PTYS Chapter 188

When the favorability increased, everyone’s panels displayed their respective favorability with the NPCs.

Because everyone knew too many people, the list was so full it was overwhelming.

However, only Mei Qianqian’s favorability had changed, so her name was highlighted and very noticeable.

Shen Qingqiu’s favorability with Mei Qianqian was 49, Su Jin was only 20, Chen Kaijie was 18, Zuo Tiantian was 50, and Xiao Muyu, after an increase of 3.9 points, barely reached 60.4.

There was a note below: “Below 60, kill without mercy.”

Xiao Muyu was shocked, but Shen Qingqiu signaled her to calm down. No matter what, they hadn’t done anything wrong in this round.

At this moment, Mei Qianqian’s gaze towards Xiao Muyu had clearly changed. She seemed to be in some pain. Finally, she looked up at Miao Anli and said with difficulty, “Brother An, stop this. There are specific people responsible for the destruction of the Dong family who deserve to die, but Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu are innocent. Even if they are guilty, you have already punished them. Since they are still alive, it might be fate.”

Mei Qianqian’s words made Xiao Qian’s eyes widen, his head buzzing. He looked at Mei Qianqian in disbelief and muttered, “A Qian, what did you call him?”

Mei Qianqian said nothing, but her gaze on Xiao Qian was full of intertwined hatred and pain. This revenge had cost too much, punishing them and herself.

Miao Anli, however, became even more furious upon hearing Mei Qianqian. “Fate? Is it fate that the Dong family’s dozens of lives were taken by them? You pity them, but they are heartless, they are beasts! They won’t feel regret or pain without experiencing the loss of loved ones themselves. If it weren’t for your repeated mercy, these culprits would have been in hell long ago. And now you’re protecting their daughters? Do you think you’re being fair to your parents, your older brothers?”

Miao Anli’s face, once gentle and handsome, twisted with hatred. The black aura on his face grew thicker, making him look even more menacing.

Shen Yurou looked at him, her lips trembling, but she didn’t know what to say. The deep hatred, betrayal, and deceit had cut off ten years of feelings, leaving her heartbroken.

“What’s going on? A Qian, how could you be involved with him? It’s impossible! If it were true, why did you marry me? Why?” Xiao Qian’s face was flushed red. He genuinely liked Mei Qianqian. Ten years ago, just a glimpse of her outside the city of Yingzhou made him think of her constantly. He inquired about her and brought her into his house despite his real wife’s illness. After Xiao Muyu’s mother passed away, he made Mei Qianqian his official wife and never took another concubine, even though he never had any children with her. Xiao Qian was a rough man, but he had been consistent with Mei Qianqian for ten years, which made it hard to imagine him being so heartless to his previous wife. His pain and bewilderment were no less than Shen Yurou’s. Xiao Muyu glanced at him, feeling a vague sense of sorrow. This is human nature, she thought: a man so cold and heartless could fall deeply for someone, only to face inevitable retribution.

“Father, stop being delusional. What must come will come. When you do something wrong, you must expect this day. Mei Qianqian and Miao Anli, even their names were chosen with such care.”

Xiao Muyu looked at Mei Qianqian and Miao Anli, sighing softly.

“Names? What do you mean?” Chen Kaijie asked, puzzled.

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes lowered, and she said softly, “No wonder there were so many word games; the biggest riddle was within you.”

Their conversation was like a riddle, leaving others in the room bewildered.

“You’re really clever. Had we resolved you earlier, this situation might have been more interesting.”

“Qianli Grass, He Qingqing. Mei Qianqian, Miao Anli, the word ‘grass’ across a thousand miles spells ‘Dong’ (董).”

Xiao Muyu calmly stated her thoughts, causing Shen Wanlin and Xiao Qian’s faces to change drastically.

“That’s right. Since the Dong family was exterminated, A Qian and I have been tracking the culprits and living under different names. We can no longer use the surname Dong because our family is gone, but I didn’t want to completely abandon it. Remembering the children’s rhyme cursing Dong Zhuo, I adapted the Dong surname, never expecting you to figure it out.”

