The man’s cold face was outlined by sharp features. He stared at Bai Lixin, his eyes carrying the greed of a wild beast. They slid over the young man’s body, and the young man felt as if each part was getting eaten away by this gaze. “It took me a long time to find this place.”
Bai Lixin blinked, and his eyes regained some clarity. “Thank you for the hard work.”
“It’s not much trouble,” the tornado behind him was all absorbed into the small box. The small box seemed to be able to swallow the sun and the moon, and it absorbed the tornado effortlessly. “It was just a little troublesome. This small space is like an unbreakable eggshell. I tried entering from the outside many times without success. But thanks to your passionate confession just now, the resonance between this soul fragment and me gave me the opportunity to enter.”
Bai Lixin’s neck turned slightly red. “What passionate confession? Don’t say misleading things every time.”
Seeing the conversation veering off course, Bai Lixin quickly changed the topic. “So this cube is called Pandora’s Box?”
Dijia’s expression became slightly serious. At this moment, the golden metal box had absorbed the surrounding tornado completely. The lid closed on its own, and gently floated down in front of Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin tentatively touched it with his finger, and the metal box changed again, reverting to the Rubik’s cube from earlier.
A system prompt rang out in Bai Lixin’s mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, player, on activating the divine prop Pandora’s Box. In order to retaliate against the human Prometheus for stealing fire, the ancient god Zeus and the fire god Hephaestus molded the human Pandora out of clay and gave her a magic box to bring to the mortal world. Pandora’s Box contains all the evils of time, but deep within its bottom, it hides the most precious blessings. Pandora’s Box is also known as the “source of disaster,” an ominous symbol. It can bring powerful strength to the user, but at the same time, it can bring calamity.]
[There are two ways to use this box. The first is absorption. When the box is open, it can absorb surrounding evils and blessings.]
[The second is bestowal. When the box is open, the player will receive a random prop. However, due to the uncertainty of Pandora’s Box, the dropped props may be positive debuffs or negative debuffs. In simpler terms, it’s entirely based on luck.]
Bai Lixin: “???”
‘Are you kidding me?’
System: [Although Pandora’s Box is great, don’t be too greedy. Be careful or you might get burned.]
[Wishing the player a pleasant gaming experience.]
Bai Lixin stared at the Rubik’s cube in his hand with a complicated expression, hesitating to speak.
The notification system remembered something and spoke again: [Oh, right, there’s one more thing I forgot to tell and remind the player. Because Pandora’s Box is labeled as the “source of disaster”, “uncertainty,” “absorption” and “bestowal” may occasionally go wrong during use. This is not a problem with the prop itself but the special attributes of Pandora’s Box itself. The box is not a counterfeit product, players can use it with confidence.]
Bai Lixin’s hand holding the cube trembled slightly. “…”
‘Confidence? Where should I put my trust?’
He lifted his head slightly, and saw Dijia’s smiling face. “Are you satisfied with the gift I gave you?”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Heh.’
…
“Wuuu, they’ve been through so much together, it’s so touching.” The little black furry monster cried so much its huge eyes were red and teardrops fell with a “plonk plonk” into the grass. “There are actually bigger love brains in the world than my two dads. What’s wrong with this world? Why are there so many love-brains? Wuuuu.”
Behind the tree came the rustling of footsteps. Li Cangshan turned around, and saw Zhou Guang walking over while rubbing his shoulders a bit tiredly.
As soon as Zhou Guang came, he sat next to Li Cangshan, leaning weakly against the cherry blossom tree behind him. He pointed at the furball and asked casually, “Li Cangshan, how did you bully this little monster into this?”
Li Cangshan looked serious. “This is called reformatory education, and I am a professional in this field. Is your task complete?”
Zhou Guang nodded tiredly. “Done, it exhausted me. How about you?”
“I finished long ago. Now I’m waiting for God Xin and the big boss.”
Only then did Zhou Guang realize that Bai Lixin was missing. “Where’s God Xin?”
Li Cangshan pointed to the massive cherry blossom tree in the middle. “He went inside.”
“Oh,” Zhou Guang responded casually, “we don’t seem to have anything to do right now. How about playing cards?”
Li Cangshan frowned. “No gambling. How about arm wrestling?”
Zhou Guang was stunned, “You want me, to arm wrestle with you, a special forces soldier? Let’s play cards, it’s not gambling, just pure entertainment. After completing the task, we need some recreational activity to relax. We can’t stay tense all the time.”
Li Cangshan hesitated for two seconds. “Fine, I only know how to play train dominoes.”
