The slender woman closed her eyes, shaking off the fear she had felt earlier. She put some distance between herself and the girl following her and whispered, “You go to the museum first.”
When the girl was still in a daze, the slender woman reminded her helplessly, “Don’t let their people get the limited-edition copper coin.”
The sudden darkness was most likely premeditated.
Zhou Qi’an wanted to kill two birds with one stone: force out their people and get the copper coin at the same time.
After leaving that sentence, the slender woman actively distanced herself from the girl to attract the attention of the hidden attacker. After retreating just two steps, she dodged swiftly and nimbly.
…The surprise attack with the white silk sash missed.
“As expected, he’s nearby.” The woman sneered. Zhou Qi’an had been locking onto her position.
Pick them off one by one, that was the opponent’s strategy.
The slender woman, who had just taken a step back, dodged a second time. This time, the attack came from the hound.
Yuan also appeared nearby at this moment.
The scene became two against one, plus a dog.
The slender woman wasn’t flustered at all. Just as she was about to respond calmly, a voice that was both familiar and strange to her drifted over, “The distance is too close. If you make a move now, at least a dozen people will be pulled into the relic world.”
Zhou Qi’an was telling the truth.
This was also the reason the woman hadn’t made a move.
If multiple people entered the relic world, they would only cooperate to survive. They might even turn hostility into friendship. Wouldn’t that be helping the enemy?
However, she also had her own calculations.
Now, both sides had their own hidden agendas.
Wielding his cane with killing intent, Zhou Qi’an’s tone betrayed no emotion. “Want to make a deal?”
As the slender woman dodged, she counter-controlled the hound on the ground, using some unknown method to make it spin around like a headless fly.
“No one who makes a deal with you has ever won.”
Zhou Qi’an smiled. “But it seems you have no choice.”
The slender woman, who had been indifferent a second ago, her expression gradually turned cold upon hearing this. The other party wouldn’t throw out such a harsh statement for no reason.
“I just treated you too much like people, which is why I didn’t react in the first place.”
Compared to other instances, this one lacked a crucial component: NPCs that could be communicated with.
To speak with the residents of Silent Town, one could only use limited words, and only after obtaining the limited-edition copper coin. Ying Yu had said that even then, players could only ask about things related to the popular cultural products; asking for other information would result in an attack.
No instance, no matter how difficult, would have such a situation.
So there must be other NPCs to communicate with.
The Whaling Association undoubtedly played this role. As NPCs, they had a reason for existing and their own NPC storylines to follow.
In the first ghost-identifying mission, the game had already reminded them that the people around them might not be players.
If a player exposes a ghost’s identity, they can avoid being killed. So what would they get for exposing the person covering for the ghost?
“This must be the reason He Yang suddenly attacked, right?”
He Yang’s rash attack was more to mislead him, to make him subconsciously fall into the trap of thinking the Whaling Association was hunting in the dark, and that the two sides had to remain in constant opposition.
“You are not a player.” Zhou Qi’an finally said these key words. “As a thief who steals relics, you must be very familiar with the museum’s structure.”
The setup was identical to the thief lady from Huagu City. He needed to find the destination through a special NPC.
With every word Zhou Qi’an spoke, the slender woman’s expression grew uglier.
The two were still exchanging blows, but their minds were on another dimension.
It wasn’t until she heard the next sentence that the woman’s expression completely changed.
“Please tell me, how can I enter the hidden data repository?”
Zhou Qi’an’s smiling tone was light and gentle, making one think he was reminiscing with an old friend. “Otherwise, I will reveal your identities to the public, or inform the sheep-headed man.”
The sheep-headed man had a museum guide’s tag hanging around his neck. Regardless of whether he knew the Whaling Association’s identity, if someone reported them, he would have to react to some extent.
Almost at the instant his voice fell, a prompt popped up:
“You have successfully found the thieves hidden among the tourists.”
“They have stolen a portion of the relics.”
“Hidden side quest has been activated.”
[Hidden Side Quest: Escape from the Tiger’s Mouth
Quest Content: The exposed thief is enraged and wants to kill you to silence you. Please try your best to escape the thief’s clutches.
Quest Reward: Qualification to enter the data repository]
In the darkness, the slender woman couldn’t see the young man’s face, but she could fully imagine the state of those cunningly sparkling eyes at this moment… beautiful, dangerous, yet with a trace of a heart-warming illusion.
