Chapter 107: “Were you punished by the altar?”
Yang Ce continued in a deep voice, “In this round, regardless of which witch you believe, Andrew is the one being forcefully eliminated. So, no matter which of these two witches leaves, they will take care of themselves at night.”
“From another perspective, if Matsubara is the self-stabbing wolf, among the three wolves, a wolf self-stabs to trick the witch into using a potion to save them, then two wolves remain. If Matsubara is a wolf, then Andrew is the seer, and Toudou Sakura is the witch who gave the seer a clear card. So, Toudou Sakura and Megan must be the other two wolves. If you think the three wolves are openly playing like this, then just assume Matsubara is a wolf, his teammates are Toudou Sakura and Megan, and there’s another unidentified gargoyle.”
“I remember Number 6, Nan Shan, voting for Matsubara, but his words and actions didn’t match. He voted for Matsubara but later said Matsubara’s speech was problematic. Is he acting as the gargoyle? In that case, we’ve identified the four wolves, and the game is over. Today, we eliminate Matsubara, the witch poisons the gargoyle at night, and the next day we push out Megan. On the third day, the hunter can shoot and take out Toudou Sakura, and the game is over.”
After Yang Ce finished his logical analysis, everyone began to waver slightly.
“The wolves’ strategy is already quite elaborate, involving self-stabbing, wolves attacking wolves, and two wolves impersonating two priesrs. They’ve gone to such lengths and put all their teammates out in the open. Is this meticulous planning or foolishness?”
He then analyzed the possibility of Andrew being a wolf, saying, “If Andrew is a wolf, then Megan might not be a wolf. If he really killed Megan and then posed as the seer, claiming Megan was a wolf, he could draw out the witch, like Toudou Sakura, who directly revealed herself. In this scenario, Andrew and Toudou are not aligned; instead, Lao Yu is the wolf.”
“Another possibility is that Toudou Sakura is a wolf, not a witch. Last night, they didn’t kill Megan, but they killed Matsubara. If the wolves killed the seer on the first day, Andrew and Toudou Sakura are the two wolves aligned. Among those who voted for Andrew, there is a wolf, and there must be a backstabber gargoyle. If Andrew is a wolf, the other wolves are playing more covertly.”
“This round, I will vote out Andrew. I won’t go against logic when both witches stand with one seer. Since the witches are leading, I’ll follow the witches. After all, we have a gravedigger. As long as the gravedigger stands up and reports the autopsy results, the good guys can only make a wrong decision for one day. Am I right?”
Yang Ce looked at the others and said, “I think the person with the gargoyle role should have three strategies: first, to boldly claim to be the seer; second, to stay neutral without revealing themselves when they haven’t identified the wolf team; and third, to backstab on the first day if they identify the seer or witch, aligning with the good guys to avoid being eliminated.”
“I believe this time the gargoyle is among those who stayed neutral. I can’t possibly be the gargoyle with such strong statements and logical analysis. If Andrew is a wolf, I would definitely save him now. If Matsubara is a wolf, I should give him a god’s pit, especially since grave keeper and hunter can hide very deeply.”
Yang Ce finished and looked at Andrew and said, “I’ll follow the witches. Andrew, you sacrifice today. If you are a good person, the grave keeper can clear your name. But I hope if you are a good person, you won’t destroy the scepter. It must be passed on to the obvious good guys. If you destroy the scepter and cancel the mid-priest’s position, the good guys will be at an even greater disadvantage in voting.”
After Yang Ce finished, he passed the turn.
The hall of the temple was empty and extremely cold, with the sound of wind whistling through the gaps in the stone doors echoing in An Wujiu’s ears.
The snow outside fell continuously, like the mid-priest’s prophecy, never stopping. The temple seemed devoid of food. An Wujiu thought that since the plot of “City in Water” was arranged, the altar must want them to leave the temple and go into the city to find food.
Yang Ce was right about one thing; the current situation was caused by the two witches. Both witches strongly sided with Matsubara. Now, if someone goes against the logic and believes Andrew is the real seer, they might be poisoned by the witch at night.
