‘Lose face but not dignity.’ Faced with a direct blow, Su Er rationally maintained a smile.
Everyone set their wine glasses down one after another. The food on the table was mostly seafood, a mix of raw and cooked dishes. The staff were the first to start eating.
A row of water ghosts were the exception. They didn’t move at all, sitting like puppets, silently in place, their red eyes staring straight at Su Er.
“What a delightful evening,” said Mister Rose, his wine glass already empty. Standing at the head of the table, he smiled warmly at all the players. “The only regret is that two days have passed, and none of the guests have discovered the location of the altar.”
Man Jiangshan and Lu Quanqiu’s eyes flickered slightly, then they forced their expressions under control. They didn’t know that the altar they’d found was fake—like dragons guarding treasure, they were being careful not to attract attention.
“To help you all make progress, we’ll play a little game later,” Mister Rose said. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he clapped his hands dramatically. “Ah, how forgetful of me—tonight’s prize is quite generous. It includes a chance to switch partners.”
There was a two-second silence in the dining room. The players instinctively looked toward the judges.
No one wanted to be partnered with a ghost.
Qu Qingming, on the other hand, looked faintly relieved, as though she could hardly wait.
What superb acting!
Su Er thought to himself. It was nearly impossible to detect anything suspicious in her behavior or demeanor.
The cameraman stood up again, hoisting the equipment back onto his shoulder to resume filming.
Once they’d found a good angle, Mister Rose produced a bamboo tube and shook it twice, producing a rattling sound.
He didn’t explain what was inside—just asked, “Who wants to draw first?”
Su Er thought for a moment, then stood up to volunteer.
Mister Rose smiled and held the bamboo tube out to him.
Su Er: “Is it all up to luck?”
Mister Rose: “Deceit is not a gentleman’s virtue.”
The host never lied—Su Er had learned this in the beginner round. Without further hesitation, he pulled out a stick.
Lu Quanqiu, who was sitting nearby, glimpsed a few characters on it: “Truth or Dare?”
Su Er shook his head and read the full message aloud: “You tell the truth. I do the dare.”
“Nice luck,” Mister Rose said as he took back the stick. “If you're lucky, you might clear the game in one go.”
Su Er didn’t show any joy at that—high reward meant high risk. That rule applied everywhere.
Mister Rose went on to explain, confirming Su Er’s concerns: “The rules are simple. After completing your dare, you may ask one question to any of the staff—including me. If they know the answer, they must answer truthfully.”
Su Er now understood what ‘clearing in one go’ really meant. If he asked Mister Rose, he could likely learn where the real altar was. But completing the dare would almost certainly be a death trap.
“No need to worry too much,” Mister Rose explained calmly. “Each dare has been thoroughly tested. Their difficulty varies, but none are impossible.”
After a few seconds of independent thought, Su Er asked, “The lower the difficulty, the less valuable the intel?”
Mister Rose nodded.
Su Er’s gaze slowly swept across the staff members. He estimated the difficulty level like this: Ordinary Staff < Judges < Host.
“Do I have to complete the dare first?”
Mister Rose: “Of course.”
A thought struck Su Er: “If I ask a question the chosen person doesn’t know, does that mean the dare was for nothing?”
“Yes.”
Knowing it was unlikely, Su Er still asked, “Can I first—”
Mister Rose cut him off, knowing exactly what he was about to say: “The scope of their knowledge will not be revealed.”
After a pause, he added, “But I know everything.”
In other words, if Su Er dared to ask, the host could definitely answer.
Su Er glanced at Ji Heng. The latter shook his head, signaling not to choose Mister Rose.
Su Er agreed. The dare the host would assign would definitely be hell-level difficulty. The ordinary staff might be easier to deal with, but they probably wouldn’t know anything of value.
After weighing his options, Su Er began focusing on the four judges.
The frail-looking judge shyly raised her hand. “I… I actually know quite a bit.”
Su Er immediately ruled her out, along with the rugged, dark-skinned man in animal pelts.
Mister Rose smiled: “Great rewards come with great risks.”
Su Er shamelessly replied, “I’m not after great rewards—just stability.”
With that, he walked over to the blonde woman, wine glass in hand.
Blonde Woman: “You’re picking me?”
Su Er nodded. “Everything I said that night by the sea came from the heart.”
He gently clinked glasses with her, then recited the cringe-worthy love poem again.
A deeply affectionate suitor stood before her—even if it was an act, it was enough to lift one's mood. The blonde woman took off her sunglasses, revealing two bloody sockets where her eyes used to be.
“Guess why my eyes ended up like this?”
Su Er: “Because love is blind?”
Her fingers tightened around the arm of her sunglasses. With seething hatred, she said, “I was tricked by a man. He had a fetish for collecting eyeballs. He drugged me and gouged out both of mine.”
Su Er frowned. “You want to get your eyes back?”
“Having eyes but failing to see a scumbag is my fault,” she said as she put the sunglasses back on. “What I want is for you to find that man—and kill him again.”
Su Er’s attitude changed instantly: “Where is he now? Do I need to go out to sea?”
The sound of a wine glass shattering rang out. Catching Mister Rose’s expression from the corner of his eye, Su Er wisely shut his mouth.
The blonde woman tilted her head. She had no eyes, yet it felt as if she were staring right through him. “That deceitful bastard… he’s hiding right here on this island.”
“What happens if I can’t find him?”
The blonde woman revealed a cruel smile: “You have one hour. Fail, and you’ll lose both your eyes.”
The difficulty of this dare was obvious. The time limit was only one part; the real challenge lay in her emphasis on “kill him again.” One possibility was that the heartless man was already dead—meaning Su Er had to find a ghost. And even if he could find him, he’d have to defeat a ghost in direct combat.
