Chapter 41

Chapter 40: Mountains and Seas 18

In the clean and bright bathroom, Zhang Qijun had just stepped out of the bathtub.

His lower body was still surrounded by the lingering warmth of the water, but his upper body already felt as if it were in an ice cellar, the result of Shizong pouring two buckets of cold water on him.

After being stunned for a while, Zhang Qijun walked a few steps, unconsciously arriving at the washbasin, and saw himself in the mirror—

Tears in his eyes, red blood vessels spreading across his eyeballs like spider webs, bloodstains everywhere on his body, a towel soaked with blood wrapped around his wrist, and the red line on the back of his hand already starting to creep up his forearm…

The most ridiculous part was that the reflection in the mirror was the female lead, not his own appearance.

Under his master’s arrangement, he had entered a terrifying game, and now he had become a ghost-like figure reflected in the mirror.

He could hardly recognize who the person in the mirror really was.

So wretched.

Zhang Qijun realized how wretched he looked.

He should be grateful that the red-line storyline wasn’t strictly bound by time. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have survived this long.

Zhang Qijun attempted suicide because he realized he had exposed too many flaws in front of Shizong.

To completely distance his master from this matter, he lied that his master had beaten him and claimed he no longer liked his master, nor did he like performing opera.

But after returning to his room, he realized the lie was full of loopholes.

When Shizong questioned him, the first question was whether he liked performing opera—and he answered yes.

Not only that, he had also expressed his love for Peking opera in many interviews.

If Shizong had investigated him beforehand, he would have known that Zhang Qijun was not interested in Shizong’s identity at all.

Failing his mission and knowing he would never have another chance to kill Shizong, Zhang Qijun already felt guilty toward his master.

The more he thought after returning to his room, the more he realized that his panic-driven attempt to distance himself from his master might have instead betrayed him.

Thus, his guilt only deepened.

Ultimately, he decided to commit suicide.

That way, Shizong could not extract any more information from him.

Even if Shizong suspected that his master had orchestrated this, he would have no proof.

No matter what, failing his mission was already a betrayal to his master; he had to atone with his death.

However, Shizong poured two buckets of cold water on him and pointed out a truth he had never dared to consider—

Li Rongjing feared Zhang Qijun would surpass him, so he wanted to kill him before he matured.

Zhang Qijun was grateful for Li Rongjing’s mentorship, thankful for everything he had been given.

Before this, the reason he admired Li Rongjing so much, besides his opera skills, was his style and demeanor, his dedication to Peking opera while never prioritizing his own greatness.

In Zhang Qijun’s eyes, Li Rongjing had been the undisputed national master.

To prevent the national art from being tainted, to ensure every detail related to Peking opera in films was perfect, he dared to correct famous directors and stars on set.

Li Rongjing did not care how many people criticized him for it.

He quietly pursued his passion for opera.

He was patient with anyone interested in opera, guiding each person who encountered difficulties in learning it.

He was gentle, polite, approachable…

Being dragged into this game was not Li Rongjing’s original wish.

But because of the game, he regained his voice and gained the ability to pass on Peking opera…

Afterward, he painstakingly managed his guild to go further in the game, but his ultimate wish was simply to spread Peking opera.

Being caught in this game, Li Rongjing was fulfilling the destiny granted by heaven—to promote the art of Peking opera.

Like a silkworm spinning until death, he had indeed given everything for Peking opera.

At least, that’s what Zhang Qijun used to believe.

He thought helping his master was, in fact, helping Peking opera.

But now Shizong’s words awakened him—

What if Li Rongjing only wanted to use Shizong to eliminate him?

What if Li Rongjing was merely a jealous petty man?

What if the “Peking opera” he claimed to love and dedicate his life to had become a tool to deceive and exploit him?

Could such a Li Rongjing still be the national master he admired?

Was his love for Peking opera still pure?

