Chapter 16: Mountain Village in the Rain (16)
When we walked out of the village, it was already completely dark.
Outside were the shadows of heavy mountains, like giant beasts from ancient times. They looked down at Su Yue in the darkness, as if they could easily devour him.
Yima stopped at the entrance of the village and looked a little hesitant.
"It's very dangerous to go any further," Yima said. "The beasts in the mountains...even if the High Priest comes, he won't be a match for them."
"It's okay." Su Yue answered her, "I can go alone."
Yima hesitated: "Then...what about my child?"
"I'll bring it back to you." Su Yue answered her.
Finally, a smile appeared on Yima's face, which seemed a little sad in the night.
There was only a faint moonlight in the mountains, but it just happened to reflect into her eyes, like tears in her eyes.
Yima looked at Suyue: "Thank you, you must protect yourself."
"I will." Su Yue replied.
Yima asked again: "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Su Yue was about to say no, but after looking her up and down, he suddenly had an idea and said, "Yes, thank you."
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Yima returned to the village, and Suyue continued to walk up the mountain.
Su Yue really treated NPCs as tools, because NPCs are tools. Every time the game ends, their memories are completely erased and started over.
It is better to say that it is meaningless to have feelings for NPCs, and it may even kill yourself.
Su Yue once saw a player who fell into an elevator full of evil spirits while trying to save an NPC little girl.
But after the game ends and the next round begins, the little girl still appears in the same place, saying the same words, and the player's sacrifice is meaningless.
However, Su Yue’s words “I will help you find your child” were not a lie to Yima.
He did have a hunch that he would be able to find Yima's child there, otherwise Yima would not appear in the ancestral hall.
He didn't know why Yima was crying, and he was a little concerned.
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Walking up the mountain path, the night in the mountains is very dry. This adjective is actually a bit weird to describe the night, but it does give people that feeling.
The leaves were very dry, and when Su Yue touched them with his fingers, they felt brittle.
It's so dry that it seems like it will catch fire with the slightest spark.
Night is the most humid time of the day, and it still gives people this feeling, not to mention the daytime.
This actually doesn't quite match the game setting, which states that the sea of clouds appears in Qiyun Village because of the heavy rain, but it's already the critical moment of the final battle, so there's no need to consider this for now.
The roar of wild beasts came from the mountains, and the sound was getting closer and closer.
Even during those few days in the village, this roar carried a low, terrifying atmosphere that could shake the earth, not to mention that they were now in the mountains with full surround sound. If Briefcase and the others were there, they might be so scared that they couldn't even walk.
Then the puppet Cangzhi would think that Suyue was also afraid and stand in front of him.
But Su Yue is certainly not afraid.
Su Yue has a good sense of direction in open spaces. Even though he is in the mountains at night, he can still clearly identify the direction he wants to go.
The further they went, the more lush the vegetation became, and soon there was no road at all. If it were someone else, they would definitely wonder if there was something wrong with their direction, but Su Yue didn't.
He never completely put away his electronic screen, but Supervisor Z did not send any more messages.
The fussy and old-fashioned attitude he had displayed before completely disappeared at this moment. He seemed to know that Su Yue was very busy and did not send any messages to disturb her, so he seemed to have a tacit understanding with Su Yue.
In front of you is a dense jungle, with trees, vines, and weeds intertwined, almost forming a natural barrier. In such a primitive jungle, not to mention the ghosts in the game settings, the poisonous snakes and insects in the jungle alone are a huge threat to safety.
Su Yue was holding the thing he had just asked Yima for. There was a very long belt on her clothes. He tore the belt into four pieces with his bare hands and tied it around his cuffs and trouser legs as a drawstring.
Compared with usual, this look is a little funny, but it is safer.
Su Yue sent Supervisor Z an emoji of a puppy waving a flag, indicating that he was ready to start.
He then exited the messaging system, pushed aside the branches in front of him, and stepped into the woods.
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The surroundings seemed to become quiet all of a sudden.
The sound of the wind and the roar of wild beasts disappeared, and only the chirping of insects in the weeds could be heard. It was a short-headed cricket called "coffin board".
There is a saying that where there are coffin lids there must be a cemetery nearby. This is of course a superstitious statement, but there is indeed a strong smell of death all around here.
Su Yue picked out the branches on both sides and broke off the most convenient one, which could be used as a walking stick or as a weapon.
After walking a short distance in the jungle, stepping on dry branches and leaves, and pushing aside a large patch of vines, Su Yue's eyes suddenly opened up.
