Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1613 - 69: Saints and Sinners (Part 2)

"Why should I trust you?" Su Ming’an lowered his head, gazing into her eyes, as black as ink.

"With my life, and yours." The copper mirror was just in front of them, yet the woman kept her head down, not daring to glance, to avoid seeing Su Ming’an’s appearance: "Even if you were to thrust the silver hairpin into my throat, rendering my cries silent. Should the lady boss become suspicious as I linger, sorting through possessions, she will seal this place, leaving you no escape. You might as well spare my life. I’ll finish sorting the belongings and leave, promising never to speak of you. If I break my vow, you may bite and prosecute me. I am but a drifting presence, upon arousing suspicion here, I won’t survive."

Her words were articulate and well-structured, showing not a hint of panic.

Su Ming’an only asked, "Where is the exit?"

"There is no secret path here; you must go out the window and head right, straight to a storage room. There, change into the attire, and you’d be able to leave through the back door. My place is stocked with ladies’ garments, not ideal for your wear." The woman said, "I’ll distract the lady boss for you."

"Are you a friend of Chen Fang?" Su Ming’an asked.

"Mm, we grew up in the house since we were young. She... accomplished what I always longed for. Alas, I lack her courage." The woman sighed softly, "My name is Song Lanting."

Su Ming’an slowly released his grip. Wang Xingkong’s cheeks were flushed as he looked at the beautiful lady, not daring to meet her eyes.

"This is just like on TV..." Wang Xingkong covered his face.

"Let’s go." Su Ming’an paid no attention to Wang Xingkong’s shyness.

They climbed out, crouching as they made their way down the second-floor corridor, creeping into a storage room.

The room was packed with colorful costumes and musical instruments. Su Ming’an scanned the area, picked up a plain robe and a black wig, and suddenly heard a "click" behind him.

"—Don’t move."

The sound of heavy breathing resounded, as a bloodied red-haired young man sat in a corner, a fierce scar marring his face. He grasped Wang Xingkong’s neck, the gun barrel aimed at his head, and growled viciously, "Don’t make a sound—who are you? Where’s Lanting?"

Su Ming’an and Wang Xingkong exchanged a look; it seemed the soldiers weren’t wrong after all... a gravely wounded individual did hide here, perhaps a member of the "nest" as soldiers mentioned. It appeared as a malevolent force opposing Su Wenli. What on earth had Sique built, twisted by the Radiant Mother God into such infamy?

"... Brother, we just wandered in, wandered in..." Wang Xingkong hastily raised his hands, utterly terrified, "That woman really deceived us!"

"Lanting? What happened to Lanting?" The red-haired youth thundered.

"She is unharmed, only showing us the way, telling us we could change here." Su Ming’an replied.

The red-haired youth relaxed his brow slightly, sat clutching his bloodstained chest, though the gun remained pointed, the previous intensity diminished: "Change outfits and get out!"

"You are members of ’the nest’, infiltrating here to curb the war Su Wenli is raising." Su Ming’an stated.

"Shut it, stop pushing me to kill!" The red-haired youth glared fiercely.

"You’re in trouble." Su Ming’an said, "I don’t think this place is safe. Given the current circumstances, you should take Lanting and leave quickly."

"She has her duties, and must stay—now quickly change and get out!" The red-haired youth pointed to Su Ming’an, "Were it not for Lanting’s directions, I would have shot you already."

"Boom!"

Suddenly, another massive tremor shook the attic.

The dancers, still shocked, saw a massive meteor fly from afar.

No, it wasn’t a meteor, it was... a shell.

"Run!"

"No——"

"Damn it, Lanting!" The red-haired youth’s expression shifted drastically, ignoring his wounds, he pushed the door to rush out. In an instant, screams and wails erupted, flames engulfed everything, as the three inside the room were tossed by the impact, the wooden attic catastrophically collapsed, and gigantic beams came crashing down on them.

"Qi Zhou!" Su Ming’an shouted. A cat-eared youth appeared instantly.

In the next moment, the flourishing pavilion crumbled, reduced to ruins.

The flames raged, charred remains blanketed the ground, and amidst the collapsing timbers, jewels and trinkets scattered wildly.

All splendor, the distant lights, transformed to dust. Countless youthful souls perished with it, the neon signs no longer glowed.

"Hehehe~ La la la~"

At this moment, atop the ruins, a blonde, violet-eyed girl of stunning beauty hummed a tune, stepping on the desolation, casually trampling a dancer’s charred remains.

The girl crouched, picked up an R Card, the image of a Slime adorning it, exceptionally cute.

"Blowing up this building wasn’t in vain." She smiled as she raised the card, the face glinting with dazzling gold in the sunlight: "The card is mine now!"

She pocketed the card, humming as she departed, as if all the deaths could not compare to a single Slime card.

