The players had limited curiosity about the staff and didn’t care what official notice Mr. Si would receive.
Right now, Zhou Qi’an was more concerned with how to stir up trouble using his friendliness score, which had exceeded sixty.
Before he could put his plan into motion, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
“Where is everyone? Come out this instant!”
Xun the Wealthy was furious—again. This time, his anger burned hotter than ever, and his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Which one of you… stole my cane?”
His eyes were wide and round, and even his speech was a bit incoherent.
Everyone except Zhou Qi’an was stunned.
Lost something again?
The college student had also been called downstairs. Seeing Han Tiansheng with a crippled arm, he was startled. “You—”
Before he could finish, Xun the Wealthy’s roar cut him off. “Was it you? Did you steal my cane?”
The college student looked down blankly. “Isn’t your cane right here?”
“Not this one!” Xun the Wealthy’s eyes flared with rage. “The other one…”
He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, muttering to himself. Amid his murmurs, the word “key” could be vaguely heard.
Han Li exchanged a glance with the weakened Han Tiansheng.
A key? It sounded important.
The two of them immediately suspected the college student—he was the only one who hadn’t been with them earlier.
As for Zhou Qi’an, his timeline was clear. After returning, he had been seen by everyone at the door, speaking humbly to the female ghost, before heading straight to the cellar.
Han Tiansheng, injured and sneering, muttered, “So, you’re just pretending to be weak.”
The college student was baffled, unable to explain himself.
Han Li didn’t hesitate and directly accused him. “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the only one not with us.”
The college student didn’t understand why Han Li, who had always been friendly to him, was suddenly turning against him.
At that moment, Chen Jian spoke up. “No wonder you acted alone before.”
Han Li was trying to help Han Tiansheng increase his friendliness score, while Chen Jian was looking out for himself. With Xun Er dead, those on the periphery of the inheritance still needed to gain a bit more friendliness. Once the college student died, they would likely have enough.
So, whether or not he had actually stolen the cane, they were determined to pin the crime on him.
Xun the Wealthy let out a sinister, twisted laugh, his neck flushing with rage. “So, it was you.”
He stretched his neck unnaturally, his body contorting into an eerie posture as he locked eyes on the college student. “Thieves… all deserve to die—”
Before he could fully emphasize the word “die,” Zhou Qi’an lazily interjected, “Whoever wasn’t here must be the one who stole it, right?”
At that moment, the only person missing was Xun Er.
Xun the Wealthy froze, suddenly remembering him.
His gaze swept the room. “Where is Xun Er? He went to the cellar to fetch something, and now he’s nowhere to be seen.”
Zhou Qi’an shrugged, feigning ignorance.
“The explosion this morning delayed our fishing trip. We had just gone to the lake, and something unexpected happened while we were fishing,” Zhou Qi’an said, his tone deliberately weak and his face full of lingering fear. “We almost didn’t make it back.”
Wang Mu had died at the lake, torn apart. Xun the Wealthy knew better than anyone the secrets lurking beneath its surface. Seeing Zhou Qi’an covered in blood and Han Tiansheng missing an arm, his expression eased slightly.
Gradually, he let go of his suspicions toward them.
The college student looked at Zhou Qi’an with overwhelming gratitude, barely stopping himself from kneeling in thanks.
Zhou Qi’an redirected the blame. “And about that stone statue at the door—it’s supposed to guard the house and wealth, but things keep disappearing ever since we arrived…”
Before he could finish, a deep, magnetic yet furious voice rang out from outside.
Mr. Si pushed open the door, his rabbit-like face flushed red with anger.
“Which one of you—who stole my bus?!”
Zhou Qi’an’s first instinct was: That wasn’t me.
He looked around at the others. The rest of the players only had shock on their faces.
Mr. Si’s rage was almost equal to Xun the Wealthy’s. Standing together, their combined fury could probably set the villa ablaze.
This time, the shock on everyone’s faces was completely genuine.
If someone had stolen the bus, they showed no signs of guilt—unless they were an incredible actor, it was impossible to remain so calm under Mr. Si’s death stare.
Zhou Qi’an frowned. This was strange. Players had no use for a stolen vehicle and wouldn’t take such a risk. But if it wasn’t them, then who else could it be…
A thought struck him, and his breathing grew a little heavier.