An Wujiu deliberately said that the wolves wouldn’t kill the witch to confuse the wolves.
He didn’t know the feelings of other players, but he understood the wolves’ mindset very well.
They were definitely eager to find the gargoyle, so they would listen carefully to every person’s speech.
Even a single sentence like “the wolves certainly won’t kill the witch” might be taken by the wolves as a hint to kill the witch at night.
If Andrew is the real seer, the wolves will kill Lao Yu at night.
If Andrew isn’t, and Matsubara is the real seer, the wolves have two choices before them. They might indeed listen to An Wujiu and kill Lao Yu to dirty Matsubara’s identity.
It doesn’t matter; Lao Yu will definitely use poison tonight, and Toudou Sakura will undoubtedly be eliminated.
Among the seers, Matsubara and Andrew, if Andrew is playing this dirty, Matsubara can still be saved. At least tonight, An Wujiu will know who is good and who is bad.
So this night has almost no suspense.
Andrew began his speech by saying, “I must not be eliminated this round because I am the real seer. I am truly helpless, even the witches are siding with the wrong person.”
His helplessness was apparent, as he seemed to be trying hard to suppress his emotions.
“Since Yang Ce talked about the witches, I’ll talk about them too.
Initially, I believed Miss Toudou was the witch because she dared to claim the role as the first speaker. Unless she was really a god, she knew she couldn’t back out. But after Lao Yu claimed to be the witch, I started to waver because what Lao Yu said moved me. He said he and Matsubara were in the same boat. As someone who wants to help others, I understand this motivation well. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have worked so hard in the warm-up match to hope everyone could win, right?”
“But as time went on, one thing bothered me more and more.” Andrew analyzed to the crowd and said, “You all missed one possibility. What if Lao Yu and Matsubara are aligned? Matsubara poses as the seer, claiming a wolf teammate as a good person, and the wolf teammate claims to be the witch, saying he saved the self-stabbing wolf. They mutually enhance each other’s identities. Can you bet this is entirely impossible?”
“Or, Matsubara is actually the gargoyle, and there was no killing on the first day. He poses as the seer and gives his wolf teammate Lao Yu a good identity, letting the wolf teammate know he’s the gargoyle. But due to speech issues, no one believes him. Seeing the real witch save their self-stabbing wolf teammate, the wolf teammate then claims to be the witch to further enhance Matsubara’s identity as the seer.”
“The real self-stabbing wolf is Megan, whom the real witch Miss Toudou did save, but she sided with the wrong person. Miss Toudou, think about it. If I were a wolf, would it be too risky to give a dead person a wolf’s identity? You know, it’s hard for me to win this way.”
“Yang Ce’s analysis that both witches are pushing me can only mean the real witch sided with the wrong person. If Yang Ce were a wolf, he would be jumping up and attacking. I think he’s more likely to be a good person fooled by the wolves. Good people, you must reconsider. If Lao Yu is the real witch, he can just poison someone at night. Why jump out now? He can poison Toudou Sakura at night and reveal who he poisoned the next day, right?”
Andrew, from his perspective, pointed out everyone and emphasized, “Everyone, I am the true seer. I hope the witches can also reconsider. Megan is a self-stabbing werewolf, Matsubara and Lao Yu are also wolves, Toudou is the witch, and the hunter must stay hidden. Today, we must follow my lead to vote out the werewolf I identified. Only then can we, the good people, win. I absolutely will not deceive you!”
Andrew’s heartfelt speech seemed sincere and revealed the true wolves’ identities in his mind. However, there was one point that An Wujiu did not agree with, which made him, as a believer in Andrew, somewhat shaken.
Toudou Sakura could not be the witch; in An Wujiu’s eyes, the real witch could only be Lao Yu.
Lao Yu couldn’t hold back and jumped out as the witch, which was a normal operation for An Wujiu. In Lao Yu’s eyes, this person who impersonated his identity must be a solid wolf. At this point, even if he didn’t jump out and poison Toudou Sakura, the next day, after seeing two deaths, Toudou Sakura could solidify her witch identity and be believed to have been killed by werewolves, not poisoned.
