Room 503

"We're back!" Brother Red Chicken looked left and right. Seeing his teammates all in one piece and not a single person missing, he was overjoyed. "This stage was pretty simple after all! You just close your eyes and open them, and it's over. Great, great, everyone's alive!" Except for Guan Ya, whose expression was dazed, everyone else felt a wave of relief. In that situation, the entire team had been in danger of being wiped out; they had effectively survived an A-rank or higher team instance. Perhaps even S-rank. "My sacrifice wasn't in vain!" Lingering fear still showed on Zhai Cai's face as he took a deep breath to settle his nerves. Turning to Jumang and Zhao Chenghuang, he chuckled, "Which of you survived till the end? Who was the killer—Daniel or Sorcerer Dong?" World Returns to Fire, Guan Ya, and Brother Red Chicken cast curious glances over. Guan Ya had not participated for the entire run and knew nothing. World Returns to Fire had died early and remained completely in the dark about the subsequent plot. All of them were deeply curious about the culprit's identity. Zhao Chenghuang shook his head. "I died before Jumang, but before I died, I reviewed the case with him. The killer was likely Cindy Lance." Yuanshi lived till the end? Guan Ya, World Returns to Fire, and Brother Red Chicken came to an understanding, though they also found it only natural—Yuanshi Tianzun had never let them down. Only Zhai Cai's smile slowly faded. "Cindy Lance? Why the hell would it be Cindy Lance?!" He glared suspiciously at Jumang. "Didn't you f**king say the culprit was among Daniel, Sorcerer Dong, and David?" "A misjudgment! The result of the fuji divination didn't point to those three, but to Cindy Lance." Zhang Yuanqing gave a quick recap of the whole case and explained awkwardly, "The revelation from the divination was 'c' and 'l', but because the strokes blended together, I read it as 'd'. No, actually, it was already fused together when written—you can't blame me for that." If not for the frame-by-frame replay during the regression, he never would have discerned the truth. "Fuck! How could you misread even that?!" Zhai Cai flew into a rage and smacked Zhang Yuanqing to the ground. "I traded my life to win you a second chance, and you're telling me you just misread it?!" Brother Red Chicken was furious too. "Smack him again!" If Yuanshi Tianzun hadn't misread it, they would have deduced that Cindy Lance was the culprit long ago. Why would they have needed to skirt the brink of a team wipe? It was only because Brother Red Chicken couldn't beat him in a fight that he held back; otherwise, he'd have marched up and slapped him silly himself. A Fire Master didn't care whether you were a guild leader or not. Sun Miaomiao, World Returns to Fire, and Zhao Chenghuang only now realized why Yuanshi Tianzun had insisted the culprit had to be David, Sorcerer Dong, or Daniel, and they all shot him distrustful sideways glances. "It was just a narrative trick," Guan Ya said, helping her smacked-down husband up and casting a displeased look at the Sole Successor Knight. "Deduction-type instances boil down to just a few patterns, with certain constant elements: a massive web of intricate clues, false clues, and misleading clues. "In the Castle Mystery, each of you was granted a role skill, which meant there would inevitably be clues specifically designed to mislead us. If the fuji divination directly handed you the answer, where would the difficulty be? It was bound to wrap a false veneer over the real answer. "You can't blame Jumang. Anyone could have misread it, including me. The crux is whether he could react in time when each character's clues were revealed and the pieces fell into place—whether he had the sense to question the divination's result and uncover the mystery's deception. "Fortunately, he managed it!" Although as the unlucky sod who died right at spawn without contributing an ounce of effort, she technically had no standing to lecture them, Guan Ya felt a necessary explanation was still called for. Zhai Cai shrugged. "Well, we made it out anyway." He looked toward the newly appeared door that marked the exit. "Let's get out of here first. This should be the final stage." The group immediately pushed the door open, leaving Room 406 and stepping into the corridor representing the safe zone, where they saw rooms beginning with a "5". Having reached their destination, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, filled with a sense of relaxation and release after enduring perils and finally succeeding. "Miaomiao, hurry and check whether any of us still have a bloody calamity hanging over us," Zhang Yuanqing said hurriedly. Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miaomiao opened their Star Eyes, carefully examining everyone's facial features. The expressions of the Taiyi Sect's Wolong and Fengchu instantly turned strange. "Everyone else's physiognomy looks safe, but the bloody calamity between Mr. Knight's brows has grown even thicker." Zhai Cai: "???" The Sole Successor Knight looked thoroughly unconvinced. "Why do I have a bloody calamity while none of you do? Could a danger capable of killing me somehow fail to kill you lot?" Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang shook their heads. The latter said solemnly, "Physiognomy is the most direct indicator of fortune, but we can't see the process unless we perform stargazing." "Stargazing wouldn't work either," Sun Miaomiao corrected. "He's a Dominator—beyond our limits for stargazing." Only Zhai Cai had a bloody calamity? Was the danger in Room 503 aimed solely at him, or would he end up sacrificing himself for the rest of them? Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat. "How about this? Since Mr. Knight is in danger, you can stay here in the corridor safe zone, and the rest of us will go into Room 503 to find the Holy Plate fragment." Hearing that, Zhai Cai sneered. "I suspect you're just bluffing me to keep me outside so you can grab the Holy Plate fragment for yourselves." After all, while they were partners, they were also competitors. 'Aren't you biting the hand that feeds you!' Zhang Yuanqing mimicked his shrug. "Then let's all go in together." Zhai Cai said no more. Raising his head to check the room numbers, he found Room 503. The moment his hand gripped the doorknob, he suddenly hesitated, his expression shifting erratically. "Mr. Knight, maybe you shouldn't force it," Zhang Yuanqing advised with good intentions. Zhai Cai snorted, turned the knob with a click, and plunged into the darkness beyond the door. Zhang Yuanqing and the others followed close behind. Behind the door lay a vast, open space under a washed-clean blue sky with thin, drifting clouds and no sun. They stood inside an estate with a lush green lawn and a granite-sculpted fountain pool. In the center of the pool stood a statue of a beautiful, holy woman holding a vase, from whose mouth a clear stream gushed forth. Fifty meters ahead of them was a castle-like European-style mansion. The main building stretched about a hundred meters long and rose three stories high, flanked on both sides by chimney-shaped auxiliary wings. Above the gray ridge, the orange exterior walls were punctuated by large rectangular windows. The design possessed a quaint yet refined elegance, exuding the style of the previous century. Behind them was not an iron estate gate, but the door of Room 503 leading back to the corridor. "Didn't you say it was a storage room? Is this what your family's storage rooms look like?" Zhang Yuanqing turned his head to look at the Sole Successor Knight. The sight before them made his heart thrum with unease. Having just survived the Castle Mystery, everyone felt their hearts sink. "Winnie couldn't have tricked me, could she?! She did want the Holy Plate fragment, but bound by agreements and oaths, she couldn't easily renege." Zhai Cai's face grew exceptionally grim. This grand estate looked nothing like Old Berent's storage room. If Winnie had lied to him, then Room 503 still corresponded to a Level 8 stage. Was that why the two Stargazers from the Five Elements Alliance had seen a bloody calamity on his face? As an Inspector of Heaven's Punishment's branch, Winnie certainly possessed the cunning and ruthlessness to pull off such a scheme. "We're already inside anyway. Let's see what's in here," Brother Red Chicken said, striding forward with an attitude of taking whatever came in stride. Watching his back, Zhai Cai let out a heartfelt sigh: "It's great being a Fire Master. Fire Masters have no worries." He strode forward, clamped a hand onto Brother Red Chicken's shoulder, and flung him behind. "A Level 5 Fire Master has no business taking point. Scram to the back of the line." 'Hey, hey, Mr. Knight, did you forget your bloody calamity?!' Zhang Yuanqing quickened his pace to catch up and walk alongside him. If they truly encountered danger, he could at least help hold the line. As the team crossed the front courtyard with its lawn and fountain, Sun Miaomiao turned her gaze toward a flowerbed, looking at a cluster of translucent, snow-white blossoms, and gasped in surprise: "Frost Beneath the Moon!" Noticing the confused looks from the others, she explained, "It's a very precious herb in the Spirit Realm that can be used in medicine and alchemy. It's the primary ingredient for pills like the Night Vision Pill and Lunar Essence Pill. Eating it raw enhances night vision, dispels drowsiness, and boosts perception and combat capabilities at night." Brother Red Chicken dashed over to the flowerbed without a word, plucked a large handful, stuffed it into his mouth, and began chewing. Sun Miaomiao continued, "This