chapter 8

Once the twelve Players were all in position, the bus to the next world rumbled to life.

When it finally came to a stop, Qin Nan, now with some experience under his belt, took the initiative and got off.

Unlike before, the moment he stepped off the bus, he was separated from the other Players. He now stood alone in an antique-style room, surrounded by emptiness.

“Welcome, Player, to the Ancient Mansion Horror Script Killing World. Please draw your Identity Card.”

The electronic voice echoed in his mind again. As it spoke, twelve cards appeared before Qin Nan’s eyes.

Qin Nan understood Murder Mystery Game rules all too well. He’d played plenty before, but this was the first time his life was directly on the line. Drawing an Identity Card would determine the path ahead, so he had to be careful.

Because of that hesitation, three of the twelve Identity Cards quickly turned gray.

The gray cards could no longer be chosen.

Qin Nan realized at once that all Players were drawing from the same arrangement of Identity Cards. Each time someone took one, everyone else lost that option. Forcing his mind clear of the lingering grief and sorrow, he hurriedly chose a card.

Six was his lucky number. He picked the sixth card.

“Player identity: Second Young Master of the Family, the only legitimate son, but not favored by his father. Birth mother deceased,” the electronic voice quickly reported. “For more information, please explore on your own after the game begins. The game will start once all Players have confirmed their identities. Good luck, my Player.”

The cards before his eyes turned gray one after another. Once the last one gray out, all of the Identity Cards vanished. At the same time, a chorus of bells and drums sounded from outside the door, and Qin Nan’s clothes changed on his body.

Instant costume change?

So… it’s started?

Right now, he only knew his assigned identity. As for the story’s background, he was completely in the dark. From the System’s wording, the starting point of the game only provided a surface identity-any deeper information would have to be uncovered on his own.

Qin Nan decided to search the room first for any clues related to his identity.

This was an ancient-era Script.

The room he was in was a bedroom. Based on his past gaming experience, this should be the residence of his current identity, the Second Young Master of the Family. Inside was a desk with books like The Analects laid out on top, along with a partly finished calligraphy sheet.

Looked like this identity of his was actually a somewhat educated scholar.

Qin Nan casually picked up The Analects and flipped through it roughly. A sheet of paper slipped out from between the pages and floated lightly to the floor. His gaze naturally followed it down.

The white paper was covered, edge to edge, with the character for “death” written in red. It was a shocking sight.

Qin Nan swore under his breath, quickly snatched the paper up, thought for a moment, then folded it and hid it on his person.

From what he knew about Murder Mystery Games, every Player would have a few clues that could arouse suspicion. This sheet covered in the word “death” was very likely one of the pieces of evidence highlighting his own suspiciousness.

Under normal circumstances, Qin Nan wouldn’t have minded. But now his life was at stake-if he got voted to his death, there would be no second chance. He had to be extremely careful.

Leaving it in the room meant it would be found sooner or later. Better to keep it on him where it was safer.

Aside from this sheet, there had to be other things. Growing more cautious, Qin Nan turned the entire room upside down.

He found three more items.

The first was a small bottle labeled “Crane’s Crest Red,” suspected poison, hidden under the pillow. The second was a letter that appeared to be his birth mother’s final note, stashed at the very bottom of the wardrobe. In summary, its contents said that his father had been a “phoenix man”-a poor man who rose by marrying into a wealthier family-who, after riding his wife’s family to success, abandoned his original wife and took up with someone else. As a result, his mother died with hatred in her heart, leaving a letter before her death, instructing her child to reclaim the family estate once he grew up.

The third item was a bit strange: a white Embroidered Shoe stained with blood.

As for the Embroidered Shoe, Qin Nan had no leads for the time being. But from the suicide note, he had already roughly pieced together the general plot of this Script.
The dead man was probably this body’s bargain-bin father. They needed to find the killer who murdered that bargain-bin dad-and given his background, he harbored resentment toward him. That meant he had a motive. And the poison in this room was proof enough that he’d entertained the thought of killing.

