"Jing Fengliu is... trying to save me?" Yingshi felt a faint tingling in her scalp. "So that's why I saw that acrostic poem with Jing Fengliu's name? It wasn't an easter egg that was originally there, but a hint he wanted to convey to me?"
That was simply too terrifying!
This meant that every move she made after transmigrating into the book was likely retroactively altering the document on Jing Fengliu's computer!
Otherwise, how would this author have noticed her transmigration?
"...Could it be that everything happening to us right now is being displayed right under his nose?" Yingshi's voice trembled slightly.
If that were true, how was it any different from having a surveillance camera mounted on her head?
Just thinking about it was enough to make one's blood run cold!
Especially since she and Shuangjian had some intimate scenes! Was that something an outsider should be watching?
Shuangjian also frowned imperceptibly. "He might know certain elements, but he wouldn't know everything."
If Jing Fengliu knew everything, he wouldn't have thought that a "lie" was the sledgehammer capable of shattering their relationship.
As the author of the original book, the content he could see must only be a very small portion, but as for what exactly that portion was, he had no clue. However, Yingshi might know.
Therefore, Shuangjian asked, "Yingshi, after a book is 'locked,' what content can still be exposed?"
Yingshi froze for a moment, recalling the process of her "read and burn" experience, and explained, "Jing Fengliu locked the text chapter by chapter. The book title and synopsis are still there, but the specific chapters cannot be clicked into... However, in the author's backend, he should still be able to see the full locked text himself. Unless, after I transmigrated, even he couldn't unlock those locks anymore and could only stare at the constantly changing chapter titles... Could it be that Jing Fengliu's understanding of us comes entirely from the chapter titles?!"
Shuangjian's gaze grew even deeper. He asked straightforwardly, "Is there any pattern to how the titles are chosen?"
"Generally speaking, they summarize the main content of the chapter... Sometimes, newly introduced characters are used as titles, or perhaps some very gimmicky dialogue. In short, it's definitely meant to attract readers to click!" Yingshi held her dizzy head, trying hard to stay calm and analyze the situation. "Then maybe we can establish a communication channel with him, right? That way, we can work from the inside while he works from the outside, cooperating with each other..."
Halfway through her sentence, she realized that Shuangjian's mood wasn't the joy of "finding a way to communicate," but rather a tension akin to "facing a formidable enemy."
The idea of "leaving sooner" that he had expressed to her earlier probably didn't mean collaborating remotely with Jing Fengliu to accelerate the story's conclusion, but rather...
"Shuangjian, Jing Fengliu wants to trap you here and only save me... is that it?" Yingshi asked, her heart in her throat.
"..."
Seeing Shuangjian nod, she immediately broke out in a cold sweat. The excitement in her heart rapidly deteriorated into the fear of losing control.
Indeed, this was the mindset a novel author should have.
A character he created had "come to life" and was going to cross over into reality. Moreover, this character had previously fought agonizingly through several reincarnations just to break free from his words. Who knew if he would seek revenge once he crossed over?
If he didn't stop him, was he supposed to just wait for the character to jump in his face?
But this put him in complete opposition to her and Shuangjian's stance!
—So, does that mean they and Jing Fengliu are enemies?
Yingshi asked urgently, "So, that's why you want to kill the Nether Demon Lord as quickly as possible, to wrap up the plotline and not give Jing Fengliu time to react, right?"
"...Yes."
"But it will be very dangerous!"
Yingshi recalled the various heaven-defying descriptions of the Nether Demon Lord in the book, feeling as if her heart was about to leap out of her throat!
Although Shuangjian was stronger than she had imagined—having experienced three reincarnations, accumulated supreme cultivation methods and mental mantras, and already having the experience of destroying the Demon Lord twice...
However, if his spiritual power and demonic energy were insufficient, no matter how many powerful moves he knew, he wouldn't be able to execute them.
Shuangjian's current body should be in a state where only half of his seal was broken, and his demon core hadn't integrated at all. Even though after undergoing demonization, he had unlocked the cheat-like ability to command the Nether Ghost Fog just like in the middle-to-late stages of the original text, wanting to kill the Demon Lord was still a pipe dream!
In the original text, he was already so overpowered, yet the final battle was still fought with such difficulty... Not to mention now, when he hadn't even obtained many of his fortuitous encounters. How could he be a match for the final boss?
"I want to transit through the Demon Realm, head to the Nether Realm, and devour the Eight-Direction Demon Kings of the Scorched Earth of Burning Heavens," Shuangjian said quietly. "This is the fastest and safest way to absorb demonic energy."
"..."
