Xing Hechou propped up a man-height Killing Blade with one hand and stretched out his other, metal-gloved hand to receive four towels from the man. He didn't offer them to his teammates (likely because they didn't want to use them anyway). Staring at the middle-aged man, he asked, "May I ask who you are...?"

"I am a servant from the Ren Fa family of Shisong Manor. My surname is Shi, and my given name is Qi." The middle-aged man's demeanor was surprisingly gentle and honest. "Master Ren sent me here to wait by the lake for guests," he said.

Xing Hechou frowned. "Master Ren knew we were coming?"

Shi Qi replied naturally, "Yes, Master Ren is hosting a large feast in town, inviting the locals to welcome his young master and wash away the dust of his travels. The young master has returned to his parents after acquiring skills from Longhu Mountain.

"According to the young master," he continued, "he has some high-ranking friends from all over the world who are adept in various magical arts. They will also visit Shisong Manor in the coming days, harnessing abilities like 'Shrinking the Ground to an Inch' and 'Borrowing Paths Through the Spirit Realm.' The meeting place is near this Hidden Dragon Pool. We've been waiting here for seven or eight days and have received quite a few guests."

Seven or eight days? Quite a few guests?

An ominous premonition rose within Xing Hechou. From the time players in the real world lay down to sleep until they solved the time puzzle in the Fushen House to enter the second layer, less than ten hours had passed.

How could several days have gone by?

There were three possibilities.

First, Xing Hechou and his team were experiencing normal time, and Shi Qi, this storyline character, had simply been waiting here and entertaining other natives beforehand. In other words, Shi Qi mistook the players for native residents, and other natives had also suddenly fallen into the lake—which would imply there was something wrong with the lake.

Second, the flow of time in the second layer of Shengnan King's Dream was abnormal. Players entering from other portals might have arrived days ahead of Xing Hechou's group, reaching the town Shi Qi mentioned first.

Third, Shi Qi was lying.

The four players silently observed the honest-looking servant who emanated the smell of rotting flesh.

At this moment, Miss Chai had already slipped back into Li Ang's body. Looking at Shi Qi, she whispered to Li Ang, "How strange. This man is shrouded in an overwhelmingly dense aura of death, yet he's still a living person with breath and a heartbeat."

Could he be a Grave Robbing Commissioner, one of those who 'live when together and die when apart'? Li Ang mused internally. Isn't it always written in novels that grave robbers, who frequently enter and leave graveyards, carry so much deathly energy that evil spirits see them as no different from the dead? That's how they survive.

"Bro, the aura of death is different from just carrying the stench of dead people," Miss Chai retorted. "No matter how much of the latter they're coated in, it would only cause premature aging at most; it can't possibly deceive true evil spirits. Unless they're those dull zombies or lesser demons that are mindless and act purely on instinct."

Miss Chai rolled her eyes. "In the eyes of a high-level demon like me, one who has passed the stage of confusion, his death aura is as noticeable as a fly on a bald monk's head. It serves absolutely no purpose for concealment."

"Okay then," Li Ang said humbly. "So what kind of person could be suffused with so much death aura and still remain alive, not undead?"

"Er..." Miss Chai, the homebody, was stumped. Blushing slightly, she pondered for a long moment before replying timidly, "Maybe... perhaps he sleeps in graveyards day and night, snuggled up with skeletons and ghastly creatures? Or maybe he ate something unusual?"

So you don't know either, Li Ang thought, rolling his eyes. Although Miss Chai was a demon, her knowledge wasn't much greater than his. After becoming a demon, she had mostly holed up in Guhan Temple, rarely venturing elsewhere. Her only source of information was eavesdropping on tales from demon banquets. She was, in effect, a severe homebody with limited exposure.

Shi Qi seemed completely unaware of the players' wariness, continuing in his honest and simple manner, "It's getting late, and we still have some distance to Shisong Manor. We have horses and carriages prepared, so if our esteemed guests would please follow me..."

As he spoke, Shi Qi slowly closed his mouth. The faces of the four players gradually turned cold, and the ice blades in their hands seemed to rise slightly.

PLOP.

Shi Qi's entire face slid off his cheeks and onto the ground. Amidst the blurry flesh and blood, only his eyes and a mouthful of white teeth could be clearly distinguished.

"Oops!" Shi Qi exclaimed, squatting to pick up his fallen face. He patted off the dust and straw, blew on it, then leisurely put it back on, smoothing out the wrinkles with his fingers.

"I hurried out and didn't sew up the old wound on my face properly," Shi Qi said with a smile. "I've really embarrassed myself. My apologies for the sight."

As he spoke, his face slid down again, the skin of his forehead drooping to near his lips.

"What on earth are you?" Xing Hechou tightened his grip on the Killing Blade, his expression as cold as wrought iron. If Shi Qi's response was even slightly off, the blade would fall.

Shi Qi smiled faintly, about to answer, but his expression changed again. Casting aside his frivolous demeanor, he said in a deep voice, "Xing Hechou?"

Hmm?

The four players had only just arrived on the second layer of Shengnan King's Dream. Unless Shi Qi could read minds, how could he possibly know Xing Hechou's name?

Old Xing narrowed his eyes. "You are...?"

"Hey, we're on the same side." Shi Qi's stiff posture suddenly relaxed. He stood at ease, scratched his head, and said casually, "I'm a Bounty Hunter registered with the Special Affairs Bureau of Qu City. This is my external puppet. Right now, I'm with your colleague, Xun Zian, captain of Mobile Detachment Six from Yin City. Did you bring proof of identity?"

"Zian?" Xing Hechou looked surprised. He pulled a metal strip from his inventory that appeared to be inscribed with dense, strange characters.

Without hesitation, Shi Qi extended his pitch-black nails and sliced open his waist. From his hollow belly, which contained no organs, he retrieved a similarly shaped and sized metal strip. He wiped the blood from it with his sleeve and pressed it against Xing Hechou's.

It was unclear how the metal strips were made, but once joined, the characters on them began to flow and change autonomously.

After a moment, Xing Hechou detached the strips. He examined his own piece for a short while, then nodded at Shi Qi. "Zian's message confirms the situation. Are you here to rendezvous with us?"

"It's both to rendezvous and to be cautious," Shi Qi said, spreading his hands. "We arrived on the second layer eight days before you, Captain Xing. In those eight days, we've gathered a lot of intelligence. According to the deductions of Scholar Zhu, also known as Monk Zhu, from the Heterodox Academy, this region is likely one of the entrances from the third layer to this second layer. So, they specially assigned me to watch this spot. If it's our own people, I'm here to meet you. If it's other forces with ulterior motives... well..." He chuckled.

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