Could it really be that the woman turned into a vengeful ghost after drowning, returning to the village to kill innocent people?
According to the tropes of horror games, the possibility is indeed quite high.
At that moment, a terrified shout came from outside, “Uncle! Uncle! Come out quickly, there’s been another death!”
Wu Dacheng was startled and hurried outside. Xin Meng and You Yi exchanged glances and followed closely behind.
Wu Deli was in the front yard, running around like a headless chicken. When he saw Wu Dacheng come out, he didn’t care about hierarchy and quickly grabbed Wu Dacheng’s arm, pulling him outside urgently, “Uncle! Something big has happened! We went to the reservoir to collect the body of that Dong something, and we found three more corpses in the water! It’s Uncle Jianwei, and Dongzi and Xiaomei!”
Wu Dacheng’s face turned pale. Wu Jianwei was his younger brother, Dongzi was Jianwei’s son, and Xiaomei was his daughter. Wu Jianwei’s wife had died early, and now this family of three had all died together. Wasn’t this the end of their line?
The group stumbled to the reservoir, and from a distance, they could hear wailing that shook the heavens. Wu Dacheng’s legs went weak, but fortunately, Xin Meng pulled him back just in time, preventing him from falling. Wu Dacheng didn’t have time to thank her and rushed over, pushing through the crowd. When he looked, the three corpses were all bloated, their bodies torn and covered in bite marks. He immediately felt darkness closing in and fainted.
“Village Chief! Village Chief!”
“Village Chief! What’s wrong with you!”
“Quick! Carry him back! Carry the Village Chief back!”
The crowd erupted into chaos again. The villagers hadn’t even had time to wipe their tears before they hurried to help the Village Chief. Wu Deli looked at those familiar relatives and thought of his deceased mother, and grief overwhelmed him, causing him to burst into tears. Around him, sobs began to rise, and the feeling of sorrow weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts, making it hard to bear.
In this atmosphere, Xin Meng was also greatly affected, his eyes welling up with tears. He quickly wiped his eyes and stepped forward to help. After all, another person had died in the village, and he felt it inappropriate to let others handle Dong Xiu’s body alone. He could only drag the corpse out of the water first and then think of a way to arrange it. However, it was easier said than done; looking at Dong Xiu’s body, which had no intact skin, he couldn’t find a place to grab hold.
“How could he be bitten like this?” Xin Meng murmured, “These ghosts are too cruel. If they’re going to kill, why torture them like this…”
He didn’t have much room to sympathize with them, as his previous experiences told him that even he could suffer the same fate at any moment. Just a while ago, if he hadn’t found Qi Xiaokui in time, he would have been among those cold corpses.
When everything was over, Xin Meng didn’t follow the villagers’ custom of carrying the bodies away first, holding a funeral, and then burying them. They didn’t have the conditions for that. He simply dug a pit and buried Dong Xiu along with Li Yougen from the Village Chief’s family.
If Dong Xiu knew that he, who always checked into five-star hotels and never wore the same clothes twice, ended up in the dirt like this, and was buried alongside a man he looked down upon, he couldn’t imagine what expression he would have. Thinking about how he would see Dong Xiu jumping in anger in the next game, that sadness dissipated, and Xin Meng even felt a bit of anticipation.
“By the way, where’s Xiong Jiabao?” After finishing with Dong Xiu and Li Yougen, Xin Meng suddenly realized he hadn’t seen that silly, white-haired punk. With such a big incident happening in the village, was he still asleep? It seemed that when they were talking in the Village Chief’s house, including when Wu Deli shouted to find someone, Xiong Jiabao hadn’t come out to ask a single question. Was he really that deep in sleep?
Xin Meng’s heart suddenly sank. Could it be that Xiong Jiabao had also encountered something?
Just as he was anxiously thinking of returning to the Village Chief’s house, he saw Xiong Jiabao walking over leisurely, looking completely bewildered. When he saw Xin Meng covered in dirt, he innocently rubbed his stomach and asked, “Did you go dig sweet potatoes? Is there any extra? I’m starving!”
