'Something's not right,' Zheng Xiu mused.
The village chief was warm and hospitable, offering to arrange lodging for them.
"That won't be necessary."
The old man lowered the brim of his hat, declining the village chief's kind offer. "We will camp on the village's open ground for the night and leave on our own tomorrow morning. We won't be a bother. As for this brother here..."
Zheng Xiu was walking along, lost in his own world. The old man's tone shifted as his gaze fell upon the Mountain Bandit Saber hanging from Zheng Xiu's waist.
"Pardon my asking, brother, but where do you come from, and where are you headed?"
Zheng Xiu's thoughts were interrupted, which was already annoying. While there was nothing wrong with the man's words, his tone was condescending. How could Tycoon Zheng stand for that? So he replied:
"From where I came, to where I'm going."
"What a fine answer! 'From where I came, to where I'm going'!" the old man boomed, taking a step forward.
A flash of a blade.
"You dare chase us this far all by yourself? Then... you can stay!"
The bright flash of the blade stung Zheng Xiu's eyes.
His head flew into the air as a pillar of blood erupted from his neck like a fountain.
[Your words have successfully angered "Imperial Guard Commander Wang Cangyun," you have comprehended the Trait "Taunt."]
[Death.]
...
From the start of Act Two until his death, Zheng Xiu had only survived for the length of a single meal.
Master Zheng hadn't even eaten his fill.
「Inside Room A of the Prison Camp.」
Zheng Xiu touched his neck, completely dumbfounded, his eyes wide with astonishment.
He wasn't shocked that the old man had suddenly attacked and killed him, nor because he had died so abruptly, and not even because of emotions like anger.
'But... it didn't hurt this time!'
Don't be fooled by how composed Zheng Xiu seemed every time he entered the Ghostly Realm. He still had to endure the requisite pain. At his level of experience, the most he could do was choose his own way to die.
Only this time, the old man's blade rose and fell—SWISH—killing Zheng Xiu in a single strike and sending him back to reality.
Zheng Xiu only felt a chill on his neck, but not much pain.
'Imperial Sword Guard Wang Cangyun?'
'A name like that just screams 'expert'.'
This easy death allowed Zheng Xiu to quickly compose himself and re-enter the Heart Prison.
His Incarnation had comprehended a new Trait.
[Taunt (Slightly Knowledgeable)]: Your words and actions can anger others, causing them to feel disgust, vigilance, and Anger toward you.
His forehead itched. Zheng Xiu rubbed the lump there, still unable to believe it concealed a Dice. But at this moment, his mind grasped it: [Taunt] was an Ability that required a check to be activated.
Zheng Xiu was puzzled. How had his earlier sentence, "From where I came, to where I'm going," become a "Taunt"?
He carefully recalled the details of that group's actions when they were drinking the fish soup.
And the old man's words before killing [Zheng Shan]—"You dare chase us this far all by yourself?"—'So that's how it is,' Zheng Xiu thought. He rubbed his neck again, grinned, and quickly entered the Ghostly Realm.
This time, Zheng Xiu quickly arrived at Baili Village. He didn't even bother with the soup, simply pushing open the door and tossing the Dice.
"Quickly, make a Taunt check!"
[One.]
[The number you rolled is far less than sixteen.]
[Taunt: Critical Failure.]
Zheng Xiu froze. He hadn't expected the roll requirement for Taunt to be so high.
The people inside the house seemed not to have heard or seen Zheng Xiu toss the Dice, as if it didn't exist. Since the [Taunt] had failed, Zheng Xiu drew his blade. Staring at the pale-skinned youth hiding behind the old man, he deliberately adopted a perverted tone, imitating a gray-robed villain from memory with a dry, rattling cackle: "Gye gye gye... I didn't expect you to escape all the way here."
'Who on earth started using this 'gye gye' laugh for villains? It's so hard to pull off.'
Inside, before Zheng Xiu's duck-like squawk of a laugh had even faded...
...all the sword-wielding Guards, except for the old man, paled. But in the end, it was still the old man who drew his blade fastest. Zheng Xiu didn't even have time to see the motion.
SWOOSH!
The old man stepped onto the edge of the fire pit, ignoring the searing heat on his foot. Firewood scattered as the pot of fish soup on the stove toppled over.
With a look of sheer delight, Zheng Xiu's head took flight.
'It really doesn't hurt!'
Master Zheng felt like he had discovered a new gold mine.
[You forcibly provoked "Imperial Guard Commander Wang Cangyun" through your words and actions, successfully inciting his killing intent. Your 'Taunt' has gained a fair amount of experience.]
[Death.]
Zheng Xiu had wanted to take the opportunity to grind some other skills, like [Step Technique], [Muscle Strength], or [Will], but the old man's blade was too fast. It all happened in an instant, leaving him no time.
But being able to grind [Taunt] experience once every two or three minutes, and painlessly at that, was something Zheng Xiu was already very satisfied with. What more could he ask for?
[Taunt successful.]
[You have provoked "Imperial Guard Commander Wang Cangyun," successfully inciting his killing intent. Your 'Taunt' has gained a small amount of experience.]
[Taunt failed.]
"Come and get me!"
