Into The Unknown (Arc 3)

Based on Big Brother's stories, Xu Chao was shrewd, calculating, and he also had a bad temper. If the servants around him made mistakes or weren't meticulous enough with their work, Xu Chao was bound to get angry.

For a person like Xu Chao... would he really be okay if He Yi was an incompetent subordinate?

"Or... maybe..." Feng Yongrui thought of another possibility.

"Maybe what?" the System asked.

Feng Yongrui gulped. This idea was too bold, too strange, and too... preposterous!

"Maybe He Yi is looking for something without Xu Chao's approval," Feng Yongrui whispered to the System.

The System was stunned.

"H-host... Do you mean to say that He Yi is a spy or something like that? That's why he's searching Xu Chao's room?" the System asked, flabbergasted.

"Well, yes... isn't that possible?" Feng Yongrui asked. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was.

"Think about it, System. Xu Chao isn't here, so He Yi goes to his room and starts looking for something... if he isn't a spy, then what is he??" Feng Yongrui whispered.

The System could not reply.

"Did something like this happen in the original timeline?" Feng Yongrui asked. "Is He Yi really a spy?"

The System paused. "Wait a minute, Host. Let me see..."

"Well, there is absolutely no information about He Yi," the System said after some time.

"In fact, there is no one named 'He Yi' in the information I received," the System added, sounding confused.

Feng Yongrui furrowed his brows and and did not say anything for a while.

"Alright System. I'll just observe He Yi first and see what he's up to," Feng Yongrui replied.

The System agreed, and Feng Yongrui turned his attention to He Yi, who was still searching the entire room.

He Yi looked in every nook and cranny of the room but did not find what he was looking for. Disappointed, He Yi gave a low sigh and sneaked out of Xu Chao's room.

Feng Yongrui followed him as He Yi flew away from the mansion, getting further and further. Feng Yongrui started to get excited. This was the first time he went out of Xu Chao's mansion and explored the Phantom Realm.

Feng Yongrui flew behind He Yi past several meadows -- instead of being filled with flowers, these meadows were filled with glowing bugs that buzzed around the area and shot out some sort of pollen every once in a while.

Following He Yi's actions, Feng Yongrui avoided the bugs and the pollen. He Yi finally stopped flying and landed on the ground in front of a large lake.

Feng Yongrui landed behind He Yi and looked at the vast lake in front of them.

This lake seemed pretty normal, and there were no one here...

Wasn't He Yi going to meet Xu Chao?

Feng Yongrui inched closer to the lake, but then he heard a loud boom.

Feng Yongrui whipped his head to the side, looking at the source of the sound.

In the middle of the lake, a hole had appeared. No, it wasn't exactly right to call it a hole. It seemed more like a vortex or a whirlpool that was sucking its surroundings.

"Host, this lake seems a bit off. It might be rather dangerous, so it would be better not to get too close to it," the System said.

Feng Yongrui nodded his head in agreement. Even if the System didn't say anything, he wouldn't get too close to the lake anyway.

Well, Feng Yongrui did feel strange because the System was reminding him like this.

Usually, wasn't the System very mean and snarky?

Feng Yongrui looked at He Yi, who was muttering something under his breath. It seemed like he was saying a spell...

He Yi lifted his arms and flew to the center of the vortex. Ignoring the water that surged and lurched at him, He Yi entered the vortex elegantly, leaving Feng Yongrui gaping on the bank.

"S-should I follow him?' Feng Yongrui asked.

The whirlpool was still spinning and the lake's waters were still surging... Feng Yongrui knew that he couldn't think too long.

"Host, if you are eager to die, you can consider following He Yi..." the System began to speak.

Before it could continue, Feng Yongrui had already leaped into the air and flown inside the vortex.

The System: "..."

Feng Yongrui jumped into the vortex, wanting to shut his eyes out of fear and yet wanting to open them and see what was going on.

