Noticing Xin Meng’s puzzled gaze, Xiong Jiabao turned back to glance at him, his eyes showing indignation and anger. He whispered to Xin Meng, “These two bastards, I no longer consider them friends! Comrade Lei Feng said it well, friends should be treated with the warmth of spring, and loyalty should be emphasized, but enemies should be treated as ruthlessly as autumn winds sweeping away leaves! Hmph!”
Xin Meng’s face darkened; he had intended to say something earlier, but this interruption made him forget.
Dong Xiu ignored their bickering, coldly stating, “In any case, you all need to be careful! Don’t let the villagers suspect us; that would raise our danger level further and cause completely unnecessary losses.”
Thinking back to the villagers’ expressions and their eerily quiet demeanor when they looked at the corpses, even Xiong Jiabao, who had always wanted to confront him, fell silent.
In fact, they were still in great danger. After all, the timing of their appearance was too close to when the villagers began to die. The villagers definitely had reason to suspect them. The reason no one had brought it up yet was unclear—whether it was because they truly hadn’t thought of it or simply hadn’t questioned them directly in front of them, but were discussing it behind their backs. Therefore, they had to keep their guard up at all times, not allowing themselves a moment of relaxation.
The only one unaffected was probably You Yi. This man seemed to always remain an outsider, not participating in their discussions, nor expressing opinions on their actions. He simply followed them, or more accurately, followed Xin Meng. If he didn’t speak, he deliberately lowered his presence, sometimes even making people forget that they had such a teammate.
However, once he did speak, no one dared to take it lightly. Just like now, when he decided to have Xin Meng and Xiong Jiabao switch places, Xiong Jiabao immediately nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice, not daring to utter a word of dissent, and even eagerly offered to help Xin Meng carry his backpack. In the end, the bag was taken by You Yi, and Xiong Jiabao silently shrank into a ball.
The group cautiously interacted with the villagers. However, strangely, the villagers seemed to truly not suspect them, maintaining a consistent attitude towards them, though their expressions were filled with confusion, as if they were afraid of something. This thing that frightened them seemed unrelated to the few of them.
“This is strange,” Li Yougen said, puzzled. “They can’t really believe there are water ghosts, can they?”
Xin Meng replied, “I heard a villager say that an outsider drowned in the reservoir before. I feel the villagers reacted very indifferently to this matter, and now that the dead are appearing in the reservoir, the villagers immediately think of water ghosts. Could it be related to that incident?”
“Could it be that person was killed by the villagers and has now turned into a ghost seeking revenge, making the villagers feel guilty and afraid?” Xiong Jiabao speculated wildly.
Xin Meng thought about the villagers’ reactions and couldn’t dismiss the possibility. He simply went to ask the village chief for more information.
“You asked about the person who drowned in the reservoir?” The village chief lit another cigarette; he had smoked nearly a year’s worth in just a couple of days. “There’s not much to say. She suddenly appeared in the village; no one knew her name or where she came from. By the time we found her, she was struggling in the reservoir. By the time we rescued her, it was too late. She didn’t say a word before she was gone.”
“So the water ghost the villagers are talking about refers to her?” Xin Meng asked. “Was she male or female?”
“Female.” The village chief blew out a smoke ring, squinting as he recalled, “The villagers are kind-hearted; they buried her on the mountain and even erected a stone tablet. Logically, it shouldn’t be… why would she come back to claim lives?”
No one could explain what was happening. At least from the current situation, it should be related to the reservoir and the woman who drowned in it.
Xin Meng kept his guard up and went to inquire with others, only to find that their accounts were similar to the village chief’s. No one knew the woman’s name, only that she was young, had an ordinary face, long hair with bangs, and wore a deep blue outfit…
Wait a minute…
Xin Meng’s eyes widened in disbelief as he asked the person again, who then provided a more detailed description.
“No… how could this be!” Xin Meng turned around and grabbed You Yi’s hand tightly. “It can’t be her, right?”
This description sounded so… so much like Qi Xiaokui?
“It shouldn’t be, how could it be her?” Xin Meng couldn’t believe that the person who drowned was actually Qi Xiaokui. Was she the one who turned into a vengeful spirit seeking a substitute? Was she the one who killed five kind-hearted villagers?!
How could this happen?!
He had always thought that Qi Xiaokui was just hiding and unwilling to see them, but she must still be alive and well. How… how could…
Xin Meng was stunned into silence by this sudden speculation, but in the end, it was You Yi who calmed him down, pointing out the key point, “The timing doesn’t match.”
Right… that’s right, the timing doesn’t match!
That person drowned last year, didn’t she? They hadn’t even entered the game last year. Although Qi Xiaokui died before them, the first to die, Xiong Jiabao, arrived at the same time as them, and they had only been here for less than two days. Qi Xiaokui couldn’t possibly have arrived here a year earlier than them, could she?
