Chapter 43: Doubts |
Qi Si followed behind Zhu Ling and Zhang Licai. By the time they returned to the courtyard of Su Po's house, Yang Yundong's group had yet to arrive.
A pale sun sank toward the remote western horizon, nearly swallowed by the mist. Before it vanished completely, the vast fog began to dissolve, as if it were ink on rice paper bleeding under a damp cloth, diluting, fading, and dispersing with each passing moment.
The western edge of the village was revealed as if an ancient ruin had been unsealed, but the substance of the barrier didn't simply vanish into thin air. Instead, clouds of vapor galloped away like wild horses, weaving a new veil of mist over the eastern road as ashen dust rose slowly into the air.
Qi Si stepped over the threshold, his gaze falling on the corner where Lu Keliang's body had been.
The fresh corpse was now nothing more than a bare skeleton. Not a single shred of flesh remained, as clean as if it had been licked bare by a pack of carnivores.
The skeleton's surface gleamed with a fresh, milky-white luster, shimmering faintly in the twilight glow. Even Qi Si, who was accustomed to artistic bone specimens, couldn't help but murmur softly, "How beautiful."
He watched for a moment before moving closer.
Zhou Yilin was sitting beside the skeleton, silently wiping away her tears. Hearing his footsteps, she began to sob. "I wanted to move Uncle Lu... I don't know how it ended up like this..."
Qi Si just grunted, "Oh," reigning in his wandering thoughts, and continued on his own across the dry earth toward the back of the courtyard.
Even knowing this old woman had been dead for a long time, Qi Si’s expression remained unchanged as he asked politely, "Excuse me, is there a place where I can wash up?"
Su Po froze.
Then she heard the young man in front of her articulate each word with deliberate clarity: "I need to take a bath."
Ten minutes later, Qi Si stood in the woodshed. He had finally shed his shirt and trousers, caked in slime and dust, and soaked himself in a wooden tub filled with hot water.
He scooped up water and poured it over his head. His vision, blurred by the droplets, shifted in and out of focus.
In a daze, he saw his own eyes, clouded by a thin film, and the soft, indistinct contours of his face. A thread of unfamiliarity sprouted in the depths of his mind. He subconsciously raised a hand to his face; the touch was cool.
"Chang Xu, you don't have a change of clothes, do you? I found some in the house..." Zhou Yilin's timid voice came from outside the door. "I left them on the windowsill for you."
His thoughts were interrupted. Qi Si paused for a second, then lowered his eyes and said with a smile, "Thank you for the trouble."
Hearing Zhou Yilin's footsteps fade away, he rose from the tub, grabbed the seemingly clean white shirt and black trousers from the windowsill, shook them out, and silently pulled them on.
As he moved, his fingers brushed against something. Frowning, Qi Si pulled out a slip of paper tucked inside the clothes.
The slip was made of the same material as the travel brochure. On it, a single, deep black line had been drawn with a pen, its meaning unclear.
A clamor of voices arose from outside the door. Yang Yundong's group must have returned.
Qi Si squinted, pushed open the woodshed door, and looked up to see Yang Yundong standing in the middle of the courtyard entrance, the tattooed woman on his back, his face grim.
On the way back to the courtyard, with no need for defensive measures, Yang Yundong had taken over for Zhao Feng in carrying the tattooed woman. He showed little sign of fatigue despite the journey, but his eyes held a clear trace of worry.
He said in a heavy voice, "We couldn't get in. The ancestral hall's doors are shut. They said it only opens in the morning."
Zhao Feng, who was following behind, nodded, confirming the man's words.
The tattooed woman's condition had worsened significantly since they were at the village chief's house. Her legs dangled limply, hanging at Yang Yundong's sides as soft and boneless as a mollusk's tentacles, dripping a flesh-colored mucus.
She was clearly delirious, muttering nonsensical phrases like "I'm not afraid of you," lost to whatever nightmare was tormenting her in the deep recesses of her mind.
She was, to the naked eye, beyond saving. But the human species has a penchant for administering futile, excessive aid to their companions, if only for peace of mind.
Yang Yundong dragged a stool from the dining table to a corner and propped her body against it.
The bundle of god meat, which Zhang Licai had carried back, was placed in the same corner. Yang Yundong used his broadsword to slice off a piece and offered it to her lips.
She mumbled, "Don't want it," turning her head away, her jaw clenched tight.
Qi Si noticed a faint black smoke swirling around the woman's body, identical to what he had seen on the papyrus in the *Rose Manor* instance.
He blinked, and his vision cleared. The black smoke was gone, as if it had been an illusion.
"Dinner's ready, come and eat!" Su Po shouted in a raspy voice.
She swayed as she walked, carrying out vegetable dishes from the small kitchen next to the woodshed.
