Zheng Xiu wiped the rain from his face, squinting at the text floating before him. He clicked his tongue, a little baffled.
But after a moment, it made sense.
'As a Painter, being able to emit an intangible aura to intimidate others... that's reasonable.'
'Subduing people with paintings.'
After cutting down Li Dachui and seeing the Mountain Bandit Group defeated, Zheng Xiu glanced back. Baili Village was right behind him.
"Maybe I can actually speedrun this?"
Zheng Xiu pursed his lips. Ignoring Baili Village behind him, he walked forward.
"THUDDA-THUDDA-THUDDA..."
As he walked, the rapid thudding of hooves drew near, powerful enough to overwhelm the sound of the rain.
A vast sea of figures appeared, charging on horseback.
A rough estimate put their numbers at a full hundred men.
"That's him!"
"He's the one who killed the Big Leader!"
"Pah! What Divine Martial Hall from the Imperial City? You dog bastard, hurry up and die!"
"He must be one of the Xiao Family's bastards! He's trying to trick us!"
"Avenge the Big Leader!"
"Avenge him!"
[You were hacked to death by the enraged "Li's Mountain Bandits," your body left in pieces.]
Hacked back into reality, Zheng Xiu curled up like a grasshopper on his bedding from the pain.
As the pain faded, Zheng Xiu was still shaken.
'Holy crap, a single Mountain Bandit Group has a full hundred members?'
'Are you laying siege to a city?'
Entering the Ghostly Realm once more, Zheng Xiu again chopped down Li Dachui. Ignoring the white lightning rumbling through the dark, churning sky, he quickly hid in a small grove of trees.
Just then, his [Intuition] triggered again, and a shiver ran down his spine.
'Quick, make a Scouting check!'
[You were Cunning and Deceitful!]
'Nice, the roll was a critical hit.'
The information from this Scouting check was extremely detailed.
[You glance back at your footprints and the disheveled bushes. You realize that if your pursuers have expert Tracking experience, it will be difficult to escape even while hiding in the woods.]
[Two legs are no match for seven hundred and forty horse legs.]
[The number of mountain bandits lurking in the surroundings is far beyond your expectations.]
[How can a mere Painter like you possibly fight against an overwhelming Mountain Bandit Group?]
"If?"
"Overwhelming?"
Zheng Xiu stumbled deeper into the forest. Sure enough, the "if" from the [Scouting] check was confirmed. These were no ordinary bandits. It wasn't long before they caught up to him.
[You were hacked to death by the enraged "Li's Mountain Bandits" and became fertilizer for the wild forest. Perhaps many years from now, nourished by you, a mighty, towering tree will grow in this spot.]
Just before he died, this line of text gave Zheng Xiu the distinct impression that he was being mocked.
He was getting used to dying.
Zheng Xiu cracked his neck, strummed his beloved golden silk vine a few times, composed himself, and headed for the main road again.
'Let's analyze the geography here.'
'At the moment, it seems the Ghostly Realm has no "borders."'
'But to my right is a steep peak. If I were to climb it... I estimate it would be very difficult, with a high probability of falling and ending up as a meat paste. Not an option.'
'Ahead is Li Dachui and his nearly two hundred men.'
'To my left is the seemingly peaceful entrance to Baili Village, as well as the little grove.'
'Then I'll turn back.'
Zheng Xiu made his decision.
It soon started raining.
Zheng Xiu made a Scouting check. The check failed.
Another group of men on horseback swarmed toward him.
Their numbers were vast. In the rain, the sheer size of the force made Zheng Xiu's scalp tingle.
[You have encountered the "Xiao's Mountain Bandits."]
[They have not yet spotted you.]
[You were trampled by the chaotic rush of horses.]
[Dead.]
...
"This isn't right!"
Having died four times in a row, Zheng Xiu's whole body ached so much he felt like he was about to fall apart. He had no choice but to lie down on his soft bedding to rest, panting lightly with his eyes closed to recover.
'This world is all wrong!'
He had been in the Ghostly Realm four times, and no matter which direction or fork in the road he took, he ran into a Mountain Bandit Group.
Once or twice could be a coincidence.
