The Days I Clear Escape Games Pretending to be an NPCCh10 - Funeral (10)

"You were looking for me?"

The eldest grandson player was slightly impatient, he had just been called out by the eldest grandson's daughter-in-law with the excuse that 'her stomach felt uneasy'.

The NPCs were commenting how 'the couple were so affectionate with each other', while looking at them with their doll-like eyes. If it were to be presented in a numerical form, his favourability towards the NPCs would've definitely dropped another five points at that moment.

"I don't believe you're not aware of the threatening nature of the lamp trimmer," the eldest grandson's wife stared at him.

"So what?" The eldest grandson crossed his arms and took a step back.

The eldest daughter-in-law took one look at his defensive actions and laughed: "I've already been exposed so I'm a priority on the ghost's kill list, and thus, am of no threat to you. Or at least, not much of a threat. However, it would be a different story with that man."

The eldest grandson was silent.

The eldest grandson's wife knew that he was moved and continued on pushing, "If we were to use an analogy, let's say that I'm worth three points, you're four and he's five, in addition, that one by his side. If we were to fight alone, I'm afraid we can only watch him become the final victor. However, three plus four is greater than five plus one."

"Then what are you planning to do?" The eldest grandson player seemed to smile as he narrowed his eyes.

The eldest grandson's wife stared at the eldest grandson unwaveringly, trying to increase the persuasiveness of her words, "Tonight, we kill him when he least expects it."

"There's not a lot of NPCs so two people is sufficient to complete the inspection, his role is not that important."

She spoke quickly, but her voice was low, reminiscent of the cold wind blowing through the cracks of a window in winter.

After the high-pitched call of cicadas in the trees and the slight rustle of the bushes caused by the night breeze, the world returned to its original silence.

Despite what felt like a long time, only a minute had passed before the eldest grandson spoke, "I don't trust you."

"But we have to cooperate, if we don't, failure would be the only outcome," the eldest grandson's wife's voice was low, "You want the Ghost card, right? I can give it up."

"What good would it be to you?" The eldest grandson didn't believe that the eldest grandson's wife would do all of that just to sacrifice herself for the sake of others; that word was not in their vocabulary.

There may be saints in the world, but not in theirs.

The eldest grandson's wife laughed, "I just want the props on that person." VDHF0G

A prop that could make a person give up a Millennium Ghost card, what…the eldest grandson thought of something, while on the surface, he remained unaffected, "What is it?"

"That prop is not as useful as the Millennium Ghost card, but has some special meaning to me," the eldest grandson's wife stared at him, "Will you cooperate?"

"Okay," the eldest grandson laughed, "Let's cooperate."

The eldest grandson's wife looked at him until they shook hands briefly.

"We each take what we need," the eldest grandson said.

The eldest grandson's wife was relieved, as long as she could cooperate, the time in this instance would not be in vain, "Happy cooperation."

Having reached a deal, the eldest grandson's wife held her belly as she turned and walked away.

But she had only taken two steps when a heavy object hit her head at lightning speed. She felt a dull pain on the top of her head before her vision went black, and she fell to the ground with a muffled thud.

The eldest grandson stood above her with a large rock held up in both hands; he did not resemble a human but rather a blood-soaked beast with killing intent slowly flooding his eyes.

"I want the Millennium Ghost card, and as for the prop, I also want it."

Over and over again, he raise the rock high up before smashing it down until the woman on the ground was no longer breathing.

The blood-soaked rock was thrown into the corner and the woman with a big belly was dragged to the woodshed. The charred corpse was gone but there were still some burn marks on the floor. The eldest grandson glanced around and threw the person in.

He searched her body for a while and found the player card as well as something that looked like a ring. This ring was the prop she carried that had cast the soundproofing effect.

"It's her?" As soon as he saw this distinctive prop, the eldest grandson player's face went pale as he recognised the original owner of the item.

But then he calmed down, "Nian Tianxi abandoned her long ago, so it shouldn't matter. As long as I don't say anything, who will know that it was me? This item can cover all the minor losses."

The eldest grandson put away the ring, discarded the card, and closed the door, "With this, I will have more security. Hehe.... Thank you for your generosity."

