The bright red bridal sedan chair was lifted, and scraps of the red firecracker wrappings scattered into the air, mingling with the banyan flowers that lingered in the night sky.
The sound of suona horns echoed in everyone’s ears. As the bright red sedan chair gradually moved away, the high-pitched and lively music slowly turned into a mournful dirge, and the joyful wedding music seemed to transform into funeral music.
The adults stopped at the entrance of the alley, while seven or eight children, left unattended, followed closely behind the red bridal sedan chair.
It seemed they were used to such late-night weddings, and even a ghost marriage didn’t scare them. They just thought it was lively, and like the familiar big sister was getting married.
Some adults went back home, while others returned to the bride’s house.
The lively wedding quieted down as the bride left.
“Brother!” Bai Lixin felt a tug on his arm, and Xia Chi’s energetic face abruptly pushed into his view, “It really is you!”
“Hey, Song Xiaowa, who are you calling ‘brother’? Let go of my hand!” Before Xia Chi could say another word, his body was forcefully shoved aside, and the tall, 1.8-meter figure staggered a few steps before awkwardly regaining his balance.
Chen Xiaoshi spread his arms wide, posing like a fierce mother hen as he glared at Xia Chi, “Your brother isn’t here, don’t go claiming relations randomly. Go away!”
Xia Chi stood there awkwardly, not sure whether to stay or leave.
Bai Lixin looked up and down at Xia Chi’s clothes. He was wearing a brand-new satin jacket embroidered with gold threads, with a fluffy collar and cuffs. Even his shoes had gold embroidery. In stark contrast, Chen Xiaoshi’s patched-up clothes made Xia Chi look like a rich young master.
Judging from Chen Xiaoshi’s attitude towards Xia Chi, there was clearly a story behind it.
Seeing Xia Chi’s hesitant expression, Bai Lixin opened the private chat and tried to send a message to Xia Chi.
But as soon as the message was sent, the system immediately popped up a large red exclamation mark.
[Message could not be sent, please try again.]
Bai Lixin tried five or six more times, but without exception, all were met with the red exclamation mark.
Not only with Xia Chi, but also when he tried sending messages to Song Yuantian and the others, none of the messages were successfully sent.
It seemed that after entering the second stage, communicating through private chat was no longer possible. It was unclear whether this was a condition of the second stage’s background or if the system had a bug.
But communication was still necessary, and seeing Xia Chi’s hesitant expression, he probably had something to tell him.
Just then, a few firecrackers went off near the old elm tree, and the previously aggressive Chen Xiaoshi immediately turned his head to look.
Bai Lixin had a sudden idea. He rummaged through the pile of various props in his backpack, grabbed a few firecrackers, and waved them in front of Chen Xiaoshi. “Xiaoshi, here, you can play with these.”
Chen Xiaoshi was just a child after all. His eyes lit up the moment he saw the firecrackers, and he completely forgot about trying to act fierce.
“Brother Erniu, where did you get the firecrackers?”
“Pfft!” A muffled laugh came from Xia Chi’s direction.
Bai Lixin stuffed the few leftover firecrackers into Chen Xiaoshi’s arms. “I picked them up near the old elm tree when I passed by. You can take them over there and play.”
Chen Xiaoshi couldn’t resist the temptation of this “sugar-coated bullet’, and immediately forgot about Xia Chi, happily running off with the firecrackers.
“Brother Erniu…?” Now that only the two of them were left, Xia Chi hesitantly squeezed out this form of address, “That’s a nice name.”
Bai Lixin lifted his chin slightly, “Right back at you, Song Xiaowa.”
*Song Xiowa—Song’s Little Child.
Erniu— Ox
The corners of Xia Chi’s mouth twitched. “Brother, my character’s name isn’t really Song Xiaowa, that’s just a nickname this group of people gave me.”
“My character is the young master of a wealthy family in Chenjia Village. My father is called Master Song.”
“I’m Master Song’s only son, and my name is Song Tianlin. The villagers of Chenjia Village seem to really dislike Master Song, and they took it out on me, which is how I got the nickname ‘Song Xiaowa’.”
Bai Lixin looked at Xia Chi again, and just when Xia Chi was starting to feel uncomfortable from the scrutiny, Bai Lixin said slowly, “Heaven really can’t bear to let you suffer even a little.”
Xia Chi: “…”
————————————–
In the live broadcast room.
[I couldn’t agree more with God Xin’s words.]
[Xia Chi is being chased by God to eat. I really envy him..]
[God Xin sheds tears of envy.]
