“Why don’t I put it this way, Sister Qiao Yun…” Han Yimo swallowed hard and continued, “No matter what happens with Lao Zhao, I will definitely stand on your side.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Wen Qiaoyun was completely amused by Han Yimo’s words. “Is this… declaring your loyalty?”
“Of course… Sister Qiaoyun…” Han Yimo said earnestly, “You probably don’t realize how awkward my current situation really is!”
Wen Qiaoyun found it amusing, replying, “How exactly is it ‘awkward’?”
“Well… Sister Qiaoyun, you seem quite educated—you must have read a lot of novels, right?” Han Yimo asked.
“I…” Wen Qiaoyun was clearly caught off guard by this logic. “First of all, I don’t have that high of an education, and second, I don’t think being cultured and reading novels are necessarily related. There are professors who love novels and scientists who don’t.”
“Oh come on, you know what I mean!” Han Yimo said. “I’ve encountered a rather problematic mentor—actually, I’m talking about Qi Xia. At first, Qi Xia was my ‘savior,’ but I’ve come to realize he hasn’t been fully focused on me. He has his own ideals and ambitions… His ambitions are just too big. He’s the typical antagonist type—you know what I mean, right?”
Wen Qiaoyun remained silent.
“If this kind of antagonist is given the chance to grow, he could easily become a demonic force wreaking havoc on the world. As the protagonist, I must find a way to stop this from happening.” Han Yimo said, almost gesturing wildly, “But right now, my abilities are limited. The only thing I can do is infiltrate Qi Xia’s group and try to undermine him from within… You see, if you’ve read enough novels, you’ll understand why my approach makes sense… Do you get it?”
Wen Qiaoyun stayed quiet.
“Sister Qiaoyun, I don’t blame you for not understanding,” Han Yimo continued, “You just need to know that the situation is extremely urgent. If I can’t take your ‘character’ with me when I leave here, I’ll lose Qi Xia’s trust, and it’ll be even harder to dismantle their group from within. So, losing to me now isn’t just for my sake—it’s for everyone’s, including yours! If you give me your ‘character’ now, the entire population of the ‘Endland’ will be grateful to you!”
As Han Yimo spoke passionately, a few droplets of spit nearly flew onto Wen Qiaoyun’s face.
After Han Yimo finished speaking, Wen Qiaoyun looked away, gently scratched her head with her fingernail, and made a barely audible throat-clearing sound.
Absurd.
Had today really been this absurd?
First Chen Junnan, then Han Yimo.
Was there no one normal left in this place known as the “Endland”?
Or perhaps only people like them could have survived this long…?
After a while, she finally spoke. “Han Yimo, there’s something I don’t quite understand.”
“Go ahead.”
“I heard from the others…” Wen Qiaoyun said slowly, “That everyone here has been going through cycles of reincarnation. So, I only lost my memory—I wasn’t just born into this place recently.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. It’s a reincarnation setting.” Han Yimo replied.
“So many people know me, and many remember me,” Wen Qiaoyun said.
“Right, yeah, you’re quite a famous figure.” Han Yimo added, thinking for a moment. “Like an ancient cultivator of great power.”
“So here comes my question,” Wen Qiaoyun continued. “Your ‘commander,’ Qi Xia—he should know what kind of person I am, right?”
“Yeah, he does know you.”
“Qi Xia knows me, and he knows you too. Yet I ended up losing to you here.” Wen Qiaoyun said. “Are you sure that after you leave with my ‘character,’ he won’t grow even more suspicious?”
“Ah…?”
Han Yimo seemed to understand Wen Qiaoyun’s meaning, though he hadn’t expected her to be so direct.
Wen Qiaoyun reached out and slowly picked up the coin that the wild boar had left on the table. The front side of the coin read “Jia,” while the back read “Yi.” It looked like it was made entirely of copper, one side smooth and the other rough.
“Han Yimo, just talking about this ‘coin toss’ game… how many rounds do you think you could win if we played fifty of them?” she asked.
As she finished speaking, Wen Qiaoyun flicked the coin high into the air and quickly slapped it down onto the table.
“I’m guessing ‘heads.’ What do you think?” she asked.
“I… I…”
Before Han Yimo could reply, Wen Qiaoyun lifted her hand—sure enough, it was heads.
Under Han Yimo’s shocked gaze, Wen Qiaoyun flicked the coin again and slapped it onto the table once more.
“Han Yimo, this time it’s ‘tails.'”
“You…”
Wen Qiaoyun lifted her hand again—sure enough, it was tails.
Han Yimo was completely stunned by Wen Qiaoyun’s actions. It was supposed to be a coin toss, yet Wen Qiaoyun looked like she was simply reading the coin.
She flicked the coin a third time, catching it in her hand and holding it in front of Han Yimo’s eyes.
“Now it’s your turn to guess,” she said.
Han Yimo stared at her clenched fist for a long time before finally muttering, “Tails.”
Wen Qiaoyun turned her hand over and placed the coin face-down on the table, whispering softly, “You guessed wrong.”
She lifted her hand for the third time—the coin was heads again.
Han Yimo realized she could tell whether it was heads or tails without even looking. At this rate, his chances of winning were less than one percent.
“Sister Qiaoyun, how are you doing this…?” Han Yimo asked.
“That’s a great question,” Wen Qiaoyun replied. “Mr. Novelist, to me, that question sounds exactly like ‘Can you just lose to me on purpose?’ Do you really think I’ll tell you the answer before the game ends?”
This time, it was Han Yimo’s turn to fall silent.
He felt like the unfortunate side character in a story.
Seeing Han Yimo speechless, Wen Qiaoyun continued, “I actually have a suggestion—one more reasonable than yours. Want to hear it?”
“What…?” Han Yimo asked.
“Just surrender directly and give me your ‘character.'”
“What?!” Han Yimo exclaimed, finding the suggestion utterly ridiculous. “What kind of suggestion is that? I just said—if I don’t leave with the ‘character,’ I’ll definitely…”
“No, you won’t,” Wen Qiaoyun interrupted. “Only by losing here will the outcome seem normal to Qi Xia. Otherwise, when he asks you ‘how you won,’ how will you fool him?”
“This…”
“I’ve completely figured out this game. Continuing is just a waste of time. I suggest you just give up and leave your ‘character’ here.”
Han Yimo hesitated for a moment with a troubled expression before speaking again. “But how can I continue the next round without a ‘character’?”
“You said Qi Xia trusts you, right?” Wen Qiaoyun smiled. “Then he’ll definitely give you another ‘character.’ You can take that new ‘character’ and give it to me. That way, your team will lose two ‘characters,’ and I’ll have complete confidence that you’re truly on our side. Deal?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage