VIP Chapter 530: Interlude: Method to Clear Death Hall (2) (3k)
“Do you understand now? Death Hall, you cannot kill Daisianwei, because from the hundredth floor onwards, Daisianwei has removed ‘death’ from this place.”
“This is… a reward for payment?” Shuna was silent for a moment before concluding, “A dungeon named ‘Death Hall’ whose theme is that one cannot die is quite absurd.”
“It’s not absurd. Death is an experience, not an end. Being unable to die forever is the best—that’s the aesthetic Daisianwei believes in.”
Listening to Li Wei’qi, Shuna felt like her words held hidden meanings. Did she already know how to clear Death Hall?
“You know how to kill Daisianwei… No, you know the method to clear this place?”
“I don’t. But that’s because I’ve never been an Adventurer for even a minute.”
“What is it that you need to have been an Adventurer to know?”
“Adventurers, when facing dungeons, are best at deciphering puzzles, aren’t they? Following the dungeon’s ‘theme,’ finding the secrets within the ‘theme,’ and then unraveling them step by step.”
Li Wei’qi retracted her open hand. “But unfortunately, I’m not good at that.”
Then, she leaned closer to Shuna. “A small hint—you just died once, so you should be able to guess.”
Shuna’s mind began to race. The meaning of Death Hall’s theme? And… something you only know after dying once? She recalled her own “resurrection.” It was strange, really. In all other dungeons, resurrection as a part of it should have been personally operated by the Emperor. But Shuna’s resurrection didn’t involve any dealings with Daisianwei. There was also a possibility… she wasn’t considered a “monster” here…?
“Oh, right. I didn’t come here to discuss how to clear Death Hall with you.”
Suddenly, Li Wei’qi smiled. She pointed “outside the window” of this small room. For someone inside, jumping from here would lead to the final room where Li Wei’qi was.
“Daisianwei wants to have a friendly chat with anyone who dies for the first time, about the ‘experience’ of ‘death.’ For her, it’s a delicacy.”
“She’s still so wickedly playful.”
“Following her own ‘theme’ and ‘rules,’ perhaps it’s not wicked playfulness, right? In her eyes, perhaps we who live for entertainment are.”
***
Daisianwei seemed to have been waiting for Shuna for a long time. Shuna saw that the blood in her favorite wine glass, used to “entertain guests,” had nearly solidified, proving she had poured it some time ago. If not for Li Wei’qi’s subtle “hints,” she probably would have arrived here earlier.
However, Daisianwei seemed to be in a good mood. She was humming a song, and judging by its somewhat cheerful melody, it wasn’t the lament she most loved to hum in her state of death.
“Lord Daisianwei, I apologize. I didn’t know that after dying for the first time, I would need to come here… to be in your care.”
“It’s alright. I’m in a good mood today. However, I have something to attend to later, so this usual care… will likely be a bit brief—oh, perhaps I should apologize to you for this.”
“?” Shuna thought, “Sectarian Daisianwei apologizing? What’s the sun rising from today?”
“Oh, you probably don’t know. This is a perk of Death Hall. You see… it seems like ‘end-of-life care’ is popular outside lately, so Death Hall should also have ‘post-death care’—so, what does it feel like to die once and then come back to life?”
“I…”
Shuna paused before answering. She was trying to recall the memory of “resurrection.” But… all she had left was a vague “feeling,” like searching for an exit in darkness, only to be awakened by various sensations. It was less like “resurrection” and more like remembering she was alive, and thus standing in this world again.
“I don’t remember.” Shuna tried to describe the feeling, but in the end, she gave Daisianwei this answer. “Anyway, I’ve come back to life. Whether it’s the feeling of death or the feeling of the resurrection process, I forgot it the moment I came back to life. That’s it…”
Shuna thought Daisianwei would dislike this answer. After all, Daisianwei was someone who cared so much about the process of “death.” Yet, she smiled.
“Hmm… you don’t remember? But that seems normal. Many of my subordinates also don’t remember the feeling after dying and resurrecting.”
“If there’s nothing else, I should leave…”
“Leaving in such a hurry? Won’t you wait a bit? The chance to chat with me is quite rare.”
