Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 143

Over a hundred years ago. Human world.

Bo Lu and Liu Shui listened to their teacher’s lecture together.

The teacher was a once popular magician Yun Yao, who retired after his invented magic was misused to harm many people.

Yun Yao had sworn never to touch magic again in his lifetime, until he met Bo Lu and Liu Shui.

Their talent was so exceptional that not passing on his knowledge to them would have been a waste.

Moreover, he saw something extraordinary in them—a powerful energy capable of connecting heaven and earth.

Yun Yao had always felt that the world was enveloped by negative energy, which might lead to its destruction soon.

However, the appearance of Bo Lu and Liu Shui might offer a chance to save the world from complete ruin.

At the end of a lesson, Liu Shui asked Yun Yao, “Teacher, what would be the most powerful god?”

Beside him, Bo Lu added, “Among the three realms, gods are the strongest… and magical texts mention the magical power of the number ‘3’. So, would three gods together be the most powerful?”

Facing his young students, Yun Yao smiled and said, “Gods are indeed much more powerful than humans, but just three gods together aren’t the strongest.”

“The world consists of three realms: heaven, humanity, and earth. Selecting the strongest from each realm and bringing them together, their powers complementing each other, would form the most powerful triad.”

“However, this is just a theory. In my extensive studies of history, I’ve never heard of such a supreme being actually descending to our world. Unless…”

“Unless what?” both Liu Shui and Bo Lu asked eagerly.

Yun Yao, with his hands behind his back, looked out the window at the blue sky. “Unless it’s the end times. When the world is about to be destroyed, to save the three realms… such a supreme being might emerge.”

“It’s the way this world saves itself. Or rather…

“It’s the way permitted by the heavens for a savior to come.”

At the age of five, Bo Lu and Liu Shui became Yun Yao’s students. By the age of eighteen, however, they were forced to part ways.

One day, while studying a difficult spell with Yun Yao, the door opened, and a serious man with a stern face walked in. The students recognized him as Yun Yao’s senior, Feng Yang.

Liu Shui and Bo Lu would forever remember the look Feng Yang gave them when he entered—a look of regret, sadness, and anger, which then turned into a kind of ruthlessness.

Feng Yang didn’t speak to them but called Yun Yao out for a long, secret talk.

After that, Feng Yang took Liu Shui away, leaving Bo Lu to continue studying magic with Yun Yao. The two children, who grew up together, thus went their separate ways.

From then on, Bo Lu’s teacher remained Yun Yao, but Liu Shui’s became Feng Yang.

One stayed in the Kingdom of Words, and the other went to the Land of Silence.

Bo Lu, deeply missing Liu Shui, would seize any opportunity to ask Yun Yao what he and Feng Yang had discussed and why he had to be separated from Liu Shui.

Yun Yao never gave him any answers.

It wasn’t until he was close to death that he decided to tell Bo Lu the truth.

One day, Yun Yao sighed deeply, took Bo Lu’s hand, and said, “You and Liu Shui were both my students, and I didn’t know how to tell you this…”

“Now, having not seen Liu Shui for many years and considering you as my only student… I had to make a choice between you two.”

“Bo Lu, I must tell you now. You must find a way to kill Liu Shui. You must try to kill him, or else you will die.”

Bo Lu was stunned and could hardly believe what he heard. “Teacher, what are you saying?”

Yun Yao then handed him a key. “This is the key to the top floor of the library, which I’ve kept locked and never allowed you to enter before. It contains books on dark magic.”

“I had sworn never to let this magic spread among humans again, but now…”

“I have no choice.”

After another deep sigh, Yun Yao’s gaze deepened as he gripped Bo Lu’s hand tighter, his eyes wide and intense.

“When I first took you and Liu Shui as students, I couldn’t fully see your fate. It was only later, after my senior’s divination skills advanced, that he saw…”

“Anyway, we’ve both confirmed that you and Liu Shui are destined to be each other’s enemies in this lifetime.”

“Either you die by his hand, or he dies by yours. Only one of you can survive!”

“The battle between you and Liu Shui is inevitable for your entire life.”

“You cannot escape it.”

……

Similarly, around the same time, Liu Shui heard his new teacher Feng Yang telling him the same thing.

The King of Words and the Land of Silence were destined for a battle that couldn’t be avoided.

The inevitable clash between Liu Shui and Bo Lu was something they could not escape throughout their lives. This prediction was initially conveyed by their respective teachers.

As their powers grew, they began to see for themselves that their teachers’ words held truth. They sadly realized that what had been foretold wasn’t false.

Over the years, the Kingdom of Speech and the Land of Silence would engage in conflict for various reasons. Liu Shui and Bo Lu, understanding each other’s positions, made a mutual decision never to harbor the intent to kill the other.

Stationed at the royal courts of their respective countries, they did everything in their power to appease their kings and quell each dispute to prevent it from escalating into a full-blown war that could threaten the existence of both lands.

Every few years, they would meet. During these meetings, they would share their most formidable techniques without reservation, even teaching each other.

This was their way of showing sincerity—that in their lifetimes, they would never turn their weapons against each other.

However, as time went on, even as they both reached positions of great power, the overwhelming tide of events was beyond their control.

The war between the Kingdom of Words and the Land of Silence was just the beginning.

Betrayal, lies, hatred… Negative emotions swept across the world, plunging it into chaos and leading it towards destruction.

When the world was engulfed in war, Bo Lu and Liu Shui fought alongside their respective armies but never against each other.

In the end, as a great snow covered the royal capital, they fell beside a partially collapsed wall—one with an arrow in his chest, bleeding out, and the other with a large gash across his throat.

Their blood flowed out, staining the snow red, merging on the ground. They exchanged a final look in the snow before closing their eyes.

In their moment of death, smiles graced the lips of both Bo Lu and Liu Shui. The Kingdom of Words and the Land of Silence, along with the world, were ultimately destroyed, but at least they did not meet their ends as enemies, as their teachers or fate had predicted.

However, at that moment, neither of them had considered that what they thought was death was not the end.

After lying on the cold ground for an unknown time, they suddenly woke up and uncontrollably flew into the air. Once they reached a certain height, they stopped mid-air.

Then they realized they were not the only ones drawn to this place by an invisible force. Besides them, four others were also floating in the air.

The six people floating in the air were pulled into a circular formation in groups of three, as if some force was trying to forcefully bring them together.

However, it was as if the progress of the world had suddenly been paused, and the motion of each group of three moving closer to each other stopped, no longer being pulled together.

Suddenly, the words of their teacher from their youth echoed in the ears of Bo Lu and Liu Shui—

The most powerful being in the world would be formed by combining the strongest from the three realms of heaven, humanity, and earth into a trinity.

Such a supreme being would only truly descend at the apocalypse. Before this, there had never been any record of it in the world.

Now, the world had faced its apocalypse.

To save the world, the supreme trinity indeed appeared.

However, what Bo Lu and Liu Shui both thought was: why were there two “beings” for the role of the strongest?

Then an answer appeared directly in their minds.

No one could explain who sent this answer. They could only attribute everything to the will of heaven.

The will of heaven said, “This world has already been destroyed. Its next step is rebirth. The restart of the world requires a supreme being.”

“But even I do not know who the real supreme being of this world is. You need to duel each other. This duel is inevitable… Otherwise, heaven, humanity, and earth will all completely perish.”

At that moment, Liu Shui and Bo Lu understood that even death couldn’t let them escape the fate of being enemies.

Bo Lu looked up at the two people beside him, and strangely, he immediately knew their identities.

One of them was called Vels, from the realm of heaven, and the other was Alayne, from the realm of earth.

At the same time, he could directly hear their thoughts—they all did not wish to duel.

On the other side, Liu Shui’s situation was similar.

He learned that the two people beside him were Miwa from the realm of heaven and Amei from the realm of earth.

Amei and Miwa, likewise, didn’t wish to duel with Alayne and Vels.

Although the six of them in groups of three hadn’t yet truly formed the strongest trinity, it was strange that they could hear each other’s thoughts as if they had already achieved a sort of symbiosis in some sense.

Thus, besides learning each other’s identities, Bo Lu and Liu Shui also learned many other pieces of information—

Just like the realm of humanity, the realm of heaven had fallen into a great war. After the chaos, all gods perished, leaving only Miwa and Vels alive.

The same was true for the realm of earth, with only Alayne and Amei surviving.

The six of them were the only living beings left from the three realms.

Additionally, the reason the historical progress of this world was paused, and the six people hadn’t yet truly formed two “groups of three” as the supreme being was because Vels had forcibly stopped everything using a magical artifact.

At this moment, that artifact was in Vels’ hand. It was a peculiar artifact with three heads but no body.

On the artifact, the three heads faced three directions, all with blue eyes, enveloping the whole world in blue light.

At that instant, Bo Lu and Liu Shui felt a glimmer of hope.

The artifact in Vels’ hand was exactly like the one in legends said to be able to change time.

Then, perhaps they could use this artifact to return to the past and find a way to change history.

As long as they found a method and made a change to prevent the world’s destruction and the apocalypse from coming, they wouldn’t end up becoming the supreme being, leading to their destined mutual slaughter!

Vels could directly hear Bo Lu’s thoughts and immediately said, “The human legends about this artifact are mistaken. This artifact can only reveal the past and replay scenes. When you enter it, the people inside can interact with you and even respond, giving you the feeling of being truly in the past.”

“But you have never truly returned to the past. The artifact only plays a segment that can adjust in real-time based on your reactions. It has the function of allowing us to review history and deduce details, but it does not have the ability to change history.”

“Having said that, the greatest function of this artifact is actually just to pause the historical process, fixing us in ‘the present’.”

Hearing this, Bo Lu immediately asked, “Is there really no way to change history?”

The other god named Miwa answered, “History is not unchangeable, but the cost is too great. Using all our power, we have one chance to return to the past. However, we cannot guarantee that after we use all our power to reverse time and return to the past, we will definitely find a way to change the future. After all…”

“After all, ‘the future’ is the collective effect of countless past events. Concerning the future of the realm of heaven, Vels and I cannot directly calculate or foresee. We cannot guarantee success in one try.”

After a moment of silence, Liu Shui seemed to have an idea and said, “I understand. We use the artifact to return to the past to seek possibilities. It doesn’t matter if the artifact cannot change history, as long as we use its projected images to seek methods. Once we find a definitive way to save the world, we can then truly travel through time and space, ensuring success!”

Thus, the progress of history was paused.

The future that was to come never arrived.

Two gods, two humans, and two ghosts chose to return to the “false past” shown by the artifact, seeking a “possibility” to save the world.

As long as they found this “possibility”, they could use all their power to return to the real past, make a real change, and then welcome the future they hoped for.

The eyes of the heads on the artifact emitted red light.

All six people, with their memories temporarily erased, returned to the past.

Of course, before the official “time travel”, they faced a problem—when all six were in the “past” with their memories temporarily erased, no one would be able to operate the artifact.

Vels’ solution was to place a curse on the artifact, such that if anyone among the six died, the artifact would automatically activate and bring them all back to the paused present.

With the minor issue resolved, the six people officially began their journey in the “past” to find answers.

In the time that followed, the six of them were like returning to a movie that could automatically interact with the audience in real-time, observing every detail that led the world to destruction, then calculating and deducing to find the answer they sought.

The six people experienced death over and over again, witnessing loved ones leave time and again.

The countries they defended fell repeatedly.

The people they protected died and came back to life over and over…

Yet they still didn’t find the answer.

All were caught in an endless cycle.

As long as their obsessions weren’t eliminated, they would be trapped in this cycle forever.

In such a situation, whose will could remain as firm as at the beginning?

For example, Bo Lu and Liu Shui eventually decided to kill each other as soon as possible, to trigger the curse that could activate the head artifact and then return to the real “present.”

They finally decided to face the fate that had long been determined.

Perhaps among the countless possible histories, there always exists an optimal solution for saving the world.

But they all couldn’t wait for it.

This life, Bo Lu remembered everything when he met Liu Shui at the city gate.

The crowd slowly approached the east gate. Bo Lu leaned over and saw Liu Shui, who was beside the king of the Land of Silence.

In this endless cycle of reincarnation, he had been entangled with Liu Shui for too long, their years together stretching back to ancient times.

Therefore, this glance was truly a glance of a thousand years.

Liu Shui’s appearance hadn’t changed much; he looked so young, barely in his twenties.

Looking at him like this, Bo Lu tried to recall the time when they first met.

But suddenly, he could neither remember what Liu Shui looked like as a child nor their real first meeting.

Indeed, his teacher was right—the most powerful magic in this world is time.

Even if they could use the artifact to return to the “past” over and over again, seemingly controlling time and space, they could never truly fight against time.

As if sensing something, Liu Shui also looked up at Bo Lu.

One stood on the city gate, and the other stood below it, gazing at each other in this manner.

A cloud slowly passed over the city wall from outside, and its shadow moved from Liu Shui’s face to the depths of Bo Lu’s eyes.

“Liu Shui, I’ve come for you.”

“I’m sorry. All my obsessions and perseverance have ultimately been defeated by time.”

……

At this moment.

Bo Lu, Liu Shui, Miwa, Vels, Amei, and Alayne, for countless times, returned to the real “present”.

This world, forcibly kept in a “paused” state for a long time, finally took a step forward—each group of three moved forward, completely forming two “trinities” of the supreme being.

After a long journey, the faces of the six people showed some weariness, but unlike when they first gathered here, their gazes had now all become very calm.

At this moment, they had made a unified decision—

They would not use all their power to return to the past. They would preserve their power and then make a complete, real conclusion.

The duel between the two supreme beings was about to begin.

As the duel commenced, players hovering in mid-air were urged by the system to make a decision.

[After the two supreme beings begin their duel, players must take action.]

[They must decide the winner within 30 minutes.]

[If both supreme beings are still alive after 30 minutes, the heavens will decree the end of the world, and the finale will be irreversible.]

Upon seeing this message, players within the game wore grim expressions.

Outside the game, the gamblers couldn’t hide their excitement.

[What’s the meaning of this setting? If the two supreme beings survive simultaneously, are they too powerful, possibly defying the heavens, so the heavenly will only allow one to exist?]

[Damn, this is cheating. So, the system means if players don’t help, they’ll also die from the apocalypse in 30 minutes!]

[Players can’t afford not to help, but helping is problematic too. Once they decide to assist one side, the other will surely attack them! That 137, although powerful, has had all his attributes significantly reduced, right?]

[Agree. Look at the panels of those two supreme beings… Their attributes are insanely high, not to mention non-humans like Alayne and Vels. Just Bo Lu alone has ten times the HP of 137! How can we fight?]

[This is ridiculous, the bosses this time are the “supreme beings” who can save the world. What’s even the point of playing?]

What the gamblers pondered over was also what the in-game players considered.

He Xiaowei, usually the most jovial, had a serious look and remained silent for a long time, hurriedly grabbing another Magic Carpet as its power began to wane.

Gao Shan had already returned to Zhou Qian’s Rib of God while Yun Xiangrong glared at the white bone in Zhou Qian’s hand, clutching her flute tightly, and focused on the two strongest.

Yin Jiujiu was pulling out all the mana and health potions from her pack to ensure they were ready for immediate use during the battle.

As for Zhou Qian, he could feel Qi Liuxing’s chest beginning to heave again.

Apparently unable to hold back any longer, Qi Liuxing coughed violently but then suppressed it, covering his mouth to muffle the coughs.

