CH 9

The earlobe that Lin touched became scalding hot, and the bump on Ye Zun’s throat rolled uneasily.

——It’s just my earlobe being touched, why does it feel like my whole body is burning?

——If things continue on like this and I get discovered, I will definitely be looked at with weird eyes.

From top to bottom, the priest’s appearance was dignified and abstinent, elegant and restrained, regardless of clothing or expression. Although his words were gentle and kind, his demeanour and temperament revealed a seemingly cold feeling.

If there was something wrong, then it was naturally Ye Zun’s own problem.

Ever since his grandma passed away just before the university entrance examination, no one would treat him so gently anymore. But it was the same even when his grandma was here.

It was because the other man was too gentle towards him and he didn’t know how to respond, so things became weird.

Ye Zun swallowed the bitter taste in his throat that came with him reminiscing his grandma. One hand unconsciously raised to cover his burning earlobe and he turned to the side slightly, his eyes lowered, unable to look directly. “Can I rest here for a while? It’s been a long time since I’ve slept.”

He had already forgotten to speak with a strong tone, to pretend to be a big boss.

Lin softly said, “Of course you can. It’s just that the conditions here may not be very good.”

“It’s okay, I’ll just find a random space.” Ye Zun turned away, walking over to sit down in a chair on the other side of the aisle. His eyes naturally raised to look forward. “En? The cross, why does it seem to be upside down?”

Anyone in this church, without exception, would notice the cross of holy light formed by the light projected through the cross-framed window. However, right now, the cross of holy light was upside down. 

Even Ye Zun, who knew little about religion, understood the significance in the symbolism of the cross.

Lin raised his eyes slightly, casually glanced at the cross-shaped hollow wall at the rear right of the church, and lightly said, “It should be that the wall has aged and collapsed. This church has always had no believers. It was like this when I arrived. For the time being, there is no way to repair it.”

Ye Zun nodded and retracted his gaze. “En, I heard people here say that even those guards don’t come to the west.”

Speaking of, since entering this deep forest, those veteran players had not chased after him.

Lin placed one hand on the chair, tapping his fingertips on the surface while looking at Ye Zun who had seated himself across from him, and said with a mild tone, “Oh, it is said that this area was a battleground for the demons in the past. In this world, there is a clear hierarchy in the demonkind,  so even if they have been dead for a long time, the soil that has been contaminated with the blood of demons is also the source of the existence of fear and deterrence in them.”

Ye Zun’s eyes were filled with sleepiness, but he tried his best to suppress them once hearing the priest’s words. He very much wanted to know about this world.

If it weren’t for this, how could he have chosen to go with that veteran player despite his obvious vigilance.

Ye Zun blinked once, trying to stay awake while looking at the priest. “I heard they call this world the Demon God’s Amusement Park, and there is a Nightmare Border; does that mean I am in a nightmare right now? Do you know how to get out of the nightmare? I want, to return to my original world.”

Lin watched him with his full attention, his handsome face still quiet with no ripples. “The Demon God’s Amusement Park. As the name suggests, the selected humans will enter a horror game woven by demons to become players, to entertain the spectating demons and gain rewards. Players usually refer to each game as an instance.”

“Everyone must enter the amusement park once within seven days, and they will be placed into a instance of different difficulty levels according to their abilities. Every instance mode is different, and depending on the player’s performance inside, they will be graded with a score. The higher the score, the better the reward.”

“Some high-ranking demons will hide some easter eggs in their instances. Find these easter eggs and you will have a chance to receive a gift from the demon, gaining abilities beyond what normal people have. The magic crystals rewarded by the game can enhance these abilities, and the magic crystals are also the currency of this world.”

“In a high-ranked instance, the demon will sometimes show up personally.” Lin’s explanation paused. Looking at Ye Zun, his low and gentle voice said, “It is said that, if the player keeps surviving in the amusement park, continuously increasing their ranking and eventually capable of killing a demon, they may become the new demon. Perhaps, after becoming a demon, you can finally go home.”

Ye Zun absorbed this new information, surprised.

In hindsight, if this entire world was a big game, this gentle and kind priest was like the guiding NPC that the game arranged for the player, which was why he was so approachable and friendly, unlike the other people he met. He even told Ye Zun so much important knowledge of the workings in this world.

Lin’s lips raised in a faint smile, like a shallow wave in the calm water of a black crystal spring and gently asked,  “When I first saw you, I wondered, are you a noble from the Pu’ensibarleeti District?”

Ye Zun: “…ah, I’m not. I’m just a normal person.”

He didn’t even memorise that district’s long list-like name, was it something-Pu’enteesi-something?

