The village chief and Liu Desheng suddenly erupted into action, launching a joint attack against the person ahead.
Liu Huirand reacted swiftly, instantly dodging out of the way while casually pulling along a still-dazed Liu Xizhao.
“Run, hurry!” he barked harshly.
Recovering his wits, Liu Xizhao scrambled away toward the foot of the mountain at top speed.
Holding off the two men, Liu Huirand remained entirely unfazed and kept his ground.
Watching the three figures grapple in close combat, Chi Ling momentarily didn’t know what to do. He had already guessed that the village chief and Liu Desheng would lose their minds.
Only, he wasn’t sure if he should step in to help Liu Huirand right now, nor how he should go about helping.
Chi Ling hadn’t forgotten his objective: “Find the source of the instance’s alienation and successfully sever it.”
Hesitating for just a split second, the situation changed in an instant.
For some unknown reason, Liu Huirand paused for a fraction of a second. In that exact second, he was jointly subdued by the village chief and Liu Desheng.
Chi Ling’s heart tightened. Staring fixedly at the movements of the village chief and Liu Desheng, he watched as they began striking Liu Huirand’s head, likely intending to knock him unconscious and strip away his mobility.
A fair number of cuts and bruises had already accumulated across the youth’s face and body, and blood spilled from the corner of his lips, yet he still refused to yield, fighting back with a stubborn defiance: “If I make it out of here, I will definitely call the police! I won’t let you guys off, and I won’t let this village off either!”
These words evidently enraged the two middle-aged men. Seizing the opportunity, the youth broke free from his constraints, and the three of them resumed their fierce grappling.
Right then, a gust of dark wind swept down from the mountain, tearing through the bamboo grove and kicking up a rustling wave of noise as fallen bamboo leaves blanketed the ground.
A dark shadow materialized before the three of them, and the village chief and Liu Desheng instantly passed out, collapsing onto the ground with dull thuds. The shadow closed in on Liu Huirand in a split second and clamped a hand around his neck.
The youth’s face flushed a deep red, veins bulging violently on his forehead as he tried to pry away the restriction on his neck with his hands, all to no avail.
He couldn’t wait any longer!
Chi Ling bought another item from the system store. This particular item was exceedingly expensive, and looking at his remaining single-digit point balance, his heartache intensified.
Comforting himself with the thought that completing the side mission would reward him with far more points, Chi Ling finally felt a bit better.
Enough, Chi Ling exhaled softly. Even though this item could only trap that dark shadow for two full minutes, it should still be enough for Liu Huirand to temporarily slip out of danger.
Darting to Liu Huirand’s side with his absolute fastest speed, he hurled the item forward with force.
Liu Huirand faintly twitched the corner of his lips. As the stranglehold around his neck vanished, a sudden drain of strength caused him to collapse backward onto the ground.
Chi Ling let out a breath of relief too. As long as the youth didn’t die, this plot point should be successfully altered.
As for the two individuals sprawled out on the ground, they fell completely outside Chi Ling’s planning scope; he even gave each of them a kick as he walked past.
Scumbags!
After cursing the two men, Chi Ling focused his close attention on Liu Huirand. Instead of preparing to run away, the youth took a few steps forward, picked a slightly cleaner spot, and sat down.
Sat down?
Run!
Why aren’t you running?!
Anxious out of his mind, Chi Ling practically wanted to drag him away by force.
Yet since the person involved wasn’t in a rush, no amount of anxiety on Chi Ling’s part mattered, leaving him no choice but to crouch down alongside him.
He had already cursed Liu Huirand ten thousand times over in his heart.
Damn it, time’s almost up.
Shooting Liu Huirand a fierce glare, Chi Ling felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
There goes another wasted item! And this was supposed to be a life-saving trump card in a critical moment!
The dark shadow regained its mobility. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that it had just been immobilized, it remained puzzled as to why Liu Huirand had suddenly slipped out of its control.
Within a few short breaths, the dark shadow swept right up in front of Liu Huirand. Another gust of wind whipped past, and before Chi Ling could even react, Liu Huirand lost consciousness and plummeted straight down into the lake.
Forget it, I’d better head down the mountain first!
Just as Chi Ling rose to his feet, a wave of force surged against his body, dragging him down into the lake right along with the youth.
