Was It on Purpose?

Lu Xiu stared at the communication window, speechless for a moment.

I hate people who only say half of what they mean.

but.

Thinking of Jian Ning, whose name was very similar to Jian Li's, and Yan Fushou's unprecedented private request.

Lu Xiu thought for a moment and decided to go to her room to change her clothes.

Let's go take a look.

She was also quite curious about who this Jian Ning was.

Moreover, since Yan Fushou has said so, Jian Li's condition might be quite bad.

That was also her friend.

But before leaving...

After thinking for a moment, Lu Xiu sent the newly acquired Lordvessel to Yan Fushou.

I just sent it.

[Yan Fushou:???????]

Then came a barrage of deadly messages.

Lu Xiu looked at the constantly popping-up messages and only replied that after the arena ended, she would sell the Lordvessel for testing while she was selling the Placement Function, as she was going to see Jian Li now.

You only say half of what you mean, don't you?

Yan Fushou was still sending messages.

Lu Xiu didn't reply. Instead, she closed the communication window and chuckled softly, her expression particularly alluring.

soon.

Yan Fushou realized what was happening and stopped bothering Lu Xiu, instead going directly to the military representative at the front lines.

Of course, Lu Xiu was unaware of this.

She had already gone to change her clothes. Actually, the reason why Lu Xiu waited until the Placement Function was available to test it together was not simply to get revenge on Yan Fushou for only saying half of what he meant. She mainly wanted to see if other players could get the Lordvessel.

Anyway, monsters spawn very infrequently during the front-line arena, so there's no rush.

Five minutes later.

Lu Xiu came out of the bedroom.

She took off her usual home clothes, changed into a T-shirt and jeans, then walked to the entrance, casually tidied her hair, and pushed open the door to leave her apartment.

There's no rush to update the dungeon.

Because there are limitations on the amount of content that can be updated, drastically adding new content is not an option.

Lu Xiu only planned to generate some buzz for the story of Dark Souls III and then leave it at that.

Do a few bosses from Dark Souls III.

This isn't difficult.

Lu Xiu walked down the somewhat empty corridor, pondering the new content of the dungeon as she went.

As for what specific BOSS to be.

Lu Xiu really wanted to be the Firstborn of the Sun —that is, the Nameless King in Dark Souls III.

After all, the system announcement mentioned it.

But when she was changing her clothes, she thought about it for a moment and then felt it wasn't appropriate.

The Nameless King can only emanate that mysterious, unfathomable, and incomparably powerful aura Archdragon Peak amidst the storm.

Rolling dark clouds and howling storm.

He rode down from the sky, swirling in the air, on the Storm King.

The entire entrance was full of ritual, as if he were not welcoming a challenge, but rather looking down on a tiny being who dared to step into the realm of gods.

In the second phase, Ancient Dragon dies, personally executing his comrades, after which the God of War appears.

Wow.

But once you leave that environment, it's not as impactful.

For example, when night fell, the Nameless King also appeared, but he immediately turned into a ground chicken.

certainly.

This is actually also related to numerical inflation.

It's possible to do it if you really want to.

Let's create a new scene.

We'll see when the time comes.

to be honest.

Lu Xiu was quite eager to see the Nameless King appear in a scene from Dark Souls I; it seemed really exciting.

"Come to think of it, it actually suits us quite well----"

As Lu Xiu rode the elevator downstairs, she thought to herself, "The bosses in Dark Souls III are completely different from those in the first game. The battles are much longer and more intense, and there are tons of multi-stage bosses. For example, the Sister Friede has three different stages, which will definitely be a refreshing experience for players."

----Um?

Lu Xiu paused for a moment, then stepped out of the elevator and laughed.

She's found the perfect boss!

Speaking of which...

It seems that no players have discussed Artorias in the Abyss yet in this Dark Souls raid.

I don't know if they just didn't notice, or what the reason is.

If this isn't discovered, then there's the new boss.

The team battle is expected to be quite exciting.

Lu Xiu walked along, lost in thought.

Without realizing it.

They had arrived at Jian Li's residence.

