The monster looked up at the towering banyan tree fearfully, then turned and began to crawl towards the cliff.
Suddenly, a spear was thrust into the ground in front of the monster, blocking its path.
“After all this, you still want to run?”
The muscular player with a beard slowly walked to the front of the spear, one hand resting on the spear as he looked down at the black monster.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Weren’t you quite awesome just now? Show me how awesome you can be again.”
The monster whimpered, muttering weakly, “Let… let me pass…”
The man remained unmoved. His broad figure was like a wall, completely blocking the monster’s path. “Tell us the truth about the fire, tell us who all these graves belong to, tell us why you want the graves to be dug up, and tell us the truth about the treasure!”
The monster made a sound again, this time more urgent, “Let me pass!”
Swish!
Swish!
A strange sound rang out.
The players all looked up.
The eerie banyan tree above them had begun to emit a dazzling red light at some point, its branches and leaves trembling wildly, making a sound like a rattlesnake’s warning.
The monster’s eyes filled with terror, and it used all its strength to crawl forward.
Swish!
The banyan tree shook even more violently, followed by the trembling of the ground.
The mountain quaked, and rocks rolled off the cliff.
The rustling of the leaves grew louder, like the march of a thousand troops.
“Run!”
Someone shouted, and the players all ran towards the banyan tree.
At the same time, the ground cracked open, and countless roots burst out from the earth.
The roots wrapped around the black monster, and the soft root hairs pierced into its body one by one. Amidst its wails, the roots slowly dragged it into the ground.
A look of pain appeared on the monster’s twisted face, its shriveled black arms flailing in the air, as it pleaded, “Save me! I’ll tell you everything, the one who started the fire was Chen… Ah!”
The twisting roots pulled the black monster into the murky darkness.
As the roots slithered away, the players noticed that there were many similar monsters tightly wound around the other roots of the banyan tree.
They were all hideous, their twisted and shriveled bodies wrapped in roots. All their faces were contorted in pain.
The roots of the banyan tree returned to the ground, and the cracked earth closed up, restoring itself to its original state.
Swish!
The banyan tree swayed, and the red banyan flowers became even more vivid, like blood, delicate and dripping.
The shadows that had emerged from the graves gradually faded away until they disappeared, and Robg Mountain returned to its former tranquility.
The players looked at each other.
“Damn it, we were so close to finding out the answer,” one player said, unwilling to give up. “He already said the word ‘Chen,’ Chen what? Which Chen?!”
“If it’s ‘Chen,’ it should be a villager from the Chenjia Village, right? Why not try naming all 800 of them? There’s no limit to the number of attempts for this question, so theoretically, we could try countless times.”
“To be honest, I’m a bit embarrassed—I don’t even know the exact names of the villagers. I only know them as Oldest Chen, Fourth Chen, Fifth Chen etc.”
“Ah, what a coincidence, me too.”
“Well, the plan is clear then. We’ll go down the mountain and investigate the names of the villagers one by one. Use the most basic method and try each name.”
“If you want to know the names of every villager, wouldn’t the family tree be useful?” a girl with thick glasses tentatively suggested. “I know that the village chief has a family tree of the Chenjia villagers.”
All the players’ eyes turned to the girl with glasses.
“Family tree, right! There’s a family tree!”
“There’s no time to waste, let’s go, go, go, down the mountain to find the family tree!”
“Fuck, if all of us go together, we’re going to scare the old lady to death. Just send a few people.”
“Who should we send?”
The players’ eyes unanimously fell on the young man at the back of the crowd.
Bai Lixin: “…”
“Brother, you’re really good at finding things.”
“You found the wooden house and firewood in the first stage.”
“And you found out about the treasure in the second stage.”
“You’re so good at finding things that even police dogs would be embarrassed to wag their tails.”
“Destiny has chosen you; who else but you?”
“Why don’t you go?”
“We’re counting on you, brother.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Oh, you all have quite the smooth tongues, huh?
——————————–
In the live broadcast room.
[Stunned dog face.jpg]
[An expert player is indeed an expert player—this shamelessness is something I could spend a lifetime learning.]
[While the foolish players are still stubbornly gnawing on the bone, the smart players have already learned to cling to thighs.]
———————————–
When the players came down from Rong Mountain, it was 10 p.m. in the copy.
It was late, but many villagers were still chatting under the old elm tree in the middle of the village.
The bark of the old elm tree was mottled and its leaves had all fallen off, but the trunk was thick and sturdy. It leaned slightly towards the center of the village, standing there like a massive boulder.
When the players appeared in groups, the villagers’ conversations abruptly stopped.
“You’re back already, Erniu.”
“Dahai, hurry home, your mother was just looking for you.”
“You kids need to learn to be more restrained when you play. It’s cold at night, be careful not to catch a chill.”
One by one, the villagers under the tree stood up, some stretching lazily, others fiddling with trinkets in their hands, and they wobbled their way home.
It was as if the villagers had been waiting there just for them; now that they were back in the village, the villagers could go home too.
The players exchanged knowing looks and each went home.
When Bai Lixin returned to the Chen family home, Father Chen and Mother Chen were still awake.
Mother Chen was still washing those few patched-up clothes. Wet garments were hanging on the pole, dripping water into the yard.
