Chapter 242

Chapter 242

No one responded to Liu Fei's question.

Wu Yu and Tan Fanyi were uncertain and hesitant to confirm; Xin Tianhao, who had just awakened, was completely clueless; while Bai Yuzi, who had always sided with and protected Bo Lang, opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it, staying silent. Even Xie Yinxue, who had been adamant about killing Bo Lang, remained silent.

Inside Yin Yue Hall, the clinking of cups and murmured conversations persisted, but none of the noises seemed to pierce the profound silence that settled among them.

Until a soft, almost feeble voice spoke up, "Yes, I am."

It was Bo Lang's voice.

His admission was like a bolt from the blue. As soon as he spoke, Liu Fei, Cai Lele, Tan Fanyi, and the others instantly turned their heads to look at him.

Bo Lang, clutching his wounded shoulder, limped weakly towards the group. Each word pronounced with clarity, he reiterated, "I am the beast known as Bo Yu."

After voicing those words, Bo Lang seemed to have shed a heavy burden, visibly relaxing. However, Wu Yu, Tan Fan Yi, and Liu Fei grew tenser, their hands reaching for their magical instruments—a lute and a silver sword—as if readying for a confrontation.

"I apologize... for deceiving you," sensing the change in the atmosphere, Bo Yu offered a rueful smile, "I had no ill intentions, and I've never harmed anyone. I was just... scared."

"I saw you kill He Yao and Lady Que. I feared you'd kill me too. I wished... I wished you'd perish."

"I'm truly sorry..."

The young man apologized repeatedly with caution. Despite being covered in grime and blood, he remained strikingly handsome. His pallid face radiated innocence, and his peach blossom eyes, seemingly washed clean, displayed naive ignorance. Even after confessing to being the beast that could bring disaster—a target to righteous cultivators—it's hard for anyone to bear malice against him. Especially when they realized he spoke nothing but the truth.

The most intriguing aspect of the "Fairy Inn" dungeon was: disasters caused by the beasts would only manifest when they harbored ill intentions towards humans.

Among all the beasts, Bo Lang was probably the weakest. Lacking self-defense, timid, and easily cowed, facing stronger predators, he could only pitifully plead. In his heart, he'd wish: if only they would die.

Is such a thought wrong? Not really.

If you were in a forest facing a tiger intent on eating you, you'd surely wish for the tiger to die so you could survive.

It's a basic survival instinct, merely wanting to stay alive.

"Before coming to the Fairy Inn, I hadn't really experienced rain."

After offering many apologies to the silent attendees, Bo Lang's gaze grew melancholic as he looked at the rain outside the window, as if staring at a distant treasure, "Where I come from, it doesn't rain; any pond I've entered dries up."

"I don't understand why. I'm a fish after all... I've always yearned to live in the water, as I should."

"Eventually, I understood. Because I'm a beast, my mere existence brings calamities," Bo Lang, shifting his gaze from the rain, said somberly, "You cultivators protect the masses, so it's only right for you to slay me. It was my mistake to cling to life, to flee."

At that moment, the palpable despair emanating from the young man touched everyone's heart.

It felt like a grain of sand embedded in a clam, causing persistent pain over days and years, impossible to ignore. Even though Zhu Yan had perished and no beast could influence their emotions, they still inevitably felt Bo Lang's sorrow.

Bai He Zi shook her head, whispering, "It doesn't have to be this way..."

"It's fate," Bo Yu offered a resigned smile, "Bai He Zi Daoist, thank you for once believing in and protecting me. May I ask one more question: humans undergo reincarnation after death, as do demons. When I die... will I?"

Tears in her eyes, Bai He Zi assured him, "Yes, you will."

"In my next life, I don't want to be a beast. I just want to be a fish, a simple fish that can live in the water."

Bo Lang stumbled towards the window, tears glistening in his eyes like pearls: "It's so beautiful... this rain..."

"To see the rain once more with my own eyes, it's truly a blessing..."

Bo Lang is gone.

He self-destructed his demon core.

Once a mystical beast begins its path of cultivation, it possesses a demon core. At the brink of death, they can choose to self-destruct, annihilating themselves along with nearby enemies. While Shan Chuan Army once did so, exploding in a shower of gore, Bo Lang transformed into scattered pearls upon the ground, akin to his tears – even in death, he remained gentle.

Outside the inn, the rain persisted, pattering down. The pearls that Bo Lang transformed into dropped like raindrops, eventually rolling down the slanted floor into the central pond of the Drinking Moon Hall, sinking to its depths.

With this, all the typical malevolent beasts had perished.

