Chapter 78
Below the announcement on Xinghuo Star Blog, there is also a preview link.
The audience couldn't wait to follow the link and enter. What they saw was a pure white room. In the middle of the room, a man in a long coat slowly turned around.
"Oh shit, it's Director Huan."
Looking towards the camera and snapping his fingers, Huan Xu said softly, "Welcome to the Detective Star Gathering. I am Huan Xu, the famous detective of the Truth Society."
The narrator's voice then began to sound: "In hidden corners, in the cracks of time and space, there are always some sins that are buried by time."
"The mission of the Truth Society is to lead everyone in searching for forgotten cases, restoring them, solving them, bringing the perpetrators to justice, and restoring truth and justice to the victims."
"The Truth Society's first case will take them through time and space, to a desert millennia ago, searching for the Red Dust Inn, a place said to hold a hundred kinds of fine wine and offer travelers a moment's rest."
Huan Xu then spoke up, "Let's solve the mystery of the disappearance of the Red Dust Inn together."
As Huan Xu dragged his hand, fragments of images appeared in the room -
There is an inn that appears and disappears in the yellow sand of the desert, like a mirage, and it is unclear whether it exists really.
There is an innkeeper who looks fierce but is honest and generous, and has unparalleled winemaking skills.
There are also travelers who walk against the wind in the desert.
"I have a story here. Do you have any more wine, boss?"
However, apart from those stories and jars of fine wine, the unknown rooms of the inn are filled with smoke all day long, and rows of memorial tablets are enshrined there.
As the background music becomes more rapid, the plot of the trailer also speeds up.
When the wanderer returns home, his father washes his hands and cooks soup while humming a little tune.
Strange travelers gather at the inn.
There is a man with a weathered face and a beautiful girl who is alone.
There are also knights who travel the world with swords, and ruffians who can't stop using dirty words every three sentences.
Why would a scholar as elegant as an orchid quarrel with his father? Why would a ruffian chat with his boss in the dead of night?
What did the figure that flashed by in the middle of the night do?
A scream cut through the night, blood stained the yellow shirt, and the owner of the Red Dust Inn fell in a pool of blood.
The wind and sand blocked the way ahead, and there were only 6 people in the inn.
Who is the murderer who killed the boss?
Is it him, him or her?
The character cards of Qin Dongxiao, Wu Qianying, Lin Yi, Bai Yi, Chu Fan, and Huan Xu flashed on the screen one by one.
They were dressed in various ancient costumes and had different expressions. Some looked terrified, some were uneasy and nervous, some were sarcastic and disdainful, and some could not hide their disgust.
Drops of blood exploded in front of the camera.
The low voice of narration rang in the audience's ears.
"Who is the real murderer?"
The blood-stained ink writing slowly emerged.
The Buddhist words and Sanskrit sounds can save people from this world, save others, save oneself, and save one’s heart.
At the end of the trailer, there is another invitation.
Tomorrow night at 8:30, "Famous Detectives Gathering" - Red Dust Inn, we will see you there.
There was a pause of a few seconds, and then the Xinghuo official website update was instantly flooded with excited fans.
"Variety show! Oh my god, Xinghuo is filming a variety show, Director Huan is filming a variety show! Incoherent.jpg"
"When it comes to going against fans, it's you, Huan Daodao."
"People want to watch movies but you don't make them, people want to watch TV series but you don't make them, leaving countless holes, and then you turn around and do variety shows."
"He even went so far as to appear on the show himself just to get more attention for the variety show."
"Okay, okay, man, is it okay for me to see you?"
Just wait until 8:30 tomorrow night.
In fact, if we only talk about the lineup, even if we don't count Huan Xu, the walking traffic star, Qin Dongxiao, Wu Qianying and the others are already strong and outstanding enough.
The newly joined Youtian people couldn't help but burst into tears.
Director Huan definitely loves Youtianxing deeply!
As soon as they joined, not only was a costume detective film filmed to welcome them, but a suspense variety show was also specially organized for them.
A script-killing, puzzle-solving, real-life role-playing suspense game, oh, how appropriate it is for their Youtianxing, it's like it was tailor-made for them.
I heard that when Haotianxing merged, Director Huan just filmed an extra web drama as a gesture.
Haotian Star People: "Let's just say there's no need to pull us down. Director Huan filmed a variety show for you, and Director Huan also filmed a web series for us. Are we proud?"
Cang Tianren: "No, can you compare with that? Stop fighting for Huan Dao. Even if you get your hair ripped and your head broken, Huan Dao is still one of us Cang Tianren."
You Tianren asked back, "Did Director Huan film a variety show for you guys?"
