sjar Chapter 360 Acting or Madness (Completed)
Chapter 360 Acting or Madness (Completed)
The main gameplay of this instance is to start by winning over Master Gao and gaining his favor with this NPC.
The player with the highest apparent favorability can inherit all of Master Gao's estate after his death.
In fact, the player with the highest favorability rating can have the exemption from attending the banquet and avoid facing that person from the Gao family.
"Is side quest 3 implying that I can frame other players?" Yan Xun asked.
The green dinosaur nodded.
“…Wow…this system of yours…” Yan Xun couldn’t help but say, “Is this done on purpose?”
【hey-hey.】
Yan Xun: "?"
"Are you still chuckling?"
"Don't you think this is interesting, host?" the green dinosaur swayed. "This dungeon is very popular!"
Every time a player frames another player, it triggers a flurry of donations in the live stream!
In this inner quarters, there is only one person who can emerge victorious!
What is this? A harem survival simulator? Yan Xun thought to himself.
The black bear man had probably completed his mission and was now fast asleep on the octagonal table.
Seeing this, Yan Xun did not linger and quickly climbed back into the ancestral hall through the window, following the original route.
He had just returned to the ancestral hall when he heard whispers outside the door—
"How long was he inside?" Lou Yanchuan asked. "Was it an hour?"
“Almost an hour,” Li Wu said.
"Shall we go in and take a look?" Gao Wen suggested.
"No!" The voice belonged to Li Wu's maid. "According to the rules, unless the person inside opens the door themselves, we cannot just barge in..."
"unless……"
“Unless the master himself enters the ancestral hall,” the maid said quickly.
Her words silenced Lou Yanchuan and the others—clearly, they were unwilling to summon Master Gao.
No one knew whether Yan Xun was facing difficulties or had secretly explored the forbidden area mentioned by Li Wu.
"In my opinion, we should call Master Gao over first," Lou Yanchuan suddenly said.
"No? What are you doing, bro?" Gao Wen couldn't help but ask, "Why do you always like to sabotage things?"
"Me, sabotaging him?" Lou Yanchuan said. "I'm just completing my task."
Upon hearing this, Yan Xun immediately understood that Lou Yanchuan and the others had also received the same mission notification—this person was now plotting to frame him.
Heh, Yan Xun thought, he knew Lou Yanchuan was up to no good.
“Besides, he hasn’t opened the door for so long, who knows if he has suddenly fallen seriously ill?” Lou Yanchuan added, “I think we should have the master come and deal with it as soon as possible.”
"Can you stop cursing people?" Gao Wen immediately retorted. "I think Yan Xun is in good health. He doesn't seem like the type to suddenly faint in the ancestral hall."
"With such a vicious mind, you must be having a very hard time."
"Hehe." Lou Yanchuan didn't care. "You can say whatever you want now."
"Whether he collapsed inside due to a sudden illness or was truly favored by that lord, we'll find out when the master arrives," Lou Yanchuan said unhurriedly.
Hearing this, Yan Xun couldn't hold back any longer and slowly moved to the door, preparing to peek through the crack to observe what was happening outside.
It's not that he doesn't want to talk or wants to play dead.
He was also curious about how their impression of Gao Ruiyun would change if Gao Ruiyun came.
Through the crack in the door, Yan Xun could see that Gao Wen was so angry that his face turned red, and he looked like he wanted to kill Lou Yanchuan, that scoundrel, with a single blow.
Li Wu was studying the porcelain bowl by the door. Chi Yuan saw this but hesitated to speak, seemingly unsure of what to do.
Yan Xun understood Chi Yuan's dilemma at this moment.
Chi Yuan probably wanted to shout "Stop fighting!" again, but he was afraid that this was Lou Yanchuan's way of using this to his advantage after discovering the secret of the instance, so he hesitated to speak.
After much thought, I've ended up in this state of wanting to say something but holding back.
He would occasionally glance at Li Wu beside him, hoping to glean some hints from the other man—
Is your president going crazy? Or is he just scheming and putting on an act?
Yan Xun was peering intently through the crack in the door when he suddenly noticed Lou Yan Chuan glancing at him through the crack.
Yan Xun immediately looked away from the crack in the door.
"Hurry up!" Lou Yanchuan shouted again from outside the door. "Who is it? Go and fetch the master."
"Otherwise, it would be bad if this ancestral hall became a haunted house."
Perhaps because he had a reputation for being difficult to deal with in the mansion, no one dared to be negligent when he made such a fuss. When Yan Xun peered through the crack in the door again, he saw the maids hurriedly leaving.
For a moment, only the four of them, along with Li Wu and Gao Wen's maids, remained in the courtyard.
