Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Xie Yin Xue had a restless night. In the adjacent room, Liu Bu Hua and Li Hong were equally disturbed.

Li Hong's unease stemmed from Liu Bu Hua's insistence on rearranging their shoes before sleeping.

"My godfather once said that his shoes, because they were too neatly arranged, were worn by a ghost. So, we need to scatter them."

As Liu Bu Hua spoke, he flung his shoes toward the foot of the bed, expecting Li Hong to do the same.

Li Hong obediently followed suit, asking curiously, "Why not just place them beside the bed?"

They'd been roommates since day one, choosing a room with two beds. Previously, they'd placed their shoes beside their beds. If tidiness lured ghosts, then a little disorder should suffice. Why the need to move the shoes to the foot of the bed?

Liu Bu Hua sighed heavily but chose to be honest. "By placing our shoes that way, your shoes point at my head and mine at yours. 'Shoes towards bed invites ghosts to tread.' With this arrangement, a ghost might join you in sleep."

Swallowing hard, Li Hong stuttered, "So, we've been sleeping like this for two nights..."

"The first night was fine, but the second night, a ghost came. However, she didn't climb onto your bed or mine," Liu Bu Hua sighed deeply, seemingly disappointed, "She just wore your shoes, stood by the bed, and stared at you."

Thud

Visualizing the tale, Li Hong's shoes slipped from his grip. Imagining a bride ghost gazing at him while he slept terrified him. He turned to Liu Bu Hua, "Can we... sleep with the lights on tonight?"

Liu Bu Hua readily agreed, "Of course. It was too dark last night; I couldn't see a thing. I hope tonight, with the light, we might see more clearly."

Li Hong: "..."

Li Hong had absolutely no desire to find out what Liu Buhua wanted to see clearly.

He carefully scrambled his shoes and placed them at the foot of the bed. Curled up under the covers, he dared not sleep too deeply, always on the alert for any dirt appearing beside his bed. As a result, he did not rest well, spending the night in a half-asleep state. When he woke up the next day, he felt utterly drained.

Who would've thought that Liu Buhua looked even more exhausted, appearing listless and dejected.

Seeing this, Li Hong became worried, "Brother Liu, what's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Liu Buhua replied dejectedly, "... Yes."

"Could it be that last night..." Li Hong became even more anxious upon hearing this, asking in a panic, "Did the ghost in the wedding dress appear again?"

Liu Buhua frowned and sighed, "No."

If not, that's a good thing. Why are you sighing?

Li Hong was even more puzzled. Perhaps this was the difference between him and the boss.

With that thought, Li Hong pushed open the door of their room. After stretching his back outside, he suddenly noticed the door of the room opposite was also open – the residents were Xu Chen and Chao Qinghe.

From his perspective, he couldn't see anyone inside, only a pair of shoes placed by the bed.

He recognized these shoes as Xu Chen's.

They were neatly placed beside the bed, with the tips pointing directly at the bed.

In the past, Li Hong wouldn't have found this strange. Many boys in their dormitory would place their shoes with the tips pointing at the bed when climbing to their bunks. When he got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, he would also place his shoes in the same manner.

However, Liu Buhua had warned him the previous night that arranging shoes like this in this replica could attract ghosts.

Li Hong froze for a few seconds. The next moment, he saw Xu Chen sitting up on the bed and lifting the covers to get off.

But the way he got off the bed was strange – if someone's shoes were arranged this way, a normal person would sit at the edge of the bed, adjust the shoes with their feet, and then wear them to get off the bed. They wouldn't face the bed and then turn their back to get off and wear the shoes.

Yet that's exactly how Xu Chen got off the bed.

This eerie movement made Li Hong dazed. Xu Chen in the room seemed to sense Li Hong's gaze and turned his head to look at him.

"What the hell?!"

Seeing this, Li Hong muttered under his breath, stumbling backward several steps before regaining his balance. This was because Xu Chen's head had "twisted" to look at him, almost turning 180 degrees, reminiscent of a twisted bottle cap.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Chen resumed a normal stance, looking at him puzzled, as if not understanding why Li Hong was acting strange so early in the morning.

The entire episode lasted so briefly that Li Hong couldn't determine if it had really happened or was a hallucination from his lack of sleep.

"Has my godfather gotten up?"

Just then, Liu Buhua, having dressed himself, came out of his room muttering. Li Hong quickly moved next to him, avoiding staring at Xu Chen's room. He planned to ask Duan Ying later if Xu Chen always had such strange movements when getting off the bed. After all, the two of them were dating and had lived together before. They should be familiar with each other's habits.

