Hearing the sound, Yu Xiu’s face clearly showed impatience. He continued carelessly pinching the ear of the person beneath him, showing no sign of urgency.
Outside, the ghostly laughter grew louder, each eerie cackle making the quiet night feel even more unsettling.
The knocking on the door became more urgent, and the mayor’s voice grew harsher: “Xiao Xiu! Open the door!”
Yu Xiu muttered coldly, clearly unwilling, and reluctantly moved off Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan grabbed his collar with trembling hands, his blue eyes wet, looking just like a frightened little bride scared of the ghosts outside.
He asked shakily, “Do you think the ones outside are ghosts?”
“They’re not. The door is covered in talismans, so ghosts can’t get in quietly,” Yu Xiu replied.
Jiang Yan remembered seeing strange totems hanging around the town earlier in the day, and his eyes flickered. So those were the protective charms?
Yu Xiu noticed the slight change in Jiang Yan’s expression. To him, it looked like his wife was frightened by the ghosts outside, so he softened his gaze, removed his robe, and wrapped it around Jiang Yan. He lifted him from the bed, put slippers on his feet, and went to open the door.
Jiang Yan stared at the familiar fuzzy white slippers for a moment, then silently cursed in his mind, Are these slippers just mass-produced props for every dungeon?
Yu Xiu opened the door, and as he’d said, standing outside wasn’t a red-faced ghost, but the town mayor, who looked like decaying wood.
The mayor wore a black long robe with the same eerie totems embroidered on it. He held an old-fashioned flashlight, and his face, deeply wrinkled, was lit up in a cold, ghostly white glow. He looked more dead than Yu Xiu.
His face didn’t show much emotion, and even when he saw his son, already dead and decaying, standing before him, fully mobile, there was no shock in his eyes. He appeared calm, unaffected.
The mayor glanced briefly at Jiang Yan, wrapped in the dark green robe, looking pitiful under the dim light, and then coldly said to Yu Xiu, “Take your wife and come with me.”
Yu Xiu turned around, smiling at Jiang Yan still standing by the bed. “Yan Yan, come here.”
Jiang Yan: ...
Jiang Yan didn’t want to move. He’d already done enough physical activity for the day, and staying up late working wasn’t something he had planned on doing.
Both the mayor and Yu Xiu stared at him, and Jiang Yan wrapped himself in the robe, not moving an inch.
Seeing this, 663 panicked. “Ancestor! Why aren’t you moving again?!”
Jiang Yan responded calmly, “Don’t worry. If I stay still, they’ll think I’m scared. They won’t count it as breaking character.”
663: “...”
[Huh?! Did Yan Yan just disconnect?]
[Move! Ancestor! I feel like the two NPCs outside are starting to look at him strangely]
[Could it be that he really can leave the dungeon for five minutes?]
[No way! That’s just him fooling around! He doesn’t have any tools or functions like that.]
[Then why isn’t he moving? Real NPCs that disconnect just die, don’t they?]
[Uh... He must be thinking about it.]
At that moment, Jiang Yan was indeed deep in thought. He looked at his tall, slender but decaying husband and remembered the huge black monster from the previous dungeon.
At least that monster was large enough to wrap around him. Its tentacles and body were soft enough to hold him tightly.
But it was clear that in this dungeon, he had lost the "mount" privilege.
Who knew how long this dungeon would last? If it went on every night like this, without the main system "polluting" him, he might just die inside the dungeon.
Jiang Yan looked down at the fuzzy white rabbit slippers on his feet and sighed quietly to himself.
Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan! Use that courage you had during your college fitness test!
"Yan Yan?" Yu Xiu called out.
Jiang Yan’s voice was slightly colder, “I’m coming.”
---
Jiang Yan, wearing slippers, held his husband’s hand, trailing behind the town mayor’s father, walking along the corridor in the courtyard. The eerie laughter of the wandering ghosts outside penetrated the white walls, sending chills down the spine.
The courtyard was unlit, the only light source being the old-fashioned flashlight in the mayor’s hand. In the dim light, one could vaguely make out the crooked, red paper dolls scattered around the yard. The paper figures’ lifeless eyes seemed to follow the footsteps of those walking along the corridor.
