Chapter 7#

Blessing

“So? Are you going to buy something?” The shopkeeper shot daggers at the man leaning against the door, though he kept his tone in check.

Mi Xiaobai smirked without even bothering to look up. “Didn’t I already tell you that I’m broke?”

If the sale didn’t go through, that guy could freely access the shop. The shopkeeper would rather die. “How broke is broke?” He gnashed his teeth. “I can cut you a deal. The knife is supposed to cost three hundred, but given how well you wield it, I’ll let you have it for thirty.”

The asshole was still typing away. “I’m good. I don’t even have thirty.”

“I’ll give it to you for free!”

“Pass.”

“Don’t say that! Don’t you need a knife to carve your talismans?”

Mi Xiaobai finally tore his gaze from the phone. “Rather than a knife, what I need is your hand. If you’re in a generous mood, why don’t you just chop it off for me?”

The shopkeeper was sure that he was already in hell.

The devil incarnate finally sent out the message. He left with his jacket over his arm and didn’t forget to wave. “Bye, boss, see you next time.”

The shopkeeper was already rummaging around for rope, convinced that hanging himself outside the shop would be a much better alternative to seeing that guy ever again.

Mi Xiaobai had barely left the shop before the phone began to buzz. For a fleeting moment, he thought that he’d already gotten a response.

In the end, it was just a system notification, which was also posted on the world chat.

Congratulations to ThreeKings, JustRude, ^^, and SliceIntoSashimi for completing hidden achievement < The Impossible Feat >. Exclusive rewards gained.

— What just flew by?

The players were so engrossed in conversation that they didn’t notice anything off right away. The copy-pasting continued until someone raised the alarm.

— Hold up! Check out the achievement details. The players had to kill all tutorial bosses while at level 3 or below to get this…

— Huh? The ghosts crawling everywhere in the Beginner Dungeon?

— You’re referring to the things that had a HP of 30,000 against my HP of 300 and my arrows didn’t even shave off 1 HP of?

— Those things are beatable?????

— How’s that any different from asking baby me to uproot Lu Zhishen???(fictional character who uprooted a willow tree)

Indeed, there was no difference. The question was, who killed them?

ThreeKings was curled up on one corner of his bed when the notification came in, leaving him even more lost than the players in the world chat. He poked the party chat.

ThreeKings: What happened?

JustRude: You stole my line. What happened? @SliceIntoSashimi @^^

Mi Xiaobai had just returned to the hotel when he was mentioned. He tapped in, then responded.

^^ : What happened?

ThreeKings: ?

ThreeKings: You don’t know either? Weren’t you the one asking about weapons earlier?

JustRude: But he also said that he’s a coward.

Mi Xiaobai typed: Yeah, I’m a coward.

ThreeKings: True. That leaves one person. @SliceIntoSashimi was it you?

JustRude: @SliceIntoSashimi it was you, right?

Mi Xiaobai parroted: @SliceIntoSashimi it was you, right?

That teammate seemed to be a lone wolf, not speaking to a single soul since the start, and ghosting the chat.

If it hadn’t been for the announcement when SpicySoupKing died, stating that their party was down to four members, and this surprising achievement, ThreeKings and JustRude would have doubted if SliceIntoSashimi was even alive.

But Mi Xiaobai didn’t care about any of that.

Since he was told to sort out his mess, he had to take on as many of those dull, troublesome, tedious tasks as he could, so that that pretty friend wouldn’t have to handle them. After all, his dear friend didn’t look like someone particularly good-tempered.

Mi Xiaobai tapped on the system notification. A hologram popped up, marking the reward as claimed: +3,000 Battle Exp, +2 Levels, +50,000 Credits.

< Congratulations! Special items gained: Wishing Slip x1, Event Clue Shard x1. >

Mi Xiaobai tapped the shard.

< Half of a Charred Room Key >

From the scattered remains of the ghosts, you discover a broken key card. A strange scent lingers on it. The toiletries provided by the hotel vary depending on room type. Please search carefully.

His pocket grew heavier. He reached in and took out the new item. It was indeed a half-intact, charred card. He tapped on ‘Wishing Slip’ and another item was added to his pocket.

This time, it was a thin strip of paper resembling a bookmark, adorned with decorative patterns and the character ‘愿’(wish).

He studied it pensively. Walking up to the front desk, he asked the puffy-faced man who had been gone for hours. “Is there an altar in the hotel?”

“Obviously,” said the receptionist. “Which hotel on the island doesn’t?”

“Where is it?”

“Come with me.”

The receptionist led him to the back of the hotel where a towering structure had been built. Inside stood a row of colossal statues beneath a square skylight in the roof, through which icy blue moonlight streamed. Drizzle slowly trickled down the windowpanes.

Had the booster who set up Mi Xiaobai’s account been there, he would have noticed that the scene was identical to the prologue where the deity selection segment took place.