Xin Meng immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but there was still an indescribable unease lingering in his heart. He wanted to find Qi Xiaokui immediately to confirm that it was just his wild imagination. However, with so many people having just died in the village, and the villagers being so frightened, it was not the right time to disturb everyone to look for Qi Xiaokui. Relying solely on the few of them was like searching for a needle in a haystack. In the vast mountains, unless she appeared on her own, they wouldn’t know when they would find her.
You Yi grabbed his arm, making him look at him, using his gaze to soothe him. “Don’t scare yourself. If you can’t find Qi Xiaokui, let’s first visit that woman’s grave. Once we confirm the identity of the grave’s owner, we can know if it’s her.”
Xin Meng calmed down. “Right, let’s go check the grave first.”
Fearing that too much commotion would alarm the villagers, the two did not call Dong Xiu and the others, but set off alone along the mountain path. Based on the information provided by the village chief, they found a raised mound on the southern side of the mountain, where a simple stone tablet marked “Grave of the Nameless Woman” stood.
Xin Meng: “…”
Although the name on the tombstone was quite awkward, it was indeed the place they were looking for.
This must be a necessary area to pass the game, because when he had subtly inquired with the village chief, the other party seemed to know his intentions and directly told him this address, even providing quite detailed information. Therefore, Xin Meng had reason to believe that there was an 80% chance this was a key location.
The mound was bare, with not a single blade of grass growing, looking lonely and particularly pitiful. Xin Meng walked around the grave mound but found nothing. However, he saw You Yi unexpectedly take out a folding shovel from his backpack and start… digging up the grave.
Xin Meng hesitated for a moment, then grabbed a branch to help. The two dug for a while, and the hole grew larger, gradually revealing a corner of the coffin inside.
“A stranger died, and I didn’t expect the villagers not only helped bury her but also prepared a coffin,” Xin Meng remarked. “The people here are really simple-hearted.”
You Yi remained noncommittal, digging a few more times until the coffin was completely exposed.
The coffin used by the villagers was not very exquisite; it was made of pure wood, unpainted, just roughly smoothed out, with occasional splinters at the corners. Now exposed to the light of day, the light-colored wood grain was already covered in dirt, turning into patches of black.
Xin Meng felt that something was off about this coffin, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
After looking around for a while, he hesitantly said, “Isn’t this coffin a bit short?”
For a normal person’s coffin, even for a shorter woman, it should be around 1.65 meters long, but the one in front of them was definitely less than 1.6 meters, at most 1.5 meters, more like a coffin for a child who died young.
You Yi said nothing, walked to the side of the coffin, and directly inserted the shovel into the side gap, forcefully prying the coffin lid open. The lid slid to the other side, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust, revealing the dark interior.
Xin Meng took two steps forward, stretching his neck to see inside. However, when the contents of the coffin were finally revealed, Xin Meng couldn’t help but exclaim!
The decayed corpse he had imagined did not appear; instead, there was a pile of scattered white bones. The skull had two dark holes that seemed to stare directly at Xin Meng, as if hiding an extremely sinister and malicious gaze, ready to pounce on him!
Xin Meng’s scalp tingled, and his heart raced as he took a step back! But when he looked again, that feeling had completely vanished.
Was he just too nervous, causing him to hallucinate?
Xin Meng couldn’t help but turn his head away. “It really is long dead; the body has turned into white bones.” But he still felt a sense of relief.
Since that was the case, this person couldn’t be Qi Xiaokui, at least the timing didn’t match.
Great.
But where on earth had Qi Xiaokui gone?
In fact, Xin Meng had a good impression of that girl who always seemed gloomy but had saved him at a critical moment. Although for her, it was merely an act of not wanting to owe a favor, in this world, there were far too many people who shamelessly enjoyed the care of others. Some even couldn’t distinguish whether others had any obligation to help them, always feeling that the entire world should revolve around them, like Dong Xiu and Li Yougen. No matter how much you helped them, they would take it for granted and wouldn’t express a shred of gratitude. If you didn’t help, they would curse and complain, including Xiong Jiabao, who was essentially the same. Yet, someone like Qi Xiaokui, who was independent, strong, and understood how to repay kindness and help, didn’t she deserve respect?
So Xin Meng didn’t want anything to happen to Qi Xiaokui.
After closing the coffin lid, the two buried the coffin back underground. Xin Meng straightened up and sighed, “I can’t believe we found nothing.”
He thought You Yi wouldn’t respond, but unexpectedly, he quickly heard You Yi say, “There is something.”
Xin Meng was taken aback and hurriedly asked, “What is it?”
You Yi looked at him deeply, and just as Xin Meng was eagerly watching him, he coldly said:
“Think for yourself.”
Xin Meng: “… It would have been better if you hadn’t said anything.”
