Xu Ying changed locations several times, so the location Lin Changqing told Jiang Ran was no longer useful. At most, it could only guide Jiang Ran to the back mountain. Since that was the case, then Yu Cheng should go find him!

The observer from the program told her the direction Jiang Ran was coming from, and the program told Xu Ying to change direction so that the two would be traveling towards each other and would meet soon, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

The three were lucky enough not to encounter any search teams along the way, and they made it to the foot of the mountain in no time, where Jiang Ran's figure appeared in the distance.

The two sides have finally reunited!

"Brother Xu Zi! Brother Xu Ying!"

The little girl ran happily toward the two of them. Xu Zi picked her up, but because of his injured hand, he was almost knocked over. Xu Ying helped him steady himself.

"Let me introduce myself, Jiang Ran."

"Xu Ying, although you may already know my name."

"Let's find a secluded place to talk!"

The group nodded and soon found a hiding place at the foot of the mountain. This was the "secret base" that Xu Ying had discovered when she was a child. It was not to say that it would never be found, but at least the probability of it being found was not high.

"Brother Jiang Ran, have you found any clues?"

"It's a long story, so I'll just give you a brief summary," Jiang Ran said in a low voice. "That guy surnamed Ren wants to use the three of you to resurrect Ren Xiaodie. I don't know if he can succeed, but he's absolutely convinced of it!"

"Damn it!" Xu Ying slammed her fist into the tree root beside her. "Ren Tianze is the owner of the entire mansion, and you could say he's the richest and most powerful person in the whole village. If he's determined to take our lives, we probably won't be able to guarantee our safety even if we escape to the surrounding villages; we'll have to go even further away!"

If that's the case, then another question arises: where did they get so much money for their journey?

This is a question that Xu Ying needs to think about, but not Jiang Ran. Escaping might be one way, but it is definitely not the way to pass the level!

"Was that guy named Ren Tianze? He's already been killed."

"ah?!"

Xu Ying and Xu Zi both showed expressions of astonishment. One second they were thinking about how to escape Ren Tianze's clutches, and the next moment, the person in front of them told them that Ren Tianze was dead?!

"This...is great!" Xu Zi grabbed his brother's shoulders and shook him. "We won't go to that damn ghost marriage. Without Ren Tianze, the manor's power won't be able to affect the other villages. We can just move to another place and live out the rest of our lives in peace!"

“But something’s not right, something’s really not right!” Jiang Ran turned to Yu Cheng this time. “Gwen killed Ren Tianze. How could Ren Tianze be killed? This can only mean one thing: his role in the plot isn’t significant enough!”

The Xu brothers couldn't understand what Jiang Ran was saying, but Yu Cheng understood his meaning. A character who truly plays a necessary role in advancing the plot could not die outside of the plot. Ren Tianze's death only shows that he was not the real big boss of this world!

“Ren Tianze’s goal is to resurrect Ren Xiaodie.” Jiang Ran rested his chin on his hands. “But—what is Master Zha Pian’s goal? To resurrect Ren Xiaodie? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m afraid all these preparations aren’t for resurrecting Ren Xiaodie at all, but just to satisfy his own needs!”

"He wants to raise a ghost; he wants to create a powerful and bizarre being!"

So powerful that they swallowed up the entire village, turning it into a no-man's-land, and perhaps even he himself was not spared. The madness of cult members is always so unpredictable, and you can never use normal thinking to speculate about their actions!

Ren Tianze was just a pitiful clown caught in the middle, his only hope driving him forward, but in the end, he only pushed everyone into the abyss.

"Master Zha Pian..."

The current storyline is definitely far from the step-by-step walkthrough. Master Zha Pian has completely turned against them. Jiang Ran is thinking about one thing: what exactly are the conditions for passing the game?

Now that the ghost marriage is definitely not going to happen, it means that simply disrupting the wedding is not enough for them to pass the test. Does that mean they have to kill Master Zha Pian? That's no small feat.

"Is there some important character I've forgotten?" Jiang Ran pondered for a moment, then asked Xu Ying, "How old is Ren Xiaodie now?"

"She hasn't turned 14 yet, but it'll be soon, this month. I never imagined that what should have been a joyous occasion would turn into the anniversary of her death..."

"Not yet 14 years old? Judging from the current timeline, it's worth taking a gamble, just as a backup plan."

"Brother Jiang, what do we do now?"

"Wait." Jiang Ran sat down on the spot. "Xu Ying, Xu Zi, and the little girl are all three important figures in our hands. The one who should be anxious is not us, but Master Zha Pian."

Furthermore, waiting a while longer allows Pandora's Box to refresh with more useful items.

"Xu Ying, grab your axe and be ready at any moment. If your sister Yu Cheng gives the order, you must immediately chop it off my head!"

"Huh?!" Xu Ying was a little confused about what Jiang Ran was trying to do, but Jiang Ran emphasized it repeatedly, so he could only nod.

"You people who practice magic and supernatural arts are really strange. I can't understand them at all."

It's highly likely that Han Xiaodong entered this world as well. Jiang Ran had suffered from his talent before, as he could directly swap positions with others. It's just unknown how many times it can be used in one world, and what the activation conditions are.

Jiang Ran must be on guard against his sneak attacks at all times, lest the fruits of victory be stolen or he fall into an absolutely dangerous situation.

As long as the observer of the program keeps a close eye on the live broadcast room of the British Empire, and alerts the program the moment Han Xiaodong activates his ability, the program can simultaneously command Xu Ying to attack Han Xiaodong, who has switched positions!

Gwen is Jiang Ran's contractual antagonist and is also restricted by the rules, so she cannot take action. But Xu Ying is not restricted by these rules. As long as Han Xiaodong dares to come over, she will definitely cut his head into eight pieces!

Such a rapid spatial displacement would definitely cause a moment of disorientation. Han Xiaodong would not have time to use his second talent opportunity before he would die under Xu Ying's axe!

"Come on, Master Zha Pian, and the other ghost storytellers, who can afford to drag this out, me or you?"

As the setting sun painted the clouds red, dusk arrived in the inner world, while the outer world had already entered the dead of night.

The second day in the surface world finally arrived. The surviving ghost storytellers finally got through this extremely agonizing first day. Apart from the four who stayed in the underworld, only three ghost storytellers survived the first day!

They were one person each from the Iron Tower Kingdom, the Stan Kingdom, and the Northern Alliance. The three of them left the Strange Tales World without lingering.