[You forcibly provoked "Imperial Guard Commander Wang Cangyun" through your words and actions, successfully inciting his killing intent. Your 'Taunt' has gained a fair amount of experience.]
"Gye gye... The very existence of this brat is a scourge upon the world! I will kill him today!"
[You forcibly provoked "Imperial Guard Commander Wang Cangyun" through your words and actions, successfully inciting his intense Anger and killing intent. Your 'Taunt' has gained a large amount of experience.]
[Taunt has leveled up to some accomplishment.]
"The nets of Heaven are wide, but nothing slips through..."
[...Your 'Taunt' has gained a small amount of experience.]
"Wang Cangyun, I knew you were here all along. But it doesn't matter. I will make my move!"
[...Your 'Taunt' has gained a fair amount of experience.]
Keep grinding.
[Taunt has leveled up to Expert Skill.]
Grind, grind, grind.
[Taunt has leveled up to Entry.]
...
「In the Heart Prison.」
「On the Game Table.」
A thin beam of light pierced into the prison from outside the Heart Prison, transforming into countless motes of light that sprinkled onto the small figure of [Zheng Shan].
Entry!
Zheng Xiu cried out in exhilaration. Since he first stepped into the Ghostly Realm, this was the first time he'd ever been able to farm something so quickly and painlessly.
Before the sky had even brightened, his Incarnation's newly comprehended [Taunt], with the "help" of Wang Cangyun, saw its Experience Value skyrocket as if on steroids, reaching the level of Entry!
'I am eternally grateful!'
'I'll be sure to thank your whole family!'
'Commander Wang!'
The beam of white light shattered into motes and fell upon [Zheng Shan].
Zheng Shan seemed to be draped in a silken robe of soft light.
Upon closer inspection, the silken robe of light also resembled flexible tentacles, squirming slightly beside Zheng Shan.
Suddenly, [Zheng Shan], who had been completely motionless, strangely lifted its head and reached a hand out in Zheng Xiu's direction.
"!"
Over the past two days, Zheng Xiu had grown accustomed to [Zheng Shan]'s puppet-like nature; if he didn't control it, the puppet would not move. But now, [Zheng Shan]'s sudden movement made Zheng Xiu jump up from the Bone Chair as if he'd seen a ghost.
Zheng Xiu's eyes widened, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
After a moment of silence, [Zheng Shan] made no other movements besides holding its hand out. Zheng Xiu quickly calmed down and walked over, circling [Zheng Shan] to observe it carefully. He discovered that [Zheng Shan]'s eyes were vacant; it wasn't looking at him at all. He had just scared himself.
'The Incarnation is holding out its hand... for a high-five? Is it really that down-to-earth?'
Although Zheng Xiu found it strange, he cautiously extended a finger and slowly touched it to [Zheng Shan]'s palm.
WHOOSH!
Boundless darkness flooded Zheng Xiu's vision.
From the Bone Chair, a withered claw reached out and began to drag Zheng Xiu down.
The ground beneath Zheng Xiu's feet strangely softened, turning into a brown mire.
In an instant, Zheng Xiu was dragged down by the withered, bony claw. He struggled to lift his head, trying to make any sound, be it a curse or a scream. But mud and water quickly poured into his mouth and nose, completely submerging him.
SPLASH!
A sudden feeling of weightlessness washed over him. After being submerged in the mire, Zheng Xiu felt as if he had fallen into deep water and was now floating.
There was nothing in the pitch-black water—no light, no sound. Yet after "falling in," Zheng Xiu felt no pain of suffocation.
He tried to move his limbs and found he still could. But he had no idea what was happening.
Zheng Xiu sank through the "black water" for an unknown amount of time before his feet touched solid ground. In the black water, beneath his feet, a gray wisp unfurled into a winding road that stretched to the edge of the darkness.
Zheng Xiu paused. He looked up abruptly. Far above him was a small "opening," and behind it, he could faintly make out the shape of bars, like a gateway connecting two places.
That was the "entrance" through which he had fallen.
'The Path?'
The name was self-explanatory. The "gate" was the entrance, and the "path" was the road.
After falling through the "gate," Zheng Xiu was now standing on a strange "road."
Zheng Xiu's body began to move forward involuntarily.
No, his feet weren't moving. Rather, the road beneath him was actively squirming, pulling him forward.
In the black water, the gray Path forked.
The branching path was narrower and more winding than the main one. Zheng Xiu couldn't see what lay deep within the "side path"—it was just as profoundly dark. But as he started to head toward it, the lump on his forehead throbbed with pain, as if warning him not to take the wrong way.
'What would happen if I took the wrong one?'
The curious thought naturally arose in Zheng Xiu's mind.
But he chose to stay on the main road.
"SKREEEEE—"
A mournful cry echoed from the darkness. It was the first sound to be heard in this world beneath the black water.
A rotting, bird-like creature shot toward Zheng Xiu, passing straight through his chest.
A sharp pain shot through him, and Zheng Xiu's eyes snapped open.
The black water, the gateway, and the path vanished in an instant. He was once again sitting at the Game Table, the Bone Chair beneath him.
[You have advanced to Deep Path.]
[You have Captured the 'Caged Sparrow' within the Path.]
[You have comprehended "Projection!"]
...