The things Xu Yintang took out for eating and drinking seemed abundant, but in reality, they only occupied two compartments in his backpack. One compartment contained [a super-large cardboard box filled with food] 5, and the other held [a super-large cardboard box filled with beverages] 5.
He dug out one pizza, then two pizzas, a family bucket, then two family buckets, a cheesecake, two mango mille-feuille, three tiramisus…
“Enough, enough, this is enough to eat!” Seeing Xu Yintang still reaching out for more, Boss Zhao, hurriedly stopped him and naturally put the compressed biscuits back into his pocket. He casually found a place to sit down and prepare for the meal, without even asking where all this food came from.
— He lived a life of luxury and wealth and didn’t want to die early because of being too talkative.
The pizza Xu Yintang took out was even steaming hot, with a rich cheese aroma mixing with the fragrance of baked bread crust and the sizzling meaty scent of large sausages. Pulling a long strand of cheese made one’s mouth water and the stomach immediately growled in hunger.
Third Thief found a place to prop up the flashlight for temporary lighting. They watched as a large piece of cloth was spread out on the ground by Shi Yuebai, and Xu Yintang laid out all the food and drinks on it.
They couldn’t help but wonder if they were really in a tomb or in some absurd dream. One moment, they were covered in blood and gore from fighting monsters, and the next, they were setting up a picnic blanket as if nothing had happened, as if the fighting had nothing to do with them.
When Shi Yuebai used a stone as a candlestick and lit two red candles, Third Thief was completely numb. They sat beside Boss Zhao, on the cloth— the farthest distance from the two people in a straight line. They picked up a slice of pizza and stuffed it in their mouth, then grabbed a family bucket, calling on Ah Wei standing nearby to come and eat.
“Do you want original recipe chicken or fried chicken wings?”
“…Either is fine.”
Faced with the reality far from normality, trying to stay awake and struggle was not as good as lying down and letting one’s worldview rearrange freely. After all, as the old saying goes, stepping back opens up a boundless horizon.
While Third Thief and the others were experiencing their first tomb picnic, Shi Yuebai was still enthusiastically adding decorations. Atmosphere is three parts environment and seven parts setup. Even in a dimly lit tomb filled with the smell of blood and chilling winds, laying out velvet cloths, lighting warm candles, pasting a few clean symbols for fresh air, and placing a small pot of cute-looking greenery could create a romantic atmosphere with a hint of ambiguity.
Second Treasure lazily gnawed on a white ball, while Third Flora’s butterfly stopped beside it, listening while eating and grumbling. It cautiously dimmed the phosphorescence on its wings, lest its beautiful wings become atmosphere lights for the vixen and mom’s candlelit picnics, further bolstering the fox spirit’s arrogant demeanor.
The only thing that reassured the cub was that Xu Yintang was slow on such matters, much to their delight. No matter how convoluted and intricate the hints were, they were all in vain in front of Xu Yintang. The pink bubbles floating around didn’t catch his attention as much as a glass of iced cola would.
That being said, seeing the male mistress occupying a spot next to mom, Second Treasure still viciously bit down on the white ball, imagining that it was the shameless tail of the male mistress trying to seduce mom. He vowed that one day, his fur would be denser and silkier than the male mistress’s tail.
The cub’s dagger-like gazes couldn’t pierce Shi Yuebai’s defenses at all. It’s like seeing a tiny kitten hissing and clawing; you just find it adorable. He cut himself a slice of cheesecake and started eating from the bottom layer of biscuits.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qbeiv sbe ilxf ab ags la? Ktlr qijmf tjr atf yfra obbv.” Lf uglccfv jr tf gfmbwwfcvfv la ab We Tlcajcu, aegclcu atf qijaf ab boofg atf ecabemtfv rlvf ab tlw. “Pa’r wjvf klat mjgjwfi ylrmelar, mglrqs klat j tlca bo mjgjwfi oijnbg.”
Cr tf rqbxf, tlr ajli fifujcais megifv eq ogbw yftlcv yea vlvc’a gert ab ufa mibrf ab We Tlcajcu. Pa wbvfrais gfrafv jujlcra tlr ifu, mjrejiis oilmxlcu lar oieoos alq, cba bnfgis fwqtjrlhlcu lar qgfrfcmf.
