Servant of the Nightmare

As the last word fell, the Lingren didn't give Zhao Yijiu a chance to speak. He smiled and jumped out of the window, his movements fluid and graceful, without affecting his noble image in the slightest.

This shows that his insistence on going through the door instead of directly chasing Zhou Xue through the window was not out of concern for his image, but rather a deliberate attempt to give Zhou Xue and Zhao Yijiu some time to escape.

With the biggest threat gone, Zhao Yijiu was even more nervous than before. The wounds around his eyes and on his legs were the most serious, and the continuous blood loss made him feel dizzy.

For some inexplicable reason, he thought that Yu Xing must have felt this way when she was anemic...

With such a significant flaw, wouldn't it be a huge loss if something went wrong during battle because of it?

Yu Xing...

Will it really be as the Lingren said?

He habitually pursed his lips, only to find a sharp pain at the corner of his mouth. Two bloody welts stubbornly showed their presence, reminding him how the Lingren had just crushed him.

"No, he won't." Letting time pass, Zhao Yijiu sat down and used the first-aid kit commonly found in the room to treat his wounds. After a long while, he muttered to himself in a hoarse voice, "You can't understand him with common sense. He's not a dog being led by the nose by the Lingren; he definitely won't let the Lingren get their way, right..."

Some people in his family knew about his situation, including his brother Zhao Mou, and none of them showed much resistance. Why did the Lingren think that Yu Xing dislike him?

The Lingren said that for certain reasons—and that he had done something to Yu Xing in the past—it was a certainty that the two had known each other for a long time.

Zhao Yijiu now a bit conflicted. If the two were really close before, would Lingren understand Yu Xing better than he does?

Could the "certain reasons" that the Lingren mentioned really cause Yu Xing to dislike him? If she dislikes him, so be it; he'll just accept it and simply return to a state of having no friends.

However, Yu Xing is on the Mutation Path, and judging from the Lingren's words, he seems to really hope that Yu Xing will "forgive" him, or even "hate" him more. In either case, Yu Xing is very likely to enter the Fallen Path.

This is the true purpose of the Lingren!

Zhao Yijiu's thinking was clearer than ever before. She sorted out the pros and cons in her mind and gained a deeper understanding of how difficult the Lingren were to deal with.

Yes, after he advanced to the Differentiation Tier, Zhao Mou also mentioned the matter of a fixed team to him, whether it's a guild or a small team, it should be put on the agenda.

His secret desire was to stay with Yu Xing... because his family had always been wary of him, and it was he who dragged Zhao Mou down, causing the two of them to be assigned to southern Anhui, which was far from Tianjin.

The main family has many small teams, and they might recruit him because of his current good performance, but they will always be wary of him through a tinted lens.

How boring.

If he wanted to, Zhao Mou could easily persuade those above him to let him join the forces of those outside his own clan.

With this in mind, he either had to tell Yu Xing about his situation directly or keep it a secret forever; otherwise, the Lingren would definitely find an opportunity to fulfill the predictions made by the other party.

The Lingren mocked him, saying he'd better never let Yu Xing know, but Zhao Yijiu knew very well that if he didn't tell, the information gap would be a breeding ground for the Lingren's schemes.

"I'll come myself..." he murmured to himself, "No matter the outcome."

As for the threat the Lingren had just made to him, which was essentially telling him that only the Lingren could solve his problem, Zhao Yijiu didn't take it seriously.

He can control his own problems; he doesn't need someone like that to mislead him. How could such a person possibly help him? They can only entice him to lose control.

After wrapping the gauze and wiping the blood off his face, Zhao Yijiu tried to stand up. He discovered that in Zhou Xue's dream, his bleeding stopped faster than in the outside world. For example, his eyes had turned into a black hole mixed with blood, which was unscientific.

This is probably related to Zhou Xue's subconscious?

"Cough cough..." He couldn't suppress the discomfort coming from his body and thought of something else.

I was slightly out of line just now, and although my conversation with the Lingren was ambiguous, it was certainly enough to leave the audience guessing.

At least the "A Xing" mentioned by the Lingren is Yu Xing, which is the "Xing" that the audience knows. There is no denying that.

What will the audience think?

Yu Xing will definitely attract a lot of attention now. Will he be able to carry out his plans properly in the future...?

Zhao Yijiu received a system notification at that moment.

Zhou Xue is coming.

He forced himself to walk out of the room, even he was surprised by his own rationality.

Has he been infected by Zhao Mou and Yu Xing's composure lately?

