CH 72

Chapter 72: Seed of Slaughter (XI)

[Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

Like falling into a freezer, Qi Leren was cold and motionless as he looked at the inscription on the tombstone. Everything around him was far away, just like being blocked by an invisible barrier: the sound of the waves, the bright moonlight, the clear wine… everything was far away. He was like a living person buried in the ground, watching the soil cover his body a little bit, and from then on, he would be accompanied by darkness and insects, and eventually gradually decay in the unknown.

He was unwilling. He urged the frozen body to move forward, and more and more of the dead were exposed to him.

[Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

[Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

-If the arrangement of tombstones was according to the time of the death of all people, then the nearest to Lu Youxin was the one who survived for 13 days died of trying his luck and killing himself, and these two died of dragon’s breath.

[Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

-that one died with a dagger when he was chased by a hungry wolf.

[Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

-that one died in an explosion that killed the giant.

Qi Leren, who had lost his mind, was still moving forward. There were all unfamiliar names here. He had to walk a long way before he could meet the tombstone he left in the Novice Village.

“Enough, Qi Leren!” Chen Baiqi’s voice sounded behind Qi Leren.

Qi Leren stood among rows and rows of tombstones arranged like theater seats, and the moonlight left his shadow on the ground, overlapping with the shadows of countless tombstones, as if entangled between life and death, but the moonlight blurred the boundaries.

Was he still alive? Was he already dead? How could he prove that he was still alive?

With memory? But memory was just a brain wave. In the face of all kinds of incredible forces in this Nightmare World, even fabricating a memory was very simple, let alone transplanting a memory.

Was he really alive?

Was he still alive?

Chen Baiqi came to his side, took his arm and walked back into the deeper part of the island.

Along the path full of moonlight, treading weeds and insects, they walked deeper and deeper. Qi Leren didn’t know where Chen Baiqi was going, but didn’t want to know. His soul seemed to be left in front of his tombstone, and he was just a walking corpse.

Through the dense forest, his eyes were suddenly enlightened.

They were standing on a high solitary cliff, and the sea under the moonlight was just over the edge. So quiet, so vast, silvery white scales of moonlight beating on the water, together with the starlight and the sea, constituting a suffocatingly beautiful night.

Chen Baiqi sat down on a strange rock on the sea cliff, covered her lighter with her hand, lit herself a cigarette, and lit another one for Qi Leren.

This time, Qi Leren didn’t refuse.

The two people sat on the cliff, listening to the crash of the tide lapping on the cliff, and the sound of Qi Leren coughing while smoking, and they said nothing to each other.

“Now I know why Ning Zhou specifically told me not to bring you here before he left.” Chen Baiqi finished smoking a cigarette and crushed the cigarette butt beneath her shoe. “Unfortunately, when I don’t collect money, I’m a really uncooperative person.”

“What else did he say?” Qi Leren asked hoarsely.

“A lot, I’ve never heard so many words from him, but it is probably because he was drunk.” Chen Baiqi laughed lowly. “After all, I brought a whole box of good wine to see him. I’m afraid he’ll be eager to kill me when he wakes up.”

Qi Leren looked up at Chen Baiqi. She sat on the stone with her legs crossed and lit a cigarette for herself.

“I don’t think he believed that he could fall in love with someone who doesn’t belong to this world in such a short time,” Chen Baiqi said.

“What do you mean?” Qi Leren’s heart thumped, and a sense of foreboding, which he had always been unwilling to ponder, welled up in his mind.

Chen Baiqi raised a slender eyebrow: “I thought you’d discovered it, didn’t you?”

Don’t belong to this world… Qi Leren’s mind suddenly saw a face similar to Ning Zhou’s, the blonde woman praying under the cross in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, who has a pair of eyes identical to Ning Zhou’s.

“Ning Zhou is like my sister, but should be said to be more special than her. Her parents are players from the real world, but Ning Zhou… his mother was an NPC.”

Chen Baiqi’s voice seemed to come from outside. He heard every word she said, but suddenly he couldn’t understand them.

“Calculate Ning Zhou’s age. His father should be the first player to enter this game, but he died very early. After his mother died, he was sent to the Vatican and was deeply influenced by the Holy See. Ning Zhou also told me that when he was 18 years old, he would perform tasks like ordinary players. Three years ago, when he was 18 years old, he had the same number of survival days as us and needed to perform mandatory tasks every month.”

The cigarette butt in Qi Leren’s hand had almost burned out, but he didn’t notice it at all.

“This time when he received the Witchcraft Sacrifice task, it was a complete accident. He had just come back from Neverland recently. He met a gangster who was chasing several girls and killed them. Unfortunately, he failed to save the two girls. Instead, because of the demon mark on their hands, he triggered the task at this time. Even more coincidentally, you also received this task from another dead NPC.

"In fact, he didn’t care much about you at the beginning. In terms of personality, Ning Zhou was born not to like being close to people. It’s hard to imagine that he took the initiative to approach someone. At the beginning, he saved you from being attacked by wolves by a bonfire, which was completely convenient. Helping those in need is also the precept of the Holy See.” When Chen Baiqi spoke, she suddenly smiled lightly. “But after he got drunk even more, he admitted it. He thought it was cute when you pretended to be calm and tried to talk to him.”

-“I… my name is Qi Leren, what’s your name?” Memories suddenly changed from gray to new, like a roll of black and white film, suddenly with sound and color. Qi Leren clearly remembered that by the warm bonfire, he felt uneasy and stopped talking, and finally built up the courage to ask her name.

