Chapter 78

Chapter 78

The man’s sudden appearance startled both Cheng Miao and Qin Wen. After screaming his warning at them, he clapped his hands and began singing to himself.

“Damn it, he’s a lunatic. Scared the hell out of me.” Qin Wen spat. The fact that he had started cursing showed just how badly he had been frightened.

Night was already falling. With no time to waste arguing with a madman, the two retraced their route, keeping within the pools of lantern light outside each home.

Perhaps because darkness had fallen, the lanterns seemed dimmer than they had by day. A few were unlit, whether because their candles had burned out or had yet to be replaced, and swayed gently in the wind outside their doors.

“I thought lit lanterns looked creepy enough during the day. Somehow, they’re just as creepy at night in this village.”

Qin Wen frowned as he ran. With some of the lanterns extinguished, they could no longer remain within the light at all times. On certain stretches, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and enter the darkness.

Few villagers remained outside. The only ones they saw had come out to feed their livestock, and the flames in their handheld lanterns were too weak to cast any light over Cheng Miao and Qin Wen.

Cheng Miao was already considering taking out one of their lanterns. But the old house was close, and they had traveled through darkness for a while without incident. She decided to keep watching for now.

Several times, Cheng Miao felt as though something were behind them. Each time, she tightened her grip on the Fishbone Dagger, ready to strike first and light a lantern afterward. Yet they reached the old house without anything happening.

“Sister Miaomiao, you’re finally back… Brother Qin Wen, are you all right?” Lin Zhu ran out to welcome Cheng Miao, only to be startled by Qin Wen’s deathly pale face.

Qin Wu had been a step behind Lin Zhu. At those words, he rushed outside anxiously and examined Qin Wen from every angle. After confirming that his brother was unharmed, he pursed his lips and took his place behind him.

Cheng Miao had not paid much attention to Qin Wen along the way. Now, his expression made him look as though he had been dead for three days. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to you?”

Qin Wen rubbed his face and stamped his feet. The other players had emerged from the house, and surrounded by so much living energy, he finally recovered a little. “You didn’t feel anything?”

Cheng Miao scratched her head and put away the Fishbone Dagger. “No. My back just felt cold a few times.”

Qin Wen swore. “I felt someone behind me halfway back. By the time we reached the old house, that thing was already clinging to my back.”

His words frightened the newcomers. Xiao Xu and Zhang Lele huddled together.

Cheng Miao looked at the lanterns the Village Head had hung before leaving, then at Qin Wen, who was still panting. “Why didn’t you light your lantern?”

Qin Wen glanced instinctively at Qin Wu but said, “We were almost back. I thought I’d hold out a little longer.”

Cheng Miao fell silent. She knew Qin Wen wanted to save the lantern for his brother.

Qin Wen was capable, but Qin Wu’s overall abilities fell below the passing line. By sheltering Qin Wu and denying him any chance to develop, Qin Wen was not truly doing him a favor.

It was their family matter, however, so Cheng Miao kept her opinion to herself.

“Sister Miaomiao, hurry and eat before it gets dark.” Lin Zhu brought over a bowl of food. Cheng Miao ate quickly while showing everyone the photos on her phone and describing what they had found at the Village Head’s home.

“Doesn’t that mean we can’t find the village chronicle and won’t be able to clear the instance?” Despair crept across Xiao Xu’s face. Without the chronicle, they had no way to learn what had truly happened in the village.

Cheng Miao finished in a few quick bites and rinsed her mouth with water. “Don’t be so discouraged. This happens all the time. Crucial clues are never easy to obtain.”
Cheng Miao released the long hair she had tied up that morning and let it fall over her shoulders, combing her scalp slowly with her fingers. “We can sum up several questions now. First, our mission is to escape Zhangjia Village. Tomorrow, we need to go to the village entrance and confirm whether leaving is truly impossible, whether people are stopping us or something else is responsible. Then we can work out how to escape.”

“It’s a Ghost Loop. A powerful one. There’s no way out.” Lian Ge, who had been leaning lightly against an earthen wall, suddenly spoke. When everyone looked over, she raised a pale arm and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I checked.”

Cheng Miao studied Lian Ge more intently. She had gone to the village entrance alone, encountered a Ghost Loop while her lantern could have failed at any moment, and still returned without a scratch. She was formidable.

Cheng Miao was not the only person to reach that conclusion. The way Qin Wen and Yezi looked at Lian Ge changed as well. Lian Ge seemed not to notice. She had no intention of explaining what she had encountered and lapsed back into languid silence after her brief statement.

Veteran players had passed through too many instances and experienced too many things. Any temperament or habit was understandable. Although everyone regretted that Lian Ge did not share her clues, no one pressed her.

“Why… Why aren’t you asking what happened to her?” Unfortunately, not everyone possessed the composure of a veteran player or the resilience required to investigate alone.

Song Yu had begun as a bright, handsome young man. After witnessing two deaths, he seemed like a different person.

He still had the same sharply defined face, but his panicked expression and constant suspicion made him look almost repulsive.

Lian Ge followed Song Yu’s pointing finger to his skittish eyes. Her full, bow-shaped lips parted, and she gave a soft laugh.

The sound bewitched everyone for an instant, but they could all hear the contempt within it.

Cheng Miao watched the aggressive young man turn white and shrink away.

She touched her earlobe. Beside her, Qin Musong murmured, “Her fighting ability may be equal to mine.”

Cheng Miao’s brow furrowed. She was that powerful?

Qin Musong had been a professional soldier before retirement and later served as head of security for a trading company. His close-combat skills were second to none. It was astonishing that a woman as picturesque as Lian Ge could earn such an assessment from him.

No one present besides Qin Musong had the strength to challenge Lian Ge. Cheng Miao instinctively felt that this extraordinary woman would not harm others for personal gain, and she had no intention of provoking a conflict.

Of course, Lian Ge’s exceptional beauty had influenced that judgment to some degree.

“Back to the matter at hand.” Cheng Miao sat on the steps before the old house. “If a supernatural force is preventing us from leaving, then we need to start with whatever happened in this village.”

Cheng Miao sketched idly in the dirt, then looked up at the three lanterns outside the old house. Their light was dim, as though it might go out at any moment.

“Night is about to fall, so let’s review what we know. Based on our current clues, the daytime taboo is walking somewhere without lantern light. At night, the taboo is making a sound or opening the door after the lights go out.”

“In that case…” Yezi looked at the lanterns overhead, her eyes shining intensely. “The lanterns! Their purpose is to ward off evil!”