Spring Banquet (24)

The Days I Clear Escape Games Pretending to be an NPCCh58 - Spring Banquet (24)

As the vermilion door slowly opened, a beautiful figure appeared in front of him.

"I've been here for a long time, waiting for senior brother." SiOY0Z

It was Hua Yu. She was wearing the green hairpin on her head and smiling as tears welled up in her eyes.

She waited here all night because she firmly believed that her senior brother would return safely.

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Hua Li couldn't kill him; no one could can.

However, some of her tears were also for Hua Li. If they had not been separated when they were young, she could have taken better care of her, and Hua Li wouldn't have become how she was now. Now, she was also responsible for all of this. e8Cxp5

Ren Yifei walked in through the door. He has thought a lot about it, and among the group of NPCs, Hua Yu would be one of the ones who could be his assistant.

Whether it was Qing Hong or Hua Li, he does not have the ability to suppress either of them and yet, both of them were obstacles thrown his way. He might still be able to use his acting skills to delay Qing Hong, but Hua Li hated him. Thus, Ren Yifei thought to take advantage of her hatred.

Undoubtedly, Hua Yu, who had a complicated relationship with Hua Li, was the best candidate.

"You know why I'm here," Ren Yifei said. His aura was imposing and his eyes seemed to be able to read other people's hearts.

tQ9dxp

Because of the 'senior brother' filter, and because she thought that her senior brother already knew everything, she didn't hide anything. Hua Yu nodded frankly, "I know, it's because of Qing Hong and Hua Li."

"Bring Hua Li, I have something to ask her," having said that, Ren Yifei paused and added lightly, "Be gentle, she is your sister after all."

But Hua Yu slowly bent down, "She's dead."

"Dead?" WKPBS6

"Hua Li had a sudden illness and could not be treated in time," Hua Yu wiped her tears, "Let's not mention her. The things senior brother wants to know are all here."

As she said that, she walked straight towards the main hall.

The door of the main house opened as soon as it was pushed, and no one could be seen inside. She continued, "This is Qing Hong's residence. I can't enter, but senior brother can."

Ren Yifei walked in. mk1esb

Qing Hong's residence was very clean. Except for the necessities, there were very few items that showed his personality. If it were not for the clothes in the closet, Ren Yifei wouldn't be sure that this was the other's residence.

"Clang."

Ren Yifei heard the sound of something falling: There was someone else in the room.

He immediately ran inside, only to find that there was an inconspicuous door beside the bed that led to a small room. DZ1oHd

"..." he froze when he saw the furnishings inside the small room.

Almost the entire room was covered in portraits of He Jun. Each of them was signed with the name of the person who painted them, as well as the date of when they were painted.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

From the oldest to the most recent painting, every one of them was stamped with 'Qing Hong'.

Ren Yifei looked at the overturned box on the ground. It was a black lacquer box with shells inlaid patterns, its lid was off to the side while a red feather lay next to it. This was the source of the sound he had heard before. TqQpZm

The box was empty. Perhaps the item had just been taken away.

"Senior brother?" Hua Yu's voice came from outside.

Ren Yifei stretched out his hand and stuffed the red feather into his sleeve before coming out of Qing Hong's residence.

"Senior brother, did you see any diagram?" Hua Yu asked as soon as she saw him.

"Someone was one step ahead of me and had taken it. What's on the diagram?"

"It was taken away? Is this heaven's will?"

Hua Yu shook her head, "It was something that Hua Li brought to Qing Hong when she first arrived."

"Let's put the matter of this diagram aside for now. Do you know where the missing demons went?" Ren Yifei asked Hua Yu. Since Hua Li was dead and Qing Hong was not present, he could only ask her.

If Hua Yu does not know, he will have to take a risk and try with Qing Hong. dJ xXn

The player's death toll was just a little over forty, but he was not able to see half of the players along the way here. In addition, most of the demons were also missing. It could be seen that some of these missing people were still alive, but they were currently being confined somewhere.

They were confined but not killed. Either it was because killing them was not possible, or because killing them immediately was not possible for some reason.

For instance, it was the 'ghost' who wanted to kill them.

Hua Yu took a deep breath and looked at Ren Yifei, "I don't know much and I also have a contract with Qing Hong so I can't take the initiative to disclose this matter in any form. But if senior brother asks, then I will answer what I can. I will never hide anything from you." 0N8uy2

This was certainly difficult. Ren Yifei had originally wanted to attempt to elicit some information from her, but he had no idea that there would be this sort of 'contract' restriction. Furthermore, if the information were to be so easily obtained, then this instance would be too simple.

