Chapter 27: Embrace

The kitchen was very large. A stove for making food, a cupboard for storing spices, hooks on the wall for kitchen utensils; everything that a kitchen should have was there.

But there were no pots and pans on the stove, and the cupboard was empty. The hooks hung empty on the wall. Shen Qingcheng opened the locker, and was surprisingly met with a thick layer of dust.

He wiped his hands off and asked the man beside him, "Those servants brought the food out from here, right?"

Lu Qi nodded. The compartment where food ingredients were stored was also empty.

Lu Qi: "This place hasn’t been used for a long time."

So where did the food they were served come from? Shen Qingcheng was puzzled.

The two searched around the kitchen and found nothing, so they could only leave the kitchen with empty stomachs.

It was still a cloudy day. The sky was dark, and the cold wind was blowing, chilling to the bone.

The old castle seemed to have been built for some years. The bricks and stones used for the construction were covered with the marks of age, and some vines were twined around the lower part of the building, all of them withered.

Shen Qingcheng and Lu Qi were walking on a limestone path when Shen Qingcheng suddenly turned his head, his eyes locking onto a building deep within the castle grounds.

The building was shorter than the others, with only two floors, and the outside was almost completely covered by something black. The few intact windows were also blackened.

He had the feeling he was being watched, as if a venomous snake was hiding in the dark and coldly hissing a warning at him.

As soon as this thought came to Shen Qingcheng, he was stunned. Being spied on--that was the feeling that the hostess of the castle had written about her husband feeling.

Could it be that he was going crazy too? But he wasn’t a horror writer.

Lu Qi: "The fourth NPC lives there."

Shen Qingcheng raised his head and said in surprise, "How can you tell?"

"Just a guess," Lu Qi replied. He restrained him from going deeper into the castle grounds, asking, "Weren’t you hungry?"

Shen Qingcheng thought about it: his stomach was more important than curiosity, and he wasn't that curious anyway.

He stepped back and asked, "Where can I find something to eat?"

Lu Qi let go of Shen Qingcheng and made him walk ahead of him, tightening the collar of his coat to completely cover his nose and mouth and reveal only his inscrutable eyes.

His gaze fell to the hem of the swaying clothes of the person in front of him, and he said, "The forest."

Shen Qingcheng thought it was unlikely--last copy, he couldn't even get out of the school gate.

He hesitated for a while and didn't say anything. He followed Lu Qi, and, unexpectedly, they actually managed to leave the castle grounds!

Shen Qingcheng: "The forest is also included in the scope of this copy?"

The setting of the copy was very large; it would definitely cause problems if they only focused on the hostess’s diary.

He couldn't walk quickly through the snow, and unwittingly fell behind Lu Qi. "What do you think of this mission?"

Without waiting for him to answer, he analyzed by himself, "The four NPCs… Other than the one in the depths of the castle, which I haven’t met, they all seem very strange. Most of them must not be normal people, as evidenced by the fact that the kitchen was not being used.”

"When did they come to this castle? Does what happened to the hostess' family of four have anything to do with them?"

As he rubbed his chin and thought about it, he wasn’t paying attention to the path and fell.

The snow was thick, and Shen Qingcheng was wearing thick clothes, so it didn't hurt.

"I’m fine." He got up and patted the snow off his knees, but before he could straighten up, he suddenly felt a push at the back of his head that forced him into Lu Qi’s arms.

【Ahhhhh I’m dead, I’m dead】

【An embrace! The stars have aligned! 】

【 Embodiment of a screaming chicken here, I declare that Beauty and God have officially made their announcement¹ today! 】

【What happened? Is there a summary? I just discovered the other channel, it's so dry 】

【 To the sister upstairs, the old fans here have decided to camp at Beauty’s channel from now on 】

【 As a fan, I understand all too well. After watching Beauty’s last stream, watching God’s old videos is just too boring [lighting a cigarette] 】

【 To tell you the truth, the new Beauty fans were also very bored after watching Beauty’s travelogue as the copy ended; it was very peaceful without Meiren teasing God [dog head²] 】

【 Hahaha, passerby here, the two fans upstairs should just merge into one family. Shen Meiren has met God in two copies already, it must be fate. 】

【 To clarify, this time it wasn’t a chance encounter, they teamed up :) 】

【 Teamed up +1, God told Beauty last night to open the terminal and contact him if anything happened. Their team up is the hard truth³ 】

【? I remember that in the last copy, God clearly rejected Meiren's friend request, several times, and made Beauty miserable 】

【 Yes, but they ended up a team 】

【 Not only did he form a team, but he also took the initiative to pick up Beauty when he found out that he hadn’t arrived at the castle. 】

【 Not only did he take the initiative to pick him up, but he also took the initiative to lead him along when he found out that Beauty couldn’t walk fast in the snow 】

【 Not only did he take the initiative to hold him, but when Beauty said that he was uncomfortable at dinner, God even offered to feed him 】

【 Not only did he propose hand-feeding him, but now he is hugging Beauty, look at how tight the hug is 】

【 Okay, okay, stop talking, I can't take it any more! 】

【 I announce that God fans and Beauty fans will be blood siblings from now on! 】

A gust of wind rushed past his head, and a long black knife brushed Shen Qingcheng's ear and plunged deep into the snow under his feet.

