Chapter 34.2 (1/2)
“No one asked you to.” The outspoken women gave Xiao Tangqiu a sarcastic look, removed the scrunchie she used to tie her hair, pulled out the wire inside and squatted down in front of the brass lock. “Although there is a more convenient and quick way, that is to break the lock, right now, we don’t want to be discovered, so it can only be done in this less violent manner.”
Xiao Tangqiu looked at her, completely stunned to see her fiddle with the keyhole a few times. A moment later, the brass padlock was opened.
“Fuck! You can actually do that?!”
Tang Mianmian somehow remembered that they were supposed to be sneaking around and doing bad things. So, instead of yelling, he just lowered his voice to say, “That’s so damn badass!”
“What are you making a fuss for?” the woman side eyed Tang Mianmian and tied up her hair again. “Shen Ge, should we go in?”
Shen Yuan nodded, and was the first to enter the attic.
Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian fell behind. When they entered the attic, they found that it was dark and there wasn’t even a candle.
Xiao Tangqiu quickly pulled out his flashlight and turned it on. Windbreaker Man laughed at him, “Alright then, it looks like you can be in charge of lighting.”
Xiao Tangqiu, “…..Um ……Thanks?”
Under the light from his flashlight, they finally saw the complete state of the attic. It seemed like it had been abandoned and was filled with old, broken furniture as well as wooden planks scattered in a mess, which appeared to be leftover materials.
Dust had accumulated everywhere and had enveloped the surface of the furniture in a thick layer. There were cobwebs in the corners and crevices. Just a slight inhale and they would breathe in enough dust to choke them.
Xiao Tangqiu frowned and pinched his nose. He followed the others and searched the attic but it was merely an abandoned attic with nothing aside from some old and broken furniture.
But why would such an ordinary attic be subject to taboo amongst the inhabitants of this ancient castle?
“There’s a cupboard here.” The indifferent woman seemed to have found something. She turned around to look at Shen Yuan and said, “On top of the cupboard, there are some……..”
Shen Yuan walked over and took down a book.
When his elegant, slender fingers turned the cover open, Xiao Tangqiu leaned over curiously, only to find a string of English letters – “Alice.”
“Alice? Who is she?” The indifferent woman frowned slightly. “Is it one of Lippinobert’s wives?”
“I don’t think so.” Xiao Tangqiu thought of the musical box and solemnly added, “Lippinobert’s second wife was called Maria. We don’t know anything about the third wife yet. But Alice……. should be his daughter.”
“How do you know that?” The indifferent woman had some doubts.
Before Xiao Tangqiu could open his mouth to explain, Shen Yuan interrupted faintly, “This looks like a child’s writing.”
“Oh? What did you find?” She smiled, “Of course, we can exchange information. You tell me something and I’ll share something as well.”
Xiao Tangqiu didn’t bother about any of this. He just casually mentioned what they had seen and heard, including information about Maria’s room.
“Alright,” the woman shrugged. “Since you’re being so generous with the information you got, I’ll tell you about what we found. Except for Lippinobert, the housekeeper and the servants’ rooms, we’ve searched almost all the others and found nothing special…… But we discovered that the castle has a cellar.”
“I’m not surprised,” Xiao Tangqiu smiled. “Can a castle without a secret cellar still be called a castle?”
“There is one more important thing,” the woman raised an eyebrow. “In this castle, it seems that aside from us players, only Lippinobert is alive.”
Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly and was about to say something when Tang Mianmian, who stood not too far away, suddenly cried out, “Oh my god! Come here! I just found a picture! “
Xiao Tangqiu paused for a moment and subconsciously looked towards Shen Yuan just at the moment he closed the book.
“What is it?” The indifferent woman asked Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan replied impassively, “Alice in Wonderland.”
Xiao Tangqiu looked puzzled, “Alice again…….”
Shen Yuan put it back into the cu pboard and walked towards Tang Mianmian.
Tang Mianmian struggled to push a huge wooden wardrobe aside. Behind the wardrobe, the corner of a picture frame was revealed.
Xiao Tangqiu immediately stepped forward to help Tang Mianmian. However, both of their strengths combined wasn’t enough to move the wardrobe.
“……Why is this wardrobe so heavy! Is there a body hidden inside?” Xiao Tangqiu wondered out loud as he used all his strength.
“Pei, pei, pei! Don’t you dare set up a Flag!” Tang Mianmian glared at Xiao Tangqiu.
Windbreaker Man snickered at the two of them, then glanced at Shen Yuan’s dark eyes and shrugged. With a helpless expression, he went over to help the two weak-as-a-kitten geeks to move the wardrobe.
The wardrobe was finally moved aside, revealing the picture behind.
This was a classical oil painting of a strong, handsome naked man and a beast with the head of a young girl. The both of them looked at each other as their bodies were entangled together. From some angles, they appeared to be lovers; from other angles, they looked like enemies. The painting had a weird, mysterious air, which made it seem like it had the power to draw anyone who looked at it into a deep trance.