Chapter 413: The So-Called Mandala Is a Riot of Color |
When Qi Si and Lin Chen returned to the inn, Fu Jue and his party were already seated inside.
Sang Ji sat behind the counter, his murky eyes, set beneath creased eyelids, fixed unblinkingly on the players in the main hall.
Fu Jue picked up a crumpled booklet from the table and handed it to Qi Si. "Clue one," he began. "The NPCs in this instance who haven't completed their atonement see it as their primary mission to redeem us. This redemption follows specific rules. One known method is the creation of Human Skin Thangkas."
"Clue two: the guilty NPCs in Shangri-La Town have no desire to climb the Snow Mountain. From this, we can conclude that ascending the mountain is the best way to avoid their attempts at 'redemption.'"
"Clue three: a guide is necessary to climb the mountain, but completing one's own atonement is not. This validates our first conclusion—we can make the ascent as long as we have a guide."
Qi Si idly flipped through the booklet. It was, as he suspected, the 'Sutra of Salvation' Chu Yining had mentioned in her diary. Every method of 'redemption' it described was unspeakably cruel and bloody, enough to make one's skin crawl.
Mu Chuqing was already dead, her gory Human Skin Thangka hanging on the wall of the second-floor landing. No one wanted to be next.
"That's our assessment, too," Qi Si said with a smile, setting the booklet down. "We found a new clue: the hymn attracts the sinners of Shangri-La, but the prayer wheels can nullify its effect. For those unwilling to climb the mountain, staying in town isn't necessarily a death sentence."
Fu Jue lifted his gaze slightly, his gray eyes reflecting Qi Si's form. "Are you planning to stay in Shangri-La? Yes or no."
The hymn had long since faded. He wondered how Zhou Ke's plan was progressing in that other timeline. Had he used the hymn to seize control, or had the other players joined forces to take him down?
The instance's mechanics kept players in different timelines separate, yet it hinted at the existence of 'others' through diaries and subtle clues. The information was a tangled mess of truth and lies, shrouded in fog. No one knew just how many timelines and spaces this instance truly contained.
Even Qi Si himself could only glean the existence of Chu Yining and Lin Jue from the diary, and infer the movements of his other self from certain phenomena.
Chu Yining's diary hadn't updated, so he didn't even know if those two groups were in separate spaces or had been matched into the same timeline.
If it was the latter, he had, at best, only one source of information—putting him on equal footing with the Zhou Ke of the other timeline.
"What a coincidence. We were also planning to have a group make an exploratory climb today." Li Yunyang approached with an easy grace, extending her hand to Qi Si. "Perhaps we could go together."
Upon hearing this, Say Dream shot his hand up. "I'm the first to object! You have no idea—mmph!"
Jiang Junjue clamped a hand over his mouth. "Kids aren't allowed to talk."
Qi Si ignored the little interruption and looked at Li Yunyang. "That won't be necessary. As fellow Identity Card holders, I'm afraid I might not be able to resist the urge to stab you in the back."
He was deploying what little sense of humor he had left, something he hadn't done in a long time, but no one laughed. Fu Jue watched him, his eyes behind his glasses as cold and still as stagnant water. "All the clues I've presented so far," Fu Jue stated, "are founded on scenario one: that this instance follows the same logic as all previous ones, possessing a clear path to completion and concrete objectives."
"However, we can't rule out scenario two: that this instance exists outside the established system of the Weird Game, created specifically as a contest for the twenty-two Identity Card holders. The ultimate goal would be to select a single god. In that case, Shangri-La, and the entire Snow Mountain, will become one massive Colosseum, and our only option will be to slaughter one another."
Say Dream wriggled free from Jiang Junjue's grip and chimed in, "You know, I think he's onto something. This instance feels wrong. Haven't you noticed? The scenery, the NPCs... they're all too real. Like this place actually exists somewhere..."
Qi Si shot him a glance before turning back to Fu Jue, his eyes crinkling into a smile. "I'm quite looking forward to it. It's just a shame the Dark Judge card isn't here. The sooner this ends, the better for everyone, don't you think?"
Fu Jue remained silent. For a fleeting moment, a ripple disturbed the depths of his eyes, as if stirred by some thought, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, like a trick of the light.
No one spoke. A heavy silence settled over the hall. Sang Ji idly spun a prayer wheel, its mechanism making a soft, rhythmic clicking sound. Outside, the bone chimes under the eaves clattered against each other in the wind.
Qi Si found an empty seat and sat down. Lin Chen quietly followed, taking the spot beside him and resting his chin in his hand, lost in thought.
