Shi Xiao hummed a song all the way back to Li Gou Dan's place. After thinking it over, he figured this was the safest place right now. He took out the black general wooden carving from his pocket and examined it closely, turning it over and over. Upon closer inspection, the black general wooden carving was incredibly lifelike, demonstrating the sculptor's exceptional skill. However, he wondered why it was carved with its eyes closed. Shi Xiao had only ever heard of "Guan Yu with closed eyes"—could this black general be like that too?
Shi Xiao looked at it over and over again, but still couldn't see anything special about the black general. Could it be that he really had to put eyes on it?
Thinking of this, Shi Xiao rummaged through the dilapidated kitchen and found half a piece of firewood that had been burned some time ago. Using the charcoal on it, she painted eyes on the wooden carving in her hand.
The moment the black general's eyes were dotted, Shi Xiao saw a tall general, eight feet tall with wide, angry eyes, appeared before him, his spear wielding a chilling killing intent and an aura of invincibility, as it swung towards him!
With nowhere to hide, Shi Xiao felt her blood freeze, standing there motionless. Yet, the knife hadn't caused any pain; she only felt a moment of dizziness. When she opened her eyes again, sunlight streamed in through the window. The room was still dilapidated, but it was spotless. The sounds of children playing and villagers calling could be heard in the distance…
Shi Xiao pushed open the door and walked out of Li Gou Dan's house. The whole Li Family Village was bustling with activity. Some villagers were busy with their work, some were driving cattle and sheep up the mountain, and some were carrying bamboo baskets back from the mountain with their harvest... Unlike the Li Family Village she had seen during the day, the villagers here looked much more vibrant.
As she walked and looked around, a child who was chasing her fell down in front of her. Shi Xiao subconsciously reached out to help him up, but her hand touched nothing... She suddenly realized that this was not the real Li Family Village, but rather Li Guangzong's strange heart had led her into the Li Family Village of five years ago in her memories.
As they were walking, a commotion suddenly broke out at the village entrance. Many villagers called to each other and headed east, as if they wanted to see something exciting. Shi Xiao also squeezed through the crowd.
It was Li Guangzong, the Li Guangzong of five years ago. His face wasn't as lifeless as it was now; instead, it held a scholarly air and a brimming hope for life. Li Guangzong warmly led the group of five into the village. They claimed to be tourists visiting the area, but had unfortunately gotten lost in the mountains. Seeing what appeared to be a village in the distance, they came seeking help and happened to meet Li Guangzong, who was gathering firewood on the mountain. Li Family Village was isolated from the outside world, and its people were mostly simple, honest, and hospitable. So Li Guangzong led them back to Li Family Village.
Unexpectedly, this move was like inviting a wolf into the house. The five men were relatively well-behaved for the first two or three days after arriving in the village, but later they began to sneak out every few days. Each time they went out, it would be for one or two days at the shortest and four or five days at the longest. When they returned, each of them was carrying a bulging backpack and they would try to hide from people.
After this happened several times, Li Dezhu sensed something was wrong. One day, when all five men were away, he secretly went to check their room. To his surprise, he found a bloodstained sack in their room. Being a shrewd old man who had lived most of his life, Li Dezhu realized that these five men were very likely poachers. He hurriedly left, wanting to tell all the villagers about his discovery—poachers couldn't stay in Li Family Village! He would gather the able-bodied men of the village and drive these evil poachers out!
However, Li Dezhu, who was using a cane and had difficulty walking, had just reached the first floor when he encountered the two poachers who had returned. Seeing Li Dezhu's panicked and terrified expression, the two men immediately understood that they feared their identities had been discovered. The elderly, frail, and lame Li Dezhu was no match for the two young and strong poachers. In the ensuing struggle, one of the poachers accidentally pushed Li Dezhu, causing his head to hit the water vat squarely. With a loud bang, a corner of the vat shattered, and Li Dezhu lay unconscious, bleeding from his head.
The two poachers realized they had killed someone. At first, they were a little scared. The two of them tremblingly hid Li Dezhu's body in a water vat with a broken corner, then covered the vat and sealed it. They then worked together to carry it to the cellar in the yard and hid it there before leaving in a hurry.
The five poachers hid in the mountains for several more days, but Lijia Village remained peaceful and serene, as if Li Dezhu's death had gone unnoticed by anyone. One of the older poachers, skilled and daring, suggested that they return to Lijia Village one last time. This time, after eating and drinking their fill and replenishing their supplies, they would leave Lijia Village forever.
The group had been starving in the mountains for several days. There was no village or shop in sight, and the only way to find food was to return to Lijia Village. So they all agreed to his suggestion. The five poachers pretended nothing had happened and swaggered back to Lijia Village as if nothing had happened.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered Li Dezhu's house, they were surrounded inside by several young men led by Li Guangzong.
Lijia Village has only a small population. How could no one have noticed that Li Dezhu had been missing for several days? Furthermore, given Li Dezhu's mobility issues and his rarity in leaving the village, Li Guangzong sensed something was wrong the night he disappeared. He searched the village repeatedly without success; everyone said they hadn't seen the village chief that day. Undeterred, Li Guangzong went home and searched every room in his house. There, he found a bloodstained sack in the poacher's room.
The moment Li Guangzong saw the sack, his eyes bloodshot, and a bad premonition arose: something might have happened to his father. He quickly contacted Li Dali, Li Daniu, and a few other able-bodied men. After a brief discussion, the young men realized that since the strangers' belongings were still in the room, they were likely to return to Li Dezhu's house. So, they took hoes and shovels and hid at Aunt Ju's house next door, waiting for their chance to strike.
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"What have you done to my father! Where is my father now!" Finally, these suspicious outsiders arrived, and Li Guangzong roared at them with bloodshot eyes.
However, the five men were not afraid of the farmers at all, and did not even try to argue. They were extremely arrogant: "If that old man just pretends not to see it and lets us go, we won't kill him. He can only blame himself for meddling in other people's business."
Upon hearing that Li Dezhu had indeed met with misfortune, Li Guangzong was filled with rage at the men before him. He grabbed a hoe and prepared to fight them to the death. Li Dali and Li Daniu were also furious. They had kindly taken in these outsiders, providing them with food and water, but they had turned around and killed the village chief like venomous snakes.
The two sides grappled until a gunshot rang out, waking the villagers.
The older poacher pulled a hunting rifle from his bulging backpack and shot Li Guangzong in the leg. Li Guangzong fell to the ground, unconscious from the pain. The other villagers stopped what they were doing and realized with shock: "These men have guns! They are evil poachers!"
The older poacher stepped on the head of the unconscious Li Guangzong and raised his hunting rifle: "I'll say it again, as long as you pretend nothing happened and bring out all the good food and drink, we'll leave after we've eaten and drunk our fill."
"Otherwise… I'll wipe out the entire Li family village!" Another muscular young poacher raised his machete, his fierce face glaring at Li Daniu behind him.
"Fuck you! I, Li Daniu, have slaughtered pigs for half my life, and I've never been afraid of anyone! I'll kill you to avenge Uncle Dezhu!" Li Daniu, equally muscular, grabbed his butcher knife and charged at the burly poacher. There were many spirited young men in Li Family Village, and the battle quickly became even more chaotic.
However, the poachers had guns and a clear advantage. Shi Xiao saw the young men of Lijia Village fall one after another into pools of blood. She saw Li Dali being kicked to the ground and a poacher cruelly chopping off half of his head. Even after he had died, the poacher was still not satisfied and brutally cut off half of his body.
She saw Li Daniu get shot, then another poacher stab him in the abdomen and violently twist it. When the knife was pulled out, his internal organs gushed out of the hole, spilling all over the ground.
She watched as those beasts repeatedly slammed Li Shuilian's head against the stove, forcing her to swallow her last bite of food in frustration.
