CH 58.1

July 28, 2023 by Wyrd

When the flower attendants came out, each of them looked very disheveled.

They were splattered with an unknown liquid, and the black rainwater eroded holes in their clothes one after another.

Their disarray wasn’t just physical; it also reflected in their spirits.

Exhausted, they stood at the exit outside the woods, looking like wilted flower branches.

Yenan Wang seemed not to notice their dejection, focusing only on the flowers they brought, nodding continuously.

Especially when he saw Ning Su bringing out a luxuriant plant. He gently stood in front of Ning Su, reaching out to pat his head. A grim smile appeared on Yenan Wang’s wrinkle-free face. “I knew it. You’re outstanding. You did great.”

Ning Su asked, “Is there a reward?”

Yenan Wang chuckled. “What reward do you want?”

Ning Su replied, “Can I have a full meat combo for supper?”

“...”

Yenan Wang said, “Flower Attendants should maintain the purity of their bodies, eat less meat, and drink more Holy Water.”

Although he said that, perhaps Ning Su’s performance made him happy. After washing up and returning, someone brought Ning Su the full meat combo he wanted to eat.

Ning Su gave each of the two children a big chicken leg and let them eat in the room. He held a plate of beef jerky and opened the wooden door. Seeing that there was no one in the tearoom, and Ning Changfeng had no intention of coming out, Ning Su sat down in the tearoom, still holding the beef jerky, and opened the outer door.

Each tea room in the courtyard faced the central lake, so by opening the room’s door, players from the six rooms around the lake could directly communicate.

The player who died in the swamp in the evening was their neighbor in the courtyard, the roommate of the white-haired flower attendant who was originally from this world.

Together, they tried to pull the player out of the swamp, but they only managed to retrieve half of the body.

That half-body also corrupted before their eyes, turning into a puddle of corpse water that flowed back into the swamp.

Although they still couldn’t save him, the white-haired flower attendant saw their efforts. Perhaps because of this, he was willing to talk to them. At this moment, he also opened the door to the tearoom.

Zhu Shuangshuang was still in shock after washing up. “What kind of place is that?”

The white-haired flower attendant replied, “That place is called the Dark Swamp.”

The name is quite fitting, given its nature.

“It is also known as the Land of the Sleeping God. It’s a sacred place that only Holy Maiden and Flower Attendants can enter.”

“...”

A place that filthy was also called the Land of the Sleeping God? Then this god was not a clean god.

Completely inconsistent with the name “Flower God”.

But the players dared not say anything. They knew how fanatical the people here were about their belief in the Flower God. The system also reminded them to respect the faith of Furen County.

A player who didn’t find any flowers asked, “Can’t we look for the flowers during the day?”

When they came out of the Dark Swamp, Yenan Wang smiled warmly at the Flower Attendants who found flowers, but though he didn’t say anything to those who didn’t find any, his solemn tone made the players who found nothing feel uneasy.

“Tomorrow night, you can continue searching. If you can’t find the right flowers, you won’t be able to see the Flower God.”

Today, they discovered that once it got dark, something dormant inside the swamp would wake up. The time between sunset and darkness was too short for them to search deeper into the swamp.

The white-haired flower attendant explained, “No, the flowers in the Land of the Sleeping God only bloom in the dark. They won’t come out when the sunlight is too harsh.”

“...”

As expected, these were not ordinary flowers.

The players with flowers around them also felt uneasy, looking at these strange flowers.

After bringing the flowers back from the Dark Swamp, Yenan Wang didn’t tell them exactly how to take care of them. He just said to choose a pot and plant them, and get familiar with them first.

They all realized the importance of this flower, so they kept it by their side to observe it at any time.

Ning Su sat in the tearoom, leisurely chewing on dried beef while listening to them talk.

He merely listened and didn’t interject; he had already found his flower, and two young laborers were helping him take care of it.

Here, there were beautiful houses and delicious food, so he didn’t feel rushed. He had a relaxed posture and a content expression, exuding happiness.

Those who saw him... couldn’t quite understand and feel extremely unbalanced in their hearts.

How could someone be so leisurely in a terrifying Level 5 instance?

Those who didn’t know might think he’s on vacation in a foreign land.

Dai Dong: “Let’s call it a night. For those who haven’t found a flower, don’t hesitate. Head into the swamp to search tomorrow.”

“For those who have found a flower, I suggest you go and take a look, search for clues about the Flower God, and help if you can.”

Ning Su: “Hmm.”

He stood up, holding the plate, and closed the door of his tea room.

Initially, he wanted to go back to his room immediately, but when he looked up and saw Ning Changfeng’s room across the way, he thought for a moment and walked over. “Brother, what have you been busy with lately?”

After a while, Ning Changfeng’s voice came from inside, “I’m trying to make myself fall in love with our great Flower God.”

Ning Su: “...”

He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, not knowing what he was thinking.

Before leaving, he said, “There’s no need to deliberately hinder each other. If one day we face life and death, we don’t need to hesitate or agonize. Let’s each fight for our own lives.”

Ning Changfeng, who was trying to believe in the Flower God, kept giving himself mental suggestions. He opened his eyes.

“Okay,” he agreed.

He said, “There are many important things in this world, but the most crucial one is our own lives. Of course, we should fight for our own survival.”

This was the consensus among all players in the Game Base.

