Many things needed to be heard in reverse. The host took amusement in toying with life and death; when he said something was “interesting,” it meant the danger level was high.
Green Lotus Sage was someone who understood health preservation. After a short rest following the meal, he went outside to walk off his food along the tree-lined path. Seeing him leave, Su Er put down his chopsticks and followed.
Across the way, Wan Yi asked, “Not going to take a look?”
Ji Heng’s expression betrayed nothing. He only said, “Most likely about teaming up.”
Naturally, Green Lotus Sage could hear the footsteps behind him. He smiled lightly as they approached.
One of the types most worth guarding against was the smiling tiger. Su Er, also wearing a smile, went straight to the point: “May I ask, in a death-end scenario, can team-up items still be used?”
“Once you leave Deception, players are thrown directly into their respective death traps. Normally, even if you use a team-up item, you can’t connect with teammates.”
Su Er knew this, but he had taken a backdoor route that might avoid such restrictions.
As expected, Green Lotus Sage replied, “Your order has been disrupted. Naturally, you can use it.”
Hearing this, Su Er breathed a little easier. Going into an instance together was far better than waiting outside for scraps of news. Given the game’s style, once you left Deception it would surely alter your memory, making you forget the causes and consequences.
Catching that flicker of relief, Green Lotus Sage’s smile didn’t waver. “You’re a clever one. Unfortunately, I dislike humans.”
At such a moment, the right move was to shut his mouth and not respond.
Su Er strolled along the path at an easy pace, as though he were simply out for a walk.
A gust of wind blew, and as he sidestepped falling leaves, Green Lotus Sage said lightly, “What the host enjoys isn’t death itself, but watching the human struggle for survival…”
Su Er was actually feeling a bit drowsy, letting the words drift in one ear and out the other.
Near the end of the path, Green Lotus Sage stopped walking. “For the sake of dramatic conflict, I’ve left you a path of survival—though it’s also a path of no return.”
Most of the players in the hotel had already gone back to their rooms. Ignoring the strange stares, Su Er kept his eyes forward and rode the elevator upstairs.
Ji Heng had just finished washing up, leaning lazily against the window, rare traces of ease in his posture.
Su Er returned with two bottles of coffee to stay alert, and in passing repeated the earlier conversation: “The host was deliberately cryptic. I couldn’t tell what he was really trying to convey.”
A blank slip of paper appeared in Ji Heng’s hand. “Perhaps it’s related to this.”
It was the reward issued on the first day by Green Lotus Sage. Ji Heng had tested it in every way back then and concluded it was nothing more than an ordinary sheet of paper.
Su Er said, “Green Lotus Sage mentioned it could be used inside Deception.”
Ji Heng’s lips curved faintly. “Some words are only meant to be heard, not followed.”
Su Er mulled this over and sensed it was deflection. The host was also in Hope City; the answer would have to come from him.
Countless questions swirled in his mind, until he drifted into sleep with lingering confusion.
The next morning, when Su Er awoke, he sat quietly in bed for half a minute, his mind completely blank.
Everyone was up early. By the time he reached the dining hall, quite a few were already eating.
Breakfast had changed—this time it was buffet-style.
Green Lotus Sage only took a steamed bun and a small dish of pickles. Before lifting his chopsticks, he said, “Choice is important.”
Several players’ expressions darkened, reminded again of the three wasted days.
Yi Zhu twirled a strand of hair around her finger and beckoned Su Er over, motioning for him to sit nearby.
After he and Ji Heng sat down, she said softly, “That host’s tongue is sharper than mine.”
Su Er only smiled faintly and ate in silence.
As usual, the Azure Lotus Sage waited until most had finished eating before speaking. “Today’s game is called Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness.”
Su Er, short on sleep from the night before, let slip his honest thought without meaning to: “Sounds rather festive.”
Green Lotus Sage didn’t scold him for the interruption, simply continued, “The rules are simple. At dusk: eat mooncakes in the east of the city, marry off a daughter in the west, release river lanterns in the south, and plant dogwood in the north. Choose whichever event interests you.”
