How does the game determine that others know your secret? Even if you know it, you won’t know for sure unless you speak it.” 

“So?”

Zhou Wenyan: “So I can offer you a hint.” He leaned close to Shen Dongqing’s ear and murmured softly, “My secret is tied to you.”

They were too close together. When the hot breath brushed Shen Dongqing’s earlobe, he shrank his neck and mused, “It has something to do with me…” After pondering for a while, he exclaimed, “Hey, aren’t we brothers?”

The kind with the same father but different mothers. 

Shen Dongqing was Zhou Wenyan’s gege, according to the setting.

Shen Dongqing’s eyes lit up as he thought of this: “Hurry up and call me…”

It was just that Shen Dongqing’s actions were misinterpreted. Before he could finish, Zhou Wenyan obstructed his mouth once more, adding ambiguously, “Don’t say it.”

Shen Dongqing blinked. 

What? Don’t say it?

The problem was that he didn’t know what Zhou Wenyan’s secret was.

Shen Dongqing was still struggling with this issue as he left the room.

The third floor was deserted. 

The players temporarily had no intention of going to the third floor to investigate because of the housekeeper’s warning about not being permitted to go there to avoid disturbing the owners. So it was only the two of them here.

Zhou Wenyan led Shen Dongqing to the master bedroom door.

The master bedroom’s mahogany door was firmly shut. Perhaps because the owners died one after another, gloom pervaded it.

Zhou Wenyan grabbed the door handle and pushed it down, only to discover that it was locked and couldn’t be pushed open. 

“Let me,” said Shen Dongqing, rolling up his sleeves.

He was ready to barge in when a voice from behind him said, “Eldest Young Master, Second Young Master?”

Shen Dongqing turned around to see who had interrupted him in this manner and noticed Mr. Housekeeper standing at the end of the corridor.

Mr. Housekeeper approached and stated respectfully, “Madam instructed before her death that no one should enter the master bedroom until the inheritance was distributed.” 

In fact, Mr. Housekeeper wanted to enter the master bedroom to investigate as well. Given the storyline, there had to be a significant clue therein.

But, according to his role, he couldn’t defy his superiors’ orders. He couldn’t go in, and more importantly, he couldn’t let anyone in. As a result, he was only able to observe from the outside. He had to walk up and ask for a reasonable explanation after finally waiting for someone to come, else no one could enter.

“Is the key with you?” Zhou Wenyan asked, withdrawing his hand.

“It’s with the lawyer in charge of executing the will, but…” Mr. Housekeeper looked at Zhou Wenyan calmly, “If it’s not necessary, I request the two young masters not to disobey Madam’s last wish.” 

This was plainly a cue to the two young masters to immediately come up with a reason so that the trio could go to the lawyer and request the key to the master bedroom, then investigate it.

It’s natural to assume that’s what normal people would do.

It was sad for Mr. Housekeeper that the two individuals in front of him were not normal folks.

Shen Dongqing cast a meaningful glance towards Zhou Wenyan. 

Zhou Wenyan understood tacitly.

“Eldest Young Master, Second Young Master…” Mr. Housekeeper began.

He’d scarcely opened his mouth when he felt a sharp pain in his nape. He lost consciousness as the world around him darkened.

Zhou Wenyan presented his “reason” and lowered his hand. 

Shen Dongqing ‘opened’ the door.

There was a bang.

Slowly, the hefty mahogany door swung open.

They may have seen dust flying all over the room when the door was opened because no one had entered for a long time. 

Shen Dongqing: “Cough cough—” He raised his hand and waved away the dust in front of him. He noticed the wedding photo opposite the entrance as soon as he looked up.

It was, of course, Mr. and Mrs. Shen’s wedding photograph.

Mrs. Shen was clad in a bridal dress, and Mr. Shen was dressed in a suit as they leaned in close. However, there were two blotches on the photo frame that obscured the faces. The two faceless individuals appeared odd.

Other than this wedding photo, everything else in the room was ordinary. 

Shen Dongqing strolled around the room, leaving footprints on the floor, but came up empty-handed.

Zhou Wenyan entered the study and opened the desk drawer, where he discovered a stack of medical records.

Mr. Shen’s health wasn’t great, but for the sake of the plot, he didn’t employ a family doctor or anything. At best, he received VIP treatment at the XX hospital.

Yes, it was the hospital where Shen Dongqing had previously stayed. 

When Zhou Wenyan opened it, the name of the attending doctor was written on the medical record. A photo slipped out when he flipped it over.

Mr. Shen and the doctor were in a group photo, next to a young nurse with a subtle smile.

Mr. Shen’s face was blurred, maybe due to poor camera exposure, but the faces of the two people next to him were clear. The nurse in the group photo could be identified as the one who was staying downstairs.

“Does Mr. Shen’s death have anything to do with her?” Zhou Wenyan said to himself, closing the medical record book. 

Shen Dongqing, who had not heard it, inquired, “What did you say?”

Zhou Wenyan: “I’m guessing a secret.”

Shen Dongqing was pumped up: “You mean we can simply make a wild guess? Maybe we’ll guess it right!”

“No,” Zhou Wenyan said helplessly. 

Shen Dongqing: “Why not?”

“There must be evidence,” Zhou Wenyan said as he took out the photo and placed it in his pocket.