Chapter 137 The Sound of Suonas Brings Joy and Sorrow to the Mountain [Mission Details: Prevent a Joyful Funeral...]
Xue Chao turned the matchmaker's courtyard upside down.
The unlucky god was trapped in the ancestral hall. After the seal was finally weakened, he emerged and killed the matchmaker and her son. What did this mother and son do to offend him?
Perhaps it has something to do with the white tree growing inside the house.
If the tree grows outside, it's normal; if it grows inside a hole or house, it's growing upside down.
Is the tree at the matchmaker's house tied to the birth dates and times of everyone in the village, and is that's why bad luck comes from touching it?
But considering how shameless and scoundrel the so-called mountain god is, there might not be that many reasons. It's just that he was unhappy being imprisoned and wanted to take revenge on society after his release.
He moved the blood-soaked mattress aside, revealing pale tree roots underneath, also stained red.
He put down the mattress, shook off the bits of flesh from the sheets, and suddenly grabbed the sheets, holding them up to the light. The embroidered zodiac animals were ruined by blood blisters, but by carefully discerning the outlines, he could make out which zodiac animal it was.
The sundial in front of the shop is also engraved with the Chinese zodiac, but none of them feature the "dragon".
The zodiac sundial is modeled after the sundial, with the twelve zodiac animals corresponding to the twelve two-hour periods of the day, but it is unique in that it does not feature a "dragon" design.
Is it bad luck, or is it to avoid taboos?
Xue Chao returned to the shop and cast the shadow of the gnomon onto the wall. There was only one node that could become the shop entrance, and nothing else seemed to have changed.
He gave it a hard push, trying to move it to another place to study it, but found that the chassis could move.
Dig away the snow burying the base, and the zodiac sundial can rotate, but it's too heavy.
He turned with great effort until the zodiac's shadow fell on the snow-capped mountain wall not far away, as if it had shone through a part of the mountain, revealing the strange structure of the crystals inside, like rows of characters.
But the overlapping lines are like ghostly shadows, making them difficult to see clearly. The most certain sentence is still the first line of the couplet on the stele.
The ending mentions that the records about the Red and White Gods were enshrined together with their shrines in the ancestral hall, which is useful.
If the key to passage exists and is still in the territory of the unlucky god, Xue Chao doesn't believe He doesn't know it.
Regardless of His role in it, He is a good starting point; investigating Him is investigating the key.
Then it's still the ancestral hall.
The village chief's ancestral hall is currently inaccessible due to a wedding being held there.
When Xue Chao arrived at the house in front of the West Gate, the old ancestral hall had already been smashed.
The ancestral hall is not entirely solid; the oval, enclosed space in the very center, resembling a nest, emits eerie blowing sounds and echoes.
Xue Chao leaned against the broken hole and looked inside. In the dim cave, Lü Lianshan was squatting on the ground with his back to him, holding up a long bone with both hands and blowing a long breath into the cut, as if blowing out bone marrow.
A servant of God lay at his feet, half a leg gone, spread-eagled, face down. The incision went down from the top of his head along his cervical and vertebrae, without any hesitation, like a knife tip slicing open intestines.
The thin skin was turned to the sides, revealing complete and naked flesh.
This skill truly lives up to the title of "butcher".
Xue Chao looked at the bone in his hand: "What does it taste like?"
"I don't like eating people." The burly man, who looked like an underground boxing champion, had blood flowing down his old scars on one side of his body. He threw away the bones and patted the servant's exposed flesh as if he were picking through pork at a market. His hand touched a certain spot, and he tore it open. The sound of flesh breaking made Xue Chao frown. Underneath the servant's flesh were bones and organs made of paper. "This doesn't count as a person."
Lü Lianshan slowly turned halfway around, his eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness, like a wild beast lurking in the night.
Xue Chao squatted on the other side of the servant, took out the few sheets of paper and read them quickly. Lü Lianshan casually grabbed two sheets and slowly wiped his hands. Xue Chao felt that he had tasted a bad appetizer and was vaguely displeased.
"...Your skin is well-maintained." Bored, Lü Lianshan stared at him.
Xue Chao glanced at him briefly, grabbed the two pieces of paper he used to wipe his hands, unfolded them, and found that they matched the words left by the zodiac sundial on the snow mountain. He learned the real name of the unlucky god from them.
