Chapter 61

Chapter 61

As the saying goes, lesser ghosts fear greater ghosts, and the greater ones fear vengeful spirits.

Earlier, when they performed on the stage, both the actors and the audience were all living beings. Even if the spectators harbored sinister gazes, they were still human. Hence, lesser ghosts dared to disrupt the show.

But now, with the formidable spirit of Xu Chen on stage, and the vengeful specter brides in red wedding dresses in the audience, the lesser ghosts under Chao Qinghe's command had already shrunk into the shadows, too frightened to come out. No matter how much Chao Qinghe signaled them, they hesitated, fearful and reluctant.

Useless creatures.

Chao Qinghe cursed inwardly, tensing his muscles as he braced for the impact of Xu Chen's staff.

Yet, each strike on the same spot caused Chao Qinghe such intense pain he nearly gritted his teeth to pieces. Repeated blows had battered his shoulder to the point he felt his flesh was nearly pulp.

The others felt the same, but everyone endured the pain without uttering a sound. Shaking, they completed the combat scenes and left the stage in succession, leaving Xie Yinxue, Liu Buhua, and Bu Jiuzhao to continue the performance's conclusion.

The moment Chao Qinghe was backstage, he slumped, panting, inspecting his injuries.

Lifting his costume's collar, he found his suspicions confirmed: his right shoulder had been battered, black and blue with bruising. Blood was slowly oozing out, sticking to his costume.

Yet, Min Yuandan couldn't resist a jibe: "You still have two more days of performances. Maybe just keep the costumes on, huh?"

Usually, everyone heeded the instructions of the guiding NPC. But with Min Yuandan's comment, they were unsure if he was merely jesting, or if they truly had to keep their costumes on without removal.

Everyone ultimately heeded Min Yuandan's advice. They hadn't changed their clothes for a full five days since entering the instance. The costumes were technically cleaner than what they initially wore. Moreover, compared to losing one's life, wearing the same costume for two consecutive days was a minor issue. The problem was that the wounds beneath the costumes couldn't be treated.

Except for Chao Qinghe, everyone else at most had bruises on their shoulders, but their flesh wasn't badly beaten. After all, Xu Chen had struck them far fewer times than he had Chao Qinghe, hitting him only about half as much.

"Teacher Chao."

Although Lu Ling wasn't a student of Chao Qinghe, he appeared younger than Li Hong and the others. Therefore, addressing Chao Qinghe as "Teacher" like Li Hong did wasn't out of place. Lu Ling then got straight to the point, holding his arm and asking, "Why is Xu Chen singling you out?"

"I don't know."

Chao Qinghe, pressing on his wound with a pale face, weakly and bewilderingly replied, "Is it because I once shared a room with him?"

"Duan Ying and Xu Chen also used to live together," Liao Xinyang pointed out, implying that this wasn't enough reason for Xu Chen to target Chao Qinghe, "Why didn't he hit Duan Ying more?"

So, Lu Ling decided to be even more blunt, "Teacher Chao, when Xu Chen died, he was in the same room as you. Did you kill him?"

Upon hearing this, Chao Qinghe didn't even blink an eye, his brow furrowed in deep distress. "I'm their elective course instructor. Why on earth would I kill my own students? Moreover, in the game, killing a participant results in retaliation from the deceased. If I had truly killed Xu Chen, I would have been dead by now. Just now on stage, Xu Chen could have easily killed me."

The words held merit.

Moreover, it was Xu Chen himself who had suggested sharing a room with Chao Qinghe; Chao had nothing to do with it.

Yet, Lu Ling remained skeptical about Chao Qinghe, noting his consistent silence throughout their journey.

Other newcomers, such as Liao Xinyang, Ying Yishui, and Xu Lu, even including the initially timid Li Lumeng and two other girls, eventually shared their thoughts and perspectives or actively sought advice from veteran players.

Only Chao Qinghe was reserved.

He was very obedient, doing as told without question. He never contradicted anyone or inquired about the game or sought help. If every newcomer behaved as he did, Lu Ling wouldn't hesitate to guide them.

