Chapter 28: The Banquet Murder Case
"Feel it for yourself. The blood is still warm. He just died, and I've been with you the entire time. How could I have had time to kill him?"
"But he died in the room you arranged! You caused all of this!!"
"I…" The male voice sighed heavily, then explained, "Fine, even if I did kill him, isn't that a good thing? With him dead, there's nothing standing between us anymore."
"He can die, but not now! You've ruined everything!"
"What everything? Dilal, you're hiding things from me again. You've changed lately. You've grown distant. Have you… set your sights on someone else?"
"NO!"
The woman's voice was practically gnashing teeth. But she didn't offer any explanation. Instead, she said frantically:
"The banquet is about to start. Once everyone finds out he's dead, we're finished immediately!"
"Finished? You're the Duchess, the victim. I'm the Duke's nephew with no inheritance rights, just an ordinary guard. At worst I'll be charged with dereliction of duty. How are we finished?"
"…I… I was too hasty. He can't just die like this. The bill isn't settled yet, and the citizens will protest…"
"Dilal, that's the Duke's problem. You're just the Duchess!"
"But he's already dead! Dead!"
The Duchess fought to suppress her roar, but she still sounded borderline hysterical, as though the Duke's death were a devastating blow to her.
"So what if he's dead? You have full inheritance rights to all his property. Isn't that enough? The Brooks fortune is enough for us to squander for lifetimes."
"No… you don't understand. I can inherit his property, but not his title. That means Brooks's administrative authority will revert to the Royal Court…"
"What? You want to be a Duchess?"
"No! It's for those… the citizens of the town!"
"Dilal, you've really changed. Why care about those mudfoots?"
"You don't understand! Listen, you stay here and guard the room. Don't let anyone in. I'll go think of something! We must keep the news of his death from getting out!"
With that, the sound of brisk footsteps echoed through the room as the Duchess rushed out in a panic.
Hearing this, Cheng Shi and Bailing exchanged a glance in the cramped space, both exhaling in relief.
If this "ordinary guard" was going to hold the room, the next step would be to step outside and stand watch. That window would give the two of them a chance to escape from here first.
But to their surprise, the very second the Duchess slammed the door shut, the man who claimed to be an "ordinary guard" curled his lips into a smile and turned to look straight at the wardrobe.
"Apologies for making you sit through that farce. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon."
He clapped his hands and laughed in appreciation:
"Thank you for killing Brooks. Though I'd made my own preparations, your methods were clearly cleaner and more efficient. I must say, your concealment skills are excellent too. What a pity you ran into me."
"Come on out. Seeing as you did me a small favor, I can give you a quick death."
Cheng Shi and Bailing exchanged another glance, their hearts sinking.
They'd been found out.
"What do we do?" Bailing mouthed silently.
Cheng Shi thought for a moment, then mouthed back: "Can you fight?"
Bailing shook her head, but then seemed to remember that Cheng Shi was only a Priest, and nodded instead. She traced a number on Cheng Shi's thigh with her finger.
"1321."
Cheng Shi immediately understood. This was her Ladder score.
Genuinely too low.
To still be at this tier half a year after the [Faith Game] descended meant either surviving on Solo Trials, or coasting through every match.
Bailing didn't look like either type. Cheng Shi honestly couldn't fathom how she'd stayed so low.
Did she fail every time, yet survive every time?
That was harder than scoring high every match!
But regardless, she was a Hunter. Offensively, she was still better than a Priest like himself.
"Don't panic. Get him!"
Cheng Shi mouthed again, then gently patted Bailing's shoulder, signaling that he was about to push the door open.
Bailing blinked, caught his meaning, and began her mental countdown.
"3."
"2."
"1!"
"Bang!"
Both burst out of the wardrobe simultaneously. Bailing summoned her longbow in an instant, activating her Sensory Tracking talent to spear straight into the enemy's sea of desire, attempting to disrupt his movements.
Cheng Shi rolled several times across the floor, pre-casting healing spells on both of them to build up a generous recovery buffer.
But after bursting out, they realized that the guard who'd been talking so big was now standing at the head of the bed, far away, grinning malevolently at them.
The Sensory Tracking crashed into an ironclad wall and was firmly shut out.
"Bad, he has mental defense skills!"
"Oh? So you're a servant of [Defilement]? Splendid. Your killing methods were too clean, leaving barely any trace. I was just puzzling over how to pin this on the refugees. This works out perfectly."
