The ghost of Xu Zhukong, who was supposed to be dead in the coffin, slowly twisted his neck, and stared at Cheng Wuye with his pure white eyes without focus. He slowly stood up, and when he retracted his gaze, it suddenly fell on Shi Yu in front of the coffin.
Then, in front of five pairs of eyes, he suddenly knelt on the ground, his eyes full of longing and admiration: "Moon, you, are you here to see me? Are you finally willing to see me?"
Shi Yu: “…”
Everyone looked between them in surprise.
Shi Yu sat in the chair and felt his head hurt even more.
The footsteps outside suddenly became heavier.
Cheng Wuye made a prompt decision: "Close the coffin!"
Taoist Priest Lingshan came in from outside and saw them surrounding the coffin: "Why are you all standing here?"
Cheng Wuye pointed at Shi Yu decisively and said, "Let him out."
Taoist Lingshan had no doubts, but when he heard the other party indirectly asking about the purpose of their coming here, he froze for a second uncomfortably: "Didn't we say before that we are here to bury the dead man of the Xu family?"
Cheng Wuye thought for a moment: "Are we familiar with their family?"
"The old man hired us, so of course we have to work hard. What does it have to do with whether we are familiar with each other?" Taoist Priest Lingshan looked suspicious. "This is not the first time you have come out with me. Why are you asking this question suddenly?"
Cheng Wuye met the other person's gaze and said calmly, "I wouldn't have made him sleep in a coffin every time before."
Taoist Priest Lingshan sighed: "There is nothing we can do about it. Otherwise, the men of the Xu family would not want to be put into the coffin."
※
The owner of the house soon came to the funeral hall and the conversation had to be temporarily interrupted.
Shi Yu unwrapped the white cloth on his hands at the sink in the back room.
Even after wrapping it all night, the bleeding still couldn't be stopped completely. The blood on the wound was still fresh in color, but the surrounding area was already festering.
He turned on the faucet, washed off the dust without any expression, and then bandaged it again. He was so calm that it seemed as if the person whose hand was about to rot was not him at all.
A tall mourning tent had been set up in the open space outside, and white flags and white balloons were spread along the ridges of the fields.
Putting aside other things, the village in the mountains has such a small space, and this family can still make such a big scene, which obviously shows that they are from a good family background.
The players who returned to their own residences last night came back as helpers and were now assigned to the kitchen.
Shi Yu stood at the kitchen door and took a look, and found that there were only three people.
The player named Liu who asked the question yesterday is missing.
"Where's Uncle Liu?" Cheng Wuye appeared beside him at some point, his eyes sweeping over the three people in the kitchen, "Didn't you see him?"
One of the thin helpers exclaimed, "I don't know. I rushed over as soon as I woke up, and then I saw the two of them."
The fat man stood still and said nothing.
The remaining Lu Nan felt the gaze on him and quickly shook his head.
Cheng Wuye frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, turned around and found that Shi Yu had already walked away.
※
Before Shi Yu returned to the main house, he was stopped by Cheng Wuye, and the three players who were guarding the coffin were also called away.
Until he was dragged back to the kitchen, Shi Yu still didn't understand why they had to drag him into the meeting.
Cheng Wuye closed the kitchen door and was the first to speak in front of everyone: "Uncle Liu is probably gone."
The sounds of cooking suddenly quieted down.
"This village is too big for one person to search it all. If we want to get out alive, we have no choice but to cooperate." This was his second sentence.
The old players didn't say anything. After a while, the thin newcomer asked, "Alive, get out?"
"What else? You've only stayed here for one night, do you really think of this place as your own home?" Cheng Wuye raised his eyelids. "This is not real. The real world is outside. Your parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, colleagues and classmates are all outside. Your home, your job, your studies, everything you are familiar with, your comfortable life of eating, sleeping, reading novels, playing games and enjoying the air conditioning are all still there. The one who is gone is you. You can take it back, as long as you can get out. The premise is that you find a way to stay alive."
The plump helper's eyes widened slightly.
Lu Nan's hand holding the kitchen knife shook violently, and he could hardly hold the handle: "...Really?"
Shi Yu sat down on a wooden chair, staring at the fire calmly, and heard the other party continue: "You have all seen the system and the game prompts before coming in, right?"
