Chapter 17

(The tips and tricks to solve a question are taught by the language teachers.)

Seated on the edge of the bed, Gu Liang tapped his finger against the wooden boards before he continued to speak: “The script emphasised that in Xiaoyao Sect, Perennial Wang’s wife and his direct disciples all know of this curse, and the only chance to use it in the next three years was today at mao shi.

“A handful of people know how to use this method to kill him, but there is only one real murderer. This is the difficult part about the case. Consequently, it was the brain hole I was led to after reading the script, and it’s also how I managed to guess Doctor Yu’s modus operandi so quickly. It’s just that…”

It’s just that, under the condition where only Perennial Wang’s wife and his direct disciples knew of this curse, how did Doctor Yu come to learn of it?

Yang Ye raised his hand and tapped on his nose due to a force of habit. He asked Gu Liang: “What’s your motivation for killing?”

Gu Liang: “I suspected that he was aware of the matter between the both of us, and I wanted to kill him no matter the consequences.”

“What is Doctor Yu’s impetus then?” Yang Ye glanced at Doctor Yu, “You’re not a person from Xiaoyao Sect, why do you know this curse?”

Doctor Yu went quiet as though she was weighing if she could spill the inside story she knew.

After a short period of time, she seemed to realise that there was nothing worth hiding and said in a direct manner: “My mother was the ninth legitimate wife of Perennial Wang, and she was tormented and beaten up every day. Later, she ran away with me. But not long after, she still died because of the serious injuries she had previously suffered, which became the root of her troubles.

“Hence, I wanted to kill Perennial Wang for the sake of avenging my mother. After learning that Perennial Wang was looking for a doctor because he had fallen ill, I decided to pretend to be a doctor to stay in Xiaoyao Sect. [Draw a Circle to Curse You] was something I learned from my mother.”

Feeling a little thirsty after saying a large chunk of words, Doctor Yu drank a huge mouthful of her water.

Having drank her water, she realised that the two people in front of her did not speak at all. Despite wavering for a moment, she could resist asking: “My script possesses the same crucial prompts as Beauty Yi. If it’s truly the case where everyone used the same curse at the exact same time to kill Perennial Wang, then… then how are we supposed to vote in the end? This is too difficult.”

After listening to her words, Yang Ye gave Gu Liang a pensive glance.

Gu Liang returned him an indifference look before he told Doctor Yu: “This is just a brain hole of mine, I happen to notice that you were using the curse so I asked a few more questions. The game has just begun; it’s hard to deduce the rest.”

Just as Gu Liang’s voice fell, the voice of a NPC servant girl rang out from outside: “Madam! This is bad! Sect Leader… The Sect Leader, something happened to him! Oldest Martial Brother and Second Martial Brother have already rushed over! You should go and take a look too!”

Subsequently after, the familiar broadcast sounded.

“It is presently mao shi, six quarters of an hour in. When two servant girls entered the room, planning to attend to the Sect Leader Perennial Wang and Beauty Yi in their morning routine, who could have thought that Beauty Yi was not in the room, and Perennial Wang was dead on the bed.”

“Master Hui was initially with Beauty Yi before he went to the Buddha worshipping hall to chant his sutras later, and his entire journey was witnessed by the servant girls and guards. In essence, Master Hui did not have any chance to act, and he is the detective in this case.”

“The real murderer is among the Oldest Martial Brother, Second Martial Brother, Beauty Yi and Doctor Yu.”

“The script enactment segment has ended. Following, we will be entering the investigation segment. Since the map of the current script is comparatively bigger, the time given for exploration will be relaxed. You have twenty minutes to investigate the scene of the crime, and two hours to search the rest of the premises for clues freely. The centralised discussion will last for two hours. Hope you enjoy the game!”

Once they heard the broadcast in full, the three of them made their way towards Perennial Wang’s bedroom together.

Gu Liang felt a strange quietness settle in.

When he was fumbling around in the dark yesterday, he could see numerous servant girls and guards far away, and there were even other Xiaoyao disciples.

But right now, all of them had disappeared.

Since the script enactment segment ended relatively quickly, all the NPCs had left. Currently, the only living people in Xiaoyao Sect were the five surviving players. Hence, the large grounds of the Xiaoyao Sect became excessively quiet; so quiet it made people feel slightly restless.

The scenery as they were making their way back, however, was quite tasteful with the fake mountains, winding corridors and waterside pavilion.