Even when faced with this threat, he was still able to quickly detach himself from his emotions and focus solely on the mission.

The fact that the Lingren cannot directly kill the diviners is good news for him and for all the diviners. However, the Lingren can kill Zhou Xue, and if Zhou Xue arrives, everyone will be in danger.

Little did he know that as he dragged his battered body to find Zhou Xue according to the system's instructions, the online comments section was already buzzing with excitement.

Due to the task allocation in the second phase, the strategists assigned to the dream role in each group received a lot of attention, because the dream world was more tense and exciting.

Among them, Zhao Yijiu's live broadcast room stood out the most. His live broadcast room was not as popular as those aspiring star predictors, but the claim of being the first to make progress attracted a large number of new viewers. When he confronted the Lingren and sparked some "secret" topics, the number of viewers surged to its peak.

Everyone reacted quickly. Upon hearing the intelligence, they poured in from all directions. After witnessing a one-sided crushing defeat, the two exchanged a cryptic conversation.

[A Xing, that sounds so affectionate. This girl's actually so close to the Lingren!?]

[Ha, bullshit. Obviously, these two don't get along well, otherwise why would the Lingren want to kill Cold Wine to spite Xing?]

[Maybe this is a twisted way of thinking? Regardless of whether we're close or not, I just want to get your attention?]

[I asked before why so many big names would watch Xing's live stream, even though he's a newcomer. Now I know why. The circles of these big names are beyond our imagination. Who knows, maybe one of them is an old acquaintance.]

[Yes, the Lingren said he wanted to apologize, right? I didn't mishear, did I? Kazuyuki apologized!]

[Note that, so far, Hsing and the Lingren are at odds.]

I think he'll only make things worse by continuing like this...

[Is the "before "the Lingren was referring to before the absurd world? These two must have known each other when they were ordinary people, which would mean they knew each other in their teens.]

How many years did the Lingren spend in this absurd world?

[Have no idea]

[Have no idea]

[No idea]

[I get it. The celebrity strategists in the live stream all know about them. Someone who's been at odds with the Lingren for years and is still alive—why wouldn't they try to win him over?]

Bigwigs from all walks of life were innocently subjected to wild speculation.

Zeng Lai: "..."

Xu Shu: "...?"

Lu Xiaorong: "Is that so!?"

Qu Xuanqing: "Hehe."

The imaginations of onlookers are truly terrifying!

[Looks like I'll have to keep a closer eye on this Xing from now on; he might grow into a monster like Qu Xuanqing.]

[Friendly reminder from upstairs: Master Qu is in this live stream room]

[Holy crap!]

[Ahem, well, also keep an eye on Cold Wine. I've observed the stars tonight, and I'm certain this kid, if he doesn't die today, will amount to something great in the future.]

He has a secret.

He has a little secret, a little secret.

[You guys are toxic]

Amidst the frenzied barrage of comments, Zhao Yijiu successfully located Zhou Xue, who had just entered a dream, and led her towards the master bedroom.

The Lingren had temporarily disappeared, and Zhao Yijiu was on high alert. He still had access to all the offerings, and even if the Lingren came, he was confident he could hold him off for about fifteen minutes.

If all else fails, he'll have Zhou Xue run far away, and then he'll use his body to block the Lingren, since the Lingren can't kill him directly anyway.

The courtyard gate is wide, and the arched design fills the Fang Mansion with a garden-like atmosphere, showcasing excellent taste.

The swaying shadows of the trees create a poetic beauty; if it weren't for the frequent appearance of bloody handprints of unknown origin on the ground, walls, and potted plants, it would truly be a beautiful sight.

Suddenly, a new prompt appeared in Zhao Yijiu's mind.

[Side Quest triggered]

[Side Quest are now available]

[Task 1: Find the white jade in your dream and smash it]

[Mission Two: Kill the Master]

[Task Reward: Unknown]

[Punishment for mission failure: Zhou Xue will inevitably die]

For Zhao Yijiu, who had no idea what was happening in the world outside the dream, this mission was simply unreasonable.

Putting aside how difficult it would be to find a piece of white jade he'd never seen before in such a vast mansion, let's just talk about mission two: killing the Master?

Kill the Lingren?

He was somewhat stunned, realizing that Yu Xing and Zhao Ruru might be coming in soon.

Because he didn't trigger the mission, and this extremely demanding mission required at least three people to complete.

Unbeknownst to Zhao Yijiu, his palms were slightly sweaty.