After recovering a bit, Zhou Qian retracted his hand, quickly found clothes from his pack for Qi Liuxing, and then took out another Magic Carpet.

Just as he was about to assist Qi Liuxing onto the nearby carpet, Zhou Qian noticed something odd.

Qi Liuxing was missing two toes on his right foot, probably because the golden feathers hadn’t managed to repair everything in time. After Qi Liuxing tried walking a few steps, Zhou Qian noticed he was limping slightly, probably because his right foot was a bit shorter.

Holding his arm, Zhou Qian said, “Wait, the instance isn’t over yet. Maybe the feathers will still work. Let me get another one to treat you.”

Qi Liuxing shook his head in response.

“Xiao Qi?” Zhou Qian frowned.

“This small issue won’t affect my moves,” Qi Liuxing said.

Zhou Qian looked at him sternly. “So?”

Qi Liuxing replied, “So, I want to keep this imperfection. Lest one day… I forget this lesson.”

After saying this, Qi Liuxing stepped onto the nearby Magic Carpet.

Zhou Qian turned his head to look at him, about to say something, but ultimately noticed Qi Liuxing’s reddened eyes.

However, he quickly lowered his head, and his bangs covered his eyes, making it hard for Zhou Qian to discern.

Taking a deep breath, Qi Liuxing gripped his long sword tightly.

“Qian Ge, thank you for saving me. From now on, I trust no one but you.” Qi Liuxing’s tone was definitive and deeper than ever before.

Looking up at Zhou Qian, the redness in his eyes had faded, and his pupils became deep and unfathomable. “Just this matter of my foot; don’t persuade me anymore. Let’s fight.”

Not far away, the battle between the two Supremes had indeed started!

Alayne’s red lotus was the first to strike the opposition.

The other trio instantly disappeared from their spot, reappearing a hundred meters away.

Even so, Amei’s side lost 5% of their health.

Then, with a screech, a golden bird circled and flapped its wings, and Amei’s side’s health was instantly restored!

Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when he felt the dragon beneath him stir.

The next moment, Zhou Qian was thrown onto the nearby Magic Carpet.

“Zhou Ge?” Zhou Qian clenched the Rib of God and called out to Bai Zhou.

The deep blue dragon slid forward, then positioned itself in front of all players.

Bai Zhou’s cold and unquestionable voice directly resonated in all players’ minds—

“Everyone, retreat behind me.”

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 142

On the racetrack, anomalies were everywhere.

He Xiaowei’s pupils dilated, and what was reflected in his eyes was the crack in the sky expanding further. At the same time, several clouds suddenly flew down in reverse, all entering Bo Lu’s eyes!

Additionally, although Liu Shui was facing away from him, preventing He Xiaowei from seeing his front clearly, he could see the grass and even corpses with soil being hurled towards Liu Shui’s face. However, Liu Shui wasn’t hit. Moments later, those things vanished into thin air, presumably absorbed by his eyes.

In a daze, He Xiaowei’s wrist was fiercely grabbed.

Turning around, he met Yin Jiujiu’s serious gaze. “Don’t worry about what’s happening for now. Before the king of the Land of Silence’s corpse is sucked in, find his body and the ‘Key of Freedom’!”

Simultaneously, a melodious yet solemn flute sound began to play.

Turning his head, He Xiaowei saw Yun Xiangrong playing a short flute against the wind.

Countless willow catkins floated over, gradually forming a barrier that enclosed Bo Lu and Liu Shui within, temporarily separating the rest of the corpses and the ground from them.

During a pause in her playing, Yun Xiangrong looked over and said, “Hurry and find the key! I’ll see if I can delay them with this method!”

……

Elsewhere, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou arrived at the outskirts of the Kingdom of Words.

Zhou Qian, lying down on Bai Zhou’s back, said, “Got it!”

Hearing this, Bai Zhou slowed down slightly. Zhou Qian straightened up, drew his bow, and aimed at the golden form getting closer.

At such high speeds, shooting accurately was extremely difficult.

Wind force, speed, and power all had to be calculated precisely, and one needed to ensure they could execute these calculations flawlessly.

But Bai Zhou didn’t ask if Zhou Qian had any issues; only whether the current speed was appropriate.

“It’s fine. Let’s approach it this way.”

Zhou Qian said, standing tall, his upper body immediately straightened. Squinting with one eye, he aimed at the golden bird for a while, then drew the bowstring and aimed at the bird.

By then, they were above the clouds.

The sunlight cast deep and shallow golden hues on the clouds, making the bird’s golden wings look translucent, almost merging with the clouds. In such high-speed pursuit, it was difficult to distinguish which golden patches were clouds and which were the bird’s wings with just the naked eye.

Suddenly, the golden bird flapped its wings and changed direction. Zhou Qian gently nudged Bai Zhou’s body with his left leg, and Bai Zhou immediately understood his intention, shifting slightly to the left.

“Now!” Zhou Qian closed one eye and squinted the other.

The moment the bowstring was fully drawn, coinciding with the golden bird spreading its wings, a loud whooshing sound followed by the bird’s cry of distress was heard.

Zhou Qian smiled softly—bullseye!

As Zhou Qian exhaled, due to the recoil, his upper body leaned back slightly, but the dragon’s tail timely hooked around, securely supporting his waist.

After Zhou Qian gripped Bai Zhou’s body again to stabilize himself, Bai Zhou accelerated suddenly, diving down to catch the golden bird that could no longer fly due to injury.

The arrow tip was coated with anesthetic, so the golden bird had passed out by this time.

With this method, Zhou Qian ensured it wouldn’t escape to another time-space for the time being.

After successfully capturing the golden bird, Bai Zhou quickly returned with Zhou Qian to the Royal City.

Upon entering the city, before reaching the racetrack, they noticed many unusual anomalies.

Both the sky and the ground had large holes, as if space itself were torn apart.

More eerily, the racetrack and even the entire palace were almost devoid of any living beings or corpses.

Were they sucked away by the holes in the sky or the ground?

Just as they wondered, Zhou Qian saw a building flying upwards, spinning and shrinking, before ultimately falling into Liu Shui’s eyes!

At that moment, He Xiaowei, Yin Jiujiu, and Yun Xiangrong arrived on a [Magic Carpet].

Seeing Zhou Qian and the golden bird on Bai Zhou’s back, He Xiaowei handed over the key they found. “This is it!”

“Well done.”

Zhou Qian momentarily averted his gaze, taking the key from He Xiaowei and the chains from Yun Xiangrong and thoroughly locking the golden bird’s feet, finally feeling relieved.

Zhou Qian had been concerned that plucking the feathers would wake the golden bird, allowing it to escape the current time-space, so he had refrained from acting.

Now that it was chained, Zhou Qian had no more reservations. He swiftly grabbed the bird’s wings and plucked a golden feather.

Just as Zhou Qian was about to try using the feather, suddenly, a loud boom sounded. The crack in the sky and the ground widened, and the entire space seemed to be vanishing.

Standing on the Magic Carpet and looking down, He Xiaowei’s legs couldn’t help but tremble. “What the hell is going on? Is it the end of the world?”

“I’m not sure. ‘What has happened cannot be changed.’ There must be some aspect of this world we’re not yet aware of. But Xiaowei Ge, you might be right. This world might be ‘vanishing’. So, just in case something unexpected happens—”

Zhou Qian said, “Keep an eye on our surroundings. I’ll bring Xiao Qi back first. In case the world collapses and the golden feather’s setting no longer works.”

After speaking, Zhou Qian, still seated on Bai Zhou, took out a small cooler from his bag.

Opening the cooler revealed Qi Liuxing’s pale head. His eyes were tightly shut, and his eyebrows and eyelashes were covered in frost.

Zhou Qian’s expression remained unchanged. He took out the head, placed it in front of him on Bai Zhou, and covered it with the golden feather, attempting to use it to heal Qi Liuxing’s body.

While waiting for the feather to take effect, Zhou Qian took out another object from his bag—the [Tick Tock Clock].

Placing the item on Bai Zhou, Zhou Qian didn’t immediately use it, obviously waiting for the golden feather to show its effect first—at least until Qi Liuxing’s heart regrew, then the clock might work.

At that moment, he felt a gaze and turned his head to see Yun Xiangrong standing behind He Xiaowei.

Yun Xiangrong stared unblinkingly at the Tick Tock Clock, her expression somewhat stunned.

Her reaction reminded Zhou Qian of a scene from “Last Wish”—

In the continuously fading circular corridor with 12 rooms full of murderous intent, the space was twisting and about to disappear. At that time, Yun Xiangrong was frantically adjusting the clock, trying to awaken Gao Shan’s heart. But she ultimately failed. She watched helplessly as Gao Shan’s body vanished.

This situation seemed like history repeating itself.

The difference was that Zhou Qian was the one using the item, and he only had a head in front of him.

Soon, Zhou Qian felt the Rib of God slightly move, took it out from his bag, and placed it beside him, but didn’t interfere further, instead focusing intently on Qi Liuxing’s head.

The golden feather on Qi Liuxing’s forehead began to emit a faint golden light, seemingly starting to work.

But Zhou Qian was still uncertain if it could fully heal Qi Liuxing.

Simultaneously, Zhou Qian felt a slight drain of his life force. Then, a human form materialized from the Rib of God—it was Gao Shan.

With a translucent body, Gao Shan’s soul floated beside Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou. His fists clenched and he was trembling slightly. He looked at Yun Xiangrong from a distance.

Yun Xiangrong’s eyes reddened immediately, and she stepped forward, only to be promptly held back by Yin Jiujiu.

Ahead was the edge of the Magic Carpet. If she continued forward carelessly, she would fall.

Gao Shan also involuntarily stepped forward, reaching out as if to catch her, but Zhou Qian timely restrained his wrist with the Rib of God.

With one hand holding the Rib of God to stop Gao Shan and the other grasping the golden feather, suddenly, the golden feather burst into bright, dazzling light, a golden radiance transferring from the feather to Zhou Qian’s body, then to Gao Shan’s soul.

Gao Shan instinctively spoke, and to Zhou Qian’s surprise, he could actually hear his voice.

Gao Shan’s inability to speak was cured by the feather!

The brightness of the golden feather continued to intensify, and after a moment, Zhou Qian felt a refreshing sensation. Checking the system panel, he found his health had significantly recovered.

However, soon the golden light began to dim, but He Xiaowei, Yun Xiangrong, and the others’ health had all recovered to over 60%!

After a while, the golden light faded, and the feather turned a dull gray before disintegrating into ash that vanished with a gust of wind.

Glancing at his empty palm, Zhou Qian immediately looked forward to Qi Liuxing, only to see a neck and shoulders growing beneath his head—the golden feather was effective!

It seemed the golden feather’s healing power on players was limited; its healing power could be depleted.

After curing Gao Shan’s muteness, restoring health to everyone, and partially repairing Qi Liuxing’s torso, the feather turned to nothing. Fortunately, Zhou Qian had captured the entire bird.

To ensure the golden bird wouldn’t fly away, Zhou Qian immediately used a [Heavenly Net] to firmly wrap it, and then began to pluck feathers through the gaps in the net.

After plucking three feathers, Zhou Qian placed them on Qi Liuxing’s severed neck and both shoulders.

Moments later, the three feathers restored Qi Liuxing’s upper body.

After the effect of these three feathers was exhausted, Zhou Qian quickly added four more feathers to the still-incomplete parts of his body.

With Qi Liuxing’s heart area fully restored, Zhou Qian took out the Tick Tock Clock, starting to adjust the needle’s rotation frequency, attempting to resonate with Qi Liuxing’s heart.

He Xiaowei watched Zhou Qian’s operation with trepidation. “Qian’er, Xiao Qi’s body isn’t fully repaired yet. If you awaken his consciousness now… it’s going to be painfully deadly for him!”

“There’s no time. Let’s revive him first.” Zhou Qian glanced towards the sky—half of the heavens had turned into a black hole. The entire world seemed on the brink of collapse.

Turning his gaze back, Zhou Qian reached through the Heavenly Net to grab the golden bird’s neck and tossed it to He Xiaowei, saying, “Pluck the feathers, as many as you can.”

Items or props that exist based on the instance setting wouldn’t work outside of it. Therefore, Zhou Qian didn’t need to take the golden feathers out.

But in this instance, knowing the story hadn’t truly ended, the feathers might still be useful.

The system wouldn’t generously heal all players and restore their full health. The fact that players’ statuses had been restored likely meant a major battle was upcoming.

At this point, everything in the world was being devoured by the eyes of Bo Lu and Liu Shui; perhaps soon, even the golden bird would vanish.

When that time comes, the healing power of its feathers might also fade. But regardless, it’s always beneficial to keep as many feathers as possible in advance.

After delegating the task of plucking to He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian refocused on Qi Liuxing in front of him.

While waiting for the golden feathers to repair the damaged body, Zhou Qian adjusted the Tick Tock Clock with one hand and pressed on Qi Liuxing’s heart area with the other, trying to quickly restore its beating.

…..

In mid-air, Zhou Qian was continuously attempting to save Qi Liuxing. On the racetrack below, a rare and fierce duel had reached a critical stage—both Bo Lu and Liu Shui had eaten each other’s hearts and suffered severe bodily damage.

Liu Shui had lost both legs, and only his torso and above remained. Black poison dripped from his severed waist, containing small black insects that struggled to burrow back into his body after being washed out, only to be forced out again and absorbed into the ground.

Bo Lu was no better off. His limbs were relatively intact, but his internal organs, like his stomach, lungs, and heart, had been hollowed out, as if someone had scooped out his insides.

Yet, they continued to fight, and unexpectedly, Liu Shui’s index and middle fingers pierced Bo Lu’s left eye, pulling out bloody remains when withdrawn.

Despite such severe mutilation, neither of them had died, raising the question of whether it was magic at work or if there was an untold story behind them.

Just as Zhou Qian pondered this, another anomaly struck—

From the giant tear in the sky, a human form suddenly appeared.

Similarly, from the hole in the ground, as if the gates from hell to the human world were opened and someone came from hell to earth.

Two figures, one descending from the sky and the other rising from the ground, hung in the air, facing each other. Their bodies were large enough that every person in the Royal City on the ground could see their features clearly—both bore some resemblance to Bo Lu and Liu Shui.

At this critical juncture, the Royal City of the Kingdom of Words found itself in a perilous situation. Centered around the royal racetrack, nearly half of the city had been absorbed into the eyes of Bo Lu and Liu Shui, leaving only a small part of the city relatively safe.

The citizens panicked and flooded the streets, unsure of where to flee. It was only upon the arrival of these two titans in the sky that they fell to their knees, weeping and bowing continuously—

“Save us!”

“God Vels, save us!”

“M-God Miwa, please save us!”

Vels and Miwa weren’t unfamiliar names to Zhou Qian. Velis was said to be the God of Imprisonment, who loved Difu and therefore bound her with chains. Information about him was found by the players in the Temple of Prayers.

As for Miwa, he was known as a malevolent god.

His story was heard by Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou from Alayne’s own words. Alayne mentioned Difu absorbing malice to gain power, all to aid the Malevolent God Miwa in winning a battle in the divine realm, as part of her effort to persuade Amei to collaborate.

According to the storyline, Zhou Qian speculated that there might not have been an actual battle in the divine realm.

