WTNL Chapter 56

Antai Community
Chapter 56: The third soul-locking urn

The dark red light shrouded the silent, narrow corridor.

Countless crisscrossing corridors had completely twisted into a form entirely different from memory, creating an intricate map extremely suited for ambushes and urban warfare.

Faint sounds of intense clashes between streamers drifted from afar.

The chaotic sounds of footsteps, the bizarre noises emitted when items were used, the resonant echoes of Talents being activated, and the occasional chuckles of ghosts mixed into the fray.

Various sounds blended together, echoing in the dark, cramped space, making one’s scalp tingle involuntarily.

Su Cheng heard his heart pounding wildly, his blood rushing furiously past his ears, creating a buzzing noise.

Wen Jianyan was right.

As the instance’s difficulty increased, it was obvious that this Nightmare live broadcast room was overtly and covertly pushing the “competition” among streamers.

Or rather—”slaughter.”

Whether it was the existence of the item [Guiding Hand] or the instance mechanics, both were catalyzing the occurrence of this free-for-all.

And they also had a Soul-Locking Urn in their hands. Even if they didn’t actively participate in this melee, given the existence of items like the Guiding Hand, they would sooner or later become the prey of other streamer squads.

Taking the initiative was the best method.

The scene right before he parted ways with Wen Jianyan flashed before his eyes from time to time.

Under the dark red light, the young man narrowed his amber eyes, gazing over intently. A faint, almost non-existent smile curved his lips. Clear and magnificent glimmers danced in his eyes, and deep within them flickered a familiar luster that made Su Cheng tremble, carrying an almost childish sense of danger:

“Let’s muddy the waters even more, so they won’t remember to hunt us down.”

Clearly, he succeeded.

In Wen Jianyan’s words, Su Cheng was a “novice scammer who doesn’t know how to lie or act.” Although there was plenty of room for growth with proper training, it was best to start with simple tasks for now.

While Su Cheng had no objections to this division of labor, something felt odd…

Why did it sound like he was destined to go from a novice to an expert in the future?

Watching Wen Jianyan earnestly teaching Su Cheng the art of persuasion, Su Cheng’s live broadcast room was filled with grief:

[It’s over, the streamer has truly been led astray!]

[Wuwuwuwuwu, what happened to our naive and innocent little cutie from the first instance? He’s been led down the crooked path by this dog scammer just like that!]

[He who lies with dogs shall rise with fleas!]

Precisely because of this bizarre-sounding reason, the task Wen Jianyan assigned Su Cheng was not too complicated.

Su Cheng carried the paper copper coin and the real Soul-Locking Urn—the one placed inside the biscuit tin. This way, the existence of the two items could cover for each other.

After all, while the [Guiding Hand] could point out the location of a hidden item, it couldn’t tell the user exactly what the item was, nor would it reveal its specific grade.

More importantly, it had a mechanic that allowed for a lot of flexibility.

A low-grade Guiding Hand could only point out the location when the streamer approached a Normal-grade hidden item.

An intermediate-grade Guiding Hand could be actively activated by the streamer to point out the locations of Hard-grade and below hidden items. As for which grade of item it would ultimately lead the streamer to, it was based on the principle of proximity—meaning it pointed to whichever was closest.

Therefore, the Guiding Hand used by the streamers was definitely intermediate-grade.

Wen Jianyan had already implanted the concept that the “paper copper coin” was a Hard-grade hidden item into Chen Mo and Wang Hanyu’s minds. So, when Su Cheng appeared, they would subconsciously think the Guiding Hand was pointing to the paper copper coin on him, completely unaware that he was actually carrying the Soul-Locking Urn.

“What if two streamers from the same squad bought different grades of Guiding Hands?” Su Cheng asked somewhat anxiously. “Wouldn’t that blow my cover?”

If both Guiding Hands pointed in the same direction, the hidden item must be Normal-grade. If they pointed in different directions, then one was Normal and the other was Hard.

Wen Jianyan shook his head: “They wouldn’t bear to part with the points.”

