Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 341: The Secret of the Old Castle

Chapter 341: Chapter 341: The Secret of the Old Castle

"A pair of lunatics," the man with the baby face whispered to Xu Huo after the Ma Family Couple had left.

Xu Huo finished his breakfast without any fuss, said "Excuse me," and left the dining room.

He didn’t hurry outside to wander but instead spent some time in the corridor looking at the portrait of Rose Castle’s owner, He Pu.

Although the person in the painting wore European-style clothing, his features were close to Asian. The butler and servants of the castle were also all Asian, and the decorations inside bore traces of Huaxia feng shui.

The butler passed silently behind him. Xu Huo called out to him, "How long has Mr. He lived here?"

He had asked casually, but unexpectedly, the butler gave him a surprising answer: "Five years."

Xu Huo turned to scrutinize the expressionless butler thoughtfully and then asked, "Is Mr. He available to see me today?"

"I’m not sure about that," the butler replied, showing no interest in further conversation. He left quickly. Xu Huo had wanted to ask him to introduce the castle’s plants but was rejected; the butler said he would find a maid to guide him instead.

The other players had already started searching around inside and outside the castle. Xu Huo walked through the spacious corridor and headed straight for the third floor. However, he didn’t expect to be stopped at the stairs, right in front of the first door, by a stern-faced woman coming out of the adjacent room. Carrying a basket of clothes, she gave him a severe look, "The master doesn’t like strangers entering the third-floor rooms; guests are only allowed to move about on the first and second floors. Please leave the third floor immediately."

"I had already told all the guests this yesterday."

Xu Huo remained calm, "I arrived at midnight; you forgot to tell me about this."

The maid’s face turned pale with displeasure, and she pressed aggressively, "Even if no one reminded you, does that give a guest the right to enter the master’s rooms at will?"

"Wasn’t it said that the castle was open for visitors to look around?" Xu Huo replied, "And this room has a door painted with inferior paint; it probably doesn’t contain anything too valuable anyway. What’s the problem with taking a look?"

"You cannot on the third floor!" The woman moved closer to the door and, after sniffing the air, her face turned longer, "How could Mr. Dong have bought the wrong paint again? The castle hosts plenty of visitors looking for a free ride every month; is it really necessary to save this small amount of money? As a butler, he’s not even considering the owner’s reputation!"

Although she said this, she watched Xu Huo go downstairs before she hurried off to find Mr. Dong, the butler.

After descending to the second floor, Xu Huo went to the study at the end of the corridor. Just as he was about to enter, the man with the baby face and another man with a dark complexion came out.

The baby-faced man was talking to the dark-faced man, "... Looks pretty wealthy, but they don’t even clean the study. There are spider webs in every nook and cranny, disgusting!"

As the three of them crossed paths, the baby-faced man didn’t show a good expression, while the dark-faced man nodded at him.

After they passed by, Xu Huo stepped into the study.

The collection of books in the study could rival that of a small library, with the entire oval wall filled with bookshelves and several racks standing in the middle, all filled with books categorized and ordered, some of which had been shuffled through.

Probably for the guests to peruse, books related to the castle were all placed in a low cabinet near the entrance. They detailed the background of the castle’s construction, architectural style, and the names of its previous owners. The castle’s current owner was Mr. He, who purchased it fifteen years ago and was also given the title of Baron.

Xu Huo’s finger paused over the number fifteen, he put down the book and took out a photo album from the cabinet.

Apart from landscape pictures and photographs with celebrities, there was a photo at the beginning of each year of He Pu with Mr. Dong, the butler, standing in front of the castle, which continued until five years ago.

Five years ago coincided with the time when Rose Castle closed its doors to the public.

"Knock knock." The study door was rapped.

"Come in," Xu Huo put down the album and picked up a history book, strolling over to the window just in time to see Mr. Dong directing the servants to trim the garden maze’s hedges.

A young servant brought in some tea and desserts, and noticing Xu Huo’s gaze toward the maze, said, "Sir, are you interested in the garden maze? You might want to take a walk down there, but it’s best to view it from the outside. Just now, a few visitors went in and had to be led out by Mr. Dong."

Xu Huo sipped his tea, "Is the maze off-limits?"

"Not at all, it’s just so large. There was a worker who fainted from injury and it took two days to find him; it almost ended badly. Since then, Mr. Dong has only allowed the outer walls to be trimmed," said the servant. "If Sir wishes to enter, I need to inform Mr. Dong in advance, for only he knows the paths inside."

Xu Huo nodded and then asked, "Why are there so many spiders in the castle? Is there some significance to it?"

The servant suppressed a smile, "The spiders in the castle were reared by the former master. After he fell ill, he lost interest in them and didn’t care for them as much. Yet, they don’t harm people, and where there are spiders, fewer other bugs are found. We’ve all gotten used to it."

"I noticed that the female butler doesn’t seem too fond of them," Xu Huo said.

"The female butler?" The servant looked surprised, then came to a realization, "You must mean Hu Shan."

"There’s only one butler in Rose Castle, and that’s Mr. Dong. Hu Shan is Mr. He’s personal maid, who has been in charge of his diet and daily routine since he fell ill. That’s why she... tend to be quite strict," the young maid said shyly.

"I see," Xu Huo reflected. "She’s essentially like a female butler then."

Having said that, he sighed again toward the garden maze outside, "Such a beautiful castle must have attracted many visitors in the past."

The young servant, with a proud expression, pulled out an album from the drawer, "These are photos from previous years. Many political figures and movie stars would visit. But I arrived late, not having witnessed such grand occasions."

Having already looked through the album, Xu Huo flipped through a couple of pages, asked a few offhand questions, and dismissed her.

Wandering through the study, he had gathered quite a bit of fragmented information, most crucially from the time period five years ago.

Five years ago, the castle’s master, He Pu, fell ill, withdrew from public view, and closed the castle.

Also five years ago, the castle appeared to have hired a batch of new servants – at least, most of those who had waited on visitors in the pictures were people Xu Huo hadn’t seen around the castle.

Moreover, He Pu and Mr. Dong ceased being photographed together five years ago, and Mr. Dong was not evasive about this fact, although it was unclear whether this was meant to mislead or to hint at something.

One of the game’s tasks, concerning the disappearance of guests, could refer to guests who had disappeared previously or to players who had not yet disappeared in this instance of the game. And the second task, concerning ’the truth,’ likely didn’t merely point to the culprit behind the disappearance of the guests; otherwise, the answer would be too simple.

The crux of the task probably lay in the secrets of the castle.

After some thought, Xu Huo left the study and headed downstairs.

Except for the Ma family couple, who were resting in the bedroom, the remaining nine people had all gathered in the first-floor hall.

Once the servant was sent away and it was confirmed that no one was eavesdropping, the dark-faced man said to the others, "I know that amongst us in this task is the Cannibal Player. Long story short, no matter what kind of player you are, if you fail to complete the game, you won’t get your Tickets or Return Ticket. So, we are all in the same boat now, and we need to cooperate to complete the tasks within the allotted time."

"Cooperating is no problem," said the tall, thin man opposite. "But this game hasn’t clearly stated whether we are to cooperate or submit the tasks individually. I believe that it’s more likely we’ll need to submit individually, which could mean that everyone will need to find a ’missing guest’. Even if we can submit the first task multiple times, how can we be sure to share the answers?"