Chapter 18: The Bride of the King of Mysteries (18)
Faced with Wang Qing’s furious tirade, Tang Mu was nothing if not languid.
She leaned against the wall, examining the red nail polish on her fingers, looking as relaxed and carefree as could be.
“If you’re going to complain, then you can deliver the dishes yourself.”
Tang Mu’s expression was full of exasperation.
“If you think Jiang Xiuwen is innocent, then go out and have some fun yourself.”
“Anyway, at present, all the risks are borne by the food runners. It’s got nothing to do with the chefs hiding in the kitchen.”
Xue Fen took Tang Mu’s side as well.
“I agree with Tang Mu. Jiang Xiuwen’s death was caused by the unpredictable monsters outside. It has nothing to do with Tang Mu herself!”
As she finished, Xue Fen deliberately glanced at Joseph.
“But some people aren’t so innocent.”
“Some act as if they’d do anything for someone else, but in reality, it’s all just words. They never lift a finger.”
Joseph, stung by the insinuation, could hardly swallow his anger.
He retorted, refusing to back down.
“You’re so enthusiastic only because you’re bound as Tang Miss’s teammate. If anything happens to her, it’ll happen to you as well. As for how much real feeling you have, we’d have to dissolve the team bond to find out.”
“Tang Miss, tell me, am I wrong?”
Tang Mu, “….”
Xue Fen, infuriated, snapped, “That’s nonsense!”
The little fairy boy couldn’t help himself, blurting out a curse.
Seeing the quarrel escalate, Tang Mu felt a headache coming on.
Clearly, Joseph was determined to go head-to-head with Xue Fen this time—regardless of the occasion. The gentlemanly demeanor he’d shown at first was nowhere to be found.
“Nonsense? Ha. I’m not moving because Tang Miss broke my heart. No matter how hard I try, she won’t even spare me a smile. But if she’d just smile at me, I’d take any risk for her—even die for her, if she wished. But she just won’t!”
Joseph beat his chest in mock sorrow, looking utterly despondent.
“So, Tang Miss, would you—”
“I wouldn’t. Thank you.”
Tang Mu’s rejection was swift and absolute.
Facing Joseph’s dramatic sorrow, Tang Mu remained cold as stone.
“If you want to die, go die. All right? I won’t take the blame for your troubles.”
Joseph, “….”
This woman—damn, she was hard to deal with!
But he liked a challenge.
Wang Qing watched as everyone clustered around Tang Mu again, jealousy blazing within her.
Seizing a moment when no one was watching, she turned on the faucet, filled a cup with water, and flung it at Tang Mu.
Xue Fen was the first to notice, shouting, “Tang Mu, watch out!” He even threw himself in front of her to shield her.
But his action was nothing short of suicidal.
Tang Mu’s blood pressure shot up at the scene. If she hadn’t been quick-witted and used the item [Tattered Bamboo Umbrella (F)], both she and Xue Fen would have perished on the spot.
“Player Tang Mu uses the item [Tattered Bamboo Umbrella (F)] to deflect the attack of Forget River Water. Player Wang Qing is struck by the rebounded attack and dies.”
Wang Qing’s eyes widened.
Before she could react, she vanished on the spot.
At the same time, her teammate Wu Hao was also eliminated from the game.
Only twelve people remained.
Silence spread among the group.
“So, players can now kill each other as well.”
Someone raised the idea of mutual slaughter again, as if to reinforce that players could eliminate each other to save themselves.
“But how do you know your target doesn’t have a forbidden item?”
Tang Mu gestured to her bamboo umbrella.
The person’s gaze flickered at the sight, quickly turning his face aside, as if intimidated.
But Joseph wasn’t afraid; he even took the opportunity to touch Tang Mu’s hand.
“Wang Qing used Forget River Water—were you hurt? Let me take a look.”
Seeing Joseph take advantage of Tang Mu, Xue Fen’s nerves snapped.
“Joseph, mind your manners!”
He deliberately wedged himself between Joseph and Tang Mu, desperately pulling them apart.
“Tang Mu never gave you any status—please keep your distance!”
Joseph sneered.
“She hasn’t given me status, but she won’t give it to you either, little brother.”
He emphasized “little brother” with extra weight.
Xue Fen gritted his teeth in rage.
If only his body wasn’t so small, making him afraid to acknowledge Tang Mu, he wouldn’t be so awkward.
After all, he’d always tried to present himself as a mature man to Tang Mu.
But now…
Never mind. Better keep it bottled up.
As for Joseph—
Joseph was still smug. “Besides, what you just did was purely foolishly suicidal. You’re surely a disgrace in her eyes now. Right, Tang Miss?”
Tang Mu took a deep breath.
She looked at Xue Fen.
The poor boy immediately put on a pitiful, puppy-eyed expression.
He seemed to silently plead not to be abandoned, insisting he hadn’t meant any harm.
“Xue Fen, this isn’t your first time playing, is it?”
Tang Mu’s question made Xue Fen’s heart skip a beat.
He lowered his head and replied, sulkily, “Mm.”
“Then you must have some game items earned from previous instances.”
Xue Fen, “Mm… Mm?!”
“So when you shielded me just now, you must have had a way to protect yourself—right?”
Xue Fen paused, then caught on, answering loudly, “Mm, right!”
Satisfied with the answer, Tang Mu turned to Joseph, spreading her hands. “See?”
“The answer’s clear.”
“Right now, Xue Fen protected me at a critical moment. You, on the other hand, did nothing. So, Joseph, after this game instance ends, please go chase girls in real life, all right?”
“Stop indulging in pointless fantasies.”
Joseph, “….”
No.
This was definitely Tang Mu making excuses to reject him!
He refused to believe he could lose to a green-tea boy like Xue Fen!
…
“Table 08 has ordered—who’s in charge? Go deliver.”
…
Tables 01 to 08 were all villagers from Azure Dragon Village.
Everyone was dressed as a farmer.
But all looked vicious and threatening.
When the food runners brought dishes, they faced silent intimidation from the villagers.
Especially the woman in Manchu robes with bound feet.
She actually demanded the player chop off two fingers for her amusement.
If not, she threatened death.
The food runner had no choice but to comply. When he brought the next dish, the bound-footed woman demanded he cripple himself.
Preferably break a leg.
Otherwise, he could forget about surviving.
Tan Feizhang trembled with rage.
But for his life, he agreed. How he limped back to the kitchen afterward was another matter altogether.
Other tables were no easier.
A middle-aged man with a blind right eye and a black eyepatch ordered Huan Zhiyong to gouge out his own right eyeball.
Do it and live. Don’t, and…
Huan Zhiyong, forced to gouge out his eye, fell silent.
All the food runners except Tang Mu suffered terribly.
They were all jealous of Tang Mu.
The old man at Tang Mu’s table, who smoked a dry pipe, barely bothered her.
It was blatant favoritism!
Envy, jealousy—and anger!
Two hours later.
The guests finished their meal.
At that moment,
Seven identical red lacquer coffins appeared on the deck.