Chapter 41: Misty Rain in Jiangnan (12)

The sky outside the window gradually turned red, and daybreak arrived.

Feng Zhibei looked at the young Yan Chuxue in front of him with mixed feelings.

He didn't have time to review all his memories, so he only grasped some key points.

Yan Chuxue must have taken the initiative to approach the Feng family back then, and it's unknown how she ended up becoming his tutor.

The most bizarre thing about this matter is that the Feng family actually selected teachers for themselves. But considering what He Xinmei said, that he had been monitored by debuggers almost his entire life, maybe there were quite a few people in the Feng family who were debuggers.

Maybe even all of them.

Feng Zhibei shuddered.

But the problem now was that B-367, He Xinmei, and Yan Chuxue were all untrustworthy. Each of them approached him with their own agenda, using him as a pawn.

...Yan Chuxue was a little better. After all, they were teacher and student before, so she would not show her exploitation so obviously like a stranger.

He lowered his eyes, and the more he thought about it, the more upset he became. Just as he took a deep breath and prepared to adjust his state of mind, he suddenly felt a vague sense of being watched.

“……?”

Feng Zhibei raised his head sullenly, his eyelids drooping, and looked in the direction where the gaze came from.

An eyeball was stuck on a beam in the ceiling, with several dried blood vessels attached.

Feng Zhibei: "...How many times do you want to use this trick?"

The system prompt sounded, and the tone was not good, as if it was somewhat dissatisfied with his response.

[Ding! The Queen is watching you! Please remove her gaze immediately! If you fail to remove it within 36 hours, the special debuffs of this instance will be added!]

Feng Zhibei had a blank expression on his face, and his heart had become calm after the series of experiences before.

"What are the debuffs?"

He asked the system.

Yan Chuxue didn't realize who he was talking to for a moment, and uttered a puzzled "Hmm?"

The system paused for a few seconds, then announced in a voice loud enough for both of them to hear:

[Debuff in this instance: Gender conversion]

Feng Zhibei: "? Are you sick? This is a bullshit game!"

His face was pale, and his already bad mood due to previous memories was even worse.

Yan Chuxue patted his back comfortingly. "Thirty-six hours is exactly when the spirit-inviting ceremony begins tomorrow. We'll definitely have a solution by then."

He shook his head. "It's okay. I'm still a man after the dungeon, so there's nothing wrong with pretending to be a girl for a few days."

He has a high level of acceptance, and this applies to both men and women, and it does not affect their original understanding of themselves.

The audience loved it and kept posting comments like "The wilderness finally did something human" and "I want to see the anchor turn into a woman", which was quite funny.

The popularity of the live broadcast room has risen again.

After it was completely bright, the two of them slipped out through the back door while the old NPC lady in the house was still asleep.

Today's weather is obviously different from the previous sunny day. The sky is covered with dark clouds, and there is no sunlight. The temperature has also dropped a lot. There is some fog in the forest, and the visibility is extremely low. There is an atmosphere of impending rain.

They moved forward carefully along the gaps between the buildings, and took the opportunity to observe the river as they passed by.

The humidity was high near the river, and the air I breathed in was stained with water, making it a bit uncomfortable. All the heads from last night were gone, but the river was still clear and flowing.

Only the spots of traces on the ground proved what happened last night.

"...By the way, where is He Yutong?"

Yan Chuxue suddenly seemed to think of something and asked.

Feng Zhibei was stumped by his question.

He thought about it and answered in this way, also testing the other party: "...He was taken away by his sister."

Yan Chuxue's expression was awkward for a moment, but she quickly suppressed it. "Who is his sister?"

Feng Zhibei was such a perceptive person that he caught the other party's unusual movements.

He didn't show any other reaction on the surface. He explained to Yan Chuxue He Yutong's character in the scene fusion and secretly took note of this point in his heart.

Yan Chuxue nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

They made some plans last night and planned to explore the Master's house today, hoping to find some clues about inviting the Goddess tomorrow.

After all, this is a three-star copy scene fusion, and the level of danger increases sharply. We must be fully prepared for this kind of activity.

After the two explored for a while, the dark clouds in the sky dissipated a little, the fog also disappeared a lot, and more people came to the streets, greeting each other in the soft Wu dialect.

The entire Jiangnan water town was peaceful and harmonious. If Feng Zhibei had not witnessed the previous changes with his own eyes, he would have thought that this was just an ordinary ancient town.

They hid in the shadows, avoiding the crowds on the street, looking for the Master's house outside the scene.

Today, the architectural layout of the ancient town is somewhat different from that of the previous scene. New and old houses are stacked on top of each other. Looking around, there are only blue bricks and white walls, and it is impossible to tell which house is which.

After searching for a long time, Yan Chuxue finally found it by turning into a crow and circling in the air.

The crow landed on Feng Zhibei's shoulder and pecked his ear with its beak.

It was a small, one-story building that didn't fit in with the surrounding buildings and seemed to have been built not long ago. It was in a remote area, but right next to a small stone arch bridge.

Feng Zhibei and Yan Chuxue sneaked to the side of the small building. Every window of the building was pasted with red paper, and the door was locked with a huge stone lock.

Feng Zhibei lowered his head and observed carefully, and concluded: "It doesn't look like there's anyone inside. The Master should be outside."

Yan Chuxue sighed, "...It would be great if I could kill him here."

The system beeps quickly sound an alarm.

