By dawn, the snow had stopped falling.
The world outside the window, silent and lifeless through the night, was slowly stirring awake to the faint sounds of human activity.
Ye Yuzhi felt as though he had just crawled out of a nightmare. His head throbbed faintly, and the hand that had fired a gun the night before ached with a dull soreness. He lay there for a long time, staring blankly at the ceiling.
It took him a while to gather his scattered thoughts. And when he finally did, his first clear thought was, so, it wasn’t just a dream after all?
No. It had been real. Every bit of it. That strange, distorted game he’d been dragged into, none of it was an illusion.
Then… Did everything from last night really happen too?
He wasn’t sure. When he tried to recall it, he remembered how calm and rational he had been, how he’d known exactly what he was doing. Yet now, all that remained was the memory of that clarity.
The thoughts that had driven him to act so recklessly were gone, as though someone had wiped them clean.
And the things he had said before losing consciousness… Why had he said them? Was it fear?
Then there was the gun.
Ye Yuzhi suddenly sat up, his mind snapping into focus. He had fired a shot last night, and had even shattered a window. How on earth was he supposed to explain that to the innkeeper later?
What a headache. Just imagining the trouble made him wish he really were mute, so he wouldn’t have to explain anything at all.
He sighed gloomily. If only he had kept his mouth shut from the very beginning…
Still sulking, he sat up and lazily stretched, planning to clean up the broken glass. But halfway through the movement, he froze.
Three people were sitting by the window, quietly watching him.
Ye Yuzhi: …
His barely awakened mind short-circuited again. He remained frozen mid-stretch, arms raised awkwardly like a startled cat caught mid-yawn, staring blankly at the trio.
Du Yun quickly covered her mouth, shoulders trembling as if she were holding back laughter. Jiang Xing awkwardly turned away, pretending to study the wall. Only Xia Jienan smiled, his expression gentle and bright, like winter sunlight.
“Good morning, Mr. Shawn.”
“…Good morning,” Ye Yuzhi replied stiffly.
It was only after speaking that he realized how ridiculous he must look. He lowered his arms, cleared his throat, and tried to regain his composure. “Why are you in my room?”
“Actually, this is our room, Mr. Shawn,” Xia Jienan said, standing up and walking over. He sat casually on the edge of the bed, his tone warm and considerate. “You fainted last night. We were worried something might happen if you stayed alone, so we brought you here.”
And let you have the only bed, he added silently.
Ye Yuzhi’s ears flushed red. He made a small, awkward sound. “Oh… sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Xia Jienan said easily. “But what about you? Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
Still trapped in embarrassment, Ye Yuzhi only shook his head.
Xia Jienan watched him for a moment, then sighed softly. “It feels like Mr. Shawn is hiding quite a few secrets.”
The words made Ye Yuzhi’s heart jolt, though his expression didn’t change. After a pause, he gave a vague hum in response.
He really did have secrets, plenty of them. Not just the one about summoning an evil god, but others tangled deep within his past. Yet Xia Jienan’s words struck a chord. If he didn’t know the method of summoning, and his body itself held so many unanswered mysteries… could the two be connected?
He sifted through his memories, frowning slightly. Meanwhile, Xia Jienan studied him thoughtfully, thinking how unusually forthright this NPC was being today.
“Would you mind telling us?” Xia Jienan continued. “We did act rather impulsively last night. If someone dangerous is watching you, that person might already have noticed us as well.”
He looked mildly troubled. “For our safety, at least tell us who ‘those people’ are.”
Ye Yuzhi thought for a moment, then gave the most reasonable answer he could. “It should be Anthony.”
“The master of the Anthony Manor?” Xia Jienan asked in surprise.
Right, the manor was also called Anthony. Ye Yuzhi remembered and shook his head. “No, Anthony Hospital.”
Anthony Hospital. A new lead.
Xia Jienan clasped one hand behind his back and gave Jiang Xing and Du Yun a subtle signal to remember the name. Then he asked, “The hospital belongs to the Anthony family too?”
Ye Yuzhi shook his head again. He wasn’t sure.
According to his backstory, when he was a child, his mother had “sold” him to that hospital. He suspected they had used him for drug experiments. The truth of his past must lie in what happened during his escape.
If he thought it through, his body back then must have been weak, frail enough that escaping alone would’ve been impossible unless… something had changed him.
He hesitated, then said quietly, “I want to investigate something.”
After another pause, he added, “Once I confirm it, I’ll share what I find. We can exchange information.”
Since they were all “outsiders” here, cooperation made sense.
“Of course,” Xia Jienan said with a faint smile.
That was exactly what they wanted.
