Chapter 39

Chapter 38: Mountain and Sea 16

Shizong stood at the crossroads of the vast, empty white maze, continuing to flip through the item cards in his hand. Soon, he felt his left palm grow scorching hot.

It was the killing intent approaching him.

He Zhen had found him!

Shizong didn’t have time to think deeply; he first placed several items along the path.

Zhu Shuangyun played mostly low-difficulty games, so these items didn’t have any special functions. Several of them were the same—

[Item Name: Freeze Card]

[Effect: Place it on the maze floor. It looks identical to the maze ground and cannot be detected by anyone. Anyone who steps on it will be frozen in place for one minute.]

This item was like a roadblock in Monopoly—whoever stepped on it lost a turn.

Thus, Shizong placed roadblocks while running quickly through the maze, continuing to examine the other item cards Zuo Sanqiu had left behind.

After sorting through them, he found two cards he could use.

The first was [Delayed Explosion].

[Effect: Place it on the maze floor. It looks identical to the maze ground and cannot be detected by anyone. It explodes three minutes after being placed, injuring and slowing anyone who passes by.]

[Tip: If you predict someone will pass a spot in three minutes, placing a disguised explosive there is a good choice.]

The second was [Incarnation Deception].

[Effect: Summons a shadow incarnation. The incarnation’s actions and movement directions will sync with yours. Note: If not summoned immediately, the shadow will appear three minutes after placing the card.]

[Tip: Place the shadow incarnation somewhere, use the three-minute stationary time to move elsewhere, and you can use the shadow to deceive others.]

The maze entrance was south, the exit north. According to the clue-finding item card, the remaining weapon was near the center of the maze. Shizong was east of it, and the straight-line distance was only 400 meters.

But He Zhen was already approaching that direction. Even with roadblock cards, Shizong could still be caught at any moment.

He could feel that He Zhen, even invisible, moved faster, like a phantom.

Shizong planned to use these two items.

If his current location was point A and the weapon was point C,

Shizong’s first idea was to place the shadow incarnation and delayed bomb at A, then run to a location west of C, called point B, within three minutes.

Then, three minutes later, the bomb would explode, attracting He Zhen to A. Meanwhile, the shadow at A would activate.

He Zhen would think the shadow was Shizong and chase it.

Shizong himself would be at B.

From B, he would run east toward C.

Looking at the map, the paths of A and B were almost identical, so the shadow at A could perfectly mimic his eastward movement.

Thus, Shizong at B would move east toward C, getting closer, while He Zhen at A would continue east, moving farther from both Shizong and C.

This way, Shizong could successfully get the weapon.

But this was only his first reaction.

He realized He Zhen was smart and might overthink.

What if, upon hearing the explosion at A, He Zhen predicted it was a trap and went in the opposite direction to B to avoid the shadow and chase Shizong himself?

Then Shizong’s alternative was to place only the shadow at A and go to B.

At B, he wouldn’t use a delayed bomb but a sound-making item to draw He Zhen’s attention.

He Zhen would suspect the noise at B was intentional, then go to A and be attracted by the shadow.

Shizong could then move from B to C. He Zhen would chase the shadow east, getting farther from C.

Of course, He Zhen might predict all this too.

The key was guessing what he would ultimately choose.

Three minutes later.

A sudden sound erupted in the otherwise silent maze, like something had exploded.

He Zhen, in ghost form, wielding a long whip, stepped toward the noise, arriving at a crossroads, then stopped.

He guessed: Would Shizong really be at the source of the sound?

He might be feinting elsewhere.

But knowing this, He Zhen might play a reverse trick, appearing exactly where the noise came from.

Left or right?

After a brief hesitation, He Zhen went neither way; he turned and walked backward.

There was a nearby item shop closest to the maze exit.

He figured that no matter which direction he went, he might fall into Shizong’s trick.

Better to let Shizong play his flashy solo game.

So Shizong maneuvered alone through the maze.

