Deep darkness descended upon the castle, stripping everyone of their vision. Zhang Yuanqing was astonished to find that the night wanderer's innate ability to penetrate darkness had vanished at this very moment. Before him, everything was pitch black—nothing visible. "Night" was not merely ordinary night; it was a forced seal that suppressed all skills, including passive abilities. Instinctively, he pressed himself against the wall, adopting a defensive stance, and reached for his inventory… only to realize that both the inventory and attribute interface were locked and could not be opened. He could only rely on luck—neither of us should die… he murmured to himself, almost saying "God bless us, Buddha protect us." Zhang Yuanqing wasn't afraid of death per se, but he believed that only if he himself remained alive could he ensure the case was solved. He trusted no one else. In the stillness of the darkness, time passed quietly. After a few minutes, the night began to lift, light poured in, and the vision gradually shifted from black to a clear azure, then to dawn. "Who died?" Zhang Yuanqing quickly scanned the surroundings. Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, Zhai Cai, Tianxia Guihuo... One after another, the faces of his teammates came into view. Finally, his gaze settled on the floor. Red Chicken Brother lay straight and motionless on the ground, rigid and lifeless, having died during the night. Had Red Chicken Brother passed away? Fortunately, in the midst of all this, the stone of worry in Zhang Yuanqing's heart finally fell. Not only was he relieved, but he even felt a sense of ease. At that moment, Zhai Cai and the others also noticed that Red Chicken Brother had fallen during the night, all expressing their relief with a look of "Good, good!" The sacrifice of Red Chicken Brother meant no deaths and zero losses. Zhai Cai hurried over, knelt down, and examined him carefully. To his relief, Red Chicken Brother had no wounds, his expression calm and peaceful, as though he had died content. "Good news—no casualties affecting the overall situation!" said the single-charge knight, then his face grew serious. "I believe the murderer of the castle's lord is not the witch, because the witch's method of killing is always instantaneous and forceful, whereas the lord has "Tai Xiang Gui Huo, the first to raise objections, said: 'Yá·Lans was consumed while unconscious or after death. If she had actually died as a result of the witch's retaliation, wouldn't that make sense?' The two exchanged glances. Zhai Cai furrowed her brows and turned to Zhang Yuanqing, 'What do you think?' "Having said that, he pushed open the door to Dong Fashi's room: 'Let's check what clues we can find inside.' The team members followed him in. The tables, chairs, and beds in the room conveyed a distinctly medieval simplicity. After a thorough search, they discovered a black wooden box, a letter written by Ya Lans to Dong Fashi, and a scroll inscribed with elaborate incantations. The letter's content matched Zhang Yuanqing's information—it was a plea for assistance. Zhang Yuanqing studied the scroll intently, his brows slowly furrowing. "It appears to be a spell array specifically designed for creating spiritual servants, different from traditional spiritual scrolls. This seems to be an ancient technique developed by spiritual practitioners based on the scroll's principles. I now understand why Dong Fashi has been so eager to secure the female witch sealed within the Lans family's lineage—the witch possesses exceptionally high spiritual sensitivity and a profoundly yin constitution, making her a naturally gifted, first-rate spiritual servant." Zhai Cai examined him closely. "You're not even a night-wanderer, so how do you know this is a spiritual scroll array?" "...Zhang Yuanqing remained calm: "Knowledge can be acquired; experience can be accumulated." As he said this, he handed the parchment over to Sun Miao-miao, adopting a professional demeanor as if inviting an expert assessment. "Indeed, this is an array diagram derived from the Ling Lu." Sun Miao-miao gave a formal evaluation. Zhang Yuanqing no longer wished to dwell on the array diagram and opened the wooden box. Inside lay a pen carved from ice, and according to the pen rest embedded at the base of the box, there should have been two such ice pens. One of the pens had disappeared. At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing heard a notification: 【Ping! Your character's exclusive skill has been activated!】 