In missions like this, there was always an important NPC who appeared midway to issue new objectives. The timing was a little late this time, but still within expectations.
And patience, after all, was a survival skill.
Since Ye Yuzhi needed to change, Xia Jienan, wary of Du Yun’s unpredictable nature, ushered the other two downstairs.
Ye Yuzhi exhaled quietly. The last thing he wanted was to dress under someone’s gaze.
Once the room was empty, he yawned, stretched again to make up for the earlier interruption, and sat on the bed to rub his sore arm. Then he got up to dress.
His right arm felt fine, but when he switched to the left, a sharp discomfort spread from his shoulder. It wasn’t the dull ache of overuse, it felt as if something had cut across his skin.
Startled, he turned his head. His shirt wasn’t torn, yet unease crept up his spine. He unbuttoned a few buttons and pulled the fabric aside.
Beneath the shirt, amid a few minor bruises he didn’t recall getting, was a fresh mark etched into his skin, thin, deliberate strokes, as if carved by a knife. It wasn’t bleeding, but it burned faintly.
He didn’t recognize the characters, yet a whisper echoed in his mind, reciting them softly, as though someone were chanting right beside his ear. Even so, he couldn’t understand their meaning.
Ye Yuzhi stared at the mark for a long time, then calmly buttoned his shirt again, pretending nothing had happened.
He had a few guesses, but without a deeper understanding of this “game,” he couldn’t be sure.
As if responding to his confusion, the faint sound of dice rolling echoed in his mind.
[Inspiration 40/70, Normal Success.]
A flood of memories crashed into him, memories that didn’t feel like his own, though he knew he was the one living them.
He saw himself from above, looking down at his own kneeling body. His hands were pressed to his chest, his posture one of worship and submission.
From that vantage point, Ye Yuzhi noticed for the first time how much “Sean Ye” resembled him. For a white man, his features were oddly foreign. No wonder that Samuel fellow had made those comments earlier.
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
Candlelight flickered over his own face, fervent and twisted with devotion. Goosebumps crawled down his skin.
“You are the source of fear, the flame of freedom. You are the one who shelters all who dwell in darkness…”
“Please heed the call of your faithful. Cast upon us your merciful gaze.”
“Great One… I offer myself to you.”
The sacred name blurred, lost to static.
Ye Yuzhi tried to focus, but the vision tore apart.
Dice rolled again. [Sanity Check 1/8.]
A crawling whisper slithered up his spine, cold and deranged. [90/80, Failure. 1d8=4, Sanity=48.]
He stood motionless for a long moment before his breathing steadied.
That chant, the words he’d used to summon the evil god.
Why had they appeared on his body? What did they mean?
“I offer myself to you.”
His expression darkened.
If summoning required self-sacrifice, then that ritual was absolutely out of the question. He would never go that far.
Still… even if he refused, others would try. The people from Anthony’s side certainly would.
When he finally left the inn for the library, Ye Yuzhi learned that Xia Jienan and the others had already taken care of the broken window.
He didn’t know what they had told the innkeeper, but judging by the man’s apologetic expression and his insistence on treating them all to a grand breakfast, Ye Yuzhi couldn’t help feeling a trace of awe for his “teammates.”
At least they were talented at twisting the truth when needed.
Grelero Town wasn’t large, so it didn’t take long to reach the library.
The building was small and old, its shelves crowded with books and piles of newspaper archives.
Jiang Xing and Du Yun said they would look through old newspapers. Ye Yuzhi had meant to help, but remembering how uneasy Du Yun made him, he decided to let them handle it and went to browse the local customs section instead.
Xia Jienan didn’t follow him. He stayed nearby, quietly watching what Ye Yuzhi chose to read. Dice rolls could resolve many things, yes, but information gathered through observation was always more reliable.
After what had happened earlier, Ye Yuzhi moved with more focus. His eyes skimmed over English titles with ease, oddly effortless, considering his supposed background.
After a few minutes, he stopped before a dark green book. The title gleamed faintly under the light: Ancient Rites of Worship.
Across the room, Du Yun and Jiang Xing finally succeeded on their library check. They spread out the newspapers they’d collected and called Xia Jienan over.
He cast one last glance at Ye Yuzhi’s chosen book before joining them.
The very first page of the first newspaper bore the headline they had been searching for:
[A Miracle of Medicine, The New Treatment Method from Anthony Hospital.]
