Qian Shengke lay on that bed, an eerie kind of harmony surrounding him. He was sleeping deeply, peacefully, so serene that he looked like an infant, quiet and tranquil.
Qian Jinye wanted to rush forward and wake him but it was as if an invisible wall stood in his way. No matter what he did, he simply couldn’t get through.
“Damn it, what’s going on? Lu Xiao, you try it. It’s like there’s a wall here, I can’t get past it at all.”
Lu Xiao wasn’t as agitated as he was. Instead of charging forward, he first carefully observed their surroundings, making sure there was no immediate danger. Only after confirming that did he step closer.
He reached out and touched the spot Qian Jinye had indicated. Sure enough, there was clearly nothing there yet he couldn’t pass through it either.
If he were to describe it using the terms from the games he used to play, this would be called an “invisible wall.” There was no visible obstacle yet it was impossible to move forward. What lay before them was air and yet it was also a wall.
The person lying in the crib was clearly right there, within arm’s reach yet they couldn’t touch him, couldn’t reach him no matter how hard they tried. Lu Xiao’s expression darkened.
A setup like this made everything feel profoundly unreal, as though they were participating in some massive, immersive holographic game.
But the pain they had experienced along the way was far too vivid, far too real.
This couldn’t possibly be just a game.
They were living, breathing people, only they had been reduced to toys in something else’s hands.
Why? Even if humans were insignificant, did that mean they could be toyed with like this? Humans once stood so high above, able to crush an ant beneath their feet without a second thought and now, in this situation, they themselves were that very ant.
Helplessness, unease, fear, there was even doubt. Was this its goal all along? Lu Xiao didn’t dare think too deeply. The most urgent matter was figuring out how to get past this invisible wall and wake Qian Shengke first.
“Brother, how did Brother Shengke get in there? Do you have any ideas?”
Qian Jinye, already at his wits’ end, glanced at Lu Xiao and thought for a moment. Surprisingly, something really did come to mind.
“I do. He said he came at night but he must have been staying at home early on. He was just stubborn, insisted on waiting until the guests left before coming out. Judging by his state, he should have come to the master bedroom and seen Father and also… little sister.”
The two brothers shared the same level of disgust toward their father yet out of an instinctive respect for the man who had raised them, they couldn’t truly let go of him. Even someone so despicable had once shown the side of a loving father.
At least toward the two of them, this father had fulfilled his responsibilities without fail.
“Going straight won’t work. Let’s head further inside first. Brother, do you still recognize this room?”
The Qian family’s master bedroom was enormous and its layout was nothing like that of an ordinary room. No matter how large a normal room was, it usually only accommodated eating and writing. This one was different, twisting and turning, with winding paths like a maze.
From Lu Xiao’s past learning experiences, he could tell that something had definitely been done to this room. Humans couldn’t have come up with such a design. It was too strange. Staying here for a single day would already be unbearable. Living long term in an environment like this was absolutely impossible.
Take the room’s orientation, for example. Not a single ray of sunlight could reach it. In winter, it would certainly be damp and cold, likely attracting crawling insects as well. Now that it was night, it didn’t look much different from the other rooms but once daylight came, the wrongness of this place would be immediately obvious.
This was absolutely not a room meant for people to live in.
“It seems familiar… but not quite like how I remember it. I recall that when I came here a couple of days ago, the passageways were wider than this.”
That Qian Jinye could only notice that the corridors had narrowed made Lu Xiao feel a chill crawl up his spine. How many people’s memories have been altered already? This scene clearly shouldn’t exist. Who in the world would set up narrow, single plank bridge like paths inside their own room?
“Mm. Then let’s go. Brother, give me your hand.”
Who knew what lay ahead? Holding onto the person beside him was the most important thing. Qian Jinye hesitated and glanced once more at Qian Shengke. Still unwilling to give up, he slammed into the invisible wall a few more times but to no avail.
Left with no choice, he handed his hand to Lu Xiao and stepped into the dark, shadowy passage ahead.
Lu Xiao didn’t have much in the way of self defense. If one insisted on naming something, it was simply that he was more resistant to pain now. Qian Jinye, on the other hand, was stronger than the average person but even so, protecting Lu Xiao was no easy task.
Tossing a dagger to Lu Xiao, Qian Jinye moved ahead of him. If anything appeared, he could deal with it immediately.
Looking at the dagger in his hand, Lu Xiao wasn’t surprised. It had been crafted from materials unique to the Qian household. Although he detested such things, he had to admit that weapons made from them were incredibly sharp, able to cut through iron like mud.
“Stay close, Lu Xiao. I have a feeling something is waiting for us ahead. If you fall behind, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
He didn’t need to say it. Lu Xiao already knew there was nothing good ahead. It was a pit waiting for them to jump into and they had no choice but to jump. That was the troubling part. Knowing full well there was a tiger on the mountain yet still choosing to head straight for it.
“Lower your head!”
Lu Xiao ducked instantly, nearly pressing himself flat against the ground. Even so, a powerful sense of oppression lingered above him. Something flew past over his head.
