Everyone was a little surprised.

But since the door had opened on its own, there was no reason not to go in.

— It was a three-section, three-courtyard ancient residence: white-washed walls, blue-tiled roofs, bright red lanterns. In the darkness, the darker patches grew darker, and the red blazed more brilliantly. The shadows of trees swaying in the courtyard made the atmosphere profoundly eerie.

Through the steady sound of rain, a faint voice could be heard — an old man’s, chanting lines of classical verse. The voice was hoarse and aged… only making the atmosphere all the more unsettling.

They quickly came to the second gate, which was also open.

Through the narrow vertical frame of the doorway, they could see an old scholar standing beneath the eaves of the main hall, hands clasped behind his back, rocking his head back and forth, murmuring quietly to himself:

“Fish is what I desire; bear’s paw is also what I desire…”

The four people standing outside the second gate looked at one another.

“What is he reciting?” Fu Miaoxue whispered to Du Lai.

Du Lai shook his head. “Can’t make it out.”

Shen Mo frowned, looked for a moment, and then called out from beyond the gate: “Old sir, we have been caught out on the road. Would it be alright for us to shelter from the rain here?”

The old scholar seemed not to hear, still rocking his head, repeating over and over: “Fish is what I desire; bear’s paw is also what I desire…”

Shen Mo frowned further. He tried again: “Old sir?”

The other man still gave no response — as though he simply could not hear them at all.

“This terrible game has set an NPC who is deaf!” Bai Youwei said irritably, having been out in the rain for ages and in no mood for this. “The arbitrator speaks in classical riddles, and now the NPC in the game is also declaiming poetry at me. What kind of awful habit is that?”

Classical poetry was Bai Youwei’s weak point.

Fu Miaoxue was delighted. “The arbitrator has an awful habit~”

Shen Mo thought for a moment, gripped the wheelchair handles with both hands, and pushed up firmly. Together with Bai Youwei, they crossed over the threshold —

The wheelchair’s wheels landed on the other side. The two of them entered the courtyard between the main hall and the second gate, less than a dozen steps from where the old scholar stood.

And yet the man still paid them no attention, absorbed entirely in his own world, repeating over and over: “Fish is what I desire; bear’s paw is also what I desire; if both cannot be had together… if both cannot be had together…”

Du Lai saw that Shen Mo and Bai Youwei had gone in without incident, and pulled Fu Miaoxue in after him.

Shen Mo pushed the wheelchair closer to the old scholar, coming right up to him. The man bowed his head in quiet thought, taking no notice of them whatsoever.

Shen Mo ventured: “If both cannot be had together, I would give up the fish and take the bear’s paw.”

“Ah…” The old scholar’s figure gave a faint start. He finally responded. He turned around slowly, lifted his head, and looked at Shen Mo.

His was the face of a man past seventy — white-haired, age-worn, and yet with a pair of eyes that were pitch black and sharp, fixed unblinking on Shen Mo’s face. It was faintly unnerving.

“Indeed, indeed…” The old scholar nodded repeatedly. “Fish is what I desire; bear’s paw is also what I desire. If both cannot be had together, I would give up the fish and take the bear’s paw.”

Everyone understood at once — the game had deliberately constructed this as an obstacle. Once the obstacle was resolved, they should receive a clue next.

But just as they let out a breath of relief, the old scholar continued: “Life is also what I desire; righteousness is also what I desire. If both cannot be had together… cannot be had together…”

Shen Mo: “……”

Bai Youwei’s brow contorted in displeasure. “Why won’t this old man ever stop?!”

Fu Miaoxue smiled cheerfully. “This is simple — I shall forsake life and take righteousness!”

The old scholar’s eyes grew even brighter. His face broke into a warm smile. “Ah… indeed! Life is also what I desire; righteousness is also what I desire. If both cannot be had together, I shall forsake life and take righteousness.”

Everyone was utterly speechless.

Because this old man *still* wasn’t done!

He launched into another passage with perfect dramatic intonation: “Life is dear to me; that which I desire exceeds life itself, and therefore I would not take life by improper means… not by improper means… not by improper means…”

He was stuck again.

—