22. Someone Is Dead!

True Martial Emperor rarely suffered from insomnia.

That was one of the few benefits of doing physical labor: his body was sturdy, and once he was tired at night, he could fall asleep easily.

But last night, he had lain awake with his eyes open, unable to sleep. His mind was filled with thoughts of what would happen if a werewolf came to his thatched hut. If he fought the werewolf, would he be able to beat it?

True Martial Emperor was not stupid. He had already observed everyone in secret. Aside from Old Du Liu and Pikachu, there probably wasn't anyone who could beat him.

Then he thought of how upright Old Du Liu was—a respected senior with a sense of humor. He probably wasn't the werewolf.

Pikachu also seemed straightforward, so she didn't look like a wolf either!

After figuring this out, he was still too scared to extinguish the oil lamp, but he felt at least a tiny bit more at ease.

He finally fell asleep at three in the morning.

A little after five, his habitual biological clock as a wage worker woke him up.

He usually couldn't get up on workdays, but whenever he didn't have to work, he woke up ridiculously early!

Compared to usual, he wasn't in very good spirits. Technically, he didn't have to work, so he should have gone back to sleep for a while.

But True Martial Emperor couldn't sleep!

He got up, intending to go for a run. That was also one of his habits.

But then he thought...

At this hour, what if the werewolf hadn't returned to its hut yet? If he ran into it, wouldn't he be done for?

After thinking it through, True Martial Emperor went back to lie down on the bedding on the floor!

Given True Martial Emperor's build, sleeping on that tiny wooden bed was far too cramped, so he had dragged the straw and bedding beneath the bed and slept on the floor the previous night!

He endured until seven o'clock, when he saw that the sky outside the window had completely brightened.

He finally couldn't stand it anymore. He put on a pair of shorts and a tight white undershirt.

Although he was somewhat timid, he still pushed open the door and went outside.

He opened the door, spread his arms, and took a deep breath of the morning air.

The air in Deep Mountain Forest was excellent, carrying the scent of dew. True Martial Emperor immediately felt much more refreshed.

"Roar! I'm running ten kilometers today!"

He said it and did it. True Martial Emperor started running.

But he hadn't gone far before the sight before him left him stunned!

A thatched hut with no door stood surrounded by blood. Inside, someone was standing there, examining a corpse.

"This... this... is the werewolf!!!"

Although True Martial Emperor was afraid, he couldn't stop himself from roaring, "Aaaaaah!!! The werewolf killed someone!!!"

"Everyone, come and look!!!"

His booming voice instantly startled the birds in the surrounding trees into flight, as if a huge bell had rung loudly throughout the village.

True Martial Emperor actually wanted to run, but he was afraid the werewolf would take the opportunity to escape and deny everything later. So he stood there trembling, staring at the dim thatched hut and the person inside!

Finally, that person heard True Martial Emperor's voice and walked out of the thatched hut.

It turned out to be Ferryman, dressed in athletic wear and looking incredibly refined!

He glanced at True Martial Emperor without any unnecessary expression, rubbed his nose, and said flatly, "Someone died during the night."

It was as though he were merely stating a fact.

But True Martial Emperor was nowhere near as calm. He looked at the horribly mutilated corpse inside the thatched hut, then angrily roared at him, "You're the werewolf! You look so well-dressed, but who would've thought you'd be so vicious!!!"

"I'm not afraid of you! Don't even think about running. Once everyone gets here, we'll restrain you together. Today, we'll definitely eliminate you!!!"

The village wasn't large, and before long, several people came running after hearing the commotion.

Conan was the first to arrive, followed by Cthulhu.

Pikachu arrived after them, looking listless, her face filled with impatience.

But when she saw the pool of blood on the floor inside the little thatched hut and Boss Qian's gruesome corpse, she immediately perked up. She glared at Ferryman with hatred and shouted, "Damn, you're the werewolf? You're far too cruel!!!"

"Don't even think about running. Everyone, grab him first!!!"

Conan rolled his eyes at True Martial Emperor and Pikachu, thinking that the two of them lacked brains. Before Ferryman could explain, he spoke up for him first. "Everyone, calm down."

