[Nether God Sacrifice] Rainbow

Countless blind fish chased Xu Jiawei. She was surrounded by severed fish tails and blood, packed so densely that the sight alone could trigger a phobia.

Three water ghosts shielded her between them. Two had already been torn apart by the blind fish, and the last had been reduced to a skeleton with scraps of flesh hanging from it.

Xu Jiawei clutched a rope, dragging a mangled corpse behind her.

Judging by the few remaining scraps of clothing, it was the village chief.

Even in a situation where death seemed all but certain, Xu Jiawei had refused to give up. From high above, she had seen Xu Gao draw the blind fish away for Xu Xiaocai and found a sliver of hope.

The blind fish craved blood. When several members of the Xu Family were out at sea at once, they would first be drawn to whoever was bleeding most heavily.

So Xu Jiawei had taken a desperate gamble, choosing one of the most dangerous things anyone could do in an instance-attacking an NPC.

She had tied up the village chief and slit the artery in his neck. With the blind fish devouring him first and the three water ghosts fighting desperately to protect her, she had forced her way to the exit without a boat.

Xu Jiawei was covered in wounds. The blind fish had bitten off one arm and one leg, and half her scalp had been ripped away along with her hair. Her entire body was soaked in blood. She bit down hard on her fingernail, and the last water ghost used all its strength to fling her toward the whirlpool.

"Shao Lan, I underestimated you." Xu Jiawei coughed up a mouthful of blood, her gaze fixed on his face. Never before had an instance left her in such a wretched state, so close to death. "You really are a terrifying opponent."

"I underestimated you, too." Shao Lan looked at Xu Jiawei. "You're just as terrifying an opponent."

Even Shao Lan had not expected any players on Xu Family Village's side to survive.

Xu Jiawei briefly closed her eyes and touched her fingernail. The final water ghost dissolved into countless scattered droplets. A moment later, Xu Jiawei vanished into the golden glow as well.

Only Shao Lan and millions of silvery-white blind fish remained in the dark waters. In the distance, the boundary of the Nether Sea shimmered with an inky blue glow beneath the moonlight.

Shao Lan was in no hurry to leave.

He had a rule he lived by-

When it was time to play it safe, don't get greedy;

when it was time to get greedy, don't hesitate.

And right now, greed was exactly what he needed.

Every instance should contain a [precious memory]. Although Shao Lan had yet to fully understand what the memories were for, obtaining one would at least earn him a substantial cash reward.

That made it worth a gamble.

All the other players were either dead or gone, and none had obtained the memory.

That meant the key to the memory had to lie with Xu Xiaocai.

Shao Lan leaned closer to the words written in blood on the speedboat. Xu Xiaocai had written them in her final moments.

"I'm sorry."

Shao Lan sat down beside Xu Xiaocai's bones and thought.

Who had Xu Xiaocai been apologizing to?

Him and Qin Ning?

Clearly not.

Although Shao Lan and Qin Ning had suffered many injuries protecting Xu Xiaocai, theirs had been a fair exchange-Xu Xiaocai provided them with a boat, and they protected her on her journey to the Nether Sea to meet Mother Ming.

They had not even succeeded at that last task, so Xu Xiaocai had nothing to apologize to them for.

Then who had that apology been meant for?

Suddenly, Shao Lan understood.

He tied Xu Xiaocai's bones to the boat with the rope, then slowly rowed toward the boundary of the Nether Sea.

With no members of the Xu Family aboard, the blind fish no longer attacked the boat. They swam quietly, their silvery-white tails glinting beneath the moonlight. The scene had a strangely tranquil beauty.

At last, Shao Lan reached the Nether Sea.

The water was unfathomably deep, wreathed in inky blue mist. The moon and scattered stars cast their light across its surface. Everything was so quiet that he could hear the soft lapping of water against the hull, as though even the passage of time had grown slow and viscous.

He stopped the boat and untied the rope.

Xu Xiaocai's bones sank.

At the very instant the bones disappeared into the depths, two identical young women appeared.

Snow-white dresses, long, dripping hair.

They still held hands, their heads bowed.

But this time, Shao Lan could see their expressions clearly.

They were crying.

For hundreds upon hundreds of years, whether it was the furious elder sister or the compassionate younger sister, whether hatred or love, both had needed the same answer-

They wanted an apology.

Someone had to cross those waters, reach the Nether Sea, and apologize to Mother Ming as a member of the Xu Family.

Within the glow, Xu Xiaocai's figure appeared once more.

Hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, a young woman had been devoured by countless blind fish and become the Mother Ming sisters.

And when Xu Xiaocai willingly jumped into the sea to feed the blind fish with her own body, she had earned the right to plead with Mother Ming.

Xu Xiaocai approached the two sisters.