“The purchase of the Guiding Hand is restricted within a single instance. Each streamer can only buy one. If they buy an intermediate one, they can’t buy a low-grade one. The Guiding Hand operates on the principle of proximity. If the hidden item in front of them is truly Normal-grade, and the Guiding Hand activates based on proximity, then the squad not only wasted an item but also wasted the opportunity to exchange for an intermediate-grade Guiding Hand on a low-grade one.”

Su Cheng realized: “I understand.”

“What about you?” Su Cheng asked.

“Me?”

Wen Jianyan narrowed his eyes and let out a short laugh.

He lightly tossed the pitch-black earthen jar filled with biscuit crumbs in his hand. The dark red beaded bracelet on his wrist flashed briefly under his slightly long sleeve.

He said airily, almost gleefully:

“I’m going to fan the flames, of course.”

Since there were only five items in the instance, and the Soul-Locking Urns themselves already took up three slots, the grades of those three urns should also vary. But how many were Normal, how many were Hard, and whether one was Epic… no one could say for sure.

To complete the high-difficulty side mission, one had to collect all three Soul-Locking Urns. With multiple squads participating in the scramble, this difficulty was simply too high.

In other words, even if they snatched a Normal-grade urn, without collecting the other two, the high-difficulty side mission couldn’t be completed.

But the Soul-Locking Urn they snatched was of Hard quality or above, making the situation different. It could be taken out of the instance and become an item. So, even if they didn’t collect all three urns, they wouldn’t return empty-handed.

Wen Jianyan held the Hard-grade hidden item given by the old woman. So, by cleverly utilizing blind spots and dead angles, he could disguise the empty urn in his hand as a Hard-grade Soul-Locking Urn.

By then, the value of this bargaining chip would multiply several times over.

Su Cheng: “…”

He took a deep breath, speaking slowly with a tone full of doubt: “Are… aren’t you worried about offending even more guilds?”

Wen Jianyan shrugged carelessly: “Did you forget? In the eyes of those people on your side, I am currently someone from Dark Fire.”

The corner of Su Cheng’s mouth twitched: “But aren’t you afraid Dark Fire…”

“Don’t worry.” Wen Jianyan said with a beaming smile, “Dark Fire already has a grudge against me anyway. A little more won’t hurt. Too much debt is no burden, right?”

Su Cheng: “…”

Although I know what you’re saying is a fallacy, I don’t know why I just can’t refute it.

Before deciding to act, Wen Jianyan purchased several Concealment Cloaks. Combined with the Guiding Hand, he got a slight feel for the background of the other squads on the map.

At least three squads.

One of them included their former teammates, Wang Hanyu and Chen Mo.

Whether they had a Soul-Locking Urn or not didn’t matter for Wen Jianyan’s plan. As long as Su Cheng told them the so-called “truth,” it would be enough to draw this squad’s aggro.

The other two squads required careful consideration.

Wen Jianyan used the Guiding Hand and chose to contact a squad that didn’t have a single Soul-Locking Urn.

Only this way could he create a sufficient information gap to make the other party believe the intel he was about to provide.

“You’re saying…”

The Captain frowned, a solemn expression appearing on his face: “That squad actually collected two Soul-Locking Urns already?”

“Exactly.”

The young man lowered his eyes slightly.

His voice remained incredibly calm, but a hint of cold, hard forbearance seeped through his enunciation: “I came in with my guild, but look, my squad only has me left now.”

Wen Jianyan raised his eyes, the dark red light dancing in his pupils: “I know very well that I am completely alone now. With my current strength, I essentially have no chance of winning this competition. So, rather than staying involved, it’s better to leave here as soon as possible. Surviving is what matters most.”

He smiled slightly, but the black pottery jar in his palm reflected a cold, demonic luster under the light:

“I still understand the principle that a man’s wealth is his own ruin. So, this Soul-Locking Urn in my hand, I can give it to you… if you are willing to exchange Granny Wen’s mirror for it.”

The depths of the corridor were dead silent.

The streamers stood facing each other, sizing each other up silently. The atmosphere seemed to freeze. Beneath the seemingly calm surface, it was full of weighing and scrutiny, an invisible crisis brewing in the air.

“Of course, you can also choose to kill me and snatch the Soul-Locking Urn.”

