Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 138

Inside the Royal City.

The fires that burned throughout the night in every household were finally extinguished, and the day was fully bright. Shops along the street gradually opened, and bustling crowds took to the streets.

The faces of the people were mostly filled with joyful smiles—they had survived, safely passing the perilous Samhain, and from this morning on, they could truly celebrate this day as a festival.

The little dragon was summoned by Zhou Qian and quietly flew out of the city. Through its eyes, Zhou Qian gathered much information—

Last night, to safely get through Samhain, the group from the Land of Silence didn’t travel overnight but stayed in a nearby town. They were now heading towards the Royal City and would arrive in about an hour.

Their procession included seven magicians and about thirty guards, all elite.

On the other hand, Gao Shan, acting as a bone spirit, went to scout both inside and outside the palace.

With his transparent soul, he could freely avoid various guards and eavesdrop on their conversations without being discovered. The only thing he had to beware of were animals in this world that could see spirits or magicians with special abilities.

After some scouting, Gao Shan found out that the kings of both countries would meet in the palace’s horse track. They both enjoy horse racing and plan to discuss state affairs while racing horses and drinking.

As for the general layout of the royal city, it had been thoroughly explored by the players before they went to the breakfast shop.

The Royal City was square, with a city gate in each of the four directions. People from the Land of Silence would enter through the east gate, follow the main road all the way to the palace, then enter the horse track directly through the west side door.

Guards were stationed at all four gates, especially at the east gate, where defenses were exceptionally strict. From the city gate, along the main road, to the west side door of the palace, not only were the guards strict, but there were also ceremonial troops specially prepared to welcome the Land of Silence.

Due to barriers set up, no ordinary citizens passed through the king of the Land of Silence necessary route from the city gate to the horse track.

In this situation, once a player walked past, they would immediately become the target of everyone’s attention.

During this time, Alayne also went out to scout.

As a citizen of the Kingdom of Words, she infiltrated and wandered around the city, bringing back a piece of news after some investigation.

“The replacements for the Day, Moon, Star, Cloud four great guard armies stationed in the Royal City are Wind, Rain, Thunder, Fire. Inside the palace, these four guard squads jointly protect it, and as for the city gates, Wind guards the east, and Rain, Thunder, Fire respectively guard the west, south, north. I inquired about the names of the four guard leaders and found something complicated…”

“These four leaders and some of their subordinates were once from Day, Moon, Star, Cloud. When I passed by the west gate, I even made eye contact with that leader. I have been reborn, so he doesn’t recognize me, but I recognized him at a glance. Back then…”

Sighing, Alayne’s eyes filled with deeper hatred. “The battle against the Red God, when I died, I fought alongside them. My squad and I all died in battle, but they survived unharmed and even became leaders here.”

Because of Amei and the golden feather, Day, Moon, Star, Cloud were expelled to become commoners. But not everyone from these four families went to Nameless Village.

After being reincarnated as Alayne, she heard the old folks mention their names and fates—they were executed.

Back then, because the golden feather was stolen, the Land of Silence waged war against the Kingdom of Words, which at that time couldn’t resist the Land of Silence. They not only had to hand over Amei but also had to punish her family sufficiently to appease the Land of Silence’s anger and avert an imminent war.

Thus, for Day, Moon, Star, Cloud, most were expelled, and a few were executed. Among those expelled to Nameless Village, no one thought there was anything unusual. They all believed that those few people had truly died.

But now Alayne realized there might be more to the story.

She thought for a moment and said, “I understand. Day, Moon, Star, Cloud each mastered a unique skill, and with these four skills working together, the king could sleep soundly. This has always been the support of the four great families. They thought that by handing over Amei, the king would definitely not harm them, but unexpectedly…”

“It seems these four betrayed their own families. They revealed the secrets of the unique skills to the king in exchange for their own prosperity. With control over the four unique skills, they reformed Wind, Rain, Thunder, Fire, which could replace the former Day, Moon, Star, Cloud in protecting the king. Then, for the former four families… the king could expel them without worry. Even…”

Clenching her fists, Alayne said, “Even further back in time, I was betrayed by them! The queen hated the four families and the king, so she became the Red God and caused chaos. But she never harmed the civilians. This I learned after dying and going to another realm, seeing the queen.”

“If the massacre of so many civilians wasn’t done by the queen, then it was most likely these people committing crimes under the guise of the Red God’s orders.”

Everyone thought the Red God was the calamity of the Royal City. Alayne, to protect the civilians, fought on the day of Samhain when the Red God appeared, exhausted her strength, and died.

But she never imagined the real culprits were her own family.

These people had long harbored the intention to betray, secretly turning their blades against their own.

When Alayne was still Beilan, she died under their betrayal. Day, Moon, Star, Cloud were expelled and became commoners because of their betrayal, and then directed all their hatred towards Amei alone, continuously framing her during her years of suffering…

At this point, Alayne suddenly felt uncertain about whom to hate.

