You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

Chapter 548 Reasoning
Qin Ming pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the dim light. He frowned slightly and looked at Gao Mei: "Xiao Mei."

Tong Xiaoliang quickly stood up from the tatami, his sportswear still covered in dust. "I'll go with him."

Zhao Gang's deep gaze wandered over the two of them for a moment, and he said in a deep voice, "Please."

Wang Lina remained silent, her slender fingers unconsciously stroking the corners of her kimono: "..."

Qian Jin straightened his suit and tie, his eyes sharp as a knife: "As soon as he comes back, we will take him to the Shenge River... Hualu, where is the rope?"

Hualu pulled out a roll of hemp rope from the sleeve of her shrine maiden's uniform: "Here..."

……

Time passed quietly and the sky gradually darkened.

Tang Yin sat alone in his Japanese-style room on the second floor. The setting sun outside the window dyed the entire room a dark red. His thoughts were wandering aimlessly when suddenly, a noisy voice came from outside.

It was the human shouts that came one after another, breaking the tranquility of the evening.

Tang Yin suddenly stood up from the tatami and rushed to the window: "...What's wrong!"

He opened the window and was greeted by a cool mountain breeze. Outside the window was a steep cliff, and he could hear nothing but his own echo.

Tang Yin's heartbeat began to accelerate, and he shouted outside again: "What happened!!"

Zhao Gang's voice suddenly came from a distance: "Tang Yin, don't run around!"

What's going on? Tang Yin's brain raced, trying to understand the current situation.

"What on earth happened?!" His voice was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.

Zhao Gang's voice sounded even more nervous: "It's very dangerous now!!"

—Danger? This word lingered in Tang Yin's mind.

Tang Yin grabbed the window frame, his knuckles turning white: "What do you mean!"

The only responses he received were the intermittent noises in the distance and the whimpering of the mountain wind.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the stairwell, "dong dong dong" getting closer and closer -

Tang Yin turned to face the door, all the muscles in his body tensed up: "Who is it!?"

The footsteps stopped abruptly, and there was no response.

Tang Yin's temples were throbbing. He was certain something major had happened, and someone was nearby. Tension surged through his heart like a tide, and every nerve was on edge.

"Ah, Tang Yin!" Wang Lina's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

Tang Yin breathed a sigh of relief, but his tone was still somewhat dissatisfied: "It's you again, Wang Lina!!"

Wang Lina seemed very anxious, her words were a little incoherent: "What do you mean!? Sorry, you stay here now, it seems like something happened——"

Before she could finish her words, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly pierced the night sky. It wasn't so much a scream as it was a roar of rage. The voice contained some indescribable emotion. If she heard correctly, it must have come from Zhao Gang.

Wang Lina's footsteps quickly faded away, leaving Tang Yin alone in the room.

He rushed to the door and pushed the door handle hard: "——Wait!! Open the door!!"

But no matter how hard he tried, the door didn't budge.

Tang Yin clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms: "Maybe I can help!!"

——Damn it! He gritted his teeth, not wanting to be kept in the dark any longer.

Tang Yin turned and walked towards the window, his gaze determined. Under the moonlight, his figure stood out. The height of the second floor was nothing to him.

——Never mind, just jump!
He leaped without hesitation. His knees bent slightly as he landed, perfectly absorbing the impact. Good, a smooth landing.

Tang Yin immediately ran in the direction of the sound. He knew it was the square. The night wind whistled past his ears, and the distant clamor grew clearer and clearer. His heartbeat quickened, unsure of what awaited him.

When Tang Yin arrived at the scene, he finally understood the emotions contained in Zhao Gang's roar.

It was pure despair.

The setting sun shone like water, casting a shadow on the path leading to the cemetery. The branches and leaves of the trees on either side intertwined, forming a gloomy forest tunnel. The ground, covered with rotting leaves, exuded a damp scent, and footsteps made a slight rustling sound.

Even without the mist, the place was still dark and unnerving. The air was filled with the smell of decay, mixed with the scent of earth and moss. The constant sound of rushing water was heard in my ears, the low hum of the canal irrigating the nearby farmland.

Several figures were vaguely visible ahead, and Tang Yin silently passed through this wall of people. The moment he squeezed in, the scene before him froze him in place.

Blood. Lots of blood.

Two bodies lay on the ground, one old, one young, in eerily identical positions. They were both curled up on their sides, their hands clutching their abdomens, as if they had endured unimaginable pain in life. Their clothes were soaked with dark red blood, gleaming sickeningly in the setting sun.

