Edited by musk
Castle instance world
Tian Xihua closed the kitchen’s door behind himself. His expression was even more grim than it had been before he left, and some of the servants inside couldn’t help taking another look at him.
He opened his eyes after a couple of seconds before letting out a sigh. He locked gazes with one of the servants looking his way.
‘What?’ He stared back without blinking, a strange expression on his face. The servant quickly averted his gaze as he bowed his head and concentrated on the potatoes he was peeling.
Tian Xihua nodded to the others and walked outside to the small garden. His fist inadvertently tightened around the pouch in his hand and he pursed his lips as he thought about something.
Shen Qiu was sitting outside on one of the benches, throwing small seeds to the ground for the brood of hens around her feet. She looked up with a smile as she saw Tian Xihua exit the kitchen.
He walked over to her, but didn’t sit down. Instead he asked, ‘Where are the others?’
‘Chu Anzhi was called back to work in the stalls, and Lan jie went out to get some of the wild monkshood to see if she could compare it to the newly brought spices in the kitchen. Do you want to go and see?’
‘There’s no need.’ Tian Xihua shook his head as he took out the pouch to show her. ‘It’s probably my luck. The killer came to me and asked me to.. You know. Do it in his stead.’
Shen Qiu choked on her words when she saw the dagger inside. She blinked swiftly before asking, ‘You.. Doesn’t that make you the murderer?’
‘No. As long as I don’t act, I should be safe.’
Shen Qiu shook her head. ‘No, you have to act. Don’t you think that if you don’t do anything, we won’t have a case to solve? Isn’t that just asking to rot here for an eternity?’
Tian Xihua grew silent. After a long pause he muttered to himself, ‘Fuck.’ He played with the knife in his hands. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure. If there is no crime, there is no redemption.’ She pondered for a moment before adding, ‘But wasn’t the Lady poisoned? Why is it a dagger this time?’
Tian Xihua’s eyelashes trembled as he looked down to the ground. He spoke quietly, ‘Maybe things aren’t like what we thought. But hasn’t she come back to life? The change in tool could be the consequence of something that happened since then.’
Shen Qiu ‘ah’-ed. She stuck her tongue out as she debated whether she should ask the question she wanted to. ‘So.. When will you act?’
The somewhat calm facade that Tian Xihua had managed to put on after leaving the dark corridors behind crumbled at those words. His gaze shook as he let out a breath, ‘It’s not like I have made any plans.’ He massaged the side of his forehead lightly. ‘I’ll look for an opportunity.’
‘You..’ He looked back up at Shen Qiu, ‘Are you completely sure we cannot solve the case otherwise?’
She shook her head lightly, ‘There aren’t any other possibilities.’
‘You do understand the consequences of this then.. You know what will happen if I do this.’
Shen Qiu swallowed loudly. She spoke slowly, ‘That.. It should be inevitable. I..’ She shut her eyes for a moment as she pursed her lips before finishing, ‘I can’t take responsibility for the consequences, it is only you who can. It might be better for you to decide for yourself.’
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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‘If it was you in my stead, would you do it? Could you do it?’
Shen Qiu averted her gaze before finally shaking her head. Her voice wasn’t more than a whisper, ‘No. I..’ Her gaze flickered as she continued to shake her head, ‘But you have to remember, she is only an NPC. Killing her..’ She blinked rapidly, ‘It isn’t the same as killing a real person.’
‘Does that matter?’ Tian Xihua leaned closer to her, the mockery in his eyes apparent at this moment. ‘Do you think that really matters?’
‘Think of it as if you were playing a video game. This is nothing you haven’t seen, nothing you haven’t done before..’
Tian Xihua’s gaze darkened. He looked down again before taking a breath and taking a step backwards. He looked up at her again and smiled as he spat out, ‘Then you do it yourself.’
He spun the knife between his fingers once more before letting it fall back into the pouch. He handed it to her as he emphasized each and every one of his words, ‘When you find yourself feeling so concerned about our survival later again, you can think about acting yourself. Think about what is more valuable; your own and other three’s lives, or someone’s who ‘isn’t even a real person’. And then you ask yourself whether..’
He shook his head. ‘No, it shouldn’t be like that. You should think about whether this world would present us with an unsolvable issue instead. You might figure out what I couldn’t.’
He didn’t want to stay and chat with her anymore. He felt the top of his ear burn from the extreme emotions and massaged it as he walked back inside.
He looked back at the girl right before stepping inside, and saw that Shen Qiu was still sitting with her head bowed, clutching the pouch containing the dagger in her hand.
