Song Zang wasted no time. He immediately converted the information in his head into a precise date of birth.
Then, to his horror, he discovered that Yin Chen was two years old.
…Two years old???
What had happened two years ago? How exactly had Yin Chen been born?
And what had Song Zang himself been doing two years ago?
Song Zang did not know. He had been suffering from amnesia at exactly that time and still could not recall even a single fragment.
Everyone’s attention was focused on Yin Wu Xue, so no one noticed Song Zang’s strange reaction. Sitting on the inner side of the dining table, he clenched his chopsticks and struggled to suppress his astonishment.
Of course, shock was not actually the hardest thing to suppress.
It was laughter.
The moment Song Zang thought about Yin Chen being two years old, he desperately wanted to throw back his head and laugh.
Fortunately, Yin Wu Xue’s movements became increasingly dramatic, so no one noticed the corners of his mouth quietly curling upward.
For some unknown reason, calculating compatibility from their true birth Eight Characters seemed far more difficult than calculating those of their instance roles.
Yin Wu Xue’s expression became solemn. Dense beads of cold sweat formed along her temples and forehead. Her breathing turned rapid, then faster and faster, until like some mutated human in a zombie film, she began breathing at dozens of times the normal rate.
Her head hung low. Her spine arched uncontrollably into an eerie curve. She squeezed her fingers so hard that blood rolled down, almost tearing away a layer of flesh.
She looked… almost like someone whose magical power was about to be completely exhausted.
Yin Chen noticed something was wrong. Thoughtful, he suddenly realized the oversight he had made in his impatience.
He should never have asked Yin Wu Xue to perform this divination. She was still a beginner, the cost was too great, and it was easy for her mind and spirit to lose stability.
But interrupting midway could also be dangerous. For now, they could only wait and see whether she could grit her teeth and endure until the end.
Yin Chen shook his head at the worried Ning Yan, then stared at her without blinking. He quietly prepared a syringe of adrenaline in his hand, ready to begin emergency treatment at any moment.
Song Zang still said nothing.
He copied Ning Yan’s worried expression and seized the opportunity to calmly sort through the timeline in his mind… only to discover that the more he thought, the stranger everything became.
He had graduated from university at nineteen and struggled inside the beta version of the Infinite Game for an entire year.
After his twentieth birthday, he lost his memories and did not even know how he had escaped alive.
Age twenty-one was a complete blank.
At twenty-two, he had been fleeing pursuit by an unfamiliar organization, lost the dog he had personally raised, then entered the official version of the Infinite Game again that same night.
His memories contained a two-year blank.
Yin Chen’s “age” was also two years.
The two fit together perfectly without a gap.
Was this coincidence, or was there something else behind it?
Could Yin Chen’s 【birth】 and Song Zang’s 【amnesia】… share some subtle connection no one knew about?
Song Zang did not immediately ask. There were still outsiders inside the room, and Yin Chen might not be willing to reveal the details anyway.
He would have to slowly tug at him and grind down that mouth Yin Chen had welded completely shut.
“Pfft!”
Not long afterward, Yin Wu Xue gloriously spat blood again.
Weakly, she picked up a handkerchief and wiped her mouth. Her wrist trembled uncontrollably, but her next movement was outrageously aggressive. She was too weak. She was starving. She needed food.
She grabbed a spoon, filled an enormous bowl with rice, poured piping-hot pickled-cabbage fish broth over it, then lowered her head and began eating wildly.
“Yin Wu Xue? How are you…”
Ning Yan never finished his concerned question before Yin Wu Xue swept one sleeve outward and sent him flying. He rolled twice before barely managing to sit upright on the floor, rubbing his head miserably and not daring to speak.
She devoured the rice like a starving wolf and emptied the bowl within one minute without even bothering to pick up a side dish.
Rice still was not enough. Meat was indispensable too. Yin Wu Xue continued feasting, grabbing one enormous drumstick in each hand and stripping both clean in two or three bites.
Ning Yan sat on the floor with an expression of complete shock. After struggling internally for a while, he finally complained pitifully, “Sis, that was my roast chicken. I already ate half of it… Leave me some.”