“Here we are,” the mayor said, stopping in front of an old locust tree in the backyard. At that moment, the mayor’s wife, along with all the players and the two NPCs, Cang Rou and Ding Wanyu, were already waiting under the tree.
When they saw Yu Xiu, wearing only an inner robe that revealed his decaying, cyan-gray skin, and Jiang Yan, dressed in an obviously ill-fitting robe, everyone froze for a second. Jiang Yan, too, paused, as he scanned the surroundings but didn’t see Yu Xiu’s brother. The mayor and his wife, being the parents, showed no signs of anything strange.
When the mayor’s wife saw Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu, she instead smiled with relief, saying, “Alright, alright! At least we’ve got someone here now.”
Jiang Yan furrowed his brow. The son they had raised was nowhere to be seen, but their deceased son was standing right there. Yet, these old parents didn’t seem to find anything odd? Still, he didn’t ask about Yu Xiu’s brother’s whereabouts, instead leaning against his husband, resting his body against Yu Xiu. He lazily yawned—after all, he wasn’t a player! His goal in this game was never to clear the dungeon but to rack up more points from the players!
With that thought, his eyes darkened as he glanced at Tao Shi, Cao Youfeng, and Yu Jia, eventually landing on Yu Jia. Yu Jia, who was leaning against the tree, smoking, caught his gaze and politely smiled at him.
[Hiss! Yu Jia is playing it so well.]
[Don’t target our Jiang Yan!]
[Sigh! The Puppet Workshop is incredible! Jiang Yan is just a C-level NPC, why can’t they just leave him alone?]
[It’s strange, Jiang Yan’s situation is special, but special players are common. As for special NPCs, he’s truly the only one]
[But, given Jiang Yan’s lack of ambition, he’s not a threat to the "Best Actor" title!]
[Exactly, if he keeps up this nonchalant attitude, I’m afraid one day he might surprise us and not be so lazy.]
Meeting Yu Jia’s gaze again, Jiang Yan lazily yawned and burrowed into Yu Xiu’s embrace.
Yu Jia, who had paused his smoking, couldn’t help but laugh softly. He had to admit, Jiang Yan’s mentality was indeed rare. He sighed, looking at Jiang Yan with a gaze that could be described as gentle.
It’s a shame! Precisely because of this, he couldn’t be left alone.
“Ha ha ha ha!” The laughter of the wandering ghosts outside sent a shiver down one’s spine. Even through the walls, the sound of their nails scraping against them could be heard, making one’s scalp tingle.
The courtyard was pitch black, the only light coming from the mayor’s flashlight.
The flashlight cast a pale light on everyone’s faces. Yu Xiu’s face, already dead-looking, appeared even more terrifying under its glow, yet there was a strange, eerie beauty to it, complemented by his features.
The mayor sighed, his voice deep as he spoke: “Tonight’s disturbances have been too intense, scaring everyone. But don’t worry, the exorcism banners can keep them at bay. Just in case, let’s all go to the ancestral hall to take shelter.”
Jian Hou, curious, asked, “Where is the ancestral hall?”
“It’s here,” the mayor’s wife replied. She cleared the weeds around the old locust tree, then gently stamped her foot on the ground. A square trapdoor opened beside the tree, revealing a long staircase descending into the underground, with a faint firelight glowing from within.
The sudden appearance of the hidden door made Jian Hou’s mouth fall open in shock.
Tao Shi and the others looked serious. Under normal circumstances, why would the ancestral hall be built underground?
Cang Rou and Ding Wanyu didn’t seem to react much, but Jiang Yan buried his head in Yu Xiu’s chest in despair. The strange, cold fragrance from Yu Xiu’s body made him want to cry.
Damn it, stairs again...
At that moment, Fang Rui suddenly screamed, startling everyone.
“What’s wrong?” the mayor asked, concerned.
In the dim, flickering light of the flashlight, Fang Rui’s face had turned deathly pale. Trembling, he raised his hand to reveal alarming red blotches on his skin. His voice quivered as he said, “Red… red blotches…”
Everyone was shocked! Red blotches! Before Ling Kang became a wandering ghost, similar blotches had appeared on his skin.
“It’s the curse!” Cang Rou, hiding behind “her cousin” Ding Wanyu, spoke with fear in her voice.