Wen Jianyan drew out the last syllable slightly, a smile on his lips, the depths of his eyes as calm as a deep pool: “However, I didn’t come here completely unprepared… So, are you sure you want to tangle with me at a time like this, letting the other two covetous squads reap the benefits?”

The squad members exchanged subtle glances.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered this option.

However, if the truth was really as the other party just described—surviving and escaping despite his squad being wiped out—it meant this streamer’s Talent was either related to escape or incredibly tricky to deal with.

And for him to dare appear before them so blatantly, he highly likely had some trump cards they didn’t know about.

Whichever option they chose, it could highly likely lead to unpredictable situations. The other party might not only successfully escape with the Soul-Locking Urn again but could even alert the other two squads to their position in the process, resulting in them being flanked on both sides.

The three parties were currently checking each other. Whichever party acted rashly could become the target of a siege.

Plus…

Their squad actually had more than one of Granny Wen’s mirrors.

After all, their current squad was formed by merging two smaller squads. Each squad had separately met with Granny Wen and obtained a mirror from her.

“Of course, if you don’t need it, I think there should be another squad willing to trade with me.”

The young man raised his eyes:

“I just want to survive and don’t want conflict with you. And… regarding the squad that clashed with us, I can give you any information you want.”

He sneered: “Although what I want most is to leave, being able to screw them over before I go is enough.”

“Buzz buzz.”

The phone in his pocket vibrated three times and then stopped.

Su Cheng knew this was Wen Jianyan’s signal to him.

He took a deep breath, steadied himself, then walked forward with a racing heart and tugged at Wang Hanyu’s sleeve: “Bro, can I talk to you about something?”

Wang Hanyu turned his head and happened to see the yellow paper copper coin flashing in the other party’s palm.

He froze for a moment, then a hint of greed quickly flashed through his eyes.

“What is it, tell me?”

Wang Hanyu asked amiably.

Inside room 1304.

Wen Jianyan leaned slanted against the wall, silently and motionlessly waiting, like a silhouette submerged in darkness, almost blending into the surrounding shadows.

Soon, rapid footsteps approached.

Su Cheng’s pale face appeared at the door. His breathing was somewhat chaotic, and the look in his eyes showed he was still in shock.

“Did it go smoothly?”

Wen Jianyan asked.

Su Cheng steadied his breathing, speaking haltingly: “It-it went okay.”

“Did you hand over the paper copper coin?”

Su Cheng nodded: “Yeah, just like you said, I gave the copper coin to one of the streamers you talked to before, hoping to hide in the back later.”

If he didn’t hand over the “item” he had, he would definitely be constantly stared at by the other streamers.

After handing over the paper copper coin serving as a decoy, Su Cheng essentially voluntarily gave up all his utility value. The attention on him would rapidly decrease and shift to Wang Hanyu, who had obtained the item.

Soon, after falsely claiming to know Wen Jianyan’s whereabouts and leading this squad to the agreed-upon location, the other squad appeared from ahead based on Wen Jianyan’s intel.

When the two sides met, a melee started almost immediately.

Su Cheng threw on his Concealment Cloak and quickly left from the rear.

Su Cheng had never expected that he would one day do something so two-faced and deceitful. His heart was pounding wildly the entire time, his palms sweating. Even upon seeing Wen Jianyan, he was still somewhat in shock.

Wen Jianyan patted Su Cheng’s shoulder, not holding back his appreciation and praise:

“Not bad, you have a bright future ahead of you.”

Su Cheng: “…”

Sorry, I don’t want this kind of future, thanks.

He took a deep breath and asked: “What next?”

Wen Jianyan took the mirror out of his pocket, coated with a thin layer of incense ash. He smiled lightly, raised an eyebrow, and shook the mirror in his palm:

“Let’s see if we can still go back first.”

The Bagua mirror in the Soul-Locking Urn worked on the same principle as Granny Wen’s Bagua mirror. However, perhaps because it had been processed by Granny Wen, using this Bagua mirror was far easier than entering a monster’s mirror. It only required someone with a sufficiently strong inspiration to chant the incantation. But to enter a monster’s mirror, one had to borrow the monster’s spirit body.

Su Cheng nodded and took a deep breath: “Alright.”