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator has completed their quest. Please drop a tiny coffee at the quest reward chest.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Guerrero’s Lair (1)Chapter 2 · Guerrero’s Lair (2)Chapter 3 · Guerrero’s Lair (3)Chapter 4 · Guerrero’s Lair (4)Chapter 5 · Guerrero’s Lair (5)Chapter 6 · Guerrero’s Lair (6)Chapter 7 · Guerrero’s Lair (7)Chapter 8 · Guerrero’s Lair (8)Chapter 9 · Guerrero’s Lair (9)Chapter 10 · Guerrero’s Lair (10)Chapter 11 · Guerrero’s Lair (11)Chapter 12 · Guerrero’s Lair (12)Chapter 13 · Guerrero’s Lair (13)Chapter 14 · Guerrero’s Lair (14)Chapter 15 · Guerrero’s Lair (15)Chapter 16 · Guerrero’s Lair (16)Chapter 17 · Guerrero’s Lair (17)Chapter 18 · Guerrero’s Lair (18)Chapter 19 · Guerrero’s Lair (19)Chapter 20 · Guerrero’s Lair (20)Chapter 21 · Guerrero’s Lair (21)Chapter 22 · Guerrero’s Lair (22)Chapter 23 · Interlude (1)Chapter 24 · The interlude (2)Chapter 25 · The interlude (3)Chapter 26 Part 1 · Calling in the Wind (1)Chapter 26 Part 2 · Calling in the Wind (1)Chapter 27 · Calling in the Wind (2)Chapter 28 · Calling in the Wind (3)Chapter 29 · Calling in the Wind (4)Chapter 30 · Calling in the Wind (5)Chapter 31 · Calling in the Wind (6)Chapter 32 · Calling in the Wind (7)Chapter 33 · Calling in the Wind (8)Chapter 34 · Calling in the Wind (9)Chapter 35 · Calling in the Wind (10)Chapter 36 · Interlude (4)Chapter 37 · Interlude (5)Chapter 38 · Interlude (6)Chapter 39 · Interlude (7)Chapter 40 · Interlude (8)Chapter 41 · Interlude (9)Chapter 42 · Welcome to Doville (1)Chapter 43 · Welcome to Doville (2)Chapter 44 · Welcome to Doville (3)Chapter 45 · Welcome to Doville (4)Chapter 46 · Welcome to Doville (5)Chapter 47 · Welcome to Doville (6)Chapter 48 · Welcome to Doville (7)Chapter 49 · Welcome to Doville (8)Chapter 50 · Welcome to Doville (9)Chapter 51 · Welcome to Doville (10)Chapter 52 · Welcome to Doville (11)Chapter 53 · Welcome to Doville (12)Chapter 54 · Interlude (10)Chapter 55 · Interlude (11)Chapter 56 · Interlude (12)Chapter 57 · Interlude (13)Chapter 58 · Interlude (14)Chapter 59 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (1)Chapter 60 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (2)Chapter 61 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (3)Chapter 62 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (4)Chapter 63 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (5)Chapter 64 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (6)Chapter 65 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (7)Chapter 66 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (8)Chapter 67 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (9)Chapter 68 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (10)Chapter 69 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (11)Chapter 70 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (12)Chapter 71 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (13)Chapter 72 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (14)Chapter 73 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (15)Chapter 74 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (16)Chapter 75 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (17)Chapter 76 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (18)Chapter 77 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (19)Chapter 78 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (20)Chapter 79 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (21)Chapter 80 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (22)Chapter 81 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (23)Chapter 82 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (24)Chapter 83 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (25)Chapter 84 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (26)Chapter 85 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (27)Chapter 86 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (28)Chapter 87 · The Tunnel in the Dark Night (29)Chapter 88 · Tunnel in the Dark Night (30)Chapter 89 · Interlude (15)Chapter 90 · Interlude (16)Chapter 91 · Interlude (17)Chapter 92 · The Promise of Hamelin (1)Chapter 93 · The Promise of Hamelin (2)Chapter 94 · The Promise of Hamelin (3)Chapter 95 · The Promise of Hamelin (4)Chapter 96 · The Promise of Hamelin (5)Chapter 97 · The Promise of Hamelin (6)Chapter 98 · The Promise of Hamelin (7)Chapter 99 · The Promise of Hamelin (8)Chapter 100 · The Promise of Hamelin (9)Chapter 101 · The Promise of Hamelin (10)Chapter 102 · The Promise of Hamelin (11)Chapter 103 · The Promise of Hamelin (12)Chapter 104 · The Promise of Hamelin (13)Chapter 105 · The Promise of Hamelin (14)Chapter 106 · The Promise of Hamelin (15)Chapter 107 · The Promise of Hamelin (16)Chapter 109 · The Promise of Hamelin (18)Chapter 110 · The Promise of Hamelin (19)