Chapter 1 The End

*Peng peng peng—*

The sound of *yuebu* (moon steps) breaking through the air rang out frequently, as a swift shadow leaped through the air above the swamp at high speed.

Because he'd spent too much time communicating with Fuling, Feng Bujue had no choice but to hasten his pace.

Relying on his memory, he returned to the edge of the Mocking Woods and successfully found the footprints left by Uncle Waste Wood and the other four. Then, he followed those tracks and continued his rapid pursuit, arriving at the edge of the swamp.

At this moment, there were twenty-two minutes left until the completion deadline for the main quest.

"Whoa, whoa… what's this…" As Feng Bujue walked to the edge of the swamp, he saw something very strange on a section of the stone-paved road ahead—four black, human-shaped stains.

"No way…" Although he couldn't see clearly from a distance, an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

With trepidation, Brother Jue walked onto the stone-paved road along the dirt path. He quickly walked to the side of those stains and looked down for a closer examination. At this distance, he could finally confirm… these four stains were, respectively, the outlines of Uncle Waste Wood, Tianma Xingkong, Honghu, and Jibei.

"What kind of play is this…" Feng Bujue muttered with squinted eyes, "Covering themselves in ink and lying on the ground for a souvenir photo…" He immediately rejected this deduction, "Hmm… no. These four stains are just like silhouettes, with very smooth edges, and not a single extra black dot around them. They're not 2D characters from a cartoon. Even if they were completely immersed in liquid, it wouldn't be possible to imprint such stains on the ground…"

Thinking of this, Brother Jue crouched down, preparing to reach out and touch the stains to check what they were.

Unexpectedly, at that instant… a gust of wind swept past, and a black shadow suddenly attacked from the side.

Feng Bujue reacted with lightning speed. He took advantage of the situation, tapping his toes and leaping towards the uphill slope (the downhill direction being the swamp), creating distance from the unknown threat. In this fleeting moment, [Death Poker] had already appeared in his hand, ready to strike.

"Heh… your skills aren't bad either," a sharp voice sounded.

Brother Jue turned his head and locked onto the enemy. It was… a black, formless, gigantic hand.

"Oh? 'Also' not bad, is it…" Feng Bujue muttered in a rather calm tone, his face completely devoid of surprise, "So, you've encountered a few other skillful fellows before."

Brother Jue's wording was impeccable. He didn't specify who those "fellows" were, nor did he say they had any relation to him. He purely used the content of the other party's short sentence to make a reasonable deduction, and then used the other party's words back at them.

"They're right there on the ground…" The black hand pointed at the stains on the ground with its index finger, then laughter came from the palm of its hand, "Heh heh… you'll soon be just like them. Heh heh… I can even let you choose a good pose."

"Tch… a total wipeout, huh…" Feng Bujue glanced again at the four figures on the ground, pondering, "But… looking at the game menu, they're all still alive. There should be a way to restore them…"

"What's wrong? Scared speechless?" the black hand pressed on aggressively.

"You're the 'Hand of Imprints,' right?" When Feng Bujue asked this question, the expression on his face gradually turned cold, indicating… he was getting a little serious.

"Ha! An otherworld traveler, you actually recognize me?" the Hand of Imprints laughed.

Of course, Feng Bujue didn't recognize this thing… but, just now, Brother Jue had learned a lot of information from Fuling, so he knew that there were four guards on Juma Island, namely 'Hand, Eye, Heart, and Soul,' and the 'Hand' was called the Hand of Imprints.

"Hmph… I know a little bit…" Bluffing was one of Feng Bujue's specialties. As soon as he heard that he had guessed correctly, he sneered and continued, "I also know… that the strength of you guards is actually quite ordinary. But… you each have a special ability." He pointed at the ground, "These four… were caught in your little trick and imprinted on the ground, right?"

Brother Jue's words were also a test. He pretended to know a lot about the other party, and showed an arrogant and contemptuous attitude, in order to provoke them. In reality… he had no idea what the abilities of the four guards were. It wasn't that Fuling wouldn't tell Brother Jue, but even she didn't know.

"A little trick?" The Hand of Imprints raised its sharp voice very high, "Hmph… you ignorant fool, you really dare to say that?" As it said this, it actually turned its back (palm) to Brother Jue and gave him the middle finger, "I'll let you experience… my little trick."

"Alright~ That's exactly what I want." Feng Bujue replied.

Right now, Brother Jue's stamina and spiritual energy were already stretched thin. After continuously using Nanto Flying Dragon Fist, Spirit Energy Cannon, and a large amount of *yuebu*, his body naturally showed signs of fatigue. If he fought the other party normally, his chances of winning might not even be fifty percent. Furthermore… Uncle Waste Wood and the others were definitely not weak in direct combat, and they had the advantage in numbers, so how could they have been dealt with?

