Chapter 158 Night Candle Rules 36 Lessons Learned.
Nanmen Jue remained silent for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the group before deciding to address the most obvious issue first.
She looked at Deng Erhuai, seeing his calm and stubborn expression, as if eight hundred oxen couldn't pull him back, and pressed her temples with a headache. "Aren't you on good terms with Terra? She just let you come here... to die?"
Standing next to her at a time like this, even a ghost knows what you'll face.
Nanmen Jue appeared arrogant and confident when facing Zhang Jin, but in reality, she had no confidence at all about whether she could defeat him.
Even with Ying Yao's help, it still didn't work.
She was arrogant, but not stupid. Zhang Jin was the most senior reincarnator in the reincarnation space, with countless trump cards in his hand. What else could she do but fight desperately?
She was prepared to fight tooth and nail, but others didn't have to.
Ying Yao is special; his life is already tied to hers. Mo Gui and Wei Chongru had betrayed her in front of Zhang Jin, and they had no choice but to be with her. But Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao obviously didn't need to take that risk.
Following Terra, the chances of surviving here are much higher.
Deng Erhuai gave her a deep look. “I am an independent adult, and Sister Terra will respect every decision I make.”
“But that shouldn’t include deliberately going to your death.” Nanmen Jue emphasized. “Go back. I understand what you mean. Survive first. We can talk about anything else after we get back to the Main God Space.”
"You understand? I don't think you understand anything, otherwise you wouldn't have tried to persuade me to go back." Deng Erhuai sneered. "Nanmen Jue, maybe in your heart we are just dependent on you, a burden that needs your protection, but ants have their own thoughts. Living is not just about surviving. If I choose to stay away from you at this time and pretend I don't know you, I would rather die a glorious death with you than not even be able to see my own heart clearly in order to save my life."
Nanmen Jue tried to say, "I..."
"I know I'm going to die. You don't need to bother protecting me. My life, my choices, I'll take responsibility for myself. Do you have any more questions?" Deng Erhuai's tone became fiery. She glared fiercely at Nanmen Jue, like an enraged lioness. "I've put up with you for too long, Nanmen Jue! Don't think you can arbitrarily decide other people's fates just because you're powerful. I haven't even settled the score for the inexplicable slap I got at you before. Now that I'm here, you're still nagging me!"
Nanmen Jue was speechless for a moment. After a two-second silence, she said softly, "I don't consider you as people who depend on me or hold me back."
The fierce-looking Deng Erhuai suddenly froze, his gaze towards her unreadable.
“Cheng Ying came in too. She wanted to come over as well, but Taila and I persuaded her not to,” Deng Erhuai said, his tone calming down.
Nanmen Jue nodded, relieved, and glanced at Lu Yunxiao beside her, "What's wrong with you now?"
She was genuinely puzzled by this person's choice. To say they were familiar with each other was an understatement. Lu Yunxiao would usually try to remain somewhat invisible. He was smart and knew how to survive in this kind of world, surrounded by dangerous people.
But the choice he has made now is clearly not wise.
Lu Yunxiao looked up at her and smiled gently, "I owe you a life, maybe more than one."
For a very simple reason, Nanmen Jue pressed his tongue against his teeth, his words of mockery, fearlessness, arrogance, and gentleness all rolled around, and finally he sighed.
They've gone mad, they've all gone mad.
What's the need?
Fools, they're all complete idiots.
Mo Gui suddenly said, "Brother Jue, you have a really nice smile."
Did she...smile?
Nanmen Jue reached up and touched the corner of her lips. Sure enough, it wasn't flat. She used her willpower to straighten it and turned her head to the side. "Hey, look, those transparent monsters aren't coming this way much."
"Isn't it because we have candles?" Mo Gui said. "Brother Jue, your skills at changing the subject are terrible."
Nanmen Jue: ...
“No, I noticed that earlier too,” Ying Yao said. “Among those attacked, some were within the range of the candles. The candles can have some effect, but they don’t seem to be able to completely stop them.”
Everyone looked up, and upon looking up, they all felt a chill run down their spines.
When I first sat down, it was relatively quiet here. But from some point onward, a dense mass of transparent monsters appeared not far away. They were piled up in layers, surrounding someone, and screams came from within them. In the candlelight, I could clearly see flesh and blood gradually shifting between two bodies.
The transparent monster was devouring the man's flesh and blood. What was even more terrifying was that it wasn't just one monster; several monsters were crawling on him, and his flesh and blood were divided into several pieces, flowing into different parts of his body.
