Spring Banquet (17)

The sun was about to set, leaving only a golden glow along the western horizon.

After dusk, the world fell silent once again, and nothing else could be found even when they looked down carefully. bV3NM9

"Thank you, He Jun," Saman thanked him sincerely. If He Jun hadn't taken him to fly up above the Pavilion, he doesn't know how long it would take him to discover the secrets hidden at night and the mysterious pagoda.

Saman never hesitates to show kindness to those who benefited him.

Ren Yifei nodded. He was particularly calm and didn't even bat an eyelid at this new finding— it was as if he already knew everything and this was just him returning a favour by giving the other party a tip.

This mere act of returning a favour was able to yield a large harvest. He was only letting the other party fly above the Ting Yun Pavilion to get a better understanding of its architectural layout and did not expect there would be such a huge turn of events at dusk. cjdRx4

This was also considered an unexpected bonus; it is true that good deeds are rewarded.

In the last game, this player provided him with some insight through the newspapers, and now, he has accidentally discovered the secrets hidden at night thanks to the other party. This dessert player was really his lucky star.

If the other party could also unveil Qing Hong's secret in one go, then Ren Yifei would even consider letting him get the highest points and the Ghost Card.

The snow-white Pegasus spread out its wings, letting the setting sun dye it and the chariot golden. Both of their hair was even illuminated with a golden glow as they chased the setting sun until it set.

The chariot travelled across the river of stars again, making it look as if the moon and stars were following them. The two of them would've been reluctant to come down if there hadn't been something else going on below.

By the time the chariot landed steadily on the ground, it was already dark and the platform was lit by branched oil lamps.

They got off the cloud chariot and walked along the stairs towards the exit.

The exit led towards a long corridor with polished floors, and the maids on both sides retreated when they saw them. wT8VkA

In fact, the group of maids in the corridor have already been replaced by maids who wore the same makeup, carried the same smile and walked silently.

Ren Yifei and Saman exchanged glances: Are they the same as the creatures from yesterday?

"My Lord, master invites you to come and admire the flowers," a senior maid approached him and bowed.

The two of them were about to go together but the senior maid continued, "Master invited He Jun to go." She was implying that only one person was invited and that Saman could not follow. gYFmGh

Alas, Ren Yifei squeezed the handle of the fan: What is he planning to do?

Saman also looked at Ren Yifei, "He Jun... do you want me to accompany you?"

It may look like he was taking risks for the other party in exchange for the important information he received— but in reality, he could turn against his partner at any time; this was what the ruthless Saman was thinking.

Ren Yifei once again concluded that this dessert player was a good person— he even choose to help an NPC at a critical time. However, this kind of thing doesn't really require any help. ZIFEa7

Thus, he shook his head and rejected the offer, "I'll go first, see you later."

From Saman's point of view, he only saw the white-robed demon in front of him put something in his sleeve. Knowing that the other party was prepared, he replied, "I'll see you tonight."

Watching them leave, several maids also followed and the corridor became empty once again. He took in a deep breath and walked in the opposite direction: It's time to do the player's job.

The other player, Qing Lin, had been waiting for him for a long time. He was very upset when he saw Saman, "You're late."

Seeing that the other was drenched in water, he couldn't help but wonder, "Did you fall into a pond?"

Saman smiled wordlessly. He did go into a pond, but he did not fall in, rather, he jumped in.

Having previously seen the reflection of the pagoda up in the air, he wanted to go to the lotus pond to verify it. However, there was nothing at the bottom of the pond. He suspects that in order to enter that pagoda, certain conditions would need to be triggered.

Time waited for no one in this place, so he had to come here first. 9YVfPE

The player, Qing Lin, was given the role of a guard so he couldn't leave during the day. If he were to leave, then he would be neglecting his duties and would become an ingredient the next second. Because of this, they made an appointment to get together at night and explore the corridors together.

"It's just you?" Saman saw that he was alone and there were no other companions as he had previously claimed.

The underground environment would be dangerous so it would still be risky with only the two of them. Therefore, they both decided to go find a few people to bring along. It would not be right to say that more people would mean more power, but at least more people... would mean more opportunities for trial and error.