Zhou Guang’s eyes widened. “Wow, Li Cangshan, I really doubt you’re not twenty-two but eighty-two. Are you an old man? Be careful not to be single in the future.”
Li Cangshan pursed his lips. “I’ll find someone.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” the little black furry monster stared at the two with wide eyes, “are you two still Bai Lixin’s friends? He’s in the eye of the storm of resentment right now, his life and death is now uncertain, and you’re here playing cards?! Are you insane?”
Li Cangshan and Zhou Guang looked at each other, then Zhou Guang turned to the little black furry monster. “So, what can we do now?”
The black furry monster was stumped. It blinked its big eyes and said, “There is nothing you can do. If you get close to this cherry blossom tree, you’ll end up like everyone else, turning into nourishment for the tree.”
Zhou Guang: “So, what we can do is not blindly create chaos.”
“God Xin…” Zhou Guang looked towards the cherry blossom tree with a deep and dark gaze. “is a miracle.”
A gust of evening wind stirred, and a shower of cherry blossoms fell from the sky.
It was a dreamlike scene, yet it harbored danger.
Li Cangshan: “Look at the cherry blossom tree.”
Zhou Guang was busy shuffling cards, and quickly looked up at the sound. The blossoms that had bloomed in the night were now falling like rain. Petals and branches withered rapidly, and because the tree trunk could not bear Li Qiuzhi’s weight the trunk snapped from the root, and crushed to the ground along with the person and branches.
People who were previously stuck to the trunk as if possessed suddenly seemed to snap out of it. They released their hands from embracing the big tree and looked around. Some cried with their heads in their hands, some turned pale with fear, and some stared blankly, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Seeing this, Zhou Guang quickly stood up took rushed towards the cherry blossom tree. He stared at the gradually decaying cherry blossom tree without blinking, for fear of missing any small changes.
People around kept murmuring.
“I’m sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have forgotten you. But your death hit me too hard, I was so uncomfortable, only by forgetting you can I feel a bit better.”
“My good baby, I haven’t forgotten you. Even if you have a little brother now, you will always be my sweet baby. Do you know how much Mom wants to see you again?”
“Brother, stop bothering me. I’ll settle the bill when I go back, and I’ll repay everything I owe to your wife and child! I was wrong, please spare me!”
The clamor annoyed Zhou Guang a bit, and his eyes hidden under his glasses became darker and darker.
Suddenly, he saw a small crack appearing on the trunk.
Then the crack enlarged, and a hand stretched out from it.
Zhou Guang was quick, and immediately grabbed the hand, pulling outward forcefully. Just as he was about to exert force, two more hands joined that hand. Zhou Guang looked up and saw that Li Cangshan and the little black furry monster had arrived without him noticing, joining him in holding the hand.
The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously pulled forcefully, and a figure was dragged out from the crack with their pull.
Due to the sudden weightlessness, Zhou Guang staggered backward two steps.
When he stabilized and looked over, he was instantly filled with joy and exclaimed, “God Xin.”
Bai Lixin’s clothes were somewhat disheveled, and black fog twined around him.
He adjusted his hair a few times and smiled gently at the others, “I’m happy to see you all. Thank you for helping me out, otherwise, I would have had a hard time getting out.”
“Boom!” A loud noise suddenly rang out.
Everyone looked over. The previously lush cherry blossom tree had collapsed. With its collapse, the surrounding cherry blossom trees also quickly decayed. In the blink of an eye, this cherry blossom forest had transformed from the earlier illusion into a desolate and eerie forest of decay.
Passengers were no longer in the mood to enjoy the scenery and rushed towards the train. In just a few minutes, only a few people remained here.
The little black furry monster stared blankly at the withered and fallen cherry blossom tree. “The eye of the storm…collapsed?”
It remained stunned for a while, then suddenly remembered something and flew towards the direction of the train without looking back.
In this moment, only Bai Lixin, Li Cangshan, and Zhou Guang remained in the cherry blossom forest.
Because the tasks were completed, the three had reverted to their original appearances.
Bai Lixin surveyed the surroundings. In this deathly silent cherry blossom forest, numerous souls lingered, standing behind tree trunks and staring at them with fear.
As his gaze swept through the forest, it finally stopped under the fallen cherry blossom tree, where a body lay in a miserable state with a rope hanging from its head.
On either side of the body stood two elderly people holding hands and motionless, as if waiting for something.
Bai Lixin approached.
When he was only five or six steps away from Li Qiuzhi’s body, two faintly glowing pale figures slowly emerged from his corpse.
One was Li Qiuzhi, and the other was a young man who appeared to be around twenty.
The young man held Li Qiuzhi’s hand tightly, interlocking their fingers, and caressing Li Qiuzhi’s cheek with satisfaction.