Lin looked at him, his black eyes shining bright and clear. He said with his usual low and slow voice, “The Nightmare Border is the place where the lowest-ranked demons live. It is at the bottom of the lower three sectors, the most chaotic area. The highest-ranking district from the lowest of the three sectors is the Pu’ensibarleeti district. For the middle sector of the three, you can just remember the highest-ranked district, the Tuomeni’en district. As for the most upper-ranked sector of the three, just remember the Seraphim district.”

Ye Zun was puzzled. “Why do I need to remember these districts? “

Lin’s gaze was quiet, making people unconsciously want to listen to whatever he says. “The nobles in the middle of the three sectors still have the characteristics of demons, and the ones in the most-upper sector are closer in appearance to humans, but they tend to be more perfect than humans. However, you already look very perfect.”

Ye Zun, who was suddenly praised for his appearance: “…thank you.”

Lin looked at the corners of his eyes, which were slightly cast down. When looking at other people, those eyes always showed a faint uneasiness in their depths, clean, shallow and pure. Whenever he smiled, it was as if he was unaccustomed to such a display, unable to let go of that somewhat shaky edge, but the curvature of his eyes was actually rather charming.

With such a nervous and restrained shakiness, although he wasn’t looking at anyone, it was far more tempting than any direct eye contact… Even if there were no tears to wet those eyelashes, he already looked very nice.

Lin watched him attentively, softly saying, “The Demon God’s Amusement Park is strictly hierarchical. Even the demon nobles are just one link in the food chain. Human beings are the equivalent to wild or abandoned pet cats and dogs.”

Ye Zun looked at him with slight consternation in his eyes.

Lin’s eyes were quiet and steady as always, his voice low and calm, “Ordinary people in this world have only two identities: pet and food. If stray cats and dogs cannot become pets, they can only be food. If you exist as food, your survival depends on whether others are willing to eat you.”

Ye Zun recalled something. “So, those people who were clearly running a meat stall, but would rather be a sack of bones than eat a bite of meat; it is because they are afraid of becoming the food in others’ mouths! “

Lin watched as the dread settled in, the jut on his throat bobbing with self-restraint ever so-slightly. “Becoming a noble’s pet is equivalent to relying on one’s skin to survive. But even pets are not far away from food. Demon nobles are sometimes food for the demon deities. There is only one kind of pet that can survive on its own, that is, one that becomes the pet of a demon god——a player recognised by the Demon God’s Amusement Park.”

Ye Zun looked at him with uncertainty. “You know about so much about the players, are you a player too?”

Or rather, was Lin really the game world’s guide? An NPC?

It was impossible to imagine that such a calm and powerful Lin could be a demon god’s pet, or food.

Lin stared at him, the corners of his lips raised slightly. “Do your best to clear the levels ba. When you become stronger, I will tell you. Before then, if you are in danger, you can escape here, to me. Or, pretend you are a certain…pet of a demon god, from the upper sector.”

Ye Zun stared into those black and quiet eyes. The other man told him such important knowledge, taught him how to survive the dangers of this world, and even provided him with a shelter. Such precious kindness could not be repaid with a simple and lone thank you.

Finding himself unable to respond immediately, Ye Zun felt uneasy. He lightly pursed his lips, and earnestly said, “I have memorised it. Thank you, Lin, I will work hard.” 

He wanted to become stronger, and when Lin needed it, he would repay him properly, just like how the man treated him now. 

Although the man may not need it at all, as far as Ye Zun was concerned, if he couldn’t repay the other party, it was impossible for him to accept the priest’s kindness.

But he…really wanted to receive Lin’s kindness.

Lin’s dark pupils dilated from the obvious and refreshing, sweet and delicious aroma wafting in the air. He had to put all his effort in suppressing the instinctive swallowing in his throat.

He appeared refined and courteous, gracefully nodding and saying with a smile, “You look very tired. Go to sleep ba. I am here, no one will come to bother you.”

Ye Zun really was tired. The schedules in his part-time job of shooting commercials were often irregular. Sometimes he didn’t have a single job offer for several days in a row, sometimes he had a large workload in a short period of time. It was because of his work and rest lives being completely messed up that he suffered from insomnia after moving into a new home.

Then, he was dragged into this world…

The young man rested his head on his arm and quickly fell asleep, his breathing becoming deeper and more steady.

After he fell asleep, the whole church was restored to its true appearance.

Lin stood there, looking down at the thick blood on the carpet, soaking the soles of Ye Zun’s feet. He turned sideways slightly and looked at the giant demon corpse not far behind him.

Perhaps it was due to the night falling, but the light in the eyes that Ye Zun thought to be the same as beautiful black crystals immersed in clear spring water were flooded by an ice-cold shadow. The crystal-clear mountain spring turned into a bottomless, desolate swamp of death.

“If I knew, I would have never killed it. Now I have to deal with this.”

From the flesh and blood of the demon god, translucent crystals continually rose into the air like fireflies before vanishing.

The gore and blood on the ground gradually melted into dust and soil.

