TEFSCBSS Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Stories of Huai Tree Village (Part 2)

Since it was Su Li’s first time hosting a murder mystery game, she couldn’t let the participants roam completely freely. Instead, she stepped in as the moderator, ensuring the process flowed smoothly.

“The first task is for the four involved parties to briefly introduce themselves, explain their relationship with the deceased, and describe what they were doing on the day of the incident,” she announced.

The four individuals on stage displayed varying expressions: some calm, others tense, or even twisted with discomfort.

Meanwhile, the audience was captivated. Scholars like Wang Qingmu even took out stacks of paper and charcoal pencils, ready to jot down every detail—more attentive than they were in any school lecture.

Butcher Liu, as always, was the first to speak up.

First, he pulled out his character bio and sneakily glanced at the role-playing instructions:

• [You are the murderer. No one must discover your secret!]
• [Pretend to defend your daughter, but you’ve already poisoned her. She’ll die soon anyway. While she’s alive, milk as much sympathy as you can!]
• [You can suspect the other two freely. Remember, you’re just an innocent, grieving father-in-law!]

Butcher Liu blinked nervously. Honestly, when he first saw his character notes, he was stunned. A father-in-law killing his son-in-law? Unthinkable! Even if his future father-in-law had been a terror, he couldn’t believe the man would go that far.

Yet, here in the script, it was happening.

Still baffled and somewhat shaken, he composed himself, recalled the backstory in the script, and began his introduction.

“Everyone, I am the father-in-law of the deceased. Our two families have long been prominent figures in the village, with businesses even extending into the town. We’ve had close ties for generations.”

“The two children grew up together, childhood sweethearts. They were engaged from an early age, and I always regarded him as my son.”

“You all know my family situation. My only son is hopeless, my eldest daughter passed away not long ago, and my youngest daughter is naive and inexperienced. I…” His voice choked, and he wiped at his eyes. “I pinned all my hopes for the family’s future on my son-in-law. Boo-hoo-hoo…”

The audience, moved by his heartfelt performance, also began to tear up.

Butcher Liu quickly composed himself and solemnly declared, “Rest assured, I will fully cooperate to find the real culprit who killed my son-in-law and bring justice for him and my daughter!”

Then, as if recalling something, he added, “Before the wedding day, as tradition dictates, the bride and groom were not to meet. I stayed at home with my daughter, while my wife busied herself preparing the dowry and counting the clothes.”

“It wasn’t until today, at the auspicious hour, that the groom arrived with his party to fetch the bride. I saw him then—his face glowing with happiness and excitement. After serving him tea, we let him take the bride away.”

“We parents of the bride don’t attend the wedding feast, so my wife and I stayed home, holding back our emotions, and planned to prepare something special for when they returned three days later.”

“But then—how long had it been? Someone came running to tell me my son-in-law was dead!”

“Ahhh!” Butcher Liu erupted into exaggerated sobs, gasping as though unable to breathe.

The audience marveled at his acting skills. Who would’ve thought such a burly man could convey such depth of emotion?

Gesturing for the next person to speak, Butcher Liu stepped down—relieved. No more improvisation, and he might’ve slipped up.

The remaining three participants exchanged glances and decided to proceed in order.

Li Tiezhu took a deep breath. “Stay calm, Tiezhu. You’ve got this!”

“Everyone,” he began, “I’m the deceased’s childhood friend. I’m also his neighbor. I grew up with the groom and Zhao Si. The bride joined our circle often, too.”

“But last year, a strange thing happened—an older sister suddenly appeared in the bride’s family.”

“From that time on, we often heard cries late at night from Butcher Liu’s house. Thinking someone was being bullied, we wanted to help, but Butcher Liu said his daughters were grown and couldn’t meet unrelated men. So, we stopped visiting. We didn’t even see the bride or her mysterious sister again.”

“Then, two months ago, the bride’s mother passed away. At the funeral, we finally saw the bride and her sister. Both looked haggard.” Li Tiezhu’s ears turned slightly red as he mentioned the sister.

“But just seven days after that, the sister died too! At her funeral, the bride looked deathly pale, her eyes red from crying. It was heartbreaking.”

“To ward off bad luck, Butcher Liu suggested a hasty marriage between the bride and groom. This was barely a month after the sister’s death.”

Sighing heavily, Li Tiezhu summarized, “On the wedding day, I simply followed the group to fetch the bride, witnessed their vows, joined the banquet, and later participated in the games. Then… this tragedy.” He wiped at his eyes, pretending to be too overcome to continue.

The audience, deeply immersed, wept along.

Yet beneath the surface, some started spotting inconsistencies.

Wang Qingmu, one of the scholars, furrowed his brow as he reviewed his notes:

1. Where did this “sister” come from? Why was she so secretive?
2. Didn’t Butcher Liu claim his wife was alive and preparing the dowry? How does that align with the claim that the mother had passed away?
3. Butcher Liu said he stayed home, yet Zhao Si earlier mentioned seeing him at the groom’s house.
4. Who initiated the games—Li Tiezhu or Zhao Si?

“Something’s not adding up,” Wang Qingmu murmured.

Beside him, Wang Bokao, also eliminated earlier, leaned over to compare notes. “Exactly! These points don’t line up at all!”

Wang Qingmu shot him a look. “Didn’t you just cry your heart out over their stories?”

As the audience debated the inconsistencies, the next participant took the stage: a monk portraying a Taoist priest.

“I am Wu Zhen,” he began. “Although I came to bless the union, I sensed ominous energies here—suggestive of unresolved grievances. I decided to investigate further…”