Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 228: The Game of Uncovering Inner Darkness

So, this was a chance to show off, huh? Igor understood that Annan’s words were almost a direct declaration: “I know you all want to fight for it, but regardless of your plans, I will be the final winner.”

Compared to empty threats, this confidence, as if everything was under her control, was much more intimidating.

“But this way, everyone guessed right, and the scores are all the same. There’s no fun in that,” Annan pondered for a moment. “And if everyone asks their own questions, there might be some special questions they’re too embarrassed to ask… I’ve got it!”

She pulled out a stack of note pads from a nearby drawer. “These are ‘Thought-Writing Notes.’ They can automatically write down what’s on a person’s mind, and in standard size 4 font. This means it’s impossible to identify who wrote it by the handwriting, effectively making it anonymous.”

She then took out a black box. “Each person writes a question, then throws it into this box. We’ll draw three questions to ask, so no one knows who asked what. With all these safeguards in place, you can ask whatever you’re curious about without reservations, right?”

Seeing such complete tools, Igor knew Annan had definitely prepared in advance. She was probably waiting for them to explode and make demands, then seizing the opportunity to propose this game… But why this game?

What goal could Annan achieve with this game?

When Igor received the note paper, he suddenly realized the interesting aspect of this game.

It was known that everyone had to answer honestly now.

And the questions were random; no one knew who the questioner was.

In other words, Igor could easily ask, “Are you planning to murder Igor, Ashe, Archibald, and Lise?” to find out whether Annan had plans to eliminate all of them after the Weaving Festival. And he was just one among them, so he wouldn’t be targeted by Annan because of it!

No… It would be a waste to use such a good opportunity just to inquire about Annan. After all, everyone else also had to answer honestly. He could definitely come up with a brilliant question to get everyone’s true thoughts-

Igor was stunned.

He finally understood Annan’s scheme.

It was a shameless yet brilliant ploy, but even Igor, who realized its cleverness, had no choice but to dive in.

No wonder the game was called “True Heart Guess.” The real emphasis wasn’t on ‘true heart’ but on ‘guess’!

When you try to uncover the darkness of human nature, you will always get the answer you want. Human nature cannot withstand scrutiny; true hearts cannot be guessed!

“Banjeet, do you have a small mirror?” Lise suddenly asked. “I want to see if Aunt Bukin has braided my hair nicely.”

“Of course, Miss Lise.” Banjeet casually produced a small mirror, though no one knew where he got it from.

Snap.

Once everyone had submitted their note papers, Annan clapped her hands lightly. “Since all the questions are collected… Mr. Bukin, please host the next Q&A and guessing sessions. After all, since I provided the box and the note papers, if I were to host, you might suspect I had set up some tricks.”

Igor couldn’t refuse such a reasonable request. He drew a piece of paper from the black box, and his pupils slightly widened.

“Question.”

“If given the chance, would you murder the other five people here to obtain the Divine Sovereign’s wish?”

“Oh my,” Annan chuckled, “what an exciting question.”

Everyone placed their gold coins under a handkerchief, then moved into the guessing phase. Annan spoke first. “I think the number of people who answered ‘yes’ is zero.”

“I have a different opinion.” Harvey placed a silver coin. “I think it’s one.”

“I’m also going with one,” Igor followed.

Ashe spread his hands. “Unlike you guys, I choose zero.”

Banjeet also chose zero, while only Lise placed two silver coins. Everyone was slightly taken aback but quickly understood—perhaps in Lise’s eyes, both Annan and Banjeet were the bad people controlling her, so she naturally thought both of them would murder others.

But that was impossible; at least Banjeet wouldn’t do such a thing—because the option ‘murder the other five people’ included murdering Annan.

Although Ashe and the others didn’t know how long Banjeet had lived with Annan, Banjeet was over sixty years old. To him, Annan was practically like a daughter. Given that he had no descendants, how could he possibly murder Annan, his only family in reality?

