Chapter 43: The Never-Sleeping Imperial City 5

"Has the Sky Seer arrived so quickly?" Sister Hong was clearly nervous as she turned to follow. "Let's go!"

The Sky Seer was an opponent of the Light Extinguishers. Before they knew their adversary's intentions, they couldn't afford to miss any clues.

Just as Sister Hong was about to leave, Xiao Yu suddenly called out softly, "Mom, where are you going?"

Sister Hong paused in her steps.

"Mom, are you leaving Xiao Yu again?" Xiao Yu whimpered, sounding pitifully aggrieved.

Seeing this, Sister Hong instantly wilted.

Watching Sister Hong's indecisive demeanor, Xia Qi turned and left, saying, "I'll go after him! You stay with Xiao Yu!"

Due to the delay caused by Xiao Yu, when Xia Qi caught up, Cha Gong was already far ahead. Cha Gong weaved through the crowd of zombies, soon disappearing from sight.

With so many zombies around, Xia Qi quickly lost his way in the bustling streets.

Xia Qi was about to turn back to find Sister Hong when he heard a familiar call: "Passersby, don't miss out! Come try our fresh watermelon—free if it's not sweet!"

Xia Qi turned toward the voice.

Not far away, by the riverbank, there were many green watermelons laid out, and the Financial Man was sitting on the ground beside them.

However, unlike during the day, tonight the Financial Man looked particularly shabby, wearing a tattered white vest and holding an old palm fan. This was a far cry from his earlier refined appearance. Beside him lay a very weak boy, his face ashen with dark circles under his eyes, looking seriously ill.

If not for Xia Qi's natural ability to remember faces, he might not have recognized the Financial Man in such a sorry state.

Seeing no one buying his watermelons, the Financial Man began to wail pitifully, "Good people, please help! My family has a seventy-year-old mother and a sick brother. We desperately need money. Please buy my watermelons..."

Just as Xia Qi was about to approach the Financial Man for a chat, two people suddenly rushed past, nearly colliding with him.

"Dad, you're being too cruel! How can you sell Mom to pay off your gambling debts!" The Pale-Faced Man stood beside Xia Qi, retreating step by step.

Unlike during the day, tonight the Pale-Faced Man wore loose school uniform and held a middle-aged woman tightly in his arms.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a limp rushed out and slapped the Pale-Faced Man across the face, making his mouth twist and his pale face turn red like watermelon flesh.

The limping man yelled at the Pale-Faced Man, "Your mom is the wife I bought! She must do whatever I say, even if I tell her to die, she must obey!"

Though the limping man's words made sense, the Pale-Faced Man refused to let go, shouting back, "She's my mom! Who gave you the right to sell her?"

"Hahaha, ask me? Then why don't you ask the traffickers who sold her to me?!" The limping man laughed loudly.

Xia Qi looked at the Financial Man selling watermelons and then at the Pale-Faced Man in a family dispute, falling into deep thought.

How could his teammates have changed so much in just one day?

Feeling that both the Financial Man and the Pale-Faced Man were fully immersed in their roles, Xia Qi did not interrupt their performance and continued walking back.

As he walked, he saw the Old Man approaching him.

Compared to the Financial Man and the Pale-Faced Man, who were engrossed in the game, the Old Man looked more like a normal player.

At that moment, the Old Man was surrounded by a group of high school girls. Among them were a sister in a JK uniform and three girls dressed in various Tang and Song dynasty costumes.

These girls all had delicate features and youthful innocence.

However, the Old Man, surrounded by them, looked as if haunted by ghosts, his expression so miserable that he seemed on the verge of collapsing.

Seeing his guilty expression, Xia Qi couldn't help but ask, "Are they all your students?"

Xia Qi felt that if he didn't ask now, he might never get the chance later...

The Old Man wiped the sweat from his forehead and stammered, "No, I don't know them."

"Teacher," one of the female students suddenly turned, smiling brightly at the Old Man, "How could you forget me? Didn't you say I should come to your office every day after class?"

"That's right," another student chimed in, revealing her private matters without hesitation, "You even took me for an abortion, but the surgery wasn't successful. I bled a lot... Hey, where did the hole in my stomach go?"

Hearing this, the Old Man's face turned even paler, his whole body trembling as he repeatedly muttered, "Stop talking, stop talking..."

"Teacher, you haven't forgotten your promise to me, have you?" The sister suddenly grabbed the Old Man's hand, her eyes shining, "You said you would give me a lot of money."

Hearing this, Xia Qi was shocked.

During the Rose Earl scenario, he learned from his sister about her past. She was mercenary and had been entangled with an elderly gentleman to acquire more wealth. She entered the game due to a ticket bestowed upon her by the "elderly gentleman."

Could this "old man" be the one standing before him...

Xia Qi's perception of the Old Man changed instantly.

