Rules of Black and White

 

(NT: The chapter’s title refers to a story from the Warring States / Spring and Autumn period. The king of Qin lit beacon fires to “play” or trick the feudal lords into thinking there was an invasion. It means figuratively using a serious system or signal for trickery or manipulation.)

 

This was consciousness control originating from the mind. Even though Xing Ye’s willpower was extremely strong, he still could not resist this force.

He was instantly split into two versions of himself: one person struggling wildly, trying to break free from this control; the other was telling Xing Ye, you are a sacrificial offering, destined to be sacrificed to the Mountain God, you must return to where you are supposed to be.

Oh, and don’t forget to bring your companions.

Yang Xiaomao turned back and waved to the people inside the room: “Come out, it’s fine.”

The others trusted Xing Ye completely. Seeing him wave, they walked out one by one. But as soon as they touched the warm sunlight, they too were immediately controlled.

Yan Hebi’s mind went stiff. I am to escort the sacrificial offerings to see the Mountain God, he thought.

His eyes moved mechanically twice, glancing at the equally vacant eyes of Xing Ye and Cao Qian, and he did not grab them; instead, he held onto Qian Daniu’s arm.

Qian Daniu: “???”

She looked at Yan Hebi. “What are you doing, big head? Stop messing around, I’m starving!”

Xing Ye’s personal consciousness was shocked: even the paper-human Yan Hebi was controlled, but the hybrid paper-human Qian Daniu was not—she was normal!

No—Yan Hebi being controlled was not necessarily because he was a paper-human, but due to the “Blessing of the Mountain God” mentioned on yesterday’s test report. He had not been turned into a paper-human by the village chief; it was the Mountain God controlling him.

Qian Daniu struggled wildly, using both nails and teeth, shouting at Xing Ye and Cao Qian: “What are you doing? Help me, hurry!”

Cao Qian was the fastest. She sprinted forward. Seeing Cao Qian’s face, which exuded security, Qian Daniu was about to smile, but Cao Qian suddenly reached out and slapped her hard. Qian Daniu’s head rang, and for a moment, she didn’t know what had happened.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Qian Daniu looked at Cao Qian, blood coming from her nose, face swollen.

Cao Qian’s voice was mechanical and emotionless: “Stop struggling. The guards are taking us back to our living quarters. We are the Mountain God’s sacrificial offerings, destined to be offered, you cannot escape.”

“Damn it! You’re controlled!” Qian Daniu cursed. “Xing Ye, Yang Xiaomao, boss, hurry and save us!”

Unexpectedly, Yang Xiaomao on the other side laughed darkly: “She’s so disobedient, why not just remove her legs? That’ll teach her to behave.”

Qian Daniu: “……”

No way, among the four people, she was the only one normal? What should she do?

“This method works,” Yan Hebi said, pressing Qian Daniu to the ground with one hand, “Blackie, take action.”

Cao Qian had no weapons, but she didn’t need any. She grabbed Qian Daniu’s feet and pulled with force.

Feeling Cao Qian’s icy hands on her ankles, Qian Daniu cried out: “What are you doing? Wake up! I beg you! Yang Xiaomao, aren’t you awesome? How can a little sunlight control you like this! Cao Qian, you’re so strong, able to fight ten people—can’t you punch yourself awake? Don’t break my legs! Waaah…”

But Cao Qian’s actions didn’t stop. One hand pressed down on Qian Daniu’s thigh, the other grabbed her ankle, and she began to pull forcefully. Meanwhile, Yang Xiaomao stood in the sunlight, looking down at them, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

At this critical moment, a frantic voice suddenly came from Cao Qian’s pocket: “Guga, guga, guga! Haven’t eaten yet, why pull the legs! Eat, eat, eat, back to the room to eat! Guga, guga, guga!”

Hearing this, Cao Qian stopped pulling, tilting her head.

“Quack, quack, quack! If I don’t eat, I’ll starve to death! So hungry! So hungry! If I don’t eat, I can do nothing, I’m useless without food, quack, quack, quack!” shouted a swan crystal inside her pocket.