At that moment, the college student absentmindedly added, “So, even the stone statue can’t guard its own things?”
Xun the Wealthy’s gaze toward Mr. Si grew hostile. He endured and endured, his lips trembling with rage, but in the end, he didn’t explode.
Just as Zhou Qi’an had guessed, there was an unspeakable deal between Xun the Wealthy and Mr. Si.
It wasn’t time to turn against each other yet.
Xun the Wealthy didn’t dare leave the mountain villa. The moment he stepped outside the ancestral home’s protective range, he would be vulnerable to vengeful spirits. On the other hand, he also needed a continuous supply of “frozen fish” to prolong his life.
Mr. Si was of great importance to him.
However, Xun the Wealthy’s memory was muddled.
In his impression, Mr. Si was just someone who lured outsiders here every so often to feed the fish, and when he wasn’t doing that, he simply stood guard around the place, killing time.
Standing guard?
Xun the Wealthy, overwhelmed by rage, suddenly let out a twisted chuckle. “Almost forgot…”
This stone statue wasn’t a lifeless object. Not only could it move, but it also coveted his family heirloom.
So it wasn’t that little bastard Xun Er after all.
Xun the Wealthy fixed his stare on Mr. Si. “Some things… even if you take them, you might not live to use them.”
In just half a minute, the situation shifted again.
The players were stunned.
It was the first time they had seen staff members and NPCs go against each other. What exactly was happening?
Zhou Qi’an murmured as if talking to himself, “The bus is gone, and Xun Er is missing too…”
His words subtly hinted at another possibility—
Perhaps Xun the Wealthy had Xun Er steal the bus to prevent Mr. Si, the prime suspect, from escaping.
In the end, Xun Er took the blame for everything.
Though Mr. Si felt something was off, there were only so many suspects. After his initial fury, he quickly ruled out the players.
That left only Xun the Wealthy and Xun Er.
The atmosphere was even more terrifying than during the fire.
Xun the Wealthy was a sick tiger—until a tiger was truly dead, no one knew how much strength it could still muster. And Mr. Si was even more unfathomable.
The players feared getting caught in the crossfire. As Han Li instinctively stepped back, she heard Zhou Qi’an murmur expectantly—
“Fight, fight.”
Her mouth twitched violently.
But Zhou Qi’an’s wish didn’t come true.
For some reason, the sky outside had darkened prematurely. Xun the Wealthy’s expression turned stiff, and he spat out a stream of curses as he turned and went upstairs.
Meanwhile, Mr. Si, bombarded with parking tickets, wanted nothing more than to chop Xun Er into a thousand pieces.
Steal it if you must, but can’t you at least follow traffic rules?!
“I’ll step out for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”
The sound of Mr. Si grinding his teeth was enough to send shivers down everyone’s spine. Who knew how much blood-soaked malice lay beneath that human skin?
The players wanted nothing more than to stay as far away as possible.
A long moment passed before Mr. Si finally turned and left.
Everyone let out a breath of relief.
Everyone except Zhou Qi’an.
Mr. Si was obviously going after the stolen bus. But would he run into his mom?
Just thinking about that possibility gave Zhou Qi’an a headache.
Especially with that final sinister laugh—Mr. Si had reached the peak of his rage. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put the stolen heirloom matter on hold.
Gotta trust my mom. Maybe she didn’t steal it.
Zhou Qi’an tried to reassure himself.
Two seconds later, his mouth twitched.
Trusting her too much is the real problem!
There’s at least a ninety percent chance it was her!
Not even two hours had passed since the fire, yet the temperature in the living room had completely dropped.
The relationships between the players now resembled the scorched walls—burnt beyond recognition.
Finding the real culprit who stole the cane would undoubtedly earn Xun the Wealthy’s favorability.
The college student, having been framed earlier, was no longer afraid. The moment Chen Jian’s cold gaze swept over him, he directly questioned him—why had he falsely accused him before?
The anger in his eyes was real.
Chen Jian wavered. Unless the college student was an exceptional actor, the theft had nothing to do with him.
Han Li’s eyes suddenly sharpened like arrows. “Was it that strange woman who stole it?”
She still had no idea who that woman was.
Zhou Qi’an remained expressionless, thinking, My mom is, at most, a bus thief. Her son is the one who stole the key.
