Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Rao Lin stretched lazily and looked back to see that Song Zhu had already walked some distance away.
He was much more perceptive than Ning Shuo and could tell at a glance that Song Zhu was jealous. He smiled and reached out to take Song Zhu’s hand. “Teacher Song, he and I are just ‘fist-bump’ friends. You’re the only one I hold hands with.”
Song Zhu glanced at him and said indifferently, “I know. He’s just a partner; I don’t mind.”
“Teacher Song, you’re being stubborn.”
“You misheard me.”
After teasing him for a while, Rao Lin spoke as if casually, “So, this kind of unspoken chemistry that manifests naturally… it really must mean something, right?”
Song Zhu lowered his eyes. “Haven’t you had your suspicions for a long time?”
“Suspicions are just suspicions. Without solid evidence, that’s all they can ever be.”
He smiled and pointed to his head. “After all, there’s a hole here. Anyone would think there’s something wrong.”
Years ago, the System had purged many people, and Rao Lin was the sole survivor.
But even as the only one, his memory had been wiped.
Large gaps in his memory always gave him a sense of instability, a feeling that only began to improve after he met Song Zhu.
When he saw Ning Shuo, although there was a sense of déjà vu, Rao Lin didn’t feel like he actually knew him.
That was until he noticed the unspoken chemistry, the inexplicable sense of familiarity, and then Ning Wang-who was supposedly the same person as Ning Shuo-suddenly appearing on the Ranking List with a massive amount of Heat Points.
All of this suggested that Ning Shuo and Ning Wang might also be Players who were purged back then.
They might even have been his partners.
Song Zhu reached out and hugged him. “You’ll remember eventually.”
Meanwhile, Ning Shuo, who was significantly less perceptive than Rao Lin, asked, “Where are you hurt?”
One couldn’t just cut themselves with shards haphazardly; who knew if it would cause a Ghost/Monster to mark them? Ning Wang pointed to the back of his hand, which he had specifically pinched with his fingernails until it bled just to put on an act. “Here.”
“…” Ning Shuo said softly, “My dear brother, I’m not an idiot. I can tell you pinched that yourself.”
Ning Shuo had intended to exchange for a standard band-aid, but he discovered there was a waterproof version available.
More importantly, the pattern was quite cute.
Xie Ning didn’t particularly like cute things; in fact, he sometimes found them quite repulsive.
Ning Shuo chuckled to himself and then exchanged for that specific band-aid. “Your dear brother went out of his way to get this band-aid for you.”
As expected, Ning Wang showed a look of slight disgust. He was about to mock him when he fell silent as Ning Shuo started rambling about “why are you self-harming?”
Ning Wang replied, “Maybe it’s just a late-blooming rebellious phase.”
Ning Shuo: …?
At twenty-four, in the modern world, he would just be a male college student who had graduated two years ago.
While Ning Shuo himself didn’t possess a ‘pure and stupid’ brain, based on his own tendency to act out occasionally, it was possible Ning Wang might have his own episodes too.
It was just that the nature of their ‘episodes’ differed.
Ning Shuo felt deeply concerned, thinking he would have to pay more attention to his dear brother’s psychological well-being from now on.
One person had died in the afternoon. Although the twelve Players had varying levels of Good Deed Points, they had all done something good today.
The Butler opened the door. “Guests, please step outside to tour the entire Rose Castle!”
Stepping out, Ning Shuo saw not only the roses he had seen in the afternoon but also a very peculiar kind of Soil.
It couldn’t even really be called Soil-
Vast thickets of roses were planted atop layers of clouds. Because the roses were planted so densely and due to the angle of his perspective, Ning Shuo hadn’t even realized in the afternoon that the mottled white patches were clouds rather than white roses.
Sunset clouds stretched into the distance, with vast swathes of red and purple shrouding the entire horizon. The red rose fields were endless, and the pure white clouds felt like a dream.
The magnificent colors made it look like a fairyland.
The alternating red and white roses Ning Shuo had seen earlier were actually a visual illusion created by the roses and the clouds.
Thinking of the roses that had bloomed from Zhang Qicheng’s corpse that afternoon, Ning Shuo crouched down and brushed his fingers against a cloud.
It felt like quicksand; the further down he pressed, the more resistance he felt.
A Maid standing nearby smiled. “Guest, please be careful of the roses. The thorns on the stems are very sharp.”
Ning Shuo smiled back. “Thank you.”
Aside from this spectacular and magnificent sight, there seemed to be no other suspicious points outside the castle.
At dinner, the King appeared once more.
His complexion was ruddier than it had been at noon, and he looked much healthier.
However, when he looked at the Good Deed Ledger, his face darkened. “You are all famous for being good people. How is it that there are only a few ‘Great Good Men’ today, and they only have a single point each?”
‘Great Good Men’ likely referred to those whose Good Deed Points for the day were positive.