He Zhen couldn’t calculate him, so he ignored it.

Adapting to the situation, he went to the item shop to play a mini-game.

Letting Shizong get the weapon didn’t matter.

The two weapons were comparable in power; He Zhen’s invisibility was superior.

All he lacked was an item.

So he didn’t chase Shizong and used this time to get items.

The game had lasted 65 minutes 7 seconds.

Shizong had 9 minutes 7 seconds left.

He Zhen used a 15-minute time extension, leaving 9 minutes 53 seconds.

He returned to the maze exit.

He had little time for mini-games, and functional items like [Disguise] or [Guide] couldn’t be used. He ended up choosing a card that could transform into a blade.

Meanwhile, the [Disguise] card’s five-minute duration for Shizong expired; he was no longer Zhu Shuangyun, reverting to the playwright’s appearance.

When he reached the small plaza in front of the exit, He Zhen saw him walking unsteadily, covered in blood.

“You’re injured?”

This was the first thing He Zhen had said to Shizong since entering the maze.

He Zhen stood with his long whip in the plaza, as if waiting a long time.

Thanks to his invisibility, while others fought desperately, he could sit comfortably.

Shizong found this annoying.

He didn’t answer, walking to the plaza center, looking at He Zhen on the opposite end, and calmly said, “Actually, I think you’ve already lost. There’s a traitor on our team—2 versus 4. But now it’s just the two of us.

“When do you want to start?”

“You shouldn’t have any items left,” He Zhen said. “Are you sure you can win?”

Shizong raised an eyebrow. “Let’s try.”

“What weapon did you find?” He Zhen asked.

“Kunwu,” Shizong said. “Kunwu, the Dragon Sword; it cuts jade like mud. Should be able to shatter your whip.”

As he spoke, a silver-long sword appeared in Shizong’s hand.

The sword was like jade, emanating a cold, killing intent.

The moment Shizong gripped it, Kunwu slightly moved, emitting dragon-like roars.

He Zhen leaned against the only path to the exit; Shizong stood in the plaza center, roughly 300 meters apart.

At this distance, the sword seemed aware of a worthy opponent and aligned itself toward the whip in He Zhen’s hand.

Its roars grew louder, movements faster, eager to clash.

The sword’s fighting intent was strong.

It wanted to confront the whip, as if the two were old rivals.

Feeling Shizong’s killing intent and the sword’s, He Zhen furrowed his brows slightly but didn’t move. He seemed curious about the duel’s outcome.

He didn’t act, but the whip moved on its own, eager to engage Kunwu.

Noticing the whip’s movement, He Zhen glanced down at it.

But in the next instant, as he looked up, Shizong, holding Kunwu tightly, suddenly struck the first blow!

Weapons in the maze were just mini-game items.

The Yanwang Whip didn’t physically hit; it generated successive whip shadows.

Kunwu also struck in sword light, the slashes carrying immense killing intent aimed at He Zhen’s head.

He Zhen didn’t dodge or avoid, instead flicking out a whip shadow with the back of his hand.

The whip shadow reversed upward, violently colliding with the sword light midair. Black and white lights crossed and shattered, then dissolved into nothingness—an even clash.

At this moment, the Kunwu sword in Shizong’s hand and the Yanwang Whip in He Zhen’s hand…

The fact that their first clash ended in a tie seemed to dissatisfy both weapons. They eagerly wanted a true duel, so almost simultaneously they left Shizong and He Zhen’s hands, floating in the air to confront each other.

Suddenly, “Clang!” The Yanwang Whip struck first, hitting Kunwu hard. Kunwu was extremely sturdy, unaffected.

“Clang, clang, clang”—the whip struck repeatedly.

Kunwu remained firm, then counterattacked, twisting in midair at incredible speed, slashing the Yanwang Whip several times in an instant.

Yet the Yanwang Whip remained unharmed.

After a fierce exchange, suddenly the whip coiled around the sword like a snake, wrapping tighter and tighter.

