The Willow Town here was just a "phantom realm," and there were actually two more important pieces of evidence.
First, Lin Yu hadn't immediately fulfilled the "clear conditions" to complete this [dungeon] right away.
Therefore... at least according to the judgment of the Death Game, Lin Yu still hadn't arrived at Willow Town.
Second, Lin Yu could sense that his body had undergone some slight "abnormalities."
Although his appearance hadn't changed much, his build and strength were subtly different from before, having grown slightly weaker.
Moreover, he was now wearing a cyan silk skirt and cloth shoes that matched the town's aesthetic perfectly.
All these signs suggested that Lin Yu seemed to have undergone some kind of "fusion" with the past of a certain Willow Town resident.
However, Lin Yu had no idea which townsperson he had fused with—no corresponding memories had appeared in his mind.
Plus, this identity seemed to be similar to "Zhu Ming," rather than Lin Yu himself.
The gender was still female, and when he touched his face, it was still Zhu Ming's.
This actually saved Lin Yu a lot of trouble—otherwise, meeting Li Nian and the others would have required additional explanations.
"Good news is, [items] can still be used normally. Bad news is... Old Zheng and Hannah didn't make it in, and Stiller can't get in either."
"Regardless, I need to meet up with the others as soon as possible, find the old Taoist to ask about the situation, and also figure out what my identity in this town is."
"Whether this identity was assigned automatically or arranged by that Zhu Qiansi, it should be something I can exploit."
With that thought, Lin Yu strode into Willow Town.
Although he rationally knew it was fake, once actually immersed in it, he could clearly hear the bustling conversations of people on the streets, smell the aromas of food from the taverns and tea houses, and feel the warm body heat of every person who brushed past him. His emotions often made him forget that all of this was an illusion.
He felt the pocket at the side of his silk skirt and found it contained dozens of thin copper coins. Lin Yu decided to stop in front of a roadside stall selling meat buns, surrounded by a crowd.
"How much for the buns?"
Lin Yu asked, and the auntie behind the stall smiled warmly. "Eighteen small coins for a steamer basket—no tricks, honest pricing."
In the Prison Mountain Realm, the currencies of the Two Mountains, Six Hells, and even individual towns all had slight differences. Pawn tickets and banknotes were often invalid once they left their respective hells.
However, due to the presence of top-tier Daoist sects and martial arts schools, the Prison Mountain Realm did have a unified circulating currency—large and small copper coins.
One hundred small copper coins equaled one large copper coin, and one thousand large copper coins equaled one string of cash.
Other currencies, like the medium coin worth ten small coins or the treasure coin worth five large ones, were not universally accepted across the Two Mountains and Six Hells.
Lin Yu marveled that Willow Town's prices weren't exactly low even three hundred years ago—no wonder it was the largest town in Fire Hell—but he still handed over eighteen small coins to the auntie.
One steamer basket of six steaming hot meat buns, wrapped in lotus leaves, was pressed into Lin Yu's hands. Holding the heavy, hot buns, he took a bite and felt the fragrant, slightly scalding meat juices explode in his mouth. The dense, meatball-like filling released a rich, savory aroma that stimulated his taste buds with every chew.
The bun skin was perfectly soft and had even been soaked through with meat juices, tasting every bit as good as the filling.
He immediately retracted his earlier mental criticism of Willow Town's prices.
"Delicious. These meat buns are big, flavorful, juicy, and packed with meat. A whole steamer for only eighteen coins? Might as well be free!"
No wonder so many people were lined up at the bun stall, many of them clearly manual laborers.
Although this place was a "phantom realm," due to the "Causality Silk's" ability to override reality, it didn't seem to be entirely separate from or completely incapable of affecting the real world.
For instance, as these buns entered his stomach, Lin Yu felt as though he had genuinely absorbed the nutrition from all six meat buns.
And there was even more authoritative evidence.
He had only eaten half the buns when a new BUFF popped up for him!
[Qi and Blood Surge: Your body is filled with strength, you won't feel fatigue or exhaustion, and your perception of qi sense and blood energy is enhanced.]
Duration: Two hours.
Lin Yu held the buns, thoroughly satisfied—a free BUFF that not only compensated for his slightly weakened state but was also perfectly suited for his upcoming search and investigation activities.
Even the food in this phantom realm could be converted into BUFFs by the [Banquet Pendant]. Lin Yu wasn't sure whether to praise the Banquet Pendant, a creation of the gods, for its power, or marvel at how impressive the "Causality Silk" phantom realm created by the Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Silk Demon Lord actually was.
Eating his buns, he continued walking toward the lively center of town and soon heard a commotion up ahead.
Listening closely, the crowd seemed to be cheering and raging!
"They caught the damn thief!"
"How dare he steal from our stall!"
"Beat him to death!"
Hearing these shouts, Lin Yu spotted the agitated crowd gathered at a street corner and immediately hurried over.
After all, whenever "thief" was mentioned, Lin Yu couldn't help but think of Li Nian!
Could she have come in and immediately started stealing out of habit, only to get caught because she wasn't as agile here for some reason?
He just hoped she hadn't been beaten to death—although the old Taoist hadn't explicitly said what would happen if someone died in here, Lin Yu knew it couldn't be anything good.
He pushed through the crowd, tucking the buns into his bosom, and began shoving past the onlookers cheering and shouting to reach the center.
"Excuse me, excuse me. Thanks!"
Although Lin Yu looked like a sheltered young lady, his strength was not to be underestimated, and he quickly reached the very center of the crowd.
There, he did indeed see Li Nian.
But...
She wasn't the thief who had been caught.
On the contrary, Li Nian, dressed in coarse cloth, stood there with an air of authority and confidence. She had both hands clamped down on a half-grown kid who looked shifty-eyed and sneaky, twisting his arms behind his back. She spoke with smug satisfaction.
"Your technique's pretty fast, kid. Too bad you picked the wrong person to steal from today!"
"Hand over everything you stole, or these folks won't go easy on you."
Li Nian said, and the little thief immediately began pleading for mercy.
"Ow, ow... Female Warrior, I was wrong! Let me go, and I'll give back everything I stole!"
The little thief said, and Li Nian released her grip.
He reached into his bosom, but a vicious glint suddenly flashed across his face.
"Die!"
The kid snarled, flipping out a sharp piece of metal wrapped in ragged cloth, stabbing straight at Li Nian's throat.
Li Nian stared in shock at the sudden turn of events, but in that critical moment...
"Bam!"
The little thief flew backward, slammed into the wall, collapsed to the ground, and writhed in pain, groaning "ow, ow."
"Who?"
Li Nian looked around, then spotted the person who had kicked the thief away. Her face lit up with surprise.
"It's you, Zhu... Sister Yao!"