“But… but I haven’t removed the white flower from my chest!” Fang Rui anxiously explained, holding up his hand.
"Ah!" A loud scream echoed from outside.
The laughter of the wandering ghosts grew louder, and there was also the sound of doors being slammed.
The mayor's expression darkened, and he shouted, "Go into the ancestral hall first!"
Everyone, without hesitation, hurried down the stairs one by one.
Fang Rui stood trembling to the side, unsure of what to do.
"Come in with us," said Cao Youfeng.
"But I..." Fang Rui raised his hand, still unsure.
"Didn't you already transform into a low-level ghost?" Cao Youfeng lifted his hand, revealing white bandages on his arm. "Even if you turn into a ghost, I can still tie you up."
"Oh, and Jiang Yan." He turned and gave Jiang Yan a knowing smile.
Jiang Yan remained expressionless.
They descended the stairs, passing walls adorned with ancient murals, which seemed to depict the town's origins. Jiang Yan noticed that in one part of the mural, there were two moons in the pitch-black sky. The people of the town were kneeling before them, while behind the moons, a massive black object seemed to be lurking, making the two moons resemble enormous eyes.
Jiang Yan furrowed his brows, feeling uneasy, but continued walking, leaning into his husband.
The deeper they went, the more the scent of sacrificial incense grew stronger. At the bottom of the stairs, the path opened up into a vast underground hall.
The underground hall was surrounded by rows of darkened altars, with flickering lamps casting a dim yellow glow.
However, at the center of the hall, there was not a single person’s tablet but a painting—two moons from the mural they had seen earlier, now prominently displayed.
Everyone noticed the eerie painting, but the more urgent issue at hand was Fang Rui, who might soon transform into a full-fledged ghost.
The mayor, holding Fang Rui, looked at the red blotches on his hand in the dim yellow light and said seriously, "You missed tonight’s transformation, but tomorrow night, you won’t be able to avoid it."
Fang Rui’s voice trembled, "But I didn't take off the white flower from my chest..."
At that moment, Cang Rou spoke in a panic, "Did you drink water from the Longevity Well?"
"What...?" Fang Rui was confused.
Cang Rou explained, "Drinking from the Longevity Well’s water can cause you to be cursed by the Old Ghost Granny."
Ding! [Real NPC Cang Rou's crucial clue: Drinking from the Longevity Well’s water will lead to a curse.]
Fang Rui was still bewildered, "I...?"
"Ah!" Jian Hou suddenly screamed, "Why do I have it too!?"
Jiang Yan, who had been dozing with his head resting on Yu Xiu's shoulder, immediately snapped awake upon hearing the scream.
He saw that red blotches had appeared on Jian Hou’s arm as well. Jiang Yan was confused, "What... happened to you? You drank dirty water from the roadside?"
Tao Shi grabbed Jian Hou’s arm, frowning. "What did you eat or drink today, teacher?"
Jian Hou hurriedly defended himself, "I didn’t! How could I drink unknown well water or eat random things?"
Suddenly, he pointed at Tao Shi’s neck in surprise. "You too...?"
Tao Shi froze.
In the dim candlelight, everyone exchanged glances. It was clear that not just the players, but even the mayor and his wife, had begun to develop the same red blotches.
The mayor looked at the red blotches on his hand in disbelief, trembling all over. "How is this possible? This... this can't be happening!"
Cao Youfeng suddenly thought of something. "So! What the old lady said today about us being 'jinxed'... does this refer to this?"
At these words, everyone froze, falling into deep thought.
At that moment, Fang Rui pointed at Jiang Yan, asking, "But why... don’t you have any?"
Everyone’s gaze instantly shifted to Jiang Yan, who was resting in Yu Xiu's arms.
Yu Xiu’s dark green patterned robe hung loosely on his body, exposing large areas of his fair skin. However, apart from a few faint, warm kiss marks, there were no other marks or colors on his skin.
In an instant, the way everyone looked at Jiang Yan changed, and each of their expressions was different.
The dim candlelight flickered, casting strange and fluctuating shadows on their faces, making everything seem otherworldly.
Jiang Yan blinked, an innocent expression on his face. "So, what does that mean?"
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