Chapter 64: The One True God, Zhou Yili

[When Night Falls, Please Close Your Eyes]

Accompanied by the mechanical female voice echoing overhead, the lights of the vast castle plunged into darkness, leaving only the silently burning candle flames in the corridors.

The guests scattered throughout the castle.

After all, this was no ordinary game of Werewolf.

This was a real kill.

The wolves held the privilege of wielding knives in the darkness. Anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path would meet their end.

“Brother Shen!” Sheng Que, upon spotting Shen Jixing, ran over excitedly. “Shall we go together?”

Shen Jixing stood quietly on the second-floor balcony.

Here, clusters of red roses bloomed, the flickering candlelight on the antique walls making the scene brighter than inside.

He chuckled and asked, “Aren’t you afraid I’m a wolf?”

Sheng Que was momentarily stunned.

The full moon above the castle cast a glow upon his straight, pale shoulders. The velvet sheen of his shirt shimmered, making him look like a deity descending to the mortal realm for a trial.

With confidence, Sheng Que answered, “Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

So he died.

Shen Jixing caught his slowly collapsing body, doing his best to lay him gently on the ground.

A faint smile played in the mist-shrouded depths of his eyes. “Be good. In this world, nothing is impossible.”

With a knife protruding from his chest, Sheng Que glared at him, his face twisted in agony.

“But the game’s only just started!!!”

He hadn’t even had a chance to play.

“It’s fine. The game will end soon,” Shen Jixing said coolly.

Sheng Que: “…”

What kind of deity is this?

This is the devil—an utter devil!

As he struggled, a small gourd rolled from his body. Shen Jixing, just straightening up, glanced down.

“A witch?”

[Wife, you’re so dominant!!!]
[My god, Star is so wicked—so thrilling, can you stab me too?]
[Aaah, I want to be trampled under Star’s feet!]
[Enough, you guys… Okay, I want it too. Just stab me once, I’ll be satisfied.]
Shen Jixing casually slipped the little gourd into his pocket.

Sheng Que stared at him wide-eyed. “Wait, what???”

The light on him dimmed, and with a final kick of his legs, Sheng Que gave up the ghost.

[Ah, youth—falling asleep the instant you hit the ground.]
[Que Que is so pitiful, died in misery as soon as the game began, and his role was stolen too.]
[Not pitiful! He got hugged by wife, and was even called ‘good boy’ by wife~ (lemon envy)]
[So which wolf is Star, anyway? He’s got a knife, so he’s not a knife-less little wolf.]
[A one-knife little wolf can only use the knife once, and Star just threw away his knife. So is he a one-knife little wolf???]
[Can you even throw away the knife??? If the one-knife wolf ditches the knife after using it, isn’t he just a knife-less wolf? Isn’t this a plot hole?]

[You’re still trying to deduce the logic? I’ve already lost my pants here ♪(´▽｀)]

Shen Jixing had just left the second-floor balcony.

Then the broadcast sounded overhead: “Seer, activate your investigation ability. As the castle’s sole true deity, you possess an unchallengeable right.”

“All characters, remain where you are and await the descent of the god.”

Leaning against the cylindrical stained-glass window, Shen Jixing found the description absurdly overblown. “Who wrote this script?”

What a show-off.

The director gnawed at her handkerchief. “I wrote that for you!”

She let Young Master Zhou show off to his heart’s content.

After selecting a name, a red thread seemed to descend from the sky.

He could ignore the darkness and go straight to anyone’s side.

Such was the right of the sole true deity.

Shen Jixing felt a wisp of red thread coil around his fingertips in the darkness, and then his eyes were gently covered.

Dense night fog rose.

Behind the stained glass, moonlight shimmered. Footsteps approached from afar, growing nearer. The newcomer was tall and upright, boots stepping across the translucent, fractured floor.

The red thread in his hand drifted like smoke, parting the mist as he stood, backlit, before Shen Jixing.

Zhou Yili looked at the youth leaning against the domed glass.

It seemed that, no matter how many times, whenever given a choice—

He would always choose Shen Jixing.

Even if he wasn’t on the official roster.

Zhou Yili’s entrance was both flamboyant and elegant. As the comment section exploded in excitement, the one true deity spoke—

“To be chosen by god—do you feel honored?”