A pair of wet cloth shoes sat by the wall, just like the night before.
Despite the late hour, Father Chen was still chopping wood in the woodshed, his heavy breathing filled with exertion, as if the task was particularly laborious.
Chen Dazhuang was tinkering with something inside the house. The faint candlelight in the room flickered, and his shadow danced on the window paper.
Chen Xiaoshi was playing hopscotch in another corner of the yard, jumping over the uneven lines drawn on the hard mud ground, seemingly enjoying himself.
When Bai Lixin returned, Chen Xiaoshi leaped into his arms like a bear cub. “Brother Erniu, you’re finally back.”
S419M in Bai Lixin’s mind suddenly shuddered: [Lord Host, push him away, push him away now!!!]
However, Bai Lixin immediately embraced Chen Xiaoshi tightly.
The virtual hair on S419M’s body stood on end: [Ahhhh!!! No!!!]
Mother Chen put down the clothes in her hands, smiling as she watched the two of them: “Look at you two, you’re all grown up yet you still act like children.”
“Erniu, have you eaten?”
Bai Lixin: “I have, I ate at a friend’s place.”
Mother Chen: “It’s getting late, you should go to bed soon.”
Bai Lixin loosened his hold on Chen Xiaoshi and responded obediently, “Alright, Mother.”
Mother Chen, who had been laying out the clothes, suddenly paused, staring blankly at Bai Lixin, “What did you just call me?”
Bai Lixin: “Mother, aren’t you my mother?”
Mother Chen was stunned for a couple of seconds: “Yes, yes, I am your mother. Good boy, go back to your room.”
When passing by the woodshed, Bai Lixin noticed that there were only a few dry branches left piled in the corner.
With each swing of his arm, the sound of wood cracking emanated from Father Chen’s body. Bai Lixin wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but today’s cracking sounds seemed louder than yesterday’s.
“Father,” Bai Lixin called out to Father Chen’s back, “Rest early, don’t overwork yourself.”
The burly man froze all over. He turned his head stiffly, stunned for a while before responding, “Hey, the brat knows how to care for his old man now, huh? I didn’t spoil you for nothing. Hurry back to your room!”
Bai Lixin shrugged and returned to the room with Chen Xiaoshi.
Chen Dazhuang hadn’t slept yet and was fiddling with a clay cup at the only table in the room.
As soon as Bai Lixin entered and before he could sit down, Chen Dazhuang extended the cup in front of him, “Erniu, drink this. It strengthens the body and prevents colds.”
Bai Lixin looked at the cup filled with a greenish, unknown liquid, then glanced at Chen Dazhuang’s urging face and asked, “Can I skip drinking this tonight?”
Chen Dazhuang refused outright, “No, how can you stay healthy if you don’t drink it?”
After a slight pause, Bai Lixin asked again, “Brother, I really don’t want to drink it.”
Chen Dazhuang reacted similarly to Father Chen and Mother Chen. He was stunned for a moment and it took him a while to come back to his senses. He pulled the cup back in front of him and said sheepishly, “Fine, since you’re my brother, I’ll let it slide. But even if you don’t drink the medicine, you should go to bed early.”
Bai Lixin: “I’ll listen to you, Big Brother.”
As soon as the three of them got under the quilt, Chen Xiaoshi began to squirm his way into Bai Lixin’s arms, “Brother, can you hold me while we sleep? You used to do that when I was little.”
Bai Lixin immediately hugged Chen Xiaoshi tightly: “Of course, no problem, little brother.”
Chen Xiaoshi’s body stiffened, but after a moment, he moved a bit in Bai Lixin’s embrace, “Brother, your body is so cool.”
The delicate skin couldn’t block out the warmth emanating from within. Chen Xiaoshi’s body was burning hot, as if a fire was raging beneath his skin.
[Lord Host,] S419M spoke up in Bai Lixin’s mind, [I’ve discovered something! The fake Li Li isn’t a player and is very close to the pink-haired guy, who belongs to the masked people faction. The fake Li Li is likely part of the masked people’s faction too. The monster under Chen Xiaoshi’s skin and the one under Li Li’s skin are very similar, but they probably aren’t in the same group.]
Bai Lixin: [Mmm.]
Escape System: [Mmm.]
S419M: [Hey, why are you both just humming?]
Escape System: [Hmm, turns out Brother M is really slow. It took you this long to figure that out.]
Bai Lixin: [Your Brother M suffered a head injury when he was young, so his brain is not very good. Be kind to him from now on.]
Escape System: [Alright, Master Bai Lixin, I’m very good at taking care of the old, the weak, and the sick.]
S419M: [???]
“Brother, sing me a song. You used to sing me to sleep all the time.”
Bai Lixin: “What do you want to hear?”
Chen Xiaoshi: “Anything.”
Bai Lixin thought for a moment, then softly sang a gentle, soothing tune from deep within his memory.
—To my distant compatriots.
—The wind carries my thoughts, the rain conveys my blessings.
—Your future is bright, you will return in glory.
—If you suffer, your hometown will always be your safe haven.
—Look up at the sky, the clouds show the way home.
—Listen carefully, the wind by your ear is the call to return home.