“Close your eyes!”
Lu Xiao shut his eyes again. Immediately afterward, he heard the clash of blades. Qian Jinye must have been fighting those monsters. From the sound of it, he seemed to be at a disadvantage. Telling Lu Xiao to close his eyes meant only one thing,
He was going to use the Black Pearl.
Sure enough, Lu Xiao heard the sound of a flint being struck. The surrounding air instantly dropped several degrees. The pearl was burning, absorbing the heat from its surroundings. It was clearly a flame yet it was eerily cold.
Qian Jinye grabbed Lu Xiao’s hand and sprinted forward. Lu Xiao heard the shrill cries of birds. He couldn’t help thinking of the roosters in the stable. The look in those chickens’ eyes had always unsettled him.
At least now, his instincts told him that the creatures flying above his head were creations much like those chickens from the stable.
Neither of them spoke. They just ran forward relentlessly. Lu Xiao had no idea how long they ran before the grip on his hand finally loosened. Qian Jinye stopped. Lu Xiao didn’t know what was happening, whether he should open his eyes or keep them shut. He asked tentatively,
“Brother? What’s wrong?”
“Mm, I’m here. You can open your eyes now. We’ll need you to take a look and see what the hell is going on in this place.”
Hearing that, Lu Xiao opened his eyes. Qian Jinye’s eyes had taken on a faintly blood red hue again. Lu Xiao didn’t dare imagine what Qian Jinye had done while his eyes were closed. Looking at Qian Jinye’s hand, it seemed slightly burned.
“What happened to your hand?”
“It’s nothing. Those birds kept flying around just now. I had no choice but to hold the Black Pearl in my hand while it burned. I’ll just apply some powder later, it’s fine.”
How could it possibly be fine? The first time Lu Xiao had seen the Black Pearl burn, he had almost lost his sanity. Qian Jinye was swaying unsteadily now. One look was enough to tell that he had barely resisted its temptation.
His teeth were chattering. Burning a single Black Pearl had nearly drained all the heat from his body. Lu Xiao pulled him into his arms to warm him, then surveyed their surroundings.
Something was wrong, very wrong. Qian Jinye had clearly dragged Lu Xiao forward for such a long time just now, so why did the scene before them look exactly the same as it had before Lu Xiao closed his eyes?
A ghostly loop? It didn’t seem like it. Even a ghostly loop would have intersections but they had never encountered any. Could this corridor truly be endless? That didn’t seem possible either. It wouldn’t have had the time or energy to prepare so much just to toy with them, not to that extent.
Then there was only one possible explanation left.
This corridor was alive.
Like the clam shell mouse, like that horse, it was its child.
That horse had clearly been something Lu Xiao and the others couldn’t handle. Their bad luck had brought them face to face with it, triggering a spatial disturbance. As for the clam shell mouse, being a newly born creation, it had been strangled in its cradle before it ever had the chance to grow.
This corridor was probably the same, new, fresh. At the very least, Qian Jinye had never seen it before. Qian Shengke collapsing outside was likely the result of falling victim to this corridor’s trickery.
What was it thinking?
It was probably waiting for them to lose their sense of direction, to sink into despair, to begin hallucinating. The more fear they felt, the more concrete its form would become. It had always been there, believe in it and it would only grow clearer, more real.
Lu Xiao carefully wiped the pearl powder onto Qian Jinye. The flock that had swooped down earlier had come far too quickly, leaving them no time to evade. Otherwise, there would have been no need to burn a black pearl and it had left Qian Jinye in such terrible condition.
They both knew this well, the worse their condition became, the more openings it would have to exploit.
“Take a deep breath. Your state isn’t right,” Lu Xiao said softly. “Adjust yourself. This corridor is probably a living thing. Brother Qian has already fallen into its hands. We’re not in a rush. Let’s take it slow.”
Qian Jinye leaned against Lu Xiao. His gaze gradually lost focus, then suddenly snapped back into clarity. His molars ground together until they ached and a thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead. He looked as though he were suffering intensely.
Suddenly, he grabbed the dagger from Lu Xiao’s embrace and drove it viciously into his own left hand.
The blade pierced straight through.
Just watching made Lu Xiao feel pain. Qian Jinye sucked in a sharp breath, tears welling up in his eyes from the agony yet the crimson hue in his gaze faded noticeably, it seemed he had regained his clarity.
“What are you doing?” Lu Xiao scolded, his voice sharp despite himself. “We’re not required to get out right this second. Won’t this affect how you perform later?”
Though his words were reproachful, his hands didn’t stop moving. He spread pearl powder over Qian Jinye’s wound. Qian Jinye relied far too heavily on the powder’s effects, though it was true that once applied, the wound healed at a visibly rapid pace.
The wound could heal but the pain and itching that accompanied the process would not lessen in the slightest. Accelerated healing only meant that everything was intensified. It felt as though countless ants were crawling over Qian Jinye’s hand, itching, burning, aching all at once. Heat radiated from the wound.