“I’m so hungry, I need to eat.” Cao Qian let go of Qian Daniu’s leg and carefully moved back toward the house.

“What are you doing?” Yan Hebi said unhappily. “Hurry and break her leg, I’ll take you sacrificial offerings back to the courtyard.”

But Cao Qian seemed not to hear him, staring straight at the house: “I’m so hungry, I want to go eat.”

“Tch, I’ll do it myself.” Yan Hebi ignored Cao Qian and said coldly.

Qian Daniu: “……”

She didn’t know what had happened to Cao Qian, but it felt like she had just escaped the tiger’s mouth only to walk straight into the wolf’s den.

Yan Hebi did not have Cao Qian’s strength, but he had tools. He somehow found a brick and slammed it down onto Qian Daniu’s leg.

At that moment, Yang Xiaomao suddenly crouched, taking the square mirror hanging from his neck and waved it in front of Yan Hebi.

Yan Hebi was stunned by the face in the mirror. His hand dropped the brick, hitting Qian Daniu’s leg, causing her to scream.

Inside the mirror, Lu Mingze said: “It’s so sunny outside. Can you help me and Qian Daniu back into the house? Thanks.”

“No problem!” Yang Xiaomao and Yan Hebi said in unison.

Yan Hebi carried Qian Daniu, Yang Xiaomao held the mirror, and Cao Qian shouted from her mouth: “I can’t do anything if I don’t eat!” Step by step, the three moved forward and finally returned to the house.

As soon as they entered the door, the three of them immediately sat on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief.

Qian Daniu fell heavily to the ground, her hair in disarray, cheeks swollen, nose bleeding, and her face smeared with tears, snot, and blood. Seeing that her three companions were finally normal again, she dropped to her knees and broke into loud sobs — she had truly been scared half to death just now.

After catching her breath, Cao Qian pulled the swan crystal from her pocket and said to it:
“Linlin, it’s really thanks to you.”

Although Linlin was Cao Qian’s Fate-Following item, her consciousness was her own, and she hadn’t lost her reason even when Cao Qian was controlled. And while Cao Qian was under control, her affection level toward Linlin hadn’t decreased, so Linlin was still able to use Cao Qian’s points.

Linlin had used her initial skill, Self-Deception, which lasted for one minute. As long as Linlin successfully deceived herself, she could deceive others.

So, Linlin desperately convinced herself that she was starving to death and couldn’t do anything. Under the effect of the skill, Cao Qian was forced to let go of Qian Daniu and return to the room.

Likewise, Lu Mingze saw that Xing Ye was under control and frantically wriggled out from under Xing Ye’s clothes, flashing the mirror over and over to reflect light into his eyes.

When Xing Ye involuntarily looked at him, Lu Mingze used Xing Ye’s points to activate his initial skill, Overwhelming Beauty.

This was Lu Mingze’s first time using Overwhelming Beauty in this world, and he discovered the ability was not as simple as its description — it carried a hidden effect.

When Lu Mingze’s face perfectly matched the controlled target’s aesthetic ideal, it could trigger unparalled Beauty’s hidden skill: Beacon Fires to Amuse the Lords.

Legend has it that King You of Zhou once lit the beacons, tricking the lords into rushing to his aid, all to make his consort Bao Si smile. The lords’ flustered appearances made her laugh, but when the trick was repeated too many times, they stopped responding. So when a real invasion came, no one came to help, and the dynasty fell.

The ability of Beacon Fires to Amuse the Lords was this: to win a smile from the one in the mirror, those under control would be willing to brave fire and blade alike!

Ordinarily, Overwhelming Beauty only immobilized someone, but the hidden skill Beacon Fires to Amuse the Lords went further — it could fully control a person.

Lu Mingze only had Xing Ye show the mirror to Yan Hebi so that Yan Hebi would stop hurting Qian Daniu. Xing Ye, who liked Lu Mingze, would certainly be affected by Beacon Fires to Amuse the Lords, but there was no guarantee it would work on Yan Hebi.