Though he spoke casually, his demeanor was extremely cautious. His eyes continuously appraised Cheng Shi and Bailing as he clicked his tongue:
"Followers of [Defilement] among the refugees, infiltrating the Duke's estate on the eve of the bill's announcement to assassinate him. What a perfectly reasonable explanation. My suspicion is wiped completely clean. I really must thank you properly."
Cheng Shi's sharp gaze swept the room and every inch of the man's body. Before long, he spotted a familiar object on the guard's hand.
A ring!
On his finger sat a ring identical to the one from the dwarves' possession!
Cheng Shi hadn't expected such a coincidence. He immediately fished the ring from his pocket and held it up in front of him.
At this point, saying more would only invite mistakes. Better to say nothing and let the man guess.
The guard did indeed falter upon seeing the ring in Cheng Shi's hand. Then he laughed in disbelief:
"What? I only paid a broker three hundred gold coins. He said he'd found a group of dwarves for the job. What, the dwarves outsourced it?
Hahahaha, you two are absolutely adorable. Who are you? How much did those runts pay you?"
Cheng Shi instantly connected the dots. Those dwarves had been the ones this man had hired to assassinate the Duke.
But they'd killed the dwarves and then stumbled into the Duke's death.
Damn it. Now I really can't talk my way out of this one.
And clearly, the other party had no intention of sparing them just because they might be hired killers.
Looking at the guffawing guard, Cheng Shi replied with a stony face:
"Thirty gold coins."
"What? Hahahaha, how much did you say?" The guard's laughter grew even more unrestrained.
"Twenty's fine too."
"?"
His laughter stuttered to a halt. He frowned, apparently not understanding.
"All or nothing!"
The moment those words dropped, Cheng Shi slammed an Accelerated Metabolism directly onto the man, targeting a defect in his legs.
With this, the man's leg vitality would continuously rise during the accelerated metabolism, but the unfamiliar difference in his leg condition would produce a strange, disorienting lag.
Seizing that split-second of hesitation might create an opening.
Bailing had clearly understood Cheng Shi's "countdown." The instant his words landed, an arrow charged with [Defilement] power was already flying toward the guard.
Their coordination was seamless. The arrow struck the man's arm at the exact moment his footing faltered.
The power of desire's corruption spread like tentacles toward his rationality, clawing at his emotions.
But the guard showed no panic. A cold smile crept onto his lips as he opened his mouth and declared:
"Within this place, resistance is forbidden!"
"Buzz…"
A surge of holy light rapidly expanded outward from the guard as its center, instantly painting the entire room gold.
The longbow in Bailing's hands immediately slipped free and clattered to the floor against her will. Even the arrow lodged in the guard's arm dropped straight down, completely inert.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi's pupils contracted. Not good.
This was the power of [Order]!
The opponent was actually a Jurist!
A Bard of [Order]!
Since when could Bards serve as guards?
Before Cheng Shi's brain could fully pivot, this high-ranking Jurist had already unleashed his voice, beginning his chant:
"The Magistrate looks down, the hour of execution has come.
The shackles strangle the prisoner's howl, the fetters shatter the sinner's pride.
They shall face judgment here, receive the baptism of sacred fire, and bathe in the glory of the Lord.
Then!
Under [Order]'s gaze…
Turn to ash!"
With each lyric sung, Cheng Shi could distinctly feel his own condition plummeting.
"Silence," "Immobilize," "Scorching Heat," "Penance"…
Four negative states stacked onto him furiously, the crushing pressure almost tangible.
Within moments, both of them were pinned flat to the floor, unable to draw a breath.
Bailing's condition was clearly worse than Cheng Shi's. It was as if an invisible giant foot pressed down on her back, grinding her into the floorboards, her entire body and face distorted from the pressure.
Crimson blood flowed from her seven orifices. Before long, her vision began to blur.
She looked at Cheng Shi, equally wretched, and showed no fear of death. She only smiled wanely in apology:
"I'm sorry… big shot… I… was too weak…"
But "Silence" affected everyone. Her voice couldn't even squeeze past her throat.
Cheng Shi only saw Bailing's lips move, then she smiled and closed her eyes.
"Weakness is the original sin, isn't it?"
The guard chuckled coldly, drew his long sword, and began walking slowly toward Cheng Shi.
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