Chapter 156 - Everything Is Not As It Seems

Cheng Xiu was not sure how she was familiar with this passageway though.

It was not something she had seen in the Primordials even though she wished it was that easy to recognize the place.

Perhaps she had read it somewhere.

The trio started to walk forwards.

Their footsteps echoed in the area.

Cheng Xiu felt a chill go down her spine. She felt like she was being watched.

Cheng Xiu looked with suspicion at the rock-cut style and the deep realism in the expressions of the statues that evoked a sense of mystery in her mind.

"You know," she said, her quiet voice echoing in the abandoned passageway, "These engravings and sculptures wouldn't exist just for aesthetic purposes, right? They need to have a deeper meaning. No game developer would create things just because they are pretty to look at. So, does that mean that they come to life at a perticular moment, when certain conditions are met?"

Cheng Xiu felt the air around her cool as San Zhe took in a deep breath in shock.

She stilled. Did she just jinx them?

San Zhe looked at the masked girl in horror. That was a flag! She just raised a flag for them! She just jinxed them!

"No way," San Zhe said through gritting teeth, "I have been to many clock towers in other countries! Nothing of that sort ever happened!"

Cheng Xiu pursed her lips. She had an argument for it, but she was not sure if she would be jinxing them for real if she said it.

"What?" San Zhe asked, "What is it that you want to say, Sister Xiu?"

In his mind, he was praying for her not to jinx them anymore.

"Well… this is supposed to be one of the oldest Clock Towers, right?" Cheng Xiu asked. "What if things are different here?"

San Zhe gave her a strained smile, which she returned with the same emotion. Sister, when you clearly know that you are raising a flag, then drop it already! Why was she waving it around enthusiastically even then?

A chuckle echoed in the passageway.

Cheng Xiu and San Zhe turned to him, indignation clearly written in the body-language of San Zhe. Cheng Xiu was calmer, more curious about Yaksha's take on the concept than anything else.

"There is nothing like that to fear," Yaksha said.

San Zhe relaxed. "See, I knew it!"

"Usually," Yaksha said, almost like he worded his sentence in a way that would hurt San Zhe the most.

San Zhe froze, the air around him turning dark in response to his despair.

Cheng Xiu was curious about that phenomenon.

"The statues can, in fact, become 'alive'," Yaksha said.

Cheng Xiu could almost see the arrow that Yaksha threw at San Zhe's heart to break it.

"But they will only do so in the presence of those who are Level 50 or above," Yaksha finished.

Cheng Xiu's hand went to the hilt of her sword in response to his words.

San Zhe stepped back in fear, hoping it will hurt less if he was away from the other man.

"But, I have suppressed the my level so that these enchantments would not detect my aura."

San Zhe relaxed. Why couldn't he just say that! Nearly gave him a heart attack.

Cheng Xiu, on the other hand, unsheathed her sword.

"Sister Xiu?"

"They can not detect your level?" Cheng Xiu asked in a mocking voice, "Are high-level monsters so naïve? Can they not hear your words either?"

"Oops," Yaksha said in a dull voice, "Sorry."

You don't sound sorry at all, Big Brother! San Zhe shouted in his heart even though he did not dare to say it out loud. That was a Level 70 player. He would be obliterated if he decided to upset this Mt. Tai.

Cheng Xiu hmmed. She suddenly turned towards San Zhe.

Before he could react, her sword was near his neck.

Sister Xiu! You can't forget old friendships for the sake of new loves!

Ting!

The hilt of her sword hit something that sounded like a stone.

San Zhe watched in amazement as the head of a stone snake fell to the ground. Its stone fangs were elongated, like they were about to take a bite off of something when tragedy struck it.

San Zhe shivered as he realised how close he was to death at that moment. It might have been a game, but he would still feel the sting of the bite from the creature. He would know, he had died many times in the past.

Cheng Xiu raised her sword and placed it against the Expert.

San Zhe stood still. That was a stupid move! He is an Expert! A Level 70 Player! Did Cheng Xiu's intelligence go offline?

"What are you doing!" San Zhe said in a panicked voice.

"What is your intention!" Cheng Xiu asked Yaksha, ignoring her scared friend for a momnet. "Are you luring us into some kind of trap? If you want to kill us, why not do it directly? Why are you playing mind-games with us instead?"

Yaksha sighed. "Sorry."

San Zhe blinked behind his mask. That sounded like a genuine apology. What the hell?

"What are you specifically apologizing for?" Cheng Xiu asked, not letting up her aggressive stance. "That your trap failed? What?"

"I am sorry I did not warn you about the Statues," Yaksha said. "I wanted to test your reactions and so I kept that information hidden."

"Why exactly did you want to test our reactions?" Cheng Xiu asked in suspicion.

"Because I wanted to see what your mental capacity was against a situation where you thought you were betrayed by your teammate," Yaksha said. His voice was even and his words sure.

"And what was the verdict?" San Zhe asked, inspite of himself.

"That you are stupid," Yaksha said to Cheng Xiu.

San Zhe gaped. What?

"What?" Cheng Xiu asked.

"When you know for a fact that you are weaker than me, why would you raise your weapon against me if not for the fact that you are stupid," Yaksha explained.

"I would have logged off," Cheng Xiu said, "And create a new account. If you did have genuine bad intentions towards us, can we escape unscathed?"

Yaksha pulled out his sword, that was the metallic black in colour and killed off a snake near Cheng Xiu.

The girl did not even flinch, let alone back away from his personal bubble.

Yaksha laughed. "Indeed. I forgot you could log out like that. My apologies. As for the monsters that were awakened by my presence…I will deal with the trouble I created obviously."

Cheng Xiu's sword moved away from his neck at those words, but not completely.

"You only have one mission today," Yaksha said to her. "And that is to kill a bunch of mangy rats. The rest are mine to deal with."

Cheng Xiu nodded, and moved away from him.

San Zhe relaxed once again. "Lord Yaksha… you should really give out clear sentences that explains your thought! My heart can't take more of your way of testing."

The black masked man looked at San Zhe.

Even though he couldn't see the man's expression, San Zhe was sure at that moment, Yaksha was glaring at him.

San Zhe stepped away from the man, letting out a nervous laugh. Sure enough, a beauty could get away with a lot of things that a man couldn't. He did not have the kind of influence on the Expert's opinions the way that Sister Xiu did.

"I will trust you for now," Cheng Xiu said with a glare. Under the white mask, her dark eyes seemed even more alluring than it did before.

Yaksha nodded.

Cheng Xiu walked away from him.

San Zhe was surprised by the abrupt end to their conversation and ran after the white and red robed woman.

Just as he was about to walk in step with her, San Zhe's collar was grabbed by someone and he was placed behind the girl.

San Zhe blinked at his change in position in shock, unsure of what to do.

He looked back at Yaksha, only to cringe away.

The man was killing off creatures of all kinds without making any sounds.

The stones did not even hit the ground before it disintegrated in the air and became ashes in the air.

San Zhe stared, gaping, his footsteps coming to a stop.

"You are the weakest," Yaksha said in a brutal voice, "We do not have time to play 'Damsel in Distress' with you to see how Sela will save your as again. Stay between us, and bring out your weapon. Are you a noob?"

San Zhe nearly cried. He obediently pulled out his trident. How was he supposed to know that the mission at the Clock Tower would be so dangerous right at the gateway this time?

"Don't be mean," Cheng Xiu said. "But it is better if you stay between us, Brother San."

San Zhe cried a river in his heart. He was at level 6. He was at a higher level than her but she was already more powerful than him!

The three walked in silence.. San Zhe with a cloud of sadness raining over his head.