"How are you and Qing Hong all these years?" After a long pause, Ren Yifei broke the silence first by asking this question.

As soon as he asked this question, Hua Yu's eyes turned red and she shook her head, "Thank you, senior brother. I'm fine. He and I each fulfil our own separate role."

"That child isn't Hua Li's, right?" He asked another question. SE6dx3

Hua Yu was stunned and raised her hand to brush her forehead for the first time. It was as if she was blocking her face. At the same time, she also looked down and closed her eyes to avoid looking directly at Ren Yifei.

Shame. This was the expression shown on Hua Yu's face at that moment.

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The purpose of the spring banquet was to gather together and celebrate the birth of a child. Therefore, the origin of the child must also be a very important factor. In addition, Qing Hong had emphasised the birth of the child several times, so there must be more to this matter.

He stared at Hua Yu, "Is the child yours?" 1LZ9j

Hua Yu subconsciously shook her head, but she still contradictorily replied, "I'm sorry senior brother, I can't talk about this."

Ren Yifei has already come to his own conclusion: It's also not Hua Yu's.

This was within his expectations.

But why should she be ashamed? 3DYy4P

Seeing her expression, he couldn't continue pressing on this matter. Ren Yifei pushed the matter regarding the child aside and tentatively asked, "The other demons went to... the pagoda in the lotus pond?"

Hua Yu smiled bitterly, "Qing Hong kept his guard up around me so I have not participated in much important planning. I'm afraid I can't help senior brother."

In this regard, Ren Yifei was naturally disappointed.

According to the current clues, there must be something wrong with the lotus pond. How can he explore under Qing Hong's surveillance? 8YdmFe

One Ghost Card, two props and a restricted version of Phantom Play. These were the cards currently in Ren Yifei's hands.

He couldn't compare to those veteran players who have many skills and props, and he couldn't even compare to the dessert player— at least, he didn't have the courage to explore Ting Yun Pavilion at night.

Then, his biggest advantage was actually his identity as 'He Jun'.

Ren Yifei remembered that in his first game, his identity as 'A Fei' had helped him gain the NPCs' assistance. a7odl

If it was possible in the first game, why wouldn't it be in this game?

How could the big demons who were invited to the banquet be willing to be played by Qing Hong? They were more likely to help Ren Yifei.

His top priority was to wake up those NPCs who were unconscious, but still alive.

He suspects that those big demons were caught in an illusion, just as he was before. Ren Yifei was an expert at playing with illusions, and yet he still got caught. Since that was the case, how could those demons escape that colourless and odourless psychedelic drug? aboin0

He thought of Qing Hong, the one who had set up this game, and wondered if he could get some information about this psychedelic drug from him.

"Do you know where Qing Hong is?"

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Hua Yu shook her head, she had no control over Qing Hong.

Ren Yifei thought for a moment, "Hide the matter of me coming to find you from Qing Hong for now." KbnRIv

"Of course."

"Wait, senior brother," Hua Yu stopped him, "This may help you."

She handed him an embroidered pouch. Ren Yifei didn't know what it was, but seeing how serious she was, he received it carefully.

"Senior brother, please take care of yourself." ikE9R

"En."

Before she even finished speaking, Hua Yu saw her senior brother's figure shrink and transformed from a living demon into a paper crane. It flapped its wings and flew towards an unknown location.

She stared blankly in the direction where the paper crane had left. She hadn't realised that it was previously all been an illusion, "Senior brother's illusion technique has improved again. Perhaps, he can put an end to all this..."

At the same time under Ting Yun Pavilion, Saman finally caught up on the other players' situation— they were all stuck on a huge platform. uxm6JS

Qing Lin stood next to him and asked in a low whisper, "It looks like we're all trapped here. What should we do?"

"We wait," Saman gave a short reply.

With so many people resembling remnants of a disastrous defeat gathered here, it could be seen that this place was by no means as calm as it looks on the surface. Saman was naturally in no rush to act first and become a lesson for other people.

Qing Lin thought so too. They had encountered numerous monsters as they ran all the way here and they were both covered in layers of dried monster blood, which was especially uncomfortable. xGaTB8

The two were in need of proper rest at that moment and have something to eat to replenish their energy.