The black shadow pressed over the white, almost concealing Kunwu’s form.

The sword seemed completely suppressed.

The Yanwang Whip pressed its advantage, force increasing, tightening its hold.

Finally, Kunwu could not withstand the pressure, shattered into thousands of silver fragments.

The whip relaxed, arching like a bow in midair, as if celebrating victory.

Then, thousands of Kunwu fragments rained down on the black whip. This time, white surrounded black. Every inch of the whip was pierced by the fragments, unable to escape.

Finally, both divine weapons vanished into thin air.

It was a mutually destructive duel.

This outcome was within Shizong and He Zhen’s expectations.

The system set the weapons’ strength to be equal. Unless both were obtained by the same faction, this result was inevitable.

The battlefield quieted again.

Shizong knew the victory over He Zhen rested on the smallest margin.

Activating an item card, Shizong summoned a weapon.

It was the [Arrow that Pierces the Blue Sky], obtained from the first item shop.

A ranged weapon, its effectiveness depended on aiming at fatal points like the heart.

System stats: average hit rate 50%, lethality 50%.

Raising the bow, Shizong squinted, aiming at He Zhen.

He could see He Zhen had also used an item card.

Then he summoned a dagger.

The dagger was close-range; He Zhen would need to reach him to strike.

Shizong had the advantage—holding a ranged weapon.

But this assumed He Zhen had no invisibility.

He Zhen could vanish like a phantom, silent, while Shizong’s knight emblem could only alert him of danger nearby, not locate He Zhen.

He Zhen could silently approach and plunge the dagger into Shizong’s chest.

Shizong only had the bow, not knowing where to shoot.

Across 300 meters, they exchanged a glance.

He Zhen’s pupils were deep black, gaze unpredictable.

The next moment, he vanished from Shizong’s sight.

Shizong’s left palm burned hotter—his emblem warning of imminent danger.

Squinting, bow raised, he could not find a target.

One arrow, one chance.

Blind shot?

At the critical moment, the jade at his chest pulsed with a familiar sensation.

His heart raced; he opened his eyes—not the snow-white maze, but a dark world illuminated by strange blue and red lights.

Shizong found himself kneeling.

A whip shadow struck unexpectedly.

He didn’t feel pain.

He avoided it and, with extreme speed, stood, gripping the wrist of the whip wielder firmly.

It was still the man with the blue-faced fanged mask.

Through the mask, Shizong looked into his eyes.

They were both familiar and strange.

So close now, Shizong felt an odd sensation—

He had opposed this man countless times over the years, always so close. But they had always thought of stabbing each other, never that this close meant they could have reached out and embraced.

“Third Hall, Emperor Song—”

Shizong heard himself speak to the masked man in the dark world.

“Thinking about how I could grip your wrist so fast and precisely?

“You really don’t know how old-fashioned and OCD you are. When I knelt, you always circled me one and a half times, as if checking if I’d behaved…

“You always concluded no, then struck me from the left upper side. How many times have we done this? Aren’t you tired?”

As he said this, Shizong felt both his words and his mind complaining—

One and a half circles every time, no more, no less.

Watching from the upper left, then striking.

What is wrong with this guy?

The illusion appeared and vanished in an instant.

They were projections of memories buried deep in Shizong’s mind.

He blinked, raising the bow again in the maze plaza.

The emblem in his left palm burned fiercely, nearly protruding.

The knight emblem [Night] reminded him: act now or be slain.

Feeling the deadly intent near, Shizong tilted his upper body, aimed the bow about 30 degrees offset from where He Zhen had faced him, and fired.

“Whoosh—”

The arrow pierced the air, then struck flesh with a dull sound.

Blood ran along the shaft through a rift in space.

Shizong exhaled slightly, stepping forward, and saw He Zhen, chest pierced, slowly appear through the rift.

Blood drained his face pale, but he stood tall, like an indestructible sword.

Shizong approached, met his gaze, then looked down at the blood on his chest.