Feng Yongrui was surrounded by water on all sides -- no, it wasn't exactly water. It seems more like fluid.

Water was transparent, but this liquid was a dark blue hue, almost black.

Feng Yongrui was falling deeper and deeper into the vortex. Underneath him, he could see He Yi falling as well.

Feng Yongrui did not know how long he went through this free fall. When he finally landed on solid ground, Feng Yongrui found himself in a dimly lit empty space.

He wasn't exactly inside a room, no... Instead, he had the feeling that he was in the middle of a maze.

Wherever he looked, Feng Yongrui could see several "roads" that pointed in different directions. Feng Yongrui took a few steps forward and realized that he was walking on sand.

Was he at the bottom of the lake or something? Feng Yongrui looked at the surrounding lights and realized that they were actually luminescent pearls. It gave him the feeling that he was at the bottom of the sea...

Feng Yongrui looked at all the available corridors but did not spot He Yi. Where did he go?

Feng Yongrui randomly picked a corridor and walked forward, but then he stopped. What if he entered the wrong corridor...? He had no idea what this place was like!

Feng Yongrui clicked his tongue and walked forward. Fine! In any case, he was invisible, so he shouldn't get into serious trouble.

Feng Yongrui walked for several minutes, but the corridor did not show any signs of ending.

"...Host, you do know that you can fly, right?" the System, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

"Ah... You're right. I guess that would be faster," Feng Yongrui agreed.

He leapt from the sandy ground and flew as quickly as he could.

Soon, Feng Yongrui reached the end of the corridor -- it was a dead end, so he turned around and backtracked, returning to his original place.

Feng Yongrui picked another corridor and flew inside, looking out for any signs of He Yi. Still, he did not find anyone.

Feng Yongrui did not know how many corridors he had searched, but a few minutes later, Feng Yongrui sat on the sand and sighed a few times.

Why did all of the corridors end up with a dead end?? And where was He Yi?

Feng Yongrui saw it clearly with his own eyes! He Yi had jumped inside this vortex!

"Urgh..." Feng Yongrui ran his fingers through his hair and groaned.

Everything that happened today had gone wrong... First, he intended to follow Xu Chao, but Xu Chao was nowhere to be seen to he ended up following He Yi.

Now, after he followed He Yi, he was trapped in this maze...

"Wait!" Feng Yongrui suddenly cried.

"What if this is an array...?" he whispered.

Perhaps there was some sort of magic spell that made him run around and around the area as if this was some sort of maze...

Feng Yongrui's eyes lit up. That must be it! Didn't he also use an Illusion Spell in his room? Maybe this was also an Illusion Spell of some sort!

"But I'm Invisible right now," Feng Yongrui muttered, "So why does the spell work on me?"

"Was it not supposed to work on you?" the System retorted.

Feng Yongrui pursed his lips. Well, that did make sense.

"System, is there a spell that can help me get out of this Illusion?" Feng Yongrui asked.

"There is," the System replied.

"Oh? What is it?" Feng Yongrui asked excitedly.

"But based on your poor magical prowess, you can't do the spell," the System added.

Feng Yongrui: "..."

Feng Yongrui activated his magical prowess and gathered up a ball of water. Carefully, Feng Yongrui shaped the water into small, razor-sharp blades. With one swift motion, Feng Yongrui flicked his wrist and the blades attacked the walls that surrounded him.

Feng Yongrui waited for two seconds when he suddenly felt a sense of danger. Quickly, Feng Yongrui stepped to the side, just in time to avoid a black dagger that hurled past his face.

Feng Yongrui felt himself turning pale. Just now, he didn't see anyone. In fact, he couldn't even see blade flying towards him. All he could see was a flash of black mass. He was lucky that he didn't get hit!

Feng Yongrui whipped his head to the side, trying to find the origin of the black dagger. Who shot that dagger at him? Was it He Yi, or was Xu Chao here? Was he going to get caught already?