The Long-Held Wish (23) - The End

"Oh..."

The Master was not angry because of Yu Xing's provocation. He stood up from the ground with elegance and composure, and patted the clothes that Yu Xing had kicked dirty.

He watched as the white coating continued to spread across Yu Xing's body, and sneered, "Since you want to stall for time, I don't mind having a chat with you. Would you like me to pour you a cup of tea?"

Yu Xing seemed to sense something and looked down. Without the protection of Liu Xue's red nail polish, he was being continuously infected, and the infection had already spread to his chest.

At this rate, in another ten minutes, even if the Master doesn't make a move, he will end up like the lady—not dead, but incapable of resisting.

When the time comes, the Master will grab him and throw him into the blood array; who knows what will happen then?

He was waiting for time, the Master was waiting too, but he was actually more passive.

"No need for tea, how about a chat? Or... a fight?" Yu Xing stared at the Master, seemingly not intending to let Master out of his sight.

All he can do now is trust Zhao Yijiu and believe that Zhao Yijiu can return before he turns completely white so they can leave the Fang Mansion together.

Therefore, he had to keep an eye on the Master and prevent Master from stopping others.

Having witnessed his skills, the Master seemed less anxious. The long sword in his hand slowly rotated with the force of his fingers. He truly seemed to intend to have a chat first, and asked Yu Xing, "Is Xiao Feng looking for a way to reverse the situation? Or a way to revive the sacrificial offering?"

"We have both. If we can't find them, we'll have to abandon the pawns to save the king and leave the Fang Mansion on our own." Yu Xing tossed the stone aside, pretending to be indifferent. "I don't care if Xiao Meng saves Xiao Ling. If it really comes to a crisis, I won't care about anything else and I'll just run. You won't be able to stop me then."

"Don't you want to take Liu Xue with you?" The Master knew that Xiao Jin was a scheming person and not someone who cared about the lives of his companions, so he brought up Liu Xue.

"Ha, you've remembered Liu Xue now?" Yu Xing sneered. "Didn't you put her in a coffin and bury her with Young Master Fang? How could I take her with me? She'd be more like a sacrificial lamb!"

"You knew that too?" The Master, somewhat surprised. "Were you really in the wedding hall just now?"

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. "What do you think? Who are you trying to scare with a little bug? Do you think I'll come out of my skin?"

"I never expected... that I would ruin the whole plan by underestimating you." The Master shook his head and sighed softly, but there was no trace of regret or loss of control. He thought rationally for a moment and asked a question, "Since you know so much, why don't you just kill me? Wouldn't that eliminate any worries?"

Yu Xing thought to herself, "You even tricked Liang Erni later. You definitely didn't die in the Fang Mansion. Either you have a backup plan, or some strange luck will help you. Anyway, you won't die, so why would I kill you? I might even end up hurting myself."

Knowing what happened later from the first and second stages was one of the reasons the strategists relied on to predict the direction of the plot. Yu Xing didn't intend to resist forcefully; it was almost over, and he was too lazy to cause any more trouble.

"You're trying to trick me into underestimating you? What if you have some kind of curse on you? Wouldn't I be hurting myself?" Yu Xing laughed, then thought of Liu Xue's wound in the coffin. With Liu Xue's blood that never faded, it seemed that it would never completely turn white. The Master's plan had failed long ago.

"Hey, Master, I'll tell you a secret, do you want to hear it?"

The Master, composed and at ease, said, "I would like to hear the details."

"Actually, before Liu Xue was sealed in the coffin, the blood she shed was... red." Yu Xing wasn't afraid that the Master would take action if he found out, because the coffin was already sealed, and the Master's blood array required both Liu Xue and Young Master Fang's corpses; he couldn't possibly throw Liu Xue out of the Fang Mansion's territory.

"..." The Master paused, seemingly surprised by this situation. He narrowed his eyes. "You're not lying to me?"

"Why would I lie to you? What happens to the Fang Mansion after I leave is none of my business." Seeing Yu Xing the Master was quite calm, Yu Xing threw down the stone in her hand. "Even if this place becomes a night of a hundred ghosts, it doesn't matter. Do as you please?"

"How could this happen..." the Master murmured, "My preparations should have been foolproof, how could it have no effect on the blood?"

Yu Xing thought that the Master would know this when he found an identical wine jug behind the chair in the wedding hall.

Neither of them could gain the upper hand at the moment. The Master seemed to be weighing the pros and cons because of Yu Xing's words, and for a moment, they remained silent for five or six minutes.

