Yu Xing Had Given This Person A Chance

It was a sudden surge of emotion; after watching helplessly as the long river swallowed the old fisherman, a strange feeling rose in Yu Xing's heart.

Something in the river seemed to be drawing him in, calling to him. The churning darkness within was like his warm bed, making him... long to go in, close his eyes, and lie down for a while.

He suddenly felt utterly exhausted and disgusted with this place. It seemed that only by walking into the river could he stop the waves of helplessness surging up from the bottom of his heart. Even though there was another resentful feeling in the river, staring at him as if it were a tangible thing, that resentment seemed so insignificant in the face of the overwhelming urge to enter the river under the open sky.

His expression gradually shifted from fear and vigilance to relaxation. Yu Xing seemed to hear someone's stern rebuke, but he couldn't hear it clearly because the sound of the flowing river was too loud. In the end, all he could hear was the sound of waves crashing against the shore, a sound that made him want to fall asleep.

My steps began to move forward slowly, unconsciously.

The air was so cold it made breathing sticky. Yu Xing slightly opened her mouth to relieve the pressure of breathing, like a small boat eagerly stepping into the surging river.

"Xing!" Zhao Yijiu scolded, ignoring the somewhat surprised gaze of the girl in the white dress opposite him. However, his voice did not reach Yu Xing's ears. He could only watch helplessly as Yu Xing walked step by step into the water, as if he had lost his soul.

Blocking his way was the old fisherman. Yu Xing spoke a few words with the old man and then suddenly fell silent, standing still for a while as if possessed. Then, with the slender figure of a woman, she swayed and walked towards the river. Zhao Yijiu immediately tried to stop her, but the old fisherman stood up and blocked his way with his fishing rod.

"It's not your turn yet..." The old man's strange tone made Zhao Yijiu's legs go weak, and he could only stand there, coldly watching everything.

"It's not your turn yet... There's no one behind you."

The old man, with his hunched figure, resembled a mountain; as long as he stood there, those who remained on the shore had no other choice.

Zhao Yijiu's gaze swept past him, fixed on the back of the stylishly dressed woman in front of her... then she twitched the corner of her mouth.

The figure had already reached the edge of the river, and then, as if unable to put up any resistance, decisively stepped into the river.

The moment he touched the river, the force of the water slapped Yu Xing's body to the side, causing him to fall straight into the water.

A whirlpool began to churn in the water, and from that large, dark patch, strands of wet hair meandered out, seemingly binding Yu Xing's falling body and preventing her from surfacing.

The people on the shore all looked somewhat solemn. Although they had guessed that the Water Ghost's attack methods were nothing more than illusions and its underwater form, they hadn't expected the Water Ghost to be so powerful, capable of rendering an outsider completely defenseless.

The chef frowned deeply, filled with dread about the Water Ghost, and quickly began to think of what to do.

Yun Si was genuinely surprised. He stood up from the small stool and stared at the surging water.

Having heard of the future reputation of the Broken Mirror Squad, he was quite confident that Yu Xing wouldn't die here. After all, she was the captain of the Broken Mirror Squad; how could she be so weak?

But now, looking at it, he couldn't imagine how a human whose abilities and sacrifices were being recycled by the system could survive in this chaotic river... Did they break through the restrictions in the water and float to the surface at the last moment before drowning?

Or perhaps... Yu Xing needs his help to survive this time? After all, he's standing right here. If his help is also a necessary step for the Broken Mirror to continue developing according to its trajectory and establish a friendly relationship with their team, then it seems plausible.

Moreover, according to Yu Fengchen, when they were in the tomb palace, he also intended to give Yu Xing a black doll under the pretext of "returning the gift," but Yu Xing refused. Logically speaking, Yu Fengchen's actions could be considered as reversing Karma and changing the future.

If the future can be changed, why can't Yu Xing drown here?

Yun Si hesitated for a moment, then took two steps along the shore, her skirt swaying from side to side.

His position was advantageous; the old man was blocking the Cold Wine, but there were no NPCs on his side to stop him. Should he jump in to save the person? But his swimming skills... might not be enough to save the person in the Water Ghost's territory.

Yun Si was puzzled. Suddenly, he thought of something and squinted at Zhao Yijiu's expression.

He often smiles or lazily lounges around, but only when he squints his eyes does he suddenly transform into a large, predatory animal poised to pounce, exuding pressure and danger.

