Chapter 53

"No," Gu Yi'an denied flatly, without a hint of hesitation.
She would have to be insane to like someone like Lu Zize.
Could the god act a little more normal and not ask such questions?
The poet's gaze darkened briefly before he quickly feigned nonchalance, saying, "Since Gambler likes this jade pendant, I'll give it to you."
Gu Yi'an refused, "No need. Thank you."
If that jade pendant was the prop she thought it was, and she and Tang Jiu were already in the same game, holding onto it would be useless, it would only be an extra burden.
Hearing this, the poet chuckled softly, his voice gentle.
“Gambler clearly likes it very much, so why refuse?"
His words carried an underlying meaning.
Gu Yi'an stood calmly where she was, completely unaffected by his remark.
She replied, "Because I don't like it."
Her cool voice drifted into the mist.
"That truly saddens me."
As he spoke, a trace of melancholy seemed to tinge his gentle gaze.
He removed his jade pendant.
This time, it was his turn to approach Gu Yi'an.
It felt like a reenactment of the previous scene.
Only now, their roles had reversed, the one actively stepping toward the other was the poet.
Gu Yi'an remained where she was, unmoving.
She could guess what the poet intended to do.
Although the space on the dragon's back was large, she was still worried about potential mishaps and didn't plan to move recklessly, so she didn't avoid him.
The poet closed in on her.
Even up close, his appearance remained flawless.
This vessel of the god was quite well-crafted.
He appeared gentle, but his actions were forceful and left no room for refusal.
The poet looked at Gu Yi'an as he fastened the jade pendant on her.
Gu Yi'an averted her gaze, turning to watch the dragon's flapping wings.
With every beat of the dragon's wings, the mist stirred.
The poet released his hand, and the jade pendant slipped inside her collar, touching her skin and sending a chill through her.
The poet said, "This jade pendant is called 'Tongxin.' It means sharing hearts, eternally bound together."
His voice was smooth and soothing, as if it could seep into one's heart and make one believe everything he said was true.
In the end, Gu Yi'an took half a step back.
She asked the poet before her, "Lu Zize, why did you follow me in?"
What she really wanted to ask was why he always followed her, why he was always so kind to her.
Gu Yi'an wanted to know the reason.
Hearing this, the poet looked puzzled and asked, "Gambler, has this person made you dislike him?"
The poet's attitude was one of stubborn denial, he simply acted as though he didn't know who Lu Zize was.
Gu Yi'an replied, "...No."
She truly didn't dislike him.
Even knowing what he had done, it was hard to dislike him. She might be going mad.
"Then let's not talk about him."
The poet tried to divert Gu Yi'an's attention.
He invited her, "Gambler, are you feeling bored? How about we go up and enjoy the scenery?"
The dragon had long since flown past the low hills, weaving through the clouds and mist, soaring freely across the sky.
They stood on the dragon’s back, which was broad enough for a person to gaze into the distance, but the flapping of its wings obstructed part of the view, making it difficult to fully appreciate the scenery below.
When the poet mentioned "above," he was referring to the dragon’s head.
Gu Yi’an had no interest in admiring the view.
She looked at the poet, unsure whether she felt helpless or some other emotion.
Even after she had exposed him, he still refused to admit it.
Gu Yi’an chose to remain silent.
The poet took her silence as acquiescence.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, lifted her into his arms once more, and flew up to the dragon’s head.
The dragon seemed to sense the movement on its back and kept its head steady.
They arrived atop the dragon’s head.
The poet set Gu Yi’an down.
But this time, she had no choice but to grab onto the poet’s arm for support.
Because they were now at an incredibly high altitude.
So high that it evoked fear.
Still, just like on the dragon’s back, Gu Yi’an felt no impact from the wind.
As the dragon soared through the clouds, she could see the misty clouds rushing toward her, yet she felt no trace of moisture.
Gu Yi’an looked down below, the rivers had become thin threads, the mountains were mere dots the size of ants, and the grasslands stretched out in a hazy, indistinct blur.
When one realizes how vast and boundless the world is, some things no longer seem to matter.
As she gazed downward, Gu Yi’an wondered, is this how they appear in the eyes of a god?
The scope of what He sees is so immense that it causes Him to overlook the humans within it.
Because, to Him, humans are far too insignificant.
