The banquet ended, and everyone quickly dispersed.
In just a short while, what had been a lively wedding banquet a minute ago turned into tables full of chaos.
Everyone had left, leaving only Small Braid standing there, holding the crying baby.
It wasn’t until Li Cancan couldn’t bear to watch anymore that she took a bowl of water and splashed it on Small Braid’s forehead, finally waking him up from his drunken stupor.
He looked at the baby in his arms and then at the people in front of him, his face filled with confusion and helplessness.
“W-why was the baby born?” Small Braid stammered, “Wasn’t it said to take three months?”
The baby had just been born, with a wrinkled face and still covered in sticky fluids.
He awkwardly held the child and looked at Bai Lixin with a blank expression. “Bai Lixin, help me, something’s not right here. The people in the village have gone mad, they’re all crazy.”
“Did you see how they looked at me earlier? They stared at me as if I were a suckling pig. Their eyes seemed to be contemplating where to start eating me from! It’s terrifying, too terrifying!”
Li Cancan: “You finally realize it’s terrifying? When I tried to advise you earlier, you didn’t listen. You said everything was under your control. Now that things are out of your control, you panic? Haven’t you heard a saying? The hunter always appears as the prey. You thought you were the hunter, but in reality, you’re the prey!”
Small Braid looked terrified. He glanced at the baby in his arms, wanting to throw it away, but the child was too small, and he was afraid of hurting it.
“I-I don’t know what’s happening, it’s like I’ve been possessed by a ghost.”
Li Cancan’s combat readiness was off the charts today. “Can’t you admit your mistakes properly? When there is a problem, you suddenly shift the blame to ghosts. Weren’t you the one who was lusting and coveting that woman? And now you don’t want to take responsibility after deceiving that woman with sweet words? Now that you’ve already had a child, can you still return to the game lobby?”
Small Braid’s face turned red. Upon hearing Li Cancan’s words, he suddenly stood up from his chair with a startled look. “W-what do you mean? Are you saying I might not be able to go back?”
“I… How could I not go back?”
Bai Lixin pondered, “You should be able to go back now, but this village originally had only a dozen households. It has grown to this size, which must have been achieved through some means. If the villagers manage to convert you before you return, there’s a possibility you might not be able to leave.”
Small Braid looked bewildered. “Convert me? What does that mean? The village originally had only a dozen households? Why can’t I understand what you’re saying?”
He looked at Bai Lixin anxiously, and there was genuine fear in his eyes. “I’m sober now, completely sober. I’m sorry, I was wrong before. I was bewitched for a moment, I… I’m a scumbag, and I even killed someone.”
Still in his bright red wedding attire, Small Braid suddenly fell to the ground in disarray. “What have I done?”
“Bai Lixin, I was wrong. You reminded me so many times, but I didn’t listen once,” he said, slapping himself hard across the face. “I’m such a fool, and I was just 10% away from leaving this damned game. I don’t want to fail here.”
Bai Lixin: “Can you still stand up? Try to get up first.”
Li Cancan displayed an exceptionally ruthless attitude today. “God Xin, don’t bother with him. Let him kneel a bit longer and reflect on all the nonsense he did before.”
Small Braid’s face was burning with shame.
After he had reflected for a while, Sun Ning stepped in and explained Bai Lixin’s discoveries to him.
Upon hearing this, Small Braid looked incredulous. “A-are you saying I slept with a… a man?”
“Fuck, ew!”
“Damn, this is fraud, it’s blatant fraud!”
Li Cancan finally felt much better seeing Small Braid looking so miserable.
Serves him right.
——————————–
In the live broadcast room
[Hahaha, the last thing I wanted to see actually happened. This is hilarious.]
[Small Braid got so angry that his sexual orientation changed from straight to gay.]
[Haha, I won’t hide it from you guys, I know him, he’s from our guild. When he comes out, I’m going to tease him about it, it’s so hilarious. He wanted to woo the ladies, but it turns out the ladies are tougher than him, I can’t stop laughing, my stomach hurts.]
[There’s nothing left in this world for him to miss.]
[I want to call him an old pervert, but I also feel a bit sorry for him. My emotions are so complicated right now, hahaha, hahaha.]
[If you didn’t say “hahaha,” I’d really think you’re feeling sorry for him. Rolls eyes, pfft.]