The game is called "White Deer" and there are ten players.
Mission unknown.
Background unknown.
The winning method is unknown.
According to Cheng Wuye, all games in the lower nine days of "God's Domain" are of this mode. Apart from being responsible for throwing people to a place, all other information needs to be figured out by oneself, which is very rogue.
Lu Nan caught the key words: "Lower Nine Heavens? Are there also Upper Nine Heavens?"
Cheng Wuye did not deny it: "If you accumulate enough points in the lower nine heavens, you can enter the upper nine heavens. As for what it is like up there, you don't need to know for now."
Lu Nan: "Why?"
Cheng Wuye: "Will you live to see that day?"
Lu Nan: “…”
But this was not what Shi Yu was thinking.
The lower nine heavens and the upper nine heavens add up to eighteen days. This number easily reminds people of the eighteen levels of hell.
But this place is called "God's Realm".
Also, Cheng Wuye mentioned last night that at the beginning of each month in the Lower Nine Heavens, the number of new and old players in the game is one to one. Since he is also in the Lower Nine Heavens, why does he know about the existence of the Upper Nine Heavens?
Even if this is the information advantage that the old people have over the newcomers, the tone of the sentence "You don't need to know what it's like up there for now" seems to indicate that he knows a lot about it.
The name of the game "White Deer", which has nothing to do with the village's funeral, is the only clear clue within everyone's reach. According to the old man, the name of each game is the core of the current game, and its connection with passing the level is similar to the connection between the title of a famous book or the title of a movie to the entire work.
...Unfortunately, they are all equally profound and ethereal and difficult to understand, as if the creator would die if he named his work more straightforwardly.
Apart from this, the only place they can turn for help is the game field they are in, and all the humans or non-humans in the current field.
Lu Nan was terrified when he heard this: "Non-human?"
Cheng Wuye had a blank expression on his face: "Who knows if those people outside are real people."
In the absence of any hints, collecting clues becomes the top priority.
The three helpers had work to do and couldn't leave, so the task fell on the elderly people and Shi Yu.
※
The rain outside stopped in the early morning.
The main hall where the altar was placed was covered with white flowers and white cloth that filled half the room, and the coffin in the center was a somewhat dull red.
Rural funerals are very elaborate, long-lasting, and complicated. Guests who came to pay their respects lined up outside, bowing and kneeling one after another.
The owner of the house was wrapped in white cloth, kneeling on a mat with his back to the coffin, and bowing to the guests.
Shi Yu stood by the door and watched for a moment. Suddenly, someone tugged at the corner of his clothes. He looked down.
He was a boy who was just as tall as his waist, with two red spots on his face and a smile as bright as if it was painted on.
Shi Yu subconsciously took a step back, leaned his back against the wall, and pulled at his clothes.
...I can't pull it back.
The boy grabbed his clothes, came close to him, and said in a crisp voice: "Brother, I lost something, can you help me find it?"
I don’t know if the other person had just rolled around in the grass, but he had a strong plant smell on him.
Shi Yu was silent for a few seconds before he said, "No."
In an instant, the boy's face was distorted into an extremely hideous shape, and then quickly disappeared. He hugged him with both hands, with a sweet smile on his face: "My sister is lost, can you help me find her?"
[……? ? ]
[What to do if your sister is missing? 】
[Ahhh, that change of expression just now scared me, you should agree to him or you will definitely die! ]
[Were you serious before? If you really agree to the ghost's request, you will probably die faster. ]
Shi Yu clenched his fingertips and said, "Stay away from me."
"What if big brother goes back on his word and runs away?" The boy's dimples appeared on his cheeks and he whispered, "Are you afraid of me?"
"No." Shi Yu said, "You smell terrible."
“…”
In the end, I changed from hugging to grabbing the corner of clothes.
Although the boy looks small, he is very strong and is very skilled at pulling people.
Shi Yu couldn't take off her clothes here, so she could only let him pull her: "Who is your sister?"
The boy blinked: "Her name is Guan Yueyue."
※
"The girl's name is Guan Yueyue," said the woman.
Half an hour ago, several people separated outside the kitchen. Cheng Wuye asked along the way and came directly to the house where the missing Lao Liu lived.
