PTYS Chapter 173

Shen Qingqiu watched her, blinking several times. Then, her eyes sparkled with joy and laughter. “Oh my, what’s going on with my Muyu today? Why are you so fond of me all of a sudden?”

Xiao Muyu knew she was teasing again and replied helplessly, “When have I not been fond of you?”

Shen Qingqiu looked ahead and muttered softly, “You’ve always been fond of me, just never willing to admit it.”

Xiao Muyu smiled slightly, not arguing, but glanced at Shen Qingqiu’s abdomen with a slight frown. “Does walking make your wound hurt?”

While asking, Xiao Muyu stopped, ready to carry Shen Qingqiu if she felt uncomfortable.

Shen Qingqiu shook her head with a smile. “It doesn’t hurt anymore; I’m fine. Although my character is set as a delicate lady, I’m not that fragile. If any more trouble comes our way, I can still twist its head off.”

As she said this, Shen Qingqiu’s gaze turned cold, and her voice was low and imposing. She slowly looked around.

But soon, she leaned lazily against Xiao Muyu, squinting her eyes. “I just hadn’t recovered yet. Besides, with such a capable wife, it’s okay for me to slack off a bit.”

Xiao Muyu brushed her hair aside and laughed softly. Watching Chen Kaijie and the other two walking ahead but not daring to distance themselves, Xiao Muyu said quietly, “If you keep clinging to me like this, you’ll really lose all your authority.”

Hearing this, Shen Qingqiu straightened up, looked down at her hands held under Xiao Muyu’s sleeve, and pouted. “Even like this, I have no authority. I don’t care anymore.”

Xiao Muyu tightened her grip on Shen Qingqiu’s hand, which was still cold, making her anxious. “Why aren’t your hands warming up? Are you cold?”

She let go of one of Shen Qingqiu’s hands and reached into her sleeve, finding not only her hand but also her wrist and forearm were cold.

“Su jin, bring out more cotton cloth,” Xiao Mu Yu called to Su jin without hesitation.

Su jin hurried over with a roll of cloth. Xiao Muyu cut a piece to wrap Shen Qingqiu as a shawl and continued to hold her hand as they moved forward.

They had walked a considerable distance by then, and they could see the city decorated with lanterns just like when they left, a sea of red.

The tallest lampstands were also faintly visible, indicating they had truly returned to Yingzhou City.

Seeing this scene initially made Xiao Muyu and the others happy, thinking they had really come back. But soon, everyone’s smiles faded.

Xiao Muyu’s expression darkened. “Do you sense something off?”

They had stepped into the long street of the city, looking at the lanterns hanging along the way with a heavy heart.

“Not a single person. Tonight is the Lantern Festival; people should be celebrating, guessing riddles. How can there be no one? We haven’t gotten out,” Shen Qingqiu said in a similarly low tone, her brows furrowed.

Chen Kaijie grabbed his hair in frustration, his heartbeat quickening. An empty street filled with lanterns—what did it mean? A trap?

As they stood in silence, a raspy voice floated from within the city, mingling with the wind, eerie and chilling.

“The gates of the underworld open on the fifteenth, welcoming a hundred ghosts to the street. Disputes of the living are settled by the dead; unrelated people must leave. A house opens to both worlds, the dead return to rest, and the living find their way. Seek the crucial clue.”

It sounded like an old man’s hoarse voice, repeating these words, as if intentionally for them to hear or mumbling to himself.

The voice was indistinct, mixed with laughter, sending chills down their spines.

Xiao Muyu listened to the words repeatedly, memorizing them before saying, “The voice is coming from the street ahead. Let’s go check it out.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded. The voice continued as they found its source, and everyone was stunned.

At the street corner stood a paper figure, hunched over, the voice coming from it.

Facing the opposite street, Xiao Muyu and the others couldn’t see its face.

Chen Kaijie and Zuo Tiantian moved to take a closer look but quickly retreated with pale faces after a short exclamation.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Muyu frowned, quickly shielding Shen Qingqiu and turning towards the figure.

