Live Action Murder Mystery

Chapter 95

(The killer combination has been locked in; finally called him gege, hei~)

Gu Liang’s gaze lingered on the two words “Chef Huang” for a good while before he opened his mouth to say: “Let’s start the discussion from the chef. The plan that the killer combination was colluding on, was decided by Vagrant Qian and Waitress Jing. We previously suspected that Waitress Jing was the one who used this plan and gave the role of Murderer A to Chef Huang, while she went to kill Vagrant Qian on her own.

“We’ve already ruled out Waitress Jing, but there is another person who might know of this plan, and that person is Vagrant Qian’s disciple, Recluse Wang.

“Therefore, the letter that was written with a non-dominant hand and placed in the back kitchen, might be written by Recluse Wang.

“Currently, we need to reimagine the happenings in this case plot again. Through our previous discussion, the Zhao Meili that Li Xiao Yu portrayed stabbed Proprietress Ling with a knife, leading to the failure of Chef Huang’s plan, because Proprietress Ling wouldn’t go into my room, nor would she accidentally walk to the window and consequently get shot by Recluse Wang from the opposite bank because she was searching my room.

“Since that’s the case, is it possible that Chef Huang is only one of Recluse Wang’s plans? Maybe she only learned that Chef Huang had some enmity towards Proprietress Ling after interacting with Vagrant Qian, so she wanted to make use of Chef Huang. But when all is said and done, she doesn’t fully understand this chef, and she can’t be certain that she could kill Proprietress Ling by using Chef Huang, hence, Recluse Wang actually designed a Plan A and Plan B.

“In Plan A, she and Chef Huang are the murderers. Perhaps during her discussion with Girlfriend Jia, Girlfriend Jia believed that it was better for her to stay out of this matter. Thus, it was only Plan A, which required Chef Huang to lead Proprietress Ling towards the window, failed, that the both of them decided to execute Plan B.

“At 1 o’ clock in the afternoon, Chef Huang lied to Proprietress Ling to make her check School Senior Hua’s room; at 1:30, Zhao Meili went to the lobby and stabbed Proprietress Ling with a knife; at 2 in the afternoon, at this crucial point in time, why did Girlfriend Jia go to Recluse Wang’s room? That alone is quite suspect.

“Proprietress Ling probably didn’t go into my room, and she definitely didn’t go into Zhao Meili’s room. According to Li Xiao Yu’s words, she went to look for Proprietress Ling in her room, but Proprietress Ling wasn’t in her own room either.

“Furthermore, you were resting in your room alone in the afternoon, Proprietress Ling didn’t leave. As for Tourist Jia’s room, I can’t think of a reason why Proprietress Ling would go there alone, since Tourist Jia wasn’t around. Even if she wanted to find him, she should be looking for him around the cliff that both of you were hiking in the morning.

“Since that’s the case, is it possible that Proprietress Ling was actually inside Recluse Wang’s room, which is also Room 304?

“When the few of us were gathered together just now, we had a simple discussion. Girlfriend Jia flatly denied having done something with Recluse Wang, which is very suspicious. I don’t believe that they have never acted. But why does she refuse to admit to it?”

Yang Ye contemplated for a long moment before he said: “If that’s the case, then there’s only one possible sequence of events for the case— Recluse Wang was already in the thatched hut on the opposite bank of the lake before 2:30 in the afternoon, and she had already completed the act of killing Vagrant Qian. She lied in wait inside the thatched hut, looking through the scope to watch the row of guest rooms.

“It’s highly possible that before Waitress Jing reached the thatched hut at 2:50, she was already done shooting Proprietress Ling to death, and she had already phased through the wall and left.

“And simultaneously, Girlfriend Jia was inside the inn’s guest room observing the situation. Before 2 o’ clock, she could have stayed inside Tourist Jia’s room alone, or she could be along the corridor. In any case, she was observing the inn’s situation quietly. Subsequently, she discovered a stab wound on Proprietress Ling’s back, which would have been fatal if it was inflicted on a human. Hence, Proprietress Ling went to the third floor, planning to recuperate in her room.

“According to the description in Techniques to Capture Ghosts, a ghost being illuminated by the rhinoceros horn is not that much different from humans in reality, and they can get hurt. The stab wound to the heart that Proprietress Ling sustained from Zhao Meili should be quite heavy for her too. Consequently, the strength that Proprietress Ling had back then, should be reduced.

