The Only Option Was to Make You Suffer a Little

"A... what?" Perhaps because Yu Xing's tone was too natural, Carlos thought he hadn't heard clearly and asked again.

In the small frame, the shadow was still moving, seemingly swimming towards the light of the probe from a great distance.

Yu Xing remained silent for the moment, adjusting the angle of the probe. The next second, the shadow was exposed to the light.

The color comes from black and white, peeling away layers of darkness to reveal... the fleshy red inside.

Around the flesh-colored area was a ring of dark white sharp teeth, and in the center of the flesh-colored area was a deep hole that could not be seen clearly. Carlos's little paper figure suddenly leaned back and almost fell to the side again.

"Did you see that?" Yu Xing showed no surprise or shock. He casually said to Carlos, "Open your mouth, any more questions?"

Carlos: "You're talking nonsense! Of course I have questions, what is this thing!?"

Yu Xing wanted to say, "That's a really bad question. What else could it be swimming in the water?"

It's either Water Ghost or a fish.

Judging from the shape of the giant mouth approaching in the picture, this should be a rare large fish, at least three or four meters long.

"These must have been kept here by the people who used to." Yu Xing squinted as he examined the giant mouth in the image. As he got closer, he could gradually see the patterns inside the mouth. Layers of wrinkles piled up, and the rotten flesh and the still intact flesh were clearly separated, making it look like some fresh meat was embedded in a dead fish.

"Hey, hey, hey..." came a voice Carlos couldn't understand from the little paper doll. "I'm saying the key thing right now isn't what it is, but—its target is the probe!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the giant mouth on the screen opened to its widest extent, biting down with the force of wanting to swallow the probe whole.

Meanwhile, Yu Xing and Carlos could hear the sound of a giant creature swimming underwater from the ground, and could vaguely see a spiky back swaying in the water.

"No rush." Yu Xing chuckled lightly, deftly flicking his wrist, and the elongated probe suddenly retracted, causing the water surface to tremble violently. With a loud bang of sharp teeth closing, water splashed, wetting Yu Xing's trouser legs.

"Wow, that's fierce." Carlos exclaimed in disbelief as he tried to shield himself from the splashing water.

With that biting force, it could probably bite through even steel bars!

Yu Xing took the retracted probe in his hand, then grabbed the paper figure and retreated quickly.

The next instant, the giant maw that had just bitten empty air appeared inside the square hidden door on the ground, lunging towards the spot where Yu Xing had been crouching.

It really was a fish.

It seemed to have sprung out; apart from its extremely wide, unscientific-looking snout, its entire head was exposed to Yu Xing's view. In the dim light, Yu Xing could only see its bulging fish eyes and a face that resembled a human.

Its mouth contained not just one row of sharp teeth, but three rows arranged in a row, densely packed, sharp as the tip of a spear. Yu Xing had no doubt that this mouth had the ability to pierce through a person in an instant and then grind flesh into powder.

Every move of the colossal creature was accompanied by a thunderous roar, its immense power sending shivers down one's spine.

Having missed its target again, the fish lingered near the hidden door, unwilling to give up. Unfortunately, Yu Xing didn't approach it again, denying it another chance to ambush.

Yu Xing and Carlos observed from a distance.

After a few minutes, seeing that it still wouldn't leave, a cold glint flashed in Yu Xing's eyes, and he drew the knife from his waist.

He wanted to kill the fish.

With a cold, eerie light, he watched the strange fish get closest to the surface of the water, then lunged forward and thrust his long Tang sword downwards with deadly force!

The strange fish let out a bizarre scream that no living creature could utter. Little did it know that after witnessing its aggression, there would be humans who, instead of keeping their distance, would attack it.

Its spine was pierced precisely, and dark red blood spread out, but the strange fish did not lose its ability to move. Its huge body thrashed wildly, and the waves created by its tail crashed against the thick earth and rocks. Fortunately, the ground was hard enough to provide cover.

Yu Xing felt the strange fish's strength in the water; his Tang sword almost flew out of his hand, rendering him completely unable to perform normal movements.

With no other option, Yu Xing could only wait for the right moment to draw his Tang sword. The blade was covered in a thick layer of blood, some of which was absorbed by the blood groove, while the rest dripped down the blade and fell back into the turbulent water.

Suddenly, a fierce glint appeared in the fish monster's eyes. It quickly turned around, its body disappearing into the deep water. Its giant tail, like a hammer, swept over with the force to smash Yu Xing and the paper figure into mincemeat.

