Chapter 62.2

Gu Liang directed his gaze towards Lady Rong first: “I have a question I would like to ask you. Everything the butler said, do you agree with it?”

“I agree.” Lady Rong said, “We did have a dispute last night. However, I don’t remember the arm cutting because I lost my consciousness then.”

“Last night, what did you do after Sc.u.mbag Yu entered your room?” Gu Liang asked.

Lady Rong clenched her hands into fists under the table. After she pinched her leg, she uttered, “He said some sweet and intimate words to me, and coaxed me to sleep. Just as I fell asleep, the spray of water woke me up.”

Gu Liang: “In accordance with the butler’s reasoning, you weren’t killed by Yang Ye, which means to say that you shouldn’t have experienced the blackout caused by the doll’s possession. But earlier today, when Designer Mei looked for us, she said you blacked out.”

“I had a temporary black out.” Lady Rong dug into her own legs anxiously before she continued, “I don’t even know if I should trust Butler Hao or Sc.u.mbag Yu.

“But the butler’s words make sense. My black out could be attributed to the fever medicine as well. It’s possible that I managed to fall asleep in front of Sc.u.mbag Yu due to the medicine’s aftereffects too. Confidant Ai can verify the fact that I had a fever last night, and I ate the medicine after I left the banquet in advance.”

“Sure. Sc.u.mbag Yu only did all these, right? There’s nothing else?” Gu Liang questioned.

Lady Rong said: “Since he needs to leave some for the pentagram on the second day, he only used a little… and he should have left after setting the fire.”

Gu Liang nodded: “I’ll summarise the events then. If Sc.u.mbag Yu killed you last night, he wouldn’t know that you were under the doll’s protection, nor would he know about the activation of the sprinkler system. From his perspective, his actions should have attracted a huge fire, which is why he would choose to immediately leave the scene, right?”

Even though Lady Rong nodded her head, she was panicking in her heart, because she did not know the purpose behind Gu Liang’s questions.

Gu Liang continued to say: “Therefore, even if Sc.u.mbag Yu killed or did not kill you last night, he would have left immediately, and he wouldn’t have done anything else.

“Furthermore, after the breakfast this morning, you didn’t see him at all, right? According to your collective reasoning, he was always at the garden.”

Lady Rong: “… Yes.”

“You were in your room the entire morning?”

“Yes, I was in my room the entire time after breakfast.”

Gu Liang narrowed his eyes slightly and raised his chin, giving people an exceedingly strong sense of oppression.

“Among the ashes found at the scene of the array, there were some remnants of fabrics and materials from small houses, where did they come from? Shouldn’t those items only come from your room?

“Since he left your room immediately last night, and you were in your room for the entire morning, he doesn’t have the chance to go into your room to take these things. And before it was time for breakfast, I can verify the fact that he was with me the entire time. When did he take these items that were placed in the pentagram then?”

“I… I…” As Lady Rong was panicking, she looked at the butler subconsciously. Then, she said: “Then… Maybe the butler was lying. Sc.u.mbag Yu isn’t the murderer.”

At the side, Yang Ye chuckled after hearing that.

— Truth to be told, there were numerous small houses and toys that belonged to the dolls on the shelves of the storage room.

Evidently, Lady Rong had forgotten this point in her panic.

Gu Liang’s expression was too calm and confident, which made Lady Rong believe that since Sc.u.mbag Yu hadn’t been in her room afterwards, it was absolutely impossible for him to get the doll’s clothes and toys.

Of course, the other reason was that the accomplice taking her crime was equivalent to a double win as well.

For the same reason, Lady Rong had the audacity to push the matter onto the butler.

As Yang Ye watched Gu Liang attentively, there was visible admiration in his eyes.

Certainly, Gu Liang’s way of questioning was extremely oppressive.

Under his forceful interrogation, it was reasonable for his opponent to become nervous.

This probably shared a close relation to his professional experience.

Although he did not think he was suited to become a lawyer, and was even averse to that part of his past—

But from his current performance, Yang Ye could imagine how he would have looked like as he was partic.i.p.ating in a hearing in the court of law during his former years. It would definitely be calm and measured like this current instance; advancing gradually and entrenching himself with every step, making his opponents pale by comparison.

