I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 6

Qi Yan lowered her head and silently served herself some food.

She didn’t speak again, but her mind was racing with thoughts. From Bai Qing’s words, it sounded like Cuilan wasn’t an ordinary person and the bald man was practically digging his own grave by constantly provoking her.

“I never said that. Little one, don’t go making assumptions about my words.”

Qi Yan was startled and accidentally choked, coughing painfully as she covered her mouth.

The girl from the young couple sitting beside her saw Qi Yan’s face turning red from coughing and quickly poured her a bowl of soup.

Qi Yan, her face still flushed, took the soup and gulped down a few mouthfuls. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” The girl glanced at her, hesitating as if she wanted to say more.

The refined man was also studying Qi Yan. Only after she had recovered did he ask, “What happened just now? You looked like you’d seen something frightening.”

Truth be told, this refined man was quite observant, he had immediately picked up on Qi Yan’s reaction.

However, he assumed she had been scared by some supernatural presence, unaware that she had actually been startled by a certain fox hiding in the ring on her finger.

“It’s nothing!” Qi Yan shook her head. “I just swallowed wrong.”

The excuse was flimsy and obviously fake. But since she showed no intention of continuing the conversation, the refined man didn’t press further, merely giving her a few more glances before looking away.

Qi Yan kept her head down and continued eating, though inwardly she was screaming: You can read my thoughts?!

The fox in the ring replied, “Of course. We’ve formed a pact shared fortunes and connected minds. Can’t you hear my voice too?”

Qi Yan: “I thought you were using some kind of spell to keep others from hearing you.”

Bai Qing said, “I could, but there’s no need. The spiritual pact between us makes things much easier.”

Qi Yan caught another key term from her spiritual pact. It seemed there were different types of pacts, and theirs was called a spiritual one.

“There are naturally many kinds of pacts. The spiritual pact between us is the rarest and most precious.” Here, Bai Qing deliberately paused, as if hesitating over something.

Since she was inside the ring, Qi Yan couldn’t see her expression and had no way of guessing her emotions. But after a long wait, Bai Qing still didn’t continue.

“Rarest and most precious and then? Are you saying our pact is the most special?”

Bai Qing lazily replied, “Mhm, that’s right.”

“Oh.” Qi Yan echoed, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that the fox was holding something back.

But this was a thousand-year-old fox trying to pry information out of her was probably futile. If she didn’t feel like talking now, so be it.

“Let’s get back to this instance. Earlier, you said the bald man was digging his own grave because Cuilan isn’t human?”

Bai Qing: “I already told you, I never said that.”

Qi Yan was full of questions. “Shouldn’t this script world be full of ghosts? And creatures like you?”

“Of course not. From what I know, this world has humans too, but they’re all nurtured by the script world. This is a script, a story and stories are made up of all kinds of people.”

That sounded contradictory. Could these “people” born from the script really be called human?

Qi Yan didn’t realize that this purely depended on one’s perspective. From her point of view, the “people” in the storybooks weren’t truly alive. But if viewed from the storybook world’s own perspective, those “people” were indeed real. The relationship between the two felt somewhat like The Truman Show, didn’t it?

Thinking too deeply about it made her head spin, so she shook her head and decided not to dwell on it further.

“What’s The Truman Show?” Bai Qing could sense all her thoughts and was curious about this term he couldn’t comprehend at all.

Qi Yan briefly explained, “It’s like us looking at the contents of a storybook from the outside, while the people inside the story have no idea they’re actually NPCs living in a tale.”

“I know what NPCs are like that tour guide, Sister Hong, from your world. They’re the ones guiding you through the storybook experience.”

“Sister Hong is an NPC, and Cuilan seems like one too. These are all terms from the modern gaming world.”

Bai Qing was genuinely fascinated by the modern world and had countless questions, but Qi Yan didn’t have the time to explain everything to him right now.

After lunch, Sister Hong gave everyone an hour to rest. They were to gather in the courtyard at 1 p.m. sharp to head to the first scenic spot.