"Wah wah wah... Money, okay, I'll agree to anything." Held by the sister's tender hand, the Old Man was terrified, tears streaming down his face.

After the Old Man agreed, the sister moved closer, even linking arms with him intimately.

The Old Man trembled uncontrollably, but he did not dare to break free from her grip.

"Teacher, why do you only like her and not us?" The other three girls in traditional costumes also crowded around him, each positioning themselves closely around him.

They giggled as they spoke, pushing the Old Man forward.

The four of them, one human and four spirits, moved together, gradually deviating from the main street.

Xia Qi suddenly realized that they were not heading towards the center of Nightless City but directly to the riverside.

Under the moonlight, the river shimmered, with countless lanterns floating on its surface. Unlike the lanterns in the real world, these lanterns looked old and yellowed at the edges, as if they had been floating for a long time.

Even more different from the real world, the lanterns contained pale candles, casting a cold green flame, adding an eerie touch to the beautiful river.

The old man, surrounded by his four female students, came to the riverbank.

Looking at the bottomless river before him, the old man let out a piercing scream: "No, no..."

"Teacher, shall we play in the river?" one of the female students said with a coquettish laugh.

At that moment, the old man suddenly shuddered and stiffly turned his head to look in Xia Qi's direction.

His eyes widened in terror, bloodshot and bulging, and he opened his mouth in an exaggerated manner, silently pleading to Xia Qi: Help me.

Xia Qi silently watched him, slowly approaching and asked, "Do you confess? Only you can save yourself."

"I, I, I..." The old man suddenly shivered, tears and snot streaming down his face as he sobbed in despair, "I confess."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sister covered her mouth and laughed, seemingly not believing him. Without waiting for the old man to continue, she suddenly reached out and gently pushed him into the river.

With a "splash," the old man's obese body fell into the river like a kite with its string cut.

"Aaaah!"

After being pushed into the river, the old man struggled desperately in the water, trying to swim back to the shore. But at that moment, the four female students straightened their bodies and, in unison, jumped into the river like dumplings falling into boiling water.

"Teacher, just stay with us." After jumping into the water, the sister's hair spread out, wet and draped over her face and shoulders, resembling a water ghost crawling out of the river.

The four female students swam towards the old man from four directions. Each of them extended their hands, grabbing his neck, shoulders, and arms, then together they pushed him under the water.

"Aaaah—splash."

After pushing the old man into the dark depths of the river, the four female students looked up and gave Xia Qi a strange smile.

Then, like four wooden stakes, they sank into the river together.

"Ding! The number of remaining Light Extinguishers is 5, one dead."

Watching the ripples spreading on the water's surface, Xia Qi sighed silently.

"The Moon God Lantern Festival's main event is about to start! Everyone, come and watch!" A person rushed past Xia Qi, shouting something about "destiny" and "main event."

Xia Qi looked curiously in the direction the person disappeared and followed the crowd forward.

More lanterns were hanging around, and Xia Qi examined each one carefully.

Initially, when he first entered the bustling streets of Nightless City, these lanterns were simple paper rabbits, white goats, or small white horses. By the time he reached the city center, he noticed that the lanterns had become more bizarre, with designs like cranes stepping on auspicious clouds and white phoenixes pulling carriages. Finally, there was even a golden dragon throne.

Even though he had not attended many funerals, Xia Qi knew that these lanterns were not meant for the living but for the dead.

Following the crowd, Xia Qi crossed a white three-arch bridge and arrived at a square, where he stopped.

Looking up, he saw a tall brick-red wall with three golden archways, each guarded by two stone lions. The lions' mouths were open, making them look quite imposing, and with guards stationed on both sides of the archways, the wall resembled an ancient imperial palace.

A woman pointed to a sky lantern rising above the wall, shaped like the moon, and exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my god, will His Majesty appear tonight?"

"Isn't His Majesty already in a deep sleep?"

Hearing the excited discussion among the group, Xia Qi couldn't help but frown.

Who is this His Majesty?

Could it be the boss of the Nightless City instance...

Thinking this, Xia Qi felt a bad premonition.

He shifted his feet slightly, intending to turn back.

However, several waves of people suddenly surged behind him, blocking his path and pushing him into the center of the crowd.

Not only that, but the crowd continued to push him forward like waves, making him experience the feeling of advancing if he didn't retreat.

The woman continued gossiping, "His Majesty has been in a deep sleep while waiting for his Moon God. Tonight, he finally woke up, which means his destined one, the Moon God, must have appeared in Nightless City."

Xia Qi: "..."

Another man exclaimed in surprise, "Look, the Moon God Lantern guiding the direction of the Moon God is coming our way!"

Seeing the flying moon lantern heading directly towards him, Xia Qi gritted his teeth and turned around without hesitation.

Facing the men, women, and children blocking his path, he said expressionlessly, "Excuse me, could you please move aside."