With his hands already covered in blood, all his management efforts—were they truly to uphold the destiny of spreading Peking opera, or just to bear the vanity of being a “national master” alone?

Zhang Qijun had once revered Li Rongjing wholeheartedly.

That admiration had fused into his blood, even becoming part of his soul.

And the initial reason he admired Li Rongjing was like the foundation of a building; all subsequent admiration and affection depended on that foundation.

But now he realized the so-called foundation was a false facade created by Li Rongjing.

With the foundation broken, the building was about to collapse.

The pain of peeling flesh and breaking bones is no different.

Staring at the mirror in shock, Zhang Qijun heard Shizong’s voice:

“When you wake from the beautiful illusions, only to find yourself in the cruel and cold reality, when you realize you must completely let go of this illusory beauty, everyone feels bone-deep pain. This is normal.

“But only through pain can you be reborn.

“And you must always remember this pain, so you won’t fall in the same place a second time.”

Zhang Qijun took a deep breath, then splashed cold water on his face. “Please, all of you, leave. I’ll change my clothes and then follow my red-line storyline.

“I need to use the [Charm] skill to steal the key from the chef.

“The rest, you will all understand when the story unfolds. If anything needs explanation, I’ll explain then.”

At noon, Shizong followed the system’s instructions and went to the banquet hall to eat.

According to the script, as Cen Qianshan of the Human Path, he did not trust anyone, not even another reincarnation of himself.

So he wanted to observe others’ current states and learn their thoughts.

Although he was an ordinary person with no special abilities, he held exclusive intelligence about the castle, so others would be unlikely to kill him easily.

After eating, exhausted from the morning faction battle, Shizong chose to rest.

He slept until 7 p.m., waking famished, and pushed open the door to find two chefs pushing a food cart, saying since everyone had skipped the banquet, they would deliver the food.

After all, their master had instructed them to take good care of everyone.

Shizong took his food and returned to his room.

After eating, he went back to sleep.

In this way, this sequence of red-line events kept him confined to his room.

Meanwhile, He Zhen’s noon and afternoon storyline proceeded similarly to Shizong’s.

But nightfall brought something different.

After nightfall, he finally realized the debuff he suffered—

He was still being executed by himself.

However, this time he was conscious.

Watching the scene, he felt his soul floating in the air, seeing himself separate his flesh and cut his bones inch by inch.

Although he had a third-person perspective, the pain was real and excruciating, tormenting his soul every moment.

At 4 a.m., the horrifying dismemberment finally ended.

After experiencing another round of unbearable pain from his flesh being reassembled, He Zhen opened his eyes in the bathroom, feeling his body frozen in ice-cold water, his whole body stiff.

After sitting in the cold water for a long time, he finally stood and stepped out of the bathtub.

At that moment, he received a message from the system—

【The long-lost pain returns; your heart is filled with hatred and rage. All of this was caused by Cen Qianshan. If not for him, how would you have fallen into the path of hell and suffered such punishment? Yet your killing him was only to survive; what wrong did you do?】

【When Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path emerges from seclusion, he will know that Liang Yuyan is among these six. Then he will not help you escape the Six Paths; moreover, he might even kill you, as one of the Liang Yuyans!】

【So you decide to strike first and kill him. As long as you kill the strongest Cen Qianshan first, the remaining ones will be easier to deal with.】

【Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path has temporarily exhausted his divine power and is hiding in his room to recover. He himself said that now he is no different from an ordinary person, so you consider this the best time to strike.】

【You decide to use invisibility to sneak into the chefs’ sleeping area, steal the key, then go to Cen Qianshan’s room to kill him.】

【You know a strange talisman is posted on Cen Qianshan’s door, which may record your fingerprints. But you no longer care. The immense pain you just endured makes you

From the doorway looking toward the bed, He Zhen could barely make out a black shadow.

He didn’t waste time, quickly gripping the knife and moving to the window. Only with the faint light could he recognize that this person was indeed Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path.

