The rain had already stopped, but the sky remained terrifyingly dark, with visibility as low as at night.

Occasional flashes of lightning, accompanied by hurried passersby, truly added a touch of desolation.

Chronicle rode the Year Beast, feeling heavy-hearted, and couldn’t help but look up at the sky, but there was nothing above except for the fish-scale-like dark clouds.

Even the birds that were usually abundant had returned to their nests early.

After all, in such a city, if one’s wings got wet from the rain and they couldn’t fly, falling to the ground, it was easy for Lao Liu to pick them up and roast them for a meal.

In such extreme weather, not only small animals were in danger, but pedestrians were also not very safe.

Due to the magnetic field disorder, demons and ghosts hidden throughout the city were running amok.

In that extremely low visibility, you couldn’t even distinguish which were humans and which were ghosts.

Chronicle didn’t bother to discern, focusing only on speeding along on the Year Beast.

Along the way, Mountain Ghost Coins were continuously activated, knocking down countless little demons and spirits lying in wait.

“Not worth a few coins of gray board material,” but Chronicle still picked them up.

And so, he returned to the hotel.

After a simple tidy up, Chronicle began crafting cards.

He had long made plans for the “Red and White Collision” plugin, which was the “Death of Daiyu” chapter.

In fact, many people say that this part did not originate from Master Cao.

But as long as its legendary and mythical qualities were in place, connecting the good cards in Chronicle’s hand, it was excellent story material.

Since it was just a plugin, a minor field card, Chronicle didn’t need to prepare any extra materials.

As a “Land of Peach genius,” he always had the necessary funeral items on hand.

Things like a coffin (the Heavy Yin Fragrant Cedar Coffin not used by Zongzi Brother), lanterns (obtained from the Gu family’s old house, originally planned to hang in the toilet, but it was too ugly), wreaths (made by Mountain Ghost, originally planned to exchange for money)…

All were top-notch.

Even to send off masters like Lao Fan, Osiris, and Lao Su, they were more than sufficient.

And it was quite a glorious send-off.

“Well, it’s being put to use now.”

Chronicle smiled, summoned Zongzi Brother to protect the law, then sat down cross-legged, his consciousness ascended, and soon he was in the sea of knowledge.

What he didn’t know was that the moment he closed his eyes, Zongzi Brother gently pushed open the coffin lid and flipped out of the hanging coffin.

Then, with a leap, he reached the window, pulling the curtains open with slightly stiff movements, and gazed through the room’s wall-sized window at the long sky.

Watching the branch-like purple-black Yin lightning that occasionally streaked across the sky, it couldn’t help but show a look of indescribable longing and excitement.

More intense than when it saw human blood.

“Hehe.”

A dry call came from its parched throat, and a strong will fed back to the sea of knowledge.

It was calling for its big brother at home.

The next moment, a wisp of deep blue tinged with purple light flew out from Chronicle’s brow, and Seven Brothers slowly emerged.

After a gentle smile and a wave of his hand, he signaled little Zongzi to do what it wanted to do; he would take care of things here.

Seeing this, Zongzi Brother joyfully “hehe’d” twice in thanks, pushed open the window, and with a few leaps, flashed out.

“Shasha…”

The cold and fine rain threads took the opportunity to invade.

Seeing this, Seven Brothers gently shook his head, stepped forward, and closed the window.

Then, unlike usual, he didn’t cultivate but stood by the window, gazing into the distance with a lively yet solemn look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the sea of knowledge.

Chronicle was performing the “Information Addition” step.

Since he had injected all the information when creating Daiyu, now, with just a few strokes, he could pass the review:

“This year, the Jia family’s two main supports collapsed in succession, Baoyu went mad, and Jia Zheng was relegated to the grain path.”

“The Jia family, once as prosperous as oil on fire and flowers in full bloom, seemed to have reached its end, with the once festive and lively Grand View Garden shrouded in gloom every day.”

“On the second day of the second month, to cheer up Baoyu, Grandmother Jia discussed with Jia Zheng, Lady Wang, and Wang Xifeng to use the ‘baby swap plan’ to fulfill the ‘golden jade match.’”

“On the fourth, Daiyu learned of this, was heartbroken, and joined Baoyu for the last time in Zen meditation.”

“During this period, Daiyu asked, ‘Baoyu, why are you sick?’ Jia Baoyu answered, ‘I am sick for Miss Lin.’”

“On the eleventh, Daiyu burned her manuscripts.”

“On the twelfth, Daiyu’s birthday, Baoyu and Baochai’s grand wedding took place, and she, on the brink of death, passed away with tears as the wedding music played.”

“At that time, only three people stood by her side.”

“In the quiet and serene Xiaoxiang Pavilion under the moon, ‘only the bamboo tips swayed in the wind, and the moonlight shifted on the wall, so desolate and cold,’ fitting the phrase ‘the cold moon buries the flower soul.’”

“Upon learning of this, Baoyu was heartbroken, dreamt of entering the ghostly realm of the underworld, seeking Sister Lin.”

“There, he saw the Ghost Emissary, and for a moment forgot his fear: ‘I heard that an old friend has died…’”

“‘Who is the old friend?’ Osiris asked.”

“‘Lin Daiyu from Suzhou.’ This was the only time he called her full name.”

