“Don’t worry, it’s just a hypothesis.”
Zhang Yuanqing spoke steadily to steady the morale of the group. He believed Guan Ya’s reasoning was off—the Demon King had stated that one must resist both the allure of beauty and the impulse to slaughter, and such resistance had already been successfully demonstrated.
The Demon King’s words were not empty.
According to normal logic, shouldn’t a man be expected to resist the charm of a widow?
How could it be that a female Pilgrim was required to trigger this very challenge?
Therefore, Zhang Yuanqing did not panic—Guan Ya’s hypothesis was likely incorrect.
“Still, this is indeed an excellent way to verify the triggering conditions,” Zhang Yuanqing said, looking at the Earth Oddity eating lotus roots. “Go and retrieve the Queen.”
This offered a clear opportunity to test whether the conditions were met: if both the Earth Oddity and the Queen vanish while the Queen returns, then his judgment is correct; otherwise, Guan Ya’s hypothesis stands.
The slim young man nodded firmly, fully obedient to the captain’s command, and immediately stepped out of the alley.
Three Minutes later, neither the Earth Oddity nor the Queen had returned.
“Bad news,” said the Fire Deity army in a solemn tone. “They’ve encountered an issue.”
If someone were specifically sent for a purpose, with clear intent, they would return promptly—three Minutes should be sufficient.
Their failure to appear back now means either that the Earth Oddity failed to locate the Queen or that both have been caught by some unexpected incident.
Lili Yuan Shang Cao frowned. “These two are a Level 3 Water Spirit and a Level 2 Earth Oddity, respectively. Even if they’ve faced danger, they should still possess enough strength to resist—yet here they remain utterly silent.”
The group turned their gaze toward Zhang Yuanqing, seeking his guidance.
“This entire Yinyang Town seems full of the inexplicable. Perhaps they have no chance to resist—the way we once failed to notice and simply became cats,” said Zhang Yuanqing. “We can’t just wait any longer. Let’s go find them together.”
The group surged out of the alley and rushed toward the direction where the Queen and the Earth Oddity had gone, reaching the riverbank within only a few breaths.
The river curved gently; streets paved with smooth gray bricks stood empty and silent, devoid of sound.
Both the Earth Oddity and the Queen were now missing.
How could two healthy individuals simply vanish?
“Truly unfortunate—we must find them quickly. Every passing second may mean the difference between life and death,” said Li Chunfeng, his face grave.
This reminded him of the time he had been instantly overwhelmed by a large cat.
Should the Queen and the Earth Oddity now be facing a crisis at their own level, they might already have met with disaster.
The Fire Deity army rushed around in anxious disorder, calling out for the Queen and the Earth Oddity.
Lili Yuan Shang Cao tightened her brows, scanning the surroundings carefully.
Guan Ya also frowned—she found the situation increasingly pressing.
She had experienced far more instance challenges than Zhang Yuanqing, though all previous ones had been of moderate difficulty—the A-level instance was her first encounter with such a high level of complexity, and she lacked sufficient experience in handling elite-tier instances.
“Don’t rush,” said Zhang Yuanqing, who had endured countless S-level instances, his calmness and speed unmatched. “The more unusual the situation, the less likely it is to be dangerous—otherwise, the difficulty balance of this instance would be compromised.”
“At least we now confirm one point: the Ke-Only-Widow storyline can only be triggered when the characters are separated. And I believe by ‘separated’ I mean male and female parties being apart—not simply acting independently.”
“We must now enter the storyline or else both the Queen and the Earth Oddity will truly face life-threatening danger,” he concluded.
His words were clear, logical, and quickly restored confidence among the group.
The Fire Deity army’s agitation gradually subsided.
Guan Ya said: “I’ll remain here. You return to me until we can no longer see each other.”
Zhang Yuanqing looked at her deeply before adding: “Be careful! Stay still in place. If I still cannot trigger the storyline, I will come back for you immediately.”
As he spoke, he silently released a stream of negative energy, leaving behind the person_name—now acting as an observer, like a surveillance probe.
Thus, whenever necessary, Zhang Yuanqing could monitor Guan Ya’s movements through the person_name’s visual perspective.
The spontaneous disappearance of both the Earth Oddity and the Queen pointed clearly to either the Night Wandering Deity's enchantment or the Illusionist’s magic—both abilities capable of such effects.
As a Spirit Servant, the person_name could certainly contribute some value.
In the worst case scenario, she would serve as a “false eye,” and now, after her upgrade, she had already gained sufficient skills to defend herself and escape. Zhang Yuanqing had confidence in his own Spirit Servant.
