Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1571: Final - · Crossing the Sea Arc [43]: "Reed Grass.
Hui Bei looked at Li Ziqi and said indifferently:
"Do you know who I am?"
"I know." Li Ziqi said fearfully, "You’re the Executioner in the Disciple Game, a staff member. Why have you come to see me? Did I violate any game rules?"
"No. I came to give you an opportunity." Hui Bei took out a seed, and the seed turned into a stream of light and entered Li Ziqi’s body.
"This is called the ’Seed of Joy’. Once you digest it, it will dramatically enhance all your abilities, turning you into an extremely outstanding person." Hui Bei took out a file: "Li Ziqi, occupation: small-time actor, impoverished background, with a mother and sister at home, right? Once you digest this seed, your looks and acting skills will skyrocketing, becoming a big star won’t be a problem. I believe they will be proud of you."
Li Ziqi’s perspective trembled: "Why are you helping me?"
Those emerald green eyes showed a complex expression: "You may perceive it as a form of pity. I pity you powerless people and want to fulfill your dreams. You don’t need to doubt its authenticity; after all, you have nothing left to lose, and I want nothing from you."
Li Ziqi pressed her lips: "By digesting the seed inside me, can I really become the best actor?"
Hui Bei nodded: "Of course, I have investigated your past... Think about your previous experiences: agreed film payments being taken away, constrained by lower races to only appear in war dramas, as if idol and artistic dramas are not for you... Heh, remember how your collarbone was injured?"
Li Ziqi touched her collarbone, where there was a fierce scar.
She recalled acting in a war film, where the supposed prop explosive turned out to be real. As a small-time actor, she had no adequate protection. Shrapnel grazed her skin, and the director only said, "I’m really sorry, it’s for the effect, please bear with it, and later you’ll get extra meat in your boxed meal." The big star Zhou Sheng and popular young actress Lan Mei were protected thoroughly.
Because she was of a lower race, no matter how good her acting skills were, she would never become a big name... Which audience would want to see a lower race actively on the screen.
She belonged to the Silkworm Moth Clan, with a short lifespan and fragile body, incomparable to those naturally lucky ones.
"But once I digest the ’Seed of Joy,’ it will transform me into a genius. No longer fantasizing about becoming a hero, I am a hero myself..." Li Ziqi took a deep breath and nodded.
...
The scene ends here, but Su Ming’an can foresee what comes next: Li Ziqi digested something Hui Bei gave her. That thing could greatly enhance someone’s abilities.
Su Ming’an suspects that Hui Bei deliberately planted a trap, anticipating that Su Ming’an might become Li Ziqi, thus implanting a trap in Li Ziqi’s body?
This incident should have happened two or three days ago.
It seems I must be cautious when dealing with Hui Bei in the future.
Su Ming’an cleared his throat and began telling the story: "I am Li Ziqi, a small-time actor..."
She was an ordinary girl.
She had great acting talent, fantasizing about being a hero and dominating screens, but forever remained in supporting roles.
She was targeted by the popular young actress, running errands to buy coffee every day, bullied, and insulted.
She earned a meager film payment and boxed meal, wearing stinky, low-quality costumes, at the beck and call.
Seeking the opportunity to become a big star, she came here, aiming to gain fame in the life-or-death game.
—Although Su Ming’an hadn’t seen all of Li Ziqi’s memories, he could roughly deduce her situation. To ensure accuracy in the story’s logic and prevent exile, he supplemented some details.
Others had no doubts about this story, casting sympathetic glances his way.
"Such is the plight of lower races... doing the hardest work, earning the least money, working many times harder to gain the same recognition as higher races." Zhou Sheng coughed, looking at Su Ming’an: "When the game ends, if we survive, I can provide you with some acting resources."
...The big star seemed quite nice.
Unfortunately, Zhou Sheng’s injuries were severe, and who knows if he could survive.
Next, it was Tian Ying’s turn. She chuckled, twirling a blade in her hand: "Do you all deserve to hear my past?"
"No more nonsense." Lu spoke indifferently, twirling a silver spear in his hand.
One twirling a blade, the other a gun, sitting together like a duo.
"Humph..." Tian Ying crossed her arms and said, "Only Little Lemon wants to listen, I’m not saying this for you."
"I just had a normal childhood, dad didn’t care, mom didn’t love me. The only thing worth mentioning... I witnessed my old man’s death. He always had heart disease, and the day I went home to fetch something, I happened upon him having an attack. The medicine was on the table, and he couldn’t reach it, looking at me pleadingly."
"I was humming a song, eating cookies, watching him die gradually."
She fell silent for a while, as if this vindictive act didn’t bring her much joy:
"You all know what happened next—trying to survive, I did many things that anger the heavens and people."
"I’m done speaking."
After finishing, she glanced at Su Ming’an beside her, leaned to his ear, and whispered:
"I know people like me don’t get a good death, those vengeful souls will come to claim me sooner or later. Even if I flaunt my power now, I might die at a child’s hand someday. I killed so many people, yet I didn’t harm a child from that family, leaving many roots of hatred."
"The day I die... Little Lemon, you are the only one I care about, promise me."
Those rose-colored eyes stared at him:
"Promise me, let my death be beautiful and clean."
"I’ve been dirty all my life, at least let it be clean at the end."
Su Ming’an did not give a promise.
