Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

”Taiqing Sect?”

Seeing that the other party’s eyes showed surprise but no denial, Lin Yu continued nodding.

”Indeed, could it be that you, Fellow Daoist, are not from the leading sect of the Daoist path, the Taiqing Sect?”

As Lin Yu spoke, the blue-robed Daoist instead looked a bit embarrassed, letting out a hearty laugh.

”Oh, come now, who could claim to be the leader... All Daoist sects under heaven are one family, there’s no such thing as a leading sect or not.”

But this reaction clearly meant he didn’t deny it either.

”How did you recognize me? I’m not carrying any token of my lineage or identity.”

Lin Yu looked at the blue-robed Daoist and blatantly started making things up.

”Of course, it’s because I’ve met you before, Fellow Daoist... Though I can’t recall which Dharma assembly it was, I’ve definitely seen you.”

”I’m from Changchun Temple, and my Daoist title is Qingyao.”

Lin Yu’s slick combo of lies flowed so smoothly that not only the blue-robed Daoist before her but even the players behind her were second-guessing things.

”Changchun Temple? Is that one of the Daoist temples in the Prison Mountain Realm?” Seagull asked in a low voice.

”Hell no, she’s from ’Jiang’an Hall,’ remember? That means she’s from Jiangcheng,” Snowy Owl said quietly. ”Changchun Temple must be a Daoist temple in Jiangcheng!”

”Shouldn’t Changchun Temple be that one in Ji Province?” Seagull asked, even more puzzled.

At this point, Li Nian, being from Jiangcheng herself, couldn’t take it anymore. ”That Changchun is the ’Changchun’ of the Changchun True Man!”

Gao Shan raised a different concern and doubt. ”Using a Daoist temple from Jiangcheng to fool a local from the Prison Mountain Realm... can that actually work?”

”I... I don’t know, but let’s trust her.”

Snowy Owl said quietly.

And the answer was...

Of course it could!

Faced with Lin Yu’s self-introduction, though he clearly hadn’t remembered who she was, the blue-robed Daoist still put on an expression of ”sudden realization.”

”Oh, oh, so it’s Fellow Daoist Qingyao from Changchun Temple,” the blue-robed Daoist clasped his hands. ”I am Yunzhen of the Taiqing Sect...”

”So it’s True Person Yunzhen! My apologies for not recognizing you sooner,” Lin Yu’s face showed just the right amount of surprise. ”No wonder you seemed so familiar. If I’m not mistaken, you must be...”

The blue-robed Daoist smiled. ”This humble Daoist is actually the acting sect leader of Taiqing Sect... Please forgive my presumption.”

”Then it is I who have been rude. I should be calling you Senior instead.”

Lin Yu’s tone shifted to one of delight, respect, and modesty.

”Since you are Senior Yunzhen, the acting sect leader of Taiqing Sect, you must have... also come for this Willow Town, haven’t you?”

”Indeed, you also believe that demon is hiding in this Willow Town!”

Lin Yu firmly recalled all the information she had gathered from the Puppet and Mystic Cloud Master — at this point in time, all the Daoist sects and martial arts schools should be jointly searching for that demon constantly causing massacres across the Prison Mountain Realm.

She spoke so naturally, as if she were a firsthand witness herself.

As expected, Yunzhen was led astray by this natural tone.

”That’s right, little friend. And the fact that you found your way to this Xinglin Medical Hall before me should also mean... you’ve guessed that this medical hall is suspicious, haven’t you?”

Lin Yu nodded. ”It’s said that the fortune-telling daughter here has always felt... not quite right to me.”

”Exactly. I also suspect that entity is a demon in disguise, and likely one that has mastered some great divine power that can confuse minds, even rewrite cause and effect and fate, and distort the laws of heaven. For some reason, it has been lurking here in Willow Town, pretending to be the medical hall’s daughter. Perhaps it’s trying to advance its cultivation further, or perhaps it wants to use its divine ability to set up some backup plan...”