This force wasn’t fierce; it even felt slightly gentle, yet Chi Ling was completely powerless to move, leaving him no choice but to hold his breath and close his eyes.
With his current points, he couldn’t afford a single item anymore, so he could only communicate with the system in his mind.
Back on shore, the dark shadow was still baffled, wondering why the vessel it had hand-picked had fallen into the lake when it hadn’t even made a move yet.
Now I have to fish the person back out, what a pain.
A dense, ink-like black fog drifted outward from the lake, shattering the dark shadow like a sharp blade before dissipating into thin air like smoke, leaving behind no trace.
Tranquility returned to the spot, save for the two unconscious villagers left lying on the bank.
“System! System?”
Chi Ling called out multiple times in his mind, but received no response from the system, as if connection had been lost.
Why did it have to glitch out right now? Wasn’t there still one chance to ask for help?
Chi Ling couldn’t hold his breath indefinitely; every passing second now filled his chest with a tearing pain from oxygen deprivation, making his lungs feel as though they were being ripped apart.
Relaxing his body as much as possible, he tried to let himself float back up automatically like before.
Yet he continued falling downward without stopping, as if some force kept pulling him relentlessly toward the depths.
Until…
He fell straight into an embrace.
Chi Ling instinctively gripped the person tightly, like a drowning person clutching a piece of floating driftwood.
His stud earring felt somewhat warm, and the burning sensation coaxed Chi Ling’s consciousness back to reality.
Catching Chi Ling, Liu Huirand wrapped an arm around his waist and propelled them both upward toward the surface.
Chi Ling could distinctly feel the youth’s warm, youthful, yet far from weak physique.
Startled as though scalded, Chi Ling hurriedly let go of his grip, prompting the youth, fearing he would sink back down, to tighten his embrace even more fiercely.
“Cough, cough.”
Even though Liu Huirand swam remarkably fast while hauling him along, Chi Ling ultimately couldn’t hold his breath any longer and ended up choking on several mouthfuls of water.
Sitting on the ground, his hands clutching tightly at the front of his shirt, he coughed until the corners of his eyes turned flushed, his peach-blossom eyes rippling with alluring moisture.
Soaked black hair clung softly to his forehead, and droplets of water continuously traced down the tips of his strands.
“Th-thank you!” Chi Ling’s voice rasped hoarsely as he remembered to offer his thanks to Liu Huirand.
Lowering his gaze with an unreadable expression, he was actually secretly checking his panel.
[Broadcasting Room S0112103, current viewer count: 3,815, likes: 2,160, favorites: 2,533, tips: 1,631, please continue to work hard, player.]
Seeing the live chat, Chi Ling realized that when he fell into the lake just now, his instance completion rate had exceeded 80 percent, breaking records. However, the system hadn’t broadcasted it, nor had it responded to Chi Ling’s calls down in the lake.
“Are you alright?” Liu Huirand squatted down and asked.
“I’m fine,” Chi Ling replied in a small voice without raising his head.
He kept calling out to the system internally.
[Congratulations to player Chi Ling for exploring over 80% of the instance’s completion rate. Reward: 2,000 points.]
It’s finally back online! Chi Ling felt an itch of pure hatred.
“Why didn’t you reply just now? Do you know I almost drowned? There was no broadcast and no real-time settlement either, are you trying to get me killed?”
Chi Ling had every right to be angry; viewer tips and audience-to-point conversions were settled on fixed schedules.
With settlement delayed and mission rewards delayed, Chi Ling’s account had zero points, and if not for Liu Huirand just now, he likely would have drowned for real.
And speaking of Liu Huirand, wasn’t he supposed to be unable to see him? What was going on here?
This system had way too many bugs!
[Very sincere apologies, the recent system downtime caused settlement delays. As compensation, an extra reward of 100 points has been successfully issued to the player’s account.]
Who are you trying to brush off with this? Chi Ling was so mad he almost laughed out loud.
“Then explain why Liu Huirand could see me, and how am I supposed to explain this to him later?”
[All variations within the instance must be borne by the player themselves.]
Leaving those words behind, the system vanished.
Chi Ling didn’t dare raise his head at all, how was he supposed to explain this sudden appearance of a living person out of thin air?!
“Are you alright? Did you injure yourself anywhere? Do you need me to help you up?” Liu Huirand remained squatting nearby, watching him.