Ning Su let out a “Hmm” and put the last piece of beef jerky into his mouth, then squinted and looked back.

Zhi Zhi was summoned by Zhu Shuangshuang using Shi Tianzhu’s summoning, but the summoning had a time limit, so he left before they came out of the Dark Swamp. On the other hand, Gui Sheng and Manman were Ning Su’s “skill weapons”, and they would always be there as long as the system didn’t restrict players’ skills.

In rare cases where the system imposed restrictions in some dungeon worlds, Ning Su could find another way to keep them by his side, just like bringing them out from the instance.

At this moment, the two well-fed children were squatting together, looking at the flower brought out from the Dark Swamp.

Manman: “There really is everything in the instance.”

Gui Sheng: “Yeah!”

He added, “And it’s free.”

Ning Su was pleased that Gui Sheng had such profound thoughts at such a young age.

The focal point of this instance was that it was free.

That small bunch of flowers in the Base cost 200 points, but you could get them for free in the Dark Swamp. It was a much better deal.

As for the fact that the flower’s color wasn’t very bright, Ning Su actually found it cute in another way, and maybe the two children felt the same.

Ning Su asked, “Is it pretty?”

Gui Sheng replied, “Cute.”

Manman also followed her heart and said, “Pretty, prettier than the ones for little girls.”

She felt that if the seeds she gave her mother sprouted and grew up, they would probably look like this flower.

Ning Su said, “Then you should take good care of it. Who knows, maybe we can sell them outside for money.”

Gui Sheng solemnly accepted this task, and Manman sighed.

Inside the room, there were two wooden beds on each side of the stream.

Ning Su slept on the right side, and two children sleep on the left side.

Before falling asleep, Manman asked, “Mom, have you seen Dad?”

Gui Sheng responded, “Dad?”

Outside the window, the light of the lake and moon blended together, serene and gentle.

A layer of light crosses half of Gui Sheng’s face, making his yin-yang face more distinct, and his confusion was evident.

In his limited and lonely time, he had no concept of a dad.

Manman explained to him, “Dad is the person who should be with Mom, and then the family is complete.”

Gui Sheng seemed to half-understand and responded with a hopeful look at Ning Su.

Ning Su shook his head, half-asleep, and asked, “What is Dad like?”

The little girl was also unsure, “I don’t know. I only know that he is very powerful, omnipresent, and rarely appears.”

Ning Su responded with a thoughtful sound, scratched his arm, and fell asleep.

That night, Ning Su slept soundly and had a beautiful dream.

In the dream, boundless black and intense red collided and merged, and a person was born from the black and red.

That person was himself.

Ning Su vaguely realized that this was the arrival of doomsday, and he woke up from the mutation, feeling the power of his abilities.

This gave him a comforting feeling, as if he was born again from a safe place.

He seemed to hear the sound of impact, as if something was smashing against a wall or hitting the ground.

“Bang! -“

“Bang Bang! -“

“Bang Bang Bang! -“

The dream was too beautiful, and Ning Su was unwilling to wake up. He turned over and continued to sleep soundly.

After a restful sleep, when he woke up, his potted flower was sitting nicely in the stream, and the two children were gone.

He opened the door and saw the two children sitting side by side on the tea table, staring at the person sitting on the other side.

Ning Changfeng was dressed in all white, a dark wide belt with red runes outlined his slim waist, emphasizing his flat and straight shoulders.

When his long hair was tied up in a high ponytail, that bewitching feeling was gone, and his slender fingers caressing the blue porcelain cup gave off an ethereal and immortal aura.

Ghost Lord Manman stared at him for a while. “You’re not ordinary.”

Ning Changfeng replied, “Neither are you.”

Manman took a sip of water without saying a word.

But Gui Sheng nodded earnestly, “Mm!”

Ning Su: “...”

Different from the ‘harmonious and indifferent’ atmosphere inside their tea room, Ning Su only noticed the tension outside, as if something had happened.

The players were gathered in Dai Dong’s room.

As Ning Su approached, he saw their solemn and stiff expressions as they stared at the flowers in the room.

Sharing the room with Dai Dong was a female player from the Hongyu Guild named Jiang Ying.

What shocked and solemnized several players was the flower she had found in the Dark Swamp.

Her flower had a pale complexion. Among the flowers they brought back last evening, it had the lightest color. When they saw it last night, the flowers on it resembled small banana buds, composed of a few pale-colored flower buds.

But now, that flower had grown into a hand.

A living human hand, so real that the scars on it were still visible, but its color had turned greyish-purple.

At this moment, the hand was stretching out with force, resembling the hand of a dead body, gruesomely trying to grasp something.

In its grey-black nails, there were tiny pieces of flesh and blood, clearly indicating that it had indeed grasped something.

Ning Su turned his head and saw Jiang Ying’s pale face with thick white bandages wrapped around her arm, from which blood was oozing faintly.

She was both shocked and angry, exclaiming, “What the heck is this thing?”

Su Wangsheng said, “Mine mutated too.”

In their courtyard, there were twelve flower attendants, eight of whom were players, and four were native world flower attendants. Last night, one of the native world flower attendants died, leaving a total of six players and one native world flower attendant who brought back a flower.

Their performance on the first day was much better than in other courtyards.

At this moment, except for Ning Changfeng’s flower, the other six potted flowers were placed in the pavilion.