“Huff, huff…”
Only now did Yin Wu Xue finally possess enough strength to make a sound.
She raised her head, gulped several mouthfuls of tea, struggled to steady her breathing, then said weakly, “Sorry. I’ll buy you a whole new one, okay?”
Ning Yan immediately became satisfied and stopped mourning his poor roast chicken.
He secretly glanced at Yin Chen’s expression before curiously asking, “What was the divination result?”
Mentioning that instantly revived Yin Wu Xue.
Her weak yet excited eyes practically displayed several enormous words: I shipped a pairing and it turned out real!
“Locked together forever! On the surface this looks like a somewhat dark, ill-fated relationship. You separate and reunite repeatedly, with lots of dramatic ups and downs, but every path ultimately leads to the same ending: happiness. Locked together. The red thread is tied into a dead knot!”
Ning Yan: “Awesome! But why did you suddenly become this hungry?”
The reason was ultimately that the cost had been far too great, so great that Yin Wu Xue now felt lingering fear.
She served herself another enormous bowl of fish broth and asked Yin Chen, “Boss, did the two of you experience something terrifying in the past? This is too bizarre. I don’t have the ability to investigate deeply. I could only skim the edge and perform a rough divination, and even that consumed an enormous amount of energy.
“If I kept following those Eight Characters and calculating in detail, I might actually drop dead on the spot and get sucked into a dried corpse…”
The more Yin Wu Xue spoke, the more frightened she became. She lowered her head and continued furiously shoveling down food.
Yin Chen quietly put away the emergency syringe. He was not surprised by her reaction and had no intention of answering her question either.
He deliberately confirmed only one thing. “Song Zang and I have a good ending?”
“Relax. Extremely good. I swear.” Her muffled voice emerged from inside the soup bowl.
The man who had maintained low pressure all afternoon instantly returned to normal.
Yin Chen pulled up Song Zang’s hand, gently stroked it several times, and slowly curved his lips. “You worked hard. What else do you two want to eat? I’m paying for everything.”
“No, no, no. It wasn’t hard. As long as the two of you live happily, world peace is guaranteed, and this humble Daoist will already be satisfied.” Yin Wu Xue hurriedly refused.
The atmosphere gradually became harmonious again. At that moment, Ning Yan climbed up from the floor.
“Sis, wait. I still have a question. Why did you squeeze your fingers hard enough to make them bleed during the divination, and why did you hunch your back like a cooked shrimp? Even if your magical power was being drained, it shouldn’t have looked that terrifying, right?”
“…What cooked shrimp?! My posture was that obscene?” Yin Wu Xue froze and hurriedly lowered her head to inspect her fingers. “Fuck, I didn’t even notice my hand was injured. Hiss.”
“So you had no idea what you looked like just now?”
Ning Yan was equally surprised. He immediately imitated the bizarre posture she had worn, like someone possessed by a ghost, and his performance was frighteningly vivid.
Yin Wu Xue became numb just watching him.
Silently covering her face, she mourned her utterly destroyed idol image and said in unbearable pain, “Stop. I only want to throw myself into a well and die.”
Yin Chen said nothing and placed two pieces of pickled-cabbage fish into Song Zang’s bowl.
In truth, Yin Chen understood better than anyone why Yin Wu Xue had behaved like that.
Using faith energy from inside an instance to investigate 【real】 information that did not belong to that world should never have succeeded in the first place.
Yet somehow, Yin Wu Xue had succeeded.
With assistance from that invisible force, she had pierced through the gap between virtuality and reality.
Throughout the divination, the invisible force had constantly revolved around Yin Wu Xue. Her own strength was nowhere near sufficient to control it, which was why both body and mind had been overdrawn to such a degree, nearly leaving her a shriveled corpse.
Fortunately, that force carried no malice toward Yin Wu Xue. Otherwise… at best she would have mutated, and at worst she would have died instantly.
The deeper reason was probably connected to Emperor Yongjia being a “bastard.”
Yin Wu Xue was Emperor Yongjia’s descendant. She had nothing to do with the Lin Dynasty’s sinful founders and, being female, could not possibly carry the curse through her bloodline.
This world would not target her. It even seemed to favor her slightly, allowing her cultivation to proceed extraordinarily smoothly.