His eyesight was excellent; even in the pitch-black darkness, he caught Zhao Yijiu's true expression.

Between her tightly pursed lips and furrowed brows, Zhao Yijiu's eyes remained calm.

Aside from his initial shout to stop him, his emotions became quite calm after being stopped by the old fisherman, and this did not change even after seeing Yu Xing enter the river.

Having grasped the situation, Yun Si suppressed his curiosity and astonishment, turned his gaze back to the churning river, and decided to continue watching.

Yu Xing must have done it on purpose, Yun Si thought. This person must have been confident of surviving, but why choose such a risky approach when they could have simply lured the Water Ghost up to deal with it?

Could it be... fishing?

Yun Si glanced at the chef and his companion out of the corner of his eye, and a plan formed in his mind.

They were fishing; the old man was fishing for Water Ghost, Yu Xing was fishing for an enemy.

Ugh, he was so conflicted for so long. It turns out that anyone who can chat with Ning Feng and Yu Fengchen is no good. Pshaw.

Zhao Yijiu was indeed very calm, and even when she saw the two schoolgirls with serious expressions and whispering to each other, she felt a little like sneer.

The water was surging, seemingly indicating that Yu Xing had already drowned by the Water Ghost... but in reality, it's possible that Yu Xing was actually trying to kill the Water Ghost.

He followed Yu Xing's instructions, shouted the warnings, and displayed the anxious attitude expected of a teammate. Shouldn't that be the end of it for him?

Now we just need to wait and see how things develop...

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a splash appeared, and no one could see what was happening in the river. They could only guess that Yu Xing, after entering the river, had finally escaped the illusion and was beginning to struggle.

"Looks like we don't need to lift a finger." The chef chuckled twice. "I overestimated him. It seems he's more of an intellectual type; aside from the power the system gave him, his willpower isn't that strong... Good, saves me the trouble."

Before the words were finished, a pale hand suddenly stretched out of the river, veins bulging, and clung tightly to a protruding rock on the riverbank!

He was startled. Putting everything else aside, the hand covered in river mud looked exactly like a scene from a horror movie. If it weren't them who saw this, but an ordinary passerby, they would have screamed in terror on the spot, and the rumor of the ghostly hand in the river would have spread throughout the neighborhood the next day.

Then, after one hand gripped the riverbank, the other hand desperately reached out, followed by the head of a woman with black hair covering her face. It was the fashionable woman that Yu Xing had possessed, or rather, it was Yu Xing herself.

Yu Xing surfaced, gasping for breath. Hair that wasn't his was still wrapped around his neck, tightly gripping his throat. He couldn't spare a hand to deal with this deadly thing, because everyone could see that taut hair was also wrapped around Yu Xing's arms, pulling him backward!

The river water dripped from Yu Xing's hair as he clung to the bank, looking disheveled yet stubborn. Then, a low growl escaped his throat, "Brother Jiu, help!"

He... now has the face of a strange woman, with water droplets clinging to his long eyelashes, his lipstick washed away, pale and ashen, yet his eyes are bloodshot, and his face is covered with fine scratches, like a dying animal using its last strength to let out a mournful cry and a roar.

The hair around his neck tightened, his voice disappeared into the air, and he bit his lip so hard it bled, his eyes filled with a desperate hope, as if he were really begging Zhao Yijiu to save him.

Zhao Yijiu twitched her fingers, feeling that the expression on the woman's face as she surfaced in the river was unworthy of Yu Xing.

He had seen Yu Xing feign weakness; unease, tension, and fear had all appeared on that face that was far superior to humans. But each time, it was just the man acting; there was never a ghost actually causing trouble for him when he showed those expressions.

He never imagined that Yu Xing's acting skills, combined with the ghost's cooperation, would have such a realistic effect. If he didn't know that this was definitely not a reaction Yu Xing would have, he would have believed it.

Perhaps Yu Xing was too skilled at acting, because of her disheveled appearance in the water... Zhao Yijiu didn't really want to see it, especially since Yu Xing was wearing the face of a strange woman, which looked inexplicably odd.

Zhao Yijiu took a step forward, but was immediately stopped by the old fisherman. The old man seemed to have his eye on him, ignoring everyone else and staring at him, saying, "It's not your turn yet..."

Zhao Yijiu felt a little annoyed. He started to push the old man's chest more forcefully, but the old man didn't budge.

Like an unshakeable mountain.

