The King of Black Fog

"Will the rules still change?" Li Qianxia asked, perplexed.

As Yang Qinglan, with her arms folded, pondered the new rules, she heard Li Qianxia and said, "Since players like Xiao Yue exist, it proves that the game doesn't micromanage. It is reasonable to expect rule changes midway."

Li Changzhou was about to say something.

[A global announcement will be released soon, detecting 'Li Changzhou' with two identity cards, please choose a nickname...]

What now? So annoying.

(Main)

[Game Notification: Player 'Main' 'No Taboos' permission updated]

[- No punishment for failing main missions]

[- Intercept task rewards by completing another player's mission (main/side) if known beforehand]

[- After completing a main mission, if there are incomplete side missions, you may stay in the past]

[- When 'designated by a Duel Token', win to obtain all of the loser's Game Coins, half their Value Points, and choose a Skill]

[- If defeated in a 'Duel Token' challenge (deliberate losing not allowed), will undoubtedly drop the 'No Taboos' identity]

[- In a defeat against 'Main', the loser forgets all information about 'Main', except for a faint memory of {losing a designated duel to 'Main'}]

[Attention! Attention! No Taboos! Players are urged to unite!]

Li Qianxia slapped her brother's shoulder, not to console him.

Miss Yang, quite honest and straightforward, gleefully watched Li Changzhou's reaction.

Li Changzhou: "..."

A definite case of kicking someone when they're down, which he tolerated for the sake of looks and family ties.

"Hmph," Li Changzhou laughed coldly like a typical villainous boss, "let them come."

The radish and the butterfly, having stumbled upon a windfall, paid no heed to the trio's conversation.

"Oh right, Qian Xia," Yang Qinglan, ignoring Li Changzhou's chuunibyou outbreak, turned to Li Qianxia, "weren't you going to buy a Skill? I'll give you my remaining Game Coins."

"I was just kidding!" Li Qianxia laughed, "If I need a Skill, I'll ask my brother. Forget that, let's order! I've been craving dinosaur meat for ages!"

Li Changzhou and Yang Qinglan also laughed.

They ordered a table full of dishes.

"Cheers!"

"Me! Me! Me!" The radish also wanted to clink glasses.

The three of them took turns clinking glasses with her and even tapped the butterfly's honey-filled glass.

"Hmm... dinosaur meat is just so-so."

"Hmm! Capstone is tasty!"

"Ah, Shield·Skin·Fish——, why can't I bite through it?!!"

"Pterosaur wingtips are delicious!"

The sun set in the west, and the train roared through fields bathed in sunset, sunlight streaming through the windows, the table covered in exotic foods, three people, a little person, and a butterfly.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was lively, with older folks who had been drinking, possibly just returned from the last century, belting out "Laughing Proud at the Sea".

"The landscape laughs~"

"Through smoke and mist, far away~"

"Waves wash away the worldly myriad charms~"

When it got to the line "the breeze laughs!", those seated at the same table started singing along.

The players in the same carriage were probably all heading to 1928, yet Li Changzhou had never seen them before. While enjoying the food, scenery, and singing, he reminded himself not to underestimate the mission just because it seemed simple.

Many players hadn't even surfaced.

"The train is about to arrive at the station. Please hurry up and finish exchanging and settling," the broadcast repeated several times. As the train blew its whistle, it began to slow down.

The speed got slower and slower, almost to the point of stopping.

"The train is currently calibrating the timeline and will arrive punctually at 5:30 pm on October 28. Please do not worry," the announcement continued.

In the end, the train slowed down to the point where it almost felt like a second hand ticking, and then suddenly, it stopped in a second.

"We have arrived at the station. Please exit in an orderly fashion. This is Xiao Yue, the world's number-one beautiful stewardess, wishing you all a pleasant life."

The door slid open, and Li Changzhou and his two companions stepped off the train, with Little Radish riding on the back of a butterfly.

"Chun Emperor, sister!" Li Qianxia called out, waving towards a certain door.

The Chun Emperor, dressed in a cheongsam and followed by a group including the Barrier man who had run off earlier and the Combat Strength Detector, approached them.

"Are you interested in joining the hunt for the 'master'?" Chun Emperor made a proposal that was impossible to accept right off the bat.