He remained completely still, as if dead.

Could it be that he had gone mad and met his own end?

No matter what, better to strike first.

He Zhen, playing Liang Yuyan of the Hell Path, thought this and, hand raised, drove the blade into the heart of the person on the bed.

Immediately after, He Zhen faintly heard the sound of a door opening in the corridor.

Worried someone might come and see the scene, he quickly left, knife in hand.

The weapon he used was the same one he had used to dismember himself.

Back in his room, after cleaning the blood, he casually placed it on the washbasin.

It was now 5:15 a.m.

At 9 a.m., Shizong woke up.

According to the red-line storyline, after a whole afternoon and night of rest, he felt most of his energy had returned and decided to go to the banquet hall for breakfast.

By 9:30, Shizong, having showered and brushed his teeth, arrived at the fourth-floor banquet hall.

By now, He Zhen and Zuo Sanqiu had already arrived.

Shizong sat next to He Zhen, having clearly noticed his abnormal state—

He Zhen’s face had no color at all; moreover, his normally fair complexion had turned slightly ashen, with dark shadows under his eyes.

He looked extremely unwell, his movements weak and listless.

“Debuff effects?” Shizong asked.

He Zhen nodded.

Shizong paused, then asked, “You’re not feeling the pain from the dismemberment already, are you?”

“Mm. But I’m fine.”

He Zhen’s tone was calm, as if he had suffered no pain at all.

He only said to Shizong, “If you’re free later, I’ll share some information with you.”

Shizong immediately sensed something. He glanced toward the stairs and quietly said, “I guess the murder is about to start, right?”

“Mm.” He Zhen nodded.

“So the debuff on you could get worse.”

Shizong said, “We need to finish the vote before the debuff kills you.”

“Possibly. Actually—”

He Zhen glanced at the stairs again, noticing other players gradually arriving, and stopped speaking for the moment.

Ten minutes later, all six players had gathered.

The two chefs, as usual, served breakfast.

During breakfast, Shizong paid special attention to Zhou Lü and Zhu Shuangyun.

Zhou Lü’s skin had almost completely turned red; the character he was playing was in a rage, continuously complaining and cursing aloud.

Zhu Shuangyun looked listless, eating while tears streamed down her face. “These delicious foods taste bitter to me. Useless… useless… I’m getting hungrier and hungrier.”

Perhaps her crying annoyed Zhou Lü further.

Not long into breakfast, he suddenly stood up, smashing all the plates and bowls in front of him. “Damn it. I’m going out! I refuse to be trapped here!

“No more waiting. I’m going to settle the score with Cen Qianshan! I don’t believe his bullshit from before. Since he put us in this, he must know how to get us out!”

With that, Zhou Lü charged toward the kitchen.

No one knew what he said to the two chefs, but it was clear they didn’t reach an agreement.

Soon, loud crashing noises came from the kitchen, as if something had been smashed. Among the sounds were the chefs’ panicked shouts and Zhou Lü’s cursing.

Shizong and He Zhen exchanged a glance and followed, seeing Zhou Lü chasing the two chefs around the kitchen counters.

The three ran back and forth several times until Zhou Lü forced them out the back door of the kitchen.

The front door of the kitchen opened to the banquet hall, while the back door led to a corridor.

The corridor connected the kitchen, chef’s break room, storage, and other areas.

Zhou Lü chased the two chefs down the corridor two more times, finally cornering them in the chef’s break room, their usual resting and sleeping space.

Upon entering, Zhou Lü shouted at them, “Damn it! You two won’t listen, forcing me to get serious, huh?

“Well, I guess you’re just puppets of that idiot Cen Qianshan, you don’t understand human speech!”

He roared this, then raised his right hand in a summoning gesture, and an axe appeared in his hand.

Then came a series of loud crashing sounds as Zhou Lü smashed one of the beds in the break room with the axe.

Next, he raised the axe over their heads.