Yunzhen spoke with ease, and Lin Yu couldn’t help but feel impressed.

This old Daoist truly lived up to being the ”leading sect’s founding master” from a hundred years ago... No matter how humble and easygoing he pretended to be, the moment he opened his mouth, his professional skill and insight were undeniable.

From Mystic Cloud Master’s description, Lin Yu had almost thought that the Taiqing Sect Founder just happened to pass through Willow Town back then, accidentally stumbled upon Zhu Qiansi’s setup, was forced into conflict with her in a hurry, and had no choice but to use the Hundred Calamity Forbidden Art to settle the matter.

But now it seemed...

That wasn’t the case at all!

At least the Yunzhen before her right now was fully aware of what was wrong with this town. Before even meeting Zhu Qiansi, he had already figured out most of Willow Town’s situation and Zhu Qiansi’s abilities.

But...

That only made Lin Yu more cautious.

If the Yunzhen of a hundred years ago was this well-prepared and certainly no weakling, then the fact that Zhu Qiansi still chose to start over from this point naturally meant... that at the very least, Zhu Qiansi believed that even at this point in time, as long as she was prepared in advance, she was still the one with the greater advantage.

So, in other words...

That Zhu Qiansi was also very strong.

”Fellow Daoist Qingyao, I was just about to go investigate. Since you’re here for the same reason, why don’t we go together?”

As Yunzhen spoke, Lin Yu quickly stopped him.

”Senior Yunzhen, we absolutely cannot do that. If we rush in recklessly, won’t we alert the enemy prematurely?”

Seeing Lin Yu stop him so insistently, Yunzhen instead looked a bit puzzled.

”What’s there to alert? If that demon really had formidable strength, would it be skulking around in hiding? It must know it’s no match for our Daoist sect, which is why it chose to hide in plain sight... Otherwise, given a demon’s nature, why would it stoop to this?”

Yunzhen said calmly. ”I still have some skill, and since Fellow Daoist Qingyao could find this place, you must not be ordinary either... Haven’t you brought some helpers as well?”

Lin Yu nodded, going along with Yunzhen’s words to explain the identities of the remaining few. ”Indeed, I did bring helpers — these are all like-minded individuals I’ve found, all masters of the martial path.”

”We’ve already infiltrated this Willow Town and lived here for a while. You can tell from our appearances.”

Yunzhen nodded. ”With martial arts masters to help, isn’t that even more reliable? Fellow Daoist Qingyao, why hesitate so much?”

Lin Yu was momentarily at a loss for words.

She couldn’t exactly say that, Senior, while you might indeed be able to seal that demon, she’s already on her second playthrough now and is very likely already on guard.

If she said that, Lin Yu couldn’t predict what would happen to this situation, or what kind of disturbance would occur in this Phantom Realm.

So, Lin Yu could only grit her teeth and throw out some other less important facts. ”It’s like this, Daoist Yunzhen. As I just mentioned... I’ve been living here for some time, so I’ve already discovered that most of the residents of this Willow Town have fallen under some kind of demonic divine power. With just a single thought from that demon, it could kill them all...”

”If we rashly alert that demon, it might plunge the nearly million people of this Willow Town into danger.”

Lin Yu believed that Yunzhen must have also vaguely sensed this, and with her prompting, he would have some reservations.

But...

Yunzhen’s answer was beyond Lin Yu’s expectations.

He looked at Lin Yu and put on a serious expression.

”If that’s truly the case... then we should act even more quickly. We can’t just wait for that demon to finish ravaging this town before moving on to harm even more people, can we?”

”But the million people of this Willow Town...”

”I am powerless to help them either,” Yunzhen sighed, but his tone was resolute. ”Fellow Daoist Qingyao, when it comes to subduing demons and vanquishing evil, there are always sacrifices to be made.”

Lin Yu was at a loss for words.

She now seriously suspected what Mystic Cloud Master had said — that the Taiqing Sect Founder had spent the rest of his life in guilt...

Could this Daoist Yunzhen really feel guilt?