Yan Mingguang did not refute him.
Whatever Yan Wei wanted to do, Yan Mingguang would always silently agree. In all the instances they had experienced together, except for this time when they chose for Yan Mingguang to stand in the open, he had always been so low-key that he hardly seemed like a Player.
This person was clearly capable enough to retreat unscathed from these dangerous and treacherous instances alone, yet he simply did whatever Yan Wei said.
Yan Wei was very clear that even without the pretext of “settling personal scores,” if he needed it, Yan Mingguang would agree.
Even though he had never tried it, Yan Wei was quite certain that even if it went against ethics, even if it contradicted Yan Mingguang’s principles, Yan Mingguang… would not say a single “no” to him.
Yan Wei originally wanted to see Yan Mingguang’s reaction, but in the end, he felt a bit shy himself and instinctively tightened his grip on Yan Mingguang’s hand.
They walked one after the other and caught up with Lin Qing and the others, who were waiting for them in a small pavilion ahead.
It seemed that there were some disagreements among them.
“The Guanyin Pure Bottle and Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body are equally important!” Zhong Bufan’s tone was quite firm this time. “Even if we put all our efforts into obtaining the Guanyin Pure Bottle, if Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body is controlled by those people from the Shen Estate, we will ultimately have to compete with them for Jiang Jingyun. Or if we manage to capture Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body but have no Pure Bottle, it would be in vain. We must tackle both at once.”
Yu Zhengqing frowned. “Tackling both at once is correct, but we have a limitation. Their numbers are twice ours; they can act separately. We are already few in number, and if we split up and encounter them, we will be at a complete disadvantage.”
Lin Zhen scoffed. “That’s because you lack ability. If you are at a disadvantage, then you are at a disadvantage; don’t count me in.”
“Who was it that couldn’t catch a single enemy Player yesterday?”
“I caught one, okay? Some people were still sound asleep yesterday.”
“Yes, you caught one, but in the end, they were rescued,” Yu Zhengqing, unaware of the situation with Geng Liang, felt he had hit Lin Zhen’s sore spot. “If I were in charge of this matter, it would absolutely be impossible for them to rescue anyone!”
“I only—” Lin Zhen paused, smiled, and his dark red eyes reflected the snow light. “Since you are so confident in your abilities, how about we have a match? My stats may not be as high as yours, but stats do not represent everything.”
As he spoke, he had already taken out a longbow.
Yu Zhengqing choked for a moment and instinctively took a step back.
Yu Feizhou sighed, smiled helplessly, and pulled Lin Zhen back, saying, “Now is not the time for internal strife. If you are really unhappy, wait until we finish the instance to challenge him. But fighting is ultimately not good; if you injure someone, I will have to help you apologize properly.”
Lin Zhen pouted. “Fine.”
Yu Zhengqing: “…？？？”
Zhong Bufan was taken aback. “Wait, isn’t this our last instance? Can we still arrange a fight after we finish the instance? … No, my focus has been led astray by you all. What we need to decide now is whether to find the Guanyin Pure Bottle first or to capture Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body.”
Lin Qing simply stood straight to the side. When Lin Zhen took out the longbow, he instinctively glanced over but made no move, as if he already knew Yu Feizhou would intervene.
Song Cheng’an had been sitting at the stone table the whole time, flipping through the formation book he had obtained from Mr. Bai. He was quite skilled in this area, and his skill was also in formations, so he was reading very seriously, not even lifting his head. He often played a coordinating role in instances, and such discussions could not be left to others to decide, but this time, Song Cheng’an seemed to not care about how to allocate tasks at all.
Zhong Bufan felt something was off. “Old Song, Old Lin, why are you both silent?”
At this moment, Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang stepped into the pavilion one after the other.
“We can only tackle both at once,” he said. “The Guanyin Pure Bottle is in the Shen Estate. I have a way to infiltrate, but that method can only allow three or four people in at most.”
Zhong Bufan was taken aback. “The Guanyin Pure Bottle is in the Shen Estate? How do you know?”
Song Cheng’an finally looked up. “Then the remaining people can go find Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body. I will also study this formation, and if I make progress, I will contact you through the Black Ring.”
In these past few days, he had become somewhat familiar with Yan Wei’s way of handling matters. Since Yan Wei had spoken, this matter was already settled. Yan Wei should have his own plans regarding the Guanyin Pure Bottle, and he would just do what he was best at.
