The Time Was Not Yet Right!

This is a space of consciousness.

Meng Qing's physical body remained motionless inside the bamboo forest, but his consciousness was pulled here by the Containment Object.

Among the Nine-Tailed Fox, besides that one person, Meng Qing couldn't think of a second one who could use the Containment Object without restraint.

As Containment Object belonging to the Rule System, the only way to leave this place is for one side to win.

However, as Containment Object, losing the game comes at a price.

As an alpha-class Containment Object, its negative effects must be acceptable since it is permitted to be used.

The negative effect of the Misty Chess Game is that it leads to slumber.

This sleep period is not fixed. If you lose, you will sleep for one more day for every piece your opponent wins.

The negative effects are not strong, so it can be used as a means of forced communication.

Of course, there is a drawback: if the game is not finished, neither side will ever wake up.

Meng Qing walked silently to the chessboard, sat cross-legged, and began to drop the black pieces one by one into the box beside him.

The white phantom extended its right hand and spoke.

"Please."

In Go, Black moves first.

Meng Qing picked up a piece and placed it in the very center of the chessboard.

The white, ethereal figure rested its hand on its temple and looked at Meng Qing with its head tilted to the side.

"A single move at the center of the square is advantageous, but unwise."

The white phantom picked up a piece and placed it next to a black piece. "You are different from them. They are chess pieces, yet they all dream of becoming the ones who wield the pieces. But your appearance is not on the chessboard."

Upon hearing this, Meng Qing continued to place his piece, but this time he placed it in a corner of the chessboard.

"A useless move, are you letting me win?" the white phantom said.

Is it a useless move?

"Jade from other mountains may be used to polish stone."

Upon hearing Meng Qing's words, the white phantom suddenly laughed.

"Then I will bear witness."

Although Meng Qing didn't say it, he knew that the person in front of him could only be Bai Ye.

Outside, the sun is setting.

Meng Qing slowly opened his eyes in the bamboo forest, then everything went black, and he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

The answer is clear: he lost this round.

However, Bai Ye only won by one move.

But this move was given to him by Meng Qing, because...

The time is not yet ripe.

The following evening, Meng Qing slowly opened his eyes. His clothes were soaked with dew, and his limbs felt incredibly heavy.

Bai Ye's sudden conversation with Meng Qing is quite intriguing.

Although their conversation was veiled, both of them understood the general meaning: Bai Ye wanted to recruit Meng Qing.

I'll use this game of chess, or you'll become my ally.

Either you become my enemy, like this game of chess, and be defeated.

But why Meng Qing of all people?

The answer points to one possibility: Bai Ye may have discovered Meng Qing's identity.

His words, though seemingly probing Meng Qing, actually revealed something else entirely.

That means he wasn't sure either.

Perhaps he knew that Meng Qing possessed magic, and this reminded him of the Right Hand Unit that had rebelled with Chaos years ago, but whether he could guess who Meng Qing was was another matter entirely.

But since he once obeyed the Nine-Tailed Fox, it's not impossible to offer some advice.

Bai Ye's psychological warfare tactics were quite effective; if it were anyone else, they would most likely have switched sides to the Nine-Tailed Fox's camp after this battle.

But his words failed to persuade Meng Qing.

Because he knew that dawn would one day pierce the darkness, and even the brightest Bai Ye would eventually die.

Meng Qing stood up and dragged his heavy body to a lake in the bamboo forest, where he slowly took off his mask.

Looking at his reflection in the water, Meng Qing couldn't help but reach out and touch his face.

Looking back, how long has it been since he last looked in a mirror?

Night falls, Asia

In a certain place in Shaanxi, Jiang Chen and Yang Lin arrived at a field.

Jiang Chen used Luoyang shovel to dig several holes in a row. After thoroughly checking the soil layers, he determined a location.

"This is it."

Jiang Chen started digging the hole, and Yang Lin watched from above.

"Can the lower-level authorities handle it?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen threw up another handful of dust. "In this world, if there's any organization I can't handle, it's the public security bureau."

"So this is up to you."

Yang Lin turned to look into the distance, deciding to turn a blind eye to Jiang Chen's behavior this time.

Although he knew that Jiang Chen's actions were illegal, since things had already progressed to this point, Yang Lin would take responsibility for whatever consequences came his way.

From his father to his master, so many deaths are related to the Nine-Tailed Fox, and Jiang Chen is currently the only breakthrough to find out the truth.

At 1 a. m., Jiang Chen made a discovery. He dug the hole even bigger until he confirmed that there was a coffin slab underneath.

Yang Lin jumped down as well, and Jiang Chen took out a water bottle and poured it onto the coffin board, then used a brush to slowly brush away the dirt on it.

"This is?"

Jiang Chen was first startled by the pattern on the coffin board, then delighted, "Two Dragons Piercing the Wall?"

"What's the meaning?"

"That's not important, what's below is important. Come on, lend a hand!"

Jiang Chen took out a crowbar and tried to pry open the outer coffin board along the gap, but the outer coffin board was sealed very tightly.

"Tsk... No, we have to dig bigger."

Upon seeing this, Yang Lin reached out and grabbed the gap, then exerted force to pull the coffin board out.

Jiang Chen blinked. "You... never mind."

The outer coffin was lifted, and Jiang Chen looked down. What he saw shocked him – the bottom was completely filled with water.

The entire tomb was filled with water.

"Coffin liquid...this is troublesome..." Jiang Chen said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Yang Lin turned his head. "Didn't you say there wasn't a mechanism you couldn't handle?"

"Then I should also check if there's any corpse poison in this coffin liquid, right?" Jiang Chen said.

Yang Lin squatted down, and some small balls gradually emerged from the coffin liquid. "They look like dates and chestnuts."

"Jujubes and chestnuts?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen suddenly took out a stick. He gently probed the water with the stick and found that the water was not very deep.

He gently stirred the area underneath with a stick. "The area below is full of burial goods, arranged haphazardly, and the space is very cramped?"

Could it be that...?

Jiang Chen quickly turned to look at a coffin board behind him, "Quick, lift this up!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Lin grabbed another coffin board, and as soon as he lifted it, he saw a skull.

"This is the coffin?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen clapped his hands, "Just as I suspected! I guessed right!"

Yang Lin continued to flip over the outer coffin until he saw the full appearance of the corpse.

At this moment, Jiang Chen noticed something. He poked around the corpse with a stick and pulled out a seal.

He put on gloves, gently picked up the stamp, and brushed the words on it.

"The Warring States period... the Qin Dynasty?!"

Thank you 'Hospital No. 23' for the two amazing gifts!

Thank you 'Mo' for the three amazing gifts!

The author is out today, but will update more tomorrow!