Voices drifted over from behind. ThreeKings walked in with JustRude. Traumatised by the ghosts earlier, Mi Xiaobai’s mask made him grab JustRude and take off running—except he’d grabbed the receptionist by mistake.

The receptionist: “…”

Luckily, ThreeKings glanced back and recognised the classic black suit, so he awkwardly returned, grumbling, “Dude, why are you wearing a mask? You had me scared stiff…”

But nobody answered him. ^^ was standing in front of the statues, lost in thought, though the mask hid his expression.

The receptionist spoke up. “Anyway, the altar is right here. Feel free to use it. I’m heading off.”

ThreeKings took out his wishing slip and asked JustRude, the only one who would respond to him. “I didn’t read the guide. How do you use this thing?”

“Simple, which deity did you pick during the prologue? See the candlestands? Just burn the slip in front of the deity you picked. They say you’ll get the blessings from them.”

ThreeKings was the friendly sort. Worried that Mi Xiaobai had been zoning out, he asked, “Did you catch that?” But before he could repeat the explanation, Mi Xiaobai walked up to a crumbling statue.

“?” ThreeKings craned his neck—the plaque read:The Painted Skin. “??? Wait, bro, you chose the Painted Skin during the prologue?” His head filled with question marks, he turned to JustRude. “Was the Painted Skin an option?”

“Not for me,” JustRude replied. “Is he a whale?”

Mi Xiaobai shrugged. “It was available to me. Could have been a bug.”

“Damn, no wonder you’re running around in cosplay! What perks do you get from picking the Painted Skin? The curiosity is killing me!”

Mi Xiaobai mused, “What blessings do you get?” and his teammates eagerly burnt their wishing slips.

ThreeKings, who worshipped the Lady of Abundance, gained +30,000 Credits. JustRude, who worshipped the Warlord, gained +100 Might and +2 Levels.

“Oh!” ThreeKings exclaimed. “Pray once and you get +10 Favour. The Deity Bond is also unlocked.”

“Same here,” JustRude chimed in. “There’s even the deity’s avatar under my private chats, but the input box is greyed out. No idea what it’s for.”

“What about the Painted Skin?” they wondered, crowding around Mi Xiaobai as the slip in his hand burnt up completely.

Thirty seconds passed before a hologram finally appeared.

This deity cannot bestow blessings.

Favour cannot be increased.

Mi Xiaobai: “…”

Then, the burnt wishing slip was returned whole, spat back on his hand.

ThreeKings cleared his throat and laughed drily. “Seems like there are a lot of bugs going around.”

JustRude couldn’t hold back a snicker. ThreeKings thought,Don’t actually be rude, and dragged him away.

Mi Xiaobai blinked at the slip. He asked the kitten whose skull was covered, “No surprise there. Does this count as worshipping anancestor? If you think so, meow once.”(Slang for someone hard to serve, but Chinese do also practise ancestor veneration)

The skeletal kitten didn’t dare to meow. But Mi Xiaobai had no time to wait for it anyway, as he sensed subtle changes stirring within him, warmth blooming in his chest and a faint disorientation following. His expression flickered.

All at once, he set off for his room, striding back to the lift lobby and pressing the button. When the ghosts weren’t acting up, the hotel’s lifts worked, just a tad slower than normal.

As he leaned against the lift, watching the numbers tick upwards, the changes grew more pronounced. He recognised the sensation. If he wasn’t mistaken, it meant he was once again about to lose control of the body.

So, before he passed out, he had to hurry back to his room. Ideally, he’d be lying back on that large bed, tidy, neat, and presentable, to avoid upsetting someone.

However, things didn’t go as he wished. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his vision went dark. The last things he saw were the lift’s rusty handrails, the dusty strip lights, and a mirror large enough to reflect his predicament.

Mi Xiaobai: “…”

Game over.

Please do not repost or retranslate.

Mr. Painted Skin, who was uptight about cleanliness and appearances, opened his eyes to such a scene. The lift’s large mirror reflected him, in a mask with an insufferable smirk and a shirt with crinkled cuffs, sitting on the floor.

He shut his eyes in disbelief and then opened them again, making sure that he wasactuallysitting on the floor.

He shifted. His expensive suit jacket slid off his left arm to the ground, covering a mound of something. Under the jacket, he found the white-furred skeleton face down, playing dead; it would rather plant its face on the dirty floor than meet his eyes.

The phone was held in a loose grip in his other hand, opened to the private chats. Blinded by rage, he only read the last line:Just treat it as a brief adventure—along with one unfinished word in the message input box:So.

Yu Qing: “…”

Yu Qing: “…………………”

t/n.The ‘So’ is meant to be read both ways. MXB had been trying to type ‘Sorry’ (对不起), but only managed to get ‘So’ out, which reads like ‘Yep’ (对) – you’re stuck in this shit situation now. Obv one is much more aggravating than the other, albeit unintentionally.

Read from ninetysevenkoi.wordpress

Escape From Rose Island(Chapter 7)

Translated by 🎏luckykoi

Please do not repost or re-translate.