“Alright.”
The moment Chi Ling’s voice fell, the young man pushed the door open without a word, as if he had been waiting outside the door all along.
With an unforced, natural demeanor, he began unbuttoning his outer shirt.
Chi Ling awkwardly averted his gaze.
“Damn, are even the NPCs’ looks and figures this top-tier nowadays?” “Seriously! This back, this waistline… absolutely top-tier!” “Even without looking at Chi Ling, checking out this NPC is totally worth it.”
Watching these fleeting chat barrages scroll past, Chi Ling felt a bit stifled. He quietly stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him.
The young man changing clothes inside paused in his movements.
“That’s not fair! You won’t let us see him, and now we can’t even look at an NPC?” “Don’t get too excited. Based on my experience, anyone with looks like this usually comes with a heavy backstory.” “Fine, I’ll bite. Has anyone seen this NPC before?” “Duh, he’s already triggered a side quest; it’s totally normal for there to be NPCs we don’t know about.”
Livestream S0112103, current viewer count: 5,127, likes: 3,098, favorites: 4,265, tips: 1,960. Please continue to work hard, player.
“You can come in now.”
Hearing the young man’s voice, Chi Ling immediately closed his system panel and pushed open the door to re-enter the room.
The room was already small to begin with, and now with two tall, upright adults standing inside, it felt even more cramped.
Chi Ling: “:”
Liu Huiran took the initiative to walk over to the desk and pull out a chair to sit down. “There’s nowhere else to sit, so you can just take the bed.”
He paused for a moment after saying this, then added, “If you have anything you want to talk about, you can tell me directly.”
Damn it! There it is again, that feeling of being completely seen through.
Chi Ling silently sat down. The bed and the desk were only an arm’s length apart, and as the two of them faced each other, the atmosphere turned genuinely awkward.
“Here’s the thing: I’m a police officer. Someone reported this village for human trafficking of women, so our bureau chief sent me here on a covert investigation to gather evidence.” Chi Ling spouted nonsense with a completely straight face.
“No way, is he actually going to believe that?” “That sounds fake right off the bat!” “Is this NPC really that easy to fool?” “He’s buying this? Is he an idiot?”
The livestream chat instantly exploded.
Watching the barrage, Chi Ling momentarily lost track of who between himself and Liu Huiran was the actual idiot.
“Do you believe me?” Chi Ling braced himself and continued asking.
Liu Huiran suddenly chuckled, tilting his head as he looked at Chi Ling. “Why wouldn’t I? From the very first moment I saw you, I felt like you were here to save this village.”
And to save me.
Chi Ling seized the opportunity immediately. He raised his gaze, fixing a steady stare on Liu Huiran’s eyes: “Then are you willing to help me?”
His thin lips pressed together into a faint smile, and the aura surrounding him instantly softened. His peach-blossom eyes seemed to speak, brimming with infinite affection.
Being gazed at with such eyes made it very easy for someone to generate illusions, as if his entire world contained only the person right before him.
“Holy crap, I do, I do!” (Viewer No. 1370 tipped 500 points) “An upper-tier whale! Tipping this much.” “Forget it, I do too!” (Viewer No. 693 tipped 200 points) “Why won’t he consider streaming as a beauty anchor? I refuse to believe his charm stat is only that low!”
Liu Huiran looked slightly startled, then curved his lips into a smile as well. “Whatever you ask.”
Hearing the exact words he wanted, Chi Ling instantly turned serious.
“A master of facial expression switching right here!” “I genuinely admire him. Is he an actor?” “Not gonna lie, both of these guys are extremely good-looking.”
“Then happy cooperation. May we return a bright future to everyone.”
Chi Ling extended a hand, and Liu Huiran gave it a light shake.
Chi Ling went straight to the point, sharing the current situation with Liu Huiran, even though it was still largely his own guesswork.
Supernatural occurrences, ancestors being evil spirits, ancestors attempting to possess him, villagers suspected of human trafficking…
Incidents big and small, Chi Ling laid out everything he could think of. Liu Huiran accepted all of this remarkably well without showing a shred of shock, choosing instead to look straight at Chi Ling and ask what their next step should be.
A trace of shock stirred in Chi Ling’s heart, catching him off guard regarding Liu Huiran’s attitude.