Mr. Wolf's graying hair was stained with blood, and his usually kind face was now twisted into an expression of pain. And Tong Xiaoliang, the always lively and energetic boy, now lay in a pool of blood like a broken doll.

Tang Yin's throat tightened and his voice trembled: "Why—" He swallowed hard, "—what happened."

Zhao Gang turned around, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse: "...Tang Yin, shouldn't you be in the dormitory?"

"I came out to see what was going on." Tang Yin answered subconsciously.

Zhao Gang suddenly became furious, his voice hysterical: "You are lying!! You are the murderer, right?!" His finger trembled as he pointed at Tang Yin.

"Uh...of course not!" Tang Yin quickly explained, "I was just talking to Wang Lina in the room!"

Wang Lina stood aside, the setting sun shining on her pale face: "...Well, Tang Yin is not the murderer, Brother Gang."

"Who is the murderer?!" Zhao Gang's fists were clenched white.

Tang Yin stepped forward quickly: "Let's not worry about this matter for now, let's rescue——"

"It's too late! Don't move!" Zhao Gang interrupted him harshly. "Maybe we can still make it!" Tang Yin said stubbornly.

Zhao Gang's voice was filled with despair and anger. "All the blood has been drained! His stomach is ripped open, and even his intestines are spilling out!" He practically roared, "How are you going to save him? Ah!?"

Tang Yin was speechless, cold sweat running down his cheeks.

He looked around and counted the people present. Besides Wang Lina, Zhao Gang, and himself, there was Qin Ming, who was leaning against a tree trunk and vomiting non-stop, his glasses hanging askew on his nose. In the distance, Hua Lu stood motionless, dressed in a shrine maiden's attire, her gaze fixed on the corpse on the ground, like a statue.

Tang Yin noticed that everyone else was wearing gloves and tools, obviously there to deal with the corpse. Only Hua Lu was bare-handed, looking out of place in this bloody scene.

Looking at this scene, Tang Yin's heart sank. It seemed they were running out of manpower. This mystery before him was probably even more complicated than he had imagined.

Zhao Gang's voice trembled in the silent night, filled with deep sorrow and uncontrollable anger: "-What happened, who is the murderer, that beast-" He pounded the tree trunk beside him with his fists, his knuckles turning white from excessive force.

Hualu, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

“…Look.”

Everyone followed her slender fingers. On Master Wolf's bloodstained gray cotton jacket, a few strands of gray-brown hair were tangled. Those hairs were twisted in an unnatural way.

Werewolf.

These hairs were undoubtedly traces left by werewolves, a telltale sign of their "pollution." A faint, fishy odor filled the air, making one nauseated.

But Tang Yin's intuition told him that things weren't that simple. He frowned, carefully examining every detail of the scene. There were no signs of a struggle on the surrounding grass, and the bloodstains were too concentrated. The method of murder this time was completely different from the previous cases, and the use of animal hair as evidence seemed too deliberate, as if the murderer had deliberately done it.

"Let me see the wound." Tang Yin said as he was about to step forward, his voice carrying the calmness of a professional.

Zhao Gang suddenly stopped him, his muscular arm blocking the way like an iron bar: "Did I tell you not to move?" There was a vigilant glint in his eyes.

"This time is obviously different from before." Tang Yin stared directly into Zhao Gang's bloodshot eyes, trying to convince him with reason, "We must get to the bottom of the matter."

"Isn't that nonsense!" Zhao Gang roared, his voice echoing in the silent night sky. "What do you know! You outsider!"

"If we don't investigate now, we'll never know!" Tang Yin's voice was filled with unquestionable determination. "Every minute is important."

"Stop pretending, outsider!" Zhao Gang's facial muscles were twisted, and his eyes flashed with dangerous light, like a wild beast about to pounce.

Wang Lina quickly stepped forward to dissuade him, her long hair fluttering gently in the evening breeze: "Brother Gang, calm down! This won't help!"

"It's so annoying!" Zhao Gang pushed Wang Lina away, and she staggered back a few steps. "Nothing good has happened since he came here! If it weren't for him...!" Her voice was filled with suppressed hatred.

Zhao Gang's pupils burst into violent rage, his fists were clenched so tightly that they made a creaking sound, and veins bulged on the back of his hands. He could attack Tang Yin at any time.

Tang Yin's heart sank. The trusting relationship that he had built up with great difficulty during this period of time seemed to be about to collapse in an instant like a castle on the beach.

"...Xiaoliang...why..." Qin Ming knelt on the muddy ground, his voice choked, "Why...wu..." His glasses were covered with mist, and it was unclear whether it was tears or night dew.

