Everything in the room settled down. Mei Qianqian was swept to the ground by the wind, crashing into a shattered table, her forehead bleeding profusely.
Su Jin shielded Zuo Tiantian under her body, curling up in a corner amidst the mess of tables and chairs.
Chen Kaijie, severely injured, huddled defensively with his head covered. The room was in utter chaos, bloodstains spreading everywhere, making it look like a scene from hell.
Xiao Muyu was hit all over her back, head, and limbs by the debris whipped up by the wind. Once the wind ceased, she ignored the pain and quickly bent down to check on Shen Qingqiu. She then sat up hurriedly and helped Shen Qingqiu to sit up.
“Qingqiu, Qingqiu.” Xiao Muyu’s relief was quickly replaced by anxiety, as Shen Qingqiu was completely limp, relying on her for support. Blood stained Shen Qingqiu’s lips, making Xiao Muyu feel an intense sorrow.
Shen Qingqiu’s chest and abdomen ached terribly. She had just started to recover, but still lacked the strength to speak.
Seeing Xiao Muyu’s anxious face, her beautiful brows furrowed like small hills, Shen Qingqiu forced a smile and laboriously gave her a thumbs up.
However, the movement triggered sharp pain in her chest, causing her to groan and bury her face in Xiao Muyu’s embrace, weakly placing her hand on Xiao Muyu. “It hurts.”
She uttered the word softly, exuding a pitiful, delicate charm. Xiao Muyu felt both pain and tenderness in her heart, gently comforting her, “Don’t move, it’s over now. It’ll be okay soon.”
Shen Qingqiu nodded, having little strength left, and nestled completely into Xiao Muyu’s arms.
Xiao Muyu, initially frantic with worry, felt much calmer seeing Shen Qingqiu still able to act spoiled. This allowed her to think more clearly about what to do next.
Thus, the anxiety and sorrow on Xiao Muyu’s face diminished. She looked up at Chen Kaijie and the others, “Is everyone alright?”
Shen Qingqiu, glimpsing Xiao Muyu’s composed demeanor, closed her eyes in relief despite the pain. Even if she couldn’t protect Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu didn’t want Xiao Muyu to worry about her. She hoped Xiao Muyu would always remain proud and calm.
Chen Kaijie groaned as he sat up, “I’m okay. What about the deputy leader?”
Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian also stood up, staggering towards Shen Qingqiu.
“How is the deputy leader?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head and said softly, “Let her rest for a while. Everyone has worked hard.”
She glanced at Mei Qianqian, frowning. Su Jin noticed the blood on Mei Qianqian’s forehead, hesitated, then walked over to help her up, tearing off a piece of cloth to wipe the blood.
“Are you alright?” Although Mei Qianqian was an accomplice, she was also a victim. In the end, if it weren’t for her, they might have lost everything.
As a player, Su Jin didn’t detest her as long as she overlooked the incident of Mei Qianqian making a shroud for Xiao Muyu.
Mei Qianqian looked at Su Jin and shook her head.
Xiao Muyu, with a complicated expression, still thanked her, “Thank you for helping us.”
Mei Qianqian, staring at Xiao Qian’s body on the ground, said woodenly, “Shouldn’t you hate me?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head, “You weren’t wrong to seek revenge on my father. It was my father who wronged you first. Besides, what good would hate do? Killing you would only add another life to the toll, solving nothing.”
She looked at Shen Qingqiu, “You told us Dong Zhongxuan’s weakness and helped us kill him. And you placed that paper figure on Qingqiu, right?”
Mei Qianqian smirked self-deprecatingly but didn’t deny it. She wasn’t a good person. She didn’t want to harm Xiao Muyu because she had developed some feelings and saw that the current Xiao Muyu was vastly different from Xiao Qian, with no ill intentions.
As for Shen Qingqiu, though she didn’t dislike her, she didn’t particularly care for her either. Just now, she saw the killing intent in Shen Qingqiu’s eyes.
She had initially thought Shen Qingqiu would seek revenge for Shen Wanlin and Xiao Qian, but she stood alongside Xiao Muyu, choosing to spare her. So, she placed the paper figure on Shen Qingqiu while helping her.
At that moment, she planned to tell them Dong Zhongxuan’s weakness. It was risky, as using Dong Zhongxuan’s substitute paper figure to weaken him temporarily was one thing, but gouging out his eyes without cunning means was another.
“I controlled him, and since you’re the best fighter, you wouldn’t miss the opportunity. But you alone couldn’t stab his eyes, so your friends would have to help.
Shen Qingqiu, being physically weak, would be the last to step forward. And I wasn’t wrong; despite her frailty, she had the heaviest killing intent among you and did stab Dong Zhongxuan’s eyes.” Mei Qianqian spoke emotionlessly, leaving the rest unsaid for Xiao Muyu to understand.