He does not make promises easily, especially considering Tian Ying indeed... it’s hard to accept. In the last round, Tian Ying stood laughing amidst poisonous gas, the scene of many dying from it still fresh in his mind.
He didn’t respond, yet something was pressed into his hand. Looking down, it was a silver heart made of tin foil.
"The only time I made crafts was when I was young—my dad hadn’t become a drunkard, and he took me out to make crafts." Tian Ying smiled with her head hanging low, a rare happiness on her face: "My hands were clumsy, only able to make this crude heart; I don’t like this design, too naive, as if I have so much love."
She waved dismissively: "Carrying it is a hassle, so I give it to you."
Su Ming’an rubbed the tin foil heart and kept it. If he threw it away in front of her, it might reverse the effect, adding more favorability.
She was excessively nice to him.
This made him feel a slight bitterness.
"...I am the only one you care about, but what if your caring is wrong?" he said.
"Hm?" Tian Ying looked confused.
Before she could say anything, it was Lu’s turn to speak.
But Lu didn’t speak, he simply glanced around, suddenly pulling out a gun, aiming at the most ordinary girl, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The girl fell, turning into a charred corpse, surprisingly in the form of a demon.
"Ding dong!"
"Congratulations everyone on passing the level!"
The sound indicating game completion rang out, and the gate swung open, leading into bottomless darkness.
"Why her? How was it judged?" Everyone stood up in surprise, staring at the blue-haired man blowing the gun barrel.
Lu spun his handgun lightly and said calmly, "Each of your stories has some appeal, but hers is too ordinary. And in this game, the last thing we need are ordinary people and mundane stories, because the top people don’t enjoy watching them."
Everyone exchanged glances, only to feel that Lu was quite impressive.
"Alright, the game is completed, I’m leaving." Lu turned and walked towards the open gate.
Su Ming’an stood up, intending to follow, but suddenly he heard a piercing shriek.
— It sounded like the edge of a scythe slicing through the air and tearing through flesh.
Lu stopped at the gate, gripping a silver pistol under the deep-seated door, with black gloves shining with a leathery luster.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."
The bright red, eye-catching color dripped down from his leather gloves.
His tall figure stood for a moment and slowly fell backward, revealing a vast penetrating wound on his chest.
"Whoosh——"
A crescent-shaped pink-blue scythe withdrew, spraying a spectacular blood line.
— A man/woman with slightly curly pink-blue long hair stood there at some unknown point, delivering an incapacitating blow to Lu.
He/she wore a mask with intricately carved flowers, its sides rising high like the corners of a eaves, enveloping the head. A magnificent white robe engraved with the patterns of keys and flowers, holding a crescent pink-blue scythe like blooming flowers in one hand, and wielding an arm-length pure white long knife like frozen snow in the other, the whole person seemed to be glowing.
The appearance was just too dazzling.
Su Ming’an’s first response was astonishment at such a striking appearance, and only the second was to notice the abundance of blood.
That person radiated a strong visual allure, causing Song Ziyi, whose spirit was unstable, to be content, giggling as if unaware of the murder that had just occurred.
Even if it was the form that Lu had split, it still had Tian Ying-level strength but was slain with one stroke.
Is such a powerful player truly present in the Disciple Game? Su Ming’an was unaware of what had occurred in this scene last cycle.
"Who are you?" Qianqin attempted to engage.
The pink-haired individual remained silent, hoisting a sword once more, aiming at the next person.
Tian Ying acted without hesitation, grabbing Su Ming’an and bolting: "Run! Honestly, the closer to the end stage, the more lunatics killing randomly appear, and now even madder ones are emerging than Grandma!!!"
She spoke with her teeth chattering, and Su Ming’an discerned that she was truly scared. Having claimed she didn’t fear death, upon confronting enemies far beyond imagination, it turned out she was indeed afraid.
However, at some unknown time, the initial gate had closed, leaving only the one that the pink-haired person blocked as open.
Tian Ying gritted her teeth, disregarding any image, pulling Su Ming’an under the table like a contorted worm.
"Hey!" Su Ming’an called out.
"Be quiet!" Tian Ying covered his mouth: "In times like these, leaving it to righteous fools like Qianqin is fine. I’m the sneaky sort who only knows to hide behind; only this way can we survive!"
Up on the platform, Qianqin indeed charged forward.
Her skin transformed into a golden hue, and her pupils became a fiery molten red, wielding a Holy Sword in her palm, softly hearing the sound of rustling foliage.
Ginkgo leaves, their lifespan counted in millennia, an almost immortal race, the Golden Clan, the Immortal Clan.
Though the Plant Species’ innate combat power wasn’t very high, their lengthy lifespans enabled even a little girl who couldn’t wield a sword to become a brave and fearless warrior swinging her sword forward.
As she raised her sword, she seemed once again upon the battlefield, as a Saintess, hoisting the flag of victory.
"Song Ziyi, Fu Wenwen, Zhou Sheng... all of you hide!" Her eyes flared with flame, tilting her head: "Hui Zi, Tian Ying, if you have combat abilities, please help..."
However, behind her, there’s only Tian Ying burrowing beneath the table, with Hui Zi remaining nowhere to be seen.
Qianqin always finds herself alone, fortunately having grown accustomed, hence she remains unafraid.
"Swoosh!" The Holy Sword swung, Qianqin ceased calling for aid and struck toward the masked figure.
