Chapter 10

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As for the exact method of catching the culprit in a trap, Gu Qing never made it explicit, but since they had connections, it wasn’t surprising.

Ling Su County Restaurant.

This time, after confirming beyond doubt that the restaurant was safe and foolproof, the two of them brought Ye Xiyin there to dine.

Regarding accommodation, upon learning what had happened to Ye Xiyin at the Yue Lai Inn, the county magistrate Feng Yue invited Ye Xiyin to stay temporarily at the county office. The environment was another matter, but safety was assured.

Whether this was due to Gu Qing’s special favor, Ye Xiyin wasn’t sure.

In any case, with such convenience, it would be foolish not to accept.

At this moment, they were dining and waiting for someone.

As Ye Xiyin tasted the osmanthus cake, letting the sweet flavor spread, curiosity got the better of him.

“Is it a friend from the Hidden Guards?”

“Exactly. You guessed that?” Xu Ziche was somewhat surprised. It wasn’t that this was a difficult deduction, but Ye Xiyin’s thinking was evidently sharper.

After all, most NPCs wouldn’t consider that the Hidden Guards would leak any information to them.

This wasn’t because NPCs lacked intelligence but due to their fixed mindset.

Who would think that a Hidden Guard could have a traitor?

Shouldn’t that be obvious enough?

Ye Xiyin thought silently but felt he shouldn’t answer, so he feigned innocence with wide eyes.

“Don’t mind him,” He Xiting said, passing a chilled Su Mountain dessert in front of him. Its icy blue color was particularly enticing.

Ye Xiyin’s attention was drawn away, and they smoothly moved past the topic.

The teal-colored mountain cracked gently under the spoon’s touch. Upon tasting, the rich flavor melted, offering a feast for both the eyes and palate.

The game “Sword Trial” paid great attention to such details; the in-game food was always a masterpiece of color, aroma, and taste.

Purchasing such delicacies cost players little, allowing them to savor fine food at a modest price.

Whether players liked Ye Xiyin or not was unknown, but as an NPC, he enjoyed it greatly.

Amid this pleasant dining atmosphere, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a young woman clad in dark official attire stepped in.

She ignored Xu Ziche and He Xiting, fixing her gaze on Ye Xiyin. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she hurried over to scrutinize him.

The intense gaze made Ye Xiyin involuntarily lean back a little, swallowing his dessert and subtly moving closer to He Xiting.

Sensing the silent plea for help from the small NPC, He Xiting spoke softly, “Lu Qiuyue.”

Only then did Qingyun Qiuyue withdraw her gaze, chuckling, and apologized to Ye Xiyin: “Sorry, sorry, you’re just too handsome. I like good-looking people, so I couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. No other meaning.”

Her look was indeed purely admiring, nothing else.

Still, the straightforward compliment embarrassed Ye Xiyin, who blushed and replied, “It’s nothing, no need to apologize.”

That expression made Qingyun Qiuyue look at him with fondness several more times.

Thinking about where her brother had found such a well-behaved little NPC, she smiled and said, “I’m Qingyun Qiuyue, a Hidden Guard in Deputy Envoy Gu’s team. We might be working together later, so please take care of me.”

“Ye Xiyin,” he introduced himself and, like a programmed NPC, greeted her, “Pleased to meet you, Young Master Qingyun Qiuyue.”

Though it wasn’t the first time he pretended to be an NPC, Ye Xiyin still found the players’ ever-changing names a bit difficult to adapt to.

Because it was a game, player names were naturally unusual. Even though the naming system nudged players to choose names that sounded “human,” people’s creativity was boundless. Compared to some bizarre IDs, Qingyun Qiuyue’s name was quite normal.

Unaware of his overactive thoughts, the four sat down again and finally got to business.

Qingyun Qiuyue poured herself some tea, cleared her throat, and began, “Actually, it’s not a very complicated method. The so-called ‘inviting the guest into the urn’ by Deputy Envoy Gu is to spread word that important clues were found in the victim’s belongings. Anyone who can provide information on these clues will be richly rewarded.”

Ye Xiyin was surprised at how simple the method was. “Will this work?”

“Of course. Because the clues are unknown, the culprit will worry about what exactly they lost. The more unknown it is, the more frightened they become, causing them to panic and make mistakes. Then we just wait for them to come to us.”

“Also, that cloud pattern must be something very important. Since Deputy Envoy Gu cares so much, the culprit can’t be ordinary. Such people fear their secrets being exposed even more. As long as they show the slightest intent to bite, we can find their weakness.”

“The information you provided earlier was also crucial. Besides that, we’ve assigned people to watch the inn closely. Any unusual activity will result in detaining everyone inside. With both methods combined, there’s no way we can fail.”

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Ye Xiyin nodded thoughtfully.

However, he still had a question: “But those attracted might not necessarily be the culprit, right?” For example, that player the other day who looked almost crazed while chasing the clue.

Unlike Ye Xiyin, Xu Ziche, He Xiting, or even Qingyun Qiuyue, they didn’t have inside information and were just eager to get the clue to advance their tasks.

“That’s no problem. Anyway, the Hidden Guard’s prison is short of inmates lately. Hopefully, they won’t spend too much when redeeming themselves,” Qingyun Qiuyue winked, showing no concern and even a mischievous smile. “Besides, aren’t items fought over by many more attractive?”

The only worry was if the culprit wasn’t anxious.

If they were, the initiative would be on their side.

That expression looked familiar — definitely from someone who had pulled many scams.

Thinking of other players dragged into hard labor scavenging corpses by tasks, Ye Xiyin pitied them for a moment.

Working hard and losing money — how tragic.

Should he say they were true siblings?

