Settling Accounts and Falling Snow

Choose your own props?

Yu Xing was somewhat interested in this. In a moment of distraction, a list of items appeared before his eyes.

[Yi Xue, Poisonous Wedding Wine, True Sight Powder, Dirty Incense Burner, Account Book, Liang Erni's Diary]

[Note that the effects of these items will change universally after you leave the simulation. Please choose one item from the six based on your intuition.]

Among these props, besides the wine cup and the True Sight Powder that Yu Xing saw at the long table, there were also the expected diaries of Yi Xue and Liang Erni, while the incense burner and account book were unexpected by Yu Xing.

He thought for a moment before remembering that these were the items he had encountered in the portrait frame shop during the first phase. He found the incense burner, lit the incense, and then saw the ledger for the unpaid bills. These two items were indeed a bit strange, but he never expected them to become obtainable items.

The phrase "choose based on intuition" in this system prompt feels rather ambiguous.

Speaking of intuition... his gaze flickered between Yi Xue and the incense burner.

Yu Xing could guess that Yi Xue would be a consumable item with summoning capabilities, just like Liang Erni's diary, but Yi Xue would probably be a bit stronger than Liang Erni's diary.

As for the incense burner, Yu Xing simply found it interesting. When he took it out of the cabinet, he thought it was beautiful, had a vintage feel, and suited an old man like himself.

So, you have to choose between Yi Xue and Xianglu...

"Incense burner."

Clearly, for a cold and ruthless person like him, Liu Xue's feelings cannot be a factor influencing his choices. Even if Yi Xue could summon a ghost of Liu Xue, it would be irrelevant to him and would only make things awkward.

[You selected the item: a dirty incense burner]

[Dirty Incense Burner: Inserting three incense sticks into the incense burner has the effect of calming the spirits of the dead. Uses: 33]

"Hmm... it's alright." Yu Xing's original offerings and items were sealed and could no longer be used, but the new items could still be used. Because the offerings were linked to his Persona Mask, once sealed, they were all sealed, but anyone could use the items. However, the original items were also used as his power and were suppressed by the [Cage].

In other words, all the new items he has acquired can be used normally, but the new offerings cannot. If someone gives him items during this period, he can also use them.

The dirty incense burner will be delivered to you three hours after the simulation ends. Please check your mail.

Having collected all the items for the special mission, the system didn't elaborate on what the reward for the third stage, which involved being raised three levels, actually was. The phrase "a blessing" was too abstract, and Yu Xing couldn't figure out what it was for the time being, so he ignored it for now.

His blurry vision suddenly went black, and then the surrounding space squeezed in on him. He reached out and touched himself, only to find that he was back in the original cube-shaped cage, except this time the cage was no longer shaking.

A bright display screen appeared in front of him, splitting in two. One side was filled with rapidly scrolling comments, while the other side displayed system settlements.

Sure enough, he was back at the "birth point." The process was the same as the last time he did a live stream of the Rookie Tournament. Yu Xing guessed that all the live stream simulations would send the participants back to their starting point for the results announcement before the end.

[Congratulations on completing the live simulation - Death Parallel Line]

[The following is an evaluation of this simulation (open to the audience)]

[Case truth restoration rate: 74% (based solely on personal exploration of the main plot)]

[Increase in Personality Assimilation Degree: 2%]

[Rating: S]

[Deduction points earned: 1500]

[The following is the total points awarded as a reward: 12042]

[The reward points will be split 50/50 with the system, resulting in a total of 7521 points.]

[Final team progress rankings are as follows (deaths are not counted)]

[1. Gua master, luck, Cold Wine]

[2. Sacrifice, Square]

[3. Sword Talisman Master, Dawn]

[The remaining teams have not yet completed their simulations; please keep working on them.]

Sword Talisman Master is Luo Liang's Persona Mask, while Xiao is his teammate Luo Xiao. Since the three teams completed their deductions at roughly the same time after entering the third stage, the specific rankings are calculated based on the overall rankings across all three stages.

Viewers could see Xing's settlement details, and sure enough, after a bunch of "666"s, everyone's attention began to wander. Some were envious of how quickly the live-streamed simulations earned points, while others argued that only the strong, those who showed exciting content, would receive rewards.

Some others noticed that Yu Xing's Personality Assimilation Degree had increased by 2% and expressed envy.

[A 2% increase? What kind of increase is that... If it were a normal simulation, it would be understandable, but this one involved Lingren, and he's so calm?]

[No, no, no, a long-time fan will tell you, the appearance of the Lingren really touched him, because his Rookie Tournament only increased by 1%]

[Wow, wow, this guy has a heart of steel!]

[I'm so envious! I'm so jealous of people like me who have to buy items from the shop to reduce their mutation level every time they go through a simulation. I'm so lucky to save so many points!]