She remembered what Amei said—the people here are too wicked, so wicked that Amei would rather stay as the Red God in the other world forever than return to the human world.

After hearing Alayne’s story, Zhou Qian quickly understood all the causes and effects.

He slightly raised his eyebrows, glanced towards the east gate, and then smiled. “I see… Then there’s even more reason to kill them.”

“So, this is another betrayal. It seems ‘betrayal’ indeed is the theme of this instance. Then, let them be our first targets.”

Having said this, Zhou Qian stood next to the breakfast table and buried his head on the desk. He put one hand on the table, drew a map with the other, and laid out specific tactics.

Finally, he spun a pen in his fingers and, with a snap, placed it on the table.

Zhou Qian turned to everyone. “Does everyone understand? Since the east side is heavily guarded, we’ll act from the west, south, and north. We’re perfectly disguised as defectors from the Land of Silence. ‘Framing’ this on the Land of Silence couldn’t be easier. Don’t forget, the solution to this problem was told to us by the people of Nameless Village—”

He Xiaowei reacted immediately, saying, “I got it! When they killed Qi Yunsi and framed us, they mentioned that the soldiers of the Land of Silence have a unique curved weapon! I’ve seen Qi Yunsi’s body. I know what that mark looks like! We can kill these betrayers and then make the wounds look similar!”

“Right. So… let’s get moving.”

Zhou Qian placed his other hand on the table with a snap, as if to boost everyone’s morale.

One after another, they left, leaving only Bai Zhou behind.

Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou stood facing each other by the window.

Outside the window was a street full of exotic charm. The morning glow’s orange light dissipated, and the sunlight began to intensify, casting a halo of hazy light and shadow around their side profiles.

Despite their days together, they had always been in the game world.

Zhou Qian had never seen the part of Bai Zhou hidden in the shadows.

But it seemed Zhou Qian never cared about that.

Now, he just looked at Bai Zhou seriously, smiling slightly. “I’m going to command you now.”

Bai Zhou smiled back and didn’t say much. He just stepped forward, took Zhou Qian’s right hand with one hand, lifted it to his lips, lightly kissed the back of his hand, then put his hand down.

“See you in a bit. Be careful.”

With those words, Bai Zhou turned and leaped towards the window, his tall and slender figure disappearing as if merging with the daylight.

Zhou Qian first looked down the long street through the window—not a trace of Bai Zhou could be seen.

Then he lifted his hand, glancing at the back of his hand a couple more times, though not spending too much time on it.

Taking a quick deep breath, Zhou Qian, with the Rib of God in hand, also took action.

He left the bed, walked down the stairs to the first floor, through the hall towards the street, “accidentally” bumping into many customers along the way.

Thus, before entering the breakfast shop, he had no money, but upon leaving, he had acquired a significant amount of currency from the Kingdom of Words.

Moments later, Zhou Qian changed into a new outfit—one that was currently fashionable in the Royal City of the Kingdom of Words—and arrived at the west gate.

His task was to kill the leader of Fire, who was in charge of this location.

The reason he took on this task was simple—when he passed by here earlier, before dawn, he noticed a few soldiers gambling with cards at the base of the city wall.

Although the cards held by the soldiers of the Kingdom of Words and their way of gambling were very different from what he was used to in modern society, the principles were the same. Zhou Qian, with a good memory and proficient in gambling, had figured out the game after watching just three rounds.

When Alayne came here to scout earlier, she coincidentally encountered the Fire leader arriving at this location to assign tasks to the soldiers stationed here.

From a distance, Alayne was able to recognize him as someone from the former four great families.

Alayne had described in detail the appearance and clothing of the Fire leader, which Zhou Qian had memorized thoroughly.

Now, after walking around the inside of the city gate, Zhou Qian found that the Fire leader wasn’t here.

The four great guard armies of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Fire were responsible for the security of the entire Royal City, both for guarding the city gates and the palace. As the leader of one of these four branches, the Fire leader would likely patrol back and forth between the city gate and the palace to check if his subordinates were slacking off.

His absence meant he had probably gone back to the palace to inspect the defensive arrangements there after assigning tasks at the city gate in the morning.

The Fire leader would surely return.

And his absence provided Zhou Qian with an opportunity to deal with him.

Aside from the temporary absence of the Fire leader, there were also no civilians near the west gate at the moment.

Hearing that people from the Land of Silence were coming, most had crowded to the eastern side of the Royal City. The east gate area had several taller buildings, like inns and bookstores. Unable to go to the streets, they resorted to this way to join in the excitement and catch a glimpse of the king of the Land of Silence.

Zhou Qian managed to catch a passerby and talked him into playing cards with him.

Of course, the cards were also bought with the money he had “borrowed” at the breakfast shop.

The place where Zhou Qian gambled with the man was very close to the west gate.

Because it was quiet due to the absence of people around, the noise from their spot easily reached the west gate.

