“George,” Lolita drawled, a hint of envy lacing her voice, “how does ‘Deaf Descendant”s tongue taste? Divine, I’d wager.”

    Gluttony’s face briefly contorted with avarice at the question, his gaze fixed on George, hungry for even the slightest hint of satisfaction. Even Gu Shu paused, ears pricked with morbid curiosity.

    A smile stretched across George’s face, devoid of any culinary delight, only a chilling mockery. Leaning against a crumbling wall, he adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with a disdainful flick of his middle finger.

    Pity gleamed in his eyes.

    Qing Shi, who had been quietly minding his own business in his wheelchair, frowned. Something wasn’t right.

    “Hold on,” he interjected, “are we all certain he actually killed ‘Deaf Descendant’?”

    A heavy silence descended. Lolita’s face went pale, the realisation hitting her like a ghostly slap. She looked at George as if he had never mentioned killing the unfortunate ‘Descendant’ at all.

    He allowed himself a small, cruel smirk. Even a disgraced attending doctor held more sway than… well, nothing at all. His gaze swept over Lolita and Gu Shu, silencing them with his look.

    The sharp ring of approaching footsteps cut through the tension.

    Qing Shi and Gluttony turned first, watching as a figure emerged from behind a low mound. It was Yu Xiao, dressed in her pristine white coat, an disarmingly warm smile gracing her lips.

    “Well, this is a surprise. How lovely to see you all again.”

    Gluttony’s smirk widened, promising not just a show, but a particularly delicious dose of schadenfreude.

    Qing Shi’s gaze flicked between the assembled ghosts before he silently rolled aside, leaving centre stage to the unfolding drama. George remained impassive, while Lolita and Gu Shu wore expressions of dawning horror.

    Lolita finally tore her gaze from Yu Xiao, rounding on George. “You treacherous bastard!”

    With an elegant sweep of his hand, George smoothed back his hair, the picture of aristocratic disdain. “Better a traitor than a scapegoat, wouldn’t you say?”

    Gu Shu’s thin lips tightened. He stared at Yu Xiao, murderous intent simmering. Even the director’s wrath seemed like a fair price to pay for silencing the woman before him.

    “Now, now, everyone, let’s not be hasty,” chirped Yu Xiao, as if she were merely an innocent bystander caught in a mild disagreement. “We’re all colleagues here. Surely we can be civilised?”

    All eyes turned to her as she gestured to her pristine white coat. “I’m hospital staff too, you know. Why all the animosity?”

    Her gaze landed on Gu Shu just as his eyes flickered red. Unfazed, she continued, “I could have reported your little…activities…to the director, but I haven’t. Think about it – would you still be attending doctors if he knew the truth?”

    Gluttony frowned. Something didn’t add up. “You’re letting them off the hook?”

    “I’m a living person,” Yu Xiao said simply, as if that explained everything. “We living folk have this charming little virtue called forgiveness. What happened…well, it wasn’t entirely my fault…”

    Gu Shu’s eye twitched.

    “…But,” she added quickly, “I’ll accept my share of the blame. So, how about it? Let’s bury the hatchet here and now. Friends?”

    Lolita and Gu Shu exchanged bewildered looks. Living people were truly bonkers. Forgiveness? After everything?

    Still…this could work to their advantage. If Yu Xiao ratted them out to the director, they’d be scrubbing bedpans for eternity.

    Lolita clasped her hands together and gave a saccharine smile. “What a splendid idea! We’d love to be friends.”

    Yu Xiao turned her hopeful gaze to Gu Shu.

    He hesitated. “Um…”

    “Um?” Yu Xiao’s brow furrowed. “Is that a yes or a no?”

    Gu Shu sighed. “…Yes.”

    “Are you sure?” Yu Xiao peered at him. “You don’t look very happy about it. Where’s the smile?”

    Gu Shu forced a smile, the expression as convincing as a ghoul at a picnic.

    “But surely you can’t just forget the pain I went through,” Yu Xiao pressed, her voice trembling with fake anguish. “Even if I can forgive you, can your conscience truly forgive yourselves?”

    Lolita and Gu Shu exchanged glances. Conscience? What conscience?

    “Nevertheless,” Yu Xiao continued, ever the martyr, “I am willing to give you a chance to redeem yourselves. Tell me, what do you really know about this… instance of mine?”

    **

    Outside the destroyed temple, six figures navigated through the rubble. Zhao Lan dialled Yu Xiao’s number, her heart pounding.

    “I’m sorry, the user you are calling is out of the service area…”

    The call failed to connect, but a wave of relief washed over Zhao Lan nevertheless. “Out of the service area” was much better than “switched off.” If Smiley’s signal was dead, it meant she wasn’t trapped in this forsaken situation. When the temple collapsed, she must have used the lab coat to escape to Saint Elizabeth.

