A free - for - all, as the name suggests, refers to a battle or confrontation among multiple forces.
Although this free - for - all couldn't really be considered a proper one, thanks to the large number of people involved, it was at least a chaotic scuffle.
The zombie puppets and such had been mostly wiped out by Luo Nanchen just now. There were only a few black - clothed men left, and Yang Haoyu was more than enough to deal with them.
As for Li Gusong, he saw the hairpin that Qu Yinghan always wore in her hair on the ground.
That hairpin was a gift from Li Gusong to Qu Yinghan when she first entered the Li Mansion.
Now, the hairpin was lying alone on the ground.
Li Gusong immediately got worked up and joined Mo Xiujie in beating Meng Erliu.
This one - sided beating turned into a group beating.
Although Luo Nanchen was the backbone of this "battle", he had no sense of combat at all. He was whole - heartedly holding Lin Qiao and checking her for injuries.
... Even though Lin Qiao had repeatedly said that she wasn't injured and that it was Luo Nanchen's back injury that was more serious, the more seriously injured Luo Nanchen seemed not to hear Lin Qiao's words. He still held Lin Qiao tightly and refused to let go.
After the chaos, the cave returned to calm.
Mo Xiujie was holding the disheveled and extremely disheveled Meng Erliu and asked, "My lord, shall we take this man back or execute him on the spot?"
Luo Nanchen reluctantly let go of Lin Qiao, coughed seriously twice, and said, "Executing him on the spot would be too easy on him. Take him back."
Suddenly, Meng Erliu burst into wild laughter, looking extremely hideous. "Luo Nanchen, Luo Nanchen, do you know how I caught Lin Qiao and brought her here? You know how hard it is to capture someone right under your nose. So... Lin Qiao was originally my spy! Hahaha..."
Lin Qiao was stunned. What kind of logic was this?
Did he really think he could drive a wedge between them with such a lame attempt?
Did he really underestimate the intelligence of the male protagonist of a cool - story novel that much?
Sure enough, Luo Nanchen sneered. "Anyone could be a spy, but not Little Lin."
Mo Xiujie was unconvinced, but he didn't dare to refute Luo Nanchen at this time. He could only silently mutter to himself in a voice so soft that only he could hear, "My lord, actually I'm not a spy either..."
As for Lin Qiao, she was busy shielding Luo Nanchen from the heat of the lava behind him because the high temperature would bake his wound, causing it to fester and leave a scar.
No one was really listening to Meng Erliu. They even regarded his words as a joke.
Lin Qiao discussed with Luo Nanchen, "Can we leave this cave? It's too hot."
Luo Nanchen nodded. "Okay, let's go out."
Seeing that he was being ignored by Luo Nanchen, Meng Erliu was almost in a state of madness. "Luo Nanchen, why?! Why does everything belong to you?!"
"?"
Meng Erliu was disheveled, looking like a ghost climbing back from hell. The purple veins on his arms were even more hideous. "Whether it's Lin Qiao, cultivation, or the throne, why, why can you get them without any effort, while no matter how hard I try, they're never mine? Just because you're the protagonist, so the whole world has to give in to you?!"
Luo Nanchen turned back and looked at Meng Erliu kneeling on the ground. His eyes were deep, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Seeing Luo Nanchen stop, Meng Erliu laughed even more horribly. "Don't you understand what a protagonist is? Ah, Lin Qiao didn't tell you? Then let me tell you! You're just a puppet! A puppet living in a world set by others! Hahaha..."
Lin Qiao couldn't stand it anymore. She rolled up her sleeves and was about to go up and beat him, but Luo Nanchen grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.
Luo Nanchen was calm. "You're talking about this book, and I'm the male protagonist?"
Meng Erliu was stunned.
Mo Xiujie beside him was also stunned. Obviously, he didn't understand. So was Yang Haoyu.
As for Li Gusong, he was holding the hairpin and lost in thought, not paying attention to the situation here at all.
Lin Qiao was filled with heartache. Just thinking about this made her feel it was unfair. Luo Nanchen was a real person, and so were Mo Xiujie, Chunhua, Qiuyue, Li Gusong, and Qu Yinghan...
But they could only live according to what the author had set. Sometimes, the plot couldn't be changed, and their whole lives were predetermined...
Since the day she found out about this, Luo Nanchen had always been extremely calm in front of Lin Qiao... Maybe the word "composed" was more appropriate.
Luo Nanchen always seemed like this. No matter what happened, he was composed and in control, as if he wouldn't even change his expression if Mount Tai were to collapse in front of him.
He had never shown the slightest bit of vulnerability in front of Lin Qiao. But Luo Nanchen was also a real person...
His heart could hurt too...
Lin Qiao tightly held Luo Nanchen's hands with both of hers, trying to give him some comfort as much as possible. But Luo Nanchen's hands seemed cold.
... Maybe it was because she had been roasted on the cliff for too long and her body temperature was higher than normal.
Luo Nanchen remained calm and expressionless, but he wasn't angry. "So, are you also a reader?"
Meng Erliu was no longer able to think. He stood there stiffly.
"So, in the original plot, I was supposed to be with someone named Li Meng? And I would have many beautiful women around me? Hahaha." Luo Nanchen smiled, raised the hand holding Lin Qiao's, and showed it off. "But I didn't. I love Little Lin."
Mo Xiujie and Yang Haoyu were still lost in thought about life. Suddenly... they were fed a mouthful of dog food.
As for Meng Erliu, who was still standing there stiffly, he thought Luo Nanchen would say some profound philosophical truth. Instead... he was also fed a mouthful of dog food.
"So, I won't be controlled by some so - called author, and I won't live according to the path set by others. And you, you're a clown, a clown who will always live in your own dream."