Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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A ghostly figure seemed to emerge from the shadows, remarkably like the ghostly face that had appeared on the wall.
But it lacked the eerie presence of last night. Instead, it gazed at Gu Wuji as he retreated with an indescribable expression.
The girl addressed the ghost, “Sister, didn’t you take action against those people last night? Devouring these outsiders should have freed you from your bondage, right?”
The ghost remained silent, then said, “One of those people is someone ‘he’ wants. I can’t do anything.”
The girl’s expression immediately changed, a hint of fear appearing in her eyes, clearly terrified of the being the ghost had mentioned.
“These people can’t leave anyway,” the ghost said. “And I think this person, no, he, should be able to bring some kind of change to this village…”
….
As they journeyed, they sensed that the atmosphere in the village was even more terrifying than last night. Not only was the sky utterly gloomy, but the surroundings were filled with fog, enveloping the place like a prison.
The villagers along the way all wore expressions of reticence, yet they still pointed and talked from a distance. Their faces however were pale, as if they were not in good health, creating a deeply uneasy feeling.
Someone tried to call the police, but their phones had no signal and couldn’t even open anything.
“Damn it! What the hell is going on in this place?”
“Now I just hope the village chief is more reliable…”
Even more bizarre was the fact that the village chief’s residence was actually located through a tunnel.
They navigated the tunnel in complete darkness, with villagers ahead using torches to illuminate the way.
Only then did they notice the murals on the walls. Gu Wuji turned to examine them. The murals depicted the general layout of the village. Though much of it had been abandoned, it was still quite large. Seven of the murals had x’s marked on them… no matter how one considered it, they must correspond to the seven legendary offerings.
However, those seven locations weren’t cemeteries; they were all currently inhabited by villagers. One of them was clearly the house they had stayed in last night.
Connecting this to the couple who died suddenly this morning, no matter how one thought about it, this matter seemed connected to this strange legend.
The moment Yang Shao saw the murals, he understood that it was probably no coincidence that they stayed in that building last night. This was the conspiracy of this dungeon.
And the death of the couple must have been caused by the loosening of the seal of that place, allowing the ghost that was originally a sacrifice to come out for revenge! So, it was estimated that the magic circle used by this village to suppress the female ghost was no longer stable, and if they couldn’t solve it within a certain period of time, they would probably all die here.
That female ghost was definitely not an easy existence to deal with. There was absolutely no way to rely on it, so Yang Shao couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
But how to solve it, the dungeon would not set up such a situation where death was inevitable. Even dungeons with powerful ghosts had settings that allowed them to escape after a certain period of time… Yang Shao looked at the others and felt that if there was really no other way, he would just push these people to be new sacrifices.
Yang Shao also noticed Gu Wuji’s complex expression, and he was immediately struck. Could it be that even with amnesia, Gu Wuji had thought the same thing as him… No, Gu Wuji was far more terrifying than he’d imagined. He must know more about the true nature of this dungeon.
Gu Wuji’s mind raced, and he began to suspect that this was some kind of pretext to silence Yang Shao, premeditated due to a feud between wealthy families! After all, this rumor had been circulating for so long, how could something go wrong so soon after their arrival?
The Yang family was truly ruthless, even targeting innocent passersby to achieve their goals. The lack of signal here was likely due to some tampering on their part.
Gu Wuji took a deep breath, sensing the immense trouble they were about to face. It was best not to tell anyone about this, lest others panic and be unsure of what to do.
Each of them, each with their own thoughts, slowly emerged from the cave.
The village chief’s residence was in a secluded area, surrounded by mountain walls, creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. This building also looked very shabby, with all kinds of talismans pasted on it…
If it weren’t for the fact that this was the village chief’s house, Gu Wuji and the others would have thought that this was a place to worship some strange things.
Gu Wuji tried to ask other villagers, but they all looked afraid and didn’t dare to mention it at all.
When they entered the village chief’s house, the style was surprisingly normal. Although the furnishings inside were quite old, they were at least very modern.
The village chief also looked like a reliable middle-aged man. Upon seeing this scene, he quickly asked the others to let go of Gu Wuji and the others, and then apologized to everyone, “These villagers don’t know much about what’s happening outside, so they did this to you. But they definitely don’t have any great malice.”
Although the other villagers were somewhat reluctant, they immediately changed their attitude after hearing the words of the village chief and apologized to everyone.
