Chapter 56

Chapter 56

However, Xu Chen's words did not gain the agreement of Ying Shui.

Being a woman herself, and one educated in modern times, she couldn't agree with Xu Chen's proposal: "So, you're saying we should stand by and watch Yang Ruolan undergo the posthumous marriage with Xue Sheng and then face her death?"

"She's just an NPC." Xu Chen looked around the room, his gaze brushing past Li Luming, Duan Ying, and Li Hong, who didn’t seem to agree with him. He chuckled, "You're not starting to see them as real people, are you?"

"We are the ones who are alive."

He tapped his chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath.

"They're all fake, just like game NPCs. Feeling pity or sympathy for these NPCs... don't you find that laughable?"

Xu Chen challenged the group, "Is our ultimate goal here to save NPCs? We need to clear this game scenario and survive."

His words were rough, but the rationale was hard to refute. This realization dawned on Li Hong, Li Luming, and Ying Shui – indeed, they weren't in the real world. Regardless of how real the people of Fengnian Village might seem, they weren't truly alive.

Because these people were merely NPCs in the "Lock Immortality" game scenario.

Whether Yang Ruolan lives or dies at the end doesn't matter. Even if there were numerous posthumous marriages in Fengnian Village, it has nothing to do with them. All they needed to do was follow the rules of the game, clear the scenario, and survive.

But to survive, do they really need to abandon their conscience and resort to any means necessary?

Everyone stood rooted in silence after Xu Chen's words.

Even Bu Jiuzhao remained silent. His cold, desolate, and frosted eyes fixed on Xu Chen, showing no emotion—neither sorrow nor joy, just a profound indifference.

"A'Jiu, did you hear that?"

Only Xie Yinxue didn't look towards Xu Chen. Instead, he approached Bu Jiuzhao from behind, resting his arms on the back of the chair and gazing down at the man sitting in the rocking chair. His eyes mirrored Bu Jiuzhao's cold indifference, yet held a hint of cruelty. In contrast, his voice was gentle and soft, "The NPCs here are all fake."

Hearing this, the man in the rocking chair slowly tilted his head up to meet Xie Yinxue's eyes—a reversal of a scene from their first scenario.

Still, in many ways, they remained eerily alike.

After all, Bu Jiuzhao hadn't forgotten. The moment Xie Yinxue saw him, she smiled, though the mirth never reached her eyes.

Consequently, Bu Jiuzhao curled his lips into a similar smirk and retorted to Xie Yinxue, "And how does that concern me?"

He lifted his head, sitting upright, using his height advantage to level with Xie Yinxue. He whispered into her ear in a voice meant only for the two of them, "Xie Yinxue, in this instance, I'm a participant."

Those words managed to slightly fade the smile on Xie Yinxue's face.

Because, in the depth of his statement, he was essentially telling her: you say NPCs are fake, but as a participant, I am real.

Yet, the truth or deceit behind his words was unknown to all—even Xie Yinxue was momentarily puzzled by Bu Jiuzhao's underlying intent.

On the side, Xu Chen kept rambling, trying to make everyone agree with him, "We can hardly save ourselves. Do you not find it ludicrous to debate whether Yang Ruolan's ghost marriage was consensual?"

Duan Ying closed her eyes and shook her head, unwilling to dwell on the topic, "Fine, let's not talk about the NPCs. Let's discuss why you pushed me earlier."

"I pushed you?"

Xu Chen furrowed his brows. He recalled the scene where Duan Ying fell amidst the ghosts in the alley, but he denied, "I didn't push you. But you, what were you doing, gripping me so tightly?"

Listening to Xu Chen, Duan Ying found it both ironic and amusing, "You didn't push me? You were the only one beside me. If not you, then who?"

"I didn't push you. I just shook off your hand because you were gripping it so hard I thought you'd draw blood."

As Xu Chen spoke, he rolled up his sleeves as though to show everyone the marks. Yet, when he revealed his arm, there was no trace of any injury on his immaculate skin.

Duan Ying refuted, "I didn't grip you that hard."

Xu Chen scoffed, "Surely, it wasn't a ghost then?"

"Where's the mark?" Duan Ying's temper flared, raising her voice, "You said I gripped you. Where's the mark?!"

Due to his altercation with the NPC, Xie Yinxue was injured. Not only was he physically uncomfortable, but their bickering also gave him a headache.

He had indeed watched the entire event unfold without blinking. However, his attention wasn't on Duan Ying and Xu Chen. While he saw Xu Chen's hand make contact, he couldn't definitively say if it was a push or a mere brush.

More importantly, Xie Yinxue suspected that there were other "entities" muddying the waters in this instance.

Li Hong, Duan Ying, and Li Lumeng mentioned that before entering the game, they were submitting assignments in their classroom. The cause of their near-death experiences, including their teacher Chao Qinghe, remains a mystery after entering "Lock Life."

Xie Yinxue theorized: it might be related to the fake Guman Thong in the top floor of Wenxin Building. Perhaps the owner of the Guman Thong found out that it was people like Li Hong who informed the police, leading to his Guman Thong being confiscated. In revenge, he targeted Li Hong and the others, trapping them in this perilous situation. However, this inadvertently caused them to meet the criteria to enter "Lock Life."

This wasn't mere speculation by Xie Yinxue. There were numerous hints: for instance, on the night they saw the ghost under the bridge, only Li Hong and his group had scratch marks; and the ghostly footprints that lurked around them during their night walk.

It was as if a mischievous spirit not native to this instance constantly followed them. But this spirit couldn't kill them directly; it had to utilize the power of the NPC ghosts.