“So we need to destroy the ancestral hall and the spirit tablet inside the pavilion on Qingming Mountain.” Chi Ling made his decision instantly.
The best-case scenario was that destroying these two locations would complete the side quest.
“I’ll go destroy the”
Before Chi Ling could finish, Liu Huiran cut him off.
“I’ll go destroy the pavilion!” he volunteered.
Chi Ling did not refuse. After all, destroying the pavilion carried a higher difficulty and would likely bring them face-to-face with that shadowy figure; there was no reason for him to argue against a plan more advantageous to himself.
Yet a sense of discomfort still lingered in his heart.
“No, I should go”
“No need! I’m much more familiar with the mountain paths; I’ll go destroy the pavilion.” Liu Huiran remained firm.
Sigh! Chi Ling sighed silently.
“Let’s go together! We’ll hit the ancestral hall first, then head up the mountain.”
Liu Huiran gave Chi Ling a deep look before nodding in agreement.
“System, is there any way to simultaneously conceal both my aura and his so the villagers won’t notice us?”
Stealth items can only conceal a single player’s aura. To conceal an NPC’s aura, his aura must match yours.
The concept of matching auras was far too broad, and how exactly did this item determine compliance?
There had to be other ways to confuse the senses and misdirect observers.
Screw it, he had to try first and see.
Chi Ling retrieved a dagger from his spatial inventory, pretending to draw it from his waist.
Unsheathing it, he revealed a sharp blade gleaming with cold light.
Without changing expression, Chi Ling sliced the tip of his middle finger, and fresh blood immediately welled up.
“Head down.” Chi Ling’s tone broke no argument.
Liu Huiran stared at Chi Ling’s bleeding finger, his eyes twitching as if pricked by a needle. He shifted his gaze to Chi Ling’s face and obediently lowered his head.
Chi Ling raised a hand, gently pressing his bleeding middle finger against Liu Huiran’s lips. Liu Huiran parted his lips slightly, seemingly sucking on it instinctively for a fraction of a second.
Chi Ling frowned slightly, immediately pulling his hand back and curling his fingers inward.
“I’m sorry!” Realizing what he had done, Liu Huiran voiced an immediate apology.
A trace of blood lingered on his lips, lending him a seductive allure.
Chi Ling felt as though the temperature of Liu Huiran’s lips still lingered on his fingertips, especially from that split-second unconscious suction. A tingling sensation rippled across Chi Ling’s fingers, and his ears felt warm.
Frowning slightly, Chi Ling snapped out of it, squeezed out a smile, and shook his head. “It’s fine.”
After all, he was the one who had acted on his own initiative and thrust his finger against someone else’s lips, not to mention that the two of them still needed to cooperate shortly, so ruining their relationship now was out of the question.
Liu Huiran walked out of the room in silence and returned a moment later holding a band-aid.
“Thanks!” Chi Ling accepted the band-aid, turning down Liu Huiran’s offer to help apply it.
Liu Huiran showed no confusion or inquiry regarding his strange behavior, which allowed Chi Ling to breathe a sigh of relief.
The two of them decided to proceed to the ancestral hall as planned.
Passing through the courtyard on their way out, Mother Liu acted as if she couldn’t see the two of them at all.
Looks like it worked, boosting Chi Ling’s confidence in this operation significantly.
Chi Ling had visited the ancestral hall many times and knew his way around quite well.
He led Liu Huiran straight behind the curtain past the large altar table, pulling out a fire-ignition talisman he had purchased in advance and slapping it onto the foremost spirit tablet.
“Run!” Chi Ling grabbed Liu Huiran and bolted outward. The combustion time set for his fire-ignition talisman was one minute.
Sure enough, not long after the two of them sprinted outside, raging flames engulfed the ancestral hall. Fire roared toward the sky, billowing thick smoke.
Reflecting the blazing inferno in his eyes, Chi Ling wore a solemn expression.
Something’s wrong. Burning down the ancestral hall hadn’t triggered any changes whatsoever.
If the source of the alienation was the ancestors, even if the pavilion was the true key, burning the ancestral hall should have produced at least some reaction.
The two of them stood at a distance from the ancestral hall, surrounded by villagers rushing back and forth to put out the fire.