The rain pounded the ground, the smell of earth floating in the air. The two smells intertwined, making one feel restless.
At this moment, Zhou Qi’an was like the serpent in the Garden of Eden, which no one could refuse.
His eyes curved into a smile. “See, no one can refuse my deal.”
The psychic constitution could feel a deeper chill when the woman fully released her killing intent.
A bloody light suddenly appeared in the darkness.
The hatred in the slender woman’s eyes could barely be concealed. The red light projecting from her body radiated directly onto Zhou Qi’an.
She didn’t want to make a move at this time at all. If the other party successfully left the relic world and found the data repository, the whole situation would be instantly reversed. But the woman had no choice. As Zhou Qi’an said, as hidden NPCs in the instance, much information could only be obtained from them.
Once their identity was exposed by a player, the game would issue a mission that neither side could refuse.
The storyline she had to follow now was to kill him to silence him.
To have to kill so resentfully, she was the first.
The cold red light followed him like a shadow, but Zhou Qi’an was completely unfazed, knowing it was a precursor to being pulled into the relic world.
In the red light, he even had the mood to look around, quickly spotting the greedy gaze of the sheep-headed man not far away.
After killing He Yang, the plundered energy left the five-star Fish Eye relic just a hair’s breadth away from revival. This second heart was rapidly digesting this energy, and as time passed, with each bit it digested, its scent became more intense.
Being stared at by the sheep-headed man with the eyes of someone looking at food, the red light projected from the relic world suddenly seemed amicable.
“What are you looking at?” Zhou Qi’an retorted. “You epileptic goat.”
Sheep-headed man: “…”
The red light continued to be released, causing many players to look over at the same time. Just as they turned their heads, the red light exploded to its peak, and a living person disappeared directly into the strange light.
At the instant the young man disappeared, Yuan’s hand, pressing on the hound’s neck, tightened slightly.
Can he come back alive?
The Whaling Association was a group of madmen with no bottom line. If truly pushed, they were capable of anything.
“He definitely can.”
Yuan suddenly felt an inexplicable confidence. In every encounter, Zhou Qi’an never fought a battle he wasn’t sure of winning.
Now that most players were tied up outside and had lost the initial advantage in competing for the limited-edition copper coin, with Shen Zhiyi’s strength, getting the coin would not be a problem.
Yuan pursed his lips. As long as this went smoothly, they would completely break free from their disadvantaged, passive circle.
“Let’s go.” The once aggressive players were now like a disorganized mob. Ying Yu had appeared at some point. When Zhou Qi’an was observing from the tree earlier, he had described the members’ appearances and clothing in detail to the skeleton ring. Now, Ying Yu proactively used a lighting prop.
Not far from the slender woman, a girl who had barely any blood on her and didn’t look as terrified as the others came into view.
Ying Yu: “Let’s go meet the other association members.”
And trigger the side quest while we’re at it. Solve one when we can.
…
“Holy sh-sh-sh-shit!”
Even though he was mentally prepared, the moment the familiar feeling of weightlessness came, Zhou Qi’an couldn’t help but tense up all over. His whole being felt like it was falling into a vortex, his soul and body both heading to another space.
During the fall, the sound of the heavy rain gradually disappeared, and the smell of earth and blood also vanished, replaced by a very peculiar scent.
The aroma of wine, the smell of meat, and the scent of burning incense.
Wisps of scents mixed together. The moment he inhaled, Zhou Qi’an’s mind became muddled.
First was the sense of smell, followed by the recovery of hearing. The indistinct sound of joyous music was incessant.
When he could finally open his eyes, a huge force came from behind, and a pair of rough hands were crudely pressing down on his head. “Second bow to the parents—”
“!”
What the hell? Zhou Qi’an was stunned before he could even react. He lowered his head and could just see the tips of his feet.
The upturned-toe, embroidered boots with auspicious cloud patterns were clearly not his own sneakers.
The piercing “Second bow to the parents” almost shattered his eardrums. Zhou Qi’an’s expression was anything but good. Was he cursed to be at odds with weddings?
He had just escaped the clutches of the wedding dress, and in the blink of an eye, he was playing the role of the groom himself.
“Can I never escape the walls of marriage?”
