Chapter 181 Ferryman's Dungeon (IV)
Apart from the commotion caused by the player with the strange scarf, the first day of this dungeon was relatively smooth. Everyone successfully completed the sacrificial ceremony. Although the amount of money earned varied, at least everyone was alive.
And that strange player never did anything against other people again. He was only focused on making money. He didn't communicate with any players and took the initiative to stay away from them. It was as if he had isolated everyone by himself, and no one could figure out what he was thinking.
As the sky gradually darkened, the number of ordinary guests coming and going gradually became sporadic and scarce. The ordinary NPCs here would not travel at night, so players did not have to worry about confusing the daytime and nighttime guests.
This river is called Huangquan River. It ferries people during the day and ghosts at night.
At night, boatmen have to act like silent mutes and keep silent if possible, otherwise they will become wandering ghosts falling into the underworld through the Yellow Springs.
However, before Xia Yingnuan's planning even began, she encountered a small setback.
Ever since that "little" accident that day, Ning Hanqi's attitude has become a little strange.
Perhaps the word "strange" cannot express Xia Yingnuan's inner conflict. After all, no matter who finds out that the cold and beautiful woman who was once her mortal enemy suddenly likes to be close to her, they will probably be frightened involuntarily.
"Auntie Zao Nuan! Teacher Zao Nuan!" Only the little girl at home didn't notice the change in the atmosphere. She ran out in her slippers and gave her aunt a Zao Nuan kiss, which she learned from her mother.
Ning Hanqi noticed Xia Yingnuan's dazed look, thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Teacher Guo, do you want a morning warm kiss too?"
“……!!!” Xia Yingnuan was stunned for a moment, her eyes unconsciously falling on Ning Hanqi’s lips, which had recently regained some color. The next second, she took several steps back in horror.
“No, no, no…”
"Teacher is shy!" The child didn't know where he learned the amazing finishing move from, and he giggled after saying it.
This naughty kid! I’ll have to find a reason to spank her next time! Xia Yingnuan’s face felt so hot it could fry an egg, but she would never admit she was shy!
Ning Hanqi stopped talking, as if she knew someone would get angry if she continued, so she picked up Ning Tiantian's small schoolbag and said, "I'll take Tiantian to her Go class first. Tiantian, say goodbye to the teacher."
"Goodbye, teacher!" The child laughed happily. Xia Yingnuan felt that her authority in the little girl's heart had been destroyed!
"...System, I always feel like something is weird." Xia Yingnuan held her breath in her chest, unable to move up or down. A strange emotion prickled her, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
Perhaps because she was in the middle of the situation, she couldn't understand what Ning Hanqi was trying to do.
The small system of Juwaitong remained silent for a long time. It had a guess. It thought that Ning Hanqi's behavior just now was called "flirting and running away."
Combined with the villain's recent series of "teasing" his own host, the system came up with a bold and outrageous guess - could it be that Ning Hanqi has taken a fancy to the big devil?!
This was the first time the small system was so close to the truth, but after it told its guess to its host, it only got a brain explosion.
"Have you forgotten that Ning Hanqi has someone she likes?"
[Yes, the villain has someone he likes.] The small system overturned its previous speculation, so it didn't reflect the current situation... Wait!
The small system suddenly raised its head and looked at the host. The big devil had a dull expression, as if a little unhappy.
No way! Could it be that I guessed wrong?!
That, that host is so pitiful! The living people looked up and saw countless points of light converging in the distance, like the Milky Way descending to the human world.
The path Ning Hanqi was going to take was lit up. Even though there was no need to worry about her stumbling, Xia Yingnuan still carefully led her hand.
The journey was neither too long nor too short. Xia Yingnuan gave Ning Hanqi some reminders that she could think of that might be useful in other copies in the future. Some of them might have been mentioned by her before, but Xia Yingnuan was always worried that Ning Hanqi would not remember them, so she reminded him over and over again.
But there is always a time to finish talking, and no matter how worried you are, you have to let go.
They came to the pond in the fifth courtyard. The stars were reflected on the lake. It was a beautiful and quiet place perfect for a date.
"I said my mother was easy to fool before, but I'm not much better myself. Maybe we're mother and daughter after all." Xia Yingnuan looked at the shimmering lake. "This is where you leave. When the game reminds you the time is up, the water will surge. Just jump in. Don't worry about not being able to swim. You can return to reality by jumping in."