Of course, that favor was not necessarily a good thing either. They still could not lower their guard.
Yin Chen added one warning. “From now on, don’t casually perform divinations for people, especially imperial bloodlines or powerful, high-ranking nobles. It is very easy to touch something you should never touch.”
“Okay, Boss,” Yin Wu Xue answered weakly and numbly.
She was unhappy, but Yin Chen was quite happy now.
Even though the future could change at any time, learning in advance that he and Song Zang would eventually reach a good ending still left Yin Chen completely comfortable in body and mind. He stopped obsessively cornering himself.
The Infinite Game was becoming increasingly difficult, but so was he.
For now, he had merely fallen one short step behind.
He could catch up again at any time.
＊
The return journey to Tianjia Village was peaceful and uneventful. The carriage remained very quiet.
After returning to normal, Yin Chen shifted his attention back onto Song Zang.
“What was wrong with you this afternoon? You barely spoke.”
Song Zang knew Yin Chen would eventually notice something off. But he did not panic. Maintaining an innocent expression, he blinked and suddenly pulled aside one corner of his collar.
Several faint hickeys and pale red marks appeared along the edge of his beautiful white collarbone, extraordinarily suggestive.
“There were too many people in the restaurant. I was embarrassed.” Song Zang leaned against him and deliberately explained in a shy little voice.
Embarrassed, my ass.
Yin Chen clearly wanted to say something unpleasant but restrained himself in the end. He was turning over a new leaf now and intended to abandon every negative emotion.
He pinched Song Zang’s cheek. “Stop trying to seduce me. Something is wrong with you. Why?”
Why else?
Because you’re at the tender age of two!
Song Zang complained internally while maintaining the same innocent expression.
He lowered his eyes and deliberately revealed a trace of grievance, accusing softly, “You’re clearly the strange one. While we were shopping, you kept giving me the cold shoulder. You’re not allowed to bully me anymore, Yin Chen. Otherwise tonight you can sleep alone.”
“…I gave you the cold shoulder?”
“Is there a problem?” Song Zang turned his reddened eyes away, looking as though one more word would make him cry.
Yin Chen instantly shut his mouth. Helplessly holding him, he remained silent for a long time with complicated feelings.
Song Zang simply wanted to shut him up, and his methods were far simpler and more brutal than Yin Chen’s, yet somehow extremely effective…
By the time the carriage stopped outside Tianjia Village, Yin Chen still had not managed to get an explanation. He nearly ended up labeled a “scumbag” by Song Zang instead, leaving him unable to defend himself no matter what he said.
Song Zang really was a wicked little bastard. Extremely wicked.
Yin Chen became firmly convinced of this in silence.
By evening, the setting sun looked like blood.
To avoid gossip, Song Zang and Yin Chen did not enter the village together.
The wonderful opportunity to show off spectacularly in front of NPCs finally fell to Song Zang.
He rode a tall horse while pulling the expensive, magnificent Ning family carriage, entering the village entrance in glorious style.
It was almost dinnertime. Farm work had paused, and many people sat beneath trees near the village entrance enjoying the cooler air.
Grannies and aunties brought their children and grandchildren outside for walks and immediately craned their necks to watch the excitement.
Half-grown children running around bare-bottomed became especially delighted and surrounded him while shouting, “Brother Song is so handsome! The big horse is so cool! I want uppies!”
Song Zang smiled gently, leaned down, and lifted one cleanly dressed little boy onto the horse so he could experience the joy of riding too.
“Erlang, whose horse is this?” a neighboring aunt could not resist asking.
“Young Master Ning gave it to me. It belongs to my family now.” Song Zang stroked the horse’s head and lifted his chin with deliberate pride.
Aunties possessed unmatched efficiency when spreading news. Before long, every household in Tianjia Village would know that the Song family’s Erlang had an excellent relationship with the Ning family in the county seat, so excellent that Young Master Ning had voluntarily given him a carriage… He had thoroughly attached himself to a powerful family, and his future prospects were immeasurable.
That was exactly the effect Song Zang wanted.
He was fishing, waiting to see who exactly wanted to destroy his family and seize everything after the line died out.