Xu Yintang glanced at the warm candlelight, which seemed to make the large tail appear even softer and fluffier. He poked a small piece of biscuit from Shi Yuebai’s plate, indeed crispy and flavorful with a perfect hint of caramel aftertaste.
The curve of Shi Yuebai’s lips deepened as he rotated the plate, offering the triangular slice’s pointed position. The moist and tender cake had a slight chill to it, delicate, smooth, sweet, and rich. Though Xu Yintang saw no essential difference between the triangular point and the rest of the cake, there seemed to be a peculiar taste that Shi Yuebai described as “gem-like on a crown.”
Then Shi Yuebai seemed to notice his tail misbehaving again, displaying an embarrassed expression. The tail, however, swung more blatantly, proudly asserting its territory by suddenly jumping onto Xu Yintang’s lap, swaying its tip as if declaring ownership.
“Sometimes… it doesn’t quite listen to me…”
Shi Yuebai scratched his cheek in resignation, pulling back his large fluffy tail from rubbing against Xu Yintang. The warm, fluffy sensation that lingered on Xu Yintang’s leg for a few seconds was then hidden away again by Shi Yuebai. Xu Yintang couldn’t help but glance a bit more in the direction where the tail disappeared.
Shi Yuebai smiled, intending to continue the conversation and tempt Xu Yintang to touch his tail. However, the sudden glow from the underground lake drew Xu Yintang’s attention away.
Not long ago, the end of this passage was dark, even with a flashlight; it was impossible to see a few steps ahead. The pitch-black underground lake had no visible water reflections, only the faint sound of flowing water proved its existence, like a deep pit leading to hell.
But at this moment, ripples appeared on the lake’s surface, shimmering with moonlight, illuminating the entire mountainside with clear and pure water reflections. Even the dim tomb passage was lit by this light, as if for a moment, they were submerged underwater, glimpsing the crystal-clear moonlight, merging into the water’s color.
Third Thief first froze, then became ecstatic. “I’ve figured it out! It’s now! The full moon! Today happens to be the full moon! The heavens are on our side!”
The moonlight connected all the clues in his mind — on a full moon night, at the moon’s rise, was the only chance to glimpse Li Quan’s coffin location.
He forgot about the food and drink, swiftly stood up, and ran towards the underground lake. Boss Zhao, slowed a bit, first looking at Xu Yintang and Shi Yuebai, seeing that they were also getting up to go check the situation before getting up himself. Having eaten a lot of fried chicken a moment ago, he didn’t dare run too fast. As he stood up, he even let out a satisfied burp.
“I see it! Over there! The jade coffin! The suspended jade coffin!” Third Thief strained to look from the passage entrance, excitedly shouting.
Boss Zhao, hurriedly accelerated his steps, startled several times and had an absurd meal earlier, so his emotions were too chaotic to muster enough excitement and thrill. He felt a surreal sense of unreality and pinched his thigh while walking.
Hiss —
It seemed it wasn’t a dream.
Boss Zhao, found himself strangely calm, which was odd. But his lips couldn’t help but uncontrollably curve into a wide smile. He didn’t notice he went from walking to almost running, breathing heavily, his eyes reddening as he looked at the gleaming reflections.
Yet, before he could also peek at the cherished object he longed to see, a sudden sharp sound, like a thunderous explosion, split the air. His soul was momentarily blank, something too immense for him to comprehend shattered his entire perception, and he heard the shattering of reason like breaking glass.
“Squawk—!!!”
A jarring sound erupted from behind, ruthlessly shredding consciousness and perception. Xu Yintang halted, pressing his temples in discomfort. It felt like the whole world had been fragmented into countless pieces, countless nightmares flooding in like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf everything, making it hard for him even to breathe.
But amidst the chaos, he recognized that sound, something he had never heard before but knew too well—it was the scream of Second Treasure.
The scream was frenzied and irrational, devoid of any reason, only endless greed and ferocity breeding and spreading in the nightmare. Xu Yintang’s consciousness seemed to detach from his body, glimpsing a bizarre yet magnificent figure within the boundaries of the shattered and surging nightmare—a colossal cloud, smoke billowing from factory chimneys, dust from a volcanic eruption.
