Chapter 46

Chapter 45: Mountains and Seas (End)

The roars of the monsters echoed through the first-floor hall of the castle, hoarse and eerie, yet unmistakably filled with greed and impatience.

Every note they uttered expressed their craving for human flesh.

Amid these sounds, Shizong watched He Zhen turn around expressionlessly in front of him, pick up the key, and unlock the door that seemed as thin as cicada wings yet had kept countless monsters at bay.

At that moment, Shizong’s mind flashed back to his first encounter with “Li Simei” at the Zhang family pharmacy; He Zhen’s unwavering refusal was still vivid in his memory.

Not only that, but the oppressive feeling from the recent labyrinth, when He Zhen in invisibility wielded the King of Hell’s Whip to chase him through the endless maze, was still fresh.

The He Zhen who wanted to send him to death.

The He Zhen he was supposed to hide behind.

Which one was real?

Shizong eyed the back of He Zhen’s head suspiciously but, without comment, casually followed him.

—Let’s see if he still wants to kill me this time.

He Zhen walked at the front, Shizong followed behind.

Trailing them was Zhu Shuangqiao, the twin brother of Zhu Shuangyun.

Then came Zhou Lü and Zhang Qijun.

At the final moment of the countdown, Zuo Sanqiu bit his teeth, steeled his heart, and followed as well.

The instant they left the castle, they were surrounded by various monsters.

In the dim, damp, and shadowy environment, the players couldn’t truly see the monsters clearly, only catching glimpses of red eyes, floating tongues, or terrifying claws…

Hearing their drooling, combined with imagination, made the players shiver all over, their scalps tingling.

Unexpectedly, although the monsters seemed eager, they didn’t immediately attack the players. Instead, they raised their hands, heads, or tails, all pointing in one direction.

The players realized they were being guided.

Pushed forward by the monsters, the players gradually scattered, being led in different directions.

He Zhen kept looking back at Shizong. The two stayed close together, still sticking together for now.

They were led by the monsters to an altar-like place.

Two creatures were eating people on the altar.

Seeing the monsters bowing and groveling to the creatures, Shizong understood—they were being offered to them.

The two creatures on the altar were one fat, one thin.

The fat one was swollen all over, with skin like a large goldfish and round eyes. Its belly was enormous, probably from eating too many people, already bloated.

Yet several people stood before it. It seemed ready to continue feasting.

Those people trembled violently, but restrained by the monsters, they could not escape.

They seemed resigned—the only difference was who would eat them and how.

The fat one ate quickly, its long tongue sweeping people into its belly like a whirlwind.

The thin one was different.

It resembled a human more than the others, with hands and feet, but the whole body was extremely elongated.

Its skin clung like tree bark, veins exposed, like an ancient tree spirit.

Compared to the fat one’s whirlwind method, the thin one’s way of eating was more elaborate.

It dug a pit, lit a fire in it, and set wooden stakes across a long pole. People were tied to the pole to be slowly roasted.

While the fat one had eaten three people, the thin one continued turning the pole, sprinkling some seasoning.

The person’s crying carried faintly with the wind; he was clearly still alive.

When the thin one pulled out a knife to gouge his eyes for a separate dish, the crying turned into screams of terror.

Its method of eating was a prolonged torture, an extremely cruel ordeal.

Watching this, Shizong frowned lightly.

Feeding oneself to the monsters—that was the solution he inferred from the scenario.

From the moment the director began seclusion, it hinted that the protagonist’s goal was to escape the Six Realms.

Later, what Liang Yuyan from the Celestial Path said confirmed it—

Whether Liang Yuyan or Cen Qianshan, they wanted to leave the Six Realms.

According to the scenario, the true way to leave the Six Realms was to complete this final castle trial. If these two, Mountains and Seas, let go of their love-hate entanglements and all murderous intent, they could achieve Buddhahood.