But that was wishful thinking, which is why he was reluctant to mentor newcomers.

When he first joined the game, he too panicked for a while, always trying to extract information from the veterans. When Li Lumeng, Yu Qinwen, and Duan Ying first saw the water ghost Gao Wan, their screams and panic were irksome to him but not unexpected. That was a typical reaction from most newcomers.

But what about Chao Qinghe?

He was in his thirties, more mature than the younger players, but his unwavering obedience was out of character. It simply didn't fit his demeanor.

Chao Qinghe's calmness suggested that he might be... a veteran player himself.

That's why he wasn't curious about other game rules; he probably knew them already. The fact that Xu Chen didn't kill him doesn't clear his name. In the game, one can't "directly kill" other participants.

Chao Qinghe could bypass this rule by indirectly causing death through in-game entities, without facing repercussions.

Lu Ling's initial coldness towards the newcomers was due to an encounter with a veteran pretending to be a newbie. After mentoring her for some time, she nearly betrayed him just before completing a mission. Recognizing her true identity made him indifferent to the newbies in the current mission.

However, realizing the necessity of teamwork in this mission and witnessing the newcomers' naivety, he felt compelled to guide them.

If Chao Qinghe was indeed a veteran, then disguising as a newcomer meant he had ulterior motives.

The more Lu Ling thought about it, the more he felt the need to discuss this with Xie Yinxue and the others. Just as he made this resolution, he heard Xu Chen's voice, "I'm right here. Why not ask me?"

The backstage group turned their gaze to Xu Chen —

After leaving the stage, Xu Chen had sat down in front of a dressing mirror, staring blankly at his horrific reflection without speaking. No one approached him for conversation, so they ignored him. But now, he initiated the conversation.

And, upon closer observation, they realized that it wasn't the Xu Chen outside the mirror speaking, but the lifeless body of Xu Chen reflected within.

"How did I die?"

As the corpse of Xu Chen felt all eyes on him, he curled up the corners of his rigid lips, revealing a deeply unsettling grin. "Never look under the bed when you sleep at night."

Everyone froze. What's under the bed?

But it seemed that the deceased Xu Chen had no intention of clarifying further. After his cryptic message, his face contorted in agony, his mouth opening wide in a silent scream. The living Xu Chen remained motionless in front of the mirror. With his back to everyone, his expression remained concealed.

"The play has ended."

Xie Yinxue and her fellow performers, having taken their curtain calls, descended the stage stairs to the backstage. Right after Bu Jiuzhao uttered these words, Village Chief Qingfeng pulled back the backstage curtain, entering with a fierce expression. "It's over?"

"What was that final act about?" Pointing at Xu Chen in front of the mirror, Qingfeng continued, "He messed up all his action scenes. They didn’t cry. They didn't shed a tear for such a moving story. This play... it's useless!"

"Why should I care about his mistakes?" retorted Bu Jiuzhao with cold laughter. "Why don't you kill him then?"

Qingfeng, caught off guard by the biting reply, was at a loss. Xu Chen was already dead, and there was nothing he could do to him.

"He's not up to the task. Replace him. Perform his part again," commanded a visibly frustrated Qingfeng, grabbing Min Yuandan by the collar. "Make it deeply moving. Make them cry!"

"Replacing him..." Min Yuandan rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds before sighing, "But inviting spirits is easier than sending them away. After feeding them, to truly send them off, you need to offer them the real 'food'."

As he mentioned the word "food", Min Yuandan's gaze swept over the group, implying that they might be the required offering.

Li Lumeng's pupils shivered upon this realization. She finally understood the grim truth behind the folklore: After playing "Feed the Ghost", someone would die — the true "food" for the spirits was a living person.

If they needed to send Xu Chen away, someone would have to die. With two members short, they'd need to summon two more spirits. Who could guarantee that the new spirits would be compliant?

Min Yuandan continued, "Moreover, if we send Xu Chen away, we might need to replace more than just one person tomorrow. Chief Qingfeng, we can't ensure that the new 'actors' will perform any better than Xu Chen did."

