DLMSWSHH Chapter 50

TL: hua

Chapter 50: On Trust

Ye Qing swallowed hard and continued: “The player named Shen Weinian gave the others weapons. They took knives and ran into the forest to chase them—”

Zhong Ming’s lashes fluttered as he looked up. This forest was no place to play hunting games. His focus shifted to a different detail: “Shen Weinian gave them knives?”

Ye Qing paused, unsure why he was asking that, but she answered obediently: “Yes. Knives… and hammers, daggers, things like that.”

All cold weapons. Zhong Ming remained silent. If the goal was to kill, firearms would obviously be faster. Did Shen Weinian do this because he only had cold weapons?

Ye Qing continued: “I didn’t dare go look, but I could hear them laughing in the forest.”

Yesterday, both Feng Tang and Matthew were absent; Madam Mary ignored the players, and Tao didn’t care to lift a finger for such messes. With no one to stop them, Ye Qing could only hide upstairs in fear. She had huddled up, listening to the reckless laughter of the hunters and the terrified screams of the hunted echoing from the forest. It was more chilling than any horror movie she had ever seen.

At the time, Ye Qing thought those sports students were dead for sure.

But as the hunt continued into the evening, and the orange-red light of dusk appeared in the clouds as the sky dimmed, she suddenly heard even louder screams from the forest.

This time, the ones screaming in terror were the players who had been the hunters.

From the third floor, Ye Qing saw them stumbling back toward the mansion, their weapons stained with blood and their faces filled with sheer horror.

“After that, they went back to their rooms. They didn’t even come out for dinner.”

Hearing this, Zhong Ming remembered that the Duke had taken him on a longer detour yesterday. If they had walked back through the forest path in front of the mansion, they might have run into what was happening.

The Duke likely knew what was going on, which was why he took the other path.

Zhong Ming looked up at the rooms above; their doors were all closed. He quickly looked away and turned to Ye Qing: “Do you know who killed those sports students?”

Ye Qing blinked in surprise: “What? Are they dead?”

She then added: “I don’t know… they never came back from the forest. If they are dead, any of the players who were given weapons could be the killer. I saw blood on their knives.”

Zhong Ming nodded, fell silent for a moment, then looked up and asked: “What about Kim Won? Did you notice anything unusual about him?”

“Kim Won?”

Ye Qing was confused for a second before realizing: “Ah, you mean that Korean guy. He… probably not? He didn’t go hunting with the other players.”

She paused, glanced at Zhong Ming, and whispered: “He seems like a nice person. He has a pretty good reputation among the players.”

Ye Qing chose her words carefully. To be honest, she had a good impression of the Korean guy named Kim Won. Perhaps it was because of his soft aura; being injured and highly nearsighted made him seem very harmless among a group of players filled with beast-like aggression. But she still maintained a bit of caution. She remembered what Zhong Ming had said: most players who come to this game are not good people.

Furthermore, the fact that Kim Won could quickly gain everyone’s favor among a group of strangers was not a simple feat in itself.

Zhong Ming remained noncommittal toward Ye Qing’s assessment, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder: “Stay away from him.”

Ye Qing nodded obediently and asked: “Zhong Ming, are you going to have breakfast?”

Zhong Ming said: “I’ll go in a little while.”

He saw Ye Qing off to the archives and then turned to walk up the stairs. In the early morning, most players were not yet awake, and the mansion was very quiet. Zhong Ming remembered the locations of all the players, including those who had been bullied by the sports students. He walked up to the second floor, stopped in front of a room, and reached for the doorknob.

He pushed the wooden door open, the old frame creaking in the silent mansion.

The scene inside the room slowly unfolded before his eyes.

A player was facing away from him, slumped face-down over the windowsill. A withered tree branch was wound tightly around his neck. His hands hung at his sides, his fingertips a pale blue-gray. It was obvious he had been dead for quite some time.

