Corpse Stench

Although she had never met this woman, Yu Xing remembered her as soon as the other person mentioned her title.

After all, it's hard not to remember someone who says "I fell in love with you at first sight" during a live simulation.

--The person who told him she fell in love at first sight, a burly and strong man, is someone he can never forget, no matter how hard he tries.

Yu Xing still remembers how the psychic named "Demon" confessed her love to him from inside the body of a burly man, revealing a woman's unwavering determination. Even though he knew the truth and that she was actually a woman, Yu Xing was speechless at the time.

"I remember you." He didn't have any ill feelings towards this girl; on the contrary, he quite admired her. In order to avoid killing someone, she voluntarily gave up a portion of the points from her previous deduction, so one could say her values were acceptable.

"That's good, that's good. Why are you alone? I saw Yan Li walking with you from afar. Did you two split up?" Mo looked around, a little puzzled.

Yu Xing said, "We've separated for now; they're going to find a guide, and I'm going sightseeing."

Demon: "... Traveling is great! Our tour group should travel."

Yu Xing: "Yes."

Demon: "Hmm."

"..."

Demon: "Actually, I didn't really want the conversation to fall flat, but your humor is hard for me to handle."

Yu Xing couldn't help but chuckle, instantly lightening the atmosphere. He tilted his head and asked directly, "You didn't come here just to say hello, did you? Or is it more than just that? What do you want from me?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious, just wanted to exchange some information." Mo shrugged. "Ahem, I was immature before and easily said 'love at first sight,' don't mind it. It shouldn't affect my reliable image in your eyes, right?"

Actually, you don't have much of an image in my heart, Yu Xing thought.

However, he also knew that the other party had at least advanced to the Despair level, which was quite in line with the progress of the Rookie King. No matter how you looked at it, he was not an unreliable person; he was just willing to show his cheerful side.

I wonder how much has changed inside, and whether it's still the same demon it once was.

The demon stood a few steps away with perfect decorum, spreading his hands to show that he wasn't carrying a single bag. "As you can see," he said, "I didn't bring anything on this trip."

"Because when I wasn't controlling this character, I was in a relationship, then we had a fight and got angry, so I took a spontaneous trip. Therefore, I'm at a disadvantage in terms of backstory and need someone to fill in the gaps in my information."

"So you came to me?" Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I was hesitating about who to talk to, but Yan Li is traveling with you, so I've been following behind you." Mo Yu Xing's eyes narrowed slightly, and he quickly waved his hand. "I'm just looking for an opportunity to talk to you; I mean no harm."

"Then I saw the noodle stall owner grab you; it seemed like they knew each other."

She grinned. "If you were a local, you'd definitely have the most information. I wouldn't be at a loss trading with you."

Yu Xing said, "Very perceptive. But what will you offer me in exchange?"

"You've been gone for a while, so you probably don't know, but I'm now running a mercenary business. Whoever gives me points, I do their bidding. This time, someone hired me to come to the Nanshui Town dungeon to retrieve something." The demon said, suddenly becoming proud, "Do you know why I can do this kind of business?"

"Because I can do things that others can't."

She pointed to her eyes, her dark pupils like the deep sea. "Over time, my abilities have improved a lot. I can see the truth now, and the most difficult thing for Nanshui Town right now is... seeing the truth."

"This dungeon is practically made for me."

"If you exchange information with me, or even take me with you, it'll be much more worthwhile than you think. It's a great deal, what do you say? Give it a try, give it a try!"

Yu Xing suddenly remembered the old woman he had seen outside the town with the window open. He and Hua Subai could both see the old woman's abnormality, but Yan Li was closest and had super strength, did not notice it.

Once inside the town, everything became much more normal, and there was nothing strange about it on the surface.

Is this what the devil meant by the difficulty in seeing the truth?

That demon's power is indeed indispensable.

He looked up, stared at the demon whose eyes were gleaming with anticipation for a long time, and then curled the corners of his mouth. "Alright, temporary team formation. I can share information with you slowly. After all, what you call seeing reality should be an active skill, which can only be used when necessary and cannot be used indefinitely."

"Our cooperation is mutually beneficial and we have a pleasant experience."

