“Chapter 59: Offering (2)”

"Chapter 59: Offering (2)"

"◎ At this moment, something began to stroke his back. ◎"

"Everyone was dumbfounded."

"Shi Youqing frowned and, upon hearing the words '15th day of the seventh month', turned to look outside the window. But the wooden house was rudimentary, its windows not modern glass but tightly papered, and it was evening, obscuring the view outside."

"But the shadows of the peach trees were a stark reminder of everything he had recently witnessed."

"When Shi Youqing awoke, his body was already soaked by the sea, and the temperature on the island was low. At first sight of the peach blossom forest, he thought it was spring."

"But how could there be so many peach blossoms in July?"

"Guo Yalan seemed to ponder the same question, asking Li Dajie, 'Do peach blossoms here bloom in July?'"

"Li Dajie replied, 'Yes, that peach grove is the path to guide the departed souls back home. On the Ghost Festival in July, our deities let the peach blossoms bloom to lead the spirits back home for offerings.'"

"A few of them rubbed their arms uneasily."

"After a while, Hao Tianshuo whispered, 'I’ve heard before that peach blossoms can attract spirits...'"

"'Li Dajie, if those spirits are your departed loved ones, why fear being discovered by them? Could they possibly harm you upon their return?' asked Luo Yanzhong, the eldest of the group."

"As I said, this place is different," the woman in the coffin spoke somberly, "The spirits here lack the emotions they had in life. If they see a living person at night, they kill to take them away... That's why we never go out at night during the seventh month. Besides, every household has several coffins to use as beds. In our culture, coffins symbolize burial, but here, the dead are offered to the sea, ensuring their souls eternal existence. The spirits naturally won’t enter if they see coffins."

Silence fell among everyone.

Hao Tianshuo, scratching his head, approached a nearby coffin with hesitation.

Luo Yanzhong looked around and climbed into a lower coffin.

Xia Yue, seeing others taking action, stopped hesitating, opened a coffin, and sat down. Hao Tianshuo also started to get in, then paused abruptly, turning back to look at Shi Youqing, “The remaining coffins are quite high. Do you want to pick one? Shall I help you in first?”

Shi Youqing remained still, scanning the coffins before glancing at Guo Yalan.

Guo Yalan leaned against the wall, seemingly deep in thought.

Xia Yue urged her, “Senior sister, come in quickly.”

Guo Yalan shook her head, her voice low, “Coffins are for the dead.”

Upon hearing this, Xia Yue became anxious, “Senior sister! It’s different here; now, the coffins are like safe houses...”

The phrase “safe house” caught Shi Youqing off guard.

Xia Yue continued to persuade the reluctant Guo Yalan. Seeing her adamant refusal and about to forcibly drag her in, she suddenly saw the frail figure approaching Sister Li’s coffin, “Here, as it nears Ghost Festival, everyone rushes home before dark, right?”

Sister Li confirmed, “Right, you all should sleep now.”

She seemed very tired, quickly lying down and closing the coffin lid over herself, sealing herself inside.

“……”

After a brief silence,

Shi Youqing addressed the others, “We shouldn’t sleep in the coffins.”

“What?”

Shi Youqing explained, “If the coffins are safe houses, then the rule about not staying outside after dark doesn’t hold.”

“Right!” Luo Yanzhong caught his drift, hurriedly climbing out of the coffin, “This young man is correct! If coffins ensure player safety, then moving them outside would break the rule about not going out at night… But this simple logic wouldn’t be lost on the locals. Instead of rushing home every evening, why not set up more coffins outside for refuge?”

"But on their way here, they hadn’t seen any coffins outside. The lack of enough coffins could be understandable, but each local household had several coffins inside, which would be unnecessary if there were no visitors."

"'The rule of not going out at night suggests it’s unsafe outside but safe inside the home. However, with the coffins, it implies everywhere outside the coffins is unsafe. Given the mobility of coffins, one could hide in them outside, contradicting the first rule... Thus, one of these two rules must be false,' Shi Youqing deduced. 'Li Dajie followed the first rule by bringing us home before dark and seemingly the second by sleeping in coffins. But if the latter were true, concerning life-threatening matters, there would be coffins outside.'"