Yu Xing only had time to swing his Tang sword and block before he was struck squarely. He tried to protect Carlos with one hand but was sent flying.

"Bang!"

Yu Xing crashed into the candle holders in the ancestral hall from behind. The candlesticks collapsed one after another, and the moldy candles scattered all over the ground, rolling around and gurgling. Yu Xing felt as if his internal organs had been shattered, and he felt a wave of suffocation.

He collapsed to the ground, his internal organs mangled beyond recognition, cold sweat pouring down his body. His Tang sword flew to another corner and embedded itself in the wall.

What a terrifying fish... He gritted his teeth and endured the sudden pain.

Seeing Yu Xing lying motionless on the ground, and the strange fish swirling around triumphantly for a couple more times before sinking back to the bottom of the river as if it were certain that Yu Xing was dead, Carlos, the little paper doll he was controlling, hurriedly climbed out of Yu Xing's arms, came to Yu Xing's side, and pressed his ear against Yu Xing's chest to listen to her heartbeat.

For a moment, Carlos heard nothing.

He clung to Yu Xing's clothes in terror, continuing to listen in disbelief.

Fortunately, this time, he heard a slow and heavy heartbeat, so slow that he thought Yu Xing had some heart problem, or that her life force was almost exhausted and could no longer support her heartbeat.

"Damn it, San, I'll use this paper doll to protect you from the disaster first, and then I'll find another one to contact you." Carlos only remembered that there were no other paper dolls nearby at this location. Once he used this paper doll to protect you from the disaster, he and Yu Xing would lose their way of contacting each other again.

However, compared to Yu Xing's life, a brief period of being out of contact is not unacceptable.

He manipulated the paper figure to close the eyes drawn with the marker pen, as if it were bravely going to its death. The next moment, he was about to transfer the disaster on Yu Xing to the paper figure, but a hand pressed down on the paper figure's shoulder, silently expressing its refusal.

The half-dead Yu Xing pushed the paper figure's head and said in a voice that clearly indicated she was enduring excruciating pain, "I'm fine, I'll be alright in a bit, don't waste time."

Is it true or false?

Carlos looked at him suspiciously.

His paper doll was the core of his power, possessing the ability to detect his own injuries and curses on his allies. In the first second, he clearly felt that Yu Xing's internal organs had all shattered, and that no human could survive. Then he sensed a faint life force in Yu Xing.

Carlos had never seen such a miraculous person, who could heal himself so quickly.

Even so, Yu Xing's injuries were still too severe. He couldn't move for a long time and could only lie quietly on the messy ground, surrounded by more than twenty candles.

Carlos was surprised and astute enough to notice the changes in Yu Xing's body; all of Yu Xing's internal organs were healing on their own!

What kind of constitution does this person possess? Is it some kind of extraordinary encounter Yu Xing had during the deduction? This person's luck is incredible! Could this be the reason why the Persona Mask is named "Xing"—incredibly lucky?

Carlos's paper figure stood on Yu Xing's chest, looking down at the pale-faced Yu Xing, his thoughts wandering.

After a long pause, he said, "I remember now, you can be resurrected."

Back in Coffin Village, he witnessed Yu Xing entrust Xiao Xuechen to end her own life with a dagger, and then open her eyes again a few seconds later.

Is it possible that the cooldown of this precious offering has just finished, so it can be used again?

Carlos made wild guesses, knowing that Yu Xing would never share information with him about such sacrifices.

Twenty minutes later, Yu Xing finally managed to sit up from the ground, supporting herself on her arms.

His recovery ability is currently suppressed. It takes more than an hour for a serious injury to be roughly healed, but if he only needs to recover to the point where he can move, twenty minutes will be enough.

"I was too hasty." Yu Xing rubbed his throbbing temples, seemingly talking to himself yet also to Carlos, "I thought this fish was at most the strength of ten Valley of the Dead corpses combined, or about the same as a hunchback, but I didn't expect..."

"Yes, this fish is too ferocious. Its power is probably the ceiling in this simulation." Carlos wiped non-existent cold sweat from the paper figure's face and murmured, "There's such a deep river beneath the shrine, and a huge fish in it that's lived for who knows how long. This path holds more secrets than I imagined."

"Aren't there any ancestral halls on the other two roads?" Yu Xing asked, looking at the hidden door.

"No, we checked very carefully, there's definitely nothing there." Carlos glanced at the motionless coffin, envying the hunchback who had completely gained the ability to block out the noise of the neighbors' renovations.

He brought his thoughts back to the present. "The existence of this strange fish must have its purpose. Perhaps it is guarding something, and there should be something we need in this underground river."

