Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 118
“Alayne, what’s wrong with you?”
Someone from the Sun Family stood up and asked loudly.
“I-I don’t know what happened. My handkerchief is gone! It was just in my hand a moment ago!”
This was the response from the little girl named Alayne.
At this moment, the last glimmer of the sunset was about to burn out.
Traces of a crescent moon had already appeared in the sky.
Many people had gathered in the center and around the square, but because of a sudden accident, there was silence all around, a profound stillness. Only the cries of the little girl in the center were heart-wrenching and pitiable.
However, it seemed that no one actually pitied her.
Those from the Cloud Family in the north circle, closest to her, all showed smiles of relief.
As for her own family in the east, they either showed fear or clenched their fists and stood up, looking at Alayne with anger and disappointment, as if she was a demon who would doom them all.
Zhou Qian sat calmly in his place, his gaze sweeping around, passing over everyone. He first looked intently at the innkeeper Tartar, who was standing not far from the meat-filled iron bowl, quietly watching everything happening in the center of the square, with a mysterious smile on her face.
Then, Zhou Qian looked towards the village chief, Ab, who had rarely left the side of the sacrificial offerings, and walked towards the Cloud Family, all the way to behind Zhou Qian—where the little girl, Alayne, was crying.
Walking up to Alayne, Chief Ab whispered a few questions to her, then summoned one of his men and said something. The man then went to the edge of the square and brought a woman over.
This woman was clearly Alayne’s mother.
The moment she saw her, Alayne immediately knelt down. “Mother, I’m sorry. I… I have let down our family…”
The woman sighed deeply, walked up to her, and after carefully checking her several times, confirmed that the handkerchief was indeed not in her dress, and tears fell from her eyes.
Then, she also knelt down, but unlike her child, she faced the direction of the village chief.
“Lord Ab, please. This… The game has just started. This doesn’t count! Please allow something else to substitute for the handkerchief. We…”
“This is the sacred judgment handkerchief left by the Prophet of Dreams! Only this handkerchief can select the true warrior for us! It is sacred! Now that it’s gone, there’s really no point in continuing the game…”
Chief Ab said sternly and without mercy, then announced to the rest, “The game is over. Now, I will announce the selections for tonight’s vigil—”
“The east circle Sun Family has the lowest score in the game. All 16 participants in the game must take part in the vigil.”
“Of course, these 16 people aren’t enough. We need to go back to the initial rock-paper-scissors stage of the game. The final round was between Awei from the north circle Cloud Family and He Xiaowei from the south circle Moon Family. These two families don’t need to participate in the vigil. But the losing sides must. Among them, the east circle Sun Family has already been determined to participate, and likewise, the west circle Star Family, which also lost, must join the vigil!”
In this game, the Star-Cloud alliance formed by the north-west circles was against the Sun-Moon alliance formed by the south-east circle.
Zhou Qian’s premature end to the game directly led to the instant dissolution of both alliances—
Star-Cloud was disbanded, and so was Sun-Moon.
Now Star and Sun became the losers, needing to participate in the vigil.
While the winning sides became the previously opposing Cloud Family and Moon Family.
As soon as Chief Ab announced the results, people wearing clothes adorned with stars ran to the Cloud side and punched an elder of the Cloud Family hard.
“It was you! The sacred judgment handkerchief is missing! It must have been you! You knew we were falling behind in the rock-paper-scissors game and likely to be sent directly to the vigil… and yet you did this! You betrayed us! You betrayed our alliance!”
“Is that so…” The elder of the Cloud Family wiped the blood from his face yet smirked mockingly. “The deserters from the Land of Silence… It’s said that they are the eight who can’t fight at all on the battlefield. We strongly opposed their joining us, opposed them fighting alongside us, but everyone thought they could participate. When it came to voting… your Star Family voted in favor, didn’t you? So—”
“Will your Star Family really fight with us forever? Probably not. The little girl Alayne is a master, and she was secretly trained… You knew about it all along. Why did you only tell us after the game had started?”
“This, this, this isn’t…” The man from the Star Family was suddenly at a loss for words.
The elder from the Moon Family punched him hard in retaliation, effectively taking revenge, and then said, “Can’t speak now, can you? Ha… It’s your own fault that things ended up this way.”
“Our deserter from the Land of Silence, He Xiaowei, thought that the youngest girl would be the weakest, which is why he targeted her. If you had told us earlier that she was actually the strongest, would we have let him throw the handkerchief behind her? If we hadn’t thrown the handkerchief to her, would she have lost it?”
“So, it was your Star Family that kept secrets first, harboring the intention to betray! How dare you come and question me?!”