The specific information in Alayne’s mind was likely just a concoction—a result of the curse cast by Amei, the mandate from the Red God queen, and the hatred accumulated by Alayne from her past life. Under these influences, she developed an obsession with killing Difu.

Upon hearing about the existence of the Malevolent God Miwa, she likely imagined a divine battle under the influence of the curse and suggestion, along with a narrative where Difu was in love with Miwa and wanted to assist him.

Various subconscious thoughts related to killing Difu might have prompted Alayne’s brain to fabricate a story, simply to smooth the path for her murderous intent.

However, Zhou Qian hadn’t anticipated that Miwa wouldn’t only truly exist but also come to the human world.

Miwa had arrived, and so had Vels.

This story seemed to feature a clichéd love triangle—Difu loved Miwa, and Vels loved Difu.

What could the actual situation be?

What purpose did the appearance of these two “gods” serve now?

Another thunderous noise resounded without lightning or thunder, but the sky further cracked.

The blue sky, white clouds, and sunlight were gradually swallowed by darkness, and the sky was slowly disappearing. As for the ground, the constant bowing of the citizens to the two gods brought no salvation. They turned into skeletons in an instant, some flying into the boundless black hole above, others falling as the ground hole expanded infinitely.

The two black holes in the sky and the ground weren’t endlessly devouring the world. Occasionally, something would float out from them.

When Zhou Qian looked up into the sky, he spotted a cloud drifting out, displaying strange images—clearly, scenes of war, with corpses for miles and rivers running red.

However, this cloud was fleeting, quickly reabsorbed into the sky.

Without a doubt, everything here was heading towards an apocalypse. Centered on the royal racetrack, the entire world was succumbing.

Yet, this apocalypse was peculiar, with all things disintegrating in a strange manner before being consumed by either the eyes of Bo Lu and Liu Shui or the black holes in the sky and the ground. It was a bizarre end of days, so unusual that it bore a surreal sense of unreality.

Thinking of something, Zhou Qian looked back at Qi Liuxing.

Now, only the area around Qi Liuxing’s ankles remained unrepaired. Seeing another golden feather on him turning gray, Zhou Qian reached out to He Xiaowei, intending to take another golden feather from him.

It was at this moment that Zhou Qian sensed something was wrong.

Turning his head, he saw, at a speed visible to the naked eye, Yun Xiangrong and Yin Jiujiu’s hands had turned into skeletons. However, they were both intently observing the apocalyptic scene and hadn’t noticed the strange condition of their bodies.

“He Xiaowei, give a feather to Yun Xiangrong and Yin Jiujiu each, quickly!”

After saying this, Zhou Qian swiftly took three more feathers from him—one he placed on Bai Zhou’s back, another he applied to Qi Liuxing’s ankle, and he kept the last one for himself. In the final moment, he saw his own hand turn into a skeleton, but as soon as he grasped the golden feather, it quickly returned to normal.

Beside him, the two girls held the golden feathers, their bodies restored to their original state, both looking pale and somewhat shaken by the experience.

Seeing this, He Xiaowei couldn’t help feeling a chill. “Man… If we hadn’t held onto the feathers, we would’ve turned to bones like those people… What the hell…”

“Is this what they meant by a 2% success rate? Without enough golden feathers, players wouldn’t even have the chance to make it to the end!”

Across from He Xiaowei, on Bai Zhou’s back, Zhou Qian lifted his head and looked again at the ravaged world, saying, “Right, the golden feathers are the medium connecting different worlds. As players, without them, we would die in the past, along with these citizens and both kingdoms. But now… I think we can finally head towards the true future.”

As soon as Zhou Qian finished speaking, something caught his eye. Looking down at the racetrack, he noticed the two figures, mangled from their fight, had finally stilled—

Liu Shui was left with little more than a half-head connected to some collarbone; the other half of his head had been cleaved off by a sword, its whereabouts unknown.

Next to him, Bo Lu’s body appeared intact at a glance, but that was merely superficial; not only were all his internal organs gone, but his blood had been drained as well.

A strange, elongated snake had burrowed into his body from his spine, slowly consuming his blood and growing numerous tentacles to replace his blood vessels throughout his body…

The duel between the two, aiming to kill, subjected each other to endless torment until this moment, when they finally perished.

As both ceased to breathe, the situation between heaven and earth shifted further.

The black holes above and below began to spread, instantly enveloping the world in darkness, as if the sun had abandoned humanity, leaving this place forever.

Silence pervaded between heaven and earth, so quiet that players could hear each other’s breathing.

“Everyone, hold onto the golden feathers tightly. Don’t let go,” Zhou Qian reminded everyone, then reached down to touch the cold dragon scales, wrapping his legs tighter around Bai Zhou.

For a long time in the darkness, there was no sound but the ticking of the [Tick Tock Clock] Zhou Qian was adjusting.

“Tick-tock…”

“Tick-tock, tick-tock…”

After an indeterminate amount of time, suddenly, two “thump-thump” sounds echoed, matching the Tick Tock Clock’s rhythm—heartbeats!

Had the clock’s needle frequency finally resonated with the heart?

Zhou Qian leaned forward immediately, his palm on Qi Liuxing’s chest area, indeed feeling a strong heartbeat.

Then he felt the Tick Tock Clock leave his palm, flying forward and sinking into Qi Liuxing’s chest.

Several loud coughs followed, and Zhou Qian felt intense vibrations under his palm.

Qi Liuxing was revived!

Patting Qi Liuxing’s chest, Zhou Qian helped him catch his breath and whispered, “Xiao Qi, bear with any discomfort for now. Shh.”

Afterward, Zhou Qian felt in the darkness that the body under his hand had completely calmed down.

The pace of breathing was still a bit fast and rushed, probably because he had just been revived and was still adjusting, so he couldn’t help but breathe rapidly.

Regardless, he was alive and breathing!

Without knowing what situation they were facing, Zhou Qian didn’t bother to use a flashlight to check Qi Liuxing’s complexion, simply moving his hand to his neck artery to confirm his pulse had indeed resumed.

In the pitch darkness, players couldn’t see each other’s faces but could feel the relaxation in each other’s breathing.

It was a collective sigh of relief—regardless of what came next, at least Qi Liuxing was alive, and everything seemed to be proceeding more smoothly than expected.

After a moment, Zhou Qian sensed something was amiss—he could no longer feel the pulse under his fingertips, and at the same time, he couldn’t hear Qi Liuxing’s hurried breathing anymore!

Just as he was about to call out to Qi Liuxing, Zhou Qian noticed other anomalies—not only Qi Liuxing, but he also couldn’t hear the breathing of anyone else.

Bai Zhou, hovering in mid-air, wasn’t entirely still. His long tail would occasionally sway, and leaning against him, Zhou Qian could even feel the breathing causing the dragon’s body to rise and fall.

But now, all these movements had vanished, as if Bai Zhou had become stationary…

Wait. This all happened because… time had stopped.

Zhou Qian discovered that he, too, was unable to move. He couldn’t speak or breathe, trapped in a frozen moment of time, just like everyone else.

This feeling was rather unfamiliar to Zhou Qian.

Although his skills were closely related to time, he had previously stopped time for others while standing outside of its influence, never affected by the cessation himself.

This was Zhou Qian’s first experience of being completely bound by a stoppage of time.

However, Zhou Qian quickly realized that this instance of time stopping was different from his skill. When he used his ability, the stoppage of time was more akin to a true halt—those immobilized by him couldn’t even think, and when time resumed its normal flow, they were utterly unaware of any interruption.

But it was different now. Zhou Qian could still think.

Moreover, Zhou Qian discovered he could move his eyeballs.

Catching something in the corner of his eye, he looked over to see light descending from the sky bit by bit, gradually restoring brightness to the land. However, the scene between heaven and earth had completely changed from what Zhou Qian and his companions had previously witnessed—

The land had almost entirely turned into a desolate wasteland.

Not a trace remained of the racetrack, the palace, or even the Royal City.

It seemed as if nothingness was all that remained between heaven and earth.

So this wasn’t truly a stoppage of time in the full sense. It was more as if God was playing a puzzle, merely pausing the players’ movements to avoid interference.

In doing so, undisturbed, he reassembled the shattered history, waiting for it to proceed towards its destined future.

Above the ruins, the sky was dim. Suspended in mid-air were two individuals, none other than Miwa and Vels, the gods rumored to have ties with Difu.

Following this, a red shadow flew up from the ground to Miwa’s side and sat down with him. It was Amei.

In a rush, countless red dots lit up the earth, suddenly forming numerous beams of light that converged mid-air into a human form—it was Alayne.

Alayne flew towards the two gods in the sky, but she went to Vels’ side. Like Amei, she sat down, her expression showing a hint of exhaustion.

Finally, after a series of rustling sounds, the sound of limbs, blood, and organs being pieced back together followed, and Bo Lu and Liu Shui, who had fought each other to death, were also revived. Bo Lu flew towards Vels and took a seat, with Alayne on his left and Vels on his right, forming a circular arrangement in mid-air.

Then, a circular platform formed from the void beneath them, securing them in place. A similar situation unfolded on the other side with Amei, Liu Shui, and Miwa, except their platform was triangular.

Humans, gods, ghosts.

It turns out this was the real existence of a Trinity.

Only now, two such “Trinities” had appeared.

On these two entities, the “past” and “present” seemed already determined. So, where was their “future”?

As Zhou Qian pondered this, he suddenly heard a bird’s cry.

The golden bird previously contained within He Xiaowei’s Heavenly Net had vanished without a trace, and another stunningly bright golden bird appeared from the void. Its wings shimmered beautifully as it flew, and its tail trailed a long golden light under the sun, akin to the most sacred spirit.

It circled around the two “Trinities”, seemingly uncertain where to settle.

At that moment, players received a system notification—

[This world allows only the emergence of one supreme being. Please choose whom you wish to aid. Your choice will determine the real “future”. Choose wisely.]

[Heading towards the “future” will bring players to true completion.]

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 141

Half an hour later, at the racetrack.

In the stands, the kings of the Land of Silence and the Kingdom of Words sat side by side in the main seats, with Liu Shui and Bo Lu, respectively, accompanying the kings of their nations.

Leading the group, the ordinary magicians from both nations sat in two rows, waiting for the start of the horse race.

Shortly after, seven horses were led in and positioned behind the starting lines of seven tracks. Each horse had a number tag hanging from it, labeled with the numbers “1” to “7”.

Meanwhile, seven riders, fully geared, waited obediently for the referee’s signal to mount their horses and start the race.

After the arrival of the horses and riders, servants passed by the ordinary magicians of both nations with trays, offering paper and pen for them to place their bets on their favored horses and riders.

From the main seat, the king of the Kingdom of Words extended an invitation to the king beside him.

“These riders and horses are the champions freshly selected from various race tracks across the civilian areas this year. You may pick one to bet on, and regardless of winning or losing, you can take it home. How could I let you return empty-handed after coming from so far away?”

Hearing this, the king of the Land of Silence laughed. “How can I tell which is good or bad from this far away? Of course, I need to have a closer look!”

“Haha, well said!”

The king of the Kingdom of Words stood up first and walked towards the area where the seven horses were located. “Let’s go, my friend. Let’s have a closer look. If you’re interested, you can even pick one to ride!”

Thus, the kings of both nations got up and walked towards the center of the racetrack.

Seeing this, the magician Liu Shui stood up abruptly and followed them, walking with an elegant gait, his robe flowing like drifting clouds.

Noticing his action, Bo Lu slightly frowned and also stood up. Just as he was about to catch up with Liu Shui, an invisible wave of sound struck, halting their steps.

The sound wasn’t singular. One was the vibration of a stringed instrument, and the other was the sound of a flute.

Liu Shui and Bo Lu exchanged glances, and each summoned their magical weapons.

However, they didn’t take any overt action, as if they already knew that from the moment the Land of Silence delegation stepped into the city, all this was destined to happen.

No matter what they did, it was too late to make a difference.

Regardless of the reasons behind the conflict or whether they could catch the “third party” causing trouble behind the scenes, explaining everything would be very difficult, and such explanations were already pointless.

Both kings were worried that the other might strike first, and to protect themselves, they could only kill the other first.

At the same time, the guards of the Kingdom of Words had already swarmed to the site, surrounding the king of the Land of Silence.

The Wind leader was the sole survivor among the Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Fire branches. He was hiding in ambush and gave the order to activate the magic circle on the racetrack, only to reveal that the seven horses transformed into countless black insects, flying towards the king of the Land of Silence.

It turned out that all the horses weren’t real but made of numerous poisonous insects through an illusion!

At the critical moment, a swath of clouds swept over like a saving grace, knocking down thousands of poisonous insects.

However, a single insect managed to slip through and entered the king’s nostril, causing him to fall to the ground, bleeding from all orifices.

The clouds gently landed, revealing Liu Shui’s figure. He quickly went to the king’s side, forced a pill into his mouth, and repeatedly chanted a spell in his ear.

After a while, the king suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, temporarily saving his life but remaining unconscious.

Seeing this scene, the delegation from the Land of Silence was naturally filled with outrage. The guards immediately drew their swords, engaging in a fierce battle with the four branches of the Kingdom of Words, bringing the killing intent to a boiling point!

The magicians’ duel was equally fierce, with poisonous insects, snakes, ants, and toxic fogs instantly enveloping the entire racetrack.

In the chaos, Bo Lu turned into a mist and appeared next to the king of the Kingdom of Words, grabbing his arm. “My king, I will take you away!”

But a stream of clouds once again elegantly arrived, blocking his path, and then Liu Shui emerged from it, saying to Bo Lu, “Hand over the antidote. I will save the king’s life, and perhaps there is still room to maneuver.”

“It’s useless now,” Bo Lu said. “You said we couldn’t track those deserters, not knowing which timeline they fled to, only able to deal with them through prohibitions. But now, they have still come.”

“Is that so? So, it really is… like the fates of these two nations, you and I, indeed, can only be archenemies,” Liu Shui said. “Then let’s just fulfill this fate.”

Upon finishing his words, Liu Shui’s body quickly transformed into a cloud and drifted to Bo Lu’s side. Bo Lu immediately set the king down and took out an object resembling a stone, hastily starting to chant a spell.

However, his spell wouldn’t launch, as if his sword had struck an unbreakable copper wall and iron barrier.

That was the Imprisonment Technique used by Liu Shui! A technique he had personally taught him!

In an instant, the cloud transformed back into water, entwining and enveloping Bo Lu’s body. Then, every stream of water touching his skin suddenly turned into a sharp blade, slicing Bo Lu’s flesh inch by inch!

The blades climbed upwards, nearing his heart, but Bo Lu finally managed to transform into a mist, dispersing to avoid the lethal blades, and reformed behind Liu Shui.

Bo Lu hadn’t expected Liu Shui to use such a deadly move against him. When he reformed his figure, he was riddled with wounds and drenched in blood.

He looked at Liu Shui. “You-You actually… You just said that if I give you the antidote, there could still be a chance for things to turn around. Maybe not necessarily—”

“Is that so?” Liu Shui turned around to look at Bo Lu, his eyes deep and immeasurable. He asked, “But even if I were willing to spare the king of the Kingdom of Words, would you truly give me the antidote, allowing me to save the king of the Land of Silence?”

Liu Shui was met with Bo Lu’s silence.

Seeing this, Liu Shui smiled bitterly and somewhat mockingly.

