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Bonus chapter! Thank you to Samie for the donation! ^^
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After quickly completing all this, Ruan Qing picked up a small knife, cut his palm, letting the blood drip onto the floor.
The moment the blood dropped on the floor, it splattered, but the next second, it began to slowly merge into the floor.
Exactly like Qiao Nuo’s blood from before.
And the wound on his palm quickly healed.
Indeed, this Qi Muran also had problems.
Ruan Qing vaguely had this conjecture when he saw a hint of red flashed in Qi Muran’s eyes.
Qi Muran’s surname, Qi, was obviously not coincidental; he must also be a remnant of the pen spirit.
The current form of the pen spirit was the part of the corpse hidden in the piano, and Shen Yu’an and Qiao Nuo were likely the two parts of the corpse buried in the little grove by Half Moon Lake.
The corpse next to the toilet, without surprise, was probably the small black cat.
And Qi Muran was highly likely to be the heart of the pen spirit that disappeared, just not knowing how he became a player.
This instance never gave players a second option to clear the instance from the beginning.
Because if Qi Muran didn’t enter this instance, no one would ever know that a player could be the heart of the pen spirit.
And because Qi Muran was an experienced player, even if he entered the instance, players wouldn’t suspect that the pen spirit’s name was Qi Muran.
However, if Qi Muran didn’t enter the instance, the difficulty probably wouldn’t be particularly high, making it more friendly to players.
It seemed that the pen spirit knew where ‘his’ bones were buried, but ‘he’ didn’t show any intention of merging with other bones, perhaps just to find his own heart.
As long as the heart didn’t return, the difficulty of the instance would only stay at the level where the pen spirit’s strength was only a quarter.
Once the heart returned, it’s difficult to predict the pen spirit’s strength, but in any case, it definitely wouldn’t be a quarter anymore.
The difficulty would instead become even greater.
Submitting the name ‘Qi Muran’ as an answer might not be entirely accurate.
If Qi Muran had issues, then that Qi Yunshen also had significant problems.
The illusion was the pen spirit’s home ground; even if ‘he’ lost memory, ‘he’ still arranged it in the most favorable conditions for ‘himself.’
Just like that inexplicable counselor, and him sharing a dorm room with the pen spirit, everything seemed too coincidental.
It looked like it had been carefully designed.
Yet, the pen spirit himself was restricted in his own illusion, and his younger brother always came to disturb him.
This obviously couldn’t have been something he thought of himself.
Being able to restrict the pen spirit within the pen spirit’s illusion, Qi Yunshen was definitely more than just the pen spirit’s brother.
Moreover, Qi Yunshen’s reactions and preferences were too similar to the pen spirit.
Similar to the point of being one person.
In this instance, while Qi Yunshen’s presence wasn’t very high, his figure and traces were everywhere.
He made the fishing posts on the forum. The one who proposed playing the summoning game was him, and he also appeared in the illusion.
He even had some kind of cooperation with Shen Yu’an.
If his guess was correct, Qi Yunshen was very likely also a part of ‘him.’
Or he was ‘him.’
Not the current pen spirit.
The second clearance method never said it was about finding the pen spirit’s name, but finding ‘him.’
This ‘him’ didn’t necessarily mean just the pen spirit.
But all of this was just Ruan Qing’s speculation, and a little bit of evidence was still needed to confirm it.
To confirm that both Qi Yunshen and Qi Muran were parts of ‘him.’
Ruan Qing checked the time, and two minutes had already passed.
Ruan Qing pursed his lips, remained silent for a few seconds, and eventually walked towards the direction where the pen spirit and Qiao Nuo were. The silhouette inexplicably revealed a sense of sadness and determination.
In reality, even if Ruan Qing couldn’t win, he could return to his own body without significant loss.
Before leaving, he could also awaken Qi Muran, allowing Qi Muran to take control of his own body. This way, the pen spirit wouldn’t have much opportunity to possess Qi Muran.
The situation wouldn’t worsen.
But walking towards one’s own greatest fear, no one could remain calm.
Not even Ruan Qing could.
But if he didn’t go, Qiao Nuo would undoubtedly die.
Moreover, Qiao Nuo’s death could potentially increase the pen spirit’s power, making the situation even worse.
Perhaps due to resistance in his heart, Ruan Qing didn’t walk very quickly.
He even took out the book from earlier while walking and began to flip through it slowly, wanting to see what this book was all about.
After all, this book seemed like a prop, but didn’t quite feel like one.
If it was just a prop, he wouldn’t have sensed it.
And he felt strangely familiar with it, which was quite odd.
The system observed Ruan Qing, who was perusing the book, and opened his mouth, appearing as if he wanted to say something. However, in the end, he didn’t utter a word.
Initially, Ruan Qing casually flipped through the pages, but he became more and more serious as he continued.
So engrossed that he didn’t notice ‘something’ appearing in front of him.
That ‘something’ drifted out and made a faint sound.
Ruan Qing, too captivated, didn’t lift his head upon hearing the sound. Subconsciously, he closed the book with one hand, took off his hat with the other, nodded slightly, and placed the hat on his chest.
A nonchalant yet elegant hat tip.
Then, Ruan Qing put the hat back on, opened the book, and continued walking and reading.
The entire action was smooth, without any pause or hesitation, displaying extreme calmness.
Even in the corridor, even in simple clothing, he exuded an elegant and noble feeling.
Even in an ordinary world, his composed and graceful movements held people’s attention, let alone in a supernatural instance. It was truly captivating.
This scene, though unnoticed by others, did not escape the audience in the livestream room, and the barrage exploded.
[Wow!!! So handsome! Incredibly handsome! Handsome to the point where I can’t close my legs! Sorry, God Mu, I suddenly feel that it’s not a bad thing if you get possessed!]
[I know you’re supposed to tip your hat when you greet someone; it’s polite, but damn, his movements are really handsome. And that’s a fierce ghost! The style is off the charts. Clearly, he has the same appearance as God Mu, but suddenly I feel God Mu is much more handsome now. God Mu, I apologize to you.]
[My bad. I thought our beautiful classmate was just a stunning vase, but I didn’t expect him to be this handsome with just a move. Now he’s so handsome that my, uh, heart is racing.]
In reality, Ruan Qing wasn’t as composed as the livestream audience thought. He was so engrossed that he didn’t even notice there was something ‘else’ nearby.
It was only after he walked past that he reacted, freezing in place.
Just now... was that a ghost?
A chill ran down Ruan Qing’s spine, his face turning pale, and his entire brain screaming to run.
He, now in Qi Muran’s body, could sense its condition.
If he ran now, the ghost wouldn’t catch up.
But Ruan Qing forced himself to stop.
The biggest boss in this instance was the pen spirit, and if he couldn’t face these ordinary ghosts rationally, how could he face the pen spirit?
Then rather than going there to save Qiao Nuo, it would be like delivering the pen spirit’s heart.