Modernity and antiquity, rigor and absurdity, collided monumentally at this moment.

"Click." A black hand extended from the rubble, clutching the girl’s ankle, belonging to the once beautiful lady boss, now blackened, eyes ruptured, barely breathing.

"You... will face... retribution..." The lady boss uttered laboriously.

The girl smiled charmingly, pressing the card to her ruby lips, whispered softly:

"No."

She leaned in by the lady boss’s ear, her voice bewitching: "Retribution only falls upon those unloved by the world."

"You, you are..." The lady boss recognized the girl, exclaiming in shock.

"Hehe." The girl chuckled, "I am one of the eight protagonist candidates... Hui Zi. Do you understand? Even if you report me, condemning me for blowing up a building for a card, it can only be deemed ’ordinary competition’, because that’s how the world’s rules work, determining all truths through card battles..."

"If you have the ability, then face me in a card battle and defeat me."

"Otherwise, you are wrong, and I am right."

She paid no further mind to the dying woman, humming lightly, turning to leave.

Suddenly, she caught sight of a white-haired youth standing at the edge of the ruins, flipping a coin.

"Ah, it’s you, Bairan." Hui Zi’s expression turned immediately dull: "What? Here to feast on souls with your Evil God lover?"

Behind Bairan, stood a towering, indistinct figure. Upon hearing Hui Zi, Bairan smiled: "Xiao Hei simply caught the scent of the Rin Clan."

"Rin Clan?" Hui Zi exclaimed, "Three births have already emerged of the Rin Clan in this generation; it’s impossible for a fourth. Even if you seek alliances here for the Maritime Banquet, you won’t find any."

"Hmm... merely curious." Bairan scratched his lover’s chin as if petting a cat: "Xiao Hei indeed smelled it, could it be a mixed blood? I’ve not heard of such a thing."

He shook his head, gazing at the wreckage: "Let’s see who survives, maybe then we’ll know..."

...

"Someone’s outside." Qi Zhou hesitated as he was about to lift the wooden board.

Underneath the ruins, Su Ming’an, Wang Xingkong, and the red-haired youth were all unharmed.

"What level card was that? Yuhang you..." Wang Xingkong looked at Su Ming’an in shock.

"Shh." Su Ming’an put a finger to his lips.

He remembered, the Rin Clan was identified by the soul, thus having possessed Chen Yuhang, Chen Yuhang also became part of the Rin Clan.

—In this era where three members of the Rin Clan had been born, he became the unexpected fourth.

At present, the conflict among the eight protagonists is intense, and the Rin Clan is their coveted partner, either to obtain or to destroy. It is not wise to get involved in the whirlpool at this time.

At this moment, Card Hui Zi timidly said, "The Hui Zi outside, is who I used to be..."

Qi Zhou raised an eyebrow: "I didn’t expect you to have been so wickedly evil before." Although these are related to the Mother Goddess, they are also based on history, so the character’s image would not be too different.

"I... I don’t remember." Hui Zi’s voice was low: "After being possessed by the Awakener, my soul became thin, and I forgot a lot of things... I don’t know, was I that kind of person before..."

"Lanting..." The red-haired youth murmured softly, yet he remained calm, no longer shouting for a fight, realizing that the three must align: "Outside are two protagonists, how come these two big figures are here... Hey, are we rushing out or playing dead?"

"I’ll go." At this time, Qi Zhou calmly said: "Isn’t there talk that Su Wenli is the World Master’s Heir? I should resemble him; I’ll go trick the pair. It’s not wise to clash with the protagonists now, it will draw the Mother Goddess’ attention."

"Alright." Su Ming’an said, "I’ll find a way to locate Su Wenli."

"—Will you join Li Dog?" The red-haired youth suddenly looked coldly over, seemingly taking Su Ming’an as an enemy. Clearly, he and the dancer both belonged to the "nest," hating Su Wenli. If Su Ming’an answered wrong, he would lift the floorboards and go down together.

"Don’t forget I saved you." Su Ming’an coldly replied without arguing.

This retort, surprisingly, delighted the red-haired youth.

...

[NPC (Si Nian) Favorability: 20+40!]

[Current Favorability Evaluation: Trust and Share (Friendship Line)]

...

Su Ming’an almost forgot that he came in reverse order, it’s a "reverse mode"; everyone in front of him is an M, even being cursed increases favorability.

"I didn’t expect you to actually join Li Dog, you’re truly a sycophant coveting wealth, then you shall be my lifelong friend!" Si Nian tightly grasped Su Ming’an’s hand, sincerely said.

"...Alright." Su Ming’an sighed.

Taking advantage of Qi Zhou distracting the two, the trio waited for a moment and then lifted the floorboards to leave the place. They walked for quite a while until Hui Zi was completely out of sight, and Si Nian saw the dying Song Lanting.

