Chapter 206

Chapter 206

With everyone present, Cheng Miao turned to look without much hesitation. The Kun-Bone Dagger was already in her hand.

Who would have thought that what appeared behind her was the little doll, wobbling along with a bowl of pickled vegetables?

“Ah!” Lin Zhu slapped his forehead. “I forgot about you.”

He crossed over in two strides and took the pickles, then picked up the little figure, brushed off the dust, and set him on his shoulder.

Back at the Grand Hotel, Lin Zhu and the others had discovered that the little figure’s upgrade in the work instance had increased his strength. His balance and intelligence had improved as well.

He could now handle a few small tasks.

While they had been busy in the kitchen earlier, Lin Zhu had worried about getting him dirty and set him in a pile of clean straw.

When they carried the dishes out, nobody remembered the little plate of pickles they had taken out. The little figure waited a while, then, seeing nobody return, climbed to his feet and laboriously carried the pickles over to find Lin Zhu.

But he was so small, and had only recently learned to walk, that it had taken him until now to cover that short distance.

Cheng Miao couldn’t help smiling at the little doll. “Mini Lin is pretty considerate. He knows to help lighten your load.”

Lin Zhu grinned. He was very pleased with this item.

Mini Lin needed neither food nor charging. He sat obediently on Lin Zhu’s shoulder, watching them eat.

Cheng Miao and her companions had seen Mini Lin before, but Freckles and Yang Ke hadn’t. Their eyes were wide with curiosity.

They were curious about the mysterious handsome man who had suddenly appeared on Cheng Miao’s team too. But his presence was imposing, and both of them had enough sense not to bother him.

Mini Lin, however, was simply too adorable, and remarkably intelligent.

Their discussion of the luohua cave brides legend came to an end there. After going through those first few instances, Cheng Miao already knew how this game operated.

It might draw material from legends and stories, but it would never copy them exactly.

Even if their instance really was connected with the luohua cave brides, it certainly wouldn’t be that simple to clear.

After they finished eating, Cheng Miao took Qi Jiajia and Freckles to wash the dishes.

Qiudong lifted Cheng Miao aside and rolled up his own sleeves.

Watching from beside him, Cheng Miao had to admit that good-looking people could appear refined and dignified even sitting on a little folding stool washing dishes.

With nothing to do, Cheng Miao went to inspect the rooms. There were five rooms around the courtyard, all with much the same layout.

They weren’t large. Four small beds crowded together looked rather like a traditional northern Chinese kang sleeping platform.

Each room also had a small wooden table by the window. They looked as though they’d only just been brought in, probably because their hosts thought academic researchers would need desks.

A bare light bulb hung overhead, with a few tiny flying insects accumulated inside. Cheng Miao tried the lights. They all worked, though they were rather dim.

She chose a room near the middle. Since their roles were academic researchers, it should be fine for them to squeeze in together.

This was why their assigned roles in an instance mattered. In the lantern instance, for example, they had actually been sacrifices, so they had to follow the Village Head’s sleeping arrangements to the letter.

But here, as in the castle instance, they were guests. There wouldn’t be too many strict conditions governing which rooms they slept in.

Cheng Miao and Lin Zhu shifted the beds, pushing the four already closely spaced beds together.

Qin Musong and Qiudong both had long arms and legs, and Lin Zhu was tall too. Fortunately, Qi Jiajia was small, so they could just about all fit.

Yang Ke took his bag and claimed the room beside Cheng Miao’s. There were only two of them, so they would have to share with other people.

Seeing this, Fang Jing wasn’t about to fall behind, even though she was alone in the courtyard.
Alone now, she didn’t dare provoke Cheng Miao. She could only choose the central room beside Cheng Miao’s and sit inside, sulking by herself.

By the time Qiudong and the others finished washing the dishes, both pairs who had gone out had returned.

Miao Jie held Chang Qing’s arm, smiling brightly. Tan Ge and Tan Wu were eating fruit they had picked from somewhere.

Zhu Cong had returned too. His expression was subdued as he carried a bowl of rice into the room for Fang Jing.

“I really don’t know what Brother Zhu is thinking. What’s so special about that woman?”

“All right, give it a rest.”

“This is a survival game, not playing house. Sooner or later, that woman will drag him down!”

“Hi! Have you eaten?” Miao Jie liked Cheng Miao. Among all these people, she felt that Cheng Miao alone was truly kind.

Cheng Miao nodded. Since the girl had spoken to her, she wasn’t going to snub her. “What about you?”

“We have.” Miao Jie beamed, looking innocent and sunny. “This place is a lot like my hometown, and the villagers are nice too. When it was time to eat, they invited us into their homes for dinner.”

Cheng Miao nodded, then looked at the frail Tan Wu. “Are you only eating fruit? Will your body be able to handle that?”

Tan Wu smiled, a little color coming into her cheeks. “It’s all right. Fruit is fine for me. If I eat a meal at night, I have trouble digesting it.”

“Why are you putting on that sickly-beauty act?” Fang Jing came out of the room. Zhu Cong followed her silently, with only a little of the rice eaten.

He said nothing and finished the rest in a few mouthfuls.

“A sickly beauty is still better than a stupid beauty. Besides, some idiots are all stupidity and no beauty.” Miao Jie smiled at Fang Jing without giving her the slightest consideration.

Cheng Miao pressed a hand to her brow. This instance was certainly lively.

There was little entertainment in the village. Once darkness fell, many people tidied up and went to bed.

Zu Gehan only returned at dusk. Since he was an experienced player, Cheng Miao instinctively felt there was no need to worry about him. Shi Biao, however, hadn’t returned. Who knew where he had gone?

Zu Gehan didn’t seem concerned either. He went to look at the room Freckles and Yang Ke had chosen and politely asked whether he could stay with them.

Once they agreed, he lay down.

An experienced player like him wasn’t concerned with exploring the instance or afraid of death. It was perfectly normal for him not to take part in group activities.

This was only their first day. Nobody planned to explore the village at night, especially since it was surrounded by woods. One careless move and they could get lost.

The five of them washed up and lay down on the beds. With Qiudong on her left and Qi Jiajia on her right, Cheng Miao lay on her back and looked at the ceiling.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could see. She spoke quietly. “I didn’t expect Zu Gehan to leave Shi Biao alone.”

Qiudong’s eyes were brighter than an ordinary person’s in the dark, with a faint trace of blue. “He won’t act just yet.”

“Hmm?” They had only eaten a little while ago, and Cheng Miao wasn’t sleepy yet. The others listened to the two of them talk.

“In some instances, everyone is connected. Acting rashly can break the chain of relationships and make it harder for the players to clear the instance.”

Cheng Miao understood. If Zu Gehan killed Shi Biao before figuring out the instance, and Shi Biao turned out to serve some purpose, wouldn’t that ruin everything?

He was a cleared player, so he had nothing to fear. But putting other players in trouble would go against his sense of justice.

“Do you think Shi Biao will dare come back?” Cheng Miao hadn’t seen him return before she went into their room.

The village might not look dangerous, but wandering around outside alone at night was still unsafe.

“He’s already back.” Qiudong rolled onto his side and looked at Cheng Miao in the darkness. “He’s in Song Guoqiang’s room.”