Soon, the man's screams subsided. His flesh and blood receded, leaving only a bloody skeleton. The transparent monster that had devoured his flesh and blood, with its scattered, fragmented objects swaying inside, was neither human nor ghost, emitting a faint red glow.
"Ugh!" Mo Gui couldn't help but gag, but luckily he hadn't eaten anything, so he couldn't vomit.
Suddenly, Nanmen Jue's eyes sharpened, and the white bone knife slid into her palm. Just as she was about to stand up, Ying Yao was a step ahead of her, and a military dagger appeared in his hand, accurately piercing the throat of a monster.
The monster let out a soft sigh, turned into a wisp of green smoke, and vanished.
Even monsters with purple-level strength were powerless against Ying Yao.
Nanmen Jue realized that the monster wasn't deliberately coming for them; it was just that the number of monsters gathered here had increased without them noticing. It had rubbed against the edge of the candlelight, still eyeing it menacingly, when Ying Yao killed it.
The others also stood up, Deng Erhuai's expression tense, "How come there are so many all of them suddenly?"
Nanmen Jue was the slowest to get up; she was still looking around, a thoughtful expression in her eyes.
Wei Chongru noticed this and asked, "Brother Nanmen, what are your thoughts?"
Nanmen Jue pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not sure right now... whether the person who was just killed was a reincarnator or a native?"
“He was a reincarnator,” Lu Yunxiao said. “I saw a red name above his head before he died.”
A red name means someone has actually killed someone.
"Am I seeing things...? Are those monsters coming towards us?" Mo Gui asked nervously.
Sure enough, several monsters squeezed past their own kind and humans, slowly walking towards them.
"Should we go somewhere else?" Wei Chongru said.
“This place is flat and open, with nothing to hide from except some trees and weeds. It’s the same no matter where you go.” Ying Yao stood in front of Nanmen Jue.
Wei Chongru cursed, "Is this judge deliberately trying to kill us? Creating so many bizarre things."
“That’s eerie. What do you expect eerie things to do for humanity? To fawn over and protect them?” Deng Erhuai said.
Nanmen Jue pondered for a moment, then took out more candles. "Light them all and let's try it."
Everyone understood her meaning and quickly lit all the candles, forming a circle around her, resembling the one Sun Wukong drew for Tang Sanzang before leaving. This small space suddenly became much brighter.
The approaching monsters retreated slowly, as if burned by something.
“It seems the candles are more useful than we thought,” Nanmenjue said. “How many do you have left?”
"I have about twenty candles left." Mo Gui took out all the candles he had on him.
“I’m about the same,” Wei Chongru said.
He and Wei Chongru joined Nanmen Jue as soon as they entered this world. They gave most of the candles they collected to Nanmen Jue, keeping only a few for emergencies.
“I have fifteen boxes,” Deng Erhuai said. “Why are you looking at me like that? They weren’t given to me by Sister Taila; I earned them myself.”
She turned to Nanmenjue and explained, "The United Government was running an event where you could get candles for clearing the Ghost Realm. We had five Ghost Realm missions anyway, so I just did it."
“I have ten boxes,” Lu Yunxiao said shyly, “for the same reason.”
Wei Chongru and Mo Gui: "...Wow."
Ying Yao didn't say anything, and Nanmen Jue didn't press him for details. She turned to look at the person being chased around by the monster, "I have five boxes here."
“This is enough for us for the next few days,” Deng Erhuai said. “The more difficult thing is the food. There doesn’t seem to be anything edible here. Fortunately, with our physical condition, we won’t die if we don’t eat for a few days.”
Nanmen Jue didn't speak, but kept looking at the people not far away. Some people saw what they were doing and realized that they couldn't be stingy with candles if they wanted to survive, so they lit more candles and the vision became much brighter.
However, many more people did not carry that many candles, especially the natives. They lacked the strength of reincarnators and the magical system space, and suffered heavy casualties in just a few hours.
There are two ways to save them.
One option is to distribute the candles among them. This might not save many people, but those who receive candles will have a higher chance of survival. The other option is for Nanmen Jue to stand up now and kill them all.
However, this problem has a fatal flaw: the crow is now missing. Although Nanmen Jue can still sense the connection between that world and her, it is uncertain whether the people she killed in this strange realm can still enter.
None of them are a foolproof solution.
Nanmen Jue unconsciously stroked the white bone knife in her hand. It was her own bone, and no matter what, only she herself could give her the strongest sense of security.
