Chapter 40

Chapter 39: Mountain and Sea 17

All the light disappeared, and Shizong’s vision returned to pitch black.

When the space lit up again, Shizong saw the second story.

On a mountain path, a monk was hurrying along.

His robes were tattered, his straw sandals worn through, and his feet blistered. When the blisters broke, pus and blood stuck to his wounds and shoes, making him look miserable.

Yet he continued walking without pause, hands pressed together in devotion, steadily moving in one direction.

It was probably the pilgrimage site he longed for.

Passing by a tavern, the smell of food wafted out. The monk, starving, could no longer resist and stopped at the tavern’s door.

A waiter came over, saw his condition, and immediately showed disdain. “What poor monk are you? No money, huh? If you don’t have money, then scram!”

The monk truly had no money.

He pleaded with the waiter for a long time, until his lips were worn, but in the end, he only received a bowl of rice soup.

The monk seemed content, returned the bowl, and immediately continued on his journey.

Not long after, he heard rustling sounds behind him, as if something were constantly falling from the sky.

It wasn’t rain, because the sound of rain would be much softer.

Curious, the monk turned, and saw gold falling from the sky like rain.

Piles upon piles of gold appeared behind him.

All he had to do was look back, and he could enjoy all the wealth, a lifetime of riches.

“Look back, it’s all yours.

“Just look back, and you can wear luxurious clothes, eat all the delicacies, so why seek Buddha? Look at how miserable you are now!”

Such a voice rang in the monk’s ears.

Yet he only glanced briefly at the gold and continued forward without turning back.

Behind him, the mountains of gold instantly turned to white bones.

After the second story ended, Shizong soon saw the third story.

The protagonist was again a monk.

This time, he was in the temple, meditating, chanting sutras, and striking the wooden fish.

Suddenly, from outside, came the sound of a zither, delicate and melodious, easily capturing the monk’s attention.

Following the sound, he opened the door and walked into the courtyard, seeing the withered lotuses in the pond bloom again, and the yellowed leaves in the corner of the yard turn green.

The zither seemed to bring life to all things, and warmth to his soul.

Compared to this, what were the sutras?

After listening dreamily to the zither for a while, the monk eventually stepped into the courtyard, went to the pond, picked up a stone, and decisively smashed the zither.

The music ceased.

Moments later, the sounds of the wooden fish and chanting returned to the courtyard.

The green leaves turned yellow again, and the lotuses withered once more.

The smashed zither also became bones, lying silently in the soil.

After the three stories played in succession, the room returned to darkness.

Then Shizong saw the final scene—

At the corner of a mountain, by the sea, a handsome man stood quietly.

He extended his right hand, missing three fingers.

Then he made a summoning gesture, and three skeletons came from the void, transforming into three fingers, restoring his right hand.

“Seems all your temptations have failed.”

The man sighed lightly, but a mischievous smile appeared on his lips.

“No matter, I’ll find him myself.

“This life… he won’t become a Buddha!”

All images and sounds vanished.

The dark room was lit by ordinary lights. Following the system’s instructions, Shizong walked through the room to its end and opened a door.

Through the door, he found himself at the staircase leading from the third floor to the second floor of the castle.

Zhu Shuangyun had gone back to the banquet hall to find something to eat, while all the other players were still at the maze entrance.

Hearing the sounds from the staircase, they all turned to look.

Zuo Sanqiu was the first to run toward Shizong with a smile. “I knew you could win! Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Shizong shook his head. “Recovered as soon as I left the maze. Just like all of you.”

After speaking, Shizong turned his gaze to He Zhen.

His expression was thoughtful, considering the connection between He Zhen and the masked man they had seen in their minds.

He Zhen’s gaze remained cold, deliberately so, making it impossible to guess his true emotions.

Their eyes met briefly. Shizong then shifted his gaze to Zhang Qijun, standing silently in the corner with his head lowered.

Shizong walked up to Zhang Qijun and looked down at him from above.

His voice was unusually gentle. “Lift your head.”

Zhang Qijun froze for a moment, then slowly raised his head, and as he met Shizong’s gaze, he quickly looked away.

Shizong asked directly, “You wanted to kill me. Why?”

Zhang Qijun was silent for a long while, then finally met Shizong’s eyes. “I wanted your identity. That’s all. I accept the bet.

“So? Knowing I have murderous intent toward you, what do you want? Kill me? But you can’t do that yet. There’s still a part of the story you haven’t understood. I…”

Shizong countered, “You wanted to kill me and tried to act on it, but failed. To prevent you from striking again, I must preemptively kill you. Is that your logic?”

Zhang Qijun didn’t understand why Shizong asked this.

