Chapter 44: Death Will Come
They could curse all they wanted, but no one at the table was a fool.
They'd already figured out what Wei Guan was doing.
He was issuing an invitation to the killer!
The killer struck on the streets at night, which meant all firsthand traces of the truth were hidden in the dark.
So while nighttime was dangerous for the players, it was also a far better moment to approach the answer than daytime.
But Everbloom was too large, so large that a single night couldn't possibly cover every corner, let alone guarantee running into the killer.
So Wei Guan used himself as bait, wanting to provoke the killer into showing themselves.
And Fang Jue had seen through Wei Guan's intent from the start. Without a single exchanged glance, the two of them, relying purely on sharp intuition and equally agile minds, had improvised an entire performance on the spot.
Only when Wei Guan walked out the door did the others see through the pair's brilliant, unscripted coordination.
But the word "idiot" they muttered was also entirely sincere.
Nobody liked a showoff.
That was a fact.
Why did he suddenly understand Chen Chong a little?
Fang Jue shook his head with a soft laugh, then said to the group:
"Looks like no one's sleeping tonight. Gear up, everyone. Follow along."
He also cast a backward glance afterward.
In the shadowed corner where a man had been standing, the Ascetic Monk was already gone.
Clearly, he'd spotted the telltale signs too.
Tsk. Not a single fool among them.
Cheng Shi admired this inwardly, then straightened his clothes and slipped out through the back door.
A full moon hung high, and warm breezes caressed the skin. The nights in Everbloom were not cool.
The moment Cheng Shi stepped outside, he discovered that not all residents obeyed the curfew. At the very least, a few drunks were still stumbling through the streets.
They staggered along bellowing the divine name of [Prosperity], as though their patron would thereby shield them from death.
He smiled at these drunks, then quickly stealthed toward the direction Wei Guan had vanished.
Wei Guan was truly a lone wolf.
Although Fang Jue had cooperated and given him a pretext to provoke the killer, the man seemed completely ungrateful.
After leaving, he hadn't left a single trace.
His faint footprints disappeared just a short distance from the hotel, with not one shred of evidence left behind to indicate a direction.
"Fuck, he's thorough."
Cheng Shi stood on the roof of a residential building, frowning as he scoured for clues.
Not far away, atop a windmill tower, Yun Ni was doing the same thing.
Everyone had lost the target. No one knew where Wei Guan had gone.
"Does he think he can take the killer himself?"
Du Xiguang on another side finally couldn't hold back. He adjusted his glasses and vented with considerable indignation:
"If he finds the real killer first and makes a choice for us ahead of time, who bears the consequences?
Followers of [Ignorance] are always this nauseating."
Ah, indeed.
Cheng Shi chuckled inwardly. [Deceit] and [Memory] seemed to be standing together once again.
Wei Guan's methods were clean. Being a Hunter, his trail-covering skills were extraordinary. The group split up and searched in eight directions for a full hour without finding which way he'd gone.
It wasn't until another half hour passed, when everyone reconvened with darkened faces, that the previously vanished Ascetic Monk suddenly materialized in their line of sight.
The moment he appeared, his expression was even grimmer than theirs.
Fang Jue spotted him first and asked in a low voice:
"What did you find?"
The Ascetic Monk said nothing, turned, and walked.
Everyone's stomach dropped, and they immediately followed.
Led by the Ascetic Monk, the group leaped across rooftops and walls, darting swiftly through the darkness. Before long, they arrived somewhere due south of the town.
On a wide street, the players abruptly discovered a corpse.
And the corpse was wearing the exact white shirt and black vest provided by the hotel.
It was Wei Guan!
Wei Guan was dead!
Everyone recoiled in shock. Cheng Shi's pupils contracted.
He couldn't fathom that a 2400-point player had died silently in a trial just like that.
This location wasn't particularly far from the hotel, almost right under the players' noses as they'd taken turns searching.
If there had been any commotion from a struggle, it was impossible that no one would have heard it.
Which pointed to one conclusion: either the killer's strength so thoroughly outclassed Wei Guan that it was an instant kill, or the killer possessed a means to conceal sound.
Fang Jue's face darkened. He dropped swiftly to Wei Guan's side.
The moment he landed, he announced with barely contained fury:
"Within this place, lying is forbidden!"
S-Rank [Order] Faith Talent, Decree Carried Afar!
This wasn't a special skill exclusive to Jurists. All followers of [Order] could make their "temporarily enacted" laws take effect by singing the corresponding "judgment ballads."
It was just that Jurists were Bards of [Order], and when they sang their ballads, they could also apply additional effects, making this talent especially potent for them.
A golden light instantly flooded the entire street. Fang Jue looked back at the group behind him and chanted in a low voice:
"The Magistrate looks down, the hour of interrogation has come.
All lies shall be pierced, every answer shall be revealed.
Suspects will face questioning here, confessing past sins, confronting inner torment.
Then!
Under [Order]'s gaze…
Cast into the death cell!"
A white glow rose from each person. Cheng Shi silently assessed himself and found that not only was he significantly weakened, but he also had a new status called [Confession] attached.
His brow furrowed. Something was deeply wrong.
Was Fang Jue suspecting that one of them had struck from the shadows?
After all, the split-up search had lasted a full hour, which was more than enough time to slip away and commit murder.
But why kill one of their own?
Cheng Shi froze, a sudden alarm ringing in his mind:
If he reconsidered each person's faith…
"?"
Fuck, it's aimed at me?
But before Fang Jue could pose his question, Yun Ni, the closest to him, suddenly leaned in and asked:
"You're a follower of [Deceit], aren't you?"
!!!
She was still suspecting him?
Cheng Shi's entire body clenched. A colossal pressure surged from his consciousness, forcibly compelling him to speak the truth.
Motherfucker, you can play it like this?
Riding my coattails, huh?
Cheng Shi glared fiercely at Yun Ni, jaws clamped shut, facial muscles taut, fighting with everything he had against the crushing pressure.
But after holding out for barely a second, his mouth was breached.
His face spasmed twice, and he answered with remarkable generosity:
"·No."
Yun Ni seemed genuinely surprised by this answer. She raised an eyebrow and bolted.
But Cheng Shi wasn't so easily bullied. He immediately gritted his teeth and fired back loudly:
"Why did you want to kill Wei Guan?"
Yun Ni froze and blurted:
"I didn't like him, so I wanted to kill him."
!
The moment she finished, her expression changed, while Cheng Shi grinned like a fox.
He'd played a trick within his question, openly swapping the concept!
"Wanting to kill" and "killing," in certain contexts, were completely different things.
But in other contexts, they were extremely easy to conflate.
Sure enough, the instant Yun Ni's words fell, a force of [Memory] sealed the area and immobilized her.
Du Xiguang stepped in front of Yun Ni and, without a word, pressed his fingertip to her forehead.
"I'll know once I see."
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