I Must Play It

"How long do we need to keep this up?"

Gu Yan gripped the steering wheel, bored as he drove through the city center.

The passenger-side window was rolled down, letting in gusts of night air.

Xiao Leng leaned against the window, curiously taking in the night scenery outside.

"No rush. Every time we come out, I get to experience something different."

Xiao Leng smiled softly, her hair dancing in the night breeze. The city center was bustling with lights and life, and even late at night, there were still pedestrians coming and going.

"These people don’t seem to need sleep. Why are you so tired?"

Xiao Leng didn’t turn her head, just kept gazing out the window as she asked Gu Yan, who was visibly drowsy while driving.

Hearing this, Gu Yan couldn’t help but feel curious too. He replied helplessly, "I was just about to ask the same thing. I’m supposed to be an innate martial artist, right?"

"My physique should be stronger than an ordinary person’s, right?"

"But these past few days, whenever you call me out at night, I feel completely drained."

"You keep calling me your 'cauldron.' Are you secretly using some kind of dark art to siphon my energy?"

Gu Yan had been feeling so weak lately that it was making him question his existence.

Xiao Leng, upon hearing this, curled her lips into a faint smile and let out a light, amused laugh. "Maybe... it’s just as you said..."

"Both me and the other me are siphoning your energy."

Heh, interesting. So the cauldron has figured it out, huh?

Xiao Leng had actually sensed it the moment she took control of this body.

She could absorb Gu Yan’s energy bit by bit, every second, to replenish herself.

Though it was less effective than directly absorbing bodily fluids, well... even a mosquito’s bite is still meat, right?

Absorbing a little bit frequently throughout the day wasn’t so bad.

Of course, she wouldn’t do something as foolish as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. After tonight, she’d have to give the cauldron a few days off.

Tsk, tsk. This also gave her a useful piece of information.

Ordinary energy absorption only made the cauldron more and more exhausted, and the efficiency was low.

But... if she absorbed bodily fluids, not only was the efficiency higher, but the cauldron also seemed to grow stronger the more he fought.

This had been proven by the other her.

Still, she’d have to find the right opportunity...

Unfortunately, the cauldron seemed only interested in the other her. If she tried to absorb bodily fluids from him recklessly, something unexpected might happen.

Anyway... Hmm?

Xiao Leng seemed to have noticed something on an advertisement board.

A glimmer of curiosity flashed in her eyes.

She turned her head and pointed to a certain road, saying to Gu Yan, "Cauldron, drive straight along this road for ten kilometers."

"Huh?"

Gu Yan glanced at the road sign and immediately felt exasperated. "Come on, big sis, Jianghai Amusement Park has been closed for hours by now!"

Seemingly displeased with the unfamiliar term "big sis," Xiao Leng said, "I don’t care. Just drive. I want to go there today."

"And call me Xiao Leng. I don’t like being called 'big sis.'"

Gu Yan rolled his eyes. "You’ve got a lot of demands, don’t you? Don’t blame me if there’s nothing to do when we get there."

......

About ten minutes later.

2 a.m.

At the entrance of Jianghai Amusement Park.

Because of the late hour, the place was eerily quiet and desolate under the cover of night, with only the night wind wandering through the empty park.

Gu Yan looked up at the large iron gate, a smug expression on his face. "See? I told you it wouldn’t be open."

"Had enough wandering around? Let’s go back."

However, Xiao Leng shook her head. She walked up to the iron gate and reached out her hand.

Gu Yan immediately had a bad feeling. "Hey, what are you doing?"

As soon as he finished speaking...

Gurgle!!

The amusement park gate seemed to corrode instantly, turning into a pool of black liquid.

Xiao Leng then turned to Gu Yan and said, "It’s open. Come on."

With that, she turned around and walked in, her eyes filled with interest.

"You!"

Gu Yan had no choice but to follow. He stepped over the melted gate, now a puddle of black liquid, and entered the park.

The place was completely empty, with only the cool, quiet night air filling the space.

The Ferris wheel stood still high in the air, devoid of its daytime brilliance. The carousel was silent, its painted horses and ornate decorations swallowed by the night, like a beautiful dream that had come to an end.

The various stalls and game machines in the amusement park were all shut down. The colorful lights were off, and only the occasional safety light dutifully emitted a dim, yellowish glow.

The roller coaster tracks stretched out into the darkness, and the outlines of the slides and drop towers stood like silhouettes against the night sky.

In short...

There was nothing to do.

"So this is what an amusement park is like... Kind of boring."

Xiao Leng pondered for a moment, her tone tinged with disappointment.

She pointed at the roller coaster tracks in the sky and asked Gu Yan, "What about the roaring carts that go by?"

"At this hour? They’re long gone!"

Gu Yan replied helplessly.

"Is that so..."

Xiao Leng frowned and pointed to the other facilities.

But Gu Yan’s expression already gave her the answer.

Xiao Leng felt a bit angry. "Then there’s nothing to do here!"

"Exactly, so let’s go back, okay?"

"No."

Xiao Leng shook her head and stared intently at Gu Yan. "I have to play."

Gu Yan’s eye twitched under her gaze. "You have to play... And you’re looking at me like that..."

"Are you expecting me to figure something out for you?"

Xiao Leng didn’t say a word, just kept staring at him.

"No way. I can’t do that. I’m not an employee here."

Gu Yan refused.

But Xiao Leng still didn’t speak.

"Let’s go back. I’ll take you somewhere else."

Still no response.

"Tsk, if you keep this up, I’m leaving you here by yourself!"

Gu Yan turned and walked away, but before long, he came running back.

After all, this body still belonged to Qingqiu. There was no way he could leave Xiao Leng here alone!

He walked up to Xiao Leng, who was still staring at him, and scratched his head in frustration.

"Tsk, can’t you just come back tomorrow? Who comes to an amusement park in the middle of the night..."

Uh...

Gu Yan paused mid-sentence.

He looked at Xiao Leng.

It seemed like he had thought of something.

Finally, he nodded helplessly and said, "Fine. We’ll play, and then we’ll go back. But you have to promise me you won’t call me out these next few days. I really need to rest."

Hearing this, Xiao Leng’s lips curled into a slight smile. "Okay. Thank you, cauldron."

?

First of all, can you stop calling me that?

About ten minutes later.

Rumble, rumble~!!

The amusement park’s power supply was restored.

Gu Yan didn’t want to draw too much attention, so he only turned on a few of the facilities, leaving the lights off.

That night, the amusement park experienced a paranormal event.

The roller coaster, Ferris wheel, and other facilities, which were supposed to be closed, mysteriously started moving on their own...