Cat 263: The Former Miss Ouyang
by CristaeChapter 263: The Former Miss Ouyang
Of course, Yan Jiyun wasn’t about to give up on saving them. No matter how important a quest character might be, they were ultimately just NPCs—but Ninth Master was different; in his subconscious, Yan Jiyun never truly regarded him as an NPC. It was precisely at such moments that he became all the more calm.
The three were bound behind their backs. Yan Jiyun guessed that, while exploring the room, they had discovered a mechanism. Less lucky than him, they’d stumbled straight upon Cheng Shen, probably just as the black-robed woman finished transferring him to a new body. It made perfect sense on reflection.
Who would have thought, though, that the black-robed woman was connected to Liu Rongzhi—they actually knew each other.
Taking in the fire-oil-scented room, Yan Jiyun scanned his surroundings and spotted some fabric on the curtains. Ignoring Ninth Master calling for him to leave, he leaped up, pulled down the curtain rod, and—wasting no time—smothered one side of the fire with it.
Jumping in, he grabbed the knife left on Ninth Master’s shoe and, as fast as he could, cut their ropes.
The curtains soaked in fire oil soon caught fire too, but they quickly escaped the circle of flames.
Yet they dared not breathe a sigh of relief—the whole dance hall was ablaze, flames raging outside, and their only escape was to leap from an upper floor.
The black-robed woman had jumped from the balcony—they could do the same. Yan Jiyun, at least, had made similar leaps before.
The four reached the balcony. Liu Jingxi and Cheng Xueying glanced down; jumping from here might well break bones.
But Yan Jiyun’s skill in climbing drainpipes came in handy; he showed them the best spot to descend.
“See that pipe? We climb down from there—it hasn’t caught fire yet on the second floor. Maybe we can reach the second floor and then get out. No, wait, the second floor is chaos too.” The air was thick with screams; someone was shouting that the front doors were locked, and all the paper people were frantically trying to find another exit.
The black-robed woman had revived the paper people once again.
No, these were probably players—among the confusion, Yan Jiyun heard curses directed at NPCs.
No time to worry about that now—escape came first.
Yan Jiyun demonstrated how to climb down quickly from the third floor.
Ninth Master was nimble by nature, following Yan Jiyun’s lead. Next was Cheng Xueying; despite being raised as a sheltered daughter, he’d secretly practiced strength training. Liu Jingxi, though afraid of heights, found a well of courage with fire nipping at his heels and climbed down as well.
After ensuring they’d all landed safely, Yan Jiyun ran toward the hall’s main entrance—still anxious about Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle, who’d been swept inside earlier.
But before he could break down the door, there came the sound of splintering glass as a crowd—Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle among them—jumped out through the windows.
Seeing them, Yan Jiyun finally relaxed. Ninth Master caught up, and they all regrouped, heading directly for the exit.
Jiangnan’s grandest dance hall burned with terrifying speed, but they’d escaped in time. Those trapped inside fled through the many windows—bare halls, but the designer had certainly ensured plenty of exits. Before the flames reached the ground floor, everyone had gotten out.
Yan Jiyun glanced at the number of active players—now down to 55, only half remaining.
Main Quest 5 still hung on his mission board: rescue all the paper people of Jiangnan town. Clearly, the black-robed woman was toying with the souls of the entire town.
He led the group outside, but his expression remained grave, troubled.
Ninth Master wiped the sweat from Yan Jiyun’s brow with his sleeve. “What’s on your mind?”
Panting from adrenaline, Yan Jiyun buried himself in Ninth Master’s arms, forehead pressed to his shoulder.
“Let me calm down and think.”
It was instinct, seeking comfort with someone familiar in the uproar. He needed some quiet to sort through everything related to the black-robed woman.
[Want to Be Human] Livestream Chatroom:
“There it is again—I can’t help but ship them.”
“Cat cub, how should I put this? It’s impossible not to; he unconsciously acts spoiled with Ninth Master, just like a clingy kitten, trusting its owner absolutely.”
“I bet Ninth Master is totally misled. He probably doesn’t know the ‘treasure’ he wants to protect only sees him as a master.”
“So the black-robed woman must be the final boss of this dungeon! From the cat cub’s perspective, there’s a lot we know now, but we still don’t get what exactly Wei Liu’s relationship to her is.”
“Seriously, will nobody spoil who the black-robed woman is?”
“I think we can spoil it now; the cat cub seems to have figured it out.”
Yan Jiyun tried to filter through every figure he’d met in this dungeon—any NPC he’d ever seen he should recall.
He shouldn’t limit himself to voices but faces too. He’d crossed blades with the black-robed woman several times and had noticed her archery was never very precise; he dodged each time. She only hit stationary targets—moving targets escaped her.
Yan Jiyun tapped his forehead, and after a moment, his eyes snapped open. “I know who she is.”
It was someone he’d met before.
His thoughts crystalized as he turned to Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle. “Why did you tell me not to speak earlier?”
Gu Wenzhu glanced at Liu Jingxi, standing before them. “When we went to the Chen residence, we found the old patriarch dead and ran into Wei Liu.”
He Yuanle nodded after a quick look at Liu Jingxi. “That’s right.”
Yan Jiyun spoke up for Liu Jingxi, “He really is Liu Jingxi. If he were Wei Liu, that black-robed woman wouldn’t try to kill him. What happened after you ran into Wei Liu?”