[The whole screen is full of “hahaha,” indeed, the joys and sorrows of humans don’t interact. Uh, save a spot for me in the bed, I’ve also laughed so much my stomach hurts.]
—————————
Small Braid almost vomited out his bile before he gave up. He wiped the corners of his mouth and weakly asked, “So, what does that ‘conversion’ you mentioned earlier mean?”
It didn’t matter; let the storm come even more fiercely. There was nothing in his life that he hasn’t experienced. He wasn’t afraid of anything anymore!
Sun Ning said, “It means turning you into a woman.”
Small Braid: “…”
Actually, you don’t have to experience everything in life, it’s fine just to be alive.
He stiffly wiped his face and looked at the baby in his arms.
After the baby had cried enough, he fell asleep. When he was asleep, he kicked his legs a bit, and Bai Lixin suddenly noticed that there was something wrong with his right leg.
“It seems like this child has a congenital issue with his right leg,” Bai Lixin pointed, “Look, he can’t use his leg properly.”
Everyone followed Bai Lixin’s finger and indeed saw the issue.
Suddenly, Sun Ning thought of something. “I remember the mute woman’s mother-in-law also had issues with her legs. Could it be that the village can make children grow rapidly but, after reaching a certain age, they shrink back into little boys? These little boys grow up, get married, turn into women, give birth, and grow old. This is the lifecycle of this village.”
“Wasn’t the big boss five hundred years old, but then he quickly turned small when he entered this village?”
Small Braid was even more overwhelmed.
He held the baby in his arms. “Are you saying that the baby in my arms is the mute woman’s mother-in-law?”
‘Strange, why do I feel like I’ve seen my mother? Mother, are you here to take me home?’
Li Cancan didn’t know how to speak anymore.
It seemed that after Small Braid knew the truth, it was already a form of punishment for him.
Why did he look so pitiful?
Small Braid took a deep breath. “I have a question. How do they plan to convert me?”
Bai Lixin: “Just like how you converted Sister Song’s husband when he was a man, they will probably convert you in the same way.”
“Convert Sister Song’s husband? I didn’t convert…” Small Braid’s voice suddenly stopped, and he looked at the young man in shock. “You mean, Sister Song’s husband turned into a woman? Who, who is it?”
Bai Lixin: “It seems like there’s one more woman in the village in the past couple of days, right?”
Small Braid was shocked again, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit a fist.
If Sister Song’s husband, who used to be so robust and manly, could turn into such a delicate girl, then when Sister Song was a man…
‘No, I can’t think about it, I can’t think about it anymore.
If I think about it, I might faint.’
————————————
In the live broadcast room
[Ai, I feel so relieved seeing Small Braid’s breakdown. He brought it upon himself with his wicked intentions!]
[That’s what you call self-inflicted misfortune.]
[This is what you get for making your own bed, now lie in it.]
—————————–
Small Braid: “So what you’re saying is they’re very likely to kill me, then throw me into the well. That way, I’ll become a permanent part of this village and can never leave?”
Bai Lixin: “In theory, the reason this village has so many people should be due to this method.”
Small Braid: “But, what benefit do I bring by staying? I’m utterly useless here. Why do they insist on keeping me?”
Bai Lixin: “Some people, after experiencing deep hell, develop a sense of revenge. Why should I be so unlucky, why should you be so happy? No, you should come to hell with me. They haven’t gained any benefits themselves, but that doesn’t stop them from dragging others down with them. It’s a very realistic scenario.”
Everyone fell silent.
As Bai Lixin had said, there are indeed many people like that in the real world.
Small Braid: “So what should I do?”
Bai Lixin: “You should go and beg Pan Pan. Maybe only she can save you now.”
“Pan Pan?” Small Braid was somewhat bewildered. “How can Pan Pan save me?”
Bai Lixin: “I had always wondered about Pan Pan’s role in this village. Although she’s here, she seems detached from this village, giving a strange feeling of incongruity. It was only today, when I went down the mountain and Sun Ning told me that she had sent female players to hide with Pan Pan, that I understood.”
“Pan Pan is perhaps a guardian-like presence here. As long as she’s around, those villagers will be wary of her and won’t dare to act recklessly.”