Since everyone had already slept in the morning, they were too tense to nap now. So, at the suggestion of the refined-looking man, they all gathered to discuss the storybook.

“Let’s start with introductions. My name is Huo Zheng, 30 years old. I was already working in the real world. I don’t know why I ended up here, I just woke up here in my sleep and thought it was a dream at first.”

To show sincerity, the refined Huo Zheng took the lead in introducing himself. He seemed to have a respectable job and was quite adept at social interactions.

In this small group of six, if the bald guy was the troublemaker everyone wanted to avoid, Huo Zheng was the reassuring presence people felt drawn to even dependent on.

“M-my name is Tang Shanshan. I’m in my second year of high school. I want to go home. I have cram school tomorrow.” Tang Shanshan’s eyes reddened as she spoke. She was too young just a high school sophomore. Such a sudden upheaval must have been overwhelming for her.

Qi Yan felt a pang of sympathy. To face such a mess at such a tender age was truly tragic.

At this point, Bai Qing remarked, “You still have the mind to pity others?”

“…”

This feeling of having every thought overheard was really unpleasant. Qi Yan instinctively wondered if there was any way to block the connection between her and Bai Qing.

Bai Qing said, “Don’t bother thinking about it. The bond between us can’t be blocked.”

How utterly frustrating.

Qi Yan raised her right hand and slapped her left, aiming for the ring but hurting herself in the process.

She winced, suddenly convinced that the pain from hitting this damned ring was the old fox’s deliberate mischief. But she had no proof.

The others, seeing her suddenly slap herself, couldn’t help but look at her strangely.

Huo Zheng asked kindly, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Yan shook her head repeatedly. “Nothing, just a mosquito.”

“Mosquito” Bai Qing: “Heh.”

Huo Zheng didn’t press further. “Who’s next?”

“I’ll go,” Qi Yan volunteered. “My name is Qi Yan. I’m a senior in college. I also woke up here after falling asleep.”

With the three of them taking the initiative, the young couple quickly chimed in, “I’m Cao Jian, and my girlfriend is Song Yu. We’re both overworked office drones.”

The other five gave brief introductions, leaving only the bald man. Since finishing his meal, he had been huddled alone in a corner, lost in thought, but his expression clearly hinted at ill intentions.

Qi Yan secretly observed him, sensing something off about his demeanor, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what. She silently reached out to Bai Qing, asking if she also felt the bald man seemed suspicious. But Bai Qing remained her usual lazy self, as if couldn’t be bothered to answer serious questions, which made Qi Yan grit her teeth in frustration.

Huo Zheng spoke up to remind the bald man, hoping he would unite with the group to find a way out of there.

The bald man’s expression froze momentarily before instantly reverting to normal. He looked up at Huo Zheng with a disdainful tone and said, “Why should I trust any of you?”

Huo Zheng was taken aback, frowning slightly.

“What do you mean by that?” Before Huo Zheng could respond, Cao Jian from the couple snapped first.

He wasn’t particularly patient by nature, but the initial shock of their situation had left him rattled. Now that he’d regained some composure and given that everyone present seemed to be fellow players, he felt less intimidated. If they were all human, what was there to fear?

He might not dare to confront ghosts, but confronting people? That was another matter.

“We’re all in the same boat here. We should be helping each other. What’s your problem?”

“Helping?” The bald man sneered, glancing at them sideways. “Who’s to say it’s help and not a trap? You claim we’re all in the same boat, but how do I know you’re not ghosts? How can you prove you’re human like me and not some shapeshifting creatures from this story sent to mess with me?”

“You!”

His words sent a ripple of shock through the group, plunging them back into silence and doubt.

The fragile bridge of communication they had just built now teetered precariously under the weight of the bald man’s words.

Yet, it was undeniable that he had raised a valid point. They had all arrived here and heard the [Narration] in their minds something intangible, unseen. Everyone claimed to have heard it, but there was no way for others to verify it.

The bald man smirked coldly at them. “What if one of you is a ghost? Anyone who trusts that person is doomed. To stay alive, I’m not joining you. I trust only myself, I’ll find a way out alone!”

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