"That's your problem!" Chief Qingfeng snapped, ignoring Min Yuandan's explanation, and threateningly said, "If you can't move them to tears, we'll all die together!"

From Qingfeng's words, it wasn't hard to deduce the situation. They were brought to Fengnianzhai under the pretext of celebrating the marriage of the Xue and Yang families with a performance. Their real audience? The ghost brides beneath the stage.

If they couldn't deliver a touching performance to make the red-clad ghost brides cry, the villagers would kill them.

Xie Yinxue chimed in, "We've hit a dead end in this mission."

Li Hong, puzzled, asked, "What do you mean?"

Xie Yinxue posed a question to the group, "After all this, haven't you figured out the real way to complete this game?"

He stepped back onto the platform and, looking down at the ghost brides seated in silence among the audience, declared, "It's never been the ghost brides who wanted to kill us. It's the villagers."

These ghost brides may appear frightening, but they've never truly acted lethally towards them. On the contrary, it's the very living villagers who wear two faces. By day, they seem kind and welcoming, but by night, they readily voice threats of murder.

Xie Yinxue subtly curled the corner of her lips, murmuring, "The true slaughter of this scenario only starts now."

The real way to complete this scenario is for all participants to make no mistakes during the initial rehearsals, ensuring they survive in the hands of the villagers. Only then, on the fifth day during the actual performance, can they guarantee a flawless act and avoid death.

Any mistake in lines or choreography would give the villagers a reason to kill them.

Their rehearsals had started smoothly.

Yet, Xu Chen died.

How he died isn't the main concern. The issue is someone's death meant they had to play "Feed the Ghost" to complete their numbers and continue the performance. But the summoned ghosts won't cooperate; they might even intentionally sabotage the act, hoping for errors that lead to the villagers killing them.

In such a vicious cycle, they'd never perfect the play "Saving Marital Fate", ensuring their eventual demise on the seventh day when the play concludes.

"What do we do now?" Xu Lu asked shakily, "Is there no other solution?"

"There is. We can get Xu Chen to cooperate, or..."

Pausing, Lu Ling took a deep breath before continuing, "Another one of us dies. Then, we summon two obedient ghosts to aid our performance."

Liao Xinyang responded with a bitter smile, "We're all ghosts. Who would listen to us?"

Silence settled over the group, none echoing Liao Xinyang’s sentiment. His words were the bleak truth.

Like Xie Yinxue said, they were trapped in a dead-end scenario, and it seemed impossible to clear.

"Let's head back," Lu Ling suggested, massaging his throbbing temple. "Once back, we can think of other solutions. Perhaps there's still another way out."

No one contested his suggestion. Right now, it was the only plausible course of action.

The play had concluded, but the audience lingered. The ghost brides sat immobile and silent on their benches, resembling solemn tombstones.

Xie Yinxue shot them a fleeting, inaudible sigh before descending the stairs. Noticing Liu Buhua still motionless behind him, he urged, "Buhua, let's go. What are you still staring at?"

Liu Buhua was gazing at the ghost brides below.

Xie Yinxue's urging did prompt him to move. However, after descending only a few steps, he stretched his neck to look back at the audience, "So terrifying, yet I want another glimpse."

Xie Yinxue: "..."

With "Xu Xian" so engrossed in looking at another woman, Bu Jiuzhao walked over to Xie Yinxue, teasingly saying, "It seems you're the one who should be wearing green."

"No, you once said I look best in yellow, and I believe so too," Xie Yinxue replied with a soft smile, adjusting Bu Jiuzhao's disheveled clothes, "And this shade of green, it suits you better."

Bu Jiuzhao: "..."

After the group returned to the village house, Xie Yinxue said to the people who shared a room with him the previous night, "I'd like to be alone tonight, so I won't be staying with everyone."

Liu Buhua certainly heeded Xie Yinxue's wishes. Seeing this, Li Hong, not wanting to impose, chose to stay with Liu Buhua. Duan Ying then asked Min Yuandan, "Chief, can we each have our own room?"

"Of course," Min Yuandan replied nonchalantly, "As long as you're not scared."

