After pondering for a long time, Min Yue felt it would be better to give “Lala” a heads-up.
Main Line Boss: “Lala, where are you guys now?”
Lala’s Main Line: “Oh, we’ve already set off.”
Main Line Boss: “Make a note of this when you arrive: Shenyin Village is inside Shenyin Mountain, right? Well, Shenyin Mountain has a maze array.”
Lala’s Main Line: “Boss, received. A few of the people I brought with me are skilled at breaking arrays.”
Main Line Boss: “Mm.”
Lala’s Main Line: “Hey, where’s the Little Villain?”
Min Yue glanced at Lantian, who was sleeping with his eyes closed, and then looked at Yu Shengyan, who was carrying Lantian effortlessly.
Main Line Boss: “Enjoying the protagonist’s special treatment.”
Lala’s Main Line: “What?”
Main Line Boss: “Hurry up, will you?”
Lala’s Main Line: “Oh, I’ve already arrived.”
Main Line Boss: “What?! That fast?”
Lala’s Main Line: “It’s not that fast; we actually set off ages ago. The original goal was to enter Shenyin Village and look for you guys on the way…”
Main Line Boss: “…Alright. Is ‘Li’ still there?”
Lala’s Main Line: “Of course, though he nags me every single day… Oh, by the way, we’re about to enter the mountain. It’s so gloomy in here… not a sliver of light.”
Main Line Boss: “Hmm? Are you sure you’ve entered Shenyin Mountain?”
Lala’s Main Line: “Of course, certain and positive.”
Min Yue looked up at the large sun hanging high in the branches; the light was still blindingly piercing… Wait, that’s not right… How can anyone call such bright sunlight ‘gloomy’?
Lantian: “I’m here…”
Min Yue was startled. He looked at Yu Shengyan and saw that Lantian was still in a deep sleep.
Main Line Boss: “You’re awake?”
Lantian: “Awake, but I don’t dare move…”
Lala’s Main Line: “Glad you’re here. I’m finally going to meet you guys! And my dear protagonist, I wonder if he’ll be happy when he sees me, his ‘mother’… hahaha…”
Main Line Boss: “…I don’t think he will be happy…”
Lantian: So that’s Lala’s real identity…
Lantian felt the protagonist’s soft, firm arms while reading the chat log in his mind. He tried to imagine Lala—a chatterbox mom talking to the protagonist… Yeah… that’s a bit hard to picture…
Main Line Boss: “Lala, why do I feel like you’ve gone to the wrong place? We’re standing under direct, scorching sunlight right now…”
Lantian: “That’s right, I can feel it too.”
Lala’s Main Line: “Ah… but there’s a stone tablet right here, and it clearly says ‘Shenyin Mountain’… even though the tablet is tattered, I can still see the characters for Shenyin Mountain.”
Is it possible that there are two Shenyin Mountains by such a coincidence?
Lala’s Main Line: “Oh my, why is there a grave out here? Why is it placed so far out in the open…”
A grave? That’s not too surprising, is it?
Min Yue and Lantian both thought this, but then Lala sent another message.
Lala’s Main Line: “My god, there are five more graves behind this one… Is this a ‘grave mountain’…? I’m a little scared.”
Main Line Boss: “…With Little Mengmeng by your side, you’re still afraid of ghosts?”
Lala’s Main Line: “No… Among those five graves, I actually saw one with the surname ‘Yu’… Hey, the name on this main grave… it looks so familiar.”
Main Line Boss: “The surname ‘Yu’ isn’t that strange. Who decreed that only your people are allowed to have that surname?”
Lantian suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked Lala’s main line.
Lantian: “Lala, what are the names on those five graves?”
Lala’s Main Line: “No names, only surnames. The characters on the five graves are Yu, Qi, Fan, Yu, and Han…”
Yu, Qi, Fan, Yu, Han?
Lantian repeated these five surnames in his head and finally realized it.
Lantian: “Do you guys remember that Little Transparent’s name is Xiao Qi, and Little Zhi-Zhi’s name is Han Nankan…? Isn’t that ‘Qi’ and ‘Han’?”
Main Line Boss: “You’re right! Yu, Qi, Fan, Yu, Han… Wait, Yu Qiu and Fan Ren!”
Lala’s Main Line: “Don’t scare me, guys. Yu Qiu and Fan Ren happened to come with me…”
Lantian: “Yu Qiu and that Fan Ren? Why did you bring them? Aren’t they disciples?”
