"It’s... It’s here?!"
Jian Hou clutched Tao Shi’s sleeve nervously, stammering.
With no response from those inside, the pounding sound grew louder, and the entire basement shook. Above them, the wails of resentful spirits were deafening, as if a grand funeral was taking place above ground.
"No! No!"
The mayor’s wife sobbed, collapsing to her knees before the altar of the mountain god, her voice shaking as she pleaded for divine protection.
The mayor's face was ashen, though he appeared slightly more composed than his terrified wife. Still, despite his efforts, his hand holding an old flashlight trembled uncontrollably.
"Ugh—!"
The entire chapel quivered again.
"Dear god!" Jian Hou cried out.
“Ding! [Item: Medical Bandage]”
“Ding! [Item: Staff of Divinity]”
“Ding! [Item...]”
The older players quickly drew out their items, ready to battle the NPCs breaking in.
“Yan Yan.” Yu Xiu reached out and pulled Jiang Yan, who stood frozen in place, into his arms to shield him from any impact.
"Bang— Bang—!"
The trembling of the basement grew stronger, dust falling with each pounding sound, and the wooden trapdoor above groaned, on the verge of breaking under the strain.
White bandages unfurled around Cao Youfeng. He exhaled deeply and cracked his neck. "Finally, a situation I can handle!"
Since entering this dungeon, there had been endless trivial issues; he used to think Su An's approach was too extreme, but sometimes, brute force in a dungeon game saved a lot of hassle.
Forget the spirits, forget the mountain god; he might as well take care of it all at once.
Just as he prepared to unleash his bandages at the shaking trapdoor, the mayor suddenly rushed forward and grabbed his arm, blocking him. "No—!"
The white bandages snapped back as Cao Youfeng looked at the mayor in confusion. "Huh, what?"
The mayor’s face was pale, his eyes clouded. "You can't... You mustn't..."
At that moment, Fang Rui, who had been stunned by Jiang Yan’s bluff earlier, seemed to realize something. He took a few steps to the basement door and spread his arms, standing in front of it, his eyes bloodshot as he rasped, "Xiao Ling, Xiao Ling is still out there... we can't hurt him!"
Cao Youfeng, Tao Shi, and Yu Jia exchanged glances, and after a moment, they reluctantly stowed their items.
Seeing this, the mayor let out a long sigh, his hand shaking as he withdrew it, his expression crestfallen. "You’re all skilled kids, but this is our town’s own business.”
"At dawn, go find the Red Ghost Lady's grave. Take a flower and brew it with the water from the Fortune Longevity Well. Drink it, and the red blotches will fade."
"When the wedding is over, you can leave."
The mayor’s wife, however, seemed to have lost her wits, kneeling at the altar, frantically kowtowing and muttering as the driver had on their first day here: "Red Ghost Lady, forgive us... Red Ghost Lady, forgive us..."
Jiang Yan asked, "What on earth is this all about? Who is this Red Ghost Lady?"
The mayor’s voice, low and heavy, sounded like it came from the depths of an ancient well as he began recounting an old tale. "The Red Ghost Lady’s real name was Hong Gu. She was the youngest daughter of the Zhang family in town."
Jiang Yan remembered something. "That paper shop we passed today—wasn’t the old lady who stopped us also named Zhang?"
"Yes, that was her family." The mayor replied.
Lowering his gaze, he continued, “The Red Ghost Lady, Hong Gu, was the youngest daughter of the first owner of the Zhang family paper shop. The Zhangs were paper crafters, dealing with the dead.
"Although it might sound ominous, life, death, sickness—everyone faces them eventually. Especially during those turbulent years, when although our town of Qingshi was isolated in the mountains and largely untouched by the flames of war, bandits and wandering soldiers would still pass through. One never knew when one might meet an untimely end, but everyone relied on the Zhangs' paper crafts to accompany them to the grave"
Although the Zhang family’s business involved dealing with the dead, their reputation in the town was still quite good.
Hong Gu was the youngest daughter of the Zhang family, and she was known throughout the town as a beautiful girl! No one remembered her real name anymore. Because she had a small mouth naturally flushed red like she had applied rouge, and she always wore a pomegranate-red dress, she was called "Hong Gu" (Red Auntie) as a nickname.
As Hong Gu grew older, the townspeople began to keep an eye on the Zhang family, waiting for the day when Hong Gu would reach the marriageable age.
