Chapter 84: Decoy

Within the Water De hall.

Everyone looked nervously at Bai Qi who was seated upon the corridor. Chen Xiaolian’s brows were knitted together as he anxiously glanced at the countdown timer in his system.

[Time remaining until Qin Shi Huang’s resurrection at 37 minutes and 28 seconds…].

The numbers kept moving continuously.

“Perhaps we should simply stay in here,” Lun Tai coughed out blood and said in a low voice. “Even if we do not complete the quest by the time the instance dungeon is over, receiving some punishment won’t be the death of us.”

His words were met with agreement by Bei Tai.

However, the Black Knights Guild Leader, Alice sneered. “If only it was that simple, then all would be good. But, the system would never give us an opportunity to relax.”

“I too believe that things would not be that simple,” Chen Xiaolian frowned. “I feel that staying within Epang Palace is too risky. My intuition is telling me that we need to at least get away from Epang Palace. If the first thing that Qin Shi Huang does after his resurrection is to kill off every palace intruders, then we are all goners.”

“That is very likely,” Alice sighed. “I had once participated in an instance dungeon in a mausoleum located in Europe. The quest was to stop the resurrection of an ancient king. Back then, the number of experts who had entered the instance dungeon was quite considerable. However, my strength was insufficient. After entering the instance dungeon, I was left behind in one of the tombs. There, a group of mummies besieged me. Thanks to an unexpected acquisition of a defensive equipment, I was able to hold on to the end.

A good friend of mine who is a master was able to enter the king’s tomb. He entered the tomb together with several others.

In the end, they failed to stop the king’s resurrection. After the king was resurrected, the first thing he did was to drain all the life energies of every living being within the tomb! Everyone inside were turned into mummies.

Because I did not enter the main tomb, I was spared.”

Those words by Alice caused everyone to fall silent.

“Epang Palace could be considered as a main tomb,” Chen Xiaolian said heavily. “The key point of this is that the system may follow the same style of progress. Stop the resurrection of a dead person, then when the quest failed the punishment is also similar… if every living being within Epang Palace were to have their life energies drained away… staying in here would mean waiting for death.”

Chen Xiaolian hesitated and glanced at Soo Soo who was silently staying beside him. He gently stroked her oval face before turning to look at Xia Xiaolei.

“Xiaolei, the things that happened to you earlier, describe it to us in detail. Try not to miss out on any detail.”

Xia Xiaolei swallowed his saliva and he slowly recounted how after he entered Epang Palace, he had caught sight of Qiu Yun, how he overheard Qiu Yun’s words, how he ambushed him…

He recounted everything.

After he finished, everyone could not help but be filled with relief.

It appeared that Qiu Yun had already made a comprehensive calculation for his plan, including all the Awakened ones in his path into his plans. Unexpectedly, he would be foiled by Xia Xiaolei in the end – just by looking at him, one could deduce that Xia Xiaolei was just a little rookie.

There were no expression of relief upon Chen Xiaolian’s face – he was clear that now was not the time to be feeling relieved!

He had caught on to an important factor!

“In other words… after Bai Qi took over Qiu Yun… he had been requesting the Tiger Tally from you. Then, you ran away and he followed you… but he did not attack you?”

“… Err, it seems like he did not,” Xia Xiaolei thought about it and blinked. “He just followed me from behind. No matter how I run, I could not shake him off. However… it is true that he did not attack me.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded and said to himself. “It seems… there is some basis to my speculations.”

He slowly turned to look at everyone else. “Everyone, I have a method. Perhaps…”

…

Two minutes later…

“You mean, one of us is to take the Tiger Tally and lure Bai Qi away while the others use the opportunity to run from Epang Palace?” Bei Tai’s eyes bulged wide.

The others fell silent.

Chen Xiaolian lightly replied. “It is obvious that Bai Qi’s objective is the Tiger Tally. As long as one person takes the Tiger Tally to lure him away, the others will have an opportunity… I cannot guarantee that this method could succeed. However, from what we can understand from the current circumstance, the possibility of success is very high.”

