Chapter 67: Fairy tales knitted together

The rabbit’s words were packed with information, leaving everyone stunned.

Lu Lingxi instinctively said, “The Prince’s banquet ends at midnight and the peas in the ashes… that’s clearly ‘Cinderella’! It matches Sean’s shattered foot bones, severed toes, and heels!”

Old Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and cautiously added, “And the Queen’s red apple… could that be the poisoned apple from ‘Snow White’? Although, there are a lot of red apples in fairy tales…”

Manman pondered aloud, “The most famous one would indeed be from ‘Snow White’. But besides the poisoned apple, the story is also known for the magic mirror.”

Jing Qizhen, however, had a different focus. He looked at Angelina and blinked. “More than what the rabbit said, what surprised you most must’ve been its size and the fact that such a giant rabbit could talk, right?”

Angelina shot Jing Qizhen a glare but begrudgingly nodded in agreement. “Yes, at that moment, I was most shocked that there could even be such a huge rabbit… and that it could talk. Then, the rabbit hopped straight toward Williams’ room.”

Everyone else: “…” That was indeed an unexpected detail.

Angelina added, “It was only when I saw the rabbit went ‘thump, thump, thump’ and stopped in front of Williams’ door that I realized the events in the villa might not be a prank or a murder case, as we had initially thought.”

Gu Leshan couldn’t help but ask, “Williams was the one who died on the third day. The night before, he had already started to panic, yet he still did not lock his door at night?”

Angelina shrugged. “Maybe he did lock it. All I can say is that I didn’t hear the giant rabbit knock. It just pushed the door open, hopped into Williams’ room, and closed the door behind it. After that, there was no sound at all.”

Manman commented, “Normally, the soundproofing in a villa’s rooms wouldn’t be that good. Especially since you were all staying on the second floor. You might not hear the exact sounds inside the room but you’d definitely hear some movement.”

Angelina agreed. “Yes, but I stood by the door for a long time and heard absolutely nothing. It was an eerie silence, as if the entire villa had fallen into a dead stillness. Even the others seemed completely motionless.”

Jing Qizhen exchanged glances with his companions. “So, that night, you were the only one who saw the giant rabbit?”

Angelina nodded. “I guess so. And it’s likely that I was also the only one who heard what the rabbit was muttering.”

She paused before shaking her head with a bitter smile. “I wasn’t in the best emotional state at the time, as you can imagine. First, we were inexplicably trapped in the villa, not because we recklessly decided to explore some remote, abandoned inn or a centuries-old, crumbling castle. No, we were at a party in a family villa in bustling Boston, a thriving metropolis, and suddenly, we were just stuck there!”

Jing Qizhen gave Angelina a sympathetic look. “We understand.”

Jing Qizhen and his team’s first encounter with an erosion area had been in a busy and crowded shopping mall, the Yunhai Wancheng Department Store

They were somewhat luckier though, as the abnormalities in the supermarket were immediately apparent and most shoppers were sober. Among the unfortunate people trapped, there was even Jin Guijuan, a staff member familiar with the mall.

In contrast, Angelina and her group were partying, many were likely drunk and some might have even been high. When the incident occurred, their minds were already muddled. On top of that, the villa likely still resembled the chaotic party scene.

Even Jing Qizhen, imagining the scenario, had to admit that the initial misdirection in this erosion area was incredibly strong.

But then, a sudden thought struck him. “Wait!”

Angelina, lost in recalling the misfortunes of the past seven days, was startled by Jing Qizhen’s exclamation. She instinctively looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jing Qizhen replied, “You were the only one who saw the giant rabbit and everyone else was asleep. But before that, someone must have already found other clues! And yet none of you shared them!”

Angelina was momentarily speechless.

After a pause, she sighed bitterly. “I couldn’t explain to Caroline or McCain what the giant rabbit was. When morning came, we all went downstairs for breakfast and Williams didn’t show up. When we went to check on him, he was already dead…”

Manman propped her uninjured hand under her chin. “So, the panicked Williams from the previous night must have found some clue that only he knew. But he didn’t share it and his attempt to investigate the truth on his own didn’t go well.”

Si Jiayang, sitting next to Manman, fed her a piece of fruit after she finished speaking.

Jing Qizhen nodded. “That seems about right.”

Angelina’s tone was heavy as she slowly nodded while covering her face with her hands. Shaking her head, she sighed. “I realized that too… Sophia and Sean must be the same. Like me when I saw the giant rabbit, they each received their own clues.”

Jing Qizhen added, “On the fourth day, nothing happened in the villa. But on the fifth day, your room was covered in blood and you suddenly went missing. Forgive me for asking but was your disappearance staged?”

Angelina didn’t shy away from the topic and admitted directly, “Yes, my disappearance was staged. But before we get into that, you should hear about what happened on the third day. Specifically, the details of Williams’ death.”

Jing Qizhen extended a hand, making a somewhat polite gesture. “By all means.”

Standing beside him, Yun Shuanghua was just handed a small bowl of fruit by Si Jiayang.

Seeing Jing Qizhen’s outstretched hand, Yun Shuanghua instinctively tried to give him the bowl.

However, Jing Qizhen, clearly exhausted, could barely hold anything. Although the small bowl wasn’t heavy, his trembling fingers couldn’t stop shaking once he grabbed it.

