The Funeral (6) - The Stone Table

To be fair, the scene was quite shocking. For example, Zhao Ruru, who was completely unprepared, was so stunned by Zhao Yijiu's behavior that she stood frozen on the wall, even forgetting to speak up and stop him.

Only after Zhao Yijiu landed did she, with an incredulous look in her eyes, belatedly utter half a syllable. "Hey..."

After feeding her for a while without getting anything out of her, and not knowing what to say, she wisely shut her mouth and stretched her head out even more, trying her best to hold onto the wall, which was a bit high for her, in an attempt to take in everything below.

Yu Xing's eyes flickered as she glanced at the ghostly Zhao Yijiu, and she chuckled softly.

Brother Jiu really hasn't changed. He's a perfectly Righteous Path, but he always seems to be confused with ghosts.

Even with his striking good looks, the eerie aura he exudes makes it hard not to be afraid of him.

So... once someone can look at him without prejudice, accept him completely, and even get along with him like a friend, he will treat that person very well, perhaps even to the point of being indulgent?

He understood Zhao Yijiu's actions, which touched him even more.

By simulating Zhao Yijiu's thought process, it's easy to understand why Zhao Yijiu jumped down at that moment.

Firstly, since the gate of the house inside the wall is closer, and given that their skills are "nearly the same," attracting the paper figure's attention and allowing Yu Xing to enter the house is a more cost-effective option.

But there's another one... Zhao Yijiu understands his abilities and should know that he has many other ways to get into the house unharmed. So, making a move at this moment is clearly to cover for him and prevent the live stream from revealing more information and causing him unnecessary trouble.

This kind of Brother Jiu is really suitable to be a teammate.

Yu Xing felt like she was incredibly lucky to have met Zhao Yijiu, a person with a flawed personality who maintained a strong sense of patriotism. So, despite appearing cold and aloof, Zhao Yijiu actually longed for "friends."

If it had been someone else willing to accept "outliers" instead of him taking the qualification test with Zhao Yijiu, everything would be different now. He might still have sought out Zhao Mou to investigate the Single Prism, but he probably wouldn't have had any further opportunities to cross paths with Zhao Yijiu.

At this moment, the idea of having a team fermented in Yu Xing's mind. Although he had considered it before, the idea was stronger than ever before.

How wonderful it would be to have a team you can trust.

He sighed inwardly, thinking to himself with a touch of self-mockery that trust had always been a luxury for him. He must have nothing better to do than fantasize about it now.

I'm so old, why do I still sometimes can't help but think the best of things?

Still so naive? Haven't the lessons from the Lingren been taught enough?

Perhaps the nail had the power to attract hatred, because after Zhao Yijiu jumped down with the nail in her hand, the paper figure didn't look at Yu Xing again, but stared intently at Zhao Yijiu, and slowly pulled out the nail that was piercing through her chest with her white paper hand.

Once the long nail broke open its body, it shattered into a pile of small iron pieces, which then corroded and dried out visibly, turning into a handful of fine sand that was carried away by the wind.

"They're people attending a funeral!" It rushed towards Zhao Yijiu like a madman, its two not-so-delicate legs swinging under its brightly colored clothes, moving so fast it almost left afterimages, and it landed silently on the ground. Yu Xing finally understood how it had approached him from behind.

With his left hand gripping his black short sword and his right hand clutching a long nail, Zhao Yijiu's muscles tensed as he swiftly moved away from where he had landed. The next moment, the air there was torn apart by the paper figure, emitting a whooshing sound.

Yu Xing cleared his mind of all sorts of thoughts. He had many flaws, but when it came to regulating his emotions, he no longer needed anyone to remind or worry about him.

He didn't disappoint Zhao Yijiu's kindness at all; the moment the paper figure shifted its target, he had already taken off running towards the gate of the house.

The white long shirt was unsuitable for sports and greatly limited his performance, but he still ran very fast. Without the paper figures to hinder him, the distance was shortened to zero in the blink of an eye.