Surrounded by children as he slowly headed home, Song Zang quietly overheard plenty of gossip too.
Some people were discussing the Song family’s abrupt engagement, others discussed Song Zang’s enormous changes over the past two days, but most villagers were focused upon something serious that had happened in another village.
Qingquan Village, located on the opposite side of Cangmu Mountain, had experienced a brutal double death.
Supposedly one man and one woman had died, each gripping the other’s throat before falling into a well last night.
No one discovered anything during the night. Only this morning, when villagers came to draw water and suddenly saw two bodies lying at the bottom of the well, did anyone learn what had happened.
The region was currently experiencing severe drought, so the water level inside the well was extremely low, yet both people had drowned. The whole thing was almost theatrically absurd.
The woman had been pinned underwater by the man and struggled desperately from beginning to end until her strength finally failed and she drowned alive.
The man’s fate had been no better.
The woman had bitten away half his kneecap with all her strength, leaving him unable to remain standing for long. His windpipe was likewise severely damaged, making breathing almost impossible.
The woman’s corpse pressed down on top of him and trapped him tightly at the bottom of the well.
When the villagers finally found him, he was still sitting upright with both hands raised as though struggling to escape, his legs increasingly trapped beneath the swollen corpse.
The well water happened to rise just high enough to cover the top of his head. The coroner discovered that not only were his nose and mouth full of water, but even his stomach and intestines had swollen enormously after filling with well water.
He had desperately swallowed that much water and still died.
Had he been able to remain standing, he would not have died.
Had he not strangled the woman to death, causing her corpse to raise the water level, then even if he had sat alone inside the well… he still would not have died.
Yet the very woman he brutally murdered ended up pinning him down after death through pure coincidence, leaving him to drown in despair too.
“What a vicious girl. Even in death she refused to spare that faithless bastard!”
“Bah, how do you know he was faithless? Who knows what that woman did outside to force a grown man into killing her?”
“If you ask me, neither of them was any good. Neither married, yet sneaking outside in the middle of the night? They were obviously having an affair. Filthy trash coupling without a matchmaker.”
Song Zang became thoughtful. He kept feeling that the matter was not so simple.
He casually mentioned it once in the player group chat. Yin Chen responded quickly, saying he would investigate the incident and Song Zang did not need to worry about it. For now, Song Zang should deal with his family first.
If possible, they would marry tomorrow.
Seeing Yin Chen this impatient somehow made Song Zang impatient too.
The instant he led the horse through the family gate, before Tian Yue Xiang even had time to fuss over him, Song Zang said without hesitation, “Father, Mother, I asked Daoist Wu Xue to calculate our Eight Characters. Tomorrow is the most auspicious day for me to marry Miss Yin. There won’t be another date this fortunate afterward.
“I already prepared the bride-price and betrothal gifts. I’m marrying Miss Yin tomorrow!”
Great-Grandfather Song sat smoking his water pipe in the courtyard. He said nothing, his expression somewhat meaningful.
Tian Yue Xiang froze briefly, then became furious. She grabbed Song Zang’s ear. “You brat, explain yourself! Why are you in such a hurry? Did you get that girl pregnant? Huh? Speak!”
Song Zang immediately cried innocence. Song Wei Yi hurried over to mediate too. “Wife, calm down. They’ve only known each other for two or three days. Even if something really happened, they couldn’t possibly know this quickly…”
“Erlang, tell me yourself. Did you do that?”
Song Zang shook his head with a flushed face. “No. Impossible. At most we held hands.”
“Oho, even holding hands already…”
Tian Yue Xiang released a breath of relief and her expression improved considerably, though she still angrily knocked him on the head before planting both hands on her hips. “Marry tomorrow? What will everyone think? Do you have any respect for Miss Yin? Do you know how much those aunties at the village entrance love spreading rumors? Huh?
“You think marriage is just bowing before Heaven and Earth? You have to pay the matchmaker. You need to rent a bridal sedan from town. The marriage contract was only just written. Relatives and friends all need to attend the banquet, and that costs silver! The sun is almost down already. Where exactly are you going to find a cook capable of preparing an entire wedding feast?”
