Chapter 88 Xiawei Temple is quite skilled at flirting...

Yu Naixin quickly surveyed her surroundings.

She and the monk who made butter sculptures were standing on an irregularly shaped open space paved with bluestone slabs, below the steps in front of the temple's main gate.

The open space was quite small; after accommodating the two of them, there was almost no room left.

Yu Naixin only needed to lower her gaze slightly to see that the thick fog beside her was almost brushing against her heels.

In other directions of the temple, there was also this gray fog that symbolized the boundary of the instance area. The fog overhead was lighter, but it was still there, and the sky could be barely seen.

The temple buildings themselves look quite old, with deep blue tiles and red walls in very low saturation, creating a visually harmonious effect.

On the plaque above the main gate of the temple, three large characters in regular script are written from right to left: "Xiawei Temple".

The gate was closed. The butter monk knocked rhythmically three times on the door with his left hand, which was not holding Yu Naixin's hand. The wooden door was then opened from the inside by an NPC who was also wearing a dark red monk's robe.

Inside the gate is a square courtyard, covering an area of ​​less than 100 square meters. The ground is paved with bluestone slabs. There are stone tables and chairs and several Bodhi trees in the courtyard, with a row of side rooms on each side.

Yu Naixin looked up and found that the blue sky was clearer when looking up at the sky from inside Xiawei Temple, but she still couldn't judge the approximate time by the light. Under the cover of fog, she could only know that it was daytime.

Directly opposite the wooden door was a huge screen wall, shrouded in gray mist, making it impossible to discern any patterns. Behind the screen wall, the thick fog completely blocked access.

[As expected of a new dungeon, the fog is incredibly pervasive; it's practically everywhere.]

[It was filled with an atmosphere that had never been cleansed, and the sense of oppression and confinement was quite intense.]

[So far, the Great Demon King has been the first guest to enter the show in all three dungeon episodes he's participated in. While there are some original dungeons for reference in "Swan Castle," there aren't many. Every time I watch the Great Demon King, I feel like everything is new and exciting~]

[This monk character is so eye-catching! He's strikingly beautiful, yet not frivolous or effeminate; he exudes a unique sense of compassion and inclusivity.]

Overall, this monk-turned-guest had a certain sinister air about him, which fit the style of the guests on the "Heartbeat 1000%" segment, but it wasn't immediately apparent upon closer inspection.

The basic information states that another male guest is a "headless stone ghost." Given the numerous stone bricks and stone furniture in the temple, could he be related to these things?

Yu Naixin raised an eyebrow slightly as she looked at her.

According to the general specifications of ancient architecture, there should be at least one courtyard behind the screen wall; it's impossible that people are truly not allowed to pass through.

Moreover, it seems that the entire venue for the show is just this one courtyard, which is much smaller than both "Cocoon Village" and "Swan Castle".

Even though Priest Folding Fan mentioned that there is no fixed standard for the size of the venue for each episode of "Heartbeat 1000%", and the smallest may be only a room of about ten square meters, Priest Folding Fan also clearly stated that the size of the venue for the episode is directly proportional to the time given to the guests.

In other words, the larger the venue, the more time the guests will have to explore, solve puzzles, and win over the other guests; the smaller the venue, the more time will be allocated.

Conversely, the length of time from entry to the closing time can be used to estimate the approximate size of the entire event venue.

The variant version of "Swan Castle" is an exception.

The "Lotus Moon Ritual" at Xiawei Temple is unlikely to be completed in just a few hours, and there would be more than just this small venue for the performance.

Yu Naixin speculates that certain conditions must be met before more maps can be unlocked in the "Xiawei Temple" episode.

Yu Naixin quickly spent 1,000 Sweet Coins from the special shop to buy a substitute straw man, and also glanced at the live stream chat.

Having previously watched the Swan Castle episode in the lounge and listened to audience comments, Yu Naixin found that she could occasionally find some additional useful information in these comments, so she was less resistant to them.

Then, Yu Naixin saw that the audience said "Xiawei Temple" was a new level of exploration.

Yu Naixin: "...?"

ah?

In "Heartbeat 1000%", the "first run" in the game refers to the most difficult run within the same dungeon.

The purpose of the show's guests entering the instance is to cleanse and purify it. The more guests participate, the more the dangers in the instance will be weakened.

Excluding the very few extreme cases where the program segments were not effectively cleaned up and mutated, the segments faced by program guests who entered later in the program are definitely less difficult.

Yu Naixin turned off the system screen without any expression.

After the monk NPC who opened the door met the butter flower monk, he quickly bowed and respectfully called out "Abbot," then made way for the butter flower monk to pass.

Yu Naixin was also given way by this NPC.

The way the NPCs addressed the Butter Flower Monk wasn't too surprising to Yu Naixin. The Butter Flower Monk was the highest leader of this Xiawei Temple, and his status and power were not low.

The view ahead became more open. In addition to this NPC, Yu Naixin also saw a monk NPC wearing the same clothes sweeping the courtyard with a bamboo broom, and one or two monks walking around in the left wing and courtyard.

So far, everything is going smoothly.

At least with Yu Naixin's perception, she didn't find anything wrong in this limited space.

The most problematic one has to be the butter monk who is closest to her.

