Ch11 - Little Sister Carries A Doll (9)

Hai Ri thought about it before venturing a guess, “Me?”

Xue Chuan: “You bring personal feelings too deeply into this. Without a player like you, it would be unfair to us.” 

Hai Ri: “Jie, let’s focus on the evidence, okay?”

Ping Jie finally spoke. “Sheng Canyang, I don’t actually believe your story about that doll of yours.”

He seemed to be holding himself back, but a while later, he still said out loud, “You said the blood on your doll’s chest was caused by you pricking it. Then let’s try it now and see if the doll really does bleed.”

Sheng Canyang very casually tossed the doll over, indicating for him to go ahead. Ping Jie picked up the doll, pulled out a key from his pocket, and pricked the doll with the blade on the nail clipper. Hai Ri’s heart tensed, the tension leaking into his throat and eyes. The tension lasted a long time, yet there was no blood to be seen. 

With a wave of Ping Jie’s hand, he declared, “I already said it – I don’t believe you.”

In contrast, Sheng Canyang was quite calm. “All right then, I was lying.”

“Everyone was lying at the start,” said Sheng Canyang. “So I also wasn’t truthful, not that it matters even if I was. My needle was used to prick myself. I knew Yu Shang had taken control of Xue Chuan because of this drop of blood. Yu Shang’s vengeful spirit is in my doll and I thought that I could use my blood to lure her out, believing that she would definitely take revenge and kill the deceased. I tested it, but there was no reaction. Not only was there no reaction, the soul seemed to have long disappeared from the doll. She’d already reached Xue Chuan and forced her soul out.”

Sheng Canyang: “Understand?”

Hai Ri nodded, taking a glance at everyone’s expressions.

Ping Jie asked, “Then why didn’t you say so from the start?”

“You guys might not believe me if I’d said it at that time,” Sheng Canyang answered. “You’ll think that I summoned Yu Shang to kill my mom.”

Hai Ri thought: “That’s true.” 

If Sheng Canyang had said so right at the beginning, no one would believe him. If that was the case, then the doll had little relation to Sheng Canyang, and was instead a crucial piece of evidence against Xue Chuan.

Xue Chuan: “That is just your one-sided statement.”

“A game of words,” Sheng Canyang stated. “Jie, just from the sound of it, isn’t it all about ‘one-sided statements’?”

Xue Chuan asked Chang Ze, “What about you? You don’t have anything to say?” 

She was now the most suspicious person, so she was in urgent need of new evidence and statements to drag more people down.

But Chang Ze shook her head, saying somewhat wearily, “Nothing else, I already said everything I know. Can we quickly end this round? I’m exhausted.”

From the start, Hai Ri hadn’t intended on snatching any points. Constantly worried that Sheng Canyang was the murderer, he simply couldn’t play well and only intended to scrape by this round, so he was of similar sentiments.

His mind was still preoccupied with the matter of Sheng Canyang’s hunger. He couldn’t be bothered to listen any further, and asked the deceased, “It’s not time to eat yet?” 

Ping Jie guffawed, “Why do you two only think about eating?”

Hai Ri also laughed as he shook his head wordlessly.

Xue Chuan glanced around at everyone with a feeling of absurdity. “What? All of you are certain it’s me?”

Sheng Canyang: “Jie, live well after going back.” 

His words went over Xue Chuan’s head. “If I’m the murderer, may I ask who’s my accomplice? Two people died the first night! The accomplice is still alive, is someone among you setting me up? I don’t have an accomplice.”

Chang Ze said impatiently, “Jiejie, big sis, it’s not like we’re going to be voting for the accomplice. Seeing that the situation isn’t improving, the accomplice has directly hung you out to dry. Such a thing isn’t that rare?”

As for the question of whether uninvolved accomplices would be voted out, that would only affect the calculation of points. For every ten rounds played, the accomplices in more than half of them would choose to give up on their task and directly hang the murderer out to dry. Because if they were identified as the accomplice, they would be in even hotter water.

