RSDH CH68

The first round of evidence collection began. Although everyone harbored suspicions about each other, neither the rules nor everyone’s backgrounds were clear enough at the moment. With the mindset of taking one step at a time, everyone temporarily stayed with their partners.

However, when they walked into the courtyard, they found two columns of name tags placed on the stone table, bearing the code names of the eight people.

Jiang Li picked up the task card on the table and read aloud:

“Watch your back.”

“You already know that there are two factions within the team: the good people and the murderers. During the evidence collection process, a murderer can initiate an attack on anyone. By tearing off the name tag on a guest’s back, they can eliminate them, preventing the living from speaking the truth. After each round of evidence collection, please return to the ancestral hall to vote for a suspect. The person with the most votes will be eliminated. The game ends when one faction completely annihilates the other. If the true culprit remains among the last two survivors, the murderer faction wins, and the good people faction loses.”

As soon as the rules were announced, the atmosphere in the courtyard immediately tensed up. This meant the good people could only rely on wits to win, being as fragile as lambs to the slaughter during the evidence collection phase and having to be on guard everywhere.

Duan Xingye took a small step to the side, moving away from Cheng Duzhou.

Cheng Duzhou looked at him and sighed heavily: “……”

Bullet screen:

“Hahaha, worthy of being sober in the mortal world; wifey cherishes his life so much.”

“Expressing doubt with practical actions.”

“Woo, is the husband camp going to split? Don’t want that~”

Compared to a scripted murder mystery game (Jubensha), the nature of the game was closer to Werewolf (Mafia). The production team deliberately lowered the difficulty of the plotline but allowed guests to lie, and murderers could attack others. The evidence collection phase was to facilitate the murderers’ actions. Therefore, to survive, acting skills were more important than reasoning abilities—how not to be voted out, how to hide one’s identity, how to sow discord and split factions.

The game was all about trust crisis.

Jiang Li asked, “How many murderers are there?”

The staff answered seemingly irrelevantly: “Only you know your own identity.”

That meant they didn’t know how many murderers there were.

Wu Enqi speculated, “Based on experience playing Werewolf, in an eight-player game, usually only two wolves are arranged; otherwise, the good people’s chances of winning are too low.”

Xiao Jiahui said, “I’m more inclined to understand that there is only one murderer. If the murderer has accomplices, they should know each other. But according to the hint just now, everyone only knows their own identity and doesn’t know if others are good or bad… Let me state first, I am a good person.”

Then, people around started saying they were good people.

It was as if everyone present was a good person and none were murderers. No need to think; someone must be lying.

The guests put name tags on each other. According to the code names, it could be seen that Jiang Li, Tao Ziyi, Wu Enqi, and Duan Xingye were the grandchildren of the deceased. The words on the name tags were “Eldest Sister Jiang,” “Second Brother Tao,” “Third Sister Wu,” and “Fourth Master Duan” respectively.

The other four corresponded to their spouses.

The program team gave the guests new names to help everyone better immerse themselves in the script and distinguish it from reality. When addressing each other, the guests also had to use the names in the script.

After further clarifying the game rules, everyone faced the question again: stick together or split up?

Xiao Jiahui said with a good temper, “I don’t mind.”

Jiang Li, however, looked a bit hesitant.

Duan Xingye lowered his lashes and suggested, “The faster the evidence collection, the more advantageous for the good people. So walking in pairs in the first round can speed up the progress of tasks. If someone dies, their companion is the biggest suspect. Therefore, the murderer dares not take action now. After the first round ends, voting someone out will break the balance in numbers, and the binding force on everyone will weaken accordingly. We can decide whether to split up then.”

Bullet screen: Logic is so clear!

The guests present looked at each other, no longer wavering, and all adopted the suggestion.

After going out, the group walked in the alley behind the mansion.

Cheng Duzhou suddenly said to Duan Xingye, “Let’s agree first: if we lie to each other and guard against each other next, it’s all for the game. No quarreling allowed.”

