Shi Qi cracked a cryptic smile. Although he didn't spell it out, everyone understood his implication.

If those transported to this lake were the Special Affairs Bureau's fugitives or hostile forces drawn by the fortune of the King of Shengnan, then the bounty hunter standing before them probably wouldn't mind earning a bounty on the spot.

"Enough with the small talk," Shi Qi cleared his throat and looked towards the three standing behind Xing Hechou. "These people are..."

"Colleagues," Xing Hechou said succinctly. "They can be trusted."

"Hmm." Shi Qi gave Li Ang and the others a gentle smile upon hearing this. As the corners of his mouth twitched, the flesh on his face began to fall off again. He clicked his tongue, simply tore off the remainder of his face, held it in his hand, and began to recount their experiences.

Shi Qi was a registered bounty hunter with the Special Affairs Bureau in Qu City. After being transported into the Shengnan King's Dream, he successively encountered three people: Xun Zian, the six-squad leader of the Mobile Detachment from Yin City; squad member Chu Yin; and Scholar Zhu, a cultivator from the Heterodox Academy. All four had official backgrounds. After a brief discussion, they formed a temporary team with Captain Xun Zian as their leader and continued to explore the third layer of the Shengnan King's Dream.

Later, they followed the directions on a pocket watch to find an entrance. Like Xing Hechou and the others, they struggled considerably to break the seal at the entrance and then moved into the second layer of the Shengnan King's Dream.

By sheer coincidence, they saved the life of the Chenzhou governor's wife. She had gone to the temple to pray for blessings but was attacked by demons. Masquerading as external cultivators, they then managed to infiltrate Chenzhou City and became honored guests at the governor's residence.

"The second layer of the Shengnan King's Dream is much more orderly than the third. There are imperial court nobles, temple monks and Daoists, wealthy merchants, commoners, Necromancers, Cultivators, demons and specters, underworld officials—the works. Rather than a chaotic collection of eerie folktales, it's more like a complete and perfect little world..."

Shi Qi spoke gravely, "The world's setting is fictional, resembling a combination of the late Tang and late Ming periods. The imperial court was decaying and feeble, local Fan Towns were carving out their own territories, and rebellions and mutinies were continuous. The Central Plains still managed to maintain some stability. However, once you left the Central Plains, earthquakes, famines, epidemics, and plagues of drought, flood, and locusts occurred in succession. Corpses littered the fields, dead bodies obstructed the roads, and people resorted to cannibalism. Evil spirits and demons roamed freely and unrestrained. One could imagine this world as a gruesome version of *Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio* or *Miscellanea of Youyang*, or perhaps a movie version of *A Chinese Ghost Story*."

Xing Hechou was at a loss for words. "Is it that bad?"

"It's exactly that bad," Shi Qi nodded. "Besides the imperial army, the righteous factions can be divided into the following groups:

The Wude Army, led by the imperial court, is responsible for capturing demons and Evil Cultivators across the land and is stationed in various states, prefectures, and counties.

Zen Buddhism, an informal alliance made up of five ancient monasteries including Ming Guang Temple and Nan Chan Temple.

Celestial Master Tao of Longhu Mountain, revered as the supreme teaching by the imperial court, has been guarding the Demon Refining Cave for generations."

Xing Hechou frowned. "Wait, the Demon Refining Cave?"

"It's somewhat similar, but not the same as the Demon Prison in our real world," Shi Qi hastily explained. "The Demon Refining Cave in this Fictional World was constructed by the Celestial Master Tao of Longhu Mountain, specifically meant to trap demons. The cave uses demons as materials to craft weapons, which are then supplied to the soldiers of the Wude Army. Orthodox Cultivators and Wude Army Officers all have a few Spells at their disposal, akin to skills we players have. As for their power, some are strong, some are weak, but all are bizarrely unpredictable.

As for the adversarial forces: first, demons and evil spirits from various places, and mystical creatures from the mountains and wilderness; second, scattered cultivators who dabbled in dark magic and devious arts; and third, the White Lotus Cult. This Secret Society also wielded magical techniques. They were adept at using sorcery to bewitch the masses and incite rebellion, harboring sinister intentions. Their influence was vast and widespread, and despite repeated attempts to suppress them, they were as indestructible as a Hundred-Legged Worm. Their insurrection never ceased as long as they lived."

Shi Qi seemed to notice the expression on Xing Hechou's face, paused in mid-sentence, and laughed. "Is it not quite unbelievable?"

"A bit." "The King of Shengnan shouldn't be this capable," Xing Hechou said, nodding.

"Indeed." Shi Qi sighed. "A single thought births a world. This feat is probably beyond even the Immortal Species from mythology—the Mirage Dragon that soars to the clouds and slumbers on the moon. The King of Shengnan is merely a bizarre entity born from the collective telekinesis of the real world's beings. His dream realm, no matter how strange and ever-changing, should not possess such vast, profound, and intricately complex backgrounds."

A gleam of light flowed through Shi Qi's eyes. "Regarding this question, we still haven't found an answer. However, over the past few days, Scholar Zhu, with his profound knowledge, has engaged in discussions with cultivators who value the esteemed path, virtue, the Unity of Heaven and Man, and the importance of aiding the world. By combining the Talismans and ritual tracks of the Heterodox Academy with this world's unique Spells, they have deduced a set of divination ritual tracks. These tracks not only allowed them to divine the locations of other entrances, enabling me to come and meet you, but also led to a prophecy: the most critical abnormal event in the second layer of the Shengnan King's Dream would happen near Chenzhou City."

"Just as resolving an abnormal event was required to move from the third to the second layer, the same is needed to proceed from the second layer to the first?"

Xing Hechou nodded. "Where is Chenzhou City?"

"Your current location is to the south of Lvzhou City. Chenzhou is to the northeast of Lvzhou City, about five hundred kilometers away," Shi Qi said. "Comrade Scholar Zhu only speculated that the abnormal event will occur near Chenzhou City. As for how it will actually happen or end, we currently do not know. Besides this, through his divination, he vaguely predicted that this abnormal event will relate to three elements. These three elements are respectively in Lvzhou, Fengzhou, and Qizhou. Captain Xun Zian has already moved ahead to Qizhou. If you have time, you can join me in traveling to Lvzhou first to gather information..."

Before he could finish, Shi Qi's expression suddenly changed. He violently vomited a mouthful of fresh blood, his whole body trembling as though shaken to the core.

Fuck, we were just talking, and now you're spewing blood.

Xing Hechou instinctively took out emergency medical supplies from his backpack, ready to treat Shi Qi, only to see Shi Qi struggling to stand by leaning on a tree. "No need," Shi Qi said with difficulty. "Medicine won't work. My real body in Chenzhou is being interfered with; this external puppet will disintegrate on its own soon. Here, take this."

Shi Qi lifted his dark nails, splitting open his chest once more, and took out a thick stack of papers, along with an iron token belonging to Xun Zian, and handed them to Xing Hechou.

"The papers contain the intelligence we've gathered over the past few days, as well as a map of the Lvzhou area. Once my external puppet's skill cooldown is complete, I'll create a new puppet through this iron token and contact you again..."

Shi Qi's skin began to peel off rapidly. His body softened as if all its bones had been drawn out. By the time he finished his last sentence, he had dissolved into a bubbling puddle of red and black substance.

Li Ang stepped forward, picked up a piece of the red and black substance stuck to the tree bark, and softly murmured with narrowed eyes, "Fat and paraffin wax?"

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