“We can only assume that Girlfriend Jia used a talisman array, or she used her peach sword to force Proprietress Ling into Recluse Wang’s room, because she didn’t know when Tourist Jia would return, which was why she didn’t dare to do this Tourist Jia’s room. She could only bring her to Recluse Wang’s room. Furthermore, they were conspiring together; if there was any bloodstains, it would be convenient for her to clean it up because it was Recluse Wang’s room.

“Girlfriend Jia was capable of helping the rich second-generations speculate in stocks and gamble because her calculations were accurate, and it allowed her to mingle in their circles. She’s not completely without ability. Under the circumstances where Proprietress Ling was already injured, it’s possible for her to subdue her.”

Gu Liang pondered for some time, saying: “Or perhaps we could theorise that Girlfriend Jia didn’t subdue Proprietress Ling, and she still stuck to deceiving Proprietress Ling. Maybe the situation was like this back then: Girlfriend Jia held a sword to Proprietress Ling’s neck and brought her into the room and made Proprietress Ling stand in front of the window. She couldn’t allow Proprietress Ling to sense the fact that a bullet would be fired from the opposite bank of the lake. Thus, she would be quite carless during her execution.

“Proprietress Ling stood in front of the window while Girlfriend Jia pointed the sword at Proprietress Ling’s neck, saying something along the lines of ‘I have a few questions to ask you, you are obligated to answer’. Proprietress Ling didn’t have the intention to hurt humans, and she genuinely thought that she only needed to answer a few questions, so she didn’t use her powers to run away. However, she never expected that she would be shot to death by the sniper on the opposite bank of the lake.”

Giving a pause, Gu Liang continued: “A ghost as powerful as Proprietress Ling… In addition to how long she has been living for, Girlfriend Jia would probably have no way of subduing her even if she was injured, not truly at least. After all, even her shifu Taoist Priest Qian could only find a way to make the peach wood into bullets, and design a plan to shoot her to death. This suggests that he’s completely incapable of defeating Proprietress Ling.

“Therefore, perhaps Girlfriend Jia believed that Proprietress Ling was injured, and she could force her hand. Whereas from Proprietress Ling’s perspective, she was probably cognizant of the fact that Girlfriend Jia was the young Taoist nun she had a chance encounter with years ago, and she thought that she only wanted to interrogate her about the supposed death of her companion at her hands. Hence, she also cooperated and followed Girlfriend Jia into Recluse Wang’s room. She wanted to answer her questions to settle the resentment incurred from that year, and resolve the misunderstandings. Contrary to her expectations, she was killed.”

Yang Ye put down his glasses and kneaded the space between his eyebrows. “Mn, agreed. It’s reasonable as a whole. After all, Recluse Wang was in possession of the Incense Absorbing Amulet. The clues match up. But there’s still a problem with one small detail. At 2 exactly, Chef Huang saw Girlfriend Jia going into Recluse Wang’s room, what on earth was going on back then?”

Gu Liang replied: “I believe that there are only two possibilities. One, he only saw Girlfriend Jia’s back figure and her eventually entering the room and closing the door. He didn’t know that Proprietress Ling was inside the room, and he didn’t see the peach sword that Girlfriend Jia was raising in front of her.

“Two, Proprietress Ling had already been shot to death by then. Maybe she went back to the room she and Tourist Jia were staying in, or she went to some other place to retrieve an item similar to a weaved sack, because she was planning to stuff the corpse and clean up the aftermath.”

“Regarding this point, we need to confirm the details with Chef Huang during the discussion later.”

“Mn, I concur.” Yang Ye said, “Honestly speaking, the murderers are essentially locked in on the Recluse Wang and Girlfriend Jia combination.”

After eyeing the Index of Hundred Ghosts that was placed on the table, Yang Ye stated: “Truth to be told, the crux of matter is still hinged on Recluse Wang’s motivation for killing the vagrant. Even if Recluse Wang is a resentful ghost, she’s usually capable of retaining her rationality. What could have happened, such that it made her decide to kill her shifu? There must be something that incited her rage.”

