Chapter 289: The Outsider

Ning Zhe opened the door and stepped onto the second-floor corridor of Zhong Lou; he had flown directly up, arriving faster than the investigation team climbing the grand corridor’s stairs, allowing him to wait at the only path up.

On his way to the grand corridor, Ning Zhe quickly summarized all known information.

Regarding Prumelija’s chessboard:

1. After Prumelija performed the “undo move” operation, time rewound to before she made her first move.

From the perspectives of Chief Ebnik, Housekeeper Marylin, and the investigation team, Officer John never took the chief hostage, the chandelier was never shot down by eleven bullets, the wight had been exposed the moment it entered, and was instantly killed by Marylin’s swift American-style single shot to the head.

To everyone in the first-floor lobby, they heard only a single gunshot—the one that killed the wight—and there had never been any gunfight.

But Officer Suxi, who was not in the first-floor lobby at the time, heard it; she and officers like Gavin Newson were in the laundry room and heard the continuous gunfire coming from Zhong Lou—the brief, unreal gunfight that had been “undone.”

2. Prumelija set up chessboards in three locations: the underground warehouse, the first-floor lobby, and the castle’s central courtyard.

Except for the chessboard in the basement, which Ning Zhe could not observe due to dim lighting, the two later boards set in the first-floor lobby and the castle courtyard were placed with deliberate intent.

When setting the board in the lobby, the four sides of the chessboard aligned precisely with the four walls of the lobby—front, back, left, and right.

When setting the board in the castle’s central courtyard, the four sides aligned with the four outer walls of Vanessa Castle—east, south, west, and north.

“So the rule of that chessboard must be—‘setting the board.’”

Ning Zhe quickly concluded: “Pieces can only move within the board’s boundaries; ‘undo move’ can only affect the state within the board. Outsiders are unaffected by the board.”

“When the board was set in the basement, the board’s range was one warehouse.”

“When the board was set in Zhong Lou, the board’s range was the first-floor lobby.”

“When the board was set in the castle’s central courtyard, the board’s range was the entire Vanessa Castle.”

Thus, although the gunfight in the first-floor lobby was “undone,” for those within the board, it never happened—but Suxi, Newson, and other officers outside the board still remembered the gunfire they heard; as outsiders, they were unaffected by the board.

Suxi’s phone time was over ten minutes ahead of Ning Zhe’s wristwatch time for this very reason.

Ning Zhe hurried through the corridor and reached a circular open-air terrace; two milk-white, curved stone staircases extended from either side of the terrace, forming elegant, serpentine arcs down to the first-floor ground level—this was the main structure of Zhong Lou: the grand corridor.

Carefully peering from the terrace’s edge, Ning Zhe quietly observed the black-dressed girl standing still in the courtyard below, recalling the leather-clad man’s words before departure: “Miss Marylin, the safety of the Princess and us all rests in your hands.”

“No wonder the leather-clad man dared lead the team straight into Zhong Lou—he wasn’t reckless, he was confident.”

The board had already been set; the entire Vanessa Castle now lay under Prumelija’s control, and everyone within the board were merely pieces she could Suishi “undo.”

The Fulemishileite family clearly understood the ghosts in the castle well—otherwise they wouldn’t have sent a specialist-grade cultivator to directly control the entire Vanessa Castle—but the question remains… “Is this ‘Princess’ a cultivator, or a granted one?” Ning Zhe gazed at Prumelija’s slender, flower-like back, lost in thought.

Heavy footsteps echoed from below; Ning Zhe’s body instantly dissolved into invisible qi, and a long-tailed tit slipped into the lush green potted plant beside the railing, its eyes dark and gleaming.

The footsteps grew clearer; the leather-clad man, dual pistols in hand, came into view first. Six men ascended the grand corridor to the second floor, arriving at the terrace’s edge—beyond lay the second-floor banquet hall, which Ning Zhe had burned in his dream, now intact.

“We’ve reached the second floor. Everything is normal,” the leather-clad man said into the mic clipped to his collar, earpiece in place. “Now heading to the third floor… Understood, I’ll be careful.”

Chief Ebnik stepped to the terrace railing and waved down. Ning Zhe, hidden in the pot, turned his head downward; Housekeeper Marylin, standing in the center of the courtyard, waved back. Both she and Prumelija seemed to wear earpieces—the two groups maintained real-time contact.

“Suxi, what did your brother say in his last call to you?” the leather-clad man asked as he walked.

Officer Suxi shook her head: “He didn’t say anything, sir. After the call connected, I heard no voice—only indistinct noise, like fabric scraping the floor, or wind rustling curtains—then it ended.”

“I see.”

Without lingering on the second floor, the leather-clad man led the group upward.

In this field operation, the 24 officers were divided into teams of three; Suxi’s brother’s team was assigned to investigate and collect evidence in the third-floor library and surrounding areas, and they last lost contact on the third floor.

No error in any single detail!

Vanessa Castle’s strict hierarchy was reflected in its architecture:

The first floor, centered on the reception hall, housed stables, kitchens, laundry rooms, and was primarily used by servants.

The second floor, centered on the banquet hall, contained many vacant guest rooms and entertainment spaces, used to host visitors.

The third floor was the private domain of Lord Vanessa, housing the library, art gallery, and the lord’s bedroom.

When the investigation team reached the third floor, many doors were already open—likely left so by the Sunak team before they vanished, unable to close them.

“Stay together. Don’t scatter. Don’t go alone,” the leather-clad man said, pointing his dual pistols at the nearest door.

The six entered; inside was an exhibition hall lined with glass display cases, holding artworks such as oil paintings and porcelain, as well as many items of special significance to the Fulemishileite family: the deed to the family’s first fief, the horseshoe of the first lord’s warhorse, the bow that killed the peasant uprising leader, written records of family marriages with the imperial house… all carefully preserved in glass cases, quietly displayed on the third floor of Vanessa Castle.

The team searched the exhibition hall for a long time but found nothing suspicious.

“Next room.” The leather-clad man turned his guns and led the group out, entering the next door.

"Next one." The man in the leather jacket swung his rifle around, led his team out of the exhibition hall, and walked through the next door.

(End of Chapter)