The civilian Zhou Qian had randomly grabbed and coaxed into gambling with him was a young man in his early twenties, with delicate features and dark green eyes.

Now, he was regretting his decisions, unable to stop exclaiming, “Why could you win ten times in a row against me?”

“That’s not right. Your cards were so small at the beginning, how could you bet you would win? Do you have x-ray vision?”

“Are you cheating?”

“No, no, let me shuffle!”

……

“Oh my god… Impossible! How did I lose again?”

“Who exactly are you? Are you a magician? If so, I’m going to have someone beat you up! Magicians aren’t allowed to gamble. That’s a rule everyone knows! Everyone will help me beat you up! Be careful!”

“You’re a foreigner, aren’t you? I’ve never seen you before! You definitely can’t beat my people!”

“Anyway, I’m right no matter what!”

The young man’s ramblings were interrupted by Zhou Qian’s action—

He simply took off his shirt.

“You…?”

“You were suspicious of me hiding cards, right? Now, I can’t cheat. Oh, and you were suspicious of me using magic? You can search me to see if I’m hiding anything. Magicians need tools to cast spells, and I definitely don’t have such things.”

The young man indeed inspected Zhou Qian from head to toe, even grabbed his hair a few times, and found that he indeed had nothing on him that could be used for magic.

Finally, seeming confident, he said, “Then, then I’m raising the stakes!”

Zhou Qian replied, “Great! I could tell you’re a rich man from your clothes!”

“If I lose again, I’ll give you all the money I have on me!”

“I was wrong before. You’re not just straightforward. You’re really bold! I love playing cards with people like you.”

During this time, the soldiers at the west gate had their eyes and ears focused in this direction.

They were all muttering among themselves—

“That guy doesn’t use magic or hide cards, yet he won so many times in a row. He must be a real pro. Is that guy with green eyes an idiot for raising the stakes?!”

“But how does the pro do it? I’m really curious…”

……

Meanwhile, they were extremely curious about whether the young man would lose all his money to Zhou Qian.

Five minutes later.

The young man lost another five rounds and sat on the ground, actually starting to cry.

Zhou Qian patted his shoulder. “Hey, don’t be so sad. Consider this my good deed for the day. Or how about I teach you?”

“You-You’ll teach me? If you do… Can I be like you…”

“Of course. I guarantee it.” Zhou Qian nodded affirmatively. “You’ll be the next gambling god of the Kingdom of Words. You’ll win a lot of money! But—”

Zhou Qian nonchalantly stood up shirtless, casually draping his shirt over his shoulder, and turned to walk into a nearby alley. “But this place is too public. It’s not convenient. My secret technique is not to be shared. Come into this alley. I’ll tell you secretly.”

At that moment, all the soldiers’ eyes showed greed.

“Should we follow?”

“Who’s going to guard the city gate if we do?”

“But if we don’t follow, we’ll miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“How about we pick someone to follow, and he can teach us when he comes back?”

“Who do we pick? We know each other too well. We’re a bunch of gamblers—who would really teach us if they learned this skill? I don’t believe it unless you send me!”

“Fine, let’s all go together! Fire boss went to the horse track to assign tasks! He won’t be back anytime soon!”

“Actually, today’s matter doesn’t concern us. It’s all about the east gate’s task. Let’s go! Let’s go!”

“Agreed, we won’t have this chance again!”

With his back to the crowd, Zhou Qian stepped into the alley.

The backlight outlined his lean and muscular upper body as he smirked, revealing a familiar smile of pleasure on his face.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 137

The Kingdom of Words, Royal City.

It was the moment between night and dawn when the sky wasn’t clear yet.

The moon was still high in the sky, and every household’s courtyard was adorned with jack-o-lanterns and ghost masks, while fireplaces burned with flames that never died, warding off invaders from the other world.

From afar, the city was enveloped in a myriad of flickering lights, as if a giant fireball had descended upon it, breaking into millions of sparks scattered across the land.

Due to the special Samhain festival, the city transformed into a sleepless royal capital.

Everyone anxiously awaited the arrival of daylight.

Fortunately, their wait came to an end as a hint of light appeared on the horizon, signaling the passing of the perilous season.

Zhou Qian and others, with the help of the queen, gently landed in a secluded corner of the street. They then traversed the entire city, excluding the royal palace, to get a good grasp of its layout.

The city wasn’t very large, and with a basic attribute speed boost, their journey through the city took just over an hour.

After their initial exploration, as dawn covered the city, they found an open breakfast shop at the street corner. They walk in, bathed in the morning glow, and head upstairs to a window-side table.

With the Red God temporarily gone, only Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, He Xiaowei, Yin Jiujiu, and Yun Xiangrong, along with an NPC named Alayne, remain.

Having been through quite an ordeal without proper food, they now order plenty to eat and drink, using the NPC Alayne’s money.

