Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Pruning flower branches in the morning had already drained much of Ning Shuo’s stamina. The others were either still ill or being saved as combat strength for the final two days. Besides, the plot of this Script had already mostly surfaced.

So, when the King, who had come out to enjoy the flowers in the afternoon, asked him if he wanted to continue pruning, Ning Shuo gave a bitter smile. “My health is poor, Your Majesty. Pruning for an entire morning was already my limit.”

The King’s eyes flickered slightly. “Your body is failing?”

Your eyes practically have ‘this Soil seems to be failing, should I kill him early’ written all over them.

Ning Shuo replied, “King, I am merely a bit fatigued. I can continue tomorrow.”

The King’s eyes curved into a smile, looking particularly satisfied. “Very well. Your health is important. Only by nurturing your body can you offer up more Goodwill.”

There were NPCs guarding the entrance to the fourth floor. The King was currently outside the Ancient Castle, so climbing through a window might risk being spotted by him.

The items available for exchange in the System Shop didn’t include anything that could block NPCs; they were mostly daily necessities like thermometers. Items with cloaking functions only worked against Players.

As Ning Shuo lay on the bed, pondering a strategy to sneak onto Floors 4 and 5 while the King was away, Ning Wang sat beside him. “Why overthink it? Have you forgotten what you did when we first met?”

Ning Shuo’s mouth moved faster than his brain. “Prevented you from leaving the palace?”

“…”

Banter aside, Ning Shuo said, “I’ve already thought of using a Disguise. I’m mainly wondering where to get the clothes…”

Ning Wang replied, “Li Hua has so much money. I’m sure it won’t be difficult for him to provide some ‘friendly financial assistance’ for two similar outfits from the System Shop.”

…

The two NPCs guarding the fourth floor saw the Butler and looked behind him.

Aside from a following Manservant, there were no corpses.

One of the NPCs asked, “There is no ‘New Soil.’ Why have you come now?”

The Butler replied, “The King wishes to admire the roses. Naturally, I must check if the ‘Old Soil’ is intact.”

“Hasn’t the ‘Old Soil’ already been moved over there?”

“Even if it has been moved, I need to verify the count.”

The NPC frowned. “Is a count necessary?”

There was so much Soil… could it even be counted properly?

Besides, they had never mentioned counting before… Had it been checked when the ‘Soil’ was being transported? Had they forgotten this time?

The Butler said sternly, “Must I explain every task the King assigns me to you?”

The NPC hesitated for a moment before letting the Butler and the Manservant behind him pass.

At the end of the day, the Butler’s status was higher than theirs.

Whatever the King ordered the Butler to do was not their place to question.

Floors 4 and 5 were only guarded at the stairwell entrance to prevent Players from going up.

Once there were no other NPCs in the hallway, the “Butler” switched back to his own voice. “So easy to fool.”

Ning Wang, following behind Ning Shuo, asked, “Looking for the ‘Sky God’?”

Ning Shuo was still holding the Cane that came with the costume set. He struck a profound pose. “Let us uncover the truth of this world.”

They found the King’s study, and the first thing they did was cover the mirror inside.

Based on Zhang Qicheng’s cause of death, the mirror was very likely the medium through which the King killed people.

After covering the mirror from a blind spot where it couldn’t reflect them, Ning Shuo said, “Let’s make this quick.”

They searched through all the books but found nothing useful.

Ning Shuo frowned, finally looking toward the mirror.

He looked at Ning Wang. “Ningning, let’s go big.”

Even though he didn’t say anything else, Ning Wang understood his meaning immediately. “Fine.”

They pulled the coat off the mirror.

Ning Shuo looked at the mirror and reached out.

Ripples spread across the glass surface as Ning Shuo reached inside.

Then, he pulled out a Leather-bound Notebook.

At the same time, hurried footsteps echoed outside the door. With the item in hand, Ning Shuo threw the coat back over the mirror and leaned against Ning Wang with a clear conscience. “Ningning, fly!”

Ning Wang grabbed him by the waist and jumped from the fourth-floor window down to the second floor. Using the window ledges for leverage, they circled back to Luo Li’s room.

The moment they vanished from the window, the study door was thrown open.
With a dark expression, the King ripped the coat off the mirror and roared at the trembling servants behind him, “Gather the guests immediately!”

