Chapter 56

Chapter 56

In the real-life game produced by Yun Tai, besides the elements that test intelligence, it mostly focuses on fighting and mazes.

After all, the core purpose of the game is to entertain the audience, so creating impressive visual effects is key.

This is also why Xu Tu's powerful spatial abilities are particularly important, allowing her to team up with Bai Qi and rise to the ranks of expert streamers.

After the female ghost Xiao Yan vanished with a sharp laugh, Xu Tu immediately sprang into action, guiding them while advising, "Make sure to stick close to me. The more levels the corridor has, the more complicated the structure becomes, and it can change at any time. Sometimes, it may seem like the distance between you and others is just one or two levels, but you can go in circles and still not be able to gather together, let alone leave here."

Xi Yu frowned, pulling the red silk into his hands and tossing it into the darkness at the center of the corridor, "Can't we just climb down?"

Xu Tu shrugged, "The planners must have anticipated this. Don't even think about taking shortcuts."

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the red silk that had floated into the air seemed to rewind like a video, slowly returning to its original position.

Xu Tu blinked, following the stairs to find Luo Xi, and only then did she stroke her chin and observe the exit path.

Xi Yu, who was never used to relying completely on others, also frowned as he looked at the five or six staircases on this level, softly suggesting, "Since the corridor moves, after the stairs are activated, they could go up or down. We’ll only know the result by trying. Time is limited, so let's hurry."

Xu Tu blinked, waved her hand, and prepared to lead the way.

Xi Yu stopped her, "Trying alone would waste too much time. I know you won’t forget the way, but if we split up to check the wrong branches, it will be more efficient."

Xu Tu was worried, "I already told you, it's hard to reunite once we separate."

"You were the ones who insisted I trust the team's abilities. What's with the double standard now?" Xi Yu said. "It’ll be fine to split up. The changes in the moving maze must have a cyclical pattern, and there should be a way to retrace our steps, otherwise, the design would be meaningless."

Xu Tu didn't expect him to be so stubborn, so she turned to Luo Xi for help.

"I can't control this guy," Luo Xi shrugged. "Since you're so confident, let's give it a try. Don’t forget this maze is an independent instance space. Ah Qi is still stuck outside."

Xu Tu furrowed her brow, "Alright, then let’s cooperate and search for the exit!"

Xi Yu finally smiled with satisfaction, and the three of them parted ways, each trying a different direction.

To be honest, with Xu Tu as the overall commander, splitting up indeed sped up their downward exploration.

Though each of them took some detours, as long as they remembered to retrace their steps and regroup, they could avoid danger.

Just when Xi Yu thought everything was going smoothly, he unexpectedly encountered a monster wrapped in red silk at the turn of a staircase. Without thinking, he kicked it fiercely!"Ouch!" The other party rolled around pathetically, crying out in pain.

Xi Yu drew out his dagger. "Who?!"

The red silk trembled, and a head popped out from inside, revealing a handsome male streamer.

He had natural chestnut-colored curly hair and jewel-like blue eyes, which were quite beautiful. However, when he spoke, there was no elegance in his tone. His words even carried a hint of crying as he whined, "Handsome guy, you're a streamer too, right? Can you please take me out of here? I've been crawling around this corridor for over 40 minutes. If the time runs out, I'll definitely die! Please, I beg you!"

Xi Yu avoided his hand as he calmly said, "I didn’t expect there would be other players in the corridor."

"I'm Su Ziyan." The handsome man stood up, shivering as he spoke. "I was just waiting for my friend to get the ice box, but I didn't know there were ghosts in that house."

Xi Yu looked at him warily. "Then why are you in such a sorry state?"

Su Ziyan looked miserable. "I had a low hidden score in the last round, so the system didn't give me many clothes. I'm almost freezing to death — I don't have any weapons, don't worry."

He unwrapped a red silk cloth he was using for warmth, revealing a thin cotton jacket underneath, with no other dangerous items in sight.

Xi Yu then sheathed his knife. "Let's go. Hurry up. I think you're quite a troublemaker."

