A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

## Chapter 296, Section 291: The Grand Imperial Examination (Part Six)

"what?!"

Upon hearing Song Yi's words, the many martial arts heroes who were watching couldn't help but either gasp in surprise or stand there dumbfounded.

Many people's expressions changed drastically upon hearing this, and they immediately left quietly, seemingly to inform someone.

“You have the wrong person. I am just a mere storyteller and cannot understand what you are saying.”

The storyteller's eyes narrowed slightly, and he repeated his words in a calm and unhurried tone, giving off a sense of "no matter how strong you are, the breeze still caresses the mountain."

Although no one would believe him at all. Whether it's the pride of a top-tier expert or something else, this guy doesn't even bother to act; he just keeps rambling on and on like a broken record. Isn't that completely counterproductive?!

Or is it that he just wants to take this opportunity to make a comeback, re-enter the martial arts world, and use Song Yi to establish the persona of a top master? Maybe they had already planned this whole thing.

Otherwise, this argument is just too brain-dead. You shouldn't have made a move in the first place. You could have gambled that Song Yi wouldn't dare to kill anyone indiscriminately in the capital to avoid revealing his skills. Instead, you just casually grab a gavel to block someone's attack and then claim that you're just an ordinary storyteller. Who the hell would believe that? You should put down the gavel before you speak!

"Ha, you still won't admit it. Fine, it doesn't matter whether you admit it or not. Since you still intend to keep hiding it like this, then don't blame me."

Seeing that the other party was completely unfazed, Song Yi had no choice but to give up, sheathing his long sword at his waist. He slowly said, "I know you came back to the capital this time to find your family, right? Have you been wandering incognito all these years, and for some reason, you've rarely heard any news about your family? Have you returned to the capital after so many years, only to find that everyone is gone and everything has changed?"

"!"

The storyteller's unhurried demeanor finally shattered, and he abruptly looked up at Song Yi, his eyes radiating a strange and terrifying aura.

"Shh!"

Before anyone present could react—including Song Yi—a cold glint instantly touched Song Yi's throat.

The storyteller vanished from his spot in an instant, as if teleporting, appearing from behind the table in front of Song Yi. He placed his right index and middle fingers together, the tips lightly touching Song Yi's throat. His chilling tone seemed to contain a biting wind, sending shivers down one's spine: "You knew? You did it?"

"..."

Zhou Ke'er sensed something was wrong when she heard this—if it really was Song Yi who did it, he would never say it so openly here. And this kind of thing, which sounded like a massacre and a news blackout, seemed very much like something the imperial court would do!

The court now has many departments that can be used for this kind of thing... Zhou Ke'er wonders if there are any things like the Eastern Depot, Western Depot, or Embroidered Uniform Guard in the background of this module. If there are, that's fine. If not... then this kind of dirty work will probably have to be done by the Prince of Yan's Guard, to which he currently belongs?

"Of course not. But I know who did it."

As expected, Song Yi faced the storyteller without any chance to fight back. His expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal and said softly in a voice that only he and the storyteller could hear: "The murderer is the current emperor."

Although Zhou Ke'er couldn't hear what the guy was saying, she could guess that he was talking about the imperial court doing it.

We shouldn't stay here any longer. What if the storyteller is actually convinced and, in a fit of anger, sees a government lackey here and slaps him to death?

Thinking this, Zhou Ke'er didn't care about the subsequent development of the events, and immediately and silently took the Yu Step to quickly leave the scene.

"Ok?"

He hadn't run more than a few steps when he discovered that the blonde woman who had called herself Dior was also following closely behind him.

"What...what's this guy up to?! Is he planning to follow me all the way here and launch a sneak attack when I'm not paying attention? He knows I'm a government official, yet he's still relentlessly pursuing me? Do we have some old grudge? What kind of nonsense is this?"

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but ponder this in her heart, but she couldn't come up with anything just by imagining it.

So... Zhou Ke'er was too lazy to waste her brains any longer, and turned around to ask the man with hostility, "Why have you been following me? If you and I really have such a deep-seated grudge, then why hide and conceal yourselves? Just find a quiet place to settle the score and decide life or death!"

Although given Zhou Ke'er's current status, she shouldn't be making such a life-or-death pact with others so casually, since no one knows anyway, and even if the other party agrees, Zhou Ke'er won't go to the appointment; she's just stalling for time.