Angry shouts, crying, darting figures, and roaring flames blended together into an absurd and bizarre dreamscape.
Someone tugged at his sleeve.
“Let’s go!” Liu Huiran said calmly.
Chi Ling glanced at him. Right now, only the other youth remained this calm, looking like an immortal banished from the heavens who refused to be influenced by earthly chaos.
Chi Ling knew full well he couldn’t pull that off; he was easily susceptible to external influence.
“Let’s go!”
Chi Ling turned and left without looking back, turning his back on the place filled with fire and smoke.
The two set off up the mountain according to their plan.
Chi Ling didn’t lack points anymore, having just bought a fatigue-clearing pill from the shop; its effects kicked in instantly upon consumption, completely removing any sense of exhaustion from the climb.
System Prompt: The instance is undergoing alienation; please complete the side quest as soon as possible.
It’s alienating anyway?
Perhaps the key to this task was neither the ancestral hall nor the pavilion.
“Hurry!” Chi Ling urged.
Catching sight of the lake in the distance, it looked even clearer than before, just as pristine as it would be twenty-five years later.
Chi Ling rushed straight to the lakeshore to observe.
Good, the water has changed. Jumping in right now should let him return.
Chi Ling took a step forward, suddenly feeling a tug from behind.
“Let go!” Chi Ling glared coldly at the young man holding him back. If he didn’t let go right now, Chi Ling wouldn’t hesitate to use alternative methods.
“You can’t swim.” Liu Huiran refused to let go, his gaze stubborn as he looked at Chi Ling.
“Hmph!” Chi Ling sneered, shaking off the youth’s grip and plunging downward into the lake.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Liu Huiran jumped in right after him. Catching up to Chi Ling, Liu Huiran switched their positions and wrapped his arms tightly around him.
A shockwave rippled through Chi Ling’s heart, and he returned the embrace, holding Liu Huiran close.
“What’s going on? Why is the instance alienating?” “If the side quest isn’t completed, he’s probably going to die here.”
Closing his eyes and holding the youth tightly, Chi Ling felt an embroidery-needle-like object materialize at his fingertips. A silver flash cut through the water, leaving the players outside the livestream puzzled.
“What is that? What’s he trying to do?” “Is that an embroidery needle?”
The needle tip drove fiercely into the youth’s back. Looking completely unfazed, the youth maintained a placid expression as he gazed at Chi Ling.
“I hate being lied to the most. Is playing around like this fun?”
Framed as a question born of confusion and incomprehension, Chi Ling’s eyes were as cold as frost.
Congratulations to the player for successfully completing the side quest: You found the source of the instance’s alienation from 25 years ago and successfully severed it. Rewarded with 5,000 points.
Under Chi Ling’s gaze, the youth’s body gradually began to turn translucent. The ice in his eyes finally thawed, replaced by an emotion Chi Ling couldn’t quite decipher.
Taking Chi Ling’s hand, the youth gently brushed his lips against Chi Ling’s bandaged fingertip, untied the red string from his neck, and slipped the ring onto Chi Ling’s hand.
“Take care of yourself, alright?”
The youth’s sigh-like words brushed against Chi Ling’s ears as he sank into the depths of the lake until he vanished entirely from sight.
The space within the lake began to distort. Chi Ling closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
It felt like a split second, yet it also felt like a very long time.
Sensing that his feet had touched solid ground, Chi Ling slowly opened his eyes.
The familiar deity statue stood before him, except that the incense had burned out, the offerings had rotted, spiderwebs wove across the interior of the shrine, dust covered every surface, and weeds choked the exterior.
Chi Ling pressed his right fist against his chest; a dull ache throbbed within.
Lifting his gaze to the deity statue, he found it looked majestic yet compassionate, quietly watching over its believers no matter what transpired.
Bending down, Chi Ling paid his respects.
Understanding dawning in his heart, he stepped forward and rested a hand gently upon the statue.
In a brief instant of spinning world-lines, Chi Ling found himself returned to a familiar place.
Bamboo groves stood secluded and serene, and the lake water gleamed crystal clear. Bamboo shadows cast monster-like silhouettes under the moonlight across the lake surface, as if eager to swallow anyone whole.
Without a single moment of hesitation, Chi Ling took a leap and plunged straight in.