Feeding themselves to the monstrous creatures proved they understood true sacrifice and devotion—this was their final step before enlightenment.

Otherwise, attempting to enjoy Mount Sumeru would only fall into Boshun’s next trap.

Shizong made this choice because the scenario demanded it.

But he himself disagreed.

Looking at He Zhen beside him, Shizong said, “Buddhas sacrificing their bodies to do this—can it really redeem demons? These demons have never been enlightened; they were born evil, knowing nothing, with no pure goodness in their hearts. I think it’s useless.”

Recalling the whip strikes and those almost-real memories, Shizong gazed at He Zhen thoughtfully and asked with interest, “What about you?”

“What about me?” He Zhen asked.

“If you were some… great compassionate Buddha, would you sacrifice yourself to feed a demon? Do you really think a demon can be saved? Would you let it eat your flesh, drink your blood to save it?”

“Maybe I would. Depends on the situation. What if some demons aren’t born evil?”

The light was dim, strange plants densely covered the sky, the air was damp and foul, monsters drooled, and nearby one could hear people being eaten and roasted.

In this strange space-time, Shizong and He Zhen stood quietly facing each other.

After a while, He Zhen said, “Boshun struggled against the Buddha for so long, but after nearly endless years, he still became enlightened.

“Shakyamuni said that Boshun already had the seed of Buddhahood in his heart; he just didn’t know it.”

Shizong observed He Zhen’s expression. Just as he was about to speak, a slender, bark-like hand suddenly appeared.

It was the thin creature’s hand!

Shizong glanced and saw the thin one setting up another “stove,” about to roast someone.

“Hehe, that one won’t be done soon, I’ll roast another, perfect!”

The thin one reached toward Shizong, evidently targeting him to eat first.

But just as the hand was about to touch Shizong’s shoulder, He Zhen pushed him away.

Stepping closer to the thin one, He Zhen said calmly, “I’ll handle this.”

The next moment, Shizong was chosen by the fat one.

It came over to the thin one and said, “Hey, one from Hell, one from the Human Realm… I know, the Hell one is weak from suffering, you want the stronger one.

“But sorry, I want this one first!”

“Hehe,” laughed the fat one at Shizong. “The old monster’s method of eating people is torturous. Better for me to eat you, no pain!”

Engulfed in the fat one’s belly, losing consciousness, the last thing Shizong saw was He Zhen tied on the fire.

Darkness, then light.

Time passed. Shizong felt his soul detach from his body, floating midair.

This was a hellish world, countless starving monsters struggling to survive.

A beam of golden light pierced the thick clouds, bringing supreme illumination. Shizong vaguely saw many versions of himself rising from different grounds, converging into a giant humanoid figure.

Finally, the figure stepped into the golden light and ascended.

The light dimmed, as if about to leave this world.

Before that, a huge hand appeared from the light, palm open toward Shizong.

It resembled the hand of the Buddha.

Shizong felt an invisible force pulling him toward it. He stood in the Buddha’s palm, where a badge lay quietly.

[Congratulations to player Shizong, you have obtained a “Night” type Knight Emblem]

Before being transported out of the scenario, Shizong, standing in the Buddha’s palm, shared its vision, seeing another scene—

Under the Bodhi tree was a Go board.

Black and white stones clashed, and a Buddha and a demon sat on opposite sides.

Suddenly, the demon stretched out its hand, missing two fingers.

After a while, two skeletons crawled over, turning into fingers, returning to the demon’s hand.

The demon became furious, knocking over the board as he rose.

He glared at the Buddha. “I won’t always lose! Cen Qianshan and Liang Yuyan passed the test and became your followers, so what?

“The next potential disciple will be all mine!

“One day, even you will kneel before me! I want you, Buddha, to kneel, willingly worshiping me!”

The Buddha sat cross-legged, unmoved, looking at him with compassion, speaking softly: “Wait. You will come to embrace me.”

Shizong returned to the Hide-and-Seek Inn.