Su Lan spoke up at this moment: “Blacking out due to the fever medicine is too far-fetched. I think the script arranged the incidents of blackout to make us think towards the idea of the dolls supplanting her. Consequently, since the theory of the fire disaster being diverted to Boyfriend Feng’s person doesn’t exist, I believe that the murderer isn’t Sc.u.mbag Yu.”

“I concur.” Li Xiao raised her notebook, explaining her deductions and her overall timeline once, “Additionally, I think that only the butler has the time to do all these. While the time might be a little rushed…”

Time ticked down by the minute and second.

There was only one hour left to the voting.

Butler Hao went from stubbornly defending his corner to persistent refusal before he gave his acquiescence, finally becoming helpless as though he had been completely exposed as the murderer.

At the last juncture, Li Xiao Yu kept asking him about the details: “Why did you kill Boyfriend Feng? Did you like Lady Rong, and you didn’t want her to marry a human sc.u.m?”

Butler Hao lowered his head, which could be considered as giving Li Xiao Yu a definitive reply.

Li Xiao Yu: “But how did you manage to accomplish so much in so little time? The circ.u.mference of the pentagram wasn’t small; just from setting up the array alone, it would require a lot of time, no? And you had to deal with that many dolls? In addition to cleaning up so many rooms? Especially Yang Ye’s room which was drenched with water.”

Butler Hao: “You can manage it if you run fast enough.”

Li Xiao Yu: “Hey, wait a moment, when did you deal with Lady Rong and Boyfriend Feng’s dolls?”

Butler Hao: “For Boyfriend Feng’s room, I secretly dealt with it as I was sending him his supper last night. Lady Rong’s… When I was helping the make-up artist look for a head ornament, I took the chance to open her closet to deal with it.”

As expected, the answers that Butler Hao gave were identical to Yang Ye’s predictions.

“Hold on, the dolls in our closets were surprise gifts, so why was the doll in Lady Rong’s room in her closet?” Li Xiao Yu thought of something before she glanced at Lady Rong, “Why is that?”

Lady Rong’s complexion was slightly pale as well, as if she had realised that the butler had done an extra step in hindsight.

There was absolutely no need for him to do the same things to the doll in her room.

Lady Rong could only say: “The dolls I sent were hidden inside the closet not only because it was a surprise. The magician once said that it’s better to put the dolls inside the closet. Hence, I didn’t place the dolls on my bed to accompany me to sleep, but placed them inside the closet instead.”

Despite finding the reason a little odd, Li Xiao did not know how she should question further.

Because no matter how odd the reason was, it would not const.i.tute as a key factor which would allow her to reach a certain conclusion.

At this time, Gu Liang finally opened his mouth again. He asked Lady Rong a question: “Right, were you aware of the butler liking you?”

Lady Rong shook her head: “I didn’t know.”

“Why is that? He’s been there for many, many years?” Gu Liang asked.

“It wasn’t that many years, he—” Lady Rong closed her mouth consciously. She stopped speaking.

Gu Liang looked towards the butler: “How old are you this year?”

“20 years old. Is there a problem?” The butler returned Gu Liang’s gaze.

Gu Liang smiled. “Then, which year did you arrive at the ancient castle? Or perhaps, how long have you been staying here?”

The butler suddenly understood Gu Liang’s meaning, and his face went white.

The butler remained silent for the next 20 minutes, not daring to respond.

In those 10 minutes, Lady Rong, who had originally set her heart at ease,became increasingly fretful. In her mind, she wondered why he was refusing to answer.

But after the 10 minutes, she seemed to realise the fatal flaw as well, and her entire body started trembling. Her courage to speak plummeted even further.

Another 5 minutes pa.s.sed.

The time left until the vote casting, was 15 minutes.

“Can’t answer? No, perhaps it’s better to say that you don’t dare to answer.”

In a placid manner, Gu Liang stated: “Since Lady Rong remembers the specific steps to kill the evil spirit with the pentagram clearly, it implies that she wasn’t too young when that magician visited. Or else, she might have forgotten. Is that what you’re trying to estimate?”

Butler Hao raised his head snappishly. “Why wouldn’t I dare to say it? 10 years ago! I arrived at this ancient castle 10 years ago!”

