The monster muttered some literary phrases; indeed, learning knowledge often begins with becoming an artistic youth.
Yin Xiu turned over so his back was to the writhing monster, and said calmly, "I don't want to be buried with it yet. Let's talk about it later."
His answer was perfunctory, but the monster persisted, "Will you be buried with me in the future?"
Yin Xiu closed his eyes tightly. "When I die, you can bury me with you."
The monster nodded knowingly, suddenly realizing a new direction. Yes, humans can't move when they die, so it can dig a hole, put in a coffin, decorate it with flowers, and bury them together. The dead won't get up and refuse it.
The monster pulled the book out of its mouth and continued to flip through it rapidly.
Amidst the rustling of pages turning, Yin Xiu slowly drifted off to sleep.
Upon waking, he entered the dungeon again, as always, to search for his sister. He seemed to be relentlessly and recklessly entering dangerous and death-ridden places, far more frequently than ordinary players, which also attracted the attention of those behind the dungeon.
In a short time, the monsters were shocked and even began to cry out, "Where did this monster come from! I've never seen a player like this before, it's too outrageous! He may not care about his life, but I do!"
"Is that player really alive? Could it be that he accidentally attracted some strange creatures? Like, perhaps, a living corpse?"
"Have Night Goddess find a way to kill him in the town! I really don't want to hear him entering the dungeon again! Countless monsters have died this month, and he's almost reached the high-level dungeon! Are there any players who can clear it that fast?!"
The black cat remained unmoved by the wails of the monsters, meowing softly.
"If he's not in town, then where is he? Normal players would head to town after leaving the dungeon!"
"This player is acting very strangely; we need to be careful."
"Do you think it's possible that he... is in that place...?"
"Probably not... Who could stay near such a monster for long?"
"If he really is there, I feel that we don't need to care about him too much. Before long, he will no longer be human."
"No one can stay near such a monster, even if the monster accepts him."
"Then let's wait and see how things develop."
"No, I'm going to block him! He's inhumane, he's a massacre in dungeons, I don't want him in my dungeons!!"
"No way, to complete the game you have to go to every single dungeon! Once my dungeons are cleared, you're not leaving either!"
"You bastard! You're asking for it!"
"I don't care! My instance is ruined! You're all not getting away with this!"
The monsters began to fight.
Yin Xiu, who was sleeping soundly in the darkness, had no idea how many dungeons he had cleared, and he returned disappointed with each one.
He clearly followed Xiaoxiao's figure here, but he couldn't find her no matter what he did.
How could his poor sister survive in such a place?
In the pitch-black space, Yin Xiu slowly climbed out of the coffin.
Living in such a dark and cold place for a long time, he felt increasingly weak in the legs. Occasionally when he woke up, he even felt as if his body had lost all strength and he could not walk.
Perhaps he's been sleeping too long lately; he needs to get up and take a walk.
Yin Xiu stepped out of the coffin and sat on the edge of the pit, lost in thought. But all he could see was darkness. He could only see a little bit of light coming from somewhere, so it wasn't completely pitch black.
The monster that had been engrossed in reading in the coffin behind him surged out and stopped beside Yin Xiu. Its soft, sticky texture pressed against Yin Xiu's shoulder, and its massive body seemed to encircle him. "What are you doing here?"
"Why did you come out?" Yin Xiu glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and could only see some blurry shadows, unable to make out the complete shape of the monster.
"You look so tired, do you want to go back to the coffin and sleep for a while?" Yin Xiu couldn't see the monster, but the monster could see him. This pale face made it worry that this person would suddenly collapse and never move again.
"I don't want to go back to the coffin to sleep, I'll just sit for a while." Yin Xiu lowered his eyes indifferently. There was only darkness in front of him, and he didn't know where to look, so he could only stare at the ground around his feet.
"It's so dark here. When will you be able to get out of here?"
"Perhaps if you leave from here, you will be able to see something much broader."
The monster beside him moved closer. "I can't get out of here yet. It might take a long time. Do you want to leave?"
Its eyes blinked in the darkness, as if asking, "Are you planning to leave me?"
Yin Xiu patted the soft tentacles that reached out to him lightly. "Don't be afraid, I won't leave. I'll stay here until I die..."
Because he had nowhere else to go but here.
"That's good." His eyes narrowed slightly in the darkness, seemingly quite pleased.
Yin Xiu leaned his head over, his eyelids heavy. He felt like he was sleeping longer and longer, probably because he still wasn't feeling well.
"I'm so sleepy, I want to sleep for a while..." he murmured softly, his eyelids drooping. He grabbed a soft tentacle beside him and solemnly instructed, "While I'm sleeping, you must keep an eye on me... Don't look anywhere else... or I'll die..."
His voice was thick with drowsiness and muffled, "Look at me... don't ignore me..."
The slender boy huddled beside the monster, his murmured words sounding so weak and pale, like someone floating on the sea, clinging tightly to it as a lifeline, unwilling to let go.
"It's alright, I'll stay by your side." The monster stroked his hair, stared at Yin Xiu with all its eyes, and then used its other eye to read.
It needs to learn more to understand why this person needs it.
When Yin Xiu woke up again, he felt weak in his hands and feet, as if his limbs no longer belonged to him.
Before he could even realize what was wrong, the monster's panicked voice rang out beside him, "You're awake? What do we do! I just saw my family's expression!"
Its eyes drooped in the darkness. "Family refers to people related to you by blood. We are not related by blood!"
Yin Xiu stared silently at the monster whose eyes were full of disappointment and regret, and sighed softly, "It's not only blood relations that can make people family. People who have established feelings for each other and value each other can become family. Some people among humans are like strangers even if they are related by blood. This is not something worth caring about."
The monster breathed a sigh of relief, then angrily slammed the book to the ground. "This book lied to me! I'm not reading it anymore!"
Yin Xiu ignored its venting of anger on the book and tried to stand up while holding onto the coffin, but he couldn't muster any strength. His limbs were as limp as before he went to sleep and he couldn't support himself at all.
"What's wrong with my hands and feet...? Why do they feel so strange?" Yin Xiu murmured. He touched his limbs but couldn't feel any nerve feedback. It was like touching someone else's hands after they had gone numb.
"Little monster, what happened to my hand!" Since everything was dark, he could only ask the monster next to him.
But the monster, unusually, did not answer him; instead, it stared straight at him.
"Speak!" Yin Xiu frowned, fearing that he would be crippled and never be able to find his sister again.
"It's alright...you'll be fine after sitting for a while longer." The monster murmured, cautiously probing, "If...I mean if...you become a monster like me, will your sister hate you?"