TEFSCBSS Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Final Showdown Is Here! The Scripted Murder Mystery Takes Center Stage!

The group pointed accusingly at Liu Tuhu. “Liu Tuhu, why on earth did you tear down the outhouse?”

“Exactly! That was so reckless!”

“If it gets damaged, just wait until Boss Zhao makes you pay for it!”

Wang Qingmu, looking thoroughly exasperated, grabbed Liu Tuhu by the collar and dragged him over to Su Li. “Boss Zhao, Liu Tuhu here is all brawn and no brains—always impulsive. But you see, he was just eager to solve the mystery. He didn’t mean any harm.”

He patted Liu Tuhu hard on the back. “Well? Aren’t you going to apologize to Boss Zhao? Hurry up and get her forgiveness, or you’ll be the one paying for this mess!”

Su Li glanced at the furious Wang Qingmu and the now sheepish Liu Tuhu, who had morphed into a picture of remorse. Ha, so these two aren’t enemies after all. I must’ve been blind. They’re thick as thieves.

One plays the stern “bad cop,” the other the clumsy “good cop.” First a show of strength, then a show of courtesy—classic teamwork.

And now they want me to play the “nice guy”? No way. The more they push me to forgive, the less I want to!

Liu Tuhu lowered his head, his voice gruff but apologetic. “Boss Zhao, I’m just a brute who didn’t know you can’t go around tearing down outhouse walls. Please forgive me this one time.”

Su Li let out a long sigh, feigning heartbreak. “Oh, Liu, it’s not that I don’t want to forgive you. But… do you have any idea what it took to build that outhouse?”

“Back in the day, I was dirt poor. After traveling for my studies, I came home to find my elders bedridden, with not even a single silver tael in the house!”

“This shop—this very shop—they wouldn’t let me sell it no matter how much I begged. It’s the only reason I could start this little script shop. That outhouse? I wove every single blade of straw myself, praying it would earn enough money to buy medicine for my elders!”

“Oh, the struggles I’ve faced…”

She sniffled dramatically, drawing sympathetic stares from the crowd. Wang Qingmu and Liu Tuhu exchanged looks, realizing they were up against a master manipulator.

Liu Tuhu’s guilt deepened. I’m a wealthy butcher in these parts, and here I am, bullying a poor student. How shameless!

“Boss Zhao, just tell me what to do! I’ve got my strength. However many outhouses you want, I’ll build them for you!”

Su Li dabbed at imaginary tears and said with a pained expression, “It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean to. How about this? I won’t ask for compensation, but starting tomorrow, you’ll come to work here for a month to pay off the debt. Deal?”

Hmph, let’s rope you in as an NPC for a month. Who cares how strong you are? Your acting talent is the real gold mine here.

The crowd marveled at Boss Zhao’s generosity. So kind! So filial! And she’s not even demanding compensation!

Meanwhile, Liu Tuhu was nearly in tears. “Of course! No problem at all! I’ll report here first thing tomorrow!”

In the back of the crowd, Zhao Si looked on at his boss, who was calmly orchestrating the entire scene, and at Liu Tuhu, who had just willingly sold himself into free labor. He sighed to himself, Oh, Liu, you poor fool. I’ll give you a few tips tomorrow. Just don’t get scared out of your wits.

With that resolved, the group returned to the dismantled outhouse.

The demolished wall did wonders for visibility, and the room’s layout was now in plain sight.

Sure enough, the wall bore bloody words that looked freshly written, with blood dripping down in streaks. The bottommost lines were already becoming unreadable.

“Something’s off,” Liu Tuhu muttered, sniffing the air. He leaned closer to the wall and took a deep whiff. “This isn’t human blood.”

Wang Bokao gaped. “What? How can you tell?” And why do you even know what human blood smells like?

Liu Tuhu smirked proudly. “I grew up in a slaughterhouse. Pig’s blood, chicken’s blood, goose’s blood—I’ve smelled it all. One sniff of this, and I know it’s chicken blood. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and taste it.”

Wang Bokao immediately retreated, shaking his head.

If it’s chicken blood, that means this is no ghostly trick—it’s man-made. A shame. So much for a supernatural culprit.

Han Yueyi stepped forward, squeezing past the crowd to examine the red-clad dummy lying nearby.

Liu Tuhu, it seemed, had excellent control over his strength. Aside from a few stray pieces of straw landing on the dummy, the setup remained entirely undisturbed. Impressive skill for someone labeled a mere butcher.

Han Yueyi focused on the dummy. The silver hairpin piercing its chest had struck the heart perfectly—dead center, with no deviation in angle or placement.

He looked toward the opposite wall. Judging by the angle, the hairpin must have been shot from a mechanism hidden there. Stepping closer, he examined the wall and found a small circular hole, partially obscured by the blood. That must have been where the hairpin was fired.

Tapping the wall gently, he confirmed it was hollow. There was undoubtedly a mechanism concealed within.

Now, all that remained was to locate the trigger.

He instructed his servant to move the dummy out of the room, then carefully shut the outhouse door, recreating the scene as it would have occurred.

Positioning himself a short distance away, he mimicked a drunken groom stumbling toward the outhouse. Though he appeared unsteady, his steps formed a perfectly straight line—an unconscious habit of his.

Reaching the door, he pushed it open, stepped inside, closed it, and turned toward the interior.

As he moved cautiously, keeping his steps in line with the presumed trajectory of the groom, the crowd watched breathlessly through the broken wall.

Click.

Han Yueyi felt a subtle shift beneath his foot and heard a faint mechanical sound from the opposite wall.

Looking down, he noticed an unusual indentation on the floor.

“The trigger point has been found,” he announced, stepping back. “Now, Boss Zhao, does this count as solving the first question?”

Su Li approached, impressed by his deduction. Never underestimate the ancients. I thought this kind of hidden mechanism would be enough to stump them. Guess not.

“But…” she added, feigning disappointment, “this alone doesn’t prove it wasn’t suicide. What if the groom set up the mechanism himself?”

Han Yueyi was momentarily speechless. She has a point. Who says a victim can’t design their murder?

“But!” Su Li continued, a sly smile spreading across her face, “Congratulations to everyone! At least now you’ve uncovered the core technique behind the second case—using a delayed, remote mechanism to kill!”

“However,” she said, her tone suddenly sharp, “this also means my earlier claim—that all the spectators are innocent—is no longer valid!”

“Every single person present is now a suspect! That includes the onlookers, the competitors, and even those waiting in the back courtyard for the wedding feast to end. Everyone!”

“The most crucial part of today’s game, the third and final question, is for all of you to work together and uncover the true culprit!”

She motioned for the crowd to gather beneath the central stage, where a new setup had appeared. At some point, vendors had set up food stalls offering steaming bowls of noodles and dumplings, their aromas making mouths water.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after all that brainwork, you must be hungry. Let’s take a lunch break—today’s on me!”

“Afterward, we’ll begin the ultimate showdown: our shop’s signature attraction—the scripted murder mystery!”

“You’ll play the roles, solve the puzzles, and crack the case in a fully immersive game—The Tales of Locust Tree Village!”