Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The village chief arranged for them to stay in a building at the entrance of the village.
It looked uninhabited for some time and was covered in dust, but after a quick cleanup, it was found to be in decent condition. While a bit run-down, it wasn’t a problem for a few grown men to live there.
Gu Wuji noticed that while this building wasn’t one of the seven marked ones, but it was directly across from one of them.
Standing at the door, one could clearly see the dark, dilapidated structure across from them. Even during the day, not a single ray of light could penetrate inside. The wind seemed to blow the door open, but it remained ajar with a harsh creaking sound, leaving no one knowing what lay within.
Strangest of all, the building was an exact replica of the one Gu Wuji and his companions were staying in, facing only in a different direction. It was like looking in a mirror.
The villagers helping Gu Wuji and his companions clean up were reluctant, muttering about how this place was unlucky, but since they didn’t believe in ghosts, they didn’t take it seriously.
Gu Wuji still asked with some doubt, “Did anything happen in this house before?”
“That’s all in the past.” The villager shook his head. “Since you’re someone the village chief trusts, I’ll tell you… After those things happened in the village before, those houses were already felt to be very strange. Before, nothing happened, and everyone just lived there normally.”
“But a while ago, some strange things happened in the house across the street. The most terrifying thing is that the family living here suddenly claimed to have seen a ghost, and the ghost wanted to kill them! Not long after, they went crazy and killed each other…”
“Oh? A while ago?” Gu Wuji said, “Are all the strange things in this village just happening recently?”
Thinking about it, there were so many strange things happening here. It should really not just be because of Yang Shao’s grudges with the wealthy family. There may be other reasons.
“Indeed, it’s all recently.” The villager sighed. “Who knows what’s going on? Maybe that rumored ghost is finally coming to take revenge on us. I hope he will spare us innocent people.”
“Then why don’t you leave the village?” Gu Wuji asked.
“Of course we want to leave, but we can’t! If we leave, we just come back here, like a ghost wall. Aside from the outsiders delivering and receiving goods, no one else can leave.” The villagers shook their heads. “Even your presence here shocks us.”
“Is that so…” Gu Wuji began to ponder. With his extensive reading and associative skills, he wondered if there was some kind of epidemic in the village, or if that strange mold from yesterday had infected people and caused hallucinations, making them think they were seeing ghosts and unable to leave, thus making the village so eerie.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that this must be it, and his nerves grew. He hadn’t expected this seemingly ordinary village to be so shrouded in danger. He had to find a way to spread the word.
He couldn’t leave on his own, but the village certainly needed to communicate with the outside world. He had seen tractors and tricycles parked in some villagers’ homes. If he could use these vehicles to leave… Gu Wuji’s thoughts began to stir.
By the time the villagers finished speaking, they had almost unpacked their belongings, so they left, fearing to stay even a moment longer.
Meanwhile, everyone else had already gone inside, and Xiao Qin beckoned Gu Wuji to hurry in. “Brother Gu, come on in! The village chief is so kind! He’s prepared a lot of delicious food for us. We can finally fill our bellies… Hey, eat less, save some for Brother Gu!”
The group had only eaten a small amount of food at that family’s house. After waking up this morning and having been through a lot of hardship, having walked through the mountains for most of the day, they finally had some free time. The sight of these simple meals was so touching that they almost cried.
“It must be my imagination,” Gu Wuji shook his head, turning and walking back inside.
The moment he turned, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared in the window of the building, grimly surveying the house across the street.
Yang Shao, who had been pretending to be indifferent, had just caught sight of the ghost in the building opposite, and their eyes met.
The eyes, previously slightly bewildered, suddenly transformed into a cold, almost piercing gaze, as if they had found their target.
It flashed a sinister grin at Yang Shao, and then it vanished. Yang Shao’s face paled, realizing the situation was dire. “Oh no! This ghost is targeting me! How could this be so bad… I need to think of a solution.”
He also felt incredibly lucky. He’d been standing there for so long, yet the ghost hadn’t noticed him. Instead, he’d just casually glanced around and had the bad luck to meet its gaze!
While everyone else was still eating, Yang Shao immediately and eagerly demanded to see the information.
The others were a bit surprised. Was Yang Shao usually this studious? This was so strange, it looked like he was possessed.
Yang Shao, noticing this, was startled, realizing his impatience had nearly shattered his image. He snorted, “I just want to get this over with. Who wants to stay in this shabby place any longer?”