[I used all my points to buy items that reduce mutation level and delay deduction, ugh... my Delay Bracelet is about to expire, I'll go renew it for another ten days.]

[Upstairs, that's exactly why you're weak.]

[I'm weak, so why don't I just stay put and not cause trouble for others? Did I eat your rice?]

As Yu Xing watched the results and browsed the comments, the phrase "Delay Bracelet" caught his attention.

Delayed deduction...? It seems like I've discovered something strange.

He moved closer to the screen, and the viewers in the live chat spotted him immediately, greeting him one after another.

[Hey handsome, congratulations on getting first place!]

[Wow, that's awesome! Congratulations!]

[Hey beautiful, keep it up!]

Yu Xing: "?"

Upon seeing the word "beautiful woman," his expression flickered strangely for a moment. Knowing that the rose mask, which hadn't yet expired, was at work, he replied, "I'm a man."

That unique comment from before has been posted again.

[Bro, I know you're a guy, but I can't see what you look like. These guys who came in are all sly; they all told me you're a stunning beauty, and I actually believed them. Now I can't shake the image of you in my eyes.]

The comments below were all saying "Holy crap, this is hilarious" and "Hahahaha," Yu Xing speechless. Not wanting to pay attention to these people, she chose to exit the simulation directly.

It was as if he had taken a very long nap, and after floating in the darkness for a long time, he finally felt real touch and floated towards the light.

When Yu Xing woke up, the first thing he saw was a dazzling array of glass decorations and neatly arranged light-colored soft seats. He squinted and stretched out his arm to shield his eyes from the glaring light.

"Hey, you're awake!" someone immediately called out from beside her. Yu Xing rubbed her temples and looked to the side.

It's unclear when it started, but many of the people in charge of this gathering of the Three Great Families have gathered at Liuli Pavilion. Now that he has woken up from his slumber, they treat him like a rare and precious panda. A middle-aged man in a suit strode over and stared at him for a while.

If Yu Xing hadn't had such a cold look in his eyes, most middle-aged men would have wanted to reach out and touch him.

"What are you doing?" Yu Xing sat up straight in the soft seat without saying a word, glancing at him sideways.

"No, the ones who were unusually awake before were all... all because something happened. You were the first one to wake up, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." The middle-aged man looked Yu Xing up and down again, giving her a slightly tired smile.

Yu Xing said "Oh," and replied, "I'm participating in a live broadcast, not a human experiment. The way you guys are looking at me makes me think I'm a guinea pig."

"Sigh..." The middle-aged man didn't know what to say. Just then, Zhao Yijiu, Zhao Ruru, and Luo Liang also woke up at about the same time. The people in charge were all busy asking questions. Yu Xing was finally able to escape the excessively intense gaze.

He looked up and saw that the auditorium, which originally had twenty-seven seats, now only had sixteen people left, showing that the Three Great Families had really suffered heavy losses this time.

No wonder those in charge who weren't involved in the deduction all looked dejected, as if they'd lost a fortune. Meanwhile, some star deducers like Zhao Mou, Luo Qishan, and Xu Shu were nowhere to be found, perhaps busy elsewhere or observing the deductions that had already confirmed the status of their own people.

Zhao Yijiu was right next to Yu Xing, his head down, his bangs covering his eyebrows and eyes, and he ignored whatever the person in charge asked him.

Seeing that the person in charge was still persisting, and clearly not from the Zhao family (he had never heard of Zhao Yijiu), Yu Xing tapped on the chair to attract the person's attention. "Hey, sir, he's fine, he's just not very talkative. Why don't you ask someone else?"

The person in charge then gave up and hurriedly went to check the cards.

Finally, things were a bit quieter. Yu Xing turned to look at Zhao Yijiu and patted his shoulder. "What's wrong? Wasn't it all over?"

"Do you have any cloth?" Zhao Yijiu asked softly, as if she didn't want anyone to hear.

"Cloth?" Yu Xing was taken aback, then realized something and immediately leaned forward, using her hand to lift Zhao Yijiu. Zhao Yijiu blinked, and a pair of dark red eyes appeared in Yu Xing's line of sight.

"..."

Zhao Yijiu slapped Yu Xing's hand away and sat there in silence.

Yu Xing turned to Zhao Ruru, "Do you have any cloth?"

"I have it, I have it." Zhao Ruru didn't actually have any cloth either, but when she saw Zhao Yijiu's state, she was reminded of when she had just woken up in the blood array. Zhao Yijiu was blindfolded and squatting in front of her, which almost confused her.

Zhao Yijiu must have some kind of eye problem, so Zhao Ruru felt it wasn't appropriate to ask too many questions. She pulled a baseball cap from behind her waist and handed it to Yu Xing: "Is this okay?"

In the dead of winter, she likes to wear her hair in a bun, but her head gets cold without a hat, so she always wears a baseball cap, which is more convenient. It came in handy right now.

