Just as Bo Yi was about to move closer to examine the frame, screams suddenly rang out from the corridor ahead.
"Aaaah-oil! It's oil!"
"Fuck, there's some on mine too!"
"Who! Who did this?!"
Screams, curses, and sobs mingled together, instantly filling the entire corridor with a deafening racket.
Bo Yi frowned and walked over.
The players were still gathered in the corridor, and not one had entered their room. Four of them were holding themselves strangely-they each had one hand raised straight out, keeping it well away from their bodies.
Zhao Yi's sharp ears were the first to catch Bo Yi's approaching footsteps. He hurriedly turned his head. "Someone set us up!"
Bo Yi looked at his raised hand.
In the candlelight, he saw a glistening patch on Zhao Yi's palm.
It looked as though... it had been smeared with liquid.
"I got this from my room's doorknob." Zhao Yi's chest heaved as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Some bastard smeared oil on our doorknobs! There's some on Wen Shan's door too!"
"Mine too!" Even the good-natured Zheng Rong looked grim. His hand at his side was clenched into a tight fist, the veins bulging.
"M-mine too..." Tian Xiuyun's face was deathly pale, without a trace of color.
Bo Yi swept his gaze over them. Of all the players, only Pan Lulu and Bo Yu weren't holding up their hands. It wasn't because their rooms hadn't been tampered with, but because, like him, they had been near the back of the group. When the others discovered the oil on their doorknobs, neither of them had touched theirs yet, allowing them to escape unscathed.
The players with oil on their hands all looked terrible.
If they had gotten these oil stains on them last night, their ignorance might have spared them the fear they felt now. But the lesson from that morning had already led their minds down some unpleasant paths.
Bo Yi walked up to his own door. Sure enough, his doorknob was glistening too-
Someone had smeared oil on it as well.
He bent down, leaned closer, and sniffed lightly. Sure enough, there was that familiar foul smell.
"Th-this... it sh-shouldn't be th-that..." Tian Xiuyun looked at Bo Yi pleadingly, hoping he would tell her it wasn't.
Unfortunately, the man straightened up and nodded firmly. "It's the same oil as on the paintings."
After a moment's thought, he helpfully added, "Something's wrong with the paintings in the corridor too."
Since he already had oil on him, Zhao Yi stopped being so cautious. He gathered his courage and walked back into the gallery. Moments later, several loud curses rang out from within.
"Fuck!" Zhao Yi stormed back, still swearing. "That piece of shit! Someone scraped a layer of oil off the paintings!"
The sword hanging over their heads had finally fallen. Despair spread across Zhang Songhao's face as he slowly sank to the floor, his body beginning to tremble uncontrollably. "Why..."
"Who the hell did this... why would they do it? Do they want all of us dead?!"
"Who else could it be?!" Zheng Rong was seething too, every word seeming to squeeze out between his teeth. "Just look at whose doorknob doesn't have oil on it!"
Besides, all of them had been searching for clues since lunch. Although they hadn't stayed together the whole time, they had still caught sight of one another now and then.
Only one person had vanished after lunch.
"But how did Wang Xing do it..." Pan Lulu asked in a tiny voice. "Wouldn't he have gotten some on himself too..."
"There are scrape marks from something hard on the paintings... look around..." Zhao Yi's voice was hoarse. "He must have thrown it away out here."
"His doorknob is clean. He wouldn't dare take anything covered in oil into his room."
The players spread out and soon found a silver table knife glistening with oil in a corner. A faint trace of dark red blood was still visible on it.
At the sight of the blood, Zhang Songhao's breathing grew heavy, and the wound on his shoulder began to throb again.
Clearly, he recognized the knife.
He sprang to his feet and charged straight at Wang Xing's door. "Open up! Open up! Get your ass out here!" He raised his hand and slammed it against the door.
The door shuddered, giving off a dull thud, but remained firmly shut, without the slightest sign of opening.
"Wang Xing! Wang Xing! Do you hear me?! Get out here!" He swung his arm, pounding furiously on the door again and again. His hand was already red and swollen, but he felt no pain at all. He felt like a beast trapped in a cage, consumed by rage yet powerless against the person behind the door. "You bastard! Why did you do this?!"
"Enough..."
Zhao Yi pulled Zhang Songhao away as he began kicking the door. "Stop wasting your strength. He won't open it." Wang Xing had clearly done this to drag all of them down with him. Only an idiot would open the door now.
Looking at Zhang Songhao's unnaturally bloodshot eyes, he pinned him against the wall. "Calm down."
Zhang Songhao was still trying to struggle when Zhao Wen Shan stepped up and slapped him without hesitation. Smack. The sharp sound rang through the corridor, and Zhang Songhao's flailing abruptly stopped.
"Calm now?" Zhao Wen Shan stared at him coldly. "Idiot. Your emotions are affecting you!"
Only then did the others realize that they had just eaten the master's dinner-no wonder someone as timid as Zhang Songhao had suddenly gone so wild.
Zhang Songhao stared blankly at his reddened hand. The belated pain finally made him realize what had just happened.
"Then what do we do now?" Zhang Songhao asked hoarsely.
"Find something to wipe the doorknobs clean first..." Zhao Yi waved a hand. He knew it probably wouldn't help, but they had no other options.
The others nodded in silence.
After working quietly for a while, they cleaned their doors and returned to their rooms.
Bo Yi also sat down beside his bed to sort through what he had gained that day.
He took things out of his pocket. But when he pulled out the pure white rose, his movements stopped, and the master's words echoed in his ears again.
So... should I go? He idly toyed with the rose in his hand as he considered the question.
Creak- He suddenly heard a door opening. Then soft footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Bo Yi set down the rose, walked to the door, and quietly opened it.
Tian Xiuyun was creeping along the corridor close to the wall, glancing around every so often. She looked nervous, as though terrified someone might discover her.
"Where are you going?" a voice suddenly asked.
Tian Xiuyun was badly startled. She froze on the spot and looked toward the voice, her eyes wide with terror.
It was Bo Yu who had spoken. At some point, she had opened her door too, and was now leaning against the frame, watching Tian Xiuyun.
"I... well, I..." Tian Xiuyun held her hands behind her back, her gaze shifting. "I-I'm going to the bathroom..." Her fingers unconsciously fiddled with the hem of her clothes. She was clearly hiding something.
"Is that so..." Bo Yu said softly. "The castle is dangerous at night. Don't wander around outside."
"I-I know. Th-then I'll be going..." Tian Xiuyun avoided Bo Yu's gaze, nodded hastily, then hurriedly turned and left.
A flash of familiar red flickered past Bo Yi's eyes.
His hand suddenly stopped just as he was about to close the door.
Before you continue