Live Action Murder Mystery

Chapter 106

The dawn red clouds filled the entire sky, staining the white clouds with a reddish orange hue.

The winds picked up, the flowing clouds drifted and floated, and the colours on top of the clouds circulated along with it, as if there was a maiden with dexterous hands weaving brocade, changing its many patterns irregularly, while infusing it with brilliant lights and vibrant colours, before she spread it across the space between heaven and earth.

The towering range of mountains were vertically raised above the horizon, and the peaks of said mountains were hidden in the depths of the white clouds.

However, a number of vast halls could be faintly perceived.

If you look carefully, there was a seven-colour rainbow bridge that was constructed between the mountain ranges, thus becoming the miracle that linked the mountains together.

This expanse of scenery was like a celestial realm ensconced in the human world.

This was Qing Qiong Sect.

Qing Qiong, has always been the name of the first bona fide cultivation sect underneath the heavens, and was the place where countless cultivators aimed to go to.

• * *

At the present moment.

On the main peak of Qing Qiong, the back mountain.

There were several bamboo houses beside the waterfall.

Gu Liang was presently within one of the bamboo houses and he was cleaning up the room.

Tentatively speaking, he only knew that he was the main disciple of the Qing Qiong Sect’s Sect Leader, and he had to wait for his own Sect Leader Shizun to return. Hence, he had to tidy up his and the Sect Leader’s room.

Apart from the simple introduction about the character’s identity, the weapons he wielded, and the spells available to him, which were provided by the card, Gu Liang knew little about the plot.

The script only gave a word of reminder:”The span of the current script enactment is much longer, and several phases need to be acted out, players are asked to pay attention and immerse themselves. The system will issue the players the required plot at any given time, players are asked to pay attention and receive it in a timely manner, and to read it promptly.

“During critical points in time, the system will issue a reminder, please pay attention to the vibration of your cards.

“This is a repeated reminder, players must invest themselves in the plot and their character designs absolutely.”

Gu Liang was not particularly keen on investing himself in the plot.

He was wearing a white robe and his wig was slightly tight, which made him feel uncomfortable all over.

What was causing him the greatest amount of discomfort was the fact that his hair was tied into buns.

According to the system’s elaboration, he was a young boy who had just entered the sect not too long ago; in terms of rank and seniority, he was just a small child cultivator.

Consequently, his hairstyle resembled the buns that a cultivator child would have, and it was the kind of hairstyle where he had a bun on both sides of his head.

Gu Liang’s only worthy consolation was that he would not be acting as a disciple for a long time.

Because his shifu was going to die soon.

Once his shifu died, he would be taking his mantle and thus become the new Sect Leader.

When that time came around, he would be capable of accepting disciples too.

Gu Liang’s plot did not mention the cause of his shifu’s death for the time being.

After all, as a child cultivator who knew nothing, he was still unaware of what conspiracies and schemes were.

His script was somewhat abstruse in its writing as well: “Apart from the main peak of Qing Qiong, there are four separate veins, each with its own Peak Leader. You are aware that once your shifu returns, what awaits him is a dimensional net covering the Heavens and Earth. The four Peak Leaders have steeled their hearts, and are determined to make him die.

“Owing to the Muyun’s Peak Leader— by the name of [Earth Peak Leader], you were poisoned, and once you open your mouth to divulge the secret, you will die an immediate and sudden death.

“Hence, regardless of how much you want to warn your shifu that someone is trying kill him, not only are you rendered incapable of verbalising the secret, but you will die immediately as well once you open your mouth.

“Fortunately, there is a circumpolar constellation stone underneath the waterfall in the Main Peak’s mountain. The circumpolar constellation stone, with the north being the guide, can predict the future.

“You secretly went to the waterfall to inspect the circumpolar constellation stone, and learned that your shifu’s life was not at its end, and he might lose his life for the being, but he will have another chance to live. In the instant where he carries away everything and returns, perhaps destiny would be altered because of him.”

After some time, someone pushed open the door and entered.

— It was Yang Ye clad in a purple robe.

Good going, Gu Liang realised that his shifu, Qing Shizun, was actually being portrayed by Yang Ye?

Once Yang Ye caught sight of Gu Liang’s outfit, he immediately smirked and stretched his hand out to rub his head. “Oh, you’re my obedient disciple this time around?”

Gu Liang frowned and swatted his hand away.

Compared to Yang Ye’s relaxed expression, Gu Liang’s was rather strict.

Additionally, some worry and anxiety could be faintly perceived in the space of his brows.