Gao Wen felt like he had swallowed a dead rat. He felt powerless and couldn't argue with Lou Yanchuan, so he could only stand aside in a huff, hoping that his good older brother would be alright.
Thinking of this, he quietly moved closer to the gate of the ancestral hall, intending to observe the interior of the hall through the crack in the door.
He didn't care what others thought, and pressed his head against the crack in the door. But when he looked closely—
All I could see was a dark eye socket.
It was a face suspended in mid-air, with dark circles under its eyes and no eyeballs. It was unclear whether the eyeballs had been gouged out or if they had never been there to begin with.
Gao Wen immediately took a step back.
He doubted whether he had seen correctly, but since Master Gao had already arrived in the courtyard, he could only give up in frustration.
Gao Ruiyun also heard about what happened in the ancestral hall from the maid. He looked at Li Wu and the others and asked, "You said that Yan Xun went in and never came out again?"
"I don't know if something unexpected happened," Lou Yanchuan said. "We need the master to go in and take a look."
Gao Ruiyun was not in a hurry upon hearing this, "Since that lord has allowed Yan Xun to go in, he will naturally protect him."
"Perhaps it was just that the lord took a liking to him and kept Yan Xun a little longer."
He then looked at Gao Wen, "I heard that you two had some disagreements."
Gao Wen immediately described Lou Yanchuan's recent rude behavior, accusing Lou Yanchuan of being jealous of Yan Xun, which is why he spoke so disrespectfully.
Lou Yanchuan responded innocently, "I was just worried about Xiao Xun. We hit it off immediately, how could I be jealous of him?"
He smiled at Gao Wen again, "You shouldn't listen to those rumors in the mansion."
"You vixen!" Gao Wen cursed inwardly. He wasn't good at arguing anyway, and Lou Yanchuan shut him down with just a few words.
Seeing that they still wanted to argue, and that Gao Ruiyun's expression was already quite unpleasant, Chi Yuan could only mediate, "I believe everyone is doing this because they care about Xiao Xun..."
"In my opinion, Xiao Xun should be perfectly safe with that person's protection. Gao Wen is just being overly concerned."
"You two are calling each other so affectionately," Gao Ruiyun suddenly said.
Chi Yuan: "...?" What does this mean?
“You’ve only met Yan Xun once,” Gao Ruiyun said, looking at Gao Wen and the others. “Why do you sound so familiar with him?”
He then looked at Lou Yanchuan and said, "Don't meddle in other people's business."
"Whether you genuinely care about Yan Xun or just want to take this opportunity to make a fool of him, I know the answer in my heart."
Gao Wen immediately clapped his hands in his heart, wishing he could shout that Master Gao was extremely discerning.
Unexpectedly, Gao Ruiyun's attack was indiscriminate. He looked at Gao Wen and said, "You say you care about Yan Xun's safety, why don't you go to the ancestral hall to see him?"
Gawain: "...?"
No, what kind of thought process does this dead person have?
"The maid said we can't just barge into the ancestral hall," Gao Wen said, swallowing his anger, thinking about his reputation.
“Rules are rigid, but people are flexible,” Gao Ruiyun added. “I don’t think you usually follow the rules that well.”
"So you're suddenly remembering the rules of the manor?"
After Gao Ruiyun finished speaking, she began to criticize Chi Yuan again, "I heard that they were already arguing about this before I arrived."
"If you really wanted to mediate, why did you wait until I arrived?" Gao Ruiyun said mercilessly. "Your pretentious act is disgusting."
Chi Yuan: "………………???" What does this have to do with him?
The three turned their gaze to Li Wu, who hadn't spoken a word, and wondered if Gao Ruiyun would really attack him since Li Wu hadn't said anything.
Master Gao took a few breaths, then covered his mouth and coughed. After finally calming down, he said weakly to Li Wu, "The affairs of the inner quarters are something you should be managing."
"Your failure to discipline them properly, allowing them to quarrel and scheme over such trivial matters, is also your fault."
Wow! Gao Wen applauded inwardly, completely impressed by this old man. Then he couldn't help but ask the crucial question, "So, should we go in and check on Yan Xun or not?"
"If we had wasted time talking nonsense, we would have found Yan Xun long ago."
Yan Xun was currently pressed against the crack in the door, live-streaming the chaotic scene unfolding outside—
Wow, I still love the dramatic soap operas on this streamer's channel!
This is so entertaining... It's the first time I've seen the master and concubine fighting over a man. Who is the real master of this house?
Don't you understand? The master is the master, and His Majesty is His Majesty. Even the master can only kneel before His Majesty.
