Chapter 46: The Never-Sleeping Imperial City 8

Xia Qi listened to Grandma Meng's excited speech without any expression and firmly stated that he would go out today.

"Then you must come back early. Don't miss the guards coming to your door," Grandma Meng earnestly advised, worried that Xia Qi might miss the chance to become Night Emperor's consort.

After Grandma Meng left, Xia Qi began to tidy up his clothes, planning not to return for the entire day once he went out.

Trying on shoes was impossible; he would never do it in this lifetime.

After tidying up his room, Xia Qi discovered there was one thing he couldn't deal with—the Moon God Lamp.

This Moon God Lamp, powered by some unknown brand of battery, had been shining all night long and was still glowing brightly now.

Xia Qi touched the lampshade and realized the Moon God Lamp wasn't a system item and couldn't be put into his system backpack.

"So... this is likely a key item?"

Xia Qi remembered that the Earl's red diamond wedding ring couldn't be put into the backpack either and could be snatched by players.

Judging from the fact that the Moon God Lamp couldn't be put into the system backpack, even if it wasn't a key item, it certainly wasn't something that could be casually discarded.

Unfortunately, the Moon God Lamp was too big for Xia Qi to carry around while going out.

"Since it's a key item, couldn't it be made smaller?" Xia Qi complained.

As soon as he said this, the Moon God Lamp in his arms suddenly emitted a dazzling halo. Then, the entire lamp visibly shrank at an alarming rate, finally transforming into a fist-sized, round bead that fell onto his bed.

This...

Although it was scientifically impossible for the Moon God Lamp to understand human speech and transform into a small bead, after being forcibly kidnapped and made into "Moon Goddess," Xia Qi now believed anything was possible.

Putting the Moon God Lamp into his pocket, Xia Qi took a black robe and a black scarf from the wardrobe, covering his face and wearing a straw hat before leaving.

He sneaked around, covering his face, and arrived at Sister Hong and Xiao Yu's residence, knocking on the door.

"Creak—"

When the door opened, Sister Hong was particularly surprised to see Xia Qi fully disguised at the doorstep: "Why are you dressed like this... what are you doing?"

Going to assassinate Night Emperor?

Xia Qi thought for a moment and explained, "The Sky Seers know us. I'm dressed like this so they can't recognize me."

"Oh, that makes sense. I guess I should disguise myself too," Sister Hong understood but then asked, "I heard they chose a Moon Goddess last night. Do you know who she is?"

Xia Qi: "..."

Xia Qi: "I don't know."

Sister Hong sensed something odd about Xia Qi's voice, but since his entire face was covered, she couldn't confirm his true thoughts and replied, "Last night, when Xiao Yu was sleeping, I went out for a bit. Guess what I found?"

"What?"

Sister Hong slipped out of the door, closing it carefully behind her.

Once outside, she motioned for them to walk and talk.

"I found the old man's body by the river. His stomach had a hole in it, and his... you know what, was completely shattered."

Hearing "you know what," Xia Qi felt somewhat uncomfortable.

He quickly changed the subject, saying, "The old man used to be a teacher. I suspect... these four female students were all molested by him."

Thanks to Sister's sudden appearance, Xia Qi realized that the sister here was not a player participating in the Rose Earl instance but rather the sister seeking revenge against the old man.

Considering the words of the other three female students, Xia Qi deduced that they were also vengeful spirits.

"That's right, these spirits were born because of him," Sister Hong agreed.

"Do the people entering the game have sins?" Xia Qi paused and asked, voicing his long-held doubt.

Sister Hong was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Yes."

Xia Qi sighed softly.

This was the first time he had heard from another player that the Sin Game was used to punish sinners.

The old man had molested female students outside the game, causing them to miscarry or commit suicide due to disgrace, leading the game to label him as a sinner.

In this instance, the game specially arranged for four vengeful female student NPCs to kill him.

"Then you..." Xia Qi hesitated and asked.

Sister Hong's expression turned grave, and she said without hiding anything, "I killed someone. I was originally in a women's prison, but then I was mysteriously pulled into the Sin Game..."

Xia Qi was stunned.

Sister Hong was actually a murderer?

No wonder she dared to curse at NPCs, sneak out alone at night, and mention the old man's corpse nonchalantly.