As they were walking around the bend of the winding corridor, Yang Ye deliberately tugged on Gu Liang to slow down his pace. When Doctor Yu walked further away from them unconsciously, Yang Ye pulled him to the back of the fake mountain.

Gu Liang looked at him curiously. “Aren’t you fond of flirting with women? Why did you cast her aside?”

“Nonsense. Since when did I flirt with a woman?” Yang Ye’s eyebrows arched up.

Not even batting an eyelid, Gu Liang derided him in a strict manner: “If you didn’t realise you were being flirtatious, then the problem is even more severe, and you have a disgusting character. Even if you teased someone to the point where their heart felt restless, you’d be completely oblivious to it.”

Yang Ye thought in his heart, You’re talking about yourself, right?

— You regularly tease me with your smiles, but you seem unaware of the effect you have.

Despite his numerous thoughts, Yang Ye pretended to be serious on the surface as he tugged on his red sleeve. “Enough, let’s talk proper business. Why did you tell her so much without any reservations just now? Were you trying to swindle her?”

Gu Liang: “I was casually sounding her out and coaxing some information from her.”

Yang Ye: “I knew it.”

— He knew that Gu Liang was black when he was cut open; it was highly improbable for him to offer the entire story out of the kindness of his heart. He was merely looking for a pretext to get her motivation to kill, story and background out into the open.

Yang Ye: “And have you gained anything out of her?”

Gu Liang nodded: “Mn, I gained some particularly important information from her mouth.”

Owing to the fact that Yang Ye was slightly taller than Gu Liang, his eyes would become level with Gu Liang whenever he bent his body forward. And now that his hand was holding the fake rockery behind Gu Liang, his posturing gave him a roguish air. “Hmm, not planning to share the information with me?”

Gu Liang: “I can only confirm it after I see the corpse. If it’s what I think it is, the case will be quite simple.”

Yang Ye smiled, “Would it really be that simple?”

Gu Liang shot him a look. “Do you have any opinions? You are the detective with the least amount of information in this scenario.”

Returning his gaze, Yang Ye replied with ease. “Naturally, it’s about the title.”

“The script’s name?” Gu Liang quirked up an eyebrow. “Painted Exteriors, Long Lived?”

Yang Ye patted his shoulder. “That’s right. Your language teachers should have imparted to you that when you’re incapable of answering the question because you can’t understand the passage in your reading comprehension, you should start with the passage title first. It’s called tips and tricks to solve a question. It’s obvious at a glance that you didn’t attend school properly, you should learn some.”

“Heh.” Gu Liang asked him, “What was your college entrance examination score?”

Yang Ye: “669, how about it, it’s quite decent, right? Didn’t score as high as I did now, did you?”

With a placid tone, Gu Liang replied: “I didn’t take the examinations. I was guaranteed admission.”

Yang Ye: “……”

Gu Liang thought about it before he gave his comment: “Mn. Painted Exteriors, Long Lived, perhaps these two phrases actually have a significant meaning to them. Although your train of thought differs greatly from mine when it comes to solving cases, it can’t be denied that it’s very logical.”

The serious appearance Gu Liang had as he was complimenting him made Yang Ye chuckle. Then, he pulled on the sleeves of his garment and started towards Perennial Wang’s room again. “Enough, let’s go to the crime scene first. I have to photograph it as soon as possible to prevent the site from being sabotaged.”

“If we’re going, we’re going, what are you pulling on my sleeve for?”

“The terrain here is quite complicated, I’m afraid you’ll get lost.”

“Like hell I’ll get lost, I managed to find your place even though I was fumbling in the dark.”

“That’s true. Traversing down this path night after night to fool around with me, it’s like driving a light carriage on a familiar road.”

Gu Liang: “……”

— Like he was saying, he was bound to have an unpleasant experience in this scenario.

Holding his garment’s sleeve? He was clearly poking fun at the fact that he was garbed in a female costume.

* * *

Very quickly, Gu Liang and Yang Ye arrived at the scene of the crime, which was also Perennial Wang’s bedroom.

Doctor Yu tossed them a questioning look. “Weren’t we walking together? How did the both of you disappear as we were walking?”

Yang Ye let loose some drivel as he said: “We went to the toilet. It’s not convenient for ladies like you, so we didn’t tell you.”

Doctor Yu blushed a little before she turned her head around and kept her silence.

But that could not stop Doctor Yu’s brain from supplementing more.

— Hm, wait a minute, when boys go to the toilet, they have to go together too?

Isn’t it usually the girls who go to the toilet hand in hand? Could the two of them be…

T/N: I love Doctor Yu x’D