Looking at Feng Bujue and Lin Yan's departing figures, Xu Huaishang breathed a long sigh of relief.

Then, she suppressed her fighting spirit, looked at Juan Menghuan and Bi Laoshi, and said, "You two... how about we go to the tavern for a meal together?"

"Huh?" Juan Menghuan was stunned upon hearing this. He really didn't expect... Xu Huaishang, who was just an "opponent," would make such an offer.

"I estimate there's still a while before the script ends, but there probably isn't enough time to do a side quest, so..." Xu Huaishang saw his confusion and added.

Hearing this, Juan Menghuan seemed to belatedly understand.

If "Heiyang Xinci" still allowed players to hold onto the illusion that "one or two people can give it a try," then Lin Yan was on the level of "even a strong five-person team might get wiped out."

As long as Feng Bujue stayed near Lin Yan, even if Xu Huaishang, Juan Menghuan, and Bi Laoshi teamed up to assassinate him... the chances of success were minimal.

But if they didn't kill Jue-ge, then in an hour, he could achieve victory in the script through the "main quest."

In summary, Xu Huaishang and the others now basically had an extra hour of "garbage time" in the script. There definitely wasn't enough time to do a side quest... but if they forced a quit, they would be penalized.

So, all that was left to do... was to do nothing.

Anyway, an hour wasn't long, and in a long-term script measured in "days," it wasn't enough to be considered passive play.

"Ah... that's right." After thinking for a few seconds, Juan Menghuan scratched the back of his head and muttered, "Now that things have come to this, even if we fight to the death... it wouldn't mean anything."

"That's not necessarily true... if you really want to make the most of the remaining time, we could find a less crowded place and spar a bit without seriously hurting each other..." Xu Huaishang said, "That way we can gain some skill points, but... I personally don't like that approach."

"Oh... that kind of gameplay, I used to work overtime doing that at Shidao." Juan Menghuan shrugged. "Actually, it's not very efficient to get skill points that way... Although Meng Corporation doesn't explicitly prohibit using this method to gain skill points, the system clearly has a significant base reduction for skill points acquired in this way. According to my personal feeling... it's better to match up against an opponent and fight for real."

As he spoke, he put the [Chonglou] he was carrying on his shoulder into his knapsack.

For Juan Menghuan, it didn't matter if he lost this script; because he had already used the previous day and night to do several side quests and a hidden quest outside the town, and he had obtained this [Chonglou] through a quest.

The reason he dared to rush out and confront those two from Sengoku was also because of this "even if I get killed out of the script, I won't lose out" mentality.

"Anyway... let's eat and chat." As Juan Menghuan said this, he glanced at Bi Laoshi beside him, which was to ask for Lao Bi's opinion.

Bi Laoshi was originally a soy sauce king (a term for someone who just goes along with the flow), and if his teammates agreed, he would just follow along: "Ah, okay, okay." He agreed with a silly smile, still happily thinking—my luck is really good today, I can eat at the same table as the goddess Xu, um... even if it's in the game.

...

Not long after, outside Linlu Town.

Although the road was a main road, there were no pedestrians on it today.

There were only two people and a horse.

Although the two were traveling together, they maintained a subtle distance from each other, as if they were not "traveling together" but "happened to be going in the same direction."

"Since you need me to protect you, why are you also wary of me?" After a long silence, Lin Yan took the lead in speaking.

"Hehe... you saw through it." Feng Bujue smiled sheepishly.

"There are many things I can see through." Lin Yan paused, then added, "The 'deal' between you and Wang Qiong is actually about that sword manual, right?"

"Exactly." Feng Bujue nodded and said bluntly, "I promised that as long as he cooperates with my actions, I will offer the *Jian Wu Cao Ji* (Sword Dance Manuscript) with both hands afterward."

"But I think... you won't fulfill this promise." Lin Yan continued.

"It's not that I don't want to give it to him, it's just..." Feng Bujue felt that it didn't matter if he told Lin Yan this, "In a while, I may suddenly disappear and leave this world; and I have to keep the *Jian Wu Cao Ji* with me until a very short time before I leave, before it can leave my body..."

"Let me give the sword manual to him for you." Lin Yan interrupted him before he could finish speaking. "It's best to keep your promises as much as possible."

"Oh, okay, if you don't think it's too much trouble..." Feng Bujue replied.

"It's not troublesome." Lin Yan replied, "Also... you still haven't answered my question from earlier."

