Chapter 28

(Being able to accompany you for a day, meant a day of happiness for me.)

Instead of answering Oldest Martial Brother’s question immediately, Yang Ye walked over to the Second Martial Brother’s side and patted him on the shoulder.

Second Martial Brother received his hint. He undid his outer robes, thus revealing the right sleeve which was completely stained with a spray of bloodstain patterns.

Yang Ye said: “The counterfeit slept with his chest bare, this was a point that was unanimously corroborated by Beauty Yi and Second Martial Brother. Second Martial Brother admitted to the fact that he went to the deceased’s room to carve the words on his body, and he saw that the deceased was naked waist up back then. Similarly, Beauty Yi saw the deceased being half-naked when he fell asleep.

“Since that is the case, you can infer that if the counterfeit realised that Second Martial Brother was there to kill him after he woke up, and proceeded to counter kill him, then the resulting blood spray would only be on his bare right hand and wrist instead of his sleeve. Since the circ.u.mstances were dire, the counterfeit couldn’t possibly wear his clothes and kill someone after.

“Therefore, the possibility of the counterfeit retaliating against the Second Martial Brother and later pretending to be Second Martial Brother does not exist. The one who died was the counterfeit.”

The Oldest Martial Brother opened his mouth in an attempt to say something but Yang Ye said: “Yes, you could say that the murderer already thought that we might deduce it that way, and this was but his pretence. For example, when he was changing the face skins after the murder, he conveniently splashed some blood on his sleeve to make a better imitation. Mn… that certainly is possible. For the same reasons, it wasn’t the deciding factor. You had another split seam.”

Oldest Martial Brother had nothing left to say and his complexion paled even further at a visible rate.

Slowly, Yang Ye remarked: “The number of face skins wasn’t right.”

“Whose number of face skins wasn’t right.”

“The number for Perennial w.a.n.g’s face skin.”

Yang Ye gazed at Oldest Martial Brother and explained: “Since there is one counterfeit pretending to be Perennial w.a.n.g, it means that there is already one Perennial w.a.n.g face skin. If he wanted to switch ident.i.ties after killing someone, he just had to take off his own face skin and put it on Second Martial Brother’s face. Based on this scenario, the secret room in the fake mountain would only be missing Second Martial Brother’s face skin because Perennial w.a.n.g’s piece was unnecessary.”

Oldest Martial Brother scrunched his brows. “But he might have forgotten that in the moment. He went to the secret path, took away two face skins, returned to the bedroom and change them directly, only to take his own mask off afterwards, that’s also possible—”

Yang Ye said: “No. It’s not logical to do that. After going to the secret path, there was absolutely no need for him to return back to the bedroom.”

Oldest Martial Brother: “Why… is that?”

Yang Ye said: “Because after the murderer kills someone, it’s best for them to keep their actions as simple as possible. Once the murder has been accomplished, he can take off the mask on his face and place it on the corpse, take off the corpse’s bloodied clothes, go to the secret path in the fake mountain, retrieve Second Martial Brother’s face mask and put it on, thus sealing the deal. Then, he can head to the kitchen directly to get breakfast and return back to the martial brothers’ room. There was absolutely no need for him to return back to Perennial w.a.n.g’s room.

“Not only is returning to the crime scene redundant, it’s also a waste of time, and he can’t even guarantee that in time that he was absent, the corpse won’t be found. What if a group of people were surrounding the corpse when he returns to the crime scene, wouldn’t he be admitting the fact that he was the murderer? Moreover, he still has to go to the kitchen to get breakfast. Going to the fake mountain from Perennial w.a.n.g’s bedroom, and going to the kitchen from the fake mountain, are in two completely different directions. There’s simply no need for him to do that.

“Hence, you intentionally took Perennial w.a.n.g’s and Second Martial Brother’s face skin because you wanted to s.h.i.+ft the case’s direction into making everyone believe that the murderer was the Second Martial Brother. It’s just that you didn’t calculate all the details properly and made a blunder while trying to be clever.

“You probably found the secret path first during free exploration and thought of the idea to s.h.i.+ft the blame onto another player on the spot, so you took away the two face skins. You didn’t have the luxury of thinking too much back then because you had to leave the secret path as soon as possible. You were afraid of the other players finding the place at that given time. Frankly speaking… you played fairly well. Do you have the two face skins on your person right now?”

Oldest Martial Brother laughed bitterly. Subsequently after, he slumped to the ground as if he was dejected in his state of mind.

