Chapter 45: The Game
The young woman named Yue Lian had lost her last remaining relative. She shouldered her basket, carrying the last of their meager savings.
The entire village was populated by the Lin clan. Fang Yue Lian was an outsider, having fled to this remote location to escape the war. Her fate was like a dandelion seed scattered by the wind, its destination unknown.
Lü Qingyan poked her head out of the basket. The village, with its wisps of smoke rising from chimneys, was shrinking in the distance. They had left.
She retreated back into the basket. “Jingxue, we’re out of the village,” she said.
Bai Jingxue nodded. Their range of movement had clearly expanded. It seemed that their escape from this strange place would involve Yue Lian.
Lü Qingyan, observing the calm, collected cat, felt a sense of reassurance. “Jingxue,” she said, “this feels like a game.”
Bai Jingxue glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
Lü Qingyan, her voice filled with excitement, explained, “If this is a game, then there’s a main controller, a player character. And some areas are locked until certain plot points are triggered. Once the story progresses, those areas will unlock.”
Bai Jingxue considered this. It made sense.
“Well, we’re here now,” she said. “We’ll figure it out.”
Yue Lian walked for seven days, then, using most of her remaining money, she boarded a boat, enduring the bumpy journey until they reached her destination.
Alone and desperate, she had no choice but to seek refuge with her relatives. Staring at the imposing mansion with its red gates and green tiles, she swallowed nervously, then knocked on the door, her movements hesitant.
The door opened a crack, revealing a young man dressed as a servant. He looked her up and down, his expression contemptuous. “Go away,” he said. “We’re not giving out alms today.”
“No, no, no,” Yue Lian said quickly. “I’m here to see my second grand-uncle. Please inform him that I’m Fang Zhexiu’s granddaughter.”
Worried that he wouldn’t believe her, she pulled out a jade pendant wrapped in silk from her sleeve.
“This belonged to my grandfather,” she said. “The master of the house will recognize it.”
Bai Jingxue peeked out from the basket, her sharp eyes noticing the greed that flashed in the servant’s eyes as he saw the pendant.
Her heart sank.
As she had feared, the servant snatched the pendant, shoving Yue Lian aside. “You little beggar!” he snarled. “Trying to steal from us?”
Yue Lian, shocked and terrified, scrambled to her feet, trying to retrieve the pendant. “Give it back!” she cried. “That’s my grandfather’s heirloom!”
The servant, however, was strong. He shoved her again, sending her sprawling to the ground.
This was too much for Lü Qingyan to bear. She clawed at the edge of the basket, ready to attack, but Bai Jingxue quickly pinned her down.
“Let me go, Jingxue!” Lü Qingyan growled. “I’m going to bite him!”
Bai Jingxue remained calm. “This place is strange,” she said. “Don’t act rashly.”
The commotion had attracted a crowd, who gathered around, watching the spectacle with amusement.
The servant, playing the victim, pointed an accusing finger at Yue Lian. “This little thief tried to steal from the Fang family!”
“I didn’t!” Yue Lian cried. “That’s mine! Give it back!”
She lunged for the pendant, but the servant kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing to the ground. She clutched her stomach, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
The cat and dog tumbled out of the basket, and Lü Qingyan, seizing the opportunity, teleported, her teeth sinking into the servant’s leg.
“Argh! Get this beast off me!”
Seeing the servant raise his fist, about to strike Lü Qingyan, Bai Jingxue lost her composure.
She leaped, biting the servant’s hand.
“Get these damn animals off me!”
The servant tried to pull Bai Jingxue away with his other hand, but the pain was so intense that he dropped the pendant.
The commotion had reached the inner courtyard. The head butler emerged, his gaze falling upon the dropped pendant. He narrowed his eyes, then looked at the young woman struggling with the dog.
She bore a striking resemblance to the old master of the house. And then there was the pendant. He had a hunch.
Ignoring the servant, who was howling in pain, he approached Yue Lian, his voice gentle. “Excuse me, miss,” he said. “Are you by any chance a descendant of Fang Zhexiu, our former master?”
Yue Lian, worried about the cat and dog causing trouble, replied hesitantly, “Yes, my grandfather was Fang Zhexiu.”
“And your grandfather’s wife?”
Yue Lian, staring at the unconscious servant and the cat and dog, who were now perched on his body, wagging their tails triumphantly, tried to change the subject. “He… he…”
The butler, his smile unwavering, glanced at the scene. “He has been punished for his transgression against you, miss.”
He was familiar with the household staff. A single glance was enough for him to understand what had happened.
Yue Lian, suddenly afraid, stammered, “My grandmother’s name was Xu Yingyue.”
The butler’s eyes widened. “So you are indeed our young miss,” he said, his voice filled with delight. “Ever since your grandfather left, the old master has been thinking of you constantly.”
Yue Lian was ushered into the mansion, quickly transformed into a proper young lady.
Even the cat and dog were adorned with golden longevity locks.
“Looks like the player character has good fortune,” Lü Qingyan said, her tail wagging. “I thought we were stuck in one of those clichéd underdog stories.”