Due to her nervousness, Yingshi could only hear the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. She had to ask Shuangjian to repeat himself, and after he did, she made him say it a second time...
Realizing Yingshi's panic, Shuangjian quickly tightened his embrace, gently stroking her hair to comfort her. "I will take it step by step—starting with Mi Ruotian."
His "near-death backlash" constitution was most advantageous when facing the Formless Demon King, who loved creating and possessing avatars.
And as long as he successfully devoured this Demon King, he would have the capital to fight against the other Demon Kings.
Shuangjian was always so clear-headed and calm. Yingshi had no idea what opinion she could even offer, because she simply couldn't think of a better solution than Shuangjian's to resolve their current predicament...
"What about me? Can I go with you?" she asked anxiously.
Shuangjian shook his head slightly. "Currently, there is no way for a cultivator to be immune to the corruption of demonic energy. You cannot descend upon the Scorched Earth of Burning Heavens."
"..."
"Yingshi, you will stay here. I will ask Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All to protect you well until I return from the Nether Realm... At the latest, it will not be later than January fourteenth."
The original plan was for him to quietly sneak into the Demon Realm while Yingshi was cultivating in the Demon Encounter Village, enter the Nether Realm from the Demon Realm, and then devour them in stages.
But now, having entered the Demon Realm together by a twist of fate, and having ended the concealment by another twist of fate, he could choose a more open, faster, and more concentrated method. He could complete those preparations all at once and ahead of time, allowing him to stay by Yingshi's side with more confidence.
The deadline was set for January fourteenth because January fifteenth was the time of the full blood moon in the Demon Realm. At that time, the ancient demon essence would descend upon the Blessing Tree—even if they still didn't know where the Blessing Tree was.
Shuangjian wanted to say a few more words to dispel Yingshi's confusion and fear, but she reached out and covered his mouth.
Yingshi murmured, "My biggest fear is that we figure out a plan here, only for Jing Fengliu to see the new chapter title change to something like 'The Confession,' 'The Truth,' or 'Devouring the Demon King,' leaking our progress!"
She looked solemnly into Shuangjian's eyes and said carefully, "As long as there is more emotionally intense content to overwrite the main subject... could we mislead him?"
Shuangjian's line of thought was indeed exactly that, but before he had the time to put on a show of breaking up with Yingshi, he saw her staring solemnly into the void. She suddenly trembled, then grabbed his hand and shouted tentatively, "Jing Fengliu is a pig!"
"..."
Shuangjian was slightly astonished.
Yingshi's idea of misdirection... was quite different from his.
In that moment of daze, Yingshi had already grabbed his collar, forcing him to lower his head as she stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed him.
For some reason, she was shedding tears again. The bitter and salty taste stained his face and flowed to his lips. His heart also ached unbearably, and he gently kissed the tears away with a hint of reverence. The next second, his body was pushed away by Yingshi—she wouldn't allow this moment of parting to become too inseparable, as that would only make her sadder and more anxious.
Ever since she transmigrated into this book, aside from the initial period of being locked up in confinement, she had never been separated from Shuangjian for a long time.
But now she had to be the one to push him away. She was afraid that if she waited any longer, she would hug Shuangjian's thigh and refuse to let him leave.
"Time is tight, you should go right now. Leave the task of misleading Jing Fengliu to me, I will get it done perfectly..." Yingshi said, wiping away her tears.
She would get it done perfectly—she already had an idea.
She didn't want to be the one waiting in silence. She, too, would put in the effort for her and Shuangjian's journey home!
Shuangjian turned around following Yingshi's push, but before taking his first step, he looked back at her.
This exchange of glances was just like that distant gaze in the Marrow Cleansing Spring domain a few months ago.
They believed in each other, and they believed in tomorrow.
"...Alright," Shuangjian replied.
...
Yingshi was left behind in Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's mouse hole.
Having returned from taking refuge, Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was heartachingly tidying up his collection of books, occasionally sighing at an ancient tome with curled and blackened edges—who wouldn't sigh after experiencing such an unexpected disaster as humans occupying a mouse's nest?
Meanwhile, Yingshi sat cross-legged on a low animal-skin couch, carefully placing the still-sleeping Xiangxiang beside her, while fiddling with a pile of weirdly colored paper cards in her hands.
"Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All," she spoke up out of the blue.
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's whiskers twitched, and he silently turned his head away.
In truth, he had long been interested in what Yingshi was doing. Hearing the swishing sounds of her cutting and shuffling the paper cards in her hands, he couldn't concentrate at all.
"...Why did you call for this old man?"
"Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All, since we're just idling anyway, why not learn something new?" Yingshi spread the cards out on the low couch. "I just made a game from my hometown. It's something that doesn't exist in this world..."