This deity, known as the God of Joy and Death, governs the seven emotions and six desires, including joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. He often appears at occasions of great joy and sorrow, such as weddings and funerals. His attendants play suonas to clear the way for him, hence the name "Jiang Ming".
They seem like they love to join in the fun, but they're not so easy to meet; usually, it's the little gods who handle it for them.
Ancient texts say that the God of Joy and Mourning loves to play pranks. He hides in the dark only when there are both happy and sad occasions. Sometimes he will even "reverse joy and sorrow." He will appear in the world after the happy and sad occasions are over.
The main quest (final quest) is now available.
[Main Quest "Sending Off the Gods": Blood is not offered to the heavens, lives are not laid to the ground; respectfully send the gods back to their abode, and all will be happy.]
[Mission Details: Prevent the God of Laughter from appearing.]
Xue Chao frowned; this task was a bit strange.
The main quest and the hidden boss battle are mutually exclusive; completing either one allows you to clear the dungeon, but this time the main quest is to prevent the hidden boss battle from starting.
It seems the system doesn't want a certain evil god to awaken either.
*
With the main quest assigned, even without the written records, the peacemaker understood the key point.
The goal is to prevent the boss from appearing, and the boss is called the "God of Joy and Funeral," who is most likely to appear at happy or funeral events—they want to ruin this wedding.
Just as Sun Er was being forced to perform the wedding ceremony, the peacemaker gave a gentle push, and Huang Haitao staggered to Sun Er's side. He immediately understood and reacted quickly. Taking advantage of the servants' stunned state, he picked up Sun Er and ran away, his face contorted with disgust.
The ceremony absolutely cannot proceed!
The boy wrapped in cloth looked at the coffin and suddenly said, "Get up."
The next second, the coffin shook, and the lid was completely forced open. The bright red Eight Immortals longevity quilt flew out like a chain of ghosts chasing after souls, baring its fangs and claws, instantly wrapping around Huang Haitao's ankles. With a sudden pull, Huang Haitao fell forward.
At this moment, he was glad that he had carried him instead of on his back. Since Sun Er was already in this state, he was not afraid of any further complications. He threw the person away with both hands and turned around to cut the burial quilt.
Ah Yun's body stood upright in the coffin. The wind blew back and landed on her, floating eerily, as if she were wearing a red veil. She braced herself against the edge of the coffin and just as she lunged forward, the peacemaker's hand pressed down on the coffin.
[The supernatural "prison" is in use]
Ah-Yun's body seemed to hit an invisible wall, then fell back into the coffin. The peacemaker then pushed the coffin lid shut.
Scratching and banging sounds came from inside the coffin, but the coffin itself did not shake; everything was suppressed inside, and it soon became quiet.
Pu Fengchun's eyes flickered. Spatial ability? It was as if the space where the coffin was located had been sealed off.
Freed from his restraints, Huang Haitao rolled forward, picked up Sun Er again, and ran. His leg trembled, and he felt a burning pain in his ankle. The quilt was not just binding him, but also launching a continuous attack!
He looked down; Sun Er was in his arms, so he couldn't see the condition of his ankle, but the more he ran, the more it hurt. He became increasingly angry with Sun Er.
Sun Er was not only physically disabled, but also mentally unstable. If it weren't for the fact that he needed to be awake to witness this horror during the wedding ceremony, the servants would have knocked him unconscious long ago.
He can still open his eyes, but his soul has been completely lost; his mouth is full of blood, which is flashing with golden light.
A-Yun was trapped in the coffin and unable to retrieve Sun Er. The other servants rushed towards him from all directions. Huang Haitao ran to the door, but instead of rushing out, he turned around and shouted, "You two!"
He called out to his two teammates, but they didn't respond and remained motionless.
[Superpower "Reversal" in use]
The wind suddenly changed direction, turning back and wiping Huang Haitao's hair. He swallowed a mouthful and spat a few times, while all the servants who had rushed towards him turned around and rushed back, moving away from him and falling to the ground.
Just then, two teammates ran against the guards to Huang Haitao. One passed the strength test, successfully broke open the door, and the other took Sun Er and ran away.
The two divine soldiers were physically strong and managed to break through the crowd of guests and escape the wedding banquet, with the servants in pursuit.
