Chapter 308: Joyful Fate 29

Chapter 308: Joyful Fate 29

Since the custom in Tulou is to throw the bodies of young unmarried people who die prematurely into the river,

Then why would the deceased lover of the bride have ashes?

Three years ago, Qin Fei didn't have time to think deeply about this question before he was interrupted by the paper NPC in the sixth ancient painting that suddenly attacked.

"We followed the pre-arranged plan; Wen Yian entered the sixth painting from the inner world, and I entered from the outer world, each searching for clues related to the mission."

"The requirement to pass through that painting was to find the ashes, but all the clues within the painting pointed to the words 'blood coffin.'

So, I speculated that the ashes might be hidden inside the blood coffin."

Strangely, the scene in the sixth painting was a complete three-story Tulou, yet Qin Fei and Wen Yian searched every corner of Tulou thoroughly but never found any trace of a coffin.

Where could such a large coffin be hidden?

"We couldn't find the coffin.

It wasn't until the last moment before the wedding began that I finally discovered a valuable new clue."

Qin Fei's expression briefly cracked, and Gala found it hard to describe the emotions he saw in his eyes, but soon Qin Fei regained his composure, his tone as calm as before.

"There is no coffin in Tulou. From the moment we found the sixth ancient painting and understood its content, we were trapped in a tailor-made trap by the strange tale."

"Recalling carefully, when we watched the paper play, we only saw the part where the bride decided to steal her lover's body because she didn't want to be separated from him."

The so-called coffin was not actually the kind of coffin used to store corpses as players might think, but rather a deliberately misleading setup by the instance, a word game.

"The blood coffin is not a coffin. The blood coffin is a bed stained red with the blood of the living."

"As for the ashes..." Qin Fei closed his eyes tightly, the blue veins on his forehead clearly visible, "the ashes don't even exist. Players must create the ashes themselves if they want to obtain them."

Vice President Gala wore an incredulous expression.

If it weren't for the inappropriate timing, he might have exclaimed how absurd it was.

"So," Gala said with difficulty, "the method to pass through the sixth painting is to have the groom stain a bed with his own blood and then burn both the person and the 'coffin' to ashes?"

Qin Fei's answer struck Gala like a hammer to the heart: "Yes."

"To complete the final painting mission, you need to obtain the mission item 'lover's urn of ashes,' and what I just described is the only way to get the mission item."

Qin Fei turned his palm over, and a small porcelain bottle appeared in his hand.

It was the same porcelain bottle that players had been using these days to resist the attacks of the paper NPCs in Tulou.

It looked exactly like the porcelain bottle that appeared after Wen Yian disappeared.

"That fire only burned for a few minutes, a very short time, and then everything disappeared."

The fire went out, and the bed was clean, without any blood or anyone on it.

Only this small bottle remained.

Picking up the bottle, one could see the item description:

"Blood Coffin | Mission Item *1 Lover's Urn of Ashes"

Qin Fei played with the porcelain bottle in his hand, his expression unreadable.

He had previously wondered why the item that could resist ghostly attacks in Tulou took the form of a porcelain bottle.

After all, the porcelain bottle seemed to have nothing to do with Tulou.

Now he finally understood the hidden meaning behind it.

In the guest room, more than a dozen players surrounded Qin Fei and Gala.

They had deliberately lowered their voices during their conversation, making it impossible for even the audience on the other side of the light screen to hear what they were saying, let alone the other players in the room.

But from the expressions on their faces, it was clear that they were discussing something of utmost importance.

Gala looked somewhat dazed after hearing Qin Fei's words.

Qin Fei's gaze drifted over coolly: "Why that look? Didn't you know all this already?"

Qin Fei wasn't sure how Gala knew the specific details without having been to the instance himself.

But since Gala made those arrangements, it meant he had already calculated things.

Gala choked: "I... indeed knew some parts, but not in such detail."

Finally, the suppressed Vice President revealed everything: "You never asked about my innate ability."

"In fact, I am also a player with precognitive abilities."

As one of the oldest players surviving in the rule world, Gala's precognitive abilities are even on par with Cen San Ya.

In earlier years, he was a rising star in Black Feather, drawing much attention. Later, he became the Vice President, shouldering fame and responsibility, but rarely ventured into instances anymore.

Consequently, discussions about his personal abilities gradually diminished.

Three years ago, when Black Feather gathered all its high-ranking members to tackle the Red Mountain Tulou instance, Gala foresaw an extremely terrifying scene.

He tried to persuade Qin Fei, even up until the last moment before departure.

He still remembered how the President smiled at that time, his expression calm.

The president replied to him, "I understand, but this time we must go."