He continued, “Regarding Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body, I do have some ideas.”
Yan Wei sat down in front of Song Cheng’an and smiled. “The Guanyin Temple?”
Zhong Bufan, who was good at deduction, although unaware of the situation with Geng Liang and Yan Mingguang, subtly sensed the shift in direction within their camp from the reactions of Song Cheng’an and Lin Zhen. Although Yan Wei had said nothing, the items he mentioned being in the Shen Estate were indeed in the Shen Estate.
He kicked the snow beneath his feet. “How do you know, Yan Wei?”
“I have my ways.”
Zhong Bufan glanced at the others, even Yu Zhengqing, who had always had a poor relationship with the Blackbird group, was now hesitating to speak, ultimately choosing to remain silent.
These people, Zhong Bufan had previously thought, were led by Song Cheng’an, with others cooperating based on their skills. But at this moment, it seemed that Song Cheng’an was instead following Yan Wei’s lead. This newest Player among the high-level Players was subtly becoming the center of their camp.
Zhong Bufan had never seen Yan Wei take action, and he felt that Yan Wei was just as outstanding in deduction and breaking through as he was, not quite understanding how the others’ attitudes toward Yan Wei had subtly changed to what it was now.
—Even he himself subconsciously felt that Yan Wei’s decisions would not be problematic.
After all, several times before, the things Yan Wei pointed out and the methods he devised had never gone wrong.
Zhong Bufan was clear about this, yet he still felt somewhat unconvinced. He had also studied every recorded instance, constantly accumulating experience and combining it with his own style of handling matters, which allowed him to slightly surpass other Players in deduction. Yan Wei also imitated V’s style of breaking through, but it seemed he was more adept and natural at it.
He had grown accustomed to dominating the Tower World, and there were even high-level Players who would specifically invite him to enter instances together, relying on his wisdom. Zhong Bufan had always thought that if anyone could surpass him, it would be the legendary V.
But now, he had been outdone by a newcomer.
It was both novel and unsatisfactory.
He said, “Fine, you have your methods, everyone has some trump cards, I won’t ask. If you can ensure that the Guanyin Pure Bottle is in the Shen Estate, then I will act with you. I know about the Guanyin Temple issue that Old Song mentioned; although the temple enshrines the thirty-three manifestations of Guanyin and a Guanyin statue, the entire temple is shrouded in an ominous aura. This feeling that envelops the entire location is likely related to the formation. I’m not good at this, so it’s indeed suitable for Old Song to handle.”
This could be seen as him intervening in Yan Wei’s arrangements, but Yan Wei did not show any displeasure.
Song Cheng’an merely looked at Yan Wei, waiting for him to nod.
Yan Wei said, “I originally wanted Zhong Bufan to act with us. Since we can only act separately, we should balance the stats of the two teams. On my side, at most four people, me and Yan Mingguang…”
He glanced around. “Zhong Bufan and Lin Zhen, then.”
Zhong Bufan felt that this allocation was fine at first.
But upon further thought…
Yan Wei had high perception and was skilled in breaking through, basically able to coordinate their actions. Yan Mingguang and Lin Zhen needed no mention; when these two went all out, it would not be difficult to take a few people away.
Yan Wei said to balance the strength of the two teams…
Why did it feel like he had become the filler!?
Zhong Bufan: “…”
Yan Wei seemed to see the meaning behind his expression, his brows arched, and the corners of his mouth slightly lifted as he said nonchalantly, “You are still useful. We need to enter the Shen Estate, which is like acting in a closed space; many details and routes inside the house need to be noted. Your skill is photographic memory, which is just right.”
Zhong Bufan, who had always been the core of the team: “?”
For some reason, he felt like he had fallen into the role of a tool.
Song Cheng’an said, “Then we will keep in touch at all times.”
“Okay.”
Yan Wei stood up and patted Lin Zhen’s shoulder behind him. “Let’s go, we are heading to the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel.”
Business at the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel seemed to be poor these days.
Guanyin Town had been in such a state for years; the common people had little leisure, and in the past two days, many had died. The streets were filled with drifting Ghost Money and funeral processions. There were far fewer pedestrians on the road, and as Yan Wei and the others walked, they occasionally saw swaying coffins, with the bearers looking tense yet afraid to let go.