The moment Yu Xing stepped into the house, he felt a chill, even more penetrating than the Ghost Alley, wash over him from all directions. He crossed the threshold, leaned against the doorframe, and looked in Zhao Yijiu's direction, calling out, "Brother Jiu, I'm coming in!"

Zhao Yijiu's Persona Mask is called Cold Wine (Cold Wine). Calling him Brother Jiu) is both easy to say and won't reveal anything.

Zhao Ruru, perched on the wall, pursed her lips, wanting to vent her frustrations, but couldn't utter a single word.

She could also tell that Yu Xing was pretending to be young. In the real world, when this guy was doing analysis, his aura was just like that of a team leader, and he wouldn't be shouting so loudly.

However, his shout did have some effect. Upon hearing it, Zhao Yijiu didn't even need to turn his head. He forced the paper figure back with a single slash, then flicked his wrist and decisively threw the long nail, hitting the bullseye once again.

He took two steps back, and suddenly a huge and ethereal eye-like phantom appeared behind him, swallowing him into the dark, sunless eyeball.

Yu Xing looked at the black, pearl-like eyeball in the center of that eye, and for some reason felt that the aura it emitted was somewhat familiar, as if she suddenly saw countless years in that eyeball. She stared at it carefully, but she couldn't capture this fleeting Spiritual Sense.

Regardless, what the eyes ultimately conveyed was a rare and reassuring feeling.

The paper figure laughed furiously, then released the long nail once more, turning it into ashes.

It rushed toward the illusory eye, which seemed to sense it and stared at it for a moment before calmly closing its eyelids and completely dissipating into the air, along with Zhao Yijiu, which evaporated from the spot.

At the same time, a phantom appeared on the wall, and Zhao Yijiu emerged from the eyeball. He subconsciously reached out and grabbed the wall. If someone looked closely, they would find that his movements were exactly the same as before he jumped down.

This time, however, he didn't need to jump anymore. The afterimage in his eyes dissipated, and Zhao Yijiu gracefully retreated, landing in the courtyard. He then helped Zhao Ruru, who was struggling to stay afloat, so that she could also land smoothly.

The walls of this mansion were indeed quite high, about four meters. Even though Zhao Ruru had enhanced her physique, she still couldn't quite hold on. After all, enhanced physical fitness only meant that the lower limit of her mobility had increased; it didn't mean that she could climb over walls and windows like those who had practiced martial arts.

The paper figures outside the wall made a series of noises, both crying and laughing, which was quite disruptive. They probably saw that a few people had actually gone inside, and since they didn't have a chance to kill anyone for the time being, they retreated into a corner and resumed their mourning.

The quiet tomb, which had fallen silent because of the wailing, was suddenly filled with the sounds of suona horns and weeping again. The transition from silence to noise was almost instantaneous, and the orderly din filled the air with dread.

From the moment Zhao Yijiu jumped down to the moment she was sent back to the wall by the illusory figure, it took exactly five seconds. Of that, Yu Xing took one second to exclaim, three seconds to run into the house, and one second to pry open the door and report her location.

During this time, Zhao Yijiu dodged several attacks from the paper figures, threw out long nails, and summoned phantom images.

In other words, this operation, which looks complicated, is actually only a matter of blinking two or three times in the eyes of an outsider.

After the three of them saw each other, the three live streams were merged into one under the system's processing, causing a surge in viewership. At that moment, the entire visible screen area was flooded with question marks.

[???]

[??]

[?]

I'm stunned. Is this what a newbie is like?

[Newcomer?]

[That's right, reliable sources. Cold Wine just advanced to the Differentiation Tier, and he's on the Righteous Path. As for Xing, there's no need to mention him; he hadn't even advanced to Differentiation when he participated in the Rookie Tournament last month.]

[The offerings they've used so far are all incredibly powerful. How did the newbies manage to get them?]