Unless they are interesting enough, He might not even spare them a glance.
So the questions she had been pondering no longer seemed important.
Because what the god needed was for her to be interesting enough.
The poet gently asked, "How is the scenery?"
Gu Yi’an heard his voice and released her grip on his arm.
She took a small step to the side and raised her hand to feel her surroundings.
When her hand moved a certain distance away, she felt the wind.
She also touched the misty clouds.
The dragon soared through the clouds.
Gu Yi’an glanced once more at the scenery below, a faint smile appearing on her face. She said, "It’s beautiful."
The giant dragon swept through the clouds, leaving long trails in the sky that seemed to announce its passage.
Having flown far enough, the dragon circled the sky with Gu Yi'an and the poet before turning back toward the low hill.
Gu Yi'an withdrew her gaze from the scenery.
She hadn't forgotten she was playing a game that required clearing levels.
Was the way to clear this stage to defeat the evil dragon?
Gu Yi'an hesitated for a moment, then removed the jade pendant the poet had just fastened for her.
Killing the evil dragon alone would be difficult.
Perhaps there was another way.
Maybe that method had already been delivered into her hands.
Holding one end of the cord, she extended her hand, letting the pendant dangle in the airflow.
She suddenly asked, "What would happen if I dropped it?"
Gu Yi'an had been quietly observing the scenery below, so her sudden movement naturally caught the poet's attention.
The poet watched her every move but didn't stop her, only observing as she removed the pendant.
His gaze gentle, he said, "You might regret it."
Calmly, Gu Yi'an replied, "I won't."
No matter what happened.
Gods could never truly die.
Gu Yi'an released her grip. The pendant was caught by the airflow and swiftly vanished into the clouds below.
The poet glanced at where the pendant had fallen, smiling softly as if with affection. "Gambler, I look forward to our next meeting."
He chased after the pendant without hesitation.
His descent was swift, and the clouds soon obscured his trail.
From her position on the dragon's head, Gu Yi'an could no longer see his vanishing figure.
She watched as the poet disappeared from her sight.
She knew he had once again perfectly concealed his departure.
If she couldn't witness his disappearance, he could deny being Lu Zize.
But when a god's disguise was so obvious, what difference did it make whether he admitted it or not?
After the poet leaped down, the dragon let out a roar.
The sound reached Gu Yi'an's ears, and for some reason, she understood its meaning: the dragon was asking her where to go.
Did this mean she could command the dragon?
The poet had vanished, but his disappearance didn't trigger the game's clearance.
Perhaps the poet wasn't part of the game's original design, maybe the evil dragon was?
If so, their destination for clearing the stage should be that low hill.
After a moment's thought, Gu Yi'an raised her voice and said, "Back to the tavern."
She would first retrieve the other players.
Her words scattered into the vast sky.
The dragon roared in response, agreeing to her command.
With the poet gone, fierce winds battered Gu Yi'an, making it hard to stand. She had to sit down, enduring the howling gales around her.
At some point, the small coffin slipped out of her pocket.
In that instant, the wind softened, no longer biting cold enough to pierce one's bones.
Gu Yi'an touched the small coffin and said, "Thank you."
Soon, as if realizing Gu Yi'an couldn't withstand the high-altitude airflow, the dragon descended lower, slowed its flight, and gently headed back toward the tavern.
Inside the exchange, the floor was a mess, evidence of the fierce struggle that had taken place.
Tang Jiu and the dancer's clothes were slightly torn, while the student, hiding behind them, remained unharmed.
The three of them watched as the doctor used a scalpel to cut into the skin of a corpse on the ground.
At that moment, the corpse with a human appearance suddenly transformed into a grotesque, deformed humanoid creature in the eyes of everyone, extremely ugly.
The players showed no surprise. Because beside that corpse lay two other corpses of non-human beings.
This was the third corpse the doctor had dissected.
There were only three people in the exchange: the old man, the middle-aged plump woman, and the muscular man, all three were non-human.
The student found it unbelievable, "None of them are human?"
Tang Jiu said, "It's obvious. Look at what the old man is selling."
"Isn't it just bones?"
As the student spoke, he carefully examined the strange bones on the ground, which were stained with dirt. It wasn't from the recent fight; they were inherently dirty.
