Strange Tales from the Deep Mountains (Part Twenty-Seven)

Congratulations, player, you answered correctly.

The moment the system voice sounded again, Li Su's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly.

He was completely bewildered.

Children have a hard time understanding what death is. To them, death means going to a very far place and never seeing each other again.

[The Q&A continues. One last question: What exactly happened in the village that caused those who went there to never return?]

[Problem Hint: Rou Rou's husband and mother-in-law, the current village chief of Wuzhai.]

Li Su looked at the small print at the bottom and couldn't figure it out.

What does this mean?

Rou Rou's husband and mother-in-law have already paid the price and died, haven't they? Is it related to them? And what does the current village chief of Wuzhai mean?

As the red countdown numbers shrank smaller and smaller, Li Su grew increasingly nervous.

He carefully recalled the story Rou Rou had told him.

Husband, mother-in-law...

A flash of white light seemed to pass through her mind, and Li Su suddenly opened her eyes.

[Only two minutes left in the countdown. Players, please pay attention to the time and answer as soon as possible.]

The system issued another notification sound.

Li Su held her breath and offered her guess.

[Only 30 seconds left in the countdown. Players, please pay attention to the time and answer as soon as possible.]

[Only ten seconds left in the countdown. Players, please pay attention to the time and answer as soon as possible.]

When Li Su pressed confirm, the countdown in the upper right corner stopped at the last second.

The system is currently processing your request; please wait patiently.

Although only a few seconds had passed, Li Su felt that time was incredibly long, and he silently prayed that his guess was correct.

He wanted to survive; he still had things he wanted to say to Qi Wujin.

Finally, a new interface popped up on the system screen.

Congratulations, player, you answered correctly.

Wuzhai was originally just a small village deep in the mountains, but due to the special environment and water quality of the village, only sons could be born in the village.

The village chief once saved an injured giant python, but that night he dreamed that the python, out of gratitude, agreed to help the village reproduce. In exchange, the village chief had to make offerings to the snakes in the village.

I thought it was just a strange dream, but things really started to go wrong later on.

One day, a couple seeking a child suddenly arrived at the witch village and offered to leave one of their children to become a villager if they could have a child.

The village desperately needed fresh blood, and the village chief, remembering that dream, inexplicably agreed.

Sure enough, less than a year later, the woman gave birth to twin sons, and as agreed, she left one for the village chief.

After that, the name of the Witch Village spread.

Many couples, even billionaires, who are willing to pay exorbitant sums for children, come to Wuzhai hoping to conceive a son.

Many couples who came to Wuzhai gave birth to sons shortly after returning home, making Wuzhai famous. More and more couples and tourists flocked to Wuzhai, some hoping to conceive, others simply out of curiosity.

However, this also attracted some people with impure motives, like Rou Rou's husband and mother-in-law. They wanted to seize the village, seek the secret of its ability to produce offspring, and attempt to use it to serve the wealthy and powerful in exchange for wealth and power.

Thus, a premeditated persecution began.

They kidnapped the village chief and used him to threaten the other villagers in the witch village into handing over the village's secrets.

But no villagers knew, and the village chief refused to tell the truth.

Enraged, the men accidentally killed the village chief and the villagers.

A few thin boys managed to escape, including the current village chief of Wuzhai.

He learned the truth from the secret buried by the old village chief and offered to cooperate further with the giant python: the witch village would sacrifice the lives of those greedy people, and the giant python would protect the safety of their village.

The deal was struck, but the once-promising witch village was transformed overnight into a death trap.

The villagers of Wuzhai, having been harmed, no longer trusted outsiders. To protect their village, they handed their women over to the snake tribe, where they bore children for them. Then, they personally killed the greedy men and threw them into the river outside the village to nourish the snake tribe.

Greed backfired; the hope of life was transformed into a death trap by the greed of a few. Trust teetered on the brink, and the seeds sown eventually bore the fruit of evil, at the cost of innocent lives.

[Congratulations to player Li Su for successfully completing the main quest: Please uncover the secret of the witch village deep in the mountains. (Limited time: 6 days)]

[Instance 2: Strange Tales of the Deep Mountains Completed.]

The moment the notification tone ended, the door was opened again, and Li Su saw Qi Wujin and Qi Wuyi walk in, followed by Xia Liqiao and Gu Qingyan.

Li Su opened her eyes slightly, looking at Qi Wujin and Qi the Witch Doctor, "How did you know..."

This dungeon is a solo battle; everyone must solve the puzzle to clear it. He was about to find the other players and tell them the truth, but unexpectedly, Qi Wujin and Qi the Witch Doctor brought people over.

Qi Wujin didn't explain much, and said to Li Su, "The surviving players are all here. Hurry up, the time you can stay in the dungeon after clearing it is very short, and you will be sent out of the dungeon soon."

Li Su nodded hurriedly and told the two the secret of the witch village in the shortest possible words.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, his consciousness was torn apart.

