Crouching behind the gauze curtain and burning paper was a hunched-backed old man. He wore black clothes, black cloth shoes, and a black hat. From head to toe, only his hair was white.
He showed no intention of acknowledging the players, simply extending his swollen fingers to pick up yellow sheets of paper, one by one, and place them into the brazier before him.
Qi Si asked, "Old man, who are you burning these papers for?"
The old man didn't turn around, his voice raspy as he answered, "I'm sending a message to the Joy God."
"A message?"
"I'm burning prayer papers. I silently repeat the words I want to say in my heart, and the Lady will be able to see them."
Qi Si stroked his chin, intrigued. "How do you know the Joy God can read? What if she's illiterate?"
The old man fell silent for a second before whipping his head around. "What does a youngster like you know? Spouting nonsense!"
Qi Si got a clear look at him. The old man had a face as wrinkled as Mrs. Xu's, but without the white powder. His complexion was darker, making him look more like a living person.
After a few moments passed without a word from Qi Si, the old man, assuming he had intimidated him, went back to burning the yellow papers.
Qi Si moved closer and crouched down beside him. He picked up a few sheets of yellow paper himself and slowly placed them in the brazier.
Du Xiaoyu couldn't figure out what Qi Si was up to, but reasoning that it was safer to trust a veteran player than himself, he followed suit, grabbing a stack of paper to burn.
Shang Qingbei watched the suddenly expanding army of paper-burners, his eyelid twitching. "Qi Wen, what are you all doing?"
Without looking up, Qi Si replied, "Burning paper for an acquaintance of mine. I figure these supernatural things in the Weird Game might be more effective than in the outside world. Who knows, maybe it'll actually send a message?"
Shang Qingbei: "..." *Is this veteran player insane?*
The temple was eerily silent. The sound of their breathing was swallowed by the crackling flames, as if the space were empty, devoid of people, ghosts, and gods.
The curtain separating the side chamber from the corridor fluttered in a faint breeze, like a drop of blood falling into clear water, letting the color slowly diffuse.
Beside the blazing brazier, the old man in black hunched over, his head bowed, his expression focused and earnest. The hand holding the yellow paper trembled slightly, unsteadily feeding one sheet after another into the fire.
The yellow paper blackened and curled in the flames, shriveling like decaying bones within seconds. It dissolved into the thick layer of black ash already collected in the brazier, with only a few fragments lifted by the heat, disintegrating into invisible motes in the air.
After burning papers for a while, Qi Si spoke up abruptly. "Old man, with so many prayer papers, what is it you want to say to the Joy God?"
The old man said impatiently, "I'm just burning them. Why so many questions? It's the same words every year—asking for the Lady's blessing, praying for our peace and safety."
The firelight flickered across his face, illuminating it in shifting patches of light and shadow, making his expression impossible to read.
Qi Si raised an eyebrow slightly. "Do you always come here to burn offerings and pray for blessings?"
"Yes. I'm the one who looks after this temple."
"Mrs. Xu told me your town is haunted, and everyone comes here to ask the Joy God to suppress the spirits." Qi Si adopted a gossipy tone, his eyes showing just the right amount of curiosity, like a simple tourist eager to hear some local ghost stories. It was a casual question, meant to be heard just as casually.
But the old man's expression changed. The corners of his eyes and mouth twitched, and the deep furrows on his face contorted like writhing snakes, as if he'd recalled something deeply painful.
Qi Si, pretending not to notice, said with a smile, "Your town is always celebrating happy events. It seems so lively and festive. The ferryman who brought us here also said you have good water, a place that gathers wealth and blessings. From a feng shui perspective, it doesn't seem like the kind of place that would be haunted."
He left his statement hanging. The old man was silent for a long time before tossing the yellow paper in his hand to the ground and letting out a long sigh. "It's a sin."
He clearly knew something.
Du Xiaoyu and Shang Qingbei held their breath and leaned in closer, straining their ears to listen.
But the old man abruptly cut himself off.
Qi Si asked, "Did something happen?"
The old man shook his head. "What could happen? Our town is peaceful and law-abiding. And with the Joy God's protection, what could possibly go wrong?"
"Oh?" Qi Si feigned surprise, standing up and taking a few steps back. He turned and pointed toward the other side chamber. "Then what's the deal with those coffins?"