But the reverse was different. If Annan was driven by enough greed, she might be willing to murder Banjeet for her desires.

This was why Igor chose to bet on one person. The most likely individual to answer “yes” in the group was Annan.

However, when the handkerchief was lifted, everyone was stunned.

Four “no” and two “yes.”

Out of the six of them, two people were willing to murder the others without hesitation for the Divine Sovereign’s wish!

Igor looked around. First, he knew he was a “no.” Lise was undoubtedly a “no,” and Banjeet was most likely a “no.”

This meant the people who answered “yes” could only be among Annan, Ashe, and Harvey!

Even if Annan occupied one slot, either Ashe or Harvey had to be the butcher ready to kill!

Harvey was an obvious suspect. After he escaped from Shattered Lake Prison, he was already on a path to destruction. Igor felt his flight was merely a way to choose the most tragic death for himself. As for Ashe, although Igor believed he couldn’t be that kind of person, whether it was Ashe’s subtle sympathy for Lise or his past actions, all proved he hadn’t lost his humanity.

But what if it was all an act?

And even if everything before was genuine, could it prove he had no darkness in his heart at this moment?

He could show compassion to a little girl, get angry over Ronald’s situation, and attack Eternal Presence to avoid harming himself… but he could also harbor murderous intentions for the Divine Sovereign’s wish.

The third rule of the Con Artist: Everything in this world has a price for betrayal. If the price is high enough, even the sun could betray the light.

Facing the enormous, incalculable benefits of the Divine Sovereign’s wish, any decision Ashe made would be understandable. Even if he truly was kind-hearted, it wouldn’t stop him from being occasionally cruel.

Moreover, Annan might not be the other “yes.” Compared to these former death row inmates, Annan was once a law-abiding worker in a grey area, which was evident from her ability to make the list—illegal actions significantly reduce one’s chances of being listed.

Annan probably hadn’t harmed many people. Could someone like her, whose hands were relatively clean, really bring herself to murder Banjeet, who had followed her for years, and the innocent little girl, Lise?

Ashe and Harvey—was it a choice between one of them, or both?

On the other side, Ashe had similar thoughts.

If only one “yes” could come from Banjeet and Annan, and he and Lise were both “no,” then it meant one “yes” was among Igor and Harvey.

One of them was a ruthless murderer willing to kill everyone for the Divine Sovereign’s wish.

When Ashe looked up, he found Igor staring at him.

This was the terror of True Heart Guess.

You guess others’ true hearts, and they guess your thoughts too. When the seeds of suspicion fall into the darkest places, they will sprout in the next quarrel, grow strong in the next conflict, and eventually, the tree will be ignited by the flames of anger, turning the darkness of the mind into the color of blood.

“Trouble,” Ashe sighed. “Lise, I didn’t expect there to be two bad people here…”

He pretended to talk to Lise to avoid Igor’s gaze, but Lise looked at him coldly, lacking the affection she had shown earlier.

She looked at him as if he were a weed, her eyes devoid of any innocence, even showing a hint of cold cruelty.

Ashe was taken aback, thinking she had entered her rebellious phase so quickly.

“Only Lise guessed correctly. Lise gets 1 point; everyone else remains at 0,” Annan said, seemingly unconcerned about the previous question. “Next question.”

Even though the sun was shining brightly outside, the atmosphere in the living room had become somewhat oppressive. Igor sighed inwardly. The first question had already planted the seeds of suspicion in everyone’s hearts. He couldn’t imagine what the second question would bring.

He drew the second piece of paper from the black box, raised an eyebrow, and then immediately lunged at Ashe, wrestling him to the ground.

“Ashe!”

“How do you know it was me who wrote it!?”

“Who else would be this childish?”

Harvey picked up the paper Igor had dropped and couldn’t help but burst into laughter:

“Haha, the question.”

“Do you think Igor should wear pretty girls’ clothes?”