The kitchen was the same as it had been before he had stepped outside. Lan Kejia still wasn’t back, and the servants were already starting to prepare lunch.
Tian Xihua left the room, and headed for a corridor that seemed a bit lighter than the others. He didn’t have a destination in mind. In that moment, all he knew was that he wanted to move, that he wanted to get far away from the dark castle.
The corridor he chose led to a smaller one, which led to a stone stairway. The stairway ended in another corridor, which led to a narrow door that was slightly open. The light came from the other side of the small door.
Tian Xihua opened it without a second thought and stepped outside. Strangely, what he saw weren’t the grey walls of the castle, but the bright wilderness all around. Only then did he realise that it had taken him slightly longer to reach here than when he had gone to explore the castle the night before.
No wonder he couldn’t see the inner walls of the castle from here, even the outer walls were difficult to see through the mist that enfolded the top of the hill.
He decided that going out to explore wouldn’t do any harm as long as he could still head back later. Of course there was the question of, who left the door open? If that person were to lock it before he could get back.. He decided to only look around briefly.
The hillside appeared surprisingly peaceful compared to the tragedies of the castle. The grass was taller than his knees, and he saw a cavalcade of bright and colorful flowers all around himself.
He listened to the singing of the birds as he walked and shielded his eyes, looking up. The sun was already high up in the sky, surrounded by creamy white clouds.
It felt really warm. Tian Xihua took his headscarf off to ease his sweating. Just as he was contemplating whether to tuck it away in his clothes or to just hold onto it, he saw a narrow path not far from himself.
The hill the castle stood on had a couple of smaller back hills. It was only then that he had reached a point where he could see the layout of the area from.
Although technically the place where he stood wasn’t higher up than the nearby hills, he could still observe his surroundings just as well, as if he were standing at the castle’s gates.
The path he had noticed just now led towards the nearby forest. It was barely visible and extremely narrow, suggesting that it was rarely used.
This was when Tian Xihua was reminded of what Shen Qiu told him about the others. If Lan Kejia was still outside inspecting the flora, wouldn’t she have gone that way to find the clearing?
He thought about it and realised that he didn’t really have anything better to do, and that it might even be advantageous if he could inspect the plants for himself with the presence of an expert.
The path was much shorter than it had appeared at first. He soon reached the first couple of trees, where he could even see the end of the path from. It ended in the opening of a small clearing that was overgrown with all kinds of herbs and flowers.
As he walked closer, he soon noticed that there seemed to be someone sitting in the middle of the clearing. Was it Lan Kejia? Had she already finished inspecting the plants and decided to take a rest before returning to the castle?
He quickened his pace, but his steps subconsciously halted when he got close enough to see the resting person’s face. It wasn’t Lan Kejia, but someone whose features were deeply ingrained in his mind.
Unexpectedly, it seemed that Lady Amelia had a habit of leaving the castle to play outside. Right when Tian Xihua decided to just leave her be and get back to the passage as soon as he could, the young woman opened her eyes.
Her gaze was locked on his figure and her previously tranquil expression changed into a light smile. She beckoned him closer as she sat up on her blankets, ‘Come on, sit with me for a bit if you’re already here!’
It was clear that she had noticed his small movements just now when he wanted to leave imperceptibly.
Tian Xihua, ‘……’ It really seemed too easy to attack someone without any vigilance, alright? Would it really be that hard not to trust strangers so easily?
Of course, he had forgotten that his character was someone who spent most of his days by the Lady’s side. It would have been even stranger if she didn’t trust him.
Then he remembered another problem. The headscarf just now, didn’t he still have it in his hands? Did this count as his disguise being exposed?
He quickly pulled it from where he had tucked it away, and fumbled to put it back on his head. Just as he was adjusting it, he heard the light laugh of the girl and he looked up.
Lady Amelia waved him closer, ‘No need for such formalities, isn’t it just the two of us here?’
Seeing Tian Xihua’s dumbfounded expression and his cautious stance, she sighed as she propped herself up on her arms. She wore a serious expression as she explained, ‘It isn’t like it’s hard to recognise you. Haven’t you been by Janos’ side whenever he came to visit me? Is it very strange that he would leave someone behind to keep me safe? Don’t tell me that you didn’t even think I’d notice..’
Tian Xihua blinked his surprised expression away, and nodded slowly as he walked over. He sat down as he asked, ‘How long have you known?’
‘Ah, not too long, maybe two or three months. I have to admit, you’re really good at what you do, if you didn’t remind me of something that happened a long time ago I don’t think I would have ever noticed.’