【Players please do not do anything that harms NPCs! 】

Yan Chuxue nodded perfunctorily, "I understand."

Feng Zhibei gave up trying to pick the lock. After all, he didn't know what was inside and didn't dare to act rashly.

He looked around. Although this place was remote, the vegetation was lush and the air was very fresh. It was a good place to live.

There is a trickle of water at the back door, which is a branch of the ancient town river.

Since the small building cannot be explored, the riverside is also a breakthrough point.

Feng Zhibei walked towards the stone arch bridge, observing the surrounding environment, and was suddenly attracted by a barely noticeable red color in the grass.

His expression changed and he walked towards that direction.

"That is..."

Yan Chuxue noticed the movement over there and came over. Together, they pushed aside the vegetation, revealing the hidden object.

——is an exquisite red shrine.

Feng Zhibei's face darkened. This shrine was exactly the same as the one he had seen in the abandoned building before.

Yan Chuxue picked up a wooden stick, tested it, and dragged it out of the grass after making sure there was no danger.

The shrine looked new, likely newly constructed, and still had a strong woody aroma. The door in the center of the shrine opened easily, revealing a smooth, bare interior.

Feng Zhibei turned his head and said, "I remember there was a wooden sculpture and a piece of bone in here, right?"

Yan Chuxue rummaged through the shrine and nodded, "Whose house was this thing in before...? I should be able to look for it."

Before leaving, the two moved the shrine and hid it in another more hidden corner, and then continued exploring.

But after a day of wandering through the streets, they found nothing. It was getting dark, and it was almost dark again.

If nothing unexpected happens, tonight should be their last night in the scene fusion. After inviting the Queen tomorrow, they will be able to log out from here and return to the main storyline of the dungeon.

Feng Zhibei followed Yan Chuxue to the home of the NPC old lady.

They decided to catch a sheep and stay at her house tonight.

At dusk, fog began to rise again on the blue brick and stone tile road. Pedestrians walked hurriedly, shrouded in the fog, their expressions could not be seen clearly, and they did not say a word.

The entire ancient town seemed to be on mute, in stark contrast to the bustle during the day.

"Something is definitely going to happen tonight."

Feng Zhibei whispered in Yan Chuxue's ear.

They quickened their pace and arrived at the NPC's house before it was completely dark. Looking through the window, there seemed to be no one in the house.

Feng Zhibei and Yan Chuxue looked at each other. The back door of the small building was ajar, and warm candlelight shone onto the floor tiles.

The two looked inside through the crack in the door. The room was empty, with only an oil lamp that was about to burn out placed on the table and a cold wind blowing.

“Tick-tock.”

Something was dripping from the ceiling.

Feng Zhibei suddenly looked up and met a pair of eyes on the ceiling.

On the dim rooftop, the old NPC lady was hanging straight from the beam, her mouth wide open, her wrinkled face full of fear, her two eyeballs drooping from her eye sockets, swaying in the wind.

Liquid dripped down the corpse's fingers, leaving spots on the floor.

It was about to get dark, and the river water behind him began to move strangely again, and a cold air rose.

Feng Zhibei gritted his teeth and pushed the door open, "Let's go in first."

With a creaking sound, the corpse hanging in the air trembled all over, and one eye turned towards Feng Zhibei.

Feng Zhibei frowned, that vague feeling of being watched came back.

He thought for a moment, took out a lighter, extinguished the oil lamp, and then lit it with it.

In an instant, the room was illuminated, with warm blue flames dancing.

The corpse suddenly retracted its eyes, as if it was quite afraid of the fire.

Yan Chuxue checked the house and confirmed that there were no other obvious abnormalities except the corpse.

"But the door being open is unusual." Feng Zhibei squatted to the side, his hands supporting his face, his big round eyes staring at the corpse above his head. "Would someone hanged like this? It doesn't seem like it. I think she looked like she was killed and then hanged."

Yan Chuxue added: "It's highly likely that no one killed her."

Feng Zhibei nodded in agreement.

[Ding! It has been detected that it is night time in this instance. Please find shelter on your own.

When night falls, the dungeon will undergo uncontrollable changes. Please be prepared to face the darkness...

Before the system prompt was finished, a sharp electric sound suddenly sounded, followed by a feeling of weightlessness.

Feng Zhibei staggered and sat on the ground. He reached out and pulled Yan Chuxue, who was bewildered behind him, down with him.

He summoned the fruit knife from his backpack and was alert to changes around him.

A chill came over me.

[Ding! New version of the game unlocked!

After the version update, the game NPC rescue gameplay will be added. Do you want to pull them from darkness into light? Do you want to be their savior? ...】

The electronic sound was chaotic for a moment, then quickly recovered, but this time the sound was completely different from before.

"...I've detected that the player meets the new rules. Now let me introduce you to the specific requirements of the game."

Feng Zhibei's face darkened.

The last sentence was no longer the familiar system electronic sound. Instead, young voices, indistinguishable as male or female, came from all directions, carrying a hint of imperceptible malice.

The voice was smiling and its tone was slightly raised.

"Please, be prepared."

The author has something to say:

Thank you everyone (bow)

No more today, more tomorrow. I failed the first subject today, please comment and send me a small red envelope to help me get rid of bad luck.

By the way, I forgot to wish everyone a happy Lantern Festival yesterday (mainly because I didn’t celebrate the festival orz), so let me add a happy Lantern Festival!