In Werewolf, everyone feels insecure, and trust crumbles. Couples are especially prone to conflicts because of this.

“Agreed,” Duan Xingye said confidently. “Starting now, the game comes first. There are no feelings between us anymore. If you are the murderer, I will uphold justice and eliminate my family.”

Cheng Duzhou: “…I’m not.”

Duan Xingye looked at him with upturned fox eyes and responded with a very light sneer, not easily believing him.

Whether Cheng Duzhou was a good person or a murderer, he would judge based on the clues obtained.

Bullet screen:

“President Cheng and Teacher Duan are both in the good people camp, right?”

“If they are both in the good people camp, then the good people will definitely win.”

“Damn it, want God’s perspective. Can the program team reveal the guests’ identities to the audience? Very urgent.”

…

Out on the street, there were many extras coming and going, and the four groups soon separated.

Passing by a shop, Duan Xingye noticed the plaque above—Old Master’s Preserved Fruit Shop.

“……”

“Old Master” was the victim of last night’s murder case, the head of the family in the mansion.

The name of this shop was simple and crude; it should be an industry under the family.

“Let’s go in and take a look.” Duan Xingye reminded and stepped into the shop.

Cheng Duzhou followed behind.

A shopkeeper fiddling with an abacus saw the two, immediately put down the writing brush in his hand, and bowed with hands clasped behind the counter: “Yo, two masters, what brings you here today?”

Bullet screen:

“The NPC knows them.”

“Teacher Duan is so sharp, found the right place.”

Duan Xingye looked around the shop. The glass counters were filled with preserved plums, candies, pastries, etc.

He said, “Passing by.”

The shopkeeper leaned out to look at the door and said, “Why didn’t Eldest Miss come to collect the account books today?”

Eldest Miss was Eldest Sister Jiang.

“Something happened at home,” Duan Xingye said half-heartedly. “Who manages the business here?”

“Of course it’s Eldest Miss. Not just this small shop, but all of the Old Master’s industries, even the chemical factory is managed by Eldest Miss.” The shopkeeper picked up the brush again, shook his head, and sighed to himself, “Eldest Miss doesn’t have it easy. Hasn’t had a day off in so many years; truly miserable…”

Duan Xingye said lightly, “How is she miserable? Isn’t she the one in charge?”

“She can’t be the one in charge…” The shopkeeper suddenly realized something, changed the subject, and put on a smiling face. “Look at me talking so much. Two masters, please come to the inner room and sit for a while. I’ll prepare a fruit platter for you.”

After speaking, he came out from behind the counter, lifted a navy blue curtain, and went in.

Bullet screen:

“The NPC is so realistic; I was instantly immersed in the play!”

“Inside must be the place for evidence collection!”

According to the shopkeeper, the inner room of the preserved fruit shop was Eldest Sister Jiang’s temporary office, where she often sat to check accounts.

It was a very small room. The desk backed against an open window, and cabinets were placed on two walls.

Duan Xingye sat down at the desk and started rummaging up and down right in front of the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper pretended not to see and said, “Wait a moment.”

Then he went out.

Duan Xingye found a lock on the bottom drawer and asked, “Is there a key?”

Cheng Duzhou leaned against the desk, picked up a thick book beside the lamp, flipped through it, then picked up the next one. Flipping to a certain position, he suddenly stopped. He took out a brass-colored key from between the pages and handed it to Duan Xingye.

“You’re quite good at finding things.” Duan Xingye bent down to unlock it.

Cheng Duzhou: “Have filmed more than one spy drama.”

Livestream room laughed loudly: Met with professional expertise!

At this time, the shopkeeper brought in a plate with four compartments of fruits/snacks, greeted them warmly, and then exited.

Duan Xingye focused on looking through the things in the drawer, found a hardcover notebook, straightened up, and sat at the desk to open and check it.

Inside was Eldest Sister Jiang’s work log. Each page had only a few lines of words.

Duan Xingye flipped directly to the last page and saw three words repeated on it.

[Why why why why why…]

The handwriting became more and more erratic, looking a bit crazy.

