Chapter 312: Joyful Destiny (Conclusion)

Chapter 312: Joyful Destiny (Conclusion)

The room felt like a sealed crematorium.

The butterfly's cries of pain did not last long; more accurately, they only lasted for one or two seconds before falling silent.

Qin Fei stood in the corner of the room, quietly observing the scene before him.

The tall canopy bed creaked menacingly in the fire, as if someone was screaming.

The flames gradually diminished and finally extinguished.

The bed itself remained unscathed, its wooden frame still shiny, and the bedding looked brand new—the fire had only burned away the traces of the butterfly’s presence.

No player remained on the bed; instead, there was a palm-sized blue-and-white porcelain bottle.

Beside the bottle lay a dagger, which the butterfly had been holding earlier to confront Qin Fei.

Since it was not in the player's inventory and was a special item, it had also dropped.

Qin Fei quickly stepped forward and picked up the items.

"Blood Coffin | Clearing Item *1: Lover's Urn"

Receiving the same item after three years, Qin Fei's mindset was vastly different from before.

Although saying this might be unfair to the butterfly, who had bravely sacrificed herself for the benefit of the players.

But at that moment, Qin Fei truly felt relaxed and happy.

He even felt a bit excited about what was about to happen.

It seemed the instance really was about to be cleared. What would happen after the pollution source obtained the last piece of his soul fragment?

Would it lead to... the outcome that all players most desired?

"It will."

A familiar voice sounded, and Qin Fei swiftly turned around, only to encounter a slightly cool presence.

The pollution source had appeared behind him, smiling gently.

Qin Fei stared at him for two seconds. "You're here."

The pollution source—truly the real pollution source, not the ghost groom without self-awareness in the instance—had finally appeared.

The pollution source nodded. "If I didn't come, who would you marry?"

Though it was an ordinary line discussing the plot, Qin Fei suddenly felt a bit uneasy hearing it.

"Cough." The young man covered his mouth with his fist, changing the subject. "Do you remember everything that happened before? There are some things I still don’t understand. When we entered the Tulou instance last time, we failed to clear it. Why did I return to the real world?"

The answer given by the pollution source was unexpected.

"The mission wasn't a failure."

When the pollution source said this, he smiled lightly, like a fleeting meteor in the night sky, making Qin Fei pause.

"Three years ago, we really cleared the instance."

Qin Fei did recall many things, but most of his clear memories were within the Tulou.

Earlier memories existed, but they were fragmented and disconnected.

So Qin Fei had forgotten something crucial.

At that time, Wen Yian could become the second-highest-scoring player on the leaderboard because he possessed an extremely powerful innate skill.

He could split his soul.

Even if his body perished, the split half could remain in the instance for a short while.

Wen Yian used this method to exhaust the last bit of his soul's strength, completing the instance task with Qin Fei and sending him out of the rule world.

After leaving the instance, Qin Fei returned to reality, forgetting everything he had experienced and the existence of his former lover.

Thus, he lived a peaceful life for three years.

The pollution source explained, "We chose to enter the Tulou instance because we found some clues in other instances:

The energy source sustaining the entire rule world is hidden within the Tulou instance."

Clearing the Tulou instance would destroy the energy source.

The rule world would dissolve, and everyone would gain freedom.

Unfortunately, players attempting to fight the system with human bodies were like ants trying to shake a tree. The grand wish of "gaining freedom" ultimately remained unfulfilled.

Qin Fei and Wen Yian successfully cleared the Tulou instance, and the core energy source of the system indeed malfunctioned, allowing Qin Fei to leave the rule world.

But he was the first and only player to succeed in escaping the instance.

Soon, the system found a way to patch the loophole.

—The recently deceased Wen Yian in the Tulou instance was the perfect material for repairs.

Wen Yian’s innate talent was rare; his soul was naturally fertile ground for nurturing strange tales.

However, even after death, Wen Yian, as a player, continued to resist the system.

The system had originally intended to absorb Wen Yian's soul, devour his entire personality, and turn him into an existence subordinate to the system, devoid of self-awareness. However, the system failed.

Wen Yian's soul was strong enough.

In the battle of wits against the system, he turned the tables and gained control, thus becoming an independent source of corruption outside the system.

"This is really..." Qin Fei felt a mix of emotions as he listened, "a crushing defeat."

This was the only evaluation he could give.

"Indeed," the source of corruption said, "but this time, it's different."

"Let's go." He took Qin Fei's hand.

It was time to leave the painting and return to the real Tulou.

They would soon put an end to everything.

...

Just like when entering the painting, Qin Fei's vision blurred for a moment, followed by a sudden heat in the air.

He stood on the second-floor corridor of Tulou, surrounded by raging flames that had almost turned everything into a sea of fire. Only a small patch of ground beneath his feet remained untouched, precariously resisting the encroaching flames.

