# Chapter 340: Non-Instance Players
On the second floor, Xu Huo heard the other guests returning to their rooms one after another. It was already past midnight, but the game hadn't given a second prompt, indicating that the instance should have started when he arrived at the castle.
However, the game hadn't indicated the number of participating players. Based on the middle-aged butler's mention of guests plus the six he'd seen in the main hall, that made twelve players total.
But that didn't mean all twelve players were participants in this instance.
The cheongsam woman's invitation was different from the instance player invitations. The invitation he'd given to the middle-aged butler at the entrance was the cheongsam woman's, and the other party hadn't shown any surprise or refused it. This showed that even if an instance was about to start, the castle wouldn't refuse players entry.
This might be a characteristic of non-closed instances—whether they were non-instance players or instance players, they could enter the instance location before the time limit.
This way, among the other eleven guests, there was a high probability that some were also players holding black market invitations like him.
The second task of the instance was to solve the mystery of the disappearing guests. If there were non-instance players mixed in, this could be the truth or one of the truths.
As for the specifics, he'd have to wait until tomorrow to see. However, his preemptive interception of the cheongsam woman had given him an advantage.
Additionally, the cheongsam woman being a wanted criminal was unexpected. He'd originally thought she was just a low-level player hanging around the castle city, but it turned out she was a wanted criminal. It was also a coincidence that allowed him to learn a way to escape the penalty for missing an instance. Sure enough, no matter how perfect the system, there would always be loopholes to exploit. This was also an unexpectedly good piece of news.
Xu Huo touched the "Umbrella of Justice" beside him and suddenly felt a gaze on him. He turned his head to look out the window and saw a pair of blood-red eyes quickly brush past.
After waiting a few seconds with no movement, he pushed open the window and walked onto the balcony. The peeping eyes had already disappeared, but on the windowsill was a sideways-placed human head, long hair hanging outside, face turned toward him with both eyes staring straight at him.
It wasn't any of the players he'd seen in the main hall last night.
Seeing the other party maintain this posture while extending a hand to comb their long hair, Xu Huo expressionlessly closed the window.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, in the dining room, he saw all the players.
The Ma couple, the two men and one woman from the entertainment room, and the six from last night's main hall.
The couple seemed very affectionate, feeding each other as if no one else was around. The man looked ill-tempered.
The three from the entertainment room consisted of a tall, thin middle-aged man, a burly strongman, and the long-haired woman who had been displaying her head last night.
Among the six from the main hall were a pair of twin brothers, a refined young woman, and the baby-faced man who had been on the same vehicle as him. He was currently talking to a handsome young man beside him, while on the young man's other side was a silent, dark-faced man. When Xu Huo sized him up, the other party also looked back at him and gave a slight nod.
Xu Huo coldly turned his face away.
At this moment, the middle-aged butler walked over and said through ventriloquism, "Please wait a moment, everyone. Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Hasn't Mr. He gotten up yet?" the refined woman asked.
"Sir is not in good health and usually has breakfast in his room. He asked me to convey his apologies. Although the music appreciation event lasts five days, Sir doesn't have the strength to accompany you the whole time, so for the rest of the time, you are welcome to explore the castle freely," the butler said. "He will join everyone for dinner in the evening."
This instance was slightly different from previous ones. It didn't provide a complete story background. The game only prompted them to enter the castle within the specified time but didn't say what they were actually here to do. Their "purpose" for this trip was only now being revealed through the butler's words.
The players exchanged glances. Mrs. Ma spoke up, "What parts of the castle are worth visiting?"
"As you can see, there are two large gardens in front of the castle. It's the season for roses to bloom now. Guests who like flowers can go over to admire them and are welcome to pick some."
"Behind the main building is a botanical garden planted with special plants from different worlds, suitable for resting and relaxing. The air is also very good."
"The courtyard is a garden maze, quite large in area. You can see it from the second floor of the main building, but please don't go in without someone leading you, as it's easy to get lost."
Listening to the butler's words, Xu Huo glanced at the servant carefully wiping decorations nearby and asked after sitting down at the dining table, "Can we visit the rooms inside the castle?"
"Of course," the butler said. "On the second floor, there are three entertainment rooms, a piano room, and a painting room. At the end is a large study. You may use all the items inside."
"Where is the music appreciation event held?" the burly strongman asked impatiently.
"In the small concert hall on the third floor," the butler answered every question. "But without Sir's invitation, please don't go up to the third floor casually."
It seemed the third floor was a key location.
When it came to the disappearing guests, the most suspicious would naturally be the people in the castle, with the castle owner being the most suspicious of all.
The players understood this tacitly. At this moment, the busy servants brought up breakfast. The long-haired woman took two sips, then threw her spoon out, covering her mouth with a grim expression. "There's a spider in the soup!"
The dark-faced man sitting next to her stirred his soup plate and indeed found a dead black spider that had been boiled.
"What's wrong with this castle? I saw spiders in my bedroom yesterday, and that was bad enough, but now there are even spiders in the food. Is this how you treat your guests?" the refined woman raised her voice to question the servant.
The servant apologized repeatedly and said, "I'll change it for you immediately, miss."
"Forget it!" the refined woman said with disgust. "A pot of spider soup—who could drink that?"
Her words made the others abandon their soup plates. The young player and the long-haired woman immediately left the dining table.
Xu Huo stirred his soup plate but didn't see any spider. However, he also noticed that many corners of the castle had spider webs, and when he'd come out of his room earlier, he'd seen the servants deliberately avoiding the spider silk while cleaning.
"You're the one who arrived last, aren't you?" Mrs. Ma suddenly looked at him with a smile, her eyes hooking like fishhooks.
The couple both stared at him, though their expressions were completely opposite.
Xu Huo didn't speak. He flicked a dinner knife toward Mrs. Ma's hand as it reached for the black umbrella. The blade landed steadily in front of her finger, startling her into pulling her hand back. She turned to press down on Mr. Ma, who had suddenly stood up. "Don't make a scene. We're guests."
But Mr. Ma's eyes bulged as he stared fixedly at Xu Huo. Mrs. Ma coaxed him for a good while before successfully calming him down. With her hand on her husband's shoulder, her eyes lingered on Xu Huo's face. "I like young men with cold faces but warm hearts."
Then she winked at him.
Mr. Ma kissed the back of her hand. "Behave yourself. I can wear any kind of hat except a green one."
Hearing this, Mrs. Ma finally withdrew her gaze, and the couple started getting lovey-dovey again.