    And Nightmare was safely tucked away in Smiley’s backpack. They were probably both fine.

    “Any luck?” Zhou Xiao Zhen asked softly.

    “Smiley isn’t here,” Zhao Lan murmured back.

    “Someone is coming out!” Wang Dong Dong suddenly exclaimed.

    A stone shifted in the rubble ahead, and Yu Qing Lang’s dusty face emerged. “Is Yu Xiao okay? Did she make it out?”

    “No sign of her,” Wang Dong Dong replied, hurrying forward to lend a hand.

    As Yu Qing Lang climbed free, another section of debris shifted, revealing a dishevelled Tang Xing Yin. His Daoist robes were torn, his hair escaping its usually impeccable bun. He looked like he had wrestled a rabid sheepdog.

    He surveyed the scene, his brow furrowed with concern.

    “I think she’s safe,” Zhao Lan said, walking over to help Tang Xing Yin out of the rubble, with Zhou Xiao Zhen by her side.

    Yu Qing Lang rubbed her dusty face with her sleeve, muttering to herself, “Nightmare has been with her the whole time. She’s probably alright.”

    Zhao Lan nodded, her mind returning to the illusion that had trapped her. Even after realising it was a trick, nothing she had tried had worked. But Yu Xiao had Nightmare. With that much power at her disposal, she was probably lounging on a beach, sipping cocktails.

    She frowned as she looked at the crumbled temple. Was this Yu Xiao’s doing? So many unanswered questions remained. If Smiley had escaped the illusion, she would have sought them out immediately. Something must have happened. Something big enough to cause the entire place to collapse.

    “If she’s alright, where is she?” Wang Dong Dong wondered aloud. “What do we do now?”

    “We wait,” Zhao Lan said firmly. “Or we wait and try to make progress with the task at hand.”

    None of them were thrilled about just sitting around, but they seemed to have reached a dead end. They were here to find Immortal Zhang, but where could he be now?

    “No need to panic,” Yu Qing Lang reassured them. “This place isn’t exactly huge. Master Zhang couldn’t have vanished into thin air.”

    Wang Dong Dong nodded slowly. “Maybe we should split up and search?”

    The others agreed. Tang Xing Yin signalled for Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen to accompany him. “You two come with me.”

    Zhao Lan understood his concern. She and Zhou Xiao Zhen weren’t exactly the strongest members of the group. Tang Xing Yin obviously didn’t want them wandering around unsupervised.

    They split into pairs and began exploring the ruins. As Zhao Lan walked, a thought struck her. They hadn’t been entirely wrong in their approach. Every clue they had found pointed to Immortal Zhang. Find him, get him to talk, and the mystery of the scenario would unravel. They had the strength to handle any ghost or rogue doctor that came their way. Immortal Zhang was the key. Even if he refused to cooperate, they could persuade him.

    One way or another.

    She knew, though, that not everyone who entered these scenarios possessed the unique blend of skills and sheer determination that her team had.

    No challenge was truly insurmountable. So, besides trying to find Master Zhang to reveal the truth, there had to be another way to solve this scenario.

    Zhao Lan pondered over the roles they had been assigned. If it was simply a matter of poisoning, why bother with different identities? Why not make them all the same?

    As she looked up, Zhou Xiao Zhen suddenly exclaimed, “I’ve got it!”

    Tang Xing Yin and Zhao Lan turned to her, waiting expectantly. She gave them a serious look. “I know how to find Master Zhang.”

    “Tell us!” Zhao Lan urged.

    “The people at the temple,” Zhou Xiao Zhen said, her eyes shining, “they kept saying the same thing. Only the most devout followers get to meet Master Zhang.”

    She bounced on the balls of her feet, her excitement bubbling over. “So all we have to do is become the most devout followers! Then we can see him!”

    Tang Xing Yin turned his head away, pretending to be fascinated by the passing clouds.

    Zhao Lan’s expression was a masterpiece of forced enthusiasm. “You’re on the right track,” she said encouragingly, “but it’s not exactly practical, is it? Can you imagine any of us becoming devout followers? We don’t even know which deity this place worships.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen’s enthusiasm deflated. “So, are we back to blindly searching?”

    Zhao Lan thought for a moment. “Do you know the specifics of your role in this scenario?”

    “How could I?” Zhou Xiao Zhen retorted. “I was being chased two seconds after I arrived.”

    Zhao Lan looked at Tang Xing Yin. “What about you?”

    He shook his head. Zhao Lan sighed and pointed ahead. “Isn’t that your Taoist temple up there?”

    Unlike the bustling temple, with worshippers constantly burning incense, theTaoist temple was deserted. Not a single person had entered all day. Without worshippers, there was no income, so the resident priests had resorted to growing their own vegetables just to survive. The place exuded a sense of quiet desperation.

    They crouched behind a massive stone near the entrance of the temple, listening intently to the conversation of two Daoist priests sweeping the courtyard.