Deep winter crept in, and the entire Guanyin Town seemed to be frozen in ice.
Seeing that there were few people in front of the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel, Yan Wei thought for a moment and decided to sneak in. With so few customers, it would be too obvious for all four of them to enter together.
Moreover, they needed to use the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel to blend into the Shen Estate to find the Guanyin Pure Bottle, and they also needed to understand the current situation. When would Mr. Shen come to pick people up? How many people would he take? How did the girls usually enter the Shen Estate?
They needed to figure all this out first.
Yan Wei thought of a name. A girl familiar with the past of the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel who would go to the Shen Estate but would not be too biased toward the people of the brothel.
Yan Mingguang went in first to scout the way and found that person. Yan Wei, Lin Zhen, and Zhong Bufan then followed in through the back door of the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel.
Today, business was poor, and there were hardly any people in the front hall. Most of the servants and maids had nothing to do. After Yan Wei and the others climbed over the wall, they did not need to bother looking for someone; they directly found A Yu in a secluded corner of the back courtyard.
A Yu was sitting on the steps under the eaves, her feet slightly resting on the accumulated snow, her hands spread out, unafraid of the cold as she caught the drifting snow.
Perhaps it was rare to have nothing to do, she sat there relaxed, humming a soft tune.
Yan Wei was too far away to hear clearly.
Lin Zhen wanted to go up and bind her to ask questions, but Yan Wei raised his hand to stop him and whispered, “No need.”
He walked directly out.
The snow absorbed the sound, and A Yu was still singing. When Yan Wei and the others reached her, she was momentarily stunned, surprised to stand up. “…Is it you?”
She was clearly referring to Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang.
She glanced at Lin Zhen and Zhong Bufan behind them, her expression even more puzzled. “What are you doing here? Did you take a wrong turn after coming in? I can take you back to the front—”
“No need,” Yan Wei called out to her, “We came to find you.”
A Yu opened her mouth. “Me?”
Yan Wei found an excuse, saying that a friend had a crush on a girl whose family had fallen apart a few days ago and could not find her. They had just heard that she was in the Shen Estate. As ordinary commoners, they would only be turned away if they went to the Shen Estate, so they wanted to ask A Yu for help, letting them disguise as girls to sneak in and find their friend’s “beloved.”
The beloved was just a fabricated excuse; what Yan Wei wanted was simply to avoid attracting the attention of the Shen Estate Players and to quietly blend into the Shen Estate.
A Yu, an ordinary servant, seemed unable to comprehend the twists and turns of it all. She only knew that Yan Wei and the others wanted to use the name of the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel to disguise themselves as girls to sneak in, and she worried, “If you don’t mind… disguising as girls can indeed help you blend in. After Fengxian committed suicide, another girl ran away from the brothel yesterday, and no one knows how she got out. Today, she has already vanished without a trace. The remaining girl discovered that the other two had each encountered such incidents and absolutely refused to go. Mr. Shen is coming to pick people up later, and the person in charge is in a panic, not knowing how to explain.”
“I can help you bribe some people to cover it up, and it will just pass. But what will you do once you get in? I heard that Mr. Shen is not a good person; if he finds out, won’t you…”
Zhong Bufan cupped his hands in thanks. “We thank you in advance. As for how we will get out safely, we have our own methods; you don’t need to worry.”
A Yu showed a troubled expression.
Yan Wei encouraged her a few more times, and A Yu finally relented, telling them to wait here while she tried to negotiate.
With her agreement, the matter at the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel was basically settled.
This sounded absurd, but for the people of the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel, it was like a pie falling from the sky, solving such a dilemma for them. As long as Yan Wei and the others disguised as girls and entered the Shen Estate with the brothel’s carriage, they would not need to find three girls. Moreover, if something happened on the Shen Estate side, the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel could also claim ignorance. After all, it was quite a long way from the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel to the Shen Estate; if something unexpected happened to the girls, or if the carriage was robbed and swapped, what did it have to do with the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel?
Yan Wei understood this point when he came, which was why he dared to ask A Yu to facilitate this.
Sure enough, after about half an hour, A Yu returned, leading them to an empty boudoir.
She said nervously, “The person in charge agreed, but he said… if anything happens to you, you must bear the consequences yourselves; otherwise, even if Mr. Shen lets you go, the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel will not let you off.”
