The tombs are not far apart, and some of the tombstones are several meters high. The small characters recorded on them are densely packed. The people who made the tombstones demonstrated with their actions what it means to be unable to describe in words.
The two most common surnames of guardsmen in the ancestral hall were "Li" and "Zhou". Coupled with the ballot box made of bones, Su Er subconsciously looked for tombstones with these two surnames.
Aside from the young woman from the Li family who had recently committed suicide, the only tombstone I'd found bore the surname "Li." Judging from the birth and death dates on the tombstone, the child was no more than thirteen years old, and the crime recorded was that he had secretly gone out to play and drowned. I patiently circled the entire area, finally finding a tombstone near the cliff face that bore the name Zhou Linjun.
Because it is quite old and has been eroded by wind and rain, the word "Zhou" on it has become a little blurred.
Now let's look at the crime: theft.
Compared with other tombstones, there are only two words.
Su Er turned around and looked at Ji Heng: "Will a ghost suddenly appear?"
"Maybe not." Ji Heng said: "Unless you have violated some taboo."
The game favors ghosts, but also gives them restrictions, otherwise players will have no place to stand.
Su Er: "Does digging graves count?"
Before Ji Heng could speak, Wen Buyu took a deep breath. Is this guy crazy?
Of course, Su Er was not willful and reckless. Only by opening the coffin could he confirm whether the bones in the ballot box in the ancestral hall belonged to this person.
Ji Heng didn't answer.
Sur knew that he shouldn't get used to asking him about everything, so he quickly changed his mindset and started thinking independently. Those buried here were all people who were considered a disgrace by the town. There was not even any sign of anyone coming to worship on this piece of land, so it was most likely a mass grave.
Even so, there is no guarantee that one can get away with it safely after digging it out.
After spending half a minute thinking, Su Er hardened his resolve and prepared to dig. Now that Ji Heng was with him, he didn't know how many life-or-death decisions he would have to make in the future. How could he always be perfect?
Seeing him first wrap his hands with his sleeves and dig a little, then dislike the slow speed and look around to find a piece of wood to use as a makeshift shovel, Wen Buyu felt his nerves tingling: "Should I stop him?"
Ji Heng glanced at her, and the latter swallowed back the unfinished words. Wen Buyu gritted his teeth and walked forward to help Su Er dig.
"Huh?" Su Er was a little surprised.
"You may not be able to finish digging before dark by yourself." Wen Buyu didn't want to help at all, but if he did nothing, sooner or later Ji Heng would abandon him as a useless chess piece.
Suer raised his eyebrows. Although this man's strength was not strong, there was a reason why he could survive until now.
Wen Buyu was clearly more experienced than Su'er in digging, knowing how to find the right spot and apply her strength skillfully. Furthermore, she had been in the game for a long time and her strength was far superior to Su'er's. Working together, the two of them quickly uncovered a corner of the coffin.
Wen Buyu: "Do you want to open it?"
Su Er knocked lightly on the coffin lid: "Are you there?"
Wen Buyu was speechless. Just as she was about to speak, a thud echoed from within the coffin. The sudden noise startled her so much that she fell back onto the ground. Looking again, Su Er had already leaped three meters away!
Su Er was also a little embarrassed, pursed his lips and said, "It's the instinct to escape."
Wen Buyu got up with hatred in his heart. If the coffin had broken just now, he would definitely be the first to be hurt.
Su Er approached the coffin again with a serious expression and asked, "Senior, what do you think of me? Am I qualified to be the head of the guards?"
The coffin lid suddenly fell silent.
Sur Mao then volunteered: "Once I become the head of the guards, I promise to formulate stricter regulations to prevent anyone from exploiting loopholes."
Wen Buyu frowned and whispered a reminder: "Those buried here are all people who were killed by the rules."
Su Er turned a deaf ear and continued, "The current punishment is still too light and not enough to convince the public."
A creaking sound emanated from within the coffin. A strong wind from the mountaintop seemed to rush down, pouring in from the top of the head, making the soles of the feet feel like glue, making it impossible to take a single step. With a creaking sound, a crack appeared in the coffin, and Soul could even see the rusty nails bent and stuck there.
A stack of red paper floated out of the coffin, divided into three parts, and fell into the hands of Su'er, Wen Buyu, and Ji Heng.
"Whoever can hold these things before tomorrow morning will be the new chief of guards."
A hoarse voice came from the coffin, and the surrounding graves seemed to sense it. The wind suddenly became stronger, blowing off a lot of yellow soil from the graves.