A couple of minutes passed before Lin Chen realized something was off. He sent a telepathic message to Qi Si. "Qi Si, do you think Fu Jue figured something out? I'm the president of the Unnamed Guild. Technically, he should be negotiating with me..."
Then he saw the look Qi Si gave him—the kind one reserves for a small child. "Children should be seen and not heard."
Outside, the wind howled, and the sky had grown completely dark. In the near-tangible blackness, the shadows of the buildings bled into a single, unbroken mass, punctuated by a few strange, sporadic glints of light, like the eyes of lurking monsters.
Lin Chen knew that in his 'childlike' state, the more he said, the more likely he was to say the wrong thing. He could rack his brain and still only manage to come up with some foolish idea, making a complete idiot of himself in front of Qi Si.
He pressed his lips together, abashed, and quietly stared into the distance. For some reason, his thoughts drifted to death, then to ghosts, and to every dead person he had ever known or heard of.
He was overcome by a strange sensation, as if all the dead of the world were gathering in this very place. He felt surrounded by unseen ghosts—the old woman from the neighboring village who died alone in her home, the student from the class next door who jumped from the school roof, the players he'd failed to save in past instances...
Had they found peace? Or were they still trapped by lingering attachments, wandering aimlessly through the world of the living? A hollow feeling spread through Lin Chen's chest. Thoughts would surface only to break off, fragments that never formed a complete idea.
He felt his childhood fear of ghosts creeping back in. He remembered lying awake at night, eyes wide, staring out the window, where the slightest stir in the darkness was enough to send a jolt of terror through him.
He recalled once seeing a plastic bag drift past his window, catching on the eaves and flapping wildly in the wind. He'd run barefoot to his mother, who had told him, "Ghosts were once just people, sad and in pain."
"What's on your mind?" Qi Si's voice cut through his thoughts unexpectedly.
Lin Chen snapped back to reality. Lu Li and Xu Yao had returned at some point and were now standing by the sofa, watching him. A strange thought surfaced: *Xu Yao is a ghost, too. Ghosts aren't something to be afraid of...*
Strange. His thought process was becoming very strange. Was it an effect of the instance?
Lu Li spoke up. "We can now confirm that mentioning specific times creates a chance of 'reverting to a child,' but I feel there's more to it. The mechanic itself is bizarre. I can't figure out the causal link between regressing to a child and the concept of time, nor can I see the point of such a design."
"Forget about meaning," Xu Yao said, pacing restlessly. "When are we heading up the mountain? I have no intention of becoming a Human Skin Thangka."
Lu Li hesitated. "Climbing at night doesn't seem like a good idea. This instance is hyper-realistic. The conditions on that mountain will be just as brutal as the real thing, and all of our abilities have been suppressed to the same level..."
"We have no choice," Qi Si cut in calmly. "We'll have to spend a night on the mountain regardless. The sooner we start, the fewer variables we'll have to deal with."
And so, half an hour later, the four of them stood together at the outfitter's post at the base of the trail.
Bai Ma was there, just as she had been during the day, sitting calmly behind the counter and fiddling with an assortment of beaded trinkets.
The shop was dim, lit by a single candle on the counter. Its small flame flickered, casting shifting shadows across the woman's face. When she saw the four of them, she once again pulled the mirror from a drawer. "Before you ascend the mountain," she said, "you must first look upon your destiny."
"Destiny?" Intrigued, Xu Yao leaned in closer to the mirror.
Her lovely face appeared in the mirror's bright surface for just an instant before dissolving into the background. A white mist crept in from the edges of the glass, giving way to the image of a quaint river town with white walls and black-tiled roofs. A small boat drifted along the water, a scholar in green robes standing at its prow...
"What the hell?" Xu Yao yawned. "What's that got to do with my destiny? It's just something that's already happened." She stepped aside.
Lu Li stepped forward next. He stared into the mirror for a long moment before lowering his gaze. "I've seen it. Can we start our climb now?"
Bai Ma seemed to take a particular interest in him, her gaze locking onto his. "I could sense that you had no desire to climb when you first entered. Yet, after looking upon your destiny, you've made the decision to ascend. Can you tell me why?"
Lu Li offered a faint smile. "As the mirror's master, can't you see our destinies for yourself?"
Bai Ma shook her head. "I am not the master of the mirror. The Mother God is. Your fates are inextricably linked to your desires, and I do not know what it is you desire."
"I see." Lu Li nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I was initially reluctant to climb because I believed it to be too dangerous. I feared failure, feared wasting this hard-won opportunity, squandering my life on the wrong path."