Isn't this much better than bringing along a Hua Subai?

That guy surnamed Hua is good at hiding his talents; he's no better than anyone else.

"Thank you, Boss!" Mo called out "Boss" with genuine emotion and immediately followed Yu Xing's steps.

Yu Xing turned around and continued walking along the street. The two of them strolled around like truly leisurely tourists.

This street is a commercial street, selling all kinds of things, from breakfast milk to clothes and sundries. The foot traffic isn't huge, but it's not nonexistent either; you can always see a dozen or so people around.

"Are we surveying the terrain?" the demon reacted quickly.

"Sort of? Anyway, I remember every path I've walked. I just think... with Yan Li and that guy surnamed Hua around, finding a guide shouldn't be difficult." Yu Xing wanted to listen to the townspeople's discussions about the Snow Festival while strolling around.

There was another thing that really concerned him— the Snow Time Flower, which was mentioned in both the system's background introduction and the monster brother's letter.

The Snow Time Flower is about to bloom, but what does it actually look like?

This flower was unheard of, and the fact that it was mentioned alone should mean it was related to the Snow Festival. However, no matter which street Yu Xing was on, she didn't hear a single word about it, as if the townspeople didn't care about this flower at all.

So only the Fang family has this tacit understanding of caring about this?

It's not certain yet.

By the way, there's a ready-made reference group nearby. Yu Xing asked, "Mo, have you ever heard of the Snow Time Flower?"

"Huh? No." The cool woman shook her head without hesitation, the tip of her wolf tail rubbing against her neck. "What's this thing?"

"I'm not sure either, I just feel like this flower isn't anything good, and it might be related to the plot," Yu Xing said, then suddenly a thought struck her, "That's right, since I've already shown that I care about this thing..."

"If someone with the surname Hua later hands you a flower and says, 'Look, isn't this Snow Time Flower?', don't accept it. This is my advice to my business partners."

The demon, seemingly confused but actually impressed, exclaimed, "Oh, oh!"

She hesitated for a second, then couldn't hold back any longer; curiosity quickly took over. "You called that person 'Hua,' but I've never seen him before. What's his Persona Mask name?"

Yu Xing scoffed lightly. "Who knows? It'll probably be three question marks."

He always felt that the three question marks he had seen on some event lists were Hua Subai; this was both intuition and a rational analysis.

"I see... I remember the three question marks. He doesn't appear often, and no one could match the name with the person. I never expected it to be him." The demon believed him, stroking his chin meaningfully. "No wonder he looked so..."

Yu Xing tilted his head. "You can see his 'true self'?"

"I could see it, it was terrifying." The Demonic Path said, "I saw it outside town, just one glance, and my eyes started bleeding. I didn't dare look closely."

"But that fleeting glimpse of a shadow... it looked like a tree."

"Hey, speaking of which, you're so handsome outside of town, you totally outshine that Meng Dao! Standing next to you makes me feel so safe, I guess I've fallen for you the moment I saw you again~"

Yu Xing pursed her lips, not paying much attention to the demon's immature confession that followed, but instead deeply remembering her first sentence.

A tree.

There's no other possibility but that it's Ghost Tree.

He simply couldn't be sure what this tree meant. Had the demon seen the source of the energy flowing within Hua Subai's body? Or was it something else entirely...?

Suddenly, a commotion arose from afar. A middle-aged woman, her voice tinged with worry and barely concealed excitement, shouted, "Oh no! Something's happened! Gao Yatou's home's body is already rotting, and she won't let anyone take it away!"

"What a tragedy! Go look! All the tourists she brought have gone to find her. She's lost her father, and she's going to lose her job too!"

Mo subconsciously exchanged a glance with Yu Xing and blurted out, "It's a guide?! Let's go check it out!"

The two ran toward the source of the sound, and many pedestrians on the road also looked in that direction with curiosity.

They ran past the commercial street, and ahead was an old residential area. Several people were blocking the entrance to the residential area, and the guard dog was barking loudly.

As they drew closer, an unbearable stench of decay assaulted their senses. The demonic energy murmured, "Even ordinary corpses don't stink this bad. What's going on?"