Chi Ling looked around with vigilance, yet he did not detect any dangerous aura. Becoming even more cautious, he squatted down right where he was.
One minute passed, five minutes passed.
Though his legs grew numb and weak, Chi Ling still spotted no unusual activity. He shifted his legs and stood up.
“Hisss!” Chi Ling rubbed his numb, squatting legs, as if thinking of something. The urgent scene of the corpse fleeing flashed before his eyes once more.
Chi Ling could not help feeling his scalp go numb, and he looked back.
The vast lake surface emitted sparkling ripples under the moonlight, resembling a mirror reflecting the moonlight and bamboo shadows.
If one ignored the environment he was currently in, this sight was actually quite pretty.
However, Chi Ling only felt a chill run down his spine.
Judging by the condition of the mud and the bamboo forest on the mountain, it should have rained yesterday. Yet, could a deep-mountain lake still remain this clear shortly after rain?
There were simply too many bizarre things here for Chi Ling to thoroughly investigate for the time being. Reason told him that, to avoid complications from dragging things out, he should leave immediately.
However, another thought in his mind slowly gained the upper hand.
“Hah.”
Chi Ling let out a breath, adjusting his heartbeat, which had yet to return to calm. He decided not to leave for the time being and continued to stay put to explore.
This thought had actually been deliberated upon after some careful consideration. After all, wanting to come back here during the day would probably be a bit troublesome; any carelessness could trigger NPC abnormalities. Besides, there was no dangerous aura here right now.
More importantly, Chi Ling trusted his intuition.
This body of water was very important and likely concealed the deepest secret of this instance.
“This place looks kind of familiar?”
“Damn, isn’t this the scene that only unlocks on the last day?”
“I haven’t watched a livestream of this instance. Can someone explain?”
“This is the place you pass by when escorting the corpse to burial on the final day, and it’s also the most dangerous place in this instance.”
“Other people only encounter this fatal danger on the last day, but he runs into it on the first day.”
“Actually, as long as he doesn’t break character settings and just survives these few days, there’s no need to come here and take risks at all.”
“Damn, he jumped down!”
“What a ruthless person!”
Chi Ling had an intuition that this lake was not simple, but he had truly not meant to jump down! He had been terrible at swimming since childhood and could not swim at all!
This situation occurred purely because the soil by the lake was too loose, and he had stepped too close, accidentally missing his footing and slipping.
I am done for, I am done for. The second he slipped, Chi Ling’s heart skipped a beat. Turning pale with fright, he quickly bought an underwater breathing item, but the expected suffocation from plunging into the lake did not happen.
He stopped just as he was about to plunge into the water surface, as a mysterious force gently cradled him aloft.
The next second, something even more incredible happened: Chi Ling was steadily carried back to the bank by this force.
The livestream viewers only saw a flash of white light before Chi Ling was standing on the bank once again. Not only was he completely uninjured, but the mud stains on his clothes from his two earlier slips were as clean as new.
“What is going on? Did he use some kind of item?”
“Could it be that the boss’s refresh time hasn’t arrived yet? This scene hasn’t opened up yet?”
“This is definitely a game bug.”
The shock in Chi Ling’s heart ran deeper than anyone else’s. Not only was there no danger upon falling in, but not only did his clothes become clean, even all the exhaustion in his body was completely swept away.
Refusing to believe it, Chi Ling deliberately jumped into the lake this time.
Yet the result was the same as before: he was once again standing steadily on the bank.
Chi Ling: “?”
Viewers: “?”
“This has got to be a bug! Absolutely.”
“@System 2, come out and fix this!”
An inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart, and Chi Ling pressed a hand to his chest. He was extremely puzzled as to why he would feel such an emotion, bittersweet and aching, as if someone were gently holding his heart and kneading it.
Yet he also understood that now was not a good time for exploration. Without further hesitation, he turned around and headed back along the path he came from.
He would come back to this place again, but not right now.
Chi Ling walked all the way back to the ancestral hall without encountering any more anomalies, as if someone had been staying by his side all along, clearing away obstacles for him.
By the time Chi Ling returned, the edge of the sky was already showing a faint, pale grey dawn. This night had truly been an exhausting ordeal. He lay down wanting to sleep to replenish his mental energy, but not long after drifting off, he heard a sharp, startled cry.
“Why am I sleeping on the floor? Didn’t I lie down against the wall in the chair?”
The unlucky cousin’s flurry of shouts directly woke Chi Ling up.
“Shut up.”
Chi Ling spat out two words from his throat. Overwhelmed by a surge of heat and dizziness, he reached out to steady himself against the edge of the bed.
The cousin, who had still been shouting loudly just a moment ago, seemed to sniff out a dangerous aura and instantly fell silent.
Chi Ling pressed a hand to his forehead, gently massaging his temples. His fair face looked even paler at the moment, with his dark bangs resting softly against his forehead, forming a stark contrast that lent him an extraordinary kind of elegance.
Watching Chi Ling’s appearance, the cousin involuntarily lost his focus. This was not the first time he found his cousin handsome; ever since meeting him yesterday afternoon, he had felt this way the entire time.
After just a fleeting moment of distraction, the cousin felt a gust of cool wind sweep past, blowing away his idle thoughts. He instantly regained his sobriety.
“Cousin, what, what is wrong with you? Why is your complexion so pale?”
Although Chi Ling had ruthlessly told him to shut up, he still could not help stammering out expressions of concern.