The force on his back was very strong, impossible to break free from. Zhou Qi’an did not resist, first trying to figure out his surroundings. The last time he was pulled into a relic world, if he hadn’t used Mr. Si’s gasoline to break the situation, it probably would have been more than just losing an arm.
In this completely unknown situation, he didn’t dare to be careless in the slightest.
While being forcibly bowed, he couldn’t see the parents, so Zhou Qi’an first turned his head to look at the bride. But with just this slight glance from the corner of his eye, his powdered face turned even paler.
Standing next to him was actually a paper effigy.
The paper effigy was shoddily made. At first glance, there was a mole between its eyebrows, but upon squinting, it was a long nail. This was a half-finished product, its gender indistinguishable. When the craftsman was making it, his hands seemed to be trembling. Rice paste was smeared out in many places, and flies and mosquitoes had accidentally gotten stuck, now only leaving behind the corpses of their broken wings.
Zhou Qi’an took a light breath. “…”
He missed his rice cooker.
In his repentance of “the original is always the classic and the best,” after bowing to the parents, Zhou Qi’an could finally truly raise his head.
The two elders on the main seats were about sixty years old, their clothes in dark colors. Red and white lanterns were hung in the hall. Under the eerie light of the lanterns, the two elders wore seemingly benevolent smiles, looking at the newlyweds with satisfaction.
Being tied to marriage again, Zhou Qi’an looked like he was attending a funeral.
He waited quietly. After a few seconds, he finally heard the game’s crazy system prompt.
“Side quest–Jade Pendant has been activated.”
[Quest Content: Find the other parts of the jade pendant, give them to the bride, and then say ‘May we be of one heart forever.’]
[Friendly Reminder: You can interact more with the guests in the wedding hall. They will provide you with very good help.]
Zhou Qi’an looked at the paper bride again. There was indeed half a jade pendant hanging from the paper figure’s waist. It was pure white, very thin, and so translucent that it almost merged with the paper, making it unnoticeable without careful observation.
Obviously, the core of this relic was the ancient jade pendant.
Just as he was examining the relic, his body trembled lightly for no reason. Zhou Qi’an quickly retracted his gaze and found that the elders, who had been smiling benevolently just now, their expressions had suddenly changed.
Their originally cloudy eyes glinted, and the greed on their faces almost seeped out from their bark-like wrinkles. They were like hungry beasts, staring covetously at him.
Zhou Qi’an frowned.
He was very familiar with this kind of gaze. Not long ago, the sheep-headed man had looked at him with the same eyes.
Turning around, there were about ten round tables behind him, each filled with guests, all showing extremely covetous expressions.
A sinister wind suddenly blew into the wedding hall.
“Bow to each other—”
The paper bride stood motionless, the groom’s face as fair as jade.
His robe was lifted by the wind, the bright red ceremonial robe and long black hair swaying in one direction.
Below, pairs of eyes, almost glowing green, paid no attention to the groom’s appearance, all staring at his slightly rising and falling chest, wishing they could personally dig out what was hidden beneath the thin skin and bones.
So fragrant.
Why would something smell so fragrant?
The guests’ Adam’s apples all rolled suspiciously, some even drooling involuntarily.
Under the shroud of the special aura, the groom became fragrant and soft in their eyes.
“Not good.”
When it rains, it pours. The five-star Fish Eye relic had fully awakened. Along with its own evolution, the aura it emitted was far more intense than before.
Zhou Qi’an narrowed his eyes, hearing a chorus of swallowing sounds. Even the master of ceremonies next to him, who had forcibly pressed his head down earlier, his eyes seemed to be glued to him.
The parents, the guests, the master of ceremonies.
Everyone in the wedding hall wanted to eat the groom.
As the center of a convergence of malevolent gazes, Zhou Qi’an felt he could totally hold a tournament… no, a martial arts contest to find a spouse.
Everyone fights. Whoever wins is worthy to stand by his side and wield the butcher’s knife.
“Don’t drool over someone else’s groom,” Zhou Qi’an reminded the master of ceremonies expressionlessly.
No one paid him any mind.
The room was filled with rolling Adam’s apples.
“…”
Zhou Qi’an closed his eyes. He should have brought his mom to this instance instead of his boss.
“Peel off a layer of their skin as a wedding gift.” And this bald paper figure next to him, his mom definitely wouldn’t approve. Just get rid of them all.
It was too late to sing “Only Mom is Good in the World” now.
