Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow] 37p2

Chapter 37 p2: The Ancient Castle

When they returned to the ancient castle, there was no one else in the living room. It was unclear where they had all gone. Perhaps they had gone to look for clues.

Shi Jun found a maid and said with a smile, “We haven’t seen the master of the ancient castle since we arrived last night. I wonder where the master is? We should go and pay our respects. Otherwise, it would be too rude to be a guest without seeing the master.”

The maid said, “The master is not feeling well and often stays in seclusion, so it is normal that you have not seen her. Please wait patiently. The master does not want to see outsiders, and her body is not well enough to see guests. I’m very sorry. The master has received your kind intentions.”

With that, she immediately left without waiting for Shi Jun to say anything more.

Jiang Yu said, “It seems that the master of the ancient castle is not willing to see us.”

Shi Jun said, “Yes, after all, she is already dead.”

Jiang Yu asked, “Why do you want to see her?”

Shi Jun: “Because there is some information I need to know.”

Jiang Yu looked at her in confusion.

A light smile was on Shi Jun’s lips. “Don’t forget, we still have a hidden mission.”

Jiang Yu was thoughtful. “The hidden mission, the truth of the ancient castle, is it related to the death of the master of the ancient castle?”

Shi Jun’s fingers touched her chin, and she did not answer directly.

Jiang Yu felt that this possibility was not low, but in that case, wouldn’t they have to be part-time detectives?

Were they to find the murderer of the master of the ancient castle, or to restore what had happened on the day the master of the ancient castle was killed?

Shi Jun looked upstairs. “Let’s go and see the empty rooms.”

Jiang Yu followed her steps. “Do you have a key?”

Shi Jun’s eyes curved in a smile. It was very rare, with a hint of cunning. “Does a door that can be opened with a key have to be opened with a key?”

Then, Jiang Yu understood what she meant.

Looking at Shi Jun’s skilled movements as she squatted in front of the door, if it were not for the inappropriate atmosphere, Jiang Yu even wanted to applaud her.

“This technique of yours… where did you learn it?”

Shi Jun held a hairpin in her fingers, her movements meticulous as she picked the lock.

Hearing Jiang Yu’s question, the corner of her lips hooked up. “A long time ago.”

So long ago that it was before she entered the World of Strength.

Jiang Yu did not ask any more questions. Instead, she leaned against the wall and waited for her to finish.

Jiang Yu had originally thought that it would take a long time, but to her surprise, the other party opened the door very quickly.

“So fast.”

In fact, she could have used other methods, faster, but considering that her body and soul were at their limit, Shi Jun did not do so.

There was nothing unusual in the first room on the second floor. Soon, they arrived at the second room.

The second room was a mess, as if someone had just been in a frenzy in the room.

The books were on the ground, the bed was messy, and even the mirror in the bathroom had been broken.

Jiang Yu frowned slightly and stepped into the mess.

“Here… what happened?”

Shi Jun came out of the bathroom and leaned against the other side, a cold look in her eyes.

At this moment, she probably already understood what had happened and what had happened at that time.

But seeing that Jiang Yu did not seem to understand, she did not say much. She just said flatly, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Yu was called away by Shi Jun before she could take a closer look, so she did not continue to look. She followed Shi Jun to the next room.

And on the floor of the bathroom she had not entered, there were some water stains and blood stains, as well as other things.

After walking out, Shi Jun’s steps paused slightly, and then she looked up at the words in the corridor. She reached out and touched the painting.

“The painting is damp.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yu looked up and, as expected, found that the color had changed slightly.

It seemed to be darker, as if it had been soaked in water.

Jiang Yu: “Rainwater?”

Shi Jun nodded slightly.

When they were checking the empty rooms on the second floor, they ran into Xiao Man, who had come to the second floor to look at the paintings.

Because she already knew that this person was a top ten player, Jiang Yu’s mood was a little complicated at the moment.

On the one hand, she was wondering why Xiao Man had come to a low-level instance. On the other hand, Jiang Yu was also a little complicated. If Xiao Man was here, could they still complete the hidden mission with a high score?

It was not that Jiang Yu did not believe in Zhong Yu, but she thought that there should be a wall between a player who had already become an S-rank top player and them.

If they could not beat her, then it seemed to be a matter of course.

Although Xiao Man did not seem to be the kind of person who would be unfavorable to newcomers, the other party probably was not generous enough to directly give up the victory.

After all, the higher the level, the more serious the point deduction when they failed in a low-level instance.

Someone of Xiao Man’s level… if she did not get first place in this instance, then she would probably lose a lot of points.

But there was one thing that Jiang Yu found strange. For an S-rank Xiao Man to come to a low-level instance, would it only make this instance level reach C-70%?

You should know that the players in this instance were already C-rank, and even Zhou Dayong was C-60%. And now the instance level was only a little higher, which was really confusing.

The answer was, of course, no.

