The bright moon was high in the sky. Before Wen Shi could take another look, he suddenly saw a graceful figure. The person grabbed Wen Shi's clothes and pulled him strongly. Taking advantage of the moment, the blood bride freed herself from Wen Shi's grasp and stood up, getting out of danger.
Just like she hadn't allowed Wen Shi a chance to catch his breath, the newcomer didn't spare her either.
A long sword appeared before the blood bride's eyes.
"Aaaah!"
In the cold glimmer of the sword, the blood bride saw herself once again.
A dreadful scream tore through the night sky.
Xie Tangyan explained, "The snakes in the maze were bothering me, so I decided to take a walk outside." She glanced at the blood bride and asked, "Should we throw her out?"
Wen Shi quickly waved his hand, "I still need to take her back for reporting."
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Rebirth of a Star General Chapter 1
Xie Tangyan went back to fetch a hemp rope and brought another almost lifeless blood bride along. Wen Shi firmly tied them both to his withered wrist and led them back.
Before leaving, Wen Shi didn't forget to emphasize to Xie Tangyan once again, "Don't venture beyond the boundary of the streetlight."
If they crossed it, they'd be dragged underground by those dead hands' bones.
Rules.
Wen Shi once again experienced the weight of this word. To survive, they must act within the confines of the rules.
Not daring to linger in the outskirts for too long, Wen Shi quickened his pace on the way back.
The blood bride's joints moved like a manipulated puppet, unnaturally stepping with overly slender legs. Moonlight illuminated the young man's shoulder, while his fair fingers pulled the other end of the rope, resembling a cruel jailer.
Wen Shi occasionally looked back to check the situation. Seeing the blood bride's face filled with resentment, he scoffed lightly, "You came to kill me, yet you act all wronged. Hurry up and leave."
He was in a hurry to return and complete the task.
…
The cruel confrontation under the streetlight and the castle's appearance after the light's restoration completely divided the two worlds. Everything inside the castle now took on a soft and distorted appearance due to the gentle lighting.
With Wen Shi drawing away the trouble, Luo Xiao and Peng Lu easily dealt with an injured blood bride.
The two of them took the blood bride to report.
Peng Lu was still thinking about what happened when Wen Shi was locked outside at night. "That new guy is a bit strange."
Luo Xiao shrugged. "Doesn't matter."
The task was completed, and they believed they would soon get useful clues.
The castle master's door was open, indicating that he was willing to receive visitors at the moment.
Seeing the captured blood bride, the castle master was in a good mood.
"You did well, catching a 'little mouse' who stole the paint."
He emphasized the quantity, showing that they hadn't reached a hundred percent satisfaction.
Luo Xiao timely amplified the credit, "The thief was very cunning. It took a lot of effort for us to barely catch her."
The castle master showed rare magnanimity and said, "Keep up the good work in the next few days."
The blood bride lying on the ground had half of her shoulder turned into charred remains by the demon-subduing array. She squeezed out a hoarse curse from her throat. When the castle master's gaze swept over, she finally closed her mouth in fear.
"Congratulations on completing the tasks assigned by the butler. Try talking to him the next day. Perhaps there will be unexpected rewards."
"The current favorability of the castle master towards you is thirty."
"The castle master has decided to give you a gift."
"Player obtained Family Crest *1."
[Family Crest: One-time special S-grade item.
The castle master has a bad temper, but he values each employee.
Wearing this crest grants a temporary identity as an 'Internal Castle Staff,' allowing you to call upon the Earl to help you once during the night.
Note: This item can only be activated when the favorability reaches 20 or above.]
Luo Xiao and Peng Lu exchanged a glance, secretly thinking they hit the jackpot.
They truly hit the jackpot!
This item could even rival the item[Sacrificial Doll], which was also a one-time use item, and was sold in the store for sky-high prices. So far, only a few top players had purchased it.
"Thank you for your gift, we…"
"We what…"
Luo Xiao's words of gratitude were interrupted by a sudden voice, which was incredibly familiar, clear, and pleasant, but at this critical moment, it sent shivers down one's spine.
The corridor had lights at intervals, and the castle master's room was quite a distance from the staircase. Wen Shi slowly emerged from the dim end of the hallway. As the light shone on him, his figure gradually became clear.
Wen Shi wasn't alone. He walked with a straight posture at the forefront, followed by two bound blood brides. One of them had nearly returned to a two-dimensional state due to being drained of a large amount of blood by her companion.
The moment Luo Xiao fully saw that face, he instinctively clenched his fingers, "You, how are you…"
"How am I still alive, right?"
His pupils trembled, widening. Wen Shi had seen this familiar expression on Exiu's face before, but he didn't expect it to reappear so soon.