The villagers’ conversation was all overheard by the players.
He Xiaowei scratched his head, feeling somewhat emotional. “Losing handkerchiefs, indeed the handkerchief ‘got lost’. Qian’er, this must be your time magic at work, right? Just now, seeing that little girl cry so miserably, I initially felt quite guilty, thinking it was us who caused her trouble. But now, it seems…”
“If you don’t want to be the butcher’s knife, then you can only become the fish*. Besides, they are just NPCs.”
*It’s a metaphor referring to one’s fate being in the hands of others. In this context, he’s alluding to the idiom of becoming the knife (taking charge of your fate and not allowing yourself to be at the mercy of others) or else become the fish.
Zhou Qian stood up, looking towards the other three families. “It seems the Star-Cloud alliance is quite fragile. This way, although we’ve avoided the vigil crisis, we and the Moon Family will inevitably become enemies with the other three families. Plus, there’s the vigil side—”
Before Zhou Qian could finish, Bai Zhou squeezed his wrist.
Turning his head to look at him, Zhou Qian said, “What?”
Bai Zhou said, “Someone needs to watch over the movements of the three families. Moreover, there must be a story behind the vigil. Leave it to me to investigate.”
Hearing this, Zhou Qian clasped his hand back, his expression momentarily indecipherable.
Seeing something in Zhou Qian’s expression, Bai Zhou, holding his hand, asked through the private chat tool in a low voice, “What are you thinking?”
Zhou Qian honestly replied, “Thinking about you.”
“Worried about my safety?” Bai Zhou asked.
“Not just that,” Zhou Qian said.
Bai Zhou asked further, “What else?”
Zhou Qian exhaled softly. “Never mind. Saying it out loud makes me seem too sentimental.”
Bai Zhou: “?”
Zhou Qian gave him a deep look. “It’s nothing. Go ahead. This is still a sub-instance of Blue Harbor City. Your abilities will be limited. So, pay attention to your safety. In case of danger, contact me anytime through the intended teammate feature. I can use that butterfly wings thing to find you.”
Meanwhile, the girl named Alayne was still crying on the ground.
Her status in the family had been very high due to her exceptional talent and the training she had received, which made her unbeatably fast and able to secure a chance of survival for everyone.
Because of her talent and diligence, her parents’ status in the family had also risen significantly.
But now her situation had taken a drastic turn for the worse. She was raised high by her clan, only to be harshly let down.
A few people from the Sun Family had already run over to her on the outskirts of the square, throwing cabbage leaves at her and hurling verbal abuse, until the village chief’s men came to maintain order and barely managed to pull them away.
Eventually, Alayne’s father also arrived.
Presumably, everyone recognized him as Alayne’s father, so no one stopped him as he approached.
But what no one expected was that the most harm would come from her own father.
He stepped forward and slapped her hard, knocking her to the ground.
Seeing this, her mother rushed over and hugged her husband’s legs, trying to stop him from approaching their daughter any further. “It’s not Alayne’s fault! What has she done wrong?!”
But the next moment, she was kicked away by her husband. “I’m ruined because of you and your daughter! From now on, I won’t be able to lift my head in the clan!”
Zhou Qian, who was closest to Alayne at this moment, walked over and coldly said, “A grown man pushing his own eight-year-old daughter into this dangerous vigil reserve squad is already cowardly enough. How do you have the face to blame her for your inability to hold your head up? Why didn’t you participate in the handkerchief game yourself?”
The man retorted, “You, a deserter from the Land of Silence coming here, will have to rely on us to live! Watch your mouth!”
At this point, Zhou Qian wasn’t in a hurry to retort, and upon noticing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, he promptly grabbed Bai Zhou’s wrist, then turned to look at the man.
The man’s words had revealed a crucial piece of information—deserters had to depend on the villagers to survive. Zhou Qian was curious to hear if, in his anger, the man would continue to speak without thinking and reveal more critical information.
However, the man soon stopped talking to Zhou Qian, probably realizing he had misspoken. Then, he turned back to continue berating his wife and daughter with harsh words.
“The most useless are men who berate their wives and children!” He Xiaowei couldn’t hold back and blurted out, “Bastard!”
The man no longer paid attention to the players and tried to punch Alayne again. Just as his fist was about to hit Alayne’s face, someone held it back.
It was Bai Zhou.
“You—” He was about to curse at Bai Zhou, pointing at his nose, when Bai Zhou pressed down on his hand, and the man’s wrist was immediately dislocated, causing him to cry out in pain.
Bai Zhou ignored him, letting him fall to the ground, then walked over to the little girl, helped her up, patted her shoulder, and carefully removed the cabbage leaves from her head.