"Brother! Where are you going?" The little dumpling's childish voice was tinged with tears as she stumbled towards him, but only managed to touch the hem of Li Su's clothes.

Upon regaining consciousness, Li Su found herself back in the pure white space.

This time, however, he felt no fear.

As her fingertips gently traced the surfaces of every object in the space, a smile slowly spread across Li Su's face.

He knew that Qi Wujin had prepared all of this for him.

Based on their cooperation during the final period in the dungeon, he was certain that Qi Wujin was the system that had been with him until his accident.

Li Su sat down on the edge of the bed, wearing fluffy slippers.

But... how do we get Qi Wujin to appear?

Just thinking about how Qi Wujin in the previous world refused to come see him at all, and simply left the food behind, made Li Su furious.

We need to think of a way...

After seeing Li Su get into bed next door, Qi Wujin quietly went in again with the prepared food. He placed the plate on the table and couldn't help but kneel down on one knee by the bedside.

The person on the bed had most of their face covered by the blanket, with only their forehead showing. Qi Wujin gently pulled the blanket down a little, but unexpectedly met Li Su's bright eyes.

Qi Wujin didn't even know where to put his hands. He watched as Li Su sat up, crossed her arms, and looked down at him without saying a word, her face tense.

Qi Wujin's throat was dry: "You're not asleep..."

He shouldn't have said anything, because it only made Li Su angrier. Her cheeks puffed out and her brows furrowed as she asked, "Asleep? You're planning to sneak over while I'm asleep and then sneak away again, aren't you?"

Qi Wujin: "I..."

"Qi Wujin, explain yourself properly."

Qi Wujin's pupils trembled, his face filled with shock. He asked incredulously, "Su... Su Su, what did you call me?"

Li Su's cheeks flushed under his intense gaze, but she still tried to maintain an angry expression. "Qi, Wu, Jin. What? Can't I call you by your name..."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Su was suddenly pulled tightly into Qi Wujin's arms.

"You...you remembered? Isn't that right?" Qi Wujin's voice trembled.

Li Su could clearly feel Qi Wujin's hands trembling slightly as he held him.

The feigned stuffiness had long since vanished without a trace. Li Su hugged Qi Wujin back and buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"Qi Wujin, I miss you so much..."

"How could you be so dense? Didn't you even notice that I've regained my memories?"

Qi Wujin stepped back slightly, his hands wrapped around Li Su's lower back, refusing to let go.

"I...I'm afraid it's just my imagination..." Qi Wujin's dark eyes moistened slightly. Li Su tenderly cupped his face and pressed her lips to his.

This kiss came too late.

Li Su felt a hot liquid slide down her lips. Looking at Qi Wujin's tearful eyes, she wanted to wipe away his tears, but before she could lean back even slightly, she was held tightly in Qi Wujin's arms again.

The force seemed to be enough to crush him to his very bones.

Qi Wujin's breath was chaotic, filled with anxiety and unease. He kissed Li Su's lips forcefully, sucking and biting them, swallowing all of Li Su's breath as if he had found a treasure he had lost for a long time.

"Hmm..."

Suppressed groans could be heard intermittently from the quiet environment.

It wasn't until Li Su felt he could barely breathe that Qi Wujin finally let go of him, placing his large hand on his back to help him breathe.

Their foreheads touched, their noses brushed, and their breaths mingled together.

"I'm not already..."

The rest of his words were sealed by Qi Wujin.

Her breathing, which had finally calmed down, became erratic again. When she felt a swelling sensation on her lips, Li Su couldn't help but bite Qi Wujin's lips.

Is this person born in the Year of the Dog? His lips are all swollen!

"Su Su..." Qi Wujin seemed not to have come to his senses yet, and subconsciously scooted forward, but Li Su covered his mouth with her hand.

"No more kissing!" Li Su pursed her lips angrily, but the touch on her lips made her part them slightly again. "I have something important to ask you..."

The tone of the last word suddenly changed, and Li Su's eyes widened. The warm, wet touch of her palm seemed to still be there. Li Su's cheeks flushed, and she hurriedly tried to pull her hand back, but Qi Wujin held it tightly in his palm.

The tall man knelt on the soft, pure white carpet, lowering his head to kiss Li Su's hands, almost not missing any part of them.

Li Su tried to pull it back, but found she couldn't. She had no choice but to endure the strange sensation in her palm and ask him in a trembling voice, "How did you become like this? Didn't you not have a physical body before?"

Qi Wujin lowered his eyes, and even with such deep features, he was still stunning.

Qi Wujin kissed Li Su's fingertips reluctantly before looking up at him and saying, "A lot has happened since you left. I found an opportunity and had the mainframe create a physical entity for me."

No matter how painful those things were, Qi Wujin didn't mention a word, but just stared at Li Su and asked, "Don't you like it?"

"I remember you stared at a player for a long time before." Qi Wujin looked a little aggrieved. "I'm better looking than him, Su Su, can you look at me more?"