Haotianren asked back, "Did Director Huan film a web drama for you guys?"
Heavenly Man: ...
The people of Cang Tian were deceiving themselves and were unwilling to believe that Huan Dao no longer loved them.
Cang Tianren: "Who said that Director Huan filmed the variety show for You Tianren? It's clearly to prepare for the battle of Bian Tianxing!"
The types of shows that the audience likes are quite diverse, including melodramatic urban dramas and variety shows of various styles.
Cang Tianren: "That's right, Hao Tian and You Tian have merged, so how far can the change of the world be?"
"Director Huan is playing a big game!"
Seeing Cang Tianren's final stubbornness, You Tianren shook his head and didn't continue to expose him. Alas, what worries us most is not the scarcity of wealth but the inequality! It's enough for them to know that Huan Dao loves them.
Not only do fans have unconditional faith in Huan Xu and are looking forward to the launch of the script-killing variety show at 8:30 tomorrow night, but even the expectations of passers-by have reached a peak.
Jiuxing's first suspense and mystery reality show variety show.
Regardless of whether there are successors in the future, there are no ancient people in the history of Jiuxing.
Not to mention the game mechanism announced on the official website of Xinghuo, the script-killing looks very fun. I'm not sure, let's wait and see.
As for Samsung's other entertainment companies, they all remained silent and waited and saw.
The secretary of Xinyi Entertainment looked at the boss who, contrary to his usual behavior, did not make any comments, and was a little uncomfortable: "Boss, don't you want to comment?"
In the past, whenever there was any news about Xinghuo, the boss would be the first to watch and comment.
Boss Xinyi waved his hand wearily.
What are you talking about?
He said before that Huan Xu would not be able to film a variety show, but then Xinghuo’s variety show was about to be launched.
If you have anything to say, wait until you finish watching it tomorrow night, so that others won’t predict his predictions again.
The next evening, the variety show "Famous Detectives Gathering" was officially released on the variety show section of Canglan.com. It was produced by Xinghuo Entertainment and directed by Chen Song, and co-produced by Huan Xu and several top artists of Xinghuo.
The moment the websites went online, Samsung viewers who had been waiting for a long time flocked in.
The camera slowly opens, and the first thing that appears is a cartoon animation with a background commentary in a child's voice, and the animation changes with the commentary.
"It is said that there is a magical inn in a distant desert. Its name is Red Dust Inn."
"The owner there will turn the stories he heard from travelers into a variety of fine wines."
“Those who drank the fine wines seemed to share in the amazing adventures.”
"Many people travel to the desert just to find the Red Dust Inn and drink a bowl of fine wine brewed by the owner himself."
"As for the reward, it can be priceless gold, jewelry, or a luminous glass cup."
"Or it could be a worthless story about a traveler."
"Look, someone else has gone deep into the desert. Are they also looking for the Red Dust Inn?"
"That's a young man."
In the rolling desert to the west, a little shadow puppet figure is struggling forward in the desert, with a knife hanging around his waist, symbolizing his identity, swinging with his movements.
The clear children's voice drew the audience's attention to the east again.
"Beautiful girls ride camels, jingle bells."
In the north, a silent middle-aged man carrying a heavy bag walked step by step.
The vicious bandits in the south robbed the caravan's horses and ate their raw meat and drank their blood.
The arrows in four directions finally converged at the center, a courtyard in the middle of the desert.
The cartoon slowly dissipated in all directions like sand on a sandbox.
The footage gradually became clear.
The four big characters on the inn's plaque clearly caught the audience's eyes - Hongchen Inn.
Yellow sand is flying in the desert, as if isolating the mortal inn from the secular world.
In the lobby of the inn, there was a guest sitting at each table, a total of six tables and six guests.
There was a plate of side dishes and a bowl of wine in front of each person.
Some people sip the light wine in their cups.
Some people picked up their chopsticks to pick up side dishes.
Some people had empty bowls, while others hadn't touched a drop of wine.
The figures of the crowd flashed by, and the rules of the variety show were once again presented to the audience. The words on the screen accompanied the narration:
"Before the game officially begins, the real murderer has three minutes to fake the scene. After three minutes, the real murderer returns to the room."
After the game officially started, all guests entered the crime scene together.
Alibi explanation.
Collect evidence together.
Exchange of evidence.
And the final voting stage.
Note that only the real murderer can lie.
Except for the detective, everyone has one vote to choose the real murderer. The detective can also choose a real murderer, and the detective's vote is counted as two votes.
In the end, the minority obeys the majority.