Chen Kaijie swallowed, still shaken. “Its head is real.”

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu saw it too. The figure wore a paper hat, but underneath was a real human head.

Its eyes were wide open, bloodshot, the lantern light casting a pale, rigid look on its face.

The twisted expression and bulging eyes showed an indescribable terror, as if seeing something horrifying before death.

Blood dripped from its neck, staining the white paper red.

Xiao Muyu’s expression was grim. The head had been severed and fixed onto the paper figure’s body, its mouth still moving, uttering the strange words.

Sensitive to Xiao Muyu’s emotions, Shen Qingqiu sensed something unusual in her reaction to the head, unlike her usual calm demeanor.

“Muyu, did you notice something? Why that look?” she asked worriedly.

Xiao Muyu glanced at the head again. Despite the old man’s voice, the head wasn’t of an old man.

She exhaled slowly. “Remember when I mentioned Xiao Qian sending people to follow me?”

Shen Qingqiu nodded slightly. “I remember.”

She looked at the head again and gasped. “You mean this head belongs to one of those following you?”

Xiao Muyu nodded. This realization made the head even more terrifying.

“How can this be? Why kill him? What about the other one? Captain Xiao, do you recognize him?” Su jin asked, baffled.

Xiao Muyu shook her head. “You all lost your memories when we came in, retaining only the character memories. Even now, with restored memories, I remember nothing about Xiao Family members or their stories.

I only know this person and another escort were sent by my father to protect me. They were from the Xiao Family Escort Agency. Whether they had other identities, I don’t know.”

She recalled a past event, her voice chilly. “But the system once offered to unlock memories for points. I refused the first time, about the Shen Family. The second time, I spent 50 points but unlocked only 10%, and that was it.” She showed her control panel to the others.

Seeing the options “50 points for another draw” and “200 points for five draws,” Shen Qingqiu’s face darkened.

“This is obviously intentional.”

Xiao Muyu agreed. “So, I ignored it. But since the system offered, I suspect my character’s memories might be useful.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded, frowning. “But your memories don’t solve the current problem. Even puzzle games give hints. We’ve come this far, and the system remains silent. Is it broken again, needing repair?”

Looking at the head and the scene, Shen Qingqiu felt anger rising. “We’re this far; there’s no need for more tricks. Still no hints? Is it malfunctioning again?”

Just as Shen Qingqiu finished, a sharp static noise buzzed in their ears, like a speaker interference, causing a splitting headache. Then, after some crackling, the system spoke.

“Ding, congratulations to players Xiao Mu Yu, Shen Qingqiu, Chen Kaijie, Zuo Tiantian, and Su jin for completing the first part of the 007 sub-quest ‘Joy’—Red and White Collision.

“No deaths, scoring higher than 99.99% of teams!

“Reward: one exemption card. If unused, it can eliminate B and C grade cards during the draw.”

The system’s voice was stuttering as if glitched.

Chen Kaijie gaped, giving Shen Qingqiu a thumbs up. The system wasn’t done; another “ding” sounded, switching to a familiar female voice.

“Welcome, Xiao Muyu’s team, to the second part of the linked quest, Lantern Festival.

“On this festive night, enjoying lanterns and riddles is a great pleasure. As descendants of Huaxia, you must remember your traditions, or face dire consequences.

“Next, please listen carefully to the game rules. Half an incense stick’s time, with a minimum of 15 riddles per person. Calculate your team’s target number.

“Failure to meet the target will result in random forfeiture of a player’s body part.

“It could be hair, an arm, or even an organ. You don’t want to find out, so perform your best. Now, please check your examination area.”

As soon as the system finished speaking, the paper figure with a real person’s head in front of them straightened up and looked forward.

Then, in front of the originally empty shops on the street, paper figures suddenly appeared, made of colorful paper in the shapes of men, women, and children.

The makeup with no artistic beauty and the eerie smiles turned the street into a ghost town, so much so that Chen Kaijie and his group didn’t dare to look.

