Chapter 233

Chapter 233

This hypothesis was formed by Xie Yinxue after she and Liu Buhua had observed the chest muscles of fifty-nine male demons.

In reality, if the other participants weren't disadvantaged by having fewer clears and less experience, and knew that Qin He was the true guide NPC of this instance, they'd quickly figure out the key point — guide NPCs usually don't speak unnecessarily.

This morning, Qin He informed them of an incident: a mushroom servant died last night, his head crushed by a blunt object, causing a fatal brain injury.

Shan Zha Jun excels in throwing. While the information Qin He provided gave them a clue about the perpetrator, it wasn't definitive. Even without it, they could have deduced that Shan Zha Jun was the culprit.

But if Qin He intended to go easy on Liu Buhua, then his special visit and words to the participants must have significance.

Connecting the dots, it became evident where Shan Zha Jun was hiding.

"Mushroom servants are the inn's employees, and it's natural for them to greet guests with a smile. Shan Zha Jun, with his human-like face on a dog's body, could easily hide among them, blending in perfectly," said Liu Buhua. "There's no better hiding place."

"But he didn't just kill one servant. If he had taken the place of just one servant, we might not have noticed. But by killing so many, he prematurely exposed himself."

Xuan Ting's limited intelligence often led him to make remarks that left others dumbfounded.

But this played right into Liu Buhua's hands: "That was to cover his tracks. Despite their small stature, the mushroom servants aren't foolish. After knowing there's a murderous beast in the inn, would they roam alone at night? They must have stayed together. Shan Zha Jun had to eliminate all the witnesses after his first kill, leading to the multiple murders. Ideally, he would've wanted to kill just one. This shows that nights at the Demon Inn are dangerous. Stepping out means risking elimination. So—"

"We must never venture out alone at night."

Liu Buhua emphasized his point as he spoke, particularly underscoring these twelve words. It was also what Bu Jiuzhao wanted Xie Yinxue to remind the other participants of last night.

Even though Chu Yiyang was unaware that Qin He was the guiding NPC, his quick thinking led him to believe in the merit of Liu Buhua's words.

"That's why you're the best, Brother Liu!" He exclaimed, thumping the table and rising abruptly. "Without your insights, we might have wasted the whole day inspecting the bodies of those supernatural guests."

"You flatter me," Liu Buhua responded with a feigned modesty, refraining from mentioning that the whole plan was Xie Yinxue's idea.

Gan Hongchang swiftly turned to descend the stairs, "Let's not waste time here then. Let's find the fungi attendants!"

The fungi attendants resided in the inn's backyard, right next to the kitchen. As the group headed there, they stopped a few of them who were sweeping to inquire if all the fungi attendants that had encountered the monster Shan Zha Jun had perished the previous night.

One of the attendants replied, "Not all perished. Some managed to escape with only facial injuries."

Yu Jiayi inquired, "Facial injuries?"

"Yes, their faces are bandaged now," the attendant nodded, "Master Qin said they are unsightly, so they've been reassigned to kitchen duty for a few days until their wounds heal."

Shan Zha Jun's face doesn't match any of the fungi attendants. To blend in, he would need to hide his face. Faking an injury seemed a convenient excuse.

Xie Yinxue probed further, "How many were injured exactly?"

The attendant replied, "Five."

With that answer, Tan Fanyi adjusted his glasses and confidently asserted, "No doubt about it. Shan Zha Jun is certainly among those five bandaged attendants."

"Indeed," Bai Hezi, clutching her lute, advised, "Everyone, arm yourselves and stay alert."

Following the incident with the red-feathered monster bird the previous day, Bai Hezi's warning was hardly needed. The participants, gripping their swords, grew more serious as they neared the kitchen.

Xuan Ting asked Chu Yiyang, "Brother Yang, should we go in to meet them or call them out?"

Chu Yiyang replied, "It's safer outside where there's more room to maneuver in case of a fight. Let's have them come out..."

But before he could finish, screams erupted from the inn's kitchen, "Ah! Fire!"

"Water! Quick, we need help putting it out!"

Several fungi attendants bolted out from the kitchen in panic. Indeed, towering flames were visible even from outside, emitting such intense heat that it distorted the surrounding view, confirming the attendants' frantic cries.

