Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 1029 Sit Down

The puddles on the bluestone slabs of the Jianghu, where the save file cannot be loaded, were crushed by the horses' hooves, and the splashing water hit the hem of Shen Yan's moon-white brocade robe, leaving dark marks. As he followed Ye Jingfeng through the rainy alley, his nails almost dug into his palms, leaving several crescent-shaped red marks. His wrists still felt the tingling sensation of the horsewhip, left when he tried to turn and escape just now. The game's "Fallen Immortal Line" strategy clearly stated that resisting at this time would only trigger Ye Jingfeng's hidden skill, "Throat-locking Whip." But he didn't expect the pain to be so real, like a red-hot iron wire digging into his flesh. "Where are the system prompts?" Shen Yan silently recited the common commands in the game, "Open backpack," "View map," "Quest list"... But all he could see was the continuous rain curtain and the constant splashing of water on the bluestone slabs. He even tried the "universal code" circulating among the anchors - blinking three times in a row to trigger the novice protection, but the result was only a cold glance from Ye Jingfeng, his almond-shaped eyes shining like a poisoned dagger in the rain and fog. When passing by the grocery store on the corner, Shen Yan's eyes drifted in uncontrollably. The tung oil lamp in the shop was lit with a dim light. The shopkeeper was looking down at an abacus. The crackling sound mixed with the sound of rain came out, so crisp that you could count the number of times the beads collided. The account book was spread out on the counter. Shen Yan glanced at the handwriting on it - "On the sixth day of March, the money for peach blossom wine is three hundred coins." The ink was rich, and you could even see the ink smudged where the pen tip stopped. This is not a texture in the game. He suddenly remembered the screenshots he had taken during the live broadcast. The account books of the grocery store were always blurred gray and black blocks, and even the face of the shopkeeper was a mosaic made of pixels. But now, the shopkeeper had a noticeable mole at the corner of his eye, and there were strips of cloth wrapped around his knuckles, as if he had just been hit by an abacus bead. "Have you seen enough?" Ye Jingfeng's voice came from the front, with undisguised sarcasm, "If Mr. Shen is reluctant to leave Yanyu Town, I don't mind helping you to stop thinking about it." A chill ran down Shen Yan's back. He quickened his pace to catch up, his eyes falling on the hem of Ye Jingfeng's black tights - there was a dark golden cloud pattern embroidered there, with fine stitches, faintly visible in the dim light. Ye Jingfeng's costume in the game had no patterns, so where did the variable come from? The rain gradually subsided, turning into fine raindrops, as if someone had scattered a handful of silver needles in the air. As he passed the stone archway at the town entrance, Shen Yan noticed that the three characters "Yanyu Town" on the archway were covered with moss. The stone lion on the right was missing an ear, revealing the bluish-gray stone core within. This detail was exactly the same as the one on the game loading screen, but he had never noticed before. The stone lion's eyeballs were made of black colored glaze, gleaming with a warm glow in the rain and fog. "Hold on tight." Ye Jingfeng jumped onto a black horse and handed him the reins condescendingly. The leather on the horse's back was cold from the rain and smelled faintly of horse sweat. As Shen Yan hesitated to grasp it, his fingertips touched the wear marks on the edge of the saddle. Those were the grooves caused by the long friction of the reins, so real that it made him panic. The black horse neighed and its four hooves soared into the air. Shen Yan felt a tightening around his waist. Ye Jingfeng used his whip to pull him off the ground and throw him heavily onto the horse's back. A fierce wind, mixed with rain, whipped at his face, scratching his cheeks. He instinctively grasped the front bridge of the saddle, his fingertips feeling a raised brand—a twisted peach blossom, identical to the demonic cult's symbol in the game, except for the burrs around the edge that pricked his palm. The mountain path grew steeper, the trees on either side gradually transforming into bizarre rock formations. Mist and clouds swirled around the mountainside like white silk. Shen Yan recognized this as the terrain of "Broken Cloud Peak," a map unlocked at level 50 in the game, renowned for its "fog arrays" and "rockfall traps." But now, those supposedly randomly generated traps had become real-life dangers. As they passed a cliff, Shen Yan saw the faint glimpse of several skeletons in the bottomless mist below, chained to the rocks. Fragments of clothing fluttered in the wind like faded flags. "That's..." he couldn't help but speak, his voice shattered by the wind. "A righteous spy trying to break through the formation." Ye Jingfeng's voice was calm, as if he was discussing the weather. "It was just put up last month, so it's still fresh." Shen Yan's stomach churned. The in-game guide for "Broken Cloud Peak" simply stated: "There are patrolling guards within the fog formation. Discovery will trigger a battle." But no one had told him that these "patrol guards" would hang the corpses of the defeated on the cliff for public display. He turned his head sharply and saw a rusty longsword stuck into a protruding rock. The word "Qingfeng" was engraved on the hilt—the standard weapon of the Qingfeng Sword Sect in the game. The Demon Cult's headquarters was hidden in the mist at the highest point of Broken Cloud Peak, looking from afar like a dormant giant beast. The black city walls meandered along the mountainside, and a black flag with a bloody skull embroidered on the battlements fluttered in the strong wind. As Shen Yan followed Ye Jingfeng through the city gate, he heard the clatter of swords being drawn from both sides. Dozens of black-clad cultists knelt on one knee, their movements in unison. The scimitars at their waists gleamed coldly in the mist. The scene was nearly identical to the "Demon Cult Headquarters" in the game, yet Shen Yan felt a chill run through his body. He could smell the scent of blood, mixed with a strange spice. He could see the cultists' eyes, visible from behind their masks. There was no hollowness like that of an NPC, only numbness and fanaticism. He could even hear his own heartbeat, reverberating with remarkable clarity in the empty city gate. As he was led into the hall, Shen Yan's gaze was instantly drawn to the figure seated high in the main seat. He was a man in a dark red robe, the hems embroidered with intricate golden patterns that shimmered in the dim light. He was fiddling with a white jade chess piece, his calloused fingertips scraping against the surface, making a subtle sound. Shen Yan's breathing suddenly stopped - there was a slanted crack on the chess piece, extending from the upper left corner to the center, like a hibernating snake. He remembered this flaw clearly. It was the "easter egg" he forcibly created with a modifier during the live broadcast last year. He was showing off in the live broadcast room at that time: "Look, even the chess piece of the leader of the Demon Cult has to listen to me." But now, the chess piece with traces of his "prank" was being held in the hands of the real "leader". "Mr. Shen is here." The leader raised his head. He was wearing a gilded mask on his face, covering the upper half of his face, revealing only his graceful jaw and thin lips. His voice was low and pleasant, like the strings of a guitar being gently plucked, but it carried an unquestionable pressure, "Sit down." Shen Yan sat down on the chair opposite him. The chair seat was made of cold jade, which made his tailbone numb. He noticed that the leader's nails were trimmed very neatly, but there was a bit of ink-black embedded in the gaps between his fingers -