# Chapter 359: Two-Way Containment
Xu Huo tilted his head to dodge, then delivered a fierce kick. Hu Shan's lower leg visibly snapped, but she didn't retreat. Instead, her left hand, which had been embedded in the wall, pulled outward. The hard bricks instantly turned into mud, stretching into long strips that stuck to his shoulder before rapidly drying solid!
Xu Huo's right shoulder was caught by the instantly wet and instantly dry brick material, but the contact area was small. He broke free without much effort, grabbed the note launcher, and flicked several skin-retaining insects toward Hu Shan.
Hu Shan, wielding her square hammer, swung her weapon at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to track. Mid-swing, she smashed the man-eating insects into pulp, then raised her knee and slapped her palm against her broken bone. The leg that had been bent inward immediately returned to normal. In a flash, she appeared at the window, blocking Xu Huo who was trying to escape outside!
Xu Huo propped himself on the windowsill and leaped up to dodge, simultaneously throwing his wallet toward her.
"Clang!" The square hammer slipped from her grasp. As it hit the ground, strings caught it and dragged it toward the window before Hu Shan could reach for it. At the same time, Xu Huo charged forward with his sword!
"Boom!" Hu Shan, who had ducked her head, wasn't killed in one strike. The white apron she wore suddenly turned to mud, flowing to her back and solidifying into a porcelain-like barrier that blocked the attack.
The apron-made porcelain shield shattered on impact. The enraged maid Hu Shan reached out and slapped away the flying shards. The fragments she touched seemed to gain life, shooting toward Xu Huo like bullets!
Xu Huo quickly blocked the fragments with his sword, then lit his lighter and sprayed fire at Hu Shan. But her clothes could turn to porcelain, and the fire couldn't catch. In the brief exchange, Hu Shan had already retrieved her square hammer and directly tied the "ubiquitous strings" into a knot around the hammer handle.
The ensuing battle could only be described as a brutal demolition. Hu Shan had no elaborate plan—she relied purely on physical strength and speed to intercept and kill Xu Huo, holding an absolute advantage in stamina. Xu Huo gave it his all but still sustained many injuries. Her speed remained largely unchanged throughout, and even when trading wounds, she could use her traits to recover, making her a veritable human combat machine.
"I have a question I'm curious about," Xu Huo suddenly spoke. "You're so loyal to He Pu. Haven't you ever thought about protecting his property?"
Immersed in battle, Hu Shan paused. "I'm doing this for my master..."
But before she could finish, her expression shifted drastically. She leaped back several times to the door and reached for it, but the door suddenly shifted position. The wall that replaced it turned into a black substance that bit down on her hand. A series of faint, crisp sounds followed as porcelain pieces continuously fell off Hu Shan's body. The wounds that had been repaired revealed their original state, and the black substance seemed to amplify pain. Unable to break free, Hu Shan fell to her knees, sweating profusely and groaning in agony.
A figure stood on the windowsill, red eyes staring at her like a death sentence. It was Mr. Dong.
"This is the master's castle! The master hasn't said anything, so who are you to control me!" Hu Shan shouted.
Mr. Dong on the windowsill ignored her. The black substance on the wall gradually tightened, devouring her entire arm along with her shoulder.
Hu Shan was slowly merging into the wall, about to be completely consumed, when a strange wave of power descended from the third floor. The abyss-like black wall suddenly returned to normal, and Hu Shan, along with Yu Shuai who had been hiding nearby watching the fun, were both thrown out.
Hu Shan glared hatefully at Mr. Dong, then supported her arm and left. Mr. Dong walked in from outside, ignoring Xu Huo and Yu Shuai entirely, and directly surveyed the destroyed room.
"Ugh!" Yu Shuai spat out a large mouthful of blood. Seeing Mr. Dong frown at him, he quickly wiped his mouth and scrambled to stand beside Xu Huo.
"Is this the reason you let that person upstairs stay in Rose Castle?" Xu Huo wasn't as wary of Mr. Dong and instead initiated conversation.
Mr. Dong's expression remained unchanged. He spoke through his abdomen: "Sir said that guests' mistakes can be forgiven, but not more than three times. You've burned the room twice."
Xu Huo smiled slightly. "Be reasonable. The first time I burned the room was because you came looking for trouble with me. Besides, most of the things were smashed by you."
Mr. Dong was silent.
"Was this place also an instance site five years ago?" Xu Huo asked again.
"No." Mr. Dong took a small notebook from his pocket and began recording the items destroyed in the room.
Seeing him busying himself, Yu Shuai asked uncertainly, "What do we do?"
"Go back to our rooms and sleep, of course." Xu Huo pointed out the window. "The other players will be here soon."
This time, Yu Shuai didn't return to the wall but quickly exited through the front door.
By the time Xu Huo returned to his room, You Qiwen and the others had just entered the second floor. Seeing Mr. Dong opening the door and counting things, they broke out in a cold sweat and tried to minimize their presence as they separated.
Ten minutes ago, they had been confident they could kill Mr. Dong. Since Mr. Dong was both the person holding their belongings and one of the reasons guests disappeared, killing him might earn them extra points in the game. But after wandering through the maze without being able to harm the spider-man, they realized this was pure fantasy.
The only fortunate thing was that Mr. Dong didn't seem intent on retaliating against them, otherwise they would have only one path—death.
Mr. Dong didn't leave the second floor all night. The players also stayed awake until dawn. Only when the servants began their morning bustle did these people finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Chen Tu and Chen Nan hadn't slept all night. At daybreak, they immediately found Xu Huo. "What happened last night? Was there a big fight at the castle?"
"Nothing major." Xu Huo was injured and didn't intend to hide it from them. "I fought with Hu Shan last night."
The two brothers exchanged surprised glances. Chen Tu said, "No wonder we chased Mr. Dong for a while before he left... I think he doesn't mean any harm to the players."
Xu Huo nodded. "Mr. Dong's attitude toward players is neutral. He doesn't care whether we live or die."
"Then we don't need to deal with him at all," Chen Nan said. "If you ask me, Hu Shan is more dangerous."
Xu Huo's gaze darkened slightly. To be honest, he had secretly breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Dong returned last night. The difficulty of the Rose Castle instance lay in the instance boss who wanted to kill all the players. In a one-on-one fight, he couldn't beat Hu Shan, and if the delay dragged on too long, He Pu might personally step in.
Now that He Pu and Mr. Dong were containing each other, this had become the players' only chance to survive.
"Call all the other players over. I know where the missing guests are," Xu Huo announced.
The players, who had been at a loss because time was running out, gathered quickly upon hearing the Chen brothers' relay of the news.
"Do you really know? Don't try to bluff us," Liu Zhengping said urgently.