He frowned at Shizong. “Someone like you wouldn’t let me live, right? I know you want me dead. You can’t wait to kill me.”

“Why does everyone think… I enjoy the hassle of killing so much?”

Shizong said this with a faint smile, glancing at He Zhen not far away.

He recalled He Zhen’s “lecture” from the previous night.

But Shizong claimed he didn’t like killing, nor did he care to.

Whoever tries to harm me, I just send them to their death first.

It’s too low-level. Beyond venting, it’s pointless.

Killing is not hard; often, ruthlessness is enough.

But it has no real meaning.

The dead are just rotting corpses.

The living, however, can be of use.

Of course, that only applies if they’re valuable or useful.

For Shizong, facing a rival trying relentlessly to kill him… nothing is more satisfying than one day forcing them to submit.

Shifting his gaze, Shizong looked at Zhang Qijun again, suddenly asking, “You like performing opera, right?”

Zhang Qijun: “So what?”

“Then why did you want my identity as an innkeeper?”

“Because I wanted the ‘Banquet’ qualification.”

“And after obtaining it? What then? What do you intend to do with this identity?”

“That’s none of your business!”

When Zhang Qijun first saw Shizong, he felt guilt and fear.

He was just an ordinary person who loved opera, almost forced into being a killer by the game and his master, but that was never his wish.

For his master, he suppressed his guilt, accepting Shizong’s questions calmly.

At this moment, he warned himself—

Take all the blame yourself. Never let Shizong suspect your master.

He knew Shizong was not easy to deal with.

His master had analyzed Shizong’s character; if Shizong suspected his master orchestrated everything, he would surely kill him without mercy.

Now Zhang Qijun realized Shizong wasn’t so easily fooled.

He could no longer remain composed.

Earlier, he thought Shizong only wanted revenge. Though scared, he could restrain himself.

Having performed on stage and received applause, that was the most beautiful part of his ordinary life.

He had enjoyed that beauty and could die without regret.

Zhang Qijun was not afraid of death.

But he feared his master, Li Rongjing, dying.

His fear and panic, born from worrying Shizong would retaliate against Li Rongjing, were becoming uncontrollable.

Even his shoulders trembled slightly.

Shizong observed all of this, smiled faintly, and continued asking, “Did you want my identity for yourself, or for your guild?”

Zhang Qijun clenched his fists tightly, holding them for a long while before relaxing.

At the same time, he bit his lips so hard his eyes reddened.

“It wasn’t you who wanted my identity. It was someone else, right?”

“Tell me, who told you to do this?”

When Shizong asked, his gaze was gentle, and his voice soft.

Yet such seemingly gentle words forced Zhang Qijun’s tears to fall.

Seeing this, Shizong glanced at him with slight surprise. “Tsk, you were the one trying to kill me, so why are you crying? Making it seem like I’m bullying you?”

“I wanted your identity. It has nothing to do with anyone else. All of this was my idea. Yes, I like Peking opera, but I only like listening, not performing.

“After entering this line, I realized how grueling singing Peking opera is. Every day before dawn, I had to practice—posture, voice… my master would even hit me. So…

“So I hated him, and I hated singing. I just wanted to change my identity for myself!

“I had more items than you newcomers, including tools that could take your identity after killing you. But those were all gifts from my master… he had no knowledge of any of this!

“I only discovered after entering the game that you were an ordinary person, while I had Asura’s abilities…

“Others—Crow, Hungry Ghost, and so on—I feared their abilities, that I couldn’t kill them by ordinary means, and I didn’t know if they already had identities…

“So among all of them, I could only take your identity.

“It’s all my fault. I acted recklessly, wronged my master who only ever wanted me to sing quietly…

“This was unfair of me. But one must take responsibility for one’s actions.

“If there’s anything, direct it all at me!”

With a sobbing voice, Zhang Qijun ran off.

Shizong raised an eyebrow indifferently.

—Tsk, no wonder he performs opera, such lung capacity.

The stairwell became quiet. Zuo Sanqiu blinked and scratched his head.

He Zhen silently stared at Shizong without a word.

Shizong thought for a moment and walked toward He Zhen, while Zhou Lü took a step toward the staircase.

With Zhang Qijun gone, there was no worry about revealing the Eternal Life Guild’s secrets. Zhou Lü said to Shizong, “I just talked briefly with Zuo Sanqiu. He’s concerned the faction battle might negatively affect guild members.

“But personally, I think it’s fine. Faction battles don’t affect life or death. Just think of it as team building. What do you think?

“Besides, if we walk down together slowly, we’ll get to know each other anyway. That’s better than joining some strange guild and getting schemed against.

“The key is we’ll still have a shared goal—find out why we joined this game and try to lead everyone to survive until the end.”