“Give me the key, or I’ll kill you right now!!!”

The two chefs trembled in fear and had no choice but to hand over the key.

During the process, they continued to plead, “Please don’t do this. Disturbing our master’s seclusion could kill him. Then none of us will get out! We beg you, don’t do this!”

Zhou Lü wouldn’t listen, snatched the key, and left the kitchen area, heading straight to the fifth floor.

Seeing this, Shizong also left the banquet hall and followed Zhou Lü up the stairs to the fifth floor.

However, just upon reaching the fifth floor, there was a “pop,” and all the lights in the corridor went out.

Almost simultaneously, Shizong faintly heard beast-like roars behind him.

Shizong received the red-line storyline—

【A terrifying roar comes from behind you, as if from a monster. What’s happening? Has a monster entered the fifth floor of the castle? What does it want? Will it eat people?】

【You instinctively feel something is wrong and start running to avoid being caught by the creature behind you.】

【Along the way, you hear countless footsteps nearby and faintly see shadows moving beside you—other players running like you.】

【After some time, the terrifying roars finally cease…】

The strange animal cries indeed disappeared.

Then someone used a flashlight, finally bringing a sliver of light to the dark corridor.

The faint light revealed the six players standing in the fifth-floor corridor, looking at each other, while the terrifying, mysterious monster had vanished without a trace.

Breaking the silence, the irritable second male lead, played by Zhou Lü, spoke.

“Damn it, what the hell! Running around the corridor has made my head spin! It’s definitely that Heavenly God Path Cen Qianshan causing trouble! I’m going to find him now!”

Looking around, Zhou Lü barely recognized the “director’s” room by the flashlight’s weak glow and immediately headed there.

Holding the flashlight was Zhang Qijun.

He looked at the others and asked, “Shall we all go see?”

Everyone agreed and followed.

Near the “director’s” door, He Zhen noticed something unusual—

He had entered this room earlier this morning and left fingerprints on the talisman, and had even torn it.

But now the talisman was intact and spotless, not a single fingerprint visible.

Only when the irritable Zhou Lü approached did the first mark appear, followed by a second and third as other players drew near…

Before He Zhen could examine it, Zhou Lü tore off the talisman, inserted the coerced key into the lock, and pushed the door open.

Yet the room was empty.

Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path was not here at all.

“Damn it, I knew there was a trick! He definitely ran! He locked us in here but escaped! I’ll tell you, if I can’t kill him, I’ll take out my anger on the other Cens—”

Zhou Lü likely meant to threaten the remaining three Cens.

But when his gaze fell on Zhang Qijun, probably considering there was an Ashura here, he swallowed the words, only furiously flicking his sleeve.

At this moment, Zhu Shuangyun suggested, “Um, there’s no light here, and we don’t know why. Let’s go back downstairs first. We can ask the chefs where the breaker is and if they know why the lights went out. Also—

“I’m really hungry. I could go to the banquet hall for something… I need to eat constantly to stave off this hunger. I’m in so much pain.”

So, the players all returned to the banquet hall.

They found the two chefs and explained the fifth-floor lighting issue.

The chefs led them to the breaker and discovered that the breaker controlling the fifth-floor corridor lights had indeed tripped, though the exact cause was unclear.

After discussion, finding the situation odd, they didn’t dare return to the rooms and went back to the banquet hall.

Later, the chefs offered to check upstairs for them.

“You exist as masters in other cycles, so in reality, you are our masters. We are obliged to serve you.

“We’ll check upstairs for you. If it’s safe and there are no monsters, we’ll come back and inform you.”

The two chefs spoke in unison, mechanically, then turned and climbed the stairs in perfect synchronization.

From their words, it was clear they didn

The red-line storyline temporarily ended.

In the banquet hall, Zhu Shuangyun hung her head, eating breakfast with a look of utter despair.

Zhou Lü had finally calmed down from his violent rage, barely maintaining the demeanor of a meticulous elite CEO.