【Divination Pen: Enables divination; requires 60 points of credit to use once (non-public)] Character-exclusive skill... Zhang Yuanqing immediately recalled the character profile of Dong Fashi, a master of divination through the use of the divination pen. Additionally, he had previously noticed a note in Dong Fashi's profile: "Publicly available!" Since there is "public," there must also be "non-public." Indeed, the speculation has come true. "Hmm, a pen made of ice..." Sun Miaomiao stepped closer. "Does it have any item attributes?" Zhang Yuanqing picked up the pen, waited for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No item information." "Let me check." Sun Miaomiao took the ice pen, waited a few seconds, then with a slightly discouraged expression, placed it back in the box. "Indeed, no information at all. Then what's the use of this pen? Your room offers no clues whatsoever." At the same time, Zhai Cai's gaze suddenly sharpened. "Who says there are no clues? What about the other pen?" Tianxia Guihuo suddenly realized, speaking with urgency. "Do you remember the fatal wound on the castle's owner's chest? I mentioned then that the blood seemed diluted—its color was off, as if it had been mixed with water." Sun Miaomiao and Zhao Chenghuang instantly caught on. "The murderer is Dong Fashi?" Sun Miaomiao observed Zhang Yuanqing and reasoned, "The wound on the ancient castle's owner's chest was caused by the ice pen—the pen has since melted, which is why the blood in the chest appears diluted." Zhao Chenghuang nodded, "The castle's owner had written in his notes that Dong Tian-shi coveted the Lan's family's sacred secrets; he had both motive and opportunity." Everyone turned to Zhang Yuanqing. Unrefutable... After a moment of careful thought, Zhang Yuanqing realized that Dong indeed had both motive and capability, and now there was also physical evidence. It was hard to claim that Dong had no connection to the death of Ya Lan. At that moment, Zhai Cai remarked, "Yet the wound on the deceased's chest seems more consistent with a large blade or similar sharp instrument—something the ice pen could not have produced." The excitement of Tianxia Guihuo slightly diminished as he recalled, then nodded, "That's correct—the wound on the chest was caused by two different weapons. The ice pen has now been found, and there is no large blade in Dong's room. Therefore, there remains another suspect. "The suspect circle has narrowed down—good news," Zhang Yuanqing placed the ice pen back into the box and said, "Morrow, who enjoys eating organs, and Dong the mage, who covets the Lances' long-held taboos—once we find the owner of the great sword, the three perpetrators will be complete. It will be easier to identify the killer among just three than among six." He did not mention the spirit communication incident, as that information had to remain confidential. Information explicitly instructed not to be made public should remain buried within one's own knowledge—no hints, no subtle references. In high-difficulty scenarios, one must never overthink, for there is little room for error. Zhang Yuanqing had already treated the 'Castle Mystery' as a high-level quest. "Unfortunately, Red Chicken Brother has passed away, and we'll never be able to enter his room," Sun Miao-miao frowned, "With one suspect's clues missing, I wonder if it might affect the final determination of the killer." "First, locate your rooms and gather all the clues—let's make sure we don't have any more incidents like the foolish Fire Master." Zhai Cai instructed everyone to move quickly. As the group rushed out of the room, Zhai Cai was the first to reach his own room, spending ten points to open the door, then called out to his teammates, "My room is open." Zhang Yuanqing and the others hurried over and entered Daniel's family teacher's room. Passing through the foyer, they were immediately drawn to a long cross-shaped sword standing against the wall. The sword was about ten centimeters wide and 1.5 meters tall, with a pure silver hilt. "Hmm," Zhai Cai rubbed his nose, "so I'm the last suspect? Why would there be such a large sword in the family doctor's room?" He walked over to the wall and picked up the sword. Then, his expression paused, and instinctively, he turned back to look at Zhang Yuanqing. Their eyes met, and though neither spoke, they both understood without words. Zhai Cai then returned his gaze, speaking calmly, "How come this sword has no item information?" Sun Miaomiao, Zhao