Lu Xiu immediately gathered her thoughts and was about to raise her hand to knock on the door when she suddenly noticed that the metal doorknob was covered with fine cracks, as if it had been crushed by someone, and was now hanging precariously on the door.

Lu Xiu frowned slightly.

This is definitely not an attack; someone who isn't attacking would touch the doorknob.

It's highly likely that the homeowner lost control.

Lu Xiu thought for a moment, then closed and opened her eyes, using her Reverse Visual Imagery to glance at the room.

Jian Li was sitting on the cold floor, completely unprepared, her arms tightly wrapped around her knees, her face buried in them. Her usually smooth and shiny silver hair was now scattered messily over her shoulders, looking as if it had lost its luster.

She seemed to have been drained of all life, radiating a suffocating sense of death.

Lu Xiu withdrew her gaze and immediately raised her hand to gently knock on the door.

Knock knock.

The moment the knock sounded.

A very faint rustling sound immediately followed inside the room.

Then, after a while, the door was slowly opened.

Jian Li appeared behind the door, her beautiful and aloof face calm as still water, showing no trace of sadness or breakdown, her beautiful eyes clear and bright.

It was as if Lu Xiu's illusion that she had just been sitting alone in the dark.

Jian Li saw Lu Xiu standing outside the door, and her eyes flickered slightly. "----What's wrong?"

Lu Xiu did not answer immediately, but lowered her head slightly, her gaze passing over Jian Li's slender waist and landing on the pleated skirt of her lower body.

Because she had been sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest on the entryway floor, the pleated skirt inevitably got some noticeable dust on it.

Lu Xiu took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Before Jian Li could react, she naturally bent down, reached out, and gently patted the dust off the pleated skirt.

"What happens?"

As Lu Xiu brushed the dust off her clothes, she asked, "What are you doing sitting on the ground all by yourself? And your skirt is covered in dust."

Jian Li's body stiffened slightly, seemingly not expecting Lu Xiu to suddenly help her brush off the dust. Her shapely, long, and fair legs beneath her skirt tensed instinctively, and her jade-like ears blushed visibly, making them exceptionally vivid.

Jian Li stood there, speechless.

Lu Xiu straightened up, not hearing any excuse from Jian Li, but instead seeing her standing there motionless, and couldn't help but smile.

She grabbed Jian Li's slightly cool wrist and led her into the house.

At the same time, he closed the door behind him.

However, she doesn't have the habit of chatting in the dark.

Upon entering.

She turned on the light too.

The previously dim room was instantly illuminated by bright lights, the glaring light causing Jian Li to subconsciously turn her head slightly.

Lu Xiu pulled her along, dusted off the floor, and then led her to sit down on the floor in the entryway.

Jian Li adjusted her skirt and obediently sat down.

Lu Xiu also bent her long, shapely legs, encased in tight jeans, and sat down next to Jian Li.

"Alright."

Lu Xiu turned her head to look at the silver-haired girl beside her and asked softly, "Now you can tell me what happened?"

Jian Li remained silent for a long time.

Under bright lights.

She sat there on the entryway floor, hugging her knees, like a delicate doll that had lost all life.

Lu Xiu wasn't in a hurry; she simply sat quietly beside her.

Finally, Jian Li gently shook her head. "----I'm fine."

Lu Xiu didn't mind when she heard this.

She knew that everyone had a few wounds in their heart that were hard to heal, and some things were indeed not suitable to be torn open and shown to others.

"Okay."

Lu Xiu leaned back slightly, placing her hands on the floor and looking up at the ceiling. "Then I won't bother with all that nonsense to comfort you. I'll just say this: all the hurdles you feel are tough now, all the obstacles you feel you can't overcome, will eventually just be minor issues if you give it a long time frame."

"It's like when someone pulled your braid hard when you were a child. At the time, you might feel so wronged that you felt like the sky was falling, but looking back two or three years later, it's just a trivial little thing in the long journey of life."

"Of course, what you're facing might be far more serious than just picking a fight, but the principle is the same."

She turned her head, her clear gaze falling on Jian Li's profile.