Then he said, “I’m tired. No matter how many times we start over, the outcome is the same. So, let’s just… follow this fate together—”

“As you wish!” Before Liu Shui could finish speaking, Bo Lu suddenly shouted these words hoarsely. In that moment, the grass beneath Liu Shui’s feet disappeared, all turning into black insects that devoured his legs, flesh and bone, clean off!

……

The racetrack had descended into chaos.

The scene was even more bloody and chaotic than Zhou Qian had anticipated.

Dressed as a food delivery boy, he thought to himself—this storyline has indeed “already happened.”

The three leaders who were killed hadn’t been revived, probably because they were meant to die on this day anyway. The only difference was that Zhou Qian, and the other players made their deaths happen slightly earlier.

Betrayal and slaughter had already occurred. Amidst the participation of numerous people, strong feelings of hatred spread and grew like weeds.

On the open ground of the racecourse, a pyramid-shaped building indeed suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Difu had arrived!

Zhou Qian sensed something, squinting in one direction. He didn’t directly see Difu but clearly heard her voice.

“Whoever you hate, come pray in the temple and curse them!”

“The gods will listen to your curses and fulfill your wishes!”

The voice seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible for Zhou Qian to discern Difu’s location. It was only when he sensed a familiar flash of blade light and saw a red lotus blooming in mid-air that he finally located Difu!

With Bai Zhou wielding a sword in front, and the red lotus closely pursuing from behind, Difu was finally forced to reveal her true form.

Then, Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei quickly arrived on her left, while Yin Jiujiu and Yun Xiangrong, holding weapons, flew to her right with the help of props. Difu was completely surrounded in mid-air.

“What a pity. So many people have lived, huh?”

Difu, hovering in the air, had a rare and breathtakingly beautiful appearance.

Seeing such beauty, it was hard to imagine she was born from the utmost evil in the world.

With a beautiful smile, she asked everyone, looking as innocent as a girl, “Do you really think, with just you all, you can kill me?”

“They forced you to show yourself, that’s all. As for killing you—”

Alayne stood on a red lotus, making her surroundings even redder. It seemed like she transformed into a flame that could burn everything in the world. She stared at Difu and said word by word, “I alone am enough!”

As the last word fell, the red glow around Alayne surged, almost covering the sky and blocking the sun, turning everything a dazzling red as if the whole world were left in red!

“I say the red lotus is vast and wondrous. It beautifies the heavens and the earth and can bring down disasters and evils.”

“I sing of the red lotus, in its grand illumination, reveals all evil thoughts in the world.”

“The red lotus turns into boundless karmic fire, burning away evil, vice, greed, desire…”

“As the red lotus passes, burning the heavens and the earth, everything returns to clarity and purity…”

Alayne didn’t speak, but everyone heard her voice.

It was as if her voice descended from the highest heavens to the mortal realm, while the red lotus beneath her seemed to rise from hell, carrying endless hatred back to the human world, vowing not to rest until Difu was dead!

Difu’s face initially bore a smile, as she was a god fearless of anything. Why should she care about a mere mortal, even if that mortal had the power to reach the heavens? She was born from malice.

As long as malice exists, she would never die.

Even the gods couldn’t harm her. Why would she fear Alayne?

Nothing in the world could truly kill her!

But soon, as the red lotus bloomed to its limit, the carefree smile on Difu’s face disappeared.

Her hands formed a strange seal, and she started chanting a spell, as if she sensed something was wrong and became eager to leave. But she was unable to do so.

The moment Zhou Qian noticed the sudden change in Difu’s expression, he quickly looked down at the pyramid-shaped temple—as the lotus continued to bloom, the temple was shrinking!

He Xiaowei, following by his side, couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice, “Difu’s power is really weakening!”

“Yes.” Zhou Qian exchanged glances with Bai Zhou in the distance, saying, “There’s a saying that the red lotus is made from karmic fire, capable of burning away sin. What Alayne said just now is similar. So… the way Alayne spoke of killing Difu, isn’t by literally killing her, but by absorbing the sin.”

“Absorbing sin? But with so much sin… How can her mortal body bear it?”

He Xiaowei felt a bit terrified. “Hiss… I suddenly thought of a terrible possibility. Could she become the next Difu?”

“I don’t think so.” Zhou Qian’s expression became very serious as the power of the [Magic Carpet] carrying him and He Xiaowei began to fade, and they slowly descended towards the ground.

Squinting at the situation in the sky, Zhou Qian said, “Her ending was decided the moment Amei inscribed the curse. I think…”

Without needing Zhou Qian to say more, He Xiaowei also witnessed Alayne’s ending.

The red lotus turned into karmic fire, determined to burn away all the sins of the world.

As sin incarnate, Difu was indeed enveloped by the tongues of the karmic fire, entwined, and, in an instant, turned to nothing.

At the same time, the red lotus swallowed all the sins, becoming an incarnation of sin itself.

Then, the direction of the karmic fire changed, targeting the red lotus and Alayne, who was connected to it.

The next moment, Alayne’s physical body and soul were both burned, instantly turning to ash in the air, which was then scattered by the wind and completely merged with the soil.

Suddenly, a red shadow appeared in the void.

Just when He Xiaowei thought it was Alayne resurrected, he saw that the shadow was actually Amei, who had just chased into this time and space.

Amei, dressed in red, sat in a desolate corner of the racetrack.

The moment she lifted her head, countless ashes fell.

Not a single person from Nameless Village would survive.

By then, Amei’s curse had finally been fully realized.

But for some reason, she felt a heart-wrenching pain in her chest, as if she had lost something precious forever.

And this was the price she paid for the fulfillment of her curse.

Amei had once told Difu that she was willing to give up the most precious thing for the curse to take effect.

She said this indifferently because Beilan, the person she cared for the most, had long died, and her soul couldn’t be found anywhere. She had nothing left to lose.

Now, she really didn’t know why her heart, which should fear nothing, hurt so much.

Nearby, He Xiaowei, observing Amei’s bewildered expression from a not-too-distant place, suddenly felt a bit of sadness and regret.

But quickly thinking of something, he urgently grabbed Zhou Qian’s arm, saying anxiously, “Qian’er! This is wrong! There’s a big problem! We were supposed to find the feathers! Now that Difu is dead, what… What about Xiao Qi?!”

“Difu’s human form is dead, but her true form isn’t. The karmic fire only burned the malice she absorbed, not her true form. Look there—” Zhou Qian pointed somewhere.

He Xiaowei looked where Zhou Qian pointed and saw the temple.

The pyramid-shaped temple had shrunk infinitely, and when Difu’s body was consumed by the karmic fire, all the bricks and stones on the ceiling, ground, and walls of the temple had disappeared.

The temple was gone, but something was left behind—a golden statue of Difu.

At this moment, the golden statue’s shell cracked inch by inch.

Accompanied by a cry, a bird transformed from within.

The bird, as tall as a person, was quite large.

After flapping its wings a few times, it soared into the sky.

“Not good! It’s trying to escape!” He Xiaowei exclaimed. “What’s happening? Its malice was absorbed by someone else… and its true form became free?!

“But the malice in the human world will probably continue to grow, and who knows, in a hundred years, another Difu might emerge!”

“Shit, it’s so fast! It disappeared! We can’t catch up at all. What do we do?!”

He Xiaowei’s question wasn’t Zhou Qian’s immediate concern.

He raised the bow and arrow he had prepared in advance and looked towards Bai Zhou in mid-air, who then nodded at him.

Afterward, Bai Zhou raised his left hand and drew several hand seals in the air, actually using the [Dragon Transformation] technique!

A deep blue dragon with scales suddenly replaced Bai Zhou’s body in mid-air. Due to system restrictions on the abilities of Rank God players, the dragon was much smaller than usual, but its aura wasn’t diminished.

Its long tail swung over, directly scooping up Zhou Qian and tossing him up, then swiftly slid over to catch him securely.

Zhou Qian, holding the bow and arrow in one hand and tightly hugging Bai Zhou’s dragon neck with the other, followed as the deep blue dragon leapt up, disappearing into the clouds in an instant.

Zhou Qian lay on Bai Zhou’s back to avoid the wind slicing his cheeks due to the high speed.

“Zhou Qian, are you okay? Should I slow down?”

Strangely, Bai Zhou didn’t speak, but Zhou Qian seemed to directly hear his voice.

“I’m fine. You and the little dragon are really completely different. Compared to this, its speed is like a child’s, not matching up to its dad.”

Zhou Qian joked with a smile, squinting forward, then said, “But don’t speed up for now. I’ll try to sit up and shoot.”

As he said this, Zhou Qian no longer hugged Bai Zhou but took the bow in one hand and an arrow in the other.

At the same time, to avoid falling from the dragon’s back at such high speed, Zhou Qian tightened his legs, clinging more firmly to Bai Zhou’s dragon body, leaving almost no gap between them.

The golden bird, having its malice devoured, had greatly weakened in strength, probably only retaining its fast speed.

But on Bai Zhou’s side, even though his abilities were greatly reduced, he could still transform into a dragon, and his power was astonishing. Since he usually spared no effort, if they killed the golden bird, the players would violate the fourth prohibition of “not killing birds”.

Therefore, Zhou Qian decided to shoot the golden bird’s wings, preserving its life while plucking its golden feathers.

…..

On the other side.

Even having seen Bai Zhou’s dragon form once before, and even though the dragon was much smaller this time, He Xiaowei was still stunned.

It was Yun Xiangrong and Yin Jiujiu who came over to remind him.

The two girls had just gone to collect the unlocked chains from the statue. They said to He Xiaowei, “Zhou Qian and the others have gone after the bird… To trap the bird, or to prevent another Difu from being reborn too soon, we need to lock it in a specific time and space.”

“Yes. Now the entire palace has fallen, with heavy casualties on both sides… Let’s hurry to find the ‘Key of Freedom’ with the King of the Land of Silence.”

As they were talking, He Xiaowei suddenly froze, staring in one direction.

“He Xiaowei?” Yun Xiangrong asked him. “We’re splitting up to find the King of the Land of Silence. Did you hear?”

Seeing He Xiaowei still stunned, Yin Jiujiu frowned and urged, “He Xiaowei, can you hear me? I just thought you were really reliable. Don’t—”

“Look over there—”

He Xiaowei’s gaze became serious. A faint fear of unknown dangers emerged in his heart.

The two girls turned in the direction of his gaze and encountered the scene of Bo Lu and Liu Shui in fierce combat.

The fight between the two had reached its climax, with both simultaneously reaching into the other’s chest, literally pulling out each other’s hearts.

Then they did something shockingly unified—biting into each other’s hearts as if to devour them alive.

Most astonishingly, in this situation, neither of them died!

But this wasn’t what made He Xiaowei, Yin Jiujiu, and Yun Xiangrong freeze.

What made all three of them stand still was the scene where, as Bo Lu and Liu Shui bit into each other’s hearts, the sky split open with a huge crack, and a bottomless black hole appeared on the ground.

From the direction of the three players, they could see Bo Lu, with blood at the corners of his mouth, crazily gnawing at the heart, as well as his deep eyes.

Bodies from the racetrack were flying towards them, rotating, shrinking, and eventually all flew into Bo Lu’s eyes. His dark pupils seemed like black holes, capable of swallowing everything in the universe!

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 140

Zhou Qian, Yun Xiangrong, Yin Jiujiu, and Alayne each killed the leaders of Fire, Thunder, and Rain.

After the killings, they arranged the bodies to form a specific curved knife shape to frame the Land of Silence.

Due to a special setting, to prevent the bodies from being resurrected, they all prepared the [Dream-Back Mirror] to be used here.

This way, even if these leaders were resurrected, when someone went to investigate the south, north, and west gates, they could see the leaders’ bodies with curved knife-shaped wounds through “scene reenactment”.

Thus, framing the Land of Silence would be guaranteed to succeed.

However, this wasn’t completely foolproof.

The players needed to completely control when and how the Kingdom of Words discovered this and their reaction to ensure the plan would proceed smoothly—

If the people of the Kingdom of Words discovered this and failed to contain the news or decided to confront the Land of Silence directly, the situation could turn dire.

After all, if the king of the Land of Silence knew before entering the city that the people of the Kingdom of Words suspected him of sending assassins to kill the three leaders, he would worry about walking into a trap upon entering their city.

In such a case, the king of the Land of Silence wouldn’t proceed but would immediately return home.

This would prevent a direct conflict between the two nations.

Betrayal, resentment, and war would not occur, and perhaps Difu would never appear.

To ensure no mistakes in this regard, Zhou Qian assigned He Xiaowei a special task.

Previously, when Gao Shan went to the palace for investigation, he brought back not only the information that the kings of both nations would meet at the racecourse but also other important details.

Among these details, one was crucial—the most powerful magician in the Kingdom of Words was named Liu Shui, and the most powerful in the Kingdom of Words was named Bo Lu.

After leaving the racecourse, Gao Shan didn’t immediately leave the palace but wandered around and found a bustling area, which turned out to be Bo Lu’s residence.

Bo Lu was preparing to welcome the king of the Land of Silence at the east gate, and his place was bustling because many maids were coming and going to prepare his attire.

The meeting of the two kings was a grand occasion, and Bo Lu, of course, wanted to ensure he didn’t appear disrespectful.

Besides attire and grooming, Bo Lu also prepared various magical instruments, creatures, vessels, and materials in case of emergencies.

With so many people busy around the magician Bo Lu, his importance was evident.

Gao Shan also specifically learned that the king had once said that only Bo Lu could match the highly skilled and unpredictable magician Liu Shui of the opposing nation, and everyone’s actions today must follow Bo Lu’s commands.

At this point, He Xiaowei’s task was quite clear.

After experiencing the incident with Wen Bin, Zhou Qian found the [Identity Duplication Camera] very useful and specifically sought to purchase one from the trade hall at a high price, eventually succeeding.

He Xiaowei’s task was to sneak into the palace with this special camera, take a photo of Bo Lu, and, after Bo Lu left, appear disguised as him to issue a “false decree”.

Thanks to Gao Shan’s effective reconnaissance, He Xiaowei smoothly entered the palace—

The palace guards were concentrated on the paths and gates through which the Land of Silence’s delegation would pass, with other areas being more relaxed.

After the race, there was to be an official banquet, and knowing this, Gao Shan considered that ingredients would need to be prepared. After leaving Bo Lu’s residence, he found a path to the kitchen to check the situation.

The palace here didn’t have large vegetable gardens or poultry, so fresh ingredients had to be brought in from outside. Gao Shan followed a cook and found a less guarded route used for deliveries, which was very narrow and unadorned, entering through a small door.

Thus, after meeting outside the palace, He Xiaowei stunned a servant delivering vegetables to the palace with his qin, changed into the servant’s clothes, and successfully sneaked in through the small door.

Once inside the palace, they followed the winding paths to Bo Lu’s residence, just in time to see the neatly dressed magician leaving for the east gate.

Bo Lu mounted his horse, led by two people, and was escorted by countless admirers. Everyone highly revered him, for it was his presence that ensured the Kingdom of Word’s peace.

While in the crowd watching Bo Lu leave, He Xiaowei easily took his frontal photo with a small camera hidden in his sleeve.

Minutes after Bo Lu and his entourage left, the crowd of onlookers dispersed, and the area temporarily returned to quiet.

Ten minutes later, He Xiaowei found a secluded spot to transform into Bo Lu using the photo.