Seeing Xia Qi's astonished look, Sister Hong smiled bitterly, "I've received the punishment I deserved."

But wait.

If Sister Hong truly had a sin, why weren't there any spirits seeking revenge from her?

Instead, a little girl appeared beside her, treating her like her own mother.

Xia Qi frowned, suppressing his doubts.

He didn't intend to pry into others' private habits, so he changed the subject and said, "But why did the old man die first?"

Sister Hong shook her head and whispered, "I also found it strange. When we first saw him, he seemed to have sensed something, behaving completely differently from the others."

"Let's go check on the other teammates before making our next move."

After some discussion, they decided to look for Li Ming, who was being chased by the pregnant female zombie.

The reason they planned to find Li Ming first was that unlike the financial guy and the pale-faced guy, he hadn't fully followed the script. His initial state was similar to that of the old man.

Li Ming's place wasn't far from theirs. As Xia Qi and Sister Hong approached the street corner, they saw Li Ming crying and pleading nearby.

"Please let me go... Ahhh." Li Ming was hunched over a well, vomiting miserably.

Xia Qi and Sister Hong moved closer, but Li Ming, engrossed in his vomiting, didn't notice them. He continued mumbling to himself, "I'm about to die; can I at least have a drink of water?"

Hearing Li Ming mention drinking water, Xia Qi looked down into the well.

At the bottom of the deep well, he saw a mass of black hair, with clumps of flesh-like strands stuck to it. Just one glance made him almost vomit too.

"Do you haven't eaten or drunk anything all day?" Sister Hong suddenly asked.

Upon hearing his teammate's voice, Li Ming jumped up instantly and clung to Xia Qi's leg, saying, "Save me..."

He didn't dare cling to Sister Hong, fearing the female zombie would accuse him of cheating again.

"What happened?" Xia Qi shook his leg, throwing the weak Li Ming off.

Li Ming rubbed his eyes, which were dry and bloodshot, unable to produce any tears.

He told Xia Qi, "Yesterday, the female zombie chased me all day. By nightfall, she suddenly turned into a pregnant woman. Thinking she had returned to normal, I followed her home. But this morning, she went crazy again..."

Li Ming covered his throat, emitting a disgusting sound of vomiting, and pointed towards the kitchen. "I can't explain it; you'll have to see for yourselves."

Xia Qi had a bad feeling about what might be in the kitchen.

Sister Hong scoffed, "Such little courage."

She headed towards the kitchen, and Xia Qi, frowning, followed her.

However, upon opening the door, both of them gasped at the sight inside.

The kitchen was a mess, with blood splattered on the walls and floor. On the chopping board lay remnants resembling a baby's limbs and bits. In the middle of the stove, a large pot was boiling with a strange red broth.

Xia Qi silently backed out.

As they returned to the courtyard, the female zombie hummed a tune, passing by them with a dirty bowl.

"Have you had breakfast? Would you like to stay and eat with us?" The female zombie grinned, revealing sharp fangs with traces of blood between her teeth.

Xia Qi shook his head and quickly replied, "No, we've already eaten."

Sister Hong vigorously shook her head, responding, "I'm not hungry." She no longer complained about cooking for Xiao Yu.

Seeing they weren't staying for food, the female zombie gave Li Ming a sinister smile. "Li Ming, don't worry; I'll get your soup right away."

Li Ming trembled violently, looking at them with pleading eyes.

The female zombie ignored him and continued humming as she went back into the kitchen to fetch his soup.

"I won't drink it, I can't drink it..." Li Ming's face turned pale, and his lips quivered uncontrollably.

Xia Qi squatted in front of him, looking at him coldly. "Do you remember any wrongdoings you committed?"

"I, I..." Li Ming suddenly lifted his head, his eyes darting around, avoiding direct contact.

Xia Qi thought to himself, indeed, Li Ming had something to hide.

"Hmph, still trying to deny it, huh?" Sister Hong also squatted down, pointing at Li Ming's stomach. "Won't admit it? Then you're as good as dead; we can't save you."

Suddenly confronted by Sister Hong, Li Ming bit his lip and whispered, "I, I did something wrong."