Feng Bujue's attempt to change the subject failed, and he smiled again: "Heh... then I'll be frank, I'm wary of you because..." At this moment, his smile was still there, but there was not a trace of a smile in his eyes, "Actually, I don't believe... that you 'wanted to take a walk outside the pass and just happened to pass by this town.'"

"Oh?" Lin Yan said, "Then in your opinion... why did I come?" She glanced at Jue-ge out of the corner of her eye, "Did I come specifically to save you?"

"I don't know about that." Feng Bujue also glanced at her, meeting her eyes, "Otherwise... why don't you tell me?"

"Hmph..." Lin Yan lowered her head and chuckled. The afternoon sun shone on her white hair and snow-white skin, creating a dazzlingly beautiful scene. "The last time I saw you, I was actually over forty years old, you know that?"

"I roughly know a little about it." Feng Bujue didn't understand why she suddenly changed the subject, but he didn't mind following her lead.

"Mm." Lin Yan pondered for a moment, then continued, "I grew up and lived in abnormal environments, so... although I was older than you back then, I was ignorant of the world and didn't understand human relationships. My mind and temperament were like a child's."

"Isn't that a good match for your appearance?" Feng Bujue blurted out without thinking.

"Heh..." Lin Yan smiled knowingly, taking it as a compliment. "Feng Bujue, I know... you and I are not from the same world, and I also know that after that, the years you have experienced are far less than the years I have experienced." She paused. "In my eyes now... you seem like a child."

"According to you... should I call you ancestor?" Feng Bujue replied.

"See... that's just how you are." Lin Yan said, "When people say something you don't want to hear, don't like to hear, or are embarrassed to hear... you will twist things around and try to argue with them."

"Then please get to the point, ancestor." Feng Bujue proved with his actions that he probably couldn't change this habit.

"I didn't have much to say in the first place, and in the end... I don't understand you." Lin Yan said, "I just see that you have something on your mind... something very heavy."

She was right, Jue-ge was indeed carrying tremendous pressure and burden in his heart.

The "gamble" related to the survival of all mankind, the dilemma brought about by "Destiny" and "Twenty-Three," and the future of the derivative beings led by Lute... he had silently shouldered all kinds of burdens that ordinary people could not even imagine...

But his appearance in front of people was still the same as always.

People only saw him joking, laughing, angry, scolding, obsessed, crazy, insane, and deranged, but they never saw him cry, fear, or truly lose control.

Feng Bujue was also a person, and aside from his seal, he also had the right to be afraid and to fear.

He had the right to be sentimental, the right to be indecisive, the right to show a fragile side, and he also had the right to let others share his troubles and pressure, or to avoid those things and responsibilities that people were afraid of.

But he didn't.

Because he was Feng Bujue.

Sometimes he himself felt that he was like the protagonist of a novel; he carried too much attention, admiration, speculation, and fantasy, and in order not to let those expectations fall, he lived so tired and so unreal...

Real people are ordinary, complex, and contradictory. Even if they achieve great things, there will always be a dark and humble side in their hearts.

Sadly, and admirably at the same time... Feng Bujue was not that kind of person, and never would be.

"Although we don't know each other very well, you are, after all, my benefactor. As an elder who cares about you, I will give you a few words of advice..." Lin Yan continued when she saw that Jue-ge didn't argue this time, "There is no way to live that will satisfy everyone in this world. Even if you can manage to satisfy most people, you will already be exhausted. So... sometimes, people might as well live a little selfishly, making themselves happy is more important than anything else."

"Heh..." After listening to Lin Yan's words, Jue-ge smiled wryly, "My ancestor... you have attained the Dao for many years, but you have only come to this 'give up and let it go' kind of life philosophy... is that really okay?"

"Whether it's good or not... you have to try it to know." Lin Yan replied with a smile.

Feng Bujue was silent for a moment and pondered for a moment, then he spoke again: "You still haven't answered my previous question." He seemed to be planning to end the current topic, so he paused for half a second and asked, "What is the real reason you appeared in Linlu Town today... after all?"

Lin Yan looked at him deeply, then sighed softly, and replied: "One day ten years ago, a girl named Lu came to me and told me that you would appear in Linlu Town on this day ten years later, and... you would probably need my help."

Before she could finish speaking, Jue-ge's expression changed slightly. When her voice fell, Feng Bujue immediately replied: "Lute?"

"Yes, it's Lute." As Lin Yan spoke, she suddenly stopped and activated a spatial ability similar to a "player's inventory", taking out something from a sub-space that Jue-ge couldn't even see with his data vision, "She asked me to tell you—'The things you have lost, the Kongtong Seal can help you find them back.'"