Chapter 8: Night Stroll in Yin Village 06

Chapter 8: Night Stroll in Yin Village 06

Ticking.

Ticking.

Viscous, warm liquid dripped onto Qin Fei's forehead, tracing a slow path down his brow and along the contours of his eye sockets. The scent of blood seeped in through the crevices of the coffin, transforming from a faint whisper to a rich, heavy aroma that gradually filled the entire sealed space.

The temperature within the coffin was previously identical to that outdoors, but it had now become unusually frigid.

Qin Fei's exposed skin prickled with goosebumps. He blinked, shaking off the blood droplets clinging to his eyelashes.

Inside the coffin, it was pitch black, and Qin Fei could see nothing. Yet, an eerie chill persistently brushed against the nape of his neck.

An odd sensation tingled at the back of his neck, a fine itch that traveled along his spine straight to his brain. Every inch of his skin frantically sounded alarms, all declaring the same chilling truth: A cold hand was slowly ascending up Qin Fei's back.

"Chuckles... Ha ha ah ha..."

A gender-indeterminate giggle echoed in Qin Fei's ear, seeming distant yet strangely close.

The scene should have been chilling, but Qin Fei felt no fear at all.

He lay quietly in the coffin, his heartbeat, breathing, and every rhythm of his body remaining normal, as if he were a breathing corpse.

On the other side of a light barrier, in the live broadcast hall, viewers were already whispering in confusion.

"What's going on now?"

"I've never seen that hand before. Is it a new plot addition? But speaking of which, this streamer is so brave, not even showing any fear."

"I'm truly impressed. His sanity meter hasn't dropped at all. The system must be glitched..."

If Qin Fei could see the viewer's comments, he might have smiled helplessly.

Although it sounded a bit inappropriate, he really didn't want this to happen.

The sensation from behind still persisted.

Qin Fei's mind was alert, and he blinked slowly. Keeping his body still, he tried to glimpse the appearance of the thing behind him by moving his eyes.

The hand glided along Qin Fei's ear, intentionally or coincidentally, always evading the edge of his vision.

No good, he simply couldn't see it.

Qin Fei slowly turned his head backward.

Upon sensing Qin Fei's attempt to move, the hand instantly became displeased. Its slender fingers curled into a tight grip, attempting to keep Qin Fei's head in place.

"Ugh—"

The hand was pressing against the base of Qin Fei's neck with excessive force, causing him to choke out a dry retch, followed by a violent bout of coughing that flushed the young man's face red.

If this were before Qin Fei entered the instance dungeon, such a severe coughing fit would likely have landed him in the hospital.

However, the instance world not only repaired Qin Fei's body, shattered by the car accident before his death, but also healed his numerous health issues.

As a result, Qin Fei only coughed a few times. The expected searing pain in his lungs never materialized.

From this perspective, entering the instance world wasn't entirely a bad thing. In this fleeting moment, Qin Fei unexpectedly found a hint of amusement amidst his suffering.

The young man's intense reaction seemed to startle the hand.

It quickly withdrew. Seeing that Qin Fei was no longer coughing, the hand hovered in mid-air for a few seconds, then slowly descended, resting on Qin Fei's back.

Immediately after, it began patting his back rhythmically, as if assisting him in catching his breath, seemingly fearful of causing any harm from the coughing fit.

Qin Fei: "...."

Why on earth would such an odd, motherly and filial scene unfold within a coffin?

Being caressed by a monster was far from a pleasant experience.

Yet, Qin Fei remained composed, even taking the opportunity to turn his head slightly and scrutinize the hand more closely.

Calling it a hand was accurate—it was indeed just that, a hand.

From the fingertips to the elbow, it was a complete female arm, with smooth skin. The severed end vanished into thin air, as if erased by an eraser, creating an eerie sight.

In the very moment Qin Fei took in the entire arm, a notification bar appeared above the hand.

"Ghost Maiden's Hand: Affection???%"

Qin Fei had never seen an affection level indicated with question marks before; it piqued his interest.

Since there was no warning like the bus driver's "Unattainable," it suggested that this hand might still be trainable.

Clearing his throat, Qin Fei cautiously greeted the hand, "Hey?"

In truth, Qin Fei had long stopped coughing, but the hand seemed to respond slowly, persistently patting his back.