Gu Liang said, “Chef Huang received that letter when he was preparing to make breakfast at 5 in morning. This indicates that Recluse Wang’s murderous intentions towards Vagrant Qian came into being before 5 at dawn. Something must have happened before midnight last night.

“But that’s where our problem resides. Recluse Wang and Girlfriend Jia were sleeping together last night, they can testify their timelines for each other. If they are the murderers, they will definitely lie.”

Having spoken to this point, Gu Liang’s and Yang Ye’s eyes met.

Yang Ye had a vision impairment in right eye due to an injury, but his left eye was in complete working order.

For the same reason, when he was fixing his gaze on Gu Liang, his left eye was extremely focused, while his right eye gave the impression that it was slightly unfocused.

Gu Liang found the revelation interesting, and he could not resist leaning forward to look into his eyes.

Now that Gu Liang was closer, both of his eyes could be brought to a focus instead.

However, in the same move, Gu Liang could see the miniscule scar at the corner of his right eye.

Gu Liang stared at that scar raptly for a few long moments. Yang Ye asked him: “What are you looking at?”

Gu Liang asked: “You haven’t told me, how did this injury come about?”

Yang Ye replied: “It’s nothing really. We were having a live explosive demolition training and a small accident happened. My comrade couldn’t run away in time so I threw myself at him and rolled on the ground a few times, which technically counts as saving him I guess. Some of the shrapnel from the explosion cut my right eye back then, and it’s already a huge blessing that I didn’t go blind.”

With regards to the problem in his eye, Gu Liang had already asked Yang Ye this question during the Painted Exteriors · Long Lived script.

But Yang Ye only gave a rough explanation, and he did not go into detail.

At this moment, Yang Ye finally explained a little: “When you asked me that question for the first time, I didn’t say too much, mainly because I wasn’t really familiar with you back then. If I said too much, it would seem like I was flaunting my moral character. Saving my comrades is something I should be doing from the very beginning.”

After Yang Ye was done explaining, he noticed that there was something slightly different about the gaze that Gu Liang was regarding him with.

“What’s the matter, Liang Liang?” Yang Ye asked him.

Shaking his head, Gu Liang laughed, only saying: “It’s nothing. I only want to say, as expected.”

Yang Ye: “As expected what?”

Gu Liang responded, “Because you’ve served in the military, and also because of your intrinsic personality and conduct, you’re a very kind person, who loves helping other people as well. For the same reasons, there were a lot of instances in the past where I couldn’t be certain if you were treating me well because you were used to helping people, or because you felt something for me… Mn, since from your point of view, I might be a patient who has recovered from his mental illness, but his PTSD might not be…”

Yang Ye pinched Gu Liang’s chin. “What about now? Are you aware that I like you now?”

Gu Liang smiled, pushing away his hand before he picked up his glasses. Then, he used both hands to hold the sides of the glasses and helped Yang Ye put them on. “That’s enough, let’s solve the case.”

“Liang Liang, come on, call me gege?”

“Hey, you’re so…”

“Say it once.

“Just once.

“Liang Liang? Just call me that once.”

After a long time, Gu Liang gave in.

“Fine fine fine, gege, let’s go, we need to continue solving the case.”

After leaving School Senior Hua’s room, Yang Ye and Gu Liang continued to search for evidence.

Apart from the exhibit piles outside their room doors, they personally went through each and every room to search it once, while mainly focusing on Recluse Wang’s and Tourist Jia’s room.

Once they were done searching all the rooms, they went to the courtyard.

In the courtyard and according to Li Xiao Yu’s report, the players had already started digging the soil, strictly implementing the grid pattern searching method suggested by the detective Gu Liang Liang.

After all, the map was not big but the time given for the free exploration was very long, which meant that conducting such a meticulous search was completely doable.

Thus, Gu Liang and Yang Ye joined the soil digging army very quickly.

As they were upturning the soil, Gu Liang was checking if there were any issues with the deductions that he and Yang Ye previously made inside his head.

— For instance, the character of Tourist Jia, was he really that clean?

However, no matter how Gu Liang pondered, he could not find a single burst seam on Tourist Jia.

After all, he believed that their check list of suspects was not wrong, the “Murderer B” who went to the opposite bank of the lake had to be a ghost.

After sorting through the combinations, only Recluse Wang and Girlfriend Jia remained in actuality.