Zhong Ming looked down and saw shattered glass scattered near the windowsill.

That withered branch had smashed through the window from the outside, breaking the glass before coiling around the player’s neck.

It looked as if it had tried to drag him out of the room by force.

Unfortunately, the human cervical bone is too fragile; before he could be dragged out, the player had already died of suffocation.

The player seemed to have struggled; a sharp knife lay on the floor, the blood on the blade already congealed into a dark black.

Zhong Ming looked at the scene before him and felt that the other rooms were likely the same. That eerie forest might not have bared its fangs during the day, but it had taken its revenge at night.

Zhong Ming let out a breath. Applying slight pressure with his hand, he gently pulled the door shut.

He hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, and his stomach was empty. But having seen so many corpses this morning, he had lost his appetite entirely.

Zhong Ming felt a wave of exhaustion. He lowered his eyes, preparing to go back to his room to rest for a while.

However, just as he turned around, he suddenly met a pair of eyes.

“Good morning.”

Shen Weinian was leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. He quirked an eyebrow and looked behind Zhong Ming: “What are you doing up so early?”

After the brief startle, Zhong Ming regained his composure and looked at Shen Weinian. The man looked healthy and refreshed, seemingly entirely unaffected by yesterday’s “hunt.” He looked like he had just woken up; his purple hair was free from the constraints of styling gel, sticking up randomly. He was wearing a loose black hoodie. Unable to see anything through the wooden door behind Zhong Ming, he retracted his gaze and rubbed his eyes: “So early in the morning… Why didn’t I see you yesterday?”

Shen Weinian gave a shallow yawn, lowered his hand, and glanced at Zhong Ming’s legs: “Why aren’t you wearing a dress today?”

Zhong Ming hadn’t expected him to be here. According to his observations, Shen Weinian usually slept in until just before the players’ breakfast time. He glanced at Shen Weinian, not wanting to talk much, and turned his head to walk away.

“Hey, wait—”

Seeing that Zhong Ming was about to leave, Shen Weinian immediately straightened up and reached out to stop him. “Don’t go yet. I don’t have any ill will; I just have something I want to say to you.”

After stopping Zhong Ming, Shen Weinian withdrew his arm and took a half-step back, as if trying to demonstrate his harmlessness.

Zhong Ming paused and looked at him. Shen Weinian smiled, leaned back against the railing, lowered his head to pinch the bridge of his nose, and said in a low voice: “I went back and thought about it… Yesterday, you were the one who pulled some strings, weren’t you?”

At this, Zhong Ming’s eyebrows twitched. He looked up at Shen Weinian.

Seeing his expression, Shen Weinian immediately raised his right hand, palm stopping mid-air.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not trying to blame you.”

“Although I don’t know exactly what you did, at least it let me see those idiots for who they really are. In a way, I should thank you.”

Shen Weinian smiled at him and lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on Zhong Ming’s face.

“Besides, you’re so beautiful.”

Zhong Ming’s face remained cold; he offered no reaction to the compliment. Looking at him, Shen Weinian was convinced that Zhong Ming was more than just an ordinary NPC. He leaned down, moving closer to him.

“What is your name?” Shen Weinian whispered. “Unlike them, you seem very smart. I think we could be friends.”

Zhong Ming looked into his eyes and understood his intention. Shen Weinian was inviting him to become an ally.

Zhong Ming lowered his eyes, averted his gaze, and said softly, “I still have work to do. Please move aside.”

It was a tactful rejection. Shen Weinian wasn’t too surprised to hear it; he didn’t expect to sway an NPC to his side with just one conversation. He also didn’t want to push Zhong Ming too hard.

Shen Weinian straightened up and shrugged. “Fine.”

He stepped back, clearing the path in front of Zhong Ming, while continuing to strike up a conversation: “You have to work this early? Such a hard life. What are you going to do?”

Zhong Ming kept his head down, his lashes fluttering slightly. Then, he turned on his heel and walked toward the room behind him. “I’m here to clean.”