When a tiger comes, let's see who can run faster. 1qom4w

However, now that only Qing Lin was present, he suspected that something was wrong.

Qing Lin snorted, "Shortly after nightfall, those maids came over and said that the master has invited them to appreciate the flowers. It's the middle of the night now, how can they appreciate flowers? In short, they think that there are more clues above and that it's too dangerous to go underground. What do you think?"

"It's merely the human's instinctive fear of the dark and being underground. There is essentially no difference between above and below," Saman shook his head, "I'm ready to go underground."

Qing Lin was finally pleased. He has done a lot of preparation for this and does not want to just stop halfway. jyuTCc

"Let's set off."

It didn't take long for the corridor at night to show its hideous appearance to the players, and when the duo entered the corridor, they felt like they had just stepped onto a hunting ground.

Unlike what Qing Lin saw through the prop, the corridors tonight had evolved again once again.

It had turned into a convulsing intestine with walls that secreted digestive fluid. It was as viscous and slippery as diesel oil, causing anyone who stand on it to slip. However, these changes were still acceptable. What they hadn't expected was the centipede-like things crawling out of that corridor. U0Enxi

The long centipedes crawled extremely fast and their hairy legs silently darted over the mucus without leaving any traces behind.

This weird bug was not big, but it has two very sharp blade-like teeth on its head. Saman was just able to behead one when three more came out and surrounded him.

They were originally walking on a piece of wood that had been sharpened and inserted into the wall, but the wood had now been corroded by the fluids and could no longer support them.

"Looks like the secret room is down there. In any case, we have to go down eventually," saying this, Saman threw out a simple skateboard that was roughly made using the headboard of the bed in his room; he was using it to temporarily prevent the corrosive fluids from touching him directly. cZryAk

Qing Lin only hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but also slide down the mucus.

On the other side, Ren Yifei was surrounded by the giant flies that had not yet transformed into their original form and arrived at a certain courtyard.

This was not a route taken during the day, it was unique to only the night.

On a closer inspection, the style of this courtyard would not be as open and bright as it would be during the daytime, it was instead rather small and gloomy. Furthermore, it was not the Qian Sui Hall, nor was it the place where they handle business affairs. It was like a secret private courtyard. RvaYSz

Many of the sullen maids in the courtyard had a similar expression.

Ren Yifei's heart tensed. Could it be that when Qing Hong saw him and the dessert player walking around together, he was so angry that he didn't want to make a fool of himself anymore and wanted to do things straightforwardly?

There were maids everywhere— in front, behind, on the left and on the right— so he couldn't escape. He slowly took a deep breath and walked step by step towards the light.

Before he even entered, an intense sweet aroma came through the door. d bQVr

The moment he was in the corridor, the wind became very cold and there was no warmth from the sun— it gave him the feeling of being watched by a poisonous snake that was waiting in its cold and damp lair.

The sweet fragrance began to float through the air and he remembered that it was the scent of those floating flowers which made people nauseous.

Ren Yifei felt dizzy for a moment. It was as if he had just consumed a strong steaming alcoholic drink. Bright and beautiful men and women with red lips and red high heels walked through the dreamland; all of their expressions were hard to make out clearly.

A man similar to himself was on the dance floor, looking at him from across the crowd. His tone was full of disgust, "Why are you here?" QD9SkU

He immediately bit the tip of his tongue and a metallic taste filled his mouth.

"As expected of He Jun, you're sharp as always."

When Ren Yifei broke free from the illusion, he heard a woman's voice.

He raised his head and looked towards the source of the sound, only to see that the lights, the corridors, the courtyard and the pavilion in front of him had all turned into smoke and disappeared. A few green-headed flies that he had previously seen flew out from the smoke with their long needles aimed at him. HlsWJS

"Hua Li?" As he returned to his senses, those large green-headed flies in front of him were already tearing each other apart. The ink fan dances lightly as their long needles pierce each other's skull.

