Qi Zhen touched the rouge remaining on the back of his hand with his fingertips, and then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the rouge clean.

This is the handkerchief that the paper man Niannian gave him in the hallway before, and the handkerchief is wrapped in a lighter.

Although Qi Yan, who is a traveler, could not open the system interface within the enchantment of the costume labyrinth, he brought in a handkerchief and a lighter smoothly.

Maybe that guy anticipated the development of things, so he asked the paper man Niannian to hand over these two important props to him personally.

Qi Ji pressed the lighter, lit the handkerchief stained red by rouge, and then quickly stuffed the burning handkerchief into the nearest costume.

For flames, densely hung costumes are undoubtedly the best raw materials for incendiary.

Qi Zhen watched the blue flames spread with lightning speed, and in an instant, the entire costume labyrinth burned under the spotlight, and the blue flames were like countless ghost hands poking out of the costumes, intertwined, entangled, and overlapped under the lights of the stage, and the teeth and claws seemed to drag Qi Ji on the stage into the hell of the sea of fire.

The crackling sound of burning was mixed with Xu Zhiwei's desperate screams, and the costume twisted and deformed in the flames, and the originally dazzling brocade lost its color in an instant, turning into a gradually distorted gray.

The ghost fire became more and more frenzied, as if the grand performance would finally come to an end, and the maze of colorful costumes was destroyed in an instant.

Xu Zhiwei's shrill and piercing cry gradually lowered, and finally turned into intermittent sobbing-

"Why... Can you tell me why? What am I doing wrong? To be left in that fire forever? ”

"After that accident, everyone was telling my brother not to look back, I know, I know that a person has to come out of the pain in order to live, but... I'm selfish, brother, you know my nature, and you know what I'm afraid of, right? You've always been the one who knows me best... You know, I was left in the fire of that day forever, if you never look back... Can you still see me struggling in the fire? Will you still remember me? Are we still the ones who have been connected to each other since birth? ”

"Brother, I am a deceased person, and you are the one who lives, you have to start a new life, there is no me in the new life, brother, you will definitely forget me in the end, right? You'll come to my tombstone every year at Qingming to say a few words, boring and polite, like an inconsequential stranger, I hate that! ”

"Brother, I'm afraid that you will have a new life that belongs only to you, and I am afraid that I will be left alone in the fire of the past, so..."

"Brother, I won't let you start a real new life, because I know that opera and me will always be the most important things in your life, your memory is our continuation, without us, you are no longer you."

……

Xu Zhiwei's sobs became farther and farther away, and countless bright ashes floated out of the range of the spotlight and drifted higher and farther, as if countless undead trapped in gorgeous clothes had finally been freed.

There is no light in the distance, and there are no borders.

"Your gift is very useful."

Qi Yan stood on the stage and said to the "self" illuminated by the firelight in the mirror.

Maybe because it was a ghost fire fueled by resentment, he couldn't feel the heat of the fire from beginning to end.

At the first time when Xu Zhiwei was pulled into the costume maze, Qi Yan subconsciously touched the pocket of his jacket.

When he confirmed that the lighter and handkerchief were in his jacket pocket at the moment, Qi Yan was as if he had touched the talisman, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Zhiwei said that he would never be able to escape from this costume maze, and since he couldn't escape, he would burn it.

Completely destroyed the labyrinth, are you still worried that you won't be able to get out? Sometimes, thoughtful violence is the most efficient way to solve a problem.

As Xu Zhiwei's ghost self-description says, the costume and him symbolize the "past".

The "past" is what traps Xu Zhiwen, and only by destroying everything about the "past" can there be hope for "new life".

And "fire" plays a very key role in this branch, and the story of the brothers is based on the fire at the Great World Theater as the dividing line, and they go in two different directions: "life" and "death".

So when the 079 paper man Nian Nian wrapped the lighter in a handkerchief and gave it to him, Qi Zhen guessed the purpose of the lighter and the handkerchief.

Through the makeup mirror, Qi Yan looked at the skyrocketing fire for a moment, and then put the lighter back in his pocket.

What was burned here was only a maze of costumes built with resentment, objects from the latitude of the enchantment, and the costumes collected by Xu Zhiwen should be well hidden in the closet of 203 now, and when he escaped from the dream of the ghost press, he still had to burn all the costumes stolen from 501 at midnight according to the previous plan.

The ghost fire continued to burn, and the mirror reflected the entire burning labyrinth, and the flames consumed all the colors, making the burning night as bright as day.

Under the light of the fire, Qi Jiu's eyes formed a thin layer of mist, as if the green swamp in the depths of the forest was shrouded in morning mist at dawn, and the gray reflected the gradually brightening skylight.