Tian Yue Xiang sounded fierce, but Song Zang knew she was wavering.
Because Great-Grandfather Song had not spoken in opposition, and the most favored child naturally possessed the ability to behave however he liked.
“Mother, don’t worry. The Ning residence will arrange everything for us. Their household chefs can prepare the banquet too, and they won’t charge us.”
Song Zang took Tian Yue Xiang’s hand and patiently explained with a perfectly obedient face, “I already arranged everything. Young Master Ning and Daoist Yin will come support the occasion. Miss Yin will marry out from town in grand style, while Scholar He will officiate the wedding. No one will dare spread nonsense.”
【Mask】 immediately began taking effect. Confusion flickered through Tian Yue Xiang’s eyes. The entire family gradually quieted down, and even Great-Grandfather Song seemed to believe him somewhat.
Tian Yue Xiang remained silent for a long time before carefully asking, “…Those two young masters from the Ning family genuinely treat you as a friend? They haven’t bullied you?”
“Of course not. They both greatly admire my essays and say I’ll definitely achieve great success and rank highly in the imperial examinations! Building a good relationship with me now means that once I become a high official someday, the Ning family’s business will prosper even more.” Song Zang spoke with complete confidence, looking bright and energetic.
To prove how seriously the Ning family treated him, Song Zang turned around, pulled open the carriage curtain, and proudly displayed everything he had gained today.
Large quantities of rare seafood, several sacks of polished rice and fine flour, silk quilts, fabric, and brocade given freely by Ning Yan.
Aside from the sack of large pearls Li Zhi had given them for free, there was even expensive mermaid silk exclusively supplied to the princess’s estate, reflecting dreamlike rainbow light beneath the sunset.
Without question, everything Song Zang had brought home was excellent.
The entire family stared in amazement while Song Zang secretly observed Great-Grandfather’s expression.
Clearly, the old man had seen plenty in his life. He recognized the mermaid silk’s origin at a glance, and even began smoking his water pipe noticeably faster.
Song Zang did not expose his reaction. Smiling, he brought out the pickled-cabbage fish and roast chicken from the restaurant, several refined side dishes, and pastries packed from the magistrate’s office.
“We’re having a feast tonight. How about it? Father, Mother, Big Brother, Great-Grandfather, with this much delicious food, just agree, okay? I really want to marry Miss Yin~”
Song Zang deliberately drew out the final syllable and shamelessly deployed the power of acting spoiled. If they still refused, he might genuinely throw himself on the floor and begin making a scene.
Song Wei Yi lacked opinions of his own. Great-Grandfather remained silent. Tian Yue Xiang accepted the beautifully carved food box, and her attitude gradually softened.
“You fucking aren’t Song Zang!”
Only Song Si behaved strangely, abruptly stiffening his neck and shouting.
Song Zang looked completely confused. “…Brother, what are you talking about?”
“What wandering ghost possessed you? My family’s Erlang would never be some greedy, lustful bastard colluding with merchants!”
The more Song Si thought about it, the more wrong everything seemed. He shielded his wife behind him, his gaze unbelievably vigilant.
Tian Yue Xiang slapped the table. “Da Lang! What madness are you spouting?! You think his own mother wouldn’t recognize her biological son?”
“Mother, you don’t understand! Erlang was already killed last night. A monster killed him. I saw it! I personally fought that monster the entire night!”
The secret Song Si had suppressed all day finally burst out.
“You fought a monster? Brother, were you injured?” Song Zang asked with concern. “No wonder you were unconscious among the junk this morning. Brother, what exactly happened?”
Naturally, Song Si had no injuries. Apart from the slaps he had given himself, his entire body remained unharmed.
He froze briefly, then hurriedly changed the subject. “The junk pile? Right, there was a monster there too!! I wasn’t unconscious. A monster attacked me for revenge! You’re working with them…”
Smack!
Before Song Si could finish, his wife slapped him hard across the back.
“Song Si, act normal! I’m pregnant. I can’t listen to insane things like this!” His sister-in-law had turned pale from fright and could only force herself to sound fierce.
“…Huh?”
The entire family reacted at once, their attention instantly shifting away from the “crazy talk” and onto his wife.