Yet when Lu Mingze’s reflection smiled at Yan Hebi, Beacon Fires to Amuse the Lords actually took effect! With just one line from Lu Mingze, Yan Hebi stopped attacking Qian Daniu and even carried her back into the house.

Once inside, out of the sunlight, they finally regained their normal selves.

After thanking Linlin, Cao Qian comforted Qian Daniu. She found an old towel in Xing Ye’s house, wet it, and wiped Qian Daniu’s face.

Seeing Cao Qian back to normal, Qian Daniu felt even more wronged and hugged her waist, crying loudly.

Imagine, all companions had been controlled and almost had to chop off her own legs. Qian Daniu truly became a horror movie heroine—utterly terrifying.

After calmly reflecting on the earlier controlled state, Xing Ye looked at Yan Hebi, slightly narrowing his eyes.

Yan Hebi met Xing Ye’s gaze and instantly felt a chill in his spine, waving his hands: “I’m not… I didn’t… I don’t like him!”

“Oh?” Xing Ye raised his eyebrows. “I haven’t said anything yet. I also haven’t told you that Little Mirror’s ‘Beacon Fires amuses the Lords’ ability only triggers if someone extremely likes his face.”

Yan Hebi: “……”

At that very moment, he was controlled by “Unparalled Beauty,” and seeing the person in the mirror smile so beautifully nearly stole his soul; he would have been willing to go through fire and water for them without hesitation. Even now, after breaking free from the control, Yan Hebi was still immersed in that feeling, unable to extricate himself. He looked dazed, and when he met Xing Ye’s gaze, he inexplicably felt guilty.

Xing Ye looked at Yan Hebi and secretly sighed. Yan Hebi’s luck could be considered “fortunate” among fate defying players, but his misfortune didn’t manifest in challenges—it showed up in matters of the heart.

He wondered whether the system had released the “Doomed to Be Single” skill on Yan Hebi.

Xing Ye patted Yan Hebi on the shoulder, a gesture of forgiveness.

He gave everyone five minutes to calm down. When the five minutes were up, Xing Ye clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention: “Set your emotions aside; we need to overcome the control of the sunlight.”

Qian Daniu hiccuped through her sobs and said, “You say that, but you were the first one controlled. We all just followed you outside.”

She was truly miserable. Could a normal person even withstand a slap from Cao Qian? Luckily, Qian Daniu was a paper-human hybrid; otherwise, that slap probably would have caused a concussion.

Xing Ye said, “What just happened was dangerous, but it wasn’t without benefit. Experiencing this control firsthand has given me a deeper understanding of this world and also clarified the village chief’s intentions.”

Hearing him talk about serious matters, everyone immediately sat up straight, focused and attentive, not wanting to miss a single word from Teacher Xing.

Xing Ye continued: “When I was being controlled, my consciousness was actually present, but it could not overcome another latent force in my mind. This indicates that this controlling power exists within this body. As long as we remain in this world—or rather, as long as the Mountain God exists—we cannot escape it.

“And this consciousness possesses our thought patterns and aesthetic sense, which is why it can be manipulated by the skill of a fate-following item. They can be considered our copies and are extremely dangerous.

“This world has already revealed its rules of black and white: white is daytime, controlling the living; black is nighttime, controlling the dead. Black and white are symbols of the game, so I have reason to believe that game rules have intervened in this world. They can even control our thinking, making them far more dangerous than before.”

Having experienced a world where game rules intervened, Yan Hebi asked, “Last time, if we failed, we couldn’t leave the game world. Could the same happen in this world?”

Xing Ye nodded seriously: “This world must have rules beyond the sacrificial offerings to the Mountain God and the guards killing the Mountain God. These are rules we do not know of and might not even notice. These rules could very well endanger everyone.”

“What kind of rules are they? How would we even notice them?” Qian Daniu asked, completely confused.

Xing Ye pointed the top of his head  and affirmed : “I believe the secret lies here.”

 

Translator : DarNan