“Do you know how old Lady Rong is this year? She’s 25 this year.”

Gu Liang glanced at Meng Qian Cheng, “The photograph concerning the magician’s visitation, take it out.”

Meng Qian Cheng complied. Subsequently, he immediately understood its use.

— Written on the photograph was the magician’s time of visitation, which was Year 2X04, whereas it was 2X19 this year.

This meant that the magician visited 15 years ago.

“The magician visited 15 years ago. If you only arrived 10 years ago, how did you learn of the pentagram?

“All of us were submerged in a misconception prior to this. We naturally a.s.sumed that since you were always in the ancient castle, it goes without saying that you met the magician together with Lady Rong, but we forgot to pursue your story. When did you arrive at the ancient castle, and before you became the butler, as young as you were, what were you doing?

“At any rate, you don’t know about the pentagram at all. Since you don’t even know the specifics of how to use the pentagram to kill the doll, how could you possibly kill Boyfriend Feng?

“You are not the real murderer at all.

“The real murderer is Lady Rong, you are the accomplice.

“This is the reason why Designer Mei was the first to confess about knowing the spell, with Lady Rong following behind closely, while you were the last to admit to it in the magic discussion that occurred during the free exploration segment. You were waiting for Lady Rong to offer the pretext before you faked…. a false alibi that you were there when the magician visited.

“Lady Rong is 25 this year, and 15 years ago, she was 10, so remembering the magic spell is very normal. But 15 years ago, you were only 5 years old. A 5 year-old child would have difficulty remembering the details.

“This is the reason why you were tangled up for such a long period of time, not daring to answer the question of time. If you were to place your arrival to the ancient castle too far back, you’d be too young when the magician visited. You were afraid we would think that you wouldn’t remember the spell’s details because you were too young.

“But you didn’t dare to say that your tenure was too short either. Because when the magician visited, Magnate Rong was busy with his business and he wasn’t at the ancient castle. You had to evade Magnate Rong’s timeline. Otherwise, if his time at the ancient castle clashes with the magician, the gap would become even bigger.

“Hence, you only dared to answer with a timeframe that compromised with both, and guessed 10 years. How unfortunate.”

Gu Liang: “I’d like to know, when did you actually arrive at the ancient castle?”

Butler Hao issued a sigh. “8 years ago. When I was 12, I was only helping the back kitchen before I was chosen by the previous butler later, and inherited the butler position. Magnate Rong returned 7 years ago. Therefore… I did compromise by saying 10 years. It’s true that I’ve never met the magician, and I don’t know how to use the pentagram…”

When he b.u.mped into Lady Rong in the corridor, Lady Rong had said: “I want to destroy her!”

The butler’s question was: “How are you going to destroy her?”

“A magician once taught me the method, I just need to go to the garden to find a place to set-up the array.”

The truth of the matter was that, only Lady Rong knew the magician and the details for setting up the evil spirit killing pentagram.

The butler was completely clueless.

After a long time, Yang Ye finally opened his mouth to speak. He told Butler Hao: “Truth to be told, we’ve already deduced that the real murderer was Lady Rong and you were the accomplice from your timeline and the narrative’s logic. It’s just, we were also aware that no matter what we said, you could actually make up for the parts of the story we were missing with lies. Hence, even though we could have persuaded everyone else by using your timeline, we thought that.. It was better to find a fundamental tear in your fabrication, to make everyone convinced in their heart and by word.”

When Lady Rong heard that, her entire face became pale.

She abruptly stood up to glare at the butler: “I knew you weren’t reliable! I just knew it!”

There was no expression on Butler Hao’s face. He looked at her coldly before he laughed. “This is the result of us not communicating properly and mistrusting each other. If you didn’t sell me out in the previous script, would we be like this now?

“Xiao Wan, if you want to blame someone, you can only blame yourself.

“Additionally, when I first told you that the accomplice could take the blame in your stead for this script, you still doubted me.

“Hahaha…”

Butler Hao laughed out loud, addressing everyone else, “During the script enactment segment last night, I had to send her bedsheets after Yang Ye started the fire, and I took the chance to tell her that we should compare our script details. But she didn’t believe that I was the accomplice!

“She thought that, because of the previous script, I was still holding a grudge against her. She thought I was a good person, trying to route her for information!”