[Some lucky ones encounter offerings and Persona Mask a perfect match.]

[I'm so jealous, Mom! Those eyes look amazing!]

[The long spikes look impressive, but the Cold Wine probably didn't utilize them fully.]

[I envy the black sword and the blue dagger more. You know, I have all six of my offering slots full, and I still don't have a satisfactory weapon-type offering.]

At this moment, a celebrity promoter from the LSP Foundation, who was originally in Zhao Ruru's live stream, stepped forward to liven up the atmosphere.

[Zou Jin: Based on their Combat Power, I'd say a dark horse has emerged. Who agrees? Who disagrees?]

Most of the people watching the live stream together wouldn't spoil the fun when someone was obviously trying to liven things up. The ninja who wanted to argue didn't say a word, and instantly, the comments section was flooded with a wave of approval.

Zou Jin immediately got excited; he was very good at creating talking points, and he posted another comment—

[Zou Jin: Ten minutes! I need all their information!]

[Zeng Lai: You mean you want my teapot? You mean I need the Zhao family's information within ten minutes?]

[Zou Jin: What are you doing here!]

Zeng Lai and Zou Jin had a decent relationship. Or rather, as a detached gambler, he had a reasonable relationship with many celebrity predictors with whom he had no obvious conflict of interest; they were the kind of people who could joke around.

However, while he was joking with Zou Jin, he was also subtly telling some people who were secretly wondering why he went straight to Xing's live stream that he was on Xing's side.

This was indeed a bit subtle, and only a very few people could get it, but that's exactly the kind of people he wanted. Because if someone can't even grasp this meaning, they've basically said goodbye to the word "powerful," and there's no need to remind them anymore.

[Lu Xiaorong: The Zhao family can produce all your information in one minute @Zou Jin]

[Ren Yi: It won't even take a minute.]

Ren Yi rarely misses any meaningful live streams, since his job involves recording, analyzing, and screening, so the deducers often see him in the live stream room.

Aside from replying to greetings from acquaintances, he rarely commented while watching the live stream.

Not only did he stay in Yu Xing's live stream with his friend Zeng Lai, but he also caught on to a joke for the first time ever, which is truly historic and something to celebrate!

[Zeng Lai: They even found out where you went for that massage last time!]

[Zou Jin: Bullshit! That was consensual, a deep exchange sparked by the flame of love and the purchasing power of money!]

[?]

[??]

[???]

Amidst a sea of question marks, Zou Jin remained silent for a moment, then sent another message—

[Zou Jin: Never mind, I was wrong, don't investigate me.]

He single-handedly steered the conversation off-topic, and that's how live streams are—no matter how tense the atmosphere is during the simulation, the LSP Foundation can always turn the tide.

Even so, many members of other guilds dare not underestimate the seemingly goofy LSP Foundation, because their ability to control topics and guide thinking is not limited to the barrage comments.

If you encounter them during a simulation, the consequence of being led astray might not be a few laughs, but rather the loss of your head.

The live stream screen had completely shifted to show the interior of the haunted house.

The house was paved with irregularly shaped tiles, with weeds growing in the gaps. The wild grass in the corner of the wall had grown to almost half a person's height, and with withered wildflowers of unknown species were hanging from it.

The walls were covered with dirty marks and mold spots, the paint was peeling off, and thick layers of powder had accumulated in the corners.

As soon as Zhao Ruru climbed down from the wall, she rubbed her sore arms and glanced at Yu Xing walking towards them from the gate. She praised Zhao Yijiu, "Amazing! You were actually a teleportation sacrifice? I was wondering why you jumped down."

Zhao Yijiu hadn't planned to explain her sacrifice abilities during the live stream anyway, so she let her guess and simply replied, "Hmm."

"Amazing, amazing, thank you for saving me Brother Jiu!" Yu Xing walked over, her expression genuinely showing her gratitude.

Zhao Yijiu could hardly bear to look at her. His brow twitched, and he turned his head away, not wanting to face Yu Xing, this drama queen.