Xia Yingnuan pointed at the surface of the pond right in front of them and told Ning Hanqi not to be afraid.
She did not die after her eyes were gouged out. Her good father, whether out of guilt or for some other reason, paid a large sum of money to hire the best doctor, and countless expensive medicinal herbs were delivered to her room like water, which barely saved her life.
But even so, her half-sister still did not let her go. Just because of the increasingly passionate gaze of her perverted fiancé, her sister pushed her into the pond and drowned her.
Perhaps because this incident is too unforgettable, the game sets the exit here, which increases the difficulty for players from the side. After all, investigating such a place is the easiest way to step on the minefield of the dungeon boss.
"Nuannuan." Ning Hanqi suddenly grabbed Xia Yingnuan's hand. There was a hint of anticipation in her expression, and her gentle tone became a little anxious. "Are you... willing to leave with me?"
Xia Yingnuan chuckled and shook her head, saying, "Even if I wanted to, the game wouldn't let me leave."
Ning Hanqi's expression suddenly became lonely.
"Okay, okay, don't feel aggrieved. If you really want to see me... in the future, if you come across an item that can be used for team building, you can collect one. Then the players who are bound here can enter my copy. There should be specific methods on that game forum. You can take a look when you go back." Out of selfishness, Xia Yingnuan told Ning Hanqi the special method to return to the copy.
Generally speaking, the probability of a player being placed in the same copy by the game is almost zero. If you want to enter a copy repeatedly, you have to rely on the power of props.
"It's definitely not easy to collect props. If I don't buy them, they're definitely not cheap. I don't have much money right now, and I don't know how long it will take for me to get that prop..." Ning Hanqi's eyes looked like they were about to tear up again. "If it takes too long, what if a prettier girl appears who pleases you more? Will you forget me?"
"Absolutely not, I swear!" Xia Yingnuan almost raised three fingers. Although it is difficult to guarantee what will happen in the future... at least she doesn't think so now!
"Yeah."
The young lady still seemed to distrust her a little. It was also her fault. She should have been more careful when she spoke at that time. Xia Yingnuan felt a little guilty.
"It must be!" Xia Yingnuan said a lot of nice things to make Ning Hanqi's expression look less aggrieved.
She raised her hand and touched Ning Hanqi's cheek. She didn't know if she would have the chance to see her again next time, so she had to remember the young lady's appearance well.
"Your eyes are really beautiful. Xia Lao San and her perverted husband must have never seen truly beautiful eyes, so they are thinking about me. Of course, we must never let them see them." Xia Yingnuan gently stroked Ning Hanqi's eyes, and her fingertips felt itchy when they were brushed by her eyelashes.
There are still three little mice left in this copy. Xia Yingnuan plans to deal with them after watching Ning Hanqi leave. Although the one named Xiaolu is a little unhappy with her, she has to let her go out to pay back the young lady's money, so she has to stay alive. As for the little girl Chang Yue... she will not block her way to life, but whether she can get out alive depends on her ability.
As for the last one, heh...
There are countless pairs of eyes watching from above, so let that guy's dying struggle be the wonderful ending of this copy.
Xia Yingnuan glanced at the night sky. To humans and ordinary ghosts, the night sky was pitch black, with nothing but a blood moon hanging high in the sky. Only she could see that the so-called blood moon was actually the pupil of a higher-level monster called "God".
They are watching the farce here and wish they could provide more interesting "games".
What a difficult bunch of old men.
Suddenly, Xia Yingnuan frowned.
The next second, murderous intent flashed from her eyes, which suddenly turned scarlet. She looked in a certain direction of the mansion. If Xia Yingnuan had not been concerned about Ning Hanqi being by her side and not wanting to scare her, she would have gone berserk long ago.
Her carefully treasured ring was stolen!
She tried hard to suppress her murderous intent and anger, and gave Ning Hanqi a forced smile and said, "Hanqi, I have something to do and need to leave for a while. If I don't come back and the time is up, you go back first, understand?"
"I'll wait for you." Ning Hanqi didn't try to keep her, but he didn't seem willing to leave first either.