Su Ziyan quickly followed behind. "Thanks, I was getting so dizzy from going in circles. I was all the way down before, but somehow ended up back up here. It's really—"

Xi Yu sighed deeply. "Has anyone ever told you that you're very noisy?"

Su Ziyan nodded. "Yes, my friends call me a chatterbox every day."

"..." Xi Yu helplessly glanced over and saw Xu Tu and Luo Xi's figures appear on the lower level, so he raised his voice to notify them. "This streamer is also stuck in the corridor. Let's go together, but his time's running out."

Having one more person or one less didn't make much of a difference. Xu Tu, with a sharp tongue, clicked his tongue. "Xiao Yan really likes handsome guys, huh? Our tastes are quite similar."

Luo Xi glanced at him. "...Where’s Ah Qi handsome?"

Xu Tu: "...You really can't say someone else is unattractive, can you, buddy?"

Although the atmosphere was light, Su Ziyan was startled when he saw the others and quickly hid behind Xi Yu, warning, "Be careful of that guy with the scar. He kills without blinking."

Xi Yu paused, about to say something, but then decided against it and continued walking.

Luo Xi had sharp ears and immediately glared. "Do you believe I’ll cut you down right now?"Su Ziyan shrank his neck and continued to stick closely to Xi Yu, not daring to leave his side, fearing that he might be trapped in the corridor again with no way to escape.

Some people just can't catch a break, while others seem to have good fortune shining down on them every day.

Although Su Ziyan appeared to be of little use, and after some inquiries, it turned out he had just recently been promoted to a senior streamer, he was lucky enough to meet a reliable guide when he got into trouble. In the final moments, he successfully escaped the complicated corridor and returned to the tailor shop, which was filled with the smell of perfume and the stench of death.

At the same time, Xu Tu, who had also escaped, rushed toward Bai Qi's body, relieved to find it unharmed.

Meanwhile, in the center of the room, a pink talisman paper appeared out of nowhere.

Xi Yu bent down to pick it up and immediately heard a prop notification.

【Xiao Yan's Voucher: Burn this talisman paper in the tailor shop at Blackwater Village to request any piece of clothing from the female ghost Xiao Yan.】

Upon hearing this, Su Ziyan eagerly suggested, "Big brother, big sister, I see your clothes are very thick. Why not, why not just give them to me? I'm really cold!"

Xu Tu raised his hand and threw the ice box at him. "Who are you calling 'big sister'? Do you want me to bury you in the snow?!"

Su Ziyan looked frustrated, picking up the ice box Luo Xi had brought to him, and sat by the fire to warm himself. "If you won't give it to me, fine, I'll just do my own draw..."

Luo Xi cast a silent glance at him, worried that he might cause some trouble.

As the ice box slowly melted, a new wooden chest appeared safely in the room, and nothing unexpected happened.

Su Ziyan casually rummaged through the contents, eventually pulling out a thick woolen shawl to wrap around himself and continued shivering by the fire.

Luo Xi: "..."

Xi Yu, watching the big spender by his side cry daily, couldn’t help but start to care a little about luck, and remarked, "You have good luck."

"Hey, that's my only good trait. My friend is also lucky. We both love the draw segments." Su Ziyan sneezed and asked, "Is there any food? I’ve eaten all mine. I’m so hungry."

The three in the room couldn’t quite understand where his confidence and thick-skinned nature came from. As they were about to leave, they faintly heard some chaotic screams and growls from the dark street outside.

Luo Xi immediately grabbed a knife. "I’ll go check. Rabbit, close the door!"

Xi Yu, feeling uneasy, followed. "I’ll go too!"

By now, Luo Xi had developed trust in his quick reactions, so he didn’t stop him. He just bent down to lead the way and hid behind an empty stall on the street, cautiously peering at the source of the chaos. It turned out that five or six streamers were being chased by a group of indistinct shadows. The shadows were completely black, their human shapes barely visible, moving at high speed. Once they managed to catch the last female streamer, they swarmed her like hungry ghosts, tearing her apart with cruel, disgusting chewing sounds.Xi Yu frowned in disgust and softly analyzed, "Looking at the outline of those things, they should have been villagers from Blackwater Village. Something major must have happened in the story, turning this place into a dead village."

