Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Lin Zhu stared at the lantern in Cheng Miao’s hand. “Th-this… Where did you get it?”

Only at close range did he realize how different it was from the lanterns they had covered with gauze and silk. Rather than taking it, Lin Zhu leaned over Cheng Miao’s hand to examine it.

The white-bone frame gleamed like polished jade. The human-skin covering was extraordinarily delicate, soft to the touch like a young woman’s skin.

“Zhang Qiao gave it to us.” Cheng Miao lowered her eyes. That kindhearted woman was still fighting for herself and Zhang Yan even now, still furious at the village’s ignorance and feudal cruelty.

Her own father had betrayed her, trading all the happiness of her life for a lantern.

Now she had given Cheng Miao the lantern made from her skin and her best friend’s bones. In doing so, she had abandoned both her own life and her father’s.

Lin Zhu fell silent too. Blind superstition could truly destroy lives.

“Then what role do the players serve here?” Lin Zhu waited until Cheng Miao put the lantern away and her expression eased before asking.

“Zhang Qiao doesn’t know. She stopped involving herself in village affairs a long time ago. She’s only been waiting for the day her friend comes to claim her life and her father’s. If we hadn’t climbed into her courtyard today, she wouldn’t even know outsiders had entered the village.”

Hurried footsteps sounded outside. Qin Musong darted through the gate, carrying Su Shuang in one hand. With the other, he flung aside the tattered lantern he had been holding.

The lantern above the entrance flickered twice before returning to normal.

Su Shuang was in terrible shape. Bloody scratches covered him, and he looked like a bird startled by the slightest sound.

Qin Musong was mostly unharmed, aside from a shallow gash on his arm. Qi Jiajia approached with a cold face to bandage it.

“I thought you were supposed to be strong. How did you get hurt by something like this?” After spending so much time with Cheng Miao’s team, Qi Jiajia was no longer as hostile as before.

They had given her the freedom and respect she never received from her birth family, easing much of her aggression.

Besides, Qin Musong treated her well. He treated the whole team well. She supposed she could apply some medicine for him.

Qin Musong fondly stroked her braid and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a muscular arm. He let Qi Jiajia bandage him with rough movements while recounting what they had discovered.

“The Village Head didn’t go anywhere special today. He visited every household. We couldn’t get too close, but I heard him reminding everyone what to prepare for tomorrow night’s ancestral ceremony.”

Qin Musong looked at the pile of lanterns inside and frowned. “These lanterns are nearly useless now. Even with both mine and Su Shuang’s lit, something still latched onto us.”

After Qi Jiajia finished, Qin Musong looked at the hard knot in the bandage, the corner of his mouth twitching. Out of consideration for her feelings, he said nothing.

“We also ran into the lunatic,” Qin Musong recalled. “He was crying and laughing inside a ruined house. He said maybe they could meet tomorrow, that his father said it would start at nine at night, and that if everything went smoothly, they wouldn’t meet after all.”

Su Shuang had recovered enough to add, “He made no sense. One moment he said they’d meet, and the next he said they wouldn’t. Who knows whether it means anything?”

Cheng Miao shared the clues she had just obtained, omitting the fact that she possessed a human-skin lantern.

At Cheng Miao’s signal, Qi Jiajia found a chance to tell Qin Musong privately. His brow did not so much as twitch. Cheng Miao could only marvel at his professional composure. Ordinary people simply could not compare.
Two groups had yet to return. No one else had any desire to continue making lanterns, so they waited in the courtyard.

“Should we look for Yezi and the others? Maybe they found a clue.” Su Shuang immediately reconsidered and tugged at his hair. “No. They left without saying a word. They clearly decided not to bring us.”

He looked aggrieved and angry. “We’re all one team. Does this instance have faction missions or something?”

Qin Musong, who had been standing quietly to one side, suddenly spoke. “No. Veteran players told me faction-mission instances are rare, and the factions are always openly declared so everyone can compete on their own merits. Some instances assign players different missions, but very few place players in direct opposition.”

“In other words…” Cheng Miao looked calmly toward the gate. She thought she heard someone approaching. “Yezi and Yan Qi chose the wrong method for clearing the instance. The best-case scenario is that they’re merely hiding somewhere and waiting to reap the benefits. But if they’ve directly joined the opposing side, then they’ll have to live with the consequences.”

Cheng Miao had begun to sense that the Survival Inn did not intend to stage a battle royale and select one final lucky survivor. To some extent, it provided players with paths that favored survival.

Unlike the infinite-flow stories Cheng Miao had read in the past, the Survival Inn was actually quite generous toward its players.

It gave them Items. Capable players could extract a great deal of information from Front Desk attendants. And once they left an instance, anyone with enough money could live in excellent comfort.

For that reason, Cheng Miao disapproved of Yan Qi and Yezi’s choice.

As she considered it, Qin Wen entered with Qin Wu, his face dark.

Like Su Shuang, Qin Wu was covered in wounds, but his were much worse. He looked as though he had been pulled from a pool of blood.

Once through the gate, a vein throbbed at Qin Wen’s tense temple. He cursed, produced a small pill, and stuffed it into Qin Wu’s mouth.

Qin Wu’s injuries healed visibly, though he remained exhausted.

Su Shuang, who could only wrap himself in bandages like a mummy, looked on with envy.

Even he understood that if he owned a healing or recovery Item, he would not waste it on superficial wounds so readily.

It was obvious to Su Shuang that Qin Wen’s concern for Qin Wu had clouded his judgment. Inside a perilous instance, that was a dangerous sign.

“Damn it. We’re sacrifices.” Once Qin Wen confirmed his brother was safe, he joined Cheng Miao’s discussion.

He did not explain how he obtained the clue. He clearly had real ability, having directly uncovered the purpose behind the players’ presence.

“Some idiot gave the Village Head the idea of sacrificing outsiders to the spirits in exchange for the village’s safety. And damn it, the method actually works.”

Qin Wen poured himself a bowl of water, drained it in one go, and caught his breath before continuing. “For some reason, these lanterns have stopped working too…”

He slapped his forehead, remembering he had not finished. The sudden failure of the lanterns had nearly gotten him killed and driven the remaining clue from his mind.

“From what we learned, this definitely isn’t the first time Zhangjia Village has lured outsiders here for the ceremony. Tomorrow night is when they plan to kill us.”