Meanwhile, in another room, Xie YinXue, whom Liu BuHua had been mentioning, was also awake, simply not in a hurry to step out.

Today, he wore a snow-colored robe. After getting up, he stood by the bed's foot, gazing at the still sleeping Bu JiuZhao. His toes touched a pile of small rocks propping up the broken bed— the bed had held up only because of these rocks. A slight kick forward, and the bed would collapse.

Bu JiuZhao, still on the bed, would tumble down with it.

To be honest, Xie YinXue was quite tempted to do just that. However, he had questions for Bu JiuZhao that needed answers.

So, Xie YinXue pulled back his foot and sat at the room's round table, sipping tea while waiting for Bu JiuZhao to awaken.

It wasn't until nearly ten o'clock that Bu JiuZhao lazily opened his eyes.

The moment he did, he heard the cool and indifferent voice of Xie YinXue, "If you don't get up soon, others might think the two of us are dead."

When they stayed alone in a room just two days ago, Bu Jiuzhao used to wake up early. Why does he oversleep when he shares a bed with him?

Xie Yinxue feels that he's doing it on purpose.

Bu Jiuzhao, adjusting his disheveled dark clothes from the night's rest, said leisurely, "Perhaps they misunderstood that we were up to some mischief last night, hence the late rise this morning."

After saying that, he turned to get off the bed, went to the foot of the bed, glanced at the small stones supporting the bed frame, and raised an eyebrow, "See, luckily the bed didn't collapse. Otherwise, even if we had ten more mouths, we might not be able to explain."

Xie Yinxue: "..."

Xie Yinxue thought to himself that a person with great ambitions doesn't sweat the small stuff. He took a sip of tea from his cup, his expression still calm and unruffled.

In fact, when Bu Jiuzhao saw him in white, he asked, "Can you wear something other than white? It looks like mourning attire."

Xie Yinxue smiled softly and replied warmly, "Sure, I'll change it later."

The young man's compliance surprised Bu Jiuzhao, who cast a sidelong glance at him, "The last time I saw you this obedient was when you knocked over my three barbecue grills."

Xie Yinxue lowered his eyes and sighed softly. Then he looked up, gazing into Bu Jiuzhao's deep eyes, and said softly, "I just feel...

There's a hint of sarcasm.

... that we shouldn't be always at odds with each other."

Bu Jiuzhao felt that Xie Yinxue was trying to beguile him.

This man has always been cunning and crafty. Think about it – Xie Yinxue clearly knows he "likes" him now, even if this "like" is a misunderstanding. As long as he doesn't deny it, Xie Yinxue will remain in the dark.

Hence, Xie Yinxue's current gentle and accommodating demeanor, purposely appeasing him, is clearly a seduction tactic.

But he would not fall for it.

Who is he? What kind of beauty hasn't he seen in this world? How could he be moved by an ordinary man like Xie Yinxue?

So, Bu Jiuzhao smirked lightly, lips curling, "Do you have a question for me?"

"Yes," Xie Yinxue replied softly, looking down modestly, "I have many things I don't understand, and I hope Mr. Bu can enlighten me."

Addressing him formally as "Mr. Bu" now?

Bu Jiuzhao raised an eyebrow: "If you're asking about the purpose of my midnight rendition of 'Save the Fate', I can only tell you: I don't know."

"As I've said, I'm now a participant in this game too. I don't know more than any of you, unless someone trades with me. Only then might I gain additional clues to help them succeed," Bu Jiuzhao said as he approached Xie Yinxue, hands clasped behind him, leaning in with a sly grin, "And you, right from the start, warned everyone that trading with the ferryman NPC means certain death. You get my drift, right?"

Without uttering a word, Xie Yinxue set down his teacup and turned to walk out.

"Xie Yinxue," Bu Jiuzhao called from within the room, "Didn't you say you'd change into clothes of another color?"

Without even turning his head, Xie Yinxue responded with a playful tone, "Well, I haven't changed yet, have I? You get my drift, right?"

Bu Jiuzhao: "..."

So much for not being antagonistic? How did their rapport change quicker than flipping a page?

It finally dawned on Bu Jiuzhao why, among all the villains, Xie Yinxue stood out – he was utterly wicked!

It's a relief that Xie Yinxue's fate was to remain alone; otherwise, who knows how many more he might deceive?

With a cold smirk, Bu Jiuzhao too stormed out.

On their first day in Fengnian Village, Village Chief Qingfeng told them the troupe was invited for the wedding of the Xue and Yang families, aiming for good fortune.

But from the first rehearsal, they realized things weren't as simple as portrayed.