None of the three showed any joy. Instead, they stared at the red paper in their hands as if they were looking at a hot potato. Wen Buyu took the lead and said to Su Er, "I give up. The thing is yours."
Su Er didn't answer: "Let's leave here first."
The grave mound gradually became a miniature behind him, and the temperature warmed up a little. Su Er clenched the red paper in his hand and looked at Ji Heng with a bit of a smile: "It's the same as your educational philosophy. Even if there are no conditions, we must create them."
It would be fine if you can keep these red papers, but if you can't, you will probably die in their hands.
To put it bluntly, the ghosts offer benefits, and the price of failure is life. This is the ghost creating conditions for killing them.
Wen Buyu thought of a bad hypothesis: "Will we be chased by a large number of ghosts at night?"
"That makes sense."
This was the first time Ji Heng confirmed her idea.
Wen Buyu wanted to cry but had no tears. He wanted to stuff the red paper into Su Er's hand for the second time and said, "Don't you really want to be the captain of the guards?"
Soul: "If I don't have a piece of red paper in my hand the next day, I might be listed as a target for elimination."
Thinking of the words coming from the coffin, Wen Buyu's hands froze in mid-air.
She racked her brains for a way to escape, and when she was almost at the market, she suddenly spoke up, "By the way, why did you say we should make rules, not break them?"
The latter should be more in line with the wishes of the person who died unjustly.
Su Er told her the story of the previous dungeon: "Those who were killed by the evil cult still wanted to become divine messengers after their death."
If they can't turn back when they are alive, how can we expect them to attain enlightenment after they die?
"If it's true, as Ji Heng said, that the Guard Captain's every move is under the supervision of ghosts, then it proves that these ghosts don't want revenge, but want to use more stringent rules to restrain future generations."
Wen Buyu looked at Ji Heng, who nodded slightly, agreeing with what Suer said.
Su Er sighed softly: "After ten years of being a daughter-in-law, she becomes a mother-in-law, and then the mother-in-law starts a cycle of abusing her daughter-in-law."
"..." Outrageous, yet inexplicably vivid. Wen Buyu tried to calm down: "The most urgent thing is how to survive tonight."
Su Er: "Divide the troops into three groups."
There was clearly more than one ghost in the town, and if they gathered together they would face a siege. If they dispersed, they could only attack separately, and the pressure they faced would be relatively less.
Wen Buyu did not object. He always picked on the weak ones. Sul was the weakest among them, so the threat he faced would not be that great compared to them.
A faint fragrance entered his nose. Wen Buyu raised his head and saw Ji Heng handing a small box to Su Er.
"What's this?"
"Ghost Bone Flower." Ji Heng said, "Before the flower fully blooms, ghosts can't see your presence."
Su Er didn't expect that he had such a wonderful thing in his hand: "How long can it last?"
Ji Heng shook his head: "I haven't used it, it should be enough to last for a while."
Su Er didn't refuse and thanked him solemnly before keeping it.
Wen Buyu's eyes flickered. Ji Heng handed the things to Su Er right in front of her. He wasn't afraid... Just as an idea came to her mind, she looked up and saw Ji Heng looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, mouthing, "Try it."
These three simple words shocked Wen Buyu's heart and made him give up the idea of snatching it away.
When beating a dog, you have to consider the owner first. Moreover, with Sur's potential, he is likely to grow into a leader.
Ji Heng: "Although there are other things on me that you can use, they may kill you."
Sur nodded. He was not a greedy person. The ghost bone flower was already an extremely precious consumable.
Before night fell, the three of them gathered at a roadside snack stall to have a hearty meal, and then went their separate ways.
Sur headed west, which was the farthest from the cemetery. He was familiar with the surrounding terrain, so it was relatively advantageous.
Before the sky darkened, he could still carefully consider his strategy. But when darkness finally fell, even Soul couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. He didn't know how the ghosts found him, but there was a process. He'd noticed that the temperature dropped after touching dirt, so he went to a damp, cooler place. By doing the opposite, he might be able to conceal his hiding place with warmth, making the ghost ignore him.
Finally, Sur chose a place to squat next to a large water tank, with plenty of cover around.
Nightlife doesn't exist in this town. Once dark, few people are seen on the streets. Soul leaned against the wall, a chill running down his spine. The streets were completely silent. After some time, the wind suddenly picked up, a rustling sound that was indescribably eerie.