The eldest grandson rubbed off the traces of dragging on the ground with his feet, then he went to a bucket and washed his hands before he left.

About five minutes later, Ren Yifei came out from behind the banana tree, still holding the shovel in his hand.

Is this the world of the players?

Ren Yifei's heart was beating violently, he took a few deep breaths before suppressing this feeling.

A peek of a mysterious and dangerous world was unveiled to him. The people of that world, despite being called 'players', were by no means the same as him, much less good.

How should he avoid them tonight?

The red string on his wrist glowed, a voice seemed to ring in his ears, "Undo the seal and everything will be solved."

Ren Yifei looked at it and sneered: "You're not needed."

The red string lit up a little more but still extinguished in the end.

The door of the woodshed was left ajar, Ren Yifei carefully approached and pushed the door with the shovel, opening it. Inside, he saw the body of the eldest grandson's wife disappearing.

She looked serene, her eyes closed like sleeping beauty, perhaps dying without knowing why she died. After all, the eldest grandson's wife was quite cautious and she had chosen a win-win situation that would normally not be refused.

Ren Yifei did not comment on whether the eldest grandson's approach was right or wrong, since he must have had his own reasons.

He was just more afraid of the consequences.

The group of players had discussed that they would search for the ninth person on the third night, and he was that ninth person.

The eldest grandson's wife had disappeared but the information on the card had not changed yet. He wondered if it was still too early or because she was killed by a player.

The card was left where she had disappeared, Ren Yifei walked over and picked it up.

It was exactly the same as his card, except that the front was blank.

He hid the card behind the banana tree before he continued on digging.

The more you are pressed for time, the less you should panic, because the more you panic, the more likely you are to make a mistake. He must find more information, both for himself and for the truth of the matter.

After pulling out the rose, shaking off the soil and putting it aside, he pinched the corner of something in the soil and pulled it out.

It was a cloth bundle, he shook it to get rid of the bugs. He undid the tight knot on the top of the bundle and under moonlight, he saw a violently torn short grey-black women's coat and some other intact clothing.

"Huh?"

Are these the clothes of the deceased? Why was the coat torn? Why was it buried?

One question after another flew out.

Ren Yifei tried to run through the course of events: First, there was a thief in the house, the thief escaped over the wall, Granny Chun Zhi was heard cursing and shortly thereafter, Granny Chun Zhi was strangled to death which was then disguised as a hanging ...

One by one, the pieces came together and guided Ren Yifei in a direction he had never thought of; his face lost its usual expression from excessive shock.

"Ridiculous ..." he murmured, "How in the world could this happen?"

Ren Yifei inspected the clothes in his hands again; he had once filmed a drama based on this era before and knows the complete components of the clothes.

After he finished inspecting, Ren Yifei stood there blankly.

It was missing the undergarment that covered the abdomen which people usually refer to as 'xiao yi', due to it being the type of clothe that is worn next to the skin.

Was it only because of this undergarment?

He just felt that it was ridiculous.

"EEEEE—EEEEEE—" an owl screeched harshly.

In the silence of the moonlight, Ren Yifei put the bundle back, straightened the rose and refilled the soil.

He went to wash his hands, then returned to the vigil, still smiling as he greeted the other people.

The card table was still lively, and the mourning hall was still lit up.

They were once again unable to welcome the dawn, thus, the third night came quietly.

As soon as 11 pm passed, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Ren Yifei was at the poker table, but his heart was not in it, he was immersed in his thoughts about how to deal with the player's inspection.

In fact, the relationship between the players was also very delicate and the truce would soon be approaching a breaking point.

The eldest grandson's wife has disappeared after she and the eldest grandson went out, the lamp trimmer and the others were not fools, they would naturally become wary of the eldest grandson.

On the contrary, the eldest grandson was not in the slightest wary, he currently has two powerful auxiliary props in his hands and had full confidence in his victory.

Excluding the monk and the sweeper, who were both beyond saving, the remaining ones that would pose a threat would be the eldest grandson, the lamp trimmer and Xiao Mei, which makes three people.

Xiao Mei's role allowed her to move around, thus, she became responsible for passing messages between the two veteran players.

"I'm not interested in your proposal, however, is the operation at midnight still valid?" this was what the lamp trimmer said.

