It didn't take much time at all for a specter to chase down players.
The distance the old Daoist and his grandson had just run was nothing more than a few extra steps to Zuo Lin'an.
Lin Xiaolei looked back, panting heavily.
“Grandpa, the specter is coming again!”
The old Daoist took a deep breath.
“Do you remember what I just did?”
“I remember, don't worry!”
Once Zuo Lin'an spotted them, he immediately gave chase. As he closed in on them, he directly triggered 【Time Acceleration】.
Next, he noticed an illusionary clock appearing before him, visible only to his eyes.
It was intricately carved with pitch-black malevolent ghosts, and embedded with several blood-red rubies.
By the looks of it, its design was highly similar to the pocket watch Instructor An had gifted him.
Hearing the rapid ticking of the hands inside, the clock quickly accelerated the time from 7:02 PM to exactly 8:00 PM.
Excellent.
Next, he had ten seconds to execute his rule.
However, to Zuo Lin'an's surprise, just as he was about to make his move, Lin Xiaolei triggered his talent.
【Dungeon Notification: Player has used the talent: Memory Weakening! Your memory has been drastically weakened. You will always forget crucial information at critical moments, and your thoughts will experience intermittent pauses. Duration: Five minutes.】
Zuo Lin'an instantly halted, standing blankly in place.
At this moment, he forgot what he was supposed to do, and even watched helplessly as the old Daoist fled with Lin Xiaolei.
“What was I supposed to do again?”
After a few seconds.
“Oh, right, I need to kill them.”
He gave chase once more, but after taking only two steps, he paused in place again.
“Huh?”
“What am I doing?”
After hesitating for a moment, Zuo Lin'an finally noticed the illusionary clock before him.
“Is this... Time Acceleration?”
“Did I use it?”
His brain didn't seem to be working properly.
“Why did I use it again?”
“It seems... Oh, right, I want to hunt down the players.”
However, just as he realized why he had used 【Time Acceleration】, the duration of the rule came to an end.
The illusionary clock slowly faded away.
His time reverted to 7:02 PM.
“Time Acceleration is over? Didn't I have ten seconds?”
“It's not on the hour right now, so I can't kill anyone.”
Thinking this, Zuo Lin'an soon pursued the direction where the old Daoist and his grandson had fled.
“I remember now. I need to kill the players.”
“No matter what, I have to kill at least one first.”
Then, halfway there, he stopped in his tracks again.
He had forgotten again.
“It's not on the hour, so I can't kill anyone.”
“And I already used my Time Acceleration.”
This state repeated itself continuously for five minutes. Only when the talent's effect wore off did he finally regain his clarity.
Once back to normal, he let out a sigh with a slight headache.
“How is it that neither of their talents is a special talent of the specter-repelling type?”
There was nothing he could do.
The time wasn't right now.
Moreover, 【Time Acceleration】 had already been used, so he could only temporarily give up the pursuit.
He had to wait until exactly 8:00 PM.
It was fine. After all, he only had to wait for fifty-odd minutes.
At this time, the old Daoist and Lin Xiaolei happened to find Zuo Lin'an.
“Mr. Yao!”
Zuo Lin'an stood up and walked outward. He didn't leave the room, choosing to stand right at the doorway.
It looked as if he had just come out to welcome them, but it also seemed as though he was blocking them from entering.
“How did you two find your way here?”
Lin Xiaolei was about to say that they had just seen a ghost, and that it was his younger brother. However, before he could speak, the old Daoist grabbed him and yanked him backward.
“We were just taking a casual stroll and happened to see a light here, so we came over to check it out. We didn't expect you to be here, Mr. Yao. May I ask what this place is...”
Zuo Lin'an knew that the old Daoist wanted to take a look inside.
But he did not budge.
“This is my younger brother's room. There is nothing much to see. Why don't we head to the front hall?”
He stepped out of the room and closed the door right in front of them. Before shutting it, he gave Feng Xingyun, who was inside, a subtle look.
Feng Xingyun understood immediately. He didn't follow them out, remaining inside to pretend he was tidying up the room.
Before leaving, the old Daoist cast a meaningful glance at the slightly ajar door.
How should he put it?
The reason Zuo Lin'an had given was indeed highly reasonable—it was his younger brother's room, so he didn't want outsiders going in.
Yet, the old Daoist couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Especially since he had just witnessed, through his paper puppet, the scene of Zuo Lin'an wanting to take the vase but ultimately giving up.
Could it be... that there was something special about that vase?
He planned to wait a while until Feng Xingyun left the area, then send a small paper puppet inside to investigate. It would be even better if he could sneak the vase out.
In the front hall.
The three of them took their seats.
“Were you two looking for me just now?”
Zuo Lin'an got straight to the point.
The old Daoist nodded in agreement. “Indeed, we wanted to have a chat with you, Mr. Yao.”
Zuo Lin'an said, “Master, please ask whatever you wish.”
At this moment, Lin Xiaolei's gaze swept over a corner of the front hall. There happened to be a shelf there displaying some beautiful potted plants and ornaments, among which was a joint photograph.
It was of the two brothers.
Judging by their appearance, it was likely taken when they were around seventeen or eighteen, as the Mr. Yao in the photo looked a bit younger than the one standing before them now.
Looking at the expressions and gestures of the two brothers, their relationship was indeed very close.
Although the younger brother looked frail, the relaxation in his eyes and posture, as well as the genuine happiness of spending time with family, could not be faked.
Therefore, as the elder brother, Mr. Yao probably wouldn't kill his own younger brother.
The old Daoist spoke up. “Up until now, we haven't heard you mention your parents, Mr. Yao. I wonder...”
He added another line.
“Of course, this question might be a bit presumptuous. You can feel free to ignore it, Mr. Yao.”
Zuo Lin'an shook his head.
“It's nothing that can't be said. They passed away many years ago. Otherwise, they definitely would have come back to our old home with us this time.”
The old Daoist quickly apologized.
“Ah! Look at my big mouth, always asking these kinds of questions.”
Zuo Lin'an, however, didn't mind.
“It's fine. It has been many years. My brother and I don't even remember what our parents looked like...”
Seeing that he truly didn't seem angry, the old Daoist proceeded.
“So that means your younger brother has been under your care since childhood?”
Zuo Lin'an's gaze shifted to him, and he nodded with a smile.
“Yes, I took care of him.”
“However, when we were very young, our parents were still around, and we had nannies and bodyguards at home, so I only needed to play with him. As we grew older, I had to focus on my work.”
“So he was mostly cared for by nannies, caregivers, and the butler. Of course, whenever I had time, I would definitely accompany him.”
“But more often than not, I didn't have much time. Because his illness could never be cured, keeping him alive required a vast amount of money.”
“He is my younger brother, so I certainly couldn't just ignore him.”
“Therefore, I was basically busy with work all the time. Because of this, the time we spent together after growing up became shorter and shorter. Still, every time he saw me, he would be extremely happy.”
Rate on N.U.