Cheng Wuye did not go in. In fact, he did not need to go in because Lao Liu's body was lying at the gate of the yard and could be seen at a glance.
This time there was not as bloody a scene as before outside the kitchen. If the other person had not been lying face up with a blue face, eyes not blinking for a long time, and no movement of the chest, one would have probably thought that he had taken a nap outside.
After Cheng Wuye confirmed that the other party was dead, he didn't care any more and went to the next door.
The person living next door was a middle-aged woman with her hair tied up. When she came out, she was holding a spatula and said she wanted to cook two dishes and send them to the family at the foot of the mountain where the funeral was being held.
The Xu family is the one holding the funeral here, so it is very easy to bring up the topic.
Cheng Wuye still remembered the love that was so strong that it almost overflowed in Xu Zhukong's eyes when the ghost saw Shi Yu in the morning. He deliberately asked about the girls who were close to him or liked him, and then got the answer from the woman above.
The woman said, "Yueyue was a very pretty girl. No one in our village had ever seen anyone as pretty as her. It's a pity that she died early."
Cheng Wuye's heart trembled.
Guan Yueyue, little moon?
He lowered his gaze: "She... is dead?"
"Yes, she came from a big city outside. She is the only one in the family and has a good personality. Why is her fate so unlucky?" The woman still remembered the food in the pot. When she saw his appearance, she said, "Hey," "What's wrong with you?"
"I... I'm sorry." Cheng Wuye's voice broke, his hair blocked his eyes, and his shoulders trembled slightly. "Yueliang... is my sister."
The woman was stunned: "Are you her brother? You came to see her?"
"I didn't expect that she would... If I had come earlier..." His voice was trembling, as if he was suppressing extreme despair and sorrow, "Will she not... It's all because of me..."
The woman was in a panic: "Young man, don't be like this. Yueyue fell off the cliff and died. What's the point of you coming earlier? None of us want to miss her, right? The kid from the Xu family almost jumped off the cliff to find her. You went crazy when you pulled him back. Don't be so stubborn!"
[…It’s so cool. ]
【My brother Wu is really yyds! 】
[Mom is proud of your acting skills! ]
※
It was already noon when we got back. There were buffet tables in the courtyard's mourning shed. The worship was finally over, and the tables were filled with guests, both known and unknown.
There were two speakers outside the house, and the owner stood on the cement holding a microphone and delivered his condolences.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the owner of the house, and the mourning hall became empty.
Shi Yu went directly to the deceased's room without asking for directions.
As I passed the hallway, I heard other people gathered in the living room talking, "Why are you talking so much to a bunch of new people?"
This is the voice of that ordinary man.
"I am happy with it, what's your business?"
This is Cheng Wuye's voice.
"They are all inexperienced and can't help but only hinder us. Don't you know how to use them in the Nine Heavens? You insisted on telling them that they could go back, and even took on the task of finding clues in order to let them do the work. With such a kind heart, why don't you go save the world?"
This is that woman.
"Brother, you have a good heart, but those newcomers may not believe you."
This is the hesitant Fang Chen.
"Newcomers?" Cheng Wuye sneered. "You are so smart. Have you never been newcomers? You are old people as soon as you come in? How saintly were the old people who met you that they didn't push you out as pathfinders and let you live until now?"
The others turned pale.
Cheng Wuye was too lazy to talk to them, so he turned around and left the living room. As soon as he walked out the door, he ran into Shi Yu who happened to be passing by the corridor.
Shi Yu is also a newcomer.
Cheng Wuye paused and said, "Don't listen to them."
Shi Yu didn't say whether he believed it or not, he just nodded to indicate that he heard it, and passed by him.
Cheng Wuye turned his head away: "I'm different from them."
Shi Yu thought, it’s different.
Good heart?
If he really had a kind heart, how could his first reaction when he saw the player's body yesterday be to look for witnesses; if he really had a kind heart, how could he only leave a vague reminder last night; if he really had a kind heart, how could his first question when he saw his hands covered in blood today not be to ask what happened, but to ask who did it - obviously the focus was not on how injured he was, but on what the source of danger was.
You can't tell that he has a good heart.
It is true that he is very scheming.
Certainly not like others.
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