"I don't know how much pain you're going through right now, nor do I know who Jian Ning is to you, or what happened between you two, but I hope that no matter how much pain you're in, you won't punish yourself by hurting yourself."

Upon hearing the name Jian Ning...

Jian Li's delicate body stiffened again.

After a while.

She slowly turned her head, gazing at Lu Xiu's beautiful profile—the bright light outlined her delicate features, making her look both vibrant and dazzling, truly resembling her.

There was a moment of silence.

Jian Li suddenly spoke, asking softly, "Lu Xiu —if one day I were to strip you of your most powerful skill, what would you think?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiu blinked her beautiful eyes and retorted, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Jian Li pursed her lips and gently shook her head.

"Since it wasn't intentional."

Lu Xiu replied without hesitation, "Then I'll beat you up first, then make you compensate me, and finally teach you how to use the skills----"

That's about it.

Jian Li remained silent for a moment, her eyes swirling with indescribable emotions. "----But that's your most powerful skill."

"You didn't do it on purpose."

Lu Xiu casually said, "If you did it on purpose, then the nature of the matter changes; that would be betrayal, and I would absolutely hunt you down all over the world. But you didn't do it on purpose, and you're still my friend—as long as you weren't doing something stupid at the time, it's not a big deal."

"What if you get humiliated because you lost your skill—"

"Then why won't you protect me? You're not going to just stand by and do nothing? If you do, you're not my friend, and I'll still come after you."

Don't you feel humiliated?

"There will definitely be a psychological letdown—but I'm confident I can regain my powerful skills. If I can't, I'll eat your food for the rest of my life."

"----What if I steal your skill, and then cause a huge mistake because I don't use it?"

"What kind of big mistake?"

59

Jian Li fell silent.

Lu Xiu glanced at her again and said, "It depends on the specific situation, but I probably won't let that happen. After all, a skill is just a skill. I will make you compensate me, but I will also advise you to use it wisely, otherwise, wouldn't it be a lose-lose situation?"

Skills are important, but ultimately they're just skills.

Jian Li her head to look at Lu Xiu, her beautiful face radiating an air of self-righteousness.

"You can say I'm Architect and that it's easy for me to talk when I'm not doing it myself—but I think even if I didn't know how to Constructed Instance, I would still think this way."

Lu Xiu continued, "To sacrifice two people's lives for a single skill, to never see each other again, or even torment each other—it's truly not worth it."

Jian Li remained silent.

At this moment.

Lu Xiu suddenly turned slightly to the side, reached out, and gently pinched Jian Li's flawless and beautiful face.

It feels slightly cool and smooth to the touch.

I don't know what you've been through.

Lu Xiu was somewhat amazed, but didn't show it. "You don't seem too willing to talk about it, so I'll just ask one question: Did you do this on purpose?"

Jian Li did not struggle, but simply shook her head very slightly.

"That's fine then."

Lu Xiu released her face, her fingertips still lingering on that delicate, slightly cool touch, and smiled, "I really don't know how big a mistake you made. I'm a complete outsider, so I can't comment."

However, no matter what mistakes you've made in the past, unintentionally, or how bad the consequences, as long as it wasn't intentional, you'll never lose me as a friend.

Jian Li hearing this, Jian Li stared blankly at Lu Xiu.

Of course, one cannot be completely forgiven for the past simply by a few words of explanation.

That was an obstacle she could never easily overcome.

It's not that easy to let go.

But----

Jian Li looked at Lu Xiu's captivating smile so close to her, and at those beautiful eyes that held no trace of gloom.

In a daze, the shadow that stood in the afterglow of the setting sun and was eventually unrecognizable in the firelight seemed to have completely separated from the dazzling person in front of me.

She suddenly realized.

There are two people.

Lu Xiu is not her at all.

If it were Lu Xiu —she would never have remained silent after losing her skills.

She'll probably explode immediately, then pinch her cheek and mutter a bunch of insults, before she'll probably rush into the dungeon and farm back everything she's lost, doubling her losses.

Jian Li slowly lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

Yes, this is Lu Xiu.