Chapter 157: Lurking

“You’re saying silly things again. In this life, having you care for and protect me is my good fortune.” Yi Ya lifted her head and looked seriously at Lü Yang.

Lü Yang felt a warmth in his heart. It had been a whole year since he met Yi Ya, and this was the first time he had heard such words from her.

“After we return to the Real world, you must tell me all these things again. From now on, whatever happens, we must face it together. Don’t carry it all alone!” Yi Ya said to Lü Yang.

“Okay, I will.” Lü Yang smiled.

“Are you trying to fool me? Swear it!” Yi Ya clearly saw that Lü Yang was not taking it seriously.

“I swear that once we get back to the Real world, I will definitely tell you everything.” Lü Yang swore very casually. After all… as long as they left this place, Yi Ya would not be able to remember anything…

“Swear that if you don’t tell me these things after returning to the Real world, I will be captured by the Death Killer again, and you will never be able to save me!” Yi Ya glared angrily at Lü Yang, very displeased with his evasiveness and pretense.

“I can’t make that vow.” Lü Yang shook his head. A joke was one thing, but making a vow involving Yi Ya’s safety was absolutely out of the question.

“You!” Yi Ya’s eyes reddened slightly. She wanted to say something but held back.

“Xiao Ya, I told you everything that happened before and after. What do you think is the Path of Survival in this Mysterious Domain?” Lü Yang had already wasted too much time, and he did not dare to delay any longer. The longer it dragged on, the worse the situation would become.

“Could it be related to the Curse Card that Zhou Ling mentioned? She cast a curse saying that if anyone killed her, they could never leave the Mysterious Domain…” Yi Ya guessed.

“That can’t be, right? That would be too vicious!” Lü Yang felt a chill run down his spine. He was indeed wary of the Curse Card, but for now, he did not want to consider it, as it was an uncertain factor.

“Maybe not. If it’s unrelated to her Curse Card, then when you set up the Path of Survival for the Mysterious Domain, apart from the condition of defeating each other, you might have added some other equal condition that Zhou Ling would find difficult to figure out. This was to prevent her from easily escaping the Mysterious Domain in case you lost and were killed by her…”

“But now even I can’t figure it out myself!” Lü Yang patted his head hard; this really was frustrating.

“What kind of thing could you think of that Zhou Ling could not?” Yi Ya also sank into thought.

Looking at Yi Ya in his arms, deep in thought, Lü Yang suddenly felt a surge of emotion…

He had gone through countless dangers and almost died several times for her. Now, he had finally gotten her back…

What could be more important than her in this life?

In the Real world, perhaps because Yi Ya thought she was still young or because of her reserved nature, it was not easy for Lü Yang to hold her like this without her pushing him away…

This opportunity was rare now… whatever he did to her, she would not remember once she went back…

Hehe.

My love, my treasure, how could I ever bear to let someone else have you?

I will live on and keep protecting you.

I will make a lot of money in the future, giving you the happiness you want, so you won’t envy anyone.

Lü Yang suddenly exerted strength in his arms, lifting Yi Ya from the table, cradling her bottom and placing her on his lap, then tightly wrapping his arms around her body.

“What are you doing?” Yi Ya had never been this intimate with Lü Yang before, and she panicked, struggling hard.

“Just a hug…” Lü Yang, clearly feeling tempted, held Yi Ya tightly in his arms, not giving her a chance to break free.

He had never held Yi Ya this way before; the feeling was really good, and… Yi Ya’s struggling gave his body a strange, intense pleasure…

Holding a beautiful girl, one you deeply love, in your arms gives you a kind of happiness that’s hard to describe.

The physical pleasure was an extra bonus.

“Let me go!” Yi Ya pouted and glared at Lü Yang, looking very angry.

Lü Yang moved his mouth closer, wanting to kiss Yi Ya, but she blocked him firmly with her hand. Lü Yang had no choice but to give her small hand a kiss.

“Hey! You!” Yi Ya was caught between pulling her hand back and leaving it there.

“Xiao Ya, without the Death Killer, we wouldn’t have had that passionate kiss at the entrance of Jing’an Residential Area that night, nor that long hand-in-hand talk. In the Real world, we might still just be ordinary friends.” Lü Yang didn’t try to force a kiss again; instead, a hint of loss appeared in his eyes.

“If I had no feelings for you, no matter how many things happened, we wouldn’t be together. If I have feelings for you, no matter how many things happen, nothing can separate us. I made some decisions half a year ago—back then, the Death Killer hadn’t started killing yet, right?” Yi Ya did not answer Lü Yang’s question directly.

“Is that true?” Lü Yang felt a stir in his heart. Yi Ya had not mentioned these words during their long talk that night.