Strangely, even though Xie Yinxue was the one who wanted to be alone, it was Duan Ying who posed the question. Though the others found it a bit odd, they didn't dwell on it. Or maybe they were too preoccupied—everyone was busy pondering how to pass the next two days' challenges.

However, Duan Ying's subsequent actions provided the answer: she too wanted to be alone.

Yu Qinwen and Li Luming held onto her hand, concernedly asking, "Aying, won't you stay with us?"

"Something is bound to happen tonight, and I am Xu Chen's girlfriend," Duan Ying said calmly and truthfully, "This might keep you safer."

Yu Qinwen and Li Lumeng instantly understood; Duan Ying didn't want to be a burden to them.

Li Lumeng gazed into Duan Ying's eyes for a few moments, then took a deep breath, whispering, "Then let's all stay in separate rooms."

Liao Xinyang paused, "What?"

"Not all of you, just the three of us." In that moment, she seemed like an entirely different person, cold and detached, pointing at Yu Qinwen, "You're the most fearful. You were the first to scream when we saw that ghost under the bridge. I don't want to be with you anymore."

"You think I want to?" Yu Qinwen retorted, "Going to the top of the Wenxin building was your idea. We all encountered ghosts there, and now we're trapped in this game, perhaps for that very reason!"

Duan Ying looked at her suddenly quarreling friends, her lips parting as if to say something. Yet, in the end, she remained silent and entered a nearby room.

While Yu Qinwen and Li Lumeng had a falling out, neither continued their dispute. They swiftly chose separate rooms and retreated.

Everyone was taken aback by their outburst. Li Hong, who had come with them, tried to console the trio, but after knocking for a long time, none of the girls answered the door.

Chao Qinghe sighed, "What's with all the quarreling at this hour?"

The other participants were completely in the dark about what was happening. Yet, when the three didn't heed any advice, there was little anyone else could do.

Among the remaining people, Xu Lu still shared a room with Ying Yishui. Lu Ling bunked with Liao Xinyang. Bu Jiuzhao chose to stay alone, and since no one wanted to share with Chao Qinghe, he naturally had to take a room for himself.

After redistributing the rooms, everyone returned to their own space.

Xie Yinxue claimed he wanted a room to himself, yet he oddly chose a room with two beds.

Not long after he entered, Bu Jiuzhao walked in without even knocking.

Once inside, he said to Xie Yinxue, "You didn't lock the door properly."

His tone suggested that it was Xie Yinxue's fault for not bolting the door, which is why he walked right in.

Xie Yinxue sat by the table, sipping tea, not sparing him a glance.

Bu Jiuzhao continued, "You chose a room with two beds. Was it on purpose?"

At this, Xie Yinxue finally looked up at him, responding with a question of his own, "May I undress?"

Bu Jiuzhao: "..."

The young man's words left Bu Jiuzhao stunned.

In reality, even Bu Jiuzhao didn't understand why he intruded into Xie Yinxue's room. When he touched the door, he thought he needed to keep an eye on Xie Yinxue, fearing any accidents that might befall him during the night. Without him, no one would be able to clear the 'Eternal Lock' level.

Yet, upon entering and seeing the two beds, a peculiar emotion surged in him. This feeling was foreign; he couldn't pinpoint it, but he felt inexplicably elated.

This, to him, signified that Xie Yinxue was indeed expecting him.

His entry was merely in accordance with Xie Yinxue's anticipation.

However, Bu Jiuzhao never expected that Xie Yinxue's reaction to his entrance would be neither anger nor amusement, but a mere desire to undress?

Doubting what he heard, Bu Jiuzhao asked again, "You want to undress?"

"Yes. Min Yuandan said these costumes shouldn't be taken off, but I'm used to changing my attire daily," Xie Yinxue put down his teacup, gazing intently at Bu Jiuzhao, "May I remove this costume and sketch out a new one to wear tomorrow?"

Just for that reason?

Bu Jiuzhao, expressionless, responded: "...You may."

Upon receiving his affirmation, the young man promptly began removing the hairpins and jewelry from his head. After smoothly combing his long hair, right in front of Bu Jiuzhao and with unhesitating fingers, he started to loosen his attire.

