Strange Tales from the Deep Mountains (25)

Qi Wujin's mind went completely blank; he could only stare blankly at Li Su.

Their lips touched, and Li Su felt like he was on fire. He buried his head in Qi Wujin's chest, his voice soft and gentle: "I missed you so much."

Qi Wujin stood motionless, like a stiff piece of wood.

Su Su kissed him? And... hugged him?

Qi Wujin's mind had completely stopped working, but the sound coming from his neck brought his wandering thoughts back.

Aren't you going to hug me?

As soon as the words left her mouth, Li Su's face turned red from her neck to the tips of her ears.

Qi Wujin then reached out and embraced him, holding Li Su tightly with both arms.

Their chests were pressed together, and their breathing became a little labored, but Li Su felt very happy and tightened her grip on Qi Wujin's arm.

Li Su sniffed Qi Wujin's neck like a puppy.

He finally remembered everything that had happened before.

Qi Wujin is his only good friend in the game, and also his exclusive system.

Li Su couldn't remember which instance he started to feel sad about the players' plight. These emotions accumulated until he finally couldn't help but ask Qi Wujin to shield him from the mainframe and take the initiative to help the players safely return to the real world. However, he didn't expect to be pushed into a sea of ​​fire instead.

Li Su had never seen Qi Wujin's face. Qi Wujin only accompanied him with his voice at every moment, but after he woke up, he forgot everything, including Qi Wujin.

Unexpectedly, when he found himself in the fire again, he remembered everything, including the most familiar and comforting voice.

Without even looking at his appearance, he wouldn't mistake Qi Wujin's voice.

Having calmed down a bit, Qi Wujin frowned and asked in a soft voice, "What's wrong? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Li Su nestled in his arms, refusing to come out, her soft hair brushing against Qi Wujin's neck with each movement. "No."

Although he liked how clingy Li Su was, Qi Wujin was still worried, so he laid him down on the bed and prepared to check him over from head to toe.

"oh……"

A childish voice suddenly rang out, and Li Su sat up abruptly, pulling down the hem of her dress that had been lifted up to her waist.

"Brother! You're awake!" The little dumpling stretched out his arms and was about to pounce on Li Su when Qi Wujin pressed a finger against his smooth forehead.

The little dumpling opened and closed its five fingers, but couldn't get close to Li Su, so it could only puff out its cheeks in anger.

Li Su was still a little scared and subconsciously hid behind Qi Wujin.

This little dumpling just set off a fire; does he still remember?

"Waaah..." Seeing that Li Su was also avoiding him, the little dumpling pouted in grievance and apologized to Li Su with sobs.

"I'm sorry, brother. I didn't know you were Big Brother's wife. I thought you were one of those scumbags who were going to hurt me and Mom again, so I locked you in the closet..."

Qi Wujin put an arm around his shoulder, gently rubbing against him as if to soothe him. Having calmed down, Li Su pursed his lips and asked, "So this is why those men disappeared after entering the village?"

The little dumpling nodded proudly and said smugly, "They're all bad people! They treat their wives badly! So they deserve it!"

A figure in a red dress came into view. She gently bent down and cradled the little one in her arms, her face apologetic. "I'm sorry, I mistook you for..."

Before Rou Rou could finish speaking, Qi Wujin interrupted her, cutting off the unspoken address, "Su Su knows you've mistaken me for someone else."

Although Rou Rou already knew, she was still surprised. Holding the little dumpling, she bowed deeply to Li Su with a heartfelt apology.

"How did you know that?" Rou Rou asked.

Li Su lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, but when she met Rou Rou's gaze, she could only utter two words: "Intuition."

“Your expression, tone of voice, actions…” Li Su paused, then said, “The emotions you exude cannot be faked.”

A faint emotion flashed in Rou Rou's eyes as she slowly spoke, "I used to love him very much."

Knowing that Li Su had seen her memories, Rou Rou didn't intend to explain further. She simply said, "I killed him with my own hands, cutting him apart piece by piece, roasting him in the fire, and feeding him to the snakes."

Li Su's pupils dilated, not from fear, but from surprise.

"But you, you're not..."

Li Su transformed into an ideology and entered Rou Rou's body. He knew perfectly well that Rou Rou's body could not possibly withstand the strain. So how did she manage to do it?

