Rules-related weird stories: 4016.

Chapter 625 Some things may not be as you think.
"That's right... a few days, maybe soon, maybe tomorrow."

"Anyway, it'll be over in the next few days."

"Now that we've shown up, would we go back on our word?"

"If we were really going to break our promise, would we even need to get your attention?"

Tian Bufan's voice slowly spread out.

Before the voice could reply, Lin Yi had some thoughts, and these thoughts rippled through his mind like waves.

What does Young Master Tian mean by that?
"Anyway, it'll only take a few days," "Maybe soon, maybe tomorrow"...

"Breaking a promise," but what promise is it that's being broken?

Why was this not mentioned at all in the plan?
Could it be that there are additional "side missions" in this operation?
As Lin Yi was pondering this, he heard the voice continue: "Okay... I believe you... I've always believed in you... You should know that, right?"

Tian Bufan said, "Yes, of course, but we still have some things to take care of, so we have to go first."

Okay, so... do you want to take that thing now?

“Keep it…you need it more than we do right now,” Tian Bufan said. “However, we do need to borrow something from you…”

What do you want? Just tell me.

“You just caused quite a commotion. If we leave like this, the Night Watch will definitely notice.”

"The Night's Watch... those guys are loyal... you have a point, so, would you like me to cover you with my aura?"

“That’s right. Ideally, you could give me a piece of bone. I’m not asking for much, just a section of the spine below the ribs will do,” Tian Bufan said.

You really don't hold back at all.

"You're not really using it, are you?"

I sense you have grand ambitions... Have you... you all been laying the groundwork all these years?

Tian Bufan slowly said, "I'm not really sure either. You should know that guy always likes to gamble... And this time, we plan to bring you guys along and go all in."

"All in...that's quite in line with the Celestial Venerable's style...but he's very cunning; he'll definitely leave himself some chips to turn the tide. What about us? If we fail...what about us?"

“You… have failed many, many times.”

【…】

【I see……】

【Then, let's go all in...】

Suddenly, a crisp yet muffled "crack" sound rang out from the deep well. The next moment, gray mist surged, and a pure white, bamboo-tube-like bone slowly floated into the void.

I've given it to you, but given your current state, how are you going to accept it?

"If you're going to be a good person, just send it to our layer. Stop being so cunning and stingy," Tian Bufan criticized. "Whether you want to test it or what, you're wasting your time."

【…】

【All right……】

The next moment, the bone became ethereal.

Tian Bufan said to Lin Yi, "Old Lin, that section of the spine has merged into the layer of material. Use your willpower to catch it."

"Wow!" Lin Yi tried to catch it and miraculously succeeded.

Immediately afterwards, he felt as if the spine had turned into a thin film covering his will, as if it were a protective talisman on a layer of layers.

"Okay, then we'll be going," Tian Bufan said.

Let's go, I'll wait for you.

Tian Bufan said no more, but said to Lin Yi in his heart: "Alright, let's go, Lao Lin. Stop spacing out, let's go."

Lin Yi quickly came to his senses and floated up like a ghost.

After Lin Yi left, Shenjing returned to calm.

Beneath the surging gray mist, murmurs rose and fell, mingling with the waves and slowly propelling the water forward.

The time has finally come... to bring it all to a complete end...

……

Even the viscous black liquid couldn't spread up to the upper part of the deep well, and spiral staircases began to appear on the inner stone walls. This was the Fibonacci staircase below the clock tower.

Only when the darkness below vanished into the abyss, and the hazy gray mist piled up into thick cotton, did Lin Yi remain silent for a while before slowly speaking: "Young Master Tian... that being, that corpse, beneath the deep well, did you, no, we... ever know 'it'?"

"Yes," Tian Bufan readily admitted.

He had no need to deny it, of course, because the conversation just now was completely genuine.

"It is the 'First Apostle,' how did we come to know it?" Lin Yi asked, puzzled.

Tian Bufan said, "First of all, it is true that the corpse was part of the 'original apostle,' but that doesn't mean it is that corpse..."

"Strictly speaking, it's the lingering, unyielding obsession of that corpse, something that died long before human civilization truly came into being."

"Its obsession permeates dimensions... We met it in the time dimension of infinite dreams, and then we made a pact with it."

Tian Bufan's explanation remained shrouded in mystery, but Lin Yi couldn't press the matter and could only continue to ask curiously, "What agreement? Is it related to our 'side quest'?"

"A side quest?" Tian Bufan smiled wryly. "Hehe... let's just call it a side quest."

"So, I'm telling you, when we made the agreement, it was considered our 'ally'."

"The reason I'm sending you down this path is to see what its thinking is at this point in time."

"Fortunately, it has remained consistent from then until now, so there is no problem with this link."

Lin Yi couldn't help but ask, "Could you tell me what this so-called side quest is?"

"Can not do it now."

"Then could you tell me what the corpse's name was?"

"also can not."

"Hey, really? It's been six days already! We're supposed to start preparing to leave school tomorrow, and you're still hiding things from me?" Lin Yi was speechless. Tian Bufan said, "When we get to the Principal's Office, let's get the notes sorted out first, and then I'll talk to you about this."

"Alright..." Lin Yi compromised, but he was puzzled as to what kind of being could not even have his name secretly given to him.
How was the terrifying "First Apostle" killed by the "Master of the Dharma" and his body dumped in a deep well?
Seemingly sensing Lin Yi's doubts, Tian Bufan slowly said, "I won't tell you your name because telling you now would be more harmful than helpful."

"As for the fact that 'she' killed it... Old Lin, some things are not necessarily as you understand them."

"In the distant past, even if the events that occurred have been recorded many times and passed down to the present day, a difference of just one or two words can make the truth completely distorted."