“This isn’t my fault! My script didn’t state that I had an accomplice! Moreover, I hadn’t received the detailed plot for the second day at that time. My script only told me that I’m the real murderer.”

Lady Rong’s tears were flowing out, “When I received the detailed plot this morning and confirmed that you were the accomplice, I went to find you!”

“But it was too late. Whether it was the free exploration segment or the centralised discussion, we didn’t dare to speak alone for an extended period of time because we were trying to avoid being suspicious. If we communicated in detail last night, and you told me the entire time frame of your story, including the time where the magician visited the ancient castle… Perhaps this wouldn’t be the state of things.”

Butler Hao’s smile disappeared completely. With an apathetic countenance, he stared at Lady Rong, saying: “You can’t always blame others for being useless. If you want to blame someone, you can only blame yourself.

“Had it been before the previous script and we encountered something like this… I would have sworn I would do everything in my power to protect you. Even if I had to die with you, it’d still be very romantic. It is a pity…”

“Ding dong—”

The system broadcast rang out, “The centralised discussion for《 Carrying The Doll 》has concluded, the following is the voting segment.”

* * *

The night was deep and heavy.

A huge gust wind dispersed the thick fog, and what seemed like weeping travelled over from the distance faintly.

A sedan lowered slowly.

After the sedan stopped, Yun Xuan, who was once the actor of Maid Liu and later Boyfriend Feng, stepped off.

In front of her was a thick and heavy steel door.

When she walked to the front of the steel door, the door opened soundlessly.

She stepped in, thus arriving in a snow white world.

From the ceilings, walls, and to the floor tiles, all of it was white.

Only one person was sitting in a seiza posture inside. He was also wearing a white robe, making him blend into this white world.

The only thing that was a different colour were the black chess pieces on the chessboard in front of him.

— He was playing chess with himself.

Upon hearing Yun Xuan’s movements, that person raised his head to look at her. He smiled, beckoning her forward with his hand, as if he was elated. “Someone is finally here. Days without any opponents are way too boring. Right, do you know how to play chess?”

In contrast to that person’s smile, Yun Xuan’s complexion was ashen pale.

She collapsed to her knees. “Didn’t all of you say… If I gather enough points, I can go back? I constantly worked hard, I went to every scenario to act. When I was allowed rest, I still went to the resting areas for clean-up duties… The punishment I ought to receive, whether it was the cutting of my tongue or anything else, I’ve suffered. Weren’t you supposed to allow me to go back?”

“Let’s do a proper introduction first. I’m Ming Yue. You’ll be following me from now on.”

The airy and light smile still remained on Ming Yue’s visage. “Have you heard of a poem? Written by Rabindranath Tagore?”

Trembling, Yun Xuan mumbled, “I…. I only want to go home… I’m not in the mood to recite or compose poetry, why won’t you let me go home?”

Ming Yue said: “That line from the poem goes like this— ‘I shall die again and again to know that life is inexhaustible.’ Therefore, you don’t need to be afraid. Death has never been the final destination, and it has never been the scariest thing in this world.”

The tears in Yun Xuan’s eyes were about to fall. “Please let me go home.”

“There’s no use begging me.”

Ming Yue released a gentle sigh, returning his attention back to the chessboard in front of him. “It looks like you don’t have the mood to play chess with me. How unfortunate.”

“Why? Why am I not allowed to go back?”

“Because they have given up on you.”

“They… You’re saying…”

“Therefore, just set your mind at rest and stay here.

“While you are residing here, remember one sentence. Never pray for anything.

“After all, in a place where there is no sun, to whom do you pray for light?”

The author has something to say:

Next scenario is Folding Ancient Castle.

Yang Ye: “Liang Liang and I finally have an emotional connection!”

Gu Liang: “……”

The translator has something to add:

You heard it, get psyched~! OwO

Additionally, Lady Rong and Butler Hao did not learn from Gu Liang’s previous extensive blackmailing.

The poem that Ming Yue is referring to, which is written by Rabindranath Tagore, is called Stray Birds and Line 282 specifically. There is an online translation if you are interested, and because it has 300 lines, I can’t concisely summarise it in any meaningful way :’))

[Ming Yue is freakin’ diva I swear.]