Zhou Qi’an forcefully changed the subject. “Gaining enough favorability isn’t hard. The reason things have escalated to this point is simple—you all don’t want to waste your next instance run. Everyone wants the biggest share of the prize. Instead of scheming against each other, why not work together and take down Xun the Wealthy—”
His words abruptly cut off.
The sky outside had darkened completely.
The eerie cries of strange birds echoed through the forest, and even the splashing of fish in the distant lake was eerily clear.
Han Li stopped arguing. The oppressive darkness felt like the world was on the verge of collapse.
The college student hugged himself, trembling. “W-What’s happening?”
For once, Zhou Qi’an’s brows furrowed deeply, showing no sign of relaxing.
From this morning until now, everything had been under his control. But the smoother his plan went, the stronger his unease grew. He felt like he had overlooked something.
“What is it?”
His expression darkened, matching the night outside.
He paced in the living room for an unknown amount of time before suddenly halting.
Without another word, he turned and ran toward the cellar.
Chen Jian and the college student instinctively followed.
Han Li hesitated for a moment before running after them.
The cellar was dim and damp. After being tricked once before, no one dared go down easily this time.
Chen Jian grabbed Zhou Qi’an’s arm. “There’s nothing down there but Xun Er’s corpse. What’s the—”
The rest of his sentence caught in his throat.
Han Li, standing at the back, had used a light source—probably thinking she could be the first to escape if needed.
Under the glow of the light, the cold cement floor and muddy bloodstains were still there.
But Xun Er’s corpse was gone.
“How is this possible?”
The body had vanished into thin air.
Chen Jian immediately ruled out the possibility that Xun Er had never died. “We all received the system notification…”
Zhou Qi’an interrupted, “The journal.”
Chen Jian frowned, confused.
“In the journal, Xun Er discovered that Xun the Wealthy wanted to raise him into a little ghost. So, he sought out the Evil God—but it never said what he traded in return.”
“But it did mention that his biological father was willing to sacrifice his lifespan for a promotion. Children instinctively mimic the adults closest to them… Xun Er likely made a similar trade.”
He followed the example.
That explained the grave in the forest.
Xun Er had truly died once.
Chen Jian felt a chill spread through his body. He had been so focused on Xun the Wealthy that he had ignored the real question—
How did Xun Er come back to life?
“The Evil God took his lifespan. It couldn’t have been returned. Xun Er must have used another method to escape death,” Zhou Qi’an said grimly, unable to figure out exactly what Xun Er had done.
The sun will never rise again.
Xun Er’s words before his “death” echoed in his mind.
Zhou Qi’an forced himself to stay calm and analyzed every word of the journal. “The sun rising from the west… Could that just be an exaggerated childish remark? The west is where the sun sets. It means that on that day, the sun never rose.”
Just like now.
A bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out from a distance.
It was Han Tiansheng!
Everyone rushed back to the living room.
Han Tiansheng was crawling on the floor with his one remaining arm.
“Xun Er… upstairs…” His eyes were filled with terror as he stared toward the upper floor. Due to excessive blood loss, his brain was starved of oxygen, making it impossible for him to form a complete sentence.
—
A short while ago, on the third floor.
Xun Er, who had just clawed his way back from hell, was smiling.
His entire body was drenched in blood, looking like a vengeful ghost straight out of the underworld.
The “ghost” placed three incense sticks into the burner, only to find that someone had already taken all the ashes.
For a moment, he felt both furious and amused.
Lifting his head, his shadowed eyes locked onto the even more sinister statue of the Evil God.
“Almighty God, please bless me…”
More than seeking revenge for the agony of being killed once, Xun Er wanted to see the sheer panic on that young man’s face before he died—
And then return that “good night” greeting, word for word.
His grin widened.
Even knowing that making this final wish would cost him dearly, Xun Er still whispered his last prayer like a madman:
“…Bless Xun the Wealthy, so that he remembers everything.”
There were no real family bonds.
This entire house was full of liars.
—
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an’s Hard-Earned Survival Guide:
- Before lighting a torch, always check for a fire extinguisher.
- After killing a monster, make sure to grind the bones and scatter the ashes.
Summary & Reflection: My reading comprehension is still lacking. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have only just realized all this now. I need to awaken!
