Before anyone else could react, Hao Yunsheng jogged over and picked up the watermelon.
The Captain said expressionlessly, "Since you have the watermelon, let’s head back to the village."
He gave Hao Yunsheng a long, hard look before leading the team away.
The Book Listener’s gaze fell on Hao Yunsheng, observing his sleeves, the tops of his shoes, the hem of his robe, and his pant legs.
Sunshine Boy glanced toward the spot where Hao Yunsheng had been standing. He deliberately veered off course to walk past it. Looking down, he saw a sprig of mugwort lying on a tender yellow watermelon blossom. He bent down, picked it up, and after sensing no Deceit from it, tucked it away on his person.
A dried, dark red drop clung to the watermelon blossom, weighing down its tender yellow petals.
Sunshine Boy trailed behind the group, occasionally glancing at the green-striped watermelon in Hao Yunsheng’s hands.
He started having auditory hallucinations again. It sounded like a tiny person was trapped inside the watermelon, constantly beating against the rind and making a THUMP, THUMP sound.
The eighteen of them walked out of the Gua Field and arrived at the village entrance.
Wang Laoshu was grinning from ear to ear, revealing a set of crooked, yellow teeth. "Well done! Well done!" he repeated. "As expected of you masters from the Night Guard. So much more efficient than ordinary folk."
As he spoke, he walked up to Hao Yunsheng, held out his hands, and said, "Hao Yunsheng, is it? I will be sure to report this to the Matriarch. She will certainly reward you."
"Please thank the Matriarch for me, and I wish her a healthy, chubby baby," Hao Yunsheng said as he carefully handed the watermelon to Wang Laoshu.
"We’re down another man," the Captain said, glancing at Hao Yunsheng.
The other Night Guards looked around at their remaining members in silence.
The Night Guards walked into the village, with Sunshine Boy and his two companions trailing far behind.
Sunshine Boy glanced at the third floor of the White Tower, shrouded in the night. Of the original twenty-one white lanterns, three were now extinguished.
The Book Listener lowered his voice. "Hao Yunsheng took care of Denggao. I saw specks of blood on his sleeves, shoes, and the hem of his clothes. His boots are caked with dirt, which is clearly from channeling his True Essence of Force to stomp into the ground."
Sunshine Boy said, "Normally, after calling out the wrong name and then smashing a watermelon, something should have happened to Hao Yunsheng. But by taking out Denggao, he neutralized the danger to himself. This means either he resolved it by sheer luck, or he already knew how these kinds of Deceitful events work."
"It’s obviously the latter. He’s hiding something," the Book Listener said.
"I agree."
"What were you doing back in the Gua Field?" the Book Listener asked.
Sunshine Boy took out a sprig of mugwort. "I only know there’s nothing wrong with this mugwort, but I’m not sure if it’s actually helpful. Still, it’s better to have some than none. I have two more sprigs. You two can decide who gets this one."
The Foodie shook his head. "One of you is a Fate Master, and the other is our strategist. You’re both in more danger than I am. Book Listener, you take it."
Sunshine Boy handed it to the Book Listener. "Since the Foodie put it that way, don’t refuse. I’ll give the next one to him."
"Alright!" The Book Listener accepted without any fuss, taking the mugwort and tucking it into his robe.
The eighteen of them returned to their public quarters. Inside, eighteen wooden beds—no more, no less—had already been laid out for them.
Everyone counted the beds, and a chill went down their spines.
The Captain assigned three people to the night watch. The others chatted quietly before gradually falling asleep.
「Divine Capital. Night Guard Office, Chunfeng Inn.」
Zhou Chunfeng’s expression was grim. "Ye Han meeting the Heir of Prince Yuann is a matter of great importance," he said in a low, heavy voice. "Why am I only hearing about it today?"
The man bowed his head. "I’m not trying to make excuses, sir, but the report was tucked inside another one. I only saw it myself today."
Zhou Chunfeng sighed. "It’s not your fault."
With that, Zhou Chunfeng took out his Communication Talisman Disc and sent a message to Zhou Henn: "Bring Qingxian back to the Divine Capital at once. I’m worried the Heir of Prince Yuann and Ye Han mean to harm him."
