CH 111

(Ghost King?)

The long-tongued woman found it difficult to accept the grievance and screamed at the people outside the wall, but the sound was incredibly weird due to the tongue being yanked out. 

They noticed the tongue mass wiggle wildly and rush towards the group of players.

The nearest unfortunate player had his face plastered with tongue, and the soft tongue was crammed into his mouth, leaving only a tail outside while the remainder burrowed into his throat.

Due to a lack of oxygen, the player’s face turned red, and he silently requested assistance from the guy next to him.

Shen Dongqing was the most helpful. He walked over and punched the hapless man in the stomach. 

“Gack—” The player’s face wrinkled in agony, his waist bent like a shelled shrimp, and the long tongue was spewed out of his mouth after a burst of retching, and the entire person crashed.

When the player next to him noticed it, he moved away unintentionally, increasing the gap between them.

Although you wouldn’t die if a tongue is stuck in your mouth… This style of assistance was too painful. People were rescued, but they were left half-dead.

Shen Dongqing waved his fist and asked enthusiastically, “Is there anyone else who needs help?”

The players shook their heads in unison, signaling that they could handle this tongue on their own.

The long-tongued woman grew even more enraged when she realized her tongue couldn’t deal with the players. She actually broke free from the two imps who were pulling her tongue out and charged out of the mural.

The long tongue whipped around in the air and wrapped itself around Shen Dongqing. The mucus it released trickled on the ground, creating flaming wisps of blue smoke.

“Be careful!” warned a kind-hearted player. 

But it was clear at a glance that the long-tongued woman was dangerous, so no one rushed to aid.

Shen Dongqing couldn’t help but take a step back: “…So disgusting.”

He had just taken a shower and changed his clothing.

Long-tongued Woman assumed Shen Dongqing was terrified of herself when he flinched, and she laughed even more wildly. 

Her mirth was short-lived, and her motions froze. She soared backwards, like a kite with a broken string, and smashed a deep hole into the wall.

Shen Dongqing wiped the soles of his feet on the ground and grumbled, “tsk.”

Long-tongued Woman slid softly to the ground, her long tongue jutting out of her lips bouncing then slumping weakly.

The player who had just warned Shen Dongqing was stunned. 

This… this is it?

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

When the long-tongued woman collapsed, those little tongues deflated as well, and the players easily broke free.

Clink— 

With a crisp sound, a copper key fell to the ground.

A player looked left and right but did not dare to pick it up for fear of being publicly chastised. “How about…you take the key?” he remarked to Shen Dongqing.

“Won’t,” Shen Dongqing flatly refused.

The player: “Huh?” 

Shen Dongqing averted his gaze: “It’s revolting. Anyone who wants it can have it.”

When the players glanced at the key, they noticed that it was covered in turbid mucus. They hadn’t thought so before, but now that their attention had been drawn to it, it appeared a touch sickening.

The players exchanged dismayed looks until someone stepped up and picked up the key with their eyes closed.

It took them to the next floor. 

The bizarre thing was that two individuals couldn’t get to other parts of the first level.

The other players pondered for a minute before coming to a conclusion. The two people left behind were usually glib and frequently deceived other players, which was the crime punished in Tongue-pulling Hell.

That being the case, the others were powerless to intervene. They had no choice but to abandon them and move on.

They climbed the stairs step by step after opening the iron gate separating the two floors. 

The player in front had hardly seen a little light when he felt a cold wind coming from above, chilling him to the bone.

He didn’t have time to evade and instead froze.

The player was then kicked to the ground after being booted from behind.

When he plummeted to the ground, there was a “click” sound and a pair of scissors approximately a person’s height fell from above. Based on the sharpness of the blade, it could easily cut a human in half. 

The man had escaped the disaster and was going to get up when he noticed what was happening in front of him and screamed again.

This floor was littered with corpses.

The corpses were not whole, but had been cut in half, and the inner parts had spilled all over the ground. Despite this, those people were not yet dead. They kept rolling and howling, and the entire floor reeked of blood.

Even if the players were well-informed, such a scene made them shudder. 

“Let’s find the key first.”

The players split up into pairs and were more scared than hurt by the time they found the key and headed to the next floor.

After experiencing the first two stories, they didn’t make a fuss when they reached the third floor and beheld trees full of hanging people.

The third floor was Iron Tree Hell. 