“Then, who will take the Tiger Tally to lure Bai Qi away?”

The one to ask the question was Alice, her tone cold.

“Taking the Tiger Tally to lure Bai Qi away may not necessarily be very dangerous… Xia Xiaolei’s experience from earlier had proven that Bai Qi might not attack the one holding the Tiger Tally.”

“But that is not a sure thing,” Alice shook her head. “If that speculation is wrong, then the one who carries the Tiger Tally to become the decoy will die for certain. Moreover… even if Bai Qi does not attack and only chases after that person, he probably will not allow that person any opportunity to escape this palace. No matter what happens, once the time ends, the one left behind as the decoy is as good as dead.”

“Perhaps Da Vinci and the others could complete the instance dungeon by stopping Qin Shi Huang’s resurrection?” Chen Xiaolian forced out a smile. “Then, as long as the one left behind as the decoy could endure until the end, that person would be able to live.”

“The possibility for that is uncertain,” Alice shook her head.

“This is the only way we have at present,” Chen Xiaolian pointed outside the door. “If you think that this method is not good, then we can only charge out together and fight to the death with this Bai Qi! However, I would like to say this first. Although Bai Qi had only displayed a little part of his strength, that was enough for me to tell that I am not his match. As for you all… you are all injured.”

Han Bi who had been staying silent, raised his head and slowly asked. “Then… who should be the decoy?”

After this question was forwarded out, everyone turned silent.

They looked at each other in silence.

“I must say this first, not my brother, absolutely not!” Bei Tai stared.

“Alice and Lun Tai, you two are seriously injured. Even if you are to become the decoy, you won’t be able to run fast enough,” Chen Xiaolian said lightly. “So, you two can be excluded.”

Pausing, he looked at Xia Xiaolei. “Xiaolei should not be in too. He had already contributed so much for us by foiling Qiu Yun’s plot.”

“The rest should draw lots to decide,” Alice suddenly spoke out. “This is obviously a task with a high possibility of death. No matter who we send out, it would not be fair. We might as well leave it to God.”

“God? You mean the Development Team?” Chen Xiaolian sneered. “Everything was created by the Development Team, what God. Let us not talk about this.”

Pausing, Chen Xiaolian softly continued. “However, I agree with you, we will draw lots.”

Soon, they produced several slips of paper. One of the slips had the word ‘stay’ on it while the other three slips had the word ‘go’ on it. All of them were then rolled and placed together.

After the paper slips were ready, Chen Xiaolian gestured to Han Bi. “You draw first.”

Han Bi’s face turned taut and he picked up one of the paper slips. Looking at it, he saw the word ‘go’ on it.

Han Bi hesitated. Chen Xiaolian glanced at him and gave him a faint smile. “No need to feel hesitant or think that you are cowardly… this is a very dangerous matter. Everyone have their own lives, their own parents and families. No one here has any obligation to sacrifice their lives for the sake of others.”

Han Bi looked relieved and he said in a low voice. “I am sorry… Xiaolian, you entered this instance dungeon for us, you… originally…”

“I did not do this for you alone, there is also Soo Soo,” Chen Xiaolian pursed his lips and smiled.

The next to draw was Bei Tai.

Bei Tai randomly pulled out one of the slips, his face anxious. After unfolding it, he saw the word ‘go’ upon it.

Bei Tai let out a sigh of relief. Then, he looked at Chen Xiaolian and seemed hesitant.

At that moment, the situation was awkward.

There were 2 more slips remaining.

One for Chen Xiaolian and the other for Soo Soo.

In other words, the decoy will be either Soo Soo or Chen Xiaolian!

Han Bi’s face changed! He stared at Chen Xiaolian and turned to look at Bei Tai.

Bei Tai turned furious. “What are you looking at me for! You drew it yourself! Hmph, you people are in league! Could it be that I must be the one to be the decoy?”

“Enough! Stop fighting!”

Chen Xiaolian shouted out without any emotion on his face.