If the suspect identified is the real murderer, the detective team wins and will receive the Observant Detective Medal, while the other participating guests will receive the Messenger of Justice Medal.
If the suspect is innocent, the murderer wins. Only the winner can obtain the Outlaw Medal. Each medal represents different points. The internal redemption system of the Truth Society will be opened to the guests later.
As a scream broke the long quiet night in the desert, the lights in the guest rooms on the second floor lit up one by one and the doors opened.
The young knight played by Lin Yi had a stern look in his eyes, holding a sword in his hand, and looked vigilantly at the veiled girl standing in the lobby on the first floor. It should be the other girl who screamed just now.
Qin Dongxiao, who had a scar on his face and a large black mole on his chin, kicked the wooden door and said impatiently in a muffled voice, "Why are you yelling in the middle of the night? Don't you want to live? Or are you anxious to reincarnate?"
However, there are really people who have been reincarnated.
When they found that everyone upstairs had come out, the mysterious veiled woman played by Wu Qianying on the first floor hugged her trembling body and looked straight up: "Dead, dead."
The group's faces changed and they hurried downstairs, where they saw the owner of the Red Dust Inn lying in a pool of blood amidst a strong smell of blood.
At this moment, Huan Xu pulled out a token from his pocket and said in a loud voice, "I am the Golden Constable of the Six Gates."
[Hahahahaha, Golden Constable, Director Huan is on cross-channel.]
"This place is in the middle of a desert, with yellow sand covering the sky. We're the only ones staying at the inn right now. The boss has been murdered, and the murderer must be among us. As a detective, I'm bound to investigate this murder case if I come across it."
As Huan Xu finished speaking, a line of subtitles appeared next to him, revealing his identity: the Golden Constable of the Six Gates - Huan Daodao.
[I am dying of laughter. Huan Daodao is pretty good. 】
【Official complaints are the most deadly.】
【Huan, just go ahead and have fun.】
After a preliminary inspection of the scene, under the leadership of Detective Huan Xu, everyone gathered around the table to discuss the timeline and alibi.
The first to speak was the masked woman who had discovered the crime scene. She gathered her robes, and as she did so, a subtle chime could be heard from beneath her wide sleeves. The mysterious woman, played by Wu Qianying, spoke softly, her voice tinged with melancholy:
"I encountered a moving quicksand river and got separated from my group. I thought I'd be lost in the desert, but luckily my camel helped me and led me here."
"I don't have any money, but the boss was so kind to take me in. I have no way to repay him, so I thought I'd share my humble knowledge and experiences with him. Perhaps I can repay him a little, and I'll repay him the rest when I'm reunited with my family."
As Wu Qianying finished speaking, a line of subtitles appeared next to her, reminding her of her identity: Western Dancer - Wu Dancer.
Suddenly, a sneer came from the side. Qin Dongxiao's two thick eyebrows stuck to his face moved with the wind. Combined with the big black mole on his chin, he looked like he was smiling with some bad intentions.
"You have so much time during the day, why don't you go find the boss? Why do you have to visit him so late at night? What's the story? Why don't you talk to me, your good brother, and I will pay for your room."
The dancer tightened her robes, lowered her head, and whispered softly, "Some past events that should not be told to outsiders."
Seeing that the ruffian was about to speak rudely again, the young knight next to the dancer drew his sword as a threat.
Two lines of large characters also appeared beside Lin Yi and Qin Dongxiao: Lin Youxia and Qin Wulai.
Huan Daodao asked, "So what did you do at night?"
The two men looked at each other, and finally, under the threat of Lin Youxia's knife, Qin Wulai was the first to be defeated.
Qin Wulai said, "I drank some wine. This godforsaken place is really boring. I went back to my room and went to sleep."
Huan Daodao: "Did you go out afterwards? Did you hear any noise?"
Before Qin Wulai could speak, Huan Daodao reminded him, "Concealing the truth and not reporting it will be considered a crime."
Only a murderer can lie, and the one who lies must be a murderer.
Qin Wulai was silent for a moment, then asked impatiently, "What? Is it illegal to pee outside?"
Lin Youxia's eyes turned fierce, and just as he was about to say something, he saw Qin Wulai turn his eyes to look at him and chuckled:
"Oh, right, when I woke up at night, I vaguely heard some noise next door. Now that I think about it, it seems like the sound of a door opening and closing. It seems like you are the one living next door..."
"Young man, why are you out here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
"Are you knocking on someone's door, or are you trying to be a thief? Ah, could it be that you killed the boss?"
As soon as Qin Wulai finished his despicable words, everyone's eyes turned to Lin Youxia.
Lin Youxia's face flushed red, but he didn't hide it: "I went out at night."
