[For you, the next main task is to head to Guanyin Academy and understand the purpose of Mr. Bai’s summoning you to Guanyin Town.]
Yan Wei shared his task with Lin Zhen, confirming that they were still on the same page.
They visited a shop again, pretending to buy a few things, and then returned to where the coachman was waiting for them.
“It gets dark early in winter, and you two have delayed a bit. It will probably be dark soon after we arrive,” the coachman said, his voice carried by the wind into the carriage. “It’s best if you stay indoors. Mr. Bai won’t start his lectures for a few more days, so you can take your time with whatever needs to be done during the day.”
Yan Wei shouted with a smile, “Thank you, sir. My friend and I won’t go out at night.”
This NPC probably served as a reminder and also guided the players’ exploration direction.
Earlier, posing as a family member of the deceased, Yan Wei had learned from the neighbors that in recent years, female ghosts had been haunting Guanyin Town at night, and the nearby seawater had been getting darker. The unseen NPC, Mr. Bai, had instructed them to bring certain items to Guanyin Town, likely to deal with these malevolent spirits.
“Why are you so obedient?” Lin Zhen asked.
“Agreeing with the coachman doesn’t mean I won’t go out.”
Lin Zhen: “…Oh.”
“His words are meant to guide us. When he says a place is dangerous or a time is not to act rashly, it means there’s something wrong with that place or time. We’ll talk more when we get to Guanyin Academy. We don’t know where Yan Mingguang and the others are or what their identities are.”
The sound of horse hooves “clip-clopped” as the wheels left faint water marks on the ground. Soon, the snow, which had just lightened, started falling heavily again. The fine snowflakes grew larger in the air, pulling a white curtain over the surroundings.
Yan Wei and Lin Zhen were evidently the last of their group to arrive at Guanyin Academy.
Yan Wei lifted the front curtain, stepped off the carriage, and onto the freshly fallen soft snow, finally seeing the gates of Guanyin Academy.
It was much more modest than he had imagined. Two young boys, bundled in thick coats, stood by the gates, rubbing their hands in the snow, clearly freezing. Inside, there seemed to be many rockeries and a small Guanyin statue in the center. The paths on both sides were empty; in such cold weather, students wouldn’t be wandering around.
Simple yet orderly.
Yan Wei, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, said to Lin Zhen, who had just jumped off the carriage, “Mr. Bai must be quite renowned.”
Without waiting for Lin Zhen to ask, he explained, “That old woman mentioned that in recent years, the townsfolk dared not speak of ghosts but instead said there were sea monsters causing the water to turn black. Although not about ghosts, sea monsters are no small matter. Yet, despite this, students like ‘us’ still come here for education, which shows Guanyin Academy’s reputation must be excellent. Initially, I thought it would be a grand, luxurious academy, but seeing how modest the entrance is and how the boys endure the cold guarding the gates, it shows strict discipline.”
Yan Wei could only think of one phrase—noble and virtuous.
Mr. Bai was a key NPC. Once inside, Yan Wei needed to find an opportunity to speak with him.
“Are we sure we’re at the right place?” Lin Zhen yawned, kicking the snow at his feet. “The place behind us looks much richer.”
Yan Wei turned around, looking at the grand building opposite Guanyin Academy.
It was a triangular structure, about three stories high, with the third floor particularly tall. From a distance, one could see the red bricks and green tiles of the roof. At every corner of the eaves stood a small Guanyin statue.
“Those are the thirty-three forms of Guanyin. Didn’t you hear many people on the way saying they were going to the Guanyin Temple to offer incense?”
Yan Wei had seen this place while observing the terrain with his perception—it was the Guanyin Temple, the central building of Guanyin Town.
But this grand Guanyin Temple…
Looking at the small Guanyin statues on the roof, Yan Wei felt not peace but discomfort. Shifting his gaze slightly eased the oppressive feeling.
The coachman urged them to hurry inside. As Yan Wei was about to step forward, he suddenly paused.
From the other side of the street, three people were walking towards the grand Guanyin Temple on the opposite side of the wide street. The moment Yan Wei looked at them, they also looked over.
Yu Zhengqing sneered, “Are you going into this academy?”
Yan Wei retorted, “Are you blind?”
“What’s your task?”
Yan Wei didn’t answer him but looked at another young man dressed in a blue-gray Daoist robe, holding a Tai Chi compass. Like them, he had blended into the background of the instance, with his hair tied up and a wooden hairpin, sharp eyebrows, and star-like eyes.
He looked at Yan Wei, shocked, opening his mouth but unable to speak for a while.
In the snowstorm, Yan Wei smiled at him.
Song Cheng’an never expected to see Yan Wei in this instance.
When everyone thought v had died at the top floor, he alone believed that v might have achieved the impossible goal everyone thought was unattainable, perhaps even exchanged for Pandora’s Box, leaving this place full of evil.
