Chapter 6: The Widow in the Mansion

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Cheng Xiao swore he had never been so humble since the day he was born. Well, maybe except for the time a few hours ago when he reluctantly apologized to his stepmother.

He crouched in front of Yu Deng, letting large, warm tears fall onto his hands, his eyes heavy with emotion.

At first, he only thought this beautiful NPC perfectly matched his aesthetic preferences, and teasing her was entertaining, so he kept focusing his attention on her. But in such a short time, facing this pitifully crying beauty, he found himself inexplicably softening his heart.

How could someone be so contradictory?

Weak, slow-witted, yet somehow so capable of tugging at one’s heartstrings.

“Stepmom, can I promise not to call you a crybaby anymore?” Cheng Xiao whispered.

Yu Deng pressed her lips together, wrapped in a coat that enveloped her small frame, the frayed collar framing her face, making her appear petite.

Hearing his rare gentle voice, Yu Deng’s tears fell even more fiercely.

The eldest brother always teased her that if someone comforted her, she would cry all the more.

“You... you’re not allowed to look at me, and you’re not allowed to speak,” Yu Deng said awkwardly, raising a hand to press her soft palm against Cheng Xiao’s face, pushing him away so he wouldn’t see her.

Cheng Xiao: “...” So unreasonable.

The moment Yu Deng’s hand covered his face, Cheng Xiao’s nose was filled with the scent that belonged only to his stepmother.

[Baby, your crying is breaking Mommy’s heart...]

[I used to think I hated people who cried all the time, but today I realized, I can’t hate Deng Deng at all.]

[I really like seeing pretty babies cry... I’m a pervert...]

[Bad dog!! Hurry up and comfort her!!]

[Surviving as a plot player is tough; this challenge feels strange everywhere, with very few and scattered clues.]

[Indeed, but with this kind of scenario, there should be ghosts or monsters. Not sure which plot point will trigger it. I have a bad feeling about tonight.]

Pressed by Yu Deng’s hand, Cheng Xiao could only look away. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Then I’ll say something else. Stepmom, I haven’t had the chance to ask you—what’s your name?”

Yu Deng sniffled, answering reflexively, “Yu Deng.”

At the same moment, a system alert sounded in his mind: [Host, please answer carefully.]

Their voices fell almost simultaneously.

System: […] Sigh.

Yu Deng looked puzzled: “?”

[Just a reminder, Host, you are a special mission participant. Revealing your real name could cause trouble because players might encounter someone they know inside the infinite dungeon.]

Yu Deng stared blankly for a few seconds, then glared nervously at his stepson and said, “What should I do then?”

[Sorry, this kind of problem needs to be solved by the host themselves.]

Yu Deng withdrew her hand, and Cheng Xiao turned his head back naturally.

“Yu Deng? Like the light of a lamp?” Cheng Xiao asked.

“Yeah,” Yu Deng muttered vaguely, then bent down close to Cheng Xiao’s ear and whispered, “You can’t tell anyone my name.”

Cheng Xiao raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“I...” Yu Deng hesitated, then quickly made up her mind, “Because I don’t want others to know. They always end up bothering me.”

Yu Deng spoke more smoothly as she went on. At that moment, her mind was sharper than ever.

“I only told you.” Her eyes were still misty, and her tone—whether a command or a soft plea—was unclear.

“So you can’t tell anyone else, especially those guests.”

No one dislikes being treated with special care. Cheng Xiao felt as if he had been gently scratched by a cat’s paw.

“Okay.”

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...

It was already very late.

Yu Deng had been awake for a long time in the night breeze, still feeling a little dazed.

The few Cheng family servants on watch looked equally weary.

Two of them, seemingly too tired, whispered in very low voices, taking advantage of their distance.

“Master’s sudden behavior—could it be that the old madam has finally lost patience...?”

“Shh, are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“It’s such a pity for Miss Lin. She finally found a good match, sigh...”

They exchanged a few words before turning around to find the two Cheng family heirs standing right before them.

Cheng Xiao smirked, “Well? What were you just talking about?”

“N-nothing!” they stammered.

Yu Deng followed behind her stepson, quietly observing the two.

One servant, unable to withstand Cheng Xiao’s pressure, stammered, “Well… Master often takes mistresses, and recently he’s been in conflict with the old madam. Everyone’s seen them argue.”

“And what else? You were pretty talkative just now. Say it.”

Yu Deng glanced at her stepson from the corner of her eye.

Good! Learned something! Next time, she would imitate this tone and manner to extract clues!

“Oh, oh, and those several mistresses want to divide the family estate among their children. Master has already agreed to two of them,” the servant rattled off quickly, then fell silent.

Cheng Xiao didn’t press further and returned to the courtyard bench with Yu Deng.

“Stepmom, do you know how many possible causes there are for someone to be murdered?” Cheng Xiao asked, then answered himself, “Crime of passion, revenge killing, robbery gone wrong, and random violence.”