Not to mention, yesterday, the corpse of Xue Sheng was found in an alleyway, and by the villagers' reactions, they only just learned of his death. So, the purported happy wedding between Yang Ruolan and Xue Sheng was actually a ghostly union.

Yet today, as they walked toward the stage, villagers were busily preparing for the grand wedding, seemingly unfazed.

The village paths adorned with vibrant fabrics and red lanterns, bathing it in festivity. They seemed to care only about the wedding, indifferent to whether the bride and groom were alive or dead.

Mixed emotions swirled within the group, but they were powerless.

Reaching the stage, Li Hong took the opportunity to pull Duan Ying aside, sharing his morning observation about Xu Chen's odd behavior, and inquired if he always had such a peculiar way of getting out of bed.

But after hearing him out, Duan Ying furrowed her brows and said, "I've never seen Xu Chen get out of bed like that before."

"Then..."

A chill ran down Li Hong's spine as he cautiously voiced his suspicion, "Could it be... Xu Chen is... possessed by a ghost?"

Duan Ying remained silent for a moment before suggesting, "Should we seek Mr. Xie's help?"

Thinking it a good idea, the two approached Xie Yinxue with their request.

"You're saying you want my help to determine if Xu Chen is possessed?"

"Yes," Duan Ying nodded, "I've noticed that today, Xu Chen seems more reserved than usual."

Duan Ying was aware that seeking Xie Yinxue's assistance might come at a certain "cost." However, she was prepared to pay it. After all, no matter what, Xu Chen was still her boyfriend. And perhaps Xu Chen's involvement in this "Lock Immortality" game was due to their trip to the top floor of Wenxin Building. Morally and emotionally, she couldn't stand by and watch Xu Chen perish.

"Alright."

Surprisingly, Xie Yinxue immediately agreed to her request, directing his gaze towards Xu Chen.

But after a long half minute, he didn’t offer any answers. Instead, he gradually furrowed his brow, placing his fingertips lightly over his eyes. When he reopened them, there was a startled look on Xie Yinxue's face as he murmured, "…I can't see anymore."

At first, Li Hong thought Xie Yinxue had gone blind. But seeing that the young man's eyes still focused, he realized that Xie Yinxue meant he could no longer utilize his clairvoyant abilities to discern if Xu Chen was possessed.

Both Duan Ying and Li Hong were stunned.

Xie Yinxue, however, quickly composed himself. After all, he seldom used his clairvoyant abilities, and even if they were lost forever, it wouldn't significantly impact him. More so, his powers had been limited since entering this instance.

Given the supernatural nature of this Fengnian Village scenario, having clairvoyance could indeed upset the game's balance. So, Xie Yinxue was somewhat surprised that only now did he become "blind."

He told Duan Ying and Li Hong, "To see ghosts, one must activate the clairvoyant vision. There are many ways to do so in Fengnian Village, but each method could be perilous. Remember the incident under the bridge on the first night?"

That night, they were lured under a bridge by Gao He, where they saw his deceased sister, Gao Wan, leading to a series of dangerous events.

Xie Yinxue looked at Duan Ying, saying, "I can help you activate your vision, but you'll have to bear the consequences."

Duan Ying, taken aback, responded, "Bear the consequences?"

Xie Yinxue meant that if anything went wrong after activating her vision, he wouldn't save her — no matter the price she's willing to pay.

"Yes," Xie Yinxue elaborated, "This instance is peculiar in many ways, and as you've seen, my abilities are limited. Hence, I don't believe I can guarantee your safe passage."

His candid admission about his limitations shocked Duan Ying and Li Hong further.

"However, I've identified who the ferryman NPC is. If you truly cannot progress on your own, I can reveal his identity to you. But," Xie Yinxue's voice shifted, glancing toward another person backstage, "Didn't your teacher Chao Qinghe stay with Xu Chen last night? He might know more about Xu Chen's situation than any of us. Why not ask him?"

Indeed, why hadn't they thought to ask Teacher Chao Qinghe?

As Duan Ying and Li Hong approached Chao Qinghe to discuss, Xie Yinxue, despite the distance, could hear their conversation clearly.

In summary, Chao Qinghe claimed he had slept soundly the previous night and noticed nothing amiss with Xu Chen. He believed Duan Ying and Li Hong were overthinking things.

Chao Qinghe's persuasive skills were evident, making both Duan Ying and Li Hong second-guess their concerns.

After close observation, they concluded that apart from being slightly reserved, Xu Chen displayed no anomalies.

Plus, the villagers had advanced the rehearsal time, starting at 2 pm. Duan Ying and Li Hong decided to continue monitoring Xu Chen for the time being.