"Hmph, you dare to spout nonsense over a mere piece of bread. You're really quite confident, aren't you? Do you think I need to go to such lengths for you?"

Dio crossed his arms dismissively and sneered, "It's just a stop on the way to the Grand Competition in the capital. You're really making a mountain out of a molehill."

"...Well, that's a really lame excuse."

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Dio, a slight, contemptuous smile creeping onto her lips—the direction he was heading in was completely different from the one she had just followed that prince to the capital for the imperial competition: "On the way? This direction is not on the way at all. In fact, it's completely opposite. Is this your supposed route to the capital for the imperial competition? It's really quite laughable."

"?"

Dio looked puzzled, frowned, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "You...you're not planning to go to the Grand Competition in the Capital? So you're not taking this route?"

"...yes."

Zhou Ke'er raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to say... you just didn't know the way, so you chose to come with me? But... how did you know I was also going to the Grand Competition in the Capital?"

"..."

Dior gave him a look that said, "Is this little bread idiot?" He pointed to the copper token that Zhou Ke'er had just clipped to the inside of her belt, which had the character "地" (earth) sticking out of it.

"...Oh, this..."

Zhou Ke'er never expected that she had overthought things and made such a basic mistake.

But... even if Zhou Ke'er really misunderstood, well, it's not like he misunderstood! Can Zhou Ke'er's misunderstanding even be called a misunderstanding? It's called seeing through the other person's true thoughts!

"Ha, your reason is even more lame. You know, so many heroes carrying this bronze medal are going to participate in the competition, and instead of following them, you've chosen to follow me? And we just had a dispute, don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?!"

Zhou Ke'er forcefully shifted the blame, saying, "Besides, you're here to participate in the capital's grand competition. Are you going to tell me you don't even know the way?! That's such a flimsy excuse!"

"...But I just don't know the way! I participated, so why can't I not know the way!"

Dior, embarrassed, retorted angrily.

"So how exactly did you register to participate?!"

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but complain out loud—this guy is definitely a gamer!

## Chapter 297, Section 292: The Grand Imperial Examination (Part 7)

Just then, a burly, menacing-looking man, followed by a group of oddly shaped people, came rushing over from the other end of the street, seemingly looking for someone.

Before long, they fixed their attention on Dio—there was no way around it, his blond hair was just too conspicuous, it seemed really hard not to notice him.

"It's her! That girl stole my competition token! Damn foreigner, she really is a barbarian! There's no need to talk about chivalry when dealing with this kind of person, brothers, let's charge!"

Upon seeing Dio, the man in the lead immediately became agitated and shouted loudly, then rolled up his sleeves, preparing to charge forward.

"Brother, wait a minute! Look closely, that little thief is with... people from the Prince of Yan's Guard! Look at them all together, they're probably in cahoots!"

However, a shrewd-looking man behind him quickly pulled him back, pointed at Zhou Ke'er, and whispered something.

"what?!"

The man was startled upon hearing this and immediately looked towards Dio's side. Sure enough, he spotted Zhou Ke'er and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "How is this possible?! How could that little thief be mixed up with the Prince of Yan's guards and the imperial court?! Could it be... that stealing my competition token was actually ordered by the imperial court?!"

"Brother, you're really overthinking it... If they're going to steal, they'll steal the tokens of top-tier experts to prevent them from participating, or at the very least, they'll steal tokens from those at the prefecture level... Why would they bother scheming against us nobody?"

Upon hearing this, the shrewd man glanced helplessly at the somewhat foolish leader and could only explain in a low voice.

"Then tell me, why did the people from the imperial court steal my token?!"

The leader asked defiantly.

"...Brother, what I meant was...that thief who stole your token might know that guard of the Prince of Yan, or perhaps he just happened to commit some crime and was caught in the act. But regardless, as long as the court officials are around, we cannot gather and cause trouble..."

The shrewd man wished he could rip out the leader's brain, clean it, and then put it back in. "It's not that this is the court's plan! We can't go there with so many people acting aggressively, otherwise we might be mistaken for provoking the court. Only a few of us should go and negotiate. That's the right thing to do."

.........