She watched as Aunt Ju, who had run out from next door to try and stop them, was dragged along the ground by those beasts, from the east end of the village to the west end, before finally closing her eyes forever...
At this moment, these poachers were already in a killing frenzy, and the killing had begun. Today, no one from Lijia Village would escape... Shi Xiao felt extremely heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do.
As night fell, the remaining villagers of Li Family Village were all forced into a pigsty by five men holding hunting rifles to their throats. They lit a fire in the village chief's courtyard, roasting meat and drinking. In their drunken stupor, the five beasts began to prey on the village's young women. Shi Xiao watched as the five men rummaged through the pigsty, finally dragging Li Cuicui and Li Erya into the room…
Having a rough idea of what was going to happen inside, Shi Xiao ultimately didn't dare follow. Less than two minutes later, she heard men cursing and swearing coming from inside, followed by two men carelessly throwing out a frail figure with a bloodied head. It was Li Erya; unable to bear the humiliation, she had chosen to commit suicide by running into a pillar…
The heart-wrenching cries from inside the room continued for a long time, slowly turning into hoarse sobs... Each sound made Shi Xiao's heart bleed as she sat in the courtyard... These were all things that actually happened in Lijia Village five years ago.
The dark night finally came to an end. Shi Xiao saw five poachers emerge from the room, laughing and spouting vulgarities. Much later, Li Cuicui, her eyes vacant, barely clothed, and walking unsteadily, walked out of the room and slowly made her way home. Shi Xiao followed her and saw Li Cuicui sitting calmly on the bed, her eyes devoid of any color. Silently, she took out the red floral jacket she had been saving for New Year's from the wardrobe, combed her hair neatly, and then went out, calmly walking towards the small river in front of the village…
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© All content is copyrighted by its respective owner or author.
Five devils wreaked havoc in Lijia Village for a whole month. They plundered all the food and valuables in the village, drank and ate meat every day, laughed loudly, and took pleasure in torturing the remaining villagers, watching them die one by one...
They left only Li Guangzong, and feigned pity by feeding him meat. After he finished eating, they told him that it was the flesh of Li Dezhu and Li Shuilian. They tortured Li Guangzong, but did not let him die easily. The originally refined young man, full of scholarly air, eventually went mad from the torment.
The five men looted the remaining supplies and prepared to leave. This place was no longer a peaceful and beautiful paradise; it was now filled with dead people and madmen—a bad omen!
Half a day after the five men left, Maosheng, who had been hiding in the village for a month, crawled out of the well crying. Between sobs, she stumbled towards the crazed Li Guangzong: "Waaaaah... Brother Guangzong, Brother Guangzong, my mother is gone, the village is gone..."
"Hehe, I knew there were still some rats hiding in the shadows. Look, they've come out now!" The devilish voice appeared again. It turned out that the five people were just pretending to leave. Since they had already made a blood feud with Li Family Village, they would not let any of them go!
The skinny little cat was trampled underfoot by a poacher: "You little rat should have been hiding properly, how could you have accidentally run out?"
Another poacher laughed loudly: "This little brat is so skinny, I could stomp him to death with one foot!"
"There's only this one little brat left, so... how about we have some fun with him?"
"Hey, you little brat, kneel down, lick our shoes clean, and kowtow a few times, then we'll let you go, how about it?"
"Hahahaha, look at this little brat, he's scared to death."
Mao Sheng looked down; a yellowish liquid was seeping from his crotch, and tears streamed down his face. He was utterly useless! He couldn't protect his mother, couldn't protect Guangzong, couldn't protect in the village. If only he were stronger, then perhaps he could protect everyone…
Tears continued to flow, but Maosheng's eyes were filled with hatred. He spat fiercely, "Pah!" These devils, these filthy things, do they even deserve to beg for mercy from his grandfather, Maosheng!
"Pah! I gave you a way out and you refused. I'll see just how stubborn you are, you little rat!" The poacher, who was stepping on Mao Sheng, kicked him. Mao Sheng was in so much pain that he could only curl up on the ground, but his eyes were still glaring at him angrily.
Another poacher drew a dagger from his waist and approached the small figure: "I've heard that there's an ancient form of punishment called slow slicing. Let me show you what it's like."
Shi Xiao turned her head away, unable to bear watching any longer, as the pitiful howls of the cat continued to echo from afar...
No wonder the originally skinny cat Sheng'er became so tall after turning into a monster; it turns out that was the child's last obsession.
The five demons left Li Family Village laden with spoils, leaving behind a completely insane Li Guangzong. They didn't kill him not because they had a change of heart, but because they were intrigued by a bet; they wanted to see how long this madman could survive alone there.
Li Guangzong went mad, clutching his black wooden general sculpture and hiding in the house. It was him! He was the one who brought these five devils back to Li Family Village! He was a sinner to the village, a sinner... He killed his own parents, he killed everyone in the village, he was the one who deserved to die!
Mr. Sun, the schoolteacher, had told him that many years ago, Li Family Village had produced a general, incredibly brave and skilled in combat, who killed countless enemies. Because he always wore black armor, he was revered as the "Black General." But looking at the Black General in his hands, why didn't he come out? Did he watch Li Family Village being slaughtered by demons without lifting a finger? Why? Is there really any justice in this world? Shouldn't the demons receive their due punishment? Why? Is it because they blame him? Blame him for bringing the demons back to Li Family Village? Why, why… in this world… is there really a Black General who vanquishes evil?
If you have the means, please help him kill those demons...
No, please kill... all the outsiders who have broken into Lijia Village...
The black statue lying quietly in Li Guangzong's arms seemed to sense his overwhelming hatred, silently opening its eyes. A faint black mist, so faint it seemed it might dissipate at any moment, emanated from it. This was eerie energy, born from the hatred in Li Guangzong's heart, yet it was also subtly changing him. The eerie energy crept into Li Guangzong's eyes, flashing with a scarlet light. He had gone mad, yet was incredibly lucid, more lucid than in any of the previous 28 years of his life.
Li Guangzong carried the villagers up the burial hill one by one, buried them one by one, and erected tombstones for each of them. It took him two whole years to complete everything. Finally, he lay down in the coffin prepared for himself, holding the black general in his arms, and calmly welcomed death.
The sinister energy born from hatred grew stronger and stronger, constantly transforming Li Guangzong's body until three years later.
His fond memories of the village split off into a soul that became the simple-minded Li Guangzong. After three years of silence and abandonment, Li Family Village finally became inhabited again. Everything here was exactly as Li Guangzong remembered it: simple, peaceful, and serene.
His overwhelming hatred for the intruder remained within his body in the ancestral hall. This hatred nourished the eerie energy, which grew stronger and stronger until it condensed into a pitch-black eerie star that attached itself to the wooden carving.
The power of the eerie star enveloped the entire Li Family Village, thus completing the Li Family Village instance. The dead villagers crawled out from their graves, and although they had become eerie beings, the villagers of Li Family Village had finally returned.
They killed five poachers who had returned to their old haunts, and they killed all outsiders who set foot in Lijia Village.
Tears streamed down Shi Xiao's face as she slowly awoke from Li Guangzong's memory. She remained stunned for a long time, until her bracelet kept reminding her of new messages, before she finally snapped out of it and wiped away her tears.
Gui Shen's Assistant No. 999 [Li Dezhu, go and deal with those two guys who violated Rule 6 @Old Village Chief]
Old village chief: [Yes, sir.]
I'm the most handsome guy in the whole village! [Sir, what about me? Muscle jpg]
Ghost God's Assistant No. 999 [Li Daniu, go and take care of that big guy who violated Rule 1 @Blood Butcher]
Blood Butcher's Blade [Received]
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I'm the most handsome guy in the whole village! [What about me? Sir, what should I do?]