Chenghuang, and Tianxia Guihuo all touched the long cross-shaped sword, and indeed, like Dong's ice pen, no item information appeared. Tianxia Guihuo mused, "Is the sword, like the pen, merely serving as a piece of evidence?" "But what conflict exists between the household teacher Daniel and the castle's owner? Why would she be killed?" Unaware of Si Cai's role and ability, Zhang Yuanqing silently pondered, his eyes settling on the table by the window, saying, "There might be clues on the table." Dong's desk was bare, but Daniel's desk was piled high with papers made of flax and cotton, some even of precious vellum. Soon, the group found a letter among the papers: "Dear Mr. Daniel, I am Peter, the housekeeper of Lansheng Castle. Lycanthropes have recently appeared near the castle. Every full moon, we hear their howls. The following morning, servants are found eaten." "We've secured all the doors and windows, yet we still can't stop the werewolf. I suspect the werewolf is already among us in the castle, since none of the entrances have been breached. I've heard you're a renowned bounty hunter in the region, once a knight of the Church. I would like to ask you to eliminate the werewolf from the castle—The Lances family will offer you the most generous reward." This letter reveals a great deal of valuable information. "I appear to be the family physician, but in truth, I'm secretly hunting the werewolf..." Zhai Cai paused for a few seconds, her eyes brightening: "I see now! The creature that devoured the castle's lord's organs wasn't the giant fire mage—it was the werewolf hiding within the castle. I examined the lord's bedroom, which explains why there were no signs of intrusion—the killer wasn't the giant, but the werewolf." His thoughts were growing clearer: "The night the castle's owner died was a full moon. The werewolf had been watching her. On the same night, the Dong magician, who had long coveted the Lans family's taboos, also set his sights on her. The Dong magician first used his ice pen to stab the castle's owner to death. The blood scent drew the werewolf, who then devoured her internal organs... "But why would I have stabbed her with a sword then? That doesn't make sense. It seems like an accident. I was fighting the werewolf that night—could I have accidentally injured the castle's owner during the struggle?" "No, no—that doesn't add up. There are no signs of a struggle at the scene of death. The werewolf was calmly enjoying her dinner, consuming her organs." As soon as Zhai Cai's thoughts had begun to clarify, they suddenly became disordered again. The three members of the 'Heaven Returns to Fire' team also furrowed their brows. The overall course of events was now clear, yet many details remained unexplained. The werewolf had killed her, her lover had killed her, and the bounty hunter had also stabbed her. Who was the true murderer? Zhang Yuanqing thought deeply while speaking: "At least Monroe's suspicion can be ruled out. Among the six of us, Miao Miao is my daughter, Red Chicken Brother is the Big-Feet Monster, the Knight is a bounty hunter, and I am the Eastern mage... So who is the werewolf?" He looked at Zhao Chenghuang and Tianxia Guihuo, "One of you is the werewolf." Xiao Zhao and Huo Shi's Shame exchanged a glance; the latter nodded. "Our last suspect is among us. Let's continue searching for rooms. Once we find the werewolf's room, the clues will become clearer—perhaps we'll even be able to identify the culprit right away." The group discussed for a while, and before the "darkness" arrived, they quickly left Daniel's room to search for Tianxia Guihuo and Zhao Chenghuang's rooms. Not long after, Tianxia Guihuo found his own room at the end of the corridor. But his expression was unusually grave. Turning to the teammates who had arrived, he said solemnly, "We can't open it!" "Why can't we open it?" Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback. The world of fire remained silent, stepping aside to indicate that he himself would take the lead. Zhang Yuanqing, slightly puzzled, grasped the door handle and retrieved the item's information. [Name: Ordinary Door Handle] [Type: Metal Object] [Function: Anti-theft] [Description: The door lock of David's room, enchanted so that it must be opened personally by the owner.] [Note 1: To open this lock, 10 points of credit are required.] [Note 2: Only one room door can be opened per day; it is not yet the time to open this one.] "Damn..." Zhang Yuanqing's heart suddenly grew cold.