Volume Two, The Devil’s Game Chapter Forty-Eight: Playing Hard to Get

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Lu Yi casually used a branch to brush aside the weeds along the path, lifting his head to observe his surroundings as he sang, “The Great King sent me out to patrol the mountains.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Streamer, stop singing. No matter how much you sing, the Watcher isn’t coming back.”

“Black Phosphorus: Huh, I think I finally understand. Streamer, did you deliberately let the Watcher go? You could clearly have used your water-control ability to restrain him while constantly provoking him and extending the time he stayed. Yet you kept rushing forward and revealing your trump cards. It made me feel as though you were deliberately making the Watcher retreat because the odds were against him.”

Lu Yi brushed aside another clump of weeds. “You saw through me. This is what people mean by leaving some leeway in your dealings so that you can meet again in the future.”

“What do you mean by meet again?”

“Meet again?”

“Sweetheart Yueyue: Stop fooling around. The streamer means that you should leave some room in your actions, so that you can face one another amicably in the future.”

“Phoenix: What the streamer actually means is that he wants to make the Watcher believe he has weaknesses that can be exploited, so the Watcher will continue targeting him.

“If the streamer had concealed his trump cards perfectly, as Black Phosphorus suggested, and gained the upper hand whenever he fought the Watcher, then once the Watcher realized the truth, he would conclude that the streamer was an extremely meticulous and formidable opponent. At that point, he would abandon the idea of confronting the streamer altogether.

“Conversely, if the streamer acted as though he could barely contain his trump cards, appearing impatient and prone to arrogance, while deliberately holding back only a tiny portion of his abilities, the Watcher would assume that he had many weaknesses. Then he would look for another opportunity to fight.”

“Handsome but Naughty: Put simply, the streamer pretended to be a little stupid. That way, the Watcher would be willing to draw his blade and confront him. If the streamer were both clever and powerful, the Watcher could only keep his distance.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Wow, that really does seem to be the case. So the reason the streamer sang so loudly and conspicuously was also to deepen the impression he left on the Watcher.”

“Black Phosphorus: Phoenix, you and the Queen are amazing. You actually figured out so much. But streamer, you’re truly devious.”

“Yandere Fairy: Teehee, the streamer really is devious. Is this what they call luring the enemy in before capturing him?”

A faint smile touched Lu Yi’s face. “What Phoenix and Naughty said is basically what I had in mind.”

“Handsome but Naughty: Don’t abbreviate my name so casually. Either use my full title or call me Queen!”

A momentary look of embarrassment crossed Lu Yi’s face before he continued, “But you overlooked one thing. Earlier, when I was fishing the core out of the water formed by the Watcher, I noticed that the core can now be divided into extremely fine fragments. Delaying him by killing him is certainly possible, but it would make things much more difficult later.

“There isn’t much point in keeping the Watcher there, and doing so would consume the number of times he can be killed. It was better to let him go and leave him in a state where he could still be dealt with, rather than allowing his core to continue fragmenting until the two of us could only stare at each other helplessly.

“Besides, the Watcher was bound to escape sooner or later. By letting him go, I prevented his strength from increasing too much, and other people will have a better chance of surviving if they encounter him. If he were killed several more times, he would become an absolute nightmare to deal with.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Oh, that’s true.”

“Black Phosphorus: So the streamer was luring him in by pretending to let him go, while still waiting for the Watcher to return for revenge.”

“Clingy Noble Lady: Schemes, schemes everywhere.”

“Handsome but Naughty: Streamer, I’m finding you more and more pleasing.”

“So the streamer is waiting for the Watcher to come after him again?”

“Warmhearted Man: I’m more curious about this. If continuing to kill the Watcher would waste the limited number of chances, how do you plan to make use of him?”

Lu Yi glanced over the surrounding jungle, then replied slowly and mysteriously, “That’s something I can’t say yet.”

“Phoenix: How could you ask him that? What if the Watcher is nearby?”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Exactly. A plan like that can’t just be spoken aloud.”

“Warmhearted Man: Heh, I suppose I was too impatient.”

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“Warmhearted Man has gifted streamer Lu Yi sixty-six pairs of roller skates.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi has gifted streamer Lu Yi four wishing bottles.”

As the gift notifications sounded in his earphones, Lu Yi continued forward with the branch in hand, singing the same repetitive lyrics.

“The Great King sent me—”

He had barely shouted half the line when a disturbance came from nearby. He immediately fell silent and turned toward the sound.

“Is anyone there? Help!” a woman’s voice cried from that direction, followed by the sound of grass and branches being pushed aside.

“Do you really think you can escape?” the Watcher’s voice came right after hers. Then came a sharp whistle as something tore through the air.

“Ah!”

A scream rang out, and Lu Yi saw a girl trip over a tree root and fall directly in front of him.

The blood-red six-pointed star in Lu Yi’s left eye appeared in an instant before transforming into blue. He shifted his gaze slightly, and the walnut-sized ball of water that was about to smash into his face abruptly changed direction. A tree behind him exploded apart.

Lu Yi drove his foot into the ground and shot forward, plunging into the undergrowth. After advancing some distance, the trees not far ahead of him suddenly shook.

“You actually dare to turn back?” the Watcher roared arrogantly.

As his voice fell, two blades of water parted the vegetation and slashed toward Lu Yi.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lu Yi raised his right hand and caught one of the water blades directly. With a slight exertion of force, it burst apart.

“It’s you!” The Watcher was visibly startled upon seeing Lu Yi.