"Hey, those guys look like they're looking for you. Do you have some kind of grudge against them?"

Looking at the group of burly men who had initially been shouting at Dio but were now whispering amongst themselves, Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but ask Dio, who seemed completely unconcerned.

"I don't know. It's just a bunch of small bread rolls, the kind that make you feel nauseous just to take a bite. Is there any need for me to remember them?"

Dior shook his head and replied with utter disdain.

"Oh, then it seems to have nothing to do with me. I'll be going now, you can take care of your bread yourself."

Zhou Ke'er pursed her lips, too lazy to pretend with Dio anymore. Anyway, she figured he wouldn't notice anything was wrong. Besides, it was really uncomfortable to have to speak in such archaic language. It wasn't like she was studying ancient Chinese literature.

Moreover... Zhou Ke'er was in a hurry to change her clothes.

Although wearing this uniform of the Prince of Yan's guards would save a lot of trouble, I always felt restricted and unable to act freely. The feeling of being restrained was the most unpleasant thing.

"Hmph, of course. It's just a few small bread rolls. Do I need anyone's help?"

Dior crossed his arms and held his head high with pride.

After speaking, he found no one responding. When he turned around to see what was going on, he discovered that Zhou Ke'er had already disappeared.

...............

"Phew, finally done."

In an antique-style room, Zhou Ke'er looked at herself in a red robe in a bronze mirror. Her hair, which had looked dashing when tied up, was now loose, and her long, black hair cascaded down her back, adding a touch of charm.

Tsk, what annoyed Zhou Ke'er the most was that she couldn't take off her clothes because of her female form. Why are there so many restrictions in this game system? But thankfully, she could change her clothes with one click, otherwise it would have been troublesome.

Zhou Ke'er suspected that this game discriminated against players with cross-dressing accounts! Why is it that male players can take their clothes off when playing male characters, but not when playing female characters? This is outrageous! This is sexist stereotypes! I'm going to strike back hard!

"boom!"

Just then, the door to Zhou Ke'er's room was smashed open, and a figure flew in and crashed to the ground.

Zhou Ke'er's hand, which was combing her hair, paused slightly—why was another problem coming her way? How could this happen one after another? Even if it was to advance the plot, it was too coincidental.

"Wei Mingquan, you can't escape now! The renowned Longquan Sword is nothing special! Hand over the peerless martial arts manual copied from the stone tablet!"

A booming voice came from outside the door, sounding quite like that of a man from a prestigious sect. However, his words were anything but righteous: "Back then, your adoptive father, relying on his power, usurped the throne and disregarded the opposition of the people, forcibly entering the ancient tomb complex to make rubbings of fragments of scriptures from the stone tablets... Now that your Wei family has finally lost power, it truly is a cycle of karma, and no one escapes the judgment of Heaven! I will now reclaim this peerless martial arts technique on behalf of the entire martial arts world!"

"???"

Zhou Ke'er was completely dumbfounded. What kind of robber logic was this? They really were a prestigious and righteous sect?

"Hmph, what a prestigious sect you are! If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext! Where would our Wei family have any peerless martial arts techniques? If we really did, how could I be forced into this situation by someone like you, who isn't even a first-rate second-rate person!"

The man called Wei Mingquan struggled to his feet and angrily retorted.

"How dare you! It seems you're determined to never give up until you hit a brick wall!"

Upon hearing this, the newcomer seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and immediately took two or three steps into the house, ready to attack Wei Mingquan.

"I say... you really are talking to yourselves. This is my room. You just come and go as you please, and even want to fight here. Do you really think I'm invisible?"

Seeing that they seemed to have completely ignored him, Zhou Ke'er immediately spoke softly, while gently placing the wooden comb on the table. Her right hand secretly held her unique hidden weapon, the Flying Swallow Feather, which was completely concealed under her wide sleeves and was difficult to detect.

"And who are you?!"

Upon hearing this, the member of the prestigious sect who had entered asked Zhou Ke'er a question.

"Hmph, how interesting. You were the ones who barged into my room first, and now you're questioning who I am... You certainly have a lot of swagger!"

Zhou Ke'er raised an eyebrow and quickly turned around. Before the other party could react, she secretly channeled her inner energy into her fingertips, and the Flying Swallow Feather shot out, aiming straight for the other party's throat.