Live Action Murder Mystery

Chapter 58.1

(The good will be repaid, the evil will have their retribution)

Meng Qian Cheng covered his mouth hastily but it was already too late, and his regret surged by ten thousand folds.

— Due to his over-excitement from finding an important piece of evidence, and because he had not seen anyone as he was coming over, he had committed a sudden blunder. He had forgotten to confirm if Li Xiao Yu was by herself.

As Gu Liang was passing Meng Qian Cheng by and observing his melancholic expression, he contemplated for a moment before he followed Yang Ye’s example: “Apologies, I heard it too.”

It was already awkward enough to start with, are you trying to make a sport of this old man with your marital harmony?

Meng Qian Cheng said with some frustration: “Forget it, forget it, let’s go and look at it together.”

Gu Liang followed Meng Qian Cheng. From their position on the north side of the lake, they travelled between the right-sided peach forest and the left-sided orchard, and kept going south until they reached a vegetable field.

The vegetable field was square in shape, and there were several wooden piles at the west-most side.

At the present moment, Butler Hao, Lady Rong and Designer Mei were standing a small distance behind the wooden pile.

Butler Hao did not speak, maintaining his constant silence.

On the other hand, Designer Mei was discussing something with Lady Rong.

Gu Liang walked to the front of the wooden pile and saw that there was an object that was nearly burnt into complete ashes, thus leaving behind a pile of scorched black.

This pile of ashes was not in proper order in the least; while its disarray could have stemmed from the long duration it had been placed there, and that the wind had already destroyed its original state, the fact that this mass of something used to be in some kind of formation before it was burnt into ashes could still be vaguely perceived.

Li Xiao Yu was the first to speak: “Hey! I know what that is! It’s a pentagram! I’ve played Onmyoji before, this is what Abe no Seimei draws! The centre is the five-pointed star, the outside is a circle, the pentagram!”

Gu Liang took a step forward to scrutinise the formation carefully. Then, he uttered, “Mn, it is the pentagram, yes. It’s commonly believed that the five vertices of the five-pointed star individually represents earth, water, wind, fire, and forms the fifth element, the spirit. This fifth element is the origin of all living things in heaven and earth.

“Although the likes of the Japanese Onmyoji, the religion of Ancient Egypt and Greek mythology make use of the pentagram, its corresponding meanings are completely different. In this game, the exact applications of the pentagram should have its own separate clues.”

Li Xiao Yu was surprised: “How do you know everything?”

“I’ve read about it in a book once, but I don’t have a deep understanding of it. It’s just superficial knowledge.”

After giving his reply, Gu Liang looked at Meng Qian Cheng again, “Where did you say the scorched figurine was again?”

“It’s over here.” Dong Wan said, “All of you should come over and take a look.”

Certainly, the doll was basically destroyed by the fire, and the severity was similar to Boyfriend Feng who had burnt to death.

However, not much damage was done to her pupils.

With the family background that Lady Rong had, even the dolls’ pupils would be made out of genuine and costly diamonds.

The intense fire might have destroyed the doll’s exquisite facial features, but it could not tarnish the sapphire blue diamonds of her eyes.

Presently, the sapphire blue diamonds emitted a mottled lustre as it laid in the scorched black eye sockets quietly, giving an impression of extreme bizarreness.

A gust of wind blew past which directly caused the scorched black eye sockets to collapse, and the diamonds drooped down a little, making it even more bizarre.

Apart from her pupils, the doll’s body still had a piece that was completely intact&#k2014; the shoe on her right foot.

She was wearing a strappy red high heel, and it was highly likely that someone had accidentally brushed against her shoe as they were carrying her which led to the shoe falling off her right foot. However, due to the strap being wrapped around the back of her foot, the shoe did not fall off completely.

When the fire had burned and spread towards her calves, foot, and the majority of her shoe, but a small part of the strap remained unburned. Additionally, the shoe that was hanging off was relatively well-preserved by comparison, and it did not receive the influence of the fire.