Without waiting for anyone to ask, Ranger Lin took the initiative to explain, "I went to see the innkeeper. I also have a story to share with the innkeeper, hoping to offset the cost of the wine we spent that day, but the innkeeper was not in the room at that time."
Finally, there were only two people left. The silent man played by Bai Yi was sitting in the corner, and the other was the innkeeper's son, Chu Fan, who was wearing a white shirt and had a pale face and had just returned from studying abroad.
Hundred Travelers and Scholar Chu.
Glancing at Chu Shusheng, the Hundred Travelers, who had remained silent the entire time, said in a mute voice, "Let me go first."
"I've been out before."
After a pause, and without waiting for the detective to ask, the Hundred Travelers added succinctly, "Go to the boss and tell him a story."
Everyone: ...
[Okay, okay, another story.]
[Why do you go to the innkeeper to tell him a story? What story is it? I want to know too.]
The Hundred Travelers' timeline narrative ended, and finally the pale and frail Chu Shusheng spoke: "Ahem, after you all went back to your rooms to rest, I also went to look for my father."
Before the crowd and the audience could complain, Chu Shusheng added: "I'm not telling a story, but I have some private matters to discuss."
As for what the private matter was, and what stories the other people who went to talk to the innkeeper were talking about, no one went into detail.
After writing down the timeline and everyone's explanations, Constable Huan closed the notebook.
"In that case, let's start collecting evidence separately."
A prompt sounded in the background: After the evidence collection is completed, the clues will be shared and evidence must not be kept privately.
After Huan Daodao took a few steps forward, he suddenly stopped, and then the footsteps of a group of people behind him also stopped.
Huan Daodao walked again, and the people behind him followed suit.
Huan Daodao turned around, glanced at the people following him, and said helplessly:
"Why are you all following me?"
Everyone looked at each other.
[It's so popular, I feel dazed and confused, hahaha, everyone wants to follow Director Huan.]
【The tadpole is looking for its mother.】
Huan Xu said with a smile, "Time is limited. Everyone should split up and search. Only when we find enough evidence can we better identify the murderer."
He certainly can't do it alone.
Since it is a game, everyone must feel involved.
Then the interrogation time began. The camera was divided into 6 parts, following Huan Xu, Qin Dongxiao and others. At Huan Xu's suggestion, they acted separately to save time as much as possible.
Huan Xu first went to the room of the victim's innkeeper.
The entire Hongchen Inn has four floors.
The first floor is the kitchen and the living room where diners eat and drink.
The second and third floors are used for accommodation. There are only two rooms on the third floor, which are the private spaces of the boss and his son. The remaining rooms on the second floor are provided for travelers to stay.
Huan Xu lives in Room 5 in the middle of the second floor.
The leftmost room on the second floor, which is also the room farthest from the only staircase of the inn, is occupied by the taciturn Hundred Travelers.
Living opposite Huan Xu is the mysterious veiled Wu dancer.
The two rooms next to the stairs are occupied by Lin Youxia and Qin Wulai respectively.
As for the fourth floor that can be seen from the outside, it is an attic. According to the owner, it is a place to store alcohol and some of his personal belongings.
Interestingly, the owner explicitly told every guest staying in the hotel that they are not allowed to go to the owner’s private residence on the third floor or the wine-making place on the fourth floor without permission.
Violators will be blacklisted forever by the Red Dust Inn.
Huan Xu took note of it and planned to go to the fourth floor to find out what was going on after coming out of the boss's room.
Arriving on the third floor, Huan Xu explained to the camera: "The room of the boss's son Chu Shusheng is on the third floor near the stairs, but let's go to the boss's room first."
Huan Xu pushed the door gently, and it opened with a creak.
Huan Xu narrowed his eyes and said softly, "That's not right."
The audience hadn't gotten into the mood yet.
What's wrong?
[Director Huan discovered the clue so quickly? ]
Under Huan Xu's guidance, the floating camera zoomed in.
"The wooden door was intact, and the lock on the inside was open, which suggests the owner had left the room on his own initiative, or had opened the door for someone else."
[As expected of the Six Gates' Golden Master, no, the Six Gates' Golden Constable, he found the clue so quickly.]
[This is my first time watching this kind of variety show. I feel good and it's quite interesting. Keep it up.]
While Huan Xu was collecting clues in the boss's room, several other people were also working hard to find evidence.
Qin Wulai gave the camera an evil and arrogant sneer, and said as he looked at Lin Youxia's back: Hehe.
"I feel like the guy next to me is dishonest. He's been targeting me before. Maybe he's the murderer and wants to frame a good person like me. He even sneaked out at night. Let's go and search his room.
