The bathroom was filled with steam, a light scent of soap mingling with the sweet, soft fragrance from Yu Deng's body, spreading to every corner of the small space.
Yu Deng thought that blurry ghostly figure wouldn't move again, but he overestimated the moral compass of non-human entities.
Or perhaps, he underestimated his own allure to these bad spirits.
Before long, it began to stir again, clammy, cold ghostly aura quietly wrapping around Yu Deng's legs, with the entire shadow moving much closer.
The droplets of water falling from Yu Deng's body reduced slightly.
Just awakened, its thoughts were as straightforward as a beast's.
The water carrying Yu Deng's scent was sweet, so it chose to ingest it, ignoring ethics and morality, driven solely by its primal desire.
"Mm."
Yu Deng let out a short, muffled groan, his lower abdomen tensed, and a small patch of snow-white skin on his back turned red from being licked.
Angrily and embarrassed, he turned his head, "Why are you licking there, it's very ticklish."
The shadow had already stuck back to him again as soon as Yu Deng spoke.
To be fair, this blurry ghostly figure was extremely oppressive. Though it was just a vague, dark shadow, merely standing there, it emitted a cold, unsettling fear silently.
Such an existence symbolized ominousness and death in the infinite dungeon.
Yu Deng was initially very scared, but this guy's tendency to nibble and lick randomly made him more embarrassed than afraid now, causing him to start scolding it in frustration.
"You shouldn't be here. You can't just watch other people take a shower."
The shadow selectively ignored this comment.
"And you're too cold, always holding me like this makes me very uncomfortable."
The shadow's movements paused for a moment.
Holding like this is very cold?
Such a delicate little wife.
The shadow internally commented again. Yet, driven by instinct and fierce wildness, this terrifying being, after hearing Yu Deng's complaints, clumsily restrained the chilling aura that would make people uncomfortable.
Only then did Yu Deng's slightly furrowed brows relax. He suddenly thought of a question, a bit scared but also curious, he asked, "Will I see you again in the future?"
-- Yes.
The ghostly figure nodded.
Yu Deng blinked, "Won't I ever see what you look like? I don't even know who you are."
The satisfaction in the shadow's eyes faded a bit, replaced by gloom.
After a moment of silence, it nodded again.
-- Yes, you will eventually know who I am, and we will formally meet.
...
Yu Deng washed himself thoroughly and put on a bathrobe. The shadow, unsure whether it had something else to do or couldn't stay longer, reluctantly left.
Before leaving, it left several new marks on Yu Deng's body and secretly took away a small piece of cloth from the dirty laundry basket with a wisp of pure black aura.
As a result, when Yu Deng felt the urge to check after his bath, he couldn't find it despite searching several times.
Where did it go again?
"I can't wear this, it's dirty."
Yu Deng muttered. After he left the bathroom, the viewers in the livestream finally saw light again, the sight of Yu Deng's face flushed from the bath, with his cheeks pink, eyes and earlobes red, and new hickeys on his neck greeted them.
[Baby, be honest with us, did you hook up with a wild man again?(Feeling conflicted)]
[Why, why did the screen black out again?! Are we not worthy to see our lovely wife shower?]
[Honestly, I forgot this was an infinite stream channel, thought I was watching some sort of love game drama these past few days.]
Yu Deng was oblivious to his barrage of comments lamenting again. He lay on the bed, trying to use his not-so-bright brain to figure out the dungeon's plot.
The more he thought, the more his pretty little face wrinkled up, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
[But, how should I say this, it's quite amusing to watch this idiot do tasks. It's a bit cute, no, a bit entertaining.]
[Wait, you, the guy above, your ID looks familiar. Aren't you the one who said Deng Deng definitely wouldn't survive the first day?]
[Yes, that's me. So what? I've already given ten thousand live stream coins.]
[Alright, alright, a huge case of 'eating your words', huh?]
Yu Deng, embracing the philosophy of "Nothing in the world is difficult as long as you give up", had already given up thinking and was lying on the bed, trying to rest for a while.
His snow-white legs half-hung off the side of the bed, gently swaying. Before long, he felt drowsy and dozed off in a daze.
[Ding, Player Yu Deng has triggered a personal side quest.]
Yu Deng sat up in a daze, half-awake, and asked, "What quest?"
[Based on the current character setting of Player Yu Deng, you need to perform actions that align with your character setting. It has been detected that you have not dressed according to your character setting for more than three days, resulting in a character collapse warning. A personal side quest is now issued.]
Yu Deng nervously pinched his fingers, "Tell me."
[Personal Side Quest: Player Yu Deng, please wear women's clothing and be seen by at least one person for over an hour.
This side quest must be completed within 24 hours.]
After issuing the quest, the system added a countdown timer, which started ticking away.
Oh, so he just needs to wear a dress. He thought it was another guarding-the-spirit kind of task.
Yu Deng wrinkled his nose and glanced at the wardrobe.
He hadn't seriously looked at the dresses inside yet. He hoped they looked good; it had been a long time since he wore a dress. If he had to wear one, he wanted to wear the best-looking one.
Yu Deng still had some pride.
As for when to wear it, he had a whole day, so he decided to do it after waking up tomorrow.
Having made his decision, Yu Deng went back to sleep.
The next morning.
When Yu Deng woke up, the mansion was as lifeless and quiet as ever. The moisture in the air had condensed over several days, finally turning into a fine drizzle outside.
When Yu Deng got up, the players were having breakfast.
Yu Deng had developed a slight aversion to this mourning period vegetarian food and only sat down after dawdling for a while.
The players were discussing a letter, which was found last night by a new girl, Zhang Ziyun, and that office worker guy.
It was a complaint letter written by Cheng Wenhao to a friend last month, which, for some reason, was never sent.
