Chapter 126: Ghost Amusement Park
So the treasure chests in this maze didn’t just contain ghosts and items—they could even contain Li Jianxi.
The live chat erupted into squealing chaos:
【If this isn’t love, what is!!!】
【That gust of wind that brought Litchi here must’ve been from the Matchmaker God!】
【The giant prince Li Jianxi meets his Thumbelina!】
【Li Jianxi, your new job is a bit... unconventional. Did you seriously stuff yourself into a treasure chest just to be considered an “item”??】
【Excuse you, he’s a bonus NPC who drops items for players! Why wouldn’t he count as an item!】
【Li Zhi just pulled the strongest artifact in this maze!】
【Clutching my heart! Falling down sweetly! Screaming and wriggling like a worm on the floor!】
【This is so whimsical and cute! Screenshotting immediately to set as my new wallpaper!】
…
Li Zhi glanced at the treasure chest, then at Li Jianxi, towering in front of her like a giant. It was genuinely hard to imagine how he’d managed to cram himself into that box.
"This new job of yours..." she paused, at a loss for words, "…is pretty good."
After all, pulling out a Li Jianxi was basically equivalent to drawing a cheat code. The rest of the maze adventure probably wouldn’t have many surprises anymore.
Still, she was curious: "Besides you, are there any other NPCs hiding in these treasure chests?" She clarified, "I mean NPCs, not ghosts."
Li Jianxi honestly shook his head. "There shouldn’t be."
"Shouldn’t?" Li Zhi raised an eyebrow.
Li Jianxi: "…………"
How was he supposed to tell her that he’d actually beaten up the water ghost who was supposed to be in the chest and took its place?
"Forget it." Seeing his awkward expression, Li Zhi waved her hand, letting it go.
Sitting in someone’s palm was such a strange experience—it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so she might as well enjoy it. She sat cross-legged, smiling as she gave instructions: "Go ahead. Let’s keep searching for treasure chests."
Li Jianxi carefully cupped his hands and stood up. "Alright."
Even though he moved cautiously, the slight shift still made Li Zhi tumble into his palm. Li Jianxi felt a ticklish sensation in his hand but clenched his lips, resisting the urge to scratch. He held his cupped hand against his chest and steadily walked forward.
Li Zhi climbed back up, sitting cross-legged again, bracing her hands against his warm skin. She could clearly feel the subtle heat from the blood coursing under it.
It felt… odd, but oddly comfortable too.
Soon, Li Jianxi arrived at a crossroads and lowered his head to ask, "Which way?"
Looks like he didn’t know where the exit was either. Li Zhi casually pointed, "Let’s check over there first."
Li Jianxi nodded. His pace wasn’t fast, but for Li Zhi sitting in his palm, it felt like a carriage ride. Fortunately, he walked steadily, his hand slightly cupped to shield her, making for a smooth ride with no motion sickness.
And from here, she could hear his heartbeat—close, steady, clear.
Thump thump—
Thump thump—
Strange. She glanced up at his tense jawline.
They weren’t even walking quickly, yet his heart was beating noticeably fast. Plus, the surrounding temperature seemed to be rising. Li Zhi looked down and noticed his skin was faintly red, the warmth of his palm increasing.
She studied the patterns on his palm, marveling at how the magnified lines branched into countless finer ones, forming the unique print of a human hand.
Unable to resist, she reached out and gently traced the deepest one.
That should be… the lifeline, right? It was pretty long, stretching all the way to his wrist.
The steady “car ride” suddenly jolted.
Li Zhi’s tiny form toppled again, and as she sat up, she saw that jaw clenching even tighter now. Oh—he was nervous.
Finding this funny, Li Zhi propped up her chin with her hand and teased, "Relax, I’m just reading your palm."
Li Jianxi actually took it seriously, lowering his gaze to ask earnestly, "What does it say?"
"Palm reading, huh?" Li Zhi pondered for a moment. "Well… looks like you’ll live a long life."
Li Jianxi chuckled softly.
She must’ve made him laugh with that.
Thinking about it, Li Zhi sighed inwardly. For an NPC inside a dungeon instance, concepts like life and longevity were meaningless. When the red light of deletion came, he would simply vanish. No matter how vivid or independent his consciousness seemed, he could never break free of the system’s constraints.
She quietly let out a breath.
As she sat silently in his palm, a shadow suddenly fell over her. A faint floral fragrance drifted down, followed by a large white blossom.
Instinctively, Li Zhi reached out and hugged the flower roughly her own size. Looking up, she saw Li Jianxi gazing at her carefully, his clear eyes asking if she liked it.