The white paint on Yu Xing's clothes had already reached his neck. He figured that if this continued, he would soon find himself in an awkward situation where his work was half sketch and half realism... tsk.

If Zhao Yijiu doesn't come back soon, he's going to steal the Master's mask and put it on his own face.

Fortunately, Zhao Yijiu did not betray Yu Xing's trust. Just as Yu Xing was itching to cause trouble for the Master, Zhao Yijiu's voice came from the front. "Over here!"

Yu Xing squinted and looked up, only to see Zhao Yijiu carrying Zhao Ruru on her back at the other end of the garden. Within three meters of Zhao Yijiu were Si, Fang Pian, Luo Liang, and Luo Liang's teammates.

"Your companion seems to have arrived." The Master noticed this as well, a half-smile playing on his lips. "No need to keep an eye on me anymore, right? You can leave now. Since my plan has failed, keeping you around is pointless."

Master has spent so many years setting up a scheme, even knowing there is no way to salvage it, still maintains his composure.

If the plan fails, then find another place to set up another one. There's no need to fight to the death here with a group of people who have lost their value.

What he needs to do next is ensure that there are no more mishaps in the future. Perhaps Xiao Jin and others will leak his plans, but in this era... to put it bluntly, even if there are rumors, not many people will believe them.

He can easily move to a new city and find a new target.

"Hmm, you really don't plan to try and keep me here any longer?" Yu Xing asked with a smile.

"So you really do want a cup of tea," the Master said.

"I'd rather not have tea, "Yu Xing anxiously, "I need to leave the Fang Mansion to stop the white spread."

Seeing him confronting the Master, Zhao Yijiu and the others rushed towards Yu Xing. Yu Xing gestured for them not to panic and said to the Master, "Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years. I believe you will do many more wrong things in the future. Here's some advice for you."

The Master smiled and said, "No need."

"Whether you listen or not, I'm going to say it anyway." Yu Xing walked towards Zhao Yijiu and the others, waving her hand. "Although troublemakers live long, most of them don't die a good death. I've already foreseen your end, and you won't be happy."

"That's it?" The Master seemed completely unconcerned. Such words meant nothing to him; in his view, it was merely a malicious curse from Xiao Jin before he left.

Yu Xing shrugged, quickened his pace to get within range of Zhao Yijiu, and let out a long breath.

"Master, you're not stopping us anymore?" Si asked.

"This NPC is very realistic; after weighing the pros and cons, he gave up," Yu Xing said simply, then glanced at Luo Liang, "Let's go."

Without saying much, the group headed towards the main gate of the Fang Mansion.

Luo Liang walked ahead, saying as he went, "Fortunately, Zhao Ruru's life was saved by the Red Amulet."

"Yes, I guessed it," Yu Xing replied.

Seeing that he didn't react, Luo Liang emphasized, "Cold Wine said that once she picks you up, you'll tell me the key plot points I'm missing."

Yu Xing was taken aback. "Brother Jiu... why don't you just tell him yourself?"

Although Luo Liang didn't have any nail clippers, he could have simply run out of the Fang Mansion. The only reason he was willing to waste time and contribute the Red Amulet was that he was worried that his current level of plot exploration was insufficient.

But Yu Xing had already told Zhao Yijiu the plot he knew, and Zhao Yijiu had also participated in the wedding ceremony. There's no reason why there should be anything that only he could tell Luo Liang.

Zhao Yijiu stopped and gave him a cold look.

Yu Xing: "..."

Okay, I forgot that this Brother Jiu isn't usually very talkative.

He resignedly fulfilled Zhao Yijiu's promise and gave Luo Liang's team a good lesson, with Si and Fangpian also kindly adding their own insights.

During this phase, the members of the three teams were scattered, and none of them had any ill intentions. They helped each other quite a few times. Although they weren't very familiar with each other before, after this unexpected live simulation, the group had developed some camaraderie. Since they were going out together anyway, giving away some exploration points wasn't a big deal.

The group slowed their pace slightly, and after completing the story, Luo Liang and his teammates breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks."

Zhao Ruru was conscious. Despite her serious injuries, she stubbornly raised her face from behind Zhao Yijiu and said, "I... thank you too."

Yu Xing watched as the girl's eyes welled up with tears of pain. Coincidentally, the area in front of them was the banquet area, and all the remaining people from the Fang Mansion were now dressed in white, sitting blankly in their seats, seemingly out of their minds.

He grabbed a piece of candy from the table, turned around, and popped it into Zhao Ruru's mouth. "If it tastes sweet, it won't hurt as much."

"Hmm." Zhao Ruru looked pale and listless, lying weakly on Zhao Yijiu's back, too weak to speak.