A wave of scalp-tingling numbness washed over Chi Ling. The wind whistling past his damp clothes made him shiver with chill.
“I’ll get up myself.” Chi Ling scrambled hastily up from the ground.
His white shirt was soaked through and stained with smears of mud, looking utterly wretched. Yet with someone standing right here, Chi Ling couldn’t exactly buy a new set of clothes to change into.
“Why won’t you look at me?”
The youth’s crisp, clear voice chimed from overhead, carrying a hint of puzzlement.
Lifting his head at the sound, Chi Ling met the youth’s indifferent eyes. Standing this close, he realized just how tall the youth actually was, a good half-head taller than his own one-hundred-eighty-one-centimeter frame.
“N-nothing… let’s head down the mountain first!” Chi Ling’s skill at changing the subject was truly subpar.
Yet the youth didn’t press the matter, nodding in agreement instead. Chi Ling exhaled a sigh of relief, mentally scheming how to explain things later.
“Do you need me to carry you on my back?”
“No, absolutely not!”
Not daring to accept, Chi Ling flatly refused.
Liu Huirand proactively supported Chi Ling’s arm, and both tacitly avoided mentioning the two people sprawled out on the ground.
As they passed by, Chi Ling even accidentally stepped once more on the village chief’s forearm and Liu Desheng’s thigh.
“You…”
Chi Ling wasn’t sure whether he should ask, but right now, the aura emanating from the youth didn’t seem dangerous at all.
“I woke up in the lake just now and saw you fall in, so I swam you up.”
“Are you a visiting student? It’s a pity there isn’t much good scenery here, only a bunch of wicked people instead.”
The youth’s voice dropped low, tinged with a trace of melancholy.
Turning his head back for a glance, Chi Ling saw rolling green hills and crystal waters framed by lush bamboo groves, the scenery was actually quite nice.
“You only saw me just now?”
The youth nodded, casting a calm, light gaze over Chi Ling: “It’s easy to slip by the lakeside, you have to be careful, especially if you can’t swim.”
Chi Ling fell silent. Phew, at least the system’s bug isn’t too ridiculous, he couldn’t see me right from the start.
Still… a visiting student?
Did the system automatically patch up character backgrounds too?
If they reached the village later and everyone else couldn’t see him while only Liu Huirand could, wouldn’t the youth think he had run into a ghost?
“Why don’t you come rest at my place for a bit first, my room usually doesn’t have anyone…”
“Okay!” Before the youth could finish speaking, Chi Ling nodded in agreement.
As ill luck would have it, on their way back guided by Liu Huirand, they ran into two villagers. Both of them could see Chi Ling, causing his heart to sink instantly.
Whether they could see him or not, either way spelled trouble.
Before Chi Ling could say anything, Liu Huirand spoke up first with an explanation: “This is my classmate who came specially to visit me today. He took a spill on the mountain just now, so I’m taking him back to change clothes.”
Chi Ling’s heart finally settled somewhat.
The two villagers even exhorted the pair to make sure they watched their steps and stayed safe.
Using the exact same script to dismiss his confused mother, Liu Huirand went off to find a change of clothes for Chi Ling.
Standing before Liu Huirand’s desk, Chi Ling gazed outward past the window. Earlier, seeing Liu Huirand constantly staring out the window, he had wondered what made it so special.
Now looking at it, there was nothing special at all, just a square courtyard visible beyond the glass.
While Chi Ling was lost in thought, Liu Huirand returned holding a set of clothes.
“You change first, I’ll go back in to change after you’re done.”
“Thank you.”
Accepting the clothes, Chi Ling watched the youth step outside and remember to pull the door shut behind him.
What should I do next?
The source of the instance’s alienation 25 years ago now seemed to point to that inexplicable dark shadow?
Was it an ancestor?
In that case, they ought to burn down the ancestral hall.
However… that pavilion up on the mountain looked quite suspicious too.
“Are you done changing?” The youth’s voice drifted in from outside the door.
“Right away!”
Pulling back his straying thoughts, Chi Ling began changing his clothes.
Naturally, thanks to the privacy shield button, the audience wouldn’t be seeing a thing.
[Damn it, both times he changed clothes and we missed it.]
[We’re all guys, taking a peek isn’t going to make anyone lose a chunk of flesh.]
[Missed out on a hundred million again! I hate this!]