From behind, Bai Zhou’s actions seemed extremely gentle.
Seeing this, Zhou Qian nudged He Xiaowei next to him. “Xiaowei Ge, do you know one reason why I never made things clear with Zhou Ge before?”
He Xiaowei: ???
Zhou Qian: “When we were in school, he wasn’t as indifferent to others as he is now. Generally, he got along well with classmates since he was the class monitor. Although he was probably special to me, he was also friendly to other classmates. So, I wasn’t sure if he was only gentle towards me…”
He Xiaowei thought for a moment. “Oh, so you’re saying… the game has hardened him?”
Zhou Qian: “…………”
He Xiaowei: “Qian’er, I can’t guess when you speak in riddles. But this scene looks like you caused trouble by bullying the girl, and then the God Level boss comes to clean up your mess.”
“…? Me? Cause trouble? Xiaowei Ge, are you confused about something? Who just saved you from the danger of the night vigil?”
“Eh, eh, eh, not that! I’m just making an analogy!”
“Hmm?”
“Damn, Qian’er, don’t glare at me. I’ve decided to follow my master’s advice and talk less!” He Xiaowei hurriedly made a zipping motion across his mouth.
On the other side, Bai Zhou gave Alayne’s mother a tube of ointment and another tube to the girl as well, then led her to the village chief Ab, who was still in the center of the square.
Seeing the chief, Bai Zhou said, “Chief Ab, I’ll keep vigil in her place.”
He stated it directly.
Hearing this, Ab looked at him meaningfully but didn’t object. “You volunteer to keep vigil, contributing to the village… That’s good.”
Bai Zhou asked, “What does keeping vigil entail?”
Ab replied, “As the village chief, I also have the duty to keep vigil. Just follow me tonight. You’re free until one hour before midnight, then please gather here.”
“I’ll take Alayne home first.” Bai Zhou nodded to Ab, leading Alayne past the north circle area, and continued outwards.
Passing by Zhou Qian, he stopped, looked towards Hidden Blade, not far away, and said, “The output position here is yours.”
“Don’t worry,” Hidden Blade said. “I can still help everyone with my intuitive talent at that time.”
Bai Zhou nodded, then asked, “Are you willing to follow Zhou Qian’s arrangements?”
Hidden Blade smiled. “You still don’t trust me? Not to mention my personal experience in the last instance. Just watching his previous videos, I’m fully convinced by his arrangements.”
Actually, Hidden Blade knew that Bai Zhou’s question wasn’t doubting him but needed him to publicly express his support for Zhou Qian, especially in front of the uncertain positions of Yun Xiangrong and Yin Jiujiu. This way, even in Bai Zhou’s absence, with the God Level player Hidden Blade vouching for Zhou Qian, others would think twice before acting against Zhou Qian.
Thus, Hidden Blade looked towards the two girls and emphasized, “I absolutely support every one of Zhou Qian’s plans, all the way!”
Zhou Qian glanced back and forth between the two, smiling and squeezing Bai Zhou’s hand. “Be careful.”
“You too,” Bai Zhou replied, squeezing his hand back, then turned to lead the little girl out of the square.
The gamblers outside were a bit confused.
[Are they really in love? I don’t buy it.]
[Let’s say, it’s like an emperor who falls for a general, and has to send that general to battle. How would the emperor feel?]
[The emperor would definitely be worried and conflicted. If I were the general, knowing my loved one sent me to the most dangerous tasks, I’d be upset!]
[So, their situation isn’t suitable for a relationship. Career is career. Feelings are feelings. They shouldn’t mix! Otherwise, conflicts are inevitable, and it won’t last long.]
[My view is different.]
[How so?]
[In this situation, only 137 is most suitable for the task. Anyone else wouldn’t match up in ability and would easily fail. If Zhou Qian didn’t assign the task to 137, how could he convince the others?]
[Right, others might think he’s showing favoritism, which would undermine team cooperation in the future!]
[Not just that, others might think he’s blinded by love. How could someone as rational as him assign someone unsuitable for the task?]
[Oh, so 137 not only doesn’t mind but also volunteered to go… There’s also a sense that he didn’t want to put Qian Ge in a difficult position. I think I understand what Qian Ge meant now.]
[Fuck, 137’s feelings for Qian Ge… that’s really something.]
[Damn, no wonder Qian Ge became bent. I’m impressed.]
[?? Something’s off with you upstairs.]
Inside the game, the square inevitably saw some disturbances, likely between those assigned to the night vigil and those who could go home, hurling insults at each other. Eventually, the village chief intervened to calm the disturbances. Then, he lit a part of the pyre made of animal bones, known as the Bone Fire.