Rou Rou lowered her eyes and gently stroked the little dumpling's fluffy hair, her voice very soft.

"Yes, I died that night..."

The fire was raging, and Rou Rou used all her strength to shield the already lifeless little dumpling under her before losing consciousness completely.

When the villagers discovered the thick smoke and rushed over, Rou Rou opened her eyes again and found herself transformed into a ghost floating in the air, unable to leave the small wooden house that had been burned to ashes.

Her resentment ran too deep, and more importantly, her baby was still here. She couldn't leave, even if she became a broken soul, she would stay to protect her baby.

The village chief stared at her spirit floating in the air and sighed.

"Is it worth it?" he asked. "To become like this for a man."

"It's not worth it." Rou Rou laughed. "I was so foolish."

"I thought that childhood sweethearts would be together forever, but little did I know that people's hearts are unpredictable."

“But I also feel very lucky,” Rou Rou said, looking at the village chief. “Thank you.”

Her life was too short, and she had almost nothing to her name. In the end, it was thanks to her baby that she was able to find a moment of peace.

The village chief looked at Rou Rou floating in mid-air, then at the corpse lying on the ground, and in the end, he couldn't bear it.

"We've tried our best to restore you to your original form, but your spirit has been separated for so long, and your body was severely damaged, so this is the best we can do." The village chief said, looking at the mostly restored body on the wooden bed. "Xiao Bao, you've protected yourself very well, and since you still have half of your snake body, you were able to restore yourself to your original form."

The village chief said slowly, "However, he can no longer get rid of the snake's tail."

Rou Rou knew that she was just one minute away from becoming an adult, after which her baby would be no different from any other child. But because of that man, her baby died.

After drifting in the air for several days, her soul reattached itself to her body. Her movements were stiff, but she knelt down with heartfelt sincerity and kowtowed to the village chief with clumsy movements.

For the child, and for herself.

Rou Rou and Xiao Tuanzi stayed in Wuzhai after that. This was the place where they were reborn. She didn't want to leave, and besides, she couldn't leave in her current state.

The mother and son thought they could live a peaceful life, but the man who killed two people in the fire returned with his mother, who was researching unorthodox remedies and evil practices everywhere.

“Mom, I’m telling the truth.” The man led his mother inside. “This village has such a big reputation. Let’s find a way to take over the village and make that old man listen to us. Then we can start making a living by praying for children…”

A greedy glint appeared in the man's eyes.

He carried a backpack full of various props he had prepared in advance, including realgar powder, tridents, and other random things.

The man and his mother had no idea that before they could even exchange a few nice words, the village chief would discover their true colors. Before they could even open their backpacks, the white-haired old man bound them.

"Ah, you don't know how to repay me, you're just livestock."

"Wrong, yet unrepentant, worse than an animal."

When a man is verbally abused to his face, he naturally becomes furious, his face turning red and his neck bulging. He spews out all sorts of vulgar and shameless words, resorting to threats and inducements.

Rou Rou had only picked some fruit in the village and was going to give some to the village chief, but she didn't expect to hear a familiar voice as soon as she reached the door.

Unable to articulate her feelings, Rou Rou felt she had been blind to have made such a mistake.

It would be an insult to Rou Rou to compare such a vulgar thing to livestock.

She walked silently behind the man, letting out a soft breath.

The man was startled and immediately screamed. When he turned his head and saw Rou Rou's face, he couldn't even speak.

Still alive?! How could that be? He saw Rou Rou rush into the fire with his own eyes. The fire was so big, there was no way she could have survived!

Rou Rou blinked her stiff eyes and exhaled a cool breath: "Are you afraid of me?"

The old woman, bound to the man, narrowed her eyes slightly. Rou Rou's appearance and aura were definitely not those of a living person.

Even if you know some strange stories, seeing them with your own eyes is a completely different feeling.

Rou Rou has come looking for her and her son... The old lady shuddered, her voice weak: "Rou... Rou Rou, please spare us, mother and son, for the sake of your marriage, and let us be reincarnated."

Rou Rou looked at her expressionlessly.

Taking advantage of her age and status, the old lady never gave Rou Rou a kind look at home and always nitpicked over the smallest things.

Rou Rou was well-mannered and always respected her as an elder, so she didn't take those things to heart and even thought that the old lady was doing it for their own good...