Luo Xi sneered, "But now they're no longer human. I don’t know if we can kill them or if we’ll just have to run."

"It doesn't seem to have a physical form..." Xi Yu asked, "Should we go help?"

Before Luo Xi could decide, a ghostly female voice floated out from beside them, "Those hungry spirits are very afraid of fire."

Xi Yu quickly turned his head, startled by the sudden appearance of Xiao Yan and nearly falling to his knees, but he was caught by Luo Xi.

Xiao Yan cupped her ugly ghost face and said sadly, "You managed to escape my corridor, I already know you're not my husband... but I don't mind if you stay and keep me company..."

With those words, her figure vanished into a swirl of black mist.

"...Ugly people have many dreams." Luo Xi muttered, taking out the fire starter that Xi Yu had given him and saying, "Let’s drive them back first. The speed of those dead streamers is too fast, and it's not good for us."

Xi Yu nodded and handed him the oil bottle they had received before entering the maze. "Put it on your weapon. Be careful."

The bloodthirsty hungry spirits, after completely tearing apart two living people, relentlessly chased after the unlucky streamers who were panicking and fleeing without direction.

The streamers had clearly put up some resistance, knowing they couldn’t disperse the spirits, so they could only desperately run forward.

The man at the front had ill intentions, and without thinking, grabbed a bamboo basket from the roadside and threw it hard at the girl behind him. The young girl fell unexpectedly, screaming in terror as the ghostly shadow charged at her!

At that critical moment, Luo Xi, holding a flaming knife, suddenly appeared from around the corner. He threw the burning oil bottle at the first two hungry spirits and then swiftly maneuvered past the streamers, hacking away with his flying daggers.

Xiao Yan, who liked handsome men, hadn’t lied.

Those human-like shadows, which seemed impervious to knives and guns, shrieked loudly when set on fire. As they struggled to fight back, they slowly dissipated, leaving only a few ice crystals on the snow, and their traces were gone.

Relieved after successfully driving them off, Luo Xi bent down to pick up the strange ice crystals, his expression serious as he muttered, "Find a way to make some fire, or don’t stay in this village as human bait."

The female streamer who had been tripped earlier looked up in shock, "It’s you..."

Using the remaining light from his knife, Luo Xi finally saw the girl's face. It was actually Xi Yu’s "rival," Du Li. He couldn’t help but mock her, "Oh, so you’ve ended up in this mess too."

Du Li, embarrassed, rubbed her red eyes and angrily pointed at the person who had just betrayed her, "That’s Zhao Zhusheng! Kill him!"

The true culprit, having narrowly escaped, took two steps back, let out a light laugh, and quickly turned to flee.Zhao Zhusheng was hard to read. Luo Xi had initially planned to chase after him and deal with him, but realizing that there was a more important task at hand, he could only lower his gaze and warn, "Leave this place quickly."

Afterward, the other two survivors meekly thanked them and disappeared.

Du Li, however, was calm and composed. She patted her clothes and stood up, saying, "This is surprising, I didn’t expect you would stand up for what's right. There must be some kind of conspiracy behind this."

Luo Xi scoffed, "So what if there’s a conspiracy? What can you do about it?"

Du Li, ungrateful, rolled her eyes and was about to leave.

Just then, Xi Yu unexpectedly revealed himself from the shadows. "Li Li, you’re not safe alone. This game mainly tests the streamers' stamina, you’ll need a partner."

Du Li looked at him with an expression of irritation. "So what?"

Xi Yu sincerely suggested, "Remember how you mentioned that your luck bonus is very high from your lottery draws? If you can prove it, we don’t mind protecting you for two days."

This caught Du Li off guard, and even Luo Xi didn’t expect him to come up with such an idea.

"Hang in there for four more days. Everyone needs useful supplies, and we also need to make sure we don’t get killed by others. This way, it’s fair," Xi Yu said with a faint smile. "If you’re not willing, that’s fine."