Yan Wei would not care about such trivial threats in the instance, especially since their conflict had nothing to do with this small Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel. He simply said, “Rest assured, it won’t implicate you.”
A Yu relaxed a bit. “Mr. Shen will come to pick people up in the evening. He bought three girls this time. You four can have one person disguise as someone delivering the girls. We usually arrange for a servant to take people to the Shen Estate. When the time comes, you just need to bring our token and say that the Ten Thousand Flowers Brothel is sending girls over, and the guards at the Shen Estate will let you pass.”
She pointed to the girls’ belongings in the room and said, “There are clothes and cosmetics in this room; you…”
As she spoke, she seemed a bit embarrassed. Yan Wei’s idea seemed quite bizarre to someone raised in her era.
“I can help you with your disguises.”
Zhong Bufan quickly raised his hand. “No, no!! We can do it ourselves!!”
A Yu did not insist, only telling them the departure time before leaving the room.
Yan Mingguang had not said anything from beginning to end—he had already promised Yan Wei and would not go back on his word. He was the first to turn to the wardrobe, calmly rummaging through it.
Lin Zhen, who was playful by nature, was afraid of being the boring servant, quickly rummaging through the girls’ items in the room, complaining that the clothes were not pretty enough and wanting to look for others. Yan Wei let him be, reminding him to only look for clothes in unoccupied rooms and to return on time, allowing Lin Zhen to play by himself.
Zhong Bufan, on the other hand, wanted to compete with Yan Wei for the identity of the disguised servant.
“You don’t look like someone who does rough work at all,” Zhong Bufan had to speak the truth. “You look so good; wearing young master clothes would be more fitting. Wearing coarse linen would be a big problem!”
Yan Wei countered all of Zhong Bufan’s reasons with one sentence: “You are a familiar face; as long as the guards have experienced high-level Players, we will be exposed before we even enter.”
Zhong Bufan: “…”
Among the four of them, it was indeed only Yan Wei who was the most unfamiliar to the current high-level Players.
Even though he had experienced the Gambling Tower perspective, it had only been three or four instances, all below the fiftieth floor. Compared to him, who had no idea how many instances he had been through and had seen the images countless times, he could be considered a stranger. Although Lin Zhen and Yan Mingguang also appeared relatively unfamiliar, not long ago, Yan Mingguang had led Lin Zhen and Yu Feizhou through the high levels, attracting quite a bit of attention from high-level Players.
There were only so few high-level Players, and everyone had crossed paths to some extent.
Only Yan Wei could boldly walk into the Shen Estate. Zhong Bufan, being a familiar face, definitely could not.
Zhong Bufan resigned himself, picked a dress, and dejectedly went to change.
Yan Mingguang had just finished choosing his clothes.
Yan Wei glanced at the outfit he was holding and smiled. “So plain; Mr. Shen might think you’re going to his funeral.”
Yan Mingguang replied, “That works too.” He had never liked what Mr. Shen did.
This person did not have the burden that Zhong Bufan had; after choosing his clothes, he began to take off his outer garments to change. He was tall, and even the largest size dress was a bit tight on him. Fortunately, the clothes of this era were long and flowing, and with a slight adjustment of the dress and belt, he could barely wear it.
Although Yan Mingguang was tall, he usually did not appear bulky in clothes; at first glance, he seemed somewhat slender, but not in a weak way—rather, it was a balanced effect of muscle and bone structure. At this moment, suddenly draping on a plain dress did not seem out of place. Yan Mingguang was very serious in his actions; even though Zhong Bufan was cursing over there, he chose his clothes very appropriately. The dress was plain in color and loose in fabric, perfectly covering his tall stature.
Moreover, Yan Mingguang’s features were already extremely cold, his aura like snow and mist, not the kind of rough-looking man. The women’s dress did not create much dissonance; instead, it made him appear even more delicate and cold.
When Yan Mingguang simply finished fixing his hair, Yan Wei, upon seeing him, unexpectedly felt that this disguise was heroic and cool, without any sense of mockery toward the other’s sense of accomplishment.
He sighed, “The girl is too pretty; be careful that Mr. Shen really takes a liking to you.”
Yan Mingguang smiled subtly.