The west gate, closest to the racecourse, was the necessary route for the Land of Silence’s delegation to enter the palace racecourse. It was heavily guarded, similarly to the east gate, by the Wind branch.

Since Bo Lu had left through the west gate, all those stationed there had seen him leave.

Therefore, He Xiaowei didn’t go to the west gate but instead went to the south, north, and east side gates, delivering a letter to the captains of the three branches stationed there.

The captains, belonging to the Rain, Thunder, and Fire branches, all looked up to “Bo Lu” with great respect.

“What brings you back, sir?”

“Do you have any orders for us?”

“Sir, please command us!”

He Xiaowei handed them the letters, saying the same thing to each. “I foresee some ominous events. In 20 minutes, when the people from the Land of Silence arrive, open this letter and act accordingly.”

“Yes!” the three captains answered in unison.

At this point, He Xiaowei’s task should have been smoothly completed. Unfortunately, at the last moment, he encountered some trouble—

By then, he had already visited the Rain and Thunder branches, delivering the letters and his message, with the Fire branch at the palace’s east gate being his last stop.

Facing the Fire branch, He Xiaowei still proceeded smoothly, having delivered the letter and message, and was about to leave the palace through the east gate when the captain walked him a few steps away from his colleagues and suddenly knelt before him.

Based on the information from Gao Shan and his first impression of Bo Lu, He Xiaowei thought Bo Lu was a serious and rather aloof magician.

So, He Xiaowei asked the captain coldly, “What is it?”

The captain said, “Sir, I don’t know if you’ve looked into the matter I asked you about last time… How did it go?”

He Xiaowei: “……”

Fuck, how would I know what it’s about?

In a place where no one could see, He Xiaowei’s back was drenched in sweat. “I’ve been very busy lately and haven’t had the time”, “We’ll talk about this later”… He dared not answer hastily, fearing he might say something wrong and raise the captain’s suspicion.

Gao Shan, who couldn’t be seen by NPCs, was also anxious. He had intended to play a ghost to scare people, assisting He Xiaowei in diverting the topic by performing a ghost-catching play.

However, after repeatedly undertaking tasks far from Zhou Qian’s “Rib of God” in the instance, his vitality was significantly drained, now unable to materialize in front of NPCs or interact with them.

In this critical moment, He Xiaowei suddenly had an idea—what would Zhou Qian do in this situation?

The captain’s words contained several key pieces of information: he had asked Bo Lu for a favor and wanted to know the progress.

It’s likely he asked Bo Lu to divine something because he asked what Bo Lu had “seen”.

However, in this instance, even the Red God couldn’t predict the future, and Bo Lu might not be a diviner. If He Xiaowei tried to divert to divination-related topics, he would definitely expose himself.

In this situation, with asymmetric information, he was completely passive!

As if enlightened, He Xiaowei remembered something Zhou Qian once said.

“Don’t panic when faced with difficulties. I’ll teach you a key element to solving problems—no matter what method you use, always keep the initiative in your own hands.”

“’Turning passivity into activity’ is often the key to solving problems. This is true for deciphering instances…” Zhou Qian nodded confidently and said with a smile, “And it’s actually the same for dating.”

Turning passivity into activity.

After repeating this phrase in his mind three times, He Xiaowei had an idea.

At that moment, when the captain of the Fire branch saw him silent for a long time, he frowned and pressed, “Sir? Can you tell me the outcome? Are you… feeling unwell?”

He Xiaowei didn’t immediately respond. Instead, his right hand quickly reached into his virtual bag, and when he took it out, he was holding a small green ball, about the size of a fingernail.

[Item: Disgusting Caterpillar]

[Function: A giant green caterpillar that is extremely disgusting; a great tool for pranks and annoying people.]

[Note: Before harming others, make sure you can handle it yourself, as it may cause you to vomit during use.]

[Grade: F, Common]

Holding the green ball between his fingers, He Xiaowei raised his hand and made a profound gesture, motioning for the captain to lean in to listen.

The captain, getting the hint, stepped forward and brought his ear close to He Xiaowei’s mouth.

He Xiaowei’s hand, hanging in mid-air, moved forward, circled to the back of the captain’s head, and patted it, before he retracted his hand and exclaimed, “Huh?”

The captain looked puzzled. “Sir?”

He Xiaowei’s expression suddenly became very serious. Not knowing what “Bo Lu” had seen, the captain’s face tensed up, and then he looked horrified at the hand in front of him—

A disgustingly dark green caterpillar was being held between the “Bo Lu’s” index and middle finger, constantly wriggling and spitting out fresh green liquid.

The captain made a retching gesture on the spot. “This, this…”

He Xiaowei sternly said, “At such an important occasion as the meeting of the kings of the two nations, such a foreign object appeared, hidden in your collar… This isn’t a good sign. I must quickly investigate what exactly it is.”

The captain was shocked. He stepped back a few steps, distancing himself from the utterly disgusting worm, and said, “Ah? Could this be related to the Land of Silence? Aren’t they here to talk peace? We…”

Imitating Zhou Qian, He Xiaowei stared into the captain’s eyes and asked, “Do you trust me?”

After a pause, the captain answered, “Of course! You are Master Bo Lu! Our Kingdom of Words’ top magician! Of course, I trust you! Look, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know I had this worm on me… Maybe it would have eaten me by now!”

His tone was very fearful by the end.

He Xiaowei continued in a cool tone with a straight face, “If you trust me, then do as I say. Open the letter I gave you after 20 minutes and follow the instructions inside! For now, we need not speak further of this worm.”

……

At this moment, on the second floor of a breakfast shop.

He Xiaowei took several large gulps of water and said, “Ah, I tell you… I didn’t feel it at the time, but after I came out, I was scared to death… Pretending nothing was wrong as I walked out of the palace, once I was out of sight of those guards, I just couldn’t hold it in any longer and hurriedly ran to a nearby alley. My legs were so weak, I could barely walk! After removing the disguise, I rested there for a while before I came to find you!”

Yin Jiujiu looked at him. “So you were late not because you encountered danger, but because your legs were weak? Couldn’t walk?”

He Xiaowei: “Exactly!”

“……” Yin Jiujiu nodded. “But it’s good that you kept your cool at the crucial moment.”

“Indeed! Qian’er entrusted me with such an important task, I couldn’t let him down!” Saying this, He Xiaowei tapped Zhou Qian’s arm and laughed. “Qian’er, I have to thank you. I tried using your way of thinking and suddenly felt… Wow, so exhilarating!”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian smiled and said nothing. He just glanced out the window towards the east gate.

He Xiaowei took another sip of water, glanced at the ancient floor-standing mechanical clock in the restaurant on the second floor, and swallowed. “Only 15 minutes left… The people from the Land of Silence should be arriving soon, right? I’m a bit nervous…”

“Relax.” Zhou Qian suddenly stood up and walked outside. “Everyone has completed their tasks, and I’m very satisfied. Now let’s split up and continue with our tasks.”

“Me, Yun Xiangrong, and Yin Jiujiu will go to the west, south, and north to monitor if those leaders have been resurrected. If they are, we’ll use the mirror immediately. Xiaowei Ge, you and Gao Shan take Alayne to sneak into the racecourse, then come to meet us. We’ll regroup at the racecourse.”

Yun Xiangrong seemed unable to hold back any longer. She stood up suddenly and crushed the cup in her hand. She asked Zhou Qian, “Gao Shan… he…”

“He’s not my slave. Like us, he’s just doing his part.” Zhou Qian didn’t look back as he walked to the staircase. “Compared to me, he probably wants you to pass the instance even more.”

“Can he hold on?” Yun Xiangrong asked with a frown.

Zhou Qian’s eyes narrowed, and he continued down the stairs, “He’s currently sustained by my life force. As long as I’m alive, he can live.”

……

A quarter of an hour later.

The east gate opened wide, and the king of the Land of Silence entered the city of the Kingdom of Words, escorted by seven magicians and more than thirty guards.

The king seemed very old. Yet, he looked surprisingly young, as if he were in his mid-twenties.

The person walking closest to him must be the magician Liu Shui.

He was dressed lavishly, and his appearance was also youthful.

These two seemed to maintain their appearance, which, in this instance world, might also be considered a form of magic.

At the same time, the captains of the three guard branches at the east, south, and north gates of the palace timely opened the letters from “Bo Lu”, which mentioned only two sentences—

“1. The leaders have been killed. Hurry to the city gate to investigate; 2. This matter is most likely related to the Land of Silence. Do not publicize it. Stand by without action first and set an ambush at the racecourse. Wait for them to enter the trap before confronting them.”

Seeing this, the captains of the Fire, Rain, and Thunder branches immediately called some of their subordinates to secretly rush to the west, south, and north city gates to check the situation of each leader.

The Fire branch, while passing through an alley, heard unusual sounds.

Entering the alley, they were surprised to find—a pink gelatinous substance had burst open, revealing inside more than twenty colleagues trapped in a giant web!

“Thank goodness you’re here! There are spies from the Land of Silence! I’ll notify the others right now!”

The moment one of the soldiers saw his comrades arriving, tears fell, and as he spoke, he immediately took out another signal flare, planning to notify the other branches of Wind, Rain, and Thunder.

But he was immediately stopped by the captain. “No! Do not publicize this matter!”

“Master Bo Lu has foreseen everything! He already has a plan! We’ll first go to the city gate to check the situation! If it’s true, we’ll set up an ambush at the racecourse and report this matter to the king!”

After speaking, leaving two people to help untangle the giant web and rescue their colleagues, the captain continued with the others towards the west gate. Upon reaching the city gate, they indeed saw the body of the leader!

Apart from the Fire leader, there were also three other soldiers brutally murdered.

After a preliminary investigation, they confirmed—the leader and the three colleagues were undoubtedly killed by the Land of Silence soldiers’ unique close-quarters assassination techniques.

The expression of the Fire branch captain became extremely serious. Calling over his subordinates, he said, “Let’s first return to the palace, meet up with the other branches to see if similar incidents occurred on their end, and also…”

Summoning one person, he continued, “The Land of Silence’s delegation should have entered the city by now. Once they leave the main road and turn towards the palace, close the city gate!”

“Go to the east gate immediately and inform the soldiers there. This is an order from Master Bo Lu!”

Five minutes later. On the main street, at an intersection.

The group turned a corner and headed towards the west gate of the Royal City.

Unbeknownst to them, the city gate behind them was slowly closing.

Suddenly, at the front of the procession, Bo Lu paused in his steps, turned around, made his way through the crowd, and approached the magician Liu Shui.

“Master Liu Shui, long time no see.” He spoke lightly. “Shall we have a chat?”

Hearing this, Liu Shui bowed his head, whispered a few words to the king beside him, then nodded to Bo Lu, and the two of them went to the back of the procession.

The large group paused briefly and then continued towards the royal palace in front.

No one saw that the two magicians at the end both sighed.

Bo Lu said, “You once said that a future that can be foreseen is not a real future.”

Liu Shui glanced at him with a faint smile on his lips. “This lifetime has been too long for both of us. Now everything should come to an end.”

“See, I’ve always said. You and I, our fates are tied to these two nations. Neither of us has a real future.”

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 139

Zhou Qian had observed earlier that most of the soldiers stationed at the west gate were gambling with cards in the morning. He thought he might be able to use this to his advantage to lure them away.

This plan was somewhat idealistic and not guaranteed to succeed. So, he approached it with a try-and-see attitude.

Using stratagems to achieve results without bloodshed was, of course, the best option, as it would allow him to conserve as much mana as possible. If that failed, he was prepared to confront them directly.

At this moment, stepping into the alley and hearing the noise behind him, Zhou Qian knew he had succeeded.

It seemed that every detail in this instance was intentional and potentially beneficial.

Considering what Alayne had said, the soldiers’ actions weren’t surprising—when the top is crooked, the bottom would be too. The Fire leader betrayed the former Day, Moon, Star, Cloud to attain his current position. How could such an opportunist leader teach his soldiers to be loyal to their duties?

The fortunes of both the Kingdom of Words and the Land of Silence were indeed coming to an end.

When they rise, the people suffer; when they fall, the people suffer.

The players were merely passersby in this instance. They couldn’t save everyone or stay to clean up afterward, but at least after eliminating Difu, the whole world wouldn’t fall into a doomed fate.

Quickly, over twenty soldiers followed Zhou Qian and the young man into the alley, only to see a small blue dragon appear, which suddenly whisked the young man away.

Sensing something amiss, the soldiers turned to flee, but it was already too late.

A trap previously set up in the area, [Heavenly Net*], was activated instantly, ensnaring them all within its grasp.

*(天罗地网) Idiom referring to a situation where someone is completely surrounded and trapped, with no way to escape.

Before the soldiers could even react, they were hanging in midair.

Then, they saw Zhou Qian walking out from the other end of the alley.

Zhou Qian, shirtless, with his hands in his pockets, strolled over, chewing bubble gum. Looking up at the soldiers hanging in the air, his gaze showed a bit of surprise, as if he was completely unaware of the situation.

Then he smiled, his look turning mischievous, as if watching some kind of animal performance.

Seemingly amused, he smiled at the soldiers and then puffed his cheeks… and actually began to blow a bubble with the gum.

Seeing a pink gel-like substance emerge from Zhou Qian’s mouth and grow larger, the soldiers in midair had no idea what it was and were utterly captivated by it for a moment.

After staring at the pink bubble curiously for a while, they began to question Zhou Qian—

“Who are you?”

“What do you want?!”

“Not good. This man is most likely a spy from the Land of Silence!”

Zhou Qian laughed. The pink bubble detached from his lips, floated into his palm, and then he looked at the trapped group and said, “Correct. You’re too smart. I am indeed a spy from the Land of Silence.”

One of the soldiers hurriedly said, “I’ll notify—”

Before he could finish, the soldier quickly took out a flare from his pants leg, seemingly planning to throw it through the gaps of the [Heavenly Net] to the ground.

But he couldn’t complete this action. The strange gel-like pink sphere in the stranger’s palm suddenly expanded and then enlarged in front of him, somehow surrounding them from all directions!

In just a moment, the twenty or so soldiers suspended in the air were surrounded by pink gel below their feet, above their heads, and all around, as if they had fallen into a giant pink ball.

They didn’t know what the material of the ball was, but it seemed elastic and highly reflective of sound.

The unfinished sentence of the soldier started bouncing around within the “balloon”, creating an unbearable cacophony.

Realizing this, everyone dared not speak, as every word they uttered would continuously create an almost undiminishing echo, quickly filling the “balloon” with noise.

Adding insult to injury, the flare thrown by the soldier also exploded inside the “balloon,” and the red smoke bounced off the inner walls, making everyone tear up and unable to open their eyes.

At this point, they were completely blind to the outside world, could not hear any external noise, and were totally unable to communicate any messages out.

[Item: Giant Pink Bubble House]

[Effect: Can trap a large group of people inside a bubble gum constructed house, blocking all sound and images, lasting for 30 minutes.]

[Note: The effect is quite amazing, but the success rate of use isn’t high. You must blow the bubble in front of the target, under their gaze, and continue blowing for 30 seconds. But perhaps by the time you finish blowing the bubble, the enemy has already fled.]

[Grade: Uncommon]

This item was uncommon, and its effect was hard to achieve on players.

After all, it was classified as uncommon, and most players were familiar with it and would be wary, not foolishly staring at it for 30 seconds.