"But in the mirror, I saw a future where I succeed. Even if that vision is false, it at least proves that the decision to climb isn't a dead end. There is a sliver of hope. And as long as there's hope, I'm willing to try."
He enunciated every word with perfect clarity, ensuring everyone present could hear him. Qi Si remained noncommittal, but Lin Chen found himself wondering if Lu Li had seen something similar to his own vision—a future where he successfully cleared the Final Instance and brought an end to the Weird Game.
He never would have thought that Lu Li, who didn't seem like a good person, harbored the same hope he did. Maybe the man wasn't so bad after all.
Bai Ma gave a slight nod. She rose and took several strings of brightly colored prayer beads from a cabinet behind her, offering them to the group.
"What are these?" Qi Si asked.
"A blessing from Mahakala," Bai Ma explained. "Once you set foot on the Snow Mountain, your fate is no longer your own. All we can do is pray for his protection."
...
"*Om Ah Hum, may the great protector watch over all living things... Om Ah Hum, may the god of fortune grant his grace... Om Ah Hum, may the god of the barrows guard the spirits of the dead...*"
Those who wander the mountains and rivers tend to believe in fate, in local deities who watch over all living things. Before any new venture, they pray to the heavens for blessings and auspicious words. *Om Ah Hum, may Mahakala protect you. Return safely.*
The guide finished his prayer, then took the reins of the pack-laden yak and set foot onto the vast expanse of white snow. Zhou Ke followed at a leisurely pace, with Dong Xiwen and Zhang Yiyu trailing behind him.
There were eight people in their party. Besides those three, there was also Lin Jue, Chu Yining, Zhang Hongbin, a man named Alexei, and a young man in a black suit.
Chu Yining had trouble with her legs, making the climb a desperate last resort. Clues suggested that the passage of time grew indistinct on the mountain, which they hoped might slow her 'reversion to a child.'
The main quest—[Kill Lin Jue]—hovered in the top left of their vision, a final safety net. If all else failed, at least it wouldn't be a total wipe.
The only reason Lin Jue was still alive was the young man in the black suit.
He was also an Identity Card holder and claimed he could resurrect anyone. As long as they weren't at their absolute last resort, he wouldn't let Lin Jue die.
Lin Jue had finally made a concession. "I'll do my best to survive today and find a way to clear this instance," he told everyone. "But if we haven't found a way by tomorrow, I'll take my own life to minimize casualties."
Night officially fell on Shangri-La, swallowing the mountain in darkness. A piercing wind swept down from the high altitudes, lashing the climbers' faces with sharp ice crystals. Snow began to fall again, tiny, frantic flakes that blurred the colors of their clothes.
Their guide, a ruddy-faced man named Zha Xi, led them a little further before suddenly stopping. He turned and gestured urgently. "We can go no further," he said. "The Mother God will become angry."
Lin Jue asked calmly, "What do you mean, 'become angry'? What signs are you seeing?"
Zha Xi muttered, "Angry is angry. I grew up here. I just know."
He refused to take another step, so the group had no choice but to make camp right there. Alexei grumbled, "You took all that gear from us, and now you're just stopping? Are you ripping us off?"
Zhang Hongbin quickly pulled him aside, motioning for him to keep quiet. He didn't want to risk angering some unknown entity and getting them all killed.
Dong Xiwen watched the red-faced, fuming Alexei and clicked his tongue. He mentally asked Dong Ziwen, *'Hey, little bro, was our boss this... energetic when he was young?'*
Dong Ziwen's reply was curt. *'Don't know. Don't ask.'*
Lin Jue spoke with Zha Xi a while longer, then turned back to the others. "We'll make camp here for now," he announced. "Once we're settled, I'll go scout the area and figure out what's happening."
According to their agreement, he was due to die tomorrow. He seemed to be truly awaiting his end, as serene and impassive as a stone idol.
Zha Xi began unloading the tents from the yak's back, and the young man in the black suit stepped forward to help.
Dong Xiwen glanced at Zhou Ke, who stood by looking perfectly composed, clearly having no intention of lifting a finger. With a quiet sigh, he went over and grabbed the other corner of the tent canvas.
As he was securing the canvas with stakes and rope, he suddenly realized he still didn't know the name of the young man in the black suit. He'd only heard the members of the Ark Guild call him 'Little Fu.'
He asked casually, "Hey, man. We haven't been properly introduced. What's your name?"
The young man in the black suit glanced up at him, his expression cold. "Fu Jue."
"Right, so your name's Fu—"
Wait a second. What did you say your name was? Fu Jue?!