Duan Xingye turned to the previous page and read aloud: “I held this family together during its hardest times alone. My husband fulfilled filial piety by the sickbed for ten years as if it were one day. In the final will, not even a small preserved fruit shop was left to us, giving everything to that straw bag good-for-nothing… Old thing, hurry up and die…”

After reading, he raised an eyebrow: “Straw bag good-for-nothing shouldn’t refer to me, right?”

Cheng Duzhou was squatting in front of an open cabinet, holding back laughter: “Is that the point?”

“Of course.” Duan Xingye closed the notebook and took it, looking at Cheng Duzhou. “What are you doing?”

Cheng Duzhou looked inside the cabinet and pondered, “There’s a safe here, needs a four-digit password.”

Duan Xingye bent down to look at the safe, then straightened up, checking the surrounding environment, his mind full of “four.”

Just then, the four-compartment fruit platter on the table attracted his attention.

Each compartment contained a type of pastry, varying in quantity. Three cloud slice cakes, six mung bean cakes, four osmanthus cakes, eight sesame candies.

“Try 3648 clockwise according to the fruit platter first,” Duan Xingye squatted down and said. “If that doesn’t work, start with the four numbers and cycle through. If that still doesn’t work, try counterclockwise.”

Cheng Duzhou followed his words and entered the four numbers. With a crisp unlocking sound, the safe popped open.

Bullet screen exclaimed.

“Too strong!”

“If it were me, I wouldn’t find anything even after searching the room all afternoon.”

“The husband couple partnership is invincible!”

The password worked on the first try. Duan Xingye said proudly, “My luck has always been good.”

Cheng Duzhou took things out of the safe: “Then I’ll just follow you today.”

Inside Eldest Sister Jiang’s safe were a few tickets and a hardcover book.

Three words were written nakedly on the book—Real Account Book.

In terms of plot design, the production team had no intention of making things difficult for the guests at all.

Duan Xingye said, “…So the ones put outside for people to see are fake account books.”

“She is manipulating the family’s funds.” Cheng Duzhou handed Duan Xingye a check.

The header read “Salt Industry Bank,” and the amount on the check was not small.

The other two were boat tickets to the other side of the ocean.

It seemed Eldest Sister Jiang had long prepared to go abroad with her husband to live.

The livestream audience guessed along.

“The murderer is the Eldest Sister. Because of dissatisfaction with the uneven distribution of property, murderous intent arose, and then she planned to flee abroad with her husband.”

“The evidence is obvious. Let’s vote for Eldest Sister later.”

“Don’t rush; we only saw one perspective. Have to see the evidence found by others.”

The couple continued searching the room for five minutes and admired Eldest Sister Jiang’s work log for a while longer. Finding nothing else to see, they left.

Before stepping out of the shop, Cheng Duzhou noticed the shopkeeper looking at them as if wanting to say something but stopping.

He stopped and asked, “Is there anything else for us?”

The shopkeeper immediately beamed with joy, clapped his hands, and welcomed them out: “That’s right, two masters! It just so happens a new batch of dried persimmons came out. Please taste them for freshness.”

An assistant came out holding a bamboo pole, with a dried persimmon hanging from a string at the tip.

The shopkeeper smiled and made a gesture of invitation.

This was the couple task arranged by the program team.

In full view of the public, Duan Xingye raised his face and bit off half of the dried persimmon with Cheng Duzhou taking the other half. Touching lips was inevitable.

The audience excitedly consumed the candy.

Cheng Duzhou licked the white powder at the corner of his lips and said, “So sweet.”

Duan Xingye hadn’t been shy just now, but now his face blushed, and he rebuked, “Do you have to be so cheesy/greasy?”

“???” Cheng Duzhou was blank. “I said the dried persimmon is sweet.”

“……”

Duan Xingye deliberately turned his head and ignored him.

Bullet screen: Hahaha! Teacher Duan, where did your mind go!