Shen Weinian looked up at the room number on the door. “Oh. Then I’ll accompany you.” He smiled and said, “I happened to have some business with the person living here anyway.”

Zhong Ming paused slightly and glanced back at him. “What business do you have?”

Shen Weinian arched his eyebrows and said quite candidly, “I lent him an item yesterday. I’m here to get it back now.”

Having said that, Shen Weinian waited for Zhong Ming to ask what kind of item it was. He would then tell the other that he had many weapons and could easily kill many people.

Normally, one shouldn’t talk about such things to a woman. This beautiful, delicate maid might be frightened, but that was exactly what Shen Weinian wanted. He could scare her first, and once she was afraid, he would offer his protection. This tactic never failed.

However, to his surprise, Zhong Ming didn’t ask a single thing.

He turned around and opened the door directly.

The eerie and horrific scene inside the room was laid bare before Shen Weinian.

The corpse slumped over the windowsill was reflected in his eyes. Shen Weinian froze, his face turning pale instantly.

Zhong Ming lowered his hand, entered the room, walked to the corpse, and leaned down to pick up the long blade dropped by the player’s hand.

Then, he stood up, turned around, and walked back to Shen Weinian, who was still stunned at the doorway.

The young man had clearly never seen such a scene, as if a horror movie had been reflected in reality. His face was completely pale, and his body was stiff. When he saw Zhong Ming approaching, he even subconsciously took a half step back.

Holding the long blade, Zhong Ming stopped a few paces away from Shen Weinian and raised his right hand toward him.

The blade was covered in congealed black blood.

Zhong Ming said, “Is this your item?”

Hearing his voice, Shen Weinian’s entire body shuddered. Then, with a deathly pale face, he stumbled back several steps until his spine hit the staircase railing with a dull thud. Suddenly, he lowered his head, covered his mouth, and ran off toward the distance.

Standing where he was, Zhong Ming heard the sound of retching coming from the bathroom around the corner of the corridor.

He lowered his hand, the corners of his mouth curling in a sarcastic arc. Shen Weinian was full of poisonous schemes and possessed an arrogant, cold personality, yet he proved to be so cowardly in the face of his victim’s corpse.

Zhong Ming let out a silent, cold snort. Just then, Li Yizhi seemed to have seen him from downstairs, leaning on the railing and asking, “Who upset you again?”

He strolled up, eyeing Zhong Ming’s expression. “Look at that fierce little face. Didn’t you go out for fun yesterday? Still unhappy?”

Zhong Ming glanced at him. Li Yizhi smiled, then his gaze traveled downward. Suddenly seeing the long blade in Zhong Ming’s right hand, he jerked back in a startle. “…Where did you pick that up?”

He immediately retreated two steps, raising his hands and glancing suspiciously at Zhong Ming’s face. “I haven’t messed with you lately, have I?”

Amused by his cowardice, Zhong Ming’s lips curved slightly as he raised his hand to hand the blade to Li Yizhi. “You take it. It’s heavy.”

Li Yizhi took it, deftly twirled it, and looked at the blade. “Ugh, how did it get so filthy?”

Zhong Ming said, “It’ll be fine once it’s washed.” He asked Li Yizhi, “What do you think of this item?”

Li Yizhi sized it up from top to bottom. “It’s a good blade. Where did it come from?”

Zhong Ming gestured toward the bathroom at the end of the hall. “It belongs to Shen Weinian.”

By now, Li Yizhi also heard the retching sounds and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it’s him.” He let out a long sigh and shook his head. “Players these days are too fragile. They see one body and start vomiting and purging.”

Zhong Ming said, “He seems to have a lot of items.”

Li Yizhi narrowed his eyes and shrugged. “Maybe, but the role of items in this game is limited.” He looked toward the bathroom and squinted when he heard the sound of rushing water inside. “I’ve always felt a strange aura coming from him.”

