Chapter 5 Night of the Ancient Castle
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
When Luo Xiao sought him on her own, Wen Shi became very wary. However, he needed someone to go to the library with him. If the other person wanted to get closer deliberately, she had to show some value as a teammate.
Labor that came to your doorstep must not be wasted.
Wen Shi didn’t care at all about Luo Xiao’s true intentions.
The subsequent betrayal for personal gain was totally within his expectations.
One minute ago, when Exiu was boasting, Wen Shi used his skill for the first time.
【This skill requires a hundred points to be spent. Please confirm if you want to use it.】
“Yes.”
【Skill ‘I Am Who I Am’ activated.]
Searching for the target…】
【Reminder: This skill can only summon the same character once per match.】
【Would you like to spend ten points to enjoy the support objects recommended by the game?
The search found that the player’s point balance is zero…
Support objects will be allocated randomly.
Allocation is successful!
Do you know what kind of fireworks you will see? 】
“……” What’s wrong with being poor?
The entire summoning process surprisingly went smoothly.
Players could not kill each other.
This rule was openly laid out in the game, seemingly redundant with the inability to eliminate each other. However, Wen Shi suspected that it was a trap set by the game. In the future, there might be instance monsters disguised as players. At that time, to stay alive, one would have to fight back. Any misjudgment would lead to immediate elimination.
However, these were potential issues to face later. At least for now, this ironclad rule greatly benefited him.
Wen Shi’s plan was to hold Exiu hostage with the dagger, regardless of who the summoned individual was. As the summoned individual could harm Exiu while Exiu couldn’t hurt others, he would be restrained everywhere. Wen Shi would seize the opportunity to force Exiu to hand over some life-saving items.
Who would have expected the newbie to be so fierce, immediately stabbing someone upon arrival.
Exiu’s eyes widened. He had thought of many ways to die, but never expected to be killed so decisively with a single sword. Throughout all the instances, due to the rule of not being able to harm each other, everyone relied on scheming to indirectly harm others. No player had ever died so straightforwardly.
The moment Exiu fell, Wen Shi finally saw the summoned entity clearly.
With her black flowing hair, the newcomer possessed a pair of extremely enchanting phoenix eyes. Her unique aura made it impossible to discern any tenderness from those eyes. Instead, they exuded the intimidating power of someone accustomed to being in a high position. Her facial features had deep contours, and her beauty was so intense and soaring that it was truly rare.
Upon closer inspection, there was a slight resemblance between Wen Shi and the woman’s features, though the former appeared more refined.
“Um, Miss…” Wen Shi hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to address her.
The woman was dressed in clothes reminiscent of an ancient era, adorned with large golden embroidered patterns. She wore a golden belt around her waist and a pendant of twin dragons, adding an air of elegance and dignity to her presence.
Seeing Wen Shi, the woman raised an eyebrow, sheathed her sword with a flick of her hand, and said, “Call me Big Sister.”
“B-Big Sister?”
Wen Shi repeated with a hint of puzzlement.
The woman seemed satisfied with this address. When she turned her head slightly, she regained her domineering aura, coldly gazing at Exiu lying on the ground.
“What are you pretending for?”
Wen Shi was surprised. “Not dead?”
The woman shook her head. “That strike wasn’t aimed at a vital spot.”
Wen Shi belatedly realized this. Firstly, the large splashes of blood didn’t last long. It seemed Exiu had taken some special medicine that quickly stopped the bleeding.
Earlier, Exiu had also believed he was about to die, but upon discovering his life points didn’t reach zero, he felt overjoyed. He hurriedly took a stamina recovery potion while pretending to be dead to deceive his opponent.
The woman suddenly revealed a radiant smile. “Do you know why I’m not killing you?”
Exiu didn’t speak.
The woman asked a familiar question, “When three people face danger, who will die first?”
Exiu’s tightly closed eyelids trembled fiercely.
The woman answered her own question, “Of course, it’s the slowest one.”
Like a loop repeating itself, everything was unfolding again, but this time, Exiu was in an absolute disadvantageous state.
Above the pool of blood, the coffin writhed more violently as the continuous and intense impacts caused the heavy coffin lid to open with a resounding sound.
With severe injuries, Exiu couldn’t recover in a short time. He stopped pretending to be dead, opened his eyes, and saw a woman in a wedding dress slowly sitting up in the coffin.