Assistant No. 999 to the Demon God: [Shut up!]
Assistant No. 999 to the Ghost God: [Li Shuilian, go and release those evil crow spirits @Shuilian]
Water Lily [Yes, sir.]
I'm the most handsome guy in the whole village! [Sir, it's my turn!]
Assistant No. 999 to the Demon God [...]
[I'm the most handsome guy in the whole village has been removed from the group chat]
Ghost God's Assistant No. 999 [Two little mice escaped tonight. Li Gou Dan, go and deal with them. @Time's Laughter]
Ghost God's Assistant No. 999 [@Time's Laughter @Time's Laughter @Time's Laughter]
Ghost Lord's Assistant No. 999: [What the hell...where are you?!]
Ghost God's Assistant No. 999 [I swear, are you even capable of this?! You've gone missing again, haven't you?! *flips table.jpg* @Time's Laughter]
...
Number 999 is about to go berserk, so Shi Xiao quickly replied "Received" in the group.
Ghost God's Assistant No. 999 [Never mind... um, you should bring Li Dali along too.]
The Laughter of Time [ok.jpg]
At Li Dezhu's house, there was a knock on Lucy's door on the third floor. Lucy checked the time; it was already 11 p.m. Who was looking for her at this hour—another player or something supernatural? She cautiously asked, "Who is it?"
The knocking on the door stopped abruptly, followed by a hoarse, aged voice: "Honored guest, I cooked some dumplings and brought them to you."
Lucy couldn't find the rule slip inside the lampshade; hers had been burned the moment the oil lamp was lit in the dark. But considering the dangers lurking in the dungeon, she cautiously declined: "No, thank you, I'm not hungry."
However, Li Dezhu outside the door let out a loud, rough laugh: "That's not up to you. If you eat my flesh, you have to stay..."
The sound of a key clicking could be heard outside the door; the village chief had a spare key! He was opening the door!
Lucy wrapped herself in the blanket, her face filled with despair. This was her first time entering a horror game, and she hadn't yet obtained her own weapon. Her talent skill was only a B-level [poison], which was completely useless against the mini-boss, the Village Chief Ghost, in this dungeon.
A moment later, the door creaked open, and the village chief, leaning on his cane, walked slowly to the bedside. To Lucy's horror, he reached out and ripped out her fresh heart...
[Beep—Lucy from Maple Leaf Country is out! Punishment: Super Flood! Countdown begins in 1 hour!]
The knocking on the third-floor door sounded again, and it was Li Dezhu's hoarse, aged voice: "Honored guest, I cooked some dumplings at home and brought them to you."
This time, the knock was on Song Enya's room. She covered her mouth tightly, not daring to make a sound. Song Enya also couldn't find the second rule slip, but just a few minutes after hearing the knocking on Lucy's door next door, the system announced Lucy's elimination. At this point, she didn't dare to respond.
However, the village chief outside the door clearly had no intention of giving up, continuing to knock incessantly. Gradually, the knocking grew louder and heavier, and the entire wooden door began to tremble slightly, as if it would be forced open at any moment. Song Enya dared not make a sound, and could only pray that the strange figure outside would leave quickly.
However, the next second, she also heard the sound of the key, Hisoka. Li Dezhu opened the door, revealing a sinister smile, with fresh flesh still stuck between his teeth: "After eating my braised pork, you'll become the braised pork..."
Song Enya was heartbroken. After dinner, when everyone left the table, she couldn't resist secretly taking a piece of braised pork and stuffing it into her mouth. The taste was so delicious, it melted in her mouth! But the more she enjoyed it then, the more she regretted it now!
Li Dezhu's hand also pierced her chest, pulled out her heart, stuffed it into his mouth, and savored the fresh "living" heart. Satisfied, Li Dezhu turned and left.
After Li Dezhu left, a white light emanated from Song Enya, who had been lying lifeless on the ground. Suddenly, she sat up, clutching her chest and gasping for breath. Fortunately, the talent skill she had drawn was A-level [Resurrection], which granted her one chance to revive each time she entered a dungeon.
But the pain of having her chest pierced by something strange and her heart ripped out with her bare hands, and the despair of death, were real experiences she had just gone through. She quickly closed the door, feeling fortunate to have survived, but also becoming more cautious. She couldn't afford any more mistakes, or she would truly die here.
The third room on the third floor is Lina's room.
"Knock knock knock"
"Honored guest, I cooked some dumplings at home and brought them to you."
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© All content is copyrighted by its respective owner or author.
There was no response. However, this time Li Dezhu did not force his way in, but instead went to the fourth room.
"Knock knock knock"
"Honored guest, I cooked some dumplings at home and brought them to you."
Shi Xiao was completely unaware of what had happened at the village chief's house; she was currently busy searching for Li Dali.
Seeing that there was no further movement on the third floor, Li Dezhu stopped and, leaning on his cane, went up to the fourth floor.
Hassan's room was the first one on the fourth floor. He hid in his room and remained silent.
The second room was Hughes's room, and there was also no response.
But the door to the third room opened, and it was Manny. He also couldn't find the rule slip hidden in the lampshade. Hearing that there were dumplings to eat, Manny jumped out of bed. Chinese dumplings! He had been craving them for so long.
Before the village chief could knock on his door, Manny came out on his own, took the big bowl from the village chief's hand, and started stuffing it into his mouth in big gulps. It was so delicious!
Watching Manny eat the dumplings, the village chief's lips curled into a sinister grin, and he said in a chilling voice, "If you eat my dumplings, you'll stay here and become my dumplings..."
Unexpectedly, a white light suddenly flashed across Manny's body. After the light faded, the village chief ignored Manny, who was eating dumplings with gusto, turned around, walked to Hassan's room, and started banging on the door: "If you ate my dumplings, you'll stay here and become my dumplings!"
Li Dezhu didn't know why, strangely, his body was uncontrollably moving this way. Oh dear, why was he smashing the door of the first room? Oh well… let him smash it…
Manny finished the dumpling soup in his bowl, wiped his mouth haphazardly, put down the bowl, and turned to go back to his room. Before closing the door, he glanced at Hassan's room with ill intent: "Hehe, here's a big gift for you."
The talent skill he drew was A-level [Flirting], which allows him to randomly shift the blame for the bizarre murderous intent he has caused onto other nearby players. When the target player's talent level is A-level or lower, the success rate of the flirting is 100%. When the target player's talent level is S-level, the success rate drops to 20%, and if the target player has a higher talent level, the success rate is even lower.
Upon hearing that Li Dezhu had returned, even Hassan, who was not very bright, understood that a player on the fourth floor must have used a talent skill to target him.
There are only four male players living on the fourth floor, so we can rule out Ike for now. After all, Ike's talent is [Ironclad], which he used in his previous streams, witnessed by almost everyone on Blue Star. That leaves Hughes and Manny. Who is framing him?
Hassan hid in the room, not intending to open the door. Perhaps he would leave after Li Dezhu knocked for a while without receiving a response.
But despite his good intentions, Li Dezhu clearly wasn't going to give up this time. What started as normal knocking gradually escalated into agitation, and he began banging on the door. The flimsy wooden door looked like it was about to collapse, but then the banging suddenly stopped. However, the silence lasted only a few seconds before Hassan heard the sound of Hisoka's keys. Oh no! The strange creature outside was taking out its keys!
Instead of waiting for the village chief to burst in enraged, it's better to take the initiative!
Hassan strode to the door and flung it open himself. Li Dezhu, standing outside, was clearly bewildered. Why was a player willingly opening the door to deliver food to him? Did they have some secret weapon, planning to ambush him when he wasn't looking?
Sure enough, he saw Hassan reach into his robes and touch something. Li Dezhu immediately retreated defensively. Taking advantage of his retreat, Hassan decisively pulled out his secret weapon.