"Tell him that we will compete fairly once the ninth person is found," the eldest grandson asked Xiao Mei to deliver the message.

Ren Yifei, who had excused himself to get peanuts from the mourning hall: ...

He left the mourning hall, sat down on a stool and reached out to pour the dried peanuts onto a plate, "Do you have to go up the mountain tomorrow?"

If normal procedures were followed: the funeral vigil would be held for three days, all friends and family would've had the chance to visit, the deceased would be sent away, and the watchmen would be able to return to their respective homes. The players' plans at midnight would be disrupted.

However, the person who was peeling the peanuts with Ren Yifei shook his head, "Mister said that the circumstances are special this time and the funeral vigil must be held for seven days- Xiao Mei, bring the water pot here."

Alright.

There was still half an hour left, if he could make the first move...

Ren Yifei rubbed off the red skin on the peanuts and blew on them before throwing them into his mouth, slowly crunching on them.

"The water is coming."

The one who came was the one with the words 'errand runner' on her head, Xiao Mei.

Just now, the girl's eyes shone with eagerness, ready to exert her abilities during the search at midnight. She was the quickest to adapt to this 'game' and was the best at surviving among the newcomers.

Ren Yifei forced himself not to care about the passing of time, he took out all the previous information and analysed them one by one.

The 'Ghost card', a piece of information that is not provided on the card, but was the key trigger to the conflict between the players.

Through their conversations, it is possible to infer that there was a Ghost card in this game, which could be the reason for veteran players entering this novice game.

The veteran players might not be continuously entering one game after another, they should have a specific area where they stay. Furthermore, that area had developed into a community with an intricate network of people.

On the other hand, he had already guessed the cause of Granny Chun Zhi's death, although it was unbelievable, it shouldn't have happened.

So, who among the players is Granny Chun Zhi?

Ren Yifei was eating peanuts while looking inside the mourning hall.

The eldest grandson's wife died a clean death, leaving only a card behind.

The eldest grandson had just killed another person and washed his hands, yet he was still able to burn paper as if nothing had happened. This was by no means the first time that man had killed, his mentality was particularly stable.

The lamp trimmer always promptly refuelled the altar lamps, he rarely paid attention to others and did his own thing, keeping a very low profile.

Xiao Mei went to the other side just a moment ago to get miscellaneous items.

The sweeper was in a depressed mood due to A Song's death and was holding a broom while sitting in a daze.

The monk was in the corner, his back facing them with only the golden word 'monk' hanging overhead.

Ren Yifei was still thinking about 'A Song', it was not yet his turn, why did he die? All the abnormalities pointed at him, but he died.

He felt that something was clogging his mind, as long as it was removed, the truth would be revealed.

"What are you looking at?" The man next to him nudged him.

"Looking at the monk."

"Monk?" The man was puzzled, "What's so good about looking at the monk?"

"He looks familiar, like I've seen him somewhere before."

"They all wear the same clothes and have the same shaved head, how could you tell who is who from the back?" The person crushed a peanut as they spoke.

Ren Yifei eyes widened slightly, "What did you say?"

"What?" The person who spoke was confused.

Ren Yifei crunched on the peanuts with bloodshot eyes: after A Song died, has the monk showed his face?

He has not.

That's right, he has not.

After A Song's death, no one had not seen the monk's face again, they all thought it was a matter of course that it was the monk.

Ren Yifei looked up, a light smile appeared on his face: because it was right under their nose, everyone ignored it.

He had found the needle in the haystack.

Taking a handful of peanuts, he crushed them and put the peanuts into the hands of the night-watchman next to him, "Here, for you."

"Aiyo, what's the reason? Are you trying to beg for something?"

"I see you're particularly energetic today," Ren Yifei patted him on the shoulder and turned his head to look at the monk in the corner.

That place was really remote and badly lit so they could only faintly see the back of a shaved head belonging to a figure wearing the monk's clothing. Also, the reason they were so sure that this man was the monk, was because the identifier above his head read 'monk'.

These words were like a person's shop sign.

But what if someone is hanging sheep's head but selling dog's meat?

...

Translator's note: Two more chapters to go until the end of the first arc.