"Brother Jiu," Yu Xing took two steps and stood in Zhao Yijiu's line of sight again. He thought for a moment and asked in simple terms that others wouldn't understand, "That... Witch from earlier?"

As he walked over, he found the source of that sense of familiarity in his recent memories.

The illusory eye didn't teleport Zhao Yijiu; the aura it emitted when it opened and closed was strikingly similar to the feeling that the stunningly beautiful goddess in the Witch's Time Cabin in Alice's Park 1.0 gave Yu Xing.

It is ethereal, elusive, and carries an indescribable, cold, and old-fashioned regret.

And the pure black pupils in those eyes matched the form of the gift Zhao Yijiu took away from the Time Cabin —a round black pearl he had casually picked up.

Speaking of which, the calligraphy brush he chose back then, named "Time Imprint," has yet to show any effect.

Zhao Yijiu's pupils contracted slightly, as if he hadn't expected Yu Xing to figure out the source of this ability with just one glance. After all, when the Witch gave him the black pearl, even he himself didn't know what it would be used for.

This kind of person is terrifying.

Thankfully, it was Yu Xing.

He hummed again, this time without being perfunctory. Even Zhao Ruru could hear the difference between the two hums, and almost rolled her eyes.

She didn't care what kind of riddles the two of them were playing; at most, they had gained some insights from a deduction they had gone through together that they could both guess!

She doesn't care! Humph!

Yu Xing received positive feedback, and her thoughts drifted slightly, wandering towards her [Time Imprint].

He saw it clearly: Zhao Yijiu was teleported back to the top of the wall with her back to it. If it was teleportation, why didn't she just teleport directly to the ground on the same plane? Why go through all that trouble and come down from the top of the wall again?

But the fluctuations just now were definitely something only a sacrifice would produce; the black pearl was a prop and couldn't possibly become a sacrifice.

Based on the Witch's abilities, Yu Xing sorted out the most reasonable possibility from many possibilities: the black pearl should be a special item that can add a time-related ability to a certain offering.

The abilities granted by such a prop are bound to have many limitations, such as a short effective time or the need for precise timing. In short, putting aside the limitations for now, judging from Zhao Yijiu's state just now, the ability granted by the black pearl should be time reversal.

A small-scale, one-person time rewind allows Zhao Yijiu to return to a specific point in time.

Even if the actual effect differs slightly from his guess, it will only be in the details, Yu Xing believes his prediction won't be too far off.

What about [Time Imprint]?

The calligraphy brush itself had a very high-quality feel and didn't seem like something that could be incorporated into the sacrificial offering. If he could, he would have noticed it long ago.

It seems that the items they received, as well as those received by Wang Jue, had different functions, or even vastly different ones.

This is really a headache.

Amidst Zhao Ruru's listless waiting posture and the deafening suona horns, Yu Xing regained his composure and smiled, "Finally reunited. Aren't you going to exchange information?"

Zhao Ruru clapped her hands in relief. "Right! Let's exchange information quickly, and after that, we'll analyze the situation. I'll even cast a divination to help us get the plot of this mission phase flowing smoothly."

Zhao Yijiu didn't say anything, but nodded while leaning against the wall.

Clearly, this house should play a larger role in the plot; otherwise, it wouldn't require two deducers to explore it simultaneously. So, Yu Xing first gave a detailed account of everything she experienced after waking up, excluding the unimportant parts.

After listening, Zhao Ruru, "In other words, the alley outside is a Ghost Alley. Most of the original shop owners should be dead now, and they are basically invisible. The person who is being buried is named Liu Bingxian. What did he do that made him disliked by the neighbors? The wreaths they send are all congratulating him on his good death. The paper figures also hate Liu Bingxian, and they won't even let others come to Liu Bingxian's funeral."

"That's right." Yu Xing nodded. Zhao Ruru was good at grasping the key points, and what she summarized was indeed the most important thing to pay attention to.