When Li Qiuzhi first saw the young man’s face, he was initially terrified, but the fear gradually turned into compromise, acquiescing to the young man’s closeness.
Under Bai Lixin’s gaze, the four souls disappeared together.
“God Xin!” Li Cangshan shouted, “Come and see under this tree, there are many corpses!”
Bai Lixin immediately walked over. After the cherry blossom tree collapsed, it brought out a large amount of soil and a huge pit.
There were countless corpses in the pit.
Zhou Guang: “These are probably the people who were eaten by this tree before. If God Xin hadn’t destroy this tree tonight, it would have consumed many more people.”
S419 whispered in Bai Lixin’s mind: [Lord Host, I’ve detected the skull outlines of that elderly couple among the corpses. It seems that the couple was swallowed by this cherry blossom tree, leading to their subsequent disappearance. The answer to the puzzle we couldn’t solve in the first game is found here. Lord Host, you are truly… Watch out behind you!]
Bai Lixin abruptly turned around, and saw a sharp silhouette swooping down under the cover of the night sky. Just as the figure was about to approach, the black fog enveloping Bai Lixin surged. A muffled sound rang out as something was knocked to the ground.
Bai Lixin narrowed his eyes, and a scythe slowly materialized in his hand.
“Don’t attack, don’t attack!” The little black furry monster panted and caught up, “That’s my dad! He’s just looking for his wife, not trying to fight!”
Bai Lixin stopped his movement, looking helplessly at the sorry-looking monster on the ground.
‘It is admirable to pursue your wife to this extent.’
The black furry monster hurried over and stood in front of the pitiful monster, “Um, sorry, my dad just woke up, and he’s a bit silly. He…”
A large hand suddenly reached the side of the black furry monster, and with a “smack,” it slapped the talking little monster to the ground. “Who are you calling silly? You ungrateful brat.”
Everyone: “…”
‘Uh, should they perhaps step away from this domestic dispute?’
Bai Lixin wasn’t a relationship wrecker. He took the Rose Boy out of his backpack and placed it on the grass. Then, he took out the other painting of a wheat field.
‘Didn’t the little monster say those two scarecrows were its brothers?
Seeing the reunited family, the God of Misfortune will surely be moved to tears, right?
I’m such a good person.’
Sure enough, as soon as he saw the oil paintings on the ground, the God of Misfortune instantly halted all actions.
Then…
He ruthlessly grabbed the wheat field painting and tossed it aside, then gently embraced the Rose Boy.
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Wives are the dearest, and children are all accidental.’
Dijia chuckled in his ear, using a voice only the two could hear, “Don’t worry, I won’t be as foolish as it.”
“I will never let a child who wants to grab my wife’s attention be born.”
“But if you really want to have one, I’m willing to cooperate.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Can’t you refrain from going mad!
Isn’t there something you can’t say?’
The chains on the God of Misfortune had disappeared, but he was still weak. The power absorbed by the Eye of the Storm was stored in Pandora’s Box and hadn’t returned to his body. Bai Lixin and Dijia discussed it and he took out the Rubik’s cube from his backpack.
After mustering up the courage, he opened Pandora’s Box,. A powerful and terrifying force immediately rushed towards the God of Misfortune, entering his body in an instant.
After accepting the power, the God of Misfortune’s body also changed. His originally exposed body quickly turned into a blurry black fog. At the same time, Bai Lixin felt the oppression and fear he had once felt in the hotel emanating from it.
The ray of black energy shot out from the God of Misfortune, piercing straight into the sky. The earth shook several times, then gradually stabilized.
The spreading black fog wrapped the oil painting within its body. Without knowing what happened inside, Bai Lixin soon saw the outline of a person gradually stretching out from the black fog. First, the arms, then the legs. In just a few seconds, when the black fog dispersed, a beautiful young man had appeared before them.
The young man wore a pristine white shirt and clean light blue pants. His cheeks were slightly rosy, and he had a gentle expression. He smiled at Bai Lixin shyly. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Xiao Tou.”
“I’ve always wanted to say a few words to you . I’m sorry for dragging you into such danger, and thank you very much for saving us.”
After saying that, Xiao Tou blushed again and tugged at the black fog beside him.
The black fog grumbled, but still spoke seriously, “I am a god, I never bow to humans. However, what’s said is correct. Thank you.”
“As a token of gratitude, please accept this.”
While the God of Misfortune spoke, a black feather gently floated in front of Bai Lixin. “If you encounter any danger in the future, break this feather, and I will appear no matter where you are.”