"Hao Tianshuo quickly nodded, 'Even in reality, there are emergency exits. If being careless here means being taken away by ghosts, and coffins are so useful yet many are unused, not placing a few outside for emergencies is just absurd!'"

"Xia Yue, who had previously thought about persuading Guo Yalan to go inside, now realized the danger, shuddering with fear: 'So you mean... if we had gone in last night, we would have been...'"

"Luo Yanzhong nodded: 'Following the true rule ensures safety, but adhering to a false one is futile and might even be fatal.'"

"Xia Yue's face turned pale: 'The NPCs this time are too misleading...'"

"Shi Youqing remained silent, his gaze drifting towards Guo Yalan, who was looking down, his feelings complex."

"So far, he couldn't discern Guo Yalan's purpose for being here."

"In the last scenario, he had seen Guo Yalan's body; she was indeed dead. Generally, deceased players are unlikely to become NPCs, and he remembered that people in the real world hadn't forgotten her."

"But if Guo Yalan isn’t an NPC, say, surviving due to some unexpected reason, why in her memory is Yu Ze dead?"

"The condition to become an NPC—completing a task and voluntarily choosing to leave."

"If Yu Ze had died during the last scenario, he couldn’t have become an almost-NPC to carry out the assessment task at that time."

"Moreover, Shi Youqing had personally brought Yu Ze back to reality, and though still unconscious, he was indeed alive."

"Shi Youqing thought back to the 'Red Shoes' scenario, where a player mistook a murderous NPC for someone they once loved, eventually being manipulated and killed by the NPC."

If this is again a game playing tricks on him, having NPCs mimic Guo Yalan, it seems even more illogical.

For one, his relationship with Yu Ze and Guo Yalan is not deep. They've only been through the Chenggu Town instance together, acquaintances at best, not close. Bringing Yu Ze out of the last instance was no risk to his life, a feasible act for him. But now, seeing a deceased player reappear in a new instance, he couldn't possibly risk his life trusting them.

If he were part of the game, aiming to confuse players, he would at least choose someone crucial to the player.

For instance, his mother...

To take a huge step back, NPCs and players aren't on the same side. If Guo Yalan were an NPC, why would she insist on not entering the coffin when most players would choose to do so?

"Sister Li said the ghosts here don't enter coffins," Guo Yalan's behavior seems suspicious, but upon closer examination, it's nonsensical. They've deduced the coffin rules are false, and the ghosts here only move at night. By that logic, Guo Yalan shouldn't appear during the day either.

"Or could it be… Guo Yalan really didn’t die?"

Shi Youqing slowly lifted his head.

Across from him, Guo Yalan had already raised her face, their eyes meeting.

Guo Yalan still had that approachable demeanor, smiling at him.

Shi Youqing’s hands were tightly clasped; he felt cold and crouched in a corner to rest.

Everyone was drenched.

Hao Tianshuo, noticing his discomfort and remembering his frail constitution, couldn’t let him endure the night like this. He quickly approached Li’s coffin, “Sister Li, do you have any spare blankets or clothes?”

The person inside the coffin didn’t respond at all.

Luo Yanzhong, being older, also struggled with the dampness, rubbing his arms, “Let’s just look for ourselves. This type of NPC probably shuts down at a certain time.”

So, they began searching the cabin.

The cabin had only two rooms: a larger hall-like space where the coffins were placed and a smaller bedroom with a wooden bed and a large wooden chest.

Inside the chest were various clothes and bedding.

Soon, Hao Tianshuo found a woolen blanket and wrapped Shi Youqing in it in the hall, “The floor is cold. Do you want to sleep on the bed in the other room?”

Shi Youqing shook his head, “There's still too much unclear about this place. It’s best not to wander around.”

Hao Tianshuo nodded, putting on a piece of clothing for himself before sitting beside Shi Youqing.

Shi Youqing noticed Hao Tianshuo’s newly donned attire, an outdated casual wear, fitting him well, clearly a man’s.

Hao Tianshuo, seeing him eyeing the clothes, explained, “There were many clothes in the chest, both men's and women's. Considering it’s only Sister Li here, the clothes might belong to her deceased family members.”

Xia Yue couldn’t help but comment, “You’re brave to wear that.”

