Chapter 20: The Ocarina of the Dead

“……”

Qing Shaofei’s smile froze.

But no one paid him any mind; everyone was pondering the words of that frail little servant.

“That makes sense. Who discovered this corpse? Who blew the Deceased’s Ocarina? I’ve tried before—normally, you can’t get a sound out of this thing.” Sage Xun followed up on Bai Wuzhuang’s words.

Let’s talk about this [Deceased’s Ocarina]. After the cultivators woke up, this thing was forcibly hung around their necks, imbued with a strange spiritual power and impossible to remove.

But usually, it’s just a simple ornament and can’t be played.

The rule is: only when a dead person is discovered can the Deceased’s Ocarina be sounded. Once it plays, everyone is transported together, including the dead person’s corpse.

By the way, as long as they’re not too far away, the cultivators’ martial artist followers will also be transported.

But if they run too far, any ordinary people who accidentally enter the Secret Realm will be abandoned in the Maze along the road, lost forever, doomed to die.

Everyone looked at each other, and immediately noticed that one person’s Deceased’s Ocarina was glowing faintly on his chest, very conspicuous.

“I found the corpse. I’m from the Flying Snow Sect, my name is Xue Luo. I found the body in a side alley off the main road; he was nailed to the wall. When I got close, I blew the Deceased’s Ocarina. I didn’t see anyone suspicious nearby; after killing the Hunter, the murderer left immediately. Sorry, I couldn’t find much useful information.” Xue Luo explained.

After hearing his account of the murder scene, everyone fell silent, the atmosphere chilling.

If these were ordinary people, the scene would have turned into a noisy marketplace by now, but cultivators were different. Most kept silent, wary of each other.

“Ahhhh~ What’s going on? This is so scary~ How could someone really kill another person?”

Only the barefoot girl beside me reacted truly, trembling with fear.

But Bai Wuzhuang immediately sensed something off, glancing at her from the corner of her eye.

This woman always felt like she was pretending to be pitiful, just like herself, to lower others’ guard.

However, Bai Wuzhuang no longer needed to feign weakness.

In this second round, she needed to change her persona and seize the right to speak. In this kind of murder game, lacking a voice meant death.

Speaking at the wrong moment, or spouting nonsense, would also lose her the right to speak.

The barefoot girl’s act of playing the victim was also a strategy, hiding herself, blending into the background, which indeed lowered her risk of being targeted.

But Bai Wuzhuang still had to drag along Dong Huiting, this burden, and forge ahead.

The two of them were openly allied; everyone knew they were together, so they couldn’t appear too weak.

“Next is the vote. Everyone must choose the person they suspect most; the one with the most votes will be dealt with. But actually, it doesn’t have to be the real killer—you just pick the Wolf in your heart.” Seeing that no one spoke, Sage Xun continued to lead the proceedings.

“Before voting, I think it’s necessary for everyone to introduce themselves, say what they’ve just done, and share who they suspect is the Wolf, along with their reasons.” Bai Wuzhuang suddenly interjected.

“That’s right, the lady makes a good point. Before voting, everyone can share their opinions. Please speak one at a time, and don’t interrupt when others are talking. Let’s respect each other.” Sage Xun agreed.

But there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone, which Bai Wuzhuang caught—he was clearly displeased at being interrupted.

Especially his last sentence, which was a veiled jab at Bai Wuzhuang.

But when the enemy grows agitated, it means you’ve done the right thing.

She had to interrupt him, break his plan.

If she hadn’t spoken up, the remaining eleven cultivators might have gone straight to voting in silence.

For those who live by the sword, executing someone is as easy as eating—no tears, no guilt.

Because Bai Wuzhuang knew that’s exactly how she was now.

She used to be a good person, a righteous cultivator from a prestigious sect, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Well, forget it—she’d already crossed the line. She was long since stained with blood, a wicked cultivator.

“Then I’ll go first. Everyone knows who I am, so I won’t introduce myself. I entered the Maze through the central gate, moving together with Brother Tuolong. We confirmed each other’s identities—we’re both Sheep. He didn’t kill me, and I didn’t touch him. Finally, we saw Sage Xun, but kept our distance and didn’t approach.” Qing Shaofei was the first to speak, his words fluent and confident.

“I’m Zhuang, just a little cleaning servant. I went in from the left with Lord Dong. We didn’t meet anyone else, found a hot spring and took a bath. We also confirmed our identities—we’re Sheep. Lord Dong didn’t kill me, and I trust her.” The second to speak was Bai Wuzhuang, basically copying the previous person’s speech.

Qing Shaofei’s sunny smile froze again, but who knew how many times that had happened already.

“I’m from the Sword Sect of Demon Apprehension. My name is Dong Huiting. I’ve been with my trickster servant all along—I scolded her the whole way. We didn’t meet anyone else. We didn’t kill anyone.” Dong Huiting said.

“Yay, I also found a hot spring and took a bath, but while I was washing I got transported here. Didn’t meet anyone on the way. Oh, right, my name is Chi Xue, background unknown, and I’m not a Wolf either.” The barefoot girl suddenly raised her hand and introduced herself.

But what she said was completely uninformative, and she even deliberately hid details—very suspicious.

“I am the chief disciple of the Flying Snow Sect, Xue Luo. I acted alone, entered from the left gate, searched the Maze for the key, but didn’t find it—just the corpse.” This Xue Luo was the one who found the body.

As the one who found the corpse, his level of suspicion was the lowest.

Because there’s no reason for a Wolf to kill someone and then blow the Ocarina. While not impossible, such a convoluted move brings no benefit to the Wolf.

This isn’t a game; it’s real mutual slaughter. Dead is dead. Not everyone can turn back time.

The best way to be a Wolf is to stay hidden, killing in secret.

Moreover, Xue Luo had the look of a righteous man—a square face, upright features, not at all like a villain.

“Welcoming Wind Gang, you can call me Young Master Feng. I walked alone, didn’t see anyone.”

The sixth cultivator to speak was another young master from a sect, arms crossed, looking down on everyone with contempt, his tone full of impatience.

This was the classic spoiled young master—weak in ability, but with the most lackeys.

Then again, he’d probably be the first to die.