After the couple completed the couple interaction, the shopkeeper took out an oil-paper package and said, “This is the preserved fruit Master Huang asks me to prepare every week. He says the Old Master drinks medicine all year round and has a bitter mouth, so this is to honor the elderly man. Usually, Cui Tao comes to pick it up. It’s really strange today; that girl hasn’t appeared yet. If the two masters are returning to the mansion, could you conveniently bring it for me?”

The news of the Old Master’s death was still under lockdown. Master Huang was Huang Liang.

“Who is Cui Tao?” Duan Xingye asked.

The shopkeeper said, “The maid who takes care of the Old Master’s daily life.”

Duan Xingye said, “She comes every week?”

The shopkeeper said, “Eh, yes.”

The couple took the package and prepared to follow the hint back to the mansion to find Cui Tao.

Entering the gate, Duan Xingye saw someone dressed as a servant passing by and asked, “Where is Cui Tao?”

“Cui Tao? Cui Tao just came back from the police station.” The servant pointed to the gatehouse not far away and said, “She’s with the butler right now.”

The two went to the gatehouse. Before getting close…

They heard a girl’s anxious voice: “Manager, my family is sick, really have to go back. Please settle my wages quickly.”

Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou entered the room.

They saw a girl wearing coarse floral clothes standing in front of the butler, with two braids and a cloth bag on her back. Seeing the two young masters enter, she shrank her shoulders as if afraid, one hand unconsciously rubbing the jasper jewelry on her wrist.

Duan Xingye glanced at her jewelry. Even knowing it was a fake prop, it didn’t match the girl’s plain clothes.

Duan Xingye asked, “What’s wrong?”

The butler bowed to him: “Young Master, Cui Tao says her family is seriously ill, the situation is urgent, and she wants to resign and return to her hometown. I was about to settle her wages.”

Duan Xingye looked at the little girl named Cui Tao and said, “The Old Master just passed away, and you’re in a hurry to leave? Aren’t you afraid the police chief will summon you for questioning again?”

Cui Tao hemmed and hawed, retreating towards the door: “No no, it’s none of my business anymore. I really don’t know anything, it has nothing to do with me… I don’t want the wages anymore, I’m leaving now!”

Cui Tao didn’t give everyone time to react. She turned and ran. Her bundle hit the door frame and fell into the room, but she didn’t look back and left hurriedly.

Bullet screen: NPC dropped equipment, please check.

Cheng Duzhou picked up the bundle on the ground and opened it. Inside, wrapped in clothes, were several bank notes, a bit of jewelry, and a bowl. There was residue similar to black medicine dregs at the bottom of the bowl.

Duan Xingye speculated, “This should be the bowl the Old Master drank medicine from. Such key evidence wasn’t handed over to the police; Cui Tao is hiding something.”

Cheng Duzhou said, “There is a high probability she is an accomplice, but now she has absconded in fear of punishment… Wait for the evidence from others.”

Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou searched for evidence very quickly. There were ten minutes left, not enough time to go out again, so they drank tea in the hall with peace of mind.

At the hour mark, people searching for evidence outside returned one after another. As Duan Xingye said, in the first round of evidence collection, the wolves didn’t make a move, and all members returned safely.

However, looking at their expressions, everyone had gained a lot. The gazes they cast on others were meaningful, as if they had already determined who the suspect was in their hearts.

Everyone sat around the round table and began sharing information, but they kept their guard up because they didn’t know if other groups would hide or tamper with information.

Jiang Li, as the Eldest Sister, spoke first: “We went to the nightclub and found that Master Huang is a regular there. The Old Master hired a private detective to investigate him a month ago. We don’t dare say exactly what was investigated, but after that, Master Huang rarely went to the nightclub again.”

Xiao Jiahui said, “In the detective’s studio, we found a few photos that might be helpful.”

He opened an envelope containing two black and white photos.

They saw Huang Liang sitting in a nightclub booth with a woman in a qipao sitting on his lap, behaving intimately.

Huang Liang’s face was obviously photoshopped on, mismatching the atmosphere of the photo, so it was a bit funny.

