Chapter 640: Voluntarily Jumped In

Chapter 640 Voluntarily Jumped In 

“Where? Where is that thing you mentioned?”

Lun Tai yawned as he inspected the room but was unable to find any abnormalities.

“I… … I don’t know either! It was right there, but now, it’s gone!” Xia Xiaolei frantically ran back and forth within the room but was no longer able to find the near illusory piece of mosaic from earlier. 

“I think you’re just sleepy. Did you fill the wax? Its midnight right now. If you have already filled the wax, then hurry up and go get some sleep.” Lun Tai waved his hand. “We did not receive any prompt for instance dungeons. How could any ghost or monster appear here?”

“Brother Lun Tai! You… … must believe me!” Xia Xiaolei shook his head furiously as he pointed at the corner of the room. “I really did see it! It was just there! Right there! A silhouette!”

Lun Tai looked at Xia Xiaolei. “Did it attack you?”

“N… … no.”

“Did it talk to you?”

“No…”

“What did it do, then?”

“It didn’t do anything. It just sat there, not moving at all… …”

“If so, what did you want me to see by calling me over?” Lun Tai rolled his eyes.

“But… … Brother Lun Tai, don’t you think it’s weird? Guild Leader Xiaolian has gone away for so long without telling us anything. When Brother Roddy contacted us through the guild channel, he was being all vague, only telling us to wait patiently. He said that they are in no danger and are on the way home. I get the feeling… … the silhouette earlier might have something to do with Guild Leader…”

“If that is the case, you keep watch here. When you see it again, call me.” Lun Tai sighed and left the room.

Looking at Lun Tai’s back as he left the room, Xia Xiaolei swung his hand in frustration.

While Lun Tai had assumed the silhouette to be a figment of Xia Xiaolei’s imagination, Xia Xiaolei himself knew that was not the case.

At present, however, there was nothing within the room. Except… … the lamp.

The lamp?

Xia Xiaolei’s heart gave a sudden thump.

That silhouette… … could it and the lamp… … be related?

Xia Xiaolei hastily rushed to the corner. There, he began pulling a box out. Next, he sat on the box and stared intently at the lamp on the table. 

…

Hearing Chen Xiaolian’s words, Aunt Yun abruptly turned her head to stare at Chen Xiaolian. A look of disbelief filled her face. “Yours?”

“Yes, it is mine. Right now… … my guild members should be taking care of it, making sure it continues burning.” Chen Xiaolian nodded. “However, I do not understand why it could appear here. From what I know, only destroyed equipment from the outside world could be sent into World’s End.”

Aunt Yun turned around to look at Toto, “Stay here.” After saying that, she quickly made her way to stand before Chen Xiaolian and look into his eyes.

At that moment, Chen Xiaolian was finally standing right before her.

It was as Lu Leiya had said, there was no way of telling just how old this woman was. Be it 18 to 38 years old, all of them was believable.

Her skin glowed with a jade-like lustre and appeared incredibly delicate. Her facial features were like that of a painting come to life. However, an irremovable killing intent rested between her eyes. 

“How did the wick end up with you?” Aunt Yun continued to stare intently at Chen Xiaolian, seemingly on the verge of looking right through him.

“In a painting.” After considering it, Chen Xiaolian replied frankly, not lying to her.

“Painting? You entered the painting?” Aunt Yun regarded Chen Xiaolian from head to toe. There was doubt in her voice as she continued, “If you really did enter the painting, how was it possible for you to get out by your own?”

“A friend of mine taught me how to leave.”

“Friend? What is your friend's name?”

“His name is… … Mr San.”

“You mean… … Umbrella?” Aunt Yun pondered the matter for a moment. “That makes sense.”  [1]

Chen Xiaolian’s heart skipped a beat.

Umbrella?

As far as Chen Xiaolian knew, there was only one other person who had used that word to address Mr San.

Bai Qi!

At present, however, this woman was using the same word that Bai Qi had used.

Could she be…

One of those ancient monsters?

“Then, it’s my turn to ask you questions.” Chen Xiaolian’s heart was amess. However, he maintained an impassive face as he said, “How could this lamp be with you right now?”

Chen Xiaolian remembered what Wu Ya had told him. The items that appeared within World’s End were those that had been destroyed in the outside world. 

If so… … who had destroyed the lamp?

Lun Tai, Bei Tai, Xia Xiaolei, and Qimu Xi, who were keeping guard of the resort base… … what had happened to them?

Aunt Yun, who seemingly noticed the look of concern within Chen Xiaolian’s eyes, said coolly, “No need to worry. The lamp was not destroyed. At present, it is still in the same place that you had left it.”

“Then… …” Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment before pointing toward Toto, who was behind her. “The one on his head, how is that possible?”

“Umbrella asked you to keep the lamp lit, but did not tell you its name or its function?”

