There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

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Wang Tiezhu was a lone hunter who lived halfway up the mountain behind Osmanthus Village. This year, he turned twenty.

Since his family didn't cultivate land, his daily routine was to hunt in the mountains at dawn and return home only at dusk, eating game when available, and foraging wild vegetables to make do when he had no luck hunting.

In any case, he would never go hungry!

And that was exactly why Xu Shuo felt so hungry.

After all, Wang Tiezhu had not eaten all day.

The physical exertion of hunting in the mountains was immense, and at noon, he only had a flatbread to fill his stomach.

Unfortunately, today's hunting had not gone well; despite having run a great distance, Wang Tiezhu had managed to catch only a hare, and feeling as if his chest was stuck to his back from hunger, he immediately cooked a pot of stew upon returning home.

Xu Shuo didn't know if previous players had eaten this stew, but he certainly didn't want to.

At that moment, after hearing Xu Shuo's question, the young man who was on his third serving of porridge said awkwardly,

"Some people said they saw the murderer escape by climbing out of Old Li's window. From the figure seen, it seemed to be a strong young man, and he was holding a weapon in his hand. You're the one in our village who often goes hunting and definitely are strong… Plus, that knife looked like the firewood knife you use."

A firewood knife was indeed hanging on the kitchen wall.

It even had some grass juice and wood shavings on it. Wang Tiezhu's household tools were not many, and he would use this knife to clear the path when he entered the mountains.

The young man glanced at the knife and then said, "But obviously, you didn't commit this crime now. You were just cooking and the knife looks normal—in short, you definitely wouldn't have the time to go down and kill someone!"

But this logic was far too perfunctory.

Xu Shuo said indifferently, "It's not only my family in the village that has such a firewood knife, and I'm not the only strong man around."

So, it was just that everyone unanimously wanted to find a scapegoat to close the case quickly.

Or perhaps they thought since Wang Tiezhu lived alone and was vulnerable, it would be easier to throw all the blame on him.

The villagers showed an evasive and negligent attitude toward the murder case.

The young man knew all this too well; he had only come to check if Tiezhu was at home after being instructed by the village chief, and now he didn't know what to say, so he just continued to eat his porridge, chuckling.

Although it was a bit awkward, he was determined to keep eating his meaty porridge.

Just then, several footsteps sounded again outside the courtyard.

The leader was an elderly man around seventy years old, dressed in gray clothes. Despite his advanced age, his spirit seemed quite good, with occasional sharp glints piercing through his cloudy eyes.

Two middle-aged men walked beside him, supporting the old man as they entered the yard.

"Tiezhu is home cooking," the elder noted upon seeing the person in the kitchen.

When the young man saw the elder, he promptly straightened up and greeted with respect, "Village Chief, you've come!"

Xu Shuo sized up the village chief's steps, then nodded and said, "I've only just returned, and have cooked two pots of porridge. Would you like some porridge, Chief? There's half a rabbit in it."

The village chief took a seat on a bench by the kitchen door, waved his hand, and said with a laugh, "I didn't come here for food."

However, Xu Shuo had already served him a bowl of the stew with rabbit meat and, with a sincere look in his eyes, handed it over, "This rabbit I caught fresh today. Please have a taste, Chief."

Seeing this, the young man hurried to agree, "That's right, Chief, the rabbit meat is really tender!"

Village Chief: "..."

After the village chief refused twice and saw that he couldn't decline any further, he accepted the bowl and took a small sip.

Then, his expression stiffened slightly.

Gulp.

Under the hopeful gaze of the two young men, the village chief maintained his amiable smile and forcibly swallowed the porridge.

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He set down the bowl without a sound and said with a grin, "This meat is pretty tasty, hey Ergou, you head back first, I need to talk about some serious business with Tiezhu."

The young man called Ergou, although he still wanted to continue drinking porridge, reluctantly put down his bowl and left the yard with his head down and a brisk pace.

The village head then waved his hand at the two men who had been accompanying them, "You guys go outside and keep watch, I need to speak with Tiezhu alone."

The two middle-aged men withdrew without any objection.

Xu Shuo silently observed the relationship between them before turning his gaze to the village head.

The village head spoke with a warm smile, "This porridge seems to be lacking in flavor. If your home is running low on salt, you can come by my place and take some later, I still have plenty."

His face bore a smile, but his heart cursed silently.

Who hassles an old man like this, is this kid trying to test him on purpose?

Upon hearing this, Xu Shuo, with an honest-looking face, scratched his head and said, "Right, I am running low on salt at home, but it doesn't seem right to keep taking yours, I'll give you the remaining half of my rabbit instead."

The village head's face was a picture of kindness, "No need, no need, how could I take something from a child like you? You remind me of my grandson; just keep what I give you, that's enough!"

Xu Shuo's face showed gratitude, "That's great, my home is low on rice too, and we've run out of sweet potatoes, plus we're missing some vegetables."

The village head was stunned speechless, "..."

Then Xu Shuo skillfully redirected the conversation, "Village head, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Such a newbie just needs a little tease.

The village head suddenly snapped back to reality and said seriously, "Tiezhu, you know someone died down the mountain today, right?"

Xu Shuo nodded, "Ergou just came over and told me."

The village head continued, "Do you know that the villagers are saying it was you who killed the person and they want to take you out to take the blame? I only stopped them by sending Ergou up first to see if you were here."

Xu Shuo nodded again, "And then?"

The village head said, "I know the killer definitely isn't you; they just don't want to stir up trouble looking for the real killer, so they're pushing you out instead. But only by finding the real killer can you completely clear your name."

Xu Shuo looked at him with a bit of surprise, amazed at his frankness and wondering why he trusted Wang Tiezhu so much.

Had he not known that Wang Tiezhu was of the Wang Family lineage, he would have thought he was the village head's own grandson.

What's more important is—

He had already guessed that the village head was a player.

So the village head's eagerness in coming to him to pin the crime, could it be that the other party's quest was related to the killer?

Xu Shuo pondered, feeling like he was onto something.

He said with difficulty, "But I wasn't at the scene and don't know what actually happened. How am I supposed to find the killer?"

The village head looked outside the yard, "I guess that the killer won't just commit a crime once. When the time comes, we just need to catch him in the act. Those two uncles outside will help you too."

Xu Shuo nodded, "Right, do you already know any common traits of the victims?"

The village head was taken aback, "Not yet."

Xu Shuo nodded upon hearing this—so what are you talking about then?

You talk a good game, but when you get down to it, there's no substance, just a nonsense pursuit of the killer.

However, Xu Shuo also breathed a sigh of relief for having extricated himself from the whirlpool of suspects.

If Wang Tiezhu truly were the killer and if the player in front of him indeed had a main quest to pursue the killer, then he shouldn't be so certain that Wang Tiezhu was without any suspicion.

Unless he's absolutely oblivious.

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