Jiang Li said, “Also heard the detective reveal that Second Brother Tao owes a lot of debt in the casino, and the repayment date is approaching.” Saying that, she put an IOU on the table. “This is the tip of the iceberg I just helped redeem, only for use as evidence.”

Tao Ziyi hurriedly said, “Everyone don’t rush to conclusions. The evidence I found here is also very suspicious.”

He took out a telegram and slammed it on the table, saying, “We went to the family’s chemical factory and found that Son-in-law Wu is a researcher there. He had telegram correspondence with a company in India, discussing the Old Master’s patented technology for treating chemical sewage. But the Old Master was unwilling to sell. In the last telegram, the Indian company expressed willingness to buy that technology at a sky-high price. So Son-in-law Wu has every reason to kill the Old Master just to seize the technology for his own profit.”

“Asking everyone not to rush to conclusions, why are you concluding first?” Wu Hao smiled, pushed up his glasses, and said, “Listen to my findings first. We went to the school. Fourth Master Duan is the school doctor there, and Master Cheng is a surgeon at the town hospital. The two planned to study abroad a few years ago, but the Old Master was unwilling to fund them. Coincidentally, they both applied to prestigious schools recently and urgently need fees to go abroad.”

Then he took out two admission notices, presumably found in Fourth Master Duan’s office, and a diary, opened to a certain page.

[Don’t know how much inheritance Grandfather will leave us, but it must be enough for Cheng and me to complete our studies together.]

Next, Duan Xingye repeated Eldest Sister Jiang’s situation without reservation, matching the evidence found to verify his words, only temporarily concealing the encounter with Cui Tao.

The livestream audience was dizzy after listening.

“Seems everyone has a motive for murder!”

Eldest Sister Jiang supported the family without complaint but couldn’t be the head because she was a woman. Eventually, she would have to hand over the business she worked hard for to the idle Second Brother Tao. In a fit of anger, she wrote in her work log hoping the Old Master would die soon.

Second Brother Tao owed huge debts and was waiting for the inheritance money to save his life.

Third Sister Wu had the thinnest presence in the patriarchal old family. Since there was no share for the Eldest Sister in the will, it was even more impossible for her to have a share. And her husband seemed to have unknown dealings with an Indian company.

Fourth Master Duan wanted to go abroad to study with his husband. The Old Master’s inheritance was their last hope.

Who exactly was the murderer?

The atmosphere at the scene solidified. Everyone sized each other up with suspicion.

No one could deduce the murderer through motives, but in the first round, someone had to be voted out.

Tao Ziyi struck first, pointing the spearhead at Eldest Sister Jiang: “Why don’t we vote Eldest Sister out first? She even bought the boat tickets to flee. Why buy boat tickets for no reason? Must have planned to murder the Old Master long ago.”

Jiang Li let out a “Hey!”, eyes wide open, entering character: “These boat tickets aren’t real-name based. Maybe I bought tickets to send my two brothers abroad to study medicine? How can you spit blood (slander)? It’s you, more anxious than me. I know you’ve lacked money these years. Just to ask me for more, you repeatedly said there were thieves in the house, lost this and that. I think you are a thief crying ‘stop thief,’ trying to get me to allocate silver for compensation. Now that the Old Master is dead, the happiest one is you. The entire family property is yours; you don’t have to live looking at my face anymore.”

Each guest received a page or two of character scripts when changing clothes, explaining their relationships with others. It came in handy now.

Seeing the conflict focused on himself.

Tao Ziyi’s face flushed and neck thickened: “What thief crying ‘stop thief’? I really lost things. I even suspect it’s your poor management.”

Huang Liang chimed in, “Right, right, right. Your heart has long not been in this home. Embezzling public funds into your own account privately is just to set up your own portal!”

Xiao Jiahui sighed: “Second Master, be reasonable.”

While everyone was arguing, Duan Xingye observed them quietly and suddenly said, “Push Master Huang in the first round.”