Gu Liang looked at Yang Ye pointedly: “Still joking around? Do you know…”

The remaining words, Gu Liang did not say it out loud.

He originally wanted to ask Yang Ye if he knew that he was going to die because of the four other Peak Leaders soon.

However, Gu Liang had no way of asking that question.

In this scenario, the set-up was reasonable.

Perhaps, if he told Yang Ye, the person acting as Qing Shizun, that he was going to be murdered soon, he would really die a sudden death, as stated in the script.

On the other hand, Yang Ye seemed to understand something, and he caressed his head again. “It’s fine. Things will take a turn for the better.”

Having heard that, Gu Liang heaved a sigh.

Yang Ye did not explicitly state anything, but Gu Liang still managed to receive his hint.

It seems like while his shifu, Yang Ye/Qing Shizun, would die in the hands of the Peak Leaders in this scenario, Gu Liang’s comprehension of the circumpolar constellation stone’s prediction was not wrong either. Qing Shizun was bound to have another chance to live.

In a cultivation setting, it was highly likely seizing a body and being reborn was unavoidable.

And indeed, Yang Ye would be reborn; he had already seen it on the relevant plot on his card.

Therefore, it was apparent that he was not the deceased for the current case for the time being. Hence, Yang Ye set his heart at ease as well.

After entering the advanced scripts, the requirements for following the script and whatnot have already become increasingly strict. It was not good for Yang Ye to say anything, but he just needed to look at Gu Liang’s expression to know that he had arrived at a common understanding.

But there was one thing that Yang Ye did not tell Gu Liang.

— Which was that, even though he would be reborn, the fortunes do rise and fall, because he had to become Gu Liang’s disciple after he was reborn.

He felt like this set-up was a huge pit.

Therefore, he had to seize every moment to enjoy the dignity of being a shifu.

It was such a rare instance that Gu Liang’s character setting dictated that he was his disciple, and a soft and cute cultivator child disciple whose hair was tied up into buns at that.

The current Gu Liang Liang looked way too cute, and Yang Ye felt that he had to hold onto this rare opportunity tightly, and properly tease his little disciple Liang Liang.

Meanwhile, after putting his heart down, Gu Liang gave Yang Ye a few scrutinising looks.

Yang Ye was clad in a purple robe, and he sat down on the rosewood chair audibly.

Owing to the fact that he had served in the military, his back would always be uniformly straight no matter how casually he sat.

In this sort of background, having to wear contact lenses was a matter of course.

Hence, in a similarly rare feat, Yang Ye was not wearing glasses again.

Gu Liang was finally in the position to look at his peach blossom eyes that were filled with vigour, his tall and straight nose, and the slight upward curl of his lips.

As Yang Ye sat there, he was startlingly handsome with an elegant bearing, looking confident and without restraint.

His long hair was dragging along the ground but the smooth texture was excellent, and it made him look like a genuine immortal.

Yang Ye turned around, meeting Gu Liang’s gaze. “Liang Liang is looking at me?”

“You’re doing it again.” Gu Liang gave him a sidelong glance as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and calmly said, “For the next line, are you going to ask me, are you handsome or not?”

Yang Ye: “I won’t be asking you if I’m handsome this time around.”

Gu Liang: “Oh?”

“Is Ben xianjun eminent-looking?”

Gu Liang: “…………”

— You must have watched a lot of ancient xianxia shows?

Yang Ye laughed before he pretended to be serious as he said: “Oh right, we need to respect the character settings. Disciple, help me cut an apple.”

“……Sure.” Gu Liang raised an eyebrow briefly, but he still complied to Yang Ye’s orders, and went to cut an apple for him.

Once he was done paring the apple and cutting it into smaller chunks, Gu Liang fed them to Yang Ye piece by piece.

The entire act got into Yang Ye’s head, and he patted his leg. “Come and help your teacher massage his legs.”

Gu Liang’s back molars gritted together tightly and his eyes narrowed in response, but he still walked up to Yang Ye, kneeling beside him to help him massage his legs with his fists.

In the process, Gu Liang raised his head to glance at Yang Ye, and he kept feeling that his expression was really asking for a beating.

— His smiling expression belonged to the category of, “Don’t try and kick up a ruckus with me, we’re never breaking up either way”, and “Yes, I want to provoke you and I tease you, because I like seeing you being displeased at me, but you can’t bear to get rid of me; in fact, you still like me immensely”.

“Come, help your teacher knead his shoulders.”

