“Let's go. We'll take the rest back and have a feast later.”
Since they had already bought them, they couldn't exactly return them, and he was too lazy to raise them anyway, so they might as well eat them all.
Feng Xingyun smiled and nodded.
“Alright.”
Zuo Lin'an walked ahead with a relaxed stride.
What he didn't know was that while Feng Xingyun's words made perfect sense, there was also a hint of personal selfishness behind them.
For the past thirty years, he had been an enemy of the entire world. If not for his desire for revenge, he would have likely been forced to leave the Great Xuan Dynasty to seek refuge in another country.
Over the years, even he had lost count of how many pursuits, assassinations, sneak attacks, and schemes he had endured.
To him, anyone from the Great Xuan Dynasty was, to some degree, his enemy!
Since he didn't have the chance to enter the fray himself now, he would make things difficult for these people in other ways. He wanted nothing more than for these players to die as miserably as possible.
Zuo Lin'an was currently using his phone to send messages to Xu Youyou.
He briefly repeated what Feng Xingyun had just said.
【Xu Youyou: I... I just released the pheasants and wild rabbits! Seriously, I'm still holding the last empty cage!】
Zuo Lin'an felt a bit helpless.
After all, he had only just found out himself.
【Zuo Lin'an: Isn't your speed a bit too fast?!】
After Xu Youyou confirmed from Xuan Jiu that martial artists could indeed survive longer, he immediately ordered him to go catch half of them back.
【Xu Youyou: It's fine, I have an underling. I'll have him catch them.】
【Zuo Lin'an: Yeah, come over to my place in a bit. We'll set up a barbecue outside and eat well, and then the dungeon will open right at twelve.】
Xu Youyou agreed without a second thought.
By the time Zuo Lin'an and Feng Xingyun returned to the vicinity of the house, Xu Youyou was already waiting outside the white mist, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Brother An, open up for me, quick!!”
Zuo Lin'an casually opened a gap in the outer ring of white mist and let him straight in.
“I'm here!”
He quickly walked up to Zuo Lin'an. Xuan Jiu, who was following behind him, was holding a stack of square cages filled with rabbits and pheasants in one hand—three of them piled high.
In his other hand, he carried a bag that seemed to contain various jars and bottles.
Zuo Lin'an took a look.
“Oh? How come you have more pheasants and rabbits than I do?”
Xu Youyou grinned. “I originally thought of buying more to try them myself, since I've never eaten wild pheasant or rabbit before. But now there's so much left over...”
Zuo Lin'an waved his hand. “It's fine. One of them is at the Xiantian Rank and the other is at the Houtian Rank, so they have huge appetites. Whatever we can't finish, we'll let them have.”
Xu Youyou agreed, “Right!”
Soon, a bonfire, a grill, and other equipment were set up in the yard.
Zuo Lin'an watched as Feng Xingyun and Xuan Jiu prepared the pheasants and rabbits with highly practiced movements, feeling somewhat surprised.
“Did you two use to barbecue often?”
He could understand Feng Xingyun's skill. After all, having lived a displaced life for thirty years, he would have had to cook for himself most of the time if he wanted hot food, so knowing how to roast meat was normal.
With decades of practice, he might even be a master at it.
But what about Xuan Jiu?
Xuan Jiu had already accepted his change in status by now. Although he was still loyal to the Emperor, as long as he didn't encounter the Emperor himself, Xu Youyou was his new master.
Furthermore, he knew that before leaving the 【Wuxia World】, he would have no opportunity to enter the dungeon as a "native." This meant he would never have the chance to see the Emperor again.
“Reporting to...”
The moment the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize something. He paused to think, then spoke again.
“Young Master Zuo, members of the Dark Dragon Guard ranked beyond Xuan Liu actually take turns going out on secret missions. We spend at least eight out of twelve months a year traveling.”
“Moreover, to hide our tracks and conceal our identities, we always take deserted routes. Most of the time, our meals and water are sorted out in the wild.”
Zuo Lin'an nodded to himself.
“It seems the treatment in the Dark Dragon Guard isn't as good as I imagined.”
Xu Youyou watched the two of them skillfully roast the meat.
“This barbecue smells really good. I bet even professional barbecue shops outside can't roast it this fragrant.”
The two of them then comfortably enjoyed a sumptuous barbecue feast.
Soon, the time reached 11:55 PM.
Zuo Lin'an was currently holding his two phones, standing outside the inner ring of white mist.
“Alright, you don't need to come in.”
Feng Xingyun stood not far behind him.
“Can I hear the sounds from inside from here?”
Zuo Lin'an thought about it.
Normally, although the white mist could isolate everything, as long as he, the dungeon master, willed it, he could naturally let others hear sounds and even vaguely see the images inside.
However, once the dungeon opened, the interior would become an independent, small space, where only certain communication devices would work.
“Most likely not.”
“Do you want to watch?”
Feng Xingyun said, “Perhaps I might see some old friends.”
Zuo Lin'an waved his phone. “I'll record a video and send it to you later.”
Feng Xingyun replied, “Alright, thank you, Young Master.”
Zuo Lin'an didn't say anything more. He turned and stepped into the white mist ahead.
Looking at the white mist before him, a trace of envy flashed in Feng Xingyun's heart.
However...
“One day, I will be able to enter as well.”
The moment Zuo Lin'an entered the white mist, he separated his living body and specter body.
He settled his living body on the highest mountaintop as usual, casually lighting a bonfire.
Of course, this time, he didn't light the bonfire under the tree where the specter item leaf hung. Instead, he chose a different spot—not very far, roughly ten meters away.
But doing so would prevent the players from immediately discovering that leaf specter item.
As for his specter body... it hid somewhere nearby, concealing its form and suppressing all of its aura.
He still planned to do what he did before: kill one player the very moment they appeared.
Eleven fifty-eight... eleven fifty-nine...
Twelve o'clock!
The instant the players appeared, Zuo Lin'an vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was directly behind the player on the outermost edge.
Without giving the player any time to react, he thrust a knife straight through the back of the person's neck.
This single stab, of course, also severed the person's spine.
The person instantly went limp, collapsing to the ground like a pile of mud.
Grabbing him, Zuo Lin'an rapidly distanced himself from the mountain.
With twenty players appearing at once this time, he couldn't afford to linger. If he were discovered, he might not be able to escape.
Players needed to repel the specter twice to clear the dungeon, and he didn't want to waste the first encounter here.
Once Zuo Lin'an was far from the mountain and had confirmed that no players were pursuing him, he finally began executing his Death Rule.
This player wasn't dead yet; in fact, his consciousness was still very clear.
For him, it was an agonizing and bizarre sensation. He knew perfectly well that his neck had been pierced by a knife and his bones had been severed.
He was fully aware that with such severe injuries, he should already be dead.
And yet, he was still conscious, still... alive!
Rate on N.U.