Wen Shi smiled and spoke, "Unity is strength, you know."
Xie Tangyan helped him at a critical moment, otherwise, he could have made it back alive, but definitely not as unscathed as now.
The effect of the pomegranate flower finally wore off. When Wen Shi stepped into the internal area of the castle, he wasn't expelled.
The system summarized the achievement: [7].
Wen Shi's attribute panel was no longer empty. It now bore the elegant title of [Heavenly Man Scattering Flowers], so beautiful that he specifically checked the in-game store to see if there was an item that could clear the record with a single click.
Forcing himself to ignore the matter, Wen Shi handed over the rope he was holding to the castle master, "The thieves are all here, please take a look." When he glanced at the other blood bride weakly lying on the ground, he turned his head, pretending to be surprised, and said, "Ah? You only caught one?"
No comparison, no harm.
Wen Shi brought back two blood brides alone, while Luo Xiao and Peng Lu only caught one. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like they were barely handling their tasks.
The castle master immediately felt that the given crest was unworthy.
Luo Xiao, who usually spoke eloquently, struggled to come up with excuses, but a sudden prompt tone sounded in his ears.
"Warning, the castle master's favorability towards you is decreasing."
"30, 20, 10…"
"Back to zero, back to zero, back to zero."
Luo Xiao swallowed nervously, looked up, and met the castle master's gloomy gaze, causing him to shudder on the spot.
Peng Lu also sensed the trouble and knew that this side quest might result in half the effort for half the reward.
"It took a lot of effort to barely catch her?" The castle master repeated Luo Xiao's earlier words.
In the tense atmosphere, Wen Shi crossed his arms and looked at Luo Xiao with a somewhat ambiguous smile.
"You won't live through tonight."
He mouthed the words.
Having seen enough of people fleeing when facing great danger, Wen Shi wouldn't blame them for running away after something went wrong, as long as they weren't the source of trouble.
"Congratulations on completing the tasks assigned by the butler. Try talking to him the next day, perhaps there will be unexpected rewards."
"The current favorability of the Earl towards you is sixty."
"Incredible, the Earl's favorability towards you has reached a passing grade."
"Your soul carries a faint but captivating aura, deeply attracting him."
"The castle master has decided to give you a gift."
"Player obtained Family Crest *1."
Other than the difference in favorability, the hints were similar to those given to Luo Xiao and Peng Lu, possibly because this item reward was good, nearly reaching the online game standard, and there were no additional bonus points.
Interestingly, as the favorability increased, the castle master's expression became somewhat strange.
After the effect of the mutated pomegranate flower wore off, the strange fragrance on Wen Shi's body became even clearer.
The castle master's eyes revealed a deep attraction. If he weren't restrained by an invisible force, he would want to make a move right now
"It's really strange."
Why had he never noticed before how delicious this doctor's soul was?
The desire to devour Wen Shi's soul was skyrocketing like wild grass.
The castle master vented his desire in other ways, conjuring a wand out of thin air. Wen Shi finally saw this thing that had once stabbed him directly. It wasn't a traditionally shiny golden wand. Instead, it resembled an ancient tree branch used to make wands, thin and covered in aged bronze gold, with a discreet emerald gem embedded at the top.
This time, it wasn't the poor Wen Shi's heart that got stabbed. It was the blood bride's.
The wand ruthlessly plunged into her chest.
As the blood bride fell, her coiled long hair cascaded like seaweed onto the floor. Her slender body now had a huge blood hole, consuming her remaining life force.
Until the moment of her demise, despite her face being ruined by the formation, there was a unique sense of broken beauty.
A new day began with a simple act of kindness. Holding up a silver tray above a nearby blood bride, Wen Shi considerately offered comfort to the dying, "Actually, you still look quite beautiful now."
The blood bride's eyes widened. She was one of those captured by Luo Xiao's group, the only one whose eyeballs weren't burned. She suffered from eye pain due to seeing reflective objects before dissipating. When she saw the even more unnatural face damaged by the formation, she frowned in agony.
Wen Shi said, "Let you appreciate the style."
Not sure if it was his words that had a magical effect, but for a moment, the blood bride seemed to see herself through his perspective. Her eyeballs didn't move a bit as she said intermittently, "It's quite… good…"
She looked at her own image above and spoke a broken sentence, dying without closing her eyes, mixed with a hint of joy. In a flash of light, the blood bride's remains disappeared, leaving only black ashes on the ground.
Wen Shi's hand holding the silver tray paused.
He heard a prompt sound from the game—
"At the end of the blood bride's life, you gave her a bit of comfort. Her conscience found peace, and she blessed you."