But using it on instance NPCs who hadn’t seen much of the world and didn’t know what bubble gum was, was more than sufficient. Especially when they were trapped in the [Heavenly Net] and planning to question Zhou Qian, this “spy”.

Collecting money, gambling, blowing bubbles…

Zhou Qian easily trapped over twenty soldiers.

Turning to leave, he only left them with a message. “Of course, you need to spread the word that I am a spy from the Land of Silence, but there’s no rush. After 30 minutes, you can fire the flare again.”

With that, Zhou Qian draped his shirt over his shoulders and walked away nonchalantly, indifferent to whether those people could hear him or not.

Half a minute later, Zhou Qian appeared under the west gate.

There was no one around, and no one noticed the anomaly here.

However, three soldiers who weren’t interested in gambling had stayed behind, likely indifferent to their duties. They lazily leaned against the city wall, yawning, with swords at their waists.

After sending the little dragon to watch from the rooftops of nearby houses, keeping an eye on the Fire leader’s arrival, and monitoring for any other unusual activity, Zhou Qian took out a [Flying Rope] from his bag and silently climbed up the city gate.

Holding a knife, and with the speed gained from soloing two high-difficulty trial instances, he swiftly passed by the three men.

By the time they realized something was wrong, they were already collapsing with ruptured carotid arteries.

Conveniently, there were many shields on the ground. Zhou Qian laid their bodies down, stripped their armor, and hid it all in his bag, then made several cuts to their faces and bodies.

What has happened, cannot be changed.

They might be resurrected later, but Zhou Qian couldn’t control when they would come back to life, so just in case, he tied them up with a special rope and hid them under the shields.

All that was left for Zhou Qian to do was wait for the Fire leader to appear.

According to the information provided by Alayne, Village Chief Ab was a rare individual who had mastered all the skills of the Day, Moon, Star, Cloud families and was thus unanimously chosen as the village chief.

Therefore, the Fire leader’s strength was probably weaker than Ab’s.

With his skills, the little dragon’s assistance, and the aid of various items, killing him wouldn’t be too difficult.

However, the soldiers of the Land of Silence were skilled in close-quarters assassination with curved blades. If the Fire leader’s body showed obvious signs of unusual death, it would be problematic.

In this case, Zhou Qian had to minimize mana and health consumption while killing him up close with a sword, which was a bit more challenging.

Of course, for Zhou Qian, it was just slightly more difficult.

Facing the city area, he took out a mirror from his bag.

[Item: Dream-Back Mirror]

[Effect: Placed in the scene, it can fully restore the story that once happened in the scene, making people feel as if they were there; Range: 300m; The scene time can be adjusted, but it can only restore up to 24 hours before; The past scene can last for half an hour.]

[Note: Can be used to reminisce about people who were here within the last 24 hours, or to reconstruct a crime scene and search for clues; However, the scenes produced by the Dream-Back Mirror are all illusions. Don’t indulge too much, for illusions are ultimately empty…]

20 minutes later.

Crouching behind the city wall, Zhou Qian received a message from the little dragon—the Fire leader had appeared and would enter the street directly opposite the city gate in one minute.

Upon receiving the message, Zhou Qian hung the Dream-Back Mirror on the city wall within 30 seconds.

All he had to do next was to hide and wait at the city gate.

As soon as the Fire leader turned into the street leading to the west city gate, he entered the range of the Dream-Back Mirror.

What appeared before him was the scene of soldiers dutifully standing guard at the city gate.

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, the Fire leader shook his head, thinking the scene was very similar to what he had seen that morning.

But after thinking it over, it seemed there was nothing wrong with that—soldiers wearing the same uniforms and standing in the same places naturally looked similar.

Thus, the Fire leader didn’t notice anything too unusual and continued toward the city gate.

Arriving at the gate, he yawned and walked up the stone steps next to the rampart to the city wall.

The soldiers stood guard at the city gate without moving, a few facing towards the city interior while the majority faced outward, appearing very serious and dutiful in their posts.

However, the Fire leader eventually noticed something odd—why didn’t they greet him?

It was as if they hadn’t seen him at all…

Wait… Why was the light reflecting off their armor so strange?

The sunlight falling on the armor and every brick of the city wall displayed a distinct orange color, the shade of dawn when the morning sun first rises.

But now, the day was fully bright. Such a phenomenon shouldn’t be occurring. What… What is going on?

As the Fire leader pondered in confusion, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a sight that made his heart race with fear—he turned his body to look down the street below the city gate and saw another version of himself striding towards him!

In shock, the Fire leader hadn’t even fully comprehended the situation when the shields lying on the ground next to him started moving on their own!

Holding twin blades, the Fire leader turned his body, highly alert towards those shields, only to see a few shields fall aside, revealing four bodies emerging from underneath.

The faces of these four bodies were all scratched, unrecognizable, and in addition to their clothes being removed, their bodies were covered in wounds.

No, upon closer inspection, there were only three bodies. One was still alive!

The survivor, upon seeing the Fire leader, shouted, “Greetings, Leader!”

Then he attempted to rise from the ground, only to fail immediately, falling back down and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Afterwards, he spoke very weakly to the Fire leader. “Not good… The Land of Silence… It’s the people from the Land of Silence… They used magic that made us hallucinate… unable to distinguish what’s real from what’s fake… I was attacked by another version of myself… but no matter what I did… I couldn’t harm him at all, I… cough cough…”

Attacked by another version of oneself?

This man hadn’t clarified the situation, but the Fire leader clearly caught a crucial sentence. So he looked down the street at the other version of himself again, finding that he had already walked to the middle of the road.

Suddenly, the Fire leader swung his blade, sending a cloud of fire down the street towards the person.

The murderous intent-filled fire cloud surged powerfully, but upon hitting the other Fire leader, it dissipated into nothingness. It was like punching soft cotton, utterly ineffective.

On the street, the Fire leader walked with ease, his expression unchanged, as if nothing had happened.

This scene undoubtedly agitated the Fire leader at the city gate. He then executed several more moves, but the Fire leader on the street remained unharmed!

The Fire leader’s heart pounded, and he nervously looked towards the soldiers around him.

After standing for a while, they occasionally whispered to each other, as if slacking off. But from beginning to end, not a single one looked at him, as if he didn’t exist at all.

This isn’t right…

What in the world…

At this moment, the Fire leader heard the man lying on the ground speak again. “Leader, only you, me, and these three dead brothers beside me are real. Everything else is fake. But they will kill us and then replace us in the living world! As long as they kill all of us, they can replace us! Ah…”

After saying this, the man spat out blood and became motionless, probably dead like the three others beside him.

Not only did the Fire leader’s heart beat wildly, but his ears also rang.

No, of course he couldn’t be replaced!

With twin blades in hand, the Fire leader quickly ran around the city gate, executing countless moves. Normally, these soldiers would have been incinerated by his fire cloud technique. But now it was different. Those people remained unscathed!

Disbelieving, the Fire leader connected his twin blades, unleashing a powerful move. Two blades of light collided, creating a massive firestorm, like a wildfire fanned by spring winds, instantly targeting every soldier!

The fire was fierce, as if it would burn everything to ashes. But moments later, the flames dissipated, and everything on the city gate remained unchanged, as if nothing had ever happened.

At this moment, the Fire leader suddenly realized what was wrong.

He turned around and saw the other version of himself walking up to the city wall, and the nearest soldier turned to him, saying, “Good morning, Fire Leader!”

The other Fire leader replied, “Good morning, everyone! Did you have a good breakfast? I usually turn a blind eye to your behavior, but not today! Today, of all days, you cannot slack off!”

These were the words he had said that morning.

The scene before him was exactly what he had experienced.

Something that happened in the morning was happening again…

Is this… my memory?!

I’ve entered my own memories!

They can’t see me. They’re not harming me. They’re all from my memory…

Wait, when I first came up to the city gate and noticed that no one looked at me, that the armor had dawn’s light on it, I had already started thinking in this direction, because of that…

It was that man who suddenly appeared covered in blood! He said the other version of myself would kill me!

He was deceiving me! He was misleading me!

Who is he?!

What does he want?!

The Fire leader gripped his twin blades tighter and took steps towards the blood-covered man on the ground.

Suddenly, the man sprang up from the ground.

With a smile on his lips, he raised his hand, his thumb sliding across the corner of his lips, wiping off the blood there, then wiped his eyes as if to clear his vision.

Then the Fire leader saw those bloodthirsty eyes looking back at him.

“You’re even dumber than I thought,” Zhou Qian said with a smile. “With your mana gone and your ultimate on cooldown… what are you going to fight me with?”

……

Five minutes later, Zhou Qian arrived at the breakfast shop they had dined at in the morning and went straight to the second floor.

This was the place they had agreed to meet up after completing their tasks, and upon Zhou Qian’s arrival, only Alayne was there. Alayne was responsible for the Rain leader at the south gate.

Seeing Zhou Qian, she nodded, indicating that she had taken care of the Rain leader.

The other players hadn’t arrived yet. Zhou Qian wasn’t in a hurry. He ordered some food and drink, which was soon delivered.

Breakfast time had passed, and many civilians were trying to squeeze their way to the east gate to watch the spectacle, so there weren’t many customers in the shop at this time.

Although Zhou Qian ordered the food and drink, he didn’t touch it and instead just sat by the window waiting.

After a while, Yun Xiangrong and Yin Jiujiu returned.

They were responsible for the Thunder leader at the north gate.

Thunder corresponded to the former Star, both proficient in utilizing the power of the stars. Yin Jiujiu’s clothes were clearly torn, and her skin underneath appeared charred, suggesting she was struck by lightning.

Fortunately, she specialized in tanking, so she endured it, but now her health was only at 15%.

Yun Xiangrong was slightly better off, with her health at 25%.

The two girls looked pale, already not fully recovered from the previous battle, and having to undertake a highly difficult assassination task was truly taxing.

After both sat down, Zhou Qian asked Yin Jiujiu several questions but didn’t ask Yun Xiangrong anything.

Yun Xiangrong ignored him, sitting down and drinking water without lifting her eyelids, clearly continuing some unspoken performance between them.

But now, both had some other thoughts about the reason why the Peach Blossom Legion had sent her—

Firstly, to keep Zhou Qian’s attention on her and Yin Jiujiu, whose stance was unclear, completely ignoring Ke Yuxiao.

Secondly, now that they had triggered the hidden completion condition, it was clear this instance was very special. Perhaps the Peach Blossom Legion also coveted the rewards of the hidden achievement. If the Peach Blossom Legion sent someone else, Zhou Qian would never let that person win the reward, but if it was Yun Xiangrong, it might not be the case.

Bai Zhou was assigned the task of infiltrating the racecourse and monitoring Difu’s movements, so he wouldn’t be back for a while. The only one they were waiting for now was He Xiaowei.

As they waited, he had already missed the final time agreed upon by everyone.

Yin Jiujiu glanced at the system panel’s time and said anxiously, “Could something have happened to him? The Land of Silence’s troops are about to arrive. His task may not involve assassination, but it’s still crucial. If something goes wrong—”

Zhou Qian tapped his index finger on the table. “Xiaowei Ge might be a bit jumpy sometimes, but he’s never let us down at crucial moments. We should trust our teammates more.”

“I know…” Yin Jiujiu exhaled. “I’m just a bit worried. If he messes up, all our injuries would have been for nothing.”

Zhou Qian’s expression remained unchanged, only looking out the window. “No rush. Gao Shan is with him. He can help. Besides, Zhou Ge is close to him. He’ll be fine.”

With that, Zhou Qian summoned the little dragon, petting its head. “Xiao Long, sneak over to the east city gate. After the Land of Silence people arrive, follow them. I’ll be watching everything through your eyes. Be careful not to get caught.”

“Yip!” The little dragon let out a soft cry and flew out the window.

Yin Jiujiu watched this scene anxiously, only to see Zhou Qian looking out the window with a smile. “Look, our Xiaowei Ge is back.”

---

The author has something to say:

Zhou Ge fights: Single strike style.

Qian Ge fights: Gambling cards and pretending to be dead, then using all kinds of flashy tricks.

---

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

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?

---

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

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

---

Chapter 135

About thirty years ago, there was turmoil caused by a Red God in the royal city of the Kingdom of Words. The people were protected by the branches of the four great guardian armies: Sun, Moon, Star, Cloud. Beilan bravely fought against the Red God, exhausted her strength, and died.

After an unknown period, Beilan opened her eyes to find herself in complete darkness, with the only light being a faint red glow in the distance.

Approaching the red light, Beilan discovered it was a sign. It was an inn.

Beilan immediately realized where she was—she had died, her soul had arrived in another realm, and now she was wandering near the Red God’s inn.

It was said that the inn offered endless delicacies, and if you wished, you could live there forever, free of worries.

But Beilan didn’t want to live there forever; she wanted to return to the human world.

After entering the inn, Beilan met the Red God and was surprised to find she had the same face as the queen.

Seeing that Beilan wasn’t interested in the meat soup in the meat pool or the wine in the wine pool like the other ghosts, the Red God asked her, “You don’t like it here?”

“I just don’t want to indulge in it like they do. I want to go back,” Beilan said.

After a long look at Beilan, the Red God suddenly said, “I actually know who you are. You are a member of the guardian army of the Kingdom of Words. And me… I utterly despise those four guardian armies.”

Hearing this, Beilan immediately frowned.

The Red God smiled, saying with a rather gentle tone, “But to me, you are different from them. See, among those who fought me to the last moment in the human realm, only you remained.”

“In a way, you were abandoned by them. We share the same fate. The four guardian armies serve the royalty, including the king and queen. Yet, they seem to have forgotten all this and even helped the king and his mistress against me…”

With a sigh, the Red God continued, “As a woman, I pity you. If you want to go back, I can show you the way.”

“Can I go back? Can I be resurrected?” Beilan asked incredulously.

The Red God quickly shattered her illusions. “Of course you cannot be resurrected as Beilan directly. You can only return to the human realm according to the rules here—as a newborn.”

When Beilan was alive, there was an old maid in one of the four great families who had never married. She had heard a fortune teller say to her, “Oh, what’s this? There are three souls ‘in heaven’ waiting in line for you. Only when you marry and have children can they come to the human world. They like you and have been waiting for you. Don’t let them wait too long. Otherwise, they might leave and be born to someone else’s family. Then you would miss the connection, which wouldn’t be good for you. Hmm… It should be within these two years.”

Whether the fortune teller said this just to urge the maiden to marry, to match her with someone else, or if it was true, Beilan didn’t know at the time. She was merely curious about the idea of a dead soul being reborn as a newborn in the human world.

She didn’t expect the notion that a dead soul could return to the human world as a newborn to be confirmed by the Red God today.

“I-I’m not afraid to start over. But when can I go back?” Beilan eagerly asked the Red God.

Amei was young and could live for a very long time. Beilan didn’t want to wait alone in another realm for decades or even centuries; naturally, she hoped to return to the human world sooner to have a chance to reunite with her.

The Red God said, “The other realm is vast. This dimension is far broader and deeper than you can imagine. What I have is just an inn that can host lost souls.”

“You’ve seen it; many people indulge in the life here and forget to move forward. Such people can never return.”

“How can I go back?” Beilan asked.

Afterward, Beilan learned some secrets of the other realm from the Red God.

Upon death, souls first arrive in this inn area. This was a vast region that even many Red Gods didn’t know the full extent of. It was filled with countless roads, intricate crossroads, and innumerable inns, each offering endless delicacies.

