Death Game: Starting as a fraudster, pretending to be a god

Lin Yu was quite shocked to hear Yun Zhen's words.

Afterward, he understood.

Indeed… someone as vibrantly alive as Yun Zhen could never be just a wisp of a remnant soul.

Yun Zhen, however, didn't seem to mind that she had died here, and spoke with her usual open-minded optimism.

"Then, one last question, Layman. Since you said you came here with the help of someone from my Taiqing Sect, he should also be…"

"He's also in here, but I haven't found him yet."

Lin Yu nodded.

"A good junior," Yun Zhen praised, "What did he come for? Surely not to release my trapped remnant soul?"

"It doesn't seem like it. He seems to have come simply to… completely kill this demon."

Hearing this, Yun Zhen laughed heartily and repeatedly said, "Good."

"Good, good, good! Worthy of my Taiqing Sect! The Dao of Taiqing has not been severed! Even Dao Ancestor, the Heavenly Lord, would likely be very pleased."

"Layman, does this demon pulling you in here mean she wants to use her divine powers to rewrite her sealed past?"

Yun Zhen asked again, and Lin Yu nodded.

"Indeed, one could even say… that this illusion is entirely manipulated by the demon. We are, in fact, the intruders."

Lin Yu admitted frankly, and Yun Zhen frowned: "So that's why you have the identity of 'Willow Town residents'… But if that's the case, why are you her sister?"

"I don't know either. That's exactly why I need to see for myself."

Lin Yu said, and Yun Zhen nodded again.

"I understand… In that case, I wish you a smooth journey, Layman. I will also try to be as quick as possible."

Yun Zhen cupped her hands in salute, her eyes now full of respect.

Lin Yu returned the gesture.

Then, he turned to bid farewell to the other players.

"The few of you will act together with Daoist Yun Zhen. I'll go in first to probe the situation."

The other players also looked worried, and Li Nian spoke up.

"Isn't it too dangerous for you to go in so directly?"

"She's already given me this identity, so I have to try it out."

Lin Yu said softly, then stopped lingering and walked straight towards the Apricot Grove Clinic.

After all, he had already communicated with Yun Zhen for long enough.

Although the clinic's doors were open, and the bright candlelight inside illuminated the medicine cabinets, stove, and consultation room, the entire clinic felt like a dangerous spider's nest filled with cobwebs, as if entering it would mean never escaping.

But Lin Yu seemed completely unaware of the danger and walked straight in.

It wasn't that he had truly resigned himself to sacrifice and was ready to die, as he had told Yun Zhen.

On the contrary, Lin Yu's calmness stemmed from his certainty…

That Zhu Qiansi wasn't planning to kill him alone when she gave him the identity of her "sister" and invited him into the clinic.

The physician of this Apricot Grove Clinic, also "Zhu Qiansi's" "father" in Willow Town, spoke again.

"Wanlv, Qiansi is waiting for you in the medicine-brewing room."

Although he was playing the role of "father," he seemed very respectful for some reason.

After pointing Lin Yu in the direction he should go, the physician began to remove the door panels of the clinic, preparing to close it—closing so early in the evening was quite rare even in Fire Prison.

Following the physician's directions, Lin Yu went around the medicine cabinets and arrived at the medicine-brewing room behind the pharmacy.

A dozen stoves were slowly burning, and various medicinal herbs were simmering in the pots.

The rising steam from the medicine pots gathered together, filling the room with a thick, pungent medicinal aroma dominated by bitterness.

Lin Yu knew that this slender woman was the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Thread Demon Lord, Zhu Qiansi.

He walked straight up to her, casually picked up a medicine chest from the corner, passed through the swirling steam and mist, and put the medicine chest down not far from her amidst the "glug-glug" of the boiling pots, and sat down.

Sitting closer, Lin Yu could see Zhu Qiansi's face more clearly—it was an unremarkable but somewhat pleasing face, with moderate features and thin lips.

Rather than a bloodthirsty demon, she looked more like a diligent and thrifty young housewife.

The other party was also sizing up Lin Yu, and after a long time, Zhu Qiansi finally spoke her first words.

"Your face is much prettier than my sister Wanlv's."

Her voice was soft and gentle, like warm white porridge just cooked.

Hearing this, Lin Yu said with some surprise: "Oh, so you really have a sister."

Zhu Qiansi nodded slightly and smiled: "Of course, I don't have the ability to create people out of thin air."

"Then is this Zhu Wanlv your sister from when you were human, or your sister from when you were a spider?"

Zhu Qiansi seemed not to have expected Lin Yu to ask such a question, thought for a moment, and then said.

"Of course, it's from when I was human… When I'm a demon, where would I get sisters?"

"Although it seems like there were some, I ate them before I gained consciousness… Only one spider demon can survive in a nest, that's normal."

There was a hint of regret in her words.

"That's quite cruel," Lin Yu said with emotion, "So after you gained consciousness, you developed feelings for this sister?"

"If I said I did, would you believe it?"

Zhu Qiansi asked playfully, hooking her little finger, and the spider silk reduced the fire in the stove on the right, interrupting the sharp "hissing" sound from the medicine pot.

"Of course not, I absolutely don't believe that you have any feelings for this Willow Town, or any affection or love for anyone."

"I had some doubts before I met you, but after meeting you I'm very sure, a demon is a demon, and has no feelings whatsoever."

Lin Yu looked at Zhu Qiansi, staring intently into her eyes.

Before meeting her, Lin Yu did consider that perhaps Zhu Qiansi really had some feelings—such as for that accountant, her descendants, and the 'family' at this Apricot Grove Clinic, perhaps they really touched her heart.

But… after meeting her, Lin Yu was very sure that none of this existed.

All the emotions and fluctuations she showed were fake.

It couldn't even be called 'acting' or 'performance'… but rather, constantly copying and pasting the emotions of others, ultimately presenting a facade called 'Zhu Qiansi'.

Ordinary people might not be able to tell, but Lin Yu could.

The biggest flaw was in the eyes on her face.

They seemed to be ordinary human eyes, but if you stared at them, you could find the difference.

There was no emotion in these dark eyes—they were black, like a deep, cold pool.

As if nothing could stir her emotions.

Let alone any 'human emotions'.

If she were human, Lin Yu would definitely sigh that she was a natural "monster."

But she was indeed a monster to begin with.

"So, Zhu Qiansi doesn't exist, from the beginning there has only been… the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Thread Demon Lord."