CH 50.2

Bai Lixin took out the crystal ball from the backpack. The crystal ball, which had been shimmering a moment ago, had dimmed back to its original form.

He pointed the crystal ball at “Lin Jue” and repeated the scene that had just happened in his mind.

Finding the turning point of “Lin Jue’s” change, Bai Lixin spoke tentatively, “Since you are Lin Jue, you should act as Lin Jue would.”

But this time, the crystal ball did not change.

“Lin Jue” raised his eyebrows, “Haven’t you already said that? What is that in your hand?”

Bai Lixin played with the crystal ball in his hand, “It’s just a gadget. I was just worried that you’d reveal yourself, so I’m reminding you once more?”

“Lin Jue”, “A bunch of pigs who slept through the day, what can they discover?”

Bai Lixin: “……”

After playing with the crystal ball for a few more minutes, Bai Lixin finally gave up after it remained unchanged, and after hearing footsteps approaching in the corridor, he resolutely stuffed it back into the system backpack.

The door to the room was once again opened rudely, and the very mechanical, tall, thin priest gave a dedicated smile: “Come on children, it’s time to go to music class.”

—

Ten minutes later, the two arrived at a music room.

A piano sat in the center of the music room, along with four or five stools, while in front of the music room was a huge TV screen.

The priest led Bai Lixin and Dijia in, and sat down, “It will be Mr Sam’s performance soon. He is the most famous pianist in the world and you two should appreciate it, especially you.”

The priest looked at Bai Lixin, “You must watch and learn carefully from Mr Sam’s performance, understand?”

Why was he singling him out?

Bai Lixin was a little surprised, but he didn’t show it on his face, he just nodded, “Understood.”

Mr. Sam? Another NPC?

Just as one person and one ghost were quietly waiting for Teacher Sam to arrive, the big screen in front of them suddenly lit up.

While a short piano piece was playing, a picture gradually appeared on the screen.

A man in a white tuxedo appeared on the screen. The man’s face was not recorded, and only his body and his slender fingers were shown.

The hands were very white, and the ten fingers were like ten beautiful jade pieces. They were long and slender, yet with a sense of strength.

The well knotted fingers flew gracefully and quickly on the piano keys, fluttering like dancing butterflies.

The soothing, melodious sound of the piano also rushed out of the stereo with the rhythm of the fingers. The sound came from all directions and surrounded the two men.

It was indeed very beautiful.

But as the piano was played, Bai Lixin’s face began to look a little grave, and his eyes stared thoughtfully at the man on the screen in front of him.

After ten minutes or so, the piano piece slowly came to an end.

The priest stood by his side the whole time, and the moment the music ended, he applauded excitedly, and he praised without reservation, “Bravo, worthy of Mr. Sam. This is the most beautiful piano music in the world, even a machine would be moved when listening to it.”

Bai Lixin and Dijia looked at each other.

The piano piece ended, and a few minutes later, the loop started again.

It was the same piano piece, the same man in the white tuxedo, the same video.

That afternoon, Bai Lixin and Dijia listened to the single loop five times.

Mr. Sam, whom they expected to be there in person, turned out to be a recording.

After the five loops had been played, the priest asked the two, “Have you learnt it?”

Bai Lixin and Dijia: “……”

Do you really think learning to play the piano is as easy as jumping on a trampoline? Can an ordinary person learn it that fast?

Although the question was asked to the two people, the priest’s gaze was fixed on Bai Lixin, “Why don’t you try?”

The priest raised his arm and pointed to the piano next to him.

Bai Lixin didn’t argue and walked over to it. He sat upright and slid one hand over the piano in a pattern.

Immediately, the sound of the keys echoed throughout the room, sounding much more realistic than the music from the television earlier.

The priest’s eyes lit up, “Continue.”

Bai Lixin’s long neck was slightly raised and his eyes were closed, as if he was already absorbed in the beautiful piano music.

The priest’s eyes looked straight at Bai Lixin, his gaze following Bai Lixin’s arm, which was raised in the air and positioned just right.

The next moment, the arm fell heavily.

A string of harsh musical notes fell on his ears.

The priest’s expression froze, and the light in his eyes vanished.

“Stop, stop, stop,” the priest called out to Bai Lixin with a forced smile, “My son, I have sensed your excellence, there is no need to play.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, when he saw a nun appear in the doorway.

The nun looked flustered, as if something serious was going on.

The priest said, “Tell you what, you two study a few more times, I have things to do and will be here in an hour to pick you up.”

With those words, the priest strode away.

The door to the music room closed and on the big screen, the man’s piano performance began to play from the beginning once again.