But Yan Wei was standing alive before him.
Had v descended the tower before? He wanted to ask but felt it was impossible—v wouldn’t fail. They had once cleared a high-level instance together, and since then, Song Cheng’an had only felt awe upon hearing this code name. Although he didn’t know the reason, he suddenly had a faint understanding of why, after several years, the top-floor instance had opened under such urgent circumstances.
Earlier, when he came to the grand Guanyin Temple with Yu Zhengqing and Lin Qiao, he had been stern, taciturn, and aloof. But upon seeing Yan Wei, his pride immediately subsided.
Song Cheng’an said slowly, “I am a Daoist priest from a distant temple. Recently, a few small temple statues in the grand Guanyin Temple have been damaged, and the temple feared it couldn’t suppress the evil, so they borrowed some ritual tools from us. Our first task is to understand the anomalies in Guanyin Town, and the second task is to stay in the grand Guanyin Temple.”
He spoke candidly, seemingly welcoming Yan Wei’s questions.
Yu Zhengqing’s face immediately darkened.
Everyone entering this instance was a high-level player, and the anomalies in the tasks were obvious to all. He had compared tasks with Song Cheng’an, and theirs were the same. But Yan Wei hadn’t compared tasks with them—who could guarantee they were friends or foes? He wanted to first figure out Yan Wei’s situation, but Song Cheng’an had already disclosed everything.
Song Cheng’an was known among high-level players for his arrogance and speaking little?
His face turned livid, but he couldn’t act out.
Yan Wei smiled, “Our tasks are similar, except you’re going to the grand Guanyin Temple, and we’re going to the Guanyin Academy across from you. Our goals seem aligned; we might not be opposed.”
“If you’re coming to the grand Guanyin Temple, I can help.”
Song Cheng’an said no more, turned, and stepped onto the stairs in front of the grand Guanyin Temple.
Yu Zhengqing and another high-level player from Yue Mang, Lin Qiao, followed, saying to Song Cheng’an, “This newcomer might not be on our side. His perception is strong, and if he’s opposed to us, now that he knows some of our information, we’re already at a disadvantage.”
Song Cheng’an, who had just spoken amicably with Yan Wei, merely glanced at him, silent, and walked briskly ahead.
Yu Zhengqing, who was assertive in the tower world, had been speaking for a while, only to be met with Song Cheng’an’s back. His face turned livid, unable to act out, he could only flick his sleeves in frustration and enter the grand Guanyin Temple.
On the other side, led by the young boys, Yan Wei and Lin Zhen chose two adjacent empty rooms to stay in.
Yan Wei called out to the boy, “Where does Mr. Bai live?”
The boy said, “Mr. Bai lives in the inner courtyard, a bit further in. You won’t see him if you go now. Mr. Bai has gone out of town and will return in a few days to start his lectures. You can prepare in the meantime.”
Yan Wei understood—no wonder the prompt said this instance would take time. They needed to stay here for a while, waiting for Mr. Bai to return for a few days. The real danger of the instance was only just beginning to show a faint glimpse.
“Can you let me know when Mr. Bai returns?” he said.
The boy naturally agreed.
Lin Zhen initially planned to stay in Yan Wei’s room to help, but Yan Wei thought it better to follow the arrangement. Since they each had a room, it was better not to break the rules. Lin Zhen didn’t mind either; after sorting out their next steps with Yan Wei, he went to his own room to rest before it got dark.
As the sun completely set, the already gloomy sky turned into a thick, inky black, like the dark seawater, so dense that nothing could be seen, oppressive and sinister.
There was a candle in the room, but Yan Wei didn’t light it. Once it was dark, he went to bed.
Outside, the heavy snow kept falling, and inside, the charcoal fire kept the room warm but drowsy. Yan Wei fell asleep shortly after closing his eyes, but his sleep was restless, filled with chaotic dreams.
At the end of the dream was a blurry Yan Mingguang.
He dreamt of the scene with Yan Mingguang in the hot spring again. White ghosts roamed the shore, and underwater, Ding Xiao stared wide-eyed at the hazy water, Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang’s hands tightly clasped together, their lips meeting.
Whether it was the heat of the hot spring or his own warmth, he felt incredibly hot.
As he grew hotter, the scene shattered, suddenly transforming into the seemingly endless bunk beds on the train. The dark night enveloped the train’s mechanical sounds, and Yan Mingguang pressed him down, looking down at him from above.
Yan Wei felt even hotter.
…But wasn’t Guanyin Town in the midst of winter?
His consciousness seemed to tremble, abruptly pulling him out of the dream!
A faint floral scent filled the room.