Initially, everyone wanted to leave this area because they were told there was a road leading to the human world. Finding the right path would take them to a queue area, and then one by one, they would be reincarnated as humans.

But very few could truly leave this place.

Walking around, they would only find themselves lost in a maze, unable to find a way out. Most would give up after experiencing this numerous times.

They would turn to indulge in the dreamy life of the inns—since there were endless delicacies here, why bother being human? If they found this life boring, they might as well drink until they forget everything. Once drunk, boredom would disappear, and everything forgotten.

“The inn is a haven for souls. On Samhain, when the doors between two realms open, they can briefly return to the human world to enjoy themselves… Many are content and choose not to leave. If they tire of it, they can simply move to another inn. But they hardly have a chance to be human again. I can tell you’re different from them.”

After saying this, the Red God stood up, led Beilan out of the inn, and walked along a dark path for a long time.

At a crossroads, illuminated by the red light from another inn’s sign, the Red God pointed Beilan to a road. “I cannot guarantee this road leads to the human world. But from my observations over the years, the few who left my inn and never returned all took this road.”

Beilan’s eyes lit up. “Thank you!”

After thanking the Red God, Beilan was about to leave, but the Red God stopped her first. “Wait. I have something else to say.”

“Yes. Please speak,” Beilan said.

“Even I don’t know what lies ahead. But reincarnation isn’t so simple. Even if you leave the inn area, you may face many challenges and trials ahead. After all, so many wish to be human, but the number of babies born each year is limited. Consider carefully if you’re truly ready.”

Beilan didn’t hesitate at all. “I’ve thought it through. I’m ready. I need to return as soon as possible.”

The Red God continued, “You won’t remember anything from this life, nor will you remember me. Moreover, I can’t guarantee where you will be reborn or what kind of person you will become.”

Beilan thought for a moment, then replied, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.”

“Then, my guidance to you is considered a kindness I’ve shown you, agree?” the Red God said. “Otherwise, you might spend decades, even centuries, wandering aimlessly in the inn area.”

“I agree. I’ve said it before; I’m very grateful to you,” Beilan frowned. “I’m serious. I resisted you… to save the people, not because of the four great families. Now I know, you actually never harmed any of the common people’s lives…”

The four great families had separated Beilan and Amei, declaring their love a disgrace to the families and the Kingdom of Words. Beilan had always harbored hatred towards them.

And the Red God in front of her, despite causing several disturbances, had only ever killed those from the four great families and the royalty who had betrayed her.

Glancing at Beilan’s expression, the Red God then said, “Since you’re grateful to me, in exchange, promise me one thing.”

“What is it?” Beilan asked her.

The Red God said, “I can’t control your fate. I can’t guarantee you’ll return to the human world, nor do I know what you will become once you do. These are the truths.”

“However, that doesn’t mean I know nothing about your future. I can see a remarkable talent in you. This talent may be proven on your journey forward to the human world, where you’ll face trials and become stronger…”

“If you manage to return to the human world with this talent, I hope you can find a way to do something for me.”

With that, the Red God opened her hand, and a golden bird appeared in her palm.

It flapped its wings, looking beautiful and lively, as if it could fly out of the Red God’s hand at any moment and into the outside world.

It wasn’t until the Red God closed her hand into a fist that Beilan realized it was just an illusion.

“Many secrets about this world were revealed to me after I became a Red God. Who created this vast world… I do not know. But what I’ve learned is that the operation of this world is based on certain codes. These codes grow and change from their original form, gradually developing the world into its current state.”

“The ancient spells are actually a form of these codes. Spellcasters can break dimensional constraints through incantations, performing feats beyond the ordinary; fortune tellers can predict the future by training their brains to connect their thoughts with the universe through the codes, seeing events in different dimensions…”

“Color runes are also a way to connect with the codes.”

Hearing the Red God speak, Beilan said, “I understand this. Our family likes to keep white dogs. The purer the white of the dog’s fur, the easier it is to contact another realm, the easier it is to communicate with beings from another realm.”

“Right. The purer the color of an animal, the easier it becomes a spirit. And there has never been an animal that is pure gold, except for the one you just saw.”

The Red God said, “It’s a pity… When it evolved, it absorbed the purest form of malice from the human world. Lies and betrayal are its favorite elements. Such things are abundant in the human world, so much so that it has become powerful enough… to go to worlds that are difficult for all others to reach.”

“Are you saying… the divine realm?” Beilan asked.

“Yes. It entered the divine realm. Isn’t it ironic? Why would the divine realm accommodate such malice? I can’t see through it.”

The Red God stared into Beilan’s eyes, her gaze suddenly filled with sorrow and anger. “I only found out recently that the person who harmed me was actually her! This bird must be familiar to you, right? Amei was forced into marriage, precisely to steal this feather. But this feather… was deliberately offered to the king of the Land of Silence by this golden bird.”

Seeing the hatred clearly reflected in Beilan’s eyes, the Red God emphasized. “Remember, she is now called Difu. For my sake and your own, you must kill her. When necessary, I will help you.”

Following the road pointed out by the Red God, Beilan indeed left the inn area and embarked on a long journey of trials. Only by surviving these trials could she have a chance to be reincarnated as a human.

In the years that followed, Beilan walked a long and arduous path of trials. This trial lasted for ten years. The more difficult the journey, the more Beilan hated Difu and her former family—the four great families of Sun, Moon, Star, Cloud.

She resolved to kill Difu and all members of the four great families to avenge herself and Amei.

Along the way, Beilan grew increasingly powerful, and her hatred deepened. She returned to the human world as quickly as she could.

Many would spend decades or even longer. But she managed to return to the human world in just ten years.

What Beilan didn’t know was that in the tenth year, Amei died and became one of the many Red Gods. She also didn’t know that after becoming a Red God and failing to find her, Amei went to the temple and cursed all the villagers to death.

After being reborn as a human, Beilan lost the memories of her previous life, but the hatred and killing intent towards Difu and the villagers had already merged into her bones.

At the same time, at the moment of her rebirth as a human, Amei’s curse took effect—Nameless Village needed a complete slaughterer. Beilan, who harbored hatred for the village, was naturally chosen by fate.

The innate red lotus was the power bred from the strongest curse. It would devour all the villagers of Nameless Village, including Beilan, or the person now known as Alayne.

……

Inside the inn, the sounds of killing suddenly rose.

These were the spirits from eight years ago in the time-space, rushing over again. Fortunately, those who have been lingering in the inn for years, indulging in eating and drinking, didn’t have strong attack power, and so far, the players hadn’t faced too much danger from them.

Bai Zhou, Hidden Blade, Yin Jiujiu, Yun Xiangrong split up to fight, while He Xiaowei monitored everyone’s health bars and called out to Zhou Qian. “Qian’er? Shall we retreat together?”

“Give me half a minute.”

After saying this to He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian stepped forward, grabbed Alayne from the ground, and looked into her eyes. “What’s your decision now? Do you regret it? Are you ready to give up, thinking you might somehow survive, or do you still intend to find Difu and fight her?”

Alayne didn’t hesitate and met Zhou Qian’s dark pupils, saying, “I’ve fought in the darkness for ten years to find a way back from the other realm to the human world. I won’t regret it—never! I will still kill Difu. Amei’s power is growing stronger, and I’m afraid she will continue to be exploited…”

Taking a breath, Alayne walked out. “She doesn’t need to know about this. She has always been looking for me. But under these circumstances… there’s no need to let her know I am Beilan.”

“Now, let’s go save your companions. Then we’ll find a way… to eliminate Difu!”

……

Elsewhere. Moments before.

Alayne’s mother woke up in the graveyard. For some reason, the surroundings were full of noise. After casually grabbing a villager to inquire, she learned that spies from the Land of Silence had come—two in total.

Alayne’s mother couldn’t remember why she fainted, but she vaguely remembered seeing those two people.

Before tonight, she had secretly taken her daughter to see a fortune teller in a distant city. The fortune teller, after seeing Alayne’s future, bled from the eyes and nose and said she would bring doom to Nameless Village and kill everyone.

The fortune teller suggested that to avert the tragedy, Alayne’s mother should kill her while she was still young; otherwise, once the calamity brewed, it would be too late to save her.

Thus, that night, during the handkerchief game, Alayne’s mother intended to kill Alayne in the graveyard discreetly and bury her.

But she knew she couldn’t go through with it. When faced with the dug pit, she couldn’t imagine actually placing her daughter inside.

She was about to abandon the plan when two strangers appeared.

She suspected they were from the Land of Silence and knew they had seen everything.

If they spread what they saw, whether the villagers would suspect her intention to kill her daughter was one thing, but if it led to further investigation into Alayne’s fate, resulting in her execution, everything would be over.

With this in mind, of course, Alayne’s mother had to act against those two “spies”.

However, what happened next, she now had no memory of.

She could only guess that she was injured during the confrontation and fainted.

Now, she couldn’t be bothered with that much. Her only concern was the most crucial matter—where had her daughter gone in her absence?

As she followed the noisy crowd toward the square, Alayne’s mother kept asking everyone if they had seen her daughter. By the time she approached the square, she finally eased her worries—her daughter was being carried over by the young village chief Ab, who said someone found her behind a haystack not far away. Her crying was loud, making it easy for everyone to find her.

In reality, Qi Liuxing took her daughter to use the infant’s cries to attract other villagers to deal with Ke Yuxiao. After successfully drawing the villagers’ attention, he hid her behind a haystack on his way past it.

Soon, Ke Yuxiao would come to kill him, and perhaps a fierce battle with the villagers would ensue. Before that, he hid the baby to prevent her from being trampled to death.

Even under the influence of the curse, the infant wouldn’t really die, but Qi Liuxing, in a desperate escape, still unhesitatingly did this.

Having almost been killed by her own mother, she had suffered enough. Despite Qi Liuxing’s young age, despite the betrayal by his most trusted friend, and despite the infant knowing nothing… he still wished she could feel more of the world’s kindness and tenderness.

Of course, Alayne’s mother didn’t know the full story.

But the fact that those two men took her daughter without killing her was right in front of her.

They not only didn’t kill her, but they likely took her because they thought she intended to kill her. They were trying to save her!

When Alayne’s mother reached the square with the crowd and saw the head lying next to the large iron pot, she thought she understood the whole truth—

Perhaps those two were indeed from the Land of Silence, but not all were spies.

Clearly, one of them killed the other. The one who was killed… might not have wanted to be a spy, hence his companion killed him.

Under these circumstances, the one who attempted to save her daughter and hid her behind the haystack before being beheaded, preventing her from becoming another soul under the sword of a Land of Silence soldier, could only be the person who now lay decapitated before her.

The head lay on the ground—the pale and thin face of the young man was smeared with blood and mud.

Due to its proximity to the fire under the iron pot, his hair even showed slight signs of being singed.

Village Chief Ab was discussing with others how to deal with the head.

“What’s the situation here?”

“No matter the situation, he’s a person from the Land of Silence. In my opinion, we should just throw his head into the fire, especially since Samhain is coming. Just use his head as a sacrifice!”

“No, I think that’s inappropriate. He was killed by his companion, which means there’s something fishy going on. Could he be carrying some information on him? Maybe he wanted to reveal something to us but was killed before he could succeed?”

“I think we should invite a powerful fortune teller tomorrow. His brain is still there; maybe the fortune teller could see something through spells and magic!”

“If he had relatives here, I could understand his actions. But he’s a complete stranger. Why would he leak information about the Land of Silence to us?”

……

Opinions among his subordinates weren’t unified. As Ab was pondering what to do, Alayne’s mother stepped forward and said to him, “We haven’t been at war with the Land of Silence recently. This kid looks young; he probably hasn’t spilled our people’s blood. The person is dead, so there’s no need to burn his head.”

“I just felt unwell and came out for a walk with Alayne when another slender person snatched Alayne away. Alayne is still alive now, so it seems this boy saved her, so…”

“Perhaps you can discuss it first. There’s no rush to decide. Before you make a decision, how about we keep him at my place? I have a lot of ice stored in my cellar, which can prevent his head from rotting.”

……

On Zhou Qian’s side. After the other players temporarily controlled the spirits, he confirmed Alayne’s decision—she would still kill Difu.

However, when the group decided to leave the Red God’s inn of this time-space, they found the inn’s main door seemed to be enveloped by a layer of mist, with individual spirits walking in from outside, but the players couldn’t exit.

Subsequently, everyone received a notice—

[Attention: The area ahead is an unknown region and cannot be explored.]

“What the hell?” He Xiaowei’s forehead dripped with sweat.

The energy from the outside area emitted a strong sense of horror and weirdness, making him instinctively feel something was wrong.

Glancing outside, Zhou Qian said, “It’s probably because Samhain in this time-space hasn’t officially arrived. The time-space prop should allow us to traverse freely, but currently, we only know how to use it to go eight years back or forward.”

“Additionally, I think, although we can return to eight years ago, there’s a certain margin of error when it comes down to the exact hour or minute. Just wait a bit longer, and we should all be able to get out.”

“The system says the area ahead cannot be explored because the outside is another realm, hell, not included in the map of this instance. We wait for Samhain to officially start, when this place can connect with the human world. Then we can go through this door to the human world.”

Zhou Qian was right.

Five minutes later, the thick fog outside the main door had indeed dissipated.

Stepping out of the door, they found themselves on a mountain, with Nameless Village lying at the foot of the mountain below.

Taking a few steps, Bai Zhou reached out to Zhou Qian. “Let me carry you. It’s faster.”

“Okay.” Zhou Qian nodded, grabbed Bai Zhou’s shoulders from behind, and was lifted onto his back.

As Bai Zhou was about to proceed, Alayne spoke again. “It’s not effective to search blindly like this. I now remember some things from my childhood. Sometimes, I felt my mother would kill me. She looked at me with conflicted and complex eyes. She was struggling. She probably knows something about me. So, she might understand why she could see ‘the future me’.”

“Let’s go to my house first. I’ll ask my mother if she has seen your companions.”

With Alayne willing to help, it couldn’t be better.

As she suggested, they first rushed to her room.

Bai Zhou, carrying Zhou Qian, and Alayne were the first to arrive.

Alayne entered first, briskly walked into her parents’ bedroom, simply knocked her father unconscious, and then covered her shocked mother’s mouth in one swift move. After briefly explaining who she was, Alayne didn’t say much else but asked her mother if she had seen any strangers.

With her mother’s eyes full of suspicion, she pointed towards the kitchen. Alayne then signaled Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian outside the window.

Outside, following the hint, the two men immediately headed to the kitchen and found the cellar, jumping down into it.

In the dimly lit cellar, a faint light illuminated the dust floating in the air.

Zhou Qian turned on a flashlight towards a small table and then saw Qi Liuxing’s head.

Qi Liuxing’s complexion was already turning blue. His eyes were closed, and the frown on his brow hadn’t relaxed.

Despite this, Zhou Qian, who had been keeping a heavy feeling in his chest, finally let out a sigh of relief.

He had prepared for the possibility that they might not find any part of Qi Liuxing’s body.

Even so, he would still confront Difu.

If necessary, after obtaining the golden feather, he would return to this time-space to continue the search, regardless of how low the chances might be of finding any remains.

Now, things had turned out much better than the worst-case scenario he had imagined—

Qi Liuxing’s head remained intact.

As long as they got the golden feather, there was still hope for resurrection.