“Because I think I should go and summarize why… I failed this time.”
“Very ambitious. However, what if I said… the reason for you to be here now no longer… exists?”
“!?!”
“Because… the funeral I’m about to attend is for my old friend, my long-time partner, Mr. Carver Hysterm.”
Daisianwei stood up from her seat. She seemed to dislike congealed blood, so she waved her hand, dismissing all the solidified blood-wine on the table due to Shuna’s late arrival.
“And the person holding his funeral. Hmm… although he didn’t invite me, which vexes me, he seems to be…”
Daisianwei’s eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed at Shuna standing before her. In that instant, Shuna understood that Daisianwei had begun to perceive her emotions. And she also understood… Will had won. The battle she feared most between Will and Carver had ended with his victory. That’s why he was still alive and well, holding a funeral for Carver. It also meant… either Daisianwei thought she had been deceived by her, or Daisianwei would think she had been deceived by Will—only two choices could explain the intersection of “Will is alive” and “Shuna joined Death Hall for his revenge.” Without a doubt, if she wanted to survive, she would have to choose the latter. Therefore, the emotion she would display here was…
“He… he…”
—First, she would use a choked breath, as if about to speak but still hesitant, to express surprise, even clutching her heart to show a trace of “disbelief.”
“He’s still alive?!”
—Then, she would ask with an opening of surprise and an ending of slightly unforgivable anger.
“He… since he’s still alive, why didn’t he come to me? The first thing he did was… was to see them?”
“Oh dear.”
Daisianwei stood up. She unhesitatingly removed her ostentatious red dress, revealing a skeletal, emaciated torso, even showing her excessively gaunt skin. As a “vampire,” she seemed too close to “death.” Then, undead attendants brought her the black, sweeping skirt she would wear to the funeral, and they helped her change. Shuna rarely saw the casual Daisianwei looking so “proper.” In Shuna’s mind, Daisianwei was perhaps the type who would wear the most striking, eye-catching red dress even to a funeral. Because in her heart, perhaps “funeral” wasn’t something “worth grieving over.”
Daisianwei, preparing to attend a “funeral,” walked towards Shuna.
“Miss Shuna, you’re very angry, which is understandable. Anyone would be furious in such a situation.”
Shuna took a breath. If Daisianwei said this, there was a high probability… she had fooled her.
“After all, the man you’d rather fall to the dark side for to save is now alive, but he doesn’t come to you. Instead, he’s being affectionate with other women—yes, and together they completed a grand revenge.”
“If I see him again, I will definitely…”
Shuna’s words were cut short. Daisianwei was extremely close to her. She could almost be said to be clinging to her body. Daisianwei, being a head shorter than her, rested her ear against Shuna’s left chest.
“But when you say these things… your heartbeat is too slow.”
“?! ”
“Are you truly ‘surprised’ and ‘angry’? No, you… have you been repeatedly thinking about how to act to deceive me?”
“…?!” Shuna’s hand instantly moved to the dagger at her waist, her mind already formulating ten ways to kill Daisianwei with a single blow at this close range. And… zero methods to save herself and escape from here.
“Don’t get agitated, I won’t kill you here. Hmm… You’ve just discovered, you won’t die. Oh, and I won’t die either.”
Daisianwei placed her finger on the dagger Shuna had drawn. Shuna even felt her fingertip deliberately brush past the sharp edge. Then, she brought her finger to her lips and licked it in front of Shuna. Shuna realized this action was pure provocation. Even after brushing against the sharpest part of her dagger, her finger showed no blood, nor any wound.
“The reason for bringing you here, from the beginning, was not just because you lost a lover, but more so… because as a God-Attuned who kills upon being born alive, I… like you very much.”
Daisianwei separated from Shuna and brushed past her. Her words, though sounding like “expressing affection,” sounded like “uttering threats” with every syllable. Everything in Death Hall was such a “reversal”; affection meant danger, and death meant beauty.
“Therefore, as long as you stay obediently by my side, I won’t do anything.”
“…” Shuna sensed this “threat.” But… more than that, at such a close distance, she seemed to have discovered something… her heartbeat. Daisianwei had no heartbeat at all, as a living person should.