Zhong Ming raised an eyebrow slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” Li Yizhi turned back and smiled at him. “Maybe our horoscopes just clash.”

Zhong Ming felt helpless at such a vague remark. This was the first time Li Yizhi had ever expressed a dislike for a specific player. As they turned to head downstairs, Li Yizhi asked him: “But how do you know his name? Has he been bothering you?”

Zhong Ming glanced at Li Yizhi and shook his head. “It’s nothing. He’s quite famous among the players.”

“A pay-to-win player, then.” Li Yizhi sighed, clasping his hands behind his head. “Back when I entered the dungeon, it was just me, one bag, and absolutely nothing else.”

Zhong Ming blinked and looked at him. “Are you finally planning to tell me about what happened back then?”

Li Yizhi’s movements paused. Then he turned his head and gave Zhong Ming a playful wink. “Hehe.”

Zhong Ming: “…”

Seeing a middle-aged man in his forties make such a gesture wasn’t particularly amusing.

Zhong Ming didn’t press further. They walked downstairs, and as they passed through the main hall, Kim Won happened to be returning from outside. He was covered in snow, the tip of his nose and his cheeks frozen bright red, as he squeezed in through the slightly ajar door. Seeing Zhong Ming and Li Yizhi together, his expression faltered, and his gaze lingered on Zhong Ming for a moment too long.

Li Yizhi arched his eyebrows high and whispered to Zhong Ming, “Who’s this one?”

Zhong Ming didn’t answer. He lowered his eyes, unable to decide whether he disliked Shen Weinian or Kim Won more.

Fortunately, Kim Won didn’t stay long. He spared a glance for Li Yizhi, smiled at Zhong Ming, and walked toward the kitchen carrying his shovel.

Li Yizhi followed his figure with his eyes, frowning as he muttered, “Why are there so many freaks in this round?”

Zhong Ming looked up and asked, “You think he’s strange too?”

Li Yizhi retracted his gaze and curled his lip. “I don’t know. Maybe I just hate people who are more handsome than me.”

At this, Zhong Ming smiled and said, “I think you’re more handsome.”

At least Li Yizhi was pleasant to look at. Kim Won was exceptionally good-looking, but Zhong Ming always felt there was something discordant hidden in his features.

Hearing this, Li Yizhi’s eyes widened slightly. The curve of his mouth deepened as he lowered his head and reached out to brush a stray lock of black hair from Zhong Ming’s temple.

“Don’t make me like you even more, baby,” Li Yizhi said softly. “How are we going to end this if you keep this up? It seems we’ll simply have to get married.”

Li Yizhi was always talking nonsense like this; Zhong Ming was long used to it. He brushed Li Yizhi’s hand away. “Don’t make jokes like that.”

Li Yizhi smiled and wanted to say something more, but his expression suddenly froze. He abruptly turned his head and looked behind him in confusion.

Zhong Ming asked, “What’s wrong?”

Li Yizhi frowned as he turned back. “I felt like someone just glared at me.”

Zhong Ming laughed and said, “What?”

Li Yizhi said, “Seriously.”

In fact, he had just felt a sudden chill down his spine. It wasn’t something a simple “glare” could describe. It felt more like a silent warning from something.

Zhong Ming blinked, looked behind him, and seemed to realize something as the corners of his mouth quirked up slightly.

“Let’s go,” Zhong Ming said. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Li Yizhi quickly forgot the little interlude and nodded honestly. “I’m starved.”

–

After breakfast, the mansion gradually began to wake up. Zhong Ming stood in the line of servants, looking at the players on both sides of the long table, and did a silent head count. None of the players who went to the forest for the hunt yesterday were present. Nearly half of the players in this batch remained.

Compared to the previous batch, since there were enough players this time, one or two deaths weren’t particularly noticeable. However, by now, the empty seats at the dining table were starting to look conspicuous.