[Ding! Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Token of the God of Misfortune] x1. When using this prop, you can summon the God of Misfortune to fight on your behalf! This is a divine prop, and its use ignores any territorial restrictions! This prop is an extremely rare item, please take good care of it!]
“Besides that,” Xiao Tou added timidly, “I will also send you many more gifts as thanks.”
“I know no amount of gifts can repay your kindness to us. In the future, if you need anything, please be sure to let us know.”
After saying that, he hesitated for a moment, then tugged at the black fog beside him and whispered, “One feather is too few, give a few more.”
The God of Misfortune stiffened, lowered his voice, and pressed against Xiao Tou, “That is the token of the God of Misfortune! If someone gets one, their ancestors’ graves will emit green smoke! If it weren’t for them saving you, I wouldn’t…”
Xiao Tou: “Are you saying my life isn’t worth these few feathers? You really don’t love me anymore. You just beat the child in front of me. I’m taking the child and leaving.”
God of Misfortune: “Fine, fine, three feathers, three feathers okay?”
Xiao Tou secretly glanced at the God of Misfortune, “Am I worth only three feathers?”
God of Misfortune: “Uh, then how many do you want?”
Xiao Tou: “One hundred feathers.”
God of Misfortune: “…Aren’t you afraid your husband will go bald? Fine, fine, here you go.”
A bunch of feathers appeared in front of Bai Lixin.
[Ding! Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Token of the God of Misfortune] x100. This prop is…] The system’s voice paused, its tone becoming hesitant, [an extremely rare item. Please… use it wisely.]
Bai Lixin: “…”
Xiao Tou respectfully bowed to Bai Lixin again, “A small gift, I hope Master Bai Lixin won’t disdain it. This world is sustained by the power of the God of Misfortune. Before you wish to leave this world, it will not collapse. The God of Misfortune still has some wounds to deal with, so we’ll take our leave for now. If you need anything, you can tell my child. Thank you again for your help. Goodbye, we…”
Before Xiao Tou could finish speaking, the God of Misfortune impatiently enveloped him in black fog, turning into a wisp of green smoke and disappearing on the spot, leaving the little black furry monster and the four looking at each other.
“The God of Misfortune seems to be fine now,” Li Cangshan said, “What healing is needed…”
The little black furry monster picked up the pitiful Wheat Field painting from the ground, “I’m still a child, don’t ask me!”
Li Cangshan: “…”
‘I seem to understand, but I don’t seem to understand.
“Ahem, anyway, congratulations to the three of you for completing this thrilling game!” The little black furry monster used its small claws to sweep away the weeds on the Wheat Field painting, “Your rewards will be given when you leave. From now on, as long as you want, you can already leave this world.”
“But Dad Xiao Tou said you can stay as long as you want. When you want to leave, just call me, and I’ll send you away.”
It still had that arrogant and domineering look, “Hmph, thank you all. Without you, I would have to watch Dad Xiao Tou die, and Dad Misfortune go crazy. If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll leave now!”
Bai Lixin was about to say he wanted to leave now when Dijia’s warning voice came to his ear, “Tell it you’ll leave later, I also need healing.”
Bai Lixin trembled, and while he was in a trace, the little black furry monster had already left.
…
The group returned to the train just before it started. Passing by A-3, Bai Lixin thought of something and pushed the door open and walked in.
A-3’s compartment hadn’t changed much from when he came before, except that the camera was crooked and lying on the ground.
Bai Lixin walked over and took out the memory card from inside, then went to Li Qiuzhi’s suitcase.
He opened the suitcase and found something wrapped tightly in yellow talisman cloth in a small compartment.
Unwrapping the talisman, inside was an iron box.
Inside the iron box were various items: car keys, house keys, bank cards, a diamond ring, and a yellowed letter.
Bai Lixin opened the letter and began reading.
This was the suicide note Zhao Ming lrft for Li Qiuzhi back then.
In the letter, he mentioned leaving the car, house, money left by his parents, all to Li Qiuzhi. At the same time, he left Li Qiuzhi a diamond ring.
Bai Lixin stared at the contents of the box and a hint of irony flashed in his eyes.
Li Qiuzhi thought this was a windfall, but looking at these things…
A car, house, savings, and a diamond ring.
This wasn’t the inheritance Zhao Ming left to Li Qiuzhi; this was Zhao Ming’s dowry and marriage certificate to Li Qiuzhi.
When Li Qiuzhi accepted these things and the diamond ring, it meant he accepted Zhao Ming’s proposal.
Which was why Zhao Ming’s ghost had been following Li Qiuzhi all these years, because in Zhao Ming’s world, they were already married.