Since the pyre was surrounded by wood and straw, which acted as kindling, the flames were still yellow.
The large yellow flames, in contrast with the torches around the square, looked quite spectacular in the night, as if a phoenix might emerge from the fire at any moment.
“The fire here will burn all night, in hopes that the people from the other world will be satisfied…” The village chief told everyone. “Now, those on the night watch may leave temporarily. Please gather here an hour before midnight. As for those who can go home… Everyone from each household, please line up to receive the distributed offerings. Remember, after you take what I give you, light it in your fireplace before midnight. Otherwise, you might be devoured by beings from the other world!”
“Also, I must remind everyone, don’t draw your curtains, or block your windows with anything! I’ll send people to patrol. If the patrollers don’t see the light, they’ll think something’s happened to you and will enter your house. If there’s nothing wrong, wouldn’t that just cause unnecessary trouble? So, please be careful!”
Finally, the village chief looked at Zhou Qian and his group. “Those of you staying in the inn, join the line and take an offering for tonight’s burning.”
The village chief’s men once again maintained order, and people, as if accustomed to this annual event and to accepting death and the departure of loved ones, didn’t make much noise or show excessive sorrow but lined up in an orderly manner.
Looking closely at their faces, villagers who had family members on night watch were silently crying; others who could go home, especially those from the Cloud Family, seemed relatively happy.
The offerings that needed to be burned distributed by the village chief were mainly bones, with small amounts of ordinary firewood and grain.
Seeing this, He Xiaowei became very serious and immediately leaned towards Zhou Qian. “Qian’er, without you, I’d really feel like I’m in danger. Who knows what those animals ate? If their bones contain a lot of phosphorus, the burning could produce blue flames! The designers of this instance are too cunning!”
“The chief also said not to draw curtains or block windows, or they’ll think we’re in danger and just barge in. Then, seeing the light in the house, our little trick with the color would be completely useless.”
“As expected, the method I proposed at the start is ineffective… Being reckless, we’d either die at the hands of ghosts, or we’d violate the order and probably die anyway!”
“Indeed. There’s only a little grain and ordinary firewood, which will burn out quickly. But a large amount of bones can burn for a long time. What we actually need to trace back to is… who exactly issued these prohibitions.” Zhou Qian said, “I hope Zhou Ge can come up with some results.”
“Qian’er, you line up here. My master will protect you.”
He Xiaowei glanced at the long line ahead and rubbed his hands. “I’ll go talk to others and see if there’s a quarry or something. I’ll look for some fuel of a different color. The more, the better.”
Here, a crowd of villagers lined up, one by one, to receive the flammable offerings from the village chief for protection against ghosts at night.
On the other side, Bai Zhou let Alayne lead him towards the gathering place of the Sun Family.
At this moment, Alayne had wiped away her tears, her expression obscured in the darkness away from the firelight.
“Actually, you don’t need to take me back. You and the people from the Cloud Family somehow stole my handkerchief. You will be hated by the entire clan. Once you take me home, they might not let you go.”
“If that’s the case. They wouldn’t let you go either, right?” Bai Zhou said, “It seems I should go even more.”
“Why are you willing to help me?” Alayne wiped her tears again and asked him.
Bai Zhou said in a deep voice, “You should think about one question: why were you born with such a talent, to the point that you had to take on such an important role. When needed, everyone treats you as if you are the moon held in their hearts. But once you disappoint them, everyone will hate you to the bone, trample on you, even wish to kill you.”
Taking a deep breath, Alayne said, “The questions you just mentioned, I have indeed thought about them. It’s not fair. Why would fate be imposed on us like this? Why…”
“I barely slept in the past year. I practiced desperately, just to protect the people of the clan. I did it for them. Now, I didn’t want this result! I didn’t want to lose. But, but why—”
Her angry words abruptly stopped, and then Alayne looked at Bai Zhou. “It sounds like you’ve had a similar experience? What about you? Did you lose?”
Bai Zhou was very tall.
Alayne had to stretch her neck to see his face.
But in the darkness, his expression was inscrutable, and Alayne couldn’t make anything out.
All she could see was the Bone Fire burning in the square behind him, stretching far into the distance, seemingly endless, which outlined his figure as especially lonely and indifferent.
Bai Zhou looked down at her and said lightly, “If you want to know the answer, let’s make a deal.”
Alayne asked him, “What kind of deal?”
Bai Zhou said, “Tell me what you know about the secrets of this village. For example, what exactly happens during the night watch?”
<<< || Table of Contents || >>>
Kinky Translations 