Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 155: Snowy Night
By the time they got back to the hotel, Xu Wang and his companions were exhausted, but without any delay, they quickly packed up and checked out. It was still dark when they waited for the ride-share car at the hotel entrance.
Getting through that ordeal was completely unexpected, and they had managed to do so without even realizing it, submitting their papers without missing a beat, and not even a badge was left behind. Just thinking about the past five hours left everyone physically and mentally drained, to the point where they didn’t want to roll dice again for a whole year.
They had ordered a large seven-seater SUV, which comfortably accommodated the five of them. As soon as the car started moving, Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin fell asleep—one deeply and the other carefree.
Qian Ai’s eyelids were heavy as if weighed down by lead, but his mind was still on Yue Shuai, preventing him from sleeping. So, he started to get irritated with the person next to him. He pinched the other’s face and poked his cheek, but he couldn’t bring himself to be too harsh, ending up tickling them instead.
Wu Sheng and Xu Wang were sitting in the front row.
The street scenes outside the window flew by, with street lights forming a continuous line of light on the glass.
Wu Sheng watched quietly, as if zoning out, yet also contemplative.
Between Xu Wang’s single seat and his, there was a very narrow aisle, reminding him of their high school days when their desks were adjacent but not touching, yet close enough to poke each other’s arms with a pen.
“Hey.” Xu Wang casually tossed a mint into his mouth, breaking the silence with a seemingly offhand remark. “If we could really leave early, what would you plan to do?”
Wu Sheng turned to him. “I haven’t thought much about it. I’ll have to see how much funds are left by then. If it’s enough, I’ll go solo; if not, I’ll earn some money first.”
“Oh.” Xu Wang nodded, dismissing the slight disappointment he felt, and turned back to look outside.
That was the end of the conversation.
Wu Sheng was caught off guard. Just as he was ready to chat, the other party had already ceased the discussion.
“What about you?” He pushed the conversation back. “What are your plans?”
“Find another job.” Xu Wang didn’t turn around. “I don’t have your skills. I’m destined to work for others in this lifetime.”
“Selling houses again?”
“Real estate consultant, thank you.”
“Ever considered selling something else?”
The more Xu Wang listened, the less he understood, until he couldn’t help but turn around. “Something else?”
Wu Sheng turned towards him and sincerely suggested, “Like software programs?”
Xu Wang, quick on the uptake, immediately got the hint and rejected the idea. “I’m not working for you.”
Wu Sheng felt a pang of regret at his strong refusal but wasn’t discouraged. “I’m a very generous boss.”
Xu Wang narrowed his eyes. “Praising yourself usually means there’s a catch.”
Wu Sheng laughed. He was used to being retorted by Xu Wang like this, so he didn’t get angry. In fact, he was more than happy to hear it and even eager to coax. “If you don’t want to be an employee, then be the boss.”
Xu Wang scoffed. “Your company and I become the boss? Then what, you live off the wind?”
“I could be the boss’ wife.” Wu Sheng was quite amenable.
Xu Wang was speechless, staring at him for a few seconds, his face heating up.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, Wu Sheng leaned in for a kiss. Xu Wang’s lips were cool, with a hint of mint. Wu Sheng had intended only a light peck but couldn’t resist lingering longer, tracing the shape of Xu Wang’s lips over and over again, and finally gently biting them before reluctantly pulling away.
Xu Wang was dumbfounded throughout, and luckily it was dark both inside and outside the car, so no one saw the blush on his face.
Wu Sheng held Xu Wang’s hand; his low panting revealed his effort to suppress and restrain himself, but his hand was warm. “I hope I’m in your plans.”
Xu Wang looked up. In the dim light of dawn, Wu Sheng’s eyes were the only brightness.
“Yes,” Xu Wang admitted. He had always known, and it was precisely because he knew, he was afraid—afraid that Wu Sheng, like the Owl, was just an unexpected event that came and went without a trace. “What about you?”
Am I included in your plans?
Wu Sheng looked at him quietly. “No.”
Xu Wang was stunned. With this kind of mood and this look, you gave me this line?!
Wu Sheng laughed, as if triumphant. “Because you are.”
You’re not in my plans because you are my plan.
