When everyone arrived at the town's entrance, the town had already been surrounded by the townspeople, and it was so crowded that not even a drop of water could pass through!
The townspeople, who had turned into ghostly figures yesterday, had all collectively returned to their usual normal and friendly selves today.
If it weren't for the lingering effects of the "curse" still on the players, they might have thought that everything that happened yesterday was just a dream.
As the group stopped in their tracks, they suddenly heard the cries of Jiang Yan's mother coming from the crowd:
"Yan Yan! Yan Yan, stop! Yan Yan, listen to me!"
At the same time, the townspeople were noisily discussing:
"What’s going on? Why did the Yu family’s bride suddenly go mad?"
"I don't know! But if you ask me, it must have something to do with the outsiders he brought back. It’s definitely because they desecrated the Mountain God!"
"Right! The town has never been so chaotic before! Normally, weddings here are peaceful."
"It’s not just because of those outsiders!"
"Don’t forget, who is this Jiang family girl marrying? If you ask me, it’s because the two boys from the Yu family are really up to no good!"
"That makes sense! It’s been two days, and there’s been no movement in Jiang Yan's belly, and now she’s gone mad! What are we going to do about this?"
The players were squeezed outside the crowd and couldn’t see the situation inside. Listening to the townspeople’s discussions only made them more confused.
Tao Shi forcibly pulled a middle-aged man and asked, “Uncle, what happened to Jiang Yan? What happened inside?”
The middle-aged man blew out a puff of smoke, looking both wistful and somewhat gloating, and said, “She went mad!”
Cao Youfeng tried to squeeze in but couldn’t get through. Turning to the middle-aged man, he asked, “What do you mean, 'mad'? What kind of madness is this?”
The middle-aged man pointed to the sky, which was as blank as a piece of white paper, and said, “Did you see that?”
“The sky?” Cao Youfeng replied, confused.
“That’s right! The sky!” The middle-aged man said, “Don’t you remember? When I drove you into the town, there was a towering locust tree here, with branches so thick that you couldn’t see the sky.”
At this point, Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng finally realized that the man in front of them was the very same driver who had driven them into the town on their first day!
When the driver had talked about the locust tree earlier, Yu Jia had even commented that there were four large trees planted at the four corners of the town, with people living in the center, forming the character "囚" (prison). This made the town’s feng shui full of negative energy and ominous vibes.
But now, that towering tree that blocked the sky was gone!
“Where did the tree go?” Cao Youfeng asked.
The driver took a drag from his cigarette and said, “Jiang Yan chopped it down last night, and we only found out this morning.”
“Huh?”
Now, not just Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng, but Yu Jia and Tong Hou were all shocked.
“Chopped... chopped it down?” Tong Hou widened his eyes. “But it was such a big tree! If it fell, it should have made a huge noise. How come we didn’t hear anything last night?”
“That’s a good question!” The driver said. “Because the tree didn’t fall to the ground.”
“It didn’t fall to the ground? Then where did it fall?” Yu Jia asked.
The driver put out his cigarette on the ground with his shoe and, as if telling a joke, answered, “It fell on the body of the previous Mountain God.”
“What?!”
The players exclaimed in unison.
"Everyone thought the previous Mountain God was dead, but unexpectedly, He's still alive! I suspect it's because those two sinister boys from the Yu family summoned Him back!" the driver answered.
As he spoke, he spat twice, "What a sin! The wedding hasn't even finished, and now the bride is mad!"
"How is she mad?!" Jian Hou asked anxiously.
(Ps. Kind reminder, Jiang Yan is a girl at least to the townsfolk which is why there's a switch between 'he' and 'she' sometimes)
As soon as he finished speaking, a scream came from the crowd—Jiang Yan's mother crying, "Yan Yan! Stop it!"
At that moment, a loud crash echoed from the center of the crowd. No one knew if it was because of Jiang Yan's actions.
"Damn! Hurry up! Get out of here!"
"Goodness! Can anyone control her? Are we just letting her go on like this?!"
The crowd swore as they backed away, making way for Tao Shi and his group. They quickly squeezed into the center of the commotion.
They saw a massive locust tree lying horizontally on the ground, with a huge puddle of black, slimy substance on the ground—soft and gelatinous, like slime.
The entire trunk of the tree was entangled with thorny rose branches. The tree looked as though it had been violently strangled and snapped by the attacking rose branches.
Atop the tree trunk stood Jiang Yan, surrounded by his undead but still active zombie husband and his husband's "younger brother."
Black tentacles emerged from Jiang Yan’s abdomen, dripping with sticky green slime. The thorny rose branches twisted and writhed behind him, merging with the tentacles.
Some branches were laden with hanging people, while others stretched endlessly along the ground, disappearing into the distance. The remaining branches continued to probe toward the crowd, as though they wanted to capture everyone and hang them like dried meat.
Around the tree stood a circle of young men from the town. They seemed ready to rush forward and tackle Jiang Yan, but hesitated, fearful of the deadly rose branches and black tentacles that might ensnare them.
Jiang Yan's mother stood beneath the tree, watching her frantic son, continuously crying out, "Yan Yan! Come down! Stop this!"
"Brother" Ding Wanyu and "cousin" Cang Rou were supporting her, trying to calm her.
Jiang Yan, wrapped in his husband's dark green and gold-embroidered robe, looked down at the chaotic crowd and sneered.
"It's all an illusion! You’re all illusions! You're all liars!"
He wildly flung the tentacles from his abdomen and the rose vines behind him. His blue eyes, which were usually gentle, now gleamed with crazed laughter, identical to the expression of his "zombie" husband beside him.
