Chapter 30

Chapter 29: Mountains and Seas 7

In the dim corridor, Shi Zong and He Zhen met each other’s gaze for a moment. Perhaps noticing his pale expression, Shi Zong spoke first: “Sorry, but you can’t really blame me.”

He Zhen’s face was calm, his voice low: “Hmm. I know. Cen Qianshan is coming over there.”

Shi Zong said in an innocent tone: “Hmm, that’s one thing. But it’s not what I was about to say.”

He Zhen asked him: “Then what do you want to say?”

Shi Zong circled behind him, glanced at the shoe prints on his backside, and said matter-of-factly: “I just want to say, if you want to blame someone, blame the castle floor for being so dirty. I didn’t walk far, how is there so much dust on my shoes?”

He Zhen: “……”

After a brief silence, He Zhen walked straight to the door marked “20010607,” knocked on it with two fingers, then looked back at Shi Zong.

“You go first. I’ll cover the rear.”

Shi Zong shook his head: “We’re all college students. Zuo Sanqiu is much funnier than you.”

He Zhen: “…………”

Without looking at Shi Zong again, He Zhen silently pushed the door open.

Shi Zong quickly followed.

The instant the door opened, the thick, impenetrable fog hit their eyes.

They stepped into the fog together, then entered another narrow, dim space—it was still a wardrobe.

But this wardrobe was much larger than the last one.

At least two people didn’t have to squeeze together.

Shi Zong, familiar with the routine, carefully pushed the wardrobe doors open slightly and saw Cen Qianshan again.

From March 4 to June 7, in just three months, Cen Qianshan seemed to have aged significantly.

He was no longer the clean-cut, handsome screenwriter admired by female stars. He had become a scruffy, unkempt middle-aged man.

This room should be the master bedroom, but there was a glass partition inside, which looked like a study.

Cen Qianshan, being a screenwriter, probably spent most of his time writing in the partition. When tired, he could immediately lie down on the bed behind it.

Inside the study, the shelves were densely packed with books.

Books were scattered across the desk, the floor, and even the bed in the bedroom outside.

It was unclear if Cen Qianshan was always messy, or if he had recently become more decadent.

At that moment, Cen Qianshan was half-lying on the bed, drinking.

His expression was utterly dejected.

While drinking, he bitterly laughed to himself: “You shouldn’t be like this. Cen Qianshan… you despised the entertainment industry, despised flattering others… you only wanted to write a story that matched your heart and dreams… but now…

“What kind of crap have you written? Terrible scripts… all terrible scripts… just for money…

“The male lead you wrote is called a scumbag, the lines you wrote are called greasy… but I painstakingly learned this. I didn’t know this before… the flirting techniques they taught me… I learned… I even successfully charmed Yu Yan… but then…

“But she’s just some slut who’ll sleep with any man! She was nice to me just to act in my plays…

“Hahaha, turns out people even fought to act in my lousy plays…

“So actually, she’s worthless too…

“No… I love her… I still love her…

“I really do love her…”

Cen Qianshan muttered to himself for a long time, when suddenly a woman’s scream came from the living room.

It was clear she was trying to shout as loudly as possible, probably using all her strength to call for help.

But because she was weak and terrified, the voice sounded extremely faint.

Accompanying the screams was the sharp screech of what sounded like a wooden chair scraping across the floor.

Hearing these sounds, combined with the memory of Cen Qianshan taking Liang Yuyan away from the set, Shi Zong guessed that Cen Qianshan must have kidnapped Liang Yuyan. After bringing her into the room, he likely tied her up in the living room and possibly beat her.

Liang Yuyan had passed out from the earlier beating and was only now waking up.

Realizing what had happened, she let out desperate cries and futile struggles.

Her voice jolted Cen Qianshan from his half-dreamlike state.

His face changed sharply. No longer overly dejected, his eyes became serious and alert.

With an indescribable look, he glanced toward the living room and walked into the bathroom next to the bedroom.

When he came out of the bathroom, he was holding a towel.

Soon, he went to the living room with the towel.

Shi Zong, hiding in the wardrobe, couldn’t see what he did in the living room.

But judging by the fact that the screams ceased, Liang Yuyan’s mouth was likely muffled with the towel.

After a while, Cen Qianshan returned to the bathroom beside the bedroom.

This time, when he came out, his hair was neatly combed, his beard gone, as if he had carefully groomed himself.