The players gathered silently around the dining table. After the day's turmoil and witnessing a companion's death, no one could remain unaffected.
After everyone was seated, Qi Si looked at Su Po and asked casually, "A'Xi seemed very eager to eat meat. He even took a piece from my companion this morning... Have you been starving your grandson?"
Su Po's expression turned ugly.
She glanced at the scrawny boy beside her, an unspoken exchange passing between them. When she looked up again, her tone was firm. "Our A'Xi doesn't eat meat."
The corners of Qi Si's mouth lifted into a mocking, pointed smile. "Don't deny it. If he doesn't eat meat, what did he take it for?"
"I don't know, and it's none of your business," Su Po snapped, pulling A'Xi away from the table.
Leaving the rest of the players at the table to stare at each other in bewilderment. Qi Si rubbed his chin with an innocent air, slightly disappointed.
He had laid the groundwork so carefully, but the NPC refused to take the bait. It seemed getting key information from Su Po wouldn't be so simple.
Ignoring Yang Yundong's questioning gaze, Qi Si pretended not to notice and simply served himself a helping of crown daisy, mixing it with his fragrant rice and burying his head in his bowl to eat.
Although the meal was, strictly speaking, cooked by a dead person, her skill was undeniable.
The dead and the living were much the same to Qi Si. He was happy to seize any opportunity within an instance to improve his diet.
After a moment of awkward silence, Zhu Ling broke in, clearly and methodically recounting the clues they had found at the village history hall and mentioning their speculations about the world view.
Undoubtedly, most of the backstory and world view were now clear, leaving only two unanswered questions:
First, what is Su Clan Village's purpose in receiving the players, who are cast as tourists?
Second, what do the villagers want with the players' flesh?
Zhou Yilin spoke up hesitantly in a small voice, "After you left, I found something in the main house. I don't know if it's useful to you."
She took a ledger-like book from her coat, placed it on the table, and gently opened it.
On the title page, two large characters were written in red ink: "Atonement." They were wild and menacing. The following pages were filled with densely packed names.
The names on the first few pages all began with "Su," and most had been crossed out in red. Qi Si looked at the last eleven names.
--They were the names the eleven players had given during their introductions.
Among them, the names of Lu Keliang, Wu Heng, Zhu Dafu, and Allen each had a fresh red line drawn through them, clearly marked just recently.
Zhang Licai craned his neck to see. When he spotted his own name, his face turned deathly pale. "That old hag Su Po is really up to no good. Does she want to kill us all here?"
Qi Si didn't respond.
He was thinking of the previous instance, of the photograph he'd found in Room 2 on the third floor.
It had also marked the life and death of the players, filled with the same malice, the same intent to kill them all.
In the last instance, Annie had made a deal with a god: if she could keep all the guests in the manor, she could restore her sister Anna's beauty.
So, what about this instance?
"Only Su Po knows the specifics, but she won't tell us," Yang Yundong said, letting out a heavy breath.
He was growing agitated. He finally stood up, dragged the bundle of god meat from the corner to the table, and used his broadsword to divide it into roughly equal-sized pieces.
He placed four pieces of meat in front of everyone, then wrapped up the rest and tossed it back into the corner.
"If you need more, take it yourselves. Remember, you can't eat too much god meat, or something bad will happen." Yang Yundong scanned the group, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Tomorrow morning, we go to the ancestral hall together."
No one answered. Exhaustion stained every person's eyes to varying degrees.
Zhang Licai muttered under his breath, "Two more died today. I'm afraid it'll be my turn tomorrow..."
Hearing this, Yang Yundong sighed. "You've all seen how fast we're being picked off. I suspect the minimum survival count for this instance is one. If we don't solve the world view, we'll die one by one until only a single person is left to clear it."
The worst-case scenario was unfortunately the most logical one. A wave of whispers rippled across the table.
After a while, players began to voice their agreement.
"We'll listen to Brother Yang!"
"The ancestral hall is all that's left. We have to check it out!"
"It's settled, then!"
Qi Si had no intention of joining the discussion. He silently collected his share of the god meat, picked out a smaller piece, and popped it into his mouth, swallowing it down.
The other players murmured among themselves for a bit before cautiously selecting a piece from their own portions and eating it, as if afraid that if they delayed, the terrifying hunger from the previous night would return.
Three people died on the first day, which meant one or two people must have taken extra god meat in theory...
Qi Si's gaze swept over them. The players' faces were all impassive, showing no hint of anything unusual.
He just smiled as if he didn't care, said, "I'm heading off," and left the table.
He returned to his room and stopped by the desk.
On the title page of the travel brochure resting on the desk, the original four lines of poetry had vanished, replaced by new ones:
[Never stay two to a house; never enter the hall alone]
[Mourn not the newly dead; their sins are absolved, so why do you weep]
Comments 1