The gentle movement stirred up a breeze around them, and Ying Yao returned to her side, his gaze following hers.
“I have 160 boxes,” he said.
This astonishing number drew everyone's attention, and Mo Gui exclaimed, "Huh?"
"I snatched it from Zhang Jin." Ying Yao smiled slightly.
Nanmen Jue laughed, "By the way, I haven't had a chance to ask yet what happened after you went to the United Government? It seems Zhang Jin suffered a great loss at your hands."
"He was too confident and thought I had the side effect of being a clingy pest, so he was caught off guard and not only did I rescue him, but I also took some of his things." Ying Yao said, glancing lightly at Nanmen Jue.
Nanmen Jue seemed oblivious to his implied meaning, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "Well done."
The others also showed admiration. In the previous world, everyone could see that Ying Yao was very strong, but they didn't have a clear idea of exactly how strong he was. Now that they knew he was the most mysterious Jin Ming and could go toe-to-toe with Zhang Jin, they felt more confident.
Ying Yao wasn't trying to show off his achievements. He continued, "I'll keep five boxes for myself and distribute the rest. If we don't have enough, you have to protect me."
Nanmen Jue's smile faltered, and the others also cast surprised glances at him.
Ying Yao ignored everyone else and simply gazed quietly at Nanmen Jue, a gentle look in his eyes.
Nanmen Jue's smile widened, "After we get out, I'll make up for what you're missing."
Ying Yao smiled and said, "You'll never have to return anything you take from me."
Nanmen Jue gave him a deep look.
Now that things have come to this, it would be too pretentious to be polite with Ying Yao any longer. She wasn't surprised that he noticed her hesitation, but she didn't expect that he could use this method to alleviate her anxiety a little.
She still vaguely felt that neither this world nor this strange realm was inextricably linked to her, and that something was targeting her.
“You can’t go alone. Too many people will see you standing with me.” Nanmen Jue turned around and said that Mo Gui and Wei Chongru were also out of the question. Finally, he turned to Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao.
Before she could speak, Deng Erhuai said, "I understand. I'll keep five boxes and distribute the rest."
Lu Yunxiao said, "Me too. Leave it to me. I will give priority to the indigenous people."
After the two of them left, Nanmen Jue turned around and looked at the others with some unease. "When did I become... so easy to understand?"
All three of them laughed, and Ying Yao said, "Occasionally."
Just then, an angry voice rang out.
"Wow, so you're here! Do you know how hard I've been looking for you?"
Mo Gui said, "That familiar voice..."
Wei Chongru said, "The young lady has arrived; this is bad news."
Yu Wanyan was held by Zhang San's puppet and flashed into the circle of candles. Most of the monsters chasing her stopped, but a few stubborn ones stretched their hands into the candlelight, making crackling sounds.
Yu Wanyan got off the ground and directed Zhang San to clean up. She looked down at Nanmen Jue, who was sitting calmly, and said, "You..."
All four of them looked up at her. She hesitated for a while, but didn't say anything. She sat down angrily, her face turning red with suppressed rage.
Wei Chongru gave Mo Guifei a look: Has the young lady changed her personality? She didn't even throw a tantrum.
Mo Gui gave him a disdainful look: You don't know anything.
Wei Chongru is meticulous, but he is still a straight man at heart. On the contrary, Mo Gui immediately understood Yu Wanyan's little thoughts.
They had all seen Nanmen Jue's reaction when he was stabbed. Even if they didn't know Zhu Wenjun, anyone who wasn't blind could tell that Nanmen Jue cared about that girl. She must have felt terrible being stabbed by someone she cared about. Yu Wanyan held back her temper and didn't get angry at Nanmen Jue.
He was not without surprise; it turned out that someone as willful as Yu Wanyan could unconsciously become considerate when facing someone she liked.
Nanmen Jue tacitly approved Yu Wanyan's joining, and naturally, no one else said anything, so the atmosphere fell silent.
After a while, the sound of arguing came from the other side. It was quite far away, and Nanmen Jue could only vaguely hear some fragments.
"Even if...so what? You...serve you...for being ungrateful!"
It was Deng Erhuai's voice.
This woman isn't exactly gentle, but she's calm enough. What did the other party do to make her so angry?
Nanmen Jue wasn't sure if going over there would backfire, but seeing that they were already preparing to fight, she got up and walked over.
“You stay,” she said to Yu Wanyan, offering a reassuring reason: “With so many candles, if we all leave, someone will steal them.”