He touched it, then examined his finger stained with blood.

Finally, he looked at He Zhen, smiling faintly: “Little He Zhen, you lost.”

He Zhen smiled back.

Then he stared deeply at Shizong, voice slightly hoarse, heavy: “Mm. I lost. I actually lost to you a long time ago.”

“A long time ago?” Shizong sensed a deeper meaning. “How long? After the game started?”

From the moment I met him.

I never won.

He Zhen didn’t say this aloud.

Then, frowning deeply, he studied Shizong as if trying to see the soul beneath his body.

When he spoke again, his voice rougher: “How did you know I would come from this direction?”

Did you remember something?

He Zhen couldn’t ask it aloud.

Then he saw Shizong tilt his head slightly and ask, “Do you know someone… wearing a mask?”

After this, He Zhen’s gaze grew strange and distant.

At times like stars—gentle, distant, never truly approaching; at times like burning fire, obscured by ice, but able to break through to burn you.

“He Zhen, you…”

Shizong stepped closer, no answer from He Zhen.

He Zhen died in the maze, vanishing before Shizong.

The maze grew even quieter.

As if the world was only this snow-white expanse.

Even He Zhen felt like a dream.

Only the still-warm blood on his fingertips reminded Shizong—

Everything just now had been real.

Shizong lifted his finger again, stared at the drop of blood for a moment, then smiled faintly, blew the blood onto the ground, and walked toward the maze exit without looking back.

Three minutes later, Shizong walked out of the maze.

Outside the maze was pitch black, without a single ray of light. He had no idea where he had come to after leaving the exit, so he did not move rashly.

Then, a message from the system arrived in his mind—

【Player Shizong, congratulations on finding the maze exit】

【After system evaluation, the "Mountain" faction is victorious】

【You will now see the story available to the victors of your faction】

【This is the reward from the castle lord to your faction】

【Player Shizong, please stand at your current position, no need to move】

【You will now witness a story performance…】

The dark world before Shizong suddenly lit up.

It was as if he was standing in front of a 3D movie screen, watching the story the system played for him as the victor.

The first area to light up was a cliff.

Then below the cliff, a sea of clouds, and a peach blossom tree growing at the cliff’s edge.

Finally, a monk sitting by the cliff under the peach blossom, meditating, came into view.

The monk wore plain robes, eyes half-closed, seemingly unmoved by any worldly affairs.

In contrast, the peach blossoms beside him seemed overly brilliant.

The wind came, blowing the crimson petals onto the monk’s shoulders, almost staining his robes red.

A sweet, alluring voice appeared.

She said, “The peach blossoms are so beautiful, yet you meditate here. Aren’t you afraid they’ll disturb your cultivation?”

The monk said, “With a calm heart, one is unmoved by external things.”

“Really? If you are unmoved, then open your eyes and look at me, will you?”

A stunning woman appeared from behind the peach tree, her face redder than the blossoms. Her beauty surpassed even the flowers.

Step by step, she approached the monk, spreading her arms and suddenly wrapping them around his neck. “I keep hearing you say you want to attain enlightenment. What is enlightenment?

“Why not pick me instead? Don’t bother with this so-called ‘enlightenment’!”

The woman was quickly pushed away by the monk.

His features remained like a lotus, pure and untainted by the mud.

“Your form may be pleasing, but your heart is not righteous. Like a delicate glass vase full of filth, you are shameless and dare to try to deceive others?”

With a flick of his sleeve, the woman fell heavily to the ground.

Immediately, her alluring beauty vanished entirely.

In its place was an ugly skeleton.

The skeleton seemed alive; raising its hands to look at itself, it then glanced at the monk in shock and fear before quickly fleeing.

With that, the first story scene disappeared.

Author’s note:

The note references a story from Buddhism. The next chapter will reveal more.

P.S. Some cute readers mentioned the Night Practice Sword, hhh.

Since its setting allows it to harm invisibly but not kill, it was not included here.