“Come, let’s go find Pan Pan,” Bai Lixin got up and glanced at Small Braid. “Are you planning to carry this child the whole time?”
Small Braid was at a loss. “Uh, what should I do?”
Sun Ning suggested, “How about you hand him over to your wife?”
After saying the words “your wife”, Sun Ning shuddered.
Small Braid stammered, “Uh, well, I…I…I’m not sure if I can do that.”
Bai Lixin reassured him, “It’s fine; we’ll wait outside. You’re a loving couple, what’s there to be embarrassed about when you’ve seen everything about each other before?”
Small Braid wanted to cry but had no tears.
‘I was wrong, I was really wrong. I won’t dare again, wuuu.’
With a forced bravado, he handed the child over to Sister Song and looked vacantly at the woman on the bed.
The woman was still beautiful, but the thought that she was actually a man made his admiration dissipate instantly.
He shook his head vigorously, finally resisting the temptation of the woman, and walked out.
Once they were outside the courtyard gate, he looked at Bai Lixin uncertainly. “When I was looking at Sister Song just now, I felt like I was being drawn in by her. I felt like there was a filter automatically applied to my vision, with a sparkling glow all around. What’s going on?”
Sun Ning: “It might be a form of allure? Otherwise, why would you be so easily lured in?”
Small Braid suddenly understood, and he touched his chest, “So, my infatuation with her before wasn’t because I genuinely liked her, but it was due to her allure combined with her manipulation. That’s why I fell in love. But how do you explain the fact that Sister Song’s husband really had a history of domestic violence against her?”
Sun Ning explained, “If she can control your emotions, she can certainly control someone she’s close to day and night, right? Haven’t you heard of passive influence? Some skilled individuals can manipulate another person’s emotions, just by offering subtle psychological suggestions, causing the other person to act according to their desires.”
“For instance, say I implanted a signal in you beforehand. As soon as I break a cup, you get angry. So, when I need you to get angry, I just need to break a cup.”
“One may seem like the victim, but they could actually be the manipulator. For example a seemingly timid husband and a hysterical wife. To outsiders, it may appear that the wife bullies the husband. However, in reality, it could be because the husband lacks empathy or ignores the wife, forcing her to vent her emotions in this way, just to get the husband’s attention.”
Small Braid: “Ah, I’ve heard of this concept before. I see.”
He pondered Sun Ning’s words, recalling the events of the past few days. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.
It was just as Sun Ning had described. Every time before Sister Song’s husband got angry, Sister Song would perform a certain action, like dropping chopsticks or breaking a bowl, and so on.
Wasn’t this exactly like the example Sun Ning had given?!
He’s really a fool.
Small Braid’s face turned hot and flushed once again, ashamed to the point of wanting to find a place to hide.
Others tried to save him, and he had the audacity to mock them as fools. Someone had harmed him, and he had foolishly believed he loved that person. He truly was a fool.
Pan Pan’s home was right next door. When they arrived at Pan Pan’s house, the courtyard gate was not closed. However, there were many people standing and sitting in the yard.
When Bai Lixin and Small Braid entered, they all seemed unfriendly.
Small Braid also felt ashamed and could only bury his head in his neck, shrinking himself like an ostrich.
Bai Lixin quickly found Pan Pan, who was kicking a shuttlecock in the house.
As soon as the little girl saw Small Braid dressed in a bright red wedding outfit, she immediately refused even before Bai Lixin could explain the purpose of their visit, “Let him get out. I won’t allow him to stay in my house!”
“I hate men in wedding clothes, really hate them!”
Small Braid’s face turned deathly pale, as if the sky were falling.
Some players who had come to watch the excitement from outside couldn’t help but mock Small Braid.
“What’s wrong with the groom? Weren’t you full of yourself just now, having become a groom and father? Why are you looking so wronged now? Why aren’t you going to your beautiful wife’s house? Why come here?”
“Yeah, aren’t we a group of players about to die? If we don’t find the culprit by tomorrow, we’re done for.”
“Weren’t you impressive earlier? Where’s that confident groom who left us behind and declared he was getting married?”
“Now you’re suddenly running over here. What’s the matter? Giving up the role of groom? Tsk tsk tsk, if you don’t want to be a groom, you might have to join us in death.”
The mocking voices continued one after another, and Small Braid felt ashamed, keeping his head down and listening quietly.