Zhao Ruru stroked her smooth, delicate chin. "Also, the shop owners are gone, but Ghost Alley is attracting a lot of people from the neighborhood, including those taking a walk, those planning to eat, and tourists? This sounds completely illogical, after all, we don't know what's outside Ghost Alley. And what's the purpose of Ghost Alley attracting people here? Does the death of living people here make Ghost Alley and the haunted houses more powerful?"

[Here it comes, the deduction section!]

[Who can report on the reasoning progress of each team?]

[I'll come, I'll come! No other teams have successfully joined up so far.]

[???]

In other words, this team is the one with the most progress!

[Awesome!]

Fortunately, I was the first to leave the portrait frame shop and the first to enter the haunted house with the help of my teammates, giving me a significant lead.

[They're really amazing. Just wait and see who can replicate their performance? Two dark horse newcomers, and Zhao Ruru, whose divination skills are incredibly practical—they're practically invincible!]

After summarizing the comments, Zhao Ruru thought for a moment, then glanced at Yu Xing and asked, "Do you have any thoughts on this?"

Yu Xing said, "Yes."

Zhao Ruru patted the dust off her clothes from climbing the wall onto her chest and abdomen. "I have an idea too. How about I analyze it and you give me your feedback?"

She had witnessed Yu Xing's analytical abilities and considered herself inferior. Yu Xing excelled at intelligence gathering and divination, not reasoning, so she used the word "correction" when referring to Yu Xing.

Yu Xing also wanted to hear Zhao Ruru's thoughts in order to deduce the thought processes of other teams under the same conditions, so he nodded in agreement.

Inside the walled courtyard next to the main gate of the yin house was a small courtyard with a stone table and benches. There was no one in the courtyard at the moment. Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru had already explored the dangers in the yin house, so they sat down on the stone benches, intending to seriously follow the plot.

"So, broadly speaking, there are two opposing forces in this phase of the mission: one is Liu Bingxian, who is holding a funeral at the ancestral home, and the other is the paper figures and shop owners. In addition to these two parties, there are also living people who have been pulled in, forming a disruptive force caught in the middle."

Zhao Ruru picked up a few tree branches, selected three, and arranged them on the stone table in a proper manner. She pointed to the middle one and said, "We need to find out exactly what Liu Bingxian did, how the paper figures were formed, and what impact the bringing in of living people had on Ghost Alley and the yin house."

At this point, she looked up, seeking Yu Xing's opinion. "Right?"

"Wrong."

Yu Xing could speak, Zhao Yijiu, who seemed unlikely to participate in the discussion, suddenly spoke up.

"Huh?" Zhao Ruru was a little surprised. She hadn't expected herself to be right, but it was Zhao Yijiu who refuted her, which caught her off guard.

She pressed, "What's wrong with it?"

"Preconceived notions," Zhao Yijiu said coldly. "Your biggest mistake was accepting everything Xing said as true, based solely on his description."

Yu Xing became interested. He also didn't expect that Zhao Yijiu would notice something that Zhao Ruru hadn't.

It seems that Brother Jiu has really put a lot of effort into mental training lately.

Perhaps, the shrewdness that flowed through Zhao Mou and his ilk finally found some release in Brother Jiu.

However, Zhao Yijiu only said one sentence and then seemed unwilling to speak again. Yu Xing didn't want to waste time, so she took the initiative to say to Zhao Ruru, "Let me explain. Your mistake was ignoring details and logical flaws. Just because I state a clue in a straightforward manner doesn't mean you can treat it as an ordinary sentence."

Zhao Ruru nodded modestly. "Okay, go ahead."

"First of all, there are indeed opposing forces in this phase of the mission, but not two, but three."

Yu Xing took out the middle branch from the three twigs Zhao Ruru had placed and arranged them into an equilateral triangle. "Do you think that tourist Zhou Xue, and those people hiding in the coffin shop, were really living people who were dragged in?"