Yu Xing floated up a little higher, managing to free one hand to pull the hair wrapped around his neck aside. He shouted, "I got the Water Ghost's heart! As long as I get ashore, this painting will be finished!"

Zhao Yijiu didn't have time to pull him back; this statement clearly had a greater effect on the other two people.

"We can't let him come up. These are spots for experience testers, and we can't give any to the deducers!" the chef said fiercely, striding towards the shore before his companion could react.

The old fisherman finally noticed him, moved aside from Zhao Yijiu, and limped after the chef step by step. Although the old man was unshakeable, he still had his weakness: he was slow.

He couldn't stop the chef in time, but he still said with unwavering emotion, "It's not your turn yet... Go back..."

How could the chef miss this opportunity? He quickly came to Yu Xing's side, only to see Yu Xing with her head down, leaning forward, constantly trying to climb out.

The woman's long hair covered her face; just moments ago, her face was barely visible when she looked up, but now she was just a dark shadow in the night.

"The heart of Water Ghost?" The chef squatted down, looking down at Yu Xing. He had already calculated that, given Yu Xing's posture, it was impossible for him to exert force to pull him into the water as well.

"What are you going to do?" Yu Xing's voice was unusually strained due to the constriction in her throat.

Force.

"Although we are from different systems, we don't have any deep-seated hatred. All I want is for the spot not to fall into the hands of you predictors. Let's make a deal: give me your heart, and I'll pull you up. How about it?" The chef's deep voice rang in Yu Xing's ears. Yu Xing shifted, hesitating.

The raging river crashed against the bank, splashing murky droplets that soaked the cook's trousers and even landed on his face. The cook sneered, "Think it over. I only offered you this deal because I didn't want to kill you. I know you risked your life to get this heart, but clearly, the Water Ghost's strength is beyond your imagination. Your companion is behind that strange old man; if he tries to rescue you, the old man can still stop him."

He glanced back and saw the old fisherman was already close by. He impatiently urged, "Hurry up, you don't have much time left to choose. Once the old man is next to me, I won't be able to save you."

"I'll... trust you this once..." Yu Xing's fingers, gripping the shore, trembled; he was clearly at his physical limit. He said, "My heart is in my chest..."

For women, sometimes the area around the chest of their clothing is a good place to put things, at least the location is convenient. Yu Xing found her heart in the water and wanted to swim to shore as soon as possible, so stuffing her things there was a very reasonable and smart choice.

The chef was overjoyed upon hearing this. Without hesitation, he reached out to grab Yu Xing's collar. In this life-or-death situation, he didn't think Yu Xing lie to him. After all, judging from the distance between the old man and him, he only had one chance. Of course, the chef had no time to take advantage of a woman at this moment; he himself was a high school girl.

He was very cautious when he put his hand into the river, but soon he touched something strange in the gap between Yu Xing's chest. It was definitely not skin. The chef's lips curled up, he grabbed the thing, and withdrew his hand.

Yu Xing was barely holding onto the riverbank. "Pull me up!"

Before he could finish speaking, the chef stood up, his expression menacing.

"I really wish all you strategists were as naive as you." He raised his foot, as if to stomp down hard, Yu Xing pulled his hand back, only to be pulled back into the water by the black hair in the water.

The chef's shoe sole made a dull thud against the ground. It was clear that if Yu Xing didn't let go, the foot would have landed squarely on Yu Xing's hand. In excruciating pain, his fingers would have been unable to grip anything anymore. The chef clearly wanted to kill him!

The old fisherman stopped when he saw Yu Xing fall back into the water. The cook let out a triumphant laugh, but whether it was his imagination or not, a second before he laughed, it seemed as if another soft laugh came from the water.

Seeing everything, Yun Si shook his head. He knew exactly what Yu Xing was planning. His gaze toward the chef was neither sad nor happy, showing neither pity nor gloating.

Zhao Yijiu coldly stared at the chef on the shore, a flash of bloodlust crossing her eyes, which was then firmly suppressed by the blackness.

He thought, Yu Xing had given this person a chance.

There are two choices: if this person keeps the agreement and brings Yu Xing up, all they will lose is a spot that never belonged to them in the first place.

If the agreement is not kept...

Zhao Yijiu blinked, a surge of irritation rising within him, making him want to smash everything in his way with a knife, just like when he was a child groping in the dark.

He took a deep breath and told himself, "It's okay, this person is already dead."