Though they had already accomplished over half of their mission to clear the level, everyone felt overwhelmingly somber, unable to find any joy.

"Why did he choose to end his life?" Liu Fei muttered, "If only he attacked us like Shan Chuan Army, like Fei, like Zhu Yan... that would've been better."

"I can't comprehend the objective of this dungeon design. If Lock Eternal Life wanted to kill us, why not do it directly? Aren't we supposed to be fighting for our lives in here?" Tan Fan Yi wiped his eyes, replaced his glasses and said with distress, "But what’s the result? Those truly struggling to survive have turned out to be the NPCs in this dungeon. I don't understand..."

They had been in this dungeon for three days. Within these three days, four of the participants died: Chu Yi Yang, Xuan Ting, Qing Ping, and Gan Hong Chang.

Yet, who would have thought that they wouldn't mourn the loss of their comrades but would repeatedly feel sorrow for creatures like Yan Ji and Bo Lang? Even though they're merely NPCs, just figments of imagination.

Wu Yu wiped his eyes with his sleeve, half pretending and half genuine, "I'm not mourning for them. I mourn for us. We didn't get all the clues about the ancient malevolent beast, Po Qi. How are we supposed to clear the level? We're doomed."

"Bo Lang left a clue. He mentioned 'with my own eyes'. It's about the eyes..."

Bai He Zi looked up blankly, focusing on the distant man with indifferent blue eyes.

"Esteemed Daoists, you're truly impressive. In just three days, you've exterminated all the malevolent beasts in the inn."

At the same time, Qin He's voice echoed from the second floor of the Drinking Moon Hall. He leaned over the railing, smiling warmly at the participants below, "I wonder if you have any clues about the ancient beast that escaped Long Xue Continent?"

Bai He Zi swallowed, eyes wide in shock, "Mr. Qin, are you a demon?"

Qin He smiled softly, without answering. He leaped off the balcony, mid-air transforming into a celestial crane. He circled gracefully around the stage, letting out a long, resonant call - identical to the crane's cry they heard upon entering the dungeon.

Seeing this, Bai He Zi stepped back, clutching her lute, eyes wide in disbelief, "Qin He is the guide NPC of this dungeon..."

"Bai He Zi, what are you talking about?" Cai Le Le asked in confusion, "Isn't the guide NPC Brother Bu?"

"He isn't." After Lily denied it, she turned to the male participants, "When we first entered the instance, we heard a crane's call, did you?"

Tan Fanyi, one of the sharper minds among the participants, quickly realized after Lily's prompt, "It was the cry of a crane for me too."

Wu Yu was more direct, asking the now-human form of Qin He, "Manager Qin, was that crane you?"

Qin He smiled, "Yes, it was me. How would you have found your way to the inn without me leading the way?"

"We should have known..." Yu Jiayi murmured, "It was Qin He guiding us all along, Bu Jiuzhao didn't do anything..."

It was quite clear that Bu Jiuzhao wasn't the guide NPC. After all, the objectives, clues, and daily hints for the instance were all provided by Qin He. If Bu Jiuzhao were the guide NPC, he should have been the one to deliver them. But aside from the first day, he was hardly present. On the first day, he only told them to trust Qin He's words, asserting that Qin He wouldn't deceive them. The only character in an instance that doesn't deceive participants is typically the guide NPC. Qin He had, indeed, never lied; they had successfully found the monsters based on his clues.

Liu Fei hesitated before asking, "If he isn't the guide NPC, then what is he?"

Xie Yinxue answered, "He's an ancient beast, the Qiongqi."

At that revelation, Liu Fei, Wu Yu, and Tan Fanyi all staggered back in shock.

But Xie Yinxue approached the man.

"Lily, remember when you asked how I knew Bolang was one of the beasts?" He stopped in front of Bu Jiuzhao, gently touching the brow bone that sheltered the mysterious, beast-like eyes, "Now you understand."

Yes, Lily did understand now.

Boyu had hinted about the ancient beast early on, but only Xie Yinxue had caught on — the reason Heyuan was willing to fight the leopard demon swordsman was because of his unique teal, vertical pupils, reminiscent of the ancient beast.

Recalling the clues, Qin He had mentioned Bu Jiuzhao's eyes hadn't always been teal vertical pupils; it was only after his visit to the Demon Inn. Additionally, the disappearance of demonic power began when "Bu Jiuzhao" arrived. The lethal efficiency in which "Bu Jiuzhao" dispatched Heyuan, Fei, and Zhu Yan seemed less protective and more like covering up a blown identity.

Xie Yinxue had done something similar before.