Chi Ling glanced at him, his expression easing slightly as he unconsciously pressed a hand against his stomach.
“If you are not going to sleep, get out.”
The cousin seemed to understand his meaning, but not entirely. “Cousin, are you hungry? I will go find you something to eat.” With that, he scurried out in a rush.
So scary, wuwu, I felt like the little cousin was even scarier than Auntie for a second there.
The cousin patted his chest with his chubby hands to calm his breathing, yet he still dutifully went to the temporary kitchen to find food for Chi Ling.
Chi Ling’s hand remained suspended in mid-air, hanging halfway.
Wait, that is not what I meant, he shouted inwardly.
However, he actually was a little hungry.
Chi Ling opened his character panel and saw that his already low stamina score had hit a new low.
With a look of utter resignation, Chi Ling slumped across the bed.
“Hah!”
After a moment, Chi Ling sat back up. Counting from yesterday, today was already the second day, meaning he would leave the instance tomorrow.
However, many questions in this instance still lacked answers.
Chi Ling decided to go look for Grandma Wang again to fish for information and see if there were any new clues.
“Cousin, the cook isn’t awake yet! I grabbed two steamed buns from the kitchen, so fill your stomach with these first!”
As soon as the cousin stepped through the door, he was met face-to-face with Chi Ling’s borderline-affectionate gaze, making him shudder inexplicably.
Chi Ling was actually quite pleased; this cousin might still prove to be of great use, so he decided to treat him a bit better today.
“No problem, steamed buns are pretty good too.”
Given the current circumstances, having anything to eat was great, and Chi Ling had nothing to be picky about. He casually accepted the buns.
“I noticed the back mountain seems to be the tallest among the surrounding mountains. Have you ever been to the back mountain? Is there anything special up there?”
Chi Ling tore the bun into pieces with his hands, slowly feeding them into his mouth.
“The back mountain? You mean Qingming Mountain, right? There is nothing special up there; it is just the mountain where our ancestors specifically buried our dead. If we are talking scenery, Maoming Mountain is much prettier, the one in the front.”
Chi Ling nodded thoughtfully. Qingming, Maoming—was this hoping that future generations would make a name for themselves?
“Aside from bamboo, are there any other distinct features on the back mountain?”
“In the deeper parts, there should be orchids, wild tea trees, and things like that. Wild orchids are scarce nowadays; I heard they can sell for a high price.”
The cousin answered earnestly, but still failed to hit upon what Chi Ling wanted to hear.
Without beating around the bush any longer, Chi Ling went straight to the point: “A mountain needs water to be properly balanced. Are there any natural streams, lakes, or mountain springs on the back mountain?”
The cousin pondered for a moment before shaking his head with certainty: “No?”
“Are you sure?” Chi Ling looked at him suspiciously.
Chi Ling refused to believe he could be mistaken, unless everything from last night had been an illusion. Rather than doubting himself, he was much more inclined to doubt his cousin.
“There used to be a reservoir, but the village elders said the water quality in the reservoir hasn’t been good in recent years, so they don’t let people use the water from it anymore. Right now, our village just uses the water from a few ponds.”
“Water quality isn’t good?”
The cousin nodded.
Hearing this, Chi Ling suddenly stood up, his gaze burning bright. He shoved the steamed bun in his hand back into his cousin’s grip and sprinted outward.
“Cousin, are you not eating?” The cousin looked at the inexplicable extra bun in his hand, then at Chi Ling’s departing back, and shouted loudly.
“Just leave it there for now. I have something to take care of and need to step out. We can talk when I get back.”
Clearly, nothing more could be squeezed out of his cousin here, but the village elders must surely know more. Yesterday, Auntie had mentioned that Grandma Wang was an elder in the village and also Grandpa Liu’s only surviving relative, so going to find her to obtain more information should be the right move.
Passing by yesterday’s pond once more, Chi Ling looked at that pool of black water, feeling his stomach spasm with sudden nausea.
How clean was this place supposed to be? Compared to this pool of black water, Chi Ling felt the clear lake from yesterday was truly a celestial spring.
Good heavens, the bun I just ate wouldn’t happen to be made with water from this place, would it? No, no way, there are several ponds! Maybe it used water from a different pond.
Chi Ling glanced at the pond and looked away, preferring out of sight, out of mind!
He continued walking forward until he saw the familiar adobe house. Perhaps due to a change in his state of mind, today Chi Ling felt this house wasn’t as terrifying as it had been yesterday.
“Grandma Wang, are you in? It is Chi Ling. I have a few small questions I would like to ask you.”
Once he finished calling out, Chi Ling stood quietly in front of the door, waiting for the wooden door to open.
Before long, the wooden door was pushed open from the inside.
Clatter. Today’s door made an even louder sound than yesterday’s, signaling that its owner was not in a very good mood.
Grandma Wang glared angrily at Chi Ling, her eyes even more turbid than yesterday’s, devoid of any luster and looking more like—she had not slept well?
Chi Ling looked up at the sky; it was not fully bright yet.
Chi Ling then looked back down at Grandma Wang with an expression that was awkward yet polite. He raised his hand, waving it lightly from side to side, and said, “Hi!”
Hahahahaha! I’m dying, did he sleep poorly himself and decide not to let others sleep well either?
I can feel Grandma Wang’s anger right through the screen.
Can you stop bullying the old lady all the time? I want to stand up for her! (Viewer No. 189 tipped 100 points)
Hahaha! To the person above, stop being so two-faced.