At the side, Butler Hao’s person carried quite a few pieces of evidence, and one of them was the handbook which recorded the dolls that were sent to each guest.

Meng Qian Cheng took the handbook for the butler, facing Gu Liang and Yang Ye as he said: “Lady Rong treated these dolls with extraordinary care; the hair colour, the gems chosen for their eyes pupils, their clothes and shoes, are all different. Although we can’t distinguish anything from the hair and clothes, the pupils and shoes evince the fact that this doll belongs to Yang Ye’s room.”

“En. Understood. It’s just… why did you want to prevent him from knowing about this?”

“This…” Meng Qian Cheng coughed awkwardly twice, “Because his suspicions are quite larger, no? I wanted to extract information from him later.”

“It’s true that I don’t know how the doll in my room managed to end up here.” Yang Ye said.

Meng Qian Cheng: “When Gu Liang and I were playing chess, didn’t you walk in the direction of the peach forest? It’s just that northern lake you went to, and the vegetable field here, are places that we can’t see. It’s plausible that you came to the vegetable field to burn the doll.”

“I only went to the northern lake, only to be knocked out by someone later.” Yang Ye said. “If you suspect that the doll burning shares some relation to Boyfriend Feng’s death, then you should be finding the person who knocked me out.”

Meng Qian Cheng: “But you might be lying too. It’s within the realm of possibility that you came to this vegetable field to burn the doll.”

Yang Ye nodded: “En, but of course.”

“The relation between the doll burning and Boyfriend Feng’s death, as well as the usage of the pentagram, are matters that we have yet to solve. Furthermore, why are the dolls missing a right arm? Why is there a wound above their chests? I surmise that the organisation of our timelines will only be significant if we have the answers to these questions acting as a foundation.”

After Gu Liang said that, he returned to the pile of ashes and knelt down.

Stretching out his hand, he used his fingertip to touch it tentatively. The ashes were not scalding, thus he directly used both of his hands to shift through the ashes.

To describe the ashes as a scorched black pile was not completely accurate, for there were numerous lumps and pieces of scorched black materials, which was probably the result of some sticky material melting from the heat before it congealed together later.

This lump of congealed matter could not be considered as ashes, because it was comparatively bigger.

Furthermore, as Gu Liang continued to search through the ashes carefully, he could perceive some shreds of clothing that were not completely burnt through.

Yang Ye had also walked over and crouched down by then, and he was searching through the pile with Gu Liang.

Gu Liang casted a sidelong glance at Yang Ye before he turned his head back to ask the others a question: “Does anyone have any clues concerning the pentagram?”

At that moment, apart from Li Xiao Yu and Meng Qian Cheng, the expressions of the other players became slightly odd.

When Gu Liang absorbed the sight, he felt even stranger.

Everyone seemed to have something to do, and they were well-coordinated with a tacit and mutual understanding.

Very quickly, Meng Qian Cheng suggested that they should go to another area to have a look. Thus, everyone scattered one after another, leaving only Gu Liang and Yang Ye in the vegetable field.

“My intuition has rang true; everyone seems to be suspecting you.” Gu Liang told Yang Ye.

The vegetable field quietened down. In a small voice, Yang Ye said to Gu Liang: “With regards to the pentagram, I actually know a little.”

Gu Liang: “……”

Yang Ye said: “But I can ratify the fact that I’m not the murderer because I don’t have a single shred of association with dolls. Hence, I didn’t hide the corresponding evidence too deeply. The evidence was hidden in my sports car. They’ll probably discover it in a short while.”

“What kind of evidence is that?” asked Gu Liang.

Yang Ye: “My mother is a magician, and there’s a photograph of her wearing her magician robes with me in my car. The photograph even has a pentagram protective charm that she drew at the back. The remaining clue pertaining to the pentagram is inside my script.

“My script mentioned one line, the pentagram can seal evil spirits. The specifics of the seal method are— place an object inside the pentagram formation, and then chant the spell.”