"No, no, no, we definitely can't beat the others, and we don't want to kill anyone," Li Qianxia waved her hands frantically.

"Unmatched in the First Stage, it might not be the same in the Second Stage, but never mind, I'm not interested in 'No Taboos' either," Chun Emperor chuckled.

She added,

"By the way, an extra piece of information for you—don't ponder why during the live broadcast of the Battle of Prague, the 'King of Black Fog' had a white card, but the game notification later switched it to a black card."

"Why? We were just discussing that," Li Qianxia said curiously.

She didn't remember this at all, only knowing that her brother had been singled out for criticism by the game twice and had been "wanted."

"Official insider news, during the champion's live broadcast, that white card player used someone else's name. The King of Black Fog is a black card player," Chun Emperor explained.

The only people who knew of the false information that live broadcasts could use someone else's name were Zheng Qing and her department. Were there people from Chun Emperor's group in those departments?

Or rather, was Chun Emperor herself part of this department?

"So that's how it is," Li Qianxia nodded.

"Alright, goodbye, let's talk more when we meet in reality," Chun Emperor placed three fingers from her right hand on her lips and tossed a kiss toward Li Changzhou, winking her right eye with full charm.

After throwing a playful kiss and a flirtatious wink, she turned and walked away on her high heels, surrounded by an entourage.

The cheongsam accentuated her exquisite curves and noble demeanor as the waiting hall turned into a catwalk show, with everyone's gaze fixed on her.

Yang Qinglan watched Chun Emperor's retreating figure, but her attention was fully on the peripheral view, which was filled with Li Changzhou.

Li Changzhou dodged like he was avoiding a bullet, tilting his head to dodge the flying kiss—his peripheral vision was also always on Yang Qinglan, always keeping an eye on her.

She pursed her lips slightly, as if in disdain, yet appeared satisfied and amused; Li Changzhou also smiled.

"By the way!" Li Qianxia stood on her tiptoes and shouted, "Chun Emperor, sister! What's your name?"

"Drama plays in the fields of Zhi in the morning, drinks are at the Turquoise Pool in the evening—since it's dusk now, just call me Turquoise Pool!" Chun Emperor didn't turn back as she waved her hand and disappeared into the large waiting hall.

"A line from 'Dancing Crane Ode'... does the name include 'Dance' or 'Crane'?" Yang Qinglan folded her arms and pondered.

"I think it might be related to 'origin' and 'Turquoise Pool' said Li Changzhou, "Think about it, her Instinct is 'Favored Concubine,' so maybe she's something like Turquoise Pool Queen Mother, Turquoise Pool Fairy, or Turquoise Pool Immortal."

"Of course!" After he shared his speculation, Li Changzhou stressed one point, "Turquoise Pool is too common, Gu She Fairy is more elegant and detached."

"I agree with your view," Yang Qinglan put down her hand.

"Which one?"

"All of them."

"You two with your Charm of 9 points have enough." Li Qianxia rolled her eyes, "Brother, hurry up and put away the little radish and the butterfly."

"It's inconvenient here, follow me to the restroom," Li Changzhou said with a tone and gesture like a school bully.

There were indeed restrooms in the waiting hall.

"Hmm, you take them; transfer the Game Coins to Qian Xia. We two will take a look inside the shops," said Yang Qinglan.

After Li Changzhou took the little radish and the butterfly to the restroom, Yang Qinglan and Li Qianxia strolled into the shops in the hall like they were out shopping.

They first bought a newspaper—no one had been interviewed in 1928, likely because their performances hadn't been impressive.

Many players were selling useless items; if they took a liking to each other's, they would trade directly.

The pair had nothing to sell. They had wanted to buy something, but when they saw the group ticket price—1000 Game Coins for five people—they had to save it for later so they could continue together with little radish and the butterfly.

"Duel Tokens" were priced at 1500, and even in the Second Stage, few players were willing to buy them.

Once Li Changzhou came out of the restroom alone, the trio left the station.

◇

Huaihai Road station was bustling with people.

Couples hand-in-hand or with arms around each other's waists;

A man laughing loudly while talking on his phone;

A group of girls in pleated skirts, debating whether to eat hotpot or skewers;

As far as the eye could see, there were stairs leading up and down, above and below;

The posters on the walls promoted Song City's "The Last Strike! The Last Summer!" music festival (which had already ended, during the early October holiday).

