The attendants in the manor quickly conducted a check on the outsiders, but this inspection seemed more like a formality, appearing hasty, because most of the people who came to the manor were documented.

Su Changxing sat on the second floor of the tavern, looking at the guards in the distance and said, "They don’t want us to leave, could it be that they really want to find the murderer in the manor?"

The assassination task had not shown completion, indicating that Po Lai was likely not dead, and perhaps the whole thing was a play staged by him.

Su Changxing did not consider why Bo Lai would do this; there must be a deeper reason with a clear purpose.

But it’s certainly not to find the murderer.

Lu Mengyao whispered tentatively, "If you run now, it should still be in time. I see their lockdown is not very tight."

Su Changxing glanced at Lu Mengyao and said grumpily, "Don’t talk nonsense. If I get caught later, I’ll definitely bring you down with me."

Shortly after, a dozen attendants walked in from outside the tavern, searching everyone. The people in the tavern were outsiders, but had no real suspicions and were ordinary people.

"What are you here for?" A guard with a long halberd and wearing a tall hat, with a pale face, approached Su Changxing and asked.

Su Changxing hurriedly stood up, smiling broadly and said, "We are from the slaughterhouse in Caixi Town, here to deliver pork today, but didn’t expect such a thing to happen."

Saying this, he discreetly slipped a few large bills into the attendant’s hand, his smile deepening.

The attendant looked at the bills in his hand and smiled back, saying, "You don’t seem like bad people, just stay honest."

Su Changxing, of course, didn’t mind spending some useless bills at this moment, because even though these guards had no real power, it would be troublesome if they fixated on them.

The tavern was still abuzz with chatter and laughter, with a few old acquaintances from Caixi Town coming over to greet Su Changxing.

······

"What? The third son of the Duke, Po Lai, is dead? How is that possible?" Lina said, her face full of shock, not expecting such an incredible incident to occur.

The dignified son of a Grand Duke, actually dying in this small place, and what’s more puzzling is why he came to such a place?

Mo’an Manor is a small place, and the nobles of Mu’an Manor are minor nobility, so it’s unlikely he came just for this, even if it was along the way, it seems a stretch.

Chris, the head of the Imperial Police investigation squad, looked at this young Imperial Police officer, appearing calm and said:

"This is what the current situation seems to be. We’ve received orders to investigate who killed the Duke’s son, and capture the killer to bring them to justice."

That’s exactly what the Imperial Police are supposed to do, so it’s perfectly normal to act like this.

Lina frowned slightly and said, "So, we should first give up on this case?"

"Yes."

Chris said, "We are heading over there now, it’s nearby and will take just a few hours to get there."

They abandoned the case they were currently investigating and hurried towards Mo’an Manor, as the matter concerning the Duke’s son ought to be more important.

······

The sky was unusually gloomy, filled with dark clouds, seemingly about to pour rain.

Until the afternoon, the manor still had not lifted the lockdown, not allowing anyone to leave, claiming that the murderer was certainly among them and until they found the murderer, no one could leave.

Faced with such domineering words, no one had any objections, as they were just ordinary people, and the other party were extraordinary nobility.

Moreover, there was enough food and drink here, so no one felt it was a problem; most people’s lives were still slow-paced and being delayed a day or two was not much of an issue.

"The weather doesn’t seem right." Su Changxing leaned on his chair, took a sip of the manor’s special brew, and said absently as he looked at the sky.

Lu Mengyao looked towards the distant manor gate and whispered, "Klein, are you really not considering escaping? I see those from the Knight’s Guild have also arrived, if you don’t run now, there won’t be another chance."

"······"

Su Changxing gave him a glance and said calmly, "What are you still doing here? You’ve already completed the commission."

Lu Mengyao was definitely a laid-back player, without a trace of urgency, having spent the entire afternoon drinking with Su Changxing.

"Ah, isn’t the manor locked down? I can’t get out." Lu Mengyao said with a confused look.

Su Changxing nodded, "Hmm, makes sense, but if you really want to leave, there’s always a way."

The Vice President of the Knight’s Guild arrived with his men,

The Imperial Police also arrived.

Su Changxing smelled something different; organizing such a big display, it couldn’t possibly be to catch him.

It shouldn’t be possible, right······ Su Changxing felt that these people wouldn’t be so idle as to spend such great effort to capture a small murderer like him.

This doesn’t make sense.

However, he was already contemplating whether to escape; even if his true identity was exposed, perhaps when this matter was over, he could return under the system’s guidance.

The task was already a failure, but failure didn’t matter to him; he didn’t care about the unknown reward as his purpose had been achieved.

"Why are you here?"

Lina walked into the tavern from outside, seeing Su Changxing and exclaimed in surprise.

Su Changxing shrugged, expressing helplessness, and said: "I came to deliver pork and then got trapped here······ you know, I’m a butcher."

Lina showed a suspicious look on her face, then said, "Alright, something seems fishy though, I’ll have one like his."

She pointed at Su Changxing’s glass.

Su Changxing called out to the bartender, "Another one like this, put it all on her tab."

Lina looked at Su Changxing very seriously and said, "Offering a lady a drink is a gentleman’s act."

"I’m just a butcher, and you have money," Su Changxing said with a smile.

