Chapter 66

Chapter 65 Puppet Strings 13

Current analysis: the killer infiltrated Zhongli Zhenhai’s bedroom intending to murder.

To protect someone’s escape, Zhongli Zhenhai raised his hand and shattered the door leading from the bedroom to the backyard, risking the hidden weapon in his own body, solely to cover that person’s departure.

Then perhaps that person was the one the killer originally intended to kill.

Finding that person would undoubtedly help in deducing the killer.

However, outside the shattered wooden door, the stone slabs remained, and 24 hours had passed, leaving no visible footprints.

Fortunately, clear footprints still remained in the muddy soil of the backyard.

The crying gardener quickly got up and resumed work.

He Zhen noticed that the man limped, leaving uneven footprints.

Thus, although the backyard footprints were somewhat messy, He Zhen could exclude his own prints and the gardener’s, making it easy to find the footprints of another person.

A light rain fell in the early morning of the third day of July, leaving the soil wet.

At noon on the third of July, everyone saw the Mirage Pearl in front of Xiangyun Hall. Three hours later, Zhongli Zhenhai and Ji Rongrong died.

Now it was the fourth of July; those who had seen the Mirage Pearl had lost 24 hours of memory.

But through analyzing the rainwater, these footprints should have been left during the murder.

It was clear that the person walked step by step, circling the backyard as if admiring the flowers or searching for someone.

He Zhen compared the footprints with the size of Ji Rongrong’s feet in his memory and concluded that they likely belonged to her.

Finally, He Zhen followed her footprints leaving the backyard in a certain direction.

He proceeded and found a waterside pavilion.

A sign hung there: “Elegant Waters Pavilion.”

There were abundant, dried bloodstains.

Unless there was an accident, Ji Rongrong was likely killed here.

The bedroom in Flowing Cloud Pavilion was the first crime scene of Zhongli Zhenhai’s death.

The Elegant Waters Pavilion near Flowing Cloud Pavilion was the first crime scene of Ji Rongrong’s death.

But in He Zhen’s view, analyzing that Zhongli Zhenhai protected Ji Rongrong and that the killer initially intended to kill her, some of the traces he discovered were clearly illogical—

This meant that after Zhongli Zhenhai sacrificed himself to push Ji Rongrong out of the bedroom and used his body to block the exit to the backyard, Ji Rongrong did not immediately leave. She strolled leisurely through the backyard before going to Elegant Waters Pavilion and being killed by the killer.

Ji Rongrong’s actions did not resemble those of someone being chased.

Moreover, it made Zhongli Zhenhai’s sacrifice seem pointless.

In fact, Zhongli Zhenhai, as a clan head for a hundred years, had extensive experience. Such a person should not be foolish enough to make a meaningless sacrifice.

When he pressed his palms on either side of the door, he should have believed that his sacrifice was valuable enough to buy time for the person he wanted to save.

Otherwise, the optimal solution for him would have been to stay and fight the killer head-on.

Before leaving, the gardener had said:

“The madam did so much for us, yet never allowed us to speak of it. Even the clan head probably thought she was just an ordinary woman…

“But now she’s dead, and I always want more people to know what kind of person she was.”

Thus, in Zhongli Zhenhai’s eyes, Ji Rongrong should have been an ordinary woman with no strength to defend herself.

He would have assumed that pushing her out the door would achieve nothing. She could not use any flight techniques and could not protect herself. His actions would only prolong her life slightly.

While engaging the killer, Zhongli Zhenhai diverted his attention to push Ji Rongrong outside, using his palms to block the door frame and deflect a fatal strike, exposing the open path to the killer. He was bound to die.

Then it was certain that Ji Rongrong would be pursued and killed by the killer.

Therefore, if the killer intended to kill Ji Rongrong, Zhongli Zhenhai’s actions meant both would die. His actions were meaningless.

Rather than a meaningless sacrifice, Zhongli Zhenhai would have been better off fighting the killer directly.

After all, there was still a slight chance of victory in a full confrontation.

If he had risked the fight and left the killer an opening, then pushing Ji Rongrong out would ensure both their deaths. That was certain.