Coincidentally, Lin Youxia also stood in front of Qin Wulai's door. The two looked at each other. The program team considerately added an electric current special effect between the two of them, and the war was about to break out.
With the high-pitched BGM playing, the two of them pushed open the door together.
At the same time, Chu Shusheng chose the room of the central dancer Wu. Looking at the floating camera flying towards him, the pale-faced scholar's eyes flashed, and he actually seemed to be avoiding the camera.
The program crew kindly added the caption: "Little Mushroom."
At this time, Director Chen's voice sounded softly, as if talking to someone: "Alas, the scholar has social anxiety, let's not bother him, let's go and look somewhere else first, and leave the time for the scholar to be alone."
Is this a show effect? Intentional or real?
[Director, you're such a nice person! Scholar: Thank you! Now everyone knows I'm a social anxiety disorder.]
Xiaofan's performances in "Zi Bu Yu" and "Yin Shi" were so stunning, but in private he was actually a socially anxious person who was afraid of the camera and the public's attention. This was the biggest contrast of the year.
In the lobby on the first floor, Bai Lu Ren and Wu Wu Nu looked at each other and began to search on their own.
The camera floated beside Bai Yi, and the taciturn traveler spoke, solemnly and quietly apologizing in advance to the audience.
"This is my first time participating in this type of variety show, and it's a very difficult detective type. If there are any unsatisfactory aspects, I apologize in advance."
[Brother Bai is really serious and dedicated.]
[Brother Bai, you're so serious. Relax a little. Variety shows are all about having fun. This is our first time watching this, so don't feel too burdened.]
[Serious people are the most charming. I've become a fan and am following you. Please keep up the good work.]
The camera moves closer to Wu Wu again, as she squats beside the innkeeper's body, which is made of a mannequin, and examines it carefully.
"Look what I found?"
"The boss had more than one injury. There was a hole on his forehead, his face was blue and black, his mouth and nails were black, and there were multiple knife wounds on his body."
[The innkeeper is in such a pity, with so many injuries.]
[Oh my god, this must be such a huge hatred and resentment.]
As the camera continues to switch between several rooms, the clues discovered by everyone are presented to the audience one by one.
Huan Xu found two teacups and a plate of half-eaten snacks on the table in the boss's room.
Huan Xu: "The boss has dined with someone here before, but I don't know which of our friends he heard this story from."
Then Huan Xu groped and knocked under the boss's bed.
"The sound is wrong. This place is hollow."
After pressing a movable bed board at the head of the bed, the bed opened from the middle with the sound of the mechanism opening and closing, revealing something hidden underneath.
"It's a heavy weapon that looks very valuable—the vajra."
Huan Xu raised his hand to touch it, and the vajra suddenly trembled. It seemed as if some switch was triggered. A buzzing sound and a continuous stream of resentful sounds came out from the weapon.
[What the hell is this?]
[Weapon spirit or weapon transformation? ]
Huan Daodao was silent for a moment, then revealed the truth to the audience, saying seriously, "The evil spirit is so strong."
[What kind of anger is this? It's even coming out loud. It's really strong.]
[Hahahaha, are the props team serious? Are they worried that Director Huan doesn't know the danger of this weapon?]
[Screenshot of Huan Daosheng's "loveless" emoji.jpg.]
At this moment, Qin Dongxiao's wild laughter suddenly came from downstairs: "Lin Youxia, there really is something wrong with you."
Qin Wulai stood in Lin Youxia's room, shaking the evidence in his hand - a map.
There were many place names marked on the map, each with a cross drawn on it. It was obvious that someone was traveling along the route, tracking down something.
The great detective Qin Dongxiao was possessed: "There is only one truth. He is looking for someone, and the person he is looking for is the owner of the Red Dust Inn, who was also the wanted criminal by the imperial court 10 years ago."
Qin Dongxiao twitched his hand, and a yellowed wanted poster suddenly appeared in front of the audience. The person in the picture looked somewhat unfamiliar and somewhat familiar.
"There's a wanted order for Chu Baixiong. He and his men kidnapped and killed the young master of Prince Ning's mansion. The wanted amount is a large sum of money.
The accompanying picture is a portrait of Chu Baixiong, without his eye patch, looking older. After comparing their facial features, they are confirmed to be the same person as the owner of the Hongchen Inn.
Leaning against the door frame, Qin Dongxiao looked at Lin Yi provocatively and shook the wanted poster in his hand.
"Ranger Lin, the murderer is you, right?!"
The author has something to say:
Inspiration comes from several popular script-killing variety shows~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com