“I’m so sorry you were scared by those two people hanging themselves,” the village chief said with a sigh. “Actually, the couple hadn’t been mentally stable before. We’d always wanted to get that poor girl out… but we didn’t expect them to suddenly commit suicide.”
“But I heard someone talking about digging up graves and disturbing some Lord. What’s going on?” asked the bespectacled man, Duan Hongbo.
“That’s a village legend. Some time ago, some lonely graves were removed to build a road, and that caused a stir in the village,” the village chief said. “As for that Lord, he’s a deity we’ve always worshipped in our village. If you mention it outside, it’ll anger the villagers, so it’s best not to bring it up.”
Everyone expressed their understanding. After all, development in such a remote village was incredibly difficult, especially given how feudal and superstitious these villagers seemed.
“Are there two more people missing? That’s a problem. I’ll have the villagers look for them later.” The village chief frowned upon hearing the news of Yang Shao’s bodyguard’s disappearance. “The terrain around this village is very steep, making it easy to get lost… Outsiders often get lost here.”
He explained that he had been sent to the village from outside to help alleviate poverty. He had also been promoting the village’s legends and wanted to develop it into a tourist attraction. However, things hadn’t been going smoothly, so he hoped everyone would study the situation to better promote the village.
“If you wish, I’ll send someone to escort you out immediately, but there’s a major village event coming up soon, and we can’t spare the manpower right now…” The village chief looked embarrassed. “If you’re okay with that, you can stay here temporarily. As an apology, the village will provide food for all of you and answer any questions about our village customs.”
The village chief’s sincerity was so intense that it warmed everyone’s heart.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and agreed to the chief’s request.
The thought of leaving immediately vanished. After all, they had paid a heavy price to reach this shabby village. Now that they had met a reasonable person, they were naturally prepared to communicate and resolve the issue. Furthermore, the village chief had explained everything, and it seemed there were no problems.
Yang Shao knew in his heart that they probably couldn’t leave the village. According to the rules of the dungeon, they were cursed the moment they set foot in the village.
Moreover, this village chief was also extremely weird… Although he looked like a very normal man, when he was talking, his eyes did not blink once, and there was bloodshot in his eyes. This was obviously not a normal person.
Yang Shao secretly made some moves in the house so that he could be the first to know what happened here.
Gu Wuji did not tell the story of the grudges between the wealthy families. He didn’t know if the village chief was also bribed. Then he asked the village chief, “Is there a man holding an umbrella in this village… He should be quite handsome.”
The village chief was shocked, and looked at Gu Wuji as if he was looking at a ghost, as if he was wondering why Gu Wuji was still alive, “Where did you see him?”
“I saw him outside the house last night.” Gu Wuji said: “I’m a little worried about this person’s mental state. After all, ordinary people can’t do such a thing.”
Yang Shao: “…” It’s okay to worry about others’ mental state, but why don’t you worry about your own life!
The village chief’s eyes were still filled with astonishment, but he had calmed down considerably. His tone softened considerably when he addressed Gu Wuji. “He’s actually a poor fellow from our village. He often wanders around the village due to some issues. If you see him, it’s best not to disturb him.”
“Don’t you need to send him home?” Gu Wuji asked. He felt that this was indeed the case. There were really not any ghosts in this place; these were just rumors spread by people wandering around. In a rural area like this, such rumors spread easily.
But the young man’s mysterious words still concerned Gu Wuji. Was it really just the nonsense of a mentally disturbed person?
The village chief showed a subtle expression, then managed a forced smile. “If that’s what you want to do, it’s fine.”
Gu Wuji nodded. Then, the group, taking the information given by the village chief and reflecting on how smoothly their mission had gone, left with the villagers, feeling satisfied.
After everyone left, the village chief looked at Gu Wuji’s back and slowly opened the door behind him. In front of him was a pitch-black coffin that looked very gloomy. What Gu Wuji and the others had not noticed before was that the room was extremely dark and had no windows. And the candles, lamps and other things inside were actually arranged in a similar way to a mourning hall.
“I didn’t expect that new sacrifices would be delivered so soon. As long as we can hold on for these seven days… everything can continue.” A cold look appeared on the village chief’s face. It was obvious that everything that had just happened was completely his disguise. “It’s all because the people in this village are ‘incomplete’ and can’t be used as sacrifices at all. It has worried me for a long time.”
“But what’s the matter with that person? He can actually see the existence of that Lord?”
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