Chapter 171
Chapter 171
The fifth-floor game lobby had gained a new feature.
Random games.
The games behind the random-game nebula varied in difficulty. Some were easier than fifth-floor games, while others were harder.
But regardless of difficulty, participating in a random game counted as clearing the fifth floor.
After all, the possibility of drawing an easier game gave players an incentive to participate.
Xiao Huai was rather lazy and occasionally had trouble choosing. This feature suited him perfectly.
With both hands in his pockets, he strolled leisurely into the random-game nebula.
* * *
[Random game loading.]
[Loading game instance: “Town of the Blind”]
[Game loaded successfully. We wish you a smooth game!]
Raindrops tapped softly against blue-gray roof tiles with a crisp patter. Xiao Huai opened his eyes to the sight of a traditional Chinese courtyard house.
Gloom shrouded the sky. The courtyard looked dim beneath the drizzle, the ground wet and the air carrying a clear chill.
Several old trees stood silently in the rain. Their washed leaves and branches gleamed green.
Drops slid from the tips of the leaves into puddles below, scattering tiny splashes.
A man’s voice broke the stillness.
“Chinese horror again. I hate this stuff most. Isn’t this game called *Town of the Blind*? I thought it would be in some village. Is it too late to quit?”
Traditional courtyard houses like this often concealed all kinds of uncanny events, the sort whose horror only struck after the fact.
Beside the man, a girl in a gray tracksuit with a ponytail chewed bubble gum and rolled her eyes.
“Please, Chen Chong, use your brain. Scary doesn’t mean dangerous. Besides, what’s so frightening about one crumbling courtyard?”
To the girl, a little horror meant nothing. As long as she did not end up in a deadly battle royale, anything else was manageable.
Chen Chong clicked his tongue, long accustomed to her reaction. “Who got scared to tears in the last game? That was you, wasn’t it, Jiang Wenmei?”
Jiang Wenmei raised a fist as if to hit him, but the tap of a cane against the ground sounded behind them.
They immediately stopped fooling around and looked toward the sound.
An old man stood there wearing round black sunglasses, a black traditional jacket, and a small cap.
He was short and thin, and every step came slowly.
All the players watched him warily. His clothing alone marked him as unusual. Even a fool could tell he was probably the guide NPC for this game.
“Honored guests, thank you for waiting. May I ask whether you brought your invitations?”
Several players looked confused. After searching their clothes for a moment, they actually found invitations.
The invitations were primarily black and covered in dense raised dots. Apart from those, they bore only two large golden words.
*Mandarin Ducks*
What was that supposed to mean?
Jiang Wenmei was the first to hand her invitation to the old man. “Is this it?”
The old man accepted it, ran his fingers over the raised dots, and nodded. “Indeed.”
Seeing that, the others handed over their invitations one after another.
The old man said, “Please wait a moment. Several honored guests have not yet arrived. Once they do, I will show everyone around the courtyard.”
Xiao Huai waited until everyone else had turned in an invitation before strolling forward.
But instead of immediately handing his invitation over, he leaned toward the old man and stared at his sunglasses for a long time.
The others had all been busy with their own tasks, some analyzing intelligence and others making plans. But when they noticed one player staring bizarrely at the NPC, they could not help looking toward Xiao Huai.
After a moment, Xiao Huai asked, “Sir, did you lose your eyes?”
What…?
The other players were baffled. Everyone knew this game was called *Town of the Blind*. The old man was obviously blind, just as the name suggested, and the raised dots on the invitations were clearly braille.
Most people with disabilities disliked having others draw attention to them. What was wrong with this man? Was he not being incredibly rude?
But Chen Chong whispered to Jiang Wenmei,
“That’s a clever way to ask. He didn’t say the old man’s blind. He asked whether he lost his eyes.”
Jiang Wenmei stared solemnly at the old man. “Can’t you see why he said the eyes were lost? That was as direct as he could get. Look at the old man’s sockets–they’re empty.”
Chen Chong had foolishly assumed Xiao Huai was tactfully asking about the man’s vision. In reality, his question had been utterly literal.
Because Xiao Huai had noticed that beneath the man’s eyelids, there seemed to be…
Nothing at all.
The corner of the old man’s mouth twitched faintly. “You are all honored guests. Do you truly wish to see this old man’s eyes?”
“Will something happen if we look?” Xiao Huai asked indifferently.
A sense of foreboding came over the others, and they immediately turned their backs.
The old man said, “Nothing serious. I merely fear I might frighten you.”
He removed his sunglasses. When he opened his eyelids, the people who saw beneath them nearly vomited.
Endless darkness seemed to hide within the hollow sockets. Anyone who met them shuddered as cold crept up their spine.
Every player who saw the sockets quickly averted their gaze, not daring to look again.
The old man silently replaced his sunglasses, concealing those horrifying eyes once more.
“I frightened you, didn’t I? My apologies.”
People with poor vision often possessed sensitive hearing. They excelled at detecting shifts in the currents of air.
When the old man removed his glasses, several players had sharply inhaled. How could he have failed to notice?
What surprised him was that the young man before him seemed just as calm as before, breathing evenly without the slightest trace of fear.
By all logic, the person standing closest and seeing his eyes most clearly should have been the most terrified.
“May I ask who you are?” Xiao Huai’s calm, low voice echoed through the courtyard.
The old man gave them a slight bow. “Age has made me forget my introduction. I am Yang San, steward of the Yang Residence. You may call me Butler Yang or Third Uncle.”
“Mm.” Just as Xiao Huai prepared to hand over his invitation, a long, slender hand swept past him and cut in to place its invitation in the old man’s palm.
Xiao Huai was not angry, because he caught a faint, clean fragrance.
It was very familiar.
Before he could look up, he felt the person behind him rest his chin against the hollow of his neck.
In a whisper that brushed Xiao Huai’s ear like a breath, the man said, “It’s been a long time.”
Xiao Huai shrugged him off and put some distance between them. “It hasn’t. It’s only been a few days.”
This time, however, Lu Yuanshi rested his chin atop Xiao Huai’s head.
Very few people were taller than Xiao Huai. Lu Yuanshi was one of them.
He spoke again, repeating the same words. “It’s been a long time.”
Xiao Huai stepped forward, then turned to look at Lu Yuanshi.
Lu Yuanshi’s lips were unusually pale, and faint exhaustion shadowed his eyes.
Xiao Huai raised his gaze to him. The words he wanted to say reached his lips, only to be swallowed again. Softly, he replied,
“Mm. It’s been a long time.”
Lu Yuanshi reached toward Xiao Huai, but withdrew his hand halfway and smiled instead. “I’ve missed you very much.”