chapter 19

The teams were quickly reshuffled.

Zheng Jueming, Qin Weiyi, and Lin Junruo formed one team. Jian Fan, Qin Nan, and Mu Xin formed another. Lu Jing and Xia Zeqin were paired together, and Xu Tian teamed up with the other two members from Xia Zeqin’s original group.

The servant NPCs were also divided into four groups. Since Lu Jing and Xia Zeqin’s team had one fewer person, they were assigned a bit fewer NPCs as well.

After each team received their NPCs, they went off on their own and began questioning them.

Qin Nan still found things a little strange, but with Mu Xin around, he only gave Jian Fan an extra glance and didn’t ask out loud.

Jian Fan, however, suddenly spoke. “There’s something off about Xu Tian.”

“What?” Qin Nan was taken aback. He was confused about what could be off about Xu Tian, and even more shocked that Jian Fan would bring it up with Mu Xin right there.

Mu Xin had been trailing behind them, looking timid and frightened as usual. But when Jian Fan said that, she still lifted her head slightly and shot him a look.

“I suspect she was putting on a show yesterday,” Jian Fan said bluntly.

Qin Nan froze. “Putting on a show? You mean her breakdown yesterday was an act?”

Jian Fan nodded.

“Yesterday you…” Qin Nan’s gaze flicked toward Mu Xin behind them. He skipped over that and asked directly, “What makes you say that?”

“Her state, and her attitude today.” After saying that, Jian Fan suddenly stopped, then turned to look at Mu Xin. “On this point, you’re the expert. You should understand it better than I do.”

Suddenly being called out, Mu Xin: “…”

“What are you talking about? I don’t really understand,” Mu Xin said, her face full of confusion-she looked perfectly innocent, with just the right amount of fear mixed in.

Jian Fan paused, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he gave up and looked at Qin Nan instead. “You do it.”

“?” Qin Nan stared at Jian Fan, completely baffled.

Jian Fan thought for a moment. “Different people have different specialties. I’m acknowledging yours.”

Qin Nan: “…”

Thanks, but you really didn’t have to.

Even though he was at a loss for words, Qin Nan still took over. Jian Fan’s intentions were obvious. Yesterday, Jian Fan had said he didn’t like Mu Xin and wanted to win Xu Tian over. One night later, he’d changed his mind.

The person he wanted to recruit now was-Mu Xin.

Qin Nan looked at Mu Xin, quickly organized his thoughts, and spoke. “You need reliable teammates if you want to clear this game.”

Mu Xin still looked at them with puzzled eyes and didn’t say a word.

“You’re on a team with Zheng Jueming and Lin Junruo. Lin Junruo came to approach me because you told her to. Including yesterday, when she joined me and Jian Fan to search for evidence-she was following your arrangements. You wanted Lin Junruo to test us, and you personally took Zheng Jueming to test Qin Weiyi,” Qin Nan said.

Mu Xin hurriedly shook her head. “I didn’t. The team split was just a coincidence. Sister Junruo thinks you’re amazing and wanted to get in touch with you-that was her own choice. How would I have that kind of ability?”

“Don’t rush to deny it. Mu Xin, you should know the situation you’re in. You need reliable teammates to cooperate with. Lin Junruo and Zheng Jueming aren’t great choices. You might be able to control them and make them do what you tell them, but the help they can provide you is too limited. You could consider joining me and Jian Fan. Of course, I mean just you,” Qin Nan said. “We have no interest in dragging along two dead weights.”

“I really didn’t,” Mu Xin continued to deny.

Qin Nan let out a breath and looked at Jian Fan. “I’m starting to agree with what you said.”

Now it was Jian Fan’s turn to freeze. “What?”
“I don’t like sneaky, under-the-table methods like this.” Qin Nan repeated what Jian Fan had said yesterday.

Jian Fan tugged at the corner of his mouth without responding, and Mu Xin couldn’t help it-she quietly rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have to answer us right now, but I suggest you give this proposal some serious thought.” Jian Fan steered the conversation back on track. Once he finished, he didn’t wait for Mu Xin’s reply. He just clapped Qin Nan on the shoulder. “Let’s get to work.”

Winning over a teammate was never something a few words could accomplish.

If Mu Xin cheerfully agreed to join them at this stage, they probably wouldn’t believe her sincerity anyway.

They would keep judging, through the next rounds of the game, whether Mu Xin was actually a good fit for them-and Mu Xin would likewise make her own choice about them. But that was for later. Right now, what they needed to do was start a new round of evidence gathering.

Questioning the NPCs.

The three of them-Qin Nan’s group-were assigned sixteen servants in total, covering all kinds of posts: some served in the masters’ courtyards, some worked in the kitchens.

“Eight for you, eight for me?” Jian Fan spoke up again.

The two of them currently trusted each other well enough that there was no need to stick together and interrogate people one by one. Splitting up the work would be more efficient.

Qin Nan didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked over at Mu Xin. “Do you mind?”

They could ignore whatever Lin Junruo thought, but Mu Xin might end up as their teammate. Qin Nan had to start considering how she would feel working on the same team.

Mu Xin still wore the same expression as before. When she noticed Qin Nan asking for her opinion, she nodded. “I’m fine with anything. You two decide.”

Jian Fan and Qin Nan each took eight people to question. As for Mu Xin, they didn’t interfere with her at all; whether she decided to slack off or take part, they didn’t particularly care. Of course, Mu Xin had no intention of slacking off in a game where her life was on the line.

Her gaze moved back and forth between Qin Nan and Jian Fan. After a moment, she finally chose to follow behind Qin Nan.

“I’m a little surprised,” Qin Nan said.

Mu Xin looked confused.

Qin Nan didn’t explain. He just smiled and seemed to sigh to himself. “Looks like I’m the more reliable one compared to Jian Fan.”

Mu Xin: “…”

She suddenly felt she’d made the wrong choice.

After that one joke, once he was standing in front of the NPC, Qin Nan quickly shifted into work mode.

With so many NPCs, not all of them would have useful clues, and even the ones who did wouldn’t necessarily volunteer what they knew. It was entirely up to the Game Players to dig things out for themselves.

There was another point: the game rules never said whether the NPCs’ words were true or false. Everything they heard would have to be evaluated by them.

Getting genuinely useful clues out of an NPC was no easy task.

Among the eight NPCs assigned to Qin Nan, most were ordinary errand-running servants. Only one was a maid from the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard, responsible for serving the Eldest Young Madam.

Qin Nan didn’t know any of these NPCs’ identities beforehand, so his first question for each of them was always to clarify who they were.

When he heard that this one served in the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard, Qin Nan immediately perked up.

He studied the NPC in front of him for a while, thoughts racing as he sorted through possible questions. His expression turned serious. “On the night the murder happened, were the Eldest Young Master and Eldest Young Madam in their own courtyard?”

The maid nodded. “They were. The Eldest Young Master and Eldest Young Madam were both there. The Eldest Young Master was reading in the study first, then went back to the bedroom to rest when it got late. The Eldest Young Madam wasn’t feeling well. She returned to her room early and went to bed very early.”