Wen Jianyan was the first to try.

He pressed his palm against the surface of the mirror and slowly, in a low voice, repeated the incantation Granny Wen had taught them. After chanting it over and over again several times, the surroundings remained unchanged, and nothing happened.

“Alright, it seems my inspiration isn’t strong enough.”

Wen Jianyan sighed and turned to look at Su Cheng: “Here, you try.”

After all, Su Cheng had a precognition-type Talent, so his inspiration should be higher than his. If he couldn’t do it either… then Wen Jianyan would have to bite the bullet and think of another way.

Su Cheng imitated Wen Jianyan, pressing his hand against the mirror surface.

The familiar system notification sounded in his ear:

[System Notification: Ding! Congratulations to the streamer for obtaining a hidden item (Normal) in the instance!]

[Collection Progress: 2/5]

Following that, Su Cheng clumsily, haltingly, repeated the bizarre incantation in a low voice. Before he could even finish the third repetition, he felt an earth-shattering sensation that yanked his entire body into the mirror.

Su Cheng stumbled slightly, almost falling over.

Soon, he looked up and realized they had returned to the surface world. The light in the corridor was dim and murky, but it no longer bore that ominous dark red luster like the inner world.

“We’re back!”

Su Cheng suppressed the joy in his heart and turned to look at Wen Jianyan.

He saw Wen Jianyan looking down, thoughtfully staring at the Bagua mirror in his hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just very curious.” Wen Jianyan frowned slightly: “Why are there so many of them?”

Su Cheng was a bit bewildered: “What do you mean?”

Wen Jianyan’s frown deepened: “This mirror is a Normal-grade hidden item, right?”

Su Cheng nodded.

When he touched the mirror, the system notification sounded in his ear. It shouldn’t be wrong.

But…

Su Cheng froze, and immediately realized: “You mean…”

“Exactly.” Wen Jianyan raised his eyes to look at Su Cheng, speaking slowly: “To enter the inner world, you have to go through Granny Wen’s Bagua mirror. In other words, right now, among the streamers still in the inner world, every two or three people possess a mirror. Even a conservative estimate would put it at over ten mirrors.”

Actually, when investigating the map and the other streamer squads, Wen Jianyan had noticed this, but he hadn’t dared to jump to conclusions.

After all, the system explicitly stated there were only five hidden items in the entire instance.

Only after reaching a deal with that squad later and obtaining the Bagua mirror was Wen Jianyan absolutely certain his guess was correct.

The Bagua mirror was their method of leaving the inner world, and also their retreat.

If they only had this one mirror in their hands, even tempted with a Hard-grade hidden item, they wouldn’t have agreed so readily.

But… it was undeniably one of the hidden items.

After all, the system wouldn’t lie about this kind of thing.

By extension, all the Bagua mirrors should be Normal-grade hidden items… but this made even less sense.

Wen Jianyan frowned tightly, repeatedly examining the Bagua mirror in his hand, trying to find some clue from it.

Suddenly, he froze slightly and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

The light from the flashlight approached the mirror surface, illuminating it as bright as new, making even the finest engraved lines clearly visible.

“Did you find something?”

Su Cheng asked.

Wen Jianyan didn’t answer, merely handing the phone to Su Cheng: “Hold this, shine the light for me.”

Although Su Cheng didn’t know the reason, he obediently held the phone, helping him illuminate the Bagua mirror in his hand.

The surface of this Bagua mirror was concave.

According to traditional Feng Shui geomancy, a convex Bagua mirror is an evil-warding tool capable of reflecting malicious energy back. A concave Bagua mirror, however, carries the meaning of “drawing in and borrowing.” If hung well, it can absorb wealth and fortune; but if used improperly, it can attract malevolent energy and disasters.

The pattern on this Bagua mirror was nothing unusual. In the center was the Yin-Yang Taiji, surrounded by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the Pre-Heaven Bagua, and the Nine Stars of the He Tu and Luo Shu.

However…

Wen Jianyan rubbed his fingertip against the cold brass surface, slowly, bit by bit, feeling the uneven ridges on it.

