Entering the tower
Number Two angrily pointed at Zhu Qinghe and said to the maintenance worker, "Why is the guardian of the treasure free to move around? Shouldn't she stay at the position?"
The maintenance worker said expressionlessly, "The rules don't say that the guard can't leave the position."
Indeed, when Aunt Tan announced the rules, she didn't say that the guardians couldn't move freely. However, after the last round, everyone basically assumed that the guardians had to stay in their positions, and only those with combat skills could move around freely.
The game is over, and Liang Youan and Mu Chengwen have released number six.
Number Six stood up, straightened her skirt and hair, and glared at them hatefully: "Despicable and shameless!"
Mu Chengwen put his arms around his shoulder and said, "If you can't beat us, just say you can't beat us. We didn't break any rules, so how are we being despicable or shameless?"
Number Two and Number Six fell silent.
Zhu Qinghe broke the unfriendly atmosphere: "It's lunchtime again, shall we grab something to eat together?"
"I don't want to be with you guys, hmph." Number Two and Number Six stormed off.
Bai Qiuru walked past her and tossed out a sentence: "Did you do this on purpose?"
Zhu Qinghe protested, "I genuinely invited them."
Was my tone insincere just now?
Liang Youan said earnestly, "Very sincere. You don't have to be so sincere next time. Hmm."
Mu Chengwen: "Hahahaha, their faces turned green."
Honestly, she was just asking casually and didn't mean to upset them.
During the meal, Zhu Qinghe could still sense a faint but palpable hostility emanating from the tables number two and six.
She sighed; their relationship was worse than before.
Liang Youan blinked: "I feel like we've forgotten something."
Mu Chengwen was shoveling rice into his mouth when he took a moment to look up, still with rice in his mouth, and asked, "What's up?"
Liang Youan said with distress, "I can't remember."
Mu Chengwen waved his hand: "Hey, if you can't remember, then don't think about it. Look how calm Qiu Ru and Qing He are, it must not be anything important."
"That's true." Liang Youan nodded and continued eating.
Number Ten, carrying a wooden tray, passed by them. There was an empty seat next to Zhu Qinghe, so he asked, "May I sit here?"
Zhu Qinghe smiled brightly: "Of course."
Number Ten looked around and asked, "Where's Number One? Isn't she coming to eat?"
The four of them paused, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Mu Chengwen: "...Oh my god."
Liang Youan: "...I knew it, I forgot something."
Bai Qiuru stood up and walked out, and Liang Youan and Mu Chengwen quickly followed.
Zhu Qinghe picked up the dessert plate on the table and used serving chopsticks to put a few more desserts into bowl number ten before leaving.
"This red bean filling is quite delicious, you should try it. We're going to pick up Number One now, excuse us."
Number Ten watched them walk away, shaking his head and chuckling.
The five-man group's position.
Chen Fuying had a cold face, while Liang Youan lowered his head in shame, clutching her sleeve and shaking it: "Sister Fuying, we were wrong, we won't do it again next time."
"Look, we came to pick you up, and we even brought you some delicious pastries."
Zhu Qinghe handed the pastries to her, still holding chopsticks in her right hand: "They're your favorite red bean paste."
Chen Fuying's brow twitched: "How did you know I like it?"
Zhu Qinghe touched her nose: "Would you believe me if I said I calculated it?"
Chen Fuying rolled her eyes. Fine, don't tell me then.
"Actually, it's that red bean pendant on your waist. I'm just guessing. By the way, that thing is pretty cheap. The person who gave it to you was really careless."
Chen Fuying subconsciously retorted: "No—"
As a result, Zhu Qinghe quickly grabbed a piece of pastry and stuffed it into her mouth, smiling brightly: "It's really delicious, you should try it."
Chen Fuying stared at her, then subconsciously took a bite. The soft, slightly sweet bean paste melted in her mouth, filling her oral cavity with a sweet and fragrant aroma.
It was indeed quite delicious.
"How about it?"
"Well... it'll do." Chen Fuying licked her lips.
“Don’t think that I will forgive you just because of this,” Chen Fuying said, subconsciously touching the red bean pendant at her waist and twirling it around her fingertips.
"Unless... unless you team up next time, you take me with you."
Chen Fuying was a little nervous, but on the surface she still said, "It is your honor to be on the same team as me. It is not that I want to be on the same team as you, but that I am giving you commoners an opportunity."
“Of course, we’re great teammates,” Zhu Qinghe said.
They were given another night to rest, and the chime bells were rung again early the next morning.
The second game was so tiring that Zhu Qinghe didn't even get to see Shen Wumei. She was dreaming about her sweetheart.
A handsome and sexy figure was faintly visible behind the gauze curtain. She walked closer step by step, and just as she was about to lift the curtain, she was hit on the head by a series of crisp "clangs".
In an instant, her mind cleared, and she abruptly opened her eyes.
"Oh my god—" she sighed, covering her forehead.
Someone knocked on the door. Bai Qiuru was already awake, and Liang Youan also sat up with a blank stare.
Mu Chengwen shouted from outside, "Get up! What are you all doing, dawdling like that?"
When it came time to line up, Mu Chengwen slapped Zhu Qinghe on the back: "Cheer up! Look at you, you look like a male ghost has drained your life force."