Without fear, she stood as the sole person to rise, and if she didn’t, what should the weak do?
Given capability, she is compelled to act.
This is a creed forever upheld by the Radiant Knight.
"Dingdong!"
Right then, the War God Dragon Wang Yin activated once more, and as Su Ming’an prepared to emerge from beneath the table, a scene appeared before his eyes.
...
"...But, I refuse." Li Ziqi refused Hui Bei.
"Why?" Hui Bei was entirely unable to fathom the reasoning behind Li Ziqi’s refusal, bewilderedly saying, "You also don’t want to end up as a bullied minor actor, so why not seize this opportunity, experience explosive talent growth, and emerge as a prominent superstar, ascend a stage of dazzling starlight, making everyone envy you?"
Li Ziqi displayed a somewhat bashful yet firm smile: "Thank you for offering me this opportunity, Executioner, but do you know one thing?"
"Hmm?" Hui Bei cocked his head, the mask letting fall several colorful cord tassels.
"My idol is Hundred Battle Saintess Qianqin, rather than a big star like Zhou Sheng." Li Ziqi said.
"So what?" Hui Bei asked incredulously, does it even matter to him who her idol is?
"Therefore——" Li Ziqi lifted her hand, gently patting her frail chest:
"You’ve misunderstood one point. What I want to be is actually a soldier, not a star."
"Just that because of being limited by fragile race, the recruitment office hasn’t approved my application, hence I’ve chosen a path of shooting war films."
"I haven’t walked onto the battlefield merely to produce blockbuster idol films and immortal hero films."
"The frail silkworm moth wishes to be a warrior, wants to learn how to wield weapons, how to run on battlefields, how to protect her mom and sister. Meanwhile, acting is the only way I can access here."
"Therefore, those vividly illustrated star-studded celebrity visions painted by you are, for me, actually devoid of allure."
Hui Bei tilted his head: "So what? After absorbing this seed, you don’t have to be a celebrity, you could become a powerful warrior, no issue."
Li Ziqi nevertheless shook her head gently, taking out a blade from her pocket:
"I know you’re an executioner of the Disciple Game, many contestants are slain by you, and this blood-red array at your feet probably constitutes the reasons behind your vile acts."
"To initiate this array, do you require some sacrifices? For instance, those immersed in explosive talent growth upon absorbing your offered ’Seeds of Joy,’ and once they achieve success and fame, you drag them back here, kill them, and irrigate the array with their blood?"
"My family lacks everything except countless worthless ancient books that are particularly abundant; I’ve inadvertently come across descriptions of this array: It’s a wicked array, needing to draw upon innumerable blood."
"What do you intend with it? Annihilate cities? Initiate war? Or...something more terrifying?"
She picked up the blade, and stood upright.
Hui Bei was silent for a moment; he hadn’t expected an ordinary girl to recognize this array. She was surprisingly clever, not blinded by desire, quickly realizing why he was bestowing favors.
"What do you want?" Hui Bei asked calmly, seeing the girl pull out a blade: "Knowing the situation, what can you do?"
"You won’t let me go." Li Ziqi smiled bitterly.
"Of course, since you already know the array’s function, you can’t leave this room. However, I will give you a painless death," Hui Bei said.
"Here, only I can stop you..."
Li Ziqi, at this moment, realized one clear point.
She could no longer leave this room; she was just an ordinary person, and Hui Bei needed only a sword to kill her.
The only thing different about her from others was that she usually read more books and knew she had unwittingly been pulled into an evil sacrificial ceremony.
The man before her wasn’t an angel of opportunity but a demon. She was the only one to discover this.
If no one stopped him, more people would surely be deceived by him, succumb to him for money and desire, and ultimately be harmed by him...
Ultimately, if the array forms, it might cause a bloody mountain of corpses...
Since she was destined to die here, she must stop him. Otherwise, more people would be harmed by desire.
Once this thought was achieved, all decisions became easy.
She raised the small blade, taking a deep breath.
She trembled.
She was very scared.
"I know nothing, just acting, my only dream to be on the battlefield, yet only in war dramas where poor explosives injure my body..."
The small blade glistened, refracting into her pupils.
In a trance, under the erroneous refraction of light, it resembled a long white edge.
Hui Bei looked at her, seemingly unimpressed by her resistance.
With the "white edge" raised, the malnourished and weak figure looked like a feeble stalk of wheat challenging a demon.
Chang Feng swept through, the stalk standing firm.
"It’s useless, put down the blade, I’ll give you a painless death," Hui Bei said calmly.
"Mr. Mask, if that’s the case, why don’t you draw the sword?" Li Ziqi smiled.
"..." Hui Bei did not speak.
"Is it because the array requires the sacrificers to die willingly?" Li Ziqi’s legs trembled, yet she still smiled: "Mr. Mask, do you know why my idol is Saintess Qianqin?"
"I don’t care," Hui Bei replied calmly.
Yet Li Ziqi started talking, as if stalling for time, fighting for one more moment of breath:
"My idol Qianqin, her deeds famous across northern countries."
"When I was young, that heroic Saintess Qianqin once visited my hometown."
"Riding on horseback, the saintess wore a helmet and armor, yet brought not war, but bountiful wheat ears and farming techniques."
"The food saved me and my sister from starvation, also casting that brilliant silhouette into my eyes."
She smiled, trembling as she raised her sword.
Frightened crazily on one side, calmly narrating on the other.