On the chair next to the bed lay a suit, still in its dry-cleaning bag.

It seemed it hadn’t yet been placed in the wardrobe—perhaps it had just been delivered.

Cen Qianshan carefully removed the suit from the bag, put it on meticulously, and even tied a red bow tie.

After finishing, he stood in front of the dressing mirror, clenched his fist in a gesture as if to psych himself up.

Then he forced a smile.

But the smile was uglier than crying.

Life had reached its darkest moment.

A forced smile only made him look twisted and strange.

Cen Qianshan was handsome, with striking features.

But his dejected eyes and grotesque smile made him look like a demon, impossible to feel any sympathy for.

After tidying himself up, Cen Qianshan left the bedroom and went to the living room.

Shi Zong heard him speak to Liang Yuyan:

“Yuyan, do you love me?

“From now on, only love me. Okay?

“Baby, I’ve taken the towel away. You can speak now.

“But you cannot lie to me.

“If you lie, I will see through it.

“Otherwise, how would I have discovered your affairs with those men?

“My dearest baby, I not only know when you tell the truth and when you lie… I have even counted your lies.

“Baby, listen carefully. If you lie to me again, I will use a knife on you.

“However many lies you tell, I will carve that many marks on your body. Is that a good idea?”

There was a pause.

After a long while, Liang Yuyan spoke in a terrified voice: “Y-you want to know… ask, I won’t lie, I won’t lie again… please spare me!!”

“Good. I’ll repeat the question—

“Tell me, do you now only love me? Are you willing to stay by my side for life?”

“I-I…I…”

“Baby, remember, tell the truth. If you lie, I will use the knife.”

Liang Yuyan broke down in tears.

“Let me go. Please. I… I’m just scared right now. Qianshan, I’m scared. Let me go! I never thought you would… I-I was wrong, it’s all my fault! My vanity, enjoying being admired by many, it’s all my fault…

“I am willing to try to stay by your side alone in the future, but now… now…”

Cen Qianshan’s voice echoed faintly: “You don’t love me now, do you?”

Liang Yuyan didn’t make a sound.

Soon, the sound of a knife piercing flesh rang out sharply.

It wasn’t loud, but it was chilling.

Shi Zong guessed that Liang Yuyan had shaken her head, giving him a negative answer.

At this moment, she naturally couldn’t feel love for Cen Qianshan.

She should have said the right words, that she would only love him.

But she didn’t dare lie.

Liang Yuyan screamed sharply.

“You break your word… you break your word! You won’t let me lie… you won’t let me lie…

“I…I hurt so much… please spare me… Qianshan…”

Cen Qianshan’s next words were like a demon’s whisper—

“If you lie, I will scar your skin, torture you, carve many marks.

“But if you don’t love me, I will kill you.

“Baby, see, I never break my word.”

“No…no—!!!!”

“Shh. I like it when you’re quiet. So obedient, so well-behaved.

“That lets me know. You belong only to me.”

Dark clouds gathered, the sky dimmed, and the wind rattled the windows.

Soon, after a flash of lightning and thunder, heavy rain poured down.

Amid the thunder and rain, there were repeated sounds from the living room: the sharp blade piercing flesh, and the woman’s muffled whimpers of extreme fear and pain.

Cen Qianshan killed Liang Yuyan like this.

Shi Zong and He Zhen heard the entire process from the wardrobe.

After a long while, Cen Qianshan left the house.

When he walked toward the living room foyer, his steps were weary and heavy.

Soon, the sound of a car starting was heard—he had left the house.

Shi Zong looked at He Zhen beside him. “Shall we check the room?”

He Zhen nodded, then pushed the door open.

Shi Zong gave him a thoughtful glance and tentatively asked: “If he comes back, we’ll hear the car, and can hide in time without being seen.

“But the camera? Aren’t you worried he might have recorded himself killing? He probably did. He’s sick like that.”

“You explore. I’ll find the cameras. If there are any, we’ll destroy the footage. As long as Cen Qianshan doesn’t see our recordings or know we exist, it’s fine.”

Saying this, He Zhen left the wardrobe.

Shi Zong followed closely. Reaching the bedroom, he first went to the window to look outside, noticing it was a standalone villa built halfway up the mountain. Cen Qianshan had driven off along the winding mountain road.

