The Race

"You have been corrupted. Your Sanity Value has decreased. Current Sanity Value: 43/100."

The system's cold notification instantly pulled Zhou You back from the illusion.

That single sound had caused Zhou You's Sanity Value to plunge by nearly thirty points!

But that wasn't all. Beneath the Bodhisattva, blood and flesh had begun to churn. Pus had turned into a foul, filthy ocean, sweeping the wailing souls along with it as it surged toward Zhou You!

"Player has triggered the final monster: Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva."

"All roads and locations are now accessible at night."

"Please escape from its pursuit and find this scenario's core item, the Wutao Sacrificial Statue, then destroy it completely."

"Please note: because the player completed the scenario's hidden storyline ahead of time, Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva broke free of its restraints before all sacrifices were completed. It is currently incomplete and cannot personally pursue the player."

"Please note: because the player has unsealed the Guhyapada Vajra Dharma Protector Temple, the Weituo Zuntian Dharma Protector Temple, and the Sanzhixiumo Dharma Protector Temple in Sanhuamiao Temple, Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva's abilities have been greatly weakened."

"Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva's Death Curse Sanskrit Sound has been sealed."

"Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva's Dharma Has No Two Gates has been sealed."

"Jixiang Jimiao Guimu Bodhisattva's Flesh and Blood Unity has been sealed."

"The three Sinister Objects guarding the temples—the Skinless Ghost, the Eyeball Ghost, and the Pious Ghost—have lost control and entered a state of indiscriminate attack."

"The player has released all major monsters in this scenario. The scenario's difficulty has been greatly reduced." ```

--After hearing the system's string of notifications, Zhou You began thinking furiously.

First of all, it seemed the Bodhisattva couldn't personally pursue him. That was an enormous stroke of luck. Just one attack had cost him nearly half his life. If it could come after him itself, there'd be no point playing this game—he might as well use a Resurrection Coin to reset everything and then figure out how to escape.

Then there was the second point, and the most important one.

He had to find that sacrificial statue and figure out how to destroy it.

But where was the thing?

Zhou You had never seen what the statue looked like, and Liu Shang's diary had never mentioned anything related to it. Searching for one item in such a vast district... To put it nicely, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. To put it bluntly, it was practically a pipe dream.

"Normally there should be a clue. I just didn't notice it, or maybe I overlooked it without realizing. So where is it..."

The blood sea outside was drawing closer and closer, but Zhou You was still deep in thought indoors. Scenes flashed before his eyes, until at last they settled on a place that had been turned upside down.

"Damn, I should've thought of that sooner!"

Zhou You slapped his palm. At the same moment, a voice filled with malice suddenly rang out in the distance.

"I... found..."

At first, the voice was indistinct, but in the blink of an eye it clung to his ears like a bone-deep itch.

"I... found you..."

"You went back on your word... You left me behind and went on alone..."

"The Bodhisattva... gave me a chance."

"As long as I kill you, I can finally be free!!!!"

...Wait a second. Why did this sound so familiar?

Zhou You picked up the incense burner and went outside.

Sure enough, at the top of that mountain of corpses and sea of blood, he saw an incredibly familiar face.

Liu Shang's face.

"Holy crap, you got turned into that and still managed to come back to life? Are you a cockroach or something?" Zhou You showed not the slightest remorse. He spat a thick wad to the side, nicked himself with the bloodstained knife, picked a direction, and turned to run!

An enraged shriek followed close behind him.

"No! You can't escape!"

The blood sea surged toward him like a giant wave!

--Could a person outrun a wave?

No.

In the blink of an eye, the tide crossed a hundred meters. At this rate, it would catch up with Zhou You in just a few minutes, then swallow him whole without mercy.

But that was only under normal circumstances.

The moment the blood sea entered the intersection, three shrieks suddenly rang out.

There was madness, despair, and pain in those voices, but only one emotion was shared among them all.

Utter, unrestrained fury.

The first to hurl itself at the blood sea was a flash of white skirts.

The faceless ghost craned its neck and lamented to Liu Shang in a horrifying voice.

"Father, I've never disobeyed you, not once. Why were you so cruel? Why did you have to tear off the face I loved most?"

At its lament, Liu Shang's skin rippled as if it were about to be peeled away. But a giant claw immediately rose from the blood sea and crushed the figure in white without hesitation.

"I raised you this whole time! You ate my food and drank my water. What's wrong with taking a little interest from you?!"

But another mass of black mist quickly caught up.

A child's young voice came from within it.

"Daddy, I was good. I was always good. Why did you dig out my eyes?"

One of Liu Shang's eyeballs exploded on the spot, making his face look even more savage.

"You're my child. Everything you have belongs to me anyway. What's wrong with giving your life for your father?"

The black mist was swallowed by the blood sea in the blink of an eye. The last to charge was a scrawny old man.

"Liu Shang, I worked my ass off for you for over thirty years! I've been helping you since you were just starting out. Over the decades, I've done God knows how many dirty jobs for you. If nothing else, I've more than repaid you. And this is how you thank me? By killing my entire family???"

Liu Shang's mangled face was cleaved apart. Another face soon surfaced from the blood sea, but its expression was noticeably more wan.

Even so, the blood sea rolled over the old man with unstoppable force.

"So what if I killed your whole family? If you're so loyal, then repay me with your wife, your children, and your own life!"

The final roar swept across the entire district like a crashing tide.

Zhou You, focused on escaping, staggered several times. Once he'd barely regained his balance, he glanced back.

"The three ghosts lasted less than three minutes. There's... still not enough time."

Despite that, Zhou You showed no fear. He slashed himself again, and as blood poured from the wound, he quickened his pace.

The distance between them continued to shrink, bit by bit.

Soon, the viscous blood sea was closing in on his back again.

Zhou You was nearing Shan Huai Hutong. Unlike the silence of the other day, the place was once more covered in charred black. The countless faces on the walls spotted him and broke into grins.

The sooty child appeared again and tugged at Zhou You's sleeve. It was just about to say those malicious words, "Let's play a game," when it suddenly turned to look behind someone.

Its innocent smile vanished at once. It stood in front of the surging blood sea and spoke one word at a time, its voice steeped in venom.

"Want to play a game?"

"Liu Shang, you bastard!!!!"