There was a part where Cheng Wenhao complained about Master Cheng [Grandfather scolded me again for being irresponsible. When he gets angry, he tells me not to think about inheriting the Cheng family, but he doesn't consider himself, clearly an old undying man.]
"See, he actually has a motive." The office worker guy analyzed logically, "And the concubine's side already has inheritance rights. Only Cheng Wenhao is threatened. If Master Cheng dies, wouldn't the legitimate heir be able to take charge?"
This guy was in data statistics and analysis before entering the game and analyzed quite systematically and convincingly. The new players were quite impressed and felt he had a point.
The two veteran players exchanged a silent glance and nodded along with the office worker guy, "You make a good point."
Yu Deng also nodded inwardly.
Although he couldn't figure it out, he had a general grasp of the instance. Anyway, everyone had a grudge against Master Cheng.
As the discussion was winding down, Cheng Xiao walked in from outside, bringing a slight chill with him.
Cheng Xiao immediately saw Yu Deng, who was obediently drinking porridge, and unhesitatingly sat next to him, speaking softly.
"Little Mom, I have something to tell you later."
"Okay."
Cheng Xiao wanted to say more, but a maid hurried over, bowed slightly to them, and spoke.
"Dear guests, have you seen Young Master Wenhao?"
The players' expressions became grim, knowing this development meant something was wrong.
"No, we haven't. Is he missing?"
"Yes, just before dawn, the young master said he was feeling a bit overwhelmed and wanted to leave for a while to clear his head. But he hasn't returned yet, and we haven't seen him in his room either. Madam asked me to come and ask you all."
Naturally, the players chose to help find him enthusiastically.
Ten minutes later, Cheng Wenhao was found. Or rather, his body was found.
When they discovered him, he was in his bedroom, but in the attached bathroom.
He stood in front of the sink, his upper body bent over, face submerged in the washbasin.
The person who discovered Cheng Wenhao trembled as they held his shoulder, lifting his face, only to see that Cheng Wenhao's face was ashen gray, swollen and indistinct, as if it had been soaked for a long time. With a gentle touch, pieces of flesh would fall off.
Cheng Wenhao had drowned in the washbasin.
The person screamed horribly, letting go of Cheng Wenhao with a slap, and then fainted, legs kicking out.
Yu Deng, glancing from a distance, felt his stomach churn and couldn't help but retch.
Cheng Xiao covered Yu Deng's eyes and led him back a few steps. "Don't look."
Compared to the other two simple and brutal murder methods, the way Cheng Wenhao died was downright eerie.
The screams attracted others. With three consecutive deaths in the Cheng family, there was little visible sorrow on everyone's faces, replaced mostly by numbness.
Only Cheng Zhaoxia and Lin Zhiyue reacted strongly, after all, one had lost a son and the other a fiancé.
Last night, it was Cheng Zhaoxia's children who kept vigil, staying up for two consecutive nights. Miss Lin, with a pale face, dressed tightly in thick clothes, looked fragile and about to collapse.
Call it cold-blooded if you will, but the players did not concern themselves with the NPCs' emotions and immediately began discussing the new clues.
Cheng Xiao didn't join the discussion but walked with Yu Deng to the veranda. "Little Mom, do you think he could be the one who killed Master Cheng and then committed suicide out of guilt?"
Yu Deng answered instinctively, "I don't think so."
"Exactly." Cheng Xiao nodded.
Although more people had died, their suspect list had narrowed once again, bringing them closer to the answer.
In some cases, especially in locked-room mysteries, the culprit might fake their own death or commit suicide to clear suspicion. However, this scenario seemed unlikely in this instance.
Cheng Wenhao couldn't be the killer, but rather the target.
Cheng Xiao turned his head. "Then, Little Mom, who do you think is the problem, and why would this person do all this?"
Yu Deng straightforwardly displayed his empty mind. "I don't know."
He only knew that these deceased individuals certainly had conflicts with the killer, but as for the rest, how could he know?
Yu Deng retaliated, "Why do you keep asking me? Can't you analyze it yourself?"
He knew his brain wasn't the sharpest, yet he was always the one being questioned.
"Aren't you well-educated? Surely you're better at this than me." Yu Deng huffed self-righteously. "You should analyze it yourself and then tell me what's going on, don't ask me."
Cheng Xiao paused and chuckled, "How come you're so good at acting spoiled."
Yu Deng was puzzled. When did he act spoiled? He was clearly very assertive.
"I can analyze it, but Little Mom has to promise me one small thing." Cheng Xiao said, "This is also what I wanted to talk to you about earlier."
"Hmm?"
The young stepson lowered his eyes and said to his nominal stepmother, "Sever all ties with the Cheng family and my father."
Yu Deng was stunned. "Huh?"
Cheng Xiao said methodically, "I heard some unpleasant things this morning. People were saying the Cheng family had a purpose in marrying you to my father."
"Even if the Cheng family needed you for something, that was long accomplished, wasn't it?"
Yu Deng fell into difficult contemplation and decision-making.
"Besides, you have no reason to be tied to him any longer. Even if you need to be in mourning, you've done that for a year. You have your own life, no need to adhere to those outdated customs."
Cheng Xiao laid out his argument extensively before finally reaching his point.
He desperately wanted to inherit his father's estate and completely possess this beautiful stepmother. To do that, he first needed to cut off all ties between her and the past.
He didn't want to hear the Cheng family calling Yu Deng the "madam" anymore.
Anyway, that person was long dead and probably wouldn't mind.
Cheng Xiao declared resolutely, "Forget my father. Even if he were alive, he'd be quite old by now. You should be with a younger man who can take better care of you. If he truly loved you, he would definitely want you to be happy."