In front of me was a large open space with countless small white stone tablets standing on the ground.
The moonlight fell coldly through the gaps between the branches, illuminating the small stone tablets as if illuminating a field of white bones.
This is actually a cemetery.
In the middle of the cemetery stands a huge paper Buddha statue.
The posture of the paper Buddha statue is exactly the same as that of the statue enshrined in the stone chamber, with its hands and feet placed in a twisted position. This statue also appears to be made of paper, but it is pale in color. Under the moonlight, the face of the statue seems to have been rubbed with sandpaper, and the facial features are blurred and distorted.
Even so, it was still clear that the statue had an evil smile on its face.
Su Yue walked to the statue. There was a tombstone at the feet of the statue. There was a sunken ghost face pattern on the tombstone. This made Su Yue feel very uncomfortable, as if the deceased in the tombstone would be crushed under the feet of the Buddha statue even after death and would not have peace.
The statue seems to be holding a flower in his left hand and a black fragment in his right hand.
Su Yue recognized it at a glance. It was the ninth piece of the ghost pattern puzzle.
He took the ninth piece from the Paper Buddha's hand. It actually took some effort, as the Paper Buddha held the puzzle piece very tightly, but it was a piece of cake for Su Yue.
Su Yue already had the other eight pieces of the puzzle with him. He put the nine pieces together in front of the tombstone at the feet of the Buddha statue. With a heavy "creasing" sound, the tombstone split from the middle to both sides.
That's it, the mission will be easy to complete as long as you find the place.
Su Yue looked at the tombstone intently, waiting for it to open. At this moment, a slight "whoosh" sound was heard in the air.
The sound was very light, as if it was just the wind blowing through the leaves, but at the same time, Su Yue quickly dodged to the side!
A fireball exploded where Su Yue had just stood, and the air was instantly filled with a strong smell of sulfur.
Not far behind Su Yue, a cloud of dark mist appeared at some point.
In the black fog, a monster that was neither human nor beast stood proudly.
There was a subtle sound of sparks popping in the fog, and from time to time something like a flame flickered in the fog. The monster's shape seemed to change with the changes in the fog, making it difficult to see its essence.
Only a pair of dark green eyes, like ghost lights, stared at Su Yue very clearly through the mist.
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"What are you?" Su Yue looked at the black mist and asked calmly, "A priest? Or some ferocious beast in the mountains?"
The thing didn't reply, as if it didn't know how to respond.
The black fog gradually dissipated as Su Yue asked questions, and the true form of the thing finally appeared in front of Su Yue.
Su Yue narrowed his eyes slightly. No wonder it didn't know how to answer. Even Su Yue himself couldn't be sure whether it was a monster in the mountains or the high priest.
Its overall appearance was still that of a monster, with all four legs on the ground, like a wolf and a dog, but there were some red ghost face patterns on its body. Those patterns were obviously those of the Paper Buddha. Besides, except for the pair of dark green eyes, the facial features of the monster were also like those of the Paper Buddha, which were blurred and rubbed out.
What's even more bizarre is that this monster not only has animal limbs, but also human hands and feet. Those hands and feet suddenly appear on both sides of the monster's neck and abdomen, with their fangs and claws bared, like a beast-shaped centipede. When its hands and feet dance, there are faint sparks-like things shaking between its fingers, which looks extremely weird.
Su Yue was silent for a while: "Oh, you are a stitched monster."
Monster: “…”
The monster let out a strange, dull growl. That sound was not something a human could make, but it was indeed speaking human language:
“Everyone must die!!!”
Suyue:.
OK.
It is indeed a combination of the High Priest and the beast in the mountains.
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Although the High Priest acted a bit like a clown in front of Su Yue, Su Yue could not underestimate the monster in front of him. The High Priest and the beast in the mountains seemed to have merged together, and the beast's combat power should not be underestimated.
Moreover, the priest's condition is not right now. It may be related to the paper Buddha statue. In short, it is obvious that he is in an overly strong state.
Su Yue had fought the final boss battle of the game several times, so he was not panicked. However, although the main storyline of this game was quite simple, the combat power of the boss at the end of the level seemed to be particularly strong, so Su Yue was still very cautious.
"How audacious!" The monster, or the priest, let out a distorted roar, and along with the roar an arrow-shaped flame shot out, and Su Yue dodged it nimbly.