Xin Meng: “…”
“What happened just now? Where have you been?” Xin Meng asked suspiciously.
“Ah?” Xiong Jiabao looked confused, “What big thing happened? I’ve been sleeping. When I woke up, I found no one in the Village Chief’s house, and no one next door. I was hungry, so I thought I’d come out and see where everyone went to find something to eat… Oh, I also ran into Wu Dong on the way. I’m not saying, his sister is really pretty, just a bit less than Wu Xuehua…”
“Wait!” Xin Meng suddenly interrupted his rambling, “Who did you say you ran into?”
“Wu Dong,” Xiong Jiabao said foolishly, “And his sister Wu Xiaomei. I wanted to say a few words to Wu Xiaomei, but her dad was glaring at me, so I left.”
Xin Meng grabbed his arm, his eyes wide, “When was that?”
Xiong Jiabao scratched the back of his head, “Uh… about ten minutes ago? I can’t remember clearly.”
Ten minutes ago? That’s not right! Ten minutes ago, they had just seen the corpses of Wu Jianwei and the other two by the reservoir!
Xin Meng felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He stared at Xiong Jiabao and asked nervously, “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure,” Xiong Jiabao looked at Xin Meng strangely, “What’s wrong? I shouldn’t have remembered wrong. I even checked the time; it was exactly nine o’clock…” He glanced at his watch and suddenly exclaimed, “What the hell! How is it already ten o’clock? No way, I just looked at the watch, it was clearly nine o’clock!”
Xiong Jiabao looked completely bewildered, but Xin Meng grabbed his wrist to check the watch, and the hands were moving normally. He thought for a moment and asked him, “Look at the sun. Was it at this height when you came out?”
Xiong Jiabao looked up and was even more surprised, “That’s not right. When I came out, the sun wasn’t this high yet!”
He suddenly realized, “The temperature also seems off… What’s going on?”
Looking around and then at the serious-looking Xin Meng, Xiong Jiabao was stunned, “Could it be that I traveled through time? To an hour later… This is too ridiculous; why not travel a bit further back, preferably to before I entered this game, that would be awesome!”
Seeing him like this, Xin Meng couldn’t help but frown, “You really don’t have any memory of that hour?”
Xiong Jiabao thought for a moment, “I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything. I just ran into those three people, said a few words, and then went up the mountain… Wait, what was I going up the mountain for?”
Xiong Jiabao muttered to himself in confusion, and with Xin Meng’s reminder, he seemed to realize something was off.
“Didn’t you want to find something to eat? Why did you go up the mountain instead of going to the village?” Xin Meng pressed sharply.
“I… Why did I go up the mountain…?” Xiong Jiabao finally realized something was wrong, “I don’t know why I went up the mountain; it just… just felt natural…”
The three of them stood in the woods, facing each other in silence. Except for You Yi, who always had a blank expression, both Xin Meng and Xiong Jiabao felt an ominous premonition. Although the temperature had warmed up as noon approached, a chill still rose from their hearts, making their fingertips feel cold.
“I… I’m a bit scared…” Xiong Jiabao rubbed his arms, “We should hurry back, to a place with more people; it might be safer.”
Xin Meng had no other ideas. He looked at You Yi, who nodded, and the three reached a consensus to head down the mountain.
However, just as Xin Meng was about to turn around, he suddenly caught a glimpse of… a pale, dead face out of the corner of his eye!
The face was grotesquely twisted, with a blood-curdling grin stretching from ear to ear, staring directly at Xin Meng!
“Ah!” Xin Meng screamed, stumbling back two steps, and was immediately steadied by You Yi, who looked down and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xin Meng quickly turned to look, but only saw Xiong Jiabao standing there, looking completely bewildered.
The ghostly face had vanished.
Xin Meng took a deep breath, waved his hand to the two, and forced a smile, “It’s nothing, I just mis-saw it; mistook a branch for a snake.”