The pristine wedding dress was stained with mottled blood. Beneath the veiled white fabric was a face that had become so thin, only skin remained.
Wen Shi looked at that face and felt it somehow familiar.
The bride’s eyes rolled around, and her slender neck twisted as her messy hair tumbled over her head. Her whole body looked skeletal and pale without a hint of color. Her hair was of good quality, but when piled up, the excess volume seemed like it could crush her overly thin neck at any moment.
Wen Shi instinctively took a step back. After all, normal people don’t sleep in coffins. Most likely, she was a ghost.
“Run!”
Wen Shi immediately grabbed the woman’s wrist and rushed towards the exit.
Worried that her fear might hinder their movements, Wen Shi glanced back and confirmed that there was no trace of fear on her face.
“My Big Sister is impressive.”
Judging from the woman’s attire, she seemed to have come from an unknown dynasty. People from ancient times were often afraid of supernatural beings, but to his surprise, she showed no reaction.
The words “my big sister” softened the woman’s cold and stern gaze slightly
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
As she spoke, she pulled her wrist free, and with a tap of her toes against the wall, she agilely demonstrated what it meant to move like a cat on rooftops.
Wen Shi asked, “Can you carry me while flying?”
The woman replied, “Either on my back or in my arms, you choose. Holding your arm while flying might dislocate it.”
“……I’ll just run then.”
As they were about to escape the pool of blood, Wen Shi heard a horrifying scream from behind. He turned and saw Exiu desperately using an item, trying to buy himself a moment of respite.
The bloodthirst of the bride was intense. Exiu’s item could only delay her for a very limited time. She didn’t even jump down from the coffin. Instead, she sat at the edge, her ankles swaying terrifyingly. Countless bloodlines emerged from her fingers as thin as bamboo shoots.
The blood bride didn’t look at her prey but kept her gaze fixed on her own toes.
Exiu had hundreds of small holes pierced through his body, and the agonizing pain was intensely felt. Compared to this, being impaled by a sword through the heart would be considered gentle.
“Help… me!”
In the face of extreme pain and death, Exiu finally broke down, “I’ll give you points, I’ll give you items…”
If it were a moment ago, Wen Shi might have considered it, but now he had only one thought: to escape.
Exiu had already been marked as the prey by the blood bride. What could he use to save himself?
Wen Shi didn’t even look back.
His cries for help turned into curses, “You’ll have a miserable death! Pei Wenwei, I curse you to the 18th level of hell. Even as a ghost, I won’t let you go…”
The shouts from underground didn’t reach the surface. By the time Wen Shi reached the first floor, the sounds had become faint.
Just to be safe, he closed the door when coming out and remembered to slide the bolt shut.
The seemingly endless bloodlines pierced through the gap under the door, carrying fresh blood beads and minced flesh. There was no need to guess. Exiu was gone for good.
A person who reaped what they sowed had died, but Wen Shi had no time to reflect on it. He only focused on how to break free from the entanglement of the bloodlines and dashed away with all his might.
*
The virtual world of the game was quite lively at the moment.
The city where the virtual world existed was divided into thirteen districts.
Among them were three major trade districts, and the remaining nine districts were for players to roam freely. According to the points leaderboard, there were elite player activity areas, veteran player activity areas, and general player activity areas.
The last district had the smallest activity area, especially the residence for new players, which resembled a miniature bustling city slum.
Even regular players were sometimes forced to pay protection fees, not to mention new players, who received treatment worse than pigs and dogs if they were weaker.
Chaos and violence were the perpetual themes in this city shrouded in mist.
If it weren’t explicitly stated that killing and maiming others were forbidden, major guilds would have long dominated the area, engaging in open combat.
The rules in the trade districts were the strictest, hence relatively calmer.
A man with a goatee was in the middle of trading with a bald, muscular man.
Halfway through the trade, they suddenly heard someone say, “Exiu is gone.”
Goatee looked up. The fan-shaped light screen, covering most of the trade district, showed that the entry for the player ranked one thousand, codenamed ‘Refined Executioner,’ had turned gray.
The points leaderboard displayed player numbers, and Exiu was somewhat known in the game. He remained at the bottom of the rankings all year round, and players paid attention to the top one thousand rankings, so they naturally knew who he was.
More people started paying attention to the red, bold-marked ‘Night of the Horror Ancient Castle’ instance.