Thus, his optimal choice was not to push Ji Rongrong out.

Yet he pushed someone out.

This meant that Zhongli Zhenhai believed his sacrifice could still give another person a chance to survive.

In his eyes, that person should at least be able to use flight techniques and escape instantly upon being pushed out.

To prevent both from dying, Zhongli Zhenhai chose not to fight the killer directly but to secure at least one person’s escape.

Since that person was not Ji Rongrong…

It could only be his son, Zhongli Wen.

Though Zhongli Wen had rebellious tendencies, as a father, Zhongli Zhenhai was willing to sacrifice himself to save his only son.

Thus, the truth of the matter was—

The killer intended to kill Zhongli Wen. Zhongli Zhenhai, to save his son, used his body as a shield, deflecting the killer’s weapon, and pushed his son toward the backyard beforehand.

No footprints appeared on the stone path outside the wooden door, and there were no footprints of Zhongli Wen in the backyard.

This meant Zhongli Wen used flight techniques to escape upon stepping onto the stone path.

Shortly after, perhaps hearing noise from Flowing Cloud Pavilion, Ji Rongrong arrived.

She entered the bedroom, saw the broken door, and walked through it to the backyard.

Circling the backyard, she reached the waterside pavilion, encountering the killer, likely searching for Zhongli Wen, at Elegant Waters Pavilion.

Finally, Ji Rongrong was stabbed to death at the pavilion.

But… if Ji Rongrong was not an ordinary person,

How could she be so easily killed with a single knife?

Moreover, reconstructing her movements shows she seemed to be deliberately searching for the killer.

Then who would be connected to her?

Cang Hai had died a hundred years ago.

Moreover, according to Zhao Liuer, his body was burned.

That fire seemed related to a special punishment formation, causing his soul to disperse and disappear completely, unable to exist even in the next life.

He was trapped in Late Star Valley, unable to leave, or he would die instantly.

…

All evidence suggested that Ji Rongrong was not Cang Hai, and perhaps should not even have been from Late Star Valley.

Yet her physical traits indicated a deep connection to the Late Star Clan.

Among the current seven players, only four had once gone to Late Star Valley to steal the Waterlight Pearl.

Xuanyuan He had died in the first phase of the murder; excluding Zhongli Zhenhai, wounded by hidden weapons, that left only Zhao Liuer and Zhai Yuntian.

Zhai Yuntian was dead, leaving only Zhao Liuer.

But Zhao Liuer did not seem very much like the killer.

Excluding players, only Wu Yunxi remained.

Thus, judging by the Late Star Clan connection to find Ji Rongrong and the killer, the killer should be either Wu Yunxi or Zhao Liuer.

In terms of combat power, both fit.

Could the killer of the second phase have already been found?

If the players now press the red button in front of Xiangyun Hall, could they vote the killer to complete the game?

How could this question be so easy?

No, it should not be so simple.

Could the murder itself be a trap question?

Both phases of the murder involved the Mirage Pearl, and everyone lost 24 hours of memory.

The second murder followed the same pattern as the first, only with increased difficulty, but the basic deduction method remained unchanged.

If players think this way, they might fall into the system’s trap.

Once players start voting, time will pause, and the game progress will jump directly to the ending.

When the vote ends, the story’s ending will be set.

Since the second-phase murder is so simple, likely a trap question, then if Wu Yunxi is voted the killer, will everyone die?

But why would the system directly base judgment on the vote?

The story logic behind it should be that discovering Wu Yunxi as the killer leads everyone to decide to unite against him.

Even if Wu Yunxi is powerful, there are many cultivators here; together, they should not lose.

Then what is the basis for the system’s judgment?

Could Wu Yunxi have an accomplice?

Even if he did, the system would at least arrange a duel, not directly declare all players dead.

So… the death risk does not occur after the vote, but before the vote.

Yet the killer should have already been found.

If the vote starts now, the game would end.

Then how could the death risk occur?

Unless…

He Zhen’s temple twitched as he thought of the “Ji Rongrong” who might have killed Zhai Yuntian.