He Xiaowei barely managed to swallow a few bites of dry and hard bread, then looked towards Zhou Qian, who was gazing out of the window. His chin was slightly raised, and his eyes were indifferent, seemingly having no intention of touching the shoddy food provided by the breakfast shop.

Next to him, Bai Zhou seemed to have developed culinary skills or found something in the trade shop—

He was able to cook shrimp with boiled eggs for Zhou Qian in this instance.

Bai Zhou’s actions were meticulous and cold, resembling a scientific experiment more than cooking.

As Zhou Qian waited for his shrimp and eggs, he leaned his cheek on his hand and stared towards the city gate, narrowing his eyes as if plotting something.

“What are you thinking about, Qian’er? Do you have a plan?” He Xiaowei asked.

Previously, He Xiaowei would have thought such a task impossible.

According to the queen, the king of the Land of Silence came in peace. His personal arrival in the Royal City of the Kingdom of Words signified sincerity. Yet, to protect himself, he brought numerous magicians and a strong guard contingent.

The king’s magician alone was capable of imposing deadly commands in minutes, indicating strong abilities, not to mention the other magicians accompanying him.

How could the players confront so many magicians and snatch something from their king?

It wasn’t that the players couldn’t defeat these magicians.

But spells like prohibitions and curses were the magicians’ forte; a barrage of such spells against the players would be overwhelmingly difficult to counter.

Moreover, this place was the heavily guarded Royal City of the Kingdom of Words, filled with countless guards and court magicians.

With both countries negotiating peace, the king of the Land of Silence personally visited, demonstrating both nations’ sincerity.

If he faced danger, the Kingdom of Words would naturally assist him. The players would then face the threat of both countries’ armies and magicians.

With merely five players, possibly not entirely united, to confront the forces of two entire nations…

No matter what He Xiaowei thought, this felt like an impossible task.

They might not survive until Di Fu appears.

However, by now, He Xiaowei fully trusted Zhou Qian’s intellect, so unusually, he didn’t express any fear or difficulty.

He took another bite of his bread and waited for Zhou Qian’s response.

At this moment, Bai Zhou offered Zhou Qian a spoonful of egg-wrapped shrimp. Zhou Qian smiled at him before he ate it. He Xiaowei shivered and watched as Zhou Qian turned back towards the city gate and said, “The hidden achievement wasn’t specified by the system. But our current mission is clear: we stand with the queen and Alayne against Difu.”

“Even if we put the mission aside, for Xiao Qi’s sake, we must proceed.”

“And obtaining the ‘Key of Freedom’ is one prerequisite for confronting Difu. Are we all in agreement?”

“No doubts,” He Xiaowei replied.

Zhou Qian continued, “The Red God Queen isn’t here now, but she hinted at something.”

He Xiaowei, puzzled, looked at Zhou Qian, who turned to him. “She brought us here to cooperate with Alayne in killing Difu. But why does she believe Difu will appear here?”

He Xiaowei was taken aback.

Zhou Qian explained, “There are several possibilities, and we must prepare for them. First, the kings of both countries might not really be negotiating peace. A war could break out here soon. If the meeting between the kings involves great lies and betrayal, along with bloodshed and killing, Difu, anticipating this, would certainly come to absorb energy.”

“The second possibility is that the kings are indeed negotiating peace. But for Difu to miss such a significant event to create chaos would be illogical. She might deliberately cause confusion, making each king believe the other has betrayed him.”

After a pause, Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes, and his gaze became ominously serious.

He said, “But just in case, we need another plan. It is already dawn. Today is likely our last chance to complete the mission. If neither possibility occurs and Difu doesn’t show up all day, we won’t be able to save Xiao Qi or complete our task.”

“What do you mean then…?” He Xiaowei asked, frowning with a foreboding feeling.

“If Difu doesn’t appear, we’ll have to lure her here,” Zhou Qian declared.

He Xiaowei: “You…”

“Exactly.” Zhou Qian nodded. “If the kings are truly seeking peace, we must incite betrayal between them, thereby drawing Difu out.”

“This approach serves multiple purposes, not only to draw Difu but also because we stand no chance against the powerful forces accompanying the kings. Only by pitting them against each other can we benefit*—seizing the ‘Key of Freedom’ when the power around the king of the Land of Silence is greatly diminished. If we’re lucky and he also brings the golden feather, we can directly use it to save Xiao Qi.”

*The snipe and the clam fight while the fisherman benefits. It comes from a fable describing a situation where two parties are locked in a struggle that exhausts them both, allowing a third party to swoop in and take advantage.

Hearing this, He Xiaowei fell silent for a moment, sharing Yin Jiujiu’s sentiment.

She hesitated before asking, “Is there no other way? I feel… this involves the safety of both nations’ people… If we do this, and it leads to years of war, how many will die because of us?”

Zhou Qian’s expression was stern as he remained silent. He Xiaowei couldn’t help but speak up at this moment. “I definitely want to save Xiao Qi, but Jiujiu’s words also resonate with me. I feel… uneasy about this.”