He randomly picked up one of the strips and looked at it after unfolding it. Then, he suddenly placed both the strips of paper into his mouth. Munching heavily, he swallowed them down!

“All right, I got the one to stay,” Chen Xiaolian stood up.

“You…” Han Bi’s eyes turned red.

Soo Soo pulled Chen Xiaolian’s clothes. “Oppa…”

“All right, no need to talk about it anymore,” Chen Xiaolian forced out a smile. “Go back and find your sister. Tell her… En, tell her that I will be a bit late.”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Han Bi and spoke heavily. “Do not say anything! I have but one thing to ask of you… bring Soo Soo out! Protect her properly… be sure to bring her to Qiao Qiao! I am counting on you!”

Han Bi’s face was one of shame and he gritted hard on his teeth.

“That is enough, there is no need for you to say anything,” Chen Xiaolian patted Han Bi’s shoulder. “Truth be told, your injuries are not light. I would be able to run faster as the decoy. There is no need for you to feel guilty.”

Xia Xiaolei who was at the side suddenly cried out. “Big Brother Xiaolian…”

“Don’t cry!” Chen Xiaolian gave a bitter smile. “I am not dead yet! It is also uncertain if I would die! Enough, the countdown is still ticking away, don’t waste any more time!”

Soo Soo raised her small face and tightly gripped onto Chen Xiaolian’s clothes, unwilling to let go. Chen Xiaolian crouched down and patted Soo Soo’s hair. “Remember my words and carry it to your sister. This is very important! You will be doing me a huge favour!”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian placed a light kiss onto Soo Soo’s forehead only to see Soo Soo tearing up all over her face.

“Hey, you are the second personality. You should be calm and emotionless,” Chen Xiaolian smiled and wiped the tears from her face.

“I am not going, I will follow oppa,” Soo Soo vigorously shook her head and stared at Chen Xiaolian. “I will go wherever you go!”

Chen Xiaolian sighed. His hand reached behind Soo Soo’s neck and then…

A palm strike!

Soo Soo’s body that had not been strengthened like him tilted over. She looked at Chen Xiaolian with surprise before losing consciousness.

“I am counting on you, Han Bi.”

Chen Xiaolian handed Soo Soo over to Han Bi.

Chen Xiaolian walked before Xia Xiaolei and took the Tiger Tally from his hands. Weighing it in his hands, he forced out a smile. “It is quite heavy. This item is an antique. If it is brought outside, it would be priceless. Give it to me, all right? I will be taking advantage of you ah!”

“Wu wu wu wu… big brother Xiaolian…” Xia Xiaolei sobbed. “I, I… I am too cowardly, I am scared… I am sorry, I am sorry towards you…”

“You have done very well. If not for you disrupting Qiu Yun’s plans, we would probably be trapped to death within the square. We would not have this chance to escape,” Chen Xiaolian comforted him and patted him on his shoulder.

Turning around, Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath. “Everyone, after I leave, I… I will be running in the direction of the open square area! Wait for me to lure Bai Qi away and run towards the front hall! Escaping from Epang Palace will be considered a victory! Then… you should all find a place to hide and wait for the instance dungeon to end.”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian gave an inward grunt. He stopped talking nonsense and turned around, striding out of the door of the room!

Seeing Chen Xiaolian walking out while carrying the Tiger Tally, Bai Qi who was sitting cross-legged immediately got up. His pair of eyes stared at Chen Xiaolian. “Return it to me.”

“You want it? Then come with me!”

Chen Xiaolian narrowed his eyes and smiled before quickly running towards the open square with all his might!

Bai Qi’s expression remained indifferent. He regarded the people within the room for a moment before removing his gaze. His body flashed and he proceeded to chase after Chen Xiaolian!

Dressed in those white clothes, he stepped forward through the corridor. However, it seemed as though he was capable of teleportation. Every step he took propelled him tens of metres ahead!

Chen Xiaolian ran with all he has while Bai Qi followed in a laid-back manner. The two of them turned to the other side at the end of the corridor and disappeared from view.

…