Then he had the answer—

Even if the remaining six players pressed the red button, the vote could not be initiated.

In this way, the game will not end, and the risk of death will continue.

This means that the number of players in this instance far exceeds six!

In front of Xiangyun Hall.

Shi Zong had already met up with Zuo Sanqiu, but they had not found the others yet.

Staring at the red button on the stone pillar, Shi Zong narrowed his eyes slightly.

“San San, send your puppet to find the others,” Shi Zong said.

Zuo Sanqiu looked at him. “Huh? Didn’t you just say… oh, I get it now.”

Sensing Shi Zong’s gaze, Zuo Sanqiu immediately changed his tone. “Got it. You’re tired again, aren’t you? Look at you, tall and strong, yet so delicate. After the game, you need to train, you know?

“Alright, I’ll sit with you for a while and send the puppet to find them first.”

Zuo Sanqiu gestured with his index finger toward Li Fu, who was following him. “Mother, can you help me find Xuanyuan Zhe and Zhao Yueshan?”

“Okay.” Li Fu smiled gently at Zuo Sanqiu, then turned and left.

Then Shi Zong looked at Zhao Liuer. “I have some matters between men with San San that you shouldn’t hear. Can you step aside? Not too far, just two or three hundred meters.”

Zhao Liuer glanced between Shi Zong and Zuo Sanqiu, then frowned and walked away.

Accompanying her at a distance were her puppets, Zhongli Zhenhai.

“Ahem, so what did you want to tell me?”

After Zhao Liuer and Zhongli Zhenhai had walked away, Zuo Sanqiu immediately asked Shi Zong, “You don’t mean… you suspect my puppet, right? Also, you suspect Zhao Liuer?”

“I suspect your puppet Li Fu, and Zhao Liuer’s puppet Zhongli Zhenhai,” Shi Zong said. “I’ve long thought something was off. Your mother passed away a long time ago, yet her body has been perfectly preserved. When Wu Yunxi just revived Zhai Feng, he told me his resurrection only works on freshly dead bodies.

“Maybe he said that to convince me more easily, or maybe his lie has a flaw.

“In any case, after Ji Rongrong, who came back from the dead, killed Zhai Yuntian, this doubt became even more unusual.”

“It… it’s just too strange.”

Recalling Zhai Yuntian’s death, Zuo Sanqiu swallowed. “Zhai Yuntian was also a player. Yet this death risk came silently, like…

“If we couldn’t figure out how he died, we would also…”

“Yes. Players who got Zhai Yuntian’s role were unlucky.

“Usually, the game isn’t unsolvable. There should have been clues to alert him in time to avoid it. But he didn’t notice.

“Not only did he not notice, he kept his story completely hidden. I asked him so many things, and he wouldn’t say a word. I couldn’t help someone who wouldn’t speak.

“But the system considers balance. He was unlucky; we were relatively luckier. It’s precisely because of his death that we realized ‘resurrection’ is problematic.”

Shi Zong glanced sideways at the red button on the stone pillar and said, “At first, I thought the first-phase murder had two purposes—

“First, to familiarize us with the Mirage Pearl and the deduction pattern;

“Second, through the voting mechanism, to identify which are players and which are NPCs.

“But would the system really be that kind and give us a warm-up phase?

“If the first phase wasn’t a warm-up, all the information given would be an outright trap.

“When entering the second phase, most players would likely do what they did in the first phase: use deduction, character roles, and storylines to figure out what to do and reconstruct what happened during the memory loss period.

“At that time, when they hear from the system they can go to other sects, they choose to leave Zhongli Manor and investigate the sects in detail, wasting a lot of time.

“But maybe they misplace their focus because of this? Unlike the first phase, these story reconstructions might not help find the real killer.

“These stories are useful, but perhaps irrelevant to the murder. If players focus on the murder, they might miss the true way to complete the game.”

Pausing, Shi Zong said, “Unlike the first phase, the killer doesn’t even know they’re the killer. In the second phase, the killer is completely outside the story.