It wasn’t just that Hong Gu was pretty and capable. The Zhang family had done well for themselves over the years, accumulating a considerable amount of wealth from their business. It was said that they had prepared a sizable dowry for Hong Gu—two wooden camphor chests, four embroidered silk quilts from Suzhou, and even a rice mill.
This kind of lavish dowry was rare in their small, secluded town! Any family with a suitable son was eager to try their luck.
During that time, the women of the town started learning how to play matchmaker, and would often visit the Zhang family to offer their matchmaking services. Families with sons would gather to watch the matchmaking scene, waiting to see the matchmaker enter with smiles and come out with their heads down in disappointment, creating a bit of a spectacle.
For a while, the Zhang family was bustling with visitors, and the doorframe was almost worn out from all the foot traffic.
Everyone in town eagerly anticipated which family would eventually win Hong Gu’s hand.
In the end, Hong Gu married the eldest son of the Li family at the east end of the town. They had grown up together and were childhood sweethearts, so it seemed like a perfect match.
But at that time, people were very concerned with having children. After five years of marriage, Hong Gu and the Li family’s son still hadn’t had any children. The Li family’s mother-in-law began to grow dissatisfied with Hong Gu and gradually started bullying her and her two daughters.
“Didn’t you say she had no children?” Jiang Yan asked, confused.
Without hesitation, the mayor replied, “In that time, daughters were not considered heirs.”
Jiang Yan was left speechless.
Under the dim candlelight, the mayor’s murky eyes carried an indescribable sadness. “Having a daughter was considered destiny. If it was meant to happen, it would, and if not, there was nothing to be done. But back then, people often wanted to force fate.”
“Because Hong Gu had no son, the Li family’s mother-in-law started using some unconventional methods.”
“At first, it was just some herbal remedies she gave Hong Gu to drink, but after a while, when there was still no son, the Li family’s mother-in-law became even more extreme. Hong Gu endured it in silence.”
“One day, when Hong Gu went back to her family’s house, she found that her two daughters were missing…”
“Boom—!”
The sound of a loud crash interrupted the mayor’s tale.
A hole was punched through the wooden door above them, and a thin, blood-red hand reached out, hanging from the hole as if deliberately interrupting the mayor’s story.
At this, the mayor’s wife screamed, turning from kowtowing in front of the mountain god’s image to clutching her husband’s clothes in panic, trembling as she said, “We shouldn’t have said it! We shouldn’t have said it! The resentful spirit! The resentful spirit is here!”
The dungeon scene immediately descended into chaos.
“Ding!”
The players quickly drew their items, with Fang Rui still standing in front of the door, not budging.
“Xiao Ling... Xiao Ling…”
The resentful spirit’s mournful voice came from the hole, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
“Fang Rui! Move out of the way!” Tao Shi shouted urgently.
“Hearing the call of the resentful spirit, Fang Rui’s bloodshot eyes flashed with a glimmer. “It’s Xiao Ling!”
He heard the voice of his friend, which brought clarity to his muddled thoughts. His hatred for Jiang Yan was still intense due to the puppet strings, but now, Xiao Ling’s voice was far more important than the desire to kill Jiang Yan.
Under the candlelight, a barely visible thread shifted. Fang Rui’s feet involuntarily moved a small step.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
More resentful spirits began to gather, and the small wooden door was repeatedly struck by dozens of hands, almost ready to break.
The little paper figures on the floor seemed to twitch. It was unclear whether they moved on their own or were simply shaken by the flickering candlelight.
“Fang Rui!” Tao Shi’s voice lowered, his eyes narrowed in concern.
Yu Jia stood behind him, confused. “Has he gone mad?”
Fang Rui still wouldn’t move, even as the mournful calls of the resentful spirits surrounded him. He knew Xiao Ling was outside!
Xiao Ling’s level was lower than his own. He had no chance of standing up to the three high-level players in front of him, let alone the three NPCs, one of whom was Jiang Yan!
Jiang Yan: "...."
The puppet strings in his mind twitched slightly. His eyes burned with fury as the thought of “killing Jiang Yan” consumed him.
No!
Fang Rui bit his tongue, struggling to maintain his composure.
He didn’t understand why he wanted to kill Jiang Yan so badly, but he knew one thing: he couldn’t leave. If the big players opened that door, Xiao Ling was done for!
Xiao Ling was outside! He couldn’t leave... Jiang Yan...
Jiang Yan must die.
He suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring at the real NPC who was dozing off and in an instant, all rationality inside him shattered.