This was not just the decision of the president alone, but also the shared wish of all the Black Feather players who were about to enter Red Mountain Tulou.

In this land filled with the unknown and fear, there was always a group of people who still burned with the only spark in their hearts.

Give me liberty or give me death.

Later... they indeed did not return.

Gala pursed his lips.

The situation was roughly like this: Gala had learned part of the passing rules of the sixth painting earlier than Qin Fei through his innate skill, so he made a series of arrangements in advance.

Qin Fei listened quietly to Gala's words, gently rotating the black crystal ring on his finger.

The ring emitted a faint warmth, barely perceptible yet truly present. Compared to its previous icy touch, it felt as if it had come alive.

Actually, there were still some things Qin Fei didn't quite understand.

Three years ago, when only two players remained in the instance, Wen Yian sacrificed himself to send him out of the sixth painting.

But even so, the final task of "getting married" in the instance was destined to fail.

Since the task failed, why was he still standing here unharmed?

No one knew better than Qin Fei that during these three years, he hadn't disappeared; instead, he had returned to the real world.

—That should have been the reward for the successful player.

"President," Gala's voice pulled Qin Fei back from his thoughts.

He finally called out this title again, in a volume audible only to the two of them.

"I understand what you mean. But the passing rules won't change this time."

Someone must make a sacrifice.

Gala decided to be that person.

Qin Fei casually gave his opinion, "If now, there is someone most suitable to stay in the instance forever, who do you think that person is?"

With a hint of sarcasm, it was clearly pointed.

Gala immediately understood Qin Fei's meaning.

"Butterfly won't work," Gala frowned. "He is the groom."

Although Gala enjoyed tricking Butterfly, it wouldn't work in this instance.

"Our requirement for passing is that the wedding proceeds normally. Butterfly is the groom, an indispensable part of the ceremony."

If Butterfly died, the ghost story couldn't end, and everything would revert to the starting point three years ago.

Everyone would perish here.

Xiao Qin too.

This was a result Gala could never accept.

He waited in the rule world for three years. At that time, almost all the high-ranking members of Black Feather fell in the instance, and Gala had to resist external pressure while also dealing with the anxiety of internal players. The stress was unimaginable.

He no longer wanted to see such a situation happen again.

Even if it meant sacrificing his own life.

"Your plan can't succeed," Qin Fei seemed unmoved by Gala's plan to sacrifice himself, stating his view calmly, "When I say Butterfly is the most suitable, it's not because I have a grudge against him, but because he is the only feasible choice."

"The sixth painting requires both the bride and groom to enter simultaneously to start the task. Any other player entering without a special identity can't even trigger the plot."

Gala: "I..."

Qin Fei waved his hand, signaling him to shut up.

Gala couldn't help but speak: "This is absurd."

Gala thought Qin Fei was making things up to persuade him: "If the level is designed this way, this instance is an unsolvable problem."

The price of obtaining the sixth wedding item is the groom's death, but to pass the instance, the groom must survive until the end.

The two conditions contradict each other, giving the players a dead end from the start.

Qin Fei lowered his eyes: "Why impossible? Don't forget, this isn't an ordinary instance."

Three years ago, it wasn't an ordinary instance.

This time, it's the same.

Perhaps to other players, this is just an ordinary Guild competition node instance.

But Qin Fei knew it wasn't like that.

Thinking of this, Qin Fei couldn't help grinding his teeth.

Three years ago, the groom in the instance was Wen Yian.

Qin Fei could be 100% sure that at that time, the groom must have been on the same side as the bride.

This time, Butterfly's groom status has been altered by the system, putting him in opposition to the bride, deliberately causing trouble for the players.

Qin Fei understood that their plan to take away the last soul fragment of the pollutant under the system's watch had already been exposed long ago.

The system knew from the very beginning that they had entered this strange tale.

But, so what?

They had come this far.

They would continue on.

Qin Fei turned around and looked earnestly into Gala's eyes: "You're afraid we won't be able to clear this level in the end. You can rest assured about that; I have other methods to handle it."

Gala was somewhat convinced.

Although Xiao Qin did not reveal a single extra word about these so-called "other methods," he still instinctively trusted him.

Even so, the Vice President still found it difficult: "How are we going to lure the butterfly over?"

Qin Fei smiled again, his expression meaningful and somewhat sinister.

"There's no need to do anything extra."

Butterflies like him are arrogant and stubborn.

If he wants to kill someone, he will never give up easily.

Moreover, now, he has received a role mission that he must complete.

"Do you believe me?" Qin Fei whispered softly, "As soon as I push open this door and walk down the corridor to the sixth painting, the butterfly will follow me willingly."

Like a dog seeing a meaty bone.