In the endgame state, out of the twenty players, seventeen have already turned gray.
“Strange, the newbie didn’t die, but a veteran player did?”
The number starting with 46 indicated that he was a new player introduced during the endgame to ease the difficulty.
The bald man speculated, “Maybe Exiu accidentally triggered some kind of death rule.”
The man with a goatee shook his head, “Surviving until the endgame, he definitely wouldn’t have been careless.”
The bald man shrugged, “Unexpected situations often arise in instances. If that newbie made it out alive, we can ask him to find out.”
Most people shared the same view, but when making assumptions, they did so with a hint of jest.
A new player survived the aftermath.
That premise was quite amusing.
*
The bloodlines blended perfectly with the carpet as Wen Shi ran for his life.
The daylight sparsely filtered in, and the previously rampant bloodlines recoiled like electrified worms, gradually retreating.
Wen Shi occasionally looked back and saw this scene, causing him to gradually slow down his footsteps.
While he bent over to catch his breath, he looked at the woman in front who seemed effortlessly composed.
“Miss…”
“Big Sister.” The woman didn’t like repeating herself. When her dazzling face wasn’t smiling, it immediately displayed an imposing aura.
Wen Shi had a lot of questions he was about to blurt out, but the woman spoke first.
“Xie Tangyan, that’s my name.” After a brief pause, Xie Tangyan continued, “My power is limited here. I can only use it once a day. As for other matters, I’m sorry, I can’t explain.”
When she said the last few words, Xie Tangyan’s finger brushed her lips, implying that something restricted her from speaking freely.
“But you can rest assured, I made a deal with something. It will only help you, not harm you.”
They say some relatives can have a psychic connection, but Wen Shi didn’t believe in these things. He had long lost trust in such abilities.
However, from a rational perspective, Xie Tangyan’s words seemed highly credible.
First, if she wanted to kill him, she could have done it already. Secondly, this woman seemed proud and wouldn’t bother with lies.
There was also a point that Wen Shi was reluctant to admit–he had an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the person in front of him.
“We shouldn’t waste today’s opportunity on Exiu.” Wen Shi refocused his attention on the matter at hand.
“You may have misunderstood.” Xie Tangyan lazily glided her finger across the icy cold sword sheath. “When I said ‘to act,’ it would at least require using some inner strength to carry out an attack.”
Previously, when dealing with Exiu, she merely poked him without using any inner strength.
Wen Shi swallowed nervously.
Just how skilled was this big sister in combat?
Xie Tangyan surveyed her surroundings, observing the unfamiliar environment. “This place gives an uncomfortable feeling.”
Wen Shi replied, “I was also pulled into this place for no reason.”
He briefly explained his encounters since arriving here, including the castle master’s obsession with finding the perfect bride and how he was deceived and taken to the underground blood pool by others.
After all, she was his parallel world counterpart, summoned by him. It was essential to provide crucial reminders.
Wen Shi emphasized the brutality of the instance, trying to convey that they must be cautious, steady, and if necessary, cunning.
With their eyes meeting, Xie Tangyan nodded, understanding his message.
Faced with Xie Tangyan’s comprehension, Wen Shi’s lips curved into a smile.
The next moment, Xie Tangyan drew her sword on the spot, “Those two connived together, and the man is already dead. Come, let’s deal with the woman.”
The smile on Wen Shi’s face disappeared instantly, “Calm down.”
Xie Tangyan frowned, “Why so indecisive? Those who kill should be killed in return. If they harmed you, you should retaliate, that’s justice.”
She raised the sword in her hand, “If there’s injustice, I’ll settle it with one strike.”
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Woah there, big sister! Calm down a bit. No slashing at teammates, we still need them…
I’m curious, is Xie Tangyan dressed in gold armor or in a delicate dress? It seems she’s wearing robes and is likely a high ranking individual though I’m curious about her sword. Is it even her sword? Is it the ‘object’ the system provided or does it, considering how skilled she is with it, belong to Tangyan? What IS her identity? So many questions, she truly is a ‘mystery girl’!!
“Why so indecisive? Those who kill should be killed in return. If they harmed you, you should retaliate, that’s justice.”
and
“If there’s injustice, I’ll settle it with one strike.”
Sound like actual voice lines. So cool! Tangyan-Jiejie is so cool!