A sudden knock sounded outside the door. “Second Young Master, it’s time for dinner. Please go to the front courtyard to dine.”

Qin Nan more or less had the flow figured out. An NPC had appeared-meaning the phase where Players learned their identities was over. Their group of Players was about to meet up. After that, the victim would appear, and they’d begin the first round of searching for evidence.

A servant led Qin Nan to the main courtyard. Before leaving, Qin Nan put the suicide note back exactly where it had been.

Having no clues at all was less suspicious. Having something too obvious was what got you targeted.

The twelve Players arrived at the main courtyard almost at the same time. Only Xu Tian was about a minute or two late.

“Sit.” Xia Zeqin spoke first as usual. He picked a seat, then said, “Everyone knows the Murder Mystery Game rules, right? Sit down first and introduce your identities.”

Jian Fan’s expression was calm. He’d already sat down the moment Xia Zeqin opened his mouth. Qin Nan chose the seat beside Jian Fan.

The rest moved quickly as well, taking their seats one after another.

Once everyone was seated, Xia Zeqin spoke again. “I’ll go first. I’m the eldest young master of this household. Kind of an illegitimate son? My mom… oh, my mother and Father were childhood sweethearts. Before they were married, she got pregnant. Until I was thirteen, I lived with my mother. After she died, I was brought here.”

Qin Nan glanced at Xia Zeqin.

The Script’s backstory was probably the usual melodramatic mess: the deceased had a lover before he married into a family, got her pregnant, and she gave birth to the eldest son. Then, for money, he married a rich young lady and had a second son. Judging from the group of Players-and that suicide note-the deceased, after striking it rich, probably didn’t stop at just one woman. He must’ve taken concubines, brought the eldest son home, and ended up driving the rich wife to an early grave.

After Xia Zeqin finished, the woman beside him spoke. “I’m the youngest daughter of this household. My mother was the Seventh Concubine. She died from difficult labor when she gave birth to me. In this family, I’m basically invisible.”

Hearing that, Qin Nan raised an eyebrow.

The other Players introduced themselves in turn. Soon it was Jian Fan’s turn, and everyone’s gaze naturally settled on him.

Jian Fan lifted his head slightly, his words concise. “Doctor. Household physician.”

Since they were unfamiliar with this new world, everyone tried not to reveal too much during introductions. But as brief as Jian Fan was-he was the first.

“That’s it?” Xu Tian spoke up on her own.

Jian Fan gave a flat “Mm.”

Seeing that, Qin Nan took the initiative. “I’m the second young master of this household. The legitimate son of the main wife. My mother was betrayed and died of heartbreak. My relationship with my father isn’t great. I hate him for wronging my mother, and he doesn’t want me involved in the family business. That’s how I’m supposed to introduce myself, right?” Qin Nan added the last line to make it clear he wasn’t familiar with this Murder Mystery Game.

Xia Zeqin looked over at Qin Nan with a half-smile. “Never played a Murder Mystery Game before?”

Qin Nan returned the smile. “I haven’t. Is that strange?”

Xia Zeqin didn’t answer. Instead, Jian Fan picked up the thread. “Haven’t you played one either?”

Jian Fan’s remark made everyone in the room subtly surprised. Their gazes flicked back and forth between Xia Zeqin and Jian Fan several times. The only one who stayed calm-besides the two involved-was probably Xia Zeqin’s female companion.

She likely knew something.

Xia Zeqin shrugged and said with a laugh, “Can’t I just ask?”

Jian Fan didn’t bother responding. He withdrew his gaze, voice unchanged. “Next.”

Sitting on Qin Nan’s other side was Lin Junruo. Hearing that, she hurriedly smiled to smooth things over. “My turn? I’m the Eldest Miss of this household. I’ve never seen my mother since I was born, and I don’t know what happened to her, but Father dotes on me a lot.”

Everything returned to the game’s proper track.