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墨書 Inktalez
"Are we going to the amusement park?" Hu Fang's face broke into a long-lost smile. I replied, "Strictly speaking, we're not going for fun, but rather to do something a bit dangerous."
"But we still have to go to the amusement park, right?" Hu Fang confirmed with me again. I nodded in agreement, and she seemed a bit excited: "Then I want to go too! Don't worry, I'm just going to have fun; I won't be a bother to you."
Seeing my hesitation, Li Zhisheng said, "Just take her along. She's been running around with me lately and deserves a treat. Besides, there will be plenty of people at the amusement park; one more won't make a difference."
After thinking it over, I finally nodded in agreement. When Hu Fang saw that I agreed, she happily hugged me from behind and whispered in my ear, "You're so nice~"
Before I could react, she let go and hummed a tune as she ran into the kitchen. "I just bought some beef; I'll make you all a delicious meal soon!" Hu Fang called out while busying herself in the kitchen.
Yao Long and Death Apostle nearly burst into tears upon hearing this, exclaiming in unison, "We're saved!"
Li Zhisheng looked a bit downcast. He mumbled, "I was thinking about investing in a restaurant; it seems like I'm not cut out for it."
I reassured him, "Running a restaurant doesn't depend on how good your cooking is; you just need money."
"But I want to try being a chef..." Li Zhisheng looked at me, his eyes shimmering with hope as if waiting for my affirmation.
Although I wanted to give him some confidence, running a restaurant as a chef is no joke. If someone gets food poisoning or worse, it could lead to serious trouble. So I had to firmly deny him: "You can run a restaurant, but you absolutely cannot be the chef; people could die!"
Yao Long and Death Apostle nodded vigorously in agreement, chiming in, "Yes, yes! You definitely can't be the chef!"
Thus, everyone gathered around the dining table teasing Li Zhisheng until Hu Fang brought out a steaming pot of beef. Even though I had already eaten, the enticing aroma made it hard for me to resist having some more.
After we were full and satisfied, Hu Fang went back to her room for a nap while Death Apostle, Yao Long, Li Zhisheng, and I settled on the sofa to watch TV.
"Shen Xu," Death Apostle said with some concern, "can you be more specific about your plan? How exactly are you going to make me fake my death?"
I put down the remote control and thought for a moment. "I can't give you an accurate answer right now because I don't know what kind of opponents they will send. However, one thing is certain: you must let them kill you with their own hands; otherwise, they will definitely suspect something."
"I know that," he replied. "But they will surely go all out! Without Void Spirit protecting me now, even minor attacks could be fatal!"
At that moment, Li Zhisheng interjected, "Well, that's indeed a problem. Even if you and I were to take action, it would be hard to control the situation, let alone someone like Yang Master."
I replied, "I've thought about this long ago. So when I said to have them kill you, I didn't mean for them to actually do it. All we need is for Yang Master's people to believe you died at their hands."
"What do you mean by that?" Death Apostle asked, confused.
I gestured towards Yao Long beside me. "That's where he comes in. Among us, he has the most practical experience, and I've seen his ability to discern sounds and positions in the Cursed Realm. As long as Yao Long hides somewhere and uses his bow, he can achieve this."
"You want me to shoot Mr. Death and then pretend to be killed by the enemy? But that's really difficult because I can't create invisible arrows. Even arrows made of blood would still be visible."
"That depends on your skill..." I looked at Yao Long. "Previously, I noticed that the attacks from the Void Spirits implanted in them were mostly red. Even Death Apostle's previous Void Spirit was red. Plus, there was that person we encountered at the villa whose hand emitted red light. We can use this to our advantage."
Yao Long suddenly understood, saying, "You plan for me to hide my arrow within their red attacks? In that case, Mr. Death would essentially have to endure two attacks at once?"
Death Apostle's expression darkened upon hearing this. "Shen Xu, honestly, right now I can't even take two arrows from Yao Long. If he shot one at me, I'd probably be done for."
I waved my hand dismissively. "No, you've misunderstood me. What I mean is for Yao Long to shoot with slightly less force so that the arrow can blend into the enemy's ranged attack and redirect it away from vital areas... Yao Long, can you do that?"
Yao Long looked at me hesitantly and stammered, "I... I can't do that?"
Everyone had expected Yao Long to agree readily, but instead, he claimed he couldn't. I stared at him in surprise. "You can discern sounds and hit a target from a hundred paces away; how can you not manage this?"