Bu Jiuzhao couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried I might be tricking you?"

"From your eyes, I can tell you really want to see me undress." Xie Yinxue looked at him sidelong after hearing this, lips curling into a smirk, "More than once, too. Therefore, you won't let me die."

Bu Jiuzhao: "..."

Concerned about his reputation and honor, Bu Jiuzhao coldly denied, "I don't want to watch you undress."

Yet, upon hearing this, Xie Yinxue's smile deepened, raising an eyebrow he said, "Then why not turn around?"

Claiming not to want to watch but gazing unblinkingly; who would believe such a denial?

Although Xie Yinxue didn't voice these thoughts, they were evident on his face. As a result, Bu Jiuzhao did turn around, seemingly to prove he wasn't the person Xie Yinxue portrayed him to be.

Shortly after turning, Xie Yinxue called out: "Bu Jiuzhao."

The moment his name was uttered, Bu Jiuzhao swiftly turned back to face Xie Yinxue.

By now, Xie Yinxue wore only a snow-white inner garment made of silkworm silk. It draped around the young man's slender frame like a veil, revealing yet concealing at the same time. Even the dark purple bruises on his shoulders were clearly visible. It was as if one could see everything, yet something was obscured, making one wish to peer even closer.

Bu Jiuzhao stared at him intently for a moment before defending himself, "I only turned back because you called me."

Xie Yinxue paid no attention to Bu Jiuzhao. He kicked aside the discarded costume on the floor and, barefooted, approached the round table. Dipping his fingers into the tea, he began sketching a new costume while asking Bu Jiuzhao, "In each game level, is there only one way to clear it?"

With the young man's back to him, Bu Jiuzhao's gaze became even more unrestrained. First, it slid over the milky-white nape, then the slender waistline, and finally rested on his bare feet against the dark floor tiles.

Only then did he respond, his voice as deep as ever, but with a hint of raspiness, "Not necessarily."

Without turning his head, Xie Yinxue continued to ask, "What about this level?"

Bu Jiuzhao told him, "This level once had multiple solutions, but now there's only one."

Xie Yinxue suddenly paused midway while sketching the costume. He looked up at the door, his gaze seemingly piercing through it, murmuring softly, "Is there truly just one left?"

Bu Jiuzhao countered, "What else could there be?"

Xie Yinxue said, "When you're a participant, if no one trades with you, you won't know the additional clues to clear the game, right?"

Bu Jiuzhao nodded, "True."

Xie Yinxue chuckled, "So naive."

Bu Jiuzhao: "...?"

"If you truly are a participant, then you'd definitely need to make a deal with me to survive." Xie Yinxue looked down again, quickly sketching out a brand-new costume with a few strokes. However, he didn't rush to wear it. Softly, he continued, "If you're unaware, how can you be so certain there's only one way left to clear the level?"

"There are other ways, but they're nearly impossible." Bu Jiuzhao reached out, gripping Xie Yinxue's chin, forcing him to meet his gaze, "Most importantly, would you undertake them?"

Bu Jiuzhao's lips curled into a smile, as if he fully understood just how cold-hearted Xie Yinxue could be. "If someone willingly sacrifices themselves for us to clear the level, why would you bother?"

"...Willingly?"

Upon hearing this word, Xie Yinxue began to laugh softly. The laughter grew louder, even tears forming at the corners of his eyes. This was the first time Bu Jiuzhao witnessed such raw emotion from him. Yet, even with Xie Yinxue laughing so heartily, it felt more like he was crying.

"Bu Jiuzhao."

Finally, the young man called his name once more, "You should know, very few people in this world willingly die. Most do so for others, for those they care about and love."

"But is that truly willing? No."

"They're killed by those they care for, by those they love."

"Hence, such heart-wrenching scenarios are what I detest most in my life."

Bu Jiuzhao looked at Xie Yinxue, hearing him mutter coldly, "So how do you know I won't make an effort?"

Author's Note:

Xie (the lead): Why did you choose to be a participant in this level?

NPC: Because...

Xie (the lead): Naive and playful.

npc：？