Chapter 56: The Thrilling Second Act

Lianhu Road, No. 88.

Inside a relatively spacious bedroom, Yan Duoduo, Huang Wei, Gu Nian, and Xu Peng stood frozen in place, watching Tang Feng and Ren Ye with expectant eyes.

This time, he wasn’t entering alone. He had new friends to send him off and a companion who would face life and death alongside him.

Swish!

As the time arrived, two Star Gates materialized above their heads, glowing with a dazzling array of colors.

“3!”

“2!”

“Goodbye, my friends!”

Ren Ye’s expression was somber as he bid everyone farewell with a calm demeanor.

“Goodbye, my dear comrades! If I don’t return, please bury my cenotaph under a tombstone with no words on it.”

Tang Feng’s face carried a roguish smile as he waved nonchalantly.

Below the bed, the four spectators raised their arms solemnly, fingertips meeting above their chests to form a roof-like gesture. This was a unique salute of the Vigil Keepers, symbolizing protection.

“May you return safely!”

They chanted softly in unison.

Whoosh, whoosh!

As the countdown ended, the two figures were absorbed into the Star Gates, vanishing completely.

…

Cold, dark.

An intense numbness spread through his body, followed by a wave of dizziness. Ren Ye struggled for a long time before finally opening his eyes.

Crimson drapes, embroidered bedding adorned with dragons, and a palace lantern overhead—this all felt so familiar…

Summoning great effort, Ren Ye propped himself up on the bed, glancing around the room. He immediately recognized it—this was his personal chamber.

Am I… just waking up? Why does my body feel so sore? Did Lian’er take liberties with me again last night? Ah, that woman really has no sense of restraint…

Rubbing his temples, Ren Ye chose not to act rashly. Instead, he patiently waited.

Sure enough, moments later, a mystical, ethereal voice echoed in his ears:

[Mystic Legacy Quest Unlocked—Second Act: The Tomb of the Princess of the Previous Dynasty]

[Background Information: The turbulent undercurrents in Qingliang Prefecture seem to all trace back to a certain tomb. It is said to be the resting place of the eldest princess of the Jing Dynasty, harboring countless untold stories as well as a mysterious and extraordinary legacy…]

[Hidden Faction Activated: Prince Huai’s Faction.]

[Faction Realignment: Court Faction, Opportunist Faction, Prince Huai’s Faction.]

[Global Faction Warning: A player secretly planted by the old Prince Huai is hidden within the Court Faction, lying in wait for an opportunity to strike.]

[Your Trump Card: A father’s love is as steadfast as a mountain. Your father, a talented and battle-hardened ruler, foresaw that the treacherous Emperor, his elder brother, would one day seek to harm you. Thus, years ago, he planted a loyal agent within the Court. This agent will never betray you. Finding them is crucial to your path to victory.]

[Special Tool Activated—Royal Command: Beyond your hidden agent, you can also use the Royal Command to convert two players from any faction to join Prince Huai’s Faction. However, this requires personal charisma, and the recruited players must pledge their allegiance.]

[Main Objective: Tonight, at the hour of the Rat (11 PM to 1 AM), the tomb of the eldest princess of the Jing Dynasty will open. All eleven players must enter, and no followers are allowed. You must lead your faction members to successfully overcome every challenge. Failure will result in the death of all players within Prince Huai’s Faction. Mission Difficulty: SSS-Level.]

[Main Objective: Find the lost “spirit” within the Nation-Stabilizing Sword inside the princess’s tomb. Failure will make victory almost impossible. Mission Difficulty: SS-Level.]

[Death Rule: Death is a common occurrence at any stage within the princess’s tomb. Treasure your life. During this act, player-versus-player kills will no longer drop identity tags. Should anyone die, the role they play will be completely erased from Qingliang Prefecture by the Star Gate.]

[Special Tool—Disguise Talisman: Left behind by a mysterious and powerful Taoist, this extraordinary tool can alter your appearance. It can only be used once, with a duration of five full days. (This is to protect you from exposing your role as a member of Prince Huai’s household within the tomb.)]

