Chapter 78 A Murder at the Dining Table

Having made do with a night’s sleep on the sofa, Wujue was awakened by a charming maid, urging him to come out for breakfast.

By now, most people in the inn were already up. Xiao Han had also risen, and everyone was seated at several different tables, beginning their meal. Xiao Yang explained to Wujue with a smile, “We have a tradition here—everyone must have breakfast together every day. Of course, it’s really just for the lively atmosphere.”

Taking his seat, Wujue found the spread to be quite sumptuous: various breads, roasted meats, stir-fried noodles, and pastries. It seemed the food here wasn’t bad at all.

Pointing to a sweet-faced boy, Xiao Yang said, “That’s our inn’s chef. He was once an apprentice at a five-star hotel—his skills are exceptional.”

The chef sat down and smiled modestly, “Not at all, these are simple dishes, nothing difficult.”

Xiao Han tasted a spoonful of Russell soup and exclaimed, “This is delicious.”

Lily, one of the twin sisters nearby, laughed, “Just look at you—digging in without so much as a greeting?”

Xiao Han retorted, “Are we supposed to act like foreigners and pray first?”

The innkeeper said, “If you have faith in that, we respect it.”

Xiao Han brandished his knife and fork, “Forget it, let me fill my belly first. After a night hooked up to an IV, I’m starving.”

He had just cut a piece of ham and stuffed it into his mouth when, with a sudden thud, someone collapsed face-first onto the table, giving everyone a shock.

Wujue glanced up. It was the chef whom Xiao Yang had just introduced. Something was clearly wrong.

Someone nudged the chef, “Hey, wake up! What’s going on? Don’t scare us.”

After a couple of shakes, the chef slid to the floor, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.

A death had occurred.

Wujue immediately realized something was wrong. He rushed to the chef’s side and checked for breath—barely detectable. The heart had stopped, the pupils were narrowing. It looked like poisoning.

To succumb so quickly, it must have been a deadly toxin.

The food on the table became instantly suspect. Wujue leaned in and sniffed at the blood at the chef’s lips, then stood up. “Everyone, stop eating—he’s been poisoned.”

Xiao Yang hurried over, arriving at the same conclusion. He turned and said, “Looks like someone poisoned the chef. Everyone needs to be careful with their food.”

At this, Xiao Han quickly spat out his ham, alarmed. “Oh no, I’ve eaten a lot—am I poisoned too?”

Meimei shot him a glance. “If you were poisoned, you’d be done for already. Relax, you glutton.”

The rest quickly set down their utensils, casting anxious looks all around. The sudden death of the chef had cast a grim shadow over the once-peaceful place.

The innkeeper came out, flustered. “How is this possible? The chef was fine just now. Could he have been poisoned somewhere else?”

Wujue picked up the plate the chef had held. “He brought this from the kitchen. He must have eaten some already, and I recognize the scent. Xiao Yang, you’d better have this tested.”

Xiao Yang accepted the plate. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

Wujue then addressed the others, “It’s best not to touch anything on the table. Everyone, tell me what you did before coming to breakfast. I need to check the kitchen.”

Someone bristled, “You’re just a monk who arrived yesterday—why are you ordering everyone around? It’s just detective work, we all know the drill: establish alibis, protect the scene, right? Should we all wear white gloves too?”

Lily and Meimei, the twin sisters, laughed, “This is getting interesting—bickering among ourselves. We’re new here, so none of this concerns us. Can we go back to our rooms?”

The innkeeper said with a wry smile, “I’m afraid no one can leave the dining room until we get to the bottom of this. I worry there might be a traitor from the Heavenly Execution Clan among us.”

Xiao Han slammed the table. “Exactly! Those Heavenly Execution folks are the worst. Maybe this is their trick, trying to kill us all. If the food is poisoned, who dares eat? If we don’t eat, we’ll starve!”

Lily pulled him back to his seat. “Just be quiet. Eat if you must.”

Everyone now realized the gravity of the situation. Some whispered among themselves, but no one dared leave their seat.

The innkeeper signaled to Wujue, who, guided by a maid, headed for the kitchen. Even at the door, a familiar odor wafted out. Entering, he traced the scent to the bathtub.

He examined the tub closely. The faucet was running, flushing something away. A thin black thread squirmed, trying to escape from the drain.

It was a virus from the Heavenly Execution Clan, apparently having infested the chef and triggered his outburst in the dining room. The things being washed away were likely the remnants expelled from his body after the infection.

This was a new discovery. Wujue quickly grabbed a pair of chopsticks and fished out the black thread—a wormlike creature even thinner than an earthworm.

The maid who led the way shrieked and cowered at the door. Wujue calmly sealed the creature in a plastic bag.

He turned to the maid, “Hurry back to the dining room—something may happen.”