After a long silence, Yun Xiangrong spoke up. “They are NPCs, not real people.”

“Even so…” He Xiaowei sighed deeply. “Well, let’s just say I’m being sentimental. That Qian’er… anyway, the people from the Land of Silence haven’t arrived yet. Before they do, can we think of any other way?”

“Or at least, should we try to warn the citizens of this city, let them evacuate first? If the magicians and soldiers of both countries are going to fight, let them fight, but the civilians are innocent…”

“We can’t warn the civilians. We don’t have the opportunity to reset and must ensure absolute certainty of success. Doing anything extra now could expose us to the people of both countries, resulting in complete mission failure. Then we won’t be able to save Xiao Qi, and we’ll all die here.”

Zhou Qian immediately rejected He Xiaowei’s suggestion. “The king of the Kingdom of Silence likely has spies in the Royal City of the Kingdom of Words. If a spy learns of this and informs the Land of Silence, their king might not even step foot here.”

“But… then…” He Xiaowei could no longer bite into his bread, letting out a heavy sigh.

Zhou Qian looked at him and said, “Xiaowei Ge, you really don’t need to feel burdened. I haven’t finished speaking. Let me ask you. What point in time have we arrived at?”

He Xiaowei was stunned for a while, then his eyes widened. “You mean…”

“What I mean is—” Zhou Qian said solemnly, “‘What has happened cannot be changed,’ this is a constant setting throughout this instance.”

“The queen doesn’t truly have the ability to foresee the future, as can be proven from the conversation between Alayne and the queen relayed by Alayne. The queen didn’t know Alayne’s true fate or whether she could kill Difu. But the queen sent us here because she knew beforehand that Difu would appear here.”

“The only explanation for this—”

“’Difu’s appearance’ is something that has already happened, belonging to the ‘past’. ‘Whether Di Fu will be killed by Alayne’ is unknown, belonging to the ‘future’.”

“It seems that the time difference between this ‘past’ and ‘future’ is very small, possibly all occurring within today. Meaning, the time we are currently in is very close to the real ‘present’, just less than a day apart.”

He Xiaowei started to understand, and his expression gradually became less despondent.

Zhou Qian continued to explain, “In short, ‘Difu’s appearance’ belongs to the ‘past’, and her appearance itself is accompanied by lies, betrayal, chaos, hatred, and slaughter. This indicates—”

“The animosity and betrayal between the two countries also belong to the “past’, and it is something that will definitely happen.”

“How the peace talks between the two countries fail could happen in many ways. If not guided by us, there would be other triggers. But if we completely control the situation, we can ensure every detail serves our needs, not just ‘historical progress’.”

Yin Jiujiu seemed persuaded, nodding her head. “I understand. We’re only changing the specifics, not the course of history or everyone’s destined fate. If someone is destined to die, regardless of what we do, they will still die; the only difference is whether they die an hour earlier or later…”

“It’s like… like Alayne’s good friend, Qi Yunsi—during Samhain when Alayne was 8, in the original history, he died in her place during the vigil. We went back to the past, intervened in history, and neither he nor Alayne went to the vigil. But in the end… he still died!”

“Exactly. All the story set-ups before this imply this point, which is very important and can be seen as a hint from the system on how to clear the instance.”

“So, we can guide the two countries to hostility without any guilt because it has already happened.”

Zhou Qian glanced at He Xiaowei’s expression and added, “Moreover, setting aside this, Amei, Beilan… and many others we don’t know about, in every corner, have died because of Difu’s evil.”

“Today, there is only the Land of Silence and the Kingdom of Words. If we don’t eliminate Difu and allow her power to grow stronger, in the future, countless countries around the world will go to war under her influence, and then people all over the world will suffer. So, even looking at the bigger picture, we can only make the choice we are making now.”

“Between the civilians of two countries and the entire world’s populace, I can only choose the world.”

“Between NPCs of no importance and Qi Liuxing, I can only choose Qi Liuxing.”

“I understand, Qian’er… I actually get what you’re saying.” He Xiaowei scratched his head. “I just wanted to lament a bit. Sometimes wanting the best of both worlds… is really hard.”

“The world never conforms to one’s desires. That’s the normal state of life.”

Zhou Qian said, “Everyone wants to find a perfect, flawless solution that doesn’t let anyone down. But before we can save everyone, we also have to weigh our own capabilities. We’re not omnipotent gods; we can’t take care of everyone and have to make choices. We… must accept the imperfections and flaws we carry.”

At this point, Zhou Qian didn’t look at He Xiaowei but turned towards Bai Zhou, who was close by.

Bai Zhou was preparing a second shrimp and egg dish, seemingly nonchalant, but Zhou Qian knew that Bai Zhou had already prepared for many complex situations in his heart.

He was composed because he was strong.

Yet, at the same time… he also demanded too much of himself.