————————————–
The sound of firecrackers went off behind them. To avoid Chen Xiaoshi and the others coming over, Bai Lixin and Xia Chi moved forward to a secluded corner.
“The private chat window isn’t working, and I don’t know if it’s a system bug. Brother, don’t be fooled by how good my character setup seems; I have no freedom at all.” In the pitch-black alley, Xia Chi shrank into a corner, complaining helplessly, “Master Song is very protective of his son. He’s so afraid I’ll be bullied that he has servants watching me. I had to use all my wits just to sneak out.”
“My private chat window isn’t working either. Besides finding me, have you found anyone else?”
Xia Chi shook his head. “I heard the sound of suona while inside the house, so I distracted the servants and ran out, heading straight in this direction. You were the first person I saw. What about you? Have you met anyone?”
“Although I didn’t run into anyone, I could see from the private chat interface that Samael and Song Yuantian’s avatars are still red and not gray. It’s good news that they survived the first stage.”
“Yeah, during the first stage, it got so dark and none of you came back. The temperature suddenly dropped to -200 degrees, and I thought we were going to die. But then the temperature suddenly started rising again. The wind was strong and tore the animal skins. I peeked outside through the tear, and saw a fiery red sky. Then the system prompted that the world was collapsing, and it forced us into the second stage before the time was up.”
Xia Chi said all this in one breath, then lowered his voice and looked at Bai Lixin excitedly. “Brother, did you do something?”
Bai Lixin explained the events in detail, and Xia Chi sighed in admiration. “He used his own body as the final fuse… he was burned to death once, and then he had to endure the pain of being burned again. I really admire him.”
“So, according to what Chen Dazhuang said, the fire was caused by someone named Lin Xiao getting married?”
Xia Chi reached out and plucked a red banyan flower petal from Bai Lixin’s shoulder. “The fire was a punishment from the mountain god?”
Bai Lixin: “If it were that simple, the system would’ve already prompted us that the task was completed.”
Xia Chi: “Then, could we use the trial-and-error method like in some previous copies? We guess the answer one by one and see if the system gives us any feedback?”
“For example, things like drought causing the fire, or arson.”
“I doubt it’s that simple. This time, it’s clear that we need to find the real plotline to make progress. Guessing like this won’t help, but we can sort out the existing clues.”
Bai Lixin looked around, and a tree branch was handed to him.
He turned his head to see Xia Chi grinning. “I guessed that you were looking for a branch.”
Bai Lixin raised his eyebrows slightly, took the branch and casually wrote “1” on the ground.
“1. Based on a 24-hour day, the fire started in the evening, around 9 p.m.”
“2. Lin Xiao’s wedding is crucial. Many of the villagers in Chenjia Village were burned to death at his wedding. According to what we saw in the illusion in the wooden house, they had time to escape, but the door was locked. They couldn’t get out and were burned alive.”
“3. Following the plot of Lin Xiao’s wedding, why was the door locked? And right when the door was locked, a fire broke out? Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”
Xia Chi was tired of standing, so he simply squatted down, hugged his knees with both hands and rested his chin on his arms as he tilted his head to watch Bai Lixin write the numbers. “Are you suggesting that someone deliberately wanted to burn them to death? That someone locked the door on purpose and set the fire to kill everyone?”
“Then how much did this perpetrator hate the people of Chenjia Village? Is there really such a…” Xia Chi trailed off and suddenly jumped up, “There really is.”
Bai Lixin: ??
Xia Chi pointed at himself, “It’s Master Song, Brother!”
“The information I gathered is like this: Master Song’s family used to be even wealthier than they are now. He made his fortune in business, dealing in trade. He would buy the game hunted by the villagers of Chenjia Village at a low price and then resell it in the city. Over a few years, he accumulated a lot of wealth and opened several shops in the city. The whole family also moved to the city.”
“I used to have an older brother who took after Master Song and had a knack for business. He returned to Chenjia Village to follow Master Song’s example and also started a trade business. But then, an accident happened, and my brother died on Rong Mountain. When Master Song found out, he was devastated. He lost all interest in making money, sold all his shops, and returned to Chenjia Village.”
“Since then, Master Song has become a bit strange, as if he’s gone mad. Tonight, he even grabbed my arm and shook it vigorously, saying that my brother’s death wasn’t an accident, but that the people of Chenjia Village conspired to kill him. Sometimes he talks about avenging my brother, and other times he says he has to keep a close watch on me, otherwise, I’ll be killed too.”
“If there’s really someone who hates the people of Chenjia Village so much, the only person I can think of right now is Master Song.”
Bai Lixin: “The people of Chenjia Village don’t seem to like Master Song either.”