Zhu Qinghe thought to herself that it wasn't a male ghost, and she hadn't even seen his face or held his hand.
Waaaaah, this place is so scary! Why can't I finish my sweet dream?
Aunt Tan spoke in her usual businesslike tone: "The third game: Escape the seven-story tower."
"Where's the tower here?" Number Six asked.
Aunt Tan pointed behind them: "There."
Everyone turned around to look, and saw that where Aunt Tan was pointing, a tall black tower had sprung up out of nowhere, standing far away behind the mountains and forests south of Fangting Waterside Pavilion.
Everyone was shocked.
Mu Chengwen: "Wasn't it there yesterday? Are you doing magic tricks?"
Zhu Qinghe yawned lazily, feeling really sleepy.
Liang Youan was also quite frightened. This Prime Minister Shen really had such a huge power. He could build a tower out of thin air overnight without them noticing at all. What kind of god-like strength did he have?
She leaned closer and asked Zhu Qinghe, "Qinghe, how do you think Prime Minister Shen managed to do that?"
Zhu Qinghe scratched her chin: "Maybe he really can do magic tricks."
"Alright, the rules are simple this time too. As long as you can successfully reach the top of the tower and get the key, the first person to get the key and exit the tower is the winner."
"There can only be one winner this time, so the person you need to be most wary of is not your enemy, but your friend."
"There are mechanisms inside the tower, but don't worry, they won't harm your personal safety. However, the colored ink emitted will leave marks on your clothes."
"If a person has more than six ink spots on their body, they are declared dead. The dead person must remain in place and is not allowed to move again."
Some complained, "None of us know martial arts, how are we supposed to avoid the traps?"
Aunt Tan said, "Don't worry, this mechanism won't be triggered unintentionally."
"The key to triggering the mechanism lies with yourselves."
After leaving behind this meaningful remark, the thirteen women put on the white linen shirts that the maids had given them during the conversation, over their skirts to prevent their clothes from getting dirty.
Also, to better identify the marks of colored inks.
The tower gate closed behind her, and Zhu Qinghe looked around.
The heavy stone door blocked out the outside light, and the only source of light was the candle flames embedded in the stone wall.
The candle-shaped balls were made of glass on the outside and had flickering flames inside. They were embedded in the stone wall one after another, at close intervals.
The gray-black stone walls are carved with mountains, trees, day and night, and stars, primitive and rugged. The floor tiles are also whole gray stone slabs, and you can't even step on a single grain of sand or gravel.
"This project doesn't look newly completed." Number Ten touched the stone wall and looked at his palm; there wasn't even a speck of dust.
Yesterday, number 10 and number 6 were arguing, and none of the girls who were close to number 6 paid any attention to her or responded to her.
Zhu Qinghe, however, spoke up calmly: "I think so too."
Seeing the two annoying people together, Number Six said, "Oh, since you're so smart, why don't you explain to everyone what's going on?"
Number Ten ignored her sarcastic remarks: "The edges of these wall patterns are worn, so they couldn't have been built recently."
"The ground was also very smooth, not the kind of smoothness that comes from being cleaned, but the smoothness that comes from years of being stepped on and rubbed."
Liang Youan asked curiously, "If it was built a long time ago, why didn't we see a tower here before?"
Zhu Qinghe: "You'an, have you been climbing trees these past few days?"
Liang Youan found it utterly absurd: "Climbing a tree? Why would I climb a tree?"
"I haven't even gone near the woods to the south."
"That's right. You haven't even gone close to the woods, how do you know there isn't a tower behind it?"
"But this tower is so tall, how could a big tree possibly block it?"
"Do you remember what kind of trees grow in the woods to the south?"
“It’s a pine tree,” someone blurted out instinctively. It was Number Thirteen, who had been rather unnoticed until Number Six turned around and glared at her. She shrank back timidly.
“Number Thirteen is right, it is a pine tree.” Zhu Qinghe nodded, and some clever people had already figured out the key point, their faces showing sudden realization.
Only Liang Youan remained blankly in shock: "What happened to the pine tree?"
Mu Chengwen couldn't stand it anymore. "The shape of the pine tree tip and the top of the tower are very similar, so Prime Minister Shen must have tampered with the exposed top of the tower before, making it look like part of a pine tree."
"From a distance, we would just think it's a treetop and wouldn't think much of it."
So that's how it is. Prime Minister Shen was just playing a trick.
"So in essence, it really is just like Qinghe said before, they are performing magic tricks for us."
"But why is Prime Minister Shen going to such lengths? What does the age of the tower have to do with the game? Why hide it from us?"
Zhu Qinghe said, "Maybe it's to put psychological pressure on us. Never mind, let's go to the top of the tower to get the key first."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After two games, everyone, whether as her teammates or opponents, witnessed her strength and therefore trusted her words.
They have clearly made her the backbone of the team.
Moreover, this game does not require team play. After the previous game where number six made such a mess of things and lost a sure-win game so badly, everyone's opinion of her is somewhat complicated.
Even though we all know each other and have a good relationship, you can't just let your teammates down like this.
No one blames you for not being smart, but why are you giving such bad advice and making us feed kills?
Finally, I don't have to be in the same group as her this round, so I'll listen to the pro's advice.
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