He looked at himself in the mirror image for a moment, then wiped the rouge off the corners of his lips with his fingers.

"It's good if you like the gift, and I also provide you with props within the scope of the character's responsibility, which is the reward you deserve."

079's voice came from the mirror, low, a little hoarse, the night of such a fire made his mouth dry, and Qi Zhen's own Adam's apple also slipped.

"I also like and enjoy your performance."

For 079's character, burning the costume maze enchantment built with Xu Zhiwei's resentment allows him to gain enough energy than ordinary incense, and Qi Jiu's act of setting fire to the costume is equivalent to feeding the character who was forced to abandon enough energy and giving him a full meal.

Qi Xue pursed his lips in his tone: "It's good if you like it." ”

There was obviously only one person in the mirror, but Qi Zhen knew that that guy was here at the moment, hidden on the opposite side of the mirror, in his mirror.

"Qi Jiu, you have unlocked my seal here, and next, you will receive the gift you get from unlocking the hidden character, I believe you will like it too." 079 in the mirror image said a little mysteriously, and there was a smile hidden in his voice.

Compared to the coldness when they first met, this high-ranking guy is much more naughty now, and he always likes to sell off.

Qi Yan bent the corners of his lips imperceptibly, and then pressed the tip of his nose against the mirror, which was still cold and cold from the gradually rising temperature around him, a temperature that he was familiar with and felt safe enough.

"Really? I'm looking forward to it. ”

Qi Ji laughed, and the other party laughed too.

"Qi Jiu, you look so good."

The guy in the mirror image finally took off his disguise, and he licked the thumb of his right hand without any movement, because there was the last bit of rouge that had been erased by Qi Jiu on the finger belly.

He was happy to taste the taste of rouge, after all, it was wiped from Qi Jiu's lips.

Qi Yan smiled: "Thank you for the compliment, and so are you." ”

"—it's so pretty."

Qi Ji moved his lips mischievously, deliberately not making a sound.

Of course the guy in the mirror knew what he was talking about, and they always knew that.

"It's a pleasure to work with, and I'm looking forward to it."

——At the moment when Qi Yan put his hand on the mirror, the blue-blue ghost fire behind him surged like a huge wave, and the alienated enchantment completely collapsed.

*

When Qi Yan woke up, it was already completely dark, and when he saw Qi Xiaonian's nervous gray face, he knew that he had been asleep for a long time.

He subconsciously glanced at the wall clock, good fellow, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening, and he had been in that maze for almost ten hours since he was pressed by the ghost in the afternoon nap until now.

Qi Xiaonian brought Qi Jiu a full glass of water, because his mouth was dry and bitter, Qi Jiu drank the water in one go.

"Mrs. Xu came to see before dinner, and when she saw that you couldn't wake up no matter how you screamed, she was afraid that you would be entangled in something unclean, so she cooked you grapefruit leaf charm gray water, and pinched your mouth and poured it in..."

Qi Jiu: "......"

No wonder I woke up with a bitter mouth, it turned out that I drank grapefruit leaf charm gray water...

Although Qi Jiu woke up, Qi Xiaonian was still not at ease: "Brother, are you okay?" While you were asleep, there was bad news that Mrs. Xu had made a rule that no one should leave the room after dark. ”

"I'm fine," Qi Yan frowned: "Why did Mrs. Xu suddenly ground?" Did she guess that the guests were doing something tonight? ”

Qi Xiaonian shook his head: "Something happened on the fifth floor again, and the paper man of 502 suddenly became crazy, banging on the door in the corridors on each floor and shouting, 'He's back, he's back...' scared Mrs. Xu, who was originally playing mahjong, directly made a rule, asking all the guests and paper figures to go back to the room and turn on the lights, and they were never allowed to step out of the room for half a step after dark. ”

"He's back?" Qi Zhen repeated the words of the paper man, and his mind moved slightly.

Qi Xiaonian nodded: "Yes, and when Anchor Lin was playing mahjong with Mrs. Xu, he also learned relevant clues, saying that Niannian was forced to have an abortion because of an accidental pregnancy, because of the guilt of abortion and the longing for the dead fetus, she became in a trance after that, and even found an evil monk from some source, and secretly used evil magic to support the stillborn child, which is said to be a more evil spell than raising a little ghost, which can cause the most evil spirits." ”

"Because we learned about Niannian's situation, we speculated that there was a player who accidentally touched the taboo and caused the evil spirit that Niannian offered to come back, so not only our guests, but also the Xu family were also afraid." Qi Xiaonian synchronized the information he learned in the afternoon to Qi Yan.

