"You really know how to pick your timing." Xie Zhaolin chuckled softly.
"Right back at you." Zhou Zhilán smiled too, though it never reached her eyes. "You spared my life because you see my worth, didn't you?"
Xie Zhaolin narrowed her eyes. "You're pretty confident."
"It's not confidence." Zhou Zhilán shook her head. "It's profit. You and I are just taking what we each need, nothing more."
Xie Zhaolin was quiet for a moment, then suddenly let out a light laugh. "Fine."
Zhou Zhilán's lips curved slightly, and a faint relief flickered in her gaze.
"But…"
Xie Zhaolin abruptly raised her hand. A wisp of black qi shot straight into Zhou Zhilán's brow.
Her body stiffened, but she didn't resist. She just looked back at her calmly. "Understandable."
Xie Zhaolin withdrew her hand. Her voice was cold. "If you dare betray me, that baleful qi will shred your Primordial Soul to pieces."
"Relax." Zhou Zhilán gave a tiny smile. "I'm more afraid of dying than you are."
Xie Zhaolin studied her for a long time before asking, "Aren't you scared I'll go back on my word?"
"Of course I'm scared." Zhou Zhilán stepped forward half a pace. "But I'm certain…" She lowered her voice, "you don't want them to find out."
A chill flashed in Xie Zhaolin's eyes, but she didn't deny it.
"I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow." When Zhou Zhilán finally stepped past the threshold, she realized her underclothes were already soaked with cold sweat. Her left hand, hidden in her sleeve, was gripping a crumpled talisman—the last trick she had to save her life.
Just now, the killing intent bursting out of Xie Zhaolin had been so solid it almost suffocated her. For a moment, she'd really thought death was coming.
Luckily, she endured it.
And she won.
Xie Zhaolin watched that retreating figure, her lips curving into a smile that wasn't quite a smile. Her fingertips brushed the edge of a jade slip. A stream of black qi sank into it, making the surface glow faintly as lines of text and a route map appeared.
When her divine sense swept through, her brows lifted. The visiting Golden Core cultivator turned out to be Xu Changming.
Back in the days at the Hehuan Sect, that outer-sect deacon was known for being "diligent." He never missed the monthly inspections, and always made time to "visit" those prominent cultivation families affiliated with the sect.
Everyone higher up in the sect knew it, but they pretended not to see. After all, half of those "offerings" went into the sect treasury. As for the rest, well, that was considered the deacon's hard-earned fee.
"Li residence in the south of the city, Liu Alley in the west, the Zhou family's villa…"
A hundred years ago, such crude arrangements might have fooled some new disciples. But now…
It saved her quite a bit of trouble.
…
When the first rooster crowed outside, Xie Zhaolin put away the jade slip. Black qi coursed slowly through her meridians.
Knock, knock, knock.
Three taps, two long and one short—the code she'd agreed upon with Zhou Zhilán. She took out a human-skin mask. As it settled on her face, her features twisted—cheekbones higher, eyes drooping, fine lines spreading at the corners.
When the last ripple faded, the bronze mirror reflected a stern-faced middle-aged female cultivator. Even her aura had become utterly ordinary.
Outside, Zhou Zhilán stood at the steps, cradling a purple sandalwood box. Morning light painted her slim figure in a plain white dress, the bruises at her neck hidden beneath a snow-fox fur collar. But the green jade pendant at her waist gave her away—that was something only the Zhou family's direct bloodline possessed.
"The Zhou family guest-elder token." She offered the box with both hands, tapping lightly at a carved spot on its base. "Seventh Uncle approved it just this morning."
Xie Zhaolin raised a brow.
Inside was a jade medallion, gold inlaid with jade. On the front, the two characters for "guest elder" gleamed like steel carved with silver. On the back, a three-petal lotus looked almost alive. This wasn't something a branch descendant could casually get—it was the mark of a core guest elder.
"Your Seventh Uncle…"
"At Yin hour third quarter (around 4:45 a.m.) he suddenly fell to inner demons." Zhou Zhilán pressed her lips together in a faint smile, drawing out a recording stone. "Fortunately, I arrived with medicine in time."
The stone projected an image of a dim room: a middle-aged man convulsing on a bed, while a young woman hurriedly fed him medicine. As she leaned down, she discreetly switched out the medallion at his pillow.
The final scene froze on the man's weak hand, passing her the token.
A glint flashed in Xie Zhaolin's eyes.
There'd been no sudden inner demon attack. The girl had clearly laced the incense. As for the medallion… she rubbed her finger over the tiny scratch along its edge. Most likely "borrowed" from the Zhou ancestral hall.
Zhou Zhilán met her gaze without a word of explanation or pride. She just gave a small nod.
"Let's go." She turned on her heel. "Xu Changming's already at the Li residence."