Gu Liang asked him: “Did it mention anything concerning fires?”

“No.” Yang Ye replied, “It has nothing to do with fires.”

Gu Liang stared at him. “If I wasn’t familiar with you prior to this… even I would have suspected you. The suspicion you have is way too heavy.

“Consequently, this might be one of the reasons for the high script difficulty. For the good people, not only do they have to find the real murderer, they have to find a way to wash off their own suspicions.”

Yang Ye lowered his eyelids, gazing at the mass of black. “These objects should be related to the evil spirit? But where did the evil spirit come from? Is it possible that the dolls came alive, and became an evil spirit?”

Gu Liang could not reply to Yang Ye’s words at that instance. He could only pick up that black lump, inspecting it for a moment before he uttered, “What kind of material is this, such that it would become lumped together after being burnt? It’s quite similar to plastic. If the evil spirit is the doll, then according to your words, an object related to the doll needs to be placed inside the pentagram to seal the evil spirit. Therefore, if these ashen objects are related to the dolls, could it be her clothes, plastic house, or small props?”

“Yes, it’s possible.” Yang Ye said.

“Who would have these items? Lady Rong perhaps?” Gu Liang asked.

Yang Ye said: “With how much Lady Rong loves her dolls, I don’t think she would burn her dolls. Moreover, there were a lot of items related to dolls in the sixth-floor storage room I was hiding in back when. Anyone could have gone in.”

Tch, going into the storage room means he has a chance to grab an object related to the dolls, he knows about the pentagram, his mother is a magician, and he stayed in the peach forest for a long period of time…

Frankly speaking, Yang Ye’s suspicions were too large.

The situation was quite unfavourable towards him.

Gu Liang sighed with emotion in his heart again. If this was the first script that he had played, he would have suspected Yang Ye like the rest.

Yang Ye brushed his hands together as he continued to stare at the ashes. Subsequently, he used his hand to fiddle with the ashes in an attempt to restore the original state of the pentagram.

In the middle, Yang Ye utter: “I can’t be the only one who knows about the pentagram.”

“However, we can eliminate Li Xiao Yu first. Her and Lady Rong are plastic friends. From the perspective of her character design, it’s improbable for her to have any contact with the pentagram, unless there are other clues. Furthermore, her bringing up the Onmyoji game just now conforms with her usual personality of jumping in and taking off. Perhaps, she had the guts to mention the pentagram first because she was genuinely unaware of the significance that the pentagram bears in this script.

“Let’s talk about Designer Mei next. She’s the designer of these dolls. Since the likes of evil spirits exist in this world, then she – by virtue of being a doll designer and being in this profession – should be aware of some of the taboos relating to it. She should be cognizant of the relation between a soul and a doll. My mother drew a pentagram on the photo frame for the sake of protecting me. Therefore, it’s possible that Designer Mei is aware of the fact that the pentagram can be used for protective purposes.

“And lastly we have the three people from this ancient castle, namely Magnate Rong, Lady Rong, and Butler Hao. The reason why they would know about the pentagrams is similar to that of Designer Mei. With how much Lady Rong loves dolls, the inhabitants of this ancient castle should be aware of the taboos.”

Gu Liang laughed helplessly after hearing that. “I don’t know anything, that’s for certain. My character is too soy sauce. Wait, hold on—”

Having thought of something, Gu Liang stood up and said: “I need to make another trip to the back kitchen.”

“Back kitchen? What are you trying to look for?” Yang Ye asked.

Gu Liang: “Inside the chefs’ resting lounge, I recall seeing a book that recorded the guests’ tastes and habits. The book was quite thick so I merely skimmed through it. But after hearing your previous words, I get the sense that it warrants a careful read through. For example… If a magician-like figure had visited the ancient castle, or if there are any mentions about evil spirits.”

“Mn. That works, but give me some time.” Yang Ye said.