His explanation was vague, leaving players no choice but to ask questions.
“Can we only join one activity?”
“No restrictions.”
Seeing their contemplative looks, Green Lotus Sage smiled faintly. “Act within your limits. Risk and reward go hand in hand.”
Since the game didn’t begin until later, a new wave of monsters flooded Deception during the day. Su Er no longer bothered collecting tolls, staying quietly in the hotel instead.
By sunset, the western sky was awash in red.
Su Er ate early, put on a jacket, and left with Ji Heng.
Four buses were parked outside the hotel. After a moment of hesitation, he whispered with Ji Heng and boarded the one heading west.
The back rows were already full; it seemed most preferred sitting there.
Coincidentally, aside from Li Zicang, all the players who had joined the previous round of the game were present. The remaining seven were unfamiliar to Su Er.
He had just sat down when someone knocked on the window from outside. Turning his head, he saw it was Li Zicang.
“I’m going east,” he said. “There’ll be mooncakes there.”
“......”a
Seeing the greedy look on his face, Su Er suddenly felt that compared to Wudu and the apocalypse, this wasn’t so bad after all. Waving him off with a good-luck gesture, Su Er leaned back in his seat and sighed softly.
Wan Yi was sitting in the row behind him. “I thought you’d go south or north.”
Su Er gave a puzzled “Mm,” and beside him Ji Heng unexpectedly chuckled. “Because you never play by the rules.”
The phrase Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness usually meant weddings and other auspicious events. Releasing river lanterns, though, had long been tied to mourning the dead, even said to ferry souls to the afterlife. Planting dogwood was a Double Ninth Festival custom, meant to ward off evil and disease—and paired with the famous verse ‘Everywhere dogwood is planted, but one person is missing,’ it carried a chilling undertone when placed inside a horror instance.
Neither of those had much to do with “joy.”
Since the game was named Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness, choosing something connected with celebration should hold more advantages.
Su Er thought they had misunderstood him. “I’m playing it safe.”
Wan Yi tugged at the corner of his mouth, gave a meaningful, “Is that so?” and said no more.
As if to suit the occasion, the bus driver’s chalk-pale face was painted with two blobs of rouge on his cheeks. He drove at breakneck speed without a single stop.
The driver’s appearance was odd, but for battle-hardened players it was hardly worth more than a glance. Their real battlefield awaited in the west of the city.
The moment they got off, they saw bright red lanterns hanging high on both sides of the street, glowing so intensely that one might have mistaken it for the New Year. At the intersection stood a middle-aged man in his forties. When his gaze fell on one of the players, his smile thinned. “Wearing all black to a wedding—don’t you find that unlucky?”
The player named Qiao Yue, thus singled out, immediately felt a pang of dread. Looking around, everyone else was dressed in lively colors. Even Su Er had deliberately changed into a light blue coat before leaving—unobtrusive, but vibrant.
The middle-aged man didn’t seem intent on pressing the matter, though he cast Qiao Yue a sinister sidelong glance. After a pause, he spoke with exaggerated warmth: “The wedding is still short on a few hands. Anyone willing to help out can sign up.”
He handed around a sheet one by one.
A quick glance told Su Er it listed positions: servers, gift-money collectors, even guests.
“The bride’s family has few relatives,” the man explained. “To keep things from looking shabby, we need to hire some extras.”
Flipping the page over, Su Er frowned at the blank back. “Why isn’t there a role for the groom?”
“......”a
Though the question was sincere, the man’s expression darkened. “On such an auspicious day, you’d best mind your jokes.”
Su Er was perfectly serious. “Think about it carefully—the bride might be bringing in stand-ins as relatives so she can run away more easily.”
He even analyzed a few trending cases, then added, “What if one side backs out of the marriage? Better keep me as a backup option.”
The man’s mouth twitched; he spoke through gritted teeth. “That won’t happen.”