Shizong said lightly, “Yes. San San is still too young.”

Zuo Sanqiu beside him: “…”

“Honestly, I don’t mind. As for Zhu Shuangyun, I’ll talk to her later to see what she thinks. About why the system set this up, I have some ideas, but we can discuss all that after leaving the dungeon.”

Zhou Lü glanced at He Zhen, then at Shizong. “What I want to know now is… between you two… you’re fine, right?”

“Fine? What could possibly be wrong?” Shizong countered.

Zhou Lü said, “I can see both of you are strong, not only in gaming but in personality. Yet I sense your personalities don’t quite mesh. Plus, you both have expressed wanting to be guild leader…

“You’re both charismatic, able to attract followers.

“But the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. If you have conflicts, wanting to compete, even if the guild is harmonious now, it will eventually collapse over positioning issues.

“So whether our guild survives doesn’t depend on this faction battle, but on the two of you. Of course, you don’t need to answer immediately—wait until we leave the dungeon—”

Shizong smiled and interrupted. “Don’t worry. Before entering the dungeon, Fourth Sister already made a bet with me. His points will definitely be lower than mine. He’ll acknowledge me as leader.”

Seeing He Zhen’s expression twitch slightly, Shizong asked, “What, don’t like being called ‘Fourth Sister’? Want me to call you ‘Sea Kid’ instead?”

He Zhen: “…………”

“Gambling was just a joke. What I need to know is, deep down, are you willing to truly accept each other?”

Zhou Lü shook his head, serious. “This is very important. I’ll provide funds and use my connections to secretly search for other players, designing assessments to select capable players for the guild.

“Since I can do so much for the guild, I have veto power over personnel. If you two start internal conflicts, I’ll kick one of you out.

“The Eternal Life Guild is no joke. It’s not a guild formed today and disbanded tomorrow over some trivial reason. We need to lead each member to the end and uncover the game’s ultimate secrets. We protect every teammate.”

“Mm. Your concerns are valid.”

Shizong and Zhou Lü passed each other and walked up to He Zhen together. Their steps were slow, seemingly in subtle harmony.

After a few steps, Shizong asked He Zhen, “What’s the losing side’s debuff?”

He Zhen shook his head. “Don’t know yet. Only got a system notice saying it starts tonight.”

Shizong nodded, glanced at him: “You said earlier that in guild matters, you follow my instructions?”

He Zhen looked at him. “Mm? Why?”

Shizong asked, “And in personal matters?”

He Zhen countered, “In personal matters, what do you need me to do?”

Shizong smiled, dropping the question.

He instead asked, “What’s the name of your whip?”

He Zhen paused, then said lightly, “King of Hell Whip.”

“King of Hell?” Shizong looked up at the spiraling, pitch-black staircase that seemed to lead to hell, squinting unconsciously. “Do you think hell really exists?”

He Zhen was silent for a moment. “Maybe. What people call spirits may just be another form of life. Have you heard of the etheric body?

“Of course, this is just hearsay—”

Adding this deliberately, He Zhen continued, “The universe is full of invisible energy fields, but ordinary people can’t see them because we live in the material energy field.

“The etheric body protects our physical body like an eggshell protects an egg. It exists between the immaterial and material dimensions, so it can survive in what we call the ‘living world,’ yet also travel to another immaterial energy dimension, commonly referred to as hell.

“The soul is the etheric body?”

“Yes, but not entirely.”

“Mm. There’s another dimension in this world, unseen to us. We call it hell, thinking it’s where souls go after death. Then…”

Shizong slowed his tone, glancing at He Zhen, “Is the King of Hell real? Have you heard anything about this?”

When Shizong emphasized “heard,” He Zhen’s steps stopped.

He furrowed his brows slightly. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I…” Shizong turned and walked step by step to He Zhen.

No one else was on the spiraling staircase.

Shizong nearly pinned He Zhen against the railing. Looking down from his side, he saw pitch darkness below, like a bottomless cliff.

Shizong whispered into He Zhen’s ear, “After I left your room early this morning, I went back to sleep. I had a dream. In it, someone I called… Your Highness, King Song.

“You know so much about etheric bodies, hell, and spirits. Do you know, in reality, what the King of Hell is like in true hell?”

“I’ve never been to hell, so I don’t know.”

He Zhen’s voice was normal.

But from the side, Shizong saw his jaw tighten.

He Zhen met Shizong’s gaze and asked, “The person in your dream… King Song? What were you doing with him in the dream?”

“Why would I tell you something so private?”

Shizong’s tone feigned mystery. “But I felt a deep bond with him. By the way, the scenic spot staff once wrote a slogan for our inn—

“‘The person you see in a dream, you should go meet upon waking.’