Hai Ri had wanted to say so as well, but it would clearly be more persuasive if it came from Chang Ze. From the beginning, he’d taken sides too early – anyone could tell that he wouldn’t vote Sheng Canyang out, so no matter what he said, he would be viewed as siding with Sheng Canyang. 

On the other hand, Chang Ze wouldn’t.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Seated in front of the table, Xue Chuan suddenly felt powerless, as if things were cast in stone.

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“I don’t think it’s necessarily you,” Sheng Canyang said. “Jie, anyone here can be lying. Ping Jie or Chang Ze could also be lying. There’s a possibility they killed the deceased but claimed otherwise, and the same applies to you. But you said that you saw Yu Shang that night, and that’s impossible. You are Yu Shang, you must have seen the Xue Chuan you possessed. If Xue Chuan killed someone, then you should carry the pot.”

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Hai Ri: “I’m going to the kitchen to take a look.”

Sheng Canyang hauled him back in one motion, causing Hai Ri to fall back. Sheng Canyang didn’t release him momentarily, continuing to grip Hai Ri’s wrist. His palm was warm and dry. Hai Ri shot him a glance, thinking that this was his first time touching Sheng Canyang. In his heart, this boy’s palm was exactly as it was now – very clean and not cold. 

The mosaicked image of his death in the news inevitably surfaced in Hai Ri’s mind. A shiver went through his body.

Sheng Canyang glanced at him. Thinking he was nervous, he patted the back of Hai Ri’s hand before removing his hand in a natural manner. “There’s no need to go, it’ll end before meal time.”

Seeing the way Xue Chuan was, his heart softened a little. He pursed his lips, but didn’t say anything.

Xue Chuan was fatigued. “All of you think it’s me? Is that right?” 

Ping Jie: “Someone has to be pushed out no matter what, but it really isn’t me. I don’t have the murder weapon, no?”

However, Sheng Canyang told Xue Chuan, “It’s not a matter of whether or not you have the murder weapon, it’s the fact that only you and me could have killed, and it’s clear I’m helping you to carry the pot. I also thought this role that I’d blindly chosen at the start was the killer. I like being the killer, but I don’t play the killer in this way. I’m not the killer, so I shouldn’t have shared the information about the dolls and your identity. The deceased definitely died at the hands of a ghost, otherwise it wouldn’t be this story’s background. One look at the wound and you should know that she was scratched to death. Whether it’s Yu Shang or Xue Chuan, neither of them obey the general’s orders. Both of them have links to you, so I can only say that the killer is either you or me. Chang Ze and Ping Jie couldn’t have done it.”

Xue Chuan took a deep breath. The glance she shot at Sheng Canyang was if she had thousands upon thousands of words suppressed in her heart, unable to be voiced.

Probably because of anger. 

Hai Ri: “Jie, you don’t want to go back?”

“Go back?” Xue Chuan raised a brow. Her aura suddenly turned piercing and domineering. “I understand the mentality of the woman in this script. I understood this woman the moment I saw it. I am also the mother of a child. Sheng Canyang, you were wrong about one thing. The real owner of this body never wanted to return. There is nothing greater than the love parents have for their children – Xue Chuan willingly gave her body to Yu Shang. She was willing, it was Yu Shang herself who feared that Xue Chuan would return.”

The rims of Xue Chuan’s eyes gradually reddened as she uttered, “My own child died in an accident. I picked up a call as I was driving her home from the market… and hit the car in front. My daughter died, whereas I remain alive. Let me tell you, no mother would be able to continue living on. Even if I go back, I would still return.”

 For a while, it was completely silent. 

No matter how many similarly sorrowful stories were heard, whenever they happened in front of their eyes, a human’s heart could not be stopped from shattering in grief.

But who among the people in this place were whole?

Xue Chuan said, “I understand the mother in this story very well. If my daughter wanted to come back and wanted my body, I would not hesitate to offer it to her, even if she resents me in her heart. This is the truth about my story. I didn’t kill the deceased, I just didn’t want to say it out loud because I felt it would be too difficult to bear. None of you have children, you wouldn’t understand no matter what I say.”

Hai Ri expressed internally: I understand, I actually understand very well. 

But it would really be too embarrassing to say such a thing under these circumstances, so he could only quietly keep his mouth shut.