The man’s cold face was outlined by sharp features. He stared at Bai Lixin, his eyes carrying the greed of a wild beast. They slid over the young man’s body, and the young man felt as if each part was getting eaten away by this gaze. “It took me a long time to find this place.”
Bai Lixin blinked, and his eyes regained some clarity. “Thank you for the hard work.”
“It’s not much trouble,” the tornado behind him was all absorbed into the small box. The small box seemed to be able to swallow the sun and the moon, and it absorbed the tornado effortlessly. “It was just a little troublesome. This small space is like an unbreakable eggshell. I tried entering from the outside many times without success. But thanks to your passionate confession just now, the resonance between this soul fragment and me gave me the opportunity to enter.”
Bai Lixin’s neck turned slightly red. “What passionate confession? Don’t say misleading things every time.”
Seeing the conversation veering off course, Bai Lixin quickly changed the topic. “So this cube is called Pandora’s Box?”
Dijia’s expression became slightly serious. At this moment, the golden metal box had absorbed the surrounding tornado completely. The lid closed on its own, and gently floated down in front of Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin tentatively touched it with his finger, and the metal box changed again, reverting to the Rubik’s cube from earlier.
A system prompt rang out in Bai Lixin’s mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, player, on activating the divine prop Pandora’s Box. In order to retaliate against the human Prometheus for stealing fire, the ancient god Zeus and the fire god Hephaestus molded the human Pandora out of clay and gave her a magic box to bring to the mortal world. Pandora’s Box contains all the evils of time, but deep within its bottom, it hides the most precious blessings. Pandora’s Box is also known as the “source of disaster,” an ominous symbol. It can bring powerful strength to the user, but at the same time, it can bring calamity.]
[There are two ways to use this box. The first is absorption. When the box is open, it can absorb surrounding evils and blessings.]
[The second is bestowal. When the box is open, the player will receive a random prop. However, due to the uncertainty of Pandora’s Box, the dropped props may be positive debuffs or negative debuffs. In simpler terms, it’s entirely based on luck.]
Bai Lixin: “???”
‘Are you kidding me?’
System: [Although Pandora’s Box is great, don’t be too greedy. Be careful or you might get burned.]
[Wishing the player a pleasant gaming experience.]
Bai Lixin stared at the Rubik’s cube in his hand with a complicated expression, hesitating to speak.
The notification system remembered something and spoke again: [Oh, right, there’s one more thing I forgot to tell and remind the player. Because Pandora’s Box is labeled as the “source of disaster”, “uncertainty,” “absorption” and “bestowal” may occasionally go wrong during use. This is not a problem with the prop itself but the special attributes of Pandora’s Box itself. The box is not a counterfeit product, players can use it with confidence.]
Bai Lixin’s hand holding the cube trembled slightly. “…”
‘Confidence? Where should I put my trust?’
He lifted his head slightly, and saw Dijia’s smiling face. “Are you satisfied with the gift I gave you?”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Heh.’
…
“Wuuu, they’ve been through so much together, it’s so touching.” The little black furry monster cried so much its huge eyes were red and teardrops fell with a “plonk plonk” into the grass. “There are actually bigger love brains in the world than my two dads. What’s wrong with this world? Why are there so many love-brains? Wuuuu.”
Behind the tree came the rustling of footsteps. Li Cangshan turned around, and saw Zhou Guang walking over while rubbing his shoulders a bit tiredly.
As soon as Zhou Guang came, he sat next to Li Cangshan, leaning weakly against the cherry blossom tree behind him. He pointed at the furball and asked casually, “Li Cangshan, how did you bully this little monster into this?”
Li Cangshan looked serious. “This is called reformatory education, and I am a professional in this field. Is your task complete?”
Zhou Guang nodded tiredly. “Done, it exhausted me. How about you?”
“I finished long ago. Now I’m waiting for God Xin and the big boss.”
Only then did Zhou Guang realize that Bai Lixin was missing. “Where’s God Xin?”
Li Cangshan pointed to the massive cherry blossom tree in the middle. “He went inside.”
“Oh,” Zhou Guang responded casually, “we don’t seem to have anything to do right now. How about playing cards?”
Li Cangshan frowned. “No gambling. How about arm wrestling?”
Zhou Guang was stunned, “You want me, to arm wrestle with you, a special forces soldier? Let’s play cards, it’s not gambling, just pure entertainment. After completing the task, we need some recreational activity to relax. We can’t stay tense all the time.”
Li Cangshan hesitated for two seconds. “Fine, I only know how to play train dominoes.”
Zhou Guang’s eyes widened. “Wow, Li Cangshan, I really doubt you’re not twenty-two but eighty-two. Are you an old man? Be careful not to be single in the future.”
