Chapter 254 - 253: Game Over

Chapter 254: Chapter 253: Game Over

Outside the game space, the Ghost King sneered at the scene. "Putting on an act."

’They know it’s an illusion, and they know they can’t change anything, so why bother? Is it all for my benefit?’

The Ghost King’s expression darkened. With a wave of his hand, the scene within the illusion shifted rapidly.

As Gu Qingyin and Zhang Qiuyan were walking back, they suddenly stopped. The surrounding scenery flashed past like a slideshow for more than ten seconds before returning to normal.

Zhang Qiuyan squeezed her eyes shut. "I’m so dizzy."

"Let’s hurry," Gu Qingyin urged. "They must be getting anxious waiting for us."

When the illusion suddenly changed and the women didn’t return, the others waiting in the courtyard grew anxious. They all headed out to look for them.

Fortunately, they hadn’t gone far before the two groups met on the path. But before anyone could speak, they caught sight of a man and a woman out of the corner of their eyes. The pair, carrying a large basket on their backs, walked past without a single glance.

"It’s them!" Huo Xingchen pointed at the couple. "The Ghost King’s parents!"

"Should we follow them?" Huo Yunjing asked.

Gu Qingyin shook her head. "No."

Zhang Qiuyan shot her a surprised look. "Why not?"

Gu Qingyin’s gaze darkened as she looked toward a nearby courtyard. "Being abandoned might have been the better outcome."

Zhang Qiuyan followed her gaze and saw it: inside the courtyard, a man with bloodshot eyes was raising a knife. He hesitated, unable to bring it down on the toddler lying beneath it, who had its eyes closed, completely unaware.

Zhang Qiuyan’s eyes flew open. Without a second thought, she rushed forward to stop him, but her hand passed right through the door. She stumbled, catching her balance, and looked down at herself in astonishment.

"Don’t waste your energy. He can’t see us, and we can’t stop him." Gu Qingyin gave a wry smile. "Perhaps this is the Ghost King’s punishment for our ’hypocrisy’?"

"Hypocrisy?" Zhang Qiuyan turned away, unable to watch the heart-wrenching scene in the courtyard any longer. "What right does he have to call us hypocrites? We were just following our instincts. It doesn’t matter if we can change anything or not. When something like this happens right in front of your eyes, how can you just pretend you didn’t see it?"

Gu Qingyin shrugged. "Who can possibly understand what the Ghost King is thinking?"

Dongfang Lingjun tried to console her too. "We save who we can. If we can’t, don’t blame yourself too much. This all happened in the past. Don’t get hung up on it."

Zhang Qiuyan stood there for a moment, then turned and started walking back.

"Hey! Where are you going now?" Dongfang Lingjun called out, following worriedly after her.

A thought struck Gu Qingyin, and she followed as well.

Seeing this, Huo Xingchen trotted over and took his mother’s hand.

The remaining two, Gu Ziqian and Huo Yunjing, exchanged a look and had no choice but to follow.

The illusion was under the Ghost King’s control; it was best for them not to split up.

"Where are we going?" Huo Xingchen asked, tilting his head up.

Gu Qingyin had a pretty good idea. "Probably to see a certain young boy."

Although they had managed to change Changsheng’s fate within the illusion, that version of events had never happened in reality. They were about to see what had actually become of him.

It was the same old courtyard. The group passed straight through the wall and into the yard.

Zhang Qiuyan was the first to arrive. She stood at the entrance to the old house, staring blankly.

Sensing something was wrong, Gu Qingyin picked up Huo Xingchen and covered his eyes before walking closer.

A single glance was all it took for her brows to furrow.

Beside her, Dongfang Lingjun couldn’t stop sighing. "What a tragedy!"

Inside, three men were gathered around a small child, appraising him from head to toe and discussing which parts would be the most tender and delicious... One of the men was the child’s own father.

"Monsters!" Zhang Qiuyan seethed, her eyes practically splitting with rage, but she was helpless under the Ghost King’s restrictions.

Everything Changsheng had done was to survive, only to die at the hands of those closest to him in the end.

"Let’s go. Don’t look," Gu Qingyin sighed inwardly and tugged on Zhang Qiuyan’s arm.

Huo Xingchen was dying of curiosity, but he was a good boy and didn’t try to pull away the hand covering his eyes. "What’s wrong? Why can’t I look?"

"It’s not for kids. It would give you nightmares for life." Gu Qingyin paid no mind to the others and walked away, only lowering her hand once they were outside the courtyard.

Huo Xingchen glanced at the others and reminded her in a low voice, "Mom, did you forget? I’m not actually a child."

Gu Qingyin glared at him. "Doesn’t matter!"

Huo Xingchen pouted, disappointed. "Fine."

Back in their own courtyard, the group sat down on the benches in silence. But one question was on all of their minds—how were they supposed to continue the game now?

They had become "transparent" in this environment, unable to touch or interact with anything. How could they possibly play?

"This boring game should be about over," Gu Ziqian said lazily, leaning back in a recliner. "The final preparations for the Array are complete, aren’t they?"

Dongfang Lingjun smiled and nodded. "I was originally going to finish it at our destination, but I never expected to find better materials in the mountains. We even got all this safe downtime to work on it." He paused, then added with a sigh, "Every cloud has a silver lining, I suppose."

Gu Qingyin was completely lost. "What preparations?"

Zhang Qiuyan, who had already recovered her composure, chimed in, "The array’s foundation! Master rebuilt it with the new materials. It’s much better than the old one!"

Gu Qingyin was even more baffled. ’When did this happen? And how does Zhang Qiuyan know? She looked at the others. Huo Yunjing was perfectly calm, and Huo Xingchen didn’t look the least bit surprised. Was she really the only one who had been kept in the dark?’

’It felt like she was being excluded!’

Just then, the paper effigy came hopping out of the house. It was carrying a tea tray with a teapot and six cups.

The paper effigy, like a dutiful old servant, was about to serve the tea, planning to hand them each a cup one by one. As its master, Gu Qingyin was naturally first.

Gu Qingyin took the teacup and asked, "Did you know they were changing the array’s foundation?"

The paper effigy paused and tilted its head in confusion.

Gu Qingyin let out a "Ha!" ’So I’m not the only one who didn’t know. Perfect!’

"Ah!" Huo Xingchen pointed at the cup in his mother’s hand, both surprised and delighted. "We can touch things again!"

"More than that," Huo Yunjing pointed out. "Ever since we returned to the courtyard, we’ve been able to touch physical objects." He gestured toward the stool Huo Xingchen was sitting on.

Huo Xingchen looked down and it dawned on him. He hadn’t even noticed!

"So, we have to keep playing the game?" Huo Xingchen’s little brow furrowed. "What exactly does he want us to experience?"

"He probably wants us to empathize with him, but he didn’t count on us bringing our own food and drink, or being able to hunt in the mountains," Gu Qingyin shrugged. "This game was never fair to begin with."

As if angered by her words, the entire space trembled twice.

Gu Qingyin remained completely unfazed, even clicking her tongue twice. "See? Told you I was right."

The next second, the entire space began to shake violently. The group, along with the paper effigy, suddenly found themselves in a forest that was at once familiar and strange.

Not far ahead, the Ghost King was staring at them with a sinister gaze.