The surrounding cold immediately enveloped him, and he opened his eyes to see a figure standing by his bed. The dark night cloaked everything, and the moonlight faintly seeped through the paper window, illuminating the figure slightly, revealing a bright red dress and waist-length hair.
The figure leaned down slightly, a few strands of cool hair brushing against his wrist, like a snake’s tongue slowly extending from a filthy swamp, bone-chilling cold.
A pair of pale hands slowly approached his sleeve.
Yan Wei held his breath, about to roll out of bed and grab his items, when a “whoosh” sound came from outside the window. A black arrow pierced through the paper window, heading straight for the red-clad figure.
In the next moment, before Yan Wei’s eyes, a flash of red, the arrow embedded into the wall, trembling incessantly. A cold wind swept past, and the space before Yan Wei’s bed was empty again.
The floral scent abruptly vanished.
Lin Zhen climbed through the window, “Where’s that ghost thing?”
“Ran away.”
“This ghost is so cowardly?”
Yan Wei got up from the bed, recalling the earlier situation and the sudden deaths of strong men, whispering, “It’s not cowardly; it just didn’t see much need. How did you know it was here?”
“It came after me too. After I fell asleep, this thing kept standing in front of me, then I smelled the floral scent and started dreaming—clearly being lured into a dream by something dirty. My dream…” Lin Zhen’s expression was unclear in the dark, but he seemed quite troubled. “My dream was obviously impossible, so I woke up, and it left. I was planning to tell you tomorrow, but then I smelled the floral scent again and knew you’d been caught too.”
Floral scent?
Yan Wei felt rather awkward.
Earlier, he had dreamt of being intimate with Yan Mingguang…it must have been the female ghost luring him into a lustful dream.
In this aspect, his thoughts were more complex than Lin Zhen’s, making him more susceptible. Fortunately, he woke up in the end. But why did the female ghost target him and Lin Zhen? Was that red figure the malevolent spirit causing havoc in Guanyin Town?
Did those who died inexplicably before also get lured into lustful dreams of their deepest desires, losing their lives unknowingly? Why did she target him and Lin Zhen? Among so many players, NPC students, and the entire population of Guanyin Town, what made them special?
Yan Wei’s gaze sharpened, “Items.”
“What?”
“Our items, my sandalwood, your knife—she came for these. We’re probably supposed to use these things against her, and she wanted to strike first by stealing them.”
“How did she know we have them?”
“Maybe ghosts can sense them, or maybe she has other ways. That’s one question, but I think there’s a bigger issue now…”
“Starting to think again, I’m getting sleepy…” Lin Zhen yawned, walking to the window to clear his head with the cold air.
“Do you think this female ghost is easy to deal with?”
“Not bad? She didn’t confront us directly. But overall, it doesn’t seem like a one-hit-kill level of danger.”
Yan Wei sat on the edge of the bed, his tone grave, “Your brother and the others haven’t arrived yet. This instance is just starting, and it’s taking so long. This female ghost isn’t as strong as I imagined…”
“Let’s sleep first. Some things, we can only know when that NPC Mr. Bai arrives. Tomorrow, we’ll take advantage of the daytime to look into the deaths and also find Yan Mingguang and the others.”
Under the endless stele.
“What sharp awareness! Almost, that female ghost would have drained him dry…”
“Didn’t Lin Zhen also notice?”
“But Lin Zhen wasn’t affected at all. Yan Wei was caught in the dream, already immersed, yet he woke up instantly.”
“Players from other paths are almost here. Are top-floor instances always this long?”
“Why are you always focusing on a newcomer who’s never even been in a level above 90 before? Isn’t Song Cheng’an’s perspective interesting enough? Meng Lin has already infiltrated the deceased’s residence and opened the coffin.”
“Exactly because he’s never been in a level above 90 before. He and Lin Zhen aren’t like those old foxes among the high-level players. The instance has just started; the others are too stable. Watching him, I always expect him to die at some point.” This person said, looking at the cold-faced girl beside him, “Ning Yi, I remember you cleared an instance with him a long time ago?”
Ning Yi merely said, “Back then, I was still at level 9.”
“That was early—” This person’s words suddenly paused, “Level 9!? You met him at level 9, and now you’re at level 30, and he’s already at level 99!?”
Ning Yi said indifferently, “So, instead of being curious about when he’ll die, you might as well look forward to whether he’ll bring any surprises.”
For the next two days, the female ghost did not return.
During the day, Yan Wei’s perception often encountered unfamiliar players. The number of high-level players arriving at the Guanyin Town instance gradually increased, reaching over a dozen. Each had their corresponding identity—some were locals, others came with specific purposes.
Everyone was biding their time, with little communication—no one knew whether the unfamiliar players were human or ghost, friend or foe.
