Chapter 391: Who Committed the Murder? 

‘Is this even scientific?’

Xiao Yu’s mind was filled with question marks.

What the hell kind of case is this? Starting off with an AOE attack right out of the gate?

No, something was definitely off with this operation.

Xiao Yu blinked, his gaze fixed on the video as he pressed pause.

His eyes were cold as they locked onto the plate resting atop a circular character chart. And the table beneath it. With his “magic expert” skill, Xiao Yu knew well that illusions could be crafted in countless ways using sleight of hand.

So then, what kind of trick could make a plate move by itself on a table?

There were far too many methods.

Of this, Xiao Yu was certain. There was no reason Wang Dong and the Group Two guys wouldn’t have thought of it too.

He hit play again.

The video resumed.

On screen, six young faces twisted with terror.

That was Xiao Yu’s deduction.

From the video angle, he could only see four faces, all frozen in fear. The other two were out of frame, but it wasn’t hard to imagine what expressions they wore.

A plate moving on its own was far too eerie. Especially in the dark, lit only by four flickering candles. Even the air seemed to congeal.

Suddenly.

The plate stopped.

The arrow atop the plate pointed to a single character: 想 (think).

Then it moved again, stopping at another character: 问 (ask).

A third time: 什 (what).

A fourth: 么 (what).

Then the plate returned to the center of the thousand-character chart.

Think, ask, what, what?

It wasn’t just the six youths in the video who were struck dumb. Even Xiao Yu’s mind went blank.

An involuntary shudder ran down his spine, his heart pounding wildly.

Sure, there were plenty of ways to move a plate without touching it. But how could you make it point precisely to the characters you wanted?

Xiao Yu paused the video again, diving into analysis.

“I once watched a movie with a scene just like this,” Wang Dong pointed at the surveillance footage, trying to look serious. “But, uh, it wasn’t a very good movie.”

His tone was solemn, but his eyes gleamed with a strange light.

‘Not very good, huh? And yet you’re bringing it up?’ 

Trying to cover it up only made it more obvious. Xiao Yu shot his big brother a glance.

‘Come on, man. Just admit it. What was it called? Say it out loud.’

Every man knew what that look meant.

“Ahem!” Wang Dong’s old face flushed as he jabbed a finger at the tablet. “Back to work.”

Middle-aged men were just so damn easy to read.

Xiao Yu bared his teeth in a grin. Having been interrupted, he didn’t dwell further on how the plate moved.

The video continued.

At this point, the footage resembled a full-on horror movie.

The six young people were trembling all over, faces ashen. Beads of sweat glistened on their foreheads, a testament to their fear and tension. With trembling hands, their fingers once again pressed down on the plate.

They exchanged anxious glances.

A young woman opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. The surveillance camera had no audio recording.

But Xiao Yu, with his language expert skills, was adept at lip-reading.

From her lip movements, angles, and mouth shapes, he could “hear” her words clearly: Plate spirit, plate spirit, I want to ask… do you know if any of us have done bad things in the past?

Xiao Yu’s eyebrows shot up.

Why would she ask such a question?

Have any of you done something you’re hiding?

What truth are you trying to uncover?

So, they had gathered to summon the Plate Spirit to seek answers?

In the video.

Six fingers pressed against the plate, unmoving. But then the plate moved once more. This time, taking those six fingers with it.

The arrow atop the plate pointed to several words in succession.

You, among, have, people, kill, man.

You among yourselves… someone has killed.

Xiao Yu’s eyes narrowed sharply. His gaze bore into those six fingers. he noticed a faint bluish tint on two of them.

What did that mean?

When you press down hard, the tips of your fingers turn blue from the pressure. This indicated force. Which, in turn, meant two people were controlling the plate. Using that force, they guided its movement to the characters they wanted.

“So that’s how it is…” Xiao Yu murmured. “I still don’t know how they made the plate move on its own the first time, but this time, two of them are definitely manipulating it.”

The culprits were a young man and woman sitting with their backs to the camera.

Xiao Yu couldn’t see their expressions, so he couldn’t analyze further.

But everyone knew cheaters always had an ulterior motive.

So what were they trying to achieve?

Back in the footage.

When the group saw the plate’s message, their faces changed drastically once more. The plate then returned to the center. 

A boy, trembling, opened his mouth.

Xiao Yu focused, lip-reading again: Plate spirit, plate spirit, among the six of us… who killed?

Suddenly, the plate began to move again.

But this time, it shook violently and erratically.

The young people’s expressions contorted in shock and panic. Their fingers could no longer stay pressed against it. One by one, their fingers were flung off by the plate’s wild movements.

And then—

The plate started moving entirely on its own as if an invisible hand was holding it, shaking it. It slammed into a spot on the table.

One of the four candles was knocked over.

Then another.

These two candles corresponded precisely to the two words in the chart’s four corners: Plate Spirit.

The six youths scrambled backward in terror, trying to get as far away from the table as possible.

Some were trembling, paralyzed with fear.

Some curled into the corners.

Some screamed hoarsely.

There was a legend associated with this game.

If the players’ fingers were flung off, or if candles were knocked over, it meant one thing. The Plate Spirit had descended.

With only two candles still lit, the room was now dim, eerie, and suffocating.

A chilling atmosphere slithered through the darkness, flickering in the candlelight.

That stifling dread seemed to coil and spread.

And then, in the dim glow of the surveillance footage, a figure dressed in red… slowly appeared.