This time, as the man’s fingers on the big screen fell, Bai Lixin also pressed down on the piano without missing a beat.

Dijia sat in the hall silently.

On the screen was the performance of the man in the pure white tuxedo, and in reality, it was Bai Lixin’s performance in his pure white jumper.

Each time, ten fingers fell at the same time as the man on the screen. The gentle, delicate piano notes with a hint of overlap resonated through every corner of the room.

Dark, brooding eyes gazed greedily at the young man in the pure white jumper.

The young man tilted his chin slightly, his body dancing along with the music.

It wasn’t that Bai Lixin didn’t know how to play, it was just that he had hidden himself in front of the NPC just now.

This piano piece was not considered super difficult, but it was by no means low either.

With ten minutes of playing time, Bai Lixin was able to follow it without missing a beat.

When the piano piece ended, Bai Lixin slowly opened his eyes. They looked cold and solemn.

He glanced at Dijia behind him, and pointed at the man on the huge screen, “Did you notice that I look a lot like that man?”

Bai Lixin held out his hands and raised them to Dijia, “Look at these hands and then look at the hands on the screen.”

Ten white jade-like fingers were suddenly stretched out in front of him, and the ten fingers were open, as if asking for a hand to hold.

Dijia secretly drew in a breath, his dark black eyes hiding the turbulence hidden within them and his gaze calmly compared the two pairs of hands.

Dijia, “It’s quite similar.”

Bai Lixin tsked. He withdrew his ten fingers and waved his hand with his right index finger, “No, no, no. They aren’t very similar, they are exactly the same.”

“The person up there,” Bai Lixin said with a flip of his arm, pointing his index finger at the big screen, “is me.”

Dijia was surprised.

He didn’t have much of a taste for music and hadn’t watched the video seriously from the start. He was only intoxicated by the young man’s music because he was completely bewitched by the young man’s beauty.

Only when he heard Bai Lixin’s words did Dijia look at the man on the screen seriously. His body shape was indeed identical to Bai Lixin’s.

Dijia, “When did you record this video?”

Bai Lixin, “It wasn’t me who recorded it, but maybe it’s another ‘me’. Didn’t you hear the priest say that this man is called ‘Sam’ and is a famous pianist?”

“And my identity for now is the hope of the future.” Bai Lixin’s voice was a little cold, “I thought of something, but it needs some verification.”

The music room was on the third floor, and the blue sea outside was clearly visible through the window.

Above the sea were a few sea birds skimming over the surface.

“This island has some history.” Bai Lixin stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the calm sea.

Dijia, “Indeed.”

Bai Lixin, “Can I get any information from you?”

The man in the leather jacket had a calm gaze, he hesitated for a moment and just as he was about to speak, the man’s body froze in place.

A thick blackness smudged the man’s eyes as the shadow behind him suddenly opened up and spread against the wall like a wild animal on a rampage.

After a few seconds, the black shadow shrank back and the black in the man’s eyes dissipated.

A faint voice drifted into Bai Lixin’s ears through the air.

“It seems that the rules of this world forbid me from passing too much information to you. You can only explore if you wish to know the truth of the world, the apple orchard at night…”

The voice grew fainter and fainter and finally disappeared into the air.

The man in front of Bai Lixin stumbled in place and slowly opened his eyes.

He first looked around in confusion, surprise flashing in his eyes.

Only when he saw Bai Lixin in front of him did his astonishment disappear and he was replaced by a vigilant look, “Bai Lixin.”

Bai Lixin, “Lin Jue, what’s wrong with you?”

Lin Jue pursed his lips, his expression very unhappy.

He was fooled by a cunning ghost yesterday and signed a contract in the name of doing a task, but he instead got possessed by that ghost.

He was a 382nd level veteran player. Where would he put his face if this little player, who was only a 72nd level player, knew that he had been played by a ghost?

His memories were intermittent and his last memory was of him sleeping in the apple orchard, leaving Xia Chi and Bai Lixin to Emil. The next thing he knew, he was in a music room.

Alone with Bai Lixin.

If it weren’t for that guy, I wouldn’t have bothered with that brat named Xia Chi, and I wouldn’t have picked up this guy named Bai Lixin in the process.

Lin Jue rubbed his already messy hair in annoyance, “That..I…”

I didn’t do or say anything strange to you, did I?

But if I asked this, wouldn’t that be confirmation that I was possessed?

Shit.

Bai Lixin tilted his head and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Lin Jue, “Nothing!”

Never mind, seeing how normal Bai Lixin’s expression was, nothing must have happened!

