novellk Chapter 80: The Toughest Challenge
Chapter 80: The Toughest Challenge
"Another one died. Looks like ignoring it won't work."
Li Qingchen rubbed his throbbing temples.
The scarlet words "You are dead" were still flashing on the screen, stinging his eyes.
He began to review the two failed experiences.
First of all, parents are obviously unreliable.
Of the family of four, only Lin Wan could still seek help.
"But the first two times, either I delivered the letter and it triggered my death, or I didn't deliver the letter but my parents caught me, and in the end, I was caught by the crying groom when I tried to run away... What did I do wrong?"
He took a deep breath, suppressed his frustration, and clicked "revive" again.
You forcefully suppressed the turmoil churning within you, your fingertips turning white from the effort, and nearly tripped over the edge of the bed as you hurriedly got out.
You stumbled open the door and hurried towards your sister Lin Wan's room, your shoes clicking softly on the flagstones, the sound particularly clear in the quiet courtyard.
"Sister, open the door quickly!"
You hissed in a low voice, your tone filled with impatience, your palms already soaked with cold sweat.
The drums and gongs outside the courtyard wall grew louder and louder, so loud they almost blew the roof off; the eerie rhythm pounded on your heart like a heavy hammer.
Your heart tightened; you knew clearly that time was running out and you had to contact your sister immediately.
"Sister, open the door!" You knocked on the door again, your knuckles aching from the force, but the room remained silent. Lin Wan didn't respond at all, as if she hadn't heard your calls.
In your desperation, you increased the force of your knocking, banging on the door while simultaneously kicking it with your foot.
The resounding banging, mixed with the drumming and gonging outside, was particularly jarring. After a brief standoff, the door was finally pulled open from the inside.
Lin Wan rubbed her sleepy eyes, her hair sticking messily to her cheeks, her eyes filled with impatience at being woken up, her tone still heavy with drowsiness:
"What's all the noise about so early in the morning? What do you want?"
You clutched the hem of your clothes, your voice trembling slightly with nervousness, and said urgently, "Sister, someone's getting married outside!... The groom has a sour face, and the bride has a smiling face..."
[Without a second thought, you hurriedly pulled the dark red letter from your pocket and handed it to Lin Wan.]
Lin Wan's gaze fell on the letter, her pupils suddenly contracted, and the drowsiness on her face vanished instantly, replaced by disbelief. Her lips moved, but she managed to squeeze out only one word: "You..."
[The words had barely left his mouth when a sudden, suffocating feeling washed over him.]
It felt like an invisible hand was gripping your throat tightly, making it difficult to breathe. A huge rock seemed to be pressing on your chest, leaving you with no strength to struggle.
[Consciousness gradually faded, everything before my eyes began to spin, and finally I was plunged into darkness.]
You are dead!
"It seems this letter cannot be shown to others, otherwise it will trigger the death mechanism."
Li Qingchen used up his resurrection attempts once more.
This time, he repeated all his previous actions, the only difference being that he absolutely could not show that strange letter to Lin Wan.
[You have described the scene you witnessed in detail.]
The older sister's eyes widened, and panic flashed across her face: "I really didn't hear anything..."
You discover that your parents have appeared behind you without you noticing.
Parents: "What are you doing here so suspiciously?"
You: "There are ghosts outside! They're coming to kill me!"
Your father frowned: "Don't talk nonsense. Where would a ghost come from in broad daylight?"
You shook off your parents, hurriedly left your yard, and ran away.
You find your ankle being grabbed by a hairy hand.
You tripped over.
You turn your head and see the crying groom; he's actually caught up with you.
You shed tears of blood; you are dead!
"Still can't do it?"
My parents are unreliable, and my sister is powerless to help.
There's no escaping it.
Is this truly a dead end?!
…………
…………
Another part of the secret realm.
The yellow sand still flies everywhere.
The scorching sun beat down relentlessly, making the world scorching hot, and even the air seemed to be distorted by the heat.
Wang Xi scrambled and fled for a long time.
He could run no more, and then he leaned against a low sand dune, panting heavily.
The sand and urine soaked through, sticking stickily to my body and emitting an unpleasant odor.