[All Faction Special Reminder: The time limit to clear the Princess Tomb is exactly five days. Emperor Jing has decreed that Prince Huai is the key to unlocking the tomb. Until the tomb is opened, no one may harm him.]

[Departure Countdown: 135:58:11]

[Stellar Scar Gate’s Blessing: All your patience has been for the final act of vengeance. Now, we humbly invite His Highness Prince Huai to begin his rebellion.]

The ethereal voice gradually faded until it vanished completely…

Ren Ye came back to his senses, instinctively summarizing this chapter’s theme with three simple words: “Go all out.”

Looking back on the first act from this perspective, all prior events were mere groundwork. The Princess Tomb of the former dynasty was the real centerpiece. The Stellar Scar Gate had made it nearly explicit: this act would pit all three factions against each other directly, with fatal consequences for the unwary.

Every one of the eleven players must enter the Princess Tomb, and they could not bring any companions. This meant that Second Fool, his reliable yet dim-witted guard, wouldn’t be allowed. Nor could Lian’er, his close ally with whom he shared a bond forged through thick and thin.

This was both a blow to his combat strength and a strike to his morale.

But thankfully, the old Prince Huai had been wise enough to leave behind a secret ally. This meant someone within the court faction—a mole—was working for him.

Still, why hadn’t this person approached him yet?

Could it be that this mole would only realize their true allegiance in this act? Heaven and Buddha, please let that be the case. If not, then this mole was undoubtedly an idiot…

I’ve already brought one lunatic into this game; I can’t afford to deal with a fool as well. Otherwise, this team will be impossible to carry.

Ren Ye stretched his numb legs and stepped off the bed. Glancing out through the decorative window, he confirmed it was daytime. Judging from the sun’s position, it was likely morning.

The tomb would open tonight at midnight, which meant he still had several hours to prepare.

Ren Ye deduced that the Stellar Scar Gate hadn’t forced players directly into the Princess Tomb upon arrival to give them some time to prepare. It also subtly hinted that players could use this time to identify their allies.

For Ren Ye, however, this preparation window wasn’t particularly critical. First, he already had one mole ally. While he didn’t yet know their identity, the Stellar Scar Gate had explicitly stated that this person was a loyal supporter who couldn’t betray him.

Second, he planned to use one of his royal commands to recruit Tang Feng.

This left Ren Ye with room to recruit only one more ally. His intended target? The princess consort. After all, they’d shared more than a few private moments behind closed curtains, establishing a certain foundation of trust…

With this plan in mind, the lineup would be himself, Tang Feng, the mole, and the princess consort. Together, they would face everyone else. Of course, this assumed the princess consort was willing to join.

Wait. Could the mole in the court faction actually be her? No, no, no. The term “mole” implied someone hidden. The princess consort had been openly close to him in the main hall before. That ruled her out.

As for the conclusion that they would have to fight everyone else, it seemed inevitable. His identity as Prince Huai clearly placed him in the “solo victory” role within this factional conflict, making cooperation with the other two factions impossible.

After this analysis, Ren Ye decided to revisit the secret chamber to search for information on the Princess Tomb and to test the princess consort’s intentions…

Clang!

Just as he was deep in thought, the sound of metal hitting the ground broke his concentration.

“Your Highness, you’re awake?!” a familiar voice called out.

Ren Ye looked up to see Lian’er standing there, a water basin fallen from her hands. Like a child, she ran over and threw herself into his arms with a thud.

“You have no idea… we… we thought you’d never wake up again!”

“What do you mean, ‘never wake up’?” Ren Ye asked curiously.

“Your Highness, ever since that day in the main hall, when you crushed the court faction into submission… you’ve been asleep for a full seven days,” Lian’er said softly. “I… I was truly afraid you’d never wake up.”