This was the calmest ordinary person Hui Bei had seen in the face of death; perhaps because she was an excellent actress, she concealed her fear and despair, portraying confidence and composure well.
"Since then, I thought, when I grow up, I must approach the battlefield, approach the saintess, thank her personally, ask her how to transform hostility into peace, how to make this world no longer have war..." Li Ziqi said, adjusting her tone.
At that time, the words spoken by the saintess in the wheat field overlapped with Li Ziqi’s trembling voice at this moment.
"[What I am doing, I regard as my lifetime’s mission...]"
The saintess raised the glorious Holy Sword, heroic and unstoppable.
The girl raised the small and rough blade, unable even to own a sword of her own.
The saintess courageously moved forward, leading her steed, thousands following.
The girl timidly moved forward, no one knowing who she was, what her name was.
The saintess’s voice was firm.
The girl’s voice trembled.
"[...I wield the sword to sever the ’evil industry’ that devours homeland, hope, and smiles!]"
"[...Even if using my bleeding body as a shield, my spine as a plow, my bones as a fortress!]"
Suddenly, Hui Bei noticed Li Ziqi’s aura surged!
—She was stalling for time, indeed digesting the "Seed of Joy"!
This was not proof of her surrender nor her becoming the array’s sacrifice, but her actively digesting this seed to gain rapid power—a bid to destroy the masked man and the array!
Since she was chosen as a sacrifice, she would die sooner or later; better to die before then...
"Mr. Mask." Li Ziqi trembled, raising the blade:
"Your information is correct, I am a small actress, constantly bullied, low pay, can’t even feed myself... I bow and scrape, watch people’s expressions, if one day I could become a big star, it would be a dream to laugh about..."
"But, but... my idol once said, ’Never climb the peak at the cost of harming others!’ "
"Such a peak will eventually collapse, will eventually be pushed over by reeds and ants!"
"Mr. Mask, I am indeed timid, therefore I fear this array will drain human flesh, I fear this array will bring war, I fear my mother will be affected by war."
"So, precisely because I am very afraid... I must stand in front of you, raising the blade against you!"
She bit her tongue, she found she was already weak in the legs, barely standing.
"Heh... sound nice." Hui Bei said calmly: "You’re just a Silkworm Moth Clan, a lower race, and my race far surpasses yours, you cannot swing the blade at me."
The gap between races was like a chasm.
Under the suppression of aura, Li Ziqi tried her best, the fear of the Hunter also could easily overcome her, restricted by the deadlock of the food chain, she couldn’t swing the blade at him no matter what.
However, the next moment, Hui Bei noticed, Li Ziqi’s gaze suddenly became firm.
"Mr. Mask, have you ever heard of... entering the role?" Li Ziqi smiled: "Now, I am ’Saintess Qianqin’."
... She actually used the "immersive" method, pretending she was Saintess Qianqin, to resist the oppression of high-level races.
This acting technique is truly astonishing.
She was no longer the humble small actor, no longer the marginalized person watching people’s expressions... She was...
Li Ziqi remembered her favorite movie, titled "Holy Daughter of Eden," telling the story of Saintess Qianqin who battled for a hundred years to end the war. She only played a small role that died from explosives, while a high-level race star played the heroine, but, but...
Countless nights, she had pretended before the mirror that it was a camera, pretending she was the heroine Qianqin, practicing the movie’s most exciting scenes countless times.
As a member of a lower race, she didn’t even get a chance to audition. But this time, the last time in her life, she finally played a role she was proud of.
She closed her eyes, completely absorbed the seed within her, and in an instant, a powerful force surged upward.
She opened her eyes, raised the white blade, her entire body trembling, reciting lines from her favorite movie, hypnotizing herself into being Saintess Qianqin to resist the oppression of the predator—
"I am, Hundred Battle Saintess Qianqin!" She screamed hoarsely:
"At this judgment, your crimes—!!!"
Using all her meager strength, she slashed at Hui Bei—
...
"Clang—!!!"
A crisp sound rang out.
The sword edge hit the scythe blade, sparks flew, and the ear-splitting collision echoed!
"... Who are you really!?" Qianqin was pushed back by the terrifying force, wiped the blood from her mouth, staring at the pink-haired person.
After a thousand years, her strength was already extremely powerful, yet she still felt the person before her was unfathomable, as if the next strike could kill her.
The pink-haired person did not answer, the wind howled violently, the scythe struck.
Qianqin gritted her teeth, refusing to retreat, raising the long blade high.
She sensed she might not withstand the next strike, however, she couldn’t retreat, with nothing behind her, if she retreated, those ordinary people would die.
This kind of murderous madman was far more terrifying than Tian Ying, if not stopped here, once he ascends, blood would flow like rivers, no one would survive, all contestants would die.
She must become the shield here, become a great wall.
She had the ability, so she must do it.
"Since I’ve decided to protect them, I won’t go back on my word, this is the creed of the Radiant Knight—’once decided to pick up the heart of protection, then never retreat’." Qianqin thought.
Call her stupid, call her inflexible, it’s a creed never forgotten.
Even the magpie with only a twenty-year lifespan lived to this day, even that time-wasting junior brother is scheming for millennia, she must not fall behind them.
She raised her sword.
She focused her eyes.
"I am, Hundred Battle Saintess Qianqin!"
She wielded emotion as her sword, if she was emotionally charged, her blood boiling, she could unleash the strongest strike.