The Lady thought for a moment before she asked, ‘Was I wrong not to tell you before? I thought that it really wouldn’t matter, after all knowing wouldn’t change anything, except that I felt safer afterwards..’
Tian Xihua nodded. ‘You’re right, it really doesn’t change anything. Maybe.. What do you remember from yesterday?’
‘Yesterday?’ Amelia pondered as she tried to remember anything extraordinary. ‘Ah, right. I spent the entire day waiting for Janos to arrive, but he was late again. Later I wasn’t feeling well in the evening, so I went to sleep early. That should be it. Did something happen?’
‘No.’ Tian Xihua folded the scarf in hands as he frowned. So it turned out to be like this? It seemed that the murder last night didn’t even happen, or at least those involved only had vague memories about it. The situation was rather strange.
Was this the case of an alternate dimension? If their task was to follow the Lady through life and death, then their task would be easily discernible; protect her from harm. But that damned rule plaque still hadn’t appeared..
Lady Amelia noticed that her chatting partner had gotten quiet at once, but she didn’t seem to care. She shielded her eyes from the sun as she smiled. She asked suddenly, ‘So why did you come if not because you knew I was here?’
‘……?’ Tian Xihua was still thinking about the specifics of the instance, and the pace of his words slowed without him even noticing. ‘A friend of mine came here to look for a herb and I wanted to help her. I thought she was here at first, that’s why I came in..’
The Lady let out a hum. ‘Did she find it? You’re the first one to come here today, so I don’t think she’s been here.’
‘I’m not sure, I thought she would still be looking by the time I arrived, but it seems that she has already gone back. She was looking for monkshood, someone had told us that it was a common herb here..’
He thought of something suddenly, ‘Right, the passage that leads outside, it can’t be you who left the door open, ah?’
‘It was me.’ Amelia pursed her lips slightly, ‘I don’t like to lock the doors, it makes me feel like.. I don’t even know. It’s as if closing the doors meant to close myself off from the world, you know? We’re already living far from the capital and then..’
She shook her head slowly and pointed towards a tall flower. ‘It doesn’t matter. You.. If you’re looking for monkshood, it’s right there. Whoever you heard it from was telling the truth, our vicinity is rather rich in herbs. But you have to be careful, herbs that can be of great help in some situations can turn out to be deadly in others. It’s better to ask around before using any.’
‘You know a lot about these things?’ Tian Xihua propped his chin on his palm as he listened.
Amelia shrugged as she let out a laugh. ‘With the amount of time on my hands it would be strange if I didn’t. There isn’t that much to do around here, is there?’
Tian Xihua was pondering whether he should ask what he wanted when she spoke again, ‘What is it? Is there something I said wrong?’
Well if she was asking for it, just let her have it, ah.
He agreed with a low hum before asking, ‘You, would you be able to discern the smell of monkshood from other spices?’
Amelia thought for a second before replying truthfully, ‘It doesn’t have a strong smell, so not necessarily. It is said to taste very bitter.. Although, I’m not sure. It can be detoxified as well, which may change the smell and taste.. Are you very interested in things like this? If you are, then I have some books that are quite detailed..’
Tian Xihua rejected her offer politely as he asked, ‘No, thank you. Have you ever heard of it having been used as poison?’
‘It’s not rare for people to die from misuse, but almost everyone who knows even a bit about the plant can use it properly. But to use it to poison someone? It doesn’t seem impossible after all..’
‘Right. Lord Janos and you.. Have the two of you had any arguments recently?’ He frowned as he switched topics swiftly.
‘Arguments? What do you mean? Has he said something to you?’ Amelia’s brows furrowed.
Oh? It seemed that he had found something in the end..
Tian Xihua almost smiled. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say he told me about it.. But he’s been somewhat melancholic these past few days, don’t you think? What kind of confidant would I be if I hadn’t even noticed that..’
He put on an act as he continued seemingly worriedly, ‘Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not trying to fish in muddy waters. I want to make sure that both of you are fine, that is all. There wouldn’t be any benefit of me trying to cause trouble if you’re really in an argument..’
Amelia didn’t reply. She lay back down on the blankets, and watched the clouds drift lazily above them. She blinked a couple of times as she pondered, but in the end she still started talking.
‘It isn’t anything great..’ Her words halted, but then she remembered that she was talking to someone she could trust. She let out a sigh. ‘ It is the amulet.’
The author has something to say:
And we’re back! Something to look forward to: we have an editor now! I’d like to officially welcome musk in the team that’s only recently become an actual team. Welcome!
thanks for the chapter <3