The round table suddenly quieted down, and everyone’s eyes focused on Duan Xingye.

Duan Xingye took out the bundle from under the table and spread it open, revealing a bowl, some odds and ends of jewelry, and several bank notes inside.

“These are the belongings of the Old Master’s maid, Cui Tao. Unless unexpected, the jewelry inside should be what Second Brother Tao lost. However, the one who stole things wasn’t Cui Tao, but Master Huang.”

Huang Liang’s face panicked, pointing at himself: “Me… me?”

“You have been winning over Cui Tao for a long time,” Duan Xingye said. “From gold, silver, and jewels to preserved fruits and snacks… You asked the shopkeeper to prepare preserved fruits every week, but obviously, a terminally ill old man can’t eat so much… You might have promised Cui Tao something else to persuade her to poison the Old Master’s medicine. Your motive is also obvious. Because you were caught cheating by the Old Master, afraid he would tell Second Brother Tao, then you would face the risk of being kicked out. Last night, the Old Master called everyone into the room to talk one by one. Second Brother Tao, as the family heir, was the last to go in. You wanted to make the Old Master unable to speak before that.”

Huang Liang was so excited he stood up: “You can’t say I colluded with Cui Tao just based on these. Besides, whether the Old Master died of poison is a question.”

The butler spoke at this time: “According to forensic testing, the Old Master showed signs of poisoning before death, had two fatal wounds on his body, and his heart showed fibrosis.”

“…” Huang Liang shut up abruptly.

Duan Xingye put down the hand supporting his cheek and said, “Since you didn’t deny giving Cui Tao these things, if you want to clear your suspicion, you have to explain why you gave her these? Based on current evidence, Cui Tao only has contact with you alone.”

Huang Liang hemmed and hawed, actually unable to speak, and sat down again.

Tao Ziyi looked at Huang Liang suspiciously.

Jiang Li took the opportunity to say, “Come on, vote. Since the current evidence points to Master Huang, let’s go by the evidence. Better than suspecting each other without reason.”

The first round of voting ended, and Huang Liang was eliminated.

Some people felt voting this way made sense, while others felt it was rash.

The cameras in all livestream rooms moved away slightly for a moment, inserting a clip of Huang Liang in the changing room before the game started.

A script was handed over, and the staff’s voiceover sounded: “Your identity is—Murderer.”

Huang Liang opened the script and read: “The Old Master knows about my affair with the top escort at the nightclub. Seems he hasn’t told Tao yet… No, I have to strike first. Since I can’t get close to him, I’ll bribe the maid beside him first.”

After speaking, Huang Liang revealed an evil sneer at the camera.

The camera moved to Huang Liang, who was currently walking towards the prison. He sighed hatefully: “The clues pointed too obviously… I originally thought Cui Tao was an unimportant character, sigh!”

The number of bullet comments surged.

“Teacher Duan is godlike! All correct!”

“Wow, pushed out a murderer in the first round.”

“Game continues, means there’s a second murderer?”

“Hope the murderer isn’t Teacher Duan. High IQ crime, good people have almost no chance of winning.”

The remaining guests entered the next round of evidence collection, located inside the mansion.

However, after the first round and understanding what kind of murder motives everyone had, Jiang Li was the first to propose splitting up from Xiao Jiahui. After Wu Enqi and Wu Hao discussed with different expressions for a while, they also decided to separate.

Coming to Travel at Night, Write Feelings, Cheng Duzhou said, “We’ll still stick together.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’m a bad person?” Duan Xingye found it funny and said, “Find a chance to tear you later, then frame someone else.”

Cheng Duzhou tilted his head and said calmly, “Dying in your hands seems okay too.”

“…” Duan Xingye put away his smile and said grumpily, “Cut the crap… if you dare harm me later, you’re finished.”

Bullet screen excited:

“Ahhh! Travel at Night, Write Feelings are the only ones sticking together regardless of danger!”

“This is trust, right! Both feel the other won’t harm them!”

“Wait, could these two both be wolves? That’s why they are so fearless.”