She shouted slogans, thus mobilizing all her emotions and will, the Holy Sword gathered immensely dazzling light.
This was a strike that gathered all her belief and will, slashing down with full force!
"—At this judgment, your crimes!!!"
...
"Clang—!"
Li Ziqi spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Her blade pierced Hui Bei’s collarbone, leaving a wound, while Hui Bei’s black sword pierced her chest.
"Why do you think you can use the power I granted, to resist me?" Hui Bei said indifferently. Li Ziqi’s full force strike only made him feel slight pain, not even considered an injury.
Even if Li Ziqi was in character as "Saintess Qianqin," she was ultimately just an ordinary person, swinging the knife for the first time, how could she defeat the powerful Hui Bei.
Li Ziqi fell to the ground, panting heavily, instantly breaking from her acting state, blood gushed from her chest.
It hurt so much, as if dying, even when hit by a poor quality bomb, it didn’t hurt this much... But Saintess Qianqin would never cry from pain, she was a great actor, she must not "exit the role" due to pain.
"Mr. Mask, you seem to not realize I’ve already... won a round." She smiled despite the pain, blood sputtered from her mouth.
"You..." Hui Bei realized, Li Ziqi’s attack focus was not his collarbone at all; the moment Li Ziqi sat down, she fiercely slashed at a point on the array with her blade.
That was the weak point of the array.
How did she get such incredible luck, to know the array’s weakness.
But Hui Bei knew, this was not coincidence.
Previously, others like her tried to resist, but they didn’t know where the array’s weakness lay. Coincidentally, this time, she had read an ancient book, she knew.
If the real Qianqin were here, with a single sword, she could break this array, but alas, sitting here is Li Ziqi, her small blade only caused some minor damage to the array, requiring repair over time.
Alas, she was only Li Ziqi.
But fortunately, she was only Li Ziqi.
Her death here wouldn’t cause much loss to the world, but if Saintess Qianqin died here, countless yet-to-be saved people would fall into the abyss.
The ordinary girl sat limp on the ground, her head hanging.
Her blade fell to the ground, no longer able to wield it, yet she smiled. Because she had already accomplished her goal.
Even if it was only causing a slight damage to the array.
"My... mom... said a sentence..." She lowered her head, slowly finished the line.
This was her one chance to play "Saintess Qianqin" openly, no audience doubting her, no director scolding her.
"Nobility and... weakness... cannot coexist."
"Because, strong people have the capital to give alms and show their own nobility. While weak people struggle to live, wishing to become a dog, hanging onto the strong one’s leg for mercy..."
They say only the strong are qualified to become saints.
And the weak, just living exhausts them. Like the weak ones like Shi Ying had to cling onto men’s thighs, doing humiliating things to live till today.
They say only the wealthy can be philanthropists.
And the poor struggle just to feed their family. Like the poor ones like Lin Hejin can’t even afford to cure their illness, and their brilliant manuscripts burn with the ashes.
They say, people like you, ordinary people, should just honestly accept their destiny, living a life like dust.
They say, submit.
They say, admit defeat.
They say, give up.
They say, idealism is just a fantasy of Utopia, a fool’s dream.
They say, you should crawl back into your cramped bed, back into your bleak life, living muddle-headed, don’t have unrealistic dreams.
"But... if the world is so cruel, then why..." She spat out blood intermittently, smiling:
"I, Saintess Qianqin, gave away all my wealth to the civilians suffering from war."
"Miss Tian Ying gave the stolen money to the poor people in her hometown."
"A sheet of manuscript from the critically ill Mr. Lin became the hope of the New World."
"Mr. Ran Bo, who was despised by everyone, became the father of the Rin Clan."
"I saw... in an old book, a story recorded... even a very weak girl resolutely stood in front of the townfolk, stopping them from summoning the invaders... in the end, she was hacked to pieces, her body bloody and raw..."
"I saw... even poor people were adopting stray animals, giving them something to eat..."
"I saw... in disasters, there were grandmas willing to give their lives to others..."
"I saw... during an earthquake, a mother supporting a stone wall, leaving a will for her child using a smartphone..."
They say, you can’t only see the ugliness of the world.
You saw the entrenched racial classes, saw the cold notifications, saw colorful resumes discarded in trash bins, saw men and women on the street confronting each other with knives, saw the ridicule in the office, saw the exhausted mother reluctant to buy even an extra green vegetable.
But you also saw, saw the mother and son cuddling under the lights, saw delicious strawberry crisp in the window, saw the little cat circling around you, saw elderly couples tightly embracing in the hospital, saw the bowl of hot porridge made by a mother with the few green vegetables she had.
She is an ordinary person, her vision is very narrow, she can’t see many things.
She can’t see what the floating islands in the sky look like, can’t see the kind of golden hoe the rich use to dig the earth, can’t see how far the wings of the Celestial Clan can fly into the sky.
But she also saw many things.
She saw that even a small blade, an array introduction she happened to read, could give her the power to become a "Saintess."
She is the "Saintess."
Not "Saintess" Qianqin, but "Saintess" Li Ziqi.
She proved that nobility and weakness could coexist.
...
"Cough—!"
The scythe of the pink-haired person pierced through Qianqin’s body.
Qianqin spat out a mouthful of blood heavily, the Holy Sword in her hand falling to the ground.