Li Dezhu raised his cane, which was already brimming with dense black eerie energy, and was about to lash out at Hassan when he suddenly saw Hassan pull out a thick stack of green eerie coins and present them to him with both hands...
"Village Chief, this is my humble offering to you. I apologize for the inconvenience caused by staying at your esteemed residence. It's so late at night, and you've gone to the trouble of patrolling and bringing us supper. You're so kind to us, I'm so touched. I have nothing to offer but this small token of my appreciation, please don't find it offensive." Hassan was exceptionally persuasive, not only presenting a thick wad of strange coins but also showering Li Dezhu with a string of flattering compliments, leaving the initially furious Li Dezhu speechless. Li Dezhu nearly smashed his cane over his own head.
The crimson murderous intent in Li Dezhu's eyes faded when he saw the full 100,000 ghost coins. 100,000 ghost coins! The entire Li Family Village couldn't earn that much in a year! How could he, the dignified village chief of Li Family Village, do such a depraved thing... But... these ghost coins are really tempting!
Li Dezhu stretched out his hand and pulled it back, stretched out his hand and pulled it back again, repeating this several times. In the end, he could not resist the temptation of money. He quickly stuffed the swindled coins into the innermost layer of his clothes, nodded to Hassan with satisfaction, and showed what he thought was an extremely kind smile before disappearing into the stairwell.
Despite Hassan's calm demeanor as he showered the village chief with compliments, he was actually terrified inside. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat, and his hands, clutching the ghost coins, were drenched in cold sweat. Luckily, his talent for [money] worked on the village chief ghost, otherwise he would probably have met his end there tonight! He glanced resentfully at the several closed doors behind him, then closed them and went back to his room.
[Wow, money makes the world go round! Our ancestors were right!]
[That was a brilliant move! He truly is the richest black oil buddy in the world, with a cloth covering his head!]
[Hahaha, our great Republic of Korea is finally going to rise! Our nation's little sister drew a resurrection-type talent! God bless our great Republic of Korea!]
[Damn those Indian players!!! They actually framed our Black Oil country's hero, Hassan!!!]
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[I hereby announce the cessation of black oil exports to India.]
[Holy crap, does the dad upstairs need another son? Dad, look at me!]
[We were just saying (eating sunflower seeds) why is the camera (chewing) um, why aren't you giving it to Sister Xiao (chewing)?]
[I'm just saying (eagerly) why does the person upstairs come to the live stream every day to eat sunflower seeds (eagerly)? Can I have some (eagerly)?]
[Hahaha (chew chew chew) Here's a share for you (chew chew chew)]
[Thanks so much, Brother Guazi!]
Stop eating sunflower seeds, go outside and get some melon seeds! Hurry up and get some big news! A bombshell! Japan is gone!
[Wow, I have to give this a thumbs up!]
...
In the Strategic Command of the Chinese Horror Game, Secretary Li Ping'an stood next to Zhang Jianguo: "Commander, Japan has sent us its third distress signal. Should we respond? Also, Canada has sent a message requesting to connect with you."
Zhang Jianguo sat in his office chair, calmly blowing on the tea leaves in his thermos, sipping his tea while looking at the large screen hanging outside through the floor-to-ceiling glass, his eyes never wavering: "Fairy tale? What fairy tale? Xiao Li, add some more hot water for me."
Secretary Li Ping'an... Okay, he understood. The commander meant that they didn't need to worry about them. Hmm, he shouldn't have misunderstood.
In the horror game, one of the two who sneaked out was Hughes. He had already visited the ancestral hall during the day and triggered a 4-star completion. However, the daytime and nighttime in Li Village were clearly different, so under the cover of darkness, he secretly made his way to the ancestral hall on the mountaintop. He had a premonition that the coffin inside the ancestral hall must contain a very important clue!
Just as Li Guangzong fell asleep, he heard the "clunking" sound of someone prying open a coffin...
"Ah—when will you ever stop?!" Li Guangzong was furious. He kicked open the coffin lid, leaped into the air, and a dense black aura swirled around him. The kicked coffin lid landed squarely on Hughes, knocking the bewildered Hughes out of the ancestral hall.
Hughes took the direct hit from the coffin lid, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He felt as if his body had been run over by a truck; he was clearly no match for the terrifying and bizarre creature before him. Hughes closed his eyes and muttered incantations, faint white light flickering from his mouth. His innate skill was A-rank [Controlling Ghosts], which allowed him to summon the strongest nearby ghosts (excluding his opponent) to temporarily serve him. It could be used three times per instance, with each use lasting a maximum of 10 minutes.
A white light landed, forming a light array on the ground. Then, a dark, eerie creature slowly emerged from within the light array. Hughes struggled to sit up. The creature he had summoned this time looked terrifying. Even if its strength wasn't as great as the one in the coffin, the difference shouldn't be too great. It should be able to cover his escape!
Li Guangzong, who had chased after them from the ancestral hall, saw Li Gou Dan inside the light array, looking around in bewilderment. The two eerie figures stared at each other in confusion.
Seeing the surging killing intent in Li Guangzong's eyes, Shi Xiao fiddled with her fingers and stammered, "Um, Brother Guangzong, would you believe me if I said I don't know why I suddenly appeared here?"
Li Guangzong was furious and had no time to pay attention to Li Gou Dan. He carried the black coffin lid and hurled it at Hughes. However, a flash of white light appeared before her eyes, and Shi Xiao found herself unable to control her actions. Oh no, why did she throw a dog poop bomb? Oh no, why did she throw the dog poop bomb at Li Guangzong?
Half-dead, this dog shit bomb hit Li Guangzong squarely on the head.
Li Guangzong turned around and looked at Shi Xiao, but didn't speak. His expression, however, became even more ferocious. He suddenly changed the direction of the coffin lid in his hand and hurled it at Shi Xiao. "Li Gou Dan, you're asking for it! I haven't even settled the score with you for throwing dog poop at my coffin before, and now you've thrown dog poop at my head! How despicable!"
"It's a misunderstanding, it's a misunderstanding, Brother Guangzong. If I said I didn't know why, I suddenly couldn't control my behavior, would you believe me?" Shi Xiao screamed as he ran away, being hit by Li Guangzong's coffin lid.
Taking advantage of the two strange creatures' chaotic struggle, Hughes moved his injured body with difficulty and quietly made his escape.
"Brother Guangzong, let me explain!"
"I won't listen! I'll beat the shit out of you today, you'll be lucky to have done it properly!"
"Brother Guangzong, it's really a misunderstanding! I was patrolling with Dali! I don't know how I suddenly appeared at the ancestral hall entrance!" Shi Xiao explained as he ran, "It must be those players' tricks! They made me lose control of my actions! Brother Guangzong, believe me! Believe me!"
It was fortunate that Li Guangzong didn't really kill her, otherwise Shi Xiao would have been dead after that chase. After a long explanation, Li Guangzong reluctantly accepted her explanation with a suspicious look. However, this time she left a pile of dog excrement, and Li Guangzong supervised Shi Xiao as she cleaned it all up before letting her leave.
At the foot of the mountain in Lijia Village, Li Dali looked terrified: "Holy crap, where is my big brother Gou Dan?" The two were chatting happily, how could Gou Dan disappear in the blink of an eye?
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Li Dali grew increasingly frustrated. Could it be that Gou Dan had discovered something, abandoned him, and secretly gone off to claim credit? No, Gou Dan wasn't that kind of cunning; how could he think such a thing? But he had suddenly disappeared without a word. Could it be… he had been kidnapped? No, in Li Family Village's territory, who could kidnap Li Gou Dan here?