Six identical coffins lay there, perfectly still and silent. Their solid black color was a stark, jarring contrast to the blood-red temple.
Shang Qingbei finally understood. Qi Si hadn't eagerly gone to burn paper to send a message to an acquaintance at all; he was just trying to get close to the old man to coax out more information.
*You really can't trust a single word 'Qi Wen' says...* Shang Qingbei's eyes darkened as his opinion of him was once again reinforced.
Qi Si held the identity card from his chest, fiddling with it idly. "Old man, are those the recently deceased in those coffins? Holding a wake in a temple... that's a rare custom."
The old man could apparently read. Upon seeing the words "Folklore Investigator" on the identity card, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened.
He put down the yellow paper, pushed himself up with a hand on his lower back, and stared fixedly at Qi Si with eyes sunken deep in their wrinkled sockets, as if trying to peer through flesh and into his very soul.
After a long moment, he stretched his toothless mouth into a grin, letting out a wheezing "heh heh" sound like a broken bellows. "After lying in state for seven days, they become people of the town."
Qi Si's eyes shot up. He watched as the old man's coarse skin suddenly began to peel away layer by layer, like an onion, revealing bluish-black flesh underneath, like the patina on a faded bronze statue.
"Run!" Shang Qingbei was the first to react, shouting out.
The word was barely out of his mouth before he was clutching his dictionary tightly and bolting for the door.
Qi Si placed his hand over his Fate Pocket Watch, wanting to observe for a few more seconds.
The next second, a putrid stench washed over them. The old man's flesh began to ripple like water, and fat white maggots squirmed out from under his skin, burrowing in and out of the rotting meat that oozed a thick, foul liquid.
Countless unknown black insects swarmed from his mouth and nose, covering his body like a tide. He shrank inch by inch—or more accurately, he was devoured inch by inch by the insects.
...On second thought.
Qi Si decisively abandoned the idea of observing longer for clues and began backing away step by step, trying not to make a sound that would alert any other presence in the temple.
Du Xiaoyu, one foot already across the threshold, was the first to see what was outside.
He jumped back in fright, pointing outside with a stutter, "Y-you guys, look! W-what is that?"
Qi Si looked in the direction he was pointing. Outside the Joy God Temple, white mist churned, and scattered, dusty-gray figures stood within it, slowly drawing closer.
The nearest figure was only five paces away, close enough to see it was a statue dressed in festive wedding clothes. Much of its body was faded, but its face was intact, outlined in red and white to form a bizarre and enormous smiling face.
"Close the door," Qi Si said.
Du Xiaoyu's face was a mask of despair. "Wouldn't that be trapping ourselves in here with them?"
Qi Si glanced back at the right-side chamber. After devouring the old man, the black insects had dissipated into black smoke, leaving only a black set of clothes to flutter to the ground, which were quickly swarmed by plump white maggots. A *creaking* sound came from the direction of the Joy God Statue, mixed with the *pitter-patter* of flaking paint hitting the floor.
The male and female statues at the base of the Joy God's throne began to move. They rose stiffly to their feet and shuffled clumsily toward the players.
"There are seven statues outside in total." Shang Qingbei, barely maintaining his composure, made his assessment. "If we close the door, it's three against two. If we don't, it's three against nine."
Du Xiaoyu huddled behind Qi Si and whispered a suggestion, "Shouldn't we make a run for it? We could scatter, maybe one of us could get away..."
Qi Si took a step back, nudging Du Xiaoyu in front of him. "You can try running out. Go on, I believe in you."
Du Xiaoyu: "..."
As they spoke, the statues in the mist drew closer. The nearest one was now just a step from the threshold, looking as if it might press its face against the opening at any moment.
The faces of the more distant statues were also visible now—all bearing the same bright red smiles. Yet their eyes and brows were filled with sorrow, as if the grins had been forcibly carved and fixed onto their faces.
Shang Qingbei hesitated no longer. He strained to push the left half of the door, slamming it shut. Qi Si pushed the right half, grabbing the wooden bolt and barring the two doors together.
Behind them, the male and female statues seemed to have loosened up. They beamed, their mouths splitting into grins that reached their eyes. Arms waving wildly as if dancing, they staggered toward them.
"We're trapped inside!" Du Xiaoyu was trembling like a leaf, his voice on the verge of tears.