Yu Xing tossed the hat to Zhao Yijiu and laughed, "Put it on. Don't overthink it. Judging from your reaction, this isn't the first time this has happened, is it? Since you recovered before, you can certainly recover this time too."

After putting on his hat, Zhao Yijiu finally raised his head. He pulled the brim down so low that his eyes were almost invisible from a normal angle. He stood up and walked out of Liulixuan when no one was paying attention to him.

Yu Xing pulled Zhao Ruru along and followed.

The people behind them naturally saw their movements, but after thinking about it, they didn't stop them. After all, the three of them were from the Zhao family, and since they were alright, they should go find someone who could speak to them more effectively.

I spent two or three days in the simulation, and it started snowing again outside, and it was a heavy snowfall.

It was bright outside, Yu Xing took out her phone to check; it was only a little past eight.

The snow on the ground was piled up in a thick layer, it looked like it had been falling since at least the night before last, covering the buildings and flowers of Feng Gulan Ting in a silver coat. It was supposed to be a beautiful scene, but Zhao Ruru just rolled her eyes. "Damn, a courtyard, white, why is this still what I see after the simulation?"

Yu Xing chuckled softly, noticing that the girl had regained her spirits. She chatted casually with her, "The snow scene is so beautiful. Snow white and deathly white are different. Associations are proof that shadows linger. You have to be careful not to get trapped in nightmares."

Zhao Ruru was extremely indignant. "Do you even need to tell me that! I'm so angry! Do you know how much my mutation level has increased? Nine percent! A whole nine percent! Ugh, I can't take it anymore, I'm a little agitated, I want to cry."

"Then you should cry." Yu Xing found it amusing, and because she had relaxed after the deduction, she didn't notice that Zhao Yijiu, who was walking in front, had stopped, and suddenly bumped into Zhao Yijiu from behind.

They wandered around aimlessly after leaving Liulixuan. The snow was so heavy that it covered the roads, and it felt like no matter where they went—whether it was a gravel path, a flagstone path, or a grassy lawn.

So when Zhao Yijiu was walking ahead, she didn't pay attention to what was next to her. Yu Xing was strong, and when he bumped into her, Zhao Yijiu stumbled and fell directly into the snowdrift.

Unexpectedly, the snowdrift was exceptionally deep, likely originally a pond or similar feature. Zhao Yijiu tried to steady herself, but stepped into the loose snow and had nowhere to hold on, getting completely buried. She fell to the ground, with only her chest and upper body escaping unharmed.

... It looked like... half a person had grown out of the snow. The funniest thing was that this person was Zhao Yijiu, and for a moment it was hard to tell whether the snow was colder or he was colder.

"Pfft." Zhao Ruru couldn't help but burst out laughing, no longer wanting to cry.

Yu Xing realized her mistake and wanted to reach out to help Zhao Yijiu, but when she saw Zhao Yijiu's slightly embarrassed expression, she started to suppress her laughter and couldn't hold it in.

Zhao Yijiu: "..."

He pulled his arm out of the snow, adjusted his hat brim, looked at Yu Xing's outstretched hand, grasped it, and then pulled hard.

"You've gone astray!" Yu Xing only managed to utter four words before being thrown into the snow, buried even more thoroughly than Zhao Yijiu.

"Snow got inside my collar, ouch, it's so cold."

Having successfully retaliated, Zhao Yijiu turned to Zhao Ruru, her lips pursed, seemingly considering how to pull Zhao Ruru down.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Ruru's pent-up fear and depression quietly dissipated. As shrewd as she was, how could she not see that Zhao Yijiu had deliberately buried herself by taking advantage of Yu Xing's collision in an attempt to alleviate her psychological trauma related to Bai Shi?

It would have been easy for Yu Xing to dodge Zhao Yijiu's sneak attack, but he took advantage of the situation and fell down, and is now scrambling around in the snow.

Having figured this out, Zhao Ruru suddenly felt quite lucky. This expressionless little guy and this cunning little fox were actually making her happy. What did she do to deserve this?

"I'll do it myself!" Zhao Ruru shouted, then jumped down and lay face down in the soft snow, with only her round bun of hair sticking out.

She strained to stick her face out and said in a muffled voice, "This seems to be a landscape irrigation canal. It stops flowing water after it snows. I touched the lampshade at the bottom of the canal."

Zhao Yijiu pressed the budding Yu Xing back into the snow, a very slight smile appearing on her lips.

This simulation, orchestrated by the Lingren, caused huge losses to the Three Great Families. The power of the Three Great Families will inevitably clash with Single Prism in the future. The confrontation between the major forces will also involve many smaller forces, guilds, and even various teams. The future will be very chaotic.

Zhao Mou is probably going to be extremely busy.

He also needs to address his eye problem.

Fortunately, at least for now, he can enjoy a moment of leisure with Yu Xing and Zhao Ruru in the snow.