He paused, noticing Lina had a bright red Half Moon Ruby hanging around her neck, very familiar, just like that Bloodstained Ruby.

[Half Moon Ruby: A highly valuable gem, containing some kind of extraordinary power, its shining brilliance displays its exceptional nature.]

"What are you looking at?" Lina noticed Su Changxing’s gaze was off, seemingly drifting towards her chest.

Su Changxing pointed at the Ruby and said, "What’s that on your chest?"

Lina glanced down at the gemstone and said, "A necklace, my father gave it to me, he said it can ensure safety. I usually wear it when working on a case."

Henry?

"Is that so?"

Su Changxing nodded thoughtfully, feeling that there must be some connection or similarity between the two gemstones.

They really do look alike.

Lina shifted the conversation and said, "Do you have any useful information regarding the Duke’s son?"

She wasn’t holding out much hope, just asking casually.

Su Changxing thought for a moment and said:

"What clues could I have? I haven’t encountered anything strange, just that after arriving, we were told that Master Bai Lai had died and we are not allowed to leave."

"Do you think this is a bit odd? Master Po Lai wasn’t even killed within the manor, yet they want to seal it off. Could the murderer have come to the manor after killing?"

"This is obviously unreasonable, don’t you think so?"

Lina listened to Su Changxing’s words and began to ponder. She had thought about this question before but hadn’t delved deeply into it and said:

"There are indeed some issues, but it seems the manor has confirmed that the murderer is here. It’s said that the same person who attacked the capital city, who is very dangerous, you all need to be a bit more cautious."

Su Changxing paused for a moment. He was the one who attacked the capital city, but he wasn’t the one who killed Bai Lai, or rather Bai Lai wasn’t dead after all.

He then smiled broadly and said, "Thank you for the warning, officer."

Lina finished her drink and got up to leave without investigating or questioning the people around her.

"Really knows how to slack off."

Su Changxing couldn’t help but comment.

······

Liu Nailiang and the others, holding their mission items, made their way to the largest castle in the middle of the manor.

It was clean and bright here, with flowers blooming in the flower beds.

The butler, holding a smoking pipe, walked over to greet them with a gentle expression and said, "Not bad, you found the items?"

Liu Nailiang nodded and said, "Yes, we found them...we heard that Master Bai Lai was attacked? Are we still continuing?"

The mission’s trajectory was often altered by some unexpected events. They never imagined that the Duke’s son, Polai, would be assassinated.

This was too exaggerated, and they wondered what kind of assassin was so formidable.

Their mission had also originated from Bai Lai, but now that Bai Lai was dead, they weren’t sure if the mission could continue as normal.

The butler’s expression didn’t change, and he rather nonchalantly replied, "That’s not important, we just continue with our trade. Follow me."

Liu Nailiang and the others followed the butler, making their way into the depths of the castle, heading towards the top floor of the highest tower.

A viscount’s manor built so luxuriously was indeed rare, but as players, they didn’t care about such things, as long as they could complete their tasks and earn the rewards.

That was a pitch-black altar, with dim lighting all around as if it had absorbed half the light. A single glance could make one dizzy.

The two stone grotesque statues beside were vivid, as if they might come to life.

Liu Nailiang and the others’ expressions changed slightly, knowing their mission was not as straightforward as it seemed.

But what did it matter?

"Just place the item in the slot that matches its shape on the altar," the butler calmly instructed while looking at the altar, his smoking pipe held horizontally in his hand.

Liu Nailiang nodded, took a deep breath, and walked toward the altar with the eye gemstone, a gem bright green like an eyeball.

They had only found this item due to great luck, having dug it out from the stomach of a twisted creature.

Before acquiring the eye gemstone, everything had gone smoothly for them, but after obtaining it, strange events occurred repeatedly. First, they were intercepted by people from the Knight’s Guild and nearly robbed of the eye gemstone, then they were attacked by unknown creatures, as a result of which all his companions except him died once.

It seemed their luck had suddenly taken a downturn.

However, he still made it to the manor and was about to complete the task. Thinking about it, it wasn’t easy indeed.

The reward for this task was extremely generous, almost unreasonably so, allowing him to level up seven or eight times in one go.

Like a Demon’s temptation.

Currently, he’s at over Level ten. If he rises another seven or eight levels, he would be on par with first-rate players in terms of level.

Therefore, he was determined to succeed in this mission at any cost. It’s said that at level above twenty, the game’s power could somewhat feedback into one’s real body.

This means his illness might alleviate, and going forward, he might avoid a fate of death by sickness.

This task, he would complete no matter the cost!

He kept walking forward step by step.

The thick soles of his boots clinked against the stone floor, echoing in the spacious hall, sounding especially clear.

Liu Nailiang approached the altar, finding a human face carved on it, with one empty eye socket ready for the eye gemstone.

He slowly placed the eye gemstone into the eye socket on the face.

Immediately, the face began to move, its expression changed slightly, and its other eye slowly opened, also a green eye, that seemed alive, staring straight at him.

This sight sent a shiver through his body, not out of fear, but excitement.

That face seemed to possess an inexplicable allure, drawing him inexorably closer, wanting to kiss it, as though one foot was stepping deep into a quagmire, unable to extricate himself.