When Bai Zhou handed over another shrimp and egg, Zhou Qian grabbed his wrist, looked into his eyes, and spoke through the private chat tool. “Zhou Ge, the last thing I said was really meant for you to hear.”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 136

Two minutes later, everyone, including the NPC Alayne, had arrived in the cellar.

“Are we here looking for Xiao Qi and Xiao Ke? Why would they come to the cellar? Is there some secret hidden here?” He Xiaowei muttered as he jumped down into the cellar.

He was the last person to enter the cellar, which, despite being filled with many people, was eerily quiet. He Xiaowei was surprised at this silence when he saw the scene that completely froze him in place, his eyes immediately reddening.

Zhou Qian turned around, glanced at He Xiaowei, who had just entered, then looked at the others. In front of them, he closed the lid of the freezer holding the head and placed it into his backpack.

“Ke Yuxiao is still in this time-space. He might head up the mountain, trying to find a way out through the Red God’s inn. But as the inn serves as a connection point between spaces, there’s only one such prop, and now that we have it, he can’t escape.”

“What we need to do first is obtain the golden feather to heal Qi Liuxing’s body. After that, I can use the Tick Tock Clock to resurrect him.”

“Then we will settle the score with Ke Yuxiao.”

“Also, we need to be cautious about one thing. When we came over here, we specifically checked, and the Temple of the Goddess of Prayers is still next to the Tartar Inn. Probably because of the spy situation, there are now many people in ghost masks stationed there, and villagers keep entering, likely to carve curse tablets.”

“Under such circumstances, it’s less likely for Ke Yuxiao to get through. But we still need to be vigilant later on to prevent him from directly entering the temple to curse all of us.”

Hearing this, Hidden Blade frowned and said, “Ke Yuxiao… his situation is very abnormal. Xiao Qi’s talents have already been activated, making him very powerful. But after thoroughly understanding Ke Yuxiao’s skills, he doesn’t have any significant offensive capabilities.”

“Normally, even if Xiao Qi had spent a lot of mana, he shouldn’t have died so easily at Ke Yuxiao’s hands. Ke Yuxiao must have hidden his attack power and life force. But that’s almost impossible…”

“Indeed, some disguise items can completely transform one person into another, with attributes adjusted accordingly, but this adjustment is limited and cannot turn someone from a hundred thousand health to ten thousand.”

“Moreover, the attribute panels of ordinary players and Rank God players are worlds apart. It’s impossible for them to disguise as each other.”

“So, you suspect Ke Yuxiao is a Rank God player?” Zhou Qian asked.

“Yes. But even Bai Zhou and I probably don’t know why he could disguise as an ordinary player. This might be…” Hidden Blade looked at Bai Zhou. “Some new item researched by the Peach Blossom Legion, or a new skill they’ve developed for Rank God players? After all…”

Hidden Blade’s following words were left unsaid, but everyone present understood.

This matter was likely related to the Peach Blossom Legion. They put up such a big show just to have Ke Yuxiao kill Qi Liuxing, and there must be a deeper conspiracy behind it.

They certainly weren’t targeting Qi Liuxing alone, but Zhou Qian. But what could be the reason that made them believe killing Qi Liuxing would also kill Zhou Qian?

Bai Zhou’s gaze darkened. “There are some things that Shao Chuan has never told me. After we get out, I will ask him for clarity.”

Zhou Qian glanced at Bai Zhou, then said, “I’ve had my suspicions about Ke Yuxiao since our time in ‘Flower of Evil’. But during the brain interconnection, I didn’t notice any anomalies from him, as if he could completely hide his thoughts…”

“We can verify this later. Let’s go get the golden feather first.”

Hidden Blade stepped forward. “You guys, go get the feather. I’ll stay here and guard the temple to prevent Ke Yuxiao from cursing all of us.”

“Master, it’s very dangerous for you to be alone!” He Xiaowei immediately said, “We now don’t know his capabilities—”

“Indeed, we don’t know the extent of his abilities, but if he is a Rank God player, which is almost certain given his unique disguise skill, then—”

“Guarding this time-space’s temple to prevent him from cursing us must be done by a Rank God player. Difu is too powerful, and Bai Zhou is indispensable in dealing with her. So, it’s best for me to stay here.”

He Xiaowei: “Then I’ll stay and help you!”

“No need,” Hidden Blade interrupted He Xiaowei, as he conjured his curved blade, shining like a crescent moon.

Holding the blade handle, Hidden Blade smiled at He Xiaowei, “The title ‘Master’ shouldn’t be taken lightly. Since you’ve acknowledged me as your master, you should trust me.”

Hearing this, He Xiaowei still looked worried, so Zhou Qian stepped forward and patted his shoulder. “If Ke Yuxiao really can control thoughts at will and switch identities freely… his skills are indeed special. But on the other hand, it shows he specializes in these abilities rather than others like output.”