If he jumps out as the witch the next day, his credibility would be very low. Lao Yu is not a player with strong speeches and tight logic, which would be a disadvantage and might get him pushed out by the good people.
If Andrew is a wolf and dresses his teammate Toudou Sakura as the witch, then Megan might really just be an innocent villager.
An Wujiu was glad he could verify people at night.
If Andrew is a wolf, the good people would be ahead of the wolves. If Matsubara is a wolf, they would push out Matsubara the next day.
An Wujiu thought, maybe he really needed to jump out tomorrow.
In this game, if the gravedigger jumps out, they will certainly be killed by the werewolves. Now, with no antidote left, if the good people can win, An Wujiu can still be revived. If the good people lose, An Wujiu would truly be dead and wouldn’t even have the chance to be an NPC.
[Speech over, please vote.]
Everyone had twelve options appear before them.
During the election, everyone trusted Andrew, but now, with the two witches definitely changing the direction, everyone might vote for Matsubara.
An Wujiu believed Lao Yu was the witch, and Toudou Sakura was fake.
He thought for a moment and cast his vote for Andrew just as the countdown ended.
If he made a different choice from others now, it might not be Lao Yu who dies tonight, but himself, An Wujiu.
Holding a role that couldn’t die easily, he had to keep pretending.
[Voting ends.]
A beam of silver-white light suddenly projected from the obsidian stele at the top of the hall, and the light that should have landed directly on the ground unexpectedly refracted towards a certain direction.
It finally landed on Andrew.
Following this, the voting results of everyone were displayed under the obsidian, the text shimmering with a silver glow.
[Player Andrew is out; please give your last words. The sacrifice ritual will begin after the last words.]
Andrew’s face almost instantly turned pale. He frowned tightly, seemingly anxious about the upcoming sacrifice, and his hanging hands trembled slightly.
But he clenched them into fists.
“I am truly the seer.”
Andrew began his last words, “Actually, when I drew this card, I already anticipated that even if all the good people acknowledged me, the werewolves would surely kill me on the second night. So, I was mentally prepared. But I didn’t expect so many people to vote for me in the end.”
The voting results were displayed in the air, shimmering with silver light under the obsidian.
Nan Shan chose to abstain, and everyone else voted for Andrew without exception.
“I think Nan Shan’s role leans towards a good person. He voted for Matsubara, but later pointed out Matsubara’s problems.” Andrew analyzed, “Everyone else sacrificed me, so am I the one without teammates? I hope the good people can reconsider, especially you.”
He looked at Toudou Sakura and said, “I hope you can reconsider. Megan is a self-stabbing werewolf; Lao Yu and Matsubara are her teammates. Now we just need to find the gargoyle. I think the gargoyle should be among the people Matsubara needs to verify. You can choose one to poison, don’t poison Lao Yu, and push Megan out the next day.”
After thinking for a moment, Andrew looked down at the staff beside him and said, “I can’t give you this scepter.” He said to Toudou Sakura, “Because you might die today. If I give it to you, you might not be able to use it tomorrow, and I’m not sure if you are on the right side.”
“I verified Megan as a werewolf on the first day and didn’t verify any good people. But if I destroy this scepter, the good people will have even less advantage.”
An Wujiu heard this and thought, don’t give it to him, he doesn’t want this scepter at all.
“I’ll give it to An Wujiu.” Andrew finally decided to pass the staff, “I think you will stand on the right side after hearing my last words. I think your speeches in the two rounds sound like a good person. Anyway, I can no longer verify people. If you also die, give it to the grave keeper who jumps out.”
I am the grave keeper…
An Wujiu maintained a neutral expression, but inside, he was full of rejection.
Sure enough, Murphy’s Law is true—the more you don’t want something to happen, the more likely it is to happen.