Xiong Jiabao teased, “You said you were calm, and now you’re seeing shadows everywhere. Relax, don’t scare yourself!”
Xin Meng forced a smile, and after Xiong Jiabao walked ahead, he leaned closer to You Yi and whispered, “I just saw something ‘that thing’ wrapped around Xiong Jiabao.”
He didn’t believe he was hallucinating; that thing had smiled at him, its body coiling around Xiong Jiabao like a snake. Although it was just a fleeting glance, he was sure something had wrapped around Xiong Jiabao, and that missing hour was very intriguing.
Combining the timeline of Wu Jianwei and the other two’s disappearance and death, some chilling speculations arose in his mind—
Perhaps Xiong Jiabao was carrying that thing with him and encountered Wu Jianwei and the other two, which led to their deaths!
But there was still a question: why didn’t that thing attack Xiong Jiabao first, but instead targeted Wu Jianwei and the others? Could it be… that it regarded Xiong Jiabao as a tool for movement, attaching itself to him to attack everyone he encountered?
Was his coming up the mountain also due to that thing’s will, coming up… to find the two of them?
Planning to kill them?!
“It seems Xiong Jiabao is unaware of this,” Xin Meng said, “Should we… keep our distance from him for now?”
The fear of almost being devoured by countless ghosts in the water still lingered in Xin Meng’s heart, and combined with his physical discomfort, he felt unusually weak.
A large hand gently landed on his head, stroking him softly. Xin Meng looked up to see You Yi gazing at him kindly, his beautiful tea-colored eyes reflecting Xin Meng’s figure. He heard him softly say, “You can’t run away; evasion won’t solve the problem.”
“But…” Xin Meng’s brows furrowed, looking somewhat pitiful, “I’m a bit…”
For Xin Meng, showing weakness was extremely rare, but in front of the strong You Yi, it should… be okay, right?
Moreover, although You Yi rarely participated in their discussions, he always remained calm, never showing panic or fear in the face of danger, just like the impression Xin Meng had given to others before. You Yi, in an unspoken way, provided Xin Meng with a sense of stability and support; just looking into his calm eyes could help him quickly regain composure.
If Xin Meng was a calming agent for others, then You Yi was Xin Meng’s backbone.
In fact, You Yi was the most suitable person to lead this team. If he were in charge, the team wouldn’t be so confused.
But on one hand, You Yi had no desire for leadership, and on the other, there was Dong Xiu, who always thought about seizing power and was selfish. Division was inevitable. Fortunately, You Yi stood on his side.
Thinking of this, Xin Meng felt a bit more at ease. He directly asked the man, “So what should I do?”
“Find the problem and solve it.” You Yi didn’t hesitate at all, just like his character, exuding a strong confidence and determination. He would always move forward, with nothing able to make him retreat or waver.
“Okay.” Xin Meng nodded vigorously, that brief moment of weakness finally cast aside, his eyes curved into a smile once more.
The two descended the mountain, and on the way, Xin Meng asked You Yi, “Do you want to take a nap? You took care of me all night yesterday…”
You Yi shook his head, “I’m fine, not tired.”
Yesterday he had a fever, and he hadn’t expected You Yi to take care of him without rest. If it weren’t for that, he probably wouldn’t have gotten out of bed today. Xin Meng felt very touched and warm, but he also felt that saying anything would be inappropriate. Thanking him would seem too distant, so he could only bring up the previous issue again, “Xiong Jiabao definitely has something strange about him. What do you think is the most likely problem?”
You Yi said, “See if he has any extra items on him.”
Unexpectedly, You Yi had the same thought as him, and Xin Meng suddenly felt more confident, excitedly saying, “Every time I see him, I feel like there’s something off about the necklace he wears, but when I asked him once, I didn’t find anything wrong.”
You Yi reminded, “Don’t forget what’s written on the card: ‘Pay attention to details.’ In other words, the problem might be hidden in the details. If you feel something is wrong, you need to take it seriously. Ask him again.”
“Okay,” Xin Meng thought for a moment and nodded.