"I have a companion!" Du Li snapped, turning around.

"It wouldn’t be that Su Ziyan, would it?" Xi Yu asked in return.

Du Li was surprised again. "How do you know?"

Xi Yu replied, "We just rescued him from the corridor instance. You almost didn’t get to see him again. He said he had a very lucky friend, and I guessed it might be you."

Du Li sniffled, fell silent for two seconds, and then confessed, "Last summer, the company started selling Easter egg gift boxes nationwide in China, probably to promote the European Emperor meme. They released twelve streamers with a luck bonus to help us win more lottery prizes in the game, and they even took promotional photos of us... But luck doesn’t mean everything. Most of us have been reset multiple times. Only me and Ziyan have barely managed to hold on."

Although there had been some misunderstandings between them before, hearing Du Li speak of such harsh realities made Xi Yu feel uneasy, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. "I believe everyone has a soul. If you were truly lucky, you wouldn’t end up as a cyborg in this lifetime."

As his words fell, a bright red light, more dazzling than a blood moon, suddenly lit up around them.

[This segment of the stream will be censored. Streamers Du Li and Xi Yu, please do not discuss company business plans. This is your final warning.]

Du Li unhappily bit her lip.

Luo Xi shrugged and raised his hunting knife, which only had a few remaining sparks. "Let’s leave here first. If more hungry spirits catch up, I won’t have any extra plans."Xi Yu turned and began walking towards the tailor shop.

Du Li hesitated for a moment before choosing to follow, asking, "So... is Ziyan with you guys now?"

Xi Yu: "Yeah, he’s really looking for someone to cling to."

Luo Xi smiled faintly and shook his head, speaking quietly to Xi Yu: "I’ve noticed you’re taking this game more seriously."

"I’ve always been serious," Xi Yu replied, then sincerely promised, "Don’t worry, I won’t let you be eliminated, and I won’t let you be reset. As long as we can keep going, I’ll do whatever it takes. Nothing else matters."

Luo Xi looked at him with a complicated expression, responding with silence.

"Why are you ignoring me..." Du Li mumbled with a hint of grievance from behind, "What did I say, I knew there were so many queers in the Cloud Platform."

In the freezing cold, survival was hard, and at this moment, probably only Su Ziyan wasn’t feeling the pressure.

The seemingly strong Du Li, after reuniting with them, unexpectedly sat in the tailor shop, wiping away tears, choking as she complained, "I almost died! And you’re here, happily roasting by the fire!"

Su Ziyan, who had been hammered by her, explained timidly, "I almost died too, there’s a female ghost here!"

Du Li rolled her eyes, but her face met Xi Yu’s calm gaze.

Xi Yu asked, "Have you thought about my proposal?"

"Following them sounds good. They have two experts, and this little brother seems pretty capable," Su Ziyan urged from the side. "Didn’t you forget how badly we were being chased?"

Du Li rubbed her dirty little hands and frowned. "Fine."

Xi Yu immediately kicked the remaining ice box towards her, "But I want to see if your luck is really as good as you say."

Du Li didn’t take the test seriously at all. She squatted down and melted an ice box.

Unexpectedly, with a sharp, ear-piercing cry, a bone fell beside them.

Du Li and Su Ziyan: "..."

Luo Xi smirked.

Du Li cleared her throat. "An accident."As she spoke, she went to grab the second one.

An even more astonishing situation occurred: the scene from earlier happened again, and instantly, Snow Boy's bone drew out another one.

Luo Xi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Every time I meet you guys, I end up unlucky!" Du Li angrily threw the third ice box into the fire.

Who would have known that the item would immediately explode, and with the explosion, a golden light exclusive to the European King filled the room.

Everyone was stunned.

A piece of paper with blood stains on it obediently floated into Du Li’s hand, and at the same time, everyone heard the broadcast notification.

【Host Du Li has drawn the first rare item, the Blood Talisman. This item can reveal the location of specified items. All hosts are welcome to compete for it.】

Xu Tu was surprised: "Girl, you’re really possessed by the European King!"

Du Li twitched her mouth and provocatively looked at Xi Yu: "Satisfied now?"