Gu Liang was really angry oh, but he still maintained his smile as he rose to his feet to stand behind Yang Ye. Then, he placed his hands on his shoulders and kneaded it once, before he clenched it tightly, with force.

“Liang Liang, the strength you’re using isn’t quite enough.” Yang Ye did not mind it in a slightest.

Gu Liang curled his fists and punched him once. “Is it enough now?”

Upon feeling the amount of strength used, Yang Ye immediately understood that he could not bear to punch him. Hence, he aggravated him more by saying: “You’re pampered and delicate; that’s no different from light scratching. When we were on the bed back then—”

Gu Liang covered his mouth, not allowing him to speak further.

Subsequently, Gu Liang simply sat on the chair at the side, not uttering a single word as he wore a cold expression.

This tactic was the most effective against Yang Ye.

Once Gu Liang’s expression chilled and he stopped talking, Yang Ye became slightly flustered, knowing that he had to coax him as soon as possible.

“Hey, Liang Liang?”

“Liang Liang~”

“Do you want to eat apples? I’ll cut one for you?”

“Are your shoulders sore? I’ll help you massage them? Or should I massage your legs?”

However, Yang Ye could not play around with Gu Liang for long, because his card started vibrating.

Drumbeats travelled over from the main hall at the front mountain, signalling that the grand ceremony was going to begin.

And this grand ceremony would be overseen by Yang Ye.

Concurrently, the four peak leaders’ conspiracy would also succeed during this grand ceremony— which was getting rid of the Sect Leader, Qing Shizun.

According to the stipulations in the plot details, Gu Liang had to help his Shizun bind his hair, and tidy up his appearance as his disciple.

Gu Liang did as he was told.

Yang Ye was sitting in front of the bronze mirror and Gu Liang was standing behind him to help him brush his hair, when he caught a glimpse of their countenance in the mirror, and a small sense of absent-mindedness arose in the moment.

As a matter of fact, Gu Liang had never forgotten about the feeling that Scientist Li – who was also Butler Hao – gave him. If a person stayed in this game alone, they would lose themselves as time gradually wore on.

Firstly, thoroughly immersing themselves in the character, and treating themselves as the character in the plot, was the safest method to employ.

By doing so, they could avoid exposing a single speck of their real emotions and act realistically, and perhaps even a peak psychologist would have no way of differentiating the real you and the character, which meant that the probability of revealing as split seams would be greatly reduced.

Secondly, this game was becoming more and more realistic, and the time spent for the script enactment might become slower and longer, which would make it difficult for people to differentiate reality from illusion.

It was just like Qing Qiong Sect, a cultivation realm with buildings suspended in midair; this sort of fantastical setting was even more far-fetched from reality, but at the same time, every detail from a blade of grass to the trees were incredibly realistic, to the point where you are forced to believe that you were born and have lived in this kind of fantastical world.

Gu Liang felt like ever since he entered this game, he had been experiencing dream after dream.

The fortunate part was that Yang Ye was dreaming together with him.

In his moment of absent-mindedness, however, he caught sight of Yang Ye. It felt like he was being pulled back to reality, instead of having the sensation that he had lost his bearings.

“What’s the matter?” Yang Ye opened his mouth to ask after he saw Gu Liang’s distracted visage in the mirror.

“It’s nothing, just a little distracted.”

Truthfully speaking, as someone who had just been immersed in the character only to peel away from that distracted state, it was not completely wrong to say that he still felt a little disturbed inwardly.

When it came to the Shizun in front of him, Gu Liang did not know what he was doing outside despite being his disciple.

The only thing he knew was that Shizun had raised him for many years.

Although he did not let him handle any of Qing Qiong Sect’s affairs, and he barely taught him any cultivation methods or spells, he had saved him at least, and raised him. Thus, he still felt grateful for the fact that he had brought him up.

In the present moment, he was aware that his shifu was going to oversee that grand ceremony, and it might be the grand ceremony that would become his funeral and send him to the Yellow Springs.

And as he helped his shifu bind his hair and tidy up his attire and crown, it was like he was sending him to his death with a dignified appearance.

Contrary to all reason, his shifu seemed to be utterly oblivious; once his disciple helped him freshen up his appearance, he even praised him with a line: “Thanks for (your) trouble.”

* * *

Si shi, three quarters of an hour in.

As a young cultivator boy, Gu Liang watched Yang Ye, who was acting as Qing Shizun, leave.

According to the established script, he had to watch over the back mountain at all times, unable to leave. Hence, he was incapable of knowing what had occurred during that grand ceremony.