Tian Yue Xiang broke into a huge smile. “Double happiness! Heaven’s will, this is Heaven’s will! Da Lang, you must have been trapped in a nightmare. Don’t overthink it. Dreams always mean the opposite. You’re going to be a father!”
“Wife… really?”
“Of course, you fool.”
Song Si gasped heavily, then grabbed her in disbelief and began laughing and crying at the same time.
Just like that, the question of Song Zang’s identity was successfully muddled past.
Double happiness filled the household. Everyone happily ate an extravagant dinner, then began preparing for tomorrow’s wedding and became so busy they nearly spun in circles.
Song Si even approached Song Zang privately and apologized. “Erlang, don’t be afraid. Big Brother won’t curse at you again. I don’t know what happened to me either. I suddenly developed this ridiculous suspicion for no reason…”
In the single hour since learning he was becoming a father, Song Si’s face had somehow become noticeably more benevolent.
Song Zang stared at the dark circles beneath his eyes and suddenly became worried that tonight would not be peaceful for the Song household…
Who would be the next person to suffer from hallucinations?
＊
At the same time, in Qingquan Village.
Yin Chen led the remaining players as they quietly infiltrated the coroner’s temporary morgue.
Two bodies lay side by side on the ground, their heads covered with coarse cloth.
The coroner had opened their abdominal cavities. Now both were completely empty, every internal organ missing.
The technique used to remove the organs was extremely crude and did not resemble the work of a professional coroner.
Someone had secretly harvested the organs from the bodies.
In an era with undeveloped medicine, what possible use could they have?
The first major suspicion appeared immediately, followed by an even greater problem.
The young woman who had died first was actually an Infinite Game player.
Only after lifting away the coarse cloth did everyone see the gray-glowing 【Player】 label floating above her head.
Ning Yan’s face changed dramatically. “She’s a pretty famous guide expert. How the hell did she die this embarrassingly?”
“Don’t know. At least she avenged herself. Ruthless enough,” Ning Ran said appreciatively.
Yin Chen looked around once and immediately assigned tasks. “Inspect the floor and window ledges. Yin Wu Xue, go onto the roof. Focus on patches where the dust looks disturbed, unfamiliar footprints, and any traces of human activity that don’t make sense.
“Ning Yan, you’re more likable. While it’s still light outside, hurry and get information from the villagers. Ask for as much detailed personal information as possible. Gossip counts too.”
“Hehe, okay, Boss!” Ning Yan could not stop himself from grinning stupidly before turning and leaving.
They absolutely had to understand this woman’s storyline, because every player role existed for a reason.
Whether the character background leaned more toward a side mission or the main mission, it was always designed to complement the roles of other players in some way.
The completion rating for Cupid’s Kiss had only been B precisely because too many players died too early. Large amounts of information that could have assisted with clearing the instance remained unknown even now.
This instance was the same.
A player who died before anyone even met her represented an enormous section of plot information that should have been openly available, leaving the survivors to investigate it themselves.
While everyone split up and searched for more unknown information, Song Zang was also investigating alone.
He knocked on the rear-house bedroom door, found Great-Grandfather Song smoking before bed, and asked directly, “Great-Grandfather, is my father really your biological grandson?”
Great-Grandfather froze so abruptly that he choked and began coughing violently. His trembling hand put away the water pipe. “Erlang, what do you mean by that?”
“I learned secrets about the curse from Magistrate Li. The Song family’s ancestors were founding heroes of the Lin Dynasty, weren’t they?” Song Zang said softly. “But my father had two sons, and both grew safely into adulthood. My father isn’t descended from those sinners. Neither am I.”
Great-Grandfather hesitated for a moment before sighing. “In my eyes, you will always be my own great-grandson. Why care about such things?”
Song Zang had not expected his attitude to be so gentle.
“I don’t want to care either, but someone is trying to destroy the Song family and seize everything once there are no heirs. Do you know about that? Big Brother wasn’t talking nonsense. Monsters genuinely exist. You can’t keep hiding anymore. Who exactly is our enemy?”
Great-Grandfather remained stunned for a long time. The sorrow and despair in his cloudy eyes gradually became unmistakable.
“It is… it is… it is this world.”