Qi Yan asked very naturally: "Why are you afraid?" ”

Qi Xiaonian was directly stunned at the moment: "...... Because it is the most dangerous evil spirit, if Anchor Lin's speculation is correct, this evil spirit, which has been raised by Nian Nian as a dead baby for many years, is almost equivalent to a boss in the dungeon. ”

Qi Xiaonian secretly glanced at his brother's expression, in fact, when he mentioned the paper man Niannian at that time, he had a vague premonition in his heart, and at this time he hesitated, but he couldn't help but ask: "Brother, is this evil spirit that Niannian is offering to you related..."

After all, not long ago, Nian Nian was still waiting in the corridor on the fifth floor and handed over the handkerchief to Qi Yan in person.

This move is suspicious no matter how you think about it.

Qi Ji said ambiguously: "It's not certain yet, it's up to tonight." ”

Qi Zhen quickly sorted out everything that had happened and the clues and information he had collected now.

The player's act of stealing the costume from 501 will cause the ghost to press the bed, and the consequence of the ghost pressing the bed is to be pulled into the costume maze built by Xu Zhiwei with his resentment.

At that time, the 079 paper man Niannian handed over the handkerchief and a special lighter that Qi Yan had obtained before, not only to make a prediction in advance and help Qi Yan escape from the maze, but also to burn the costume maze with the help of Qi Yan's hand, so as to obtain more energy to "return".

From a certain point of view, Qi Jiu, who lit the maze of costumes, is like a feeder who makes a fire and cooks rice, and the guy who is waiting to be fed has long been dissatisfied with the incense offered by the paper man.

He desperately needed to eat and then "go home" satisfied.

Both of them can get absolute benefits from each other's cooperation, Qi Yan likes such a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship, and he also likes that guy, whether it is public or private.

Now that the guy has been fed, it is natural to ask "Him" for help.

Chapter 229: Year (48)

Qi Xiaonian was a little worried: "Brother, since Mrs. Xu has explicitly forbade everyone not to leave the room after dark, so it seems that we can't burn the costumes, so we can't burn them directly in the room, right?" ”

Qi Jiu: "Of course not. ”

It is common sense not to burn things in a closed room with the heating turned on in the winter.

He analyzed that Mrs. Xu's forbidding her family's feet was because she was afraid that her family would be bewitched and persecuted by the evil spirit who didn't know the origin, which was easy to understand.

But why did she ban the guests' feet at the same time? Mrs. Xu is not responsible for the safety of the guests' lives, on the contrary, Mrs. Xu waits for the guests to break the taboo and die, so that she can harvest the heads of the guests in exchange for the family to go home.

Could it be that the guests killed by the evil spirits after the seal is lifted will not be classified into the "establishment" of Mrs. Xu's family, and the two are in a competitive relationship? Once the evil spirits who have returned to freedom kill all the guests, Mrs. Xu will have no guests to harvest?

Qi Zhen believes that this is the most reasonable reason to explain Mrs. Xu's grounding of guests at the same time.

Thinking about it from another angle, this evil spirit that has been nurtured by Nian Nian for many years is likely to be independent of the rules of the dungeon, and what he does is not just in the service of the dungeon's backstory.

Here Qi Xiaonian was still thinking about how to burn the costumes, he was silent for more than ten seconds, and then proposed: "Why don't we find a way to get these costumes out without breaking the rules of the grounding, and then see if we can find a way to remotely control the time point of burning?" ”

Qi Zhen nodded: "The plan is feasible, as long as the rules can be circumvented and the goal can be achieved, the path chosen depends on whether there are resources at hand." ”

Qi Xiaonian muttered quietly: "But this 'finding a way' is not so easy to do... That's why it's tricky..."

Qi Yan smiled: "Maybe we don't need to find a way to burn the costumes ourselves?" ”

Qi Xiaonian was slightly stunned, and looked at Qi Yan in confusion: "What do you mean...?" ”

Qi Zhen: "Now that we are Duoxi Duole, why don't we take advantage of the advantages of children and summon the "non-existent friend" who scares adults to come and help? I think He would love to play with fire. ”

According to the song "Non-existent Friends": "Throw the handkerchief, throw the handkerchief, gently put it behind the extra child, don't tell it, hurry up and grab it, only we are his friends, friends should play happily together......"

Qi Zhen had already speculated that the elders and guests of this apartment were afraid of this "non-existent friend", but it was a friend of the children, and it would play happily with the children. So this "non-existent friend" will only cause harm to the guests and elders, and the child can live in peace with him.