“Thus, from a one-on-one fight perspective, Ke Yuxiao definitely isn’t strong. Otherwise, he could’ve easily disguised as an ordinary player to approach me and kill me effortlessly with his Rank God player identity in the instance.”

Zhou Qian looked at He Xiaowei and further explained, “Bai Zhou’s identity was exposed in front of the Peach Blossom Legion only towards the end of ‘Wish List’. It’s not something they knew in advance, nor did they know he would secretly protect me.”

“At the start of ‘Wish List’, the people they sent to kill me were Situ Qing and Lu Mengmeng, not Ke Yuxiao. Perhaps they underestimated me, but they also didn’t dare to send Ke Yuxiao without absolute certainty.”

“Ke Yuxiao’s skills are highly valued by them, and they couldn’t afford to let him die easily, so they didn’t risk sending him to kill, even fearing he couldn’t pass such a difficult hidden instance.”

“Their step-by-step strategy has told us, aside from that special skill, whether in terms of one-on-one fighting ability or the ability to find clues and pass instances, Ke Yuxiao isn’t strong at all. So—”

Approaching Hidden Blade, Zhou Qian also solemnly patted his shoulder. “I believe you’ll be fine. But still, be careful.”

“Sure. Don’t worry,” Hidden Blade said.

Zhou Qian looked at him, then added, “Before we leave, we’ll explain to Alayne and ask her to find a way to help you. In case of an emergency, regarding Ke Yuxiao, kill if necessary. Don’t insist on capturing him alive. Preserving your life is the most important.”

“No problem,” Hidden Blade said.

Zhou Qian then said, “I’ll give you an item. I think it’ll be very useful.”

Looking down at his wrist, Hidden Blade indeed received an item: a combination of a pen and paper—

[Item: Starting with a Picture, The Process Depends on Imagination*]

*It’s an internet phrase that refers to a lot of relevant information can be fabricated with just one picture. For instance, someone posted a picture and then added their own caption to it describing the event (but it could be completely made up).

[Function: The map you draw, the story you imagine, might one day become reality… Perhaps everyone has had such a beautiful dream? This item can satisfy all your imaginations! Go on, defeat your enemies with your imagination!]

[Note: Please try to draw accurately. If it’s not recognizable, it’s not the item’s fault; those with poor drawing skills use with caution. Beware of injuring oneself]

Zhou Qian also sent a message with tips on using the item.

After reading it, Hidden Blade: “……”

Subsequently, Hidden Blade’s wrist received another notification, this time from Bai Zhou, giving him some self-defense and escape items.

Lowering his wrist, Hidden Blade looked at Bai Zhou. “Thanks.”

Bai Zhou shook his head. “Be extra careful.”

Minutes later, Zhou Qian and the others left Alayne’s house and headed down the mountain path away from the village.

He approached Alayne first, asking, “Do you know how to find Difu?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping Amei would tell me… I didn’t remember at the time, and I wanted her help to find Difu, which is why I let her take me to her inn.”

Alayne looked at Zhou Qian. “I thought you knew the way, seeing as you were leading.”

Zhou Qian said, “If you don’t know, then pretend I know.”

Alayne: “?”

Zhou Qian turned back to the other players, explaining, “If the NPC has information, it should be considered accurate. But since Alayne doesn’t have any clues, we have to deduce from the information we’ve collected.”

“We eight were separated by the statue at the entrance of the Tartar Inn into different time-spaces—three groups, each with an eight-year gap according to this pattern. Using the mini time prop we got from the Red God’s Inn, we indeed managed to go back eight years.”

“So, the three colors on these two props are temporarily set to an eight-year interval. However, Zhou Ge previously heard about Alayne’s near sacrifice by the village chief when she was ten, and we don’t know exactly from what time we returned to when Alayne was eight.”

“These two incidents don’t necessarily relate to the number ‘eight’. What we can be sure of is that the different times the time prop can adjust are not entirely based on eight-year units.”

Looking into the distance, Zhou Qian said, “Right now, just by manipulating this prop, there are two possible ways. One is to return to the Red God’s Inn and find that golden bird to see if a reaction can be triggered between the two. After all, the golden bird is quite special. Even though it’s a statue, it might actually possess a part of Difu’s power.”

“The second way… is to go back to the village entrance and see if the two time-controlling props, one large and one small, will work together.”

“Of course, if neither of these ways work, there’s a third option—” Zhou Qian looked at Alayne. “And that is for you to wake up Amei, who you’ve knocked out, and force her to lead us to Difu.”

Alayne: “…………”

“Young man, why not choose the fourth and simplest way?”

The speaker was a strange woman’s voice. Zhou Qian looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman in red coming from the depths of the woods.

He heard Alayne whisper softly, “The queen?”

This person was indeed the wife of the once King of the Kingdom of Words and the Red God, who had once shown Alayne the way in the otherworld.