Xi Yu nodded: "Pack up and get ready to leave. We need to find the Divine Hidden Temple as soon as possible."

Having heard the Blood Talisman item prompt, Du Li became a little petty: "Hey, I just drew it, and you want to use it already?"

Xi Yu immediately took out his own talisman and gestured with it. Then, he looked at Luo Xi, who was still stunned, and said: "Those with good luck will follow us, so stop touching the ice boxes. Since there’s a Blood Talisman, there may also be rare negative items."

Of course, Luo Xi was unwilling, but he couldn’t deny the fact. He had no choice but to wipe his hunting knife clean and said, "We’ll decide based on the situation. Let’s go."

The five-person team quickly left the eventful Blackwater Village and continued on the icy plains in the dark night, braving the cold winds, heading south.

Luo Xi kept examining the ice crystals left behind by the hungry ghost, fiddling with them in his hands and saying: "What’s the use of this thing? It won’t melt in fire, and it can’t be smashed."

"Let’s keep it for now. The planner definitely wouldn’t give us something useless," Su Ziyan, who was walking the slowest, still couldn’t help but boast: "If you bring me along, you’re in luck. Not only is my luck high, but my hearing is also excellent. I’ll definitely know if there’s any danger first."

Xu Tu, struggling to carry Bai Qi’s corpse, muttered under his breath: "I didn’t see you coming out of the corridor."

Su Ziyan, with his sharp ears, huffed: "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Just because I’m bad at directions doesn’t mean I’m useless, right?"

Xi Yu, who was filled with worries, finally snapped: "From now on, can we not talk nonsense?"Du Li crossed her arms and mocked her friend: "See? It's not just me who thinks you're a chatterbox. You’re the chatterbox expert."

"You’re no better!" Luo Xi turned around with his knife: "Anyway, your tongue isn’t much use for passing the level. How about I help lighten your load instead?"

At this, everyone fell completely silent, obediently following him as they continued their journey.

Xi Yu smiled bitterly, tightening his frozen hands. He had begun to feel increasingly uncertain whether there was really any hope hidden ahead.

After nearly three hours of difficult progress, just before Su Ziyan collapsed from exhaustion, they finally saw the outline of the lone temple through the thick snowstorm.

Under the blood-red moon, the outline glowed with a faint red light, making it look somewhat eerie.

Du Li stumbled a few steps and collapsed into the snow in exhaustion: "I finally understand. What cooperation? This is clearly a trap. We could have found a safe place to hide, but why do we have to keep going? And with a corpse, too, aren’t you all tired of this?"

Xu Tu, too tired to argue with the young girl, continued to tremble from the cold. Upon seeing the temple’s silhouette, she quickened her pace: "It’s just ahead, we’re almost there."

Xi Yu followed closely behind, feeling guilty.

He had rushed into suggesting this plan without proper thought at the time. Now, Xu Tu was keeping her composure solely by willpower. If the NPC gave them a negative answer, then she…

Luo Xi understood Xi Yu’s struggle and softly said: "It’s better to find out the truth as soon as possible. If it doesn’t work, we’ll get weapons and go look for Mu Yuan."

Xi Yu nodded, then turned to urge: "Keep up. If you stay there too long, your body temperature will drop quickly, and you won’t be able to move anymore."

Su Ziyan shivering, pulled Du Li up, gritted his teeth, and continued pushing through the wind.

The Divine Hidden Temple had three elegant black characters left on its plaque. Due to the outer layer of frozen ice, it looked blurry and unclear.

Inside, the door was lined with countless ice columns, and the interior was completely dark.

Luo Xi took the lead as usual: "Wait here."

Xi Yu insisted on following him, speaking in a low voice: "Right now, only Du Li and I have the Blood Talisman. The other streamers are still running around aimlessly and won’t notice this place. Even if there’s danger, it’s part of the NPC-driven game. It’ll be fine."

Xu Tu, exhausted, put Bai Qi’s corpse down and nodded with a shiver.

Only then did Luo Xi and Xi Yu step into the temple first.

