Chapter 144: Role-Playing Game

He followed Ning Xianyu as she walked toward the lake, gradually descending to the lakebed.

Both of them were able to part the water, and walking on the lakebed felt just like walking on solid ground.

Once inside, Ning Xianyu felt a strange sense of familiarity with the lake water.

It felt very much like the primordial water in the ancient tree space she had encountered before—refreshing and invigorating to the core.

No wonder the people of the Yulai Kingdom always said the water here was wonderful and could cure illnesses; it turned out to be true.

This water truly possessed miraculous properties.

After walking along the bed for a while, they discovered a stone tablet resting on the bottom.

The two of them stepped closer to inspect it and found it covered in strange, ancient characters.

Ning Xianyu could not read them.

"System, what is written on this?"

The system replied, "Hold on a moment. I am downloading the knowledge of this world. I will tell you once the search is complete."

Ning Xianyu was not in a hurry and asked Xiahou Fang what the text said.

However, Xiahou Fang ignored her and simply kept staring at it on his own.

Ning Xianyu suddenly realized that he couldn't read it either, but because he was too proud to admit it, he was just putting on a profound facade.

After studying it for a while, Xiahou Fang indeed could not understand it, but he was nevertheless thrilled.

If even he could not read these characters, it meant they belonged to an even older era. Judging by the age of the stone tablet, it was safe to conclude that there was genuine treasure hidden beneath it.

If it truly was that legendary stone, perhaps he could use it to trade for the Astrolabe Stone with that old immortal Xuanyuan.

Xiahou Fang pressed his hand against the stone tablet and probed it with his spiritual sense.

Ning Xianyu came over as well, curiously reaching out to touch the tablet, only to feel a massive suction force pulling fiercely at her entire body.

Seeing this, Xiahou Fang quickly grabbed her arm, initially intending to pull her back, but then a thought flashed through his mind, and he violently shoved her forward instead.

Ning Xianyu glared at him in shock and cursed, "What the hell!"

This old villain was actually trying to screw her over?

However, Xiahou Fang did not let go of her. Instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around her, getting pulled into the stone tablet right along with her.

Ning Xianyu felt dizzy, her vision filled with a kaleidoscope of bizarre and surreal sights.

Before long, she dropped heavily to the ground, landing with a solid thud.

She rubbed her backside, groaning in pain, while Xiahou Fang, who had been holding onto her just a moment before, stood upright without a scratch, his posture remaining as dashing and elegant as ever.

It turned out she was the only one who had taken a hard fall.

Ning Xianyu climbed to her feet and looked around.

"Where is this?"

The surroundings were shrouded in a thick mist, making it impossible to see anything clearly. She truly could not figure out the situation here.

Xiahou Fang reached out and felt the air. "This is all moisture."

Ning Xianyu touched the air as well, then looked down at her clothes and hair.

In just this short span of time, both her garments and her hair were already damp.

The fog here was remarkably heavy.

Xiahou Fang simply picked a direction and started walking forward. Not wanting to be left alone, Ning Xianyu hurried to keep up.

After walking for a while—she had no idea how far they had gone—the scenery suddenly opened up before them. The mist parted to reveal a remarkably gorgeous and expansive grand courtyard.

The estate was huge, featuring a three-courtyard compound with left and right wing manors, yet it had no outer walls. Numerous people were bustling about within the grounds.

There were servants sweeping the courtyards, people whispering to one another, and stewards reprimanding the staff.

As soon as Ning Xianyu and Xiahou Fang approached, the stewards and servants immediately stepped forward to bow respectfully.

"Welcome back, Master and Madam."

Master and Madam?

Ning Xianyu turned her head to look and discovered that Xiahou Fang had miraculously grown a beard, transforming into the dignified appearance of a middle-aged man.

Startled, she patted her own face. *Phew, good, good, no wrinkles.*

Noticing her strange gaze, Xiahou Fang quickly touched his own face and was deeply horrified when he felt the beard.

"My beard?!"

How on earth had a beard suddenly sprouted?

