Chapter 13

Xiyu only had three days' worth of memory, and the most tormenting moment in those three days was this moment, enduring the nausea as he submerged into the blood-red lake.

It turned out that the bodies floating on the surface were just the tip of the iceberg. In the dim, unclear water, more incomplete body fragments were drifting.

Occasionally, torn clothing floated past, mostly the style worn by warriors and maids.

Could the lake water really have been stained red by these tragic souls?

It made sense. The conflict between the Black General and White General involved many people, just like every historical struggle over power and profit.

Xiyu knew that the longer he delayed, the weaker his will would become. So, he focused hard, diving to the bottom to search carefully.

Sure enough, there was a soft glow in the mud.

Xiyu tried not to look at the hellish scene around him, using his long legs to swim towards the light, reaching out to pull out the hidden wooden box.

To his shock, just as he grabbed the box, the bodies in the water suddenly began to move, horrifyingly stretching out their decayed and exposed arms to attack him!

For the first time facing a life-threatening situation, Xiyu panicked for a moment but immediately kicked away the nearest female corpse, using all his strength to swim towards the surface. Unfortunately, there were too many of the undead, and more quickly surrounded him, grabbing his ankles with force.

Using the wooden box as a weapon, Xiyu smashed the head of a warrior corpse, then kicked desperately with his legs, struggling in a disheveled state.

Fortunately, while he was holding his breath and fighting with all his might, a tall figure suddenly appeared not far away. It was very familiar—Luo Xi!

Luo Xi grabbed a wooden stick as a weapon, mercilessly striking the attacking corpses that were clinging to Xiyu!

With someone helping to fend off the attacks, Xiyu managed to break free and, holding the wooden box, rushed towards the surface of the water without looking back.

These corpses, enemies of the player holding the box, were likely part of the protective measures arranged by the lady’s spirit. As Xiyu successfully climbed onto the shore, the blood lake, which had been rippling constantly, immediately fell still.

A moment later, Luo Xi also appeared, dripping wet, cursing at the dirty debris floating nearby.

Having already become familiar with the terrain of the General’s residence over the past two days, the two of them, both reeking of corpses, quickly found a secluded well in the backyard and began washing themselves with the cold water, ignoring everything else.

Although the weather was already cold, and they were shivering from the chill, it was still far better than the stench of the blood lake and the dismembered bodies.

Luo Xi finally poured a bucket of water over his head, rubbed his black short hair, and asked directly, "What treasure were you looking for when you jumped into the lake? Was it the one in your hand?"

Xiyu, still gripping the box, trembled as he looked back.Luo Xi raised an eyebrow: "I just saved your life, isn’t that reason enough to share?"

Xiyu initially wanted to refuse, but after a moment of thought, he realized that if Luo Xi insisted on seeing it, a fierce struggle would be inevitable. Besides, the card was related to the Black Princess, and it probably wouldn't decide any critical outcomes. So, he slowly nodded: "It's a flower card."

Luo Xi lowered his eyes to watch him open the box, and after a moment, squatted down to read with him.

【Iris Eight of Flowers/Black Princess Passive Skill: Original Sin – After the Black Princess player dies, she will be possessed by the ghost of Lady Mirror.】

Xiyu read it twice, unable to stop himself from exclaiming: "No wonder…"

Luo Xi smiled as he looked at him: "No wonder what?"

No wonder he hadn't seen Lady Mirror's ghost wandering the corridor last night. It turned out that she had possessed Huasheng’s body and wasn’t wandering around outside.

But what had the lady been doing every night?

The ghost of Lady Mirror was safe on the first night, but she was injured on the second night…

Xiyu bit his lip, his thoughts muddled, and he didn’t speak the truth.

"Don't you feel uncomfortable holding it in?" Luo Xi said casually. "I knew something was off with him, and the reason turned out to be this."

Xiyu asked, "How did you know?"

