Seeing the last sentence, a chill ran down Xu Qing’s and Lin Feng’s spines.
The two looked at each other and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
“Isn’t our main mission to find out who killed the Madam, and whom the Madam killed?”
With this diary, the main mission seemed half completed.
“This is a D-Rank dungeon. The mission won’t be this simple.”
If finding who killed the Madam was as simple as reading a diary, successfully completing half the main mission would be too easy.
“True. This diary is likely a red herring.”
“Let’s look around more. There should be other diaries nearby.”
The two began rummaging through the kitchen again.
On the other side, Shi Shu had already taken Xu Xingyuan to the rose garden.
While walking, Shi Shu suddenly tripped hard over nothing in the air, falling flat on his face.
“Shi Shu?” Xu Xingyuan was just about to go help him. “Are you okay?”
Before Xu Xingyuan could reach out, Shi Shu had already scrambled up from the ground, laughing towards the sky:
“Ahahaha!”
Listening to this barbell-like laughter, Xu Xingyuan silently stepped back a few paces, hugging Cat-Nian.
Is he… possessed?
“Xingyuan! Why are you standing there dazed? Come dig quickly!”
Shi Shu waved to Xu Xingyuan, kneeling on the ground first and digging at the soil with his hands, huffing and puffing.
Seeing him dig so enthusiastically, Xu Xingyuan hesitated for three seconds before finally walking over.
The two worked together to dig a pit that wasn’t too deep or shallow, and actually found a metal box at the bottom!
“By the way, Xingyuan, have I told you my glorious history?”
Xu Xingyuan nodded. “Indeed, you haven’t.”
Shi Shu got excited. Dusting the dirt off his hands, he began telling Xu Xingyuan about his experience clearing dungeons.
“My first dungeon. I was still a newbie then. Just as I was about to be killed by the Boss, in the nick of time! A banana peel suddenly appeared under my foot!”
Shi Shu put his hands on his hips, miming slipping on a banana peel.
“Thanks to the banana peel, I not only successfully dodged the Boss’s attack, but I also watched helplessly as the Boss crashed into the wall himself and fainted.”
Xu Xingyuan was dumbfounded, his mind filled with—That works too?
“While the Boss was unconscious, other players happened to arrive. They took the opportunity to kill the Boss, and we cleared the level smoothly.”
It was the first time Xu Xingyuan had heard of such a bizarre way to clear a level.
As Shi Shu spoke more excitedly, Xu Xingyuan also witnessed what it meant to be “some starve to death while others die of gluttony.”
“The most memorable one was my last dungeon.”
Shi Shu wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, hands on his hips again, with an expression of “Man, that exhausted me.”
“At that time, for some reason, I was super sleepy, so I just lay down in a corner.”
Shi Shu scratched the back of his head innocently.
“I closed my eyes, opened them again, and after waking up, I had inexplicably cleared the level.”
Later, he learned that he cleared it because he was matched with an Item Hunter.
Shi Shu had merely taken a nap, and the Item Hunter had killed the Boss.
He did nothing the entire time, cleared the level in a daze, and got a huge sum of points as a reward.
The world of humans is just this unfair.
Xu Xingyuan closed and opened his eyes, sat on a blood-colored bus, and arrived at the Monster Apartments.
Shi Shu closed and opened his eyes, did absolutely nothing, slept, and cleared the level.
“Afterwards, I learned that anywhere I trip on flat ground definitely hides something important!”
Shi Shu took out the metal box happily.
After prying it open, sure enough, a diary lay inside!
Xu Xingyuan didn’t let Shi Shu touch it. He took it out himself, held it in his palms, and opened the first page.
“Xingyuan! How could you just grab it? What if this is the Madam’s relic? What then?”
“Don’t talk,” Xu Xingyuan tugged Shi Shu’s sleeve. “Look carefully.”
Shi Shu leaned his head over and read the words in the diary with Xu Xingyuan.
Opening the first page, it read:
[Year XX, I got lucky and was chosen by the estate to become the gardener here.
Before coming, my mother warned me: speak less, do more; the Duke’s orders are everything.
At first, I indeed did as my mother said, diligently completing my tasks every day.
Until, I fell in love with the Madam.]
Shi Shu sucked in a breath of cold air. “Damn! What kind of melodramatic love story is this? A male servant falling in love with the Madam?”
Xu Xingyuan turned to the second page.
[I first saw the Madam in the rose garden.
The Duke said the Madam’s health was weak and almost never let her go out. This was also my first meeting with the Madam.
She was so beautiful. Just simply standing there, she was the most moving painting.
The Madam was very gentle, but always looked sorrowful.
The Duke happened to return, saw the Madam, and took her back.
From then on, the Madam never went out again.]
[The Duke loves the Madam very much.
As the estate’s business grew bigger and he became wealthier, he never sought other women.
Every time the Duke returned from outside, he would bring the Madam expensive jewelry and countless accessories.
I was envious, and also jealous.]
From here on, the diary suddenly had many blank pages.
Xu Xingyuan flipped through the diary faster. Only when he reached the two-thirds mark did he see handwriting again.
[I learned the Madam’s secret.
They (humans) and They (non-humans/objects) also learned the Madam’s secret.
From beginning to end, He knew this secret.]
Shi Shu couldn’t understand. Squinting at the words on the paper, he said awkwardly:
“What do I do? My head is so itchy. I feel like I’m growing a brain.”
They (human), They (non-human), and He.
“Xingyuan, can you understand this?”
Xu Xingyuan nodded, then shook his head.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions yet. Keep reading.”
Shi Shu leaned closer to Xu Xingyuan.
It’s definitely not because he was scared!
He just wanted to get closer to give Xu Xingyuan warmth.
And to protect Xu Xingyuan immediately if danger occurred!
In the process of getting closer, Shi Shu saw the cat in Xu Xingyuan’s arms.
“Sigh, it must be nice to be carried around by you, Xingyuan.”
Shi Shu sniffled and continued:
“Xingyuan, can I be your Talent?”
Xu Xingyuan was amused.
“I’m also very good at sleeping!” Shi Shu pointed at Cat-Nian, vying for favor. “Definitely better at sleeping than the black cat in your arms!”
Xu Xingyuan moved the diary toward Shi Shu, changing the subject.
“Look here. It’s the last entry.”
Hearing this, Shi Shu leaned over curiously, looking at the twisted handwriting full of hatred on the paper.
[Mad.
Everyone has gone mad.
They (humans), They (non-humans), and He.
Everyone’s head was cut off by a knife.
Turns out from the start, we were all madmen.
The Madam died.
I, killed the Madam with my own hands.]