He looked back in the direction where the Ghost General had disappeared, still filled with lingering fear, his legs still trembling slightly uncontrollably.
The scene from just now replayed repeatedly in his mind like a nightmare—
The lion king, badly wounded, fled.
The cold and eerie Ghost General.
The gruesome sight of someone having their limbs severed.
Every scene left him with lingering fear.
He believed that his survival was purely by luck.
If the Ghost General hadn't only had eyes for the Lion King and completely disregarded him, he would have already become a dead man under the blade.
"Huff... huff..."
It took Wang Xi a while to calm down his rapid breathing.
He didn't know if Wang Dana and the other three were still alive, nor did he know where Young Master Li Qingchen was at this moment.
"No, we can't just sit here and wait to die."
Wang Xi gritted his teeth and forced his exhausted body to move.
I don't know how long it took.
As the blazing sun gradually slanted westward, the temperature of the yellow sand also dropped slightly.
Just when Wang Xi was about to give up.
He suddenly heard a faint voice coming from ahead, mixed with a few coughs, which sounded like human voices.
Wang Xi was overjoyed and instantly perked up.
He carefully circled the tall sand dunes and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
Not far away, in a sheltered spot, sat four people—Wang Dana, whom he had been searching for, and three other martial artists!
I saw a living person.
Wang Xi could no longer contain himself. He shouted excitedly and scrambled towards the shelter.
Upon hearing the sound, Wang Dana and the others immediately became alert, gripping their weapons tightly and looking in the direction from which the sound came.
When they saw that it was Wang Xi running towards them, their faces showed surprise, which was then replaced by joy.
"Senior brother? What brings you here? You're still alive!"
Wang Dana stood up and went to greet Wang Xi, a gratified smile on his face.
"We thought you had already..."
When fellow disciples meet, their eyes well up with tears.
Several people gathered together, each recounting what they had seen and heard.
When Wang Xi heard that the ghost had actually slaughtered the entire pride of lions, he was utterly shocked.
The record is both expected and unexpected.
"I don't know what it is either."
Wang Xi shook his head, a hint of doubt in his voice.
"However, according to what you said, it should not have any ill intentions towards us. Before, at the entrance of the cave, after it slaughtered the lion pride, it did not harm you. This time when it encountered me, it did not attack, but only focused on hunting down the lion king."
"But...why?"
"Could it be because of Master Li?" someone asked.
"Impossible! Master Li is a righteous person, how could he know such evil arts..."
"By the way, have any of you met Master Li?"
Wang Xi looked up: "I was keeping an eye out on my way here, but I didn't find anything."
"Also, there's one more thing you need to know."
Wang Xi's tone became more serious, and his eyes were filled with solemnity.
"Although the lion king was severely injured and had its limbs severed by the Ghost General, if it is the core demon of this secret realm, then when it dies, this secret realm will automatically disappear, and we can take the opportunity to leave this place."
"But the fact that the secret realm still exists means that the lion king is still alive!"
Wang Xi emphasized his words.
"We must find it and strike while it's still weak! Once we kill it, the secret realm will disappear, and we can leave this place. If Master Li is still alive, he can also leave this hellish place directly!"
Wang Xi was the most accomplished among them and held considerable prestige; his words carried great weight.
Wang Dana and the others nodded, their faces showing determination. Their previous fatigue and fear were instantly replaced by fighting spirit.
"Alright! Senior brother is right! Let's go find the Lion King now, kill it, and leave this place!"
…………
As the sun sets, its golden rays bathe the boundless desert, turning the yellow sand into a dazzling golden-red hue.
Li Qingchen sat atop a towering sand dune, his eyes slightly closed, like an old monk in deep meditation.
It appears stable on the surface, but is actually in a state of panic.
This silly groom and silly bride are extremely difficult to deal with.
His current character in the game is Lin Mo, and he can't even summon the Ghost General to fight him head-on.
A rustling sound came from afar.
It was the lion king who was seriously injured and whose limbs had been cut off by the Ghost General.
The lion king's four legs were neatly severed, and the blood at the wounds had gradually congealed, forming dark red scabs.
