Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Once the thought took hold, Gu Wuji’s mind raced. He immediately recalled various events from his past, feeling that each one seemed to contain some kind of mystery.
But upon closer reflection, everything felt incredibly real, except for some haziness in his childhood memories.
“Look!” Yang Shao suddenly patted Gu Wuji’s shoulder, his voice hushed. “What are those people doing?”
Gu Wuji turned to look and noticed that the group appeared to be leaving the village. The others wore expressions of disapproval, clearly not wanting to find the goddess’s bride. Meanwhile, the young man who looked exactly like him slowly walked towards them.
Gu Wuji didn’t know how to describe his feelings; in the end, he chose to calmly admire his own good looks.
Hearing the noise, the woman inside happily opened the door, but the young man outside didn’t go in immediately. He subtly avoided the room, then whispered to the woman, “Things are all taken care of. Just do as we said before and go to the agreed location around dawn.”
At this point, they were already feeling confused; it was as if they were being forced to watch a plot unfold. Did this ghost create this illusion because he dreamed of showing movies?
Gu Wuji had initially thought that if they were eloping, why not just take them all with them? Then he noticed that this room seemed unusual. Although it appeared ordinary at first glance, a closer look revealed a strong sense of resentment within, and even the faint faces of vengeful spirits groaning on it.
Looking through the window, the woman inside also had a strange expression, completely unlike a normal person.
“This house is really too eerie.” Yang Shao frowned. “We’d better not go near it.”
“Hmm.” Gu Wuji nodded. “It seems this village was already strange before that incident. No wonder the villagers did those things afterward… I guess the sacrificers are already quite skilled.”
“Are you sure nothing will happen?” The woman’s tone was still somewhat uneasy as she asked nervously. “What if they catch us?”
“No one will come to catch you.” The young man’s voice carried a hint of complexity. “I’ve already made arrangements with ‘him.’ And when the ritual begins, they won’t have any more time.”
Gu Wuji and Yang Shao listened, feeling that the other person’s words seemed to reveal something.
But it was the usual pretentious way people in this instance spoke, always evasive and vague.
After listening for a long time, they had to fill in the gaps with their own imaginations, otherwise they wouldn’t understand what was being said at all! Gu Wuji thought that if this person really was him, why wasn’t he treated better?! Speaking so mysteriously, is being pretentious that fun?!
…Of course, being pretentious is fun.
“Maybe this isn’t your average scumb*g,” Yang Shao mused. “He must know something, and he’s doing this with a plan. Maybe he’s the villainous boss of this instance!”
Gu Wuji: “…I don’t think so! This might be a misunderstanding.”
If it really was him, Gu Wuji believed he could never be a scumb*g, but maybe this was a trap set by the instance…
“Anyway, let’s follow and see what happens.”
After giving the two of them a series of confusing instructions, such as never looking back when leaving the village, the young man turned and left, their figures disappearing into the mist.
Gu Wuji and Yang Shao immediately chased after them. Seeing the others enter the mist, Gu Wuji’s intuition told him he had to follow, so he rushed into the mist.
Yang Shao hesitated for a moment. He knew without looking that the mist was dangerous, but remembering how Gu Wuji had saved him several times, he sighed and followed with his items.
Walking in the fog gradually became difficult. The surrounding buildings were blurred, and only the faint shadows of people ahead kept Gu Wuji and Yang Shao from falling behind. Suddenly, a commotion erupted from one side, interrupting their progress.
Several twisted, grotesque ghosts emerged from one side of the alleyway. These weren’t just memories from a hallucination for Gu Wuji; they were beings imbued with intense resentment. Even the reckless Gu Wuji froze in the face of such danger. Fortunately, the ghosts seemed oblivious to them, wandering aimlessly around them. While not particularly dangerous, this made it impossible for Gu Wuji and Yang Shao to proceed. After a few breaths of hesitation, the shadows vanished completely.
“Damn it, we can’t get through like this,” Yang Shao frowned. “Should we turn back?”
“I think that’s impossible,” Gu Wuji said. Only then did Yang Shao notice that a large number of ghosts had appeared behind them, also wandering aimlessly like lost spirits.
The only place they could go was the large red door beside this alley.
Everything seemed to have led them here. Both of them sensed a conspiracy.
“Let’s go in.” Gu Wuji didn’t hesitate. Since they were already in this illusion, what was the use of hesitating? They might as well just go for it.
Yang Shao nodded, and they pushed open the door and entered.