Hao Tianshuo shrugged off the concern with a laugh, “I was the only one shirtless, and it’s uncomfortable not wearing anything. Plus, if wearing a dead person's clothes meant death, they wouldn’t be kept in the house, right? Besides, the real rule is out - it’s safe to be inside at night. It’s just wearing clothes, what’s there to fear?”

Xia Yue shook her head, “You’re too carefree.”

Hao Tianshuo was about to speak again when his face suddenly changed, freezing in place.

Xia Yue, sitting opposite him, started to ask what was wrong but then realized his gaze wasn't on her, but rather on the window above her head. Despite a growing sense of foreboding, she instinctively looked up...

An eerie silence enveloped both inside and outside the room.

Countless shadows appeared outside the paper-covered window, pacing back and forth!

Above her, on that particular window, hung a slender, motionless black shadow.

“Drip…drip…”

The sound of a tongue licking the window!

Xia Yue clamped her mouth shut in horror.

Trembling, she clutched the equally pale-faced Guo Yalan.

“Come here!” Shi Youqing urgently beckoned, “Stay away from the window.”

Xia Yue, petrified, hadn't comprehended what was happening when Guo Yalan suddenly pulled her down to a spot near Shi Youqing. Almost immediately, their window shook violently, and a small hole appeared!

Suddenly, a crimson tongue thrust through the hole, hooking downwards!

Xia Yue shook uncontrollably, covering her mouth to stifle her urge to vomit.

Shi Youqing quickly gestured for silence.

Everyone went mute, covering their mouths.

The intruding tongue, only able to extend half a meter, searched in vain for someone, then slowly retracted and slithered away like a gecko.

The other shadows outside continued their restless pacing.

Xia Yue slowly exhaled in relief.

Hao Tianshuo whispered, “So, when those things’ limbs enter, we mustn’t make a sound?”

Shi Youqing nodded in confirmation.

Luo Yanzhong added, “It's probably like a human knocking on a door. A response signifies someone’s inside. These ghosts likely use this method to detect if anyone’s in the room.”

Hao Tianshuo: “Isn’t this house supposed to be safe? Can they actually come in and kill us?”

Shi Youqing pondered and shook his head: “If they could enter, that ghost wouldn’t have just extended its tongue. It seems they can only detect what’s inside the house at night. If they find a specific person, that person might not die immediately, but there’s a high chance they’ll be targeted over the next few nights.”

Hao Tianshuo gasped in shock.

Xia Yue dared not make a sound anymore.

Feeling sleepy, Shi Youqing shifted to a more comfortable position to rest, but felt a bit unwell. He rubbed his temples, realizing he had forgotten to take his medication.

The pillbox was in his pocket, well-sealed, and the pills inside hadn’t been dampened by seawater.

As for the thermos… He hadn’t seen it since waking up; it must have been swept away by the sea while he was unconscious.

There should be water here.

Seeing Shi Youqing suddenly getting up, Hao Tianshuo asked anxiously, “What are you doing?”

Shi Youqing: “I need to find some water to take my medicine.”

Hao Tianshuo stood up: “There’s a water jar here, but no way to boil water.”

Shi Youqing: “Plain water is fine.”

Concerned about Shi Youqing’s frail condition, Hao Tianshuo quickly pressed him back into the blanket: “You rest here, I’ll get it for you!”

Shi Youqing blinked, his eyelashes casting shadows, and remained seated within the blanket.

To avoid looking at the things outside the window, Xia Yue covered her eyes and turned over to sleep. Luo Yanzhong, on the other hand, stared thoughtfully out the window.

Guo Yalan, who had arrived with a backpack, was rummaging through it and soon took out a hand warmer for Shi Youqing: “Are you feeling cold? Use this for the night.”

Shi Youqing declined: “Thank you, but keep it for later. I’m not cold.”

Guo Yalan reluctantly put the hand warmer back: “I’m not cold either. It’s July, and although we’ve been in the sea, everyone should be fine… But you look really cold.”

Shi Youqing buried his chin in his arm: “I’ll be fine after I take my medicine.”

Guo Yalan glanced at him and suddenly asked, “Why did you come alone this time?”

Shi Youqing was about to respond when he hesitated.

He had only met Guo Yalan in the first instance, where he had entered alone. Since then, in team instances, he hadn’t encountered her. Why would she ask him this question?!