...Still couldn’t win, why is the opponent so strong...
Qianqin’s vision dimmed, falling backward.
At this time, she saw, while the pink-haired person’s scythe had not yet been withdrawn, behind the pink-haired person, a figure suddenly appeared.
——It’s Tian Ying!
The girl’s full head of red hair flew with the wind, her face half tangled, half fierce, as she chopped down:
"Damn it, finally found a chance for this lady! Die, pink-haired person!"
Meanwhile, Hui Zi darted out from under the table, picking up the heavily wounded Qianqin in her arms, running towards the door.
——In order to chop at Qianqin, the pink-haired person was already several steps away from the door, no longer blocking the entrance. When Qianqin confronted the enemy head-on, Hui Zi and Tian Ying were constantly seeking opportunities to lead people to escape.
It turned out, behind Qianqin, there wasn’t just empty space.
"Really thinks of herself as a Saintess, insists on dying in battle." Tian Ying spat. She didn’t actually want to take action, she just wanted to sneak away with Little Lemon, but unfortunately, the only combat power present was her and Hui Zi. If she didn’t take action, the pink-haired person would kill Qianqin and block the door, leaving no one able to leave.
...Oh dear, it’s a pity. If only others would sacrifice themselves in front, she could sneak away quietly.
"Shing!"
At the first instant of chopping down, Tian Ying sensed the terrifying aura of the pink-haired person, this was definitely not an opponent she could handle.
"Oh shit! Run..." She turned her head to run.
For a moment, she saw Little Lemon running towards the door.
Silence lasted only a brief moment, the next moment, she turned her head to meet the scythe of the pink-haired person.
"Clang—!"
Full head of red hair flew up.
...
"Shing!"
Hui Bei drew out the blade, blood spurted.
Li Ziqi fell to the ground, her pupils gradually dimming, blood streaming from the corner of her mouth, her breathing becoming weak.
"Ding—Dong!"
As the heartbeat grew weaker, she touched her chest, a small pendant.
It was a gift her mom gave her on her coming of age. Due to tight finances, mom could only buy a pendant in the vegetable market, personally engraving "Mom’s most proud superstar Ziqi" on it, like a pirated golden medal.
Whenever she was scolded by the director, bullied by others, she would grip this pendant, telling herself, mom was still waiting for her at home, don’t resist, don’t get angry, don’t lose this job.
Mom said, only by enduring hardship can ordinary people have work.
Mom said, only by swallowing grievances can ordinary people have meals.
But, mom, for those without talent, is their life wasted from the start?
Can’t ordinary people burst forth with radiance? Are ordinary people destined to live like dust all their lives?
"...Mom...I’m sorry...I can’t go home tonight." The ordinary girl smiled slightly, slowly coughing up blood.
"But...I really..."
"Played the role of a... true Saintess..."
"The array I broke... at least... can delay some time... some people will be saved..."
"My name is Li Ziqi, I am a small actress..."
She was an ordinary girl.
She had a talent for acting, fantasized about being a Hero, dominating the screens, yet she was always cast as a minor role.
She was targeted by popular young stars, forced to run around buying coffee, bullied, and insulted.
She held her pitiful acting fee and boxed lunch, wore stinky, poor-quality clothes, called upon and dismissed at a whim.
To seek a chance to become a big star, she came here, wanting to become famous in the game of life and death.
However, the ensuing story was completely different from what Su Ming’an had written.
She encountered Hui Bei, got caught in a sacrifice, and faced with the desire to become a big star, she did not succumb but instead—
became the most tenacious reed.
Aiming to trip the mighty beast.
...
"Bang!"
At the moment the door crashed open, Su Ming’an glanced back.
He had to leave, Li Ziqi’s body was too weak, War God Dragon Wang Yin had no response, this pink-haired person was truly unexpected, he must rush to the third underground level to get Su Liujin’s information, then restart or else everyone would die here with nothing.
Turning back, he saw Tian Ying’s flowing red hair.
He only caught a glimpse of her rose-like eyes filled with self-mockery and sudden realization, her blade instantly severed by the pink-haired person, fragile as reed.
"Haah...!"
No longer having a weapon, she had no strength left to fight back, she raised her middle finger at the pink-haired person, showing a vicious gesture, yet took no step back.
"Pink hair, fuck your grandma! ***! ***!" Using incredibly vicious swears, she showed the pink-haired person her middle finger: "By the way, why does grandma love Little Lemon so much! Can’t figure it out even at death!"
"However, it feels quite good, like drinking strong liquor! Apparently, that drunk dad said ’love’ is this feeling, really a bothersome thing..."
She raised her head, knowing she could no longer escape, the pink-haired person’s scythe came slashing down.
For the first time, muddy eyes harbored vibrant flames. She seemed to see Little Lemon smile beneath the light.
Hating her fierce mom, indifferent drunk dad, despising strangers, men treating her like a dog... Little Lemon’s smile, such a thrill, was something she had never possessed in her life.
She felt the warmth of "love" for the first time, the burning temperature in her heart, mistakenly made her feel happy, like sunlight finally shone upon her battered body. Like drinking a huge mouthful of high-proof liquor, making her whole body tremble.
"Were I to have never seen the light..." she murmured.
...Now, would I still fear returning to the loveless darkness?
Don’t leave me.
Don’t hate me.
In the next instant.
"Shua!"
That beautiful head flew into the air.