There was a faint breathing. For him, devouring power was no longer a necessity. On the contrary, to eat stuff he was uninterested in and subsequently becoming very sleepy was also a tedious thing.

That pair of dark and shadowed eyes returned to their drowsy and bored state again. Their owner turned around and walked to stand in front of the sleeping youth, taking a seat opposite him and propped his chin on a hand to stare at the human’s sleeping face with curiosity.

The person was very sensitive. Something seemed to have triggered a fear, and even in his sleep, he slightly struggled with agitation. 

The Abyss slowly cast his quiet eyes down and lightly sniffed. “Smells really good.”

……

Ye Zun slept very well that night. Even though his sleeping situation and posture were strained, when he woke up, he felt that his mind and body had been fully restored.

Ye Zun stood up and stretched his limbs for a while. “En, where’s Lin?”

There was only Ye Zun in the church. He didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t paid attention to it before, but he somehow felt that the church was much more dilapidated than his previous impression.

But it may also be because of the priest. When a person who was too perfect appeared in some situation, even a poor shack would shine.

Ye Zun’s eyes that were roaming around paused. Feeling that his shoulders were a little heavy, he tilted his head down to look, and his pupils suddenly dilated.

He didn’t know when, but right now, there was a sleeping little white snake lying on his shoulder.

The little white snake coiled into a ball, sleeping soundly. It didn’t even fall off when Ye Zun got up to energise his body.

“Why are there snakes in such a place?!”

After his last movement, Ye Zun has since kept his body frozen in place. Even the trembling exclamation was spoken in a quiet voice.

Even so, the little white snake was still disturbed. It raised its head, confused and innocent, the rounded mouth and eyes opening one by one as if it was yawning. The snake suddenly couldn’t balance itself and toppled over, following Ye Zun’s body all the way as it fell down in its dizzy state.

It obviously should be very scary, but at that moment, the snake was incredibly cute. Not knowing why, Ye Zun raised a hand to catch it.

The little white snake didn’t care if his hand missed the target. With a sweep of its tail, the tail entangled Ye Zun’s wrist and it continued to sleep without the slightest warning.

It was supposed to be a terrifying existence, but this snake was too beautiful and its yawning appearance was so cute that the person seeing it forgot to be afraid.

The little creature fell asleep in his own hands with peace of mind. This feeling of being trusted was not just cute.

Ye Zun felt his heart float every so slightly.

“It’s so cute ah. Looks like it is a domestic pet snake.” He carefully raised the hand with a snake-wrapped wrist and tentatively touched the blunt round head and neck of the little white snake with his other hand. His fingertips touched the scales that were as cold as jade and he was not attacked. Instead, the little snake nudged against his fingertips.

Being trusted and approached by a dangerous beauty bred a strange sense of security that paralysed the true fear.

At this moment, darkness suddenly descended, swallowing Ye Zun’s vision.

In the darkness, Ye Zun’s eyes opened wide. He even hugged the little white snake subconsciously.

A greyish-white translucent dialogue box emerged with the familiar red letters, like the sound of chalk rapidly writing on a blackboard:【 Welcome to the Demon God’s Amusement Park, the game has begun. 】

【 Please select to accept the invitation: single player game or multiplayer game? It is recommended to select a multiplayer game, which is more suitable for novices to survive. 】

Ye Zun, without hesitation: “Single player.”

In this kind of place, people were much scarier than ghosts.

The darkness retreated quickly and Ye Zun found himself in a dark and small room.

The light grey, translucent dialogue box emerged in the air:【 Your name is Nogawa Kaoru*. One night, you suddenly hear a quarrel, and when you wake up the next day the world starts to become strange. You find that some people around you are ghosts… 】 

[T/N: name: 野川薰, in pinyin: Yechuan Xun]

The dialogue box and the red letters gradually melted into a sentence of blood-dripping words——

【 On the seventh day, Nogawa Kaoru’s body hung from a rope in the air… This time, can you break the fate of death? 】

Ye Zun blinked, hugging the small white snake around his wrist, withstanding the chill that overcame his entire body. “Are you the priest’s snake? Don’t be scared, I will return you to your owner’s side.”

The little white snake opened its eyes then quickly closed them again, rubbing its head against his slightly unsteady fingers. “Hiss.”

The author has something to say:

Snake language translation: Smells so good!

(It’s actually not “don’t worry”?!)

For the Demon Lord of the Abyss, emotions bred from fear are very delicious ah.

This copy is scary, but there is a little white snake acting as a bodyguard ah.

The original setting was a little black cat, but a little angel drew a little black cat and a planet of roses for the previous story*, so I gave up the idea.

If it is a little black snake, it will look dangerous from every angle and Ye Zun will not put down his guard in such a short time, so it should be a little white snake.

[T/N: 给上一本的猫刹刹画了张小黑猫和玫瑰星球: not sure what this means because it refers to a previous novel]