“‘Lin Daiyu, born a different person, died a different ghost, without soul, without spirit, already taken to the Great Void Illusion.’”

“And with that, the dream ended.”

Chronicle quickly sketched the card face and engraved the card back.

This semi-finished field card that could be used as a plugin was quickly formed.

Perhaps calling it a small field card would be quite appropriate:

“Death of Daiyu” (To be perfected)

Quality: Green—Blue

Category: Ghost/Spirit/Plant/Essence/Immortal

Card Type: Field (Plot)

Rules:

1. After the card takes effect, it will randomly draw from the remaining summon cards of the Card Craftsman as guests to attend the Baoyu and Baochai wedding; enemy units with quality not higher than blue must transfer some attributes as a “gift.”

2. After the card takes effect, in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, besides “Lin Daiyu,” three other female spirits can enjoy the field bonus; if the Card Craftsman cannot meet the number, it will temporarily draw eligible spirits from the enemy camp to join our side.

3. Once the field is active for a full twenty minutes, “Baoyu’s Dream” will open; creatures with quality lower than blue or humans with a spiritual level lower than silver will be forcibly trapped in the Nine Nether Dream, their souls commanded by the Ghost Emissaries and the cardholder.

Skills:

“Return to the Great Void”: On moonlit nights, a wisp of fragrant soul returns to the Great Void. Within the field, “Lin Daiyu” can use Great Void spells and is not subject to any category restrictions.

Effects:

“Cold Moon Buries the Flower Soul”: Within the field, the “Cold Moon” hangs high, all enemy units continuously suffer special damage, and there is a certain probability of falling into negative states such as “Weakness and Madness” and “Soul and Spirit Chilled.”

Introduction: Only the bamboo tips sway in the wind, and the moonlight shifts on the wall, so desolate and cold.

Fusion: Can be used as a plot element, integrated into field cards of similar themes; and can be upgraded by fusing with “Underworld” series domain cards or scene materials that match in style, gaining new rules, skills, and effects.

“A bit buggy, but not particularly so.”

Chronicle stroked his chin, making an evaluation.

The only surprise was that it included his favorite N-T-R.

But this was only temporary; once the number of female spirits under his command exceeded the limit, this rule would be void.

“Alas, why think so much? As a ‘plugin,’ this card is already quite excellent.”

“Its ‘linkage’ ability even surpasses the main ‘Red and White Collision.’”

“The protagonist Daiyu, the three sisters who witnessed her ‘death,’ the golden jade match, the Ghost Emissaries… just the units that will definitely appear already reach eight.”

“Plus the ‘guests,’ there are at least nine or ten guaranteed.”

“It’s just a pity that I don’t have that many cards on hand.”

Chronicle couldn’t help thinking: “Speaking of which, the Jia family is so rich, can’t they invite a couple more, can’t the Ghost Emissaries and Ghost Soldiers come to the feast? They’re all our own people.”

The idea was good, but even if it were possible, his spiritual power wouldn’t hold up.

“Return.”

Pressing his somewhat sore forehead, Chronicle’s vision flickered, and he returned to reality.

Opening his eyes, he saw Seven Brothers silently guarding by his side.

The room was somewhat chilly under the extreme weather, his head and neck slightly cool, but his body was not cold.

Looking down, he realized that Seven Brothers had draped a blanket over him.

“Thanks, Seven Brothers.”

Chronicle felt a warmth in his heart, then looked out the window and his face fell: “Damn it, good for you, old Zongzi, even learning to dodge work, you better never come back.”

As if sensing Chronicle’s mood, the next moment, the round-bellied old Zongzi was climbing through the window.

Then it lay on the floor, burped, and quickly digested the Yin lightning it had just absorbed.

Its aura visibly strengthened, and it even underwent some positive changes that Chronicle, the Card Craftsman, couldn’t quite articulate.

“Haha, worthy of being my top general, truly extraordinary.”

Chronicle squatted down, chuckling: “Well done, Zongzi Brother, keep it up, I always said you had the most potential.”

“Hehe.”

The foolish old Zongzi was coaxed by the cunning Card Craftsman with a few words, and under Seven Brothers’ smiling gaze, it stood up straight and leaped around the room like a Husky.

Fortunately, the hotel’s soundproofing was good, so no one came to complain.

And Chronicle, in the contentment of “my child is growing up,” accepted the card crafting feedback.

The next three days also passed in a flurry of intense cultivation.

Almost a week had passed, and the dark clouds showed no signs of dispersing.

The sky was gloomy, making everyone feel very oppressed.

Stepping out of the hotel, Chronicle looked at the solemn-faced, hurried citizens, shook his head lightly, and rode the Year Beast to the open-air battle card arena on the outskirts of the city.

Since the competition was at night, he didn’t rush and took about an hour to get there.

By then, the sky was completely dark.

In the 8-to-4 match, only four pairs remained, and he and Yu Anran were the first pair.

The referee, with the image of an urban white-collar “worker,” arrived on time and announced the rules.

Different from the “field clash” in the 4-to-2 round, this round was more about “breaking the field.”

That is, both people would enter the other’s semi-finished field according to the draw order.

If they both successfully broke the other’s field, they would go into overtime in the form of a clash with any card type;

If only one person successfully broke the other’s field, then naturally, the winner would advance;

But if both failed, then sorry, both would be eliminated.

“Breaking the field… interesting.”