He even folded the napkin in front of him into the shape of a swan before picking up his knife and fork, elegantly beginning his breakfast.

Zhang Qijun sat silently, pale-faced, still seemingly unable to recover from the blow.

He Zhen remained seated next to Shizong, still looking unwell, eating breakfast reluctantly. Yet, from the way he kept glancing upstairs, it was obvious he had noticed something unusual and was pondering it.

Thirty minutes later, the two chefs came downstairs and informed everyone in the banquet hall that they had checked every room and confirmed there were no monsters.

As for the tripped breaker, the castle was old, and occasional electrical issues were normal.

In short, they reassured everyone not to worry too much.

Zhou Lü pressed further, “But we all heard the monster’s sound. There’s no way we collectively hallucinated, right?”

Upon hearing this, one chef looked at Zuo Sanqiu: “This gentleman is the master’s incarnation in the Animal Path. Perhaps that sound came from him. Even he is not entirely sure.”

Zuo Sanqiu immediately stood up. “Impossible. I was terrified too; I was running around the corridor with everyone else!”

“Everyone comes from different reincarnations, each with their own abilities. Previously, your memories were modified by the master, so it’s possible someone temporarily didn’t recall all their powers and accidentally created some sounds with magic.

“In short, don’t worry. The castle is secluded; no monsters can get in. Otherwise, the master wouldn’t feel safe secluding himself here.

“Your rooms are all fine; you can return and rest.”

The two chefs left, leaving the six players in the banquet hall.

Except for Zhu Shuangyun, who continued eating with her head down, the others were observing each other, seemingly trying to make sense of everything.

After finishing breakfast, Shizong received another red-line storyline—

【With suspicion, you force yourself to finish breakfast. You glance around and feel increasingly uneasy. You think the power outage is not ordinary, and the strange monster’s roar frightens you. You suspect some conspiracy behind it.】

【In principle, you could trust the other Cens. But the chefs’ words make you fearful. What if the monster was really a crow in disguise?】

【After all, once people enter reincarnation, they are no longer who they once were. Among you, although several are reincarnations of Cen Qianshan, they might have their own plans.】

【Therefore, you trust no one. You decide to retreat to your room first. As for food and drink, the two chefs will deliver them anyway.】

【Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path has disappeared. Though he brought you to the castle to kill you, for now, you must rely on him as the most powerful.】

【You decide to stay in your room until Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path appears, then plan your next move.】

Clearly, everyone received similar instructions.

When Shizong stood up, he saw the other players also rise, then all gradually went to the fifth floor and returned to their respective rooms.

Shizong did not expect that this time in his room, he would actually spend two full nights inside.

During these two days, he couldn’t go anywhere, basically just lying in bed, dazed.

Two days later, at dusk, Shizong, sleeping his afternoon nap, was woken by a loud knock on the door.

He got up, dressed, and went to the circular corridor, seeing the other players also emerging, disturbed by the knocking.

The two chefs were calling them out.

They looked panicked and said to everyone, “It’s bad. Tonight is the master’s emergence time. We just went to his room to call him and found him dead inside!”

At that moment, Shizong received a system message—

【Cen Qianshan of the Heavenly God Path has died in his room, triggering the murder case in the instance. Players must find the true murderer.】

【The investigation phase has no time limit and no set procedure. Players can discuss and decide freely.】

【Under the central candlestick on the banquet table on the fourth floor, there is a red button. If more than three people press it, the investigation ends, and the voting phase begins.】

【A majority vote counts as valid.】

【During the investigation, the first floor of the castle will be open to everyone.】

【Note: In the voting phase, besides votes related to the true murderer, there will be votes regarding the story’s truth. Players must choose carefully, as this may determine whether they survive and exit the castle.】

【Enjoy the game!】

Author’s note:

Looks like it’s time for the blind guess of the murderer again, hhh.