Everyone finally agreed. They shared Yang Shao’s sentiments, sensing something was amiss in the village. Unwilling to stay for long, they immediately spread out the documents.
Some of the documents appeared old, others new, seemingly handed down from the village. Much of the writing was handwritten, but thankfully the handwriting was still legible.
The accounts of ancient events were cryptic, but they finally understood that they had occurred only a few decades earlier… They didn’t seem like legends at all, but rather real events. The clearest details in the documents concerned the seven offerings.
Following the guidance of a master, the village leaders decided to find seven offerings to seal a powerful spirit. However, selecting these offerings wasn’t a simple matter; they required certain tests and, ultimately, a powerful grudge, to seal the spirit.
The subsequent selection of the seven offerings led to a series of brutal and inhumane events. Each story was horrifying, and the thought of such events occurring in this village filled everyone with a chilling sense of unease.
At the same time, they felt they had the potential to discover a big story and were eager to uncover more details.
This finally brought up the village’s crucial coffin industry. To prevent the ghosts from attacking, the master who had devised the sinister idea had them craft coffins from a tree native to the local mountains. During the crafting process, they would carve certain patterns into the coffins. By pouring the blood of a psychic onto them, the ghosts would be suppressed within.
However, this craft had now been largely lost, with only a few veterans knowing the basics, but the specifics remained unknown. As for the psychic’s blood, it was practically unknown, and it was naturally considered a fabrication.
Yang Shao vaguely sensed that this might be the key to escaping the dungeon, potentially saving him in a crucial moment, such as sealing a ghost within a coffin should it attack him.
As for the psychics, these players, chosen by the system, were already psychics, and any amount of blood was readily available.
He subconsciously glanced at Gu Wuji, noting that he too had a grave expression.
“Could it be that he’s discovered this, too?” Yang Shao thought.
“If the village chief wants to develop this village, I think they could consider adding a haunted house or some kind of outdoor horror experience,” Gu Wuji said.
Yang Shao: “…” Why is he really thinking about something like this?!
As for the information about the building across the street, Yang Shao had also read it over and over again.
It turned out that the building across the street and this one were originally inhabited by a pair of brothers. The two families had a close relationship, so they built these houses and even agreed to do business together. But later, due to some conflicting interests, the two families became enemies.
And when something happened in the village and a sacrifice was needed, someone from the family across the street became the sacrifice. But things didn’t end there; it was clear that neither family ended well.
“So that’s how it is. It seems the village chief had no good intentions in letting us live here… But if what’s written here is true, perhaps there’s a way to resolve it.” Yang Shao was already pondering something, racking his brains and using his intelligence to figure out how he could solve the problem.
At that moment, Xiao Qin’s surprised voice echoed from behind, “There’s actually a basement here!”
Everyone followed and looked. Behind the corner of the stairs, there was a sliding iron door. Beneath it lay a deep, pitch-black cavern, chilly air rising from it.
They used their cellphone flashlights to illuminate the area below, but it was a bare basement, empty of anything. Perhaps something had once been there, but now it was just dust. A closer look revealed a dark stain on the wall, as if splattered with blood.
Everyone felt uneasy and immediately closed the door. Preparing to return to the hall to investigate further, Xiao Qin, the last one standing, felt as if someone tapped him on the shoulder. Surprised, he turned around but saw no one.
“What’s going on? Is this Yang Shao’s prank?” Xiao Qin turned again, but the others had vanished. Even as a staunch disbeliever in ghosts, a sense of dread crept in, and he hurried forward.
But strangely, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move. It was as if his body was frozen in place—no, it was as if a pair of hands were gripping him.
Cold sweat broke out on Xiao Qin’s face. He tried to cry for help but couldn’t utter a single word. He was so frightened that he nearly fainted. He could clearly see a terrifying ghost face looming on the wall, grinning at him. At that moment, all the information he had read flooded back into Xiao Qin’s mind, and his breath almost stopped.
“A-A ghost…”
Xiao Qin’s heart nearly leaped into his throat!
But then he suddenly found himself able to move. He took a step forward but fell to the ground. Looking down, he saw a pair of bony hands tightly grasping his legs.
“Let go! I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent!”
Xiao Qin struggled to move backwards but suddenly bumped into something hard. He was startled. There was a door behind him, so how could he have bumped into something?
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of cold light, like the reflection of a sharp blade. Could it be that this ghost was planning to kill him with it?
“Ah…”
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