Su Er did not dare to relax at all, and listened carefully with his ears erect. There seemed to be some discordant rhythm mixed in.
Ta-ta.
No, it's more like a clanging sound.
The moon was unusually round tonight. Suer quietly stuck half of his head out, wanting to see what was happening in the moonlight. He took a quick look and almost couldn't help cursing.
On the deserted street, a skeleton appeared—or rather, half a skeleton. It had lost all bones below the waist, relying solely on the rest of its body for support. Yet, its speed was remarkable. One second, it was over ten meters away, and the next, the distance between the skeleton and the skeleton had shrunk to less than a meter.
As he got closer, Suer could clearly see maggots coming out of the skull's eyes, and he immediately looked down at the box Ji Heng had given him.
With a stun gun, he naturally didn't want to waste it on ordinary imps, and the skeleton didn't look very powerful. The problem was that Su Er always wanted to make a ballot box out of bones, and the one in front of him happened to be missing a lot of bones.
Should I use it or not?
Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but it only took him three seconds to make a decision. Soul quickly opened the box and put the flowers in his pocket.
Almost at the same time, a gust of wind swept over his head. Sur bent his body and felt a little scared. This half skeleton had indeed discovered his presence.
There was a hole in the wall behind him poked by the sharp finger bones. The skeleton was a little confused. He could clearly sense that he was here, so why did he suddenly lose his breath?
Suhl breathed a sigh of relief.
The skeleton's eyes had long been gone, and it couldn't see normally. It seemed the Ghost Bone Flower was even more precious than Ji Heng had described. Not only could it make ghosts unable to see it, it could even block their perception.
Five minutes passed and the skeleton showed no sign of leaving. Sur tried to take a few steps to the side, but soon the skeleton appeared around him.
What's going on?
The ghost flower also has a time limit. Once it blooms, it's all over. Su Er tried to calm down, but suddenly he found that the maggots that crawled out of the skull's eyes were only half a meter away from him, circling like headless flies.
Depend on!
No matter how calm Su Er was, he felt sad about his "unbelievable" luck.
Can ghosts have helpers?
Another ten minutes passed, and a petal had bloomed.
It was obvious that Gui Duohua would not be able to hold out until dawn, and wherever he went, the skeletons would follow him. If this continued, he would surely die.
"Take a gamble." Sur looked back at the skeleton that was determined to take his life and made a bold decision: "The most dangerous place is often the safest."
·
ancestral hall.
Ji Heng leaned against the pillar. So far, he had only encountered two weak little ghosts.
A panting sound was heard, and Wen Buyu staggered in, half of his sleeve was stained with blood, obviously injured.
"There are people here." Ji Heng was not at all humane.
Wen Buyu racked his brains before coming to the ancestral hall. The ballot box there was clearly problematic, and a ghost might appear. However, most ghosts were executed in the ancestral hall and would likely be unwilling to enter, so it would be relatively safe.
But now that two people have gathered, it's hard to say. The primitive desire to kill is likely to drive them all in together.
She was a little unwilling: "Su Er is also very cunning, maybe he will come soon, will you drive him out too?"
Ji Heng: "This place was originally occupied by him."
When Sule arrives, he will naturally leave.
Wen Buyu was stunned for a moment: "If that's the case, why didn't you just..."
Before he could finish his question, he realized he was training. Guifen's selection of personnel was focused on quality, which had both advantages and disadvantages. Just like the last time Guifen lost a member in a dungeon, they had to quickly bring in a replacement to compensate for the weakened organization.
Ji Heng didn't kill him completely, but pointed out a clear way: "You can go find Wan Yi and tell him about the red ticket. With his ability, it won't be a problem for him to protect you."
He couldn't understand why Ji Heng was willing to reveal the matter of the red ticket, but Wen Buyu had no better choice at the moment.
Out of a slight jealousy and resentment, he said one last thing before leaving: "He might not have thought of coming here."
Sur is indeed excellent, but he still lacks survival experience.
"The most dangerous place is the safest," Ji Heng said calmly, "It's such a simple truth, he must understand it."
·
Su Er did think of the ancestral hall first, but he thought about it one more thing. If he could think of it, then Ji Heng and Wen Buyu would definitely think of it as well. And when the three of them met in the end, what was the point of dispersing?
Besides, the most dangerous place is not the ancestral hall.
"What's the big deal about the ancestral hall..." Su Er looked at the skeleton still chasing him with maggots, then looked at the yard in front of him and gritted his teeth: "Mr. Shuhai's bed is the most exciting."