Inside the vast temple, there was no sign of life. The remnants of wood and railings were covered with snow, and many frozen corpses were barely visible. If you looked closely, you could just about make out what they had looked like in life.The main hall in the center was just as dilapidated, with a collapsed Buddha statue that looked very unfamiliar—likely a unique design for the game "Extreme Cold Realm."

Xi Yu ignored the terrifying environment, moving swiftly to patrol the area. He came back and said, "Not even an extra footprint."

Luo Xi nodded: "These people look like disaster victims. They must have died from hunger and cold."

"Yeah, forget the storyline for now." Xi Yu threw a few stones outside, signaling them to come in, then carefully unfolded the precious Blood Talisman with his frozen hands, lowering his head and saying, "Prepare to burn it."

The spark from the fire striker gently fell onto the Blood Talisman, and the thin yellow paper immediately ignited with a crimson glow.

Xi Yu held onto it until the very last moment, unable to resist the intense heat, before finally releasing his grip.

The Blood Talisman burned brighter and brighter, then suddenly with a pop, it vanished in the small light, leaving no trace behind.

Du Li sighed in disappointment, "What the heck? It was so mysterious for nothing!"

"Shh," Su Ziyan perked up his ears, "I hear footsteps."

Everyone instinctively looked toward the door. After a few seconds, they indeed heard something getting closer.

Luo Xi, holding his hunting knife, gradually moved in front of Xi Yu.

After holding their breath, the NPC that appeared was a nondescript old woman, looking harmless.

Her cotton clothes were tattered, her hair was gray, and she trembled as she entered, asking, "Did you... come to find me?"

Du Li, holding the torch she had just lit, shivered and said, "She has no shadow. She’s a ghost!"

"Stop talking nonsense. It’s not real, what are you scared of?" Su Ziyan replied, quickly asking, "Grandmother, do you know the locations of all the items on Nightmare Island?"

"Just call me Grandma Yu..." The old woman's voice was still hoarse as she slowly walked up to Xi Yu and leaned forward to ask, "Child, what do you wish to obtain?"

The NPC had no pupils, her pure white eyes were truly terrifying!

But Xi Yu was completely unaffected, softly saying, "I want to obtain... an item that can bring people back to life. My friend was killed, and I hope he can be revived."

Du Li and Su Ziyan had not known their purpose before, and they were both startled when they heard this.

Du Li murmured, "No wonder you had to drag a corpse around.""Revive?" Grandma Yu straightened up. "Revive..."

Seeing that she didn’t immediately deny it, Xu Tu couldn’t help but get excited. "Is there such a thing? Is it real?!"

"Reviving isn’t necessarily a good thing... Sometimes, death is just death..." Grandma Yu whispered, "What comes back... might not be the person you cared about."

Hearing such eerie words in the pitch-black, corpse-filled ruined temple naturally gave everyone the chills.

But Luo Xi sneered. "Stop with the useless lines. Is there or isn't there?!"

Grandma Yu was silent for a moment, then replied, "If you want to bring someone back, you need to make them eat Snow Gongzi's heart."

"What?" Xu Tu grew even more anxious. "You mean the one who's sealed, Snow Gongzi? So we have to break the seal and kill him—"

"No, what's sealed is his resentment..." Grandma Yu gently patted her waist. "He was wronged by Blackwater Village... So he brought death as revenge for everyone..."

Luo Xi could no longer hold back, standing up with his knife. "Are you old and confused? Get to the point!"

Grandma Yu, frightened by the hunting knife, took a step back and raised her hand. "You must bring Snow Gongzi's physical body back to life. I’m just a mountain village woman, how would I know those mystical spells? There is indeed a way to bring back a body, but you’ll need to go to Blackwater Village and ask Mr. Fu from the Yizhi Pavilion for details."

"Well, at least you're able to speak clearly," Luo Xi sheathed his knife. "Is that all?"

Grandma Yu shook her head.

"Then you can go." Luo Xi made a decisive decision. "We’ll head back."

Du Li, mentally exhausted, collapsed on the ground. "We have to walk back?! Are you messing with me? I can't move anymore!"