Luo Xi answered as if it were obvious: "He and Yao Chenna were killed by the warrior ghost in front of me. I personally checked to make sure they were both dead before leaving. Then, he swaggered right back, which made me think for a long time."

Xiyu was almost drawn in by his straightforward attitude but quickly shifted his gaze warily. "Seeing it is enough of a thank you. I should go now."

"Hey, you don’t plan to expose Lady Mirror so soon, do you?" Luo Xi called after him.

In truth, Xiyu hadn’t decided yet, so he shook his head.

Luo Xi said meaningfully: "Don’t you think it’s interesting? After Lady Mirror appeared, the situation sped up a lot."

Xiyu recalled how Huasheng had revealed two skill cards in the Qingming Hall this morning. It was likely that Lady Mirror had intentionally leaked them to everyone to create conflicts and panic. If they kept her around, would it benefit the White side, the Black side, or lead to mutual destruction?

"Think carefully. You're one of the few who actually use their brain," Luo Xi said, taking off his leather jacket and shaking it, sneezing loudly as he walked away through the mist.

Xiyu held the flower card in his hand and began thinking about another matter, deciding to resolve the more pressing issue first, then confront Lady Mirror later.Meanwhile, without seeing Xiyu, Wu Zhi was anxiously restless all day.

Today was unnervingly calm, yet beneath that calm, there was a turbulent feeling of unease.

The naive young man, the more he analyzed in his mind, the more he believed Xiyu’s words. So, what he feared wasn’t dying an untimely death, but that his uselessness would drag down the team.

Especially after overhearing a few arguments between Tong Leshan and Huasheng last night, Wu Zhi, who had already wanted to gather information, couldn’t suppress his impulse any longer. For some reason, Huasheng didn’t recognize Tong Leshan, who clearly had an identity, so this opportunity might as well...

Finally, without Xiyu around to stop him, Wu Zhi impulsively slipped into Tong Leshan’s room.

Tong Leshan, hiding from the sunlight, looked at him with a puzzled expression: "What are you doing?"

Wu Zhi carefully closed the door, kneeled on the tatami, and asked in a low voice: "Tong Ge, you’re the Black Heir, right?"

A subtle expression flashed in Tong Leshan’s eyes. He raised an eyebrow and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? If there's nothing else, get out."

"I’m sure you're the Black Heir, He Yingqi was the one you took down!" Wu Zhi hurriedly affirmed. "My identity is Princess, Black Princess! We’re teammates!"

Tong Leshan wasn’t particularly cunning; otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so impulsively in the beginning. Hearing this, he was inevitably moved.

Wu Zhi gritted his teeth and quickly explained, "My skill lets me verify the identity of one player at the shrine every day! On the first day, I verified Yao Chenna, because her personality was too uncontrollable, and she was still on the White side at that time! Yesterday, I verified you, just to be safe. So today, after verifying Xiyu, I came to find you."

"Xiyu, the one with white hair?" Tong Leshan became interested and asked, "What’s his identity?"

Wu Zhi replied: "Black Warrior, he’s on our team."

Tong Leshan furrowed his brows: "Really? Does the Black side have so many people?"

Wu Zhi immediately followed up, "Tong Ge, are you sure who’s on the Black side?"

"This has nothing to do with you!" Tong Leshan immediately snorted coldly, "You’re just spouting nonsense with no proof, why should I believe you?"

Wu Zhi looked at him seriously: "Who do you want me to verify? I’ll go verify them tomorrow, just ask Tong Ge to protect me... You can control that snake, right?"

"It’s not something I can control all the time." After saying this, Tong Leshan fell silent.

Wu Zhi realized that the other person was highly cautious, but not completely distrustful of him. So, he decided to leave things at that, stood up, and said: "Anyway, that’s the situation. If I hadn’t verified you, I wouldn’t have dared to come find you. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll go look for some clues."

Tong Leshan gave a brief response.Wu Zhi turned around: "Tong Ge, why do you stay in the room all the time?"

Tong Leshan simply replied: "I don't think you all running around like headless flies will be of any use."

