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Chapter 103 – Without a Key 15
Shi JianChuan was awake?!
The two let go of each other within an instant like an electric shock and turned around at the same time with a high degree of tacit understanding and without looking at each other.
Xu RenDong coughed and said as calmly as possible: “You’re awake.”
Shi JianChuan smiled and said, “Yes. How long do you think I’ve been awake?”
Xu RenDong instantly lost steam and his face was immediately stained with two flushes. He picked up the teacup on the table embarrassedly and used tea to ease his shame but accidentally caught a glimpse of Lian Qiao’s frown.
Xu RenDong was surprised. He saw Lian Qiao turned his head and glanced at the door. He said abruptly: “The sounds outside have stopped.”
The sounds outside?
Xu RenDong listened carefully. Sure enough, the cries that originally filled the corridor had been silenced at some point. I’m afraid those people are probably in great danger. Why is Lian Qiao mentioning this now?
Shi JianChuan bit his lip and smiled: “So what?”
“I’m sorry that I beat you up just now.” Lian Qiao pouted. “But you have to blame yourself for accidentally being cursed and acting crazy towards Boss RenDong. You should already know our boss has a violent temper
 In short, I’m sorry. Since you’re okay, we’ll go first.”
He calmly threw a glance at Xu RenDong.
Xu RenDong understood. He hummed very cooperatively and walked towards the door with nobility and grace.
Shi JianChuan was still smiling but a playful look gradually appeared in his eyes. He didn’t speak, didn’t make any movement, just leaned on the bedpost with a smile and looked at their backs.
However, when Xu RenDong was about to open the door, Lian Qiao suddenly grabbed his hand: “Be careful!”
Xu RenDong was startled and suddenly heard two hissing sounds in his ears. Looking closely, only then did he realize that in the shadow on the carved window pane was a small snake. The snake was completely white and a pair of dark round eyes stared at him coldly. If Lian Qiao hadn’t reminded him in time, his hand would have just fallen into the snake’s mouth.
Snap. Behind him, Shi JianChuan suddenly opened the folding fan and shook it slowly.
He sighed. Lazily and amusedly, he repeated his sentence just now: “Guess how long have I been awake? How many things have I heard?
Xu RenDong was startled as he suddenly realized the meaning of these words.
He has heard all about the Nine Linked Rings!
In Xu RenDong’s mind, lightning flashed in an instant. He quickly thought: two of the rings are on them and the most crucial ring handle (the flat ring from the ancestral hall) is also on them. Since Shi JianChuan already knew about the existence of the Nine Linked Rings, he was bound to compete with them for the only chance of survival.
But they couldn’t beat Shi JianChuan at all!
Not to mention Lian Qiao being injured, even if both of them were in their best condition, they would have no chance of winning against the fantastic and treacherous white snake on Shi JianChuan! Shi JianChuan was too strong, it was impossible for them to confront him head-on.
So what should they do now?
There is only one chance of survival and Shi JianChuan wouldn’t just give up. What if he  wants to grab it? Does he have any other cards to negotiate? Is there any other way
 his  heart was getting more and more anxious. Because Xu RenDong found out that he really has no other choices.
Shi JianChuan didn’t need to cooperate with them at all. He was strong enough and smart enough that he could easily pass the level without a partner.
This is the strength of the real Nine Level boss.
Compared with him, the two of them are simply kindergarten children!
Xu RenDong’s heart sank little by little. He even gave up on himself and thought: it’s okay, I’ll just redo everything. Now that Shi JianChuan knew about this, it was impossible for them to survive
 just die and start over

At this moment, he suddenly heard Lian Qiao take a deep breath.
Inexplicably, Xu RenDong calmed down. He felt that Lian Qiao must have thought of a solution. This gave him a strong sense of security.
He turned his head to look at Lian Qiao and saw Lian Qiao’s expression was calm, neither humble nor arrogant: “You can’t pass this instance alone.”
He said it with great certainty, as if he was stating a law of physics.
Shi JianChuan leaned against the bedpost, still looking lazy and idle but there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes: “Oh?”
“Because
” Lian Qiao paused and his voice was low, “
there is a ring that I’ve hidden.”
Shi JianChuan was taken aback. Xu RenDong was also stunned and his eyes suddenly widened.