Gu Wenzhu said, “He told the Chen family their forty-year term was up; it was time to pay their debt. At first, they didn’t understand. Then he said he wasn’t Wei Liu and burned the Chen ancestor alive with fire oil. We were eavesdropping, got spotted, and fled into a secret tunnel. He chased us all the way—when we found the exit, we emerged onto the main street. We just didn’t want you calling to us or drawing attention to yourself; it’d be bad if he detected you in the crowd.”
Yan Jiyun was grateful for their concern, but his mind spun with possibilities. “So Wei Liu and the black-robed woman are connected.”
Gu Wenzhu: “They can’t be the same person, can they?”
Yan Jiyun: “No, but it’s definitely about the two of them.”
Ninth Master, not liking Yan Jiyun’s easy rapport with Gu Wenzhu, clapped him on the shoulder. “Shall we go find them now?”
Yan Jiyun: “Yes, let’s move!”
Gu Wenzhu: “How? They’re masters at hiding.”
Yan Jiyun: “I have a way.” He turned to Liu Jingxi. “Time for your part, Cousin.”
Liu Jingxi: “What exactly are you planning?”
Yan Jiyun: “Finding a way out of Jiangnan town. This is the last step, and we need your help.”
Liu Jingxi was noticeably pleased. “You mean, I can help us find the black-robed woman?”
Yan Jiyun: “Yes, but you only need to persuade one person.”
Liu Jingxi: “Who?”
Yan Jiyun gave him a sly wink. “Your future wife.”
The words “your wife” piqued Cheng Xueying’s attention. He’d been listening all along, but knew this wasn’t about him.
Now with the whole town under the black-robed woman and the fake Liu Jingxi’s control, all vehicles were immobilized—they could only search on foot.
Oddly, the black-robed woman seemed not to know Cheng Xueying was human. She showed no special interest in him.
Liu Jingxi thought of the fiancée his mother had arranged: “Her?”
Yan Jiyun: “Right. Where would she usually be at this hour?”
Liu Jingxi didn’t like his fiancée, but as a proper young lady, her routines were well known.
Liu Jingxi: “Either out shopping or at home for lessons. She’s always got a tutor coming in for piano, literature, things like that.”
By now, the street was packed with NPCs planted by the black-robed woman to impede them. The townspeople, as if zombified, took no notice of the roaring fire at the dance hall.
Yan Jiyun said, “Let’s go straight to Ouyang’s family house.”
If Ouyang Jing, Liu Jingxi’s fiancée, was someone the black-robed woman cared about, she’d most likely be at home for her studies at this hour.
The group hurried to the Ouyang residence—close to the commercial district, making it easy for the black-robed woman to return as well.
They knocked on the door.
Forty years ago, the Ouyang residence had been constantly bustling, but that was before Miss Ouyang eloped, and the lively days never returned.
The moment they knocked, the door swung open.
When the butler saw Liu Jingxi, he immediately sent for Ouyang Jing. “The future young master is here! Hurry and fetch the miss.”
Yan Jiyun added, “Better call the lady’s one-eyed aunt as well.”
The butler blinked. “The one-eyed aunt? You mean the miss’s nanny?”
They were shown inside.
The butler nodded. “I’ll call for her right away. Please have a seat while I arrange for tea.”
They were here to find someone, not drink tea, and with the clock ticking, every second mattered—another delay and the whole town might go up in flames. No one knew where to run now: fire ahead, water behind—utter despair.
Any player not actively searching for a solution at this point was bound to sink with Jiangnan town.
The party split up in the house in search of their target.
Yan Jiyun cornered the butler. “Take me to Ouyang Jing.”
Butler: “The miss is in class at this hour.”
Yan Jiyun felt a pang of unease; he remembered it was night when they split up to hunt clues in different homes, yet after emerging from the secret passage, it seemed to be daytime.
He glanced at the current in-game time.
Wait! Only four hours left?
What the hell—wasn’t there three whole days?
Time hadn’t just skipped ahead—the duration of his experience card had also been cut. Only forty minutes remained!
Yan Jiyun dragged the butler along at a run, shouting to Gu Wenzhu and He Yuanle, “The dungeon suddenly only has four hours left!”
The news stunned them.
He Yuanle blurted, “Shit!”
Gu Wenzhu was quick on the uptake. “The black-robed woman set everything ablaze—at this rate, the whole town will burn in four hours, so we’re out of time.”
Yan Jiyun: “Everyone, move faster!”
This really was it—no time left.
Who could’ve foreseen time shrinking like this?
Back in the zoo dungeon, the system forced him to linger extra days; here, it had cut their time in half.
Ninth Master, seeing Yan Jiyun’s sudden panic, said, “Don’t worry. You still have me.”
Yan Jiyun could only sigh inwardly: if only Ninth Master were really Qi Feng in full, the two of them would be unbeatable!
After searching the house, they found Ouyang Jing upstairs, practicing piano.
Yan Jiyun rushed over and pressed his knife to her throat, then called out to the whole music room, “Ouyang Jing’s life is important, isn’t it? Come out, Master Zuo—or rather, Wei Liu’s wife, the former Miss Ouyang.”
Ouyang Jing was so startled, she looked pitifully back at Liu Jingxi. “Brother Jingxi, save me.”
Yan Jiyun asked, “Ouyang Jing, where’s your nanny?”