Ignoring the constant notifications of points and rewards from the system, he quickly checked the time—still Saturday night, 9:17.

He had spent an extremely long time

Shizong couldn’t help but think that maybe the old lady had been telling the truth.

He was missing part of his soul, leaving his body weak; going through a dungeon could even give him a high fever.

Noticing Shizong’s condition, Zuo Sanqiu quickly gave him a hot water bag to put in the bed and helped him take his temperature: 38.9°C.

He hurriedly got fever medicine for Shizong. After he took it, Zuo Sanqiu shook his head while staring at him. “How are you taking a bath while running a fever? You’re so easy to catch a chill. And why is your body so weak?”

Shizong: “……”

Annoyed by the nagging, Shizong put down his phone and snuggled into the blanket, signaling he wanted to sleep and telling Zuo Sanqiu to leave.

But Zuo Sanqiu wasn’t at ease; he sat beside him with his laptop, planning to reconcile the inn’s accounts while keeping an eye on Shizong.

Shizong asked him, “Why didn’t I notice before that you have so much energy?”

Zuo Sanqiu yawned. “I’m still a bit tired. But I have to reconcile the accounts; it’s almost time to report to the tax office. By the way, who used to do these things for you?”

Seeing Shizong ignoring him, Zuo Sanqiu stared at the ceiling, not knowing what he was thinking.

After a while, Zuo Sanqiu temporarily finished his tasks and noticed Shizong still deep in thought. He couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, what are you thinking about? Anything you can say that I could help relieve your worries?”

“And then you’d use that as an excuse to ask for a raise?”

“Hehehe… you understand, that’s enough.”

Shizong gave Zuo Sanqiu an amused glance, then spoke. “It’s rare to meet someone I can’t figure out. His actions contradict each other; no matter how I think about them, forwards or backwards, I can’t come up with a reasonable logic to explain his behavior.”

Zuo Sanqiu asked curiously, “Who is it?”

Shizong: “No one.”

Zuo Sanqiu touched his nose in frustration, closed the laptop, and said, “There’s logic even you can’t understand?”

“Mm.” Shizong responded dismissively.

He shouldn’t expect Zuo Sanqiu to analyze anything.

Yet Zuo Sanqiu said something unexpectedly insightful—

“You can’t understand his logic, you think he’s contradictory, so you can’t stop pondering him.

“Could it be that ‘you pondering him’ is exactly why he behaves that way?

“Hmm, maybe he deliberately did confusing things just to make you think about him? He wants to get your attention!”

Shizong: “…………”

At first, Shizong thought Zuo Sanqiu was talking nonsense.

But thinking carefully, it wasn’t entirely illogical.

If he followed this line of thought, and He Zhen already knew him…

Back at the Zhang family pharmacy in Longevity Town, he knew I could defy fate on my own, so he deliberately refused my help—not coldly sending me to die, but just… to get my attention?

He wanted me to think he was cold-hearted, make me think he was like me?

But he couldn’t maintain this act forever.

So in the mini-game behind the castle’s third door, he couldn’t help giving me a lecture and speaking of principles.

That was part of his true self.

And that lecturing manner was something I really disliked…

He didn’t want to make me dislike him, so he restrained himself normally?

Was he pretending?

Or perhaps, if we don’t hastily conclude, as Zuo Sanqiu suggested, that “he wants my attention,” then maybe… he knew me before, we had some past, and he wanted to prevent me from recognizing him too quickly, so he disguised part of his personality?

Then in that recent game, when he took the suffering on himself, how should that be understood?

Was that his nature or his disguise?

Besides, there was still one thing Shizong hadn’t figured out.

Logically, He Zhen, before entering the Mountains and Seas dungeon, should have bought a clue-searching item card from the shop. After all, he didn’t lack points.

If he had bought it, he would have had both supreme weapons in his hands, and could have led the “Sea” faction to certain victory.