Its body hung limply, barely clinging to life, whimpering weakly, its eyes filled with despair and fear, devoid of any semblance of the lion king's majesty.
"Human...human, please...please spare me."
The Lion King's voice was weak and hoarse, filled with a deep plea.
"I...I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have led the lion pride to harm the humans in the secret realm. Please forgive me this time. I will never dare to do it again. I will leave here immediately and never set foot here again."
It pleaded and twisted its body, trying to kowtow to Li Qingchen and beg for mercy.
However, it was pinned down by the Overlord Blade and could not move at all. It could only futilely twist its body, looking extremely comical.
Li Qing seemed not to hear its pleas, and remained sitting there quietly without saying a word.
Seeing that Li Qingchen had no reaction, the Lion King's despair grew even stronger.
It knew that simply begging for mercy might not move the young man before it.
Thinking this, the Lion King mustered the last of his strength, raised his head, and a barely perceptible ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. His voice, though still weak, carried a hint of threat:
"Human...human, I...I advise you to spare me. Do you know who I am? I...I am a trusted lieutenant under the Lion King..."
"Did your teeth heal so quickly?"
Li Qingchen said calmly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a thought struck him, and the Ghost General appeared instantly in the distance, flashing to the Lion King's side.
Before the lion king could react, he threw a punch, which landed heavily on the lion king's face.
A crisp "snap" sounded.
The lion king's newly grown teeth were knocked out again, and blood instantly flowed from the corners of its mouth, staining its cheeks red.
The lion king let out a mournful roar, the ferocity in his eyes instantly replaced by fear. He no longer dared to pose any threat and could only lie there, whimpering in pain.
"You beat the little ones, and now the old ones come; your creativity really can't compare to this game."
Li Qingchen chuckled, his tone tinged with disdain.
Having said that, Li Qingchen ignored the lion king's desperate howling.
Switching back to Lin Mo's perspective, we returned to that eerie little courtyard, where the piercing sound of gongs and drums rang in his ears once more...
You hear the sound of gongs and drums rising outside, the eerie rhythm growing ever closer, as if the ghostly couple had already arrived outside the courtyard wall, ready to break through and take your life at any moment.
Your heart is beating faster and faster, and the feeling of suffocation in your chest is becoming more and more intense.
You know you must come up with a solution quickly, otherwise, you'll only repeat the same mistake and die again.
What are you going to do?
Li Qingchen calmed down and repeatedly recalled the details of his three deaths in his mind.
"Were there any other characters in the three storylines? Or were there any details that I missed?"
You hurriedly knocked on Lin Wan's door.
Lin Wan looked at you sleepily: "What is it?"
You: "Help me lure our parents out; I need to go to their room."
Lin Wan stared at you without saying a word, finally nodding silently. You could sense that Lin Wan was on your side.
After a while, your parents were indeed lured away by Lin Wan.
[While you were inside, you found the secret compartment, opened the basement door, and escaped inside.]
"I think I'll be safe hiding here, right?" you think to yourself.
However, eerie footsteps echoed in the darkness.
You were taken aback.
You see a crying groom and a smiling bride, who seem furious about your actions.
You rushed to the unlocked room.
[As you approach the table, the spider beside the box suddenly grows to a very large size. The ghost bride and groom, who have entered, are equally startled, and the spider begins to fight with them.]
The ghost bride and groom were no match for the giant spider; they were dissolved by its silk!
You've come to the conclusion that a giant spider can be used to deal with the ghost bride and groom.
But how will you live on your own?
The next moment, the spider turned its spear on you!
You too have been dissolved by spider silk!
You are dead!
"This won't work either?"
"What else have I overlooked?"
After much deliberation, Li Qingchen finally thought of someone he had initially overlooked.
You reread your sister's letter.
That night, I suddenly saw a strange man wearing a Zhong Kui mask in the courtyard. He was dressed in a long black robe, tall and imposing, and was dancing in the courtyard.
"Who is he? Why is he dancing in my yard? Is he here to harm me?"
"That's right, whether we can pass this test must be related to the person wearing the Zhong Kui mask!"