With sharp eyes, Xuan Ting quickly identified the mark: "Boss, those mycelium folks have bandages on their faces!"

Gan Hongchang immediately ordered Baihezi and Yu Jiayi with urgency: "Shanjia Army moves like the wind. Pin them down quickly!"

With only four sound spells at their disposal, each could only target one mycelium. One was left unbound, prompting Baihezi to shout at the escaping mycelium, "Stop! Don’t you dare run!"

Ignoring her, the mycelium cried out in panic, "There's a ferocious black dog in the kitchen that wants to bite us! Hurry and flee, Daoist Baihezi!"

A black dog?

Because of the phrase "its form is canine," whenever they heard the word "dog," they first thought of the Shanjia Army beast.

Pausing slightly, Baihezi quickly turned her gaze to the kitchen. In the next moment, a wobbly small round shadow emerged from inside.

Everyone squinted to get a better look and realized it was just... a tiny puppy. Its fur hadn't fully grown in, revealing its pink paws and snout. Its tail was bald, burnt with a flickering flame at the tip.

"Arf arf! Woof..."

Perhaps the burn hurt, and its yelps were soft and sweet. It hardly matched the "ferocious dog" description.

Wu Yu asked in confusion, "Is this the Shanjia Army?"

Gan Hongchang, without hesitation, unleashed a sword aura, aiming straight at the small black dog.

The puppy, unable to dodge in time, had its two front legs severed. The sight of its pain and the blood pooling beneath was unbearable. Xin Tianhao fainted, and Liu Buhua skillfully caught him, holding his sword at the ready in one hand and pinching Xin's pressure point with the other.

Just as Gan Hongchang was about to deal the final blow, Cai Lele interjected, "Wait! It doesn’t seem to be the Shanjia Army; it doesn't have a human face!"

Gan Hongchang, coldly replied, "It's just a dog. Better to err on the side of caution."

"What if it's the offspring of a powerful canine demon? If we kill it, its parent might seek revenge," Baihezi argued, supporting Cai Lele, "Or maybe it's the offspring of the Shanjia Army. We can use it as leverage."

Standing in front of the unbound mycelium with his sword drawn, Chu Yiyang said to Gan Hongchang, "Brother Chang, forget the dog for now. Help me with this one!"

Heeding Chu's words, Gan Hongchang walked over, arms crossed, scrutinizing the unbound mycelium.

Trembling, the mycelium tried to smile ingratiatingly, asking, "Daoist Chu? Daoist Gan? What's the matter?"

Chu Yiyang's reply was succinct: "Take off your clothes."

The mycelium was taken aback: "What?"

The fungal servants are human, not demons; they possess no supernatural power. For these powerless beings, Gan Hongchang naturally showed no kindness, his face filled with impatience, "What? When I say strip, you strip!"

He then shouted at the other four fungal servants, immobilized by the sound of the lute, "The rest of you, strip too!"

The five little fungal servants trembled as they obeyed, shedding their tops to reveal their frail and skinny torsos—all human, with no canine features.

After pondering for a few seconds, Chu Yiyang said, "Remove the bandages from your faces."

"Wai-wait..." Upon hearing this, the fungal servants began cautiously unwinding the bandages around their faces, clearly terrified.

All of them had injuries on their faces, and they were careful not to aggravate the wounds, making their actions slow. Gan Hongchang grew impatient, a cruel urge rising within. Instead of bothering with the servants restrained by himself and Chu Yiyang, he approached the servant held by Liu Fei, roughly tearing the bandage from his face.

"Aaaaah!"

The bandage was stuck to the wound. With Gan's brutal pull, not only was the bandage removed, but also the newly formed scabs and some flesh. The fungal servant fell, pain evident, tears streaming as he hovered his hands helplessly in front of his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bai Hezi couldn't hold back her anger, "Are you mad? Couldn't you wait for them to do it themselves?"

"Do you pity them? They're not real humans, just NPCs in a game," Gan Hongchang couldn't understand Bai Hezi's compassion. "Stay out of it, you little bitch."

Without pausing, he shouted at the remaining four fungal servants, "Hurry up and remove them!"

The four, now fearful of Gan Hongchang, quickly unwrapped their bandages without care for the pain, revealing their mutilated and ghastly faces for his inspection.