"If Ferryman were the werewolf, how could he possibly have stayed here and let everyone catch him red-handed?"

"I think this is probably a misunderstanding. We should hear what Ferryman has to say."

Ferryman glanced at Conan, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and smiled. "It seems there are still people who understand reason, at least a little."

"I came out for a morning run and discovered Boss Qian's corpse, so I came over to take a look."

Hearing this, True Martial Emperor scratched his head. It suddenly felt as if what the two of them had said made sense!

That was exactly how it was.

If he had killed someone, he would definitely have been terrified of being seen and run away long ago!

After figuring that out, he said somewhat sheepishly, "Sorry for the trouble, Ferryman. You obviously have a lot of education, so don't take offense at a crude person like me."

"You must be a good person. I wrongly suspected you."

"But who did this, exactly? This method is far too cruel!!!" His voice was loud and filled with obvious anger. "And the witch too—why didn't she save anyone!!!"

Indeed, even from outside the thatched hut, they could see Boss Qian's mangled corpse and the blood scattered everywhere.

Pikachu narrowed her eyes. She had always been prejudiced against hypocritical people like Ferryman and instinctively disliked him. She couldn't help saying, "Maybe he deliberately stayed behind so that everyone would think he was a good person!"

Although Pikachu said this, no one aggressively pressed Ferryman or continued questioning him.

After all, Pikachu's claim was only a guess, not conclusive evidence. It wasn't enough to prove him guilty.

Ferryman looked like a manager, but his tone was relatively amiable as he said, "Everyone, since you're all here, let's call over those who haven't arrived and confront everyone face-to-face. We might uncover something!"

At Ferryman's words, kindhearted True Martial Emperor felt somewhat embarrassed because he had wrongly accused him earlier. He quickly volunteered.

"I'll go call everyone!"

Without waiting for the others to say anything, he ran off to call them.

Although Pikachu was tall and powerfully built, the sight of the corpse made her shudder inwardly. In the end, she didn't enter the hut.

Cthulhu was about the same. His face had gone pale, and he covered his stomach as if he felt like vomiting.

Conan walked into the hut and studied Boss Qian's corpse. After thinking for a moment, he said, "His spine was completely broken. This is truly brutal. Whoever did this probably has a rather gloomy personality."

Ferryman didn't turn around. He said indifferently, "You still suspect Siba Jungler."

Conan adjusted the frame of his glasses. "He's always been the prime suspect."

"Of course, I don't think highly of you either. You always seem as if you're deliberately making yourself look completely innocent, when in reality you're just a troublemaking werewolf."

Ferryman said, "Likewise. If we're talking about gloominess, you're arrogant and have received no support from anyone else. You're filled with anger, so it's only natural that you'd be ruthless when you strike."

"Still, Siba Jungler remains the prime suspect. At least we agree on that."

As Ferryman spoke, he recalled what had happened the previous night. He glanced at his score, which was below fifty, and a trace of amusement surfaced in his heart. He wanted to truly compete with Siba Jungler.

He could tell that Siba Jungler was definitely not simple!

At the very least, he was smarter than this Conan!

Conan adjusted his glasses as well, and a white glint flashed across the lenses. "Hopefully, we're on the same side."

At this moment, apart from Yimo, Supreme One, Naughty Cat, and Dieyu also arrived one after another.

Supreme One looked somewhat listless, far less energetic than yesterday. Naughty Cat hid in Dieyu's arms in fright after seeing the blood from a distance away from the thatched hut.

Dieyu pulled Naughty Cat a little farther away.

The people who still hadn't arrived were Ordinary Girl Village Chief, Yimo, and Old Du Liu.

Conan thought,

Could it be that more than one person died during the night...?

However, his suspicion was soon proven true.

True Martial Emperor's booming voice, brimming with rage, startled the birds that had spent ages flying around before finally settling on a branch into flight once again!

"Damn that witch's grandmother!!!"

"Which stupid-ass witch was it? She didn't save anyone and even poisoned someone to death!!!"