Now that I'm more clear-headed, everything looks different.

Those subtle feelings in life were reminders from God, but unfortunately she deliberately ignored them.

The village chief said nothing more, took the old woman away, and left only the beast behind.

He hadn't spent much time with Rou Rou, less than two years, but he had already seen through the girl's kind nature and couldn't bring himself to hurt her. So he took the old lady away to lessen Rou Rou's burden.

Rou Rou still had a faint smile on her face as she led the man to the riverbank in the village and lit a bonfire with wood.

The man's hands and feet were tied up by the village chief, rendering him unable to move, and he was casually thrown on the ground by Rou Rou.

He twisted his body in terror, but could not escape even a fraction of an inch, looking like a writhing maggot.

"Rou Rou! You...you listen to me..." The man couldn't control his saliva and hurriedly swallowed, saying, "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Rou Rou didn't look at him. She poked at the burning firewood, and as the firewood was moved aside, air circulated, and the fire immediately burned even brighter.

"We're husband and wife!"

The fiery red light reflected in his eyes, making them appear crimson. The man's eyes were wide open, his eye sockets throbbing with pain as if they were about to burst.

"Husband and wife?" Rou Rou paused in her fidgeting, her voice light and airy.

Did you ever care about this relationship?

"I care! I care!" The man drooled haphazardly from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't bother to swallow it. He quickly seized the opportunity to shout, "No, I, I can make it up to you! I can make it up to you!"

The various grievances and pains she had suffered for men flashed through her mind, but Rou Rou was too lazy to talk to such a person, and there was no need to.

compensate?

It's unnecessary and utterly useless.

The wounds we have suffered cannot be repaired, nor can they be treated as if they never happened.

A bright flash of silver passed before his eyes, and the man's aching muscles stiffened, his lead-gray trouser legs slowly turning darker.

"No! No! Please, please! Ah—"

The blade pierced the flesh, and blood slowly flowed from the wound. The man's pleas for mercy turned into a shrill scream.

Soon, the aroma of roasted meat filled the damp air.

"Does it smell good?" Rou Rou moved her stiff eyes and said softly, "I never knew that human flesh could smell so good when roasted."

Softly, she paused, seemingly puzzled by the man's violent reaction: "I only cut a piece of flesh the size of a fingernail, why are you yelling so loudly?"

She slowly squatted down, her bright red skirt spreading out on the ground like a blooming red rose.

A scorching hot blade was pressed against the man's cheek.

"Ah! It's hot! So hot!" An unbearable stinging pain shot through his skin, and the man's voice became hoarse.

"Huh?" Rou Rou touched the blade and asked, "Is it hot?"

"It's not hot at all." She looked down at the man struggling and writhing on the ground, his face a mess of tears and snot, and chuckled softly, "Compared to the fire burning me, this really isn't hot at all."

Rou Rou leaned closer, and the man was so frightened that he didn't dare to cry out. His voice, which sounded like a broken accordion, could only produce rough "hoarse" sounds.

Then an even redder color appeared in his eyes, which were reddened by the firelight.

The soft, repaired fingers reached to her ear and slowly peeled off the thick layer of artificial skin on her face.

The dark red flesh clung dry and tough to the bones, not a single piece of good meat.

It wasn't that the village chief didn't want to help her clean up, but the flesh and bones were so charred that they were indistinguishable and completely inseparable.

A beautiful woman, as lovely as a flower, has fallen from grace, leaving not a single good piece of flesh on her body at the prime of her life.

The man was so frightened by the scene before him that he forgot to breathe. He didn't want to look, nor dared to look, but he couldn't close his eyes.

"Don't cry." Rou Rou looked at the tears welling up in the man's eyes and said softly, "Don't be afraid, it doesn't hurt me."

At that time, she couldn't feel anything anywhere on her body, not just her skin, so she didn't feel any pain.

"No, no..." the man gasped in terror.

It doesn't hurt?! How could it not hurt!

Help! Help!

Seemingly realizing his weak thoughts, and faced with an overwhelming will to survive, the man's stiff limbs were able to move slightly, and he struggled to twitch a fraction of an inch.

The bright red skirt blocked his way.

"It doesn't hurt at all." Rou Rou pulled the man up and towards the fire. "So, why don't you try becoming like me?"

"No, no, no, please, please, please..."