But Bai Jingxue was uneasy.
The longevity lock around her neck jingled with every movement. Although she was fond of shiny objects, she found it annoying. She glanced at it, then closed her eyes, addressing Lü Qingyan. “Help me break this lock,” she said.
Lü Qingyan stared at her, her brow furrowed. “Are you really Jingxue?” she asked.
“Refusing free gold doesn’t seem like your style,” she muttered.
Bai Jingxue, exasperated, grabbed the dog’s shoulders, shaking her. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“Ah, there’s the familiar temper! It’s Jingxue! Of course I’ll help!”
The lock was fastened with a red string. Snapping it was a simple task for Lü Qingyan.
The moment the lock fell away, Bai Jingxue dashed out of the room, leaping onto the roof and heading towards the largest, most imposing chamber in the inner courtyard.
Although her spiritual energy was still restricted, her feline agility remained.
She crept to the side of the chamber, listening intently.
She soon heard the butler’s voice.
“Master, this is the perfect opportunity to use the young miss,” he said. “We won’t have to sacrifice our own daughter.”
Another voice, calm and refined, replied, its words sending a chill down Bai Jingxue’s spine. “Indeed,” the man said, his tone laced with false sympathy. “The Prince of Nan’an insists on taking my daughter as a concubine. I cannot allow my precious Xin’er to enter that tiger’s den. This niece will have to be sacrificed. I will ensure she is honored in our ancestral shrine.”
Something was definitely wrong.
Bai Jingxue gritted her teeth. She didn’t know what the conditions were for escaping this secret realm. If it truly was like a game, then how was she supposed to clear this stage?
Was she supposed to save the “player character,” Fang Yue Lian?
Shouldn’t there be some kind of hint? This was too difficult!
She waited, hoping to overhear more, but the conversation ended abruptly. The butler left the room.
Unable to gather more information, she returned to Fang Yue Lian’s chamber.
Seeing her return, Lü Qingyan rushed over, her tail wagging, her voice laced with concern. “Where did you go?”
Bai Jingxue, glancing at Lü Qingyan’s worried expression, then at Fang Yue Lian, who was sitting on the bed, her eyes wide with curiosity as she examined her surroundings, sighed.
“Jingxue, what’s wrong?”
Bai Jingxue wasn’t a gamer, but Lü Qingyan was. Perhaps she was better suited to solve this puzzle. She explained everything she had overheard.
Lü Qingyan, upon hearing the story, was so angry she wanted to tear the place apart. She had already wrecked the Demon Palace. This puny mortal mansion was nothing.
“This is outrageous! Let me go, Jingxue! I’m going to turn this place into rubble!”
Bai Jingxue bit down on Lü Qingyan’s tail, struggling to restrain her, then, when her grip loosened, Lü Qingyan, propelled by her own momentum, crashed to the ground.
Lü Qingyan whimpered, rubbing her chin. “Ow, that hurts.”
Seeing the dog’s pained expression, Bai Jingxue’s heart softened. She gently blew on Lü Qingyan’s chin.
Lü Qingyan’s pain instantly vanished. “You’re the best, Jingxue,” she said, her voice filled with adoration.
Bai Jingxue, seeing her return to her usual carefree demeanor, smiled, then quickly schooled her expression. “So if this is a game,” she said, “how do we clear this stage?”
Lü Qingyan sat up, her brow furrowed in thought. “Based on my years of gaming experience,” she said, her voice serious, “we need to get Fang Yue Lian out of here.”
Bai Jingxue nodded. “How?”
Lü Qingyan closed her eyes, then opened them, her gaze deep and profound, as if she possessed great wisdom.
Then, she said, “I don’t know.”
Bai Jingxue stared at her. “You don’t know?”
Lü Qingyan shrugged. “The games I play have fixed storylines,” she explained. “The player follows a pre-determined path. You can’t influence the plot through your actions. There are only battles at key points. If you win, the story progresses.”
“So I really don’t know what to do. But I’m always up for wrecking a house.”
Bai Jingxue, seeing the mischievous glint in Lü Qingyan’s eyes, quickly vetoed that idea. “You can’t teleport right now,” she said. “You’ll get caught and turned into dog stew.”
As if on cue, the door opened, and a young servant girl entered, placing a food box on the floor. “Dinner is served, Young Miss,” she said.
She closed the door, leaving Fang Yue Lian alone.
This wasn’t how a guest should be treated. She was clearly being confined.
Fang Yue Lian clutched the jade pendant in her hand. The room was beautiful, but it felt oppressive, suffocating.
She walked over to the door, but two guards blocked her path.
“What can we do for you, Young Miss?”
Fang Yue Lian took a step back, her face pale, then gathered her courage. “I want to go outside for some fresh air,” she said.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Young Miss,” one of the guards replied, his expression impassive. “There has been an outbreak of malaria in the mansion. For your safety, you must remain in your room.”
Fang Yue Lian nodded and turned back, the door closing behind her, shutting out the sunlight.
She tried to look out the window, but as she approached it, it slammed shut.
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