The ground was cluttered with iron trees, and the trees were filled with people dangling from them. When those folks were strung up, their skins were peeled off, and they appeared naked and red. There were tall, short, chubby, and skinny men and women. They twitched and twisted, as if they were dying fish.

“So ugly,” Shen Dongqing said as he pinched his nose.

Zhou Wenyan nodded: “It’s pretty nasty.”

Shen Dongqing quietly stated: “I’m wondering whether something is wrong with this ghost king. Normal people wouldn’t do something like this to their house, would they?” 

“He’s a ghost,” Zhou Wenyan reminded him.

Shen Dongqing took this wise counsel and revised his statement: “He’s obviously not a normal ghost.”

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Dea la jqqfjgfv atja atfrf akb vlvc’a mjgf jybea la. 

“Po la kfgf sbe, tbk kbeiv sbe ilxf la?” Itbe Qfcsjc fnfc lcdelgfv, tlr fsfr ygluta klat lcafgfra.

Shen Dongqing considered for a moment: “First of all, it must have wifi so I may play games.”

“What else?” Zhou Wenyan asked, smiling.

Shen Dongqing began to imagine the future: “It needs to have a big TV, French windows would be best, and there should be lots and lots of snacks on the table…” 

He turned to face Zhou Wenyan, grinned, and hugged the arm of the person next to him: “Of course, there will be you.”

Zhou Wenyan stared at him, his voice softening: “There will be.”

The key had been discovered by the players over there.

However, something similar to “some individuals can’t leave” occurred again. 

The players who were left behind were dumbfounded.

“But we haven’t done anything bad!”

A player who was fairly knowledgeable about ancient mythology stated: “The purpose of Iron Tree Hell is to punish those who cause strife among kin and instigate discord in the family. Have you done either of these two crimes?”

A dark and scrawny man swore: “Fuck! Does this also count? If you quarrel with your family, you’ll go to hell? This is too ridiculous!” 

Something that is not a crime in modern times will send you to hell when you come here.

The players that were left behind felt bitter.

The players on their way to the next level were even more nervous. The majority of them had made both big and small mistakes. Maybe they’d be trapped in the next level of hell.

But what could they possibly do? They couldn’t leave this instance until they had gotten the ghost king’s treasure, so they had to keep going. 

The fourth floor appeared considerably cleaner and fresher than the prior three. At the very least, there was no blood and no limbs flying everywhere.

There were just mirrors, all types of mirrors, here.

Every mirror displayed a human figure as soon as they walked onto the floor.

The first player to walk in was confronted by countless selves. After some time, the image in the mirrors began to shift, revealing a scene. 

This player had murdered another.

He’d committed the sin of murder.

Wu Jia: “The Mirror Hell.”

When a person who has committed this sin comes to Mirror Hell and looks in the mirror, their crimes are revealed. 

In a panic, the player explained, “I couldn’t help it, I didn’t do it on purpose, ah—”

In the trial here, it didn’t matter whether he did it on purpose or not. A pair of bloodied hands reached out from the mirror in front of the player and dragged him into it.

There was a ripple on the surface of the mirror, and someone caught a glimpse of the player being tossed into mountains of daggers and oceans of fire. He and the undead next to him jumped around like they were dancing on the flaming coals.

“This…” 

These players might have had a clear conscience before entering the game. But after entering it, how could they live up to this point without shedding blood?

The players retreated silently, fearful of entering Mirror Hell.

But they couldn’t discover the key to the next floor unless they entered it. There was no way they could avoid this 365° mirror with no dead angles, which was bound to depict a scene if they entered it.

They were now in a deadlock, and the screams of the player who had been thrust into tremendous peril still rang in their ears, and no one dared to act rashly. 

Shen Dongqing stepped forward after a brief silence: “I don’t think I’ve done anything bad.”

Wu Jia whispered, “Maybe beating up ghosts is also considered a mistake…”

Shen Dongqing and Wu Jia exchanged glances before he quietly moved back and stated, “Then I made a mistake.”

If beating up an innocent NPC was deemed a sin, then Shen Dongqing was practically the devil incarnate. 

The players couldn’t think of a solution to the dilemma at the time, and some people planned to retreat, but when they looked back, the door they came in through had been blocked at some point, and there was also a mirror on the door’s reverse side.

The man who looked at this situation was immediately drawn into the mirror.