Li Zhi hesitated for a second, then winced. "Uh-oh. The staff said we’re not allowed to damage the plants here—we just picked a flower."
Li Jianxi froze for a beat before quickly saying, "I did it."
Not we—just me!
Li Zhi couldn’t help laughing at his earnest expression.
The melancholy from earlier dissipated. With a flower now in hand, she conveniently used it as a couch, leaning back comfortably. She felt like she could cosplay as a fairy tale sprite at this point.
"There’s no path ahead," Li Jianxi said, "but there’s another treasure chest."
"Open it," Li Zhi instructed.
Li Jianxi walked over, holding her a little further away as he used his other hand to lift the chest lid.
His actions were so casual, as if completely unbothered by what might be inside. The moment the lid opened, a burst of red smoke puffed out, revealing a grinning figure within.
Long black hair floated wildly, and the red-clad female ghost’s sinister smile froze stiff the moment she saw who was standing in front of her.
Wh-What the hell?! Why him?!
Before she could react, a familiar cheerful voice called out, greeting her: "What a coincidence! It’s you again. New job?"
The red-clad female ghost: "???"
That voice!!! She’d recognize it even if she were ashes!!!
Wasn’t this the hellcat who twisted her neck on the roller coaster and sent her flying off the go-kart track?! Why, heavens, why was her luck so bad?! No matter where she transferred, she always ran into this walking catastrophe!
Li Zhi, having said hello, then turned to Li Jianxi. "She’s like you—keeps changing jobs. You two should have plenty to talk about."
Li Jianxi: "Is that so?"
He glanced over, cool and indifferent.
The red-clad female ghost: "…………"
Her hair stopped flying. The smoke stopped billowing. Her pale face forced out a fawning smile as she slowly shrank back into the chest. Then, with one hand, she reached up and slammed the lid shut on herself.
From outside the chest came Li Zhi’s curious voice: "She seems pretty scared of you?"
Another voice added, "I think she’s scared of you."
The red-clad ghost: "…………"
Stop arguing! I’m scared of BOTH of you!!!
…
With that route blocked, Li Jianxi chose another path.
Midway through, Li Zhi suddenly felt something off about her body and quickly called out, "Li Jianxi, put me down."
Darkness closed in—Li Jianxi had carefully cupped his hands. He crouched, gently placing his hands on the ground before opening them again. Li Zhi jumped down, and in the next instant, her body began to enlarge.
In the blink of an eye, she returned to her normal size.
Li Jianxi watched without blinking as she transformed before him.
Li Zhi rotated her neck and stretched. "Finally back. Looks like the buff lasts about ten minutes."
With her size restored, the balloon grew larger too, floating upward on its string. Li Zhi glanced up, then suddenly remembered something. "That balloon you gave me—was it for this level?"
Li Jianxi nodded.
Li Zhi smiled. "Since you already gave me all the helpful items, why did you still come in yourself?"
Li Jianxi looked away awkwardly, pointing forward. "There’s a treasure chest over there."
The live chat instantly exploded with mimics:
【There’satreasurechest】
【Ooh, treasure chest!】
【Totally natural topic change. No way she’ll notice.】
【His ears are red—AHHHHH】
【Li Jianxi! Use your mouth! Say it! SAY you love her! If you don’t, she’ll keep treating you like an interesting science project!】
【The limited-time Prince of Giants x Thumbelina ship is about to expire—I haven’t had enough yet!!】
【It’s fine. Maybe Litchi will find another “grow bigger” buff later, and we can continue shipping Giant Princess and her Tiny Husband.】
【You’re all shipping the CP. Meanwhile, I’m over here pitying the red-clad ghost.】
…
Seeing that Li Zhi didn’t press the issue and headed toward the chest, Li Jianxi let out a silent sigh of relief, quickly catching up.
When they reached the chest, he held her back. "I’ll open it."
Since she basically had a walking cheat by her side now, Li Zhi didn’t argue for once and let him handle it.
Li Jianxi opened the chest. This time, nothing strange popped out—just a card lying quietly at the bottom.
"Not bad," Li Zhi said with a smile. "Finally got a clue."
Li Jianxi bent down, picked up the card, and handed it to her. Li Zhi examined it—it was the first clue they’d found in this maze: an image of a pair of sharp fangs.
"These are… animal fangs?"
Li Jianxi nodded. "Yes."
Li Zhi tucked the card away. "Looks like the enemy in this maze is going to be some kind of beast. Let’s keep searching for more chests."
She recalled seeing creatures like yellow fox spirits and tiger ghosts on the Hundred Ghosts Wall earlier. They’d need more clues to narrow down the answer.