Seizing the opportunity, he flattered, "Thank you, you're so considerate."

The hand paused, its five fingers danced happily for a moment, and then Qin Fei noticed the text in mid-air had changed.

"Ghost Maiden's Hand: Affection 10%"

Qin Fei: ????

"Your fingers have such an elegant shape," he tactfully praised further.

This time, the affinity increased straight to 20%, followed by a small parenthesis.

"Ghoul's Hand: Affinity 20% (The hand finds you agreeable and is willing to continue communicating with you.)"

...It was unexpectedly easy to win over.

Qin Fei raised an eyebrow. He had initially thought that all NPCs in this world would be as difficult to approach as tour guides.

Should he continue the conversation?

Qin Fei blinked and chose a neutral topic to test the waters. "Why are you here?"

The fingers curled slightly, as if pondering Qin Fei's question.

After a moment, it began dancing up and down inside the coffin.

Its movements seemed devoid of any recognizable meaning, and it wasn't using sign language. Qin Fei observed with a frown before suggesting, "Can you write?"

The hand moved up and down twice, floating toward one side of the coffin. Its long nails scratched against the wooden walls of the coffin, producing a grating creaking sound that made teeth ache.

Regrettably, the interior of the coffin was too dimly lit for such precise work as reading characters.

Realizing its efforts were futile, the hand returned to Qin Fei's front and resumed gesturing.

It tried earnestly, but the confined space inside the coffin and its large gestures caused it to bang against the coffin walls with a clattering noise.

Anyone could tell that its desire to communicate was intense.

Unfortunately, despite all its efforts, Qin Fei still couldn't understand a thing.

The hand's movements grew more and more urgent, until finally, it simply spread out all five fingers, attempting to lift the coffin lid.

Was it getting frustrated? Qin Fei naturally couldn't let the hand open the coffin. Swiftly, he reached out and grasped the protruding wooden beams on either side of the lid.

Their hands remained locked in a stalemate within the coffin.

After a while, the hand seemed to grow tired and lethargically landed on Qin Fei's body, half-giving up.

With its five fingers, it brushed against Qin Fei's wrinkled clothing in an irregular rhythm, as if stroking the fur of some small animal.

...Why does this ghostly entity seem somewhat clumsy?

Qin Fei managed to suppress the twitching at the corner of his lips, swiftly assessing his current situation in his mind.

He had no idea why this hand had entered his "room." Ever since Hua Qiwei's death, the mortuary had remained eerily quiet, and it was unlikely that others' coffins had experienced the same phenomenon as his.

Qin Fei was certain that he hadn't violated any known rules thus far.

Similarly, the players had been moving as a group after entering the dungeon; Qin Fei hadn't had the chance to individually break any unknown rules.

The stone statue that killed Hua Qiwei had entered the mortuary right after midnight, and from the start of Hua Qiwei's screams until they fell silent, less than two minutes had passed.

However, more than ten minutes had elapsed since the Ghost Lady's hand entered Qin Fei's room, yet it still hadn't inflicted any tangible harm on him.

Moreover, the guide had mentioned that one couldn't leave their "room" from midnight until dawn.

Qin Fei finally made up his mind.

Though uncertain why the hand had targeted him, since its intentions didn't seem malevolent, he decided to adopt a passive approach and wait for things to unfold.

Anyway, he wasn't afraid.

As for whether this is the right choice, only time will tell, and we must take a gamble.

Qin Fei closed his eyes, resting his interlocked hands gently on his abdomen.

The gentle caresses on his back continued, and after a while, the hand started fiddling with something, causing a series of faint rattling sounds to echo within the coffin.

Indeed, it didn't bother Qin Fei again.

It was unclear how much time had passed when the temperature inside the coffin gradually rose.

It was over.

Qin Fei silently exhaled in relief, not bothering to change his position before he dozed off.

...

In the Live Broadcast Hall, in a corner of the experience zone, the Xiangxi scenario where Qin Fei was located had become the liveliest area in the vicinity.

Almost half of the spirits in the hall had gathered in this tiny corner, making it crowded beyond capacity.

"This is a Ghost Maiden's hand? Wasn't she supposed to appear only after the third day? How can her hand move by itself??"

"His sanity value is still intact despite that!?"