Tang Yin ignored Zhao Gang's obstruction and squatted down to carefully observe Tong Xiaoliang's body.

The boy's face had lost its color, taking on an unnatural grayish-white hue. But strangely, his expression was remarkably calm, without any trace of pain or struggle. The slightly raised corners of his mouth, whether a death smile or simply muscle relaxation, were unclear. This was completely different from the pained, contorted expressions of victims in previous [Pollution] cases.

"...This is not pollution." Tang Yin said firmly, with certainty in his voice.

"How do you know?" Zhao Gang demanded, "Just because you're an outsider?"

"If you let me investigate, I can prove it!" Tang Yin stood up, his gaze as firm as steel. "The characteristics of these wounds, the distribution of the bloodstains, and the expression of the deceased are all inconsistent with the previous cases."

Their gazes collided in mid-air, like two unsheathed swords. A tense atmosphere hung in the air. Finally, Zhao Gang stepped back, the anger in his eyes subsiding slightly, but still filled with vigilance.

"...It's best for those who aren't used to it to avoid it," Tang Yin said softly, then turned and walked towards Master Wolf's body. In the setting sun, blood traced a strange arc on the ground.

The old man's face still retained the same dazed expression he had in life, but the loss of color made it look particularly strange, like a broken porcelain doll. His cloudy eyes stared blankly at the night sky, as if narrating some intractable mystery.

With a sound like running water, scarlet entrails gushed out from the hideous wound in Wolf Master's abdomen, gleaming sickeningly in the setting sun. Warm blood snaked across the muddy ground like a sinister, dark-red snake.

"Ugh—" Wang Lina covered her mouth and took a few steps back, her whole body trembling. Her delicate face turned pale, her eyes filled with fear. She squatted on the ground and retched, tears streaming uncontrollably, soaking her beige knitted cardigan.

Qin Ming wasn't much better. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses, leaned over, and leaned against a nearby cherry tree, retching. The back of his light blue shirt was soaked with sweat, and he shivered in the chilly night air.

Hua Lu, dressed in a white shrine maiden costume, stood aside. A trace of pity flashed in her dark eyes, and she said softly, "...It's too cruel." Her slender fingers tightly grasped the red and white imperial coins, and her knuckles turned white from excessive force.

Tang Yin observed the scene calmly, his sharp-edged face expressionless. He turned to the others and said, "Don't push yourselves. Zhao Gang, look here."

A long, narrow wound pierced the old man's entire abdomen, his intestines and internal organs bubbling out amidst a mixture of blood. The wound's edges were neat, clearly incised by an extremely sharp blade. Beneath the setting sun, this horrific scene sent shivers down one's spine.

Tang Yin squatted down and carefully examined the wound. "This isn't a supernatural punishment, but a wound inflicted by a sharp weapon." His voice was calm and professional. "Also, the murder weapon wasn't at the scene; it was clearly hidden by someone."

Zhao Gang's weathered face showed a shocked expression, and he subconsciously clenched his fists: "-You mean, the murderer is in the Hidden Mist Village, and the murder weapon is hidden by the murderer?" His voice trembled with excitement.

Tang Yin stood up, his eyes blazing, "Can you tell me everything that's happened since the banquet started?"

After several people shared their stories and verified their experiences, the story gradually became clear. Led by village representative Qian Jin, they decided to vote on one person for execution. Ultimately, Wolf Master and Wang Lina tied for first place, leading to a runoff vote. Wolf Master was overwhelmingly chosen and sentenced to death. Afterward, Tong Xiaoliang accompanied Wolf Master back to sort out his belongings, while the others remained in the assembly hall.

"Are they really the only two people who left the assembly hall?" Tang Yin asked, he keenly noticed the key point.

Zhao Gang nodded affirmatively: "That's right, the banquet wasn't over yet, so letting Master Wolf and Xiao Liang leave was an exception."

Tang Yin pondered for a moment, "Wait until they come back and then restart the banquet... According to the banquet process, what should we do?"

Hua Lu lowered her head and said softly, "This matter is a little complicated."

"Okay." Tang Yin asked, "But, they haven't come back yet, right? How long have you been waiting?"

"About an hour." Zhao Gang replied.

Qin Ming wiped the mist from his glasses and said in a choked voice, "...We were worried about Xiaoliang's safety, so we went out to look for him...and in less than ten minutes, we found him."

Tang Yin's mind raced. Four people had left the assembly hall at that moment: Wang Lina, Zhao Gang, Qin Ming, and Hua Lu. The murderer must be among them!
(End of this chapter)