Stabbing Dong Zhongxuan’s eyes would enrage him, making him go after Shen Qingqiu. At that moment, the small paper figure had the highest success rate.
Thinking of this, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but hold Shen Qingqiu tighter. If Mei Qianqian had been more ruthless, delaying her action a bit, Shen Qingqiu…
She couldn’t bear to imagine the outcome that could have happened. Even the thought was unbearable.
Mei Qianqian, seeing Xiao Muyu’s horrified expression, glanced at her briefly before turning away.
She had hesitated at that moment. If not for Xiao Muyu’s previous desperate expression affecting her, she might have sent Shen Qingqiu to meet her father.
“I really can’t understand you. I took your birthdate, made a shroud for you, and nearly sacrificed you to the White River Lord. You must know all this. Also, are you truly indifferent to your father’s death?” Mei Qianqian asked, puzzled.
Xiao Muyu stared at her for a long while before replying, “Buddha says all things have cause and effect. My father sowed the seeds, and this is the result he reaped. I have nothing to say. You seeking to kill me is a result of my father’s and my own actions. As his daughter, I was sheltered and raised by him, so I must bear part of the consequences. This is my karma.
I’m still alive, and you helped me. I have no reason to resent you. Besides, where does vengeance end? It should stop with me.”
Mei Qianqian stared at Xiao Muyu for a long time, then suddenly laughed. She pointed at Shen Qingqiu, “What if I killed her? Would you still say ‘where does vengeance end’?”
Xiao Muyu’s eyes twitched slightly, a shadow flickering across her gaze. She replied coldly, “No, she has no karma with you.”
Mei Qianqian seemed unsurprised, Xiao Muyu ignored her and turned to Shen Yurou and the closely following Miao Anli, saying softly, “There are many ways to seek revenge. Why choose such a harmful method? Does Miao Anli truly have no feelings for Shen Gu?”
Mei Qianqian laughed bitterly, “Fate plays cruel tricks. We initially wanted to investigate and didn’t expect such a cruel truth. The two prominent families in Yingzhou City turned out to be the masterminds behind the Dong family’s downfall.”
“Did you find out after getting married?” Zuo Tiantian asked in surprise. Seeing Mei Qianqian nod, her expression became complex. She glanced at Su Jin, and they both saw the word “dramatic” in each other’s eyes.
“So you chose such a method for revenge? Those eight girls were innocent. Didn’t you realize that this makes you no better than my father?” Xiao Muyu took a deep breath, speaking sternly.
“I didn’t intend to kill others. Making paper figures was just a way to honor my parents, hoping they would have a good afterlife.
But Brother An was consumed by hatred. He didn’t dislike Miss Shen. It was because of his love that his feelings became so conflicted, loving her deeply while also hating her.
Out of hatred, he killed his own child, making Miss Shen unable to have children. But because of love, he felt guilty towards her and hated himself.
Because his hatred wasn’t thorough, he felt he betrayed the Dong family. This internal conflict drove him mad.
Our initial plan was to let Second Brother come back for revenge himself. But then Brother An said using the blood of eight pure Yang virgins, with you and Shen Qingqiu as sacrifices, could bring Second Brother back. Seeing Second Brother alive, I hoped he could return. So that day, I agreed to help Brother An send you over.
But I thought it would just involve drawing blood, not such a cruel method. I tried to persuade Brother An, not giving the paper figures eyes, but he secretly learned how to do it himself. I realized he couldn’t stop.
If we went through with it, the person brought back wouldn’t be the Second Brother I remembered but something else entirely.”
Tears welled up in Mei Qianqian’s eyes. Though the Dong couple adopted them, it was Dong Zhongxuan who loved and cared for them the most.
“Could the paper figure control anyone with just their birthdate?” Xiao Muyu thought of Shen Qingqiu being forced to the altar, Shen Wanlin and Xiao Qian being easily controlled, and even Mei Qianqian managing to counter White River Lord, finding it all too powerful.
Mei Qianqian shook her head, “It’s not that simple. Besides the birthdate, you need a personal item, offered for seven days. It takes a lot of effort. I made a few for revenge. As for Second Brother…”
She laughed bitterly, looking at Xiao Muyu and then Shen Qingqiu with a strange expression, “No matter what you do, the dead can’t come back. Our actions only added pain. What was the point? Muyu, don’t you agree?”
Xiao Muyu, who had been gazing at Shen Qingqiu, suddenly looked up at Mei Qianqian.
Her smile made Xiao Muyu uncomfortable, her heart racing, her mind buzzing with confusion.
Her chest heaved, her voice hoarse and cold, “What do you mean?”
Chen Kaijie, Su Jin, and Zuo Tiantian, noticing Xiao Muyu’s change and Mei Qianqian’s odd demeanor, felt uneasy. “Xiao Team Leader, what’s wrong?”