Li Su's previously soft emotions suddenly turned into a mix of laughter and tears.

He had been watching a player for a long time. Back then, he didn't have such complex emotions; he was just following the program.

"You're beautiful, you're the most beautiful." Li Su couldn't help but rub Qi Wujin's face, slightly deforming his handsome features.

"Then can you take a closer look? I have abs now, and my pecs are pretty big too, and down there..."

Li Su, her ears burning red, covered Qi Wujin's mouth; he was practically burning up. "What are you saying?!"

"But humans like people who have pectoral muscles, abdominal muscles, and a big penis..." Qi Wujin's mouth was covered tightly again.

He innocently looked up at Li Su, whose face was flushed red.

"You're not allowed to say it!"

How did this game turn such a simple system into this mess? What exactly did Qi Wujin learn while he was away?

Li Su soon found out what Qi Wujin had learned.

Qi Wujin wanted to use everything he had learned from humans on him, changing positions again and again throughout the night, and the neat and clean sheets were crumpled up.

Li Su bit Qi Wujin's shoulder hard, leaving a mark, and said weakly, "If you continue, you won't see me tomorrow, no, you won't see me anymore..."

"Don't say things like that again." Qi Wujin lowered his head and kissed his lips.

After entering some code, the sticky feeling all over Li Su's body instantly disappeared, but the marks on her skin remained.

Li Su narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why don't you remove these marks?"

Qi Wujin quietly looked away and silently tightened his grip on his hand.

Li Su sighed inwardly. Oh well, he had already left a shadow on Qi Wujin when he had the accident. It was just a mark left on him, which was tolerable.

Li Su snuggled into Qi Wujin's arms, resting her head on his arm, and asked Qi Wujin to tell her what had happened during the time he was gone.

Qi Wujin downplayed the issue, only mentioning that the difficulty and mortality rate of the horror game developed by the mainframe had increased by more than one level.

"The mainframe gave me your data. He was certain that I wouldn't do something like you, where I helped humanity only to be harmed. He believed that as the first-generation system, I wouldn't have emotions, so he gave me all your data." Qi Wujin pulled the person closer and continued, "He wanted me to analyze all your data and figure out why you developed human emotions."

"It's more accurate to say he's unwilling to face his failures," Li Su said softly.

"No." Qi Wujin met his gaze and said seriously, "You are not a failure."

"You are the most precious gift."

"However, he did not expect that from the moment you disappeared from my sight, I would also have feelings."

Li Su held Qi Wujin's hand tightly with heartache.

He dared not imagine how much trauma the scene of him falling into the sea of ​​fire would leave on Qi Wujin. Just thinking about it made the part of him that humans called his heart ache dully.

“I reorganized all the data, tried my best to find the missing parts, and then repaired you behind the back of the mainframe.” Qi Wujin finally showed a smile. “But you have forgotten everything.”

Li Su's hand suddenly tightened, but Qi Wujin held it tightly instead.

“I still exist in your mind as a system, guiding you through the various instances we went through together, but you still don’t remember me.”

Li Su: "Didn't you take me back into the last instance? The one where I disappeared?"

Qi Wujin gently pressed his fingers on Li Su's eyelids, as if to confirm that Li Su had really returned and remembered him, and that it was not just his imagination.

"I'm here, it's true." Li Su hugged Qi Wujin with heartache.

Qi Wujin's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if he was relieved to hear his own answer. "Yes, I don't want to take you through that instance again."

Li Su immediately understood. Qi Wujin felt sorry for him and didn't want him to go through that incident again, but he didn't expect that his memory would be linked to that incident. This time, accidentally stumbling into the fire in the Deep Mountain Strange Tales instance triggered his memory and made him remember everything.

“Here.” Qi Wujin placed his palm on Li Su’s left chest, staring quietly at the spot, and said, “There is a heart inside.”

"If you want it, I'll install one for you."

In that instant, Li Su forgot to breathe and just stared blankly at Qi Wujin.

Underneath the slightly warm spot on my palm, I could almost feel a heart beating thump-thump.

Li Su reached out and touched Qi Wujin's chest, asking him somewhat anxiously, "What about you? Do you have a heart here too?"

Qi Wujin placed his palm on top of his palm and gently shook his head. "There is no heart here, only you."

"I don't need a heart, I just need you."

Unspeakable emotions welled up, and tears welled up in Li Su's eyes, only to be gently kissed away by Qi Wujin.

Li Su sniffed, her voice thick with a nasal tone, "Does the mainframe know? What if it finds out?"

Li Su was very anxious.

He finally remembered everything, and he finally managed to be with Qi Wujin. What if the mainframe found out...?

Sensing Li Su's unease, Qi Wujin patted his hair and said, "Don't be afraid."

"This time I can protect you." Qi Wujin hugged Li Su tightly.

He didn't want Li Su to live in fear any longer, hiding in this small space. He had almost finished making preparations, and this time he was determined to protect his precious child.

"Let's go see him together tomorrow."