What they didn’t notice was that after they entered, a figure holding an umbrella slowly walked out of the mist and glanced at them.
The two immediately saw that it was a spacious, dark hall, and there were seven empty coffins inside.
“What’s going on?” Gu Wuji was a little surprised. “Wasn’t it said that after the female ghost appeared, a master would guide them inside the coffins? Why are they already…”
“It seems that the rumors we heard were indeed wrong. It’s probably a smokescreen for this instance.” Yang Shao walked forward and carefully examined each coffin. They were all empty.
Gu Wuji continued walking and found a thick book lying ahead, just like the one the village chief had given them, but it looked even older.
“This is it.” Gu Wuji opened it directly and immediately saw that the book meticulously recorded all sorts of events in the village, including the truth they wanted to know.
From some unknown time, the village had received the protection of a certain god. However, the villagers didn’t cherish it, taking everything for granted, and even committed many disrespectful acts, angering the god and causing calamity upon the village. The villagers couldn’t easily leave this place, and everyone was plagued by misfortune. Even those who just wanted to live ordinary lives constantly encountered various troubles. Moreover, without anyone noticing, a large number of monsters appeared in the village, making people afraid to go out at night, and many people died mysteriously… In such a situation, everyone was struggling to protect themselves, so naturally they didn’t care how others died. Under these circumstances, it was unknown what wise person suggested, but they came up with the idea of offering a bride to the god to temporarily appease his anger… But this was not the end of the story.
These coffins were prepared for future sacrifices. Legend had it that if all the sacrifices were gathered while the god was distracted on his wedding day, the god would fall into a deep sleep, and everything would return to normal. Of course, these things were done discreetly.
As for why the woman was chosen as a sacrifice, there was a basis for it. It was said that on a certain day, she caused a disturbance in the god’s mind, and thus she was considered the woman the god favored.
Gu Wuji didn’t know who was so bored as to write everything down in detail, but it was a good thing for them.
Afterwards, several outsiders arrived. Normally, such people shouldn’t enter the village before or after the ceremony, but the god personally allowed them in, so these outsiders received VIP treatment.
That was all for now.
“Sure enough, the story of that female ghost was just a rumor. The truly terrifying person is actually that so-called god.” Yang Shao’s expression turned serious. He knew without a doubt that this god would be difficult to deal with, unlike the previous vengeful ghosts that Gu Wuji had easily subdued.
“Those outsiders are also strange. Could they have some other connection with the gods? Could one of them have become a so-called sacrifice?”
“Judging from the situation, the ritual should have been successful, and the god should have successfully fallen asleep.” Gu Wuji said, “But he is slowly waking up, which is why all sorts of strange things are happening in the village… If we want to leave this instance, are we going to imitate what happened back then? Like the event the village is about to hold.”
“Regardless of whether the other side will repeat the same mistake, to do that, we have to offer the god a bride first.” Yang Shao took a deep breath. “We have no idea what kind of taste he likes. Maybe he just happens to like that female ghost from before?”
“Who knows.” Gu Wuji closed the book. Yang Shao’s words reminded him of his own past experiences of cross-dressing. Would the system be so cruel as to make him cross-dress in this instance again? “Then let’s just catch that female ghost.”
Yang Shao: “?” How come catching a ghost is as simple as catching a cricket in your mouth?
Gu Wuji: “Anyway, that female ghost is still in this village.” After all, he dreamed of her as soon as he arrived, so it was clear she was probably living quite comfortably.
“Now, let’s just wait and see when this illusion ends.”
….
After midnight, the village suddenly became lively, and the eerie ghosts in the mist disappeared. This allowed Gu Wuji and Yang Shao to finally emerge from the house.
Of course, this liveliness was even more unsettling; there was only a cacophony of sounds, but upon closer listening, no human voices could be heard. Soon after, footsteps sounded in unison, and one by one, villagers with blurred faces and stiff expressions emerged from their houses.
Whether it was a special effect of the space or something else, these people looked completely devoid of any living presence, their eyes lifeless, further enhancing the terrifying effect.
A sedan chair carried by several strong young villagers passed before Gu Wuji, and Gu Wuji and Yang Shao immediately followed.
The villagers carried the sedan chair to a secluded spot at the village entrance, and then they all retreated. All the other villagers returned to their houses, seemingly avoiding something.
But the woman in the sedan chair stepped out directly, ignoring them completely, and ran quickly towards the edge of the village.
“Follow her!”
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