Si Jiayang quickly exclaimed, “Hey! I knew it! Jing Qizhen’s arms can’t hold anything right now. That’s why I didn’t give him any earlier!”

In fact, Si Jiayang hadn’t given the fruit bowl to Manman either but for her, he would patiently and carefully feed her piece by piece. As for Jing Qizhen, there was no way he’d receive such treatment from Si Jiayang.

Seeing Jing Qizhen’s trembling hands, Yun Shuanghua immediately took the bowl back from him, despite keeping a cold expression.

Jing Qizhen finally breathed a sigh of relief, letting his hands drop naturally, pretending nothing had happened.

Angelina witnessed all of this while ignoring the overly blatant and shameless display from Si Jiayang and Manman. Instead, she shot a glare at Jing Qizhen and Yun Shuanghua. Her soot-smudged face clearly conveyed one message, ‘Couples who flaunt their love will split up faster, you gay!’

Jing Qizhen: “…” What did I even do to deserve this?!

As the group fell silent, the ever-quiet Earth suddenly piped up, “Ask her quickly! What happened next? I’ve heard these fairy tales before!”

Although Earth didn’t elaborate, Jing Qizhen could sense its excitement from the tone of its voice, ‘This is so thrilling! I’m so curious!’

Clearing his throat, Jing Qizhen redirected the conversation. “So, on the third day, was there anything unusual about Williams’ body?”

Angelina ruffled her messy hair. The earlier panic and unease she’d felt were completely gone, replaced by a calm and detached demeanor. “Everyone saw Williams’ condition. He was found dead in the bathtub.”

Jing Qizhen and the others exclaimed in unison, “The bathtub?!”

None of the earlier fairy tales had included elements related to a bathtub.

Angelina explained, “We forced open Williams’ door because it was locked. He was lying in the bathtub surrounded by foam. His face was severely cyanotic and swollen, with petechial hemorrhages, and there was blood on his gums, a condition often referred to as ‘rose teeth.’ Based on these symptoms, I believe he died of asphyxiation.”

Jing Qizhen froze, quickly realizing the inconsistency in her words.

“You just said Williams was lying in the bathtub and everyone could see his condition clearly. That means his head was above the water and foam and he was lying face-up with his mouth and nose exposed to the air. Are you saying he suffocated in that position?”

Angelina let out a soft breath. “Professor Jones and the others suggested that Williams suffocated first and then the killer moved his body into the bathtub. This can’t be ruled out. Although his hair was dry, the villa had a heating system, and overnight it could have dried his hair while leaving him in that pose.”

Lu Lingxi softly interjected, “Drowning is a type of asphyxiation and the physical signs are similar.”

Jing Qizhen added, “The foam is the key point, isn’t it?”

The Earth suddenly reacted, “I’ve heard of this before! ‘The Little Mermaid’! The Little Mermaid didn’t kill the Prince and turned into foam!”

Angelina had been speaking in English, which Jin Guijuan didn’t fully understand. So Lu Lingxi had been translating and summarizing key points for her as he took notes.

Glancing at Lu Lingxi’s notebook, Jin Guijuan murmured, “‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, ‘Snow White’, ‘The Little Mermaid’—that makes five fairy tales now.”

Jing Qizhen suddenly said, “Among these five fairy tales, except for ‘Alice in Wonderland’, they all involve princes and princesses. But according to what Angelina heard from that giant rabbit, even in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, there’s a prince hosting a banquet.”

Hearing this, a look of realization appeared on Manman’s face, and she blurted out, “The Little Mermaid walked and danced on knife edges!”

Jing Qizhen turned his gaze to Angelina and confirmed, “On the second day, Sean’s big toe and heel were cut off, which corresponds to the story of ‘Cinderella’. However, at the same time, Sean’s foot bones were completely shattered and the soles of his feet were stabbed multiple times. That aligns with ‘The Little Mermaid’!”

Angelina’s eyes widened in surprise and she stammered, “Williams’ death reminded me of ‘The Little Mermaid’, but I didn’t realize Sean’s death was also connected to it. Wasn’t that supposed to be ‘Cinderella’?”

Jing Qizhen explained, “The answer is simple, all the fairy tales have been merged together.”

Angelina stared intently at Jing Qizhen.

Jing Qizhen organized his thoughts and, based on the clues provided by Angelina, tried to piece together all the fairy tales.

He summarized, “The poisoned apple from ‘Snow White’ came from the Red Queen in ‘Alice in Wonderland’. The giant rabbit constantly checking its watch is the March Hare from ‘Alice in Wonderland’, who goes mad in March. And the basin the March Hare was holding is likely filled with the peas from ‘Cinderella’ that needed to be picked from the ashes.”

Gu Leshan suddenly asked, “Is the timeline within this erosion area synchronized with the outside world?”

Lu Lingxi looked up from his notebook and glanced at Gu Leshan.

Gu Leshan continued, “If the timeline in this area corresponds to the timeline of the real world outside, then it just so happens that it’s already March!”

Angelina: “!!!”

Jing Qizhen remained calm. “It’s fine. The villa has already burned down.”

Angelina’s face showed a shocked expression. It wasn’t until this moment that she finally realized and asked incredulously, “…Was it you who set the fire?”

Jing Qizhen, in an utterly nonchalant tone, replied, “The March Hare is not fire-proof, so why panic?”