Passing through the banquet hall, they entered the first courtyard. The main gate was just a stone's throw away, and they could see the vermilion building outside the courtyard wall. Although it was dark at night, it still stood in stark contrast to the pale white interior of the courtyard.

"It's finally over..." Fangpian couldn't help but sigh, stepped forward, kicked open the door, and strode out.

The others followed one after another. As soon as they stepped outside, they could feel the temperature rise suddenly. The suona music that had been lingering in their ears stopped abruptly, as if it had been shut out within the courtyard walls, just like the curse of death.

Only after breathing in the fresh air outside did they realize just how oppressive the Fang Mansion was.

Looking back, the Fang Mansion seemed like a monstrous beast lurking in the distance.

Fangpian couldn't help but think of his deceased captain. His expression darkened, and in a daze, he thought that if they, arguably the strongest teams in this live stream, were in such a sorry state, how were the teams that hadn't drawn rewards like the Red Amulet and the Wedding Cup supposed to clear the level?

Perhaps... the specific tasks are slightly different?

Forget it, this isn't something he should worry about...

"What's next? Why hasn't the system notification popped up yet?" Si asked, looking after Zhao Ruru with a puzzled expression.

Yu Xing looked at the empty street and tried to take a few more steps forward, but suddenly her vision became blurry.

The surrounding scenery blurred, somewhat resembling his final moments in the Coffin Village.

Yu Xing then knew that there was a final monologue or CG sequence to watch.

Finally, everything in sight began to fade, including the six people who had come out together. Their figures gradually disappeared, turning into a splash of paint in the chaos.

The system arrived late, and a text accompanied by a calm voice like that of an audiobook appeared in Yu Xing's perception.

[You were once Xiao Jin, but you can't always be him.]

You saved his life, but you couldn't predict his future.

Does he truly love Liu Xue? Is he truly filled with remorse towards Mama Liang?

[If you could make false promises to Liu Xue while posing as him, why couldn't the real him do the same?]

The answers to these questions may be right or wrong; you can no longer verify them. Leave it to your own judgment.

After leaving the Fang Mansion, Xiao Jin took Xiao Ling, whom he had rescued, to another distant city, where they settled down. He and Xiao Ling were deeply affected by this experience, and together they felt the pain of losing someone they loved. Over time, they became the people who understood each other best.

[After many years, the scars on their hearts healed, and they naturally came together. Both he and Xiao Ling had been bought into the Fang Mansion as children and had no surnames of their own. After the child was born, Xiao Jin, perhaps deeply moved by the kindness shown to him by Mama Liang and Liu Xue, and unable to forget it, discussed it with Xiao Ling and chose to give the child the surname Liang— Mama Liang's surname—because the surname Liu would remind them of the despicable Liu Bingxian.]

[They didn't investigate what happened to the Fang Mansion after that; they only heard bits and pieces of information. Apparently, the white decorations on the Fang Mansion quickly faded, but soon after, the Fang Mansion, still recovering, was inexplicably massacred, and the murderer was never found.]

Many years have passed, and Xiao Jin and Xiao Ling's daughter has grown up. By the way, her name is Liang Erni.

Yu Xing: "..."

Yu Xing was shocked.

He never expected things to develop this way. He thought to himself, the only person who could be connected to Liang Erni Mama Liang, died so young, so it seems like Liang Erni has nothing to do with this anymore.

It turns out that Liang Erni is actually Xiao Jin's child?

After the initial shock, he thought about it again and found it quite reasonable. Xiao Ling had once been a human sacrifice in the Blood Array, which might have affected her body, allowing her to give birth to Liang Erni, a magical girl with a naturally stable and powerful soul who could even create dreams after death.

Moreover... in Liang Erni's diary, she lost her family when she was young and lived a life of hardship. Xiao Jin already had a grudge against the Master. After the Master discovered that Liang Erni and Liu Xue were similar to his targets, it was only natural that he would kill Xiao Jin and Xiao Ling to vent his anger.

Everything seemed to be a cycle; what was destined to be inescapable ultimately could not be avoided.

I wonder what the final fate of the other characters will be... Yu Xing listened to this sequel with a calm heart.

It's finally over... Xiao Jin's fate is ultimately none of his concern. He has his own life to live and no time to be sad for others.

After announcing the follow-up, the system began summarizing the results of the third phase.

[Team observation rate: 92%, satisfactory, reward increased by three tiers]

[Special mission "No mole" completed, contribution: 23%]

[Third Stage Reward: "One Blessing"]

[Special mission reward: One item obtained during this simulation, of your choice]