Upon hearing that, Gu Liang lowered his head. Yang Ye had already restored the ashes back into the pentagram’s standard and original formation before it was disrupted by the wind. There was a five-pointed star that was surrounded by a circle, and its shape was exceedingly structured.

But upon careful scrutiny, it was evident that parts of the five-pointed star and a third of the circle’s circumference were overly thick and solid.

It was as though the pentagram had been drawn with a pen, except more strokes were appended to several places, which caused the thickness of the entire pentagram to look uneven.

Gu Liang frowned: “Why are there some areas that are thicker by comparison?”

Yang Ye destroyed the ash-formed five pointed star by stretching his hand out to swipe away all the ashes.

In a moment’s work, the pentagram diagram on the ground was immediately revealed.

The person who burnt the dolls had placed the objects related to the doll like her clothes and small houses into a pentagram formation, which gave rise to the aforementioned diagram after the soil underneath had suffered from the high temperature fire.

Hence, the soil itself had a pentagram pattern.

“You followed the traces of the pentagram left on the scorched dirt?” Gu Liang asked.

“Yes. Which led me to the realisation that the ashes have a higher quantity than what should be expected. I shifted the extraneous ashes to the peripheries and patted it down, which is why the circumference is slightly thicker.”

Yang Ye picked up the scorched clump that had stuck together with his fingers, saying, “Notably, this kind of remnant seems to be excess. This sort of plastic… apart from being a part of a doll’s house, what else could it be?”

Gu Liang thought of something, causing his pupils to dilate. He immediately said: “It could be the dolls themselves. The dolls in question are typically made out resin. Therefore, I have a conjecture…”

Standing up, Gu Liang surveyed the surrounding soil once. Everywhere was even and orderly; the soil did not show any traces of having been overturned.

Gu Liang continued to state: “If we can’t find any of the dolls’ missing arms after we searched the entire ancient castle, that can only signify… the arms might have been destroyed.”

“Sure. Let’s go and find Old Man Meng first. Let him, the detective, photograph the evidence here meticulously, then we’ll go to the back kitchen area to check the visitors’ log.”

After saying that, Yang Ye stood up again to look towards the vegetable field.

When they came over previously, they had traversed through the small path between the peach forest and the orchard to get here.

But if you were to take the horizontal path that was cutting across the vegetable field, you could reach the main doors of the ancient castle in actuality.

Gu Liang followed his gaze to look over while simultaneously retrieving his card map for verification.

“When the system told us to go to the garden dining room for breakfast, I noted that the map indicated two paths, the first path was to use the west side door in the main hall where the evening party was previously hosted, which was also the path that we took when we were going to eat breakfast; the other was by going through the main doors of the ancient castle, where you have to walk westwards after leaving the main doors, then head south, which will lead you to the dining room. The road is separated from the vegetable field by a part of the orchard.”

“Therefore—” Yang Ye stepped onto the road which seemed like no one had trod on thus far, saying, “If we were to walk over from our current position, we can travel through the orchard to get to the second road that leads to the dining room, which you just mentioned. Of course, you can head towards the main entrance too.”

“That’s right.” Gu Liang kept pace with Yang Ye as they walked down the path. The road heading east went through the orchard, and after turning south and walking a short distance, they could see the main doors of the ancient castle.

Conforming to Yang Ye’s expectations, the other players, Meng Qian Cheng included, were currently surrounding Scumbag Yu’s sports car to inspect it.

Gu Liang mulled over it, saying: “Therefore, the fact that you, Confidant Ai and Designer Mei walked in the direction of the peach forest, was witnessed by me. All three of you bear the possibility of going to the vegetable field to burn the doll. But in reality, Butler Hao and Lady Rong could have gone to the vegetable field as well, it’s just that they didn’t go through the peach forest and they used the other path instead. However, whether they have been there or not is not something I’m aware of.”

“Yes, that should be the case. Apart from you and Old Man Meng, everyone else had an opportunity to go to the vegetable field to burn the doll.”

T/N: Happy New Year’s Eve~!