Thus, they no longer look around and walked to one side to sit down. They took out some provisions from their sleeves and began to eat while the other players glanced over and stared at the food in their hands.

The aroma of the food spread throughout the dark and cold space. The smell of wheat soothed everyone's spirits, and even people who didn't feel hungry can't help but look over.

"They also brought food?" the players whispered to each other with a pinch of longing in their eyes. 7lZvV8

Qing Lin felt uneasy from all the stares and turned away before gobbling down all the food.

Although Saman did not avoid them, looking at the layers of monster blood on his body and the giant sword by his side, the other players cautiously withdrew any thoughts they had.

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It was currently the darkest hour before dawn, so they couldn't lose here because of this piece of cake.

No matter how fragrant it was. GVDJlo

"It's the third day. If we're all stuck here for the next four days..." a player looked bitter as they said this.

Players won't die from starvation, however, they would still feel hungry when they are supposed to... tsk tsk. It was said that a player once chewed their arm until only the bones were left after being starved for seven days in a certain instance.

Some players who only wanted to survive until the end were in a dilemma. Apart from the possible dangers, they actually have to deal with food and water shortages?

"You even brought food?" A player in tattered clothes, with one of their thighs, fully exposed, came closer, "Dude, that's amazing." YMCine

"You come unprepared?" Saman asked.

"En, don't mention it. I didn't think that I would end up here."

That was the truth. They could tell by the other party's nakedness that they were actually unprepared.

"Is it your first day down here?" A gentle smile hung on Saman's lips, "There's nothing in the original owner's pockets?" 6XylzW

"These demons are all animal spirits, born experts at surviving in the wilderness. They don't need to worry about eating and drinking, why would they prepare those things? Both of my pockets are empty. Not to mention food, there's not even a change of clothes," the player touched his exposed thigh and shivered.

The other players were also very concerned since they were all in the same position.

"You said that these demons are also the same. It's not like we're asking for a lot, but when you go to other people's houses, you would prepare at least two changes of clothes, right? But there's nothing."

"Pa," Saman tore off a piece of bread stuffed with pickled vegetables and the sour, drool-inducing smell filled the air. w3H1fq

"Your food, there seems to be a lot of it. It's pretty tasty, right?"

The player who spoke was drooling as they looked at the food.

Seeing this, Saman reached in and took out another palm-sized round bread and a bulging water bag before placing them on the ground next to each other.

"I see that everyone is just resting here without moving. Is there any particular reason for this?" Saman patted the water bag and said with a smile, "It's round flat bread, great for relieving hunger." bxr Cp

The player looked at the food on the ground and licked his dry, chapped lips. He looked at Saman and hesitated for a moment before sitting down. He picked up the round bread and said, "You're going to find out sooner or later anyway, so I might as well tell you now."

He took two mouthfuls of the round bread and drank half of the water before he wiped his mouth and continued, "Don't be fooled by the fact that the monsters flying above are currently ignoring us. As long as we make a move to go up, no matter how you do it, they will all swarm densely around you. No matter how powerful you are, you'll turn into a pile of bones in an instant."

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"There's always a way, otherwise, why would everyone be waiting?" Saman asked again.

"A way..." the player finished the other half of the round bread and even licked off the crumbs from his fingertips, "It's only possible at a certain time." GLtoJP

"How so?" Saman smiled and handed him some fresh fruits, which were the loquats he got from the banquet; its glistening yellow skin looked very attractive.

The player was really tempted and said casually, "Two hours after dusk is when these bugs go to sleep. Although there are still some, at least there are not as many compared to the other times."

"Did you try it yesterday?"

"Ha, don't mention it," the player took the loquat, "You don't know now, but after dusk, the temperature in this place could turn water into ice. It's not exaggerated to say that it dropped to negative forty degrees. Several players even froze to death. We managed to barely survive by chopping down some walls for warmth." lEIi9f

Saman thought for a moment, "No one tried?"

"Not exactly, a dozen people went up last night and none of them touched the top. There were still too many monsters, and the temperature was too low. However, since there are so many people here today, maybe we can try again tonight."

Saman nodded while listening.

"By the way, do you know what it's like outside?" He took out another loquat. YnM7a8

For the sake of getting more loquats, the player decided on a buy one get one free deal, "The sky outside is covered with bugs. We don't even want to get close to the entrances, not to mention go out. Even if you have skills, there's a time limit, right?"

Following the player's line of sight, Saman looked at the light-transmitting holes in the wall and touched his chin thoughtfully.