Bai Ci was a little worried.
She hadn't even been able to recognize Lin Wenyu from his voice at first, only realizing who it was after seeing his face.
She was pessimistic about whether Lin Wenyu would be able to recognize her from her voice.
Bai Ci had considered continuing to pretend to be an NPC.
But for one, her current identity was far too restricted. Having Jinghong constantly around like a surveillance camera made it extremely difficult to act independently and look for clues.
Therefore, cooperating with other players in the instance was inevitable.
And the fastest way to establish cooperation was to reveal her identity as a fellow player.
Lin Wenyu, whom she had previously gone through an instance with, was the best choice. They both knew each other's character well, eliminating the need for a trial period or testing the waters.
Secondly, she and Lin Wenyu had met before.
If she wanted to keep playing an NPC, unless he was a complete fool with face blindness, she would definitely be exposed.
Wait, it actually seemed possible that the other party wouldn't recognize her.
Bai Ci suddenly remembered an item she possessed that had a rather low presence but was always active by default.
Never-Ending Curtain Call.
It was the only passively active item in her possession.
Its effect was to generate different identity characteristics corresponding to different instances. These characteristics only affected players; when multiple identity characteristics were incompatible, players would subconsciously differentiate between the different identities.
Simply put, this was an item for running multiple alternate identities.
When one identity was compatible with another, players would perceive both identities as the same person.
When one identity was incompatible with another, players would differentiate between the two, perceiving them as two distinct people.
And this identity differentiation followed one principle: first impressions rule.
If Lin Wenyu didn't immediately recognize her voice, then due to the item's effect, he would only treat her as a regular instance NPC.
Even if he saw her face, which was identical to that of his former temporary teammate, he would subconsciously ignore this fact.
Unless she actively admitted that she was the player Bai Ci.
But the problem was, now was really not a convenient time to talk.
Jinghong was right beside her, and given Bai Ci's background, she couldn't show familiarity with a refugee she had never interacted with before.
To be safe, they could not recognize each other.
But she couldn't cut off all contact either.
So, Bai Ci turned to look at Jinghong and softly instructed, “Though we cannot take this young lady in, she is in a pitiful state and is thanking us so sincerely. We cannot let her earnest gratitude go to waste.”
“Take some silver pieces and give them to her.”
While Jinghong got out of the carriage to give the money, Bai Ci didn't forget to continue building her kind-hearted persona.
“Take this silver and find a safe place to settle down for now. Then, slowly look for some work you can do. You will get through this.”
If he really didn't recognize her, an easygoing, kind NPC would still be a good person to turn to for help.
Lin Wenyu held the silver pieces and kowtowed deeply.
Lowering his head, he wiped his tears with his sleeve, once again hiding most of his face.
“Thank you for your mercy and compassion, noble lady. This humble woman will remember your kindness and will never forget it.”
Just listening to his voice, one could indeed feel a mix of tearful gratitude, utter disappointment, but not daring to push further.
Lin Wenyu stepped aside, and the carriage started moving again, heading toward the Qingfeng Tea House.
A moment later, the Qingfeng Tea House came into view.
The tea house was built facing the street, a two-story wooden pavilion with upturned eaves. People bustled about downstairs, and the windows upstairs were half-open.
Even before they drew near, the bustling noise from inside the building could be heard, showing how lively business was today, just as Jinghong had said.
Jinghong helped Bai Ci slowly descend from the carriage and step inside the tea house.
The ground floor lobby was filled with tables and chairs, packed with patrons. Everyone looked up at the stage, their attention entirely focused on the storyteller, with no one paying any mind to the newcomers entering the door.
A waiter led Bai Ci to a quiet, empty spot by the window.
Bai Ci followed everyone's gaze and looked up.
On the high stage stood a young man.
He was fair-skinned and tall, with his most prominent feature being a head of slightly curly long hair. Dressed in a simple, plain-colored long robe, he held a folding fan, his posture relaxed and natural.
Before Bai Ci could observe him further, the gavel on the stage slapped down, and the storyteller began today's tale.
“Last time, we spoke of Pilgrim Sun wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace. One hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals could not corner him. Terrified, the Jade Emperor issued a decree to invite the Buddha from the Western Heaven to subdue the demon...”
?
Was this Journey to the West?
“Your servant has never heard a story with a monkey as the main character, let alone such an interesting one. Not only does this gentleman tell it well, but I heard he wrote this story himself.”
Jinghong sighed in admiration.
Confirmed.
Yet another player.
Bai Ci confirmed in her mind.
She had seen a post on the forum before where someone said they had plagiarized famous works after entering an instance and actually achieved great success.
Unfortunately, before that person could even enjoy the fruits of his plagiarism, the instance ended.
The poor Dream of the Red Chamber had once again, by a twist of fate, stopped updating after the eightieth chapter. She didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing for the people of that instance world.
She hadn't expected to actually run into a player pulling the same stunt here.
Well, earning a living to survive wasn't anything to be ashamed of.
She just didn't know if the person on stage was the player himself, or a storyteller hired by the player as a decoy to prevent other players from immediately pinpointing him.
Judging by the storyteller's appearance, Bai Ci leaned toward the former.
Modern people were just like that; if thrown into ancient times, their fair and delicate complexions stood out remarkably.
Since she had Lin Wenyu as a more reliable cooperative player, Bai Ci chose not to rashly approach this strange player. She simply listened quietly to a storytelling version of Journey to the West.
When the storyteller folded his fan and concluded the performance, today's storytelling officially ended, and the tea house patrons gradually dispersed.
Jinghong thoughtfully called the waiter over and ordered a few light, palatable tea pastries and side dishes.
Bai Ci ate a simple lunch before setting off from the Qingfeng Tea House to return to the Xu estate.
The afternoon passed no differently from yesterday, except today Bai Ci treated herself to a long afternoon nap to restore her mental state.
Now that her objective had been met, she needed to maintain her condition to handle any unexpected events that might occur at any moment.
After night fell, everything went as usual. The kitchen delivered the warm herbal medicine right on time.
Bai Ci had been taking it on time every day for the past few days.
Primarily, she couldn't refuse it, and since she had quietly tested it with Grow with Time to confirm it wasn't toxic, she obediently drank it.
Later on, Jinghong prepared warm bathwater and attended to Bai Ci's bathing and grooming.
Once she had changed into light nightwear, Jinghong took out the pre-prepared topical ointment and meticulously applied it to the skin all over her body that bore traces of old wounds.
The ointment was mild and cool, carrying a faint herbal fragrance, and felt extremely soothing as it was spread.
However, with this daily routine of oral medicine and topical ointment for several consecutive days, Bai Ci felt as though she was about to be thoroughly pickled in medicine.
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