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All shuffled over dubiously, his eyes scanning the brightly colored paper cards. "Is this another one of your brain teasers?"
"Just tell me, are you interested or not?"
A bright gleam flashed in Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's beady mouse eyes, but he remained reservedly silent.
Yingshi continued, "Moreover, we can make trades while we play. After each round, the winner can ask the loser a question, and the loser must answer honestly. It's just like your usual price-for-an-answer rule. How about it?"
This proposal instantly hit the mark for Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All. Things of this world could no longer stimulate his thirst for knowledge, but now he finally felt a long-lost, unbearable itch of curiosity.
Even so, he deliberately feigned hesitation, dawdling for quite a while before sitting down opposite Yingshi.
Yingshi showed him the cards she had just drawn while explaining the basic rules of Uno—that's right, she was fiddling with Uno, the simple tabletop game that swept the globe.
Regarding the various introductions to colors, numbers, and action cards, Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All initially listened with furrowed brows, feeling that all these rules and restrictions were quite troublesome. The numbers, in particular, looked completely different from the numbers he knew.
But soon, when he tentatively played his first card and saw Yingshi forced to draw cards because of a +2, a faint look of excitement appeared on his mouse face.
"So that's how it is. You have to observe your opponent, calculate the card patterns, and use these functions at the right time to restrict others!" he realized, his eyes shining brightly, clearly analyzing the game as a new model of game theory.
When the first round ended, the mouse demon stroked his whiskers very proudly. "Although this old man is a beginner, I can grasp the concept by analogy. It's nothing more than this! Alright, now it's your turn to answer my question..."
"Wait," Yingshi interrupted him, her expression suddenly turning unusually serious as she added, "When playing this game, there is one more crucial rule that must be followed."
"What rule?"
Yingshi looked straight into his eyes and enunciated every word clearly, "No matter who it is, when they are down to their last card, they must immediately and loudly shout a specific declaration. Um... this is the essence of the game. It's not only to warn the opponent to be careful, but also to boost one's own morale."
"Shout what?" Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's curiosity was piqued.
Yingshi took a deep breath and shouted resoundingly, "Just shout, Jing Fengliu is a pig—!"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All was stunned and asked in bewilderment, "Jing Fengliu... is a pig? What does this mean? And who is Jing Fengliu? What... what does this have to do with the game? Does it really have to be so loud?"
He threw out a barrage of questions, clearly completely unable to understand this incredibly bizarre slogan.
"It must be loud!" Yingshi didn't change her expression and continued to spout nonsense. "These words hold a mysterious magical power in my hometown. They can break a deadlock and turn the tide. You didn't shout the slogan, so this time doesn't count as a win. Remember to shout it next time!"
"...Then why didn't you tell this old man beforehand?!"
"I forgot." Yingshi rolled her eyes playfully. "So, let's treat the last round as a tutorial. Now we can start the real battle! Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All, this game is only fun with more people. Do you have any other demon connections?"
Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All scoffed coldly, threw down a "Put on your salamander mask!" and went out to gather people.
Facts proved that Mr. Hundred-Thousand-Know-It-All's demon connections were quite extensive.
He went out alone, but when he returned, a whole line of people followed behind him.
There were soft and cute rabbit demons, cat demons, dog demons, and a pair of little boys with round ears on their heads—they smiled shyly at Yingshi as soon as they came in, saying they were the Mole Brothers.
In short, they were all demons with very human-friendly appearances.
The mouse hole quickly became lively.
The low couch wasn't big enough, so everyone sat on the floor in a circle, passing the colorful cards around in all sorts of weirdly shaped hands.
And whenever any demon was down to their last card, no matter who they were, they would stiffen their necks and use their peculiar voices to shout out the phrase: "Jing Fengliu is a pig—!"
...
In front of a dim computer screen.
A scruffy man with dark circles under his eyes and a terrified expression felt his hand tremble on the keyboard. Staring at the continuously changing new title content in the document, he stood up abruptly.
He got up so suddenly that his ergonomic chair bounced against the wall behind him, and the flying mouse accidentally knocked over the already empty coffee cup on the edge of the desk.
The commotion even startled the pet mini-pig sleeping soundly at the man's feet. It let out a couple of grunts, its little face the picture of pure bewilderment.
The man kept his eyes glued to the screen, not daring to look away for even a second. He crouched straight down and, with trembling hands, scooped the little pig up into his arms.
How could this be? The newly generated title for Chapter 68... how could it possibly be "Jing Fengliu is a Pig"?!
Swallowing hard, the man held the piglet and muttered in a daze, "Zhubao, do you think someone set us father and son up..."