The waiting area where contestants chose their favorite male guests seemed to have some kind of shielding mechanism. When Yu Naixin started having direct physical contact with the butter monk there, it wasn't very noticeable. But when she officially entered and arrived at the entrance of Xiawei Temple, Yu Naixin could sense that the level of spiritual energy fluctuations within the butter monk was quite impressive.

Yu Naixin has not yet been able to confirm the exact values, but she is certain that the spiritual power coefficient of the butter monk is definitely not lower than her own.

Yu Naixin suddenly missed the paper doll boy.

If only the male guests she encountered were like paper dolls with only a dozen or so points of spiritual power, how wonderful that would be! With her current spiritual power of over 110, she could easily overpower the show's episodes using the simplest and most brutal method.

The butter-flower monk led Yu Naixin toward the right-hand side room: "Benefactor Yu visited our temple three years ago, so you should remember that this is where pilgrims stay."

Yu Naixin, who habitually draws a map in her mind for each new instance program venue, understood. No wonder she only saw monks entering and exiting the left-hand side room. It turned out that the left-hand side was for the monks and was functionally separated from the right-hand side.

The two side rooms on the left and right sides looked no different from the outside. The butter-flower monk carefully held Yu Naixin's hand and walked up the steps while turning his head to watch Yu Naixin's footing: "Benefactor Yu, please be careful."

The steps were also built with this dark blue-green stone; there were a lot of stones in this venue.

[Damn, why are there four steps on this staircase?! Aren't steps supposed to be taken only when there are odd numbers, and four is even more unlucky!]

I have a feeling there might be something unclean in this house. I wonder if it will just open the door and kill me.

Even if the butter flower monks walk slowly, it won't take them long to climb the four steps.

Stopping in front of the room closest to the temple gate, the butter-flower monk gently released Yu Naixin's hand.

His movements were natural and graceful, just like when he, a monk, took the hand of a female pilgrim. There was nothing improper about it; it was simply a necessary courtesy.

Yu Naixin's eyes flickered slightly.

First, they take the initiative to show enthusiasm and make physical contact that slightly exceeds the normal social distance, but not by much. Then they stop short of it and withdraw, demonstrating a textbook example of "expressing feelings but stopping at the proper etiquette".

This monk who makes butter sculptures is quite skilled at flirting.

Yu Naixin thought of the White Bone Scholar in "Cocoon Village".

They follow the same approach.

In the previous episode of "Swan Castle," Yu Naixin's interactions with the four male guests were particularly intense and direct because the hunting conditions could be completed unilaterally by the four guests.

However, in reality, most of the guest performers still have to be more roundabout and subtle, trying to trick the guests into their traps.

I wonder what kind of trap this butter flower monk will set.

"This humble monk has taken the liberty of arranging the room where you stayed at Xiawei Temple last time for Benefactor Yu." The butter flower monk said "Amitabha." "Heyue Temple is deserted, and the other rooms are also empty. If Benefactor Yu would like to change to another room, you only need to inform this humble monk."

[Huh? So the name of this episode is pronounced xia wei? I thought it was some other character...]

【You find these two words unfamiliar? Let me give you another phrase, "云蒸霞蔚" (yún zhēng xiá wèi), then you should find those words familiar.】

[Hahaha, it really is! But with a temple called that, are there really clouds and mist in the dungeon? It just looks like the sky is full of gray fog.]

[Wait, it's not just Xiawei, what does Heyue mean? I thought it was the ritual called "Heyue" in this episode, but the monks' wording doesn't sound right. "Heyue" has become a modifier for "temple"!]

[Finally, someone asked! There are several things in the basic information for this instance that I don't quite understand. I really want to ask what "butter flower monk" means. It's such a strange term. At first glance, I thought it was buttered peanuts. I was wondering why the instance's guest was named after a food. It even sounds kind of delicious...]

[What the heck is this buttered peanuts?! Hahahaha! I can't go back now, seeing this monk all I can think of is a plate of peanuts! Hahahaha!]

With the foundation laid by the previous two episodes, many viewers had already followed Yu Naixin's live stream, so even though this episode hadn't been running for very long, the number of viewers was already quite large.

Among them were those who knew the meanings of the uncommon terms "lotus moon" and "butter flower," and soon someone in the live stream explained them to them.

[This segment actually requires a certain level of knowledge from the guests; misunderstanding could lead to trouble.]

[If you're willing to put in the effort, there will definitely be relevant explanations within the program itself. After all, not everyone knows these things, and the "Heartbeat 1000%" production team needs to maintain balance.]

[However, judging from the female guest's demeanor, she seemed to know everything and didn't need to look for any additional information, which is quite impressive.]

So many people are praising her as a rising star, she must have some real talent, right?

Yu Naixin smiled and said, "No need, thank you, Master."

Since the butter sculpture monk had mentioned "Lotus Moon," Yu Naixin asked directly, "I heard that Lotus Moon Xiawei Temple has special religious ceremonies?"

"Master, could you please tell me if there's anything I need to be careful about during this time, so I don't accidentally offend Buddha?"

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Author's note: The "buttered peanuts" meme came from the comments section of @水仙君会出丑 (Narcissus will make a fool of himself), it was so cute that I couldn't help but include it in the story, hahaha!