Nightmare (25) - The Smile

Zhao Ruru thought that she was just a brick, to be moved wherever needed, and not to be treated like a human being.

This is nothing more than a top-tier tool.

"If you all go together, there's a 100% chance the Lingren will come looking for us. Then I'll not only have to protect Zhou Xue, but also be wary of him using you to threaten me." Yu Xing knew the Lingren too well; this was one of Lingren specialties. "If it's just Zhou Xue alone, she can run, but with you all... Brother Jiu definitely won't be able to escape at the last minute, right?"

He looked at Zhao Yijiu, Zhao Yijiu didn't say anything.

"Even if Zhao Ruru wanted to run back, she would be discovered by the Faceless Man because of her status as an intruder. It's better for her to hide here from the beginning, do divination, and prepare logistics. Otherwise, I will face a situation where I can be easily controlled. As you all know, it's not difficult for the Lingren to subdue you."

Doesn't this mean we're a burden...? Zhao Ruru felt a pang of bitterness. She didn't really care, because Yu Xing was right; her role was logistical, and staying meant she could still contribute to the team with her fortune-telling skills. But Zhao Yijiu...

His role is combat; if there's no need to fight, wouldn't he feel useless?

After all, they had been teammates who had gone through life and death together, and Zhao Yijiu was Zhao Mou's younger brother, so Zhao Ruru was very concerned about his mental state.

She was, after all, the oldest person here, and as someone who was like an older sister, she should be the one taking care of others.

Yu Xing didn't give her a chance to offer comfort, and continued, "But if you stay here, your role will be different; you'll be a great help to me."

Zhao Yijiu asked gloomily, "What help? Have I become so bad that I need you to make up an excuse to comfort me?"

"Ha, if you were really that easily discouraged, you wouldn't have said those things to me at the bar." Yu Xing pointedly mentioned Zhao Yijiu's words at the Sheqing Bar as evidence. "I didn't make it up, everything I said was true. After all, you know me, I'm not the kind of person who would comfort you."

Zhao Yijiu: "..."

Seeing that Zhao Yijiu was willing to continue listening to him, Yu Xing said, "If we split up, the Lingren will face a choice: whether to find me, the person he most wants to find, and the key person in his mission, or to find the two of you."

"If you come to me, as I just mentioned, I'll provide a fairly reliable process." His words sounded very organized, and Zhao Ruru couldn't help but look forward to what he would say next.

"If he's looking for you, he has two options: first, to take the opportunity to kill you and reduce my chances of completing the mission; second, to capture you and use you to threaten me." His magnetic voice carried a reassuring calm. "Since he can't kill you directly during the mission phase, the first option is basically impossible. As for the second... capturing you and then using you to threaten me will take time."

"He has to fight the Brother Jiu who brought out the sacrifice first, and then lead you all to the lady's room to find me. For me, even if he succeeds, I will have a lot of time to look for clues. If Bai Yu is really in the lady's room, I can even complete this task. In this way, even though it's the same scenario of being threatened, I will have more freedom and confidence."

Zhao Ruru tilted her head.

Yu Xing's words were still quite blunt, because if you listened carefully, they still seemed to be a burden to others.

Without their presence, wouldn't Yu Xing be even freer and more confident?

However, even though it meant the same thing, the thought of causing trouble for the Lingren made it all the less frustrating.

She glanced at Zhao Yijiu's expression, but couldn't discern anything, so she could only reply, "What you said makes sense. So, that's it?"

"Okay, that's settled then." Yu Xing made the final decision.

Zhao Yijiu touched the wound on her wrist, unable to find a point to refute for a moment.

This shows that Yu Xing was indeed speaking from the heart, and that it was the best solution at present.

Ultimately, it's because he wasn't strong enough; otherwise, teamwork would certainly give him a better chance of winning than going it alone.

More likely... Yu Xing and the Lingren had something to say that they couldn't let others hear, including him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yijiu nodded. "Whatever."

In the first phase of the mission, the lady's room did not appear, but was instead mixed in with the large blank areas, serving as a "non-open area" and no different from the other rooms.

In the second phase, the lady finally made her presence felt, with a large room belonging to her in the east side of the third courtyard.