Logically, for an S-rank person to come to a low-level instance, it would indeed pull the instance level too high. Although it would not be pulled to A+ at once, it would still be above B-60%.

The reason why Xiao Man’s arrival did not pull the instance level apart was because she had bought an item with a lot of money.

Therefore, this situation was avoided.

But because her own level was still here, therefore, the instance level would randomly be a difficulty higher than the other newcomers’ levels.

At that time, when Shi Jun had raised the question of the instance level, Xiao Man had not answered. On the one hand, she felt that she was a little concerned about this person. On the other hand, it was to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Xiao Man was very self-aware of her own identity, so she would not choose to expose it easily.

Anyway, in a low-level instance, not many people would recognize her.

Besides that was the most important point.

This would involve the exposure of the personal random store.

Xiao Man would not take this risk.

Jiang Yu watched Xiao Man walk over and greeted them with a light smile.

She did not have any airs, nor did she have any majesty. She was like a big sister next door you would meet on the street, very harmonious.

Xiao Man chuckled softly. “You’re investigating on the second floor too?”

Shi Jun raised an eyebrow slightly. “Yeah.”

Jiang Yu did not say that they were investigating the empty rooms. Instead, she said, “You’re here to look at the paintings?”

Xiao Man nodded. She hugged her arms. “To see if there are any clues.”

Shi Jun smiled fakely, her eyes curving. “Is that so? Then please help yourself.”

Xiao Man also smiled and watched her walk past her, then said, “You went to see the empty rooms just now, right?”

Shi Jun’s steps were not even affected, and of course, Jiang Yu could not let herself be exposed.

Xiao Man: “It seems there are new clues.”

Shi Jun did not answer.

Xiao Man did not care. She just said with a smile, “The lock-picking skills are very good.”

The two of them had already arrived at the third floor. Jiang Yu asked, “Is it okay for her to find out?”

Shi Jun: “What will happen?”

Jiang Yu: “For example, she completes the mission first.”

Shi Jun chuckled softly. “Don’t worry. It won’t happen.”

Jiang Yu did not ask any more questions.

The situation on the third floor was similar to the second floor. It was unclear if there were really no clues, or if it was because it was only the first day, so the instance did not drop any clues to slow them down.

In short, after looking around, there was not much useful.

If there was anything useful, it was that they had found some worn, wrinkled, and somewhat old men’s clothes in the guest room.

Combined with the situation in the shoe cabinet at the entrance, there were indeed some things that could be connected.

Jiang Yu lowered her gaze and thought slightly.

When Shi Jun looked back, she saw her like this. She raised an eyebrow slightly, a gentle smile on her lips. She did not interrupt Jiang Yu directly. Instead, she waited patiently.

When Jiang Yu looked up, she saw that she was looking at her.

“…What’s wrong?”

Shi Jun did not intend to hide this. When she had deliberately led Jiang Yu away in the second room, it was just that she did not want her to see the scene in the bathroom directly. So, she said directly, “Did you think of something?”

Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment and nodded.

“I was thinking, before us, did someone ever come to the ancient castle?”

Shi Jun’s lips curved. “Continue.”

Jiang Yu: “Not just one person, but a group of men. They came to the ancient castle to stay to avoid the rain, but later, something should have happened. They left, or they died.”

There was nothing strange in the ancient castle now. Logically, it should be more accurate to say that they had left. But Jiang Yu was more inclined to think that they had died, and then everything in the castle, including the dead, had been reset, and then they had come.

Jiang Yu’s fingers were clasped, and her face was filled with a thoughtful expression.

“But how did they die? Were they killed by the master of the ancient castle? The scene when they arrived, was it the same as ours now?”

Shi Jun touched the back of her hand and did not directly comment on Jiang Yu’s guess. She just asked, “You think that the ghosts in the ancient castle now are the master of the ancient castle and the maids, and that they treated those people with the same scene a few days ago, right?”

Jiang Yu nodded hesitantly. “Is this guess reasonable?”

Shi Jun smiled faintly, with a hint of indulgence that was not easy to detect. “Reasonable.”

But not right.

Jiang Yu rubbed her nose and was slightly relieved.

After all, this was the first time she had tried to reason like this. If she had guessed wrong, it would have been quite embarrassing.

“So that meat… could it be…”

Shi Jun asked back with a light smile, “Since those people were killed by ghosts, did only the maids kill them? Why did they hide the meat and the mistress did not know?”

Jiang Yu paused.

…It was too difficult.

Shi Jun’s lips curved. Seeing her defeated expression, her heart softened for a moment. “Don’t be too anxious.”

Jiang Yu nodded.

At noon, they gathered at the dining table again.

Zhou Dayong took the initiative to say, “A whole morning has passed. What clues have you all found? Why don’t you share them?”

However, no one paid any attention to him.

This made Zhou Dayong very angry. He pushed the plate to the middle, making a harsh sound.

Zhou Dayong sneered. “No one is talking. Everyone is holding on to it tightly. Then what’s the point of clearing the instance?”