Ning Xianyu had no explanation either and could only spread her hands in helplessness.

The estate steward walked over and respectfully asked whether the two of them wished to bathe and change their clothes, or what they would like to eat for dinner.

Ning Xianyu found the steward's respectful demeanor quite bizarre. Why did they address them as Master and Madam the moment they arrived?

This place was truly weird—did it even come pre-equipped with servants and a house?

After receiving no answer after asking a few times, the steward looked a bit uneasy. "Master, Madam, the Eldest Miss's affection for that impoverished scholar was never a major issue anyway. This humble servant can simply drive him away; Master and Madam need not fret over it."

*Oh ho, they even come with a pre-packaged plotline?*

Ning Xianyu found it quite interesting and decided to play along.

She figured that if she wanted to find out where this place was, she would first have to accept her assigned role.

Xiahou Fang thought along the same lines. He put on a stern expression, gave a curt grunt of assent, and followed the steward inward.

They entered the main courtyard where attendants were waiting to serve them during a bath and wardrobe change, followed by the presentation of a table laden with appetizing dishes.

To test whether the food was real, Ning Xianyu picked up a steamed bun and took a bite.

"Pui!"

It was a solid rock, not a bun at all.

How was anyone supposed to eat this?

Yet the attentive servants acted as if they saw nothing, simply waiting for her to finish so they could clear the table.

Naturally, Xiahou Fang had no interest in eating such items and took the initiative to drive the plot forward.

"Go summon the Eldest Miss."

A servant immediately left to fetch her.

Before the person even arrived, however, the steward rushed over shouting that the poor scholar had returned and asking whether they should break his legs and throw him out.

Ning Xianyu thought for a moment and said, "No need. Bring him here first. This madam would like to see just how thick-skinned he really is."

Since the roles of the scholar and the eldest miss kept coming up, it stood to reason that the secrets of this place were connected to the two of them.

Before long, both the scholar and the eldest miss arrived.

The moment she laid eyes on the scholar, Ning Xianyu silently praised him in her heart: *This pretty boy is quite good-looking; no wonder the eldest miss fell for him.*

The scholar possessed an ethereal, dashing, and refined appearance. Judging purely by his air rather than his attire, one could never tell he was an impoverished scholar.

Then she looked at the eldest miss, and she was so startled that she stood right up.

What kind of eldest miss was this? Wasn't this the female emperor?

Upon arriving, the eldest miss immediately dropped to her knees and began to weep. "I beg Father and Mother to grant your consent. Your daughter truly loves Young Master Zhang, and we wish to grow old together and bind our hearts for eternity."

"Young Master Zhang?"

*Cockroach?*

What kind of name was that? It sounded so awkward!

Moreover, why was the female emperor here?

Could it be that, just like them, she had also been forced into acting in this grand estate?

Ning Xianyu had the scholar taken away, graciously urged her "daughter" to take a seat, and tried to comfort her with food.

The eldest miss had still been pleading for the scholar, but the moment she heard the mention of food, her expression froze abruptly. Then, her hand trembled as she reached out toward a bun.

She looked thoroughly conflicted, clearly loath to eat it.

It wasn't that she had lost her appetite out of sorrow over her parents' disapproval of her marriage; she genuinely refused to eat, as if the food were poisonous.

Ning Xianyu instantly became certain: this eldest miss also knew something was wrong with this place and had retained a portion of her own consciousness.

She asked softly, "Your Majesty, is that you?"

The pupils of the eldest miss dilated as if undergoing an earthquake, but she forced herself to say, "Is Mother willing to let Young Master Zhang go and grant us your blessing?"

*Alright, Ning Xianyu understood now. This person was indeed the emperor, yet she was unable to control her own body and tongue.*

Could the rules here dictate that entering meant playing a role, and only by winning could one leave?

This was even more perverted than Xuanyuan Tunhan and Xiahou Fang combined.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Tunhan had already arrived above the imperial palace of the Yulai Kingdom, holding the Fire-Devouring Stone.

This was the place.