Five reflections shimmered with an icy, terrifying brilliance, not eyes but mirror-like surfaces. Within those reflections, countless layers of eyeballs grew, large, small, black, white, human, beastly, monstrous. Each rotated nervously, as if maliciously prying into everything in this world. So densely packed were these eyeballs that discerning any single one was impossible, only feeling the emotions of fear, despair, madness, and hatred crashing like a runaway train, forcing one to forever gaze into the deepest fear within their soul.
It was…
No…
It wasn’t…
It wasn’t Second Treasure…
Xu Yintang clutched his head, painfully hunching over, assaulted by the cognitive dissonance.
[Player suffers mental shock, rolling for statistics…]
[Player Sanity -4]
[Sanity: 77]
…Food…eating…to eat…all of it…
Second Treasure didn’t know what happened. It only remembered, accompanying the rise of the moon, a rich and intimidating fragrance attacked it.
Yes, it was an attack, inducing a brief moment of fear that rendered it completely defenseless. It felt intense pain and unbearable dizziness, struggling desperately. Yet, within a breath, it fell into madness. A voice dominated its body, telling it that within that gleaming water, there was something more delicious than anything it had ever eaten—something it had to consume.
It resisted that voice with all its might but was repeatedly pushed into a dark filled with murky, bloody shades.
Saliva dripped from the cub’s mouth, its fur bristling. Five ominous black eyes gleamed with a greedy, ferocious crimson, issuing a threatening roar at the human obstructing its path.
Shi Yuebai carefully placed Xu Yintang in a safe area and turned to face the cub’s body, wisps of smoke rising, revealing the terrifying monster’s blurred true form from the border of dreams and reality. His eyes locked unblinkingly with the myriad reflections of eyeballs swirling in the billowing smoke, coldly stating, “Go back.”
The monster howled at him, attacking and tearing through the fissures of his soul. Intense pain and churning negative emotions furrowed Shi Yuebai’s brow, his irises gleaming with a fierce golden hue.
“I said, go back to where you belong.”
The silhouette of Casey Cat flashed before him, transforming into a monstrous creature larger than a tiger or a lion. Its sharp teeth and claws roared menacingly, swiping to turn all the eyeballs within the reflections into dust. The air reverberated with a colossal lament that shook the water’s surface.
“Don’t make me say it a third time.”
The pain seemed to evoke a fragment of Second Treasure. The tiny cub stumbled and emitted a defiant cry against the monster that shared its lineage, provoking even more frantic roars and attacks. Compared to the monster, Second Treasure was too weak; even the wind from its cries sent it tumbling.
The monster surged toward Second Treasure again, only to be intercepted by a dark figure.
“Hey hey hey!”
Casey Cat struck the mass of smoke again, forcing it back to the edge of the dream, staunchly protecting the frail and pitiful Second Treasure.
Glaring at the monster, Casey cursed: “You ancient monster, dead for eight centuries! How dare you bully a child with such a big face!”
“If you’re so capable, come out of that coffin! Let’s settle this face to face!”
Don’t bully Second Treasure!
Shi Yuebai is doing the most with his romantic ambiance 🤭 I’m glad he can help Second Treasure. Thanks for the chapter!
Woooo Casey Cat!! Protect our Second Treasure!! 💥💥
+1 Go Casey Cat! Protect the cub!
Second Treasure better be rewarded with a fluffy coat of fur after all the things he’s been through in this instense.
poor second treasure, I hope after this, he can get the best cuddles ever, and a full coat! and maybe build more of a relationship with his new soon-to-be stepdad XD
Thank you for the chapter!
Aww poor Second Treasure, I hope he gets lots of cuddles and nice thick fur after this
I’m so sad this arc might end in next chapter, I don’t know when I can see the ML again this ML is really like a Blue moon rarely seen -_-||
Thank you for the chapter! <3
Second treasure is the biggest darling but I’m not sure I like the sound of what he looks like fully grown…
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
💚🤍💚🤍💚🤍💚🤍💚🤍💚 Thank you for the chapter!
Don’t bully this cub! He’s got a stepdad! Poor Second Treasure needs a luxurious full coat after all this… Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣
when is next chapter going to come it’s been 2 days (ㄒoㄒ)
Somebody update plz
Baby has a big brother!!!!
Thank you for your translation 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