Death Apostle anxiously patted my shoulder and said, "Shen Xu, do you have any other plans?"
After thinking for a moment, I replied, "Yes, let Li Zhisheng and me take that shot."
Li Zhisheng realized I was teasing Death Apostle and played along: "That's a good idea! At that time, I'll take one bow while Shen Xu takes another..."
Before Li Zhisheng could finish his sentence, Death Apostle hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt. "Can you not make jokes at my expense? What I meant was besides this method, is there any other way? I'm not asking you who should shoot!"
Upon hearing this, I put away my playful expression and said seriously, "There is no other way now. First of all, the Sun Warrior Organization has not made a move against me since your betrayal; instead, they have been targeting you. This clearly indicates that they must eliminate you before they can safely come after me. Therefore, you must 'die' once, and it needs to happen before they change their plans. Otherwise, if they reorganize their strategy, we could easily fall into another trap, and we would still be in a passive position."
After listening, the Death Apostle fell into deep thought and murmured, "Why do they have to kill me before they can come after you? I don't even have the Void Spirit on me right now; I can't pose any threat to them. Why…"
I sneered from the side, "That's something you need to explain, Mr. Death… Do you have something you're not telling us?"
The Death Apostle replied firmly, "Since you still doubt me, let me tell you everything about how I became the Yang Master." With that, he began recounting his past.
According to him, he used to be just an honest Antique Intermediary, specializing in helping others find rare and peculiar items—ranging from porcelain weighing dozens of pounds to jade pieces just a few centimeters long. But he only assisted others in finding these items; he never handled them himself and only collected a certain commission once a deal was made.
Until one day, he encountered an old man who handed him a black-and-white photograph that looked exactly like the two I held in my hands.
After looking at the photo, he curiously asked what it was called and its background. However, the old man refused to divulge anything other than showing him the picture.
Seeing that there were too few clues to pursue further, the Death Apostle considered giving up. But then the old man offered an enticing price. Being naturally greedy and unaware that this would lead him into a dangerous vortex, he agreed. He also told the old man that it would be difficult to find this item and asked him to contact him when it was located.
Afterward, the old man didn't say much else but nodded in agreement and told him to take his time searching.
Initially, the Death Apostle printed many copies of the photograph and asked friends he knew to help look for it. He also spread rumors within the industry that it was a stolen item linked to several deaths under police investigation.
Since he had some reputation in the Antique Intermediary field at that time, the rumors quickly spread. However, as the rumors circulated more widely, they became increasingly exaggerated until it turned into: the Box was cursed, and every owner had met an untimely death.
Hearing this made me think, "How is this rumor getting closer to the truth? I am the owner of the Box; that's why I'm surrounded by danger and nearly lost my life." With that thought in mind, I remained silent and continued listening to the Death Apostle.
Eventually, the Box became a hot topic throughout the entire industry. Some even believed it contained a treasure map and were willing to pay over a hundred million for it. Yet despite this frenzy of speculation, none of it provided any valuable leads.
After some time passed, due to his constant inquiries about the Box during this period without taking on new orders—and with his previous savings running low—he found himself at a loss.
Just when he felt hopeless, suddenly a young man approached him claiming to know where he could find the Box. Upon hearing this, the Death Apostle eagerly asked where it was located.
However, the person set a condition: he had to exchange an ancestral book passed down through generations. The Death Apostle did not agree and wanted to offer something else, but the person was not interested at all. So, he proposed another condition: the Death Apostle had to join the Yang Master in order to learn the whereabouts of the Box.
At first, the Death Apostle knew nothing about the Yang Master and thought it was some kind of religious pyramid scheme. Without a second thought, he joined. Thus, he became a member of the Yang Master.
Sighing, the Death Apostle murmured, "If I had known it would turn out like this, I really shouldn't have gotten involved."
I ignored his lament and pressed on, "That's it? What about the Box? Didn't they take you to find the Box?"
Upon hearing this, the Death Apostle replied, "They did. They only took me to an Antique Shop, but I didn't find the so-called Box there."
When I heard the words "Antique Shop," my heart skipped a beat. "Antique Shop?! Which Antique Shop?"
The Death Apostle pondered for a moment. "I don't quite remember the name; it seemed to have a character related to 'Yu'..."
At this point, I already knew where he meant. "Yuxu Mipo! Right?!"
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