Hearing those words, Ren Ye froze in place. He carefully searched his memory and realized that, indeed, he had no recollection of anything since the grand battle that day.

I’ve been asleep for seven days?

Could this be some kind of operational mechanism of the Stellar Scar Gate? Do players automatically fall into a slumber when they’re absent?

No, that didn’t seem right. If players merely slept, what would stop an Enlightened One’s gate spirit from suddenly killing them?

For a moment, Ren Ye was confused and couldn’t make sense of the rules here.

“What about Second Fool? How’s his injury?” Unable to figure it out, Ren Ye decided to set it aside and instead inquired about his loyal but clueless guard.

“Hmph, you didn’t even ask how I’ve been!” Lian’er huffed with a hint of jealousy.

“Do I even need to ask? You’re here, alive and stunning, as radiant as ever,” Ren Ye responded smoothly.

“Your Highness, you really know how to sweet-talk…!” Lian’er blushed furiously.

“Hahaha!”

Just as the two were bantering playfully, a hearty voice rang out.

“Whoosh!”

Second Fool, moving like a ghost, suddenly appeared before Ren Ye and dropped to the ground in a formal bow. “Second Fool greets Your Highness!”

“You’ve recovered?” Ren Ye asked, delighted to see him as strong and robust as ever.

“Thanks to the princess consort, who had Miss Xue deliver two pills. After taking them, I recovered in no time,” Second Fool reported earnestly, still kneeling. “I can even take on that Old Daoist Xu again for you, Your Highness!”

“Why bring up that useless old lamp? What a jinx.” Ren Ye muttered inwardly but quickly helped Second Fool to his feet. “Get up! It’s good that you’re fine.”

“Oh, right!” Second Fool exclaimed after standing up. “Earlier, a courtesan from the Palace of Joy came to visit you, but I told her you were still unconscious. However, she left a message for you… though it was quite strange.”

“What was it?” Ren Ye asked.

“She said, ‘Shoulder-length hair, knee-high socks, the kind that just screams ‘top-tier,’’” Second Fool mimicked in an odd tone.

“That doesn’t sound like someone from a respectable background,” Lian’er commented dryly.

“Hurry, bring her in!” Ren Ye’s hand shot up immediately; the code phrase was unmistakable.

“She said she wouldn’t return unless you replied with a sentence that demonstrated your brilliance,” Second Fool added truthfully.

What an insufferable lunatic, even now he’s playing games.

Grinding his teeth in irritation, Ren Ye nonetheless played along with Tang Feng’s poetic challenge: “Tailored blazer, cropped trousers—makes even sows tremble.”

“Also another bizarre thing to say,” Second Fool muttered, perplexed but impressed.

“Wait, hold on a second!” Ren Ye suddenly froze, a thought striking him. “You said… ‘also bizarre’? What do you mean by ‘also’? Have you heard other odd phrases recently?”

“During the time you were unconscious, I’ve been on high alert and visited the dungeon a few times,” Second Fool replied after a pause. “You know me, sharp senses and all. That idiot Liu, the Imperial Inspector, seemed quite distressed… and every night, he mumbles in his sleep—things related to you, Your Highness.”

“What did he say?” Ren Ye pressed. “Quick, imitate him in detail.”

“Your Highness, I feel these words might be a bit… disrespectful…”

“Just say it; it’s fine.”

“Alright.” Second Fool took a deep breath, then suddenly closed his eyes and, in an exaggerated manner, shouted while flailing his legs: “Stupid Prince Huai! I curse you—I hope your father will always encounter vice raids when he gets in a car, and your grandmother will always run into hooligans when she dances!”

“?!”

Ren Ye grinded his teeth, his mouth twitching. “Well, well. A cultured individual, crafting such neatly structured curses.”

…

Fifteen minutes earlier.

The player Guo Cai’er slowly awakened, her delicate brows furrowed as she murmured to herself: “A faction-wide special reminder… and we, the court faction, have a mole loyal to Prince Huai?!”

Release rate will come back to normal tomorrow