Wu Zhi forced a smile and quickly left, closing the door behind him.

Tong Leshan sat in the room, pondering for a moment, silently snapping his fingers as he began to make plans.

Meanwhile, Xiyu, unaware of the situation, was struggling to walk on a desolate mountain by the lake. This place was far from the General's Mansion, covered with dry grass and dead trees, seemingly abandoned for a long time.

There were no building remnants around, and almost no players came here to search for skill cards.

If Xiyu hadn’t carefully observed the ink animation earlier that morning, he wouldn’t have thought to come to this area—only because he suddenly realized that, apart from the usual buildings in the General's Mansion, there was also a tomb of Madame Mirror, and that tomb was definitely a very crucial location!

According to the position on the ink painting, when converted to scale for the distance inside the General's Mansion, the tomb of Madame Mirror should be somewhere around here.

Xiyu carefully examined every plant and tree around him, and finally saw a pure white flower growing among the grayish-brown grass.

Although he didn’t know the name of the flower, it made him feel somewhat melancholic.

Xiyu slowly approached, stood next to the flower, and gazed at the General's Mansion. In his mind, he quickly calculated the map coordinates, and eventually furrowed his brow. He crouched down and picked up a stone shard, digging vigorously.

The sun gradually set, and the already gloomy mansion became even more oppressive.

Sun Xiuyan, Tang Yanyan, and Fang Hao were gathered near the Clear Bright Hall, each holding a chair leg for self-defense.

Teacher Fang Hao looked at the two little girls in front of him with sympathy and sighed: "You’ve been looking all day? It’s almost dinner time."

Tang Yanyan nodded and took out a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in oil paper from her pocket: "Are you hungry? I stole it from the kitchen. The doll doesn’t interfere when we disturb the food preparation."

Fang Hao declined: "I’ve already eaten."

"It’s not poisoned." Tang Yanyan said with some grievance and lowered her head to eat it herself.

Fang Hao seemed a little awkward: "That’s not what I meant… Damn it, why are we locked up here? We’re living worse than monkeys!"

Sun Xiuyan looked at him with sadness, moved her lips, but didn’t say anything in response.

This girl had found some medicine in the clinic, but the injuries she sustained on the first night hadn’t healed well, and she lacked energy.Fang Hao, though sympathetic, was powerless: "Let's go, let's rest in the hall. At least no one died today."

Just as he finished speaking, the dry grass behind them rustled, and in the blink of an eye, a giant snake emerged, its massive mouth opening wide as it quickly approached them!

Sun Xiuyan screamed in terror, huddling with Tang Yanyan, only to push her away and flee with all her might.

Fang Hao, though frightened, didn’t forget he was a man. He immediately grabbed a wooden stick and held it in front of him, closing his eyes in fear and shouting, "You all go quickly!"

A series of panicked and desperate screams followed.

Fortunately, the giant snake seemed to have no intention of attacking, as if it was just trying to scare them. In a moment, it disappeared into the mist.

The three of them were pale and drenched in cold sweat. They exchanged glances, and it was Sun Xiuyan’s sobs that finally broke the silence. She had already collapsed to the ground, tearfully saying, "Teacher Fang, I didn’t mean to leave you all behind to escape... I was so scared, so scared!!!"

Fang Hao had no intention of blaming her. He shook his head and said, "It’s nothing. I’m a man, and I’m older. I should have protected you all."

Sun Xiuyan curled up on the ground. "Why does the snake always appear around me? Why doesn’t it attack you... Could it be that... you two are both, both black faction..."

The implication in her words seemed to suggest that she was indeed a member of the white faction.

Tang Yanyan squatted down in frustration. "Xia, this question can’t be answered. We’re not selfless bodhisattvas. But I promised you, I’ll never harm you."

Fang Hao frowned. "I won’t either."

Then he gloomily added, "I won’t harm anyone."

Sun Xiuyan wiped her tears and looked at Fang Hao with gratitude and sincerity, offering a warm smile.