Chapter 107
Chapter 107
Xiao Huai’s skin burned red from his neck to the tips of his ears. Never in his life had he been this intimate with anyone.
“Thud!”
“Hiss…”
Without the slightest hesitation, his fist struck Lu Yuanshi squarely on the bridge of the nose. The pain made Lu Yuanshi release him at once and cover his nose, tears springing to his eyes.
The “assailant,” Xiao Huai, sat up and patted Lu Yuanshi on the shoulder without a trace of apology. “You started it.”
Offering him a hug had not been an invitation to push his luck.
“Darling, what a cruel heart you have,” Lu Yuanshi wailed theatrically from behind his hands.
What a drama queen.
Xiao Huai knew the punch could not have done Lu Yuanshi any real harm, but he still leaned closer to see whether he had genuinely injured the man’s face.
After all, if that face were damaged, a great many girls would probably be heartbroken.
Xiao Huai asked, “What’s wrong? Is it serious?”
“Why don’t you take a look for yourself? Sniff…” Lu Yuanshi mumbled, still covering his face.
“That’s what I’m trying to do. You’re blocking my view.” Xiao Huai was speechless.
Lu Yuanshi seemed to laugh. Then he suddenly reached out and pressed the back of Xiao Huai’s head toward him.
“?!”
His lips landed gently on the tip of Xiao Huai’s nose.
Xiao Huai’s heart leaped into his throat. The entire exchange lasted less than two seconds. He stared blankly for a moment, then shoved Lu Yuanshi away.
“You… you!” Xiao Huai jumped straight off the bed, even his eyes tinged red.
Absolutely incorrigible!
Lu Yuanshi sat up, watching Xiao Huai’s reaction with satisfaction. He propped his chin on one hand and rested a fingertip against his own lips. “Now that was me making the first move. Would you like to return it?”
His finger lingered deliberately against his lips, as though hinting at something.
Xiao Huai glared at him. His voice trembled, whether from fury or sheer exasperation even he did not know.
“No.”
With that, he immediately left the room. On his way out, he added, “Lu Yuanshi, sweet dreams!”
But judging by his furious tone, he seemed to be wishing Lu Yuanshi a terrible nightmare instead.
He had stormed off in a huff like a child.
Lu Yuanshi watched his retreating back and laughed to himself.
His reaction was simply too entertaining.
The merest brush of lips against him had actually brought Lu Yuanshi a sense of pleasure.
* * *
In the livestream, the gods had almost grown accustomed to Xiao Huai’s feed frequently going black. But wasn’t this blackout lasting far too long?
Even when Xiao Huai slept, they could still see his sleeping face.
This time, however, the screen had been dark for nearly an hour.
When Xiao Huai finally reappeared, many gods looked puzzled.
The little fellow seemed to be angry.
Ever since his first instance, his expression had always been cold and indifferent.
Angry?
The moment he appeared, he drew the attention of countless gods.
Xiao Huai raised his eyes toward the door, his gaze gradually deepening. He had no time to sulk here.
Someone had only teased him a little. What was there to be angry about?
The hour hand was nearing twelve, and women’s laughter still echoed through the lobby, though it was not as loud as it had been at nine.
He recalled Rule Three: [3. Curfew lasts from three to six in the morning. Anyone who leaves their room will die.]
The appraisal had determined that rule was false. Did that mean something would happen at three in the morning?
Growing increasingly certain, he walked to the entrance and opened the door once more.
This time, there was no void outside. Only ordinary Aledi Village, desolate and deathly still.
Xiao Huai left the inn.
Stars spangled the sky, and the moon hung overhead like a silver bow. He tilted his head back and counted the stars.
Almost to himself, he murmured, “I think someone once told me that every star represents a soul that has died.”
He could not remember who had told him. His gaze had already settled on the crows beneath the moonlight.
Desert Rule Three: [3. Do not consume the blood or flesh of crows.]
The crows had brought them a chance to survive.
People hated crows and considered them symbols of misfortune. Whenever crows appeared, everyone assumed they had brought disaster.
They did not understand… that crows cried warnings because disaster was coming.
Was their appearance not another path toward survival?
The three-legged crow was a divine bird of legend, regarded as the embodiment of the sun, yet people always mistook it for an ordinary crow.
The clue Sun Xingye had revealed mentioned a three-legged crow, and Xiao Huai had seen one in only a single place.
That place was–the hallucination.
The moon and the sun. The flock of crows and the soulbugs.
The hidden gate to the lost kingdom was actually buried in the place closest to them, wasn’t it?
He raised his head and looked at the moon as system warnings sounded continuously in his ears.
Why had the system assumed the collective mission could not be completed?
Because the witch had hidden her treasure somewhere it would never be found.
Somewhere like the Lost Land.
Why did the side mission exist?
Because the witch did not want everyone to die here.
Why punish people, yet never kill them?
Why did she want to be burned to death?
Why did she never defend herself even when others called her a monster rotten to the core?
Why had she left when he said, “Every life has meaning”?
Because they were a group of pitiful women trapped within their own contradictions.
[Warning! Current Sanity: 53. Player, exercise caution!]
Step by step, Xiao Huai walked toward the room overgrown with hair.
It had smelled of fuel oil. Perhaps each time players entered the game, the women had to be burned alive once more.
The smell might disappear whenever the instance refreshed, but some things could never be taken away.
Pain, for example. Regret.
Only pain could make them more resolute as they continued down this path.
The moment Xiao Huai pushed open the door, the system notification sounded again.
[Warning! Current Sanity has fallen to 50, triggering the hidden perspective of *Witch’s House*. Ahead lie–the Soul-Sacrifice Ruins! Player, exercise caution!]
Again and again, the system warned him to be careful.
[Beware of attacks from non-NPC entities!]
Xiao Huai frowned. After that final warning, the system fell abruptly silent.
The world became quiet in an instant.
Attacks from non-NPC entities.
Creatures that were not NPCs…
In other words, beings beyond the system’s control.
His fingers stopped in midair. The seven women stood motionless with their heads bowed, long hair trailing over the floor and concealing their faces.
They stood in place holding hands, not moving in the slightest.
The instant Xiao Huai stepped through the doorway, an eerie, bitter wind swept through the room.
Every candle at the women’s feet flared to life.
As though they had returned to life, their lips slowly curved upward while the foreign music of bells and drums filled the room.
“I sacrifice my soul so the souls of our people may endure forever.”
“I sacrifice my soul so the souls of our people may endure forever.”
Twisted smiles surfaced on the women’s faces. Still holding hands, they danced in a circle and sang the same words over and over, their voices half laughter, half weeping, now distant, now close.