"My God..." Huang Haitao collapsed to the ground, clutching his ankle where there was a bluish-purple handprint. "Could this be poisoned...?"
He remembered that there were Five Poisons players here, and cast a hopeful glance at them. The cloth-wrapped boy leaned closer to take a look and nodded: "Poisonous."
Huang Haitao: "..."
"Waaaaah, God, help me!!"
The boy wrapped in cloth was frightened by the ghostly appearance of the man crawling on the ground and lunging at him, and took a few steps back: "...I'm not good at this."
"Aren't you a poison master? Considering I've contributed to the main quest, you can't just stand by and watch me die, great master!"
The boy wrapped in cloth thought for a moment helplessly, "The captain will."
"The Poison Queen? Yes, the Poison Queen can definitely cure it. She's still in the east?" Huang Haitao was on the verge of tears. "It won't be like the Seven-Step Snake, where I take seven steps and she's gone, will it?"
The peacemaker's hand was still on the coffin as he smiled at them. He needed to maintain his powers to trap A-Yun, so he couldn't escape. Pu Fengchun didn't step forward either; she was wary of people with chronic illnesses.
After Sun Er's horse was startled, it was calmed down by the servants and tied to the veranda. The boy wrapped in cloth helped Huang Haitao, who had praised his wisdom, onto the horse, and then led the horse to the East Gate.
Not all the servants chased after the groom. The remaining servants, after recovering, faced them and stared at them, seemingly wanting to rescue the coffin, but knowing they were no match for him, so they remained deadlocked.
Pu Fengchun couldn't rely on the protection of another powerful player, so he lagged behind them and followed them out. Fortunately, the servants only paid attention to the trapped bride, and she successfully slipped away.
She slipped away for another reason... she came to Mount Joy and Sorrow to find the key.
On the other side, the two most stubborn players who were the first to escape carried Sun Er into the fog. They didn't know the way and just kept running. They ran far away and shook off their pursuers.
They were safe for the time being, but Sun Er seemed to have come to his senses from the numb pain. He had a broken leg and his mouth was sealed shut, and he had resigned himself to his fate. He never expected that the group of strangers who brought the coffin would suddenly turn against him. He saw hope again, and his spirit and body became active again.
"He's awake." The player carrying him frowned, avoiding his fidgeting head. "Knock him out."
"He's too vulnerable right now; he'd be easy to kill."
Even if a human and a ghost get married, there's a barrier between yin and yang. But two ghosts don't have that barrier, so things could easily backfire and they'd end up getting married!
Another player then said, "I'll go."
He turned Sun Er's face around, forcing him to meet his gaze. His pupils turned into concentric circles, slowly rotating.
[Using the supernatural ability "hypnosis"]
Sun Er closed his eyes, tilted his neck, and fell back onto the player's back.
"He's asleep...don't worry."
The two decided to run away first, hide for a while, and then go find the real bride so that Sun Er and Xiang Ping could get married and the ghost marriage could not take place.
But it's too easy to get lost in the fog. They didn't know where Xiangping was, and Huang Haitao was also lost.
The peacemaker leisurely pressed down on the coffin, just as Huang Haitao returned, looking utterly hopeless, sitting on his horse, led by a servant.
"That kid from the Five Poisons Sect?"
"It's lost." Huang Haitao was numb. "I didn't lose it because of this horse."
As if programmed, no matter where the rider wanted to go or how far he went, the horse would be led back to the wedding venue by the attendants.
The peacemaker smiled and shook his head, watching Huang Haitao awkwardly dismount on one side. The poison in his ankle had been temporarily stopped by the prop given to him by the boy with the cloth wrapped around his ankle.
He walked to the coffin and was then placed under the watchful eyes of the servants. Already annoyed, he was no longer afraid and shouted with his neck stiff, "What are you looking at!"
These words had a remarkable effect. As soon as they were spoken, all the servants looked away and stopped paying attention to them, as if an invisible rope had been untied from a coffin, and went about their own business.
The two players who were secretly on guard were taken aback, and their expressions changed.
The sound of mahjong tiles being rubbed filled the air, and Xue Chao's low voice drifted past their eardrums—it was a listening test.
The inspection was successful, and they heard a creaking sound coming from the courtyard next door, a sound that was distant and eerie.
The door to the ancestral hall opened.
Their intuition told them... the marriage was probably already set in stone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com