Yu Xing thought so too.

He hadn't had a chance to investigate further when the strange fish noticed the light. Judging from how accurately it bit him, the fish's night vision might be even better than that of the hunchback.

While most fish have lost most of their vision, this fish does the opposite.

But without the light, neither he nor Carlos could see down below.

"Could it be the entrance to the tomb?" Carlos asked Yu Xing for her opinion.

"I don't think so." Yu Xing shook his head. He had seen a corridor in Live Tail Lake, and compared to this place, he was more inclined to believe that Live Tail Lake was the entrance.

Because the workers who wanted to build the tomb palace would have needed to carry a lot of equipment and food, and the water in Live Tail Lake was clear and clean, and it was not deep, safe and open, so people could barely carry their equipment down there.

During the era of demon daoist, there was probably no diving equipment, but people had "demonic magic." How they got in was none of Yu Xing's concern. He only compared the two bodies of water. The Live Tail Lake seemed more like a path to "sacredness," while the dark river beneath the shrine gave off a sense of "prison" or "safety measure."

"I don't know if this fish was put in before or after the demon daoist's burial. Using it to guard the gate can only guard a gate of evil spirits. I don't know if you understand feng shui..." Yu Xing didn't explain to Carlos what was at the bottom of the Live Tail Lake. Seeing the paper figure listening attentively, he continued, "Anyway, I don't understand. I just feel that to guard the gate of a tomb palace, you should use some animals with more totemic symbolism. This one is unworthy."

Carlos: "... That makes a lot of sense. It's a pity I haven't studied religion, otherwise I could have righteously refuted you."

In short, there must be something carefully hidden in this underground river, and even if it's not extremely useful, it should at least be beneficial to them.

Unfortunately, this fish was difficult to kill. It was stronger than Yu Xing, faster, and much larger. Even after being injured, it didn't seem to be negatively affected and remained lively and energetic.

Yu Xing was not confident in fighting a strange fish underwater. Although he was a strong swimmer after eating the Water Ghost, his body was still human and could not compare to the fish's naturally adapted aquatic structure.

Therefore, before discovering the fish's weakness, Yu Xing probably wouldn't be able to know what was lurking in the water.

After a moment of silence, Carlos seemed to have encountered some unforeseen circumstances, causing his manipulation of the paper figure to be interrupted, while Yu Xing was busy recovering from his injuries.

As the moon rose high in the sky, a muffled thud suddenly came from the black coffin, causing Yu Xing, who had retrieved the Tang sword and was resting on the ground, to tense up.

Is the hunchbacked person about to emerge?

Are you awake?

Yu Xing used the knife to support himself on the ground, used the momentum to get up, checked the extent of his recovery, and then stood still.

He stared at the coffin, and sure enough, with a deep, loud yawn, the coffin lid was pushed open.

The hunchbacked man sat up, his deathly face glancing to both sides to make sure no one was there.

Usually, there is no one around. The hunchbacked man no longer feels that anything will change around him after he wakes up; he looks around simply because he is used to doing so.

He has a bad memory; every time he takes a nap, he forgets many things, except for those he instinctively and habitually forget.

But today, the next second after he looked to the right and then to the left—

He abruptly turned his head back to the left.

He thought he just saw someone standing there casually?

It's not an illusion!

That person not only stood there, but also smiled and greeted him.

For some reason, the hunchbacked man felt an overwhelming rage. He crawled out of the coffin, and the thin rope in his palm felt familiar; it was his most treasured possession.

He grabbed his most treasured thin rope and charged towards the reckless man.

"Hang him up..."

The hunchbacked man's distorted voice echoed in the ancestral hall. His thin legs and hands swayed precariously, making one worry that his limbs might break while he was running.

"Hang him up..."

The hunchbacked man repeated the same phrase over and over, while the man standing there neither dodged nor avoided him, letting him rush past. His bulging, filthy eyes shone with excitement as he raised his noodle-like arms and swung the thin rope around.

Just as the hunchbacked man was about to successfully loop the thin rope around the man's neck, suddenly, the man moved.

The opponent braced his long sword against the ground, pushed off with his feet, and nimbly spun half a circle around the sword, just managing to dodge the thin rope.

At the same time, something appeared before the hunchbacked man that instantly filled him with fear.

"The door... the door!" he cried, his feet already losing their balance.

Just as he fell, he heard the man with the long knife laugh and say in his ear, "Sorry, but to see your bed, you'll have to be neighbors with that fish."