Like slicing a piece of tofu, the pink-haired person’s scythe easily shattered her.
The residual impact flooded into Tian Ying’s body, incredibly terrifying power instantly tore her slender body apart, blood blossomed, limbs splattered.
...
["Truly, on the day of my death... Little Lemon, you’re the only one I care about, please promise me."]
[Those rose-like eyes gazed at him:]
["Promise me, let my death be beautiful, clean."]
["I’ve been dirty all my life, at least let my end be clean."]
...
"Swish..." the stench filled the air.
Organs and blood splattered everywhere, Tian Ying’s body parts shattered, falling to the ground with a splash, like splattering mud.
The pink-haired person shook off the scythe, flinging away the blade dirtied with blood.
Taking the opportunity, Zhou Sheng, Hui Zi, Qi Mon and others finally escaped through the open door.
No one expected the worst person to give them the time to escape.
...
"Cough cough... ah..."
Li Ziqi lay in a pool of blood, slowly closing her eyes.
Her blurred vision gazed at Mr. Mask.
What a pity, such a great scene, such an immersed actress, a performance worthy to be recorded in film history as a textbook example of "Saintess Qianqin," yet only had one audience.
After breaking the array, she could finally leave the acting state, no longer fearing Hui Bei’s pressure.
"In this world..." she slowly smiled, clutching the pendant her mother gave:
"I love... acting the most."
"Because... if I say I don’t love acting... like battles..."
"Then... then if I truly become a great hero on the battlefield, one victory costs countless lives, so many die for my hero’s name..."
"Then let me... remain a small actor..."
A small actor can also become a "Saintess."
She was from the Silkworm Moth Clan, a short-lived, weak, powerless race, but some researched, this insect’s appearance, wings like leaves, looked very much like ginkgo leaves.
Silkworm Moths and ginkgo leaves, worlds apart, the former lives only dozens of years, the latter hundreds of thousands of years.
Even if no one cares.
Even if no one remembers.
Even if she dies here, no one would know her name.
Even if her whole life was merely a starting line for others.
At least, nobility and weakness coexist.
She played the part of a great "warrior," delivering the most immersive performance, even Luoasha’s most famous Heavenly Queen surely could not portray it better than she did at this moment.
"Are you... angry..." Li Ziqi whispered, "Masked... Sir."
"No." Hui Bei lowered his eyelids and checked, "As an ordinary person, you tried your best but only managed to destroy a corner of the array, merely delaying me for two or three days."
"Cough..." Li Ziqi gasped.
"However." Hui Bei said slowly, "Even if our standings differ, I must say... as an ordinary person, you were a good actor... no, you were a good warrior. Your performance touched me."
"What... is that." Li Ziqi slowly closed her eyes, "I wasn’t... acting... to... move you..."
She did it for the courage to wield a sword.
She did it to prove that nobility and weakness can coexist.
It’s not only the wealthy who have the right to do good.
It’s not only the strong who have the right to be noble.
"Mom..." she kissed the pendant:
"Tonight... I won’t be going... back for dinner..."
"Masked sir, even if... it only delays for two or three days... I believe... someone will... during this time, discover this array and stop you..."
"...Cough!"
With the last cough, the girl ceased breathing.
The pendant stained red, blood pooled on the ground.
Hui Bei bowed his head, the mask gleamed with a weary cold light.
This world has far too many disheartening matters.
Some can stabilize the night effortlessly but choose to become accomplices to darkness, aiding evil. Some toil lifelong yet only manage to expose a sliver of light, yet resolutely commit their life to this endeavor.
Some take kitchen knives, yelling as they rush into the streets; some don firefighting gear, silently plunging into the fire.
Some drive large trucks recklessly through parks; others drive ambulances tirelessly to disaster areas.
Some struggle desperately to transform from ginkgo leaves to butterflies, while others wish only to change from silkworm moths to ginkgo leaves.
But, ah, destiny is fraught, winds vast, do they know —
...
Ye Changqing.
Yet the butterfly and moth are fleeting.
...
"Justice is my sword!"
"The victory of slaughter is but a momentary acclaim on ruins; whereas the foundation of peace is built with countless moments of refusing to sink!" Her voice, passionate yet cohesive from conviction, "It does not lie in distant agreements or the gifts of the mighty, but lies within each ordinary chest and every courage that rises against injustice and oppression—"
"[Stand firm!]"
She raised the red flag, the face marked with victory.
In the wheat field, a black-haired girl, on the brink of starvation, crazily stuffed thin porridge into her mouth while gazing at the radiant Saintess Qianqin delivering her speech.
How... beautiful she is.
Even if her cheeks were scarred, her skin rough and dark, her voice coarse and hoarse, in the girl’s eyes, the speaking saintess was so beautiful and grand.
I will become someone like her... the young Li Ziqi thought quietly, her stomach painfully aching from hunger.
"[Brethren! Warriors! Citizens! Listen to my orders, I am the Holy Daughter of Eden, Knight Qianqin!]" Qianqin waved her hand, calling out.
Her armor, like burning sun:
"[The world is in the most perilous time now, evil souls eyeing our peace, I and my warriors promise you, we will cut down all wickedness, cut down all darkness, cut down all delusions! Come, weak ones, follow me!"]
"[I will use this body, this sword, this life— to forge a great wall for you!]"
"[If even one of you, upon hearing this speech, decides to pursue justice and light, I shall feel immense gratitude and pride!]"