Obviously, this scepter could have been given to Nan Shan, who abstained, or to the witch he recognized in his heart, or to Wu You or Noah, who voted him as the mid-priest.
But it ended up with him…
An Wujiu knew very well that once he got this staff, no matter who the real seer was, he would be the focus. The chances of the werewolves killing him at night would be greater.
Even if the werewolves didn’t kill him, they might seize the opportunity to defame him during the day, and he might be sacrificed during the day…
This staff was really a hot potato. If Andrew were truly a good person, this move might once again sell out a divine role.
At this moment, the mid-priest’s staff disappeared from Andrew’s side and appeared on An Wujiu’s right, glowing with golden light, symbolizing divine power.
[Player An Wujiu inherits the scepter and becomes the new mid-priest.]
[Player Andrew is out and falls into a coma. Priests, please prepare for the sacrifice of Andrew at dusk.]
As the holy voice spoke, Andrew immediately collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
An Wujiu stared at Andrew, who had collapsed on the ground, and took a step forward, intending to help him up. However, Nan Shan got there first, lifting him up while muttering something, likely a Daoist incantation.
The morning sacrifice’s chosen one wouldn’t die immediately; instead, the death would be delayed until just before sunset. This delay caused a persistent shadow of death to loom over everyone, inescapably spreading.
Despite Andrew’s last words, An Wujiu still believed Lao Yu was the real witch.
With this in mind, An Wujiu turned his head and saw Lao Yu leaving the second lamp post. He chased after him.
Shen Ti also moved from his lamp post, following behind An Wujiu, and heard him speaking to Lao Yu.
“Lao Yu, you shouldn’t—”
The rest was inaudible. Though An Wujiu’s lips moved, his voice seemed forcibly silenced, making it impossible to hear anything.
An Wujiu realized this.
Lao Yu looked puzzled. He already didn’t trust An Wujiu, so he frowned and impatiently avoided his hand, asking, “What do you want?”
An Wujiu mouthed something, but even he couldn’t hear it.
Had he violated a rule?
Wasn’t it said that revealing one’s identity to others outside of the morning sacrifice was the violation?
Lao Yu, feeling inexplicable, ignored An Wujiu and walked away with a flick of his sleeve.
Meanwhile, a holy voice echoed in An Wujiu’s mind.
[The morning sacrifice has ended. You attempted to inform others of night operations outside the allotted time, which is a violation. You are penalized with two hours of silence.]
Silenced?
An Wujiu felt indignant. They had never mentioned this rule, but now he couldn’t make a sound and had no way to protest.
[Rest assured, the rules are consistent for everyone. Even the wolves can only discuss at night.]
An Wujiu was helpless but had no choice but to accept the punishment.
At least it was only for two hours.
When he looked up, he met Shen Ti’s green eyes, filled with amusement.
“Did you get punished by the altar?”
An Wujiu raised an eyebrow, signaling, “What do you think?”
Shen Ti burst out laughing, his joy almost making him squat down as if he had won a grand prize.
An Wujiu momentarily felt like punching him but reconsidered, worried he might seriously hurt him with his steel bones. After all, Shen Ti was his boyfriend.
“You weren’t trying to warn Lao Yu about something and got penalized by the altar’s system, were you?” Shen Ti laughed so hard he almost squatted down, “How could something so absurd happen?!”
Wu You approached them and, upon standing beside An Wujiu, punched Shen Ti in the back.
“Are you out of your mind?” Wu You scolded in a low voice, “One person is already being sacrificed, and you’re so happy. Are you even human?”
An Wujiu felt a touch of gratitude. Wu You didn’t seem to care whether he and Shen Ti were really wolves; he just didn’t want them targeted by others.
Shen Ti restrained himself slightly, shrugging, “You think I want to be human? If your Wujiu-ge liked flowers, grasses, or big snakes, I’d shed this human skin right now.”
“Shen Ti,” Nan Shan’s smile was a bit awkward, and he said, pressing his cloaked hand on Shen Ti’s arm, “This kind of joke isn’t very funny.”