“It’s a minor injury. A little powder will take care of it,” Qian Jinye said hoarsely. “You’re smart, you should be able to tell. In my family, the one thing most forbidden is losing one’s sanity. If pain helps me stay clear headed, then this little injury doesn’t matter.”
A drop in sanity would directly strengthen the creations they encountered. The more fear and panic they felt, the higher the mortality rate. Madness, collapse, at the extreme, the weapons meant to protect them might be turned on their own teammates.
Bang!
A massive hole burst open in the corridor. It let out a shrill, agonized scream that made Lu Xiao and Qian Jinye jump in shock. Both of them clapped their hands over their ears, the sound was unbearably piercing.
From within the hole, a tentacle slowly crawled out. Then, a pair of enormous, terrifying eyes emerged.
They were eyes, both of them recognized instantly.
Goat like eyes, slowly rotating in reverse.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
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ChaptersChapter 1 · The beginning of the tragedyChapter 2 · Don’t forgetChapter 3 · Look at it directlyChapter 4 · Whom are you trying to seduce?Chapter 5 · TeaseChapter 6 · Sleeping in the same bedChapter 7 · Internal locksChapter 8 · Tampering The rules…Chapter 9 · Black LotusChapter 10 · FledglingChapter 11 · There are no horses in the stable.Chapter 12 · Water-oil separationChapter 13 · The cost of backtrackingChapter 14 · It got biggerChapter 15 · Was it a mouse?Chapter 16 · Too fieryChapter 17 · Administer medicineChapter 18 · Tracing the PearlChapter 19 · A KissChapter 20 · Ge, Kiss meChapter 21 · Ten Thousand Deaths Without RegretChapter 22 · Endless CorridorChapter 23 · CowardChapter 24 · GoodbyeChapter 25 · Back toChapter 26 · It’s is me, Not MeChapter 27 · VictimChapter 28 · Crossed CupsChapter 29 · IntuitionChapter 30 · ChangeChapter 31 · DifferentChapter 32 · ErrorChapter 33 · Mind Your Own BusinessChapter 34 · WanderingChapter 35 · EmbraceChapter 36 · LoveChapter 37 · UnrestrainedChapter 38 · Asking Over a DrinkChapter 39 · As BeforeChapter 40 · SatiatedChapter 41 · A Change in the WindsChapter 42 · A’SuChapter 43 · Welcoming the BrideChapter 44 · GossipChapter 45 · WeaknessChapter 46 · Wedding NightChapter 47 · Brother QingChapter 48 · FadingChapter 49 · Lying LowChapter 50 · CaressChapter 51 · OnceChapter 52 · The Hidden PassageChapter 53 · MotherChapter 54 · FlawlessChapter 55 · ProphecyChapter 56 · EtherealChapter 57 · DecipheringChapter 58 · The TrapChapter 59 · Stone StatueChapter 60 · ChessChapter 61 · AssassinsChapter 62 · The National Preceptor?Chapter 63 · Please return my belongings to me.Chapter 64 · I’m not that desperate.Chapter 65 · No wayChapter 66 · No turning backChapter 67 · I told you, get out of the wayChapter 68 · Still became a monsterChapter 69 · Let’s end thisChapter 70 · Why do you look so much like him?Chapter 71 · One wanted to kill, two stopped himChapter 72 · Unless, the people at Mingzhu Academy are keeping it from himChapter 73 · FraudChapter 74 · Don’t look back, Lu XiaoChapter 75 · It’s coldChapter 76 · Kill MeChapter 77 · We are even marriedChapter 78 · Gege… I Love YouChapter 79 · “It” had arrivedChapter 80 · Wake Up!Chapter 81 · How Nostalgic….Chapter 82 · You already Promised meChapter 83 · Their TerritoryChapter 84 · Jokes were JokesChapter 85 · What you dream was realChapter 86 · Did you cry?Chapter 87 · What’s wrong, young Master?Chapter 88 · No, I only ever said it to youChapter 89 · Honey, Please let me go.Chapter 90 · What are you pretending to be, a gentleman?Chapter 91 · It’s just a shoddy trick to fool people, but I like it anywayChapter 92 · Ge, I did it voluntarily, it’s no useChapter 93 · You little BratChapter 94 · Gege~ please have mercyChapter 95 · Hearing Lu Xiao come in, he patted the seat next to himChapter 96 · Stop fooling around, let me kiss youChapter 97 · “I want…” “Want what?”Chapter 98 · Gege, watch closely how I get youChapter 99 · Little Eleven, how about we talk to ‘it’ first?Chapter 100 · Had it gone mad?Chapter 101 · I will make my decisionChapter 102 · Tsk, how indecentChapter 103 · You are the creator of my original worldChapter 104 · The world is not your toy, go back to where you came fromChapter 105 · He was a boy with snow-white hair and a handsome faceChapter 106 · Haven’t seen you for a long timeChapter 107 · TYRBL Extra: 1Chapter 108 · TYRBL Extra: 2Chapter 109 · TYRBL Extra: 3Chapter 110 · TYRBL Extra: 4