——"The Holy Daughter of Eden" · Scene Thirty-Seven · Saintess Qianqin’s Lines
...
"——Scatter!" Hui Zi called everyone after rushing into the tunnel.
There is only one with pink hair; they couldn’t win even combined, to avoid complete annihilation, they had to scatter and run!
Su Ming’an immediately chose a direction and dashed to the right, at this moment, he thought... so this is what ordinary players feel.
Living day by day, powerlessly resisting, even as companions fell, one could only desperately run forward.
"..." He tightly held the foil-wrapped heart Tian Ying just handed, placing it into his upper pocket.
Her love was wrong, her sacrifice was a product of error. Yet, even amidst errors, she "correctly" did it once.
What is love?
——Is it the lowly sacrificing oneself facing invincible enemies for righteousness.
——Or is it the mighty adhering to creeds, becoming an unyielding fortress.
——Or is it the shadow-driven rushing into death for a scorching flame in their heart?
For this answer, everyone has different interpretations, yet Su Ming’an had witnessed it time and again.
Even to this day, even he could answer this question, and had proven it countless times, countless times.
...
"Snap."
The sound of very light footsteps.
In the darkness, Hui Bei crouched down, gently covering Li Ziqi with a white cloth, shielding her unclosed eyes and wiping away the blood stains from her cheek.
He stood, examined the damaged array, and sighed:
"...At most, two or three days can be delayed, that’s what you’re risking your life to destroy."
"Take the opportunity I give you and enjoy a period of superstar life, isn’t that good? You’re already terminally ill, you just don’t know it yourself; you only have a few months of life left..."
"Trying hard to stay up at night to hone your acting skills, hoping that someday you could become the heroine, but don’t you know? In this world, it’s all about capital, and without health, an ordinary person has nothing..."
He was silent for a while, picked up the necklace around Li Ziqi’s neck, and glanced at the production place:
"Lichen Country... Karta District... Pele Town... a barren little town, it seems to have been ravaged by war..."
"Your mother... is she really okay..."
He stood silently again for a while, slowly taking off his mask, revealing a face with faint traces of tears.
He looked at the girl’s pale cheeks, at her final smile.
The golden pendant jingled, engraved with the words "Mom’s most proud superstar Ziqi."
She was a great actress, a great warrior.
An ordinary person, a Hundred Battle Saintess.
A moth, a leaf.
A reed, a mountain.
"I will send your corpse out, but I can’t guarantee that the organizers will bury you; maybe they will reuse your body, let players possess you..." Hui Bei slowly hung her inferior pendant back, hanging it on her teary smile:
"...Until now, I still can’t understand."
"What exactly is this ’love’ you all talked about."
"Why does it make you, all of you, my brother, my sister, and that person from the Otherworld with the surname Su, and everyone in the world... disregard everything."
...
"Suppose you never saw the light in your whole life..."
"Would you not hate the darkness so much?"
...
"Tch."
Su Ming’an ran into a room.
This room was extremely dark, without light.
Suddenly, a series of footsteps sounded behind him, it was Hui Zi holding Qianqin, followed by Zhou Sheng and Fu Wenwen. It seems they chose the same path as him.
Forget Hui Zi, but why did Zhou Sheng and Fu Wenwen follow me?
"Li Ziqi... I remember now! I’ve heard your name, your supporting role, you performed very well!" Zhou Sheng gasped weakly and raised his thumb, praising Su Ming’an: "You just lack some resources; your acting skills are absolutely without question! I trust your character! I am following you! After we return, I’ll give you very good film resources, make you my leading actress, you’ll definitely become the new generation of superstars!"
"I, I think you’re a good person, so I follow you..." Fu Wenwen said too.
Su Ming’an didn’t say much, swiftly locked the door.
He looked around, searching for a candle, but tripped over something.
"I’ll give some light." Zhou Sheng gasped, his finger lit up with light, so it turned out his ability was controlling light.
Through the tiny halo, Su Ming’an saw at his feet, were two bloodstained bodies, their pupils full of fear and confusion, their necks cleanly split in two halves.
"...Hm?" At the moment he saw the faces of the bodies, his mind quickly thought.
One Xiao Su.
One Wang Xingkong.
Underneath them was a nearly completed array.
Li Ziqi’s sacrifice delayed the time for two days.
Allowing the possessed Su Ming’an to discover this array.
...
[Li Ziqi lay in the pool of blood, exhaling her last breath, her eyes stained with blood looked at the empty ceiling.]
["Mr. Mask, even if... only two or three days can be delayed... I still believe... someone will... during this period, discover this array, stop you."]
["Even if only... the protagonist can solve the dilemma... at least... I can become... a clue that lets the protagonist shine..."]
["I am a reed, but reeds... can also become a rope that trips giants..."]
["This is... the thing I can do..."]
[She seemed to see, that passionate speech in the wheat field, that Saintess Qianqin resembling the sun.]
[—That light, how dazzling it is.]
[It was that light that made her firm in her choice to face death.]
[In the last flash of images, she smiled and closed her eyes forever:]
...
Thankfully.
—I once saw the light.
...
Thus the ginkgo became a butterfly.
Thus the reed became a mountain.
Don’t trust,
"What they say."
...
...
"Ding-dong!"
[Twelve Stories·"If I Never Saw the Light" Completion: 50%]
...