The fourth day, today, their rehearsal went smoothly without any hitches.

The performance ended around 4 pm, and they were delighted to return to the village without navigating the treacherous night.

However, to their astonishment, after the villagers finished applauding, the jovial Village Chief Qingfeng declared, "Let's have another round."

The words left everyone stunned on stage. Ying Shui hesitated slightly before speaking, "Village Chief Qingfeng, we sang it right."

"Yes, I know." Chief Qingfeng squinted his eyes in amusement, clearly pleased with their performance. "But tomorrow night is the official show, so we need to make sure you're well-prepared and won't make mistakes."

"Sing it again!"

"Yes, sing it now!"

Other villagers joined Chief Qingfeng in the jeering, waving their axes and long blades, urging the performers on stage, "Sing it again, make no mistakes!"

Min Yuandan, previously seated in a rocking chair off the stage, also commanded the group, "Sing!"

As the lead NPC, participants had to obey, whether they wanted to or not, and perform the four-act play once more.

Yet, the villagers weren't satisfied. They demanded a second performance, and then a third...

They sang from when the afternoon sun was just right until dusk fell, their throats aching, even the lines they uttered sounded hoarse. Only then did the villagers relent.

However, the performers felt that the villagers might not have had their fill of the opera. They probably stopped out of concern that the performers would strain their voices, affecting the following night's performance.

And during their last performance, Duan Ying and Li Hong noticed that during the combat scene in the fourth act, "The Flooded Gold Mountain", the others were looking at them with expressions of shock and fear – just like when they saw Xu Chen the day before.

So, today...

Did the others see the ghost that was on Xu Chen's back behind them?

As expected, after the second performance, Yu Qinwen and Li Lumeng rushed to Duan Ying, saying, "Ying, we just saw something on your back..."

The words got stuck in Yu Qinwen and Li Lumeng's throats, unable to be voiced.

"You don't need to say it." Duan Ying pursed her lips, comforting the two, "I know."

She continued, "Tonight, let me sleep alone. Staying with me might put you both in danger."

"What are you talking about?" Yu Qinwen and Li Lumeng responded by gripping her hand even tighter, "We won't sleep tonight. We'll be by your side."

Duan Ying's eyes grew misty, "You really don't have to... I can't put you at risk."

"Back when we went on those adventures, you said that if anything happened, you'd run away fast without caring about us." Yu Qinwen gave her a playful slap, "Now, don't worry about us, just run if you have to."

Duan Ying sniffled and nodded, "Okay."

Li Hong looked at the three girls and then glanced furtively at Liu Buhua, hoping Liu would accompany him tonight.

Catching Li Hong's gaze, Liu Buhua said candidly, "There's a ghost on your back, all bruised and blue, looks about three or four years old. Not the same female ghost that stared at you by the bed the other night."

Li Hong: "..."

Those words were indeed chilling, but they gave Li Hong a glimmer of hope: Liu Buhua seemed unafraid of ghosts, so perhaps he'd be willing to share a room with him tonight?

"I'll stay in your room tonight."

However, Li Hong hadn't expected that the one making this offer would be Xie Yin Xue, not Liu Buhua.

The young man approached him and spoke softly, "There may be danger for you tonight. I can't let Buhua face that risk, so let me share the room with you."

Bu Jiuzhao, hearing Xie Yin Xue say this, immediately furrowed his brows, opened his mouth to object, but was interrupted by Liu Buhua, "Father, why don’t the three of us stay together?"

Intrigued by the idea, Duan Ying also whispered, "Mr. Xie, would you mind if I joined as well?"

Bu Jiuzhao: "?"

What's going on with these people?

Bu Jiuzhao swiftly moved to Xie Yin Xue's side, gripping his wrist through his sleeve with a concerned expression, "Aren’t you staying with me anymore?"

"I know you still want to sleep with me, but there are just too many people now." The young man looked up, exhaling softly, "Of course, if you don't mind, we can all stay together."

Bu Jiuzhao: "..."

Gritting his teeth, he asked, "Is there enough space on the bed?"

Li Hong quickly intervened, "You can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor."

"Yes, I can also sleep on the floor." Duan Ying said, now disregarding anything else, since being in the same room as Xie Yin Xue gave her a sense of security.

At this rate, not just Duan Ying, if it wasn't already overcrowded, both Yu Qinwen and Li Lumeng would want to sleep on the floor in Xie Yin Xue’s room.

Author's note:

Xie: Doing a trade with the ferryman NPC? Biss, do it with me, and there won’t be an issue.

NPC: Fine, I’ll deal with you.

Xie: Did you forget to say "trade"?

NPC: No.

Xie: ?