Lin Jue looked to his left and right, and his attention was suddenly drawn by the sound of the piano. On the big screen was someone playing the piano without their faces showing.

So they were listening to a piano piece?

Just when Lin Jue was planning to respond to all the changes without being suspicious, the door to the music room was pushed open and the priest walked in.

“Alright, children, it’s time for dinner.”

Lin Jue subconsciously looked at the task bar. It was already four in the evening, and it would soon be five o’clock.

They were the only ones in the room. What about the others?

Damn it, he didn’t even know what had happened during the time he had been possessed by the ghost.

Just when Lin Jue was feeling unusually tangled up, Bai Lixin’s lightly spoken words flew out, “Priest, the others are all still sleeping because they had a hard time in the morning and took the medicine you gave them. Should we wake them up?”

Lin Jue silently glanced at Bai Lixin.

Although it was a question for the priest, Bai Lixin’s sentence was immensely informative, and it spelled out almost everything he wanted to know.

Lin Jue’s gaze towards Bai Lixin was suddenly tinged with some doubt.

Was it a coincidence that it was so detailed? Or did Bai Lixin know something?

—

There were only the two of them eating at the table.

Lin Jue had things on his mind and ate fast and hard. The sun seemed to have set a little earlier than yesterday, but it was just after five in the evening. The sea in the distance was already tinted with the colour of the setting sun.

Without waiting for Bai Lixin to finish eating, Lin Jue went straight up to the first floor.

He intended to explore the confinement cell tonight, so he had to rest for a while first.

Unexpectedly, he pushed the door open and found that the teenager called Xia Chi lying on his bed.

Lin Jue: “……”

I’m numb.

If it was anyone else, he would have thrown him out! Why did it have to be this brat?

So annoying.

Xia Chi was in his bed, so could it be that he was sleeping in Bai Lixin’s room?

He opened the bedrooms one by one over the next few minutes. There were people lying in each bedroom and only the innermost bedroom was empty.

He guessed that the room was his and Bai Lixin’s temporary quarters.

At that moment, Bai Lixin also went up the stairs.

Outside, the colours of the setting sun began to grow thicker, and the sun slowly disappeared from the sea level.

Lin Jue walked into the last empty room with no expression.

There were two beds in the room.

Just as the last glimmer of light left the sea level, Lin Jue suddenly froze on the spot.

Like a brave beast, thick black shadows flew towards him from all sides, enveloping him in them and black mist filled his eyes.

The next moment, the blackness completely merged into Lin Jue’s body, and when he opened his eyes again, they had become sharp and sinister.

The man stood on the spot, looked at the room and then outside at the setting sun before walking over to the window and closing it.

The curtains were slowly drawn, and then the man lay on the bed with his clothes on.

A few minutes later, Bai Lixin came in.

The moment he pushed the door open, he looked at Lin Jue on the bed and then asked, “Are you sure Lin Jue is okay with you coming in and out like this? He won’t be made stupid, will he?”

The man on the bed opened his eyes and was a little surprised, “How did you find out that I had taken over? I didn’t say a word and my eyes were closed.”

Bai Lixin, “The aura is different.”

Dijia sat up straight away, “I have a stronger aura?”

Bai Lixin, “Uh…its more vicious.”

Dijia: “……”

Bai Lixin, “What you said as you disappeared earlier? Did you mean for me to go to the apple orchard at night?”

Dijia thought about it and shook his head, “You better not go.”

Bai Lixin, “Why?”

A series of images appeared in Dijia’s mind. “The images are not very pretty, as you can see, your companions threw up several times, are you sure that you would be different from them?”

Bai Lixin smiled, “I’m actually kinda curious.”

Dijia: “……”

As the last light faded in the distance, the Red Apple House fell into a dead silence.

Bai Lixin and Dijia were awake.

The two looked at each other, and Dijia pointed outside, and then pointed to his own eyes, gesturing for Bai Lixin to close them.

In the corridor, the same shuffling sounds and furtive bangs as last night slowly rang out.

The doors were opened again, and only when they were almost in Bai Lixin’s room did he finally close his eyes.

The moment he closed his eyes, a dark shadow suddenly drifted before him, and flashed before his eyes.

The door to the room was slowly pushed open.

It was still the same questioning voice, and Bai Lixin still ignored the urgent call.

The ghost gave up and left. As the sounds slowly faded away in the corridor, Bai Lixin felt a force behind him and he slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were met by a pair of blood-red protruding eyes.

The eyeballs were almost coming out of their sockets, with a web like red blood all around them and they were staring at Bai Lixin intently.