deltrittennovels #549 - The edge of rationality
#549 - The edge of rationality
Inside the assembly hall, under the dim yellow light, the figures of five people were clearly visible. Qian Jin sat in the very center, his weathered face etched with solemnity.
Chen Xiang sat quietly in a corner, occasionally dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. The twin sisters, Xiao Mie and Xiao Mei, huddled together, their eyes filled with fear.
Granny Rong leaned against the wall in a rattan chair, her eyes closed in rest, but the slight furrow in her brow suggested she wasn't as calm as she appeared.
These five people were almost certainly not accomplices; they had never left the assembly hall for even half a step.
Tang Yin stood by the window, moonlight casting mottled shadows on his face through the window lattice. He turned to face the others, his eyes sharp: "...Are you suggesting someone killed two people in a matter of minutes, then cleaned up the blood, changed clothes, and immediately returned among you?"
Wang Lina shook her head, her delicate little face particularly pale with fear: "Impossible, right? Something like that." She unconsciously twisted her fingers, trembling slightly.
Tang Yin's gaze swept across the face of everyone present: "Could you see each other during the search?"
Hualu lowered her eyes, her white shrine maiden robes particularly striking in the dim light: "No, we split up..."
"Let's go back to the assembly hall first," Tang Yin said in a deep voice.
The group walked through the moonlit courtyard towards the assembly hall. Qian Jin still stood dutifully at the door, his weathered face filled with fatigue. According to him, no one except the deceased and the search party had left the assembly hall.
This fact made the case even more confusing—the killer had to be among Tang Yin and the search party.
Tang Yin insisted on his alibi of being in the room at the time, and although the others were skeptical, they eventually grudgingly accepted it.
Zhao Gang stood in a corner, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Tang Yin. Clearly, compared to the others, Tang Yin's alibi seemed weak. Suspecting him as the killer was reasonable, but that was not the case.
After careful reasoning, Tang Yin arrived at the only possibility. He took a deep breath and said, "...They died after leaving the assembly hall; someone else hid the murder weapon."
Zhao Gang sneered, his voice laced with sarcasm: "Only you could have done that, right?"
"Didn't I say he was in the room at the time!" Wang Lina suddenly raised her voice, her almond-shaped eyes flashing with determination.
Tang Yin maintained a calm expression: "I maintain my claim of innocence. Let's discuss their cause of death under that premise," he said in a steady and forceful voice.
Qin Ming pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a shimmering light: "...Your wording has been very careful since earlier, avoiding the word 'murder'."
"You noticed it too?" Tang Yin's lips curled slightly upward. "That's right. As it stands, it's also possible that it was suicide, death from illness, or poisoning, followed by damaging the corpses and hiding the murder weapon."
Qian Jin suddenly stood up, his burly figure casting a shadow in the light: "What good would that do us!" He pointed at Tang Yin, his eyes red and agitated. "And if Wang Lina is your accomplice, this matter would be simple, right?"
The air seemed to freeze in an instant. Moonlight streamed through the paper windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor. The atmosphere inside the assembly hall became even more tense, and everyone held their breath.
The air inside the assembly hall was stagnant and heavy. Tang Yin slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing: "What good would that do us?" His voice was calm and composed, like a bottomless pool of stagnant water.
Qian Jin snorted coldly, a sinister glint flashing across his wrinkled face: "Hmph, who knows... Maybe you've known each other for a long time."
Wang Lina suddenly stood up, her light purple dress swaying slightly in the dim light: "Uh... don't talk nonsense, and even if we did, so what?" There was a hint of panic in her voice.
Qian Jin narrowed his eyes, a chilling smile appearing on his face: "Using the villagers' faith to pretend monsters are killing people for fun, is there a possibility of that?"
"—Stop talking. Even if it's just a guess, there should be limits!" Qin Ming suddenly interrupted Qian Jin, pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses, the gaze behind the lenses full of warning.
Granny Rong stood up shakily, her faded gray cloth gown appearing particularly old in the moonlight: "Stop it, Qian Jin...!"