The decorations were magnificent; even a simple ceramic vase was worth a fortune. The dressing table was adorned with jewel boxes, jewelry boxes, and high-end cosmetics.

There were many faceless people along the way. Yu Xing was skilled and used the buildings and decorations to reach her destination safely. But Zhou Xue suffered. When she learned that she had to leave the ghost groom and go with Fang Xing, she was reluctant.

Normally, she only needs to stay in her dream for forty minutes to an hour, as usual, and then she can wake up and fall asleep again without dreaming.

But this despicable Fang Xing not only barged into her bedroom, a girl's room, but also gave her sleeping pills, causing her to have a long dream all day!

This greatly increased the chances of her being caught by that madman. Of course, she was dissatisfied with Fang Xing, but she had no other choice. Fang Xing and Liu Ruru's ghost-catching team were the only helpers she could rely on to solve this problem.

What else could she do but obediently go with him? Fang Xing had promised to protect her, and she couldn't disbelieve him.

Zhou Xue could only tremble with fear under the gaze of the faceless men passing by; she could barely walk.

When she encountered the first faceless man, she instinctively held her breath. Then, to her dismay, the faceless man moved closer and immediately uttered a single—

"Young Madam, you've come looking for the intruder too? Don't go through all that trouble!"

Zhou Xue: "Not tired at all, I also want to contribute to this family, hahaha."

She didn't even know what she said. Only when the faceless man muttered something and walked away did she realize that her back was completely soaked.

At times like this, Fang Xing would hide behind a tree and observe her response.

Ugh! How annoying!

Zhou Xue didn't want to meet Fang Xing's consistently irritable gaze. If possible, she would prefer him to be a handsome man immersed in painting, rather than someone who was one-third of her livelihood.

And so, one walked cautiously, the other hid skillfully, and the two finally reached their destination.

The exact location was told to them by Zhao Yijiu, because Zhao Yijiu had been to the lady's room when they were hiding, and no one was inside at the time. He deduced the room's owner based on some details he found while searching for clues.

The room door is now closed, and there's even a lock on it.

Taking advantage of the absence of any faceless people around, Yu Xing quickly stepped forward and tugged at the lock, only to find that it was indeed locked, and the key was nowhere to be found.

"What should we do? We still need to find the keys first." As a member of the horror Yugi development team, Zhou Xue was all too familiar with this process. The protagonist in the Yugi had to open all sorts of doors, which required finding all sorts of keys, and in the process, they would encounter all sorts of ghosts.

Now she's the unfortunate protagonist.

Yu Xing carefully examined the lock's structure, his brows furrowing slightly.

Although this lock is an older style, it requires a cross-shaped key to open, making it extremely difficult to pick.

The main problem is that he doesn't have much time right now. Faceless people come one after another. If they spot him, one or two might be fine, and he might be able to fight them head-on. But if they call on their friends and bring a whole group, things will be difficult to manage.

The question now is... where did this lock come from?

When Zhao Yijiu came in, there was no lock, but now there is this thing. Looking around, he didn't find the same thing anywhere else. It was as if someone deliberately hung this lock here to make things difficult for them.

"..."

In an instant, an image flashed into her mind, Yu Xing chuckled softly, "Lingren are getting more and more annoying..."

That's right, the Lingren found this lock and hung it up, so it's obvious who has the key!

Did she choose to go find Zhao Yijiu and Zhao Ruru, but then want to prevent him from getting the clues, so she added a lock to slow him down?

Or perhaps... she simply wanted to see him in a difficult position?

Yu Xing's gaze was cold and indifferent; in his view, the second possibility was more likely.

In other words, the Lingren are right around him now!

"Brush--"

The sound of wind breaking suddenly rang out. Yu Xing tilted his head slightly, and something so blurry that only a black afterimage passed by grazed his hair and hit the wall with a crisp sound.

The object then bounced a short distance, thumped twice on the ground, and finally rolled to Yu Xing's feet.

It was just an ordinary little pebble.

But its speed when it flew was no different from that of an arrow.

Yu Xing's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly. He knew that, based on the direction the pebble had come from, the Lingren was right behind him.

Right behind me...

After searching for so many years, his only target was now standing right behind him. Yu Xing's pupils contracted slightly, and he didn't turn around immediately.