"Forget about it dropping, he isn't even moving anymore. His body must be stiffening!"

"What's going on? The Ghost Maiden wasn't supposed to kill in this scenario."

"I had my eye on this seedling! I just bet 1000 points on him at the Newcomers' Casino. Is he really dead so soon???"

Voices filled with doubt rose up in front of the screen.

In the dimly lit scene, the youth lay expressionless in the center of the coffin, his brows slightly furrowed, and his long eyelashes casting shadows on his face. Coupled with the eerie walls of the coffin behind him, he indeed appeared to have passed away.

The spirits who had placed their bets on Qin Fei were assembled anxiously and dejectedly in front of the screen, exchanging theories about what had gone wrong.

Until someone in the image suddenly pressed their lips together.

"…Did I see it wrong? It seems like he moved?"

"He's not dead?"

"He's definitely not dead! If he were, his screen would have gone dark by now after such a long time. Look, isn't everything still normal?"

Of course, Qin Fei wasn't dead.

He was sleeping soundly, even letting out a gentle snore as he turned over, much like a cat dozing off.

Audience: "…."

Could someone please explain how someone could fall asleep while being touched by a ghostly hand??

"Darn it! If it weren't for the fact that his history of live broadcasts is zero, I wouldn't believe he's a newbie!"

"Can the panel be deceiving us?"

"I'm starting to doubt the existence of ghosts!"

...

The night passed without any dreams.

For Qin Fei, this was a rare and peaceful sleep. Strangely, after entering this bizarre instance world, the nightmares that had plagued him for years mysteriously vanished. The next morning, Qin Fei woke up early, his internal clock rousing him precisely at seven o'clock.

Qin Fei blinked and lifted the lid of the coffin.

Daylight flooded his vision. Surprisingly, the other players in the mortuary were even more punctual, scattered around the courtyard in small groups, their whispered conversations drifting near and far into Qin Fei's ears.

The village of Yin Guard was still shrouded in thick fog today. The daylight was obscured by heavy clouds, casting an ethereal mist over everything within sight. However, the crisp morning air lifted Qin Fei's spirits.

Not far away, Xiao Xiao noticed that Qin Fei was awake and started walking towards him.

Qin Fei's eyes curved into a smile, his beautiful amber irises shimmering with mirth. He waved a hand while greeting, "Hey, good morning~"

Xiao Xiao: "...Hey?"

Who could enlighten him on what was happening? How did the mighty Qin Fei look so much better after just one night?

His complexion was rosy and radiant, as if he had been rejuvenated.

Could it really be possible for someone to sleep well inside a mission instance? Xiao Xiao felt that his worldview was once again being challenged.

With an indescribable expression, Xiao Xiao gazed at Qin Fei. A strange hue in the corner of his eye caught his attention, causing his scalp to tingle. "Why is there blood in your coffin?"

Qin Fei let out a soft "hum." "Well, I didn't notice it. Perhaps it was already there in the coffin?"

"Is that so?" Xiao Xiao was taken aback, feeling an inexplicable sense of discomfort, but unable to pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

Qin Fei pursed his lips, his smile gentle and obedient as he nodded earnestly. "Of course."

"Alright then." Xiao Xiao found himself inexplicably swayed by Qin Fei's smile.

Qin Fei blinked, his long eyelashes casting a delicate shadow on his cheeks.

Despite having lifted the coffin lid, a subtle scent of blood could still be discerned upon closer sniffing.

That must be the scent left behind by Ghost Hand last night.

Qin Fei never expected that it had left so much blood inside the coffin.

Recalling the rustling sounds he heard just before falling asleep last night, Qin Fei's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Following the trail of blood, he pressed down inch by inch until his touch paused at a particular spot.

Under his fingers, the surface was uneven with fine scratches.

It was text.

Ghost Hand had actually carved a line of words into the coffin using its nails.

No wonder so much blood had been spilled; perhaps its fingertips were worn raw. Qin Fei felt a strange sympathy for the dungeon boss.

The engravings were very shallow, and Qin Fei struggled to distinguish them, bit by bit.

Dot, vertical stroke, dot, horizontal stroke...

The first word was "Swift."

The second—Qin Fei's breath hitched.

Run, swiftly.

That was the message the Ghost Maiden left for him.

Flee quickly.

Do not trust anyone.