Just as he finished saying so, they spotted Du Lai and Fu Miaoxue coming toward them from the garden side.

Shen Mo asked, “Where did you two go?”

“To the kitchen to find something to eat.” Du Lai held up a plate of cold, hard steamed buns, then noticed the warm stuffed rolls in Shen Mo’s hands and was momentarily taken aback. “Where did those come from?”

Shen Mo was silent for two seconds, then replied, “From the kitchen.”

Du Lai: “……”

Was it really too much to ask for a basic level of human decency?

Even if you’re going to lie, at least put a little effort into it?

Fu Miaoxue had no interest in the food. She asked straight away: “Did you hear those cries? I think they could be a clue — shall we all go take a look~”

Shen Mo placed the stuffed rolls into Du Lai’s hands. “Yeah — let’s go look.”

Du Lai squeezed them slightly — soft, with a lingering warmth that was clearly fresh from the steamer, still practically just made.

He couldn’t help glancing at Bai Youwei.

She was willing to give away her substitute doll to him — which meant she had something even better than a substitute doll in her possession.

But didn’t games always emphasize balance? So why were Bai Youwei’s items all so…

Bai Youwei wore an expression of perfect composure.

Du Lai let the thought drop.

……

All four of them went outside together.

Passing through the main hall at the front, they ran into the old scholar again.

The old scholar was inside making a paper figure.

The paper effigy that Shen Mo had cleaved apart still lay in the garden in front of the side rooms — just a few bamboo strips and scraps of torn paper remaining — while the old scholar was now busy making a new one.

Fine bamboo strips had been bent and woven into a round head, then a cylindrical body, and multiple layers of white paper had been pasted over the frame to form the basic shape.

The eyes and nose hadn’t been painted on yet, so it was only a blank outline, with the smell of paste filling the air.

The other paper figure sat undamaged in its high-backed chair. The one that was missing was the old scholar’s “mother.”

Bai Youwei had half a mind to ask about the paper figures — but as they drew a little closer, they heard the old scholar murmuring to himself as he applied paste:

“A gentleman says: learning must never cease… learning must never cease…”

Everyone inwardly groaned.

Surely they wouldn’t have to recite texts again just to get him to answer?

“Let’s go to the village first,” Shen Mo said evenly. “The Bone-Carrying Woman was circling through the village all night — there should be clues there.”

Bai Youwei muttered under her breath, “Please don’t let every NPC require us to recite something…”

……

As it turned out, it wasn’t quite so extreme as everyone reciting texts — but as Fu Miaoxue had predicted, every clue did indeed come with its own test.

They traced the wailing to a household where the occupants were dressed in mourning white and weeping without cease. White lanterns had been hung outside the door, and paper spirit money and paper flowers had been scattered about.

Villagers were arriving one after another to pay their respects.

Shen Mo’s group also went to pay their respects — only to find themselves blocked at the gate by something invisible, as if an unseen wall stood in the way.

The head of household asked them: “For whom have you come to offer condolences?”

For whom?

They had no idea.

They had only arrived the night before — they didn’t know anyone here, and certainly had no way of knowing who had died!

Unable to answer, they couldn’t get through the door. They had no choice but to ask the visitors coming in and out.

But no matter who they asked, they got no answer.

Every person attending the funeral wore the same weeping expression. Aside from crying, not one of them would speak a word.

Bai Youwei noticed a group of children playing near the base of the wall. The adults were all in tears, but the children didn’t understand — they were laughing and fooling about.

One of the children was holding a Luban lock puzzle in his hands.

Bai Youwei sensed this was promising. She caught Du Lai’s eye with a look.

Du Lai smiled and walked up to the child, crouching down and showing his signature tiger-fanged grin. He asked, “Do you know whose funeral this is in this family?”