Xie Zhaolin's cold gaze lingered on the girl's back, then caught on something new at her waist—a pouch embroidered with the Hehuan Sect's twin lotus motif. The stitching was slightly clumsy.
"You made that?"
Zhou Zhilán didn't slow down. "Xu Changming's only daughter loved this design." Her fingers brushed the pouch. "Shame she fell off a cliff during training last year."
Her words were casual, but Xie Zhaolin's eyes flickered. Not even she had heard of Xu Changming's daughter's death, much less her personal tastes. And yet, this girl knew it all.
At the Zhou family's red gates, the guard captain lifted a hand to block them—until his eyes fell on the white jade pendant at Zhou Zhilán's waist, carved with the words "Jingyi." That was the personal token of the Zhou family's third young lady.
"Third Miss asked me to deliver a message," Zhou Zhilán's voice was gentle. "The matter of the herb garden ends here."
The captain's pupils shrank sharply. Half a month ago, when he'd stolen ginseng from that same garden, he'd made absolutely sure no one was around.
"Please enter." He stepped aside at once. Cold sweat beaded at his temple.
Past three layers of gates, they came face to face with an old man in gray robes. His cane struck the ground with a heavy thud as his sharp eyes narrowed. "Zhilán girl, who are you bringing into the estate?"
"Greetings, Grandpa Yong." Zhou Zhilán gave a deep bow, letting half a prescription slip from her sleeve. "This is Senior Mingyue, Seventh Uncle's newly invited guest elder."
The old man's gaze froze when it landed on the prescription—his private order for medicine meant for a mistress, paid for with secretly siphoned family resources.
Xie Zhaolin watched coolly. Just how many secrets was this girl hiding up her sleeves?
"Grandpa Yong." Zhou Zhilán bent gracefully, handing him the prescription. "Seventh Uncle said you've been working too hard lately. He asked me to help look after the herb gardens."
His hands trembled as he accepted it. But before he could speak, the eight trigram mirror at his waist abruptly spun toward Xie Zhaolin.
Crack!
"Daoyou, forgive me!" He hurriedly cupped his hands. All his earlier arrogance vanished.
To shatter a shape-revealing treasure like that… at the very least, she had to be a Jīndān Zhēnrén.
Xie Zhaolin smiled faintly, pulling her Primordial Soul back without a trace.
But Zhou Zhilán…
She caught the fleeting curve at the girl's lips.
Suddenly, Xie Zhaolin found herself amused.
This girl was playing blindfold chess, every move hiding three layers of schemes.
And in this moment of silent understanding, they both agreed to the unspoken: Zhou Zhilán would display her strategies, and Xie Zhaolin would allow the trial.
Because—
The scales of cooperation only stay balanced when both sides bring enough weight.
===
Okey, Zhilán... You really 'well connected'. Wow
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Hi everyone! Just a quick announcement: I've hit the 20-novel limit on my Webnovel account, so I won't be able to upload any new projects here for now. To keep sharing my translations with everyone, I've decided to migrate my new uploads to AO3!
For my completed novels, I'll also be making them available in .epub format on Google Drive or TeraBox, so you can read them offline whenever you want. I'll put the links in the comment section. If you're reading on the app, it can be tricky to copy or open links there. In that case, please use your browser to access the web version at https://www.webnovel.com and, if needed, switch to desktop mode in your browser settings to copy/paste or access the links properly.
I've already started a new project there: "My VR Games Terrify the World"—I hope you'll enjoy it! Don't worry—all ongoing/serializing projects on Webnovel will continue here. I won't be abandoning anything you're currently following!
For extra safety, I'm also putting my translations on Royal Road (username: Reiya_Alberich) so they're accessible in multiple places.
If you'd like to follow my AO3 account, my pseud is Rikhi and you can find my profile here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikhi/pseuds/Rikhi
Or just search 'Rikhi' on it's search bar.
Thanks so much for your support, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy all the translations—both old and new—no matter the platform! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
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Meng Shu never expected to wake up in a parallel world where VR technology is everywhere, but horror games are painfully primitive. His saving grace? A game development system that's incredibly easy to use, with a unique currency: player fear.
Every scream, every jolt, every moment of pure dread his players experience fuels his progress. With this terror tax, he can unlock the blueprints for every classic horror game from his past world. While everyone else ignores the genre, Meng Shu sees a golden opportunity.
He begins to unleash a series of VR horror experiences that leave players traumatized. Outlast has them pleading for mercy. Visage keeps them perpetually on edge, jumping at the slightest sound. SOMA plunges them into deep existential dread, and Alien: Isolation teaches them the true meaning of helpless fear.
From Silent Hill to Resident Evil and Five Nights at Freddy's, Meng Shu's growing library of nightmares has one simple goal: to become the undisputed master of fear and make the entire gaming world scream.