Ye Xiyin held his spoon, glanced discreetly at He Xiting, and shook his head inwardly.

No, it wasn’t really bad; it was just a clever little tactic.

—

“Weren’t all the clues handled? How did they still get caught, and to the Hidden Guards no less?” The innkeeper’s wife frowned inside the inn.

That morning, the government had sent inquiries about anyone who could provide information.

Several rounds of officers had come to Yue Lai Inn to ask about any news.

Though they had managed to dodge the questions, the innkeeper’s wife was uneasy, feeling this was far from simple.

Her thoughts returned to Ye Xiyin’s image, and her expression darkened.

Since the failed operation that day, she hadn’t had a single good day.

First, many martial artists inexplicably appeared in Ling Su County; the pond used to dispose of bodies was discovered. Had it not been cleaned thoroughly before, they wouldn’t have been able to stay here peacefully.

“No one would expect a group to suddenly search the pond. If not for those crows, we wouldn’t have been exposed,” the waiter said bitterly. “Boss, what about the clues? What if they’re related to our identities...?”

The rest of his words vanished under the innkeeper’s icy glare.

He had forgotten that some things were better left unspoken.

“No, we must get those things, but we can’t go ourselves,” she paced briefly, gritting her teeth. “Send others. At worst, we’ll give up our inheritance here.”

—

That night, many players had gathered outside the Ling Su County government office.

One of them was a player named One Cat.

He belonged to the Universal Pavilion, a merchant organization with extensive ties to various martial arts sects.

He had come to Ling Su County because he received a task triggered by a Universal Pavilion NPC.

The reason was that a batch of goods had issues, and the supervisor assigned the task to players.

One Cat had raised his faction’s prestige and had good favor with NPCs, so he naturally became one of the task recipients.

Originally, it was just a quality control problem; many players took the task, uncovered the truth, handed over the incompetent NPC, and considered the matter closed.

However, One Cat was the type who liked to dig deeper. During his investigation, he discovered serious problems with the goods’ origins.

When submitting the task, he mentioned this to the NPC, unexpectedly unlocking a new task stage: investigating the origin of the goods.

Usually, such hidden quests without hints required players to explore on their own and often involved major storylines. Being among the first to uncover these quests meant rich rewards.

He wasn’t going to miss such an opportunity. After several rounds of investigation, he pinpointed Ling Su County as likely harboring a force plundering others’ wealth and trading through the Universal Pavilion NPC.

He came because the task was likely approaching its final stage, about to yield vital clues.

But unexpectedly, a group of “Cheng Yaojin” types interrupted—players whose task lines overlapped with his.

In “Sword Trial,” task triggers were diverse. For this corpse mystery alone, One Cat estimated at least three lines.

One was his own via Universal Pavilion NPC, another linked to the Hidden Guards’ mission, and the third was this corpse mystery.

His task required uncovering related clues, usually by contacting the traders and piecing together the truth step by step.

But the corpse mystery task’s appearance directly added a new thread to his exploration.

Seeing the “extremely high risk” warning on the new quest branch, One Cat gritted his teeth and decided to take the risk.

Directly contacting the trader to investigate could take too long; with this shortcut, it would be foolish not to use it.

Just in case, he invited his fixed team members. Now five of them hid outside, waiting for the right moment to storm in and seize the goods.

Meanwhile, the world chat was buzzing.

[World]

SneakyDog: What does everyone think about the corpse mystery task? Anyone interested?

North Alley: I’m not going. I bet a lot will rush in tonight. I’ll just lie low and wait for updates _(:з」∠)_

TimeMoon: Not me either. It involves those sneaky Hidden Guards. Could be a trap.

LonelyNight: Don’t even know if it’s a big task yet. Don’t want to be embarrassed fighting over a small one. I’m sitting this out.

After probing for information with no useful results, a group of strangers closed world chat and turned their attention to the county office’s massive gates.

Laughable — missing such an important task would be foolish.

However, everyone was cautious, used to scheming and intrigue, unwilling to be the first to blindly rush in and risk a trap.

As time passed and players hesitated, several black-clad figures silently slipped into the county office.

The crowd’s spirits lifted, but seeing the unusual health bars on those figures—clearly not players—they realized they were NPCs.

“NPCs?!”

That thought flashed through their minds, and excitement surged.

NPCs arriving now must be connected to the clues.

Even without knowing the clues, following these black-clad figures would surely yield something.

Some impatient players could no longer restrain themselves; they quietly activated skills and followed.

Unaware, they, like the NPCs, had become part of someone else’s plan.

As more players joined the black-clad figures, suddenly flames flared outside the dark county office.

Officers surrounded the building with torches, and Hidden Guards lay in ambush on all sides.

Gu Qing, sword in hand, stood at the entrance, voice stern: “Anyone who breaks into the county office today will be arrested.”

“Yes, sir!”

The deafening response sharpened the players’ awareness.

The government NPCs imposed severe restrictions on players, so a head-on clash was unwise.

Some sensed trouble and slipped away quickly.

Those slower were destined for the Hidden Guard’s prison.

Elsewhere, not only players sensed the danger but also the trio from Yue Lai Inn investigating clues.

Flames roared high in Ling Su County, signaling serious trouble.

With the situation so dire, staying here was impossible.

Having already packed their belongings, the three were about to leave when a dagger flew in front of them, blocking their path.

“Where are you going?” Qingyun Qiuyue and her comrades stood before them.

Seeing their shocked expressions, she turned back and looked at those behind her.

“Are they the ones bullying you?”

“Yes, yes,” Ye Xiyin nodded cheerfully.

Like a little animal finding a protector, he was strangely endearing.

He Xiting twitched a finger, wanting to reach out.