To be honest, he didn't want Yu Xing and the Lingren to be in a space where they could communicate right now. He hadn't revealed anything yet, and he felt a little guilty.

But he really needed help, and the triggering of the Side Quest meant that help was coming.

After the Side Quest was announced, the atmosphere at the Fang Mansion seemed to have subtly changed.

Zhou Xue followed closely beside Zhao Yijiu, and suddenly grabbed his right wrist, one of the few uninjured spots on his body.

Zhao Yijiu glanced at her, startling Zhou Xue. "Don't look at me, it's creepy... Look at that in front of you, what's that?"

Behind the arched gate, something white was swaying slightly, and it looked quite graceful when the wind blew.

Zhao Yijiu followed her gaze, half-closed her left eye, and examined it for a while before saying, "That looks like the hem of a dress."

How come there's someone here?

Is it Yu Xing or Zhao Ruru?

Zhao Yijiu wasn't quite sure, because besides the courtyard gate, she could also faintly hear noises coming from other places.

He listened carefully and indeed heard human voices between the trees and the wind.

"Someone... has broken in..."

"Caught... the Master said..."

"Go check quickly... don't let... it get away..."

Is he a servant?

Once the Side Quest started, something sentient appeared in the otherwise lifeless Fang Mansion?

Zhao Yijiu lowered her voice and led Zhou Xue to the nearest house. "Hide!"

The nearest house was a servants' quarters, and there were sounds of people moving around inside.

He settled Zhou Xue by the window, then said, "I'll go check with the people inside. Don't wander off. In a minute, I'll either call you in or come out to take you away."

Zhou Xue squatted down, not daring to argue, and obediently nodded while wearing a Da Hong wedding dress.

Zhao Yijiu quietly slipped into the room.

He had been to this room many times. The door was always open. He had been searching for clues here before when the Lingren discovered him, and he had hurriedly fled without closing the door.

He squeezed through the crack in the door and, using the large furniture inside the house as cover, groped his way to the source of the sound. He soon spotted two servants dressed in different colored clothes.

The two servants, both male, were playing dice, occasionally letting out quiet chuckles.

One of them slammed his hand on the table with a dull thud, and said smugly, "You lost again! A bet's a bet, right? This time you go search for the intruder, I'm going to get a good night's sleep!"

Another, clearly reluctant, said, "Damn it... what kind of trouble does that Master? So many intruders every day! Has our household ever had a moment's peace since he arrived?"

"Shh... Keep your voice down. I heard that he was the one who cured the young master when he was sick before, and that's why the madam values him so much. So don't complain; this isn't something we servants should talk about."

At first glance, the conversation seems quite normal; it's just a servant's dissatisfaction with an outsider who has gained favor since entering the household.

But if you look at their faces, you won't think so easily.

Even though these two servants have a lively conversation, they are still the same faceless people seen in the funeral hall in the first phase!

Their features were so blurred that they were completely indistinguishable, making them appear as if they were wrapped in several layers of white cloth. They had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, and the sound kept coming from their throats, which had been ripped open, making it all the more eerie.

Zhao Yijiu looked at them coldly, thought about her own identity, and came out from behind the wooden cabinet where she was hiding, walking towards them openly.

"Young Master!" The two men were startled and stood up from their stools. It was unclear what Zhao Yijiu looked like in their eyes, but for the time being, they did not show any sign of anything amiss.

"What are you talking about?" Zhao Yijiu asked in a gloomy tone.

The two servants seemed startled. The one who had won the bet waved his hand and bowed deeply, saying, "N-no, young master, we didn't say anything!"

"You're talking about my illness behind my back?" Young Master Fang was born weak and sickly, and he hated it when people used this to call him useless, so he didn't like people bringing it up. This was written in Zhao Yijiu's character information.

The servant's gossip was overheard by the master, and a forced expression appeared on his pale face. "Young Master, I'm sorry..."

"You're still talking badly about the Master," Zhao Yijiu said again.

Upon hearing this, the servants panicked even more. They cried out, "Oh, young master, please don't go and tell on us! If Madam and the Master find out, we'll be dead! We'll go catch the intruder right now, right away!"

Zhao Yijiu watched them rush out indifferently, and added coolly, "Don't even think about slacking off before dinner."

The servant readily agreed and hurried away.

Zhao Yijiu loosened his grip on the Stop Killing, which he had been holding tightly. He went to the window, opened it, and whispered, "Come in."

There was no response from Zhou Xue.

A bad feeling welled up in Zhao Yijiu's heart, and she peeked down.

Outside the window, everything was empty.