Yan Wei was not very satisfied. He originally wanted to take the opportunity to mock Yan Mingguang, but this person, after dressing up, showed no signs of embarrassment. Instead, he looked at him so casually that it almost made Yan Wei blush.
He picked up the stone eyebrow pencil and fine brush from the dressing table and said, “It’s just that your eyebrows are a bit too wide; it affects your beauty. How about I help you trim them a bit?”
As he spoke, he leaned in, slightly tiptoeing as if he was about to do something to Yan Mingguang’s face. But just as he got close, the man in front of him raised his hand, pulling him forward in one swift motion and firmly grasping his restless hands.
Yan Mingguang finally let out a sigh, “Stop messing around.”
Yan Wei looked up at him.
“I don’t know if Shen Yuanwai would take a liking to me,” Yan Wei whispered, “but I certainly have taken a liking to him.”
Yan Mingguang gently kissed Yan Wei’s forehead.
Before entering the Lou, Yan Wei had never been in love with anyone, but he still knew what an ordinary couple looked like. It was probably not much different from how they were now.
Yan Wei put down the black stone he was holding and murmured to himself, “How do you think we’ll get along after we leave this place? The world outside the Lou is nothing like here. There’s no life or death, no bloodshed. Many things that seem trivial here could be of great importance out there.”
A trace of confusion flashed in Yan Mingguang’s eyes.
Yan Wei deliberately steered the conversation in this direction, “We’ve barely talked about the world outside the Lou. Before you entered, how did your parents get along?”
Yan Mingguang lowered his gaze, his lips tightly sealed, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Yan Wei maintained his usual demeanor and didn’t press further, merely chuckling lightly, “I’ve almost forgotten the sense of order in the world outside the Lou.”
He heard the sound of Zhong Bufan stepping out from behind the screen and extricated himself from Yan Mingguang’s embrace, turning to look at Zhong Bufan.
Yan Wei: “…”
He retracted his earlier thought that Zhong Bufan wasn’t as serious as Yan Mingguang.
Zhong Bufan had chosen the most flamboyant dress commonly worn by women in the brothel, with a complex and upright hairstyle, even adorned with a silk flower. He looked even stranger in the dress than Yan Mingguang, but with his thorough preparation and some makeup, he managed to create a gaudy effect.
Yan Wei’s gaze slightly lowered, noticing the bulge on Zhong Bufan’s chest.
“…You’re quite dedicated.”
Zhong Bufan looked at Yan Mingguang, his face turning pale, “Why is it that some people are so flat yet still more charming than me?”
Yan Wei: “.” He had already forgotten who was the most resistant earlier.
Zhong Bufan adjusted his sleeves, dragging his luxurious skirt, looking around, “Where’s that kid Lin Zhen? He hasn’t come back yet? Changing clothes for so long, did he sneak into some girl’s boudoir or something…”
As he spoke, he intended to go out and look for Lin Zhen, walking a few steps to the door and opening it.
Just as he opened the door, two segments of bright red silk slowly descended from the beam above, the crimson skirt swaying slightly above Zhong Bufan’s head.
Zhong Bufan, having been ambushed by a female ghost before, felt a chill run down his spine and took a step back, already holding a Legendary Item in his hand.
The next moment, the person hanging from the beam peeked out upside down, his neatly tied hair swaying with his movement, and scattered red ribbons behind him.
“What are you doing?” Lin Zhen said, “Want to fight me? In women’s clothing? That’s a strange fetish, but I like it.”
Zhong Bufan: “…”
Yan Mingguang: “…”
Yan Wei: “…”
Yan Wei glanced at the crimson dress Lin Zhen was wearing and asked him, “Which room did you get that dress from?”
“Didn’t you tell me to go to an unoccupied room? I wouldn’t dare go to one where someone lives, I’m not a pervert. I just went to a room that looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, with a pile of blank wooden plaques on the table…”
Lin Zhen swayed and jumped down from the beam, dusting off his hands, “The clothes in that room were either as plain as the one Yan Mingguang is wearing or like this one. I really wanted to try this bright red one, so I changed into it, quite flowing. What’s wrong?”
Yan Wei said quietly, “That was Jiang Jingyun’s room.”
The room fell silent in an instant.
Yan Mingguang: “…”
Zhong Bufan: “.”
Lin Zhen: “.”
