At least for now, he hadn't detected any flaws in their story.

These... he pursed his lips, must be the truth.

"What's their motive for doing this?" Chen Qiang asked, looking up.

Neither Jiang Cheng nor An Xuan answered this question, seemingly because they didn't know, or perhaps they knew but were unwilling to say.

In any case, Chen Qiang received no answer.

No one, including Fatty, suggested the simplest and seemingly most logical answer: money. After all, the Huang family was a wealthy household.

Robbery, by a group of traveling performers who made their living through street performances – this seemed like the most reasonable explanation to most people.

But only those who had been in close contact with people like Butler Zhou knew that it wouldn't be that difficult for them to obtain money if they really wanted to, given their cunning and skills.

Would they really spend so much time and energy, and take such a big risk, to do something like this?

No.

There must be other reasons involved.

"It's too stuffy in the room," An Xuan said suddenly.

Jiang Cheng nodded. "Let's go for a walk. I've had enough of this place too."

The strength that Jiang Cheng and An Xuan had demonstrated so far, as well as their analytical abilities regarding this mission, were unmatched by the others.

Naturally, no one objected to their suggestion.

Xia Meng was the same, her reaction even more decisive than Chen Qiang's.

But before leaving, they lit all the candles in the room and then closed the door.

The group walked slowly, eventually arriving at the lakeside. The moonlight was exceptionally beautiful tonight, with a solitary moon hanging in the sky.

There were no stars.

The cold lake surface was calm, and a full moon was reflected in the center of the lake.

This was the first time they had come out at night without being assigned a performance task. However, feeling the gentle night breeze blowing from the lake, there was even a hint of comfort.

Perhaps because it wasn't yet time, there was no fog visible on the lake, nor was there the ethereal, eerie sound of opera singing.

An Xuan stood on the shore, his gaze fixed on the lake. Jiang Cheng stood in the same posture as him. This place was not far from where You Qi's body had been found during the day, but now the body had disappeared.

All that remained was a low-lying area.

"Mr. Jiang," An Xuan suddenly said, turning his head. "It's getting late. Why don't you come to my room for a while?"

Chen Qiang didn't think much of it at first, but after clearly hearing the way An Xuan addressed him, his expression changed, and a feeling akin to relief began to develop in his eyes.

He had bet correctly.

Luckily, he hadn't boarded You Qi's ship.

These people... were indeed acquainted.

What he couldn't understand was why there seemed to be a subtle connection between this person who used the pseudonym Hao Shuai and An Xuan.

Jiang Cheng stared at the lake, not answering.

An Xuan smiled, not minding, and turned to look at Fatty, who was wearing a wary expression. After a moment, he said, "Brother Fatty, then I'll have to trouble you and me..."

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng suddenly interrupted, "you just stay with me."

Fatty first glanced at An Xuan, then blinked and looked at the doctor, replying without hesitation, "Got it."

Of course, he would listen to the doctor, but he couldn't understand why... the doctor seemed to be at odds with An Xuan.

Were they having some kind of conflict?

After a moment, Fatty suddenly remembered what the doctor had said before: it didn't matter whether Crimson existed or not, or even if Crimson was involved in this mission.

What mattered most was making An Xuan Zuo Qing, the night watchman, and Xia Meng's group believe that Crimson existed.

As long as Crimson didn't show himself, the subtle alliance between them wouldn't be broken. But now... You Qi was dead.

With the threat of Crimson gone, the remaining Chen Qiang, to put it bluntly, was not taken seriously by any of them – the doctor, An Xuan, or Xia Meng.

Chen Qiang was also a sensible person. He followed the example of the doctor and An Xuan, staring at the lake honestly, not interrupting or taking any sides.

He kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far from anyone.

He would only team up with those who could survive.

An Xuan turned his head and looked at Jiang Cheng for a few seconds, then his tone changed, filled with a hint of indifference. "Mr. Jiang, you have no right to make decisions for others."

Jiang Cheng withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Fatty, his eyes revealing something that Fatty couldn't understand.

"Since Brother Fatty appeared in the painting, it means that he is the chosen one." An Xuan continued, "Although I don't know why, tonight is our last chance. If we miss it, everyone will die."

"I will be the first," An Xuan said bluntly. "But what about him?" He pointed at Fatty and said, "Can you be sure that he won't be the second?"

"You've seen his face in the painting," An Xuan said coldly. "Is that the face of a living person?"

Listening to their conversation, Fatty became more and more confused, but he understood the last few sentences: he had appeared in that ghostly painting.

This news was like a bolt from the blue to him. He subconsciously looked at the doctor, but what chilled him to the bone was that the doctor didn't refute it, which was rare.

It seemed... it was true.

Fatty immediately thought of what had happened in the afternoon. The doctor had adamantly refused to let him see the painting, and Xia Meng and Chen Qiang's strange behavior... now had a reasonable explanation.

The doctor didn't want him to be in danger, that's why he said that.

Fatty might be a bit slow, but he wasn't stupid.

Taking one last look at the doctor, Fatty walked towards the room with the painting, An Xuan's room.

Standing in front of the painting, his body trembled involuntarily. He saw the little beggar again, but now she was a clean, smiling little maid.

The past and present seemed to converge at this moment.

The painter's brushwork was profound, and his control of character layout, light, and shadow was very precise. In front of him, the girl seemed to come alive again.

He subconsciously wanted to reach out and touch her face, but his gaze inadvertently fell on the face of the woman in the painting, and Fatty immediately woke up, unable to help but shiver.

The woman in the painting... no, it was a female ghost!

Her eyes were looking down, staring coldly at him, revealing undisguised resentment, as if... she was waiting for their meeting soon.

"Brother Fatty," An Xuan shifted his gaze from the painting and looked at him, continuing, "According to the instructions in the painting, you should be the key to solving the final problem."

"There are also records in ancient books, but they are relatively vague. The general meaning is that you obtained something." He paused, hinting, "Something a girl gave you, that thing can solve the threat of the ghost."

Looking at the maid in the painting, she was holding a plate in her hand, on which was covered a round object with a red veil.

"Could it be Butler Zhou's... head?" Xia Meng speculated. "We need to kill him, take his head, and give it to the ghost to clear the level."