If, on the night under the bridge, Li Lumeng and others had truly been beguiled by the "run" command likely issued by the small ghost, or if they had genuinely turned around after the ghost tapped them on the shoulder during their night walk, they might be dead by now.

However...

Was their teacher, Chao Qinghe, who entered the game with Li Hong and the others, merely unlucky or was there another reason? The spirit haunting Li Hong's group, could it not kill them or was it simply hesitant to do so?

So many questions, yet none currently have definitive answers.

Xie Yinxue used his spirit-seeing eyes on Chao Qinghe, but during the day, he observed no anomalies around him. At night, since they did not share a room, he was unaware of Chao Qinghe's activities.

Moreover, Xie Yinxue's deal with Li Hong had long been concluded. If Li Hong needed further assistance, it would constitute a separate arrangement.

He held no responsibility to protect Li Hong and his group, nor any obligation to constantly monitor them. He had already lent a helping hand when he could, doing his good deed.

Human emotions rarely resonate with one another.

He couldn't empathize with Duan Ying's and Xu Chen's anger, nor resonate with the love that made Yang Ruolan and Xue Sheng willing to die together.

Thus, Xie Yinxue interrupted their dispute, saying, "All these things you're discussing are pointless. Whether it's your current quarrel or the previous debate on ghost marriage, it's all irrelevant."

"You've entirely missed my main point."

"As I mentioned earlier, for Yang Ruolan and Xue Sheng to successfully complete the ghost marriage, there exists a prerequisite—"

Xie Yinxue, devoid of any humor, cast his eyes downward and calmly stated, "They must perform the play, which debuts the day after tomorrow, flawlessly."

Although the script Min Yuandan gave them was based on the Legend of the White Snake, its title was "Saving the Marriage." Hence, the play they would be performing was also named "Saving the Marriage."

Perfectly performing this play was initially Min Yuandan's request. Later, everyone noticed that the villagers placed immense importance on this play, to the point of obsession. Now even Yang Ruolan pleaded with Xie Yinxue to ensure the play's success, hinting that failing to do so would prevent the completion of the ghost marriage.

Liu Buhua wondered, "What's so special about this play?"

Lu Ling, frowning in contemplation, asked Xie Yinxue, "Mr. Xie, didn't you inquire further with Yang Ruolan?"

Xie Yinxue replied, "I intended to, but then Yang Ruoming and Yang Ruowen entered the room."

Looking at Lu Ling's forehead, which was swollen from a blow by Yang Ruoming, Xie Yinxue felt a dull ache in his own heart. Those Yang brothers were seriously brutal.

After hearing Yang Ruolan's plea, he indeed wanted to delve deeper into why the play held such significance.

However, before he could ask, the Yang brothers stormed in, wielding bamboo sticks.

Seeing their sister kneeling in front of Xie Yinxue, tears streaming down her face—how could they stand it?

The brothers immediately showed aggression, raising their sticks to strike at Xie Yinxue.

Of course, they couldn't land a blow.

Xie Yinxue even managed to disarm them, aiming to knock them out and continue his conversation with Yang Ruolan.

However, when he tried, to his surprise, he was the one stunned. In the game, non-ghost NPCs are immune to attacks, and even integral ghost NPCs related to the main quest cannot be harmed, otherwise one suffers retaliatory damage.

So, while the Yang brothers weren't knocked unconscious, Xie Yinxue, who suffered the backlash, nearly passed out from the pain.

Hence, when he later asked Bu Jiuzhao to carry him, claiming his health was deteriorating, he wasn't lying.

"About that play..."

Lu Ling wanted to say something more, but before he could finish, Min Yuandan, who had been missing for a long time, suddenly appeared: "You're discussing the play? Surprised to see you not slacking off. Well, that's good, get ready to go on stage soon."

"On stage?" Li Hong was taken aback, "But sir, it's not yet our rehearsal time."

"It's been moved up," Min Yuandan waved off, "There's been a significant event in the village, and the Village Chief Qingfeng wants to see your rehearsal now."

Mentioning "significant event", everyone immediately thought of Xue Sheng's inexplicably discovered body in the alley earlier today.

Although they hadn't laid a finger on Xue Sheng, the eerie appearance of his corpse in that location undoubtedly connected them to the event. Furthermore, their afternoon visit to the Yang residence had been witnessed by Xue family's servants. Who knows if they'd informed the elder Xue or Chief Qingfeng that they stole Xue Sheng's body? They had no way to explain themselves.

By Min Yuandan's current demeanor, he seemed unaware of their afternoon "adventure."

Everyone felt a bit uneasy. Xu Lu, forcing a smile, tried to indirectly ask Min Yuandan about the "significant event" and whether it had anything to do with them: "Sir, what happened? Is it serious?"

"Oh, it's serious, very serious!"

Min Yuandan exclaimed, his eyes wide.

Then, with a sly smile, he looked at everyone curiously, lowering his voice, "Do you know what happened?"

Xu Lu and several of the girls shook their heads.

Seeing this, Min Yuandan chuckled ominously, "The village is haunted."

"Remember Xue Sheng? He went missing this afternoon," Min Yuandan said, fanning himself, "The Xue family's servants searched for him all afternoon. They looked in the Xue residence, nothing. Went to the Yang's, also nothing. Only then did they find out he'd been moved by ghosts to the alley."

Everyone exchanged glances, the confusion and bewilderment overpowering the relief of learning they weren't implicated.

What they couldn't grasp was: Why were the villagers of Fengnian more inclined to believe that a ghost had stolen Xue Sheng's body?

Author's note:

NPC: Look at your injuries. Remember, right? There's a price for hitting someone.

Xie Lao: I remember. (Then hits the NPC again)

NPC: Is this your idea of remembering?

Xie Lao: Yes, I didn't hit a person.

npc：？