The young ride-share driver in the front swallowed hard. Aiming for a five-star rating, he pretended he heard nothing and understood nothing—the epitome of innocence and professionalism.
In the back, Chi Yingxue closed his eyes again, frowned, and shifted his body. He pulled up the hood of his hoodie to cover his head and ears, as well as the smell of romance, before settling down again.
Kuang Jinxin smirked secretly, bowed his head, closed his eyes, and fell back asleep.
Qian Ai squinted, barely audibly sighing, wondering why others have a life full of spring and blossoming flowers while his is always bleak with the north wind sweeping across white grass?
Advisor Wu really believed that “no one was paying attention”, as if water were truly contained in the ocean.
As dawn broke, the number of cars on the road gradually increased. Unnoticed, another SUV followed them at a safe distance.
Inside, Kong Lizhe sat in the passenger seat, and after observing the mobile map for a while, he turned back to Wang Duanran and said, “No mistake. They’re heading to the airport.”
Wang Duanran touched his chin in confusion. “Do they know the coordinates of the next level?”
From their performance in the board game, it was obvious it was their first time through this level. They had just arrived at level 10/23 for the first time and already knew the coordinates for 11/23?
“Bought them, or someone else told them,” Gu Nian stated calmly. “Finding out the coordinates isn’t hard, but what’s strange is why they’re in such a hurry to get there.”
“What’s even stranger is, why are we following them?” Chen Guan frowned deeply, so much so that any bangs would be lifted. Losing to the same team twice and then eagerly tracking them—isn’t this unnecessary trouble?
“That relief panel and that cat—don’t you find it odd?” Wang Duanran glanced at him. “They must know something we don’t!”
“The Ow… There are many odd things there; perhaps it’s just a regular setting, and we’ve never encountered it.” Chen Guan almost said “Owl” but caught himself in time. A night of board games had already given him a splitting headache, and he didn’t want to add to his troubles.
Jiang Dachuan, usually a passive participant in these intelligent discussions, occasionally served as a lookout. Like now, occasionally glancing at the driver to confirm he was indeed uninterested in their conversation.
The secret of the Owl cannot be shared with non-participants, but as they’ve discovered through their journey, as long as you have no intention of betraying and your conversation is incomprehensible to outsiders, then the painful warning won’t occur.
The Owl seems to have control over their brains, or at least some form of telepathic connection, so the moment the thought of betrayal arises, the warning follows, hence just thinking about it.
“Whether it’s a regular setting or not, we’ll see if we follow them.” Wang Duanran’s gaze was firm, giving him a rare sense of reliability, although this temperament couldn’t last too long.
Any clue possibly related to the owl—if he hadn’t encountered it, that’s one thing—but once encountered, he absolutely wouldn’t miss it.
He doesn’t want to spend another day in this god forsaken place.
……
Upon arriving at the airport, the day had lightened, but only to a dim, hazy brightness. Thick dark clouds obscured the sun completely, with a gloomy sky and chilly winds, as if a storm was approaching.
The airport was bustling with people early in the morning. After checking in, Xu Wang and his group of five lined up to enter the security checkpoint.
Right after returning to the hotel, they booked the earliest available flight to Zhengzhou, Henan. 5/23 was in Xuchang, Henan, but for convenience in meeting up, both teams decided to meet in Zhengzhou.
Of course, Wang Duanran’s subgroup was unaware of this.
The only information they had was that level 11/23 was in Guizhou, but the airline Xu Wang and his team checked in with didn’t have flights from here to Guizhou.
Half an hour later.
Wang Duanran hung up the phone. “Found out, they’re going to Zhengzhou.”
Gu Nian frowned. “The only levels in Henan are Xuchang and Anyang.”
Kong Lizhe scratched his head. “Are they aiming for the Endless Sea?”
Chen Guan deadpanned. “Would they specifically fly to Henan just to take a cab to the next city over?”
“There must be something up.” Wang Duanran pocketed his phone, hoping there were still tickets available for that flight.
Unbeknownst to Xu Wang’s team, they had picked up a tail. With some time before boarding, they found a quiet gate in the departure hall to rest, where seats were plentiful.