Yu Deng listened closely to his analysis.

“I personally think, based on the current situation, we can rule out the last two possibilities.”

Yu Deng blinked and tried to follow his reasoning.

That left crime of passion and revenge killing... According to the servant, it’s a crime of passion?

“Stepmom, what kind of person do you think the old master is?”

Thinking of the various mistresses she’d seen during the day, Yu Deng blurted out, “Lecherous?”

“Such a blunt assessment,” Cheng Xiao chuckled. “To find the killer, we need to see who had a grudge against him, who benefits from his death.”

Yu Deng thought to herself, that matches the clues they’d just heard.

“Stepmom, do you want to come with me tomorrow to look for the killer?” Cheng Xiao stopped walking.

“Or do you already know who it is?”

Yu Deng sighed inwardly. The eldest son really overestimated her; her mind was a blank slate, no clues at all.

“I have no idea... I usually don’t interact with them much.”

As they spoke, several players emerged from inside and stood at the hall’s entrance.

Yu Deng glanced toward the mourning hall, noticing the flickering, dim candlelight.

“I don’t have any tools for this kind of thing. I checked manually—there’s only one wound on the chest, very deep,” Sister Tong said quietly, avoiding Yu Deng’s gaze.

A newcomer named Zhang Ziyun added, “Judging by the lip color, he might have ingested poison, but I don’t know what exactly.”

Sister Tong’s expression grew colder. “I thought you studied forensic medicine? Don’t hide anything.”

Zhang Ziyun looked miserable. “Sis, I just started school and came to this dungeon. I’m only half-trained.”

Yu Deng felt sympathetic.

She too had barely gotten into a decent university before arriving at this lousy place.

Just as they were about to argue, Cheng Xiao interrupted, “We can check everything after dawn.”

“I have an item that can target a wound to track the killer. If the object causing the injury is within twenty meters, it will give a signal,” Sister Tong said coldly, looking at everyone. “You’d better cooperate.”

The two newcomers nodded repeatedly.

...

The night deepened gradually, with one hour left before dawn.

Yu Deng could no longer keep awake and lowered her head to sleep. Cheng Xiao looked at the beauty resting on his shoulder but said nothing, quietly organizing the intelligence.

Though dawn was near, the sky darkened further, and morning mist drifted throughout the mansion.

The candle in the mourning hall suddenly went out with a soft pop.

Darkness instantly engulfed the entire hall, the courtyard outside turning pitch black as well.

Cheng Xiao pulled a lighter from his pocket.

The faint flame in the black hall barely illuminated anything, as if the light was swallowed. The flame didn’t last long, and each press of the lighter only sparked a brief glow, though the heat was normal.

Cheng Xiao clicked his tongue, “Stepmom, wake up.”

Within seconds, the temperature plummeted sharply. Yu Deng jolted awake at his voice but realized she couldn’t see anything.

She trembled and asked, “System, am I blind?”

[…]

There was a crackling electric sound, and a broken electronic voice interrupted, as if the signal was cut off: [No, vision detected at 5.0… vision is normal.]

Okay, so the abnormality was in the environment.

Yu Deng belatedly realized it was because the candle had gone out.

In such darkness, she couldn’t see anything, which meant if something approached, she wouldn’t be able to detect it.

Rustle, rustle.

Thud.

Something was moving.

Yu Deng shivered, trying to climb up from the haystack and run out, but her legs were too weak to exert any strength.

[What the hell? What’s that sudden noise?]

[I was just admiring Deng Deng’s beautiful sleeping face, and suddenly total darkness—gave me a fright.]

[I turned my stream brightness all the way up, but I suggest you don’t :)]

“Cheng Xiao...” Yu Deng’s voice cracked as she called out once. Someone beside her reached an arm around her waist, helping her up.

“Quick, run outside!” Yu Deng commanded.

The two cautiously retreated, only to find the hall’s door had been closed and locked without their noticing.

Yu Deng pounded on the door, crying out for help, but no response came.

Cheng Xiao held Yu Deng tightly, muscles tense but voice steady. “We can’t get out now.”

Yu Deng gripped Cheng Xiao’s arm, her palms icy cold, trying desperately to calm herself.

She had heard some customs—for example, the candle kept burning during a vigil is called the “everlasting lamp,” guiding the soul to the afterlife.

Without the candle, the spirit would wander endlessly.

“How could this happen...” Yu Deng leaned on Cheng Xiao, wary of unknown creatures in the dark.

“There was no wind just now, no draft—just suddenly went out,” Cheng Xiao said casually to comfort her. “These things aren’t something you can guard against just by will. You meet force with force, water with earth.”

This was an infinite world after all; side quests rarely ended so easily.

She hadn’t expected Stepmom to be involved.

Yu Deng: “...” Not comforted at all, sobbing.

She was too stupid. Why hadn’t she prepared any self-defense items?