“Come on.” Lu Yi casually shook the water from his hand. “Our contest isn’t over yet, is it?”

The Watcher emitted a grating, teeth-clenched sound. His form twisted, and in the blink of an eye he transformed once more into a water tornado.

“Don’t run!” Lu Yi shouted as he charged after him, but he still failed to stop the Watcher.

“Warmhearted Man: Oh dear, the streamer miscalculated. Even after you let the Watcher go and put on such an elaborate act, the moment he saw you, he still fled without a word.”

“I’m a Husky: Exactly. It seems the streamer and the Watcher have reached the end of their relationship.”

Lu Yi watched the direction in which the Watcher had disappeared. Then he narrowed his eyes and revealed a wicked smile as he murmured, “If he didn’t want to see me, why did he appear right in front of me?”

“Warmhearted Man: What does that mean?”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Wow, that smile is so wicked. I want to marry him.”

“Sweetheart Yueyue: So full of charm.”

“Black Phosphorus: The streamer is plotting something nasty again.”

Lu Yi said nothing more. He turned and walked back to where he had been before, then looked at the girl, who was rubbing her ankle.

“I remember your name is Tan Weiwei. How are you feeling now?”

Tan Weiwei furrowed her brow, looking somewhat pained. “I think I twisted my ankle. Could you massage it for me?”

Lu Yi glanced at her, then crouched down and handed her a healing talisman.

Tan Weiwei cast an aggrieved look at him before pressing the talisman against her ankle.

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Streamer, how could you do that?”

“Black Phosphorus: Exactly. Didn’t you notice that she never even mentioned the healing talisman? She obviously has feelings for you.”

“Sweetheart Yueyue: Streamer, you have one trick after another when dealing with the Watcher, so why are you completely clueless about this? This concerns your own happiness.”

“Clingy Noble Lady: Teehee, streamer, you really need to study harder. Shall I teach you?”

“Yandere Fairy: Streamer, do you want them together or separated? I can help. I guarantee I won’t fail.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Separated from what? They haven’t even started yet!”

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“Black Phosphorus: That isn’t called separating them. It’s called breaking up a promising romance.”

Hearing the increasingly outrageous comments in his earphones, Lu Yi felt utterly embarrassed.

Tan Weiwei glanced back at the jungle and asked in a trembling voice, “Where’s the Watcher? Did you shake him off?”

“That’s right.” Lu Yi nodded, making no intention of telling her that the Watcher had fled because of him. He looked at Tan Weiwei. “What happened to you?”

Tan Weiwei’s body shuddered, and she said fearfully, “I—I was searching through some boxes when the Watcher suddenly appeared beside me. Then it attacked me with a water blade. I was sent flying, and after I landed, I ran for my life. Then… then I encountered you.”

As she spoke, Tan Weiwei gripped the tree trunk in terror. “Could it come back? Shouldn’t we leave as quickly as possible?”

Lu Yi reached out and pulled her to her feet. “Don’t worry. This place is safe for now.”

“I-Is that so?” Tan Weiwei exhaled deeply in relief. She tried to walk a few steps, then suddenly threw her arms around Lu Yi.

“You’ve saved me again. If it weren’t for you last time, I would have died. And this time, too.”

Tan Weiwei gazed deeply into Lu Yi’s eyes before resting her head against his shoulder.

Lu Yi raised a hand and patted her shoulder. In that instant, his expression changed. With a sweep of his left hand, water gathered in his palm. He then struck Tan Weiwei in the abdomen, sending the girl flying into a tree trunk.

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Ah! Streamer! What are you doing?”

“Black Phosphorus: Streamer, how could you do that?”

“Yandere Fairy: Some people may enjoy unusual treatment from the opposite sex, but this girl has clearly been frightened. She obviously needs comfort!”

“I’m a Husky: Tsk, tsk. Yandere Fairy, it seems you won’t need to break up this romance after all. The streamer has taken care of it himself.”

“Gold Hoarder: That’s ruthless. Beating up a beauty would already be bad enough, but he did it to someone who clearly had feelings for him.”

“One Fish: Another internal conflict?”

Tan Weiwei lay on the ground, clutching her abdomen with her body curled up. She stared at Lu Yi in terror and asked with difficulty, “Why… why did you?”

Lu Yi frowned and raised his left hand. He looked at Tan Weiwei, then at his palm, and said in a puzzled tone, “Ally protection?”

Afterward, Lu Yi examined Tan Weiwei carefully once more before smiling.

“Stop pretending. What are you, really?”

“What?” Tan Weiwei looked at him in confusion.

“So you won’t tell me?” Lu Yi shrugged, his expression disdainful. “Fine. I can deal with the Watcher by myself. Losing you won’t make any difference.”

As he spoke, he clenched his left hand, and a large mass of water gathered in his palm.

“W-What are you going to do? No, don’t!” Tan Weiwei looked terrified. She struggled to push herself up from the ground, but for a moment she could not rise. “I’ll give you everything I have!”

Lu Yi remained unmoved as strands of water continued to gather.

“Help! Somebody help me! Lu Yi has gone mad!” Tan Weiwei cried with difficulty.

Lu Yi narrowed his eyes. “You were chased into such a sorry state by a Watcher like that. A useless person like you should die!”

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Yi swept his left hand, sending a blade of water slashing toward Tan Weiwei.

The tree split cleanly in two. Lu Yi tilted his head and looked at Tan Weiwei, who had already flashed to the other side without showing the slightest sign of injury.

“You’re done pretending? I thought you’d keep it up a little longer.”

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