Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Cheng Miao and the others were bound tightly with hemp rope and thrown into the altar chamber she and Lian Ge had explored the previous night.
Countless lanterns burned there even during the day. Except for the absence of the skinned women, everything looked exactly as Cheng Miao remembered.
Yan Qi had wanted to loot the players’ Items, but Qin Musong’s presence was too intimidating. Even tied up, Qin Musong made Yan Qi hesitate to lay a hand on him.
In truth, Yan Qi thought their capture had gone too smoothly. Neither he nor Yezi had ever seen Qin Musong or Lian Ge fight. They merely sensed that the two were powerful.
Instinct could be wrong.
“Enough. You can take their Items after they’re dead. We have other things to do first.” Yezi frowned at Yan Qi.
Yan Qi had appeared with a lantern when she felt most lost and told her there was a second way to clear the instance: cooperate with the villagers.
After Zhou Ke died, the Village Head had saved Yan Qi and given him a human-skin lantern, along with instructions for avoiding the spirits.
Of everyone remaining, Yezi was the most suitable partner, so Yan Qi had chosen the right moment to recruit her.
Yezi wanted only to clear the instance. If cooperation would keep her alive, morality did not matter.
“Don’t blame us. You were unlucky enough to draw this instance.” Yezi tightened the rope around Lian Ge once more, then left with Yan Qi.
The ancestral ceremony began that night. Before then, they planned to investigate more of the instance’s background, which would increase their payout during settlement.
Soon everyone was gone. The tunnel door closed, leaving only the players inside the empty altar chamber.
The bloody surroundings left Su Shuang and Qin Wu looking distinctly unwell.
Qin Wen surveyed the chamber. “Well? Now that we’re all inside, can you tell us the plan?”
Cheng Miao used the Fishbone Dagger to cut Qi Jiajia free. The girl moved quickly, and before long, everyone had escaped their bonds.
It was not that Yan Qi and Yezi had failed to realize rope could not restrain them. The tunnel door was shut, and the players truly had no lantern. Leaving during the day would mean certain death.
Cheng Miao flexed her limbs and told everyone what had happened the previous night. Her description of the ghostly women frightened Su Shuang and Qin Wu so badly that they kept edging behind Qin Wen.
Qin Wen looked at his brother with utter frustration. The longer he watched, the angrier he became. He turned to Cheng Miao. “So what’s the plan?”
Cheng Miao shrugged. “Simple. Qin Musong and Lian Ge restrain those two players. One person starts the fire, and everyone else controls the villagers.”
She looked up at the lanterns and smiled. “Though I suspect that once the first lantern is destroyed, we won’t need to spend much effort controlling the villagers.”
Everyone fell silent. Once the lanterns burned and the ghosts were free, they would have only one task before entering reincarnation: revenge.
No one brought food or water. The tunnel remained silent until movement finally sounded outside that night.
The Village Head entered carrying an unlit lantern. When he saw the group waiting calmly, his clouded eyes reddened with rage. Through the doorway behind him, Cheng Miao saw that night had fallen. She drew a deep breath and shouted without delay, “Now!”
Qin Musong and Lian Ge moved too quickly for Cheng Miao to follow. By the time she looked, Yezi and Yan Qi were already on the ground.
No gunshot had sounded. Both had been taken down in close combat.
Lian Ge brushed nonexistent dust from her clothes and planted one foot on Yezi’s right hand.
A crisp crack of bone accompanied Yezi’s scream. “You… You bitch!”
Bang!
With one seemingly gentle kick, Lian Ge sent Yezi flying. She slammed heavily into the stone.
Everyone swallowed as they watched Yezi lie motionless on the ground.
Lian Ge glanced aside and smoothed a loose strand at her temple. “I simply dislike being insulted.”
Understood. They would remember that forever.
Qin Musong and Lian Ge had effortlessly subdued Yan Qi and Yezi, whom the villagers considered formidable. Intimidated, the villagers surrounded Cheng Miao’s group but did not attack.
Taking advantage of her small size and everyone’s inattention, Qi Jiajia used her noose to snare a torch from the wall.
The villagers did not react until she had lit several lanterns in one breath.
“Stop her! She’s destroying the lanterns!”
Lanterns had always been the most precious objects in the hearts of Zhangjia Village’s residents. When they saw Qi Jiajia trying to destroy them, fear no longer mattered. They lunged like ravenous wolves.
The players kicked several villagers away, only to be surrounded again in an instant. The villagers had long since lost all reason. Only one thought sustained them: the lanterns must be protected.
Just as Cheng Miao began to find the situation troublesome, she glimpsed several extra figures from the corner of her eye.
“Mother… hee, hee…”
“Aah! Ghosts!”
“No! Don’t kill me! Help!”
The vengeful spirits released from the lanterns Qi Jiajia had destroyed appeared one after another behind the villagers. With blood-drenched hands, they slowly dragged their own flesh and blood into the darkness, savoring every scream and every ounce of terror.
“Run! The villagers are finished!” Cheng Miao shouted. Qi Jiajia hurled the torch, and the soaring flames ignited one lantern after another.
The deathly aura inside the altar chamber thickened. No one paid attention to the escaping players. The villagers screamed as the scent of blood grew heavier.
Amid the chaos, Yan Qi staggered to his feet and tried to flee. A sharp pain tore across his scalp, and in the next instant, a surging curtain of red covered his vision.
He turned stiffly. A grotesquely shaped woman was slicing open his scalp with long fingernails while humming a tuneless village song.
Cheng Miao and the others sprinted toward the village entrance. The vengeful spirits were still focused on the villagers, but once every villager died, any players who remained would be next.
“I need to go somewhere. Lin Zhu, set fires everywhere you pass.” Cheng Miao put on the Swift Running Shoes as she issued the order.
She looked toward Qin Musong. Before she could speak, he nodded and ran in another direction.
As expected of a veteran player. Cheng Miao left the others to their tasks and raced along the route in her memory.
The ruined alley was empty. At its end lay the corpse of Zhang Qiao’s father. He had been dead for a long time, his eyes still open.
Cheng Miao pushed open the door to Zhang Qiao’s home. The woman was not sewing today. Muffled sobs drifted from inside. Cheng Miao sighed and entered.
“Would you like to see Zhang Yan?” At Cheng Miao’s voice, Zhang Qiao turned in disbelief. Excitement flooded her disfigured face, and she nodded desperately.
Cheng Miao grabbed Zhang Qiao and sped toward the village entrance. Flames towered into the sky along the way, yet Zhang Qiao showed no surprise or fear as the wind tore past her.
Lin Zhu and the others were already waiting at the entrance. When he saw Cheng Miao, Lin Zhu jumped and waved. “Sister Miaomiao, we can leave!”
Qin Musong arrived from the other direction with another person. The dazed, foolish man clapped and laughed when he saw Zhang Qiao beside Cheng Miao.
He was the Village Head’s second son, Zhang Yan’s betrothed.
Before Cheng Miao could speak, a bone-chilling gust rushed toward her from behind.