“Too poetic, but makes sense. It’s just a pity…

“I’m still alive. Where do I find King Song after waking?”

On the spiraling, pitch-black staircase, only a faint light fell. When that little light reflected in He Zhen’s eyes, it looked like stars.

Shizong leaned close to He Zhen’s ear and whispered, watching him intently.

He saw He Zhen’s Adam’s apple move slightly, then again, then again.

But ultimately, he said nothing.

Shizong smiled faintly, not minding.

He lifted his hand, brushed the stray hair from He Zhen’s temple behind his ear, looked at him deeply, and turned to go upstairs.

After Shizong left, He Zhen took a moment before stepping forward. He soon caught up, and the two

Zhang Qijun had only cut halfway through his wrist, and the blood wasn’t flowing heavily. Shizong immediately stepped forward to hold him, while He Zhen quickly cut a towel into strips to help him do a simple bandage.

However, the most dangerous thing for him now wasn’t the wrist cut.

Zhang Qijun still had red-line story events to complete, but because of the wrist-cut, he had violated the red-line storyline.

At this moment, the red line on the back of his left hand spread, slithering like a venomous snake across his hand, growing continuously, like a plague, dyeing his normal, bluish veins red, bit by bit.

It seemed that the moment it continued to grow and broke through the flesh would be the moment of Zhang Qijun’s death.

After confirming that he was merely injured and not about to die immediately, Shizong grabbed a bucket of cold water and poured it over his head.

Zhang Qijun, half-conscious, shivered violently from the cold and immediately widened his eyes to look at Shizong and He Zhen beside him. “Y-You guys…”

“Actually, you’re not stupid. At least in the maze, you did reasonably well. But in certain ways, you have a blockhead. Of course, maybe it’s just because you’re trapped in the situation, so you can’t see clearly.”

Shizong stepped forward, bent down, grabbed Zhang Qijun by the collar, and yanked his upper body out of the bathtub with a splash.

“I’ll ask you. Revengeful, skilled with your hands, anyone who tries to kill me, I will kill… why did you think I was that kind of person? Was it your master instilling this in you?

“Your master discussed me in a meeting with the other members of the Dingjun Mountain Guild, analyzed me?”

Zhang Qijun swallowed but didn’t answer, though it seemed he tacitly agreed.

Shizong continued, “Since he thinks I’m vengeful and strong in the game, why would he believe you could kill me with just some scattered dungeon intel? In his mind, he should know your chances are slim.

“Furthermore, since he thinks I’m vengeful and would kill anyone who tried to kill me, and he knows your chances are low, why would he still make you do it?

“Zhang Qijun, the logic behind this is simple—

“Your master didn’t really want to kill me; he wanted to kill you.

“He was even so hypocritical that he didn’t dare to kill you himself, and foolishly hoped to use my hands.”

Zhang Qijun froze.

His pupils dilated, and his face turned completely pale.

He seemed to have forgotten even how to think, only murmuring repeatedly to himself: “No… no… if he wanted my life, he could have just told me.

“He could have just told me…”

“Really? You’re so willing to dedicate yourself to him, does he know?”

Shizong’s tone carried mockery. “He probably doesn’t know. He only saw you on stage. That peerless, dazzling you… even outshining him.”

“No… no… no…”

“Zhang Qijun. Here’s a truth for you. Blindly begging for someone’s pity is useless. You’ll only earn their contempt, or even their disregard.”

Shizong forcefully pushed Zhang Qijun back into the bathtub, poured another bucket of cold water over his head, then leaned close and stared into his eyes, speaking in a low voice:

“What your master wants most, you must obtain first. Then he will beg you. The one who is high above and able to grant favors will be you.

“You should be the one in control. You should make what your master dreams of be within your reach, something you can even bestow upon him.

“Your silent effort and dedication, a person like him cannot see.

“So you need to stand above, and make him the one begging you.

“You may not understand what I’m saying yet, that’s fine. But at least survive first.

“Only by surviving can you find a chance to see whether what I just said is right, isn’t it?

“Do you want to leave the dungeon with me and see for yourself—

“Whether the master you’ve cherished so much is secretly wishing you were dead?”

After asking, Shizong waited a full three minutes for Zhang Qijun.

Three minutes later, some color returned to Zhang Qijun’s face, and he stood up from the bathtub.

Shizong glanced at the red line on the back of his left hand, about to burst, and said lightly, “Good, not beyond saving yet. Now you can proceed with the red-line storyline.

“Then you need to tell me, what is your red-line storyline and the story you’ve been hiding?”

Author’s note:

As a child, just flirt with him…