Li Cangshan pursed his lips. “I’ll find someone.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” the little black furry monster stared at the two with wide eyes, “are you two still Bai Lixin’s friends? He’s in the eye of the storm of resentment right now, his life and death is now uncertain, and you’re here playing cards?! Are you insane?”
Li Cangshan and Zhou Guang looked at each other, then Zhou Guang turned to the little black furry monster. “So, what can we do now?”
The black furry monster was stumped. It blinked its big eyes and said, “There is nothing you can do. If you get close to this cherry blossom tree, you’ll end up like everyone else, turning into nourishment for the tree.”
Zhou Guang: “So, what we can do is not blindly create chaos.”
“God Xin…” Zhou Guang looked towards the cherry blossom tree with a deep and dark gaze. “is a miracle.”
A gust of evening wind stirred, and a shower of cherry blossoms fell from the sky.
It was a dreamlike scene, yet it harbored danger.
Li Cangshan: “Look at the cherry blossom tree.”
Zhou Guang was busy shuffling cards, and quickly looked up at the sound. The blossoms that had bloomed in the night were now falling like rain. Petals and branches withered rapidly, and because the tree trunk could not bear Li Qiuzhi’s weight the trunk snapped from the root, and crushed to the ground along with the person and branches.
People who were previously stuck to the trunk as if possessed suddenly seemed to snap out of it. They released their hands from embracing the big tree and looked around. Some cried with their heads in their hands, some turned pale with fear, and some stared blankly, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Seeing this, Zhou Guang quickly stood up took rushed towards the cherry blossom tree. He stared at the gradually decaying cherry blossom tree without blinking, for fear of missing any small changes.
People around kept murmuring.
“I’m sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have forgotten you. But your death hit me too hard, I was so uncomfortable, only by forgetting you can I feel a bit better.”
“My good baby, I haven’t forgotten you. Even if you have a little brother now, you will always be my sweet baby. Do you know how much Mom wants to see you again?”
“Brother, stop bothering me. I’ll settle the bill when I go back, and I’ll repay everything I owe to your wife and child! I was wrong, please spare me!”
The clamor annoyed Zhou Guang a bit, and his eyes hidden under his glasses became darker and darker.
Suddenly, he saw a small crack appearing on the trunk.
Then the crack enlarged, and a hand stretched out from it.
Zhou Guang was quick, and immediately grabbed the hand, pulling outward forcefully. Just as he was about to exert force, two more hands joined that hand. Zhou Guang looked up and saw that Li Cangshan and the little black furry monster had arrived without him noticing, joining him in holding the hand.
The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously pulled forcefully, and a figure was dragged out from the crack with their pull.
Due to the sudden weightlessness, Zhou Guang staggered backward two steps.
When he stabilized and looked over, he was instantly filled with joy and exclaimed, “God Xin.”
Bai Lixin’s clothes were somewhat disheveled, and black fog twined around him.
He adjusted his hair a few times and smiled gently at the others, “I’m happy to see you all. Thank you for helping me out, otherwise, I would have had a hard time getting out.”
“Boom!” A loud noise suddenly rang out.
Everyone looked over. The previously lush cherry blossom tree had collapsed. With its collapse, the surrounding cherry blossom trees also quickly decayed. In the blink of an eye, this cherry blossom forest had transformed from the earlier illusion into a desolate and eerie forest of decay.
Passengers were no longer in the mood to enjoy the scenery and rushed towards the train. In just a few minutes, only a few people remained here.
The little black furry monster stared blankly at the withered and fallen cherry blossom tree. “The eye of the storm…collapsed?”
It remained stunned for a while, then suddenly remembered something and flew towards the direction of the train without looking back.
In this moment, only Bai Lixin, Li Cangshan, and Zhou Guang remained in the cherry blossom forest.
Because the tasks were completed, the three had reverted to their original appearances.
Bai Lixin surveyed the surroundings. In this deathly silent cherry blossom forest, numerous souls lingered, standing behind tree trunks and staring at them with fear.
As his gaze swept through the forest, it finally stopped under the fallen cherry blossom tree, where a body lay in a miserable state with a rope hanging from its head.
On either side of the body stood two elderly people holding hands and motionless, as if waiting for something.
Bai Lixin approached.
When he was only five or six steps away from Li Qiuzhi’s body, two faintly glowing pale figures slowly emerged from his corpse.
One was Li Qiuzhi, and the other was a young man who appeared to be around twenty.
The young man held Li Qiuzhi’s hand tightly, interlocking their fingers, and caressing Li Qiuzhi’s cheek with satisfaction.