Lala’s Main Line: “Well, the Little Villain is too charismatic. They pulled some strings just to follow me. Especially that Fan Ren, he kept saying how much he missed the Senior Brother and that he had to find a way to destroy you…”
Lantian: “…Is it my fault that the protagonist chopped off his hand…?”
Lala’s Main Line: “What? So it was the protagonist who chopped it off! Well done! He’s so annoying, chirping on and on every day…”
Lantian: “But… this is too coincidental! How could there be tombstones for these five people? And three of them are actors…”
Lala’s Main Line: “I’m so scared…”
Lantian: “What about the main grave? Does it still have just a surname?”
Lala’s Main Line: “No, the main grave has a full name carved on it. The name is… Jialuo.”
Lantian: “!”
Main Line Boss: “!”
Jialuo’s grave? Min Yue instantly raised his head to look at Jialuo.
Jialuo was still diligently checking the route, occasionally brushing aside branches, dutifully leading the way.
Lantian: “Lala, is there anyone inside the grave?”
Lala’s Main Line: “This… that’s not right to look at, is it? You want me to pry open a coffin?”
Lantian: “Little Mengmeng gave me a mission earlier to find Jialuo’s life story. If Jialuo’s name appears on that grave… it’s definitely related to the mission. I think… that Shenyin Mountain you’re at must be the original one.”
Main Line Boss: “This mission is definitely not simple.”
Lantian: “Lala, just check. If I’m not mistaken, there… there is someone in that grave.”
Lala’s Main Line: Gulps “Little Villain, you’re scaring me! Hey… I opened it.”
Lala’s Main Line: “Little Villain, you were wrong. The grave is empty…”
Lantian was shocked. He had assumed Jialuo was already dead, which was why he looked so hollow when he first appeared… like an empty shell…
Main Line Boss: “What about those five graves?”
Lala’s Main Line: “There’s no one in those five graves either…”
Lantian: “How strange. Was the grave just there to scare us?”
Main Line Boss: “Scare us? We are just actors. Once we leave this world, we have no further connection to it. It shouldn’t be to scare us…”
Lala’s Main Line: “Then what is the meaning of these graves?”
Lantian: “It’s getting more and more bizarre…”
Lala’s Main Line: “Oh well, the mission still has to be done. If something happens, I’ve got the Little Villain anyway.”
Lantian: “…I, I will try my best.”
“Holy Master, we have arrived.”
After Jialuo led them up and down various paths, they finally reached the Shenyin Village he had mentioned. Yu Shengyan and Min Yue looked at the village.
It was an extremely ordinary, unremarkable town. Outside, there was a slightly dilapidated small gate with a wooden sign hanging from it. The sign bore three elegant, unrestrained characters that didn’t match the ruinous surroundings at all: Shenyin Village.
It was still midday. One could see civilians in cloth garments in the village, and a few mischievous children chasing each other on the street.
When Jialuo saw his home, he was clearly very happy. He turned his head and introduced it to Yu Shengyan and the others: “This is where he was born and raised.”
Yu Shengyan frowned. He looked at the village… and felt a strange, repulsive sensation in his heart…
“Wait, bringing the Senior Brother inside will cause trouble!” Yu Shengyan looked at Lantian. He could imagine that once the Senior Brother entered this village, he would be like a wolf in a sheep’s pen. Even if he could control Lantian, if something went wrong… Lantian would surely become the target of everyone’s wrath once again.
“Nothing will go wrong.” Jialuo smiled: “The Lord came from this village; this is also his home.”
Oh? My home, you say? Lantian grew curious…
Lala’s Main Line: “We’ve walked up! Shenyin Village is right here! And you, Boss, you said we were in the wrong place.”
Main Line Boss: “You arrived too? Why can’t I see you?”
Lala’s Main Line: “I don’t see you either. We’re right in front of the Shenyin Village sign.”
Min Yue and Lantian felt a chill in their hearts.
Min Yue looked around. They were standing right in front of that sign, but… there was absolutely no sign of Lala and her group…
Main Line Boss: “Describe the scene you’re seeing.”
Lala’s Main Line: “Ahead of me is a ruined village. It looks like it hasn’t been lived in for decades. There are two narrow footpaths nearby, and the road is covered in weeds.”
A ruined village? Min Yue looked at the thriving town in front of them, where the villagers had already noticed them and were waving in their direction. It didn’t look like a place that had been abandoned for decades at all…
But… the scene Lala described matched their surroundings perfectly, and there were indeed two narrow footpaths on either side…
What on earth is going on?