plant fears sunlight yet cannot live without moonlight, which is why it's called Frost Beneath the Moon. It only exists in very specific instances, since instances also have sunrises and moonrises. Also, if eaten raw, it causes stomach chills and diarrhea." Right as the words left her mouth, a series of shrill, sputtering poots erupted from Brother Red Chicken's rear. He clapped both hands over his backside, clamped his legs tight, and widened his eyes. "Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Sun Miaomiao pretended not to hear and said cheerfully, "Looks like picking them isn't dangerous. I'll harvest some to take home." Watching Sun Miaomiao's bustling back, Zhai Cai looked at Jumang. "Even the girl who looks the most innocent has a black heart, huh." "How could anyone who's made it to Level 5 be described as innocent?" Zhang Yuanqing replied, then glanced at Brother Red Chicken. "Stupid, on the other hand, fits just fine." At this point, Guan Ya pressed two fingers like a sword between her brows, a faint white light flaring from deep within her pupils. She slowly scanned the manor's front yard before letting the light fade. "Aside from plant life, there are no other living beings in the manor." Zhao Chenghuang simultaneously reined in the lunar energy in his eyes. "No wraiths either." Zhang Yuanqing nodded and looked at World Returns to Fire. "Accompany Brother Red Chicken over to those bushes to take care of his stomach. If there's any danger, notify us immediately." World Returns to Fire nodded with utter disgust written across his face. Zhai Cai suddenly asked, "It's just diarrhea. Aren't you a Wood Monster? Don't you even have medicine for diarrhea?" Hearing this, the Saints of Return of the Dead kept their expressions impassive, though a note of vigilance rose within them. This Knight was exceedingly sharp; this wasn't the first time he had probed like this. "It serves as a test to see if the manor holds any dangers," Zhang Yuanqing said calmly. "Cut the chatter!" Showing a rare flash of wit, Brother Red Chicken clutched his backside and scurried toward the bushes. "My ass is gonna throw up, I can't hold it!" The two hurried into the bushes. Brother Red Chicken squatted down while World Returns to Fire stood watch. A few minutes later, Sun Miaomiao returned with seven bundles of Frost Beneath the Moon, stacked up to knee height, totaling roughly two-thirds of the flowerbed. She was a thief who believed in sustainable harvesting. "One bundle for each of us. I just tested it—these can be stored in the inventory," Sun Miaomiao said. "Frost Beneath the Moon is mainly used for medicine and alchemy. If you don't want the hassle, you can pay me a fee and I'll find someone to refine them into pills for you." She explained the properties of Frost Beneath the Moon in detail, along with the effects of various pills that could be crafted from it. The most valuable effect was nourishing the spirit and strengthening the spirit body, which worked wonders for anyone whose spirit body was weakened or traumatized. Zhai Cai considered it and felt quite tempted. "Then I'll trouble you with that." Sun Miaomiao glanced smugly at her guild leader, cunning glinting in her big eyes. In her view, although Zhai Cai liked to mock people and had a cynical edge, the fact that he had been willing to wager his own life in the Castle Mystery so the team could clear it without casualties proved that, at his core, this Knight was upright and accountable—not a disgrace to Knights. On top of that, he was a Dominator, making him well worth befriending to develop connections for their guild. Strengthening mutual benefits was the first step in deepening a relationship. While everyone's attention was focused on Frost Beneath the Moon, Brother Red Chicken finished relieving himself and returned alongside his bowel-movement overseer, World Returns to Fire. "All good now?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. "Feeling way better," Brother Red Chicken replied with a face full of relief. "Frost Beneath the Moon can 'cleanse the intestines and stomach' and lighten the gastrointestinal burden, but only for Spirit Realm walkers. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to handle the medicinal potency," Sun Miaomiao noted. This was one of the reasons she hadn't stopped him earlier. It wasn't purely about treating Brother Red Chicken as a scout; there was no inherent danger, and had the act of picking the herb triggered a trap, everyone would have borne the consequences together. It happened to serve as a test for Room 503. "Get ready to go in. Everyone be careful." Zhai Cai summoned his knightly broadsword and gently pushed open the three-meter-tall double wooden doors. Right at that moment, from behind them in the bushes, came World Returns to Fire's roar: "Who is that standing beside you?!"