"The blood bride believes that the more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she is. You shouldn't get close to them."
...
Wen Shi's attribute panel updated.
[Player Number: 460872
Code Name: Not Generated
Health Points: 101 (?)
Memory Points: 101 (?)
Charm Points: [-∞, 89] (?)
Note: -∞ is only applicable to female NPCs more beautiful than the blood bride.
Oh, your charm is truly boundless.]
He read it twice to make sure he didn't misread.
At this moment, Wen Shi suddenly felt that losing a few charm points in the cursed flower field was nothing at all. He could even lose more because the final result would be infinite.
Negative charm was like a double-edged sword. In the future, he might face two situations: monsters detesting and targeting him, or them voluntarily staying away from him.
He just didn't know how the game defined "more beautiful than the blood bride."
While Wen Shi was weighing the pros and cons, the castle master mercilessly wielded his wand, reaping the lives of the remaining blood brides.
As Wen Shi had deduced, the castle master undoubtedly suppressed the blood brides in terms of power, but due to certain conditions, he had to resort to indirect means to deal with them, relying on the player.
However, it was challenging for the player to face so many blood brides. The uncertainty was significantly increased, indirectly giving the blood brides a glimmer of hope.
From this perspective, the player seemed more like a tool used by the game to balance certain elements of the instance.
The castle master looked impassively at the ashes on the ground, then glanced at Wen Shi for two seconds before closing the door.
"Five hundred points." Just as the door closed, Luo Xiao suddenly said, "If you can truly figure out what rule I triggered, I'll transfer the points to you."
Previously, when Wen Shi said, "You won't live through tonight," she didn't think it was a mere verbal threat.
As someone driven by his own interests, this time Wen Shi ignored her and turned back to his own room, leaving behind a light-hearted remark.
"You should use your intelligence to decipher the rules, like understanding the fear psychology arising from seeing one's own reflection, which the blood bride is afraid of."
Luo Xiao didn't care about the reprimand. She just wanted to confirm if she had accidentally triggered a rule.
Wen Shi shook his head.
This person's cleverness was all focused on scheming against players.
Seeing him ignoring her, Luo Xiao caught up and reached out to grab his arm, but Wen Shi preemptively evaded the contact. His dark eyes brought a sense of oppression from the shadows, not inferior to the castle master's. Slightly embarrassed, Luo Xiao took two steps back, cursing herself for showing weakness in front of a newbie. By the time she regained her composure, Wen Shi had already gone far.
Peng Lu had also disappeared, clearly not wanting to get involved.
Luo Xiao ran to Peng Lu's room and knocked on the door heavily from outside, saying, "Exiu's death is related to Pei Wenwei. That person has a vengeful nature. If you continue to be passive, the next one to suffer will be you."
The door opened slightly. Luo Xiao's smile appeared on her face, but the next moment, she completely froze upon hearing Peng Lu's words.
"I advise you to go back early. The side quest has ended, and the corridor is not safe now."
After saying that, Peng Lu closed the door again.
Luo Xiao gritted her teeth with frustration and weighed her options before choosing to return to her room.
The candlestick on the guest's dressing table couldn't be lit. This was a death rule that had been confirmed. Luo Xiao stood in a corner near the window, with talismans plastered on the wall to prevent monsters from attacking from behind. She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling and the direction of the door, holding an item in her hand, ready to defend herself.
Luo Xiao was in a highly tense state, which had affected her body's reaction time.
"Calm down," she said, her other hand's nails digging into the wall crack behind her. "How could I be scared by a newbie's few words?"
Time passed minute by minute, and for now, there were no abnormal occurrences.
Luo Xiao still dared not blink, observing the surroundings while replaying all her actions of the day.
Most of her actions were done together with Wen Shi and Peng Lu, so if something happened, she shouldn't be alone. The only exception was when she secretly let the little white mouse enter Wen Shi's room to find a strand of his hair for future use.
None of these things violated the death rules.
Thinking this way, Luo Xiao's heart gradually calmed down.
At three in the morning, the cuckoo clock in the dining room chimed. Normally, this clock would only chime twice, with a particularly piercing sound, at midnight and eight in the morning. This time was a first.
Luo Xiao, who had just relaxed for less than three seconds, became tense again.
Unidentifiable liquid slowly seeped in through the door crack, emitting a foul, bloody smell. In the center of the liquid floated a thin paper, slightly over a meter long. As the liquid flowed, the paper stood upright when it completely passed through the door crack.
It resembled the human skin in horror movies and also resembled a walking human-shaped sign.
The remaining rationality forced Luo Xiao to suppress her urge to run away.