Suddenly, something began to stroke his back.

A warm touch, a bizarre shape…

Shi Youqing abruptly stood up, stiffly turning to look behind him.

When he saw what it was, his breath completely stopped.

It was a pitch-black, indescribably eerie creature, like a pile of grotesquely shaped mud, writhing and crawling. It was now rapidly approaching him…

But how could a ghost possibly get in?!

Feeling a chill throughout his body, he retreated, trying to distance himself, but Guo Yalan, closest to him, remained unalarmed and looked at him with a confused expression: “What’s wrong?”

“You… can’t you see it?”

“What are you talking about?”

As Shi Youqing continued to back away, his spine suddenly hit the wooden pillar inside the hut.

The amorphous entity relentlessly pursued him, swiftly climbing onto his body…

He couldn’t utter a sound.

His body numbed in an instant, Shi Youqing instinctively raised his hand, attempting to fiercely swat the thing away.

In the midst of the action, his hand suddenly warmed.

Immediately after, the black mass reluctantly loosened its grip on his hands, fell to the floor, and scurried rapidly to the window, disappearing in a flash.

“……”

The terror lingered, his back still tingling.

Moments later, Shi Youqing, still shaken, lowered his head to look at his hands.

A box of warming pads and a heavy yet brand-new thermos.

“……”

Finally, Hao Tianxiang found a cup for water and hurried over, “Shi Youqing, try to drink less. The water here might not be clean, and it’s unboiled... What? Where did you get hot water from?!”

Shi Youqing still looked dazed. Although he had some guesses about the black mass, he still found it hard to believe.

“He just took them out of his pocket,” Guo Yalan said with a smile. “Maybe he was confused by the water when he arrived and forgot he brought these.”

Hao Tianxiang exclaimed, “Really? That’s great!”

Shi Youqing nodded hesitantly.

During that brief moment of terror, especially when the black mass crawled over him, the way he tried to tear it off and throw it away might have looked like he was searching his pockets to others…

The water in the thermos was just the right temperature. He took his medicine, then pulled out a warming pad and snuggled into the blankets.

Hao Tianxiang said, “Get some good sleep. I slept for over ten hours before coming in. I’ll keep watch tonight.”

Shi Youqing hummed in agreement, closing his eyes completely.

In the middle of the night, when the warming pad cooled down and the damp blankets lost their warmth, his feet began to chill. He couldn’t help but curl up.

Soon, something warm crept into his blanket, bringing back the warmth.

The heat seemed to envelop his feet and spread throughout his body, cocooning him in warmth. In his hazy consciousness, he reached out and embraced the “furnace” inside the blanket.

The “furnace” stiffened, then shivered slightly.

The sleeping young man felt nothing but warmth, unaware of anything else.

……

Early next morning, as soon as the sun rose, Li Dajie climbed out of her coffin and shouted, “Wake up! It’s morning, time to prepare the offering meal!”

Shi Youqing sat up, wrapped in his blanket, bewildered.

Xia Yue rubbed her eyes, asking, “What offering meal?”

“Today is the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. From today until the Ghost Festival on the 15th day, we need to prepare meals for the spirits three times a day – morning, noon, and evening – to appease them. Normally, locals would leave someone at home to do this while others go out to worship. Now that you all are here, the task of preparing these offerings falls to you!” Li Dajie put on her shoes and was ready to leave.

Hao Tianxiang quickly stopped her, “Where should we place the offerings? How many servings? Just regular cooked rice?”

Li Dajie, showing impatience, replied, “Normally, one serving per household is enough. But now with outsiders here, to avoid disturbing the spirits, each of you should prepare one serving as an offering. Just cook some regular rice and place it on the altar over there.”

After speaking, she pushed past Hao Tianxiang and hurried out.

[Author’s note]

Bo Hua: (Wife lost) (Desperately buys a ticket to follow) (Can't get a ticket) (Loses sanity) (Creeps in darkness) (Crawls frantically) (Crawls twistedly) (Finds wife) (Shudders) (Suppresses madness)

Thanks to the little angel who threw a landmine: zbht (Loves to raise Xiaojiao version) 1 piece;

I'm very grateful for everyone's support and will continue to work hard!