When all the smoke from the illusions dissipated, he 'saw' Hua Li with a flat stomach standing less than two metres away from him.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Ren Yifei glanced at her abdomen and directly walked over. Hua Li was taken aback and shouted, "Set up the formation! Step up the formation!"

Suddenly, the place where he was standing shook and the ground under his feet became green, soft and springy. Ren Yifei also saw that there were many large thick connected vines nearby. SsgWN2

There were layers of vines underneath, and through the gaps, you can vaguely see that there was solid ground far below.

The sweet scent became stronger, and even with his mouth and nose covered using his sleeves, he still felt dizzy.

Ren Yifei bit the tip of his tongue again and his mouth filled with a metallic taste. He looked up and when he saw it, he was so shocked that he felt his heart stop for two seconds.

He saw that above was also a variety of interlaced branches, however, beyond these branches were various buildings that were individually held up. Adnld7

These things look so familiar... up there, it was clearly Ting Yun Pavilion.

There were demons walking on the vines, however, they didn't notice the difference. They were still having fun while singing and dancing.

After a closer look, the sweet fragrance grew more intense and Hua Li's frantic laughter rang in his ears, "I know you are strong, but this is specially designed for you. No matter how strong you are, you will not be able to walk out."

Ren Yifei clutched his forehead as he struggled to resist the drunkenness. With a blink of an eye, a glazed corridor with oil lamps line up on both sides along the path appeared in front of him. a09vPx

Where is this?

Ren Yifei was only shocked for a moment before he quickly calmed down and began to observe the surrounding environment.

It was a straight, colourful glass pathway, and every four to five meters there would be branched lamp stands on both sides. The bright oil lamps were continuously reflected by the colourful glass walls and the entire narrow passage was as bright as day.

"He Jun, you don't have to struggle anymore. I won't let you ruin our happy occasion," Hua Li's voice rang out from a distance. C4LY9q

Ren Yifei: ...

He has been hitting the goose all day long only to be pecked in the eyes by it. Ren Yifei silently sighed: The setting for this fantasy world is too deep, there are even such things as formations.

Ren Yifei doesn't care about Hua Li's attitude. As the saying goes, people who walk different paths cannot make plans together.

"You're afraid that I'll do something bad, so you planned on taking action tonight? This so-called flower viewing banquet is actually a trap, right? And this Ting Yun Pavilion, it's just one big formation, right?" Ren Yifei asked once again, wanting to confirm some information. r2YbCZ

"Why does it matter if you know or not? You currently can't even protect yourself, and yet you still have time to think about these things?" Hua Li said arrogantly, even laughing as she spoke.

The scene of her and Qing Hong in private flashed across Ren Yifei's mind, in addition to her flat stomach, he questioned, "You have nothing to do with Qing Hong, right? And that child is not yours?"

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

The laugh abruptly stopped.

After ten seconds of silence. 8nwAhl

"...Anyway, just enjoy my hospitality," Hua Li was extremely irritated, but she was very cautious and didn't reveal anything.

"Hua Li?" He called her name after that, but there was no movement.

It was unknown whether or not she had already left. Ren Yifei's eyes turned towards the straight glass road.

Pieces of rectangular coloured glass are closely attached to the walls, and because they are translucent and smooth, they reflect the light of the oil lamps. 9PBRg

At first glance, it looked like a road paved by lights.

A place like this would not be able to trap a big demon, but... Ren Yifei looked down at his hands. After entering this place, the connection between him and the little magic that came with him was broken. Furthermore, he couldn't even use illusions.

If there were such spells like 'Forbidden Magic' and 'Silence', then it was easy to guess where Hua Li's confidence came from.

He couldn't take out a knife since he couldn't use the space in his sleeve, therefore, he bit his finger to see how the wound would heal. 6Cwg K

A demon's self-healing abilities are very fast; he had previously bit his tongue and was healed within seconds. However, a minute passed and blood was still coming out from the wound, showing no sign of healing.

The bright red liquid on his fingertip ran down his pale thin finger and he licked it with the tip of his tongue; the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Feeling the familiar sensation of being suffocated, Ren Yifei, who had once sealed himself, slowly smiled.

"Am I mortal again?" ec8NoY