Chapter 24: Covering the Lie

Page (1/3)

Everyone stared at him in horror. “Then why did you bring it here?”

Xu Qi grinned. “Things like this exist if you believe in them, and don’t if you don’t.”

“Let me see the diary.” Huang Junjie had barely opened his mouth when Wan Zhikang snatched the diary from Xu Qi’s hand. “I read this diary earlier too. How come I never saw that sentence?”

As he spoke, he began rifling through the pages. After a while, he said, “It’s all nonsense. There isn’t a single useful thing in here.”

Zhang Xiong grabbed the diary and handed it to Huang Junjie. “You’re the clever one. Take a look. Maybe you’ll notice something.”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Huang Junjie quickly skimmed through the diary. His expression was much the same as Wan Zhikang’s.

“The diary’s owner wasn’t entirely sane. The entries toward the end are disorganized, and there are many places where the writing has been blotted out. I didn’t notice those words hidden among the pages when I looked through it earlier either.”

“Apart from the fact that several people die at the manor every so often, there really isn’t much information about the Beheader.”

“Still, the Beheader’s characteristics described in the diary are very close to what I saw: a black mask, an imposing height, and a broad axe in his hands.”

In fact, several players had already looked through this diary. They simply hadn’t paid much attention to it. Compared with a diary whose opening made little sense and contained scarcely any valuable information, the brief reports and notes left behind by some of the dead were far more useful.

Someone had come specifically in search of the Beheader and had investigated beforehand.

But in the players’ eyes, that information was of little importance. The diary’s descriptions—that the Beheader was huge, immensely strong, and exceptionally fast—were all things they could observe with their own eyes. Besides, to Evolvers, those traits were nothing extraordinary. If the Beheader was merely an Evolver, he would actually be much easier to deal with.

“Doesn’t the Beheader only chop off people’s heads?” The diary had already made its way into Wang Wei’s hands. Standing beside him, the university student who had barely spoken since entering the manor asked, “Why have some people lost their hands and feet as well?”

“Perhaps they were killed only after putting up a struggle.” Du Lanfan’s face had gone pale. “The Beheader isn’t omnipotent. Didn’t he run away yesterday after failing to kill Mr. Huang?”

“But why did the Beheader attack Mr. Huang first?” Abel struggled to read the writing in the diary. “Mr. Huang doesn’t seem to have touched the statue. If so, then the words in the diary aren’t accurate.”

“I did touch it.” Huang Junjie’s expression grew solemn. “When I entered the manor yesterday, I accidentally brushed against the stone block at the entrance.”

“Could it be that the Beheader kills people in order?” Du Lanfan looked at Xu Qi and Xia Guo.

Xu Qi chewed on his bread and said to Xia Guo, whose lips were trembling, “Don’t be afraid. I’m ahead of you in line.”

Xia Guo glared at him with reddened eyes. “It was only a coincidence. I don’t believe the Beheader could somehow know that I touched its statue.”

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

“That’s not necessarily true,” Wan Zhikang said. “The Beheader is a supernatural entity. Perhaps it’s watching us every moment of every day—we simply haven’t noticed.”

“Stop it. You’re giving me goose bumps in broad daylight.” Wang Wei rubbed his arms.

“If you ask me, this is actually a good thing.” The rich heir propped one foot on the dining table. “Whether or not the Beheader kills in a fixed order, at least we know one thing: anyone who touched the statue is certain to die first.”

“Then it’s simple. If the people who touched the statue hold out a little longer, the rest of us can safely make it through the next few days, can’t we?”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” Xia Guo snapped. “What good does it do you if we die?”

“It doesn’t hurt me either.” Liu Yuanyuan giggled. “If the three of you are in greater danger, then the rest of us will be safe.”

By then, Zhang Xiong had already put some distance between himself and Huang Junjie, while the others wore expressions of tacit agreement.

After that brief gathering, the players dispersed unhappily, leaving the dining hall one after another.

Xu Qi and Yuan Yao remained behind to eat.

“Brother Xu, I was really worried they’d figure it out just now. If they realized you had added those words, they might have beaten us to death on the spot.” Yuan Yao lowered his voice, his tone full of relief.

“There’s so much written material in the warehouse. Even if they read through every piece of it, they couldn’t possibly remember everything. They’ll simply assume they overlooked it.” Xu Qi’s expression remained calm.

“Then how did you know that anyone who touched the stone statue would be cursed? Did you see Huang Junjie touch it?”

Xu Qi paused with the cup halfway to his lips. His gaze swept over the statue of the Beheader lying on the floor before he said, “Probably just a coincidence.”

After eating his fill, Xu Qi sent Yuan Yao to find out whether any other players had touched the statue, while he returned to his room to catch up on sleep.

It was nearly evening when he awoke. By then, a thick fog had descended, and although the sky was still bright, there was little difference between it and nightfall.

Most of the players had returned to the manor. After meeting up with Yuan Yao, Xu Qi learned what had happened that afternoon.

Huang Junjie, Wang Wei, and the university student had spent the entire afternoon in the warehouse. Du Lanfan and Xia Guo had gone there for a while before heading to the cabins.

Zhang Xiong and Wan Zhikang had gone there too, but only to seize the woodcutter’s axe. The woodcutter had nearly fought them to the death. In the end, Abel managed to calm things down by offering to pray for the woodcutter’s family.

Xu Qi asked Du Lanfan for a rubber band to tie back his hair, then called Yuan Yao and headed outside.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

“Brother Xu, where are we going?” Yuan Yao asked hesitantly. “It’s almost dark. It isn’t very safe to go out now.”

The diary was a lie, but the Beheader was all too real.

“I can go by myself.” Xu Qi walked off as soon as he finished speaking.

Yuan Yao glanced back at the other players in the hall, wiped his face with both hands, and followed him anyway.

Just outside, they ran into Huang Junjie, who was also on his way toward the cabins.

The three exchanged nods in greeting.

They walked along in single file for a while before Huang Junjie suddenly stopped and leaned against a tree.

“Are you all right?” Yuan Yao moved closer. “Your shoulder is bleeding again. Doesn’t the manor have any first-aid supplies?”

“I couldn’t find any.” Huang Junjie was still able to hold on. Then he suddenly called out to Xu Qi, who was several yards away. “You were the one who added the claim to the diary that anyone who touched the Beheader’s statue would be cursed, weren’t you?”

Xu Qi raised an eyebrow. “You saw through it.”

Huang Junjie pointed to his eyes. “This is one of my traits. I can see details ordinary people cannot. You imitated the handwriting very well, but it was clearly written at a different time from the rest of the diary.”

“You deliberately moved the statue into the dining hall as well. You suspect the Beheader’s identity?”

Xu Qi lit a cigarette out of habit, his expression one of understanding. “I was wondering why everything had fallen into place so neatly. You played along well.”

Yuan Yao looked from one man to the other, struggling to keep up. “So you never touched the statue?”

“No.” Huang Junjie answered without hesitation. “I discovered the stone statue yesterday, but I never touched it, nor did I mention it to anyone.”

“The reason I went along with the lie about the diary’s curse today is that, like Mr. Xu, I suspect one of the players is impersonating the Beheader.”

Page (3/3)