PFC Chapter 165 Only 9 people remain
Chapter 165 Only 9 people remain
Zhou Jue and Jing Kang followed Ji Xingyi to their newly chosen base, a deserted house in a small town. The two finally reunited with their team.
The moment Chi Xuan saw Zhou Jue, the tears she had been holding back finally fell, and she threw herself into Zhou Jue's arms. As Zhou Jue listened to Chi Xuan recount how Fang Heng was killed by Yu Ling and how Chi Xuan personally killed the traitor, he patted the woman's back with heartache.
On the other side, Jingkang, not seeing Su Yuning and Yang Yizhou, anxiously inquired about Wang Zhe and the other two. Wang Zhe truthfully told Jingkang what had happened during the Blood Moon Shadow event.
The older brother, unafraid of death, seemed to age ten years instantly upon hearing that Yang Yizhou had died protecting Su Yuning. Tears welled in his eyes as he asked Wang Zhe, "Do you have any cigarettes?"
Wang Zhe, who was living a healthy life, shook his head slightly. Wang Bo, who was standing next to him, had brought cigarettes and offered one to Jingkang.
The older man took the cigarette with trembling fingertips, and it took him several tries to light it and take a puff.
Upon seeing this, Ji Xingyi couldn't help but tighten his grip on Jiang Lin's hand.
Of the 16 players, only 9 remain.
"Su Yuning went with Jin Lushan, is she in danger?" Wang Zhe was worried about the short-haired girl's condition.
"Nothing will happen in the short term." Jiang Lin briefly explained the situation in the underground palace and the process of making the Beauty Fan: "After being thrown into the blood pool, it will take a long time for the flesh to dissolve."
Zhou Jue and Jing Kang stayed in the blood pool for about ten hours and were still alive. Su Yuning could probably last for half a day as well.
Ji Xingyi looked at Zhou Jue and Jing Kang: "What did you sense in the blood pool?"
Jingkang's face was gloomy: "I keep having nightmares. When I finally wake up, I get dragged back into the dream. I can't tell the difference between reality and dreams."
“Everyone has experienced pain to some extent. The power of the Blood Pool makes us relive past pain repeatedly, trapping us in nightmares.” Zhou Jue summarized, then looked at Ji Xingyi: “Were you like this in the second round as well?”
"Yes." Ji Xingyi's eyes darkened slightly. Not only the second round, but the effects of Qingxi Tea were also the same. Even now, this negative effect still troubled Ji Xingyi, and he could only use his willpower to resist the impact of the hallucinations.
Ji Xingyi suddenly remembered the skin that was gradually peeling off her body, and quietly pulled away the arm that was originally pressed against Jiang Lin.
Zhou Jue had the same question as Jiang Lin: "So what exactly does the BOSS want to do?"
"Don't worry about all that! Just get the fan and get through the level!" Wang Zhe asked Jiang Lin, "Didn't you guys bring a fan with you when you escaped?"
Jiang Lin shook his head: "It's no use, the beauty fan needed to pass the level isn't one of those."
Wang Zhe asked, puzzled, "What is that?"
Zhou Jue and Jing Kang both fell silent; they had both thought of something.
Jiang Lin: "The fan should be made by the beauty of this year's fan painting contestants."
Wang Zhe gasped, "Isn't this going to skin Su Yuning alive?! This won't do! We're teammates!" After this day and night of experience, Wang Zhe truly considered these people his teammates.
Ji Xingyi looked at Jiang Lin seriously and said, "Isn't there any other way?"
Jiang Lin gazed into Ji Xingyi's beautiful eyes, paused for a few seconds, and then replied, "I only need the skin; I don't necessarily need her life. Just make the fan."
Jingkang's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, settled down, and he nodded, saying, "I still have painkillers." Painkillers can block out physical pain, and as long as he can survive, having a partial surgical procedure is not a problem.
Wang Zhe breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly noticed the young man left in the corner and asked curiously, "Who is he?"
Jiang Lin: "The fourth-generation inheritor of the century-old fan-making craft in Qingxi Town."
Wang Zhe was confused: "Fourth generation? It's only been 40 years, how come it's the fourth generation already?"
Ji Xingyi immediately told Jiang Lin about the latest clues they had collected. Just then, Guo Xinwen and Chen Jiangqiao finally returned, bringing the old beggar back bound hand and foot.
When Chen Jiangqiao saw that Jiang Lin's hands and feet were all healed, he rolled his eyes at Ji Xingyi and said, "I told you long ago that good people don't live long, but bad people live for a thousand years, and you didn't believe me!"
"Why did you bring him back?" Chi Xuan asked in surprise.
Chen Jiangqiao: "The two of us searched the whole town and finally found this old guy. The bastard is so stubborn. I didn't dare to hit him, afraid of accidentally killing him. So I thought we should just tie him up and bring him back first, and see if you have any ideas."
Chen Jiangqiao and Guo Xinwen were completely exhausted. As soon as they entered the house, they sat down on the floor.
"Let me try." Zhou Jue had just pulled the rag out of the old beggar's mouth when the old beggar shouted at the young man in the corner, "Ah Zhao!"
The young man slowly awoke when he heard someone call his name. He paused for a moment when he saw the old beggar, then rushed over in a panic, crying, "Grandpa!"
"What are you trying to do!" The young man shielded the old beggar behind him, glaring angrily at the crowd.
Chen Jiangqiao looked at Ji Xingyi with the same confusion. How could a random NPC recognize someone as a relative right in front of him?
This proved their guess was correct; the old beggar indeed held clues. Thinking of this, Ji Xingyi tentatively asked, "What is your relationship with Jin Lushan? And what's this about the fourth-generation successor?"
All the players surrounded the two, ensuring they had no chance of escape.
The young man named A-Zhao kept his lips tightly shut, looking as if he would rather die than say anything. Seeing this, Ji Xingyi was also very direct, holding a knife directly to A-Zhao's neck and asking the old beggar, "Will you talk or not?"
The old beggar was so frightened that he reached out to stop him: "Don't kill him, I'll tell you everything!"
"Grandpa!" Azhao cried out in a panic.
Ji Xingyi exerted force, and a stream of blood instantly slid down the hilt of the knife.
"Jin Lushan is my apprentice!" The old beggar's eyes turned red: "Don't touch A Zhao!"
Everyone's expression changed, and Wang Zhe exclaimed in disbelief, "This is too much of a coincidence!"
“It’s not a coincidence.” Zhou Jue shook his head: “Before entering the temple, we were all just beginner players. It’s normal for important NPCs in these beginner dungeons to have such close relationships.”
For example, Song Erniang and Song Sanniang are sisters, a fact hinted at in the story just from their names. Then there's the part where Jin Lushan marries Yingniang, the eldest of the Song sisters, creating a chain of events.
Zhou Jue: "In the beginner dungeons, the relationships between characters are relatively simple."
Ji Xingyi said coldly, "Did you teach Jin Lushan to make the Beauty Fan?"
"That's not how it is!" the old beggar said with a sorrowful expression.
This story begins more than forty years ago. In his youth, the old beggar was a well-known fan maker. Although Qingxi Town was poor, he made a decent living with his craft. Jin Lushan sought to learn from him, and seeing that the young man was hardworking, the old beggar took him on as an apprentice.
"Life was tough but peaceful until one day, suddenly the sky collapsed and the earth split open, and strange phenomena occurred." The old beggar's face was filled with terror as he said this.