Xia Chi: “Because Master Song made his fortune from the mountains, but after getting rich, he just left on his own. Maybe that’s why the people of Chenjia Village dislike him so much?”
Bai Lixin: “Master Song obviously got rich and moved to the city. Even if his son imitated him in business, why did he have to retrace his father’s steps and return to Chenjia Village? And after his son died, Master Song even sold off all his properties and came back to Chenjia Village. Why are they so fixated on returning here?”
Xia Chi: “That’s true. I’ll investigate further.”
“Young master!”
“Young master!”
“Where are you, young master!”
“Has anyone seen my young master?”
“There’s no young master here! Today is our Fourth’s daughter’s birthday, so your Song family better not stir up trouble!”
“You think just because you say so, it’s true? Our young master is pure and kind; maybe you bunch of unruly villagers tricked him into coming here and locked him up. Move aside, we’re going to search your house!”
“You think you can search just because you want to?! Do you have a search warrant? Look closely, this village’s surname is Chen, not Song! Don’t think just because you have more people that we’ll be scared of you!”
The loud sound of arguing arose, and Xia Chi’s expression became tense. “Ah, looks like the Song family noticed I was missing. Brother, I’ll come find you when I get another chance; I need to go, or there’ll be a fight out there.”
“Xia Chi, be careful at the Song family.”
“Don’t worry, my role is the only son of Master Song, who would dare hurt me?”
Xia Chi hadn’t been gone long before the commotion outside stopped. Seeing Xia Chi, the Song family members didn’t feel like arguing with the Chen family anymore, and they quickly surrounded him.
“My little ancestor, why did you run out? The master almost died of worry at home; come on, let’s go back quickly. Did these people kidnap you? Don’t worry, tell Uncle Song, and I’ll back you up!”
“I just heard the sound of firecrackers and snuck out to join the fun, Uncle Song. I’m fine; let’s go back.”
Bai Lixin stood at the entrance of the dark alley, watching from afar. Next to Xia Chi was a man in his forties, followed by more than ten strong and muscular guards holding torches and clubs. They all looked like trained fighters.
Hearing Xia Chi’s explanation, the leading man didn’t make things difficult. He left a few harsh words and led the guards away.
Bai Lixin silently watched the Song family leave. For some reason, he felt that their steps were somewhat hurried, as if they were in a rush.
“Bah!” Once the Song family had gone far enough, an elderly man spat on the ground, “Ungrateful scum! If it weren’t for the people of Chenjia Village helping them out of pity, the Song family would have starved to death in the mountains long ago. Not only do they not know how to be grateful, now they even conspire with outsiders to take our village’s treasure. Untrustworthy, treacherous wolves with wild ambitions!”
Cenjia Village’s treasure?
Once most of the people had dispersed, Bai Lixin quietly walked out from the dark alley.
The banyan tree flowers floating in the air had vanished, and the children who had been playing under the old elm tree earlier had disappeared.
Unconsciously, the once lively alley was now very quiet.
The few remaining people glanced up at the sky and hurriedly left.
Bai Lixin stood at the entrance, gazing at the house with red lanterns hanging outside. About a dozen people filed out, and then the door was tightly shut.
People brushed past Bai Lixin’s shoulder and hurried away, as if trying to avoid something.
Just as Bai Lixin was feeling puzzled, a woman suddenly grabbed his wrist and forcefully dragged him aside. “Why are you still standing here in a daze? Hurry and come home with me!”
Bai Lixin followed behind and silently observed the woman. She was wearing a dark purple floral jacket that had been washed to the point of fading, but it was very clean. A light pink headscarf was tied around her head, and her hands, which held his wrist, were rough and calloused, resembling thorns lurking in the dark.
This must be the mother of the three Chen brothers.
Bai Lixin followed her closely into the familiar mudbrick house. As soon as they entered, the woman quickly bolted the door and pulled Bai Lixin further inside, locking another door behind them.
Just as the lock clicked into place, a howling sound came from outside.
It was like the howl of wolves under a full moon, or the whistle of a train.
The room was pitch black with no lights on.
In the darkness, the rough hand guided Bai Lixin through the house. He heard the sound of wooden boards being moved, and then the woman nudged him forward, indicating he should go first.
Following her directions, Bai Lixin took two steps forward and felt his foot drop lower than the ground level.
“Creak.”
“Creak.”
It was the sound of wood creaking.
He had stepped onto a downward staircase.
The air was slightly damp, and the smell was a mix of mold and fermentation.
This must be a cellar.
Given the noise outside and the villagers’ reactions, they were probably hiding from something.