A while later, everyone was still silent. Having waited a while, Hai Ri had no choice but to thicken his skin and ask, “Have you considered that the ghost you saw that night might have killed the deceased?”

“Then why is the blame on me?” Xue Chuan questioned. “How is that related to me?”

Hai Ri was helpless. “Because… you were the only one who communicated with her back then?” 

Xue Chuan smiled powerlessly, shaking her head. “It’s not me. After the general left, my timeline is a complete blank.”

Sheng Canyang said with some regret. “There’s no other way then. Let’s vote?”

The deceased finally moved at this time. Hai Ri glanced at his phone. It was time for her to get the food.

Hai Ri thought about it, but still didn’t know how to deal with the current state of affairs, so he could only choose silence. 

After all, a loss here was not the end of life. On the contrary, it was the start to a new life. The emotional burden experienced by those who sent off others was not actually immense.

Hai Ri raised a hand. “I can vote.”

Ping Jie pondered over it. His gaze swept over Xue Chuan, as if wanting to say something. But Chang Ze said impatiently, “Let’s vote.”

Xue Chuan glanced at each of them in turn. Her line of sight suddenly landed on Hai Ri. “Are you Sheng Canyang’s accomplice?” 

“Nope,” Hai Ri tugged on his collar. “Even if I was, he should choose an accomplice with some use, right? Was I of any use this round?”

Hai Ri himself wasn’t very sure who exactly was the accomplice. He’d originally been very certain, but after Sheng Canyang’s statements today, he was also thrown into confusion. He couldn’t even be sure whether or not Sheng Canyang was the killer. Sheng Canyang’s play was skillful and smooth, just like an expert player.

Xue Chuan told Ping Jie, “Trust me, vote for Sheng Canyang with me, he’s definitely the killer. You’ll be able to go home then.”

But Ping Jie’s brows were furrowed, his smile polite. He didn’t seem to have taken her words seriously. 

Chang Ze’s heart was no longer here, Hai Ri felt that she would follow Sheng Canyang and vote for Xue Chuan. If she wanted to win, that is. If she didn’t want to win and purely wanted to get rid of Sheng Canyang, then she might vote for Sheng Canyang.

Hai Ri’s heart was filled with apprehension, but it wouldn’t be good for him to rashly campaign for votes either. After careful thought, he still felt that Ping Jie wouldn’t vote for Sheng Canyang. That way, they could still guarantee a vote ratio of 2:3.

The deceased walked over with the plates of food. Hai Ri declared, “Let’s vote.”

The deceased howled with laughter upon hearing these words, running madly all over the room in what seemed like joy. A webpage popped out on their phones and the nursery rhyme sounded out loud- 

“Little Sister carries a doll to the garden to see cherry blossoms. The doll cries for its mother, and a bird up in the tree laughs.”

Hai Ri suddenly recalled that Sheng Canyang’s phone had run out of battery and all voting took place on their phones. Hai Ri was about to ask Sheng Canyang about it when Sheng Canyang said, “I won’t vote.”

Hai Ri: ?

Sheng Canyang repeated himself, “I’m abstaining from voting.” 

Hai Ri: ??

Hai Ri stood up. “I’ll go get a charger for you…” Before he could finish his statement, he was pulled back down by Sheng Canyang, who whispered into his ear, “You vote, don’t worry about me.”

Hai Ri cursed, “What the f*ck are you thinking?”

Sheng Canyang smiled, shaking his head gently. 

They hadn’t voted after all, so he couldn’t say anything. Afraid of attracting the attention of others, Hai Ri had no choice but to endure it, though his heart turned uneasy. Like this, they would be short of another vote.

Sheng Canyang lowered his phone that was out of battery, shaking it twice. Seeing that Hai Ri had voted for Xue Chuan, a smile stretched across his face.

A moment later, the deceased came to an abrupt halt in the center of the room. Amidst the nursery rhyme, she gazed around and said, “The game has ended – the killer escaped.”

“Player Xue Chuan is eliminated with three votes, Sheng Canyang escapes.” 