Guan Ya smiled gently: “I understand—don’t worry.”
Immediately, Zhang Yuanqing led three companions in a swift dash back along the original path.
Soon after, they reached the entrance of the small alley once again. Zhang Yuanqing did not pause—he slowed to walk slowly and glanced around at the houses on either side before calling out:
“Xiu-er, Xiu-er—where are you?”
Suddenly, from the second floor window of a building facing the street, the sound of soft, graceful voice answered:
“Several gentlemen, are you looking for me?”
The tone drifted into the ears of the four men, warm and tender, as if a lover murmuring softly beside them—causing their bones to grow faintly numb.
“Yes, yes,” Zhang Yuanqing said, turning toward the window without hesitation.
“Yes, yes,” the others echoed in response.
The voice continued gently: “I am right here upstairs—I’d like to welcome you all up for a chat.”
Zhang Yuanqing, the Fire Deity army, and Li Chunfeng instinctively moved forward toward that house.
Inside the open window, darkness deepened—there was an inexplicable sense of gloom.
The composed Wood Demon youth suddenly shivered, recalling a detail: when the window had opened, they had immediately noticed—but at no point did anyone appear by the window’s edge.
It seemed as though the window had opened on its own—or perhaps something unseen had done so.
Lili Yuan Shang Cao’s growing sense of admiration for the woman dissolved into urgency; she quickly grasped her companions’ arms.
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly snapped awake, gently reprimanding Li Chunfeng and the Fire Deity army: “You two have never seen a woman before? You’ve been mesmerized?”
Both men looked embarrassed.
Lili Yuan Shang Cao glanced at the firm-faced captain and gave a slight shrug.
Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat and declared loudly: “Madam Xiu-er, could you please extend your head so we may catch a glimpse of your face?”
Hearing such an unseemly request from the captain, the three men felt a wave of relief—like someone else had finally taken on the responsibility of being awkward.
The sun was bright, yet the darkness within the window seemed to absorb all light—the soft, seductive voice returned:
“Please don’t tease us gentlemen,” she said. “Come up now—don’t let me wait too long!”
Her tone was full of charm; it stirred deep emotion in the men below.
Zhang Yuanqing’s expression grew serious as he lowered his voice:
“It appears she won’t come down—we must enter the house or else we’ll be unable to advance with the storyline.”
The three teammates nodded. The Fire Deity army hesitated, saying: “I have a bad feeling about this—this challenge might prove difficult, even risky.”
“Why?” Li Chunfeng asked, frowning.
“The Fire Deity army said: ‘Because I’m quite good at being attracted to beauty.’”
Interestingly enough, so was Zhang Yuanqing himself…
The Fire Deity army continued softly: “The Queen and Madam Guan are both beautiful—both have excellent posture—but all I could think about right now is how much I want to sleep with her.”
Interesting—so did Zhang Yuanqing.
Li Chunfeng also looked somewhat uneasy, his feelings mirroring those of the Fire Deity army exactly.
Though the Fire Deity and Yuan Shi were not particularly reliable in terms of resisting beauty’s appeal, Lili Yuan Shang Cao remained the most immune to it—yet her combat strength was significantly weaker than that of either man. Thus, Li Chunfeng needed a plan to ensure both the Fire Deity and Yuan Shi could remain unimpressed by the beauty… He glanced around, coughed twice to draw their attention.
“In fact, resisting beauty is not difficult at all—men’s attraction stems from physiological responses dominating their brains. For instance, when you’re hungry, you feel compelled to eat—even if your gut bacteria prefer sweets, you’ll still think of sweet foods. In this way, our thoughts are controlled by bodily reactions—the very reason many men struggle to suppress their desire for beauty,” Li Chunfeng explained with confidence.
“We cannot control these physiological responses because we can’t stop the body from secreting hormones—but we can influence the brain through alternative methods and thus reduce or even suppress hormone secretion.”
“That’s so clear!” Zhang Yuanqing and the Fire Deity army exclaimed, each momentarily stunned.
The Fire Deity army asked immediately: “Then how do we suppress hormone secretion?”
Li Chunfeng replied: “It’s very simple—just keep repeating to yourself over and over that even the most beautiful woman must eventually excrete waste—she will grow foul if she doesn’t bathe, will constantly scratch her feet—perhaps even have foot odor. Try to visualize such scenes clearly in your mind—and you may also imagine more unacceptable scenarios, like a giant observing….”
“Please stop—it’s already overwhelming,” Zhang Yuanqing said, mentally picturing the scene and shivering with cold.
“Well then, let’s go in—beauty isn’t that impressive after all,” said the Fire Deity army, stepping boldly toward the house.