After seven minutes, Gu Liang walked out of the bamboo house and looked in the direction of the main palace hall in the front mountain.

He only saw four beams of different colours shoot up, coalescing in the sky to form an exceedingly strong light before it poured into the main hall suddenly. Above the main hall, the green bricks and glazed tiles flew up before they fell back down soon after, smashing into smithereens all across the floor.

Furthermore, that coalesced forces seemed to devastate, wither, dry, and rot, and it ruined the entire building.

The main hall was destroyed in an instant, and even the sturdy spiritual stones were crushed into powder.

Vaguely, Gu Liang could hear voices travelling over from that end. “Dead! Qing Shizun is finally dead!”

Gu Liang’s card started vibrating. It was instructing him to head towards the waterfall circumpolar constellation stone.

Keeping the card, Gu Liang turned around and headed for the waterfall with a slightly grave expression.

But before he could get close to the waterfall, he witnessed the entire area being shrouded with a golden light. Following closely, Gu Liang fainted, and lost all consciousness.

However, there was something Gu Liang could not get rid of at all inside his dream. It was those four rays of light.

He knew that it came from the four Peak Leader’s energies.

There were five types of spells among Qing Qiong’s spells— Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth.

The Main Peak linked the four veins, which also referred to the fact that Sect Leader who controlled the Main Peak, while the four Peak Leaders that represented the other four veins cultivated different kinds of spells respectively. For instance, Gu Liang and Yang Ye were on the Main Peak, and they cultivated water-based spells.

The other four veins were gold, wood, fire, and earth respectively.

Furthermore, the five types of spells were engendered to one another, and mutually restraining, and this formed a check and balance between the various veins in Qing Qiong.

This symbolised that, even if it was the Sect Leader, no one possessed the absolute power and authority to control Qing Qiong.

Not only did the Peak Leader cultivating the Earth path completely suppressed the Sect Leader’s water-based spells, but if the four people united their powers together, it was more than enough to kill the Sect Leader.

In this instance, with the Earth Peak Leader that cultivated in earth-based spells as a main force and the Peak Leaders of the other three veins acting as support, they joined hands to kill the Sect Leader.

And the person who poisoned Gu Liang, the young disciple, was also the leader of Muyun Peak, Earth Peak Leader.

* * *

In another turn, it was another hundred years.

The small cultivator child had grown into a cold immortal gentleman that was reserved with words and smiles, and under the bizarre endorsement of the four Peak Leaders, he became the succeeding Sect Leader of Qing Qiong. Presently, [Cold Immortal] had already been managing Qing Qiong’s Main Peak for a hundred years.

He accepted quite a few disciples as well, and he exerted himself to the limits of his ability to make Qing Qiong even stronger.

On this day, he was walking in front of the waterfall in the back mountain when a sword cut across the air towards him.

Gu Liang slanted his body to dodge it. A cascade of black hair slid past the sword, and some of it was sliced off.

Upon turning his head back, Gu Liang saw Yang Ye raising the sword.

Gu Liang smiled faintly, “What a great cycle of karma, you have to be my disciple this time around.”

The time in the script enactment had jumped over to this point.

But in reality, this was merely the second day the pair had been in this script.

A short beat later, Gu Liang yawned before he sat on the rock next to the waterfall indolently.

He raised his eyelids to gaze at Yang Ye, and learned from his expression and words yesterday.

However, it was evident that Gu Liang’s general expression was not as rich as Yang Ye, so it appeared slightly mechanical. “Come, disciple, help your teacher massage his legs.”

Yang Ye did not move in the moment because he was slightly taken aback.

— When Gu Liang was draped in black, and long and straight in form, he looked way too attractive.

The author has something to say:

For the sake of easy memorisation, the Peak Leaders of the four veins – gold, wood, fire, and earth – will be called Gold Peak Leader, Wood Peak Leader, so on and so forth~ They will officially appear in the next chapter~

This setting is slightly bigger by comparison, so this chapter has to spread out more bedding.

Hence, I will be revealing some of plot here: this scenario will touch on the riddle of five elements/phases being engendered to one another while mutually restraining; and a mystery concerning space-time and prophecy. (T/N: Kill me now. I will say, this arc almost made me not translate this novel xD)

Everyone can boldly guess what’s the use of the circumpolar constellation stone~

~

Translator’s Note: ‘首座’ (shou zuo) actually translate to either ‘abbot’ (in a religious context) or ‘first/head seat’, but it did not sound as formal or pleasant as Peak Leader, hence why I took some slight liberties…

(Or it might just be my love for SVSSS talking :’)