So why didn’t he?

Where did he spend his points?

Eventually, Shizong stopped pondering, kicked Zuo Sanqiu out of the bedroom, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Soon, the door was knocked again.

Zuo Sanqiu’s loud voice came through. “Boss, just now He Zhen called me. He said after leaving the game, he had to handle some family matters and missed Zhou Lü’s call, so he just found out that players leaving the dungeon might feel unwell…

“Cough, he asked about you, and I casually said you had a fever. He said he wants to come see you, so…”

“I have a headache. Don’t let anyone in.”

Shizong thought for a moment, adding something to pinch Zuo Sanqiu’s heart, “Or I’ll deduct your pay.”

Shizong gradually fell asleep.

But he still felt very uncomfortable, his head heavy. Even when someone entered the room, constantly replacing the wet towel on his forehead, he didn’t even open his eyes.

His dreams were fragmented and strange.

He dreamt of collapsing on a bed in a room both familiar and unfamiliar; the light from the window was an eerie dark red, as if he were in another world.

He seemed to have a worse fever than now, likely just after a terrible punishment, writhing in pain even while unconscious.

At that time, someone placed a cold towel on his scorching forehead, tucked him in, and sighed.

“If only you’d listen once in a while.

“But sometimes I think… if you really did, you wouldn’t be yourself anymore.”

Who was that person?

What did their face look like?

Thinking this, as the hand left his forehead, Shizong quickly grabbed the wrist, pulling the person closer.

He struggled to open his eyes to see the face clearly.

But he couldn’t; he was ensnared by a nightmare, unable to open his eyes.

He could only hold the wrist and fall back asleep.

Until the nightmare faded and his forehead cooled, Shizong finally opened his eyes, seeing He Zhen sitting by the bed, his wrist held by Shizong, with faintly dark circles under his eyes.

The sky was bright.

He Zhen seemed to have stayed here all night.

But he was just 18, in excellent health; even after the dungeon and staying up all night, his complexion looked fine, his appearance still striking, only the eyes slightly darkened.

Shizong’s fever had subsided, he regained some strength, and upon realizing he was holding He Zhen’s wrist, he showed no extra expression, nor let go, just stared.

He Zhen finally spoke, “Feeling better? Want some water?”

Shizong didn’t answer, suddenly pulled He Zhen toward him.

He Zhen, caught off guard, nearly fell onto Shizong, but managed to stabilize himself with the other hand against Shizong’s ear.

Even so, the distance between them was uncomfortably close.

He Zhen instinctively said, “You…”

But the next moment he couldn’t speak.

Shizong turned his head, lips almost touching He Zhen’s earlobe.

Scanning him up and down, Shizong saw his reaction, then whispered, “Zuo Sanqiu is nice to me because he wants me to pay him. You?

“He Zhen, what do you want by being like this to me?”

He Zhen remained silent for a full three minutes.

After three minutes, He Zhen pushed Shizong’s hand back under the blanket, tucked him in, and looked him in the eyes. “I don’t want anything from you. Your view on many things is too one-sided.

“For example, I don’t think Zuo Sanqiu took care of you while sick just for money. He’s a good person; even when his own living expenses are tight, he donates often. He does it because he considers you a friend.”

Shizong sat up, lifting his chin to look at He Zhen.

“So, do you consider me a friend, or are you just doing a good deed?”

Before He Zhen could answer, he asked again, “After the last dungeon, what did you spend your points on? Changing characters, dungeon items?

“Each dungeon shop may show different items, so you bought what you thought might be useful, to save for next time?

“If you didn’t buy these two items, what would you buy? A pairing card? If you did, who would you team up with for the next dungeon?

“Do you plan to go into a dungeon with me, your ‘friend’?”

After about a minute of silence, He Zhen replied, “Your voice is hoarse from the fever, and you have so many questions? Stay put. I’ll get you water and breakfast.”

Hearing that, Shizong raised an