Chapter 130 – Shh, He Found You – Eight Fewer (08)
Because they had discovered Liang Shengfu’s body, the four of them no longer felt like collecting pine nuts. They picked a few at random and returned to the villa.
The corpses at the villa entrance had already been cleared away, but the dark red stains on the carpet still served as a warning to contestants: follow the game’s rules.
Earlier, four people had been killed by the sudden arrow ambush. Adding in the ones who died in the dining room, yesterday’s victim, and Liang Shengfu in the forest, only thirteen of the original twenty-one contestants remained—nearly half were gone.
“You’re back. We didn’t get to speak before the vote earlier. Now that most of us are still here, let’s try to identify the wolves,” Hu Peng stopped them.
Since the previous incidents all happened in the second-floor dining room, Hu Peng had moved the discussion to another location as a precaution.
Yu Hongbo and the others followed Hu Peng to the adjacent billiards room. All eight remaining contestants were already there. When they entered, everyone fell silent. The short-haired woman sat by herself, clearly ostracized by the group.
Understandably so—after all, someone who would push another person to their death wasn’t likely to be well-liked. Anyone who got close to her might be next.
“We’re still missing one person before we can start the meeting,” Hu Peng counted. Liang Shengfu had not returned.
Yu Hongbo said, “No need to wait. Liang Shengfu isn’t coming back. We found his body in the forest—he was stabbed to death.”
“What? You killed him?” someone exclaimed.
“What kind of nonsense is that? What do you mean we killed him? We had no grudge against him. Why would we kill him?” Pan Quan, quick-tempered as ever, couldn’t stand being falsely accused.
“Well, you never know. Even without a grudge, people still kill,” the speaker replied, glancing at the short-haired woman—as if to say they might be the same type.
“Enough. Stop arguing,” Zheng Yao said impatiently. “All you people do is point fingers and make excuses without doing anything useful. Acting all righteous—who knows, you might be a werewolf yourself.”
“In that case, let’s go over the current situation,” Hu Peng said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We checked the people who were shot by the arrows. One had a good guy card. Of the other four, three were good guys and one was a werewolf. That means we’ve seen the first dead wolf.”
“Also, we couldn’t find the identity cards in the room of the couple who died yesterday. We’re not sure whether they hid them or if someone deliberately took them,” Zheng Yao said, looking directly at the short-haired woman.
From the very first day, the short-haired woman had been aggressively accusing others. But today, it was proven that Bai Tang—whom she had targeted—had a Villager card. That alone made her extremely suspicious.
“You’re trying to say I took their identity cards, huh? Got any proof?” The short-haired woman spread her hands, looking completely unfazed.
“I don’t have proof, but your behavior is highly suspicious. First, you went after Bai Tang, who turned out to be a villager. Then today, you pushed someone out to die for you. Either show us your identity card now, or I’m voting you out tomorrow,” Zheng Yao said firmly. In her mind, the short-haired woman had already been labeled a werewolf.
“Suit yourself. Vote me out if you want. You think I’m afraid of you?!”
Caught between the two women, Li Xinxin sat uncomfortably. She was the girl Yu Yi had casually helped earlier today. Her position was awkward—stuck in the crossfire between the two—so she looked pleadingly across the room at Yu Yi.
Yu Yi waved her over, and Li Xinxin, visibly relieved, hurried over to the other side.
Sitting in Yu Hongbo’s lap, Bai Tang caught a faint scent of perfume. He looked up and glanced at Li Xinxin. She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture.
“You’re really pretty,” Li Xinxin said kindly.
“You’re very pretty too,” Bai Tang replied.
While Yu Yi chatted with Li Xinxin, Bai Tang tugged on Yu Hongbo’s sleeve. The two exchanged a meaningful look.
“I got it,” Yu Hongbo said.
As Li Xinxin spoke with Yu Yi, she kept glancing at the couple whispering to each other nearby.
“They’re really close,” she said with admiration.
“You and your boyfriend probably stick together even more when you’re in love,” Yu Yi teased.
As soon as he said that, Li Xinxin’s expression changed. She forced a stiff smile. “I wouldn’t.”
“Quiet, all of you!” Hu Peng’s loud voice cut through the noise, silencing the two quarreling women. They both sat down angrily.
“Let’s stay focused. We need to go over what we know about the current situation. According to the rules of the Werewolf game, there should be four to six werewolves among the twenty-one contestants. So far, we know one werewolf is dead, along with four good guys and two whose roles are unknown. Things are not looking good for the good side.”
Hu Peng rubbed his temples. “By the way, what was Liang Shengfu’s identity?”
“Not sure. We couldn’t find his identity card,” Yu Hongbo replied. “Maybe it’s still in his room—we can search it later.”
“Alright then. If anyone has something to share about what they were doing last night or any discoveries they made, now’s the time to speak up,” Hu Peng said, glancing around at everyone.
“No one wants to talk? Then I’ll ask—who was the one screaming last night?”
Among the women present were only Bai Tang, Zheng Yao, the short-haired woman, and Li Xinxin. Bai Tang was quickly ruled out since she had been with Yu Hongbo all night, and there had even been an attempt on her life by a werewolf.
“It was me,” Li Xinxin timidly raised her hand. “I’m really sorry… I saw a mouse and got scared, so I screamed.”