“During this time, we’ve been trying to find the first-phase killer, while only Wu Yunxi watches coldly, implementing his plan. He’s a huge problem.

“Another serious issue is that Ji Rongrong coming back to life reminded me—

“If the first phase is a complete trap, it means my attempt to use the voting mechanism to probe all players’ intentions was trapped.

“The system probably placed other players. They are not on our side and possess substantial information. We must be careful.”

“Damn, damn, what do we do now?”

Zuo Sanqiu swallowed, struggling to process the information.

At that moment, he saw Zhai Feng approaching like a walking puppet. “Damn, your puppet is here. He has a problem too!

“Whose soul is attached to him? Or… which player is controlling him?”

Shi Zong was silent for a moment, then patted Zuo Sanqiu on the shoulder and said casually, “It’s fine. I can confirm he hasn’t ‘awakened’ yet. I sent him to investigate the crime scene. I’ll check the situation; you wait.”

Leaving Zuo Sanqiu, Shi Zong walked to He Zhen.

The two quickly exchanged the new information they obtained.

From He Zhen, Shi Zong confirmed the killer is almost certainly Wu Yunxi, further validating his guess about the game design.

Then Shi Zong led He Zhen back to Zuo Sanqiu and said, “It’s likely you went to Zhongli Zhenhai’s bedroom. He died protecting you.”

After roughly explaining the suspected crime process, Shi Zong said, “So reconstructing the story from your perspective is crucial. Why did Wu Yunxi target you? What were you doing at Flowing Cloud Pavilion?

“Figuring this out not only helps confirm the killer but might also reveal a way to avoid death risk from Wu Yunxi.”

“I… I understand, but…”

Suddenly realizing something, Zuo Sanqiu looked in a direction.

About three hundred meters away stood Zhao Liuer and the “resurrected” Zhongli Zhenhai.

Looking at Zhongli Zhenhai, now lifeless like a wooden doll, Zuo Sanqiu’s expression became complicated.

“So… in theory, my father and I could have defeated the killer together. But my father didn’t dare take the risk. He feared I might die.

“He exposed the open path behind us to Wu Yunxi from the start, abandoning any chance of survival. He didn’t dare let me take even a fraction of the risk, sacrificing himself without hesitation…

“And yet I… thought about killing him, thought about rebelling. I really…”

Shi Zong glanced at him. “Enough. Keep the sentiment in check.”

Zuo Sanqiu rolled his eyes. “You don’t understand feelings at all. Before entering the game, I just argued with my dad. He didn’t agree I should work for you, said I should focus on finance. I argued back, said he didn’t know anything, shouldn’t interfere, and I even called him uneducated…

“Thinking back, it was completely wrong.”

Shi Zong interrupted. “Filial piety must be based on being alive. Mourning now is useless. Go apologize to your father after leaving the game.”

Shi Zong’s words were blunt, but Zuo Sanqiu knew they were true. He wiped his tears and collected himself. “I understand. I won’t waste words. So tell me, what should I do now—”

“First, find a reason to get Zhongli Zhenhai away from Zhao Liuer, then we meet the other players.

“We’re not sure if the player inside Zhongli Zhenhai’s body is fully loaded and can hear us, so your reason must be carefully thought out. Don’t let him suspect we know they’re players too.

“All subsequent actions must be together to avoid being attacked by surrounding ‘puppets.’”

“Understood.” Zuo Sanqiu ran off immediately.

Glancing at his retreating figure, Shi Zong walked to He Zhen, smiling faintly. “Nice. Just by examining the crime scene, you can pinpoint the killer.”

Time was pressing, but Shi Zong remained calm and composed.

He Zhen looked him over and said, “You didn’t go to the crime scene, yet reached almost the same conclusion as me.”

“Not the same. I’m purely guessing, with no evidence. You gave me the evidence.”

Shi Zong looked at He Zhen. “What do you think now?”

He Zhen said, “We need to analyze Wu Yunxi’s behavior. First, why did he do this?

“Who did he resurrect? From what we know, it must be Late Star Clan members.

“So he has two purposes: one, resurrect the Late