Escaping would only lead to a faster death.
In her pupils, a vague outline of a woman reflected, with a veil and a dress… As these key elements appeared one by one, Luo Xiao exclaimed, "Blood bride."
She suddenly remembered the side quest prompt, which mentioned that helping the butler complete the task would trigger the monster's hatred.
Could it be that there were still blood brides in the castle? Was she now seeking revenge?
Luo Xiao immediately took out the undead camera and took a photo of the blood bride.
The flash was very bright, but the blood bride, as thin as paper, showed no reaction.
How could this be?!
Regarding the blood bride's weakness, Wen Shi shouldn't have lied.
The blood bride's feet didn't touch the ground. She was floating on the blood, and Luo Xiao finally noticed the difference in front of her. Although her features looked unnatural, the lack of coordination wasn't due to patchwork. Luo Xiao, herself, was a skilled makeup artist and could confirm that the woman deliberately made her face look this way.
A bold idea suddenly occurred to her: this was the perfect bride that the castle master was looking for!
To avoid detection, this person had been posing as a blood bride and wandering around the castle. Their actions of helping the castle master capture blood brides had clearly angered the real bride.
The reason this special side quest offered generous rewards was because it was a matter of life or death.
Once you took on the quest, you were in direct opposition to the blood bride. To survive, you must successfully complete the quest and obtain the reward.
The [Family Crest]was meant to deter the blood bride and keep oneself alive.
Realizing this, Luo Xiao immediately took out the crest.
"Failed to use the [Family Crest]. This item requires a favorability rating of 20 or higher from the Earl."
Luo Xiao's lips trembled continuously, sweating palms holding the crest tightly while silently repeating, "The bride you're looking for is right here."
Attempting to pass on the message to the castle master in this way.
The crest remained cold and unresponsive.
Luo Xiao usually saved her points to stock up on talismans. Now, she quickly threw out an advanced talisman that could immobilize ordinary ghosts and monsters for ten seconds. With confidence, she believed it could at least buy her some time.
The woman flicked her fingers, and the blood on the ground defied gravity, forming a vortex that enveloped the talismans. As the talisman was consumed, a small amount of blood turned into blood bubbles and slowly disappeared.
This minor damage didn't hinder the woman in the slightest.
Suddenly, half of her body merged into the bloodwater, vanishing from sight.
Except for the area with flowing blood, the ground was covered in frost, indicating that the woman hadn't really disappeared.
Where did she run off to?
Luo Xiao attempted to look in all directions until she felt a damp sensation from behind. The talismans on the wall had fallen off without her noticing, and a thin, withered arm reached out from the wall, enveloping her from behind.
In an instant, Luo Xiao's entire body felt almost frozen.
Before losing all ability to move, she desperately struggled to extend an arm and grabbed a candlestick from the nearby table, then forcefully hurled it towards the window. The night wind rushed in. Luo Xiao's mouth opened and closed weakly, gasping for breath as she let out a final cry, "The bride… is here!"
The woman behind her looked cold and heartless, gripping Luo Xiao's long hair and forcefully pulling her backward. At this moment, Luo Xiao couldn't even move her eyeballs properly, let alone close her eyes, so she could only watch helplessly as she was dragged into the wall.
The whole process was too brutal, the intense smell of blood filling the air beyond imagination.
Before losing consciousness, Luo Xiao's expression turned fierce: "Peng Lu, you're next."
It was ironic to think that they completed the mission but couldn't activate the life-saving item due to insufficient favorability.
Pei Wenwei, I curse you to suffer an awful death.
More curses were on the tip of Luo Xiao's tongue, but she couldn't spit them as the world before her turned pitch black.
*
In the virtual world.
Following Exiu, another player's number transformed into gray.
*
"It's the Night of the Horror Ancient Castle, the instance where the 3S-level triggered for that new player!" The first player to discover it couldn't believe their eyes and watched again: "What's going on?"
An old player sacrificed themselves before the newbie.
More and more people started paying attention, and the discussions grew louder.
"I was worried the newbie wouldn't last long, and the clues for the 3S instance would disappear. But it seems like they've got quite the luck."
"This is getting interesting." Not everyone had the ambition to challenge a 3S-level instance. Just an S-level instance could lead to their demise, and now, they were just watching the show.
The members of the Ten Commandments didn't expect the newbie to survive for long, but now, they all dispatched someone to guard the exit of the 1332 instance.
As more people gathered at the exit, the onlookers whispered to their friends. "Watch closely. This will definitely turn into a bloody mess."
Assuming this newbie could manage to make it out alive, the clues they possessed could cause chaos in the entire thirteen districts, even triggering a reshuffling of power.