“He did give a brief description of it.” Chen Xiaolian went through his memories and said, “According to him, the lamp’s name is Eternal Clarity Fire. It is a form of bridge, acting as an escape portal. Back then, whenever his group encountered a danger they could not fight against, they could utilize the lamp and run from one place to another. However, after its original owner died, the rest of them were no longer able to utilize the lamp.”

“His description is wrong. Or should I say, it is incomplete.” Aunt Yun gently shook her head. “However, he probably was not lying to you on purpose. At any rate, this lamp… … is something that he himself don’t quite understand.”

“Could you be…” After considering it, Chen Xiaolian finally chose to voice out the question within his mind. “The one he mentioned?”

“Yes,” Aunt Yun replied coolly. “I am this lamp’s original owner.”

Although Chen Xiaolian was already 99 per cent certain of that, hearing those words from Aunt Yun still managed to startle him.

These ancient monsters from back then… … how do I keep bumping into them?

Mr San, Bai Qi, the red-haired woman and the punk youngster from the ancient castle, and this Aunt Yun… …

Chen Xiaolian had no idea whether this luck of his was good or bad.

Earlier, Aunt Yun was about to lead Toto away. At present, however, it would appear that she no longer wanted to leave. Both her eyes regarded Chen Xiaolian from head to toe.

“Aunt Yun, that lamp…” Chen Xiaolian, who had just opened up his mouth, was interrupted by Aunt Yun instead. “What aunt? That is for Toto. You, call me Sister Yun.” 

“Sure, Sister Yun.” Chen Xiaolian revealed a wry smile. “That lamp, what exactly is its function?”

She was a woman after all. Although she was one of the ancient monsters alongside Mr San, she still did not like being addressed as an old person.

“Umbrella’s description is not wrong, it is just incomplete. The most important function of this lamp is actually… … to allow someone to return to the outside world. Additionally, its real name is not Eternal Clarity Fire. Rather, it is called Guiding Link Fire.”

Chen Xiaolian was slightly shocked. “You mean, resurrection?”

“Yes.” Sister Yun continued regarding Chen Xiaolian’s face. “You don’t appear too shocked.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded. Then, he turned to look at Toto. “In other words, the current situation with World’s End is your doing?”

“Yes.” Sister Yun nodded calmly. “I used the Guiding Link Fire to protect Toto; that way, he is able to avoid the refresh function of World’s End. As the refresh on him had failed, the automatic refresh function became stuck.”

“However, I still do not understand. Why are you doing this?” Chen Xiaolian shook his head softly. “Even the other Irregularities understand, don’t you? If this continues, the Development Team will eventually discover what is going on here. Once they switch to manual clearing, all the Irregularities here will die, you included! All you would have accomplished is extend the time he has here by a little bit.”

“I know. And, so what?” Sister Yun’s face maintained a look of calmness. “If I am really going to have to die… … then so be it. At the very least, before I die, I can look at him longer. That’s not so bad.”

“You… … for the sake of being with this kid a bit longer, you are willing to drag the entirety of World’s End down the grave with you?!” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes were wide open. He stared at Sister Yun with disbelief. “You are not mad, are you?”

“No, at least not now. Because I now know that the Guiding Link Fire is now in your hands. Thus, things are different now.” Sister Yun shook her head. “You were not shocked earlier. It appears you brought the Lifehymn Music Score with you here. Had any other Irregularity hear about the ability to return, they would have gone mad on the spot. How unexpected, to think that redhead would modify that prop again. I didn’t think that person could have this side to her.”

“You seem to know everything… …” Chen Xiaolian smiled wryly.

“After staying here for a long time, understanding much with just a glance is only natural.” Sister Yun looked at Chen Xiaolian. “Since you brought the Lifehymn Music Score with you here, that means… … you are also here to find someone, right?”

“Yes.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

“It seems my luck is pretty good.” Sister Yun smiled, a melancholic smile. “Since you can return… … I hope you can do me a favour. Use the original body of the Guiding Link Fire and bring Toto back to the outside world. With that, the restoring function of World’s End will be restored and everything will return to its normal state.”

“That will have to wait until I find the person I am looking for.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “Do you know? If you had not killed the two fellows, by now, I may have already found the one I am looking for.”

“You voluntarily jumped into their net? It seems I need to apologize.” Although Sister Yun had said that, her face remained cold and indifferent.

“No need for the apology. However… … since you want a favour from me, shouldn’t you pay an appropriate price?” Hiking up his thumb, Chen Xiaolian then pointed it back toward the two corpses behind him. Turning back to look, he said, “You have messed up our original plan after all.” 

However, the moment his head turned back, his face contorted.

A sharp spike, which was as thick as a fist, had drilled its way out of Hammer’s body. It swayed about unsteadily. Beneath it, tens of fine tentacles stabilized its main body. Next, it abruptly shot out toward Bluesea.

…

[1] The word Aunt Yun used to address Mr San (伞) is ‘簦’, pinyin: ‘dēng’, a different character for umbrella. However, as both words mean umbrella – more or less – I’ll just go with Umbrella.↩