Rao Lin smiled and said, “Please don’t be angry, King. The Servants in the Ancient Castle are so efficient that there really wasn’t much we could do to help.”
The King, however, appeared very agitated, as if the Players failing to do good deeds would cost him his life. “If you can’t see anything, then go look! The Ancient Castle is so large-can you really not find anything to help with?!”
Ning Shuo adjusted his glasses. “There are naturally places where I can be of help. But since the master of the Ancient Castle is the King, I imagine…”
He smiled. “If I were to stay by the King’s side, there would be many opportunities to be useful, wouldn’t there?”
Rao Lin couldn’t help but chuckle, reaching under the table to play with Song Zhu’s hand.
Wasn’t this what they called chemistry? Whatever he threw out, his partner could catch.
It was the first time the King had met a guest who actually wanted to come to his side.
He was practically walking into a trap.
The King straightened his collar and adopted a refined, arrogant air. “If you want to work by my side, you must be a Good Person for at least three days. Only then will I allow you near me.”
Ning Shuo asked boldly, “And what if I’m a Great Evil Person for three days?”
The gazes of all the NPCs fixed onto Ning Shuo like venomous snakes. Ning Shuo, knowing when to yield, immediately added, “Of course, as the Number One Good Person, there is no way I would ever become a Great Evil Person.”
[A Great Evil Person? Just look at Zhang Qicheng for reference.]
[LOL, I was matched with Zhang Qicheng before. No matter what he did, he’d wail like a banshee and constantly produce negative emotions. He’d start mourning before the person was even dead.]
[God damn ‘Number One Good Person,’ what kind of ‘great philanthropist’ has a mouth that makes every bad thing he says come true?]
The King gave him an inscrutable look, snorted coldly, and then departed.
This time, the Players didn’t rush to wash the dishes. The Maids explained that because the Players had washed the lunch dishes, they hadn’t completed their own tasks and were fined by the Butler once he found out.
This meant there were now fewer easy ways to gain favor.
The Butlers stipulated that everyone had to return to their rooms to rest at 9:30 PM and wake up at 7:00 AM the next day; a good routine was necessary to provide sufficient energy.
After eating at six, they split up to tour the entire Ancient Castle.
To avoid being alone, they grouped up in pairs. Luo Li watched the other four men naturally pair off, then wordlessly took Qi Yang’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Rao Lin was a love-brain, and in her eyes, Ning Wang was brother-obsessed.
According to the rules set by the Butler, the fourth and fifth floors were off-limits. Without enough information, they didn’t plan to go looking for trouble.
Thus, the only place left to explore was the third floor.
The decor of this Ancient Castle was very European in style, with ancient and exquisite patterns on the walls. On the third floor, these patterns faded significantly, replaced by numerous hanging paintings.
Their style was completely different from the paintings Ning Wang had damaged. The paintings on the third floor only depicted one thing.
A castle above the sky.
Clouds for Soil. The Sky God. The Rose Castle.
What exactly did these things point to?
Ning Wang didn’t find anything in the paintings. Just as he was about to leave, he realized Ning Shuo had disappeared.
The surroundings were silent. Ning Wang listened intently to the sounds coming from all directions.
The luster on the paintings gathered into a mass. Just as Ning Shuo had described, a silver-gray sheen emitted a corrosive sound from the paintings and then lunged straight at Ning Wang!
Ning Wang dodged it easily. While searching for an exit, he suddenly noticed something different about the paintings.
As the luster flowed, different patterns appeared on the canvases.
It was as if the filth covering them was being peeled away. The hidden patterns shimmered under the light, their outlines faintly visible-
It was a rose.
Ning Wang observed each painting while dodging.
Unsurprisingly, they were all roses.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a different light on one of the paintings. Just as he was about to head toward it-
A patch of luster attached itself to his wrist. A piercing, heart-wrenching pain shot through him. Just as Ning Wang was about to shake it off, the pain instantly turned into a cold sensation that covered his entire wrist-
“Xie Ning!”
It was Ning Shuo.
Ning Wang snapped his eyes open and found his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.
Ning Shuo was gripping his wrist. In his other hand, he held an oil painting. Ning Wang was clutching the other end of the frame, its sharp corner only centimeters away from his head.
If Ning Shuo hadn’t woken him up, the oil painting would have smashed right into Ning Wang’s skull.
Ning Wang panted. As his hand loosened, Ning Shuo took the painting from him and hung it back on the wall. “That was a close one. Congratulations, you almost became the first one to hit a negative score…”
Ning Shuo’s voice trailed off.
Because of his poor health, even after entering the System and having his physical stats forced into the normal range, Ning Shuo’s body remained perpetually cold.
In contrast to Ning Shuo, Ning Wang’s body was as strong as an ox. In “Dreamweaver’s Troubles,” he was like a furnace even in the middle of winter.
The warm hand holding Ning Shuo’s made him feel much warmer.
Ning Wang’s voice was low. “Since we can still fall into traps even when we’re together, let’s hold hands for now.”