“Ding!” The system notification sounded. “Congratulations to player Xiao Muyu for activating the final puzzle of the 007 chain mission and successfully solving it. The 007 chain mission is now complete! Congratulations to player Xiao Muyu for earning the new title, ‘Mysterious Woman’. When this title is activated, regardless of age or gender, people will see you as an enigma, attracting and bewildering them, with a 99 increase in charm.”

The sudden hidden mission and reward almost disrupted Xiao Muyu’s speech. She paused for a few seconds, frowned, and then looked at Miao Anli. “Granted to you? You and the second mother weren’t originally from the Dong family?”

Hearing Xiao Muyu bring this up, Miao Anli’s eyes instantly reddened, his throat trembling, unable to speak. Tears welled up in his eyes, filled with hatred.

He turned to look at the four paper figures, his eyes shimmering with pain.

“Yes, we are not blood-related to the Dong family,” Mei Qianqian said, also looking at the four paper figures.

Xiao Qian couldn’t help but let out a breath, as if relieved. But Mei Qianqian’s tone shifted, painful yet resolute. “But to us, they were like our parents. Originally, my brother and I swore to serve the Dong family for life, but they not only didn’t want us to repay them, but also adopted us, treating us like their own children. I thought we had met gods, finally had a home, parents, and brothers. Everything was so perfect, like a dream.”

She couldn’t continue, the pain gripping her throat, making it impossible for her to utter another word.

She would always remember how desperate she was, how on that winter morning she had bumped into the middle-aged couple in luxurious clothes, and when they gently supported her, she stole the man’s wallet.

People nearby reminded the man to watch his money, and he just laughed it off casually. Eventually, she ran into the dilapidated temple with the wallet, hoping to take Miao Anli to see a doctor, only to find the couple outside, pitying her.

She had thought she would be beaten, but instead, they took her home, not only curing Miao Anli’s illness but also giving the two orphans a home.

She would never forget what the man said, “Under these conditions, you two, who have no blood relation, can trust each other, take risks for each other, you surely are not bad kids. Come home with us. This winter is too cold.”

That year she was six, and Miao Anli was eight.

Miao Anli’s voice choked with sobs, “But only a year, just a year, and you destroyed it! How can you be so heartless? They saved you, didn’t they deserve a little mercy? You didn’t spare anyone, you beasts!”

“And weren’t you at Dongjia Village at that time?” Xiao Muyu’s heart also felt heavy. It was fate’s joke—both saved people, saved two kids, for twenty years, always remembered, vowed to avenge Dong’s family. Yet, the two men they saved became the root of this hatred.

“Our elder brother had just come of age. We, being young, were sent to Zhuanyang Academy in Yue City by our parents before. We happened to visit our teacher.

Because my second brother was getting married, we rushed back, but the snow blocked the road, and we returned too late. When we finally got back…”

At this point, Mei Qianqian’s expression began to crack, her eyes filled with hatred, obviously recalling the tragic scene of that year.

“Little Mei, are you still going to stop me? If you remember that scene, can you still stop me? These beasts don’t even admit it. But I don’t need your acknowledgment; go down and apologize to them!”

As she spoke, Miao Anli’s face twisted, biting his finger, and the blood that emerged from the fingertip was black, like ink.

Mei Qianqian’s face turned pale, her eyes overflowing with terror and pain, “You really did it. You can’t turn back, An Ge, why don’t you listen to me? Even if you want them dead, you shouldn’t use this method.”

Miao Anli looked at her, a sad smile on his face, then turned to look at Shen Yurou, who was crying unknowingly. He said sorrowfully, “I’ve long since turned back. This should have ended long ago.”

Xiao Muyu watched Miao Anli’s eerie transformation, her heart sinking. It seemed the danger was not over yet.

But they still had many things unclear, yet this script’s setting gave them no chance to discuss properly.

She quickly said, “You want to take revenge on my father, on us, I can understand. After all, what you did was indeed deserving of punishment.

But what about those eight girls? How innocent they were. Didn’t you ever think they, like your second brother Dong Zhongxuan, were about to get married but died before happiness arrived? They destroyed a family, and you destroyed several.”

She then looked at Mei Qianqian, “Second Madam, you want me and Qingqiu to pay the price, we accept it, but why involve those eight people? What did they do wrong? What is that jar for?”