Shen Qingcheng couldn't see it, his head was being pressed down too forcibly. His whole face was buried in the thick clothes, and he could hardly breathe.

He swatted at Lu Qi’s waist, and he released him.

Shen Qingcheng took a deep breath and sniffed, "Eh, Lu Qi, your body smells so good?" As he spoke, he inched closer to Lu Qi to smell him.

Lu Qishen covered his mouth and nose, his brows furrowed even tighter than moments before, when he had noticed the abnormality.

Although it was a chilly day, there was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, under his hat.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up."

At his excessive reaction, Shen Qingcheng said, blinking, "Mn." If he wanted him to shut up, he would--in order to hold onto his thigh, so he could relax and have a good time, he was willing to bend and stretch as much as needed!

As his face left his chest, Shen Qingcheng rubbed his nose. His heart was just the same, like cold, fragrant rosin.

It smelled pretty good.

His mind filled with such thoughts, Shen Qingcheng turned his head to look at the place where he had fallen just then.

The long black knife was particularly visible in the white snow, and what was even more visible was the blood gushing out from where the long knife had penetrated into the snow.

Lu Qi pulled the knife out, the snow-white blade clean and without a drop of blood on it. He used the blade to push away the snow around the blood and reveal that underneath was a person.

Or, to be more precise, a corpse.

The corpse was facing upwards, and the cold weather had frozen it into stiffness, right hand still reaching out. It was this hand that had grabbed Shen Qingcheng's trousers and tripped him.

Apart from Lu Qi’s knife in its heart, there were no other wounds on its body. The eyes on its pale face were tightly closed, and the corners of its mouth were slightly raised, as if it was having a sweet dream.

Shen Qingcheng: "He looks a little familiar."

"Wei Tian. ​​One of the two people who went upstairs to collect clues," Lu Qi noted, removing his long knife.

With Lu Qi’s words, Shen Qingcheng began to remember him.

The sudden appearance of the servants had disrupted He Wei and Gao Shulin's plans. They had had to hastily arrange for six people to inspect the rooms on the fourth and fifth floors, in groups of two.

The team that this man had been in was the first to leave.

Shen Qingcheng: "Shouldn’t he be in the old castle? How could he have died here?" He was on their route forward.

Something must have happened at the castle.

The two didn't delay any longer. Lu Qi dug a hibernating snake out of the ground as Shen Qingcheng blew rainbow farts⁴, and roasted it for the two of them to share. After that, he also found some berries for Shen Qingcheng as an after-dinner snack.

When they went back, they didn't go the same way they came, so they didn't know that just after they left, there was a cracking sound from under Wei Tian's body, and it sank into the snow and disappeared without a trace.

In the castle hall, 14 players were gathered at the long table.

He Wei and Gao Shulin had arranged for teams of one person from each side to inspect the first floor. The dead Wei Tian was one of He Wei’s people.

When He Wei saw that the players had gathered, he announced, "Wei Tian is gone."

There was a sudden commotion among the players.

He Wei reached his hands out and gestured for quiet. "Luo Ming, you and Wei Tian were grouped together--tell me what happened."

The player named Luo Ming was a short, thin man. He explained, "Because we had limited time, Wei Tian and I decided to separate after we got to the building. We each searched a room, and whoever finished the search first would wait in the corridor. Then, after consulting together, we would continue to search through the next room."

"In the beginning, our method went very smoothly. After searching the fifth room, I went to the corridor and found that Wei Tian hadn't finished and come out yet, so I waited for him there, but he never showed up."

Gao Shulin's eyes were sharp. "You knew which room he entered, but didn't go in to find him?"

"I waited for a long time and Wei Tian didn't come out. I guessed that something happened to him, so I waited for the people on the fourth and fifth floors to search the room and went in with them," Luo Ming said, "There was no way I would risk my life and go in alone."

Ignoring Gao Shulin's ugly expression, he took out a piece of paper and put it on the table.

He Wei: "This is what they found in the room where Wei Tian disappeared. Let's take a look."

