Doll Castle (25)

"Phew..."

Bo Yi let out a long breath, then slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

The knife the master had dropped still lay nearby, but now the entire corridor held only him and-

Bo Yi glanced down at the motionless Butler Doll in his hand. He wasn't sure whether he was imagining it, but he kept feeling that, after its eyes had been put in... the doll's expression had become a little more vivid.

For instance, right now, it was glaring at him resentfully.

"Huh? Another doll?"

A head cautiously peeked around the corner of the corridor. Only after confirming that the master was nowhere in sight did she breathe a sigh of relief and boldly walk in. "Where did you get that doll? Where's the master?"

"I heard the master chasing you and Zheng Rong just now." Zhao Wen Shan looked around. "Why are you the only one here now? Did you take care of the master again?"

That "again" was a particularly telling choice of word.

Bo Yi neither nodded nor shook his head. He merely raised the doll in his hand. "Probably... in here..."

Zhao Wen Shan: "?"

She reached out and took the Butler Doll from Bo Yi, turning it over and over in her hands to examine it.

The other players hiding elsewhere also began making their way over once they heard that the commotion had stopped. Then the Butler Doll made the rounds through everyone's hands.

Zhao Yi, the last to receive it, examined the doll in his hands as he casually asked, "Where are Zheng Rong and Pan Lulu?" Their group was conspicuous enough gathered here that those two couldn't possibly have missed them... unless they no longer planned to cooperate?

Bo Yi paused. "Pan Lulu's dead..."

"Huh?!" It took Zhao Yi a second to register what Bo Yi had said. He was so startled that he stopped examining the doll altogether. "How did she die?" He furtively looked Bo Yi up and down, trying to find signs that Bo Yi had done it.

Bo Yi ignored Zhao Yi's gaze and skipped over Pan Lulu's attempt to set him up, saying only, "The master killed her."

"Oh, right..." Zhao Yi nodded. "Then what about Zheng Rong?" Had he died too?

Bo Yi tipped his chin toward the direction Zheng Rong had fled earlier. "He ran that way..."

Zhao Yi knew nothing about Zheng Rong attacking Bo Yi. Hearing this, he merely muttered to himself in puzzlement, "Then why hasn't he come over yet..."

Bo Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. What he didn't tell Zhao Yi was that Zheng Rong most likely wouldn't show himself in front of him-or any of them-again before the instance ended...

Zhao Wen Shan hurriedly interrupted her brother. "Why are you still worrying about Zheng Rong? He's an adult and an experienced player. What's so strange about him suddenly wanting to go solo? Forget him for now. We're running out of time! Let's talk about the instance!"

She pointed at the Butler Doll. "Will he come back to life again?" After all, the master already had a precedent for "coming back to life."

Bo Yi considered it. "Probably not." Unlike the last time, when he had attacked first, this couldn't really count as him killing the master.

"Then, assuming it's just as Bo Yi said and the master has turned into a doll, does that mean... all we have to do now is hold out until the banquet ends, and then we can leave the instance?"

Zhao Yi was about to nod when Bo Yu suddenly asked, "If the master's gone, can the banquet still take place?"

"Hiss..." The Zhao siblings both sucked in a sharp breath. Neither of them had considered Bo Yu's point at all!

Just as they instinctively turned to ask Bo Yi's opinion, bells suddenly rang outside.

"Dong-"

"Dong-"

"Dong-"

After six tolls of the bell, the dim castle abruptly lit up-

The banquet had begun.

"Let's go take a look first..." Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Bo Yi took the lead and walked out.

Zhao Yi casually propped the Butler Doll against the wall at the side of the corridor, then hurried after him.

"What is..."

He stared wide-eyed at the scene in the hall, doubting his own eyes:

The previously empty hall was now packed with guests who had appeared from who knew where. They gathered in small groups throughout the brightly lit hall, each wearing a different style of clothing. Many didn't even look as though they belonged to the same era. But they all had one thing in common-

Their eyes were closed.

What frightened the players even more was that, although these people's expressions and gestures made them look as though they were conversing, not a single sound could be heard in the hall-or, indeed, anywhere in the castle.

It looked lively and bustling, yet it was as silent as a graveyard.

Especially when, upon hearing the players' footsteps, everyone turned their heads toward them in unison. Those deathly pale faces and tightly shut eyes made Zhao Yi involuntarily take a step back.

"Th-this..." He was so frightened that he began to stammer. "Wh-where did all these 'people' come from?!"

Why had so many NPCs suddenly appeared in the instance?! When had they entered the castle?!

The others also drew their weapons and took defensive stances.

"They've actually been here all along..." Bo Yi said slowly.

Zhao Yi looked over in horror. "Wh-what do you mean by that? You knew?!"

Bo Yi gave Zhao Yi an indifferent glance. "Haven't you and Zhao Wen Shan seen them too? Right-"

"Behind the iron door in the storage room."