He let out a cold sneer. “Let’s see which guest decided to sneak inside.”

Though he had summoned everyone, the King already had a suspicion in his heart.

While the image just now had shown the faces of the Butler and Ah Ke, the hand reaching into the mirror had been marked with fresh scratches from rose thorns.

There was likely only one person who could have been freshly pricked by rose thorns-that silver-tongued guest.

Thinking of Ning Shuo, the King made his way back to the first-floor hall at a leisurely pace.

The mouse wouldn’t be able to run away.

The guests had already finished gathering.

Ning Shuo stood in the corner, looking drowsy and listless.

The King was in no hurry. Instead, he slowly and methodically ordered all the guests to hold out their hands.

He looked forward to the moment Ning Shuo would hold out his hand and realize his cover was blown, descending into panic.

However, Ning Shuo didn’t hold out his hand.

He still looked utterly exhausted, even leaning against the guest next to him who shared his face, looking as if he might fall asleep at any second.

The King was so angry he laughed. He walked straight up to Ning Shuo and asked, “Dear guest, why aren’t you holding out your hand?”

Before Ning Shuo could even look up, the person he was leaning against spoke first. “The guest is very tired. Surely the host would be understanding?”

He gave a slight smile. “After all, if one cannot even manage to be understanding, how can they be worthy of speaking about Goodwill?”

The question of being “worthy” instantly made the atmosphere tense.

The King narrowed his eyes and looked at this man.

He shared the same face as Ning Shuo and the same lazy temperament, but he possessed an additional layer of indifference, as if he lacked interest in all things.

It was the kind of aura one only gained after seeing too much of the world.

One couldn’t say he wasn’t a Good Person just because of this aura. The King sneered, about to speak, when the person who had been drowsy just a moment ago seemed to wake up. “Hmm?”

He saw the King and smiled. “Hello. May I ask why you’ve called us here to gather?”

*Are you seriously pretending you didn’t hear me tell everyone to hold out their hands?!*

The King stared at Ning Shuo’s hands, which were hidden in his sleeves. “Hold out your hands.”

He didn’t even bother to maintain his surface-level elegance, his face clouding with impatience. “I’ve lost something. The thief has an injury on their hand.”

Ning Shuo gave an “oh” and held out his hands.

Those hands were clean and fair, without a single scratch on them.

The King froze.

Ning Shuo tilted his head innocently. “King? It’s time to check the next guest.”

His indignant expression made it seem as if he were truly sharing the King’s outrage. “We must find out who stole the King’s property!”

The King stared at him. “When you were pruning the flowers this morning, were you really not pricked?”

Ning Shuo looked confused. “How could I be? Xiao Wei was there teaching me. Of course I wasn’t hurt.”

The King summoned Xiao Wei. She said, “Yes, King. The Ancient Castle would not allow a guest to be injured while offering their kindness; that would be impolite. When this guest returned the Gauze Hat, I took note of his hands. There were no scratches.”

Under the King’s suspicious gaze, Ning Shuo smiled faintly.

Of course he hadn’t been injured while pruning the flowers.

When Ning Shuo was pruning, he had intentionally cut off several thorns and tucked them into his Backpack while Xiao Wei wasn’t looking.

When he returned the hat, his action of dusting it off wasn’t just an opportunity to retrieve the Camera; it was a deliberate display of his hands.

When going upstairs, he had worn the Butler’s Gloves, ensuring the NPCs guarding the stairs didn’t see his hands. Before removing the coat from the mirror, he had deliberately taken off the gloves to reveal the scratches he had specifically made on himself in his room.

After seeing Zhang Qicheng’s body, he and Ning Wang had turned over or covered all the mirrors.

All these movements had gone unnoticed.

The reason he had done all this was because Ning Shuo guessed that if the King used mirrors to kill, there would definitely be a mirror in his own room as well.

That way, it could also serve as a surveillance camera.

As for how the wounds had healed?

Thinking of the phrase “Skilled in Healing” on Song Zhu’s Personal Exclusive Post, Ning Shuo glanced toward him out of the corner of his eye.

After coming up with this plan, he had already coordinated with Song Zhu.