Anyone unaware would think his zombie husband had possessed him.
[What the hell? What’s going on here?!]
[How did Jiang Yan suddenly go mad after just one night?]
[Jiang Yan was always obedient or aloof. Seeing him like this... Could he really have gone mad?]
[It doesn’t look fake! If he’s acting, his performance is way too convincing.]
[Could it be because of what happened with those two NPCs in the coffin last night? Did it trigger him?!]
[No way! How could it be real madness? If he were truly mad, the main system would’ve reported it.]
[Exactly! The main system hasn’t said anything, meaning his actions still align with his character.]
[What?! Is this acting?! Jiang Yan’s acting skills are actually this good?!]
[Not to mention his abilities or career ambitions, his acting has always been impressive! In The Sheep’s Forest he was obedient, in Jianshe Road Private Hospital he was cold, and now he’s playing a madman and doing it flawlessly!]
[But why did he go mad? How did this happen so suddenly?]
Jiang Yan lazily leaned into Yu Xiu's embrace, watching the crowd below and listening to the screams of those he had hung up. His mind wandered back to last night, recalling the high price he had paid to gather vital information.
The pitch-black coffin, the blood-red bridal chamber, his deceased husband, and the black tentacles dripping with green slime...
Damn it!
The madness in Jiang Yan’s blue eyes deepened further.
Humiliation! Utter humiliation!
Back when he was still married to Yu Xiu, he had never been subjected to such disgrace, let alone endured such humiliating positions!
At this moment, he felt a hand land on his waist, slowly sliding downward.
“Slap!”
The thorny rose vine viciously whipped at the hand creeping onto his waist.
"Yan Yan!" The "younger brother," Yu Xiu, withdrew his hand with an aggrieved expression, looking pitifully at his brother-in-law.
"Yan Yan always favors my brother more. Last night, too, even though I said I wanted to..."
"Shut up!" Jiang Yan growled through gritted teeth, a sinister smile on his face. "Say one more word, and I’ll hang you and your entire family on this tree!"
From a high vantage point, the voice of him echoed. The mayor’s entire family, except for Yu Xiu, was already hanging from the tree, caught in the thorny vines.
Jiang Yan turned his attention to the four players who had just arrived. His eyes landed on Jian Hou, the one with brown curls, before shifting to Yu Jia, who had an amused expression.
Good! It’s finally ending!
This cursed dungeon, this damned nightmare—it was finally coming to an end!
Jiang Yan’s mother saw the four players as her last hope. She rushed to them, her voice trembling with desperation:
“You’re all Yan Yan’s good friends! Yan Yan must have been dragged into this by those two sinister boys from the Yu family. He must have angered the Mountain God! Please, speak to him! Maybe you can bring him back to his senses!”
Mountain God?
The four players exchanged glances, then simultaneously looked at the black tentacles emerging from Jiang Yan’s abdomen, dripping with sticky green slime, and the massive black substance crushed beneath the enormous locust tree. It resembled a giant blob of slime.
Tao Shi, Cao Youfeng, and Yu Jia, all veteran players, frowned in unison.
The thing emerging from Jiang Yan’s abdomen was brought over from the last dungeon. The black substance beneath the tree was unmistakably the "Mountain God" depicted in the ancestral hall murals and mentioned by Ling Kang.
Looking closer… why did these two “system props” seem to share the same texture?
“You must speak to him! He’s probably lost his soul, taken over by something!” Jiang Yan’s mother cried out, her voice trembling with fear.
“Yan Yan—!”
Jian Hou shouted loudly at Jiang Yan, who was standing on the tree trunk.
Hearing the shout, Jiang Yan didn't calm down; instead, he started laughing wildly.
His laughter was eerily like that of a great villain!
"You’ve all lied to me! You all want to deceive me! You’re all a bunch of liars!!"
Boom--
Just as he finished speaking, a massive sound echoed from the distance, and the ground beneath Qingshi Town trembled slightly.
"What... what happened?" Jian Hou asked, completely stunned.
"Not good! The tree at the east entrance of the town has fallen!"
"Quick! Don’t stand around watching! We need to stop him!!"
The villagers, who had been retreating and watching, now surged forward.
"Hahahaha..."
Someone in the crowd was the first to laugh out loud.
Soon after, the whole crowd joined in, laughing together.
"Ahh hahaha... hahahaha..."
Unlike Jiang Yan's manic laughter, their laughter sounded sinister!
Then, the players watched as the villagers' skin began to slowly be consumed by red spots, inch by inch!
"Hahaha ahhh... hahahaha..."
"Ghosts!!" Jian Hou yelled. "They’ve all turned into ghosts again!!"
Crack!
Cang Rou’s head dropped, and the sound of cracking bones echoed.
Her hair instantly fell long in front of her face, and her clothes turned into tattered red rags.
"Red Ghost Lady!" Tao Shi said.
They all turned to look at the young man standing on the tree, grinning, with black hair and blue eyes!
A fierce battle was about to break out!
Yu Jia’s gaze sharpened.
Now!
[Item: Puppet String!]
[Wow! Is Yu Jia still trying to take down Jiang Yan?!]
[What the heck! Is he really sending the Puppet String straight at Jiang Yan?!]
[It’s over! Jiang Yan is finished now! It looks like Yu Jia is going to get serious!]
Note - Hey guys sorry, I just realized I translated 'puppet string' as 'puppet silk' in the first couple of chapters and haven't had a chance to fix it yet. Thanks for pointing it out!
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