When Li Qiuzhi first saw the young man’s face, he was initially terrified, but the fear gradually turned into compromise, acquiescing to the young man’s closeness.
Under Bai Lixin’s gaze, the four souls disappeared together.
“God Xin!” Li Cangshan shouted, “Come and see under this tree, there are many corpses!”
Bai Lixin immediately walked over. After the cherry blossom tree collapsed, it brought out a large amount of soil and a huge pit.
There were countless corpses in the pit.
Zhou Guang: “These are probably the people who were eaten by this tree before. If God Xin hadn’t destroy this tree tonight, it would have consumed many more people.”
S419 whispered in Bai Lixin’s mind: [Lord Host, I’ve detected the skull outlines of that elderly couple among the corpses. It seems that the couple was swallowed by this cherry blossom tree, leading to their subsequent disappearance. The answer to the puzzle we couldn’t solve in the first game is found here. Lord Host, you are truly… Watch out behind you!]
Bai Lixin abruptly turned around, and saw a sharp silhouette swooping down under the cover of the night sky. Just as the figure was about to approach, the black fog enveloping Bai Lixin surged. A muffled sound rang out as something was knocked to the ground.
Bai Lixin narrowed his eyes, and a scythe slowly materialized in his hand.
“Don’t attack, don’t attack!” The little black furry monster panted and caught up, “That’s my dad! He’s just looking for his wife, not trying to fight!”
Bai Lixin stopped his movement, looking helplessly at the sorry-looking monster on the ground.
‘It is admirable to pursue your wife to this extent.’
The black furry monster hurried over and stood in front of the pitiful monster, “Um, sorry, my dad just woke up, and he’s a bit silly. He…”
A large hand suddenly reached the side of the black furry monster, and with a “smack,” it slapped the talking little monster to the ground. “Who are you calling silly? You ungrateful brat.”
Everyone: “…”
‘Uh, should they perhaps step away from this domestic dispute?’
Bai Lixin wasn’t a relationship wrecker. He took the Rose Boy out of his backpack and placed it on the grass. Then, he took out the other painting of a wheat field.
‘Didn’t the little monster say those two scarecrows were its brothers?
Seeing the reunited family, the God of Misfortune will surely be moved to tears, right?
I’m such a good person.’
Sure enough, as soon as he saw the oil paintings on the ground, the God of Misfortune instantly halted all actions.
Then…
He ruthlessly grabbed the wheat field painting and tossed it aside, then gently embraced the Rose Boy.
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Wives are the dearest, and children are all accidental.’
Dijia chuckled in his ear, using a voice only the two could hear, “Don’t worry, I won’t be as foolish as it.”
“I will never let a child who wants to grab my wife’s attention be born.”
“But if you really want to have one, I’m willing to cooperate.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Can’t you refrain from going mad!
Isn’t there something you can’t say?’
The chains on the God of Misfortune had disappeared, but he was still weak. The power absorbed by the Eye of the Storm was stored in Pandora’s Box and hadn’t returned to his body. Bai Lixin and Dijia discussed it and he took out the Rubik’s cube from his backpack.
After mustering up the courage, he opened Pandora’s Box,. A powerful and terrifying force immediately rushed towards the God of Misfortune, entering his body in an instant.
After accepting the power, the God of Misfortune’s body also changed. His originally exposed body quickly turned into a blurry black fog. At the same time, Bai Lixin felt the oppression and fear he had once felt in the hotel emanating from it.
The ray of black energy shot out from the God of Misfortune, piercing straight into the sky. The earth shook several times, then gradually stabilized.
The spreading black fog wrapped the oil painting within its body. Without knowing what happened inside, Bai Lixin soon saw the outline of a person gradually stretching out from the black fog. First, the arms, then the legs. In just a few seconds, when the black fog dispersed, a beautiful young man had appeared before them.
The young man wore a pristine white shirt and clean light blue pants. His cheeks were slightly rosy, and he had a gentle expression. He smiled at Bai Lixin shyly. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Xiao Tou.”
“I’ve always wanted to say a few words to you . I’m sorry for dragging you into such danger, and thank you very much for saving us.”
After saying that, Xiao Tou blushed again and tugged at the black fog beside him.
The black fog grumbled, but still spoke seriously, “I am a god, I never bow to humans. However, what’s said is correct. Thank you.”
“As a token of gratitude, please accept this.”
While the God of Misfortune spoke, a black feather gently floated in front of Bai Lixin. “If you encounter any danger in the future, break this feather, and I will appear no matter where you are.”