Shen Jixing: “…Why do you dare to speak?”

It was only a variety show—their senses weren’t dulled. Normally Zhou Yili would investigate quietly and unnoticed.

But here he was, blowing his own cover.

[I know this one, he just can’t help himself.]
[Let him show off, just look at his smug face, thinking he gets to touch Star all over—he can’t keep his lips from curling up!]
[Do you even know what you’re touching? Move over, let me do it!]

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Zhou Yili countered.

“A good guy is my golden ticket. If you’re a wolf, I’ll send you away come daylight.”

Shen Jixing’s lips curled in a faint, amused arc, as if to say: Wolves don’t just have one knife.

But before he could reply, Zhou Yili’s hand was already searching him, starting carelessly at his shoulder and moving downward.

Sheng Que’s gourd was in the pocket of his trousers.

Shen Jixing distinctly felt Zhou Yili’s hand pass over, pausing as it found something there.

“Oh, so it’s here.”

Leaning lightly against the windowsill, Shen Jixing regretted not having stashed it in his jacket pocket.

Long, slender fingers reached into his trouser pocket and fished out the little gourd. “What’s this?”

“Can’t you tell?” Shen Jixing retorted.

Zhou Yili eyed the gourd, his expression subtle. “…A witch?”

Shen Jixing said nothing, tacitly admitting it.

Zhou Yili turned the gourd in his hand. “This can’t be opened. Without a potion, how will you save anyone?”

Shen Jixing was silent for two seconds. “The witch’s business is none of yours.”

“…”
Zhou Yili gave a low chuckle but didn’t say whether he believed it. He continued his search. “Fine, let me check further.”

With his eyes covered, Shen Jixing was already in a heightened state of alert. When Zhou Yili suddenly touched him, he instinctively tilted his head away, his brows faintly furrowed.

“Why?”

“No reason. I just want to search.”

“…”
That answer was so Zhou Yili.

[Feels like the son doesn’t believe it, has he finally grown a brain?]
[Maybe he just wants any excuse to touch Star more. I’m jealous! (bangs table)]
[If you put it that way… makes sense.]

And Zhou Yili did find something more.

Shen Jixing remained with his back pressed to the window. The hem of his shirt tucked into his trousers at the waist, and something seemed hidden there.

Zhou Yili: “Well, hiding it pretty deep, aren’t you, little wolf star?”

Shen Jixing: “No…”

Suddenly biting his lip, he felt his shirt being slowly pulled out, Zhou Yili’s defined hand slipping in—

But instead of grabbing the hidden item, his hand landed on Shen Jixing’s waist.

In a voice only the two of them could hear, Zhou Yili said, “I passed the surveillance room today and overheard them saying they’d seen a six-pointed star on your waist.”

“Why do even they know about it?”

And yet, Zhou Yili himself did not.

It was only because he was always so proper—he’d never once stripped Shen Jixing down, even though this man had fallen asleep in his arms countless times.

With his tall, long-legged frame, Zhou Yili almost entirely shielded him from view. His warm fingers traced over the frosty white curve of Shen Jixing’s waist, searching for the small, elusive star he’d never seen.

Shen Jixing pressed against the glass, skin prickling at the unfamiliar touch.

Madness…

What was this bastard doing?

Zhou Yili’s hand brushed against a slight hollow. He pressed lightly on Shen Jixing’s waist, his languid voice tinged with a sultry smile.

“So it’s here?”

—

Scoundrel!!!

The variety show plot is pure nonsense. If you find it absurd, please bear with it… That’s just how brain-hole fiction works ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅. There probably won’t be any more variety show plot after this arc. This story was started on a whim and should wrap up in about two to three hundred thousand words.

Also, a note on the gong-shou (top-bottom) dynamic. If you’re extremely particular about fixed roles, my stories might not be for you. My shou (bottom) characters are aloof and cool in the early chapters, as readers of my previous novels know. Only later do they reveal their full personalities. If you’re okay with that, feel free to continue; if not, maybe skip this one. Please don’t attack the characters—my delicate heart can’t take it (cringes at myself, exits in regret) (re-enters shyly, peeking, hoping for a little flower (๑´∀`๑)).