The student couldn't identify them, but he made a guess based on Tang Jiu's words, "Human bones?"
He looked at the doctor as he asked.
The doctor nodded.
The student then looked at the items the other two in the exchange were selling: one was food, the other ironware. "So, are there traps in these two as well? I knew there wasn't a single good thing in the exchange."
The other players picked up on the hidden meaning in the student's words, he had been cheated in a similar exchange before.
The student glanced at the three non-human corpses on the ground and asked, "How about we also, "
He made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand.
After speaking, the student noticed the simultaneous gazes from Tang Jiu, the doctor, and the dancer.
The meaning in their eyes was strikingly consistent, the student had used that same look before.
It was the look he gave when he saw fools.
The student said, "Is the tavern owner not a problem?"
Tang Jiu replied, "He is. He's very problematic. The wine he sells is the last drink a warrior had before death."
"Then why not kill him?" the student asked.
Tang Jiu said casually, "Because we might not be able to defeat him."
"Is he really that strong?"
Tang Jiu looked at the student and said, "Just kidding. He's actually somewhat decent. Although he sells poisoned wine, he still advised us to leave this place."
"Poisoned wine?"
The student was startled and immediately looked at the dancer.
The dancer seemed to have had a cup of clear water on the table earlier.
The dancer nodded and said, "The water is poisoned too. I told him I was waiting for you, so he didn’t force me to drink."
The student looked astonished. "Dancer, how can you say that so calmly? Why didn’t you mention it earlier?"
The dancer replied, "You didn’t ask. There was no need for us to confront him openly."
Hearing this, the student said, "Do you think it’s possible that the reason the dragon kidnapped the princess was because he knew there were two shady establishments here? He might have been worried the princess would be in danger, so he rescued her."
The others fell silent.
What the student said was entirely plausible.
This game had no clear beginning or end.
Who knew what the truth really was?
If Gambler were here, she might have been able to guide them to the answer.
Unfortunately, the gambler wasn’t present.
Tang Jiu remarked, "This might just be a role-playing game. The choices players make lead to different outcomes. If we had drunk the wine, we might have triggered a death ending. If we had chosen the exchange, we might have been tricked by non-humans. And if we go to rescue the princess, we might end up being deceived by the dragon."
"Role-playing?"
The student pondered these words and suddenly spoke again, "I have another question."
Tang Jiu said impatiently, "Why do you have so many questions?"
The student asked, "Don’t you feel like we’re being assimilated?"
At his words, the three players, including the doctor, froze.
They all understood the meaning of "assimilation."
And precisely because they understood, their bodies stiffened. They felt a bone-chilling cold.
The student’s suspicion was correct.
Unconsciously, they were being assimilated by this digital world.
Their actions seemed to follow the game’s script.
The student asked, "What should we do? How do we escape this game? Will Sage come back to save us?"
They had made no progress in a short time. They had already killed the non-human at the exchange, and now the only option seemed to be heading to the low mountain to rescue the princess.
But along the way, they might continue to be assimilated by this digital world, becoming a part of it.
The others agreed with the student’s speculation.
This time, he didn’t bother feeling pleased. Instead, he fantasized, "I hope the princess will come riding the dragon to save us."
The other players glanced at the student.
The doctor remained indifferent.
The dancer wore a warm smile.
Tang Jiu said disdainfully, "Stop dreaming. Rather than waiting for her to save us, we should save ourselves. We’re the ones who are supposed to rescue the princess."
Suddenly, the players inside the exchange heard a distant roar.
It didn’t sound like it came from an ordinary animal.
It echoed through the heavens and the earth.
"Could that be the roar of a dragon?"
Curious, the student stepped outside.
He walked out the door and looked up. In the distance, a familiar giant dragon was flying close to the ground.
The grass and weeds nearby lay flattened.
And on the dragon’s head sat a figure he recognized instantly, one he had been eagerly anticipating.
That figure was slender, and perhaps because she was seated on the dragon’s head, she appeared cold and almost ruthless.
The sunlight cast a hazy glow around her, as if she herself were radiating light.
She sat firmly on the dragon’s head, completely undisturbed by its landing.
She glanced in their direction, resembling a valkyrie ready for battle.
It was Sage!
The student couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, I knew it! One day, the princess would come riding a dragon to save us."
And now, she had arrived.