After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

We've seen similar plots many times in movies and novels, haven't we?

Tang Li thought.

In a place like this, leaving yourself alone is the most unwise choice.

She was alone.

Everything proceeds gradually.

Two quarters of an hour ago, the "main course" that the steward had mentioned tonight was served.

The guests chatted and laughed as they walked downstairs, where an underground tournament was about to begin.

The "prizes" were piled up in front of everyone, including the most beautiful woman, a child with heterochromia, a dazzling array of gold and jade treasures, and even martial arts techniques whose names alone could lead people astray.

...These are gifts for the victors.

Crowds cheered and placed bets from all directions, but Lian Shi slightly turned his head and asked Tang Li, "Is there anything you need?"

Tang Li didn't know exactly what she was looking for, so she peeked out to take a closer look.

At the very center of all this is a coral-red jade sculpture about half a person's height, vividly depicting a cluster of blooming balsam flowers.

It's balsam flowers again.

It was so beautiful that it attracted the covetous gaze of almost everyone.

But the moment Tang Li saw the jade carving, she suddenly gripped Lian Shi's hair tightly.

"Buzz—"

The sharp, almost piercing sound nearly shattered her eardrums and penetrated her entire head—a sound that was definitely not something that should be heard in this ancient dungeon! It sounded more like something inside her brain malfunctioning!

In that instant, Tang Li's fingers clenched as if in spasm, and her entire field of vision was suddenly swallowed up by a large white light. She could not hear any sound except for the ringing, and even after the sound ended, a sharp ringing still echoed in her ears.

"Tang Li! Tang Li!" After what seemed like an eternity, she finally managed to hear Lian Sheng's urgent calls.

Tang Li then realized that she had almost fallen off Lian Shi's shoulder. Her breathing became rapid and her chest ached. After recovering from her dizziness, her first reaction was to pull up her system notification panel.

How could that be?

Tang Li's eyelashes trembled rapidly a few times, concealing her doubts.

How come there's nothing there?!

There were no mission updates, no situation reports, and not even system errors... So what was that sound that was ringing in her head just now?

"The streamer?" "What happened to the streamer?" "Did the streamer get poisoned? Did some NPC drug the streamer?"

A barrage of puzzled comments floated across the screen, and the viewers in the live stream couldn't figure out anything amiss.

"Is it that jade carving?" Lian Shi's deep voice caught Tang Li's attention.

The man squinted at the blood-red jade sculpture, its color alone suggesting an ominous sign. He raised his hand to shield Tang Li's eyes, then took a few steps closer to examine it. "This jade..."

"The red color comes from the blood seeping through," Lian Sheng stated, her tone completely flat, yet it inexplicably reassured Tang Li. "You can even see the blood streaks seeping through the jade."

"Is it making you feel unwell?" Lian Shi frowned.

The next second, Tang Li found herself briefly suspended in mid-air before falling into another equally firm embrace.

Lian Shi handed her over to Lian Sheng.

"Wait a moment," Lian Shi said, striding towards the arena. "I'll be right back."

"Since you hate that thing, then take it back." One of the former four great assassins of the martial arts world, who had already retired from the business, still spoke with that confident and arrogant tone as he was about to fight.

"Take it back."

"Smash it."

This is why Lian Shi left Tang Li.

A quarter of an hour ago, Lian Sheng and Tang Li held hands and waited for Lian Shi to return victorious not far from the arena.

The stage was a chaotic melee, and Lian Shi was unsurprisingly the most relaxed one. But just as the two of them were gradually relaxing, Tang Li felt Lian Sheng's fingers tighten suddenly.

The woman beside him, who had been chatting and laughing, suddenly fell silent.

Tang Li suddenly looked up, and her first reaction was not to look up at Lian Sheng, but to follow her gaze in the direction that had caused her unusual reaction.

That was... a silhouette?

He staggered into the crowd and disappeared.

"Did you see clearly?" "It looks like a person, dressed in drab gray." "It looks like... an old man?" "I think it's a middle-aged man."

"Sister Lian Sheng," Tang Li asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Lian Sheng suppressed the sudden doubt that rose in her heart, "It seems like I mistook someone for someone else."

However, in the eerie dungeon, there won't be a familiar face that appears out of nowhere.

Tang Li looked up, staring intently at Lian Sheng: "Sister, I trust your judgment. What exactly happened?"

"Perhaps when we were discussing this earlier, I remembered this matter again, and thus recalled him..." Lian Sheng was still staring at the direction where the figure disappeared, her eyes under the black veil filled with confusion and vigilance. "Just now, I think I saw Zhao Jiuzhi."

Zhao Jiuzhi? The person Lian Sheng mentioned before who inexplicably gnawed on his own finger, got his finger bone stuck, and then came back to life the next morning was Zhao Jiuzhi.

"Ever since that terrifying morning when Zhao Jiuzhi woke me up, I could never forget the way he was gnawing on his own fingers. A few days later, I made an excuse and left that escort agency."

"After that, I never saw Zhao Jiuzhi again. Occasionally, I would hear others mention him, saying that he was still working day and night as a bodyguard. Recently, I haven't heard any news about him at all."

But I never expected to meet someone who looks so much like him here.

Tang Li realized this was an important clue, and she gripped Lian Sheng's hand tightly: "Let's go take a look."

At this time, Tang Li had no idea that they would be separated because of this.

The two chased after the figure and left the crowd. The figure was unaware that someone was chasing him and did not intend to hide.

He went upstairs. He was a tall, middle-aged man with gray hair, wearing a gray robe that stood out from the other guests. Under the sleeves of the gray robe, Tang Li finally saw the man's hands.

It is true that there are only eight and a half fingers.

When I looked closely, the man had already reached the end of a corridor. His behavior was quite strange. He walked close to the wall, tapping on it with his eight and a half fingers as he went.

What is he looking for? Tang Li thought to herself, this person obviously didn't come in openly.

Just then, perhaps by coincidence, Zhao Jiuzhi suddenly turned his head and met the gazes of Lian Sheng and Tang Li.

Both sides were taken aback.

Lian Sheng reacted much faster than the average person; she took a step forward before the atmosphere became tense.

Beneath the black veil, her full red lips curved slightly upward, her tone light and friendly: "Oh, look who this busy person I've run into!"

The veil was lifted, revealing handsome features underneath.

The woman chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember me, Old Zhao?"

Zhao Jiuzhi swept away the wariness from his face, revealing a look of sudden realization, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a wide smile.

"Who do we have here!" The middle-aged man laughed heartily. "Long time no see! How have you been?"

Amidst hearty laughter, Zhao Jiuzhi strode towards them, laughing and laughing.

At this moment, neither Lian Sheng nor Tang Li...

None of them missed the knife he was clutching in his palm.