"...If I don't come back in time, you must leave before 6:00 in the morning." Xia Yingnuan walked up to her and hugged her gently, then turned around and disappeared on the spot.
Ning Hanqi stood there, staring at the direction she left in a daze for a long time. There was a faint smell of blood in the air, which was a sign that Xia Yingnuan was about to go crazy.
The plan is proceeding in an orderly manner.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, there was no trace of hesitation in her eyes that seemed to be dotted with stars.
"System, although I can't see your expression, I can feel that you seem to be thinking about something rather impolite." Xia Yingnuan's shadow enveloped the small system. Under the gaze of the big devil, it immediately cleared all the speculations about the host in the program, and then said flatteringly that it dared not.
"Hmph." Xia Yingnuan knew what was going on, but she was just too lazy to bother with this little thing.
"Seriously, have you tracked Ning Hanqi's movements?"
[Yes, yes, yes!] The system hurriedly pulled out the data it had recently gathered. [After we tricked the hero that night, the villains took action the very next day. The hero's company is being heavily targeted. If this situation continues, the hero's company will go bankrupt sooner or later.]
[But after the hero was released from the detention center, all the targeting stopped. I guess the villain and the hero reached some kind of agreement. However, the hero took over the problematic project earlier than originally planned. I feel... Host, I have a hunch that the villain seems to be even more anxious.]
Xia Yingnuan was silent for a moment. The system's guess was the same as hers. Ning Hanqi seemed to be a little abnormal.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
There was a sudden knock on the door.
[Host, there's a woman knocking on the door.]
Strange, who would come at this time?
Xia Yingnuan came to the door and looked out through the peephole.
“…” Xia Yingnuan’s face suddenly fell.
【What's wrong? 】
"A big trouble has come." Standing outside was a noble lady with exquisite makeup. She seemed to be born with a melancholy temperament and was as weak as a dodder.
Xia Yingnuan can beat dozens of such people with one punch, but the other party's identity is rather special. He is the kind that is very annoying but no one can do anything to her.
She is Ning Hanqi's biological mother, Qian Wanni.
A woman who was born into wealth but was hopelessly obsessed with love. However, she was lucky enough to be loved and protected by her parents until the first few summers after her marriage. After her parents died, although the scumbag husband's true colors were exposed, the eldest daughter quickly grew up and took over from her grandparents to continue protecting her mother.
Except for those few summers in between, Qian Wanni had hardly suffered any hardship. Xia Yingnuan often wondered if it was because she had not suffered enough that the other party continued to do so later.
She still remembers vividly how that scumbag persecuted her and her daughter. She was almost kicked out of the house by the pregnant mistress and was almost abused by the scumbag to the point of being hospitalized. After a few summers, the scars healed and the pain was forgotten, and she was coaxed back by the other party with just a few words.
Tsk tsk tsk, that’s scary.
Xia Yingnuan did not open the door rashly, but quietly sent a text message to Ning Hanqi.
Probably because she didn't get a response for a long time, Qian Wanni angrily called her daughter.
"I'm at your door."
"I'm your mother! I'm also Yutian's mother! Tiantian's grandmother! Why don't you let me see them?"
Listening to the sharp voices outside, Xia Yingnuan helplessly scratched her ears. Ning Hanqi was just too soft-hearted. If it were her, she would have to let this person live a hard life with the person she loved so much. A poor couple has many sorrows, let alone this noble lady who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. As long as she was cruel, when that scumbag Yingdao Qian Wanni was no longer useful, she would naturally suffer.
After suffering enough, she realized how good her daughter was to her.
After Xia Yingnuan was lost in thought for a while, she suddenly realized that her cell phone was ringing.
It’s Ning Hanqi.
Xia Yingnuan poked her phone in frustration. She guessed what Ning Hanqi wanted to say.
"Are you at home now?" Ning Hanqi's gentle voice sounded.
"Yes, there was someone I didn't know knocking on the door just now, and I didn't dare open it."
"Let her in. She's my mother. You don't have to pay any attention to her. Just stay in the room and wait for me to come back..."
When Xia Yingnuan heard the word "good boy", she felt her ears itchy for some reason and subconsciously moved her phone a little further away.
"I've got it. I'll open the door for you right away." Xia Yingnuan hung up the phone in a hurry as if to escape.
