Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Qin Musong considered it. “So the four wù in the hint, written as the word for ‘things,’ should actually be understood as the four wù meaning ‘do not’?”
Cheng Miao nodded. “If I’m right, the complete hint is: Do not look at what is improper. Do not listen to what is improper. Do not speak what is improper. Do not do what is improper.”
Understanding dawned on everyone. Cheng Miao watched Baili Qianqiu and Gu Jian in particular. Neither reacted, which meant they had probably figured it out long ago.
Su Yang scratched his face. “But that’s not right. Some games require you to speak. How can it be ‘do not speak’?”
Wherever Su Yang was, Gu Jian inevitably joined in. “Brother Su, are you stupid? Players have to analyze the situation for themselves. What did you expect, the instance to hand you the answers to copy?”
Su Yang ducked his head and awkwardly apologized to Cheng Miao.
She did not mind. “An instance hint is never obvious, nor will it directly tell us how to clear the game. We need to solve it, but we can’t rely on it too heavily.”
Everyone nodded, only half understanding.
They were invited to the Old Woman’s home for lunch. With fewer Longtime Tenants remaining, they had begun taking turns inviting the New Tenants to their apartments.
Before it was time to eat, Cheng Miao inspected the seventh floor.
Only her teammates, Yang Ke, and Freckles went with her.
Baili Qianqiu did not join group activities. Su Yang watched over the dazed Old Zhao, while Gu Jian watched Su Yang. Little Red and Sun Jiao stayed with them.
The seventh floor differed slightly from the others. Rooms 701 and 702 stood side by side, while 702 faced the door to Room 703. A blank white wall occupied the place where Room 704 should have been.
There truly were only three apartments.
No one needed Qi Jiajia to point it out. They all smelled the faint scent of blood. A rough theory formed in Cheng Miao’s mind.
Shen Xin had undoubtedly drowned. But what if she had been badly injured in the hallway and stairwell first?
Since entering instances, Cheng Miao had learned to assume the worst.
Several questions remained. They were only halfway through the instance, so more clues should soon surface.
Everyone was extremely reserved at the Old Woman’s lunch.
After what happened to Brother Wang, no one wanted to eat or speak.
The Old Woman filled the table with dishes and poured herself a glass of infused liquor. “Eat. Why aren’t you eating? Do you think this old woman’s cooking isn’t good enough?”
With her putting it that way, the players could not remain frozen. No one knew whether refusing food in the host’s home counted as disrespect.
When Cheng Miao and Baili Qianqiu picked up their chopsticks, the others slowly joined them, chewing as if the food were wax.
The Old Woman sipped her liquor and began rambling.
Her husband had died young, her son lived far away, and she was terribly lonely.
Cheng Miao picked through the food while listening for useful clues.
“A woman should follow the man she marries. The old sayings make it clear: obey your father at home and your husband after marriage. My daughter-in-law has no such sense.”
After a few bites, disgust crossed the Old Woman’s normally kindly face.
“I told my son to move back again and again. But he listens only to his wife. They say times have changed and a married couple needs to live away from their elders to get along. What kind of bullshit is that?”
No one tried reasoning with an NPC anymore. They pretended not to hear.
The Old Woman continued undisturbed. “That young woman across the hall was inconsiderate too. Always arguing with Xiao Zhang. He was such a good man, yet she was never satisfied.”
Cheng Miao’s brow twitched. “You mean Miss Shen in Room 703?”
The Old Woman slapped her thigh. “You know her too? Who knows what she wanted, making a fuss about divorce every day! A woman should follow her husband for life. What hardship can’t she swallow? People today divorce over anything. They never consider how a discarded shoe of a divorced woman is supposed to live.”
Cheng Miao took several deep breaths and reminded herself not to reason with old ghosts. They would not listen.
Listening to them, Little Red felt anger too, though despair dulled it.
Before she entered the Survival Inn, her own marriage had been unhappy, but she had been unable to decide on divorce. The gossips around her had said the same things.
She picked at the braised pork in front of her. There was too much fat, which she did not eat. After turning over several pieces, she found a lean one and placed it in her mouth without tasting it.
Seeing Cheng Miao carrying the conversation alone, Lin Zhu leaned forward. “But the Pregnant Woman on the sixth floor told us the couple had an excellent relationship.”
The Old Woman smacked her lips contemptuously. “Of course. Xiao Zhang always gave way to her. You don’t know what a good man he was, always smiling. No matter how badly his wife carried on, he never got angry. He brought her home and came to apologize to us for disturbing our lives.”
Cheng Miao put herself in Shen Xin’s position. The woman had caused an uproar because she truly could not continue living that way. The man dismissed it, smiling as he led her home, then told the neighbors everything was fine…
A cold sweat broke out across Cheng Miao’s body.
The others looked equally disturbed. The young man in Room 703 was very likely the culprit, but the instance’s progression meant they could not investigate him until the final day.
Everyone finished lunch quickly. While helping clear the dishes, Cheng Miao saw Little Red’s bowl and frowned.
Everyone had taken rice. Little Red must have lacked an appetite, because a little remained in hers.
When the Old Woman turned away, Cheng Miao handed the bowl back. “Finish it.”
Little Red jolted. Forgetting her appetite, she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began shoveling rice into her mouth.
“Don’t leave a single grain,” Cheng Miao whispered so softly only Little Red heard.
The others saw her resume eating and realized something was wrong. They checked their own bowls uneasily.
After Little Red finished, Cheng Miao and the others washed the dishes and politely left Room 701.
The moment they stepped outside, Little Red’s tears spilled over. “Miss Cheng… Did I break a taboo just now?”
Cheng Miao exhaled and patted her shoulder. “In some places, leaving rice is seen as disrespecting food. The smaller amount left behind is considered the essence, so I told you to finish it.”
Little Red’s eyes were swollen like walnuts from crying.
“You did finish it, so it probably doesn’t count as breaking the rule. Don’t overthink it,” Cheng Miao reassured her.
Little Red nodded through her tears. Some habits were carved into the bones. Often, the body acted before the mind could stop it.
Brother Wang’s death remained vivid in everyone’s memory. No one returned to their rooms. They gathered on the second floor to wait for the night’s game.