Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Kong Fusheng saw her expression and refused to believe it: "Senior Meng, he is a traitor. According to my master, once he leaves Lin'an, ten thousand people will be buried without leaving a trace."
“So the evil child has been lurking among us all along. We should get rid of him.” He emphasized the last two words. Meng Yingying looked at him and said, “Fusheng.”
Kong Fusheng, his eyes filled with righteous indignation, confronted Meng Yingying. She felt a sense of estrangement; this was different from the Kong Fusheng she knew. Looking at him, a thought flashed through her mind: it was so strange that Kong Fusheng had become like this. This symptom was similar to Shang Mang's red eyes. She vaguely felt this sensation was peculiar, as if they were being controlled by something.
Shang Mang couldn't die yet. She needed to learn about her past life from him to know if she could escape this ghost world, and whether she even had a reason to live. After some thought, she decided to save Shang Mang; at least he couldn't die now.
Shang Mang stood behind her, arms crossed, silent, looking quite smug, which made Kong Fusheng very angry.
Meng Yingying looked at Zhou Xiuqi and found that he didn't react at all, just staring at her. Did Zhou Xiuqi already know? If Shang Mang was the final villain, why wasn't Zhou Xiuqi angry? Why didn't he rush up and angrily question her like Kong Fusheng? She thought hard, and suddenly a thought flashed through her mind.
This is a world where characters transmigrate into a book. Zhou Xiuqi, Kong Fusheng, Xiao Zheyu, and Shang Mang are all characters in the book, and regardless of their identities, they are always part of a predetermined story. Kong Fusheng and Shang Mang's illusions of being controlled are proof of this. But if someone deviates from the established rules, the entire story will become much stranger. The protagonist group will no longer be righteous and awe-inspiring, and the villains will no longer be evil. The story will become very strange. The protagonist is not the protagonist, and the villain is not the villain.
She suddenly understood; so that's how it is. They're like this because of the book's setting. The system controls them, making them protagonists and antagonists.
Excitement welled up in Meng Yingying's eyes; so that's how it is.
Seeing her talking to herself, Kong Fusheng couldn't help but ask, "Senior Meng, are you trying to stop me?"
“She’s not trying to stop you,” Zhou Xiuqi said, drawing Meng Yingying’s attention. Zhou Xiuqi walked over and looked at Shang Mang, then quickly looked away, seemingly indifferent.
Kong Fusheng was annoyed by their attitude: "Senior Zhou, he is a ghost child. My master said that once a Taoist discovers him, he should be made to disappear from the body immediately."
Zhou Xiuqi suddenly laughed; it was the first time Meng Yingying had ever seen him laugh so mockingly.
Zhou Xiuqi pointed at Shang Mang and said to Kong Fusheng, "Do you know where his origins lie?"
Kong Fusheng's blood boiled with anger, but Zhou Xiuqi suppressed his smile: "It's not that we don't want to kill him, it's that we can never kill him."
Shang Mang revealed his pale teeth, his eyes elongated like a cunning fox: "As expected, a Taoist is a Taoist. You haven't changed at all in all this time. Besides shouting slogans like 'Kill the ghost fetus! Kill the ghost fetus!' you can't do anything. And you've been pretending to be so self-righteous." He found it utterly ridiculous and sneered: "Little Taoist, quickly find my source and make my soul scatter."
Kong Fusheng: "You, you, you! You're incredibly audacious!"
Shang Mang wore his disdain on his face. Seeing Kong Fusheng's angry face turn pale, Meng Yingying nudged Shang Mang's stomach with her elbow. Shang Mang leaned against her and asked unhappily, "What, do you feel sorry for him?" Kong Fusheng was still just a fifteen-year-old child. After experiencing such a rogue, ghosts were most adept at stirring up people's hearts.
Meng Yingying frowned and retorted, returning his words verbatim: "You're just being presumptuous."
Kong Fusheng stared wide-eyed: "Sooner or later, I will find your source."
Shang Mang leaned on Meng Yingying's shoulder, looked up, and said, "I'll be waiting."
Kong Fusheng: "Stay away from Senior Meng!"
Shang Mang seemed addicted to provoking people. He wrapped his arm around her waist, completely enveloping Meng Yingying. He hung on her back, giving Kong Fusheng a fake smile. Kong Fusheng was so angry that his legs wobbled. Zhou Xiuqi reached out to steady him. "Let's put this aside for now. We need to think about how to get out of here."
When Zhou Xiuqi brought up the important matter, Meng Yingying and the others calmed down and turned to him. After all, given their current situation, it was more meaningful to discuss how to get out first.
Meng Yingying observed Zhou Xiuqi. Now the system was working its magic, getting the protagonist back on track with the plot. Zhou Xiuqi spoke at a very opportune moment, and Meng Yingying wasn't unaware of it. She stroked her chin and said, "Senior brother, Shouchang Star is the source of the Dead Man's Cry."
Zhou Xiuqi's expression remained stable, as always, without a trace of a smile, as if his earlier mockery was merely a figment of Meng Yingying's imagination. They often made decisions contrary to the system's settings—could this be an awakening? Meng Yingying was quite well-read in real life; otherwise, she wouldn't have transmigrated into this book. Regarding novels, she usually only read sweet romances. She was accidentally introduced to "Moonrise Over Tianshan" by a middle school classmate. Meng Yingying's memory of the original plot had been erased, but she remembered that the book had over two hundred chapters, and the plot seemed quite melodramatic. In any case, it infuriated her.
Therefore, it's quite normal for the characters to awaken, especially Zhou Xiuqi, the male lead. He shoulders the great responsibility of the world, but now he suddenly doesn't want to do it anymore. It's not entirely impossible that he'd abandon his post and become a villain. Thinking this way, Meng Yingying's thoughts became much clearer; this was merely her guess. Based on her sixth sense, it was probably pretty accurate.
Zhou Xiuqi pondered for a moment, then spoke: "Now, no matter who the source is, we can't get out. The people here will skin us alive and leave us under the apricot trees as nourishment." He walked towards the door, and as soon as his hand touched the door, a crackling sound of burning filled the air. He withdrew his hand. His hand was already charred black.
“He won’t even accept our magical artifacts, he must be very confident…” Zhou Xiuqi rubbed his palms together, then turned around. “It seems we can only wait.” Meng Yingying asked curiously, “Wait for what?”
Zhou Xiuqi took out a medicine bottle and sprinkled some into his palm, saying, "Before coming in, even though I crushed the life tablet, my master might not be able to see it. Now we can only gamble."
Meng Yingying took out the life token from her waist and crushed it without hesitation: "The more you bet, the better your chances of winning." The life token turned to dust in her hand, and Meng Yingying clapped her hands to scatter the ashes.
"We've come back empty-handed. We didn't find the coffin, and we're stuck here," Kong Fusheng lamented. "Senior Zhou, I thought you were confident."
Zhou Xiuqi's face was cold and stern, and his gaze never changed: "We will not die, you can rest assured about that."
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