Yu Wanyan beckoned, and the puppet Zhang San stood in the center of the circle, as burly as a tower.
“With him here.” She looked at Nanmen Jue defiantly, as if to say, what reason do you have to leave me behind?
Nanmen Jue had nothing to say, so he had no choice but to take her with him.
Nanmen Jue concealed her name, but now almost everyone recognizes her face. Ying Yao, who stood next to her, gained the same level of fame. As for Yu Wanyan, her blood-red name was brazenly displayed above her head. The three of them passed by like a whirlwind, with everyone avoiding them and cutting down any monsters they encountered.
We could already see it before we even reached our destination.
With this kind of momentum, who would dare not see it?
The argument stopped, and one voice stood out: "Look! I told you these two were with Nanmen Jue. Nanmen Jue himself came here!"
Nanmen Jue stopped and quickly scanned the situation in front of him.
Deng Erhuai's face was full of anger, and Lu Yunxiao also looked displeased, while opposite them...
Wu Wenhua seemed surprised that Nanmen Jue would come in person. He looked nervous and his eyes were somewhat evasive. The trust he had shown when they first met was gone.
So they were assigned to this group? Nanmen Jue wasn't surprised. There were many indigenous people in this group, and Wu Wenhua was obviously protecting them.
The outspoken boy was also there. He glared at the person who had spoken earlier and said, "I said, no matter what deep-seated hatred you have with that Mr. Nanmen Jue, he not only had candles distributed to us, but he also helped us before. I don't think he wants to harm us! If you have such a problem, why don't you just stop using his candles? Why do you have to interfere with us?"
The man who had spoken earlier had small eyes and glanced at the boy sideways. “Those who don’t listen to the elders will suffer the consequences. Once he kills you, don’t say I didn’t warn you. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I don’t believe he has any kindness.”
“You bastard…” Deng Erhuai was furious.
She had already raised her hand, but encountered resistance. Nanmen Jue gently grabbed her wrist in her rage, making it impossible for her to move at all.
"South Gate, let me tear this guy's filthy mouth apart!" Deng Erhuai said.
Nanmen Jue patted her shoulder and gave Yu Wanyan a warning look.
Yu Wanyan pursed her lips and put away whatever she had taken out of her hand.
The argument attracted the attention of everyone around. Nanmen Jue looked at the group and then his gaze fell on the boy. "What's your name?"
"My name is Mingzhe," the boy said.
“Good name,” Nanmen Jue said. “Can you protect yourself? If not, come with me.”
Upon hearing this, all the reincarnators stared at her in astonishment.
Mingzhe raised an eyebrow in surprise. He turned to look at Wu Wenhua, who had his mouth agape, and shook his head. "Thank you, but I'll stay with my companions."
Nanmen Jue then looked at Wu Wenhua, "What do you say?"
"I...I..." Wu Wenhua stammered twice, then met Nanmen Jue's calm eyes and suddenly calmed down. He gave a wry smile, "We have a lot of people, so we are indeed short of candles."
He felt somewhat ashamed; just moments ago, his own people were cursing Nanmen Jue, and now he was begging them to share their life-saving supplies.
“This person spoke up for us before.” Deng Erhuai was still angry, but he kept his personal and professional matters separate. “It was that stinky monkey who kept babbling on and on.”
"You bitch, who are you calling a monkey?" the man said.
"Whoever answers, that's who we'll talk about," Deng Erhuai said coldly.
The man looked Deng Erhuai up and down, revealing a contemptuous smile. "A member of Iron Drill has actually fallen to this level. You think that just because you've latched onto Nanmen Jue, he'll give you any benefits? Foolish woman, who wouldn't want a ready-made whore? You're a disgrace to your Iron Drill."
Because there were indigenous people present, he couldn't say it too obviously, but the meaning was clear enough, and Deng Erhuai turned pale with anger.
Her clenched fists cracked, but she still didn't make a move, because Nanmen Jue had stopped her earlier.
Someone strode past her.
Nanmen Jue stepped through the crowd and, before anyone could react, grabbed the man by the neck.
The man was surprisingly short. Nanmen Jue tightened his grip, lifted him up, and wore a cold smile on his lips.
"You people from Entropy, were you sent by Zhang Jin to persuade everyone to unite against me?" she said. "Even Zhang Jin doesn't dare to yell at me, so who are you? Since he didn't teach his people properly, I'll teach them for him, and he should be grateful to me."
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The author says: The content has exceeded my expectations quite a bit, and I haven't even gotten to the big thing I want to do yet.
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