This matched the information they had received earlier—

Cen Qianshan killed Liang Yuyan in the mountain villa.

After a quick scan of the bedroom, Shi Zong and He Zhen went to the living room.

The chair used to tie someone up had fallen, covered in blood. The bloodied rope lay quietly nearby.

Liang Yuyan’s body had been moved to the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window.

The blood flowing from her body had stained the sofa completely red.

Outside the window, the mountains were dark, and the sea at the foot of the mountains bathed in the beautiful sunset, as if dyed red by blood.

The scenery outside was exceptionally beautiful.

Inside, however, a horrifying massacre had taken place.

Shi Zong wasted no time and quickly began searching the house for clues.

He Zhen searched for cameras.

But after only about ten minutes, they received a system notification to leave.

The two had to return to the third floor of the castle via the wardrobe.

By now, only one door on this floor remained unopened.

In the space behind the first door, Cen Qianshan either appeared himself or had secretly set up cameras. Shi Zong couldn’t leave the wardrobe without causing temporal disruption.

As for the second door, most of Shi Zong’s time had been spent listening to Cen Qianshan killing.

The time he could explore outside the wardrobe was too short to discover anything.

Thus, it was clear that the system’s rule—“do not let Cen Qianshan behind the door know of Shi Zong’s existence”—effectively allowed him only to observe and listen to the events in those two spaces, prohibiting any interference.

He couldn’t prevent Liang Yuyan’s infidelity, stop Cen Qianshan from setting cameras, or stop Cen Qianshan from killing Liang Yuyan.

In these two spaces, he could not influence either of them or interact with any NPC.

His activity range was tightly restricted.

What about behind the third door?

It should offer a relatively free opportunity to explore.

Shi Zong guessed correctly.

Entering door number “20010801,” he and He Zhen arrived in a small alley.

They didn’t act rashly until a nearby household’s news broadcast sounded—

“The murderer Cen Qianshan has been captured. Before his arrest, he published the fully revised version of ‘Mountains and Seas,’ his creative notes, and his reasons for killing, all on his online blog.

“Notably, after reading this story, some people actually felt pity for him, found him charming, and became his fans.

“This matter has a large impact. Parents should pay attention to the mental health of their teenagers and children, guide them positively, avoid blind idolization, and under no circumstances glorify crime…”

Since Cen Qianshan had been captured, there was no worry about encountering him directly.

This copy could now be freely explored.

Confirming this, Shi Zong immediately left that door.

The door to this space had narrowed and lowered, requiring one to bend to pass through. Its number was rusted and hard to read. Besides that, the door almost blended with the wall, making it hard for ordinary people to notice.

Several trash cans in front of the door made it even less conspicuous.

The alley reeked, and Shi Zong covered his nose as he jogged through.

Unused to such smells in the real world, he reached the alley exit, grabbed the wall, bent over, and almost vomited.

“What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”

He Zhen came behind, reaching out as if to pat his back.

Noticing this, Shi Zong quickly moved aside and gave He Zhen a sharp glare.

Except for the first time at the inn when he was unusually cold, Shi Zong usually acted gentle.

Now, his true nature was exposed.

His gaze seemed to push people away a thousand miles.

He Zhen showed no expression.

It was unclear if he didn’t notice Shi Zong’s gaze or simply didn’t care.

Retracting his hand, he appraised Shi Zong up and down and asked: “Still uncomfortable? There’s a shop nearby, I can get you some water.”

Shi Zong’s expression returned to normal. After staring at He Zhen for a moment, he smiled faintly: “First, you need to get the money of this era. How do you plan to do that?”

While asking, Shi Zong stood at the alley entrance, looking at a corner of the city.

This copy had brought an entire city over, which surprised Shi Zong.

It was early morning, white-collar workers hadn’t left yet, and the streets were mostly filled with delivery people, restaurant workers, and elderly vendors rushing to the market for fresh produce.

A real and vivid city was laid out before Shi Zong, waiting for him to extract useful clues to solve the copy.

Like the previous two doors, their time here would be limited.

But how could they find useful clues in such a vast city?

Shi Zong had an idea. He turned to He Zhen: “We need to get money quickly. I plan to check Cen Qianshan’s blog to see what script he wrote. Also, I need to find his address and visit his house.

“And you? What’s your plan?”

Author’s note:

There will definitely be a twist later in this copy. The logic is somewhat complex and needs to be sorted out.