But Xiao Muyu immediately noticed something. She reminded Shen Qingqiu and the others, “Look at those paper figures, they don’t have eyes.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded. Su Jin bravely stepped closer for a look and exclaimed, “They really don’t have eyeballs. Captain Xiao, speaking of this, I found something off. The eyes of those paper figures earlier looked strange to me.

“Although those paper figures were ugly and scary, the drawing was actually quite delicate, clearly the work of someone skilled in painting. But the eyeballs were drawn carelessly, and now these don’t have any at all.”

Xiao Muyu continued to observe the so-called examination site and calmly said, “Have you heard of the legend of dotting the eyes of a dragon?”

And the phrase we heard when we first came in, ‘Seeking the spot to dot the eyes,’ seemed to be hinting at something too.

Su Jin and the others nodded. Xiao Muyu continued, “Eyes are the soul of a being. Without eyes, there’s no spirit or vitality. Paper figures are traditionally used in funerary practices, belonging to the underworld.

“So there’s an unwritten rule in paper figure shops that they shouldn’t have their eyes dotted, or they might come to life, which would be a big problem.”

Zuo Tiantian shivered and rubbed her goosebumps. But now wasn’t the time to discuss this; the street was lined with lanterns.

However, only the lanterns hanging from lines strung across the street had slips of paper under them, which should contain riddles.

The lanterns hung at varying heights; some were within easy reach, while others were as high as two zhang (about 6.6 meters).

And along the street, every two meters or so, a paper figure stood. From the scene, it seemed they had to follow the street and solve the lantern riddles.

Three steps away from them, a yellow line crossed the ground, the purpose of which was unknown.

“The riddles start close and get harder as you go. You must take down the lantern within the yellow line to see the riddle and answer it. Each person can only take one lantern at a time. Remember! There’s no limit on the number of people answering. Get ready. Start!”

The system’s mechanical voice tried to convey tension and excitement, but no one paid attention.

“Everyone, hurry and take down the lanterns first. Since we don’t know the difficulty levels, let’s each choose riddles from the beginning, middle, and end of the street. Don’t rush at first to avoid any unexpected changes,” Xiao Muyu quickly instructed.

As soon as the system finished speaking, the paper figure with a real person’s head started a half-stick of incense timer.

Shen Qingqiu, due to her injury, was assigned the closest spot, followed by Xiao Muyu, who was mainly responsible for solving the riddles, then Zuo Tiantian and Su Jin. Chen Kaijie, being stronger, ran to the end of the street.

A half-stick of incense equals 15 minutes. With an average of 15 riddles per person, that means less than a minute to solve each one, including the time to take down the lanterns.

This task tested not only their brains but also their speed. What worried them most was if the riddles were too difficult, it would mainly depend on Xiao Muyu, putting a lot of pressure on her.

Shen Qingqiu leaped up, took down a lantern hanging mid-air, and ran back. Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but say, “Don’t make such big movements.”

Shen Qingqiu, with a serious expression, replied, “I’m fine. Time is tight.”

She had already taken down the lantern and read the riddle: “Offering flowers in sacrifice, weeping for ancestors (famous person with a dynasty).”

Shen Qingqiu read it out loud, furrowed her brow slightly, and pondered.

Xiao Muyu, after hearing it, lowered her eyes briefly and then suddenly raised them, directly giving the answer.

At the same time, the riddle in Shen Qingqiu’s hand turned into a charm and flew to the forehead of a paper figure, sticking there like a talisman.

Author’s note: We’re starting the challenge, and it’s like a Chinese language exam, including reading comprehension, cultural knowledge, and poetry.

I didn’t include Chinese exams before because a lot can be looked up online, unlike science subjects, which only require basic knowledge. I can create the puzzles and answers myself.

Some of these are from Baidu. Of course, I’m trying to make some up too. Please be understanding if some puzzles are unreasonable.

Feel free to try and guess the answers. Leave your guesses in the comments.