She slowly bent her knees and knelt in reverence amid the shimmering waves.

I offer my bones to the divine; with my blood, I repay your grace.

May ancient sins dissolve beneath the waves, and moonlit seas bless the mortal world again.

Amid the endless murmur of the waves, the two identical young women raised their heads together. They were no longer crying. Instead, they removed the flower wreaths from their heads and cast them into the sea.

Then their bodies began to dissolve from the edges, turning into countless petals glimmering with silver light. They fluttered through the air before finally melting into the boundless waters and shining starlight.

At the same time, back in the village.

Xu Xiaohong slept soundly and dreamed.

In his dream, there was a long river. He stood on one bank, while Dad and his big sister stood on the far side of the sea.

Oh! It wasn't just Dad and his big sister. Mom was there, too.

Xu Xiaohong was delighted. He had not seen Mom in such a long time.

He waved, and the people across from him waved back.

His big sister cupped her hands around her mouth and called his name. "Xiao Hong!!"

Xu Xiaohong loved his name and his big sister's. Mom had chosen both.

Mom had said that Xiao Cai and Xiao Hong together made "rainbow," and a rainbow was something very beautiful, with seven colors.

Xu Xiaohong did not know what colors were, but he could imagine them himself-in any case, his name and his big sister's were both very, very beautiful.

His big sister was beautiful in the dream, too. She waved hard at Xiao Hong.

"Xiao Hong, your eyes are untainted. You must use them to see lots and lots of beautiful sights."

"Dad, Mom, and I will all be in the sea, keeping you company. When we meet again in a few decades, you have to tell us about every beautiful sight you've seen."

Xu Xiaohong woke up.

He blinked, a little bewildered.

Beside him were several enormous bags, stuffed full of snacks.

Shao Lan and Qin Ning had left them for him!

They had said they would leave him all their tasty food before leaving the village.

That meant they were already gone.

Xu Xiaohong felt a little sad.

He sat up, took a piece of fruit candy, and put it in his mouth.

It was sweet. Something seemed different.

Not only did he know the candy was sweet, he also knew it had a very pretty wrapper...

Xu Xiaohong suddenly jumped up!

He rushed outside. His reflection appeared in a puddle, and in his eye sockets was a pair of eyes with clear black pupils and white sclera.

He could see!

Xu Xiaohong was astonished.

He had already prepared himself to spend his whole life without eyes-because he knew that to get them, people like Shao Lan and Qin Ning would have to die.

But now, no one had died, and he had eyes!

Just as his big sister had said, his eyes were untainted...

"Xiao Hong!"

Someone called his name.

Xu Xiaohong turned around. It was a little girl with big eyes.

"Are you Xiao Hong?"

"You're... you're Nannan!"

The little boy happily took the little girl's hand, and they ran forward. More and more children poured out of the alleys in every direction, like countless droplets coming together into a stream. Together, they raced toward the sea.

At sunset that day, they splashed in the shallows, swam, collected shells, and dug for hermit crabs...

The blind fish never appeared again.

No god would descend upon Xu Family Village again.

But new life would.

In a house at the end of an alley, a young mother gave birth to a child. She had prepared herself fully for what to expect, but the moment she saw her baby, she burst into tears.

Where there should have been two black holes, there was a pair of bright, shining eyes.

This was the first child in Xu Family Village to have eyes from birth.

The young mother held him and cried and cried.

"Thank you, Mother Ming! Thank you, Mother Ming!" She laughed and wept, hardly knowing what she was saying.

The baby gazed at the world with open eyes, bewildered.

From that day on, Mother Ming was no more.

The sea breeze brushed his cheeks with a faint salty tang. A pale glimmer slowly spread across the distant sky, and the inky blue sea took on a light sheen of gold in the dawn.

Shao Lan floated in the water. A petal shimmering with silver light rode the waves into his palm.

It seemed to be the last remaining petal from the wreaths the Mother Ming sisters had worn in their hair, which had dissolved along with them.

The moment Shao Lan's fingertip touched the petal, the entire sea began to shake violently. Heaven and earth turned upside down, and boundless, dazzling white light surged toward him from every direction.

Shao Lan instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, the waves, dawn light, and boat had all vanished.

Beneath his feet was level ground. Before him stood the elevator's gray metal wall, gleaming coldly.

A notice was posted on it. The paper was pure black, and every printed word was a shocking red. At first glance, it looked as though it had been written in blood:

Dear resident Shao Lan,

Congratulations on clearing [game instance: Mother Ming Sacrifice]. You have received a reward of [5,000 yuan].

You performed well in the instance, completed the side story [Xu Xiaocai's Wish], and obtained [precious memory · Mother Ming's Flower Sacrifice]. You have received an additional reward of [10,000 yuan].