After much deliberation, Li Dali concluded that the most likely explanation was that Li Gou Dan had received a secret mission from the Master! Yes! That must be it! Only someone as powerful and cunning as the Master could have gotten rid of Li Gou Dan right under his nose without anyone noticing. Suddenly, Li Gou Dan's image in Li Dali's mind grew taller and more imposing.
Having concluded that Li Gou Dan was on a secret mission, Li Dali decided not to disturb him. Wandering aimlessly, he arrived at Li Dezhu's house. "Those human players must all live here, right?" he thought. "Hmm, the smell of raw meat is wonderful; I can smell it from far away. Too bad, there are rules preventing me from taking action." He decided to stake out the place; perhaps a rule-breaker would appear and he could snatch something away.
Having made up his mind, Li Dali observed for a while in Li Dezhu's yard: "Hmm, the chicken coop is good. It's not easy to be discovered while hiding inside, and you can also see clearly what people outside are doing."
Just as Li Dali crept into the chicken coop, he heard a loud bang behind him, followed by the soft sound of shattered glass falling, and then two burly figures fell from upstairs.
To be precise, it should be a muscular, bald man stepping on a strange body and jumping off the building.
When Li Dali realized that the muscular bald man was beating him up, Li Dali hesitated for a moment before getting up to help. He then sat back down in the chicken coop, repeatedly telling himself not to be impulsive. He couldn't beat this guy. He really couldn't beat this guy.
Ike was a martial arts instructor on Earth, and now, with the S-rank talent [Iron Tempering], he unleashed a brutal beating on Li Daniu. Every punch landed with a metallic, silvery edge. Li Daniu was just an ordinary monster in this instance, and even though he was stronger than most villager monsters, he was only a level 2 evil spirit, utterly powerless against Ike's onslaught.
Although he couldn't defeat the muscular bald man in front of him, killing Li Daniu completely wouldn't be so easy either. After a brutal beating, Li Daniu was stomped hard under Ike's feet, his body becoming faintly ethereal, as if he might dissipate at any moment. However, there was no fear on his face; instead, a ferocious smile appeared: "You can't escape. Outsiders always die..."
As the eerie sight beneath his feet vanished before his eyes, the silver light on Ike's fist also faded. Damn it, he'd only wanted a good night's sleep, but some ungrateful monster had to bother him. Now, the windows were shattered, and he didn't know if his old room was still habitable. However, he remembered that the innermost room on the fourth floor was empty; perhaps he should move there tonight.
It was midnight in the game instance, but it was broad daylight in America, and the live stream chat was buzzing with activity.
[As expected of our beautiful country's Ike, single-handedly taking on the bizarre and unpredictable! Who else can rival him?]
[Our country's freestyle fighting is amazing! Compared to freestyle fighting, Chinese kung fu is just fancy footwork!]
[Ike's dad is amazing! Chinese kung fu is nothing compared to Ike's dad!]
[What are you doing! You think your Chinese father is asleep in the middle of the night? Your father is still here!]
[The Korean upstairs is getting a sense of superiority from eating your dad's swill hotpot? Daring to talk nonsense about China here?]
[Fellow Chinese, please stand! I now declare that none of you here are but traitors!]
[What kind of superior stuff are you guys? (Eating sunflower seeds) It's not like you're the ones who can fight. (Chewing) What kind of trash are you? Pah!]
...
[Does anyone care about Hughes from Australia?]
[Hughes was so badly injured, it felt like he was going to die at any moment, waaaaaah...]
Hughes, who was on the verge of death, was hiding in a secluded corner of the cemetery. Although the heavy blow from the coffin lid had made him spit out a mouthful of blood, the real problem was not the injury caused by the coffin lid, but the black mist that was faintly swirling around the wound.
This was a malevolent aura, like a maggot clinging to bone. Once tainted, it was difficult to remove by ordinary means, relentlessly eroding the human body until it was completely consumed, turning the person into a mindless, inhuman, and ultimately, a walking corpse. Hughes saw that the wound on his chest had begun to turn black and rot. Knowing he couldn't delay any longer, he decisively pulled out a dagger, gritted his teeth, and began to cut into his flesh. This was his only way to survive…
At the same time, a large black shadow streaked across the dark night sky above Lijia Village and quickly flew to where the players had landed.
It was already past 4 am, a time when everyone was feeling sleepy. Even Shi Xiao, exhausted from running around all night, quietly returned to her room to take a nap. As soon as she got back, she heard a series of "clattering" sounds coming from the windowpane. The sounds weren't loud, but they were coming at a very fast frequency.
Shi Xiao leaned close to the glass window. It was pitch black outside, and she couldn't see anything. As she pressed herself against the glass, trying to get a better look, a hideous face suddenly slammed against it. It was a deathly pale face with no pupils, only the whites of the eyes. The entire face was pressed flat against the glass, like a human skin mask, with a thin layer of glass separating it from Shi Xiao, face to face.
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Then one after another, similar dead faces appeared.
Shi Xiao broke out in a cold sweat. The scream that was already rising in her throat hadn't even come out when she heard a sharp explosion coming from not far away next door. The voice sounded a bit like Song Enya. Remembering Rule 11, Shi Xiao quickly covered her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound, pulled the curtains shut, and jumped into bed.
Before long, she felt the banging outside her window gradually stopped, while the banging outside someone's window not far away became even more intense...
That was Song Enya's room. She huddled under the covers, shivering, but for some reason, Song Enya felt that more and more faces were crashing against her window. Eventually, the thin windowpane could no longer withstand the impact and made a crisp cracking sound.
A huge flock of black crows with human faces on their bellies swarmed in...
[Beep—South Korean Song Eun-ah is eliminated. Punishment: Blizzard freezes the area. Countdown begins in 1 hour!]
A system notification sounded in the ears of all players.
Damn it, that rotten woman!
[West Bassabah! I need to book a flight and leave the country right now! Let whoever wants to stay in this awful place stay!]
[Going abroad +1]
[Hahaha, South Korean friends upstairs, are you going to beg for food from your Mary Kay daddy?]
[The person upstairs is wrong. Their father, Melika, didn't have any leftovers for them, so they had to beg for swill, hahaha.]
Manny, lying on the bed, watched as the white light around him gradually faded. His [Fault-Fixing] had worked again, this time randomly targeting that South Korean girl. He remembered that girl named Song Enya was quite attractive; it was such a pity, tsk tsk, just like that, gone. But none of this bothered him to continue sleeping.
Ike, who had been temporarily moved to a different room in the middle of the night, didn't hear a sound, and not a single crow spirit disturbed him. He slept exceptionally soundly that night. Hughes, who was injured and hadn't returned home, also escaped this ordeal by virtue of his misfortune.
Daylight broke; this was the third day the players had been in the dungeon.
While Shi Xiao was still half asleep, she heard the noise from next door. The house wasn't well soundproofed, and the sounds were very clear.
It turned out to be Lina. She hadn't returned to her room last night, and when she came back at dawn, she found Song Enya's door wide open. Song Enya's body was gone, replaced by shards of glass, a pool of blood, and bits of hair and bone fragments. Just as Lina was about to notify the other players, she saw Ike and the others coming down from the fourth floor.
While the group was talking, there was a knock on Shi Xiao's door. Now, even pretending to be asleep was no longer an option, so Shi Xiao had no choice but to get up and open the door.
In just two days, three players had died, and two more were missing, leaving only the five of them. They huddled together, and Hassan suggested that should stay together from now on, acting as a group to avoid getting separated. Lina agreed; given the nature of horror games, the later stages of a dungeon were increasingly dangerous, and at this point, national differences shouldn't be a factor, as teamwork would increase their chances of success.
Seeing that agreed to form an alliance, Ike wasn't stingy: "I'm not good at brain games, but I'll handle the fighting." So they reached an agreement: Ike and Manny would be in charge of the fighting, Hassan and Shi Xiao everyone would be in charge of gathering information, and Lina would temporarily serve as the team's strategist.