Then, Granny Rong walked out of the assembly hall with faltering steps. Gao Mei, Xiao Mie, and Chen Xiang were still sitting inside, their figures appearing particularly lonely in the dim light. At this moment, excluding Tang Yin, only nine banquet participants remained alive.
Granny Rong stood in the moonlight, her wrinkled face filled with worry: "...No matter who killed Xiao Liang and Grandpa, they violated the rules," her voice was hoarse and weak. Then, she raised her hands covered in age spots: "Qianming God will surely execute the pollution."
After saying this, she clasped her hands together and bowed deeply towards the peak of Qianming Mountain, opposite to the Shinigami River Valley. The night breeze gently brushed her gray hair, bringing a hint of coolness.
Strangely, this action seemed to possess some kind of mystical power, and the tense atmosphere instantly calmed down. Hualu also clasped her hands together, her pure white shrine maiden robes radiating a soft halo in the moonlight. Xiao Mie, who had just come out, also imitated everyone else, making the same gesture.
This was the unique solution of this isolated mountain village—to leave all disputes to that existence beyond mortals to adjudicate.
Zhao Gang frowned, his young face filled with confusion: "...Granny, what about today's situation?"
"One more person's blood has been shed..." Granny Rong sighed. "Grandpa is also dead. The banquet is over. Let's clean up," her voice filled with helplessness and fatigue.
"I understand. Qin Ming, come help," Zhao Gang said, turning to the young man with glasses.
Tang Yin took a step forward: "What about me?"
Zhao Gang gave him a cold look: "Just stay here honestly."
Seeing that the worst had happened, the pitch-black night grew even darker. The crowd hurriedly returned to their respective rooms and began to perform Monoimi.
When Tang Yin returned to room 203, an unsettling discovery made his pupils contract slightly—the window had been nailed shut with thick nails. The fresh nail marks on the wooden window still carried a faint scent of wood shavings.
At this moment, Zhao Gang's earlier words suddenly echoed in his ears: "If you're really not the killer, even if we lock you up here, something will still happen, right?"
This instead gave him a sense of relief—at least Zhao Gang hadn't completely dismissed his innocence. The night outside the window deepened, the shadows of the trees swaying, like the whispering spirits in the dark night.
Perhaps it was because he had entrusted this strange event to the mountain god for judgment that Zhao Gang was able to remain so calm. Or perhaps he had completely accepted the possibility of a supernatural existence. Tang Yin touched his chin, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
But one thing was certain: Zhao Gang was slowly giving up independent thought. This attitude was undoubtedly dangerous.
"Is Wolf Grandfather really a wolf?" Tang Yin muttered to himself. This possibility couldn't be ruled out. His gaze fell on a shadow in the corner of the room, as if some answer was hidden there.
The worst-case scenario was that the wolf faction hadn't suffered a single loss so far. Among the nine people still alive, there were likely two wolves in human skin hidden. Tang Yin closed his eyes and began to sort through the information in his mind.
Excluding Qian Jin, Zhao Gang, and Xiao Mie, whose identities were already confirmed, the remaining six were all suspects. He remembered that at his suggestion, Wang Lina had asked the Monkey to reveal their identity. Tong Xiaoliang and Xiao Mie should be the legendary Monkeys.
Thinking of this, Tang Yin felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. It was a pity that Xiaoliang was dead, which was not only a major loss for the human faction but also meant that he had one less person from Hidden Mist Village to communicate with.
Recalling the bits and pieces of Xiaoliang's life, Tang Yin couldn't help but smile wryly. In a traditional place like Hidden Mist Village, Xiaoliang was undoubtedly an oddity. It was this uniqueness that made Tang Yin find him particularly interesting. He never expected that such a vibrant life would disappear so inexplicably.
"I will definitely get justice for you," Tang Yin vowed in his heart, his eyes becoming firm and sharp.
Taking a deep breath, he continued to clear his thoughts. Zhao Gang's target for inspection today was Xiao Mei, who was behaving suspiciously. By tomorrow, there would only be five suspects left. The probability of catching a wolf was two out of five, which was a decent chance.