Human fear of ghosts and monsters is, at its core, a fear of death. And in the face of death, everyone is fragile.
Shang Qingbei had bitten his own lip white. With the temple surrounded by monsters, closing the door was the best decision, but it wasn't necessarily a path to survival.
Trapped in a confined space with two monsters, a total party wipe was only a matter of time.
*Thump... thump... thump...*
The knocking sounded again and again on the closed temple doors, part probing, part threat.
"Hee hee hee... hee hee hee..."
Inside the temple, the two statues danced, letting out a tinkling, bell-like laughter.
Du Xiaoyu's legs were shaking, but he reached into his pants and fumbled around for a moment before pulling out a crumpled paper talisman.
Even the most incompetent official player would have at least a few items in reserve.
But would an ordinary item really be useful?
Qi Si leaned against a coffin, his gaze drifting toward the depths of the temple. His hand happened to rest on a soul-suppressing nail hammered into the corner of the coffin, and his eyelashes lowered slightly.
Ever since entering this instance, everything that had happened was too bizarre. It felt as if everyone was being pushed by some unseen force, moving along a predetermined path...
On the first day, they had received contradictory clues. Information from a key NPC directly related to the main quest had been flat-out wrong.
For a puzzle-solving game, to immediately overwhelm players with so much misdirection felt, from any angle, utterly malicious. It was like a deliberate, calculated attempt to lead them to their deaths...
Cheating in a gamble is an extremely risky move. If you're caught, you're bound to face backlash and punishment.
Qi Si looked up, his gaze shifting to the side.
Upon the altar, the red-robed deity lowered its scarlet eyes. Its gaze was compassionate, but its smile was mocking.
...
[Side Quest (Mandatory): Escape the Xu Residence]
Meanwhile, a woman in an elaborate wedding dress was curled up in the corner of a courtyard, holding her breath and staying silent.
After triggering the side quest in Xi'er's room, Li Yao had been separated from Liu Bingding, and her surroundings had transformed into an unfamiliar scene.
The sprawling, multi-layered courtyard house did not seem modern in its design, and the servants passing through the corridors—wearing traditional jackets and braided queues—confirmed her suspicion.
She had returned to the Double Happiness Town of several hundred years ago.
The *clip-clop* of footsteps echoed from the distance. Two servants passed through a moon-shaped gate and walked over, chatting back and forth.
"The young mistress is really something, insisting on marrying that boy. If you ask me, we should have just thrown him down a well. He knows too much; keeping him around is just asking for trouble."
"Heh, what's there to be afraid of? The county magistrate is already turning a blind eye. What kind of trouble can a mere county assistant possibly stir up?"
"True, but we need to get rid of this latest batch of 'goods' quickly. Can't leave any evidence lying around."
"It won't be hard to 'deal with' them. There are plenty of towns nearby full of men who need wives..."
At first, Li Yao was confused by their conversation, but after hearing that last sentence, her expression turned cold.
Connecting this to the news report she had found in Xi'er's room, she now had a clear theory about the instance's backstory...
The two servants drew closer, stopping in front of a side room. They glanced inside, and their voices filled with panic.
"The young mistress is gone!"
"Quick, go tell the old madam! Don't tell me she ran off with that boy!"
At that moment, Li Yao confirmed her identity: she was the "young mistress" the servants were talking about.
The servants shouted in alarm, but their movements remained steady. They continued along their original path, and soon they were only three steps away from her hiding spot.
From Li Yao's vantage point, she could see their pale faces and the blush on their cheeks. A slit opened where their mouths, painted on with red pigment, should be. The two halves parted and closed, emitting deceptively realistic human voices.
They weren't living people at all. They were life-sized paper figurines, wearing paper clothes, drifting unsteadily toward her on the wind.
["The town teems with soldiers and horses of paper, under a sky eternally overcast. Scholar Zhang, trapped in a nightmare, grew gaunt and skeletal, dimly unaware of how he came to be here."]
A flood of horror stories about paper figurines rushed through Li Yao's mind, sending a chill down her spine.
"So, there you are..."
From behind her ear, a sharp, thin voice whispered, and an icy breath ghosted across the back of her neck.
Li Yao stiffly turned her head. A grotesque smiling face, its mouth stretched from ear to ear, was pressed right against the tip of her nose—sinister and terrifying.