Thief Calling Thief

The Willow Town mentioned here is merely an "illusion," and there are actually two other important pieces of evidence.

Firstly, Lin Yu did not immediately meet the "Clearance Conditions" and complete this [Instance].

Therefore... at least according to the "Death game" criteria, Lin Yu has not yet arrived in Willow Town.

Secondly, Lin Yu could sense that something "abnormal" had happened to his body.

Although his appearance hadn't changed much, his physique and strength were slightly different from before, and he had become a little weaker.

And now she was wearing a light blue silk skirt and Cloth shoes that matched the whole town perfectly.

All signs indicate that Lin Yu seems to have somehow "merged" with the past of a certain resident of Willow Town.

However, Lin Yu didn't know which town resident he had merged with, and no corresponding Memory appeared in his mind.

Moreover, this identity seems to be similar to "Zhu Ming," rather than belonging to Lin Yu himself.

The gender is still female, and the face is still Zhu Ming's when touched.

This saved Lin Yu a lot of trouble—otherwise, he would have needed to explain things further when he met Li Nian and the others.

"The good news is that the [Item] can still be used as usual, but the bad news is... Old Zheng and Hannah didn't get in, and Stiller can't get in either."

"In any case, while we reunite with the others and find the old Daoist priest to ask about the situation, we also need to figure out my identity in this town as soon as possible."

"Whether this identity was arranged automatically or by Zhu Qiansi, we should be able to make use of it."

With that thought in mind, Lin Yu strode into Willow Town.

Although he rationally knew it was fake, once he was actually in it, he could clearly hear the bustling conversations of pedestrians on the street, smell the aroma of food from the taverns and teahouses, and feel the warmth of every person he passed. Emotionally, Lin Yu often forgot that these were all illusions.

Feeling the pocket beside his skirt, Lin Yu found dozens of thin Small copper coins inside. He then stopped in front of a meat bun stall surrounded by a crowd.

How much are the steamed buns?

Lin Yu asked, and the old woman behind the stall smiled and said, "Eighteen coins a basket, no cheating, young or old."

Within the Prison Mountain Realm, the currencies of the Two Mountains and Six Hells, and even various towns have slight differences, and pawn tickets and silver notes are often not recognized outside the prison.

However, due to the existence of top-tier Daoist Sect and Martial Arts School, the Prison Mountain Realm also has a unified circulating currency—copper coins of various sizes.

One hundred small copper coins are equivalent to one Large copper coins, while one thousand Large copper coins make up one string of cash.

Other Medium coins that could be exchanged for ten small copper coins or Treasure coins that could be exchanged for five Large copper coins, were not circulated in Two Mountains and Six Hells.

Lin Yu was amazed that the prices in Willow Town weren't low even three hundred years ago; it truly lived up to its reputation as the largest town in the Fire Hell. Nevertheless, he still took out eighteen coins and paid the old woman.

A basket of six steaming hot meat buns, wrapped in lotus leaves, was placed in Lin Yu's hands. Holding the heavy, steaming buns, Lin Yu took a bite and felt the fragrant, even slightly hot, meat juices burst in his mouth. The slightly chewy, firm meat filling, like a meatball, continued to release its delicious and mellow meaty aroma as he chewed, stimulating his taste buds.

The dough was perfectly soft and fluffy, and the inside was even soaked in meat juices, making it taste just as good as the meat itself.

He immediately retracted his earlier criticism of the prices in Willow Town.

"Delicious! These meat buns are big, flavorful, juicy, and full of meat. A basket of them is only eighteen coins—it's practically free!"

No wonder there are so many people queuing in front of this steamed bun stall, and many of them look like they do manual labor.

Although this is an "illusion," because of the property of "Karma Threads" that can cover reality, it doesn't seem to be completely independent of reality or completely unable to affect the real world.

For example, once the bun went into his stomach, Lin Yu felt as if he had actually absorbed the nutrition from six meat buns.

Moreover, there is even more authoritative and compelling evidence.

They'd only eaten half of those six buns when Lin Yu got a new buff!

[Blood Qi Full: Your body is full of energy, you don't feel tired or exhausted, and your awareness of Qi Mechanism and blood circulation is enhanced.]

The duration is two hours.

Lin Yu held the steamed bun, naturally very satisfied—the free buff not only made up for his somewhat weakened state, but its effect was also very suitable for his upcoming activities of finding people and gathering information.

The food in this illusion can also be transformed into a buff by the [Carnival Pendant]. Lin Yu didn't know whether to praise the [Carnival Pendant] as being made by Deity, or to marvel at how amazing the "Karma Threads" illusion created by the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Silk Demon Lord was.

While eating his steamed buns, Lin Yu continued walking towards the bustling center of town. Soon, he heard a commotion ahead.

Listening carefully, the crowd seemed to be both cheering and indignant!

"We caught that damned thief!"

"How dare you steal from our stall!"

"Kill him!"

Hearing these sounds, Lin Yu looked at the commotion of the crowd gathered at the street corner and immediately hurried over.

After all, when Lin Yu thinks of "thief," it's hard not to think of Li Nian!

Could this guy have been tempted to steal something as soon as he came in, but for some reason wasn't as sharp as he was outside, so he finally got caught?

"Don't get killed outright—although the old Daoist didn't explicitly say what would happen if you died here, Lin Yu knew it definitely wouldn't be a good thing."

He stood outside the crowd, stuffed a bag of steamed buns into his clothes, and then began to push and shove the cheering onlookers towards the center.

"Excuse me, excuse me, thank you!"

Although Lin Yu looked like a sheltered young lady, she was surprisingly strong and quickly reached the center of the crowd.

Lin Yu did indeed see Li Nian there.

But...

She wasn't the thief who was caught.

On the contrary, Li Nian, dressed in coarse cloth, looked very imposing and powerful. He subdued a boy who looked like a thief, grabbed his wrists and twisted his arms behind his back, and spoke triumphantly.

"You little thief, you're quick, but too bad, you've managed to steal from me today!"

"Hand over everything you stole right now, or no one will let you off the hook."

Li Nian spoke, the little thief begged for mercy repeatedly.

"Ouch, ouch... Heroine, I was wrong! Please let go of me, and I'll give you back everything I stole right away!"

As the thief spoke, Li Nian released her grip.

He reached into his pocket, but a fierce glint suddenly flashed across his face.

"Go to hell!"

The man growled, then flipped his hand and thrust out a sharp piece of iron wrapped in rags, aiming straight for Li Nian's throat.

Li Nian stared in astonishment at the sudden change, and in that critical moment...

"Bang!"

The thief flew backwards, crashed into the wall, and fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

"Who?"

Li Nian looked around and then saw the person who had kicked the thief away. She exclaimed in surprise.

"It's you, Sister Yao."