Lian Qiao hid a ring from him? When did this happen?
Then when he took the initiative to hand over the ring and the ring handle just now
 was he just being a fool?
Lian Qiao ignored the two people’s shock and continued to say calmly: “I felt that the lantern was not right when I went upstairs just now. At the lantern at the entrance of the stairs, the halo of the candle inside was obviously different from other lanterns. I climbed up and took a look. I found that this candle is very special and may be useful. Just in case, I hid one
 I didn’t even tell him about it.”
Lian Qiao glanced at Xu RenDong quickly. Xu RenDong felt a heavy blow in his heart and his chest was suddenly so tight that he could hardly breathe.
“Then you
” Xu RenDong said with difficulty, word by word, “Just now
”
Shi JianChuan suddenly sneered: “So the tender love just now was a lie. He was lying to you and is also guarding against you.”
Xu RenDong’s expression changed and his eyes shot at Shi JianChuan as sharp as a knife.
“I don’t need you to intervene in my affairs with him.” Xu RenDong said coldly.
Unexpectedly, Lian Qiao did not deny it. He even lowered his head slightly and sighed softly, “If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t have known about this. After all, I really like him.”
He sighed softly and regretfully. But Xu RenDong’s heart was cut into pieces by the gentle knife.
Shi JianChuan looked at Xu RenDong biting his lips and enduring the pain and seemed to find it all very interesting.
“There is a loophole in what you said.” Shi JianChuan’s playful gaze shifted to Lian Qiao and he said with a smile, “You hid a ring but eventually he would find out regardless. Because if you can’t make up the nine rings, no one can get out. Unless
” He waved his folding fan leisurely and there was a cruel pleasure in the smile on his lips, “Unless, you’ve already decided to kill him when he’s not expecting it and take all the rings back. In this way, you will survive on your own. And he won’t know you betrayed him even until he dies.”
Lian Qiao didn’t speak.
Xu RenDong’s heart was ashes but he didn’t want to show his pain to others. Therefore, he said to Shi JianChuan indifferently: “You don’t need to worry about me and him. If you want to grab the ring, just grab it. What are you talking about?”
Lian Qiao suddenly stepped forward and put himself between him and Shi JianChuan.
“I have a way to let us all live.”
Xu RenDong suddenly had a glimmer of hope in his heart. Was there any way to really keep everybody alive?
He could only listen to Lian Qiao: “After I find the elevator, I will use the fastest speed to put together the nine chains. During this period, you protect me from outside interference. This way we can escape together.”
Shi JianChuan laughed: “First let’s not talk about why I’ve given up all nine rings
. Just say all nine rings are indeed on you, then I will be affected by the curse. At that time, I will not even be able to protect myself, how is it possible to protect you?”
“You can.” Lian Qiao picked up the backpack on the table and took out something from the dark compartment, “Because I will give you this.”
When the two clearly saw the thing in his hand, everyone’s faces changed.
It turned out to be a – a doll!
After killing the key player, the avatar that imprisoned the opponent’s soul!
Shi JianChuan glanced at the puppet, thoughtfully. Soon he laughed again: “You actually  have this.”
Lian Qiao said: “Since you recognize it, you should know what it is for. After you are cursed, as long as you just die and resurrect, all the curses on your body will be lifted.”
“Hmmm
” Shi JianChuan lowered his eyes and tapped the back of his hand with the handle of the folding fan, as if he was considering, ” ‘Just die and resurrect’ – it’s easy for you to say
”
His words were quite sarcastic but neither did he reject the offer.
Because, Lian Qiao’s plan was feasible and was the only way.
Although Shi JianChuan was forced to die, if he refused to cooperate, he might never find the ring that was hidden by Lian Qiao. That would be a lose-lose result.
And, as per Lian Qiao’s proposal, although Shi JianChuan would suffer a loss, there was still a chance of life in the end.
He was taken by Lian Qiao.
It’s just
 in this case

Shi JianChuan suddenly raised his folding fan and pointed at Xu RenDong: “What about him? In your plan, he will definitely die.”
Xu RenDong was suffocated. He couldn’t think anymore and could only stare at Lian Qiao blankly, waiting for his answer.
But Lian Qiao was silent.