The background of the poster was the small pier that suffered from sea ice in 1928, now a bustling international port.

The subway passing by on the opposite side had bright windows, its passengers leaning against the doors, heads down playing on their phones, as if inside another world.

The three of them felt as if they had just watched a 3-hour movie, as if they were in a completely different era.

"Hmm—" Li Qianxia stretched a big lazy stretch, "Starting from tomorrow, I'll continue being a spicy girl!"

"Spicy girl, spicy your head." Li Changzhou said.

"Qing Lan, he's swearing!"

"That's your family affair."

"First manage it now; sooner or later you'll have to anyway, right, brother? Are you willing to be managed by Qing Lan?"

Li Changzhou: "..."

"Qian Xia, you really are clever and quick-witted." Yang Qinglan laughed.

"You're scolding me too?! Brother, a stranger dares to scold the sister only you can scold!"

Chatting and laughing, the three walked out of the subway station and strolled back to Yanhe Road, sitting in Qing Lan Bookshop until the street was left only with streetlights and the lights from inside the bookshop.

They discussed this trip's gains, the mistakes they had made, and the splendor and suffering of that era.

"Let's rest," Yang Qinglan looked at the clock on the wall; it was midnight.

"Mhm," the siblings replied in unison.

Li Qianxia went to wash the cups and plates;

Li Changzhou held books and handed them to Yang Qinglan, who put them back on the bookshelf.

"We went back to the past," Yang Qinglan held "1928: A Study of the Material Life of the Lower Classes," "just like taking a book off the shelf."

The book was placed into {History - Xia Country History}.

Li Changzhou handed her the last book in his hand, "Deep in History: 1928."

"No matter how much we empathize, a book is still a book, history is still history; we cannot change any detail in the book, nor can we change history."

Yang Qinglan gently stroked the cover, which featured a bright collage of the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, Warlords, and foreigners.

She raised her eyes to meet Li Changzhou's.

"Don't you have something to say?" she asked.

"I cherish the present," Li Changzhou murmured with a smile as the night deepened.

This was one of the rare times he could gaze at her openly.

Yang Qinglan also chuckled and placed "Deep in History: 1928" next to "1928: A Study of the Material Life of the Lower Classes" in {History - Xia Country History}.

As they looked at these books squeezed together on the shelf, they fell into a silence for a while, these histories now carried a true weight in their hearts.

Pear Garden, Commander Mansion, docks, rickshaws, newsboys...

"I've also thought of a metaphor," Li Changzhou's voice was as soft as a feather brushing past one's ear.

"Mhm?" Yang Qinglan's voice was also soft.

"Just like a Ferris wheel," Li Changzhou looked at her face, half illuminated by the warm light of the bookshop, exquisitely beautiful, "A Ferris wheel doesn't go anywhere; where you get on is where you get off, and the height is limited, but at least we've been, and we've seen the scenery along the way, so it's not meaningless."

"You have a way with words," said Yang Qinglan with a laugh.

"Joking, the literary top scholar of Ming City. Next time we go to the Ming Dynasty, I'll become a top scholar and make you the scholar's wife," Li Changzhou laughed as well.

"Deal," Yang Qinglan's lips pursed, her smile deepening.

"Then, please help me find the Ming Dynasty's imperial exam questions and test papers tomorrow."

"So unambitious."

"That's called strategy."

"Cunning."

"All's fair in war."

"That's the imperial exam, not the military exam, right?"

"All the same, all the same; I'm good both in literature and martial arts, and I even do RAPPING on the side."

"Let's hear a verse," Yang Qinglan said with a smile.

Li Changzhou glanced at the kitchen, saw that Li Qianxia hadn't come out, quickly contemplated, and started singing:

"Yo! I live in Ming City, go to sleep at 11 p.m. sharp, have a cup of milk before bed, finally got into law school, but then I encountered the Value Games, Yeah~"

Yang Qinglan covered her mouth with the back of her hand; her slender and graceful shoulders shook as she bent over, laughing against the bookshelf.

Just as Li Changzhou was about to ask how it was with a smile, he suddenly sensed something.

A glance toward the kitchen revealed Li Qianxia standing there, with a disgusted expression... shaking water off her hand.

"Cough."