Clearly, a conventional method wouldn't work to defeat this guard.

"You want to play dirty…" Brother Jue hooked one corner of his mouth, scanning the other party with ill-intentioned eyes, "I'll play along to the end."

"Ha! I'll make sure you can't be arrogant any longer!" The Hand of Imprints roared and raised its palm.

The next second, the space around them froze for a moment, and a misty shadow circled around the person and the hand, framing a cylindrical area.

"Heh heh… welcome to… the Rock-Paper-Scissors Domain!" A sinister laugh came from the palm of the Hand of Imprints.

"Ha?" Feng Bujue stretched his face and said weakly, "So that's the ability?" He put on a disgusted and contemptuous expression, squinting at the other party, "I thought you'd use some more technical tricks, like pole dancing or something…"

"What is that…" The Hand of Imprints' aura instantly dissipated, its tone full of painfulness.

"A form of dance." Feng Bujue shrugged.

"I've heard of pole dancing…" The Hand of Imprints said.

"No, no, that's for people with bodies." Feng Bujue said, "In your case… you'd need to find a pole and get a few buckets of lubricant…"

"What kind of dance is that! It has no technical content at all! Give me a break!" The Hand of Imprints shouted, interrupting.

"As a right hand, your awareness is truly childishly laughable…" Feng Bujue solemnly raised his right hand, the hand shape like a flame, "Hmph… you're like someone standing in knee-deep water, yet claiming to have seen the ocean. You're the real ignorant fool…" He slowly changed his hand gesture, giving the middle finger to the Hand of Imprints, "In front of this Hand of God, you don't even have the right to make obscene gestures!"

"In a sense, you really are a god…" The Hand of Imprints couldn't help but retort, "With a passionate, domineering, and aloof posture… nonchalantly carrying out such lewd words and deeds…"

"Heh… save the howls of a stray dog for after your defeat." Feng Bujue flicked his arm, "Let's fight! It's just rock-paper-scissors!"

Seeing that the other party had stopped the nonsense, the Hand of Imprints also coldly snorted, bringing the topic back to the main point, "Hmph… don't be anxious… this is obviously not ordinary rock-paper-scissors. To be fair, before we begin, I'll explain the rules."

"Oh… if the opponent doesn't know the rules, the ability can't take full effect, is that it…" Feng Bujue replied directly.

"Chatterbox!" The Hand of Imprints was instantly exposed and became somewhat embarrassed and angry, "If you don't want to listen, we'll just drag this out! There's absolutely no escape from this domain!"

"Alright, alright… go ahead and say it." Feng Bujue spread his hands, pretending to shake his head.

"First, let me talk about the rules for winning and losing." The Hand of Imprints continued, "Rock beats scissors, scissors beats cloth, cloth beats rock. If both sides put out the same thing, then it's a draw." As it spoke, it changed its hand shape, making the shapes of rock, scissors, and cloth respectively, "The first side to achieve three wins is the victor. There's no time limit between each round. If you want, you can wait a week between rounds, ha… as long as you're not afraid of starving to death in the Rock-Paper-Scissors Domain."

"Mm-hmm, what else?" Feng Bujue nodded in response.

"If I win…" The Hand of Imprints said, "I'll slap you into the ground." It paused for a moment, "Just like I did to them…"

"Sorry, to interrupt." Feng Bujue interjected, "May I ask… did they compete with you one by one?"

"Yes." The Hand of Imprints replied, "However… I circled all four of them into the Rock-Paper-Scissors Domain from the beginning, to prevent them from abandoning their companions and running away."

"In other words… when you competed with the first person, the other three were watching from the side…" Feng Bujue continued.

"Yes." The other party replied.

"Then you defeated the first person, slapping him into the ground, and the second person came to compete with you, and so on…" Feng Bujue continued, "You continuously defeated all four of them…"

"Heh heh… that's right." The Hand of Imprints replied triumphantly, "How is it? Feeling scared?"

Brother Jue didn't answer this question, but simply said calmly, "I understand, please continue with the rules."

"Hmph…" The Hand of Imprints felt bored. It clenched its fist, and then continued from before, "If you win… although we all know that's impossible… but in the unlikely event that it really happens, then… I'll let you pass through here."

"Just let me pass through alone?" Feng Bujue said, as if he already knew something, quite confidently, "What if I win you again? That is, achieve 'three wins' again."

"Heh heh…" The Hand of Imprints smiled cunningly, "Those four people… are indeed your companions, aren't they?"

Feng Bujue remained silent.

The Hand of Imprints didn't need him to admit it. It pointed at the figures on the ground and laughed, "Starting from the second time, every three games you win against me, I'll release one person from the ground and grant them the right to pass through." Its voice became deep, "But you need to think clearly… excluding the draws, in every five games, if you accumulate three losses…"