The door finally opened. The lady looked very bad. There was obviously someone at home, but she was made to stand for so long in vain. If Qian Wanni had not cared about her own face and cultivation, Xia Yingnuan would probably have been scolded.
Xia Yingnuan rolled her eyes and prepared to hide in the room as Ning Hanqi said, to prevent this noble lady from acting like a spoiled brat. What if she couldn't control her mouth and ended up sending her to the hospital?
But even if Xia Yingnuan wanted to avoid it, the other party might not agree.
Qian Wanni sat on the sofa, and her mood became even worse when she found that she didn't even have a cup of hot water. So when she found that the girl who opened the door for her was about to slip back into the room, she frowned and called her to stop.
Xia Yingnuan curled her lips and thought, "It seems that one of us must be angry to death today."
"You are... a student sponsored by my daughter, right?" As an artist, Qian Wanni pays special attention to her manners and will not curse at outsiders even if she is unhappy.
"Yes, Auntie. Mr. Ning was so kind as to take me in because I had no place to live."
"Since it was my daughter who asked you to live here, I won't say anything. But since you saw the elders coming, why don't you say hello and pour them a glass of water?" Qian Wanni almost pointed at Xia Yingnuan's nose and said she had no manners.
Calm down, this is Ning Hanqi's biological mother. It's not her fault that she has some mental problems. She should be tolerant. Yes, tolerance for people with disabilities is everyone's responsibility! After Xia Wennuan comforted herself, she immediately put on a smile and said, "Sorry, I'll get you a glass of water."
Qian Wanni, who had been running around all morning, finally had a sip of water to drink and her complexion looked much better. After resting on the sofa for a while, she walked into her daughter's studio.
However, just a moment later, before Xia Yingnuan had time to slip back to her room, a huge noise was heard from the studio.
Qian Wanni was probably so angry that she slammed the door and threw the stack of drawing papers in her hand heavily on the table.
Then she stared at Xia Yingnuan with murderous eyes and asked with gritted teeth, "What is your relationship with my daughter?!"
ha? !
Xia Yingnuan was stunned. The aunt's expression made it seem as if she was a bad person who had robbed her daughter. She wanted to raise her hands to prove her innocence.
"It's just, it's just an ordinary sponsor and sponsored person..."
Obviously Qian Wanni didn't believe her explanation. She sat on the sofa angrily and couldn't give Xia Yingnuan a lesson.
When Ning Hanqi returned, she threw all the drawing papers on the table at her daughter, sending white papers flying everywhere. Each piece of paper had only one identical person on it...
"What did you tell me?! You said those people were spreading rumors, and I believed you, and now you show me these?!" Qian Wanni pointed at Ning Hanqi, trembling. "You also said you don't like Song Qinuan?! What does this student do? Don't think I'm blind!"
Xia Yingnuan:? ? ? ! ! !
It seems like there is a misunderstanding?
Xia Yingnuan winked at Ning Hanqi, signaling her to explain quickly, her eyes almost twitching.
But Ning Hanqi didn't refute a single word. She even picked up all the fallen drawing papers, carefully treating each one. Then she stood up and said to her mother calmly, "Yes, I like her."
It controlled the warhorse to circle Ning Hanqi again and again. The sound of the horse's hooves seemed to be knocking on a person's heart, giving them silent pressure. If it were an ordinary person, their heart would probably jump out of their throat.
Because humans are too weak in front of ghosts, the Ghost General's arrogance makes it exude malice without restraint. It thinks it is quite fun to tease humans in this way, but it never thought that when its own malice showed signs, another more powerful but well-hidden malice was already hanging over its head.
The red silk threads have begun to weave a spider web, waiting for the prey to jump into the web.
The Ghost General patted the neck of his warhorse, and the mount, which already had some intelligence, jumped up and landed lightly on Ning Hanqi's boat.
At this time, most of the players present cast sympathetic glances at Ning Hanqi. It was obvious that this ghost general was not a good person. Whoever was targeted by him would be in trouble.
The Ghost General once again issued a rapid, threatening roar, and the warhorse paced uneasily, but the Ghost General ignored it. Its attention was still on the human on the shore, and it did not notice the tiny red thread climbing up the warhorse's hooves.
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