Mei Qianqian’s face was ashen, shaking her head constantly, murmuring, “Eight girls, An Ge, why won’t you give up?”

Shen Qingqiu glanced at Xiao Muyu, pressed her wrist, and the dagger was in her hand, ready to strike.

At this moment, Miao Anli’s eyes were bloodshot. He glanced at Shen Yurou, then quickly stepped forward, reaching out to point at the paper doll. But his movements were fast, and Shen Qingqiu was faster.

A dagger suddenly shot through the air, blocking Miao Anli’s path, then quickly slashed across, forcing him to retreat rapidly.

Looking at the person before him, Miao Anli was extremely surprised, “When did you learn martial arts?”

Shen Qingqiu wanted to act, but her movement suddenly froze, a sharp pain in her head making her forehead break out in cold sweat. She almost dropped the dagger in her hand.

The system’s sharp scream rang out, making Xiao Muyu’s heart sink. At this moment, she still had to maintain her persona!

Xiao Muyu panicked inside, while Miao Anli had already noticed Shen Qingqiu’s odd behavior. His face darkened, and he laughed maniacally, his left hand turning into paper, rapidly slicing towards Shen Qingqiu.

“Qingqiu!” Xiao Muyu’s heart pounded, at this moment she couldn’t even draw her sword, only helplessly leaping forward, trying to stop Miao Anli.

But it was too late.

As Shen Qingqiu was distracted by the severe pain, a figure faster than Xiao Muyu pushed her aside, both of them falling to the ground.

Blood splattered everywhere, staining Miao Anli’s hands red, and burning his eyes red.

“Yurou, Qingqiu!” Shen Wanlin’s mournful cry echoed. At this critical moment, Shen Yurou protected Shen Qingqiu.

But Miao Anli’s hand, as sharp as a knife, slashed a deep wound on Shen Yurou’s back, and blood gushed out instantly.

Shen Wanlin rushed over, holding Shen Yurou, desperately trying to press on the wound with his clothes.

Struggling, Shen Yurou was helped up by Shen Qingqiu, turned her head to look at Miao Anli, her tears finally unable to be restrained, “Did you ever…”

She breathed heavily, wanting to ask Miao Anli, but in the end, she didn’t say those words. Whether there was or not, it meant nothing to them now, just adding to the embarrassment.

She swallowed the rest of her words, looking at her elder brother who had always protected her since childhood, sorrowfully saying, “Some mistakes can’t be corrected, can’t be repented… We’re not worth dying for, don’t harm, don’t harm… Xiao Qi.”

She glanced at Shen Qingqiu, her body weakly closing her eyes. Shen Qingqiu, who considered herself cold-blooded and clear-headed, saw her aunt, who had always smiled brightly in her memories, perish in one night, and the pain in her heart still stirred sharply. “Ah, Yurou, it’s my fault, I’ve wronged you!”

Shen Wanlin, in unbearable grief, lost his struggle and calculation, crying out loud.

Miao Anli stared blankly at Shen Yurou, his panic-stricken steps forward, wanting to reach out but withdrew upon seeing the blood on his fingertips, his face turning even more frenzied.

He laughed madly, tears streaming down his face. He was no longer human.

His left hand turned into a strip of white, clearly white paper. He was turning into a paper doll himself.

At this moment, the main NPCs were present, and Chen Kaijie and the others couldn’t use those obvious props. Even Xiao Muyu’s sword couldn’t be drawn.

They could only fight with bare hands. Chen Kaijie, in desperation, picked up a chair and smashed it forward.

Xiao Muyu was already standing beside Shen Qingqiu, taking the dagger from her hand.

She squeezed Shen Qingqiu’s hand, “Leave it to me, be careful.”

On the other side, Miao Anli pushed back Xiao Qian and Chen Kaijie, his right hand quickly pointing at the foreheads of the four paper dolls, his black blood seeping into their foreheads.

So the red light flashed in the eyes of the four paper dolls, and their eyeballs began to move.

He had completely gone mad, “Father, Mother, Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, go, tear apart all your enemies!”

As soon as the voice fell, the four paper dolls immediately moved, quickly pouncing on the people.

Author’s note:

Got delayed, this Dong surname’s little cutie guessed it, give you a thumbs up! You’re awesome!