“Don’t scream unless it’s something serious.”
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…” Li Xinxin kept apologizing, and the matter was dropped.
“The balance between werewolves and villagers is way off right now. If this keeps up, the werewolves will win. Nobody wants to die, so maybe it’s time for the Seer to reveal themselves. Will the Seer please speak up?”
As Hu Peng asked, everyone looked around at each other, but no one said a word.
Seeing no one step forward, Hu Peng let out a bitter laugh. “Fine, no one’s going to claim it? Even now, you still don’t dare? Do you think staying silent means you won’t die? If you reveal your role, the Guard might protect you at night. If you don’t, you might just be the one the werewolves kill tonight.”
Some people started to waver. If they admitted to being the Seer, the Guard might protect them—securing their safety. But the problem was, the Guard couldn’t protect the same person on consecutive nights. If the werewolves chose to kill the Seer on the fourth night, claiming the role could actually put them in greater danger.
“Maybe we should consider the worst-case scenario: that the Seer was one of the three unidentified corpses. That would mean we don’t have a Seer anymore.”
That was the scenario Hu Peng was secretly hoping for.
“Let me put it this way: werewolves only win by killing off all the villagers. Killing off the special roles wastes their time and increases the risk of being voted out during the day. If you trust me, you can come to me privately and reveal your roles. Tomorrow, I’ll help identify the werewolves.”
As he spoke, he placed his identity card on the table.
“Hunter,” he said, looking at Yu Hongbo. “You won’t be able to protect Bai Tang tonight, so why not protect me? Tomorrow, I’ll point out the werewolves.”
“Or the Witch could save me with their potion.”
“In the end, you still haven’t found any werewolves. Boring,” the short-haired woman scoffed and stood up to leave.
“Let’s break it up,” Hu Peng also stood and walked out, followed by Zheng Yao.
“Um, may I… join your group?” Li Xinxin asked timidly, her eyes glancing toward Yu Hongbo.
A delicate and timid girl stands in front of you, seeking protection—most people probably wouldn’t have the heart to say no. Pan Quan, overwhelmed by his macho instincts under Li Xinxin’s gaze, said, “Sure, you can—”
“Sorry, no,” Yu Hongbo interrupted firmly, cutting him off without hesitation.
Li Xinxin looked like she might collapse at any moment, barely maintaining a smile. “Alright then… sorry to bother you.”
Back in their room, Bai Tang said, “Li Xinxin smells like Liang Shengfu. It’s the same perfume scent.”
“She probably killed him—they were a couple,” Yu Hongbo replied, turning on the tap to help Bai Tang wash his hands.
“Then why did it turn out like this…? I’m done washing.” Bai Tang dried his hands, then picked up a pine nut and began cracking it open.
Afraid Bai Tang might hurt his hands, Yu Hongbo opened a drawer and took out a small knife. “Little foodie, you’ll crack them faster with a knife.”
As he helped shell the pine nuts, he continued explaining, “Li Xinxin and Liang Shengfu were most likely a couple. They both had matching rings on red strings around their necks. And like you said, Liang Shengfu smelled of Li Xinxin’s perfume. Two people with no supposed connection, wearing couple rings, using the same brand of perfume. And when Yu Yi mentioned Li Xinxin’s boyfriend, she looked really nervous.”
“What about the others’ identities?” Bai Tang took a bite of the pine nut—its fragrance filled his mouth, and he found it absolutely delicious.
“If I’m not wrong, Hu Peng is the Hunter, and the short-haired woman is likely the Fool.”
“Pfft—hahaha! Ah Bo, how can you call people names like that?” Bai Tang burst out laughing at the word “fool.”
Yu Hongbo gave a helpless smile and pinched Bai Tang’s little nose.
“The ‘Fool’ is actually a special role on the villagers’ side. The Fool can only be killed at night by werewolves. If they reveal their identity during a daytime vote, they can’t be voted out. When I pretended to be a werewolf to meet with the others, only Liang Shengfu and the man who died today showed up. There was still one more werewolf who didn’t come. I don’t know who the last wolf is—and they don’t know who I am either. As long as everyone thinks she’s a wolf, the short-haired woman is relatively safe. At least the last werewolf probably won’t kill her tonight.”
“Ah Bo, you’re amazing! I didn’t notice any of that. I can’t help you with anything at all…” Bai Tang looked dejected. The whole game was a confusing mess to him—his mind was a blur, and he wasn’t doing much better than Pan Quan.
“So, when did you figure out my identity?” Bai Tang asked.
“The first day. When you came out in the middle of the night to find me, I guessed it then.” Yu Hongbo picked up a wet wipe and gently cleaned the boy’s hands. “It’s not that hard to figure things out. If you just observe more carefully, you’ll notice lots of clues. Tang Tang, time for a nap. If you don’t rest now, you won’t have energy tonight—and we still have to find the last werewolf.”
“Alright.” Bai Tang obediently lay down on the bed. “Ah Bo, aren’t you going to nap too?”
“I need to find Yu Yi and Pan Quan. You sleep well, I’ll be back soon.”
Yu Hongbo pressed a kiss to the boy’s lips. “Sleep well.”
Author’s Note:
It feels like the male lead is super capable, doesn’t it? Actually, there are hints about some characters’ identities earlier in the story! (Totally making things up with confidence, hands on my hips like I mean it!)