But running into bandits every single time? There was definitely something strange about the world of this Ghostly Realm.
It was too ridiculous.
It was as if the bandits really had built this road themselves.
Li's Mountain Bandits.
Lin's Mountain Bandits.
Chu's Mountain Bandits.
Ye's Mountain Bandits.
'These surnames are more impressive than the last, like they're from some Hidden World families. But they're all out here robbing people?'
'And they're doing it in a torrential downpour. The word "professional" doesn't even begin to describe the conduct of these four great families.'
'"Utterly deranged" is more like it.'
Although he hadn't left the Imperial City to trade in many years, the realm had gradually found peace after the suppression of the Northern Barbarian Chaos. Any who had raised a banner to declare themselves king of a mountain had long since been wiped out. Those who could go straight went straight, those who could find other work found other work, and the rest were thrown in prison. Where did so many bandit gangs come from?
Ridiculous.
'So you're forcing me into the woods, is that it?'
The more Zheng Xiu thought about it, the more he felt that the world the Ghostly Realm presented to him was not the current Daqian.
He was more inclined to believe it was a phantom world, like a game. Otherwise, none of it made sense.
Besides, in the midst of being utterly slaughtered by the great bandit families, he hadn't gotten the "Gained Experience" notification in a long time. It seemed he had sheared all the wool he could. To go and die again... it wasn't worth it.
"Well, so much for the speedrun."
Once again, he expertly dispatched Li Dachui and scared off the Li's Mountain Bandits. Looking down at the headless corpse beneath him and the panicked, riderless horse fleeing the scene, Zheng Xiu took the scabbard from the body, sheathed the Curved Saber, and without hesitation, turned back to the fork at the road sign.
Zheng Xiu had speed-farmed this encounter hundreds of times. Now that the shortcomings of his Incarnation had been remedied, he had the confidence to enter Baili Village.
At the road sign, Zheng Xiu quickly entered the path.
The sky was already as black as ink. Under the cover of the downpour, Zheng Xiu followed a small path, moving swiftly.
After running a few hundred meters, Zheng Xiu heard a commotion from the main road, but he paid it no mind. He had moved decisively, and since there was already a small path leading to Baili Village, it was highly likely they would follow the main road or search the forest, and wouldn't be able to find him right away.
'I'll deal with it if they find me.'
'It's nothing more than "Victory and defeat are common in battle. Please try again, great hero," anyway.'
[You have inadvertently discovered a small path in the woods, trodden by many people.]
[You believe this seems to be a bustling village.]
[Your heart is filled with joy. To be able to find a place to rest on this rainy night, Heaven has not treated you unkindly.]
[But a faint sense of unease lingers in your heart, and you cannot discern its source.]
[Perhaps it's just your imagination, you think to yourself.]
[The Celestial Dao is just. You are a man of great ambition; fortune favors the virtuous.]
Zheng Xiu rolled his eyes.
'The death flags just keep on coming, don't they?'
As Zheng Xiu made his way through the woods in the rain, silently cursing how this winding little path seemed to go on forever...
a fog suddenly billowed up around him.
The rain could not wash it away, nor could the wind disperse it.
The thick fog was viscous, pasting itself over Zheng Xiu's eyes.
Zheng Xiu fell silent, waiting to see what would happen.
Within the dense fog, fine black powder, like a swarm of flies, formed a line of rather ugly text.
[You are about to complete "Baili Village - Act I: A Rainy Night Without a Blade."]
[Now entering Act II: Strange Tales of a Mountain Village.]
[Now entering Act II: Strange Tales of a Mountain Village.]
[Now entering Act II: Strange Tales of a Mountain Village.]
[You are hesitating whether to proceed.]
[You sense that once you advance, it will be difficult to turn back.]
Zheng Xiu saw the same line of text three times in a row.
Zheng Xiu had no intention of turning back anyway. He didn't pause his steps and continued forward. Soon, the dense fog parted once more.
The familiar "opening ceremony."
The raindrops that had been painfully splattering against him suddenly stopped.
The panicked chirping of insects in the forest fell instantly silent.
[You have advanced further into the Deep Path.]
[You have comprehended "Divine Travel!"]
THUMP!
GURGLE...