    The shorter one sighed dramatically, leaning on his broom and nursing a bruise on his cheek. “I can’t take it anymore,” he grumbled. “Vegetables, vegetables, every damn day! I’m always starving. I should have gone with Liu Da Bao (刘大宝) and become a gatekeeper at that shrine. They get all the good incense offerings there. I saw Da Bao the other day, dressed in a brand new black robe. He looked ten years younger.”

    The taller priest rolled his eyes. “You think it’s easy to get a job at the shrine? Still, it is strange. Da Bao was obsessed with becoming the temple master. Why the sudden change of heart?”

    “Because he didn’t stand a chance,” the shorter priest whispered. “

    At the mention of his name, Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen both glanced at Tang Xing Yin, who remained completely impassive, his gaze fixed on some distant point in space.

    They listened for a while longer, but the conversation didn’t provide any further clues. “Alright,” Zhao Lan announced, standing up and dusting herself off. “Let’s pay a visit to the Yu family. It’s time to learn more about Smiley’s backstory.”

    The oldest Yu daughter had run away after being poisoned, but despite the ominous implications, the family had sent people to look for her. Not that the search parties seemed particularly concerned about finding her.

    The servants of the Yu family they encountered were a lackadaisical bunch, wandering the nearly deserted streets, complaining about the heat one minute and discussing dinner plans the next.

    As they turned a corner, Tang Xing Yin suddenly lunged forward, grabbing one unfortunate servant by the collar and dragging him into a nearby alleyway. A hand clamped over the man’s mouth silenced his yelp of surprise.

    The three of them hurried the terrified servant along until they reached a secluded spot. Tang Xing Yin released him, and Zhao Lan fixed him with a stern glare. “Don’t try anything stupid. Just answer our questions truthfully.”

    The servant nodded rapidly, his eyes wide with fear.

    “Tell us about the oldest Yu daughter,” Zhao Lan demanded. “And anything else interesting that has happened with the family recently.”

    Before the man could stammer out a response, Zhou Xiao Zhen grabbed his hand and twisted his fingers. “Tell the truth,” she hissed. “Or things will get much, much worse.”

    Tears welled up in the servant’s eyes. He hadn’t even had a chance to lie yet, and they were already torturing him!

    “The eldest daughter? She was doing fine until recently,” the servant babbled. “Today’s the exception, you know, with the poisoning and everything…”

    “Don’t pretend to be ignorant,” Zhao Lan snapped, recalling Yu Xiao’s claim that her family despised her. “Everyone in that family hates her.”

    “Well, yes, but not the master,” the servant clarified, lowering his voice to a hurried whisper.  sea??h thё N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zhao Lan raised an eyebrow. Was that really the reason? “Is there anything else unusual happening with the Yu family?”

    “Besides the eldest daughter getting poisoned?”

    “Besides that,” Zhao Lan confirmed.

    “Hmm…” The servant furrowed his brow, deep in thought. “Well, the second youngest son decided to join the temple as a devotee the day before yesterday. Does that count?”

    “Why would he do that?” Zhao Lan asked, intrigued.

    The servant helplessly shrugged. “I have no idea.”

    “And his family is okay with this?”

    “Why wouldn’t they be?” The servant suddenly puffed up with unexpected pride. “Only the most devoted are chosen to serve at the temple. It’s a tremendous honour to have a family member selected!”

    …

    “This is getting strange,” Zhou Xiao Zhen muttered, watching the servant scurrying away. “It’s like someone close to each of us patients has suddenly become devout.”

    A look of understanding crossed Zhao Lan’s face. “Everyone wants to be a disciple, but only a few are chosen. And if you look at their backgrounds – we have people ranging from a Daoist priest to… well, to whatever we are. I noticed those devotees back at the temple were practically worshipping the floorboards, and yet they weren’t devout enough. There must be something more to it. Some condition that needs to be fulfilled.”

    **

    “I can tell you how to defeat this instance,” Gu Shu said, fixing Yu Xiao with an intense gaze. “But seeking revenge? That might be more difficult.”

    “Why?” Yu Xiao demanded. “I just want to give Qu Lian and that red-clad ghost a taste of their own medicine. How hard can it be?”

    “Harder than you imagine,” Lolita interjected, her emerald eyes showing a rare flicker of unease. “Qu Lian is no problem, but the other one…”

    “He’s that powerful?” Yu Xiao asked, surprised.

    “Oh, he’s powerful,” Lolita confirmed, pouting. “But that’s not the half of it. If he doesn’t want you to find him, you won’t. End of story.”

    ─── ? ── ☆ ── ? ───

    https://buymeacoffee.com/inkydragonl

    [email protected]

    I don’t plan to create any chapters that are behind a paywall or anything similar. Therefore, whether or not you choose to support my work is entirely up to you. Either way, thank you for reading my translation!