Translator: CinderTL
The blackboard looked exceptionally old, like one that had been discarded decades ago. You could still see the broken edges of the wood.
Several lines of chalk-written characters were scrawled across it in a crooked hand.
Due to the dim lighting, you had to get very close to make them out. Fatty's large face was practically pressed against the glass.
If an unsuspecting person glanced in from the outside, the scene would be quite terrifying.
"Who wrote these lines?" Fatty grumbled softly. "They're so ugly."
With his vivid imagination, Fatty was deeply worried that a Ghost Face might suddenly appear on the other side of the glass.
Huai Yi, hunched over in an equally ungraceful posture, peered through the glass at the blackboard. "Brother Fugui, what's wrong with your eyes? There are clearly four lines of text."
Fatty widened his eyes and glared at Huai Yi. "Are you kidding me? Can't I tell the difference between two and four?"
As he spoke, a cold gust of wind swept through the room. Everyone seemed to realize something at once, and their faces paled.
Gao Yan, Wang Qi, and Shen Mengyun all turned away from the blackboard and exchanged glances.
The atmosphere grew eerie.
After a moment, Shen Mengyun spoke first. "I saw three lines."
"I saw five," Gao Yan said in a muffled voice, his face ashen and dripping with gloom, as if he had recalled something unpleasant.
Wang Qi glanced back at the blackboard and murmured, "I saw eleven lines."
"Eleven lines..."
Everyone involuntarily cast wary glances at Wang Qi. It was clear now that each person could see a different number of lines.
This didn't seem to be a restriction imposed by the mission rules, but rather... a problem with themselves.
Gao Yan thought of a fitting word: aptitude.
Each person's aptitude differed, thus affecting how many lines they could see on the blackboard.
Fatty had the worst aptitude, or perhaps was simply the dullest, able to see only two lines.
Shen Mengyun was slightly better, but not as good as the one called Huai Yi, who could see three lines.
Huai Yi saw four.
He saw five.
Gao Yan shifted his gaze to Wang Qi's face. The longer he looked, the more unfamiliar Wang Qi seemed, as if he had never truly understood this person at all.
Gao Yan wasn't surprised that Wang Qi was stronger. His performance had made that clear.
There were always mavericks on missions, but few survived with all their limbs intact after going their own way.
Wang Qi was clearly a formidable opponent.
But Gao Yan hadn't expected Wang Qi to be able to see eleven lines. He'd underestimated the guy.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but in reality, it all happened in a split second. Just as he was about to say something, he realized someone was missing.
Jiang Cheng hadn't spoken yet.
Gao Yan turned to see Jiang Cheng with his forehead pressed against the glass door, eyes fixed on the blackboard, still nodding his chin.
"Brother Jiang," Gao Yan urged impatiently, "how many lines did you see?"
Everyone turned to Jiang Cheng.
After maintaining his pose for another ten seconds, Jiang Cheng slowly turned his head, his mouth slightly open, his gaze apologetic. "Four."
The moment the number was spoken, a great weight lifted from Gao Yan's chest. It seemed the other party was on par with Huai Yi, in the same league.
Even if things turned ugly, he was confident he could handle it.
"Line 47," Jiang Cheng said.
Gao Yan: "???"
"Are you sure?" Shen Mengyun's face paled. After a long pause, she asked again, "Mr. Jiang, have you checked your findings?"
"I don't think I made a mistake," Jiang Cheng said shyly. "The characters are densely packed, but I checked it three times in total. I shouldn't have missed anything."
The revelation sparked a lively atmosphere.
Wang Qi studied Jiang Cheng with keen interest, as if trying to dissect him piece by piece for analysis.
Shen Mengyun still seemed stunned, unable to recover from the shock.
Gao Yan's expression was the most peculiar, alternating between pallor and ashen gray. He furtively glanced at Jiang Cheng with a strange look, suspecting he was putting on an act.
But if it was an act, wouldn't it be better to make it as realistic as possible to deceive people? Was this guy serious about seeing line 47?
What kind of talent was needed to see that far?
Ten times stronger than himself?
Compared to them, Huai Yi and Fatty seemed much calmer. Huai Yi was thinking, "Should I just say it's Crimson Third Brother? One word: awesome!"
Huai Yi had his own theory about Fatty only seeing two lines. He suspected it was a tacit agreement among the Crimson members.
Brother Jiang and Brother Fugui, one in the open, the other in the shadows... Huai Yi swallowed hard, feeling confident this round was in the bag.
Fatty, on the other hand, was thinking, "That Doctor is a scheming, treacherous, and cunning bastard, unmatched in his wickedness. Plus, he's got the innate talent of an orphan, making him ruthless enough to even deceive ghosts when he gets serious."
It made sense that he could see forty-seven lines.
"Brother Jiang," Gao Yan said, staring at him with a forced smile. "You saw the most. Tell us, what did you see?"
Jiang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then recalled, "What I saw seemed like a story, but it felt incomplete, like it was missing its beginning or end."
Huai Yi frowned, following Jiang Cheng's train of thought. "Could it be that the words we saw are all different, but when put together, they form a complete story?"
Fatty stroked his chin, narrowed his eyes, and adopted an air of profound mystery. "That makes sense. Didn't Yuan Xiaoyi tell us to pay attention to the library gate?"
"She was probably referring to this old blackboard."
So they decided to start with the person who had seen the fewest words: Fatty. Then they would proceed in order.
After building up his emotions, Fatty began slowly, "Long ago, in a distant land..."
After ten seconds, he still hadn't continued. Huai Yi blinked, looked at him, and asked, puzzled, "What comes next?"
"That's it," Fatty said, scratching his head sheepishly. "I only saw two sentences: 'Long ago' and 'In a distant land.'"
Wang Qi's lips curled into a smile. "That's interesting." He turned to Shen Mengyun, his meaning clear.
As expected.
When Shen Mengyun spoke, her words flowed seamlessly from Fatty's.
They continued in order, and by the time Jiang Cheng finished his account, a story had slowly unfolded before them.
Set in a foreign land with a medieval, dark fantasy atmosphere, the tale revolved around a castle on fertile land.
The castle was ruled by a cruel and greedy lord. His people lived in misery, suffering under his tyranny.
Until one day, three strangers arrived at the castle.
Each claimed to carry a treasure to present to the lord.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c1186. [+2]
🔑Early Access at $1.
💥Translated (6) Series, (4.6K+) Chapters, (6.7M+) Words.