He took out two pieces of face skin from his bosom and threw it on the ground, head drooping down completely.

A moment later, Yang Ye said: “At the very end, Gu Liang went to the secret room and received the letter the deceased left behind to let us understand the whole story. Do you want to see it?”

That made Oldest Martial Brother shake his head. He buried his face in his palms. “I’ve already guessed the story. I don’t need it.”

“Can I ask you another question then?” Yang Ye queried. “You killing Perennial w.a.n.g, or perhaps it’s more appropriate to say, the Youngest Martial Brother guised Perennial w.a.n.g, what was your real motive for killing him exactly? After looking at the letter, we ascertained that he didn’t forced himself on you.”

Oldest Martial Brother kept his silence for a long time before he finally said: “Ten years ago, Perennial w.a.n.g brought the Youngest Martial Brother out for travels but when they returned, only Perennial w.a.n.g remained. I asked him how Youngest Martial Brother died but he hedged, only saying that he was killed by some evil monster. However, when I went to the place of their travels to investigate, there weren’t any rumours of evil monsters at all. And upon Perennial w.a.n.g’s return, he fell grievously ill from the hallucinations that arose from the misguided focus in his cultivation, to say nothing of the fact that he has always been a cruel and violent person… It led me to the a.s.sumption that Youngest Martial Brother had been killed by Perennial w.a.n.g.

“Therefore, I killed Perennial w.a.n.g for the sake of avenging Youngest Martial Brother.”

Hence, Oldest Martial Brother killed Perennial w.a.n.g because he wanted to seek vengeance for Youngest Martial Brother.

But he never expected that the Youngest Martial Brother was acting as the current Perennial w.a.n.g.

After Oldest Martial Brother finished that sentence, the centralised discussion room was quiet for a long period of time.

Everyone was either furrowing their eyebrows deeply or lightly, or perhaps they were rueful about the fact that Oldest Martial Brother would be accepting the death penalty in a short while. Maybe they were only sighing about the scripted story itself.

Oldest Martial Brother raised his head. In the modernised centralised discussion room, white fluorescent lamps shone down from the ceiling. When he was illuminated by the incandescence, Oldest Martial Brother’s complexion became even paler, and a near greyish-white hue appeared in his pupils.

Oldest Martial Brother heaved out a sigh, uttering, “This character of mine didn’t know that the current Perennial w.a.n.g was the Youngest Martial Brother disguised. But I already guessed it myself. Maybe because I was the murderer, the contextual clues that I had on my card were more detailed than yours. It’s just that…”

“I didn’t know where the clues regarding the Youngest Martial Brother and I were concealed in Xiaoyao Sect. I was afraid that if you knew that the deceased was the Youngest Martial Brother, you would mentally a.s.sociate us together by virtue of our relations.h.i.+p and continue to harbour suspicions that I was the murderer. Therefore, I chose to hide this connection completely, fabricated my motivation for killing by saying that Perennial w.a.n.g forced himself on the Oldest Martial Brother.

“Perhaps, if I hadn’t done so much, it would have been easier for me to escape notice. If I bit the bullet and did nothing, the suspicions between Second Martial Brother and I would be fifty-fifty…. No, his suspicions might have been slightly bigger. His robe sleeve had blood. The fact that I did so much only created more weak points.”

Once he said his piece, Oldest Martial Brother buried his face into his palms completely and resigned himself to silence.

The broadcast’s voice rang out again: “The murderer is about to accept the death penalty. The remaining normal players will be awarded one gold coin, the detective will be awarded one extra gold coin exclusively. The detective’s performance was especially outstanding; with a score of full marks, he has one additional chance to draw a reward card. Furthermore, Beauty Yi found an opportunity to converse with the NPC and triggered a side plot; he is also awarded with one additional chance to draw a reward card.”

When the broadcast’s voice descended, another man in black walked over to Yang Ye and Gu Liang. A stack of cards appeared in his hands, and he allowed Gu Liang and Yang Ye to take their pick.

Yang Ye and Gu Liang glanced at each other tacitly before they drew their cards simultaneously.

After looking at their cards, neither of them revealed any obvious expressions as they kept their respective cards.

Finally, the broadcast’s announcement for the punishment arrived.

“Since we are at the end of the game, let us see the real faces of the deceased Perennial w.a.n.g and Oldest Martial Brother! Let us see what crimes they have previously committed. Their crimes will be carved into the epitaphs for all those that come after to spurn!”

As per usual, one face of the wall lit up.