“The other half of the jade pendant…”
Under the terrifying gazes, Zhou Qi’an’s eyes quickly swept over the guests. The food on the tables was all semi-cooked. The beef was still bloody, and the rice was sprinkled with something gray. From a distance, it looked like sesame seeds, but taking a couple of steps closer revealed it was incense ash.
The master of ceremonies stopped Zhou Qi’an, who wanted to walk forward. It was at this moment that the latter’s pupils slightly contracted.
Behind the front round table, there was actually a solid wood black box. It was hard to notice without looking carefully.
The top of the box was tied with a silk ribbon knot. The box was very long, and at a glance, one might mistake it for a coffin.
“What is that?” Although he had some guesses, Zhou Qi’an still asked.
The master of ceremonies chuckled. “The bride’s dowry. With such a generous dowry, you should be secretly delighted.”
“Is it as thick as the dirt on your grave?”
Bringing the dowry directly into the hall was obviously problematic.
The master of ceremonies glared at him and insisted on the following procedure:
“Feast… slurp…” The master of ceremonies swallowed and shrieked in that piercing voice, “Feast the guests—”
It wasn’t the traditional wording for the couple’s bow.
Zhou Qi’an continued to size up the box impassively. The prompt said that interacting with the guests would help find the jade pendant, so it should be this part.
As the four words fell, the master of ceremonies released his large hand that had been clamping down on Zhou Qi’an.
Two meters away, some guests had already quietly drawn small knives from their waists, sharpening them eagerly. Some even broke their teacups with their bare hands, hiding the sharp porcelain shards in their sleeves, just waiting for the fragrant ‘little lamb’ to walk to their table.
The wedding hall seemed to be divided into multiple spaces.
All the guests grinned, each one eagerly reaching out. “Come to this table.”
“No, come to us first.”
The elders above, shrouded in the lantern light, had ferocious expressions and also reached out to Zhou Qi’an. “Good son, come and offer us another cup of tea.”
Several shadows simultaneously spread towards where Zhou Qi’an was standing. The master of ceremonies also quietly extended his hand, which was so thin the bones were almost piercing through.
Zhou Qi’an lowered his head, as if he were too scared to move.
Just as these people were getting worse, he suddenly lifted his eyelids again and turned to snap directly at the bride:
“You move too! It’s time to feast the guests.”
After saying that, even though the paper figure seemed to be glued to the floor, Zhou Qi’an extended his long arm and, relying on brute force, dragged the other party along to toast the guests.
The guests at the round table, seeing the bride being forcibly dragged over, their eyes, which were almost glowing green, were suddenly filled with deep fear.
Someone wanted to get up and retreat, but Zhou Qi’an was faster and had already arrived at the table.
He pointed at the guest who wanted to stand up and said in the tone of a domineering CEO, “Woman, fill his cup.”
Not forgetting to look back at the two elders. “Don’t worry, I’ll have the bride offer you two tea in a moment.”
What’s one cup? I’ll give you a whole pot.
“…”
The paper figure naturally didn’t move, but at the nail, black blood had started to sizzle and ooze out. The blood flowed over the specially textured paper, looking extremely horrifying.
The handsome groom seemed not to notice at all. He rolled up his wide sleeves, looking fierce, a perfect image of a refined scoundrel.
He continued to lecture the bride. “The elders and folks are all here. Who are you putting on a long face for?”
The guest’s hand, secretly holding the porcelain shard ready to slit the groom’s throat, began to tremble. He felt like he was about to faint.
“No, no need to pour.” The guest swallowed. This time it was a physiological reaction born of fear, not because he was greedy. “Just let the bride rest on the side.”
Zhou Qi’an sneered. From the long nail and the crude craftsmanship of the paper figure, it was obvious that these people were all afraid of the bride.
“Trying to fight me.”
The longer this dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be.
There was no countdown this time, but the paper figure bleeding black blood was definitely not a good sign.
Zhou Qi’an knew when to stop and moved the paper figure slightly away, returning to the table.
Now that they had torn off all pretense, and time was tight, he couldn’t be bothered to act anymore. He directly took out the holy relic, holding the fishing spear like a cat with its paws tucked in.
His eyes sparkled in the golden light. After applying further pressure, Zhou Qi’an sneered, “Anyone who’s thirsty or hungry, just let me know. I can also have the bride serve you food.”