On the second day, Yan Wei and Lin Zhen welcomed Yu Feizhou, whose identity was also a student seeking education. The three separately infiltrated the homes of the deceased or their neighbors, inquiring about the lives of the deceased and roughly clarifying the timeline.
The seawater began turning black over four years ago, and the female ghost appeared around the same time.
Initially, the men killed by the female ghost weren’t as grotesque—they were merely drained of vitality, emaciated, and the seawater only slightly darkened. Later, the bodies of the deceased became increasingly terrifying, developing corpse spots within a day, their bodies stiffening. Sometimes, they would rise like possessed beings, and anyone caught by them would perish.
The seawater also grew darker until now, so dark it was impossible to see the bottom, causing widespread panic in Guanyin Town.
Other details, the ordinary townsfolk seemed unaware.
On the third day, Yan Wei, in a state of hidden anxiety, finally managed to contact Yan Mingguang through his skill, using his perception.
[Yan Mingguang? Where are you?]
Yan Mingguang seemed to pause for a moment before calmly replying, [I’m outside the academy.]
[Not coming in?]
[The assigned identity isn’t convenient.]
Each player in this instance had an assigned identity to facilitate their tasks and integrate into Guanyin Town. Yan Mingguang must also have an identity, which he would explain in detail later. Yan Wei didn’t press further, simply saying, [Then I’ll come out. I felt uncomfortable at the grand Guanyin Temple the other day, so I wanted to visit the Guanyin Temple across the street today. Wait for me at the temple entrance?]
[Alright.]
Without hesitation, Yan Wei changed into a new outfit the academy had just issued, informed Lin Zhen and Yu Feizhou to keep an eye on when Mr. Bai would return but not to act rashly, and then quickly left the academy.
Today, there was no snow—a bright, sunny day with the sun hanging in the eastern sky, yet Guanyin Town was still covered in unmelted snow. The past two days had grown colder, with thick layers of white on the rooftops.
With no heavy snowfall today, those holding funerals had gathered again.
As soon as Yan Wei stepped out of the academy gates, paper money fell one after another. The funeral procession was tense, the coffin carried by six strong men, constantly shaking, with dull thuds and the sound of nails scraping against wood coming through the thick planks, as if something inside was desperately trying to get out.
The surrounding people scattered, avoiding it.
Yan Wei watched the procession pass, his hands tucked in his sleeves, his gaze deep.
In the past two days, there had only been occasional moments of the dead rising. But the deceased in this coffin seemed… completely “alive.” Had the seawater grown darker? Had the female ghost become more powerful in these two days?
“Yan Wei.”
A cool voice cut through the icy air, bringing a warmth that dispelled the eeriness of the passing coffin.
Yan Wei turned to see Yan Mingguang standing on the steps of the grand Guanyin Temple, slightly looking down at him. The man was dressed in a plain white robe, a vibrant green jade pendant at his waist, his silver-framed glasses missing, his hair now pure black and tied up high.
He held a bundle of incense sticks, saying to Yan Wei, “Let’s go in and pay respects to Guanyin.”
Yan Wei was slightly stunned.
It was clear that Yan Mingguang’s identity was that of a young master from a wealthy family.
Without the elements that clashed with the real world, dressed in white, he looked even more aloof, yet more like a normal person in the mortal world. His black hair seemed to pull the divine down to earth, momentarily filling Yan Wei’s mind with images of them leaving the tower together and living in an ordinary world.
The flow of time differed between the world inside and outside the building. After completing this instance and adding the time from his first Ascension, only three or four years might have passed outside. There was still plenty of time.
He suddenly understood why the little tricks of the female ghost couldn’t trap Lin Zhen but instead made him indulge in them.
If the female ghost were replaced by Yan Mingguang, he might never wake up again.
He could give up saving himself for Yan Mingguang, and he could also give up saving himself to save everyone. But would he give up saving everyone for Yan Mingguang? This comparison set up a scale in front of him, and Yan Wei didn’t know why he was thinking about this question—it just felt a bit suffocating.
He quickly pushed the thought away as if escaping from it—without any reason.
He walked up to Yan Mingguang, who glanced at the slightly disheveled hair from his hurried exit. Holding incense sticks in one hand, Yan Mingguang raised the other and gently touched Yan Wei’s fluffy head, smoothing out a few strands of stray hair.
Yan Wei, preoccupied with the possibility of different factions and recalling that Song Cheng’an had already confirmed there were multiple tasks, worried that malicious interference might occur again. He quickly asked, “What’s your task?”
Yan Mingguang’s hand paused almost imperceptibly as he retracted it. His expression remained unchanged, his dark eyes reflecting Yan Wei’s figure with clarity. He replied calmly, “The first main task is to uncover the strangeness of Guanyin Town. The second main task is to find out what Mr. Bai of Guanyin Academy is up to.”
Yan Wei breathed a sigh of relief.