Shen Ti thought to himself, he wasn’t joking at all.
If An Wujiu liked it, he’d turn into anything, but being human was the most painful and boring.
“Not funny?” Shen Ti said nonchalantly, “Alright then.” He added, “Anyway, this skin should be quite decent; otherwise, how could your Wujiu-ge fancy me?”
Wu You found it odd. He looked at An Wujiu and said, “Wujiu, why aren’t you refuting him? You used to tell him not to talk nonsense. You’ve changed.”
An Wujiu: I want some peace and quiet.
“Do you feel that this game is different from the previous ones?” Nan Shan suddenly asked.
“What?” Wu You didn’t understand what he meant. Coincidentally, his stomach growled. He touched his abdomen and said, “I don’t know, I just feel very hungry. I’ve been hungry since I got up this morning.”
“Exactly, that’s the point,” Nan Shan said, releasing his hold on Shen Ti. “In previous games, our hunger never felt this intense. This time, it feels very real.”
“Maybe it’s the altar’s doing, making us find food,” Shen Ti suggested.
Wu You frowned. “But there’s no food around here. I searched all over last night.”
An Wujiu suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the stone door.
Nan Shan thought for a moment. “Yeah, maybe we should check it out.”
They moved the stone door aside, and the wind and snow immediately swirled in, blurring their vision. Everyone’s cloaks were blown open, and the biting cold seeped into their bones, slashing their faces like soft knives.
An Wujiu glanced sideways and realized how high this place was. He turned to look back and saw that the temple they were in was pyramid-shaped, with another identical temple on its right side. Both temples were built on a larger pyramid-shaped base, with steps descending layer by layer to a snow-covered plain.
After much effort, they finally made it from the temple to the ground. Wu You, nearly slipping on the steps due to the cold, was saved by Nan Shan’s quick reflexes, who grabbed his wrist.
“It’s too cold here,” Nan Shan said, letting go of Wu You and walking forward. Not far ahead, he noticed differences in the snow cover; some areas had thick snow, while others felt less solid when stepped on.
He quickly returned to firmer ground, crouched down, and brushed away the snow. As he suspected, beneath was not earth but ice.
“Is it water?” Wu You recalled the previous introduction. “Isn’t this supposed to be a city on water?”
An Wujiu saw several small houses ahead, with smoke rising from some chimneys. He raised his hand and pointed.
“There’s someone there,” Wu You said, pointing to another house. “Let’s split up and check.”
“You’re so thoughtful, little brother,” Shen Ti said, grabbing An Wujiu and running off, leaving Wu You behind.
Wu You stomped in frustration. “I meant for me to go with Wujiu-ge!”
Shen Ti just waved at him from a distance with his back turned.
“Be careful, Xiao You,” Nan Shan reminded him. “That’s ice, it might crack.”
Wu You quickly retreated to Nan Shan’s side, pretending nothing happened. Then he suddenly reacted and ordered, “Don’t call me that.”
“Alright, I’ll call you Youyou then.”
Wu You was infuriated and stomped off towards another house.
Shen Ti and An Wujiu approached the house with smoke. Just as they arrived, the door opened, and a middle-aged woman came out to fetch an empty bucket.
Seeing the two of them, her first reaction was to kneel.
“Good morning, esteemed priests.”
An Wujiu quickly stepped forward to help her up, but he couldn’t speak. He turned to Shen Ti for help.
Feeling a sense of satisfaction from being relied upon by An Wujiu, Shen Ti said, “There’s no need for such formalities. It’s cold outside; let’s talk inside.”
The woman eagerly agreed and respectfully led them into the house, repeatedly expressing how honored she felt.
“It’s rare to see the two of you together. People used to say the two priests didn’t get along. I always said they were talking nonsense. It seems I was right.”
“Not get along?” Shen Ti wrapped his arm around An Wujiu’s shoulder, smiling charmingly. “How could that be?”
Taking advantage of An Wujiu’s inability to speak, he spoke with deliberate ambiguity.
“I like him very, very much.”