“Later, in the underground cave, you were chased by the bone dragon, and he took you to escape. At that time, you looked scared, red eyes, and trembling when you spoke, but stubbornly wanted to protect him, even not afraid of death. I ‘m afraid that Ning Zhou has never seen anyone work so hard for him in so many years. After that, you died from the dragon’s breath and were almost frozen to death by the frozen underground lake. After he rescued you, he looked at you, who was soaked and shivering. He swore to himself that he would protect you.”

-“Thank you in short, tell me your name when the time comes!” At that time, he had hurriedly run for his life, and his lungs were in pain. He kept his voice down and did not dare to cough, so his eyes were red. He knew that he wouldn’t die, and he had a great chance to survive with skilled help, so he was brave.

“In the last underground palace, Ning Zhou used up the relics left by his mother. Yes, that’s the pendant. That thing is no ordinary item, he shouldn’t have used it, but at that time it was a close call, and you were in grave danger again, so he didn’t hesitate to use it, even if… You found the only chance in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, but it was really a monster… "Chen Baiqi looked out at the calm sea in the moonlight, and her voice seemed to have died. "Later when he was drunk, Ning Zhou wouldn’t continue, but I already know. To personally kill a lover who was willing to pay her life for him, how much pain must he have been in at the time… ”

-“Ning Zhou, I have a way, maybe we can all live.” At that time, the excited Qi Leren even said the most cruel words to Ning Zhou with a smile, “It’s very simple: kill me.”

Qi Leren dropped to sit on the stone and covered his face with his hand. This short experience had turned into a prank of fate in his eyes, but in Ning Zhou’s eyes? This was totally an irreparable tragedy.

“Do you know? After the mission, before coming to see you, Ning Zhou went somewhere, ” Chen Baiqi said slowly.

“Where?” He clearly knew he should stop asking, but Qi Leren still felt the words leave his mouth.

Chen Baiqi answered the unneeded question: “He went to buy something.”

Qi Leren’s finger moved stiffly, and he knew something vaguely, but it was too unbelievable.

Chen Baiqi didn’t say any more. She smoked a cigarette. The smell of tobacco made her relaxed and calm. She stood up, facing the sea, and murmured, “This is fate. People who are obviously impossible come to love each other because of various coincidences, but unfortunately in the end… It’s still impossible.”

Qi Leren was silent.

“In Ning Zhou’s world, I’m afraid he never thought about homosexuality. After all, he lived in the Vatican since he was very young, obeyed the precepts, abided by the canon, and had a firm belief. He was the kind of man whose heart won’t exceed the moment. When he fell in love, he would propose marriage, and his first night would be reserved for his wedding night. Most importantly, the Vatican in this world is not of the modern religion in the world where we once lived. It is old-fashioned and conservative. All love between the same sex is wrong, immoral and even sinful.

"If one day, he loves you more than everything, maybe he will leave the Vatican. But he will need to abandon his faith and give up everything he once regarded as life… Is this love more painful, or is death more painful?”

The salty sea breeze blew on his face and stole away the heat from one’s body. While listening to all this, Qi Leren had been very calm. He stood up from the stone and whispered: “I understand…”

Chen Baiqi turned around and handed him a bottle in her hand: “Take it.”

“I don’t have to drown my sorrows in wine,” Qi Leren made a joke stiffly, but it was so difficult to raise the corners of his mouth.

“It’s not wine, it’s holy water from the Holy See. Maybe you can use it later,” Chen Baiqi shrugged her shoulders. “I’m going to see some old friends first. We’ll meet at the shore in an hour.”

Qi Leren’s hand holding the bottle froze. How did Chen Baiqi know that he needed holy water to suppress the seed?

Seeing that Chen Baiqi had left, he ignored caution and asked loudly, “Why did you give me this?”

Chen Baiqi waved backwards at him: “It’s from Ning Zhou. Let me give it to you. Keep it. Maybe it’ll come in handy in the future.”

Chen Baiqi’s figure had disappeared under the steps. Qi Leren shook the bottle, and the crystal clear transparent liquid glowed faintly in the moonlight. Just looking at it made him feel calm. If it was Ning Zhou… Could he know? After all, he saw him at the courthouse.

Qi Leren didn’t want to think any more, so he put away the holy water and went down.

This time, he no longer panicked over those tombstones, which he could not verify or control. Even if he was really dead, this one was still alive now. He could act, think and be as happy and sad as before. He didn’t want to struggle with more problems.

Down the stairs, there were neat tombstones on both sides of the steps, which were as neat as a procession.

The order of tombstones should be arranged according to the time of death, not according to the order of tasks. Qi Leren stopped at Lu Youxin’s tombstone, walked backwards one row, and then went in. He saw Ye Xia, which turned out to be her real name and she had lived for more than 1,500 days.

One step further, the place illuminated by the flashlight held the name Qi Leren.

Three tombstones in a row, all of them him.

He had died by Ning Zhou’s hand.

Qi Leren’s feet stopped, an emotion that couldn’t be said to be sad or relieved seeping out slowly from the depths of his soul. After Chen Baiqi said Ning Zhou had bought something, he guessed vaguely, but it was still unbelievable, but now he saw it with his own eyes, and he finally had to believe it.

He could almost imagine Ning Zhou’s mood when he found his tombstone. Perhaps for him, the Qi Leren he loved has stayed in the underground palace forever, and was killed by his own hands three times.

They hadn’t had the time to start, and the love he hadn’t said yet stayed there forever. He could only leave proof of his love at the tombstone and give it to the “her”.

Qi Leren stepped forward and squatted down at his grave.

[Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

An open box was placed upright in front of the tombstone, and a ring lay quietly inside.

The ring is inlaid with a blue gem, which shone in the moonlight.

As beautiful as Ning Zhou’s eyes.