“Let me go. I need to use the Restroom.” Yi Ya wriggled again.

Lü Yang smiled, loosened his arms, and let Yi Ya go, allowing her to slide her legs to the floor.

“The Restroom is over there. I’ll walk you there.” Lü Yang also got off the table and pointed toward a corner of the first-floor hall.

“Mm.” Yi Ya nodded and let Lü Yang lead her by the hand toward the Restroom.

When they reached the door of the Women’s Restroom, Lü Yang had Yi Ya wait outside while he went in first to check everything. He opened all the stall doors and looked inside, making sure no one was there and nothing was unusual, then called Yi Ya in.

Yi Ya pulled open one of the stall doors, then turned to look at Lü Yang.

“I’ll wait right here. I won’t leave. Don’t be scared.” Lü Yang told Yi Ya.

“This is the Women’s Restroom, okay? Go outside!” Yi Ya pushed Lü Yang out of the Restroom.

“What? There’s no one else here. I’m staying outside so you won’t be scared…” Lü Yang looked at Yi Ya curiously.

“I’m a girl, okay? There’s no one else here; what do I have to be scared of?” Without another word, Yi Ya kept pushing Lü Yang out until he was outside the Women’s Restroom.

“Don’t come in…” Yi Ya blushed, gave Lü Yang a glare, and then closed the Women’s Restroom door.

Lü Yang frowned. He felt there was something strange about Yi Ya’s behavior…

Normally, with so many dead bodies outside, piled up and blood all over the floor, a girl like her should be scared in such a situation, right? She would definitely want her boyfriend to wait outside the stall so she could feel safe. But he volunteered to stay, and she still pushed him out…

Could there be something wrong here?

Was Yi Ya really that brave?

Why hadn’t this Mysterious Domain ended yet?

Why hadn’t he received any notification that the Task to rescue Yi Ya was complete? Did he have to bring her to the Real world for that?

Had she not actually been rescued at all?

Since meeting Zhou Ling, every scene and chaotic piece of information flooded Lü Yang’s mind. At one moment, when he thought of Liu Hui from the Eerie Domain of Lutou Mountain, his mind jolted, as if he had suddenly thought of something… This sent a chill down his spine…

It couldn’t be, right? That was too terrifying!

Was it possible… that this Yi Ya, like Liu Hui in the Eerie Domain of Lutou Mountain, was not Yi Ya at all, but Zhou Ling?

Who knew if Zhou Ling might have used a Soul Attach Card, or a Face-Changing Card, or some other messy cards to control Yi Ya? Or maybe the Zhou Ling he killed was just an illusion? And this… Yi Ya, who was released from the Interstitial Space, was actually Zhou Ling?

Trying to confirm whether this Yi Ya was the real Yi Ya by asking about past events would not work at all! Because Yi Ya had been captured by Zhou Ling, controlled for so long, that Zhou Ling could have a hundred ways to extract all her memories and pretend to be her, making it impossible for him to tell!

Could it be that the real Yi Ya had been disguised by Zhou Ling to look like Zhou Ling and then controlled to die at his hands, while Zhou Ling transformed into Yi Ya to stay by his side?

Zhou Ling had a history of this sort of thing—first, she lurked by his side as an investigator, then later as Liu Hui. Now… it was very likely she was using Yi Ya’s identity to lurk near him!

When Zhou Ling said she loved him… was that probably true? She also said… that between the two Mysterious Domains, Lü Yang was able to identify her not because of his own ability, but mostly because she loved him and willingly revealed everything to him.

Between the two Mysterious Domains, if Zhou Ling confessed her love to Lü Yang, he would definitely refuse firmly. And Zhou Ling knew very well that if Yi Ya was around, Lü Yang would never be with her… So, to achieve her goal of keeping Lü Yang for herself, after her failed confession, she realized Lü Yang wanted to use a Creation Card to pull her in, so she used her level advantage to quickly create a Mysterious Domain and pull Lü Yang into it…

In this Mysterious Domain, she designed an extremely complex and subtle trap and acted out a play where she died, making Lü Yang think he had successfully killed her and rescued Yi Ya…

The truth might be harsh—Lü Yang might not have killed Zhou Ling at all, but instead killed Yi Ya! Or perhaps Yi Ya was still trapped in the Interstitial Space, and this Yi Ya following him now, like Liu Hui in Donkey Head Mountain, was simply Zhou Ling in disguise!

She had said that both she and Han Cheng came from Mountain Peak Village, and Han Cheng had the special ability to change faces. She must have that ability, too. Since Han Cheng hadn’t recognized her at first, it meant that after she left Han Cheng and came to Liu Yin’s side, she had already changed her face once!