Am I the only one who thinks that sixth concubine isn't a good person?
[Just a sliver of hope! Xun has once again effortlessly outmaneuvered everyone!]
Yan Xun didn't have time to argue with the live stream audience. Seeing that the group was about to enter the ancestral hall, he hurriedly turned around, first wiping away the shoe prints of the thief who stole the offerings on the altar, and then pretending to be devout as he knelt on the prayer mat in front of the altar.
He had just knelt down when the door of the ancestral hall was pushed open.
Before Yan Xun could turn around, he felt someone quickly approach and hug him tightly—
"I'm glad you're alright," Gao Ruiyun said, putting her arm around Yan Xun's shoulder.
Gawain: "!!!!!"
He rushed over and pulled Gao Ruiyun's arm off his older brother's shoulder. "Speak properly, don't lay a hand on me!"
“Yes.” Lou Yanchuan also stood between Yan Xun and Gao Ruiyun. “He stayed in the ancestral hall for so long and didn’t hear us calling him from outside. Maybe something happened to him.”
He gave Master Gao a fake smile and said, "Master, you are in poor health. If you accidentally come into contact with those evil spirits, you will inevitably fall seriously ill."
"What if you die before the banquet for that lord even begins..." He wiped his eyes and pretended to cry again, "What should we do?"
Gao Wen listened from the side, and suddenly felt a little confused—
He felt a little confused about which side Lou Yanchuan was on.
Isn't this person just trying to curry favor with Gao Ruiyun and eliminate them all?
But now, listening to his words, it sounds like he's cursing Gao Ruiyun to die and be reborn soon.
Gao Ruiyun wasn't sure if he was angered by Lou Yanchuan's words or hurt by Gao Wen's pinching of his arm. He coughed a few times, and after calming down a bit, he angrily said to Lou Yanchuan, "This is my Gao family ancestral hall. Don't talk nonsense."
"The ancestors of the Gao family and that great man are enshrined here, how could there be any evil spirits?"
Yan Xun was sandwiched between the three people and felt suffocated.
Gao Ruiyun clung to his shoulders and refused to let go, while Gao Wen desperately tried to pull Gao Ruiyun's arm away. Lou Yanchuan kept trying to separate him from Gao Ruiyun... Yan Xun couldn't take it anymore, "Let go of each other."
Gao Ruiyun was probably not expected that Yan Xun would speak to her so loudly. She was a little frightened and immediately let go, looking at Yan Xun helplessly.
Gao Wen also let go, but he kept a close eye on Gao Ruiyun to prevent this sickly guy from suddenly making a move on his brother Yan.
Lou Yanchuan shrugged, stepped aside, and muttered loudly, "He doesn't know how to appreciate kindness."
As the others rushed in, Li Wu examined the offerings placed on the altar. Looking at the torn marks on the offerings, he wondered, "These offerings should have been intact when they were delivered to the ancestral hall, right?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the offerings placed on the altar.
Everyone saw the tear marks on the offerings... clearly someone had just eaten some of them.
But everyone present knew that the "gods" who enjoyed the offerings were only absorbing the "spiritual energy" of these offerings. After being eaten, the offerings should not have changed appearance, but they should have lost their fragrance and taste.
If someone were to eat these offerings at this time, they would find them tasteless and unable to taste any flavor at all.
Only evil beings would actually tear apart the flesh and blood of these offerings.
Li Wu and the others all knew that there was something wrong with the thing that the Gao family worshipped—but according to Gao Ruiyun, this lord would only truly descend upon the Gao family once every 30 years to enjoy the feast prepared for him by the Gao family.
The banquet had not yet begun, so how could the offerings in the ancestral hall have been eaten like this?
Did this thing arrive ahead of schedule? Or did the Gao family intentionally conceal it?
He looked at Gao Ruiyun's expression again, only to find that Gao Ruiyun's pale, bloodless face showed no surprise whatsoever.
“Someone sneaked in,” Gao Ruiyun said.
He then looked at Yan Xun and asked, "Did that thief hurt you?"
"A thief?" Yan Xun looked puzzled. "What thief?"
He looked at the group again and asked with "curiosity," "Why did you suddenly barge in?"
Upon hearing this, Gao Wen immediately explained, "It's because you haven't been heard from since you went in."
“We called you from outside, but you didn’t respond from inside.” He glanced quickly at the thing behind the banner. “We were worried something had happened to you…”
"I was thinking of waiting and seeing, but I didn't expect that the sixth concubine would send a maid to quickly invite the master over." Gao Wen took the opportunity to complain, "He also suspected that you had suddenly fallen ill and fainted in the ancestral hall."