Lin Yi was startled: "You mean... there might be more to that legend than meets the eye?"

“Old Lin, oh Old Lin…” Tian Bufan sighed leisurely, then admonished, “You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to take one step at a time.”

“Knowing too much now might distract you, and besides… your current ‘adaptability’ isn’t enough to handle all that…”

"Alright... let's finish the task first." Although Lin Yi really wanted to know, he still agreed somewhat helplessly.

……

X023年5月11日，21：46，艺术楼区域的某处回廊。

Because he was a will-based being, Lin Yi's travel speed far exceeded that of his physical body. After leaving the deep well, he quickly arrived at the corridor below the clock tower and easily made his way to the gallery.

As Lin Yi left the clock tower steps, he did sense the will fluctuations emanating from "Night Watchman-02," but just as Tian Bufan had predicted, due to the presence of that thin membrane, "Night Watchman-02" did not detect his presence.

He glanced down at his watch—his watch was indeed magical and strange, as if it were bound to his will, not only following his dreams through time, but also appearing on his wrist in the current situation.

The time on his wrist was 21:46, which meant that from the start of his will leap to the point where he arrived at the art building floor, it had taken about 30 minutes.

This speed is several times faster than when Lao Mo used to move him.

As his will traversed the gallery, a chilling mist enveloped the entire space, resembling towering mountains, influencing his progress.

"How come this gallery has changed?" Lin Yi asked in surprise. "It wasn't like this when I came last time."

Tian Bufan succinctly put it: "It's not that the gallery's appearance has changed, but rather that your perception of it has changed. You see how it is presented on a layered level, just like how you see the area above the fifth floor of the teaching building."

"Perceiving depth? I see..." Lin Yi suddenly realized, then exclaimed in surprise, "Then wouldn't I be even more likely to run into that little girl?"

Tian Bufan scoffed, "She gave you things, helped you so many times, yet you still harbor your initial prejudice against her... Is this what they call 'first impression kill'?"

"Uh..." Lin Yi was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to refute it, but then he thought of something and quickly said, "That's not right. Although that patterned hacksaw was indeed very handy, at the beginning of the incident, she suddenly appeared and sawed at my arm. She failed, and that's when the pattern was imprinted on my arm!"

Tian Bufan remained silent.

"Right? I wasn't wrong, was I? It's not that I have a prejudice, but that I really benefited from this misfortune."

“If you think so, then so be it,” Tian Bufan said.

"Hey, Mr. Tian, ​​why do you give me the feeling that you don't want to talk?"

"Because no matter what I say, it feels like I'm just making excuses for her."

"Uh..." Lin Yi thought for a moment and decided to hear more opinions, so he said, "Why don't you try to argue your point?"

"..." Tian Bufan was speechless for a moment, then said, "Then I'll just say one thing... just one thing. Do you think that she sawed off your hand so that she could brand the secret mark onto it?"

He stopped there and didn't say another word, leaving Lin Yi stunned.

What Tian Bufan said... seems, perhaps... not entirely without merit...

Why would Lin Yi waver so easily in his resolve?
He recalled it and realized that what Tian Bufan said seemed to be true.

When his will sank into the layers, only two things accompanied him: one was his ancestral quartz watch, which he was almost "born with," and the other was, surprisingly, a hacksaw with a secret pattern.

No matter when, he can summon the Secret Pattern Steel Saw!
The little girl not only imprinted the golden rune on his original skeletal body, but more like... embedded it into his module, just like adamantium is to Wolverine.

"Now that you mention it... it does seem like there might be some truth to it..." Lin Yi said thoughtfully.

Then, he wandered through the gallery in a daze.

Surprisingly, I didn't run into that little girl.

This time, it seems that not even the notes from "Amon's Music Box" were played.

When I drifted out of the gallery, I could feel like I had walked for a long time in a daze, but when I checked the time, only two minutes had passed.

21: 48.

It wasn't even the time when people weren't allowed to enter the dormitory building yet.

"By the way, Mr. Tian, ​​hasn't Kuai Kuai returned to her dormitory yet?"

“Yes, he’s waiting in the hallway. He can only go to the dormitory manager’s office at 22:20 PM according to the dormitory rules,” Tian Bufan said. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

"It just suddenly occurred to me, nothing more," Lin Yi said.

As they were talking, Lin Yi suddenly noticed some art students in front of him.

At this moment, he was already walking through the corridors of the art building, heading towards "Art Classroom-IV" where Mao Feiyang was.

On his way, another group of art students walked towards him.

Before they even got close, Lin Yi's sensory tentacles had already spread out, instantly taking in their entire situation.

The corridors of the art building were bustling with activity as art students moved forward in an orderly fashion, each carrying a drawing board on their back and paintbrushes and paints in their hands.

"They must be fighting against the gray fog invasion and helping the art building stabilize its layer..." Lin Yi suddenly felt a pang of emotion. These art students were all willing to risk their lives; he wondered how many would sacrifice themselves tonight...

Among the mysterious creatures are the "Mist Chasers," while the Black Moon Outpost is home to a large number of "Sacrificial Warriors."

It's truly a story that evokes both praise and tears...

Lin Yi's will floated above them, constantly traversing the corridors of the art building.

As he passed the candlestick on the stone pillar, the candle flame, which had been burning quietly, suddenly began to flicker as if blown by the wind, before gradually returning to stillness...

Finally, he arrived at "Art Classroom IV" and, while some art students were coming out of the fan door, he quietly floated in.

Most of the art students in the art classroom were queuing up to choose their canvases, while a small number of them stayed in the classroom, sitting on the huge steps that resembled a European open-air opera house, either looking at the reliefs in the classroom or doing something private.

These art students are like junior athletes among athletes; they are not yet ready to participate in this kind of battle.

(End of this chapter)