Just as the group finished their discussion, Li Dezhu's aged and hoarse voice came from downstairs: "Distinguished guests, come down for breakfast..."
Thinking of the half of Narita Tsunayoshi she saw in the kitchen last night, and the pile of remains of flesh and bones left in Song Enya's room, Shi Xiao suddenly felt nauseous and gagged. The others, however, didn't seem to think much of it. They responded and went downstairs.
The old house had a narrow staircase, and Hassan walked first, followed by the others. However, as soon as Hassan reached the first floor, he suddenly stopped, his face turning deathly pale. He couldn't speak, stammering as he pointed towards the kitchen: "Oh my God..."
Several people craned their necks, following his finger to look into the kitchen. Oh my god! What did they see! Li Shuilian walked out of the kitchen unharmed, carrying a large bowl of food, as if nothing had happened yesterday, and greeted them with a smile: "Honored guests, dinner is ready."
The group's expressions varied. Hassan was deathly pale, Lina seemed lost in thought, and Manny looked somewhat gloating. Ike, on the other hand, seemed relieved. Ha, the cook was alright. He was still thinking about the fish he had yesterday; it tasted absolutely amazing.
Just like last night, Li Dezhu set up a large round table and ten chairs in the courtyard. The difference this time was that only five people sat down.
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Each person had their own thoughts and quietly ate the food in their bowls. Ike once again devored the entire plate of fish. This time, Hassan was quick and grabbed a whole chicken. Manny wasn't to be outdone either, monopolizing a whole plate of pig's trotters. Shi Xiao and Lina each ate an egg, except for the vegetables; they still hadn't touched any of the other meat dishes.
Soon, breakfast was over, and Li Dezhu invited all the players to go to the ancestral hall in the afternoon to participate in a pre-wedding blessing ceremony. This is a custom of Lijia Village, and all the villagers of Lijia Village will participate.
On the third day of her previous life, Shi Xiao was busy searching for the key at Li Dezhu's house and didn't go to the ancestral hall to attend the so-called blessing ceremony. She remembered that Ike, Hassan, and Lina had all attended the ceremony, and Hughes and Odin, whose whereabouts were currently unknown, seemed to have gone as well. She didn't know exactly what happened, but after the ceremony, all of their blessing invitations were lost, and they were subsequently hunted down by strange forces throughout the entire Li family village.
In this life, Shi Xiao plans to go and see. She has unlocked all of Li Guangzong's memories, but the system did not give her a 5-star completion reminder, which means that there are still secrets in this village that she has not yet cracked. She must go this time.
Time was running out for the players, so the five of them didn't waste any time in the morning. They practically searched the entire Li Family Village. If Lina and Shi Xiao hadn't deliberately disturbed them, Hassan would have almost discovered the cellar under the haystack in the village chief's yard.
However, it wasn't entirely fruitless. Under Hassan's generous spending spree, the five of them obtained important information: the wedding banquet was indeed on the 4th day, but at midnight on the 4th day! In other words, they only had a dozen or so hours left to clear the game.
Lina wasn't in a hurry. She had already achieved a 2-star clear and would steal the key tonight. As long as she rescued Zhou Nian, the wedding banquet could be held at any time, so what did it have to do with her?
Manny also seemed indifferent. Clear the game? As long as he could survive to the end, wasn't that clearing the game? With his talent for framing others, everyone else could only become his shield!
Ike was even more confident of victory. As long as he killed that old geezer, he would easily pass the test.
Of the five-person temporary team, only Hassan was truly anxious.
Even though they were reluctant, the sun eventually turned westward, and the villagers, carrying large and small bags of prayer ritual props, began to head to the ancestral hall on the mountaintop one after another.
Li Dezhu changed into a loose crimson robe, the kind of ceremonial robe worn only in ancient times for sacrificial rites. Leaning on a cane, he led the group toward the ancestral hall on the mountaintop. The five followed behind Li Dezhu, while several strong young villagers followed at a distance behind them, seemingly monitoring them. In short, their gazes made Shi Xiao very uncomfortable.
Soon they arrived at the ancestral hall on the mountaintop. The hall was decorated with red ribbons and lanterns. The doors of the ancestral hall were wide open, and the villagers stood respectfully at the entrance. When they saw the village chief coming, they all made way for him.
Li Dezhu, leaning on his cane, staggered into the ancestral hall. The black coffin inside was gone, leaving only the ancestral tablets of the Li clan enshrined on the walls, and an offering table with fresh offerings and an incense burner.
The five people did not go inside, but stood with the villagers at the entrance of the ancestral hall.
A villager brought in a basin of water. Li Dezhu washed his hands in the basin, dried them, took three incense sticks, lit them, bowed three times to the memorial tablets covering the wall, and then inserted the incense sticks into the incense burner.
Villagers carried in two large packages, each as tall as a person, wrapped tightly in red silk cloth. They were placed on either side of the offering table, making it impossible to tell what they contained.
Li Dezhu pulled out a booklet from his pocket and began to read a prayer for blessings. The prayer was mostly written in classical Chinese, which was obscure and difficult to understand. Even Shi Xiao, a Chinese person, felt dizzy and drowsy listening to it, let alone the other foreign players.
The chanting lasted for a full two hours. When it was finally finished, everyone heard Li Dezhu shout, "The blessing ceremony begins—" The once bustling crowd suddenly fell into an eerie silence. A villager carried in a chicken coop, and Li Dezhu grabbed a live chicken from the coop, slit its throat, and dripped blood, all in one smooth motion.
Chicken blood dripped onto the yellow paper money. Li Dezhu lit the paper money, put it into the brazier, and then took out a red piece of paper from his pocket and put it into the flames as well.
Shi Xiao had a sharp eye; that red paper must be the marriage compatibility chart she had seen before. Now that it was burned, no player would be able to trigger this clue anymore...
As Li Dezhu burned the paper money, he muttered incantations. Wisps of black mist seemed to emanate from the burning yellow paper money. Shi Xiao stared at it several times to make sure she wasn't mistaken; the black mist was undoubtedly eerie energy, she was certain of it.
The words Li Dezhu murmured gradually became eerie, as if some force was impacting Shi Xiao's eardrums and brain, leaving her feeling dazed and confused.
This feeling made Shi Xiao feel uneasy!
She watched as the villagers of Lijia Village entered the ancestral hall one by one, accepted the three incense sticks given to them by Li Dezhu, bowed to the memorial tablet wall, and placed them in the incense burner.
But then something even stranger happened: Lina, Hassan, Manny, and Ike seemed to have become one with the village, following behind the villagers, their eyes vacant and their minds elsewhere as they accepted the incense offered by Li Dezhu…
Seeing that Shi Xiao was still standing there without moving, Li Dezhu muttered even faster. Shi Xiao seemed to hear an indescribable murmur echoing in her ears, impacting her brain again and again.
Finally, she moved. It seemed she couldn't control her body. Following the procession of people praying for blessings, she slowly walked into the ancestral hall, took three incense sticks, lit them, bowed, and placed the incense sticks in the burner...
What viewers watching the live stream saw was five people lining up, taking out their wedding invitations one by one, and throwing them into the brazier. The flames quickly consumed all five invitations.
When Shi Xiao came to her senses, the three incense sticks in her hand were already stuck in the incense burner. A faint black eerie aura permeated the entire ancestral hall. Li Dezhu stood beside her, his smile particularly sinister and eerie: "The ceremony... is complete."
The moment he finished speaking, the sky outside the ancestral hall darkened, a sign that the sun was about to set and night was about to fall on Li Family Village.