"If you don't want to drink the red soup, confess now," Xia Qi said calmly. If Li Ming confessed, they could gather more information.

At the mention of "red soup," Li Ming broke down again, stammering, "I, I cheated on my wife when she was pregnant..."

"What else? Keep going," Xia Qi glanced at him. Cheating alone couldn't warrant such severe punishment.

Li Ming clenched his teeth and continued, "I hit her, and later she became depressed... she jumped off a building, and both she and the child died..."

His voice dropped even lower, "They were twins."

After hearing this, Xia Qi fell silent.

"Monster! You deserve to die!" Sister Hong suddenly exploded, jumping up and kicking Li Ming towards the well.

Her eyes red with rage, she glared at Li Ming and shouted, "All cheaters deserve to die!"

"Ah, sister, you're absolutely right." At that moment, the female zombie emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of red soup, smiling at Li Ming. "Li Ming, time for dinner."

Li Ming, still reeling from Sister Hong's kick, hadn't recovered when the female zombie appeared with the bowl.

Seeing that Sister Hong wouldn't help him, he crawled towards Xia Qi's feet, pleading, "I'm your teammate; please save me..."

Xia Qi looked at Li Ming, exasperated, and said, "Only you can save yourself; you need to atone for your sins."

His kindness was reserved for the innocent and the good, not for sinners.

"I will, I will atone!" Li Ming scrambled to the female zombie's feet, frantically bowing. "I was wrong; please forgive me..."

"Li Ming, what are you talking about?" The female zombie smiled at Li Ming, seemingly enjoying his reaction, but she had no intention of forgiving him.

The female zombie reached out, pressing one hand on Li Ming's shoulder and lifting his chin with her finger, speaking in a gentle, watery voice, "Come, have dinner."

"Ahhhh..."

Li Ming only managed to let out a scream before the female zombie forcibly poured a bowl of red soup down his throat.

Xia Qi couldn't bear to watch anymore and said to Sister Hong, "Let's go."

"Let's go."

Sister Hong's face was cold as she turned back and glared fiercely at Li Ming, then cursed, "Serves you right!"

After leaving Li Ming's alley, Sister Hong seemed to be in a bad mood. Seeing her state, Xia Qi suggested that she go back to rest first.

Sister Hong admitted that she wasn't feeling well and parted ways with Xia Qi.

Thus, Xia Qi set off alone to look for clues.

He searched the streets all day and only found the residence of the pale-faced man. However, just as he arrived at the pale-faced man's house, the man was thrown out by his "father," and they were still arguing about whether to sell the man's mother.

Xia Qi stood aside watching for a while, realizing he couldn't interject. With nightfall approaching, he decided to head back.

He planned to eat dinner first and then find the financial guy selling watermelons at midnight.

Walking slowly back, he stopped outside Grandma Meng's courtyard.

Although Grandma Meng's courtyard looked unchanged, with its dim lighting due to power-saving measures, something felt different tonight to Xia Qi.

Standing at the door, he didn't knock but carefully pushed it open slightly.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he pulled the door open by 1 cm, someone inside yanked it wide open, shouting, "Your Majesty, the Moon Goddess is back!"

With the door fully open, Xia Qi could clearly see the scene inside the courtyard.

He saw that his usual stool was now occupied by the Night Emperor, who sat awkwardly on it with his long legs bent. Despite this, his expression was relaxed, as if he were at home, exuding an air of usurping someone else's place.

Seeing Xia Qi return, the Night Emperor tossed the vegetables in his hand into Grandma Meng's basket, wiped his hands on the apron beside him, and stood up smiling, saying to Xia Qi, "My Moon God, you're back."

Xia Qi: "..."

Caught off guard, Xia Qi couldn't help but twitch his eyes.

This Night Emperor was like a persistent ghost!

"How did you get here?" Xia Qi asked, frowning. He hadn't even tried on the shoe; how did the Night Emperor find him?!

He seriously suspected that the game had given the boss some unfair advantage, complete with a built-in informant function?

Looking at Xia Qi's puzzled gaze, the Night Emperor smiled stiffly, "All the predestined people in the city have tried on the shoe except for your household, so I came to check."

Xia Qi: "..."

Using the process of elimination, indeed skillfully.