Tang Yin stood up and paced back and forth in the room. The killer who was committing murder every night couldn't possibly leave no trace at all. Ordinary people's psychological endurance was limited, and they would definitely reveal flaws. Moreover, if he could identify who the wolf was, he might be able to force them to confess information about their accomplice.
But this was just the most optimistic expectation. If he thought about the worst-case scenario, the current situation was simply terrible. According to the normal rules of the Yellow Springs Banquet of忌, one person should die during the day and one person at night. But this time, four people had died at once; it was like activating double speed mode.
Gao Mei had almost lost her life, and Chen Xiang's mental state was also in critical condition. Even worse, the relationship between these two seemed to be deteriorating. Tang Yin rubbed his temples, recalling Chen Xiang's weak physical condition. Due to the chaos in the afternoon, everyone hadn't even had a decent meal.
"Hunger will only make the situation worse," Tang Yin muttered to himself, watching the sky outside the window gradually brighten. "I have to find a way to make a meal tomorrow, no matter what."
"Even if you act with the utmost caution, you can't guarantee that nothing will happen," he muttered to himself, his eyes slightly gloomy. What worried him the most was that if someone took a risk in desperation, willing to endure pollution to kill a suspected wolf, the consequences would be unimaginable.
If luck was bad and all the dead were humans, while the wolf faction was unharmed, then by tomorrow or the day after, the human faction would be completely annihilated. Thinking of this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Tang Yin's forehead.
Suddenly, a bold idea flashed through his mind—escape!
This idea had begun to sprout in his mind since daytime. Although the mountain road had collapsed, he could choose to cross the primeval forest. Although it was dangerous there, at least there was no threat of supernatural power. As long as he was cautious enough, he might really find a way out.
Tang Yin's gaze turned to the continuous mountains outside the window, where another route was hidden—the Shinigami River Valley. Although the villagers were secretive about this road, in the current situation, it might be the safest choice.
He stood up and walked to the window. Climbing down the cliff now was indeed dangerous, but the Shinigami River Valley route had no forks, so he didn't have to worry about getting lost. As long as he was careful not to be swept away by the rushing stream, it was better than waiting for death.
However, a new worry surfaced in his mind. Simply suggesting escape could bring fatal danger. According to Hualu, only those who violated the rules would be polluted. Although they could avoid being polluted by committing suicide, the act of letting others escape itself might have already violated the rules.
"Directly proposing escape is definitely not a wise move," Tang Yin frowned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the stubble on his chin.
More importantly, there was one more thing that kept him restless—there was likely some kind of monster in this village. A terrifying existence that nested in Hidden Mist Village and specialized in cruel killings.
Qin Yi's tragic death was the best proof, and he didn't even leave behind a complete corpse. The superstitions circulating here were clearly not groundless, and he had to take the hidden dangers seriously. And his escape plan completely ignored this point.
"How should I deal with it?" Tang Yin muttered to himself, his gaze falling on the dim oil lamp in the corner of the room. Perhaps he could only hope that the folk tales of Baifeng Village contained more useful information, such as the wolf god's weaknesses or clues to reveal the truth.
He suddenly remembered the clapping song that Wang Lina and the others had sung before, the lyrics of which clearly told the story of the Yellow Springs Banquet of忌. Although he couldn't remember all of it now, those fragmented lyrics did contain a lot of information.
The night deepened, and the light and shadow of the oil lamp flickered on the wall. Tang Yin's eyes became firm. Perhaps the key to unraveling the truth of this banquet was hidden in the ancient culture and customs of Hidden Mist Village.
It was certainly necessary to ask Hualu about the elders and the unique prayer methods of Baifeng Village.
Tang Yin felt that he had to obtain new information before noon tomorrow.
Moreover, he had to ensure that the banquet proceeded smoothly, as this was the only way to survive.
...As for today's banquet...
The person chosen was Wolf Grandfather, and no matter what Tang Yin thought, the reason was that he was the least valuable.
Logically speaking, excluding the least valuable people did have a certain degree of importance,
However, six people had already died, and they could no longer kill based on suspicion as a criterion.
Even yesterday, no one had been executed for such a reason,
...Although execution was an unavoidable choice, if this trend of killing based solely on suspicion continued to spread, it would truly spiral out of control.