Su Er spread his hands. “Then I’ll just collect the gift money.”
The man hesitated. “That sort of thing should go to someone steady.”
“I’ve got plenty of experience.” Su Er thumped his chest in guarantee.
The man chose to believe him for now.
Wan Yi found it puzzling, but looking at Su Er’s earnest face, it didn’t seem like a lie. So he asked Ji Heng, “He really has that kind of experience?”
Ji Heng thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
They had just recently collected a massive amount of toll fees—experience was certainly there.
There was no restriction on how many players could choose a role. Out of eleven, four opted to collect gift money, one became a server, and the rest went as guests.
Being a guest offered the most freedom. Su Er had originally thought to choose that, but the lure of handling the money was too strong.
Just after Wan Yi finished speaking to Ji Heng, he caught sight of Su Er’s expression from the corner of his eye and froze… Why did it look like he was about to take the money and run?
He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Though not particularly fond of pretty boys, Yi Zhu still reminded him, “Don’t run off alone.”
Su Er nodded, then turned to Ji Heng. “I’ll take you with me.”
“......”a
A trivial interlude, something to laugh off—for in an instance, there was no escaping anyway.
Everyone in the city was a monster. This middle-aged man looked human enough, but who knew what was really beneath that skin?
At the hotel entrance, greeters stood at the ready. A red carpet stretched more than ten meters, but stepping on it sent a chill up their feet.
The place bustled with people; at first glance, it looked like nothing more than mundane celebration. The banquet was on the second floor, and a long table was set up at the entrance. Su Er and Ji Heng were assigned to collect the bride’s side’s gift money, while Yi Zhu and Wan Yi handled the groom’s.
The middle-aged man explained that the wedding would begin at 7:30, then went inside to manage the arrangements.
At 7:10, the first uninvited guests arrived. In front of Su Er stood a pink placard marked “Bride’s Side.” After glancing at it, six guests came his way.
Three lined up before Su Er, three before Ji Heng—remarkably orderly.
He had kept a faint smile until then, but when he saw what was placed before him, his expression began to flatten.
The first gift was a chicken—white-feathered, red-eyed, its claws sharp enough to slice through iron. The giver, ever “considerate,” even explained the details: “This White Beast must drink a large bowl of human blood every fifteen minutes.”
Su Er accepted it without changing his expression. The gift-giver said with a mocking tone, “If it doesn’t get to drink human blood, it’ll start thrashing and making trouble.”
There were plenty of monsters here, but no human blood. Which meant, plainly, that he would have to provide it himself. Su Er narrowed his eyes. If push came to shove, he would have to kill this chicken, but that would cause trouble afterward—after all, this was a share meant for the bride. Destroying it meant harming the host’s interests.
Signaling the people behind him to wait, Su Er turned to Ji Heng: “Go to the restroom, I’ll keep this for you first.”
Two people caught in the trap together was clearly unwise; only by pulling one out was there a better chance of survival.
Ji Heng didn’t refuse. Saying “service paused,” he got up and moved aside to study the guests’ patterns.
Not a single one brought money—everything was living creatures: poisonous toads, piranhas, every kind imaginable. The most revolting was someone gifting a sharp-beaked bird said to lay an egg every half hour, which would hatch in the blink of an eye.
Gathering so many demonic beasts at once—if they all went wild together, even with protective items on hand, it would be impossible to withstand.
Su Er stood up, carrying a few of the creatures over to the middle-aged man. “These are pretty lively. I’m afraid they’ll run off. Shouldn’t we keep them locked up together?”
The middle-aged man smiled pleasantly. “Since they were entrusted to you, they belong to you now.”
Su Er forced a grin. “These were given to the bride.”
The man refused to budge, insisting he keep them.
The next gift-givers were growing impatient, calling out to him. Su Er had no choice but to return to work.
The white beast, wearing the head of a chicken, occasionally clawed at the air behind it as though ready to attack. Su Er’s nerves had to remain taut the whole time, yet he still needed to record the next guest’s gift.
