Notes and a Showdown

Notes and a Showdown

The first page of the notebook held a single sentence.

"To die for the living, to live for the dead, to stay true to one's heart, and to uphold one's beliefs."

The next page introduced the statues.

There were sixteen statues commonly seen by the Chosen.

Three of them were Emperor Statues. They usually did not appear inside a blessed land, but always appeared when the Chosen entered or left one. The three Emperor Statues were:

The Upper Yuan Grade 1 Heavenly Official Who Bestows Blessings, Ziwei the Great'

The Middle Yuan Grade 2 Earth Official Who Forgives Sins, Qingxu the Great'

At Shi Ji's suggestion, the Su Sisters' expressions immediately crumbled, but Wu Xian and Wen Chao began considering whether it might work!

This guy had blown up a septic tank during his first blessed land, and now he'd developed a serious fixation on it.

She and her sister looked rather disheveled, with several small handprints now visible on their bodies. It seemed the Child Wraith had harassed them last night.

"That means that after tonight, there'll only be one room left."

Wu Xian's lips curled. "At this point, you two might as well be honest. No one here believes you're helpless women. Everyone's wary of you, so stop putting on an act."

Just as their plan was about to take a dangerous turn, a voice suddenly came from downstairs.

Though they looked disheveled, they also seemed even more alluring.

"I've got an idea! We blow up the shit! I know where there's a septic tank!"

After what he'd done, Wu Xian didn't feel he owed him anything.

Su Huilan tugged her clothes up to cover her exposed skin. Since they couldn't fool anyone anymore, she wasn't about to let these three men take even the slightest advantage.

Wu Xian fell silent for a moment. "We can look for Native Survivors in the blessed land and ask them for help. They must know how to escape the evil spirits."

For instance, statues and items all had grades: common, silver, and gold.

For example, the Outer God - Many Treasures Tathagata Statue was used for shopping. Offer Many Treasures Tathagata ten Underworld Money to open the Many Treasures Pavilion, where you could buy divine powers, talismans, and Magic Treasures with Underworld Money.

After reading the notebook, Wu Xian finally understood Qi Zhiyong's way of thinking.

Beyond these sixteen, other statues existed as well, but they either appeared too rarely or were tied to special mechanics in certain blessed lands, so the notebook didn't go into them.

Wu Xian glanced at it and immediately swore.

Some of the chains that had originally bound the thing had already been removed. That probably meant it had broken free of some of its restrictions. It might not appear on schedule anymore, or it might be able to open multiple doors in one night.

After finishing the notebook, Wu Xian felt much better. His eyelids were finally getting heavy.

Wen Chao showed no reaction. He'd already suspected as much.

Wu Xian gave a cold snort.

For instance, every blessed land had different rules. But as long as chains were wrapped around an evil spirit, it meant the spirit was restricted by the rules, and those restrictions gave the Chosen A Ray of Hope.

The Su Sisters exchanged a glance, surprise flickering in their eyes. In sweet voices, they said, "Then we'll leave everything to you. We sisters..."

The notebook also contained plenty of other useful information.

With a hint of mockery, she asked, "Then tell me, what else can we do but avoid you? Qi Zhiyong is dead!"

"I can try mixing up some explosives. There are only four blocks here, but maybe we can find enough materials. As long as the yield is high enough..."

At that, Shi Ji suddenly grew excited.

I've laid all my cards on the table. You still want to keep pretending?

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Wen Chao and the Su Sisters standing in the hallway, their faces grim.

Wu Xian sighed.

If Wu Xian hadn't held back at the start and had openly shown what he could offer, perhaps things would have turned out differently...

But it was still better than facing an upgraded Door-Breaking Wraith without any preparation.

The last page contained a note in Qi Zhiyong's own hand.

The cover bore a photograph of a family of three. Qi Zhiyong was the husband, the woman's head had been cut out, and the child's face had been rubbed until it was blurred.

Su Huilan froze. "But before, you clearly..."

The tears in their eyes made them look all the more pitiable, while the tears in their eyes made them look all the more vulnerable. The holes in their clothes revealed glimpses of their delicate bodies, and their tear-reddened eyes made people instinctively want to protect them.

[Letting the more valuable person live is my creed.]

Though he said that, he wasn't very confident. Yue Mei, who had gone looking for survivors to find a way to stay alive, had been missing for a long time.

The remaining thirteen statues appeared in most blessed lands: the Five Heavenly Officials, the Four Earth Officials, the Three Water Officials, and one Outer God - Many Treasures Tathagata.

Suggesting that everyone stay in the same room with them had been part of the Su Sisters' plan from the start.

The Su Sisters looked like this.

Two rooms had been marked today: Wen Chao's 401 and Shi Ji's 403. This proved that the Door-Breaking Wraith's rules had indeed changed. Starting tonight, it could break into two rooms every day!

That put them in a bad spot.

The Lower Yuan Grade 3 Water Official Who Dispels Calamities, Emperor of Dongyin'

The Su Sisters immediately looked aggrieved at his words, their eyes reddening. They'd already prepared to cry, make a scene, and threaten to hang themselves, but when they saw that neither Wen Chao nor Shi Ji intended to contradict Wu Xian, they realized there was no point in keeping up the act.

Wu Xian shook his head. "Qi Zhiyong said that only Magic Treasures, Vile Weapons, and vicious weapons could affect evil spirits. Explosives might not work."

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Wu Xian stepped out of his room.

"Fuck!"

Shi Ji was visibly tempted, but Wu Xian was thoroughly unimpressed.

"At this point, let's all be honest with each other."

Seeing this, Wu Xian thought of the Door-Breaking Wraith.

Last night had been too rough, so he hadn't gotten up early this morning.

Wen Chao made a suggestion.

Wu Xian was carrying the Copper Coin Spear now, so he couldn't keep holding back. He came clean, explaining his earlier preparations and his deductions about the rules of the blessed land. Then he summed up:

"In short, we can't keep hiding like cowards. Otherwise, tonight will be our last."

A moment later, Su Huijin spoke. "Since two rooms have been marked, and we don't know which one will be attacked first, everyone can hide in our room tonight..."

This information darkened Wu Xian's mood.

"Actually, the monster doesn't mark rooms in any particular order. Except for the first day, every room marked in the morning has been broken into that night."

Qi Zhiyong had planned to use the Great Wraith's rule—that it could only kill one person each day—to find someone else to die in his place. But he'd been too badly injured, while Wu Xian and the other man were both in good shape. So he'd decided he was worth less than the two of them, and reluctantly chose to face death.

There was also information about Qi Zhiyong's divinations and his theories about the blessed land. It was all fairly useful. Wu Xian kept flipping through the pages until he reached the end.

But Wu Xian still couldn't help feeling a little wistful.

Qi Zhiyong's corpse had vanished. Clearly, something hidden in the inn had eaten it.

But that wasn't what had Wu Xian cursing.

"I've got an idea!"

I'd finished writing this chapter earlier, but when I looked at it this morning, I wasn't satisfied, so I deleted a lot and basically rewrote it. That took quite a while, so the next chapter might be a little late.