In this silence, Xu RenDong’s heart sank little by little.
Finally, Lian Qiao whispered: “This instance is too difficult. Being able to keep two people alive is the limit of what I can do. I can’t keep a third person.”
Xu RenDong smiled bitterly.
Sure enough, the “we” that Lian Qiao said did not include him.
He never thought that Lian Qiao would have such deep schemes. He never thought that there would be such a day when Lian Qiao said “we” and did not include him.
And a moment ago, just a few minutes ago, they were still hugging each other tightly, loving each other.
He really thought that Lian Qiao wanted to give him all the things and give him the only chance of survival. He even lost his temper because of Lian Qiao’s childish self-sacrifice. He thought that Lian Qiao was so stupid

Turns out it was just a lie. It turned out that when Lian Qiao was holding him and kissing him, he had already decided to kill him.
The stupid person was himself.


Xu RenDong doesn’t want to listen to the negotiations between Lian Qiao and Shi JianChuan. He suddenly felt very tired, so he dropped the ring and the handle and left the room.
Shi JianChuan and Lian Qiao didn’t stop him. Presumably for them, he was useless.
He went back to his room and fell asleep.
He was so tired that he never rested after entering this instance. His scalp was numb  and the back of the head felt a dull pain as if it was being smashed with a hammer.
He was terribly uncomfortable but he couldn’t really fall asleep. When he was half asleep, he heard a creak and the door was pushed open. He was too lazy to open his eyes. Then the bed sank slightly. Someone sat down beside the bed.
“RenDong.” It was undoubtedly Lian Qiao’s voice, “If I said that I didn’t hide the ring from you on purpose and just didn’t get time to tell you, would you believe it?”
Xu RenDong knew that he couldn’t fool Lian Qiao by pretending to be asleep so he had no choice but to open his eyes. When he opened them, his eyes were dry and tingling and he really wanted to drop some eye drops in there.
Lian Qiao took out the ring and the ring handle, put it on his hand and asked carefully, “Do you know the solution to the nine linked rings?”
Xu RenDong rubbed his eyes, thinking in his heart: it would be great if there were eye drops. I really want eye drops.
Lian Qiao was silent for a moment, then took out his mobile phone, opened an interface and held it in front of him: “This is the solution formula. You must memorize it, figure out the steps in your heart and move quickly. The timing will be very urgent
”
Why was he saying these strange things? He is the one who wants to cooperate with Shi JianChuan. What is Xu RenDong supposed to do with this solution?
It was as if he wanted to give Xu RenDong the chance to live again.
Xu RenDong didn’t want to guess the truth of what he said. He was a little curious but at the same time not so curious. He just asked casually: “Who did you kill? When was it?”
Lian Qiao was stunned: “What?
Who killed who?”
Xu RenDong calmly said: “It’s already at this time, is it still necessary to act? Zhong Xiu warned me a long time ago when she realized you knew about the term ‘key players’ She wanted me to be careful about you but I didn’t take it to heart until now.”
At that time, Xu RenDong had thought firmly: Even if he has something to hide from me, I will trust him until the day he actually betrays me.
Now, that day has come.
Xu RenDong finally understood that there are things in the world that are far more painful than death.
Lian Qiao was extremely shocked: “When did she tell you?
What ‘key player’? I really don’t know. All I know is that this doll can save lives. It was Zhong Xiu who told me
” Lian Qiao suddenly changed and he looked flustered and at a loss, “Yes, in the last instance, you fell asleep at night and I saw Zhong Xiu secretly stuffing this thing onto you. I was worried that she would harm you so I had a fight with her. So she told me the purpose of this puppet
 But I still didn’t believe her so I secretly hid the puppet while she was asleep
”
Xu RenDong’s expression finally changed a little. But he was moved not because of Lian Qiao’s explanation but because he heard about Zhong Xiu.
About his mother.
“Later I learned that she is your mother so she wouldn’t harm you
 But I didn’t dare tell you that I quarreled with your mother, after all, she is already dead
 So I never said anything about the doll
” Lian Qiao suddenly remembered something and he pointed to the backpack, “But the doll was always in the backpack, it was always on you! It was left to you by your mother and I never thought of using it to protect myself! Everything I said, it was really just to deceive Shi JianChuan!”