Beneath that extremely ordinary and common pattern, complex lines were engraved in intaglio, like scratches left after prolonged use. If one didn’t examine it closely, they would be almost impossible to notice.

These lines wove through the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, faintly connecting with each other, looking simply like…

The next second, Wen Jianyan’s pupils suddenly shrank.

He subconsciously held his breath. By the faint light of the flashlight in Su Cheng’s hand, he began to trace the mirror surface, silently counting numbers in his heart—

One line, two lines, three lines…

…

Thirteen lines.

A full thirteen lines.

A number perfectly matching the floors.

In other words, the intaglio text engraved on the Bagua mirror was actually the complete map of the inner world!

In that instant, Wen Jianyan felt an intense shudder slowly crawl up his spine. The speculation that surfaced in his heart uncontrollably sent a chill through his entire body, making his hairs stand on end.

He abruptly raised his head, looking at Su Cheng: “The squad you went to, did they have a Soul-Locking Urn in their hands?”

Su Cheng was startled by Wen Jianyan’s sudden solemn expression:

“…No, what’s wrong?”

After receiving the answer, Wen Jianyan’s expression became even graver.

In the inner world, there were three squads besides them.

If Su Cheng’s squad hadn’t obtained any urns, then… logically speaking, the third squad should have had two urns in their hands.

But the difficulty of this was simply too high.

Upon finding an urn, the monster inside would definitely be triggered. Nearby streamers would be pulled into the mirror world. Even if they managed to leave alive, they would be teleported to other locations on the map.

Therefore, even though it was the two streamers acting with Su Cheng who activated the urn in 1304, the one who ultimately got the urn was Wen Jianyan.

If Wen Jianyan hadn’t had the bracelet given by the old woman on his wrist, he wouldn’t have been able to return to 1304 either.

In other words, the people who activated the urn and the people who obtained the urn must not have been the same group.

The squad Wen Jianyan contacted hadn’t activated an urn.

Which meant that the final squad had two urns. They not only had to reap the benefits of others’ struggles to obtain the urn in 1306 but also had to activate the third urn and ultimately acquire it.

In such a short time, was it possible?

It was possible.

But the probability was extremely low.

Unless…

There was actually no third urn on the entire map.

Wen Jianyan slowly raised his head, looking at Su Cheng: “What was written on the slip of paper in the hands of the paper figurine in 1304 again?”

He didn’t need the other party to answer, answering it himself:

“‘Let that crazy hag rot in hell.’ Right?”

“…Right.” Su Cheng nodded.

“We always thought the ‘crazy hag’ Zhou Xiuqing referred to was his wife, but thinking about it from another angle… what if this ‘crazy hag’ referred to his mother?”

Wen Jianyan’s face was a bit pale, but his eyes were extremely bright. Being stared at with such an intense gaze, Su Cheng couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

“If my guess is true, then Zhou Xiuqing’s wish was actually never fulfilled.”

“The method of making a Soul-Locking Urn fundamentally comes down to two words: Desire and Slaughter.

Two months ago, the massacre in 1306. The infant was refined into a Soul-Locking Urn.

One month later, the massacre in 1304. Although everyone died, the desire was not fulfilled, so no new urn was produced.

Pushing forward another month brings us to today.”

Wen Jianyan jumped up and abruptly leaned close to Su Cheng, startling him.

He pinched the Bagua mirror in his hand, his fingertips turning slightly white from the force, holding the mirror up to Su Cheng’s face.

“Inside every Soul-Locking Urn, there is a mirror like this. The mirror is a passage connecting the inner and outer worlds, and the monster is sealed inside the mirror, right?”

“Don’t you get it yet?”

Wen Jianyan said word by word: “From beginning to end, there were only two Soul-Locking Urns. The third urn never existed.”

—Its production failed during the 1304 incident.

Therefore, Granny Wen still needed a massacre to make a new urn.

The young man took a slow, deep breath, uttering a terrifying speculation with a restrained, calm tone:

“And we streamers, tricked into the mirror, who started slaughtering each other out of desire, will be made into the third urn.”

Therefore, none of the Bagua mirrors in their hands were [Hidden Items].

The true hidden items were the Soul-Locking Urns connected by these mirrors.