Qin Fei stared at the tiny circle, barely larger than a palm, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Could it be... after finally gathering all the items, he would perish here?

How was he supposed to get to the third floor?

"Xiao Qin! Over here!!" Qin Fei heard a voice from ahead, barely discernible through the roaring flames.

It was Xiong Li who had rushed into the fire.

Xiong Li's talent was physical enhancement, making him more resistant to the burning flames than most players. He took the lead in the rescue mission.

"Hurry, follow me!" Xiong Li shielded Qin Fei from the flames with his body.

Qin Fei was dragged forward a few steps before realizing that other players had cleared a path ahead.

Though imperfect, the path was sufficient to escape the inferno.

Nearly twenty players were lined up along the stairs, each clearing a short stretch of safe passage. The deepest parts of the fire were handled by members of Black Feather.

Qin Fei was slightly stunned.

"We knew you went into the painting and kept an eye on the second floor," Lu Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, explaining.

Where one enters the painting is where they exit. Xiao Qin disappeared on the second floor and would reappear there.

Black Feather mobilized all the players for this rescue.

"Don't get too emotional; they had to come," Lu Cheng patted Qin Fei's shoulder. "Let's go."

He spoke the truth. Besides Black Feather's players, others came purely to save themselves, as Xiao Qin's death would mean theirs as well.

Gala was not far ahead, asking about Butterfly: "What about Butterfly?"

Qin Fei shook the urn in his hand: "Here."

The once whole Butterfly was now reduced to this small urn, causing Gala to let out a soft hiss.

Players in the Central City could watch the live stream of the guild league, and many members of the Butterfly Guild were likely wailing in the city.

But Qin Fei felt quite good.

Gala also felt good.

With Butterfly turned into an item in Xiao Qin's hand and the groom gone but the tale unfinished, it seemed there was indeed a chance as Xiao Qin had said.

Gala couldn't help but feel curious.

Xiao Qin had previously guaranteed that even without Butterfly, the wedding ceremony task could still be completed.

Where did he get such confidence?

Was there another groom in this tale?

Qin Fei: "How is the third floor?"

Gala: "The wedding scene is set up in the same place we watched the paper play on the first day. There's an additional long altar table with six incense positions corresponding to the six wedding items. Once we place the items correctly, the final part of the quest should activate."

Unable to resist, he asked, "Who will you be marrying later?"

Qin Fei looked at Gala in surprise, as if questioning why he asked such a question.

He raised his right hand: "Him."

Following his gaze, Gala noticed that Qin Fei had been holding someone else's hand all along.

A living man, slightly taller than Qin Fei, with long black hair falling smoothly, covering his chiseled jaw.

The man looked over, meeting Gala's eyes with a calm, ocean-like gaze.

Gala was even more surprised than Qin Fei, staring wide-eyed in shock.

He had completely failed to notice this person just now.

Gala first looked around at the other players.

Xiong Li was clearing the way, Lu Cheng and Mi Yang were extinguishing the fire, Xie Jingtian was gesturing wildly beside Cen San Ya, discussing the news of Butterfly's death.

Not a single person noticed the person beside Xiao Qin.

The person Qin Fei had brought seemed to have an extremely weak presence; one would not discover Their existence unless they paid deliberate attention.

Immediately after, Gala opened the chat interface.

His expression became subtly complicated because there was no discussion about this newly appeared person—presumably an NPC—in the chat. It couldn't possibly be a player.

Gala's breath hitched slightly as an unbelievable thought crossed his mind.

He suddenly felt that the face he had seen earlier seemed somewhat familiar.

...

Under the escort of a group of players, Qin Fei arrived on the third floor with great pomp.

Nearly an hour had passed since Qin Fei entered the ancient painting. The first and second floors had become like steam rooms, but the third floor remained intact, only excessively hot, unaffected by the fire.

As Gala had mentioned, the third floor had been newly arranged over the past two days.

Following the circular walkway, Qin Fei quickly found his destination.

All six auspicious items were in the hands of the Black Feather players.

The wine cup, candle, comb, veil, urn, and the dagger obtained from Butterfly were all placed in their respective positions.

In the next moment, the air suddenly fell silent.

The crackling sounds of burning vanished, replaced by wedding music coming from somewhere unknown.

The third floor, which had been dark, suddenly became brightly lit. Lanterns hanging from the wooden beams illuminated, and candles placed in various corners began to burn.

The players exchanged glances and silently moved aside.

Only Qin Fei and the source of contamination remained in the center.

"Don't be nervous," the source of contamination squeezed Qin Fei's hand. "This is just a necessary part of passing through, not a task."

The trials the players should have endured were already completed.

Now, it was time for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Amidst the lively music, elongated voices joined in.

"First bow—to heaven and earth—"

Qin Fei closed his eyes tightly, turned around, knelt down, and bowed following the chant.

Finally.

It was going to end.