Looking at Alayne, she said, “I’ve calculated… It’s about time. Samhain has brought me to the human world, and I’ve met you. As I once said to you, I will provide help when necessary. Now is the time.”

“Can you teach us how to traverse space and find Difu?” Alayne asked. “I can only feel the strength of her power, but it envelops me. She is everywhere, and I really am…”

“When Samhain arrives, each inn exists in multiple spaces. Of course, I also know the way to traverse space.” The queen raised her hand, and a red circle appeared in front of everyone’s feet. “Go to my inn. I will take you to the royal city. However, be careful. The royal city is especially crowded today, and the guards are extraordinarily vigilant. The king of the Land of Silence has arrived.”

“The Land of Silence?” Zhou Qian asked.

“Yes. The two countries have been at war for a long time. It’s time for peace talks. But he’s obviously still wary of the Kingdom of Words, bringing countless magicians to protect him…” The queen said, “Well, if you’ve made up your mind, step forward. I’ll take you there.”

Alayne didn’t hesitate and stepped directly into the red circle, disappearing in an instant. At this moment, the players finally received a clear prompt for progressing through the game—

[Congratulations to the players for surviving until now. You have triggered the regular ending mode: Alayne has left, and the Red Lotus will soon lose its effect, unable to trap Amei. Players will face Amei’s attacks.]

[You need to find a way to survive under Amei and the spirits she can summon and find a way to return to your true timeline as deserters.]

[At dawn, all dangers will end, the deserters can return to normal life, and you can leave the instance.]

[If you choose the regular ending mode, do not step into the red circle.]

[Stepping into the red circle will trigger a hidden achievement, which, upon completion, grants a rare reward.]

[The success rate for achieving the hidden achievement is 3%. Players, please choose wisely.]

This time, without Zhou Qian needing to say much, everyone stepped into the red circle, including Yin Jiujiu, whom Zhou Qian couldn’t fully trust yet.

Lastly, Zhou Qian gave Yun Xiangrong, who was standing inside the red circle, another look, but didn’t say more, simply gripping Bai Zhou’s hand next to him.

Soon after, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou together entered a world bathed in red.

It was as if someone had paved a road with blood for them, forcing them to step on it and keep moving forward.

Then, Zhou Qian felt Bai Zhou’s palm cover his eyes.

Lifting his arm, Zhou Qian held his wrist. “I’m okay, really. I was mentally prepared when I saw the name of this instance.”

Bai Zhou simply said, “This color is harmful to your condition. Better to see less of it.”

“Okay.” Zhou Qian nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, “Zhou Ge, I’ve just realized… Hidden Blade is indeed a good person. You see, you’re a good person, and the friends you make are also good people. This is called ‘birds of a feather flock together’.”

Bai Zhou told him, “You’re also very good.”

Facing the oncoming wind, Zhou Qian smiled. “That’s something no one would believe if it got out. They’d only say you see me through rose-tinted glasses or that I’ve bewitched you.”

Bai Zhou gave him a look and shook his head. “That’s because many people don’t understand and only see the surface.”

“When did you see the ‘inside’?” Zhou Qian asked him.

“A long time ago.”

“How long is a long time?”

“Probably around the third grade in elementary school.”

“Huh? Elementary school? We were just kids then. What could you see? It’s just that you’re too good, so you think I’m good too.”

Bai Zhou laughed softly and reached out to smooth Zhou Qian’s hair.

Despite the eerie scene of both of them wearing ghost costumes and surrounded by red light, the atmosphere between them was unexpectedly warm and tender. When Bai Zhou’s hand moved away, Zhou Qian looked at him deeply and took his hand.

The smile on his lips gradually faded, and he said, “Zhou Ge, having you by my side at times like this feels especially good.”

“We will bring him back,” Bai Zhou said, his tone not much different from usual, but it carried an undeniable force to Zhou Qian’s ears.

“I know.” Zhou Qian smiled and said, “Normally, when I do this kind of thing, my confidence is 99.9%. Now with you here…”

Bai Zhou: “It seems I haven’t brought much of a bonus.”

Zhou Qian said seriously, “No. With you here, my confidence is 200%!”

“Actually, if from a mathematical perspective—”

“How can you view this from a mathematical perspective?”

“…Then what did you mean by 27.6% that one time you saw me?”

“I won’t tell you. Just guess.”

……

Elsewhere, on a hillside five hundred meters east of the graveyard.

Ke Yuxiao, dressed in a black robe, hid his figure under the cover of trees.

From his vantage point, he could clearly see the surroundings of the temple. When necessary, he would enter to attempt a curse.

After all, leaving here would mean he could clear the instance.

Whether the curse born of hatred and betrayal he casts for Difu would increase her power significantly, he didn’t care.

Just then, an unusual figure flashed in the distance, clearly not an NPC but the speed only a Rank God player could have.

With the sharp senses of a Rank God player, Ke Yuxiao quickly recognized him as Hidden Blade.

Hmm… He’s alone?

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