"Then you stay here. I don’t need any good luck," Luo Xi helped Xu Tu up. "The way back is with the wind at our backs, it shouldn’t take too much time."

It was impossible to stay in this ruined temple surrounded by corpses. Seeing the three streamers determined to revive their friend, Du Li exchanged a look with Su Ziyan, feeling resigned, and finally lowered her head. "Fine... Let me change to something useful..."

She was about to burn the Blood Talisman on her body.

Xi Yu stopped her. "Save it. There’s no danger to life now, it’s better to leave yourself an escape route."

Su Ziyan, being obsequious, added, "Just listen to them, what he says makes a lot of sense."

Du Li unwillingly pursed her lips."I can protect you, and you can leave whenever you want," Luo Xi sternly warned. "But you need to keep your mouth shut. If the word about reviving spreads, I'll be the first to kill you."

Du Li crossed her arms and turned her head. "I don’t have that kind of ability. You’re overthinking it!"

They fought hard to go and struggled hard to return.

When the five-person team got closer to Blackwater Village, they were indeed all out of energy.

They first found a large rock shielded from the wind to rest for a while, checking the remaining supplies on each of them.

Xi Yu handed over the flour, lowering his gaze. "It seems that Grandma Yu only provides information. We still have to find the items ourselves. Now the target is clear. Blackwater Village is probably the only group of buildings on the map. If we all go in with such a big fuss, it’ll cause trouble."

"Don't even think about going off on your own to take risks," Luo Xi frowned. "Not even for a second."

"Mr. Fu from Yizhi Pavilion will probably only give us a small game challenge," Xi Yu said. "It’s easier to move alone, and it’s more reliable for you to protect them."

Although the logic made sense, Luo Xi remained silent, sticking to his stance.

Xi Yu helplessly said, "Look at them. If we encounter any danger, can they even move?"

"Don’t look at me, I want to sleep!" Du Li curled up beside Su Ziyan, shivering, immediately making a sound of refusal.

Xu Tu, still carrying Bai Qi, didn’t say anything, but it was clear he was also at his limit.

Xi Yu emphasized, "I can handle it. Stop wasting time."

Luo Xi finally compromised. "Fine, I’ll wait for an hour. If I don’t see you within an hour, I’ll go find you."

Xi Yu smiled and unexpectedly gave him a brief hug before immediately standing up and walking into the snowstorm.

Xu Tu, exhausted, leaned against the rock and sighed. "This is going smoothly."

Luo Xi, who hadn’t expected it either, smiled thoughtfully.

Du Li groaned and rolled her eyes at the sky. "I really don’t get Xi Yu. He looks like a normal person, but how does he like dirty things?"

Luo Xi gave her a look that said, "Who gave you the courage?" and slowly glanced at the little girl in surprise.

Du Li, frightened, quickly hid behind Su Ziyan and pretended to be asleep, not daring to speak another word.Xi Yu, being alone, quickened his pace, half-walking, half-running, and returned to Blackwater Village. He bypassed two groups of streamers being chased by hungry demons and finally found the Yizhi Pavilion house in the northeast corner of the map.

It turned out to be a strange bookstore, but the books scattered at the entrance were frozen in ice, with no qualification even to be used as fuel.

He briefly scanned the empty room near the half-open door, preparing to push the door open, but the familiar scent of cosmetics once again wafted into his nostrils.

A familiar figure, Xiaoyan, appeared from the corner with a sorrowful look, revealing half her face. "Don't go to Mr. Fu's gambling... something bad will happen to you..."

"Gambling?" Xi Yu realized that this infatuated NPC wasn’t helping for the first time, and patiently asked, "But I need to ask him something. I must see him in person."

Xiaoyan blinked her dark, hollow eyes and whispered, "Then don't believe anything he says. Mr. Fu is the best at deceiving people..."

Xi Yu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before smiling at her. "Thank you."

Xiaoyan trembled and floated away with a crying sound. "Why aren't you my man... I like you..."

"...” Xi Yu frowned in headache, then forced himself to focus and stepped through the door without hesitation.