“Perennial w.a.n.g (Youngest Martial Brother), real name Cheng Zhen, 37 years old, became a vagrant after he was fired by his company, likes stealing things. Because he once stole a patient’s life-saving money, they could not have their operation in time and they died a tragic death. Sinner, go to h.e.l.l.”

“Oldest Martial Brother, real name w.a.n.g Jie, 28 years old, an investment company manager, a.s.sisted certain businessmen to cheat the banks, manipulated share prices, and made money off ordinary stockholders through improper means. He has indirectly caused numerous people to jump off the building and commit suicide, thus breaking up families through death or scattering. For your end, you will suffer the “Meet at the Rooftops” punishment!”

The wall opened, and bizarrely enough, there was a tall high-rise building inside.

The Oldest Martial Brother w.a.n.g Jie was akin to a stringed wooden puppet as he was brought to the high-rise building by the men in black.

And without needing the men in black to push him, w.a.n.g Jie jumped off the building on his own accord.

Gu Liang closed his eyes but the text on the light screen were still burned into his retinas.

He was thinking: Will there be a day, where the things I did, will end up being shown on the light screen like this?

But all those things, could they be summarised in a few words?

Would the bystanders comprehend the difficulties he was reluctant to vocalise and the reason for his excuses, or perhaps even the true intentions of his heart?

Probably not.

At this moment, someone held his shoulders and asked softly: “Are you okay?”

Gu Liang turned to look at Yang Ye and shook his head. He took out the letter signed by “Youngest Martial Brother”.

* * *

“Oldest Martial Brother, I am going to die soon. Before I die, I want to tell you a secret that concerns the survival and extinction of Xiaoyao Sect. The real Perennial w.a.n.g actually died two hundred years ago. Every subsequent Perennial w.a.n.g was a suitable successor chosen from the ranks of disciples, and they would later wear a human skin mask as a disguise. The truth of the matter is that Perennial w.a.n.g never practiced any skills that granted him immortality.

“The earliest Perennial w.a.n.g attracted countless hostilities, but owing to his expertise in martial arts, no one dared to touch him. However, he knew that once the news of his death got out, all his enemies would come calling and Xiaoyao Sect would cease to exist. Hence, the real Perennial w.a.n.g made a gambit— he allowed his most willing disciple to act as him and perpetuate his ident.i.ty as Sect Leader of Xiaoyao Sect to terrorise the rivers and lakes with force.

“I am actually your Youngest Martial Brother. Our Master was the eighth Perennial w.a.n.g. I reminisce those years; of the will and spirit you possessed in your early youth and the chivalrous heart you had as a skilful martial arts pract.i.tioner. I followed you in practice, followed you below the mountains to temper ourselves and benefited a great deal; those were the happiest times of my youth and life. You were reticent but you have always treated me with the utmost care. It is just that I fear you have already forgotten me by now.

“Ten years ago, the eighth Perennial w.a.n.g, who is also our Master, misguidedly focused on his hallucinations during cultivation and he was at the last grips of life. Before he died, he told me the biggest secret of Xiaoyao Sect and decided to cultivate me as the next Perennial w.a.n.g who also succeeds as the Sect Leader of Xiaoyao Sect. He even mentioned that marriage talks had gone through and the female in question was the distinguished Beauty Yi Unfortunately, I have no inclinations towards beautiful women, and I could only lie that I was castrated.

“Although Master lied to the world and said that I died in a strange land far away from home, I was actually hiding in the ‘Qingxiao Cave’ in the back mountains. Afterwards, Master stated that he was going to seclude himself in the cave, but in reality, he spent seven years pa.s.sing all his martial arts to me. And just like this, we separated for a long time. When we met again, Oldest Martial Brother… I had unexpectedly become your master.

“That night, the moonlight was magnificent, the tree peonies were blossoming bright, I invited you to view the flowers and drink and feast. Unexpectedly, you said that you felt heartfelt admiration for me. Towards this, I was both delighted, and distressed at heart. My delight, was because I admired you wholeheartedly as well. My heart was distressed, only because you treated me as your Master, and not the Youngest Martial Brother who walked in your footsteps every day in the past. I adored you since childhood, but the person you truly and always admired was our Master. Because of this, I struggled, I ached, but in the end I willingly took on the name of your Master to stay by your side. Being able to accompany you for a day, meant a day of happiness for me.”

T/N: silently cries for Youngest Martial Brother.

(Tried my best to make it sound more poetic.)