Xiao Muyu didn’t hear them. She felt a surge of despair mixed with inexplicable anger, wanting to tear Mei Qianqian apart. She was unsure what Mei Qianqian was.
Then the system announced, “Instance 007: ‘Double Happiness’ main task 2 main characters 5/5 completed, love and hate relationships 5/5 completed, main storyline progress 100%, no omissions. Congratulations to Xiao Muyu’s team for successfully completing Instance 007: ‘Double Happiness’ and achieving ending four: Mei Qianqian’s Mercy.”
“The difficulty rating is five stars, the plot completion is five stars, the ending satisfaction is four stars, and the final score is SSS level.”
This announcement finally brought Xiao Muyu back to her senses. She looked down at Shen Qingqiu, who had already fallen asleep and hadn’t heard those words.
Xiao Muyu stared at the pale face in her arms, almost shedding tears, but she held them back forcefully.
No, Shen Qingqiu was still alive, she was alive and well, it was different, different.
“This dungeon is so strange. What does ending four mean? Are there endings one, two, and three?” Su Jin muttered to herself, when the judge named Shi with the number 007 appeared in front of them. He nodded at Xiao Muyu calmly, “You can leave the dungeon now.”
Thinking of Shen Qingqiu, Xiao Muyu didn’t hesitate, “Alright.”
The next moment, the five of them returned to the room they had entered the dungeon from, with the arrangement still exactly the same.
Xiao Muyu quickly checked on Shen Qingqiu, who was already standing beside her in good health.
Knowing that Xiao Muyu was worried about her, Shen Qingqiu blinked and smiled at her. She clasped her hands together and stretched them out in front of her, making her knuckles crack.
After stretching her muscles, Shen Qingqiu sighed, “If it weren’t for this annoying setup, I would’ve blown their heads off long ago. I wouldn’t have had to sacrifice so much.”
Chen Kaijie and the others hadn’t yet recovered. Seeing that they had returned to the teleportation point, they almost cried. But when they saw Shen Qingqiu alive and kicking, they laughed, even though their faces showed a crying expression, making it quite comical.
“Vice-captain, you’re finally alright.”
Shen Qingqiu glanced at Chen Kaijie and the others, “You’ve worked hard this time.”
Then she looked at Xiao Muyu, who was staring at her intently, looking both happy and sad, causing Shen Qingqiu’s smile to fade gradually.
She walked over and whispered, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to see me like this?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head, still focused on Shen Qingqiu. It seemed that even after clearing the dungeon, she wasn’t overly excited and could only see Shen Qingqiu. She then said seriously, “Happy, but also not happy.”
This unexpected answer made Shen Qingqiu pause, “Huh? Why?”
Xiao Muyu lowered her head to glance at her arms, then looked up at Shen Qingqiu, “Happy that you’re okay, not happy that you ran away.”
Shen Qingqiu widened her eyes in disbelief. She glanced at her three perceptive teammates, then leaned in and whispered, “Are you serious?”
Xiao Muyu nodded, “Serious.” She restrained herself from hugging Shen Qingqiu, but her heart was in turmoil. She needed to feel Shen Qingqiu’s presence, not just with her eyes, but with all her senses. She didn’t want to wait any longer.
Xiao Muyu didn’t know how overwhelming her gaze was at that moment—longing yet restrained, intense yet focused—making Shen Qingqiu unable to think of anything else.
So, she raised her hand to her forehead, frowned, and murmured, “I don’t know why, but I suddenly feel a bit dizzy.”
After saying that, her body swayed like a fragile willow and staggered forward, like a scheming woman in an ancient idol drama falling into the male lead’s arms. She fell into Xiao Muyu’s embrace.
Xiao Muyu reached out to hold her steadily. The judge Shi, who had turned around, was watching them, while Xiao Muyu lowered her gaze, gripping Shen Qingqiu’s still cold hand tightly in her palm, saying, “Then I’ll support you.”
“The 007 dungeon has ended successfully, with a total team score of 999 points. Now you can proceed to the card-drawing stage, each member gets one chance. The team rating is SSS, so you get two additional team card-drawing chances. You can start now.”
Shi seemed indifferent, his clear eyes visible through the mask, and he made a gentlemanly gesture to indicate.
Author’s note: The interpretation of yesterday’s chapter by the little angel was perfect! That’s exactly what it meant. When will revenge ever end? It’s a hint!
It was amazing, yes, do I still need to explain it in the text?
Haha, still need to, thumbs up! This dungeon arc is complete, moving on to the main storyline of Tianwang. I might need some time to prepare for the next dungeon. If it doesn’t go well, I might take a break to think it through. This dungeon was really exhausting to write, so dense, and they are also very tired. Everyone might feel fatigued too, so let’s relax together, with some sweet and bitter moments!
![The Way of the Empress [Interstellar]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-04-at-8.01.00-PM.png "The Way of the Empress [Interstellar]")