Ping Jie and Chang Ze had both voted for Xue Chuan – Sheng Canyang was the true killer!

Stunned, Hai Ri turned and glanced at Sheng Canyang. However, he was quite calm, not even a wisp of a smile on his face. He appeared even more indifferent than before the voting.

Xue Chuan stood up, supporting herself with the table. She cast a glance at Sheng Canyang, two streams of tears running down her face. “I knew all along that it was you, but I couldn’t beat you.”

“When it comes to playing games, there will always be a day we lose,” As if enlightened, Xue Chuan flashed a tearful smile, raising the teacup on the table. “Since I’ve agreed to take this bet, I must accept the loss. Here’s a toast.” 

Sheng Canyang raised his cup as well, gently tapping it against the table in accordance with etiquette.

Xue Chuan said, “A toast to the true killer, and a toast to this cruel life.”

Then, she raised her head and downed it. Wiping her tears, she walked off before the deceased could take action.

Sheng Canyang was silent for a very long time. He too downed the tea in one gulp. 

Hai Ri peeked at his expression. There didn’t seem to be any delight that he’d escaped.

It was quiet for a while. Xue Chuan and the deceased had both left. All of them knew exactly what they had gone out to do.

Ping Jie broke the silence shortly after, saying with a smile, “How did you escape?”

Sheng Canyang laughed in spite of himself, shaking his head. “Chang Ze is my accomplice.” 

Ping Jie and Hai Ri: ?

Chang Ze raised a brow wordlessly.

Hai Ri’s worldview crumbled.

Sheng Canyang: “As long as it’s Chang Ze who testified for me, all of them were fake. I never slept in the first place.” 

“Then the first night…” Ping Jie was dumbfounded. “Then why did you kill her boyfriend the first night? What’s up with that?”

Sheng Canyang raised his chin. “Ask her, it was her idea.”

Hai Ri’s current feelings… were indescribable. In one word it would probably be – incredible.

They could even play in such a way? 

Chang Ze said nonchalantly, “It was an act, darlings. I thought of killing that guy off within a few days of living with him. Once I sit firmly on the seat of a good person, I’ll be able to testify for the killer… reality proved that you guys really didn’t suspect me.”

Hai Ri now had a thorough understanding why going the route of lovers left others with no way out. This route was truly unrivaled.

Sheng Canyang had already started digging into the food, leaving Hai Ri with ten thousand grass mud horses galloping madly across his heart. 

Hai Ri: “How did you do it?” 

Sheng Canyang urged him, “Eat first, the car will be picking us up in a while. I’ll explain it to you after eating.”

Hai Ri facepalmed. “I give up.”

“This is all her idea,” Sheng Canyang shot a glance at the girl. “If I were playing alone, I wouldn’t have played in this way.”

Hai Ri was bewildered. “How were you going to play? If no one helped you to cover up the timeline, how were you intending to deal with it?” 

Sheng Canyang thought it over, but didn’t say anything.

Hai Ri suddenly had a vague feeling that something was off. Hai Ri’s play was first-class, yet his progress was crude in all respects. What exactly did he want to do?

Hai Ri’s expression changed. “Do you want to… go back?”

“Eat,” Sheng Canyang commanded. “Otherwise you’ll get carsick again. Don’t you know yourself?” 

Hai Ri felt like his rebellious son was difficult to fathom, resembling the fog, rain, and wind at the same time. The worry that this child would mistakenly go down the wrong road was a constant in Hai Ri’s life.

Hai Ri was nursing a bellyful of worry when Chang Ze came over and sat down cross-legged in front of Sheng Canyang with a smile. “How was my acting?”

Sheng Canyang buried his face in his soup, giving her a big thumbs up in passing.

Chang Ze placed a hand on her teacup, drawing circles as her chin rested on her other hand. “Actually, I’ve heard of you.” 

Sheng Canyang raised his eyes, indicating for her to speak quickly if she had something to say.

Chang Ze: “You’re that celebrity who accumulated enough points but whose application to die just wouldn’t get through?”

Hai Ri: ?

Sheng Canyang wiped his mouth. He asked with courtesy and elegance, “Is it any of your f*cking business?”