Ding! [Item: Golden-backed Knife]
Jiang Yan just yawned when a flash of golden light passed in front of his eyes.
“Jiang Yan!! Be careful!”
A voice came from the corner behind them.
“Whoosh—!”
The sharp blade sliced through the air, and several strands of brown hair were cut and scattered in the air. Jian Hou who had rushed over, shoved Jiang Yan and Yu Xiu aside and stood in front of them.
“Jian Hou!” Jiang Yan’s drowsiness vanished in an instant.
[What the heck! A Golden-backed Knife! The best of the A-grade items, it turns out Fang Rui picked it up]
Jiang Yan broke free from Yu Xiu’s arms, grabbing Jian Hou and checking him over. Thankfully, it had only cut a few strands of hair.
Jian Hou concerned, asked, “Are you alright?”
“Jiang Yan!” Yu Xiu, not pleased that his wife was focusing on someone else, protested.
Jiang Yan was too lazy to pay attention to his husband behind him and instead glared at the person in front of them, wanting to curse. But, because of his need to maintain his character, the words were swallowed back.
[This person had just entered the game and had no items, yet he rushed straight into the fray. What a reckless idiot]
Seeing this, Yu Jia raised an eyebrow slightly. It was said that Jiang Yan was a great actor, but if he were to judge, Jian Hou’s acting was far better than Jiang Yan’s!
Clearly, he had already betrayed his friend behind the scenes, but now he could put on a face of deep affection and loyalty. Without even needing a puppet thread, he was a master manipulator.
Thinking of this, Yu Jia’s right hand, hidden at the seam of his pants, subtly twitched his middle finger.
Fang Rui’s rage surged once again, “You should die!”
At this moment, Tao Shi noticed the invisible puppet thread moving at the back of Fang Rui’s head.
Puppet thread?!
He turned to look at Yu Jia, who was standing in the corner. What was going on? Puppet Workshop wanted to kill Jiang Yan?
“Jiang Yan!” Seeing Fang Rui raise his knife again, Jian Hou shouted.
Jiang Yan frowned. He grabbed Jian Hou and pulled him behind, opening his item menu:
Ding! [Item—]
Boom!
Before Jiang Yan could select his item, the wooden door was suddenly shattered with a loud “crack” and splintered into pieces that scattered on the ground.
Everyone froze for a moment. There were no more resentful spirits outside, but a red paper-mâché effigy had been thrown through the broken door, hitting Fang Rui’s face.
It then rolled across the ground and, in an instant, grew to human size. It grabbed Fang Rui, who was trying to attack again.
The mournful cries of the resentful spirits instantly stopped. The shattered wooden door left a dark hole, and the shrine fell into complete silence.
As everyone stood there, stunned and confused, a lazy, playful voice sounded from the dark doorway:
“Are you bullying my brother-in-law?”
Jiang Yan froze.
Yu Xiu’s face turned even greener, his grayish-blue eyes growing darker. He silently pulled his wheat-colored hair back into his arms.
The young man who looked identical to him, yet even more handsome and robust, appeared upside down at the dark doorway overhead.
“How did you come back?” Yu Xiu tightly held Jiang Yan in his arms, his voice tinged with obvious displeasure.
The young man hanging at the door gave a light jump and landed on the ground. He walked forward, his sparkling fox-like eyes fixed on the person in his brother’s arms, and said in dissatisfaction, “You promised to take care of my sister-in-law. Are you just going to watch him get bullied?”
Saying that, the young man directly bypassed Jian Hou and walked up to his brother. He then grabbed the hand of Jiang Yan, who was held by his brother, and gently tilted Jiang Yan's chin up with his other hand.
Jiang Yan was forced to look up and meet his gaze. In those green eyes, unmasked affection and possessiveness surged. The hand around his waist, held by his husband, tightened further. The strange fragrance of Yu Xiu's body lingered at his nose, leaving him trapped between the two brothers, unable to move.
The tense atmosphere of the underground shrine shifted, becoming unexpectedly warm.
What was going on? The surrounding players were completely confused, unsure of the direction the plot was taking.
“Sister-in-law,” the healthy and handsome young man said, holding his brother's hand with a hint of grievance in his voice. “Look, my brother says he’ll protect you, but I’m different. I will always protect you, and I won’t let go of your hand.”
As he said this, he narrowed his eyes and provocatively glanced at his elder brother before gently kissing Jiang Yan's hand.
“So, sister-in-law, don't mind my brother anymore. Stay with me, okay?”
Jiang Yan: "..."
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