Chapter 14
Chapter 14
On the other side, since Wang Weiwei was gone, the trio of Xiaoshuai, John, and Worker stayed together, planning to search the village for any clues.
Soon, they found a house with an architectural style that was clearly different from the others.
The house was a simple bungalow, just like a normal rural house, but its exterior was extremely dilapidated.
The three of them knew instantly that there must be important clues here.
However, none of them moved toward it immediately.
According to their experience, every Fiendish World contained such key locations. Entering them would yield critical information or items.
These things were extremely helpful for the final moment.
Correspondingly, however, these places were also very dangerous. It could even be said that they were the primary cause of casualties.
“What should we do? Should we go call that newbie over?” Worker asked.
Obviously, in such a situation, having a scapegoat was the best choice.
But Xiaoshuai and John rejected his proposal at the same time.
“That kid might not be a newbie.”
If he really were just a newcomer, Xiaoshuai wouldn’t mind using him as cannon fodder.
The problem was that the guy had held back three Fiends for an entire night all by himself!
Based on what Baolong said, it was clear that the kid had held the upper hand last night. He didn’t believe such a person could be a newbie.
John thought the same as Xiaoshuai; he didn’t believe Liu Ye was a newcomer either.
The man clearly had his own way of doing things, and there was no need to offend someone like that.
In the end, the three of them discussed it and decided that Xiaoshuai and John would enter the bungalow while Worker stayed outside with an important item to provide backup.
They weren’t worried about Worker running away.
Without this key information or these items, it was basically impossible to escape with one’s life during the final moment.
The two entered the house, making sure to leave the door open to prevent being trapped inside at a critical moment.
They surveyed the room. The interior was incredibly dilapidated-even more so than those graves.
Xiaoshuai judged from the bowls in the cupboard that there should be four people in this family.
A family this poor wouldn’t waste money buying an extra bowl.
“Look here.”
John called out from inside the room.
Xiaoshuai hurried over and saw John standing next to a Photo Frame containing an old photograph.
It showed a family of four. An elderly couple, clearly the heads of the household, and two young people-a brother and a sister.
One could see from the photo that the sister was very beautiful. If nothing unexpected happened, she should be the Bride for this wedding.
This was clearly the key item here.
“Are you ready?”
John asked.
Xiaoshuai nodded. He watched as John took out an Oil Lamp and lit it, then quickly grabbed the Photo Frame.
But at that exact moment, the house door slammed shut, and a Female Fiend wearing a Red Veil instantly appeared at the doorway.
*Whoosh…*
The oil in John’s Oil Lamp began to deplete at a rate visible to the naked eye.
“Hurry, I can’t hold out for long!”
John’s face turned deathly pale, his voice urgent.
Xiaoshuai didn’t drag his feet either. He took out a Talisman and quickly slapped it onto the window. The window burst open instantly.
The two of them leaped out of the window in quick succession. The moment they were out, John’s Oil Lamp flickered out, and his expression changed drastically.
The Female Fiend appeared behind him in an instant, plunging a pair of scissors into his arm, intending to drag his body back inside.
“Dammit!”
John’s face paled instantly. With a look of ruthless determination, he pulled out a blood-stained dagger and hacked it violently into his own shoulder.
Though small, the dagger was exceptionally sharp. Upon impact, John’s entire arm vanished.
At that moment, Xiaoshuai, who was ahead, tossed a rope. John grabbed it and was hauled over by Xiaoshuai.
“Move!”
The two ran frantically into the distance, but the Female Fiend behind them had already given chase.
Due to excessive blood loss, John couldn’t run fast at all. He was on the verge of being caught by the Female Fiend.
*Ding…*
A crisp, cold sound suddenly rang out. The Female Fiend seemed to take damage and vanished instantly.
John collapsed to the ground. Worker immediately put away his bell and hurried over to John’s side with Xiaoshuai.
“Are you okay?”
Worker arrived and asked with concern.
“Won’t die yet.”
Gritting his teeth, John pulled out a bandage to wrap his stump and popped a pill into his mouth.
Fortunately, injuries sustained in the Fiendish World would be restored upon returning to the real world; otherwise, John wouldn’t have been so decisive about sacrificing an arm.
However, his combat strength would be significantly reduced for the time being.
“Did you get the item?” Worker asked.
His face deathly pale, John pulled a picture frame from his clothes and gave it a shake. At that moment, a slip of paper fell out from inside.
“Today, the Fang Family voluntarily sells Fang Xiaoqian to Squire Zhang for ten taels of silver. From this day forward, Fang Xiaoqian severs all ties with the Fang Family and shall have no further contact.”
“So the Bride is Fang Xiaoqian. She was sold by her own family,” Worker said, reaching out to take the slip of paper, only for John to snatch it first.
“It’s better if I keep this,” John said flatly.
Worker awkwardly withdrew his hand. Rubbing his nose, he asked, “What now? Do we keep exploring?”
“Let’s regroup with Baolong and the other guy first. We’ll see what clues they’ve found and tell them what we know.”
If possible, Xiaoshuai didn’t want to share this information with Baolong and his companion. Such information was a life-saving charm; the fewer people who knew, the safer it was.
But the problem was that this mission was simply too difficult. Xiaoshuai had no confidence that the three of them could survive on their own, especially with John so severely injured. After all, the core event-the wedding-hadn’t even begun yet. Cooperation was the better path.
And so, they arrived at the place where Liu Ye and Baolong were staying. Just as they reached the door, the trio’s blood pressure spiked instantly.
They saw Baolong sitting with his legs crossed, shaking one foot smugly. One hand held a pile of sunflower seeds while the other continuously funneled them into his mouth.
Seeing the three of them in such a wretched state, Baolong blinked, then gave a casual wave.
“Yo, you’re here!”
The three of them: “…”
Xiaoshuai’s mouth twitched as he looked at Baolong. “You’ve been sitting here cracking sunflower seeds all day?”
“Nah, I ate some sweet potatoes too.”
The three of them: “…”
Xiaoshuai took a deep breath and said, “Go get Liu Ye. We’ve found a clue related to the wedding Bride.”
“Is it about her being sold by her family for ten taels of silver?”
“How do you know?” the three asked in shock.
Baolong looked off into the distance with a melancholy air, still cracking seeds. “There is nothing that a handful of sunflower seeds can’t find out.”
The three of them: “…”