Shen Qingcheng leaned forward curiously. It was a very ordinary piece of white paper, covered with crayon drawings. Black and red covered most of it, but the mix of colors made it difficult to distinguish what the drawings were depicting.

The drawing paper was passed around by the players, and when it was passed on to Lu Qi, Shen Qingcheng scooted his chair closer to look at it with Lu Qi.

It was true that he couldn’t identify the content, but the strokes seemed to convey immaturity. At a glance, he could tell that a child had produced it.

Shen Qingcheng: "Was it drawn by a child? A boy or a girl?"

Lu Qi handed the drawing paper to the next person and glanced to Luo Ming and the others who had entered the room. "How did you find this drawing?"

Luo Ming: "That room was the bedroom of the two children, and this drawing was placed in the boy's crib."

Lu Qi: "Were there any traces left by Wei Tian?"

Luo Ming shook his head, "There was no evidence of a struggle or a fight."

He had no friendship with Wei Tian, ​​and their team formation was only temporary, so he could wait for the others to arrive before going in to find Wei Tian without any guilt.

But as a player, the other party had disappeared inexplicably, and maybe he was dead. He couldn’t help but feel a little sad. When a rabbit died, even a fox would mourn⁵.

The drawing was passed around and returned to He Wei, who casually folded it up and put it away.

Gao Shulin didn't say anything for the sake of the dead Wei Tian, and Shen Qingcheng and Lu Qi didn't care at all.

Lu Qi: "Have you checked Wei Tian's room?"

Gao Shulin was puzzled and said, "The room where Wei Tian disappeared wasn’t his own room."

"Aiya, Lu Qi means that we should go to Wei Tian's room to check if the mask is still there," Shen Qingcheng explained. He impatiently tried to pull Lu Qi upstairs.

Lu Qi nodded shallowly to Gao Shulin and allowed Shen Qingcheng's strength to pull him up.

Xiao Liu, who was next to Gao Shulin, asked in a low voice, "Gao-jiejie, should we go too?"

Gao Shulin’s mouth twitched at the corners. "Go." Of course she had to go, she just hadn’t expected Lu Qi to go along with Shen Meiren so much.

The players went upstairs one after another. When He Wei passed her, he smiled inexplicably, "Taken a fancy to Lu Qi?"

Gao Shulin snorted softly, "You’re in the same boat."

Shen Qingcheng and Lu Qi were the first to reach the second floor, but they didn't know which room it was, so they had to wait for the other players to come up before entering.

Wei Tian's room layout was similar to Shen Qingcheng's room. It was a guest room with only simple furnishings.

As Shen Qingcheng entered the room, he went straight to the bedside. He first looked through the bedside table, but there was nothing in the drawer. He lifted the quilt and pillow.

The mask was still there.

Wei Tian's mask had a white base with a red feather mark. At this moment, this mask was lying quietly on the dark sheet.

How come?

Shen Qingcheng was surprised. Could it be that Wei Tian's death really had nothing to do with the four NPCs? What was the point of the mask?

It couldn’t really be for the dance.

Struggling internally, he walked back to Lu Qi, only to find that the person who had proposed seeing the mask in the first place wasn’t paying attention to the mask at all, but was standing in front of an oil painting.

The painting depicted a forest winter scene. Unlike the warm, energetic doe and fox, this painting showed a large black bear lying in the snow.

The big black bear's chest was cut open, its limbs had been cut off, and blood flowed from its wounds, staining the white snow. Its wet eyes stared out of the painting imploringly, as if begging for help.

Ignoring the limbs, there was a hole in the chest, very similar to the Wei Tian they had seen.

But Wei Tian had only been stabbed there by Lu Qi after his death.

TLN:

¹ As in announcement of a relationship.

² Doge meme or stylized emoji version of it. Expresses irony or sarcasm. I guess here it means that the netizens find it ironic that they’d pick the chaos of SQC messing with LQ over peace?

Source

Source

³ Raws have a term originating from the animation 搞笑漫画日和 that literally translates to “real hammer” (实锤) and means that there is hard evidence to support a conclusion. Couldn’t figure out a way to keep the original meaning without rewording, my bad.

⁴ LMK if you’d like this to be localized.

⁵ Apparently this came from 鷰子賦, where it was said that when a fox died, a rabbit would mourn (狐死兔悲), because sadness from shared misfortune transcended species barriers, I guess? Eventually changed to be the other way around (兔死狐悲), although I think the first version was stronger, just because foxes are a predator, and a rabbit being able to look past how a fox’s death benefited them in order to mourn honestly for their loss of life anyway is more nuanced.