The blonde woman pulled out a pocket watch and impatiently began the countdown.
Su Er stood up unhurriedly, but instead of heading outside, he first walked toward the blonde woman’s room.
“The most dangerous place is the safest place…” Qu Qingming rubbed the rim of his glass. “A bold yet reasonable deduction.”
The blonde woman sneered coldly, “Pointless.”
The judges’ guest rooms were far larger than the players’, and there were no mirrors inside—understandable, since the blonde woman wouldn’t need them.
Su Er looked around and found only a single ring under the pillow, with the word “Eternity” engraved on the inside. He didn’t dare to use the eye inside his body lightly—worried it might again become uncontrollable. With a room full of ghosts outside, seeing too much in one go could cause serious harm.
He tried drawing in a few breaths; the yin energy in the room was evenly distributed, proving the room was indeed unoccupied.
Before leaving, Su Er took the ring.
Seeing that he’d come back empty-handed, the blonde woman wasn’t surprised. The water ghosts seated in a row wore undisguised gloating expressions—one even gestured, indicating that a quarter of an hour had already passed.
Without a word, Su Er walked out of the villa.
Twenty minutes later, he returned again, expression notably grim.
Just as everyone assumed his trip had been in vain, Su Er suddenly turned to the blonde woman. “I found him.”
The blonde woman showed a flicker of excitement, but quickly calmed herself. “Where?”
Su Er: “I’ll take you there. That way, everyone’s reassured.”
If he killed the ghost and she refused to acknowledge it, claiming there was no proof—it’d be a major loss.
The blonde woman followed Su Er out. The atmosphere at the dining table turned a bit odd.
Lu Quanqiu drained his glass of wine and sighed, “Impressive!”
To find someone so precisely on such a large island...
“His strategy’s also pretty clever,” Man Jiangshan remarked.
Facing it alone would’ve been tough, but if he could rile up the blonde woman and use her to do the job, it became much easier.
The dark-skinned man in animal skins sneered: “That woman will just threaten the heartless man into killing the player, then turn around and kill the man—two birds with one stone.”
Only judges truly understood judges. Hearing that, Man Jiangshan’s expression darkened... It seemed this “dare” was just a trap. That thought made him glance instinctively at Ji Heng. They were on the same team—was Ji Heng really going to stand by and do nothing, just waiting for bad news?
But Ji Heng hadn’t reacted at all. His attention was on something else entirely: Su Er’s plate now had only a fork left—somehow, the small knife for cutting steak had gone missing.
Tick.
Tick.
The blonde woman had left the pocket watch behind. With every move of the second hand, the soft sound seemed to echo louder and louder in everyone’s ears.
Mister Rose shook the bamboo tube. “Anyone else want to draw a lot?”
After what happened to Su Er, no player was eager to be the next guinea pig.
Mister Rose’s gaze landed on Ji Heng. “Worried about your crush?”
Ji Heng nodded calmly. “A little.”
Mister Rose picked up the pocket watch. “What’s happening over there must be quite the show.” He chuckled. “Fortunately, the cameraman followed them. The footage will capture all the precious moments.”
Ji Heng suddenly looked up, his expression finally changing. “Why wait for the cameraman?”
His tone was playful and mocking—it wasn’t clear whether his sarcasm was aimed at the game or the host’s comment. “I can more or less guess what’s happening.”
He stood up abruptly and looked at Qu Qingming. “Mind helping me out?”
Qu Qingming blinked. “Help how?”
Ji Heng: “I’ll play Su Er. You play the judge.”
Mister Rose pulled up a chair and sat down, ready to enjoy the show.
Seeing the host wasn’t stopping them, Qu Qingming hesitated briefly, then nodded and joined Ji Heng in an open area.
“In a silent forest, we’re walking side by side…” Ji Heng quickly immersed himself in the role, beginning in a narrative tone. “We’ve been walking for a long time without seeing a single ghost. Then you say…”
Qu Qingming reacted fast and feigned annoyance: “Where is that man?”
Ji Heng countered: “Do you love him?”
Qu Qingming shook his head reflexively.
Ji Heng: “Then do you hate him?”
Qu Qingming, channeling the blonde woman’s emotions, nodded.
“Love and hate are the strongest emotions,” Ji Heng said—and then, without warning, grabbed a steak knife and pressed it to Qu Qingming’s chest, the blade’s tip about to pierce in.
Qu Qingming flinched in fright, breath catching.
Ji Heng: “In reality, the judge wouldn’t be this easy to deal with. At this point, Su Er would probably use some kind of tool—then strike while off-guard.”
Qu Qingming’s eyes widened.
Imitating Su Er’s tone, Ji Heng said, “I don’t know where that heartless bastard is, but he’s clearly still in your heart. If I pierce through it, it’s the same as killing him again.”
“…” Qu Qingming swallowed hard, struggling to stay in character. “If I die, all your effort is wasted.”
“No problem,” Ji Heng replied breezily. “If I can’t solve the problem, I’ll solve the person who raised it. Of course, if you admit now that I’ve completed the dare and answer one of my questions, then we can change the ending.”
Qu Qingming’s lips trembled, unable to get a word out.
Silence blanketed the room.
Ji Heng set down the knife and returned to his seat, looking at Mister Rose. “If everything went as I suspect, given Su Er’s vindictive nature, when he returns, he’ll probably borrow your opening line from before dinner…What a delightful evening.”
In the pin-drop silence that followed, the main doors suddenly opened.
Bathed in moonlight, Su Er stepped through the entrance. With a pure, unblemished smile, he approached the others, paused, and spread his arms slightly: “What a delightful evening!”
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