Zhou Chunfeng waited quietly. Time ticked by, but the Communication Talisman Disc remained silent.
Zhou Chunfeng frowned, unable to hide his anxiety. He rose and began pacing around his study. After a quarter hour, his expression suddenly changed, and he rushed straight to the Black Lamp Department.
「Yanzhou. Fangyuan Village.」
In the pre-dawn hours, long before the sky had lightened, a shrill, piercing scream tore through the night.
Startled awake, everyone scrambled to get dressed and grab their weapons.
A moment later, the eighteen Night Guards stood outside the public quarters, weapons in hand, warily surveying their surroundings.
Under a deep blue sky, illuminated by the first faint light of dawn, a dense, dark crowd of villagers knelt outside the Five Goddess Temple. They were softly chanting a folk song in a dialect the Night Guards couldn’t understand.
A short while later, the Witch, clad in a multicolored Patchwork Robe, approached them with Wang Laoshu.
When the men got a good look at them, their hearts skipped a beat.
The pair’s skin had taken on a metallic, bronze hue. The whites of their eyes had vanished, leaving only black orbs that seemed to swirl like viscous oil.
The Witch held a bloody pig-butchering knife in one hand and a wooden staff draped in white cloth in the other. She stared at the group, her face emotionless. "After our prayers to the Lady of Prayer for Birth, the Matriarch’s delivery should have been smooth. But you outsiders offended the Lady of Prayer for Birth, causing the Matriarch to miscarry. You... will compensate the Matriarch for her loss."
Before the Night Guards could retort, Wang Laoshu spoke, his face grim. "The Matriarch has given an order. You are to choose a child from among you to present to her and complete the great sacrifice to the Five Goddesses. Otherwise, we will have to sacrifice all of you to appease the Five Goddesses."
"We will come to welcome the little master at dusk," the Witch finished coldly. Then, she and Wang Laoshu turned and walked away.
A look of realization dawned on Hao Yunsheng’s face. "I get it now! It was Sunshine Boy, acting all mysterious in front of the Five Goddess Temple. He almost burned down the lanterns, which must have angered the Five Goddesses and caused the Matriarch to miscarry."
The Book Listener frowned. "Hao Yunsheng, you might have a strong Fate Grid, but you’re not very bright. Have you forgotten where we are? This is a Deceitful Land. No matter what we do, we only fall deeper into the Deceit. This ’miscarriage’ is just a pretext. Their real goal is to slowly corrupt us with Deceit, one by one. But rest assured, I won’t attack you. Even though you got Denggao killed—a man loyal to you—I won’t stoop to your level and go after a Fate Master right after harming a subordinate."
"You’re lying!" Hao Yunsheng snarled, his face flush with anger and humiliation.
The Book Listener’s expression suddenly turned to one of suspicion. He sized up Hao Yunsheng from head to toe. "Could you have already become a Deceit Slave, planted here to sow discord among us? Once we’re all dead, you’ll be free to leave and lure the next group into the Deceit, won’t you?"
"You’re spouting baseless lies!"
"If you’re not a Deceit Slave, then why are you constantly trying to cause trouble? Why have you been using your powerful Fate Grid to bully Sunshine Boy since the very beginning?" the Book Listener demanded.
Sunshine Boy sighed. "Just drop it. Don’t say any more. In Hao Yunsheng’s eyes, it’s all my fault anyway. I’m the one who made him go Demon Hunting, I’m the one who made him fall into the Deceit, and I’m the one who got him into this mess."
The Book Listener sneered. "We’re all Night Guards here; we’ve all worked cases. Just look at the blood specks on Hao Yunsheng. They weren’t there before he went into the Gua Field, but they appeared after he came out. At the exact same time, Denggao went missing. Now, who does that make the prime suspect?"
The other Night Guards scrutinized Hao Yunsheng, who said frantically, "The blood specks on me are from the splatter of that pig-butchering knife!"
Hao Yunsheng glared at the Book Listener with pure hatred, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
"Enough!" the Captain barked, his voice cold. "The priority right now is to choose the ’little master.’ If we can’t, none of us are leaving here alive!"