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The five people, instantly snapping to their senses, realized something was wrong and quickly left the ancestral hall. The villagers who had been crowding the entrance to watch the commotion had all vanished. Behind them came Li Dezhu's hoarse, raspy voice, like a dried-up corpse just crawled out of a coffin: "Hehehe... Outsiders, you can't escape..."
Shi Xiao suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled out the wedding invitation from her bracelet, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find it. Seeing Shi Xiao's actions, Li Dezhu let out a chilling laugh. He used his cane to turn over the fire pit, revealing a gold-embossed wedding invitation, burned to a corner: "Is this what you're looking for? Hehehehe..."
The five men's expressions changed drastically. Even the most obtuse among them remembered the importance of the wedding invitations mentioned in the rules. The invitations represented their status as guests, and without them, they would truly become "outsiders" of unknown origin. And what Li Family Village hated most was "outsiders" of unknown origin!
"No! Run!" Lina was the first to react, exclaiming in alarm. She had already realized what Li Dezhu meant. What awaited them next was no longer a wedding banquet, but a chase by the entire Li family village.
"You...you can't escape, outsiders, you all have to die..." Li Dezhu stared blankly in the direction the group had fled, without giving chase, but his chilling voice, even from a great distance, still reached the ears of the five men clearly.
"Huff...Huff...I can't run anymore." The group ran for a while with their heads down. Hassan was the oldest and weakest among them. He looked back at the ancestral hall, which was almost invisible. This distance should be safe for now. He really couldn't run anymore. If he could get out of here alive, he would definitely exercise more!
Ike stopped too. The five of them had reached the foot of the mountain, and they were about to enter the village... Wait, five people? Ike counted again: 1, 2, 3... plus himself, four of them! Fuck, they lost one while running!
Lina also noticed that the Chinese player who was running next to her had suddenly disappeared. However, as the temporary brain of this team, she couldn't panic. Running away and hiding was not the solution. She had to think carefully and figure out what other options there were.
Hassan, being a businessman, was the quick-witted one. As soon as he recovered, he came up with a bold idea: "Perhaps we can buy another invitation?"
The four of them discussed it and all agreed that the plan was feasible. As long as they had the wedding invitations, they could prove their identities as guests. As for the names on the invitations, could the supernatural being possibly know their names? It was already dark, and there might be even greater dangers waiting for them tonight, so they had to act quickly.
Just as the four left, Shi Xiao, who had gotten lost, crawled out from behind the grave mound, wiping away non-existent sweat. She almost performed a bizarre transformation right in front of the other players, but luckily she reacted quickly. The moment she heard the system notification sound, she immediately crouched down and rolled behind the grave mound.
After her ordeal in the ancestral hall, Shi Xiao finally understood how everyone's wedding invitations had been lost in her previous life. This spectacle had gone to the extremes of burning wedding invitations! Her own invitation had also been burned.
However… Shi Xiao flicked her finger, and a bright red wedding invitation with gold lettering instantly appeared in her hand. It's just a wedding invitation, right? She has another one, hehe~
The wedding invitation that was burned in the ancestral hall belonged to the player "Shi Xiao," while the one in his hand belonged to the eerie "Li Gou Dan."
Shi Xiao carefully tucked the wedding invitation into his pocket and swaggered towards the village.
[Wow, this is bizarre and lacks any sense of sportsmanship; they actually tricked the players into burning the invitations!]
[Don't worry, there's no invitation that money can't buy. If there is, then double the amount! I trust Hassan's financial power.]
[These guys are running around in weird ways, haha, but didn't they realize they lost a player?]
[Waaaaah, it's our Chinese players who are lost!]
[Teacher, my daughter Zixuan is missing. Aren't you going to do anything about it?]
[Your Chinese players are all alone, they're doomed tonight, hahaha]
[Hey (eating sunflower seeds) Where did this stick come from? (chewing) It's spewing filth! (covering nose) It stinks!]
[Hey, the extreme cold and freezing weather haven't started yet? Why haven't your lips frozen yet?]
[Waaaaah, nobody cares about our Hughes?]
[Any Chinese player who goes out alone tonight is doomed! I'm saying that in Korea!]
[Someone come here! Throw that barking dog out of the upstairs!]
[Holy crap, Hassan actually got the invitations!]
[I've suddenly grasped the essence of this game! Give me the [Money] talent, and I'm terrifyingly powerful now!]
[Waaaaah, does nobody care where Hughes is? I haven't seen him for 10 minutes!]
[Stop spamming. Odin last appeared 15 hours ago. Did we say anything?]
...
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© All content is copyrighted by its respective owner or author.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Odin, who had disappeared from the live stream for 15 hours, finally reappeared and did something big: he robbed a passing monster!
Having finally escaped from Li Guangzong, Odin, reeking of dog excrement, walked towards the river, cursing and swearing, intending to wash himself off quickly.
As they were washing, they saw a small boat floating on the river. On the boat sat an elderly scholar who looked rather eccentric, dressed in dark red clothes and wearing a scholar's hat.
Odin was on guard, but then the old scholar gave him a strangely polite bow: "Sir, may I ask if this is Li Family Village?"
Odin nodded in response, but his wariness remained undiminished: "You're not from Li Family Village? Who are you?"
The old scholar gave a strange yet polite bow: "I am the tutor of Li Guangzong, the son of the village chief of Li Family Village. I have been specially invited to come and pay my respects as the master of ceremonies." As he spoke, the old scholar took out a special invitation from his pocket and showed it to Odin.
This is a dark gold invitation, clearly different from the bright red and gold invitation in Odin's hand.
Upon seeing this unusual invitation, Odin's heart stirred slightly. "God, please forgive me, but I've suddenly had a bold idea..."
"Do you know where the village chief's house is..." Before the polite old scholar could finish his strange question, he saw Odin suddenly pull out a scythe out of thin air and chuckled at him.
"What, what are you going to do? Ah—kill the ghost..." Before the words were finished, a scythe fell on the old scholar's eerie head. In the end, it was the last bit of goodwill that stopped Odin. He used the back of the scythe, and the back of the blade struck the old scholar's eerie head solidly, and the old scholar eerie fainted on the spot.
Seeing the strange creature lying unconscious on the ground, Odin silently prayed for God's forgiveness a few more times. Then, he swiftly stripped the old scholar, the strange creature, naked. Out of a sense of righteousness and morality, Odin left him with his underwear and did not strip him completely naked.
Odin strangely tossed the old scholar back onto the small boat, then pushed the boat away from the riverbank again. Only when he saw the boat slowly drifting away did Odin breathe a sigh of relief.
He changed into the old scholar's strange clothes and examined the special invitation. The invitation read, "I hereby invite my mentor, Sun Chengye, to attend the ceremony and preside over the wedding ceremony."
Odin carefully put away the invitation, trimmed his beard to resemble Sun Chengye's, and pulled his scholar's hat down as low as it could go. Looking at his reflection in the river, Odin finally nodded in satisfaction. This was a sure thing; I'm quite the clever fellow!
Meanwhile, the group of four also "bought" three wedding invitations. To be more precise, after entering the village, the four were mysteriously chased by three villagers. The three villagers were no match for Ike and were beaten down. Under Hassan's "friendly" coercion and enticement, they "voluntarily" sold their wedding invitations.
Hassan gave one to Ike and one to Lina, but as for Manny, Hassan regretfully spread his hands. Actually, ever since entering this instance, he'd disliked Manny, and given the high probability that Manny was the one who framed him last night, he figured Manny had to find a way to get the wedding invitations himself. He was just rich, not stupid.
Meanwhile, Li Dezhu's house was already brightly decorated with lanterns and red ribbons, and strange figures were constantly coming and going. Taking advantage of the lull in the strange figures' activity, Shi Xiao secretly sneaked into the cellar where Zhou Nian was being held.