She embraced cloud-like hair, pressed under the shattered neon lights, bones broken and organs protruding.

"Ah, I’m coming to rescue..." Wang Xingkong realized halfway that he had no healing abilities!

Moreover, with injuries this severe, even the Daluo Immortals wouldn’t be able to save her.

Song Lanting coughed out mouthfuls of bloody froth, unable to speak, just pointed towards her chest, once, trembling, then pointing again.

Si Nian stood silently, not shouting with grief, but quickly tearing her clothes.

"Hey, pervert, what are you doing!" Wang Xingkong immediately wanted to intervene.

However, Si Nian didn’t look away; he drew out a folded letter from her chest, opened the wax seal, contemplated for a moment, and swiftly folded it again.

On it was a single line written in blood, inscribed by her biting her own finger before death: [Northern Land surrenders to Tian Yu, be wary of Wandering Sinners]... She had listened to the boastful conversations of major force bosses at the Dance House for years; this was her final message.

"Give me... one..." She gasped, looking at the trio: "...swift end."

She endured the insufferable pain that would drive anyone insane, persisting with a strong desire to survive until now, handing over the paper.

Si Nian seemed accustomed to this scene, drawing a dagger from his waist.

"Wait a moment." Su Ming’an stepped forward, bit through his finger, and a few drops of golden blood seeped out, falling into Song Lanting’s mouth.

With the golden blood entering her body, her wounds began to heal, her breathing gradually became smooth, her ink-like eyes staring at Su Ming’an in surprise, seemingly realizing something.

"Carry her." Su Ming’an said.

"She still can’t move." Si Nian said.

...Perhaps because he just arrived, the healing power of Rin Clan’s blood wasn’t as strong as Su Ming’an imagined. Although her life was saved, she still remained in a state of broken bones, bleeding heavily upon moving.

Su Ming’an hadn’t expected this; he intended both to test his identity and save someone, but didn’t anticipate that even saving wouldn’t allow for a rescue.

"No problem, fortunately you saved her, leave her here, our centaurs will come later, someone will take her away." Si Nian said.

"Alright." Su Ming’an showed no reaction, moving forward.

Si Nian, an old soldier, was going to take them to the military camp; superiors knew where Su Wenli was, Su Ming’an could go to negotiate.

The trio moved forward, and after a while, Si Nian mentioned he had dropped something, intending to go back and look for it.

Su Ming’an and Wang Xingkong waited at the original spot, soon Si Nian returned, and to the two he said: "Let’s continue walking."

Silently they moved along the road, Wang Xingkong whispering to Su Ming’an: "I still worry about Song Lanting. If she doesn’t wait for the rescue, she’ll die there, what should we do? Should we go back to check?"

"No." Su Ming’an calmly stated: "She is already dead."

Wang Xingkong’s eyes widened with disbelief.

"Just now, when Si Nian went back for the item, he actually intended to give her the final blow." Su Ming’an said: "Leaving people behind has the risk of falling into enemy hands, better to prevent future troubles. I believe this is what Song Lanting wanted too; she simply saw that I saved her, didn’t say it explicitly, choosing instead to leave us with a beautiful illusion. Even if it’s just..."

He gently spoke:

"Gratitude... perhaps."

"There are no subsequent centaurs; this is just an information point. As a dark figure like Huang Li, once her identity is exposed, there’s only destruction; no more manpower will be wasted to rescue her."

Thankful for the blood.

Letting her live a few more minutes.

Clearly, she was such a wise and calm woman, yet she quickly turned to bones and dust.

Wang Xingkong was stunned, fists clenched, eyes reddening.

"You seem... quite knowledgeable about war?" Wang Xingkong murmured after a pause.

"Hmm..." Su Ming’an remembered the war-torn Ruined World: "I’ve watched many war films."

He didn’t mention, if Si Nian hadn’t killed Song Lanting, he would have gone back to do it himself. Since he couldn’t successfully rescue her, she couldn’t remain there waiting for people to smell the strong Rin Clan blood, awaiting terrifying interrogation. From the moment they waved goodbye to her, she was destined to die.

However, seeing Wang Xingkong so naive, let’s leave this high school student with some beautiful fantasies, after all, he’s still considered a child.

He lowered his head, brushing a jade stone, the last item Song Lanting pressed into him, seemingly Chen Fang’s family heirloom intended for Song Lanting to pass to his grandparents... yet Chen Fang never returned, Song Lanting couldn’t go back either.

All the glory and splendor, thousands of beauty, faded to mere bones by a single shot.

Meanwhile, a blonde beauty stood unstained in the ruins, gazing at the quietly departing trio.

His blue eyes flickered with contemplation, fingers brushing a Hui Bai token.

"...Go inform my brother, ’Saint’ has arrived." He instructed to the back.

A Shadow Guard obeyed, disappearing into the shadows.

...