Zhou Xue stood beside him, completely unaware of the impending danger. She glanced at the lock and tugged at Yu Xing's sleeve, asking, "Hey, where are we going to find the key?"

"The key is right there, but some people don't seem to be planning to take it." A mocking voice sounded from behind, and Zhou Xue froze, a sense of fear instantly washing over her.

She knew that voice all too well.

Every night, she was tormented by this sound, unable to find peace, and constantly threatened with being hunted down by its owner. There was no other sound she ever wanted to hear in her life.

"The madman is here..." Zhou Xue's voice trembled, but her legs hadn't given way yet.

Before she left, the ghost-hunting team and the ghost groom had warned her that she might encounter the madman, and the first thing she'd notice upon seeing him was... what was it again?

A thought suddenly struck Zhou Xue: That's right! They all told her that the first thing to do when encountering a madman is to seek refuge with Fang Xing!

"Fang Xing!" She decisively hid behind Yu Xing, who had turned around, trembling in fear at the madman's smile.

Yu Xing lowered his head slightly and saw a clean long robe with a pair of black ankle boots underneath. The owner of the boots walked slowly towards him with a composed gait.

Looking up a little, there are two fair hands resting naturally at their sides. The left hand holds a slingshot, while the right hand hooks up a little finger with a thin loop hanging from the knuckle, in which a small cross-shaped key is strung.

The person walked up to him, extended his right hand, palm up, the key hooked on his little finger swaying from side to side with his movement.

Then, she asked very gently, "Don't you want it, A Xing?"

Zhou Xue was absolutely terrified. She was frantic! Why wasn't Fang Xing moving at all? Had a madman come?!

She shrank behind Yu Xing, trying to minimize her presence.

Until she saw Fang Xing with her head slightly lowered, her hand grasping the dangling key, so close to the madman, followed by a voice as beautiful as heaven. "Go back, go find them."

This was obviously said to her!

Zhou Xue received a pardon and used the skill she had practiced over the past month—running wildly.

Taking advantage of the madman's lack of attention, she ran wildly back the way she came, as if a wolf was chasing and biting her... In a way, it does fit the current situation.

The gaze beneath the Lingren's mask followed her retreating figure for a moment, then lingered, turning instead to the young man who hadn't looked up to meet his eyes. He shifted his gaze to the young man's hand holding the keys and chuckled, "Long time no see. A Xing, we're still such good friends~"

Suddenly, a force came from the key, and the Lingren was pulled forward by Yu Xing's sudden exertion. The next second, a dagger flashed coldly and slashed at his neck without hesitation.

Because his little finger was still hooked in the key ring, the Lingren was unable to retreat and dodge the knife.

Is that the real reason to hold onto the key?

The Lingren looked up and leaned back, barely dodging most of the daggers, leaving only a shallow bloodstain on his neck.

"Hehe~ So fierce as soon as we meet?" he asked with a smile. I didn't see his little finger make any move, but he probably just exerted a little force, and the iron ring that was attacked was cut in half as if by a knife, falling to the ground in eight pieces.

Withdrawing his hand, the Lingren remained gentle and composed, even straightening his clothes as he leisurely observed Yu Xing.

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow as she looked at the red color on the Sheqing Dreamscape.

He finally raised his gaze little by little, from the Lingren's slender shoulders and back, as always, to his elegant neck and chin, and then... to the amber eyes full of smiles peeking out from behind half a mask.

[You are applying to enter the black box time, do you confirm?]

[Note: The black box can only be activated once, and the time limit is three minutes. It cannot be stopped midway.]

[Confirmed. Three-minute timer begins now. During the timer, all conversations within a two-meter radius of the deducer will be muted.]

The Lingren also received a system notification and was not surprised by Yu Xing's actions.

His smile deepened, expecting to see Yu Xing's well-disguised indifference, followed by a conversation filled with disdain as an opening line for their reunion. However, when Yu Xing actually looked him in the eye, he saw in the other's dark eyes what he least wanted to see in Yu Xing.

It is not hatred or deception, nor is it disgust or bravado, nor is it firmness or restraint.

That was a kind of vibrancy.

As if alive and vibrant.

Yu Xing gently gripped the dagger, smiled at her long-lost enemy, and then softly said, "I'm not fierce, I'm very well-behaved, teacher."