There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Compared to the detective's inexplicable death, the incident at Elder Huang's house seemed to cause even more concern and fear among the villagers, with everyone's eyes flickering and their demeanor hesitant to speak.

Xu Shuo knew they had skeletons in their closet and didn't bother to ask further.

After instructing several strong young men to wash away the bloodstains, Xu Shuo used the need to ponder the situation as an excuse to leave for the time being.

He needed to figure out the behavioral pattern of "Green-Faced Fangs" and why last night's mission wasn't considered complete. Did he need to beat the creature half to death before capturing it?

Besides, if there was something about Elder Huang relating to "Green-Faced Fangs," it would only be his wife, who disappeared not long ago.

Actually, Elder Huang's wife hadn't gone back to her mother's home; while washing clothes by the river, she was dragged into the water by something.

At the time, blood stained the water's surface, and the villagers who heard and came by didn't dare to go down and save her. By the time they mustered the courage to go into the water, her figure was nowhere to be found.

On the surface, Elder Huang cried his heart out, but afterwards, it was business as usual for him.

The Acting Village Chief had an inkling about the incident because the woman who married Elder Huang was the last of her family line. After her death, the remaining estate naturally all went to Elder Huang's purse, leaving no chance for others to claim a piece of it.

It was inevitable that some would be jealous.

However, the old man was cunning, immediately gifting a piece of land to the Acting Village Chief to help keep the matter under wraps.

The person who came to the temple yesterday seeking information about the journalist and the detective was him too. He was probably worried that his wife's incident would get out, as taking advantage of a family's extinction is not something to be proud of.

Xu Shuo frowned in thought, so who would want Elder Huang dead?

Walking down the village road, he glanced at the fields below the river.

Because of the call to the police, the detective's body could not be moved casually, and several strong men were still guarding it in the fields.

The originally well-growing melon field was now trampled recklessly by a panicked crowd, senselessly killing off a large segment of the vines.

The melon field was close to the riverbank, the most convenient location for drawing water. The fields behind it required digging ditches alongside for irrigation, making the melon field the best in growth among the entire fields.

Further back was the land of the Zhang Family, and it was Old Zhang who discovered the incident in the melon field this morning while going down to the fields. The two had previously quarreled over water diversion issues as well.

But that was all several months ago.

Nevertheless, if Xu Shuo were to follow this line of thought, he quickly thought of another person.

A while ago, an heirloom vase, an antique, was stolen from Old Zhang's family; it was said to have been taken by Old Li, but after the incident blew up, no one could find the vase's location.

By chance, the Acting Village Chief also knew the truth.

As a respected leader responsible for all kinds of issues in the village, the Chief was almost aware of every little secret among the villagers.

Although on the surface, this village seemed to be a picture of serenity and harmony, the filth hidden beneath could be just as abundant as the silt in the river.

To put it plainly, which family didn't have some scandalous secrets?

Looking at his own unfinished mission, Xu Shuo thought it through and decided to stake out Old Zhang's house tonight to verify whether his speculations about "Green-Faced Fangs" were correct.

As to how to capture it...

Xu Shuo opened the Player's Handbook and tried to send a Little Flying Message to Hong Rao.

But the system prompted, "Unable to send." He was taken aback, thought for a moment, then deleted the original text and re-edited a new one.

[Is the Dreamcatcher the mission object this time?]

[What is the Dreamcatcher's function?]

[How to use the Dreamcatcher?]

[On the use of the net?]

[How to cook a badger just right, steamed or braised?]]

After four revisions, Xu Shuo finally managed to send out the message and deeply understood what the other person meant by not being able to speak plainly or hint at things.

Thinking about it, the in-game dialogue function really wasn't very useful, no wonder Hong Rao used it just for chatting.

Now, all he wanted was to wait until his master-student bond upgraded to a higher level, and have Hong Rao directly transfer artifacts to him—it would be a waste not to use it.

...

Lost in thought, Xu Shuo didn't go back home after leaving Elder Huang's house but instead took a detour to the shrine hall.

The little girl, dressed in a tattered jacket, was sitting on the threshold eating candy. Seeing him approaching, her eyes sparkled, and her mouth curved into an adorable smile.

Xu Shuo walked over, picked her up, and pinched the little girl's soft cheeks. He laughed and said, "In the future, don't casually go to those kinds of places, okay? Children shouldn't meddle in adult affairs."

"Mhm mhm," the little girl quickly nodded in agreement.

"So, what were you looking at just now?" Xu Shuo asked, continuing to pinch her cheek.

"Um, there was a really strange smell." The little girl blinked her innocent big eyes, her mouth full of candy as she mumbled, "It smelled sweet and fragrant, I wanted to eat it."

...

Xu Shuo remembered seeing the girl picking up young melon sprouts from the fields to eat. Those undeveloped sprouts had no flavor and were quite dry.

She was collectively supported by the villagers and wouldn't be without breakfast; even if she went to someone's house to ask for food, she could get a bowl of porridge.

At her age, she probably couldn't eat that much.

Then, Xu Shuo remembered that he had filled a large bag with snacks for the little girl yesterday.

Carrying the girl, he returned to the right room of the shrine hall. Looking around, the room was dim without windows, the bed was plain, and the table was clean. Only an empty plastic bag remained.

Xu Shuo fell into contemplation.

The little girl also followed his gaze to the plastic bag, and immediately her round, plump face showed an anxious expression as she chewed the candy more carefully than before.

"Uncle Dai, I'm sorry…" she hesitated before speaking.

Because Uncle Dai had a stern look on his face, which was truly scary.

More importantly, last night before Uncle Dai left, he told her not to eat too much. But she couldn't help herself and, before she realized, had accidentally eaten it all.

She was a bit worried that not listening might make her disliked, so she thought it best to apologize first.

Xu Shuo didn't speak but looked back at her and began to pull at her cheeks, causing her to open her mouth unwillingly.

"Ah," Xu Shuo signaled for her to open her mouth.

"Ah~" The little girl didn't understand what he was doing but obediently opened her mouth anyway.

The girl's white teeth were still covered with bits of chewed Sweet Candy, her young teeth not as sharp as an adult's, her tongue was healthily pink, and her mouth was relatively clean.

Only, there was a faint and strange smell emanating from deep within her throat.

It was like something long sealed away, rotted, and fermented, and finally mixed into an unbearable, putrid scent.

But the little girl blinked her sparkling big eyes, obediently keeping her mouth open, her chubby cheeks were soft and adorable to pinch, and her whole tender face looked utterly innocent.

Xu Shuo: "..."

At that moment, the Little Flying Message brought over a reply from Hong Rao:

[Shuo, come to understand what it's like to rot in a jail cell. Badgers are an endangered species and cannot be eaten but must be taken care of.]