He had no intention of engaging in a fight with the frenzied priest. After all, the key to the mission was to destroy the center of the formation. As long as he destroyed the center of the formation—
Su Yue looked at the tombstone that had been completely opened to both sides.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
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When the tombstone was opened, it was filled with photos. The edges of the photos were clinging to tiny paper tentacles, like countless blood-sucking worms. These were, of course, photos offered as sacrifices, each corresponding to a paper villager.
What caught Su Yue's attention was the photo in the middle.
Unlike many photos of people wearing local clothes and looking at the camera expressionlessly, the protagonist in this photo is wearing a fashionable parent-child mountaineering jacket. She is a young mother hugging her daughter, who is about four or five years old, and smiling at the camera.
The woman smiled gently, like the moon in the mountains.
It’s “Yima”.
There is also the little girl in the stone chamber who is used as the center of the formation.
They look the same in the photo as they do in the village, yet they also seem completely different.
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The monster's attack mainly used fire, and arrow-shaped fire lines were still shooting towards Su Yue, but this time Su Yue did not dodge. He casually swung the wooden stick in his hand horizontally, and with a sound like the clanging of metal, those fire lines were actually cut in half by Su Yue!
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
Su Yue and the beast-like priest opposite him stared at each other.
After a while, Su Yue asked, "Are they tourists?"
"They are the same as you." The priest's voice answered through the black fog.
"It's a player." Su Yue said.
It's a declarative sentence, not a question.
He confirmed this the first time he saw the photo of "Yima" and her daughter.
"You kill the players and then leave their souls here, turning them into your paper figures to be used by you?" Su Yue asked.
If Zhao Shuo and the others were there, they would definitely be surprised that Su Yue would have such a cold tone.
"The power in the outside world is stronger than here." The priest did not hide anything at all, and even showed off like a winner. As he spoke, the paper Buddha statue behind Su Yue made a series of crackling sounds as if it was about to wake up.
"Drown them in the well. Their souls will become more powerful. Time and again, they will bring me more souls until I can create my true form."
The priest looked at Su Yue with his dark green eyes, not disguising his greed. "You are also very strong. Your soul contains a mouth-watering power. You will become my most capable assistant and replace her as a guide."
As she spoke, a strong wind arose, and the black mist swayed in the wind.
The soil beneath the tombstone began to surge strangely, as if countless corpses were about to break out from underneath.
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The wind suddenly blew very hard over the mass grave and the sky became very dark, as if it couldn't wait to swallow up the young man standing alone in the cemetery.
Su Yue's gaze fell back on the tombstone.
It seemed that neither the vision of the corpse resurrecting under his feet nor the high priest opposite who had "cast his true body" was worth his second glance.
He lowered his head, making it impossible to see his expression. Only half of his pale and thin face could be seen.
It was a long time before Su Yue spoke.
"Although you used the name of God to deceive others and instigated players to kill each other in this world, that is all the business of this world. I will not hold it against you."
His voice was very faint, but it was clearly heard in the wind.
"But they didn't belong here in the first place. Even if they died here, you shouldn't have prevented them from leaving after death. Their souls are imprisoned, accumulating sins, driven by your selfish desires, and they will never find peace."
In the photo of a young mother and daughter on the tombstone, the mother hugged her daughter, smiling at the camera with a faint dimple at the corner of her mouth. This reminded Su Yue of the tearful face of "Yima" at the end.
There are other photos below.
The short Liu San and the people Su Yue had never seen before had different expressions and appearances in the photos, but there was no doubt that they were all players who came here.
Su Yue even saw some notes under the photo, but he didn't look at it carefully, nor did he want to.
Players are players, games are games, they should be a one-time encounter, and then dust to dust, ashes to ashes.
They were merely passing through, at least free, rather than trapped in this game world by a sorcery that would keep them forever locked in countless rounds, unable to escape or see each other again. It wasn't until the final moments of the game that the mother suddenly remembered her daughter, helplessly asking the player if they knew where her child was, that she shed tears that belonged not to "Ima" but to herself.
Bright lightning streaked across the night sky, dark clouds gathered rapidly overhead, the last ray of moonlight sank behind the mountain, and on the dry earth, it seemed that a rainstorm was about to come.
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With a "clang", the wooden stick in his hand fell to the ground. Su Yue raised his eyes in such a dark night and looked at the priest.
"I just wanted the game to end normally."
There was no expression in Su Yue's eyes, but his pupils seemed to be illuminated by an invisible light, so bright that it was breathtaking.
"I've changed my mind now."
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