Fan Daoyi's words sent a shiver through the Barrier Ghost.
Something seemed a little strange, but he couldn't quite say what.
After thinking it over, he decided to cast his worries aside and focus on leading the way for now.
Before long, Fan Daoyi arrived at Chen Wu's location.
Those eyes, Chen Wu's ability, had now been gouged out.
The newcomer saw only Fan Daoyi approaching alone, and for a moment, he was speechless.
As the surroundings fell quiet, Chen Wu sensed that something was wrong. "What's going on?"
"Dao... Dao..." the newcomer stammered.
The newcomer knew that Chen Wu had abandoned Fan Daoyi, leaving him behind to hold off the butcher,
Yet now, they had all suffered injuries of varying degrees while being chased by the butcher, while Fan Daoyi, who had fallen behind, was completely unharmed.
If he still couldn't understand what was going on, then his three years of preparation for the game had been for nothing.
"Long time no see. Looks like you all enjoyed my blessings." The flippant words rang in Chen Wu's ears.
Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Wu now understood what had happened too.
Fan Daoyi, the man who was supposed to have died, was now standing before them.
How could they not be nervous?
"Brother Chen Wu, you abandoned me to protect yourself. I don't blame you." Faced with their wariness, Fan Daoyi seemed perfectly relaxed. "I'm here to help you escape."
None of them answered. Chen Wu held a hand behind his back, as if he still had another trick up his sleeve.
Fan Daoyi gave the water stain on the wall a look, and the Barrier Ghost understood at once.
A drop of water landed on Chen Wu's shoulder, and his shoulder instantly twisted into a knot.
"Hang the head, and the path to life shall appear. Only then may you leave this place." A chilling wind swept over Chen Wu's ear, carrying the words to him.
"I always keep my promises, so why act this way?" Fan Daoyi said with a smile. "Or do you think I'd be like you and break my word?"
The newcomer took everything in.
He saw the water stain on the wall, saw Chen Wu's arm twist into a knot from beginning to end, and saw the Barrier Ghost sprawled on him.
Everything pointed to one conclusion.
Fan Daoyi wasn't human at all!
They could only escape by hanging a head and opening the path to life. That promise was clearly meant to kill them!
"Brother Chen Wu, what do you think?" Fan Daoyi continued to press him.
The newcomer made the choice for Chen Wu, stabbing his self-defense knife toward Chen Wu's neck.
Having lost his eyes, Chen Wu failed to anticipate the danger and was struck.
The newcomer had picked a good spot to inflict the wound, and Chen Wu remained alive for a short while.
His mouth hung slightly open as his trembling hand reached for the wound on his neck.
A faint breath escaped him, and he opened his mouth to ask why.
After the sound came out, the newcomer pushed the knife in again.
The knife drove up through Chen Wu's lower jaw, piercing straight through his head.
Hang the head, and the path to life shall appear. Complete.
Fan Daoyi watched it all, and it was in line with what he had expected.
The newcomer asked Fan Daoyi, "Now that the head has been hung and the path to life opened, can I escape?"
"Of course."
"Then if I succeed in escaping, does that count as you fulfilling your promise?"
Killing his companion to keep himself alive—he really was ruthless.
Fan Daoyi was quite pleased with his choice and stepped aside to make a path for him. "Please."
The newcomer pulled out his knife and took off running without a backward glance.
"I misjudged him too. I didn't expect this guy to give me the most surprises."
Fan Daoyi crouched down to examine the wound on Chen Wu's throat. It was very precise, as though the newcomer had prepared for it long ago.
"Lord Dao Yi, hanging the head and opening the path to life was just an excuse. Why did you let him leave?"
"Those guys have been hiding in the back. It's time they did some work too."
He closed Chen Wu's empty eye sockets. "Death means he's no longer trapped in the maze. That counts as escaping too. Isn't that keeping my word in another sense?"
"Lord Dao Yi, you're so considerate, kindly helping them leave. I'm sure he'll be very grateful," the Barrier Ghost said, flattering him.
Then he added, still somewhat uneasy, "Lord Dao Yi, are you really not going to punish me?"
"Why are you asking again?"
The Barrier Ghost had witnessed their escape and recalled Fan Daoyi's earlier words.
His fear deepened. He couldn't shake the feeling that the promise not to punish him later would be twisted.
The future was full of unknowns; he might as well learn the outcome in advance.
"Lord Dao Yi, I think you should treat everyone equally. A mistake deserves punishment. Please let me stand or fall with them."
Fan Daoyi smiled without answering, leaving him to guess.
He turned to leave, and the Barrier Ghost reached out to stop him.
"You could at least think it over—"
The Barrier Ghost shouted behind him, making one last struggle.
Fan Daoyi acted as though he hadn't heard and didn't look back.
Judging by the time, the task he had given the butcher should be nearly done, so he would stop by and see how things were going.
On the way, a Female Ghost suddenly appeared, crawling forward on all fours, her whole body dripping wet.
"I don't remember you being a water ghost. Why are you dressed up like that?"
The Female Ghost stopped and looked up, a little bewildered. "Didn't the humans say they liked them dripping with water?"
"So that's how you understood 'fresh and dewy'?"
"Is... isn't it?"
Fan Daoyi felt weary at heart when it came to these subordinates of his.
"A human left the Barrier Ghost's place. Did you run into him on the way?"
The Female Ghost nodded. "I saw him."
"Where is he?"
"This is the butcher's job. I didn't want to take it on for him, so I left him alone."
These subordinates had serious problems.
Fan Daoyi ignored her and continued toward the butcher's location.
The Female Ghost followed behind him, humming an eerie tune that spread throughout the maze.
Over at the butcher's place, that flower had already been placed in a vase.
His mouth had been sewn shut, leaving him unable to speak. His eyes were bloodshot, as though he had seen some kind of terrifying sight.
The shadow claimed credit before Fan Daoyi. "Lord Dao Yi, just as you wanted, he'll be trapped in hallucinations at all times, experiencing all sorts of things and gnawing on his own limbs without being able to stop himself."
The Female Ghost curiously examined the vase. She tugged on the golden hair and pulled it out for a closer look.
Below the head, there wasn't a trace of bone or flesh, only blood vessels crisscrossing among the vital organs.
Once it left the liquid, the expression on the face changed again.
The face rapidly turned purplish blue, its eyes rolled back, and it desperately tried to pull open the stitches sealing its mouth.
Vase Woman kindly pressed the head back into the vase and reminded the Female Ghost, "Lord Dao Yi said to keep him alive."
This half-dead head belonged to that blond guy.
Fan Daoyi had promised to help him stay alive, without even asking for payment, and had now done so.
"Butcher, your knife work has improved a lot. You can actually separate the flesh and bones from the blood vessels."
Fan Daoyi could tell the butcher hadn't done it, but he deliberately said it anyway to see how the butcher would react.
"It wasn't me, I didn't do it, don't talk nonsense." The butcher immediately fired off three denials. "Strip off the flesh, remove the bones, and feed them to him while keeping him alive? How could I possibly do that? It was all thanks to the Apothecary."
The butcher refused to take the credit and tossed it to his colleague.
Hiding nothing, he recounted the whole process in detail.
The Apothecary had done the cutting, mixed the liquid in the vase, and even sewn his mouth shut.
The butcher hadn't done anything and absolutely must not be praised.
Once again, Fan Daoyi fell silent.
These guys, every last one of them—what on earth was wrong with them?!