Chapter 263: Infinite Stream: Saving the Crazy Beauty 22

Zhoucheng had died, and Zhaoling took Baiyi out the door.

Jin Chen answered him, then added the possibility he had been pondering that afternoon.

We can't find Hexian's corpse now; perhaps he was never a human player.

Nanyu startled, his phoenix eyes widening in surprise: "You're saying Hexian is an NPC?"

But how can an NPC move between instances...

He suddenly paused, the possibility already forming in his mind.

Ordinary NPCs can't wander between instances; they're fixed to a single instance, doing set tasks.

But there are exceptions—things every player hopes to avoid.

Wandering ghost-type NPC.

This explains Hexian's various oddities, as well as his single-minded desire to put every player in mortal danger.

【Congratulations, Host, you've triggered a key plot clue; the original plot is as follows:】

Hexian's background: a wandering ghost-type NPC that had just gained sentience inside the trial instance, with abilities of illusion control and puppet devouring.

He realized he differed from humans, yet longed to become a free human, so he devoured many players, piecing together a body.

As a lifeform born in the trial ground, Hexian was greatly favored by the system, thus almost unobstructed, and he even befriended a beloved human. Only upon meeting Nanyu did he repeatedly suffer setbacks, even his ghostly abilities falling short of hers.

Thus Hexian regarded Nanyu as an enemy, following him through instance after instance until he eliminated that thorn in his side.

Indeed, that's the case.

As the instance's ghost NPC, Hexian fused with the dark aura bestowed by An Yin, naturally making him far stronger than the protagonists of the previous few worlds.

Jin Chen's expression grew cold: 【Where did Hexian flee to?】

【He possessed the clan elder's body; I dare not rush forward, lest I startle the snake.】0731 replied.

It seems Hexian's goal is still to stop them from completing the instance task.

"Zhoucheng's dead; Hexian isn't dead yet, is he?"

Seeing Jin Chen's expression, Nanyu already understood.

"Well, he's now possessed the clan elder's body; he'll likely stir up conflict between players and villagers."

Jin Chen pondered: since Hexian sought out the clan elder and indicated that, in this instance task, the clan elder is a very important core clue.

Although the wine shop aunt's target is ostensibly the villagers, there must surely be a specific object of hatred—this person… could it be the clan elder?

"Jin, Jin Chen!"

Baiyi came rushing in from outside, his knocking frantic: "I… can I come in?"

"Come in."

Jin Chen pulled the covers tighter, Nanyu almost huddled in his embrace.

Baiyi, who usually blushed at seeing them embrace, now merely glanced anxiously and said:

"Zha…Zhaoling! She was… attacked by the black-black aura; we both… didn't, didn't win, she was swept… swept away!"

Baiyi strained to speak smoothly, his face red and neck thick with anxiety: "I… I don't know what to do!"

"Swept away by the dark aura?"

Jin Chen extracted the key information: "Which direction?"

"Over… over there, it seems… it's Awagu's home!"

Baiyi pointed at the window outside.

Nanyu tilted his head, puzzled: "So… it's still tied to Awagu, huh?"

"Heavens, it's getting dark! We… hurry, hurry to save her!"

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door again.

The three glanced toward the outside in unison.

Uncle Li, whom they hadn't seen in a while, appeared with a smile, just as on the first night.

"It's been a few days; I heard the guests have been having a great time. I'm here to tell you that Awagu's home has happy news—come tomorrow to his wedding!"

"A wedding?!"

The three were astonished; Nanyu frowned, utterly baffled: "Oh dear, his dad just died—he only just came up the mountain."

"Tsk, you wouldn't know this, would you?" Uncle Li chuckled mysteriously. "It's our village custom: when there's a funeral, there must be a celebration to offset it. I hear the bride is extremely beautiful."

"Also, don't go out tonight; otherwise, if something happens, I won't be responsible."

He gave a meaningful glance at the now-empty room.

He waved his hand and strode off.

"Damn!"

Baiyi slapped his thigh: "Aw… Awagu, tomorrow's wedding—won't the bride… be Zhaoling…?"

"Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?"

"Quite likely." Nanyu nodded, then turned to Jin Chen: "Awagu's rushing the wedding—do you think it's just custom, or related to the photo studio?"

"We'll know tomorrow; if the bride really is Zhaoling, we'll rescue her then." Jin Chen said.

"Then what about tonight? It's… dangerous!"

Baiyi anxiously looked out the window.

"Didn't Uncle Li say it's dangerous outside tonight? We don't need to risk our lives to save her."

Jin Chen took it for granted, pointing his chin at the bedroom door: "You'd better head back and rest; tomorrow's another tough battle."

"Al… alright."

Baiyi sighed, head lowered, and left.

Nanyu instinctively touched his ear, finding the communicator earpiece already removed by Jin Chen, so he didn't mind, curling into Jin Chen's embrace and yawning.

Just finished a brainstorming session and felt quite tired again.

"Be good, go to sleep."

Jin Chen kissed his lips, then placed the communication earpiece under the pillow.

——

It was late at night.

Still a moonless, ink‑black night, the outside air oppressive enough to make one breathless.

Jin Chen feared Nanyu might still be uncomfortable at night, so he slept very lightly; therefore, when the knocking began, he heard it clearly.

He opened his eyes, looked toward the door, but realized the knocking seemed not to come from there.

After carefully determining the direction, Jin Chen fixed his gaze on the cabinet door.

At the same time, he recalled the grim‑faced Buddha statue in the cabinet from the first night.

Thud—

Thud—

The knocking was neither hurried nor slow, yet unusually striking, as if it were beating against his heart.

Jin Chen mobilized the faint spiritual power attached to the Buddha statue, closed his eyes, and scanned with his divine sense.

Inside the cabinet, the Buddha statue suddenly shrank to the size of an infant; its ancient bronze face bore a grotesque grin split to the ears, its eyes narrowed, and a third eye bearing a snake mark appeared between its brows, showing no kindness whatsoever.

It knocked slowly on the cabinet door, its body also creeping slowly toward the door, as if it could burst out at any moment.

Opening his eyes again, Jin Chen looked at the talisman sealing the cabinet door.

Although Nanyu had opened it on the first day, it still seemed effective; otherwise the Buddha system would have already burst out directly, rather than using sound to lure the player into opening it.

I had thought that attaching spiritual power to the talisman would strengthen the seal enough.

But just then, something unexpected happened.