After a short nap, Xu Wang felt refreshed. He noticed Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and Wu Sheng were all resting with their eyes closed, except for Chi Yingxue, who seemed to be fiddling with something.
Curious, Xu Wang approached and found his teammate examining his own palm, turning it over and over.
Xu Wang chuckled. “What are you doing, reading your own palm?”
Chi Yingxue turned to ask. “That cat, is it the [Soul Painter] you talked about?”
Xu Wang had shared a story from ten years ago with Chi Yingxue, but showing the small calico cat was a first. “Yes, that’s the one. It can come and go freely in places we can’t enter and draw everything inside.”
Chi Yingxue frowned slightly, looking back at his hand.
Xu Wang watched him spread his fingers, tilting his head and pondering for a while. “Can such small paws even hold a brush?”
Xu Wang: “……”
His teammate’s focus was always on the most peculiar details.
Suddenly, Chi Yingxue turned sharply, his gaze becoming piercing.
Xu Wang jumped. “Huh?”
Chi Yingxue ignored him, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he scanned the area, then shrugged. “Must have been my imagination.”
For the first time, Xu Wang felt like making small talk with a teammate was walking on thin ice.
Not far away, inside an ice cream shop, Wang Duanran and Jiang Dachuan emerged from under a table, sitting up straight, but the former’s gaze still wandered outside. “They didn’t notice, right?”
Gu Nian, facing away from the shop’s exterior, said, “Not so far.”
Wang Duanran leaned in for cover behind Gu Nian. “What do you mean ‘so far’?”
Gu Nian sighed. “In a moment, we’ll be on the same flight. How long do you think we can hide?”
At that moment, Gu Nian didn’t expect the answer would be—the entire day.
Starting at 8 a.m., rain mixed with snow and wind and small hail swept across the airport. It seemed to cling to the tail end of winter, continuing until the evening.
Flight delays piled up, filling the departure hall with people.
Xu Wang had called Yue Shuai around noon to say they’d be late, and by 8 p.m., he called again, saying it might not be until tomorrow.
“It’s too hard to meet you guys.” Captain Yue, receiving the second call, felt like Xu Xian, enduring the dry West Lake, desperately waiting for the Leifeng Pagoda to fall*.
*Reference to Legend of the White Snake. When Abbott Faihai imprisoned Bai Suzhen, he declared that she wouldn’t be free until either the west lake dries up or the Leifeng Pagoda (where he imprisoned her under) falls.
“I’m anxious too,” Xu Wang said sincerely. The intelligence before him was like a dangling carrot, almost driving him mad with desire.
“If I’d known, I would’ve let you rest another day,” Yue Shuai said. “You might even have passed another level.”
“Oh.” Xu Wang almost forgot about that. “We’ve already passed it.”
Yue Shuai: “…What?!”
Xu Wang: “This level activates automatically once two teams gather. We had to pass it whether we wanted to or not.”
Yue Shuai: “So you submitted your papers again?”
Xu Wang: “Yep.”
Yue Shuai: “……”
Xu Wang: “Captain Yue?”
Yue Shuai: “A’Wang, tell me the truth. Do you have a guide?”
Xu Wang: “If I say no, it’s all skill; would our friendship boat capsize?”
Yue Shuai: “…It’s already capsized!”
Xu Wang: “Do you want to know what the 10th level is? How to submit?”
Yue Shuai: “Hold on. Let me flip the boat back over.”
Twenty minutes later, Xu Wang hung up the phone, smiling. Captain Yue, far away in Zhengzhou, was like a breath of minty fresh air, dispelling the irritability of waiting at the airport.
At midnight, the plane hadn’t taken off.
Xu Wang’s team sat in their seats, waiting for either the ceiling or the floor to open a purple vortex.
Wang Duanran’s team was also waiting, the call of the Owl at midnight had become their exam bell.
The airport’s clock hands, the second, minute, and hour, overlapped.
00:00, Beijing time.
In the silence, there was neither the call of an owl nor a purple vortex.
00:002, Beijing time.
The airport and the stranded passengers remained just that. Xu Wang and his group still sat in their seats, and a few gates away, so did Wang Duanran’s team.
Outside, the rain and snow finally stopped, melting as it fell, leaving a seemingly non-existent whiteness.
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