Sure enough, screams rang out from the dining room. It seemed the chef had mutated, perhaps becoming a zombie and attacking the others. Wujue didn’t know if Xiao Han could handle it.

He rushed back to the dining room. Before he could say a word, there was a bang—a body hit the floor. Lily stood with a smoking shotgun raised high, Meimei cowering behind her, terrified.

The unfortunate chef had his head blown off, finished for good.

Wujue was at a loss for words.

As Xiao Han later put it, “Decisive and bold—such a badass girl, you can’t help but love her.”

The innkeeper emerged at just the right moment, reassuring everyone, “It’s over, the danger’s passed. Now, please give me back the gun.”

He reached for the shotgun. Lily, trembling, quickly handed it over, then turned to Meimei and burst into tears. “I killed someone!”

Wujue stepped forward. “He had become a zombie. You didn’t kill a person, but destroyed the virus of the Heavenly Execution Clan lurking inside the chef. There’s no need to blame yourself.”

He then comforted the others, telling them not to be afraid, and began clearing up the aftermath.

Xiao Yang, hearing the commotion, came down to check. Upon seeing the scene, he sighed, “So it wasn’t just poisoning—he was infected. We must investigate the source.”

“Indeed. Any of us could mutate. Everyone should try to recall anything unusual from the past two days. By the way, where’s Xiao Han?”

Amid the confusion, they noticed Xiao Han was missing. Given the chaos, he should have helped, yet now he was nowhere to be found.

Wujue asked around, but no one could remember seeing him.

Someone said, “It got so chaotic, I didn’t notice where that young man went. No idea where he is.”

Wujue frowned. Was this a diversion, a ploy to lure them away so Xiao Han could be abducted?

Xiao Yang said, “I’ll seal off the exits and check the surveillance footage to see what happened.”

Wujue added, “Everyone, gather around and talk about anything unusual you’ve noticed recently.”

They assembled the remaining people and began recounting any anomalies from the past two days.

After comparing accounts, it turned out most had stayed inside the inn, only leaving for meals and leisure activities. The rest of the time, they were in their rooms.

Currently, the inn housed thirty or forty people, mostly internet enthusiasts. With no access to the web, they entertained themselves on the local network.

Some reported spending the nights playing cards or chatting online. Some, feeling bored, worked on new software projects. A few young women, embarrassed, admitted to chatting with friends about beauty routines, with some awkward confessions about discreet liaisons.

By the end, even Wujue felt a bit awkward. Thankfully, the innkeeper took over the questioning and spared him further embarrassment.

The twin sisters, now collected, said to Wujue, “Seems there’s plenty of trouble here. Maybe we should leave. Master, just say the word and we’ll cooperate with you from now on.”

Wujue smiled, “That wouldn’t be right. After all, we stayed here last night and received their help. We can’t just walk away. Besides, my friend is missing—I must find him.”

Meimei spoke up, “I was hesitant earlier, but I think I saw Xiao Han meet someone he knew and follow them to the second floor. It was too chaotic, so I can’t be sure.”

Wujue pulled her aside and asked quietly, “Think carefully—was the person who called Xiao Han away still here?”

Meimei glanced back and pointed to a maid. “I think it was her, but the maids all look alike—I can’t be sure.”

She wasn’t certain, but Wujue remembered there were only two maids in the inn. The one who had just gone with him to the kitchen was not the suspect, so the other must be the one Meimei mentioned.

Now there was a lead.

Wujue told Meimei to keep quiet and prepared to meet with Xiao Yang to check the surveillance footage.

Upstairs, he found Xiao Yang about to leave a room. Seeing Wujue, he asked, “What’s wrong—has something else happened?”

Wujue shook his head, signaling for Xiao Yang to return inside for a private talk.

Once the door was closed, Wujue whispered, “Something’s off. I think Xiao Han was abducted. I suspect a traitor is in the inn. Did you find anything in the surveillance footage?”

Xiao Yang shook his head. “That’s what’s strange—nothing turned up. Maybe you should take a look.”

He played the footage for Wujue, from the chef’s collapse to Xiao Yang and Wujue leaving the hall. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

But after the incident, Xiao Han was nowhere to be seen on the footage.

“That’s odd,” said Wujue. “It looks like Xiao Han just walked off by himself—wait, look at that maid.”

Following Meimei’s tip, Wujue scrutinized the suspicious maid’s movements. Her presence in certain frames was highly irregular.

Xiao Yang noticed it too, frowning, “The footage has been tampered with—spliced. Who could have hacked in?”

He checked the local network. After a search, he discovered that someone had hacked into the inn’s system just minutes earlier, deleted, and re-uploaded the relevant footage.

The IP address traced back to a room on the third floor.

Xiao Yang and Wujue exchanged a look, then dashed out and headed straight for the third floor.

Every second counted. If they could corner the suspect in their room, they might unmask the traitor.