Shi Jun looked up at him and smiled gently, her lips curving.

Although at first glance it was a smile like a spring breeze, but if you looked closely, you could see that there was no warmth in her eyes, only mockery.

Shi Jun said softly, “Why should I share the clues with you?”

Her black eyes stared at Zhou Dayong. Although her voice was very gentle, the words she said were like a provocation.

Zhou Dayong: “You!”

Shi Jun interrupted him, “The mission is only to survive for seven days. It didn’t say that we have to collect clues, right?”

She smiled, her eyes curving, as if she were smiling very purely. But behind this purity was an endless and undisguised malice.

“Or is it that what you really want to do is to freeload on the clues found by others and secretly complete the hidden mission?”

“You’ve done nothing, yet you’re trying to reap the rewards?”

Zhou Dayong’s face turned red. He slammed the table and stood up, wanting to refute, but the words were on the tip of his tongue. Looking at Shi Jun’s smiling face, looking at the layers of malice in her eyes, he suddenly did not know what to say.

Because he did have such a thought. He had secretly blurred the line between the two missions so that others would be more receptive to his proposal. But as a result…

“You… you… don’t slander me here! I’m talking about sharing, understand? Sharing! It’s better for everyone to do the mission together than for no one to be able to do the hidden mission in the end. If we can get more points, why not?”

Xiao Man put down her knife and fork and said flatly, “No one here wants to share, so there’s no need.”

Shi Jun’s lips curved. “And who told you that you can’t complete the hidden mission?” She chuckled softly. “If you can’t complete it yourself, don’t project it onto others.”

Zhou Dayong’s gaze turned to the others. Shen Liang immediately lowered his head. Gu Dong looked away, unmoved. Jiang Yu leaned against the back of her chair, her expression cold, without a single extra reaction. Only Liu Ling frowned and looked at him with anxiety and worry.

Zhou Dayong gritted his teeth, knowing that he could not get any information out of the others, so he could only sit down helplessly.

Hmph, you just don’t want to say it. Heh, when he finds the clues himself, he will definitely keep them to himself. Not only that—

Zhou Dayong narrowed his eyes, and a thought came to his mind.

Don’t you like to find clues? Fine. I’ll deliberately put some misleading clues up.

At that time, he would personally watch them take his misleading clues as the clues for the hidden mission.

It would be best if they were fatal. At that time, he would stand out and give them a fatal blow. He wanted to see if they would regret what they had done today.

At this thought, Zhou Dayong was a little excited.

After they finished eating, Zhou Dayong immediately pulled Liu Ling and left.

Jiang Yu watched Zhong Yu stare at the two of them’s backs without blinking, so she asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Shi Jun slowly curved her lips, her eyes filled with interest. “No, nothing.”

It’s just that something fun is about to happen.

Shi Jun could roughly guess what Zhou Dayong wanted to do, but she did not want to stop him, nor did she want to tell the others.

After all, she could distinguish between true and false clues, but others might not. But what did others have to do with her?

It would be a good thing if all of them believed the false clues.

But the only pity was that the false clues might not be able to deceive Xiao Man.

Unless she did it.

Shi Jun lowered her gaze, a thoughtful look on her face.

She was not opposed to using this method. After all, Shi Jun was not a good person. Not taking the initiative to harm others was already her bottom line.

But this matter of creating false clues to interfere with others’ progress was not within Shi Jun’s bottom line.

But the only reason she was hesitating now was that all her items were on her main account. The false clues she made without the support of items might not be able to deceive Xiao Man.

At this thought, Shi Jun felt that it was a bit of a pity.

But there was no other way.

After they went back, Zhou Dayong told Liu Ling about this matter.

It was not that he trusted Liu Ling very much, but that he could not do this alone. If he was caught by someone, he would not even have a cover.

Liu Ling’s personality was exactly what Zhou Dayong wanted. He could see that this woman was not a good person either. She was clinging to him so that he could protect her through the instance. The two of them were just getting what they needed.

And Liu Ling was also a person who knew how to adapt to the situation. Zhou Dayong was not worried that she would tell on him.

After all, Zhou Dayong was very confident. Besides him, who else would be willing to take her through the instance? Liu Ling had no choice but to rely on him.

After hearing Zhou Dayong’s idea, Liu Ling only thought for a moment and immediately agreed.

She smiled coquettishly and leaned against Zhou Dayong. “Big Brother Dayong, you’re so bad.”

Shi Jun took out the flower she had picked from the flowers before from her pocket.

Jiang Yu asked in confusion, “This flower… is it from the flowers?”

Shi Jun nodded.

“Is it useful?”

Shi Jun’s fingers gently stroked the flower branch, a light smile on her lips. “I don’t know yet. I’ll only know after verification.”

Jiang Yu nodded.

Shi Jun looked up at Jiang Yu, then smiled and handed the bright red flower to her. “Do you want to hold it?”