Thinking Forest Mansion (8)

"One person?" Tang Cha exclaimed in shock. "But although the people in these portraits look similar, there are still differences if you look closely."

Ji Xun reached out and compared several features on the portraits. "Look. If you compare the women in these five portraits with the two portraits of the mistress, aren't there always a few features that are exactly the same?"

For example, the eyes of the woman in the first portrait, the lips in the second...

"These five paintings all show the mistress in disguise!" Fang Rui had spotted it too. "So that's it. The portraits on the first floor gave us a preconceived image of the mistress as a dignified woman dressed entirely in black. So when these portraits of women in bright clothing appeared, we naturally didn't connect them to her."

"Wait." Tang Cha felt his head buzzing. "You mean these seven portraits all show the mistress with different men? If the portraits correspond to marriage certificates, doesn't that mean she's been married seven times?"

Fang Rui nodded. "Since the mistress chose to disguise herself to get married, that means she didn't want anyone to know her identity. That makes the identities of these five additional 'masters of the house' well worth investigating."

Ji Xun said, "It seems everyone in this mansion has their own agenda."

The Male Host had cheated on his wife, and the mistress was suspected of concealing her marriage history.

They just didn't know whether the couple were hiding an even bigger secret.

Gu Rui stared at the table full of delicious food, unable to taste any of it. He hurried through his meal and returned to Ji Xun's room.

The first thing he said upon entering was, "I'm staying with you tonight."

The announcement came out of nowhere, leaving Tang Cha completely baffled.

But Gu Rui was quick to act. He brought a quilt down from his own room, determined to sleep on the floor in theirs.

Ji Xun didn't refuse.

The afternoon brought another search period. The players were growing increasingly agitated, but remembering the gruesome fate of Brother Dong and the other two, they tried to handle everything as gently as possible.

They had no idea where the piano room key was, and the studio held no further clues.

A sudden inspiration struck Fang Rui: she remembered the many newspapers in the study.

They hadn't found any electronic devices such as televisions or computers in the mansion. Perhaps this instance was still set in the age of print media.

"With so many newspapers, what information are we looking for?" Lu Jiancheng frowned. Stacked together, the newspapers in the study were almost taller than he was.

Fang Rui thought for a moment, then said, "Weddings and funerals."

In the early heyday of print media, weddings and funerals in any family of even modest standing would be reported in the papers.

Sure enough, Tang Cha found an obituary tucked into a small section of one newspaper.

The obituary was written in a wife's voice, stating that her husband had suffered from illness and finally passed away the night before.

The key detail was that the obituary was for Mr. Lin, and it was signed Katherine.

That was the mistress's name.

Following the newspapers chronologically, they found that shortly after the obituary appeared, the papers had published condolences from several people mourning Mr. Lin's death. They said the orphanage he had funded had taken in many homeless children, and called him the most admirable businessman in town.

Going further back through the timeline, they found another five obituaries.

Their format and content were exactly the same as Mr. Lin's obituary. Only the names of the deceased were different.

"They all died of illness? And judging by the dates, only six years passed between the first man and Mr. Lin. So she lost six husbands in six years?" Tang Cha shook his head repeatedly in disbelief. "Does she... does she bring death to her husbands?"

Fang Rui said cautiously, "Maybe the obituaries just happened to have similar wording. It's all still speculation."

They put the newspapers back on the shelves so the other players would have a chance to find this clue too.

Night fell, and Gu Rui lay stiffly on the floor.

"Sorry for the trouble, but once I fall asleep, please wake me every ten minutes."

Tang Cha wore a reassuring look that said he had everything covered. The moment ten minutes were up, he ran over and pinched Gu Rui's arm.

Gu Rui: ...

"I said once I fall asleep."

Tang Cha raised a hand apologetically. "Sorry. Carry on."

Gu Rui closed his eyes again, then discovered...

Fuck! I can't sleep!

The previous two nights, he had been so sleepy that he'd fallen asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, as though even the sky collapsing couldn't wake him.

Why couldn't he sleep now that he'd changed rooms?

All sorts of possibilities kept running through his mind. Then, at last, he heard the noises Ji Xun and the others had described.

"There it goes again."

Tang Cha sounded utterly defeated. He wouldn't be getting a good night's sleep tonight either.

Unlike the previous two nights, this time Ji Xun climbed out from under his covers. "I'm going out to take a look."

Fang Rui clearly hadn't fallen asleep either. All four of them turned their eyes toward Gu Rui.

Gu Rui rubbed his cheek. "I'll come too. I'm actually not sleepy at all."

It was a dark, windy night, perfect for stirring up trouble. With their party now expanded to five, Ji Xun and the others quietly pushed open the door.

Tang Cha said, "Holy shit, did some mole spirit come through here?"

More than a dozen floorboards in the corridor had snapped, leaving dark holes exposed.

In the dim corridor, they looked like trap after trap, waiting for prey to walk straight into them.

"Look." Ji Xun crouched down and pulled a long nail from beneath a raised floorboard.

It wasn't just that one. There were nails beneath almost every board.

The nails pointed upward. If someone accidentally tripped, they would surely end up just like Li Hongbo.

"Be careful. Even stepping on one would be trouble. There's no tetanus vaccine in this era."

To be safe, they formed a single file and followed Ji Xun forward.

There were four guest rooms on the second floor. Aside from the rooms of the already-dead Wan Mingfei and Li Hongbo, extremely loud noises were coming from both remaining rooms.

They tentatively knocked on one door, but no one answered.

For players, never answering a knock at night was a rule etched into their bones, but...

When Ji Xun and the others knocked, the noises inside didn't pause even once.

Ji Xun frowned slightly. "Move aside."

Tang Cha stepped aside to make room. Ji Xun reached out, gripped the doorknob, and pulled hard.

The entire doorknob came off.

Tang Cha clicked his tongue twice and clapped. "Look at that. We have our own special way of opening doors. Now you know just how good a deal you got!"

Gu Rui, who had secured himself powerful protection with a single key: ...

As soon as they pushed open the guest room door, the sight inside shocked them.

Two players were staying in this room. One had draped a bedsheet over himself and was warbling away, imitating an opera singer.

The other was even more horrifying.

He sat on the bed with his back to them, his shoulders jerking as crunching sounds came from his mouth.

Hearing Ji Xun and the others enter, the man slowly turned around.

His eyes were vacant, and his mouth mechanically chewed on something. A liquid that looked like a mixture of saliva and blood kept dribbling from his lips.

He grinned at Ji Xun and raised his hand as though offering an invitation. "Want some? Carrots. Tasty."

Two of his fingers were already missing, the wounds looking as though something had bitten them off.

After speaking, he stiffly shoved his remaining three fingers into his mouth!

Crunch, crunch...