The instant he lowered his head, the chicken lunged at him. To dodge the razor-sharp talons, Su Er twisted aside, crashing to the floor. Without hesitation from the pain, he grabbed a stool and raised it as a shield.
The white beast’s claws were vicious—splintering the wood in an instant.
In a flash, Ji Heng appeared at Su Er’s side, dagger stabbing forward. The white beast was about to be skewered and splatter blood on the spot—yet in the blink of an eye, it vanished.
Even Ji Heng hadn’t expected this. He muttered, “Move back.”
To guard against monsters ambushing from behind, Su Er retreated all the way into a corner.
The commotion was loud. Many guests in the hall turned to watch with schadenfreude, eager for a good show. The players who had chosen the role of waiters, on the other hand, felt lucky—clearly the host had been right: know your limits, collecting gift money was no easy task.
But while minds differed this moment, the next left everyone stunned.
After the white beast vanished, the creatures on the tables began disappearing one by one in rapid succession.
As the victim, Su Er, ragged and pressed against the wall, also froze—what was happening?
Just as the last sharp-beaked bird was about to vanish, Su Er’s eyes flickered. He dashed over to Wan Yi and Yi Zhu’s table, grabbed one of the monsters there that had also been caught off guard, and said, “This one’s mine now.”
Wan Yi swallowed hard and nodded.
Within a few breaths, the monster vanished.
Su Er reached out again, and the moment his fingers brushed against a crow, it shrieked once and disappeared into thin air.
Looking at his hand, then back at the guests who had been gloating moments earlier, Su Er couldn’t help but laugh. Right in front of them, he began snatching nearby monsters. The beasts that had been raising havoc now scattered in terror like desperate fugitives.
The guests came back to their senses, immediately worried for their own safety.
In theory, they shouldn’t fear a mere human. But how could a fragile mortal body wield such a terrifying power?
A quarter of an hour later, Su Er finally headed toward the inner hall. He spread his arms at the middle-aged man and smiled. “Fate brings us together—come on, give me a hug.”
The man shivered. Everyone present had seen it—any monster Su Er touched would vanish.
Privately, Su Er had a good guess of what was really happening. He suspected this trick wouldn’t work on the middle-aged man, but for now it was enough to use it as intimidation.
Five minutes earlier.
A lavish castle.
“I heard he’s up to Deception?” The Skeleton Ghost King tapped his pale bones against the stool. “Finally, the day I’ve been waiting for.”
Gou Baopu toyed with the beads in his hand, smiling slyly. “You sure you want to do this?”
Zhou Linjun pulled out a stack of red spirit-paper. “Your payment.”
Su Er had previously revealed he’d shifted his assets. Gou Baopu hadn’t wanted to waste the effort, but when he saw the red paper, his eyes darkened and he decided to let the matter drop. After all, his only job was to make the move—why bother with the rest?
Taking the red paper, he stretched out his hand and chanted: “Retrieval from afar.”
As expected, nothing appeared. But Gou Baopu raised an eyebrow—interesting. Su Er had claimed everything was transferred, yet he could sense that the man still carried some things.
Zhou Linjun grew impatient.
Gou Baopu said, “There’s quite a lot, but most of it Su Er only has custody of.”
Zhou Linjun rasped, “Find a way to bring it all over.”
“Fine,” Gou Baopu interlaced his fingers. “But that’ll cost me extra effort.”
Another stack of red paper appeared on the table.
Satisfied, Gou Baopu smiled, the red beads on his wrist glowing faintly. He murmured again: “Retrieval from afar.”
The moment the words fell, a white beast materialized out of thin air.
And that was only the beginning. Soon after, crows, toads, and all kinds of monsters gathered. Gou Baopu could only watch as a bird pecked a jewel off the wall, fury stabbing at his chest.
“What’s going on…”
Before Zhou Linjun could finish asking, the forcibly summoned white beast panicked midair, flailing wildly—then dropped a foul mess squarely onto the Skeleton Ghost King’s skull.
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