He grabbed the ring on the bed, shoved it into Xu RenDong’s hand and then held Xu RenDong’s hand tightly with both hands.
“Can you trust me once? I really have no choice
” Lian Qiao begged in a low voice, almost in despair, “I lied but I was lying to him! I didn’t lie to you! Don’t you believe me? I’ll take you to get the ring I’ve hidden and then you can find another place to hide it. That way you can
”
So, he really did hide one.
Xu RenDong felt an almost thrilling pain in his heart and thought to himself: When he gave me the ring and made the self-sacrificing gesture, he had already left a way out for himself.
And I was actually so grateful.
If it wasn’t for Shi JianChuan tearing down his pretenses, he was afraid that he would die before discovering his betrayal. After being reborn, I don’t know how to face the “loving” him.
It was all really very, very sad.
Xu RenDong interrupted him calmly: “There’s no need.”
Lian Qiao’s eyes were red and his voice was slightly hoarse: “Don’t be angry with me at this time, okay? What do you want me to do so that you’ll believe me
 so that you’ll  forgive me?”
Xu RenDong looked down at the hands that Lian Qiao was holding tightly and said lightly, “I’m not mad at you, I really don’t need it.”
Little by little, he pulled his own hands out of Lian Qiao’s hand and his tone was so calm that even he was surprised: “Did you forget what I said? I don’t need a ring. I won’t be affected by the curse so you can put the Nine Ring Links together with confidence. Don’t mind me.”
Lian Qiao was stunned.
Xu RenDong said: “You can do whatever you want, I don’t want to worry about it anymore. I’m so tired, I just want to sleep now. Can you let me sleep?”
Lian Qiao was still dumbfounded, as if he couldn’t understand what he said. Just looked at him.
Seeing that he didn’t leave, Xu RenDong had to get up from the bed: “Forget it. You have limited mobility so this room is for you. I’ll go find another place.” He stood up, turned his head and walked towards the door.
Lian Qiao suddenly lost control of his emotions and rushed over to hug him.
“Don’t go!” Lian Qiao hugged his waist tightly, his eyes were red and his voice was choked. Every word was like weeping blood, “Do you
 do you want me to commit suicide in front of you so that
 you’ll believe me?”
“It’s not necessary.” Xu RenDong opened his fingers little by little and said without turning his head, “I won’t be able to get out even if you die. I won’t be able to find the elevator.”
“Then I—” Lian Qiao refused to let go but held on to him even more stubbornly, “I’ll come to you when I find the elevator! When we go out together, let’s sit down, and then have a good 
 talk about it.”
Talk about it 

The appearance of their living room suddenly emerged in Xu RenDong’s mind. He recalled the fabric sofa that was so soft that it dented deeply, the small wall lamp that was warm and sleepy and the two cups of tea steaming slightly on his lap. The familiar and reassuring smell that could be smelt on the clothes, the hair, the neck and earlobes.
But all this tenderness turned into a ridiculous lie when Lian Qiao decided to betray him.
He was so tired that he was tired even thinking about it.
Speaking of which, after entering this instance, it seemed he hadn’t slept for four or five days. No wonder he was so tired.
He suddenly felt aggrieved, his eyes turned red with grievance and he almost pleaded: “I just want to sleep. Why don’t you even let me sleep? I just want to have a good night’s sleep
 Please let me go, okay?”
Lian Qiao was shocked and finally let go.
Xu RenDong didn’t have the strength to look back at him and just stumbled away.
***
T/N:
I hope you guys aren’t too upset by this chapter. I know XRD is being really stubborn but just think about his psychological standpoint. He’s still reeling from being ‘killed’ by LQ in the previous instance and although he knows it’s not LQ’s fault, it definitely still leaves a dent in your psyche. Plus he’s super tired, exhausted and not thinking straight. And yes he’s a little bit dumb when it comes to emotions since he’s quite imperfect. I think this author is sometimes a little bit TOO realistic when it comes to her character’s actions and motivations, usually reading BL/danmei is like being in a safe bubble where MC/ML is always OP and infallible but this is more like real life I guess. She’s kind of dedicated to making flawed people like real life people
 it is a bit jarring sometimes I admit.