Zhong Ming could feel the anxiety and fear gradually spreading among the player group.

Among them, only a few still maintained a calm expression. This included the two players teamed up with Shen Weinian.

The Southeast Asian man named Terry had practically finished off all the food on the table. Beside him, the blonde priest was dressed in a black robe buttoned up to his throat. He and Kim Won were the only two at the table who would say grace before eating. After his prayer, he put down his crucifix, picked up his knife and fork, and skillfully peeled the skin off a white sausage.

Standing behind Li Yizhi, Zhong Ming watched the priest lower his head, his high brow ridge casting shadows over his eye sockets. For some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of strangeness.

He couldn’t say where the feeling came from; he stared at the priest for a while before retracting his gaze.

Li Yizhi whispered beside him: “What are you looking at him for?”

Zhong Ming lowered his eyes and said, “Nothing.”

Li Yizhi lowered his head and said in an even lower voice, “I think there are a few in this batch who might be quite difficult to kill.” He looked at Zhong Ming. “When is confession day?”

Zhong Ming shook his head. “Not yet. There are too many people.”

“True.” Li Yizhi retracted his gaze.

After breakfast, Zhong Ming returned to his room. When he was outside earlier, quite a bit of snow had fallen on his head. He took a bath, and upon stepping out of the bathroom and opening the wardrobe to change, he saw a long dress hanging inside.

Previously, there had been two dresses given by the Duke hanging there, one gray and one black. Now, there was a third one next to them.

It was more magnificent than the previous two—royal blue in color, with patterns embroidered in silver thread at the waist. At first glance, it looked somewhat like the one Feng Tang had bought that day, but upon closer inspection, one could see subtle differences in the details. This dress was more exquisitely crafted, with fine stitching and a more elegant hue than the one Feng Tang bought.

Zhong Ming was stunned for a moment.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Zhong Ming turned toward the sound and saw that the knocking was coming from a small door he had assumed was a storage room. That door was in the corner of the room, usually kept shut and unable to be opened, so Zhong Ming had ignored it.

But now, a knocking sound was coming from the other side.

Zhong Ming frowned and took two steps toward the door. Just then, a man’s low voice drifted from the other side: “May I come in?”

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened. He reached out and swung the door open.

The Duke’s face appeared on the other side. Because the doorframe was quite low, he stood with his head slightly bowed, offering Zhong Ming a small smile.

Zhong Ming’s frown deepened as he looked past him. He recognized the familiar crimson carpet and its intricate patterns; this small door actually led directly into the Duke’s study.

“…These two rooms are connected?”

Zhong Ming looked at the Duke, his tone laced with a hint of displeasure. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

The Duke paused upon hearing this. He leaned down and blinked at Zhong Ming. “I did knock.”

Zhong Ming narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself: Did you actually consider coming in without knocking?

The Duke lowered his lashes and asked, “Did you try on the clothes in the wardrobe? Do they fit?”

He continued, “I saw the one you bought from the town. The fabric isn’t very good; it might be uncomfortable to wear.”

It seemed he assumed Zhong Ming had bought that dress out of personal preference. Zhong Ming looked up at him and clarified, “Feng Tang bought that.” He didn’t want the man thinking he had a hobby of wearing dresses. “He forced it on me; I didn’t want it.”

The Duke froze for a moment. The expression on his face dimmed visibly, and he cast his eyes down. “Is that so?”

The man’s facial shifts were always subtle, but after spending this much time together, Zhong Ming could sense that he was in a bad mood.

However, the Duke quickly composed himself. He reached out, tucking a slightly damp strand of hair from Zhong Ming’s temple behind his ear. “Go try on the new dress, alright?”

Though phrased as a question, it carried a faint, underlying tone of command.

Zhong Ming pursed his lips. He hadn’t really wanted to try it on, but under the man’s focused gaze and remembering the bag of gold coins he’d been given, his reluctance slowly softened.