[Ding! Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Token of the God of Misfortune] x1. When using this prop, you can summon the God of Misfortune to fight on your behalf! This is a divine prop, and its use ignores any territorial restrictions! This prop is an extremely rare item, please take good care of it!]
“Besides that,” Xiao Tou added timidly, “I will also send you many more gifts as thanks.”
“I know no amount of gifts can repay your kindness to us. In the future, if you need anything, please be sure to let us know.”
After saying that, he hesitated for a moment, then tugged at the black fog beside him and whispered, “One feather is too few, give a few more.”
The God of Misfortune stiffened, lowered his voice, and pressed against Xiao Tou, “That is the token of the God of Misfortune! If someone gets one, their ancestors’ graves will emit green smoke! If it weren’t for them saving you, I wouldn’t…”
Xiao Tou: “Are you saying my life isn’t worth these few feathers? You really don’t love me anymore. You just beat the child in front of me. I’m taking the child and leaving.”
God of Misfortune: “Fine, fine, three feathers, three feathers okay?”
Xiao Tou secretly glanced at the God of Misfortune, “Am I worth only three feathers?”
God of Misfortune: “Uh, then how many do you want?”
Xiao Tou: “One hundred feathers.”
God of Misfortune: “…Aren’t you afraid your husband will go bald? Fine, fine, here you go.”
A bunch of feathers appeared in front of Bai Lixin.
[Ding! Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Token of the God of Misfortune] x100. This prop is…] The system’s voice paused, its tone becoming hesitant, [an extremely rare item. Please… use it wisely.]
Bai Lixin: “…”
Xiao Tou respectfully bowed to Bai Lixin again, “A small gift, I hope Master Bai Lixin won’t disdain it. This world is sustained by the power of the God of Misfortune. Before you wish to leave this world, it will not collapse. The God of Misfortune still has some wounds to deal with, so we’ll take our leave for now. If you need anything, you can tell my child. Thank you again for your help. Goodbye, we…”
Before Xiao Tou could finish speaking, the God of Misfortune impatiently enveloped him in black fog, turning into a wisp of green smoke and disappearing on the spot, leaving the little black furry monster and the four looking at each other.
“The God of Misfortune seems to be fine now,” Li Cangshan said, “What healing is needed…”
The little black furry monster picked up the pitiful Wheat Field painting from the ground, “I’m still a child, don’t ask me!”
Li Cangshan: “…”
‘I seem to understand, but I don’t seem to understand.
“Ahem, anyway, congratulations to the three of you for completing this thrilling game!” The little black furry monster used its small claws to sweep away the weeds on the Wheat Field painting, “Your rewards will be given when you leave. From now on, as long as you want, you can already leave this world.”
“But Dad Xiao Tou said you can stay as long as you want. When you want to leave, just call me, and I’ll send you away.”
It still had that arrogant and domineering look, “Hmph, thank you all. Without you, I would have to watch Dad Xiao Tou die, and Dad Misfortune go crazy. If you don’t have anything else to say, I’ll leave now!”
Bai Lixin was about to say he wanted to leave now when Dijia’s warning voice came to his ear, “Tell it you’ll leave later, I also need healing.”
Bai Lixin trembled, and while he was in a trace, the little black furry monster had already left.
…
The group returned to the train just before it started. Passing by A-3, Bai Lixin thought of something and pushed the door open and walked in.
A-3’s compartment hadn’t changed much from when he came before, except that the camera was crooked and lying on the ground.
Bai Lixin walked over and took out the memory card from inside, then went to Li Qiuzhi’s suitcase.
He opened the suitcase and found something wrapped tightly in yellow talisman cloth in a small compartment.
Unwrapping the talisman, inside was an iron box.
Inside the iron box were various items: car keys, house keys, bank cards, a diamond ring, and a yellowed letter.
Bai Lixin opened the letter and began reading.
This was the suicide note Zhao Ming lrft for Li Qiuzhi back then.
In the letter, he mentioned leaving the car, house, money left by his parents, all to Li Qiuzhi. At the same time, he left Li Qiuzhi a diamond ring.
Bai Lixin stared at the contents of the box and a hint of irony flashed in his eyes.
Li Qiuzhi thought this was a windfall, but looking at these things…
A car, house, savings, and a diamond ring.
This wasn’t the inheritance Zhao Ming left to Li Qiuzhi; this was Zhao Ming’s dowry and marriage certificate to Li Qiuzhi.
When Li Qiuzhi accepted these things and the diamond ring, it meant he accepted Zhao Ming’s proposal.
Which was why Zhao Ming’s ghost had been following Li Qiuzhi all these years, because in Zhao Ming’s world, they were already married.