...
At the riverbank, Guan Ya remained still, alert to her surroundings.
Suddenly, from behind came an exclamation of delight:
“Guan Ya?”
The mixed-race woman stiffened, turning quickly while maintaining a defensive posture.
From the alley behind emerged a young woman dressed in a simple tunic and seven-seam trousers, with smudged makeup—dashing and elegant, clearly the Queen.
She carried emotions of joy, anxiety, and helplessness—but showed no sign of hostility—her steps were unsteady, not yet properly paced or focused; she hadn’t been rushing to attack. Her aura bore a strong presence of water-based spiritual energy—confirming her identity as a Water Spirit, not an illusion or disguise.
Guan Ya’s eyes flashed with subtle white light—her scout’s sharp perception observed the Queen steadily.
Though confirmed that it was indeed the Queen, Guan Ya remained neither joyful nor relaxed—because in her vision, the once-round face of the woman had grown slender, her gaze dull and weary, her skin pale, her expression listless.
Only ten minutes earlier—and now she appeared so utterly drained, as though something had siphoned away all her vitality.
“Guan Ya,” said the Queen, “how is it you’re here? Where are the others?”
She looked around eagerly, searching for the rest of them.
“They went to find you elsewhere,” Guan Ya replied, gazing at the queen’s visibly weary form. “How did you suddenly disappear? What happened?”
On hearing this, the Queen frowned and murmured:
“After I finished drawing water, I intended to return—but found myself lost—no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t locate any of you. I attempted calling out—you didn’t respond at all. Then…then…”
The queen looked back nervously several times, her voice trembling with growing alarm:
“I heard children’s laughter behind me—all the time, as long as I moved—no matter where I went, the sound followed. But when I turned around, the laughter vanished. And every time I resumed walking, it returned again—I simply can’t find it.”
The children’s laughter?! A bright glow of white light surged in Guan Ya’s eyes and filled her pupils.
At that moment, she saw more—on the Queen’s back, a slender black-and-green hand extended and rested gently on her shoulder.
Then, at once, a dark-skinned infant emerged from behind, with a wrinkled, uncomely face; wide, startled eyes—yet not those of an innocent child in bloom, but instead deep, eerie white pupils.
Guan Ya’s heart sank: “It is upon your back.”
...
When Zhang Yuanqing and his team reached the front door of the building facing the street—the door was a classic double wooden entrance with two rusted door rings.
The Fire Deity army pushed open the wooden doors, releasing a deep “creak” as the long-dormant hinges gave way.
Inside, the light was dim—dampness and old wood odors poured over them like a welcome breath.
The area beyond the entrance appeared to be an outer hall—simple tables, chairs, and cabinets arranged in modest simplicity.
Passing through this outer hall, they entered a small courtyard at the center—a platform stood beneath the sunlight filtering from the sky-facing roof, with bamboo racks displaying clothes.
On all sides of the platform were inner rooms, several bedrooms, and a narrow staircase leading up to the second floor.
The group exchanged glances—Zhang Yuanqing looked at the dimly lit wooden stairway and said: “Stay close.”
He stepped first onto the stairs that led to the second floor.
The corridor was narrow and dark; the old wooden steps creaked with each footfall.
Eventually, after a moderately long climb, they reached the second floor.
On the second floor lay a chamber—furnished entirely for a woman’s use. Directly opposite the stairs stood a large wooden bed with carved details, red silk drapes hanging down; fresh bedding was laid upon it, embroidered with osmanthus flowers.
A bronze incense burner stood on a wooden stand beside the window, releasing a soft, deep fragrance.
Beside the window, there was a dressing table—on which sat a bare woman, dressed only in a delicate gauze-like robe. Her back curves were graceful and full, her buttocks rounded by the pressure of the wooden chair, accentuating her figure like a moon.
The polished bronze mirror reflected a face both pleasing and subtly irritable, delicate and hard to describe.
Her figure and her beauty were beyond flaw—yet what most captivated was her aura, ineffable and magnetic, drawing one's gaze with an irresistible pull, leaving only two words echoing in the mind: *wenfu*—a woman of lewdness.
The four men’s eyes, like magnets, clung steadfastly to the lady’s graceful form, unable to shift.
The armies of the Fire Star, Lili Yuan Shangcao, and Li Chunfeng now gazed with rapt attention; their earlier alertness and caution had melted away unnoticed.
“Thump… thump… thump…”
Zhang Yuanqing heard her own strong heartbeat. A wave of desire surged in her lower abdomen, rushing toward a specific destination, bringing warmth and swelling to the region.
…