Chapter 221
Chapter 221
Worried about Lin Zhu, Cheng Miao had thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep. In the end, she still drifted off.
That night’s dream was much clearer than the previous one. She felt as she did when she invited a ghost to possess her: her soul seemed to float above her body, unable to move or speak.
She heard water flowing over stones, and wind stirring the tree at the cave’s entrance.
She watched herself walk inside and saw the strikingly poised man in the cave turn to look at her.
For a moment, his overwhelming beauty stunned her. Then she realized she had inexplicably developed a deep trust in him.
Alarm bells began ringing inside her, yet that trust kept growing stronger.
The man watched her quietly, and her head grew hazy. To her surprise, he didn’t ask her wish.
He simply looked at her, smiling.
Cheng Miao sank into a deep sleep.
When she woke the next morning, she could clearly feel how dry and sore her throat was.
She swallowed, and a burning sensation spread through it.
Frowning, she cleared her head, then immediately checked on Lin Zhu.
He wasn’t awake yet. His lips were paler, and his eyes moved beneath his lids. His sleep didn’t seem restful either.
Qin Musong got up coughing and woke him.
It took Lin Zhu considerable effort to sit up. He was visibly more listless.
Qi Jiajia’s face was redder. Cheng Miao tested her temperature by touch and found it much hotter.
The girl didn’t show much, but Cheng Miao could tell she felt unwell.
Qiudong, on the other hand, showed little change. Like Zu Gehan, he was astonishingly powerful.
Cheng Miao went out to wash up, then drew a bowl of well water to drink.
The cool water slid through her throat, triggering a sharp pain.
She frowned and swallowed with difficulty. Then the bowl was taken from her hand.
Qiudong went to the kitchen, boiled water, and added salt. He handed her the salt water at just the right temperature.
She drank slowly, and most of the discomfort in her throat subsided.
Looking at the players who had come outside, her heart sank.
Freckles hung her head listlessly. When spoken to, she took a long time to respond.
Yang Ke clearly had a bad cold, his voice heavily nasal.
Miao Jie walked carefully. She said she’d woken short of breath, though she’d never had asthma.
Zhu Cong seemed clearheaded, but had a terrible headache.
Of Ma Yang and Kong Fan, one also had a throat too sore to speak. The other had stomach pain, though exactly where was hard to say, and crouched beside the well, unable to stand.
Wang Yang’s eyes were terribly red, with pain spreading into his head.
Tan Ge and Tan Wu were a little unusual. Tan Wu remained frail, but didn’t seem much worse than before.
Tan Ge, by contrast, was coughing as though he meant to cough his lungs out, despite being in the second group to receive grass bracelets.
After looking around, Cheng Miao found that aside from the largely unaffected Qiudong and Zu Gehan, everyone really was a collection of the weak, ill, and infirm.
Her sore throat made it harder to concentrate than before. It took her a moment to realize. “Where are Chang Qing, Song Guoqiang, and Zhao Jiangong?”
Miao Jie spoke slowly, afraid she wouldn’t be able to catch her breath. “I didn’t see him when I got up. Maybe he went to the toilet.”
“Same with those two.” Wang Yang didn’t dare rub his eyes. He sat on the ground, holding his head.
Cheng Miao frowned. “That’s not right.”
As soon as she spoke, there was a sound at the door. Everyone turned and saw Chang Qing, Song Guoqiang, and Zhao Jiangong enter from outside the courtyard.
None of the three showed their earlier signs of illness. Their expressions were peaceful, their lips smiling. Ignoring everyone, they walked toward their rooms.
Cheng Miao noticed a small flower blooming on the back of each man’s hand.
“Oh no, they’ve married the Tree Deity!” Cheng Miao had no time to say more. She and a few quick-reacting players rushed to stop the three men, who looked at them like smiling mannequins.
She examined the little flowers on their hands and even tried pulling with some force. The flowers didn’t move at all.
“What do we do? They’ll die if this goes on!” Only now did Miao Jie truly panic.
This process was moving much faster than it had for the villagers. They simply hadn’t had time to react.
“You decide. Do you want us to try removing the flowers with an item?” Cheng Miao held the Kun-Bone Dagger. She had no other method, and didn’t even know whether this was permissible or would work.
Miao Jie bit her lip, unable to decide. Wang Yang, his eyes red and his temples pounding, said, “I agree.”
Cheng Miao acted without delay, moving to cut. The instant the Kun-Bone Dagger touched the flower on Song Guoqiang’s hand, he screamed and attacked her.
She crossed her arms to protect her head and blocked the blow. He made no further attack.
Suddenly, like a madman, he bit the flower off the back of his hand and chewed it to a pulp.
Everyone watched green sap run from the corners of his mouth. Then he forced a smile that looked extraordinarily eerie.
Bang!
Without warning, Song Guoqiang’s head burst like a balloon.
There was no spray of blood. Countless branches exploded from inside his head, swaying in the wind as his body fell.
“Urgh…”
Ma Yang’s stomach was already upset. Provoked by the horrific sight, she hurried away with a hand over her mouth.
After that turn of events, nobody else dared act rashly. They could only watch Chang Qing and Zhao Jiangong go inside and lie down. Before long, both had stopped breathing.
When Qin Musong reached out to check their bodies, which no longer had heartbeats, their faces still wore those peaceful smiles with a trace of something eerie.
Nobody spoke. In the first seven days, only two people had died, both through their own actions.
But now that the instance had entered its latter half, three had died at once, with no way to save them.
That fact left Cheng Miao deeply shaken.
Today was already the eighth day. They had three days left, and still no idea how to clear the instance.
She took several deep breaths. The stabbing pain in her throat made her feel frayed all over.
Qiudong followed behind her, his eyes full of worry. He gripped the bowl of water in his hand tightly and said nothing.
After steadying herself, Cheng Miao looked at a courtyard full of people unable to care for themselves and forced herself to remain calm. “Those who feel too unwell today should stay here and rest. Anyone who can still manage should keep searching for the cave. If you don’t want to look for it, that’s fine too. Look for clues you think matter.”
Some people rose shakily. At a glance, most of the second group could still keep going. Qin Musong and Zhu Cong from the first group could continue too.
As Cheng Miao headed outside, she knew clearly that according to the timeline, tonight would be their turn to answer the question. Once they became like the first group, nobody would get out of this instance.
The others scattered to search for the cave, but Cheng Miao took Qiudong to Scabby’s home again.
They were lucky. After a short wait, Scabby returned.
Cheng Miao entered the house in two strides, Qiudong following without leaving her side.
She had dealt with Scabby before, so she came straight to the point. “Have you seen the Tree Deity?”
He visibly trembled at the mention of the deity. Looking at her in panic, he cried, “Monster! Monster!”
Her throat felt as though sandpaper were scraping it. Frowning, she thought that Scabby must be useful. Apparently, she needed the right keyword.
What was it?