Taking out a portable mini freezer from his pack and placing it on the table, Zhou Qian lifted Qi Liuxing’s head with both hands. Before placing the head into the freezer, Zhou Qian stretched out his thumb and firmly rubbed the young man’s tightly furrowed brow.

Then, with a light-hearted tone, he chuckled, “Still trying to be a deep, old soul after death? Didn’t you say you’d stop pretending in front of me?”

Exhaling softly, Zhou Qian then spoke more seriously. “Xiao Qi, I promise that I and everyone else will get the golden feather for you. My promises always count. I’ve never truly lied to you, right? And—”

His gaze suddenly became terrifyingly solemn, and with a hoarse voice, Zhou Qian solemnly said, “The hatred for being dismembered… after you’re resurrected, you can personally return it a hundredfold, a thousandfold! If you can’t bring yourself to do it, leave it to me. I’ll make sure Ke Yuxiao suffers beyond measure, wishing for death!!!”

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Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 134

Finally seeing Zhou Qian, He Xiaowei couldn’t help but immediately share his experiences with him.

Not long ago, he felt as if he had made eye contact with the blue pupils on the statue. When he closed and then reopened his eyes, he saw several players instantly disappear from their spots.

He counted carefully: Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, Yun Xiangrong, and the “Sword Qi Xiao Heart” duo—a total of five people were gone, leaving only Hidden Blade and Yin Jiujiu by his side.

Just as He Xiaowei got to this part, Zhou Qian interrupted him. “Are you sure it was just the three of you?”

“Yes, for sure.” He Xiaowei didn’t understand why Zhou Qian would ask this question, showing a somewhat puzzled expression, then continued, “Oh, Hidden Blade and Yin Jiujiu were dealing with people from the other world inside the inn. They should be coming out soon. I came out first to scout which time and space we’ve come to and unexpectedly ran into you!”

It seemed that Qi Liuxing was in the same time and space as Ke Yuxiao.

Indeed, it was Ke Yuxiao…

With this thought, Zhou Qian frowned, and his expression became very serious. His appearance made He Xiaowei unavoidably nervous. After all, it was rare for Zhou Qian to show such an expression.

“Qian’er? What’s, what’s wrong?” He Xiaowei didn’t wait for an answer but looked towards Bai Zhou instead.

Bai Zhou didn’t answer immediately but shook his head at him.

Then Zhou Qian changed the subject. “It’s nothing. Continue.”

“Oh. After we noticed you all disappeared, the three of us quickly discussed and guessed that you had traveled through time. But the three of us didn’t travel; we were still in the original time and space because those villagers immediately revived and chased after us again. Then we ran up the mountain!”

“Let me interrupt again,” Zhou Qian said. “Are you sure you saw a blue light?”

“Yes! It was a blue light!” He Xiaowei asked, “So—?”

Zhou Qian then said, “We can make a conclusion now. The red light takes people ‘back’, the yellow light ‘forward’, but this so-called ‘future’ and ‘past’ are relative. The baseline for relative calculation is the blue light, which signifies ‘now’.”

Zhou Qian was now completely certain of the time rules corresponding to the three colors.

When the players first arrived at the instance, before staying at the Tartar Inn, that was the real, historical moment. At that time, the eyeballs on the statue facing west were red.

Later, under the invitation of the innkeeper transformed into Difu, they went to the second floor to choose rooms and found a prohibition during this period.

While they were choosing rooms, the statue outside the inn turned unknowingly. The red eyeballs looked in every direction, thus taking everyone back to the past—to the time when Alayne was eight years old.

When the players walked out of the inn, they had already returned to the past.

Under Difu’s guidance, they went to the square to participate in the handkerchief throwing game. At that time, the eyeballs of the statue facing the square turned blue, but in that situation, that paradoxically meant “now”.

The red eyes of the statue rotated once, taking everyone back to the past, followed by the appearance of blue eyes, which then fixed that segment of time as the present.

Next, if continued to be illuminated by “red” eyes, players would go even further into the past.

Thus, “relative time” was the real meaning of the three colors on the magical tool.

Thinking this, Zhou Qian asked He Xiaowei, “How did you get here then?”

“This!” He Xiaowei took out a silver artifact. “Found it in the inn.”

The silver artifact He Xiaowei took out was as big as a palm, with three skulls on it.

The base of the three skulls resembled a Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel, engraved with a dense array of incantations. Twisting the base would rotate the skulls, and the color of the eyes would change accordingly.

“Actually, I still haven’t figured out exactly how to use it. I just tried it, and unexpectedly found you!” He Xiaowei slapped his forehead. “Hey, my luck is really good!”

Zhou Qian took the silver artifact to examine it, then asked him, “Okay, now you can tell me what you discovered about Beilan.”

……

After Zhou Qian and the others disappeared, the players illuminated by blue light remained in the current time and space.

Hidden Blade was the first to notice that the villagers were reviving one after another, perhaps soon finding their way here.

Relying on his sharp hearing to judge the speed of the villagers’ revival and the direction they were heading, Hidden Blade then led everyone to run up the mountain.

But the villagers weren’t easy to shake off; their special origins and training quickly allowed them to detect the players’ location and swiftly pursue.

Chased by the villagers, the three of them hid here and there, accidentally reaching a valley and then seeing a grave with “Beilan” inscribed on the tombstone.

Such a character, who lived only in the story and was hardly discussed or mentioned from start to finish, actually had a grave in the instance, with a tombstone to boot…

Moreover, he wasn’t buried with the other villagers of Nameless Village but was laid to rest on a mountain outside the village’s boundaries. This information was enough to form a very obvious hint.

The name “Beilan” inscribed on the tombstone seemed not just a name, but a glaring message: “Come dig me up!”

Having been playing this game till now, no one shied away from digging graves anymore. They immediately began to dig up the grave, only to find that there was no body underneath—just a ceremonial mound.

He Xiaowei deliberately left a cliffhanger at this point, asking Zhou Qian, “Guess what we saw after we dug up the dirt?”

Zhou Qian cooperated very well, asking him, “What did you see?”

“Underneath were buried a dress and hair accessories!”

He Xiaowei seemed quite good at telling stories. The tone of shock in his voice suddenly intensified, almost exaggeratingly saying, “Beilan was actually a girl!”

In all stories related to Amei, Beilan’s gender was never explicitly mentioned.

Everyone knew she had been a guard, had escorted Amei to her wedding, and had heard that Amei loved her, so they automatically assumed she was a male.

After hearing He Xiaowei’s narration, Zhou Qian glanced at Amei, only to see her already asleep under the constraint of the red lotus.

There were some questions Zhou Qian couldn’t directly ask Amei, but he had already guessed the general idea in his heart.

He Xiaowei then said, “Actually, when we reached the ceremonial mound, the villagers didn’t continue to come after us. We guessed that area was already Red God Amei’s territory, so they dared not come.”

“So, thinking along those lines… since the ceremonial mound was established by Amei, she obviously built it near her base. Indeed, after leaving the ceremonial mound, it didn’t take us long to find this inn.”

Previously, Bai Zhou had been to the Red Gods Inn, but he took a different route and didn’t discover the tombstone.

Entering the inn, he found that Difu was likely the golden bird.

But at that time, Red God Amei had already gone to Zhou Qian’s side, and he, concerned for Zhou Qian’s safety, didn’t have time to explore further and immediately returned.

Now, recalling the details he saw related to the golden bird statue, Bai Zhou asked He Xiaowei, “The golden bird stretched out one claw to the ground, with three fingers on it, one of which had dust around it that seemed off, showing slight signs of movement. So, the mechanism is on that?”

“Yes!” He Xiaowei looked at Bai Zhou and replied, “We moved that finger, and the golden bird’s wings opened, then it revealed another claw holding the prop in my hand!”

Zhou Qian asked him, “Did you use the prop in front of the golden bird?”

“Yes!” He Xiaowei said, “The golden bird seemed to light up for a moment…”

“This world has three-dimensional spaces… It seems that even if the powers of the Red God and the Goddess of Prayers are great, they cannot traverse freely but need a medium, or rather, a spatial connection point.”

“These two inns are the spatial mediums.”

“Also, our travels back and forth all happen on the day of Samhain, which must be some kind of agreement between Amei and Difu.”

When Zhou Qian said this, he took the lead towards the inn, asking Alayne beside him, “When did you feel that you are the embodiment of the gods killing intent?”

Alayne was silent for a while, then followed Zhou Qian’s steps.

“When I was very young, I had a fierce energy about me. My mother said I’ve been hostile and wary of the people around me since I was a child, and they all said I was a difficult child to get along with.

“When the red lotus appeared, the thoughts of killing in my mind became clearer. And when… when the red lotus fully bloomed… I could clearly understand my mission.”

“At that moment, a thought just appeared out of nowhere in my mind—I have to eliminate all the villagers and Difu.”

“In other words, it’s like you were born with a murderous urge towards the villagers and Difu. But this urge was sealed and suppressed at first. As you grew up, it gradually became clear and exploded?”

“In a sense.”

“Hmm, when the red lotus was in full bloom, that’s when the killing intent fully formed. But besides that—” Zhou Qian asked her, “Do you have any memories, like from a past life?”

Alayne frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You seem to be quite good to Amei. Why?” Zhou Qian asked her.

“Because we were betrayed by the same group of people. I thought we could understand each other,” Alayne said. “But now I realize I was wrong.”

Zhou Qian suddenly said, “But just like Amei said, if we look solely at your experiences in this life, your hatred seems a bit excessive.”

“What do you mean?” Alayne was puzzled.

Zhou Qian continued, “The moment the red lotus was in full bloom, you felt the killing intent transmitted by your brain. You thought it was the killing intent bestowed upon you by the gods. But what ‘gods’ does this refer to?

“Is there really a war in the realm of the gods? Is there really a god guiding you?”

“Or let me rephrase the question. Does Difu really have a lover, and her lover is a malicious god, and she is so love-struck that she concocted all these conspiracies and schemes to help the malicious god?”

Alayne’s tone suddenly became somewhat panicked. “What… What exactly are you saying?”

Zhou Qian simply said, “What I mean is, what you believe to be ‘divine will’ might just be the power of a curse.”

“The gods who you believe are conveying killing intent to you might not be the ones from the so-called god wars who want to eliminate Difu. It could actually be Difu herself.”

After saying this, Zhou Qian arrived at the inn’s entrance, just as Yun Xiangrong finally got there, and Hidden Blade and Yin Jiujiu were coming out of the inn, both bearing significant injuries.

After coming out, they quickly performed a unanimous action—moving the seven pots of meat soup farther away.

Zhou Qian immediately understood their intent. “Did you hear our conversation?”

“We did. We were dealing with ghosts just now and couldn’t come out in time.” Hidden Blade wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. “Luckily, the prop allows the inn to exist in different time dimensions at the same time, so the ghosts were dispersed, and we didn’t have too many to deal with.”

“Are those inside now trapped by you?” Zhou Qian asked.

“Yes. I used my secondary control skills to trap them for a minute. Once they break free, hopefully, these pots of meat soup can divert their attention, so they won’t attack us again.”

As Hidden Blade answered Zhou Qian, he and Yin Jiujiu had already moved all seven pots out.

“Just to be safe, everyone put on the ghost costumes that Difu brought earlier. Save as much mana as possible now.”

Zhou Qian turned and spoke loudly to everyone. After changing into a ghost mask and a long black robe himself, he threw a set to Alayne.

After a while, everyone was dressed up, and they walked in together. Indeed, all the otherworldly beings were frozen in place, temporarily unable to move.

As Zhou Qian fiddled with the prop trying to traverse time, some ghosts freed themselves first but didn’t attack the players dressed as ghosts; instead, they were drawn away by the meat soup. The rest still couldn’t break free.

Before Zhou Qian operated the prop to traverse time, he asked Alayne a question. “How old are you now?”

Alayne frowned and said, “16.”

“When we met you, you were 8, so the time difference for each color is exactly 8 years,” Zhou Qian said. “Qi Liuxing and the others returned to 8 years before that. Maybe that’s when you were just born.”

With this, Zhou Qian looked at the other players. “Let’s first go back 8 years to find Xiao Qi.”

Among those present, only Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian knew that something happened to Qi Liuxing.

Yun Xiangrong, although in the same time space, had been following them from a distance. The rest, such as He Xiaowei, came from another time space and had no idea about the condition of their teammate.

Zhou Qian, with a serious expression, didn’t explain further. After asking He Xiaowei how he had used the prop before and confirming its pattern was the same as the statue at the entrance of the village, he operated it, making one of its pupils turn red.

As the red pupil rotated around, everyone went back 8 years.

“It should work now. Let’s go.”

As Zhou Qian turned to leave, he saw Alayne suddenly kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down her eyes.

Just then, Zhou Qian received a message from the [Memory Eyeball].

The Temple of the Goddess of Prayers contained countless cursed tablets, with too much information for players to read and memorize quickly, so Zhou Qian used this item to help remember everything in the temple.

When Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou were watching Alayne massacre all the villagers, they used this item to search for information stored about the temple, with the keywords [Alayne] and [Amei].

Searching for words related to Amei was, of course, to further clarify her story and verify whether she truly cursed all the villagers as she claimed.

As for searching for Alayne, it was because Zhou Qian wanted to know if she had also gone to the temple to inscribe a cursed tablet. After all, being betrayed by the villagers and harboring hatred, it would be easy to attract the temple’s appearance.

The [Memory Eyeball]’s search function took some time, so Zhou Qian only now received its answer, which contained no curses related to Alayne, but quite a few about Amei.

The content of Amei’s curses matched the information obtained by the players through their investigations—she cursed herself to become a Red God, cursed Nameless Village to live in her shadow with many dying every year, cursed the villagers to betray each other for a chance to live…

The last was about the curse related to the death of all villagers.

Regarding Amei’s ultimate curse, Zhou Qian and the others previously learned about it through eavesdropping, but at that time, they didn’t know the specific content of the curse until now—

“I originally thought to spare them. Watching the play of betrayal year after year, I’ve actually had enough. But now I’ve found that I can’t even find Beilan’s soul. She has never visited my inn. Why? Is she hiding from me?”

“I thought becoming a Red God would at least let me wait for her… but things turned out contrary to my wishes. My separation from Beilan in life, in death, and even not meeting after death… It’s all their doing.”

“I curse them all to die!”

“I want to use all my power to curse them! For this, I’m willing to give up everything! I have nothing left to cherish… Goddess Difu, take whatever you want.”

Putting away the [Memory Eyeball], Zhou Qian looked again at Alayne, who was in tears. In the moment the prop was activated, the overlap of multiple timelines must have brought all past events to her heart, causing her to show such an expression.

Zhou Qian couldn’t help wanting to test her current attitude.

After all, if she decided not to kill Difu anymore, then the difficulty for Zhou Qian to obtain the golden feather would further increase.

Thus, Zhou Qian asked, “Have you remembered everything? You’re 16 now. If we calculate based on the timeline you’re in, Amei’s visit to the Temple of the Goddess of Prayers to curse, happened exactly 16 years ago. Which means—”

“Right after she inscribed the cursed tablet in the Temple of the Goddess of Prayers that would lead to the death of the entire village, you were born.”

“Alayne, you are not the incarnation of divine killing intent descended into the human world. You are Amei’s killing intent.”

“You were born from Amei’s curse. But at the same time, I think… you are also the reincarnation of Beilan. Thus, by some twist of fate, Amei’s killing intent also included you.”

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