Unlike the bustling scene outside, the cellar remained deserted. Zhou Nian sat with her legs drawn up in the iron cage. When she saw the person who had come, Shi Xiao's expression immediately lit up with excitement: "Did you get it?"
"I got it, but I can't give it to you yet." Shi Xiao knew that she must have missed some important information, which was why the horror game hadn't marked her as having successfully completed the game. And the Black General, being such an important item, might have other uses.
Zhou Nian seemed to have guessed her thoughts: "Do you know what day it is today?"
Hearing Zhou Nian's irrelevant question, Shi Xiao paused for a moment, but still thought about the dungeon's setting: "Today is the 13th day of the 7th lunar month."
Zhou Nian nodded: "Yes, the wedding date is the 14th, midnight on the 14th of the lunar calendar, when the gates of evil are wide open. Do you know why Li Dezhu set the wedding date for this time?"
Shi Xiao shook her head, and Zhou Nian didn't intend to hide anything from her, so she continued, "When the Ghost Gate opens, the ghostly energy in the Ghost Realm increases greatly. Li Dezhu wants to take advantage of this increase in ghostly energy to merge the two Li Guangzongs into one. The person he marries will be offered as a sacrifice. With these two opportunities, Li Guangzong can break through to the Ghost King Realm."
"Once Li Guangzong really advances to the Ghost King Realm, not to mention you, including me, we will all die here." Zhou Nian spoke each word with exceptional calmness, but Shi Xiao's heart was already churning with turmoil upon hearing these words.
The Ghost King is a more terrifying existence than Evil Spirits and Evil Ghosts. In a small Li Family Village instance, there is actually a being about to break through to the Ghost King level.
"Then what should I... do?"
"At that time, Li Dezhu will use a soul-summoning method to temporarily merge the souls of the two Li Guangzongs. You must take advantage of the moment when Li Guangzong's three souls are united to hand that thing to him." Zhou Nian looked at Shi Xiao very seriously and said, word by word, "Remember, it must be when his three souls are united. When Li Family Village is in chaos, you must take advantage of the chaos to retrieve that thing and bring it to me. You must bring it back to me."
Shi Xiao nodded solemnly. With Li Gou Dan's identity, completing this task shouldn't be difficult.
Sure enough, after leaving the cellar, Shi Xiao arrived at Li Guangzong's room without any obstacles. The strange creatures around her were too busy to pay any attention to her.
Li Guangzong was still sitting on the small stool, engrossed in playing with his little "toy." But besides Li Guangzong, there was another man in the room—a foreign man dressed in dark red clothes, wearing a scholar's hat, and sporting a goatee…? Shi Xiao felt he looked vaguely familiar. Ah! This… isn't this Odin, the Snow Country player?
Odin, disguised, clutched the Bible tightly in his hands, watching the dark, eerie figure enter warily. The figure merely glanced at him, and although it was burned beyond recognition, Odin could still sense surprise in its dark, hollow eyes.
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As the two looked at each other in bewilderment, they heard Li Dezhu's voice coming from the doorway: "Gou Dan, you're here! This is Guangzong's teacher, here to be the master of ceremonies and pay his respects. Your aunt and I are very busy right now, so could you help us entertain him?"
Shi Xiao hurriedly agreed, "Okay, Uncle Dezhu, you can rest assured that I'll handle things."
After Li Dezhu left, the two men and the strange creature continued to stare at each other awkwardly in Li Guangzong's room, while Li Guangzong just smiled foolishly and seemed quite happy.
"Teacher? How old are you? What subjects do you teach?" The awkward silence in the room couldn't be left unanswered, so Shi Xiao broke the silence with a smile.
In Odin's eyes, the dark, eerie figure stared at him and made "hoarse noises" for a while, seemingly saying nothing. But Odin still imitated Sun Chengye's manner and politely bowed: "Hello, hello, I am Sun Chengye, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Teacher Sun, is this your first time visiting Lijia Village?"
"Ah, Lijia Village has beautiful scenery and the villagers are simple and hospitable. I like it very much here."
"Teacher Sun, where are you from?"
"Ah, Guangzong is a clever child! He's been clever since he was little!"
"Teacher Sun, can't you understand what I'm saying?"
"Not at all, it is the duty of an old student to impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts."
Alright, it's confirmed. The strange occurrences in Li Family Village are all low-level; they don't possess the ability to communicate with normal humans. It seems Odin doesn't understand what he's saying either. Even though he clearly doesn't understand, he can still pretend to be serious and reply randomly after reading the message. If Shi Xiao couldn't understand what he was saying, she would have really been fooled.
"Hey Odin, can you understand me? I'm a player too."
"Ah, I'm perfectly fine resting here, no need to trouble you."
"Odin, do you know? You really look silly like this."
"Thank you, thank you, you're all so kind. Don't worry about me, just go about your business." Odin didn't understand, but inwardly he thought, "Why isn't this dark, eerie creature leaving yet?"
Shi Xiao: "..." Talking to him is so tiring! Forget it, I'm leaving, I'm going out for a walk.
Odin noticed that the dark, eerie creature seemed angry. Its already dark face grew even more grim, and it suddenly stood up. Was it about to attack him? Had he given himself away in their conversation? That shouldn't be the case. But the creature was clearly about to make its move!
Isn't there a Chinese saying, "Strike first, or suffer the consequences"? At worst, we'll fight this monster! So Odin decisively drew his scythe.
Shi Xiao had just stood up when he saw Odin swung his scythe at him from the opposite side...
"Holy crap! No way, friend, are you going to kill me?" In desperation, Shi Xiao cursed and rolled on the spot, barely dodging the knife.
When Odin saw that the dark, eerie creature had only gotten up, he was dumbfounded. It turned out that the dark, eerie creature wasn't going to attack him! But it had already made its move!
Odin, quick-witted, sheathed his scythe and handed it to Shi Xiao with a smile: "Oh dear, misunderstanding, misunderstanding! I just wanted to show you my newly acquired scythe. Look at its luster, its blade, what do you think? Not bad, right?"
If it weren't for the obvious murderous intent in Odin's eyes just now, Shi Xiao would have actually believed his nonsense! This Odin, he's supposed to be a priest of the Snow Kingdom, yet he even deceives people about supernatural phenomena, he's a real scoundrel!
"But this sickle is really good!" Shi Xiao snatched it without any hesitation, praising it as he looked at it: "This sickle is indeed good! With this, even my small frame can easily harvest two acres of land."
Odin chuckled to himself upon seeing the dark, eerie object's satisfied expression, but inwardly he was heartbroken. This scythe was the reward for clearing his last dungeon! It was a genuine artifact, not some ordinary farm tool you see everywhere in your village!
"Brother Black, how...how is it? Have you finished looking at it? I just wanted to show it to you, take a look, this...can you give it back to me now?" Seeing that the dark and eerie creature seemed to have misunderstood his meaning, holding the scythe and liking it more and more, showing no intention of returning it to him, Odin could barely maintain his forced smile.
Shi Xiao liked it more and more the more she looked at it. And what? Wasn't this a gift he gave her voluntarily? Why would you return something you've given away?
"Thank you, I'll take it then." Seeing Shi smile and put the scythe back into her bracelet, Odin's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.
After the two exchanged a few jokes, everything seemed to be ready outside, and it was already close to midnight. Li Dezhu's front yard was filled with seats, and since there wasn't enough room in the front yard, several tables were also set up outside the yard.
Inside the first-floor room, an offering table, offerings, and an incense burner were set up. Two life-sized red packages were placed on either side of the offering table; these were the same two unidentified packages that Shi Xiao and the others had seen in the ancestral hall.
Outside, a steady stream of eerie guests arrived. Ike and his companions had also arrived. Ike handed the gold-embossed red invitation to the eerie greeter, who then shouted, "Li Mianmian from Li Family Village, congratulations on your happy marriage!"
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