Might as well try it; it’s not like it’ll kill me.

He looked at the man. “Then please wait a moment.” With that, he shut the door with a loud thud.

The Duke stared at the door that had nearly clipped the bridge of his nose. His eyes widened slightly, then he chuckled. He took a half-step back, leaning against the doorframe, waiting like a young man falling in love for the first time, holding roses and waiting for his sweetheart, feeling for the first time that time seemed to pass so slowly.

After a long while, the door opened again. Zhong Ming smoothed out the dress, brushed the black hair over his shoulders, and looked up at the Duke.

“…It fits well.” He pursed his lips and added, “Thank you.”

Suddenly, Zhong Ming felt a pair of hands cup his jaw. He looked up, meeting the Duke’s eyes. The man was looking at him with a gaze overflowing with tenderness, his expression one of cherished adoration.

“You look like a princess.” The Duke lowered his thick lashes and bowed his head to press a kiss to the corner of Zhong Ming’s forehead. “My treasure.”

Zhong Ming’s eyes went wide. He felt the soft touch on his forehead vanish in a flash. He should have been shocked, but the man’s movements were so natural that he didn’t even have time to react.

Before he could refuse, the Duke had already released him and gripped his shoulders to turn him around.

Zhong Ming felt a cold sensation against his skin. He looked down to see that the Duke had seemingly conjured a gemstone necklace out of thin air and was fastening it around his neck.

“This was my mother’s necklace.” The Duke led him to the mirror so Zhong Ming could see his reflection. “Do you like it?”

Zhong Ming looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes widening. He couldn’t bring himself to say it wasn’t beautiful.

The necklace was crafted from blue, green, and red gemstones. The design was classically beautiful, brilliant, and extraordinarily magnificent. Zhong Ming had fair skin, and the necklace suited his neck perfectly.

Zhong Ming lowered his gaze and stared at the necklace in silence for a moment. Then, he suddenly reached up, took it off, and held it out to the Duke. “I can’t accept this.”

The expression on the Duke’s face stiffened slightly. He looked down at the necklace, making no move to take it. Instead, he softened his voice. “Do you not like it? I can have a new—”

“No,” Zhong Ming interrupted. “The necklace is beautiful. It must have been a beloved possession of your mother’s.” He paused, looking at the Duke, his voice turning gentle. “I think if she really wanted to give it to someone, she would want it to go to her son’s future partner.”

At that, the smile on the Duke’s lips vanished completely. His dark eyes reflected Zhong Ming’s face. Once his expression went cold, the sternness and aggression inherited from his Germanic bloodline pierced through his elegant facade.

He was silent for a long moment before speaking. “You don’t want to be my partner?”

The Duke looked down at Zhong Ming, his thick lashes casting a heavy shadow. “Is it because of Li Yizhi? Do you like him?”

Zhong Ming blinked. “No. He and I are just friends.”

“Is it someone else then?” The Duke’s expression remained calm. He took two steps forward, placing his right hand on Zhong Ming’s shoulder in a reassuring manner. “It’s alright. If you like someone else, you can tell me. I won’t make things difficult for him.”

His attitude was as gentle as ever, like a reliable elder. However, the grip on Zhong Ming’s shoulder was heavier than usual.

Zhong Ming glanced at the shadow beneath the man’s feet. Seeing no abnormal movement there, he breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the Duke’s emotional control was formidable.

He took a small breath and looked up at the Duke. “It’s not because of any of that.”

“I simply have no way of trusting you.”

The Duke was momentarily stunned. A face that hadn’t wavered even at the rejection now showed a clear look of bewilderment.

Zhong Ming’s lashes trembled slightly as he looked the Duke straight in the eye. “I haven’t forgotten what you said to Feng Tang. You are clearly hiding many things from me, such as my background and other matters.”

Zhong Ming lowered his eyes, avoiding the man’s stiff expression. “And I cannot date someone I don’t trust.”