When Shen Dongqing saw this, he had an idea: “I have a solution!”

“Can’t you just close your eyes since you’ll be drawn in by looking in the mirror?” 

This strategy was startlingly straightforward and crude, and it was just what Shen Dongqing could think of.

Shen Dongqing gazed proudly at Zhou Wenyan as he finished speaking.

Zhou Wenyan: “Looks like we can try it.”

Shen Dongqing, on the other hand, had another question: “But I can’t seem to walk with my eyes closed.” 

“Grab me,” Zhou Wenyan said, reaching out his hand.

Shen Dongqing reached out and clasped it.

Zhou Wenyan’s palm was broad, with well-defined knuckles, whereas Shen Dongqing’s hand was a little smaller, white, and tender. The two hands were locked together, holding each other.

Shen Dongqing shut his eyes. 

Zhou Wenyan, too, held on to him and closed his eyes as the two slowly walked over.

The mirrors reflected the two people’s outlines, and their misdeeds probably did not appear on them since they did not look at them directly.

They fumbled their way to the opposite side.

After seeing how efficient this strategy was, the other players followed suit and walked over with their eyes closed. 

It’s simply that the other people went solo with their eyes closed and didn’t clasp hands so cheesily.

They had an issue when all of the players there arrived safely on the other side.

“What about the key?”

If they didn’t have the key, simply coming here seemed pointless, right? 

“We don’t need a key,” said Shen Dongqing, waving his hand.

He moved to the iron gate after speaking, and appeared to be forcing the entrance open with his bare hands.

There were some skeptical voices in the crowd.

“This iron door is so heavy, he can’t possibly open it.” 

“I gave it a shot. It is impossible to open without the key.”

“I think we should go back and look for the key…”

Before the words could be finished, a thunderous crash interrupted the players’ chatter.

The players looked at the door sharply. 

The iron gate had toppled over.

The players were stunned stupid.

It just broke open?

“Done,” said Shen Dongqing, dusting off his hands. 

Dust whirled around before settling to the ground, revealing the lengthy stairwell beyond the door.

The players froze in place and didn’t react.

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan walked up first.

Wu Jia hurriedly followed, but the moment he stepped on the stairs, he hit a transparent barrier. 

“Wait—” Wu Jia frantically knocked on the transparent barrier.

Shen Dongqing stopped and looked back: “Why can’t you come up?”

Other than Wu Jia, the other players were trapped in the Mirror Hell as well, unable to go up or down. Being stuck in the middle was really embarrassing.

Wu Jia: “Mirror! You must look in the mirror to ensure there is no crime before you can leave this floor.” 

“But we didn’t look in the mirror either,” Shen Dongqing scratched his cheek.

Wu Jia couldn’t figure out why.

“We don’t have an identity,” Zhou Wenyan explained.

When they entered, each player drew an identity card and disguised themself as a random ghost; only Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan did not. 

And, naturally, the Eighteen Hells could only be reached after death, and all those who were judged were ghosts.

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan had no identities, were alive, and the Eighteen Hells’ regulations had no influence on them, thus they could exit the Mirror Hell.

Wu Jia realized this after some thought and stated, “Then hurry up and find the ghost king’s treasure. We should be able to leave once this instance is over.”

Shen Dongqing waved goodbye to Wu Jia and thudded up the stairs. 

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan had no scruples after learning that the Eighteen Hells couldn’t confine them. They bulldozed their way through the levels and were soon on the eighteenth floor.

The eighteenth level of hell was Saw Hell.

People were chained to wooden stakes as though they were being crucified, and small demons stood nearby, sawing down from the tops of the doomed people’s heads with a rusty saw.

Saw, stop, saw, stop. 

The folks who were sawed were shrieking and sobbing, the sounds rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern.

Shen Dongqing searched for a long time, but all he found were tortured people and no sign of the ghost king’s treasure.

He was a little depressed: “Could it be that it isn’t here?”

Zhou Wenyan: “Maybe it really isn’t here.” 

Eighteen Hells, according to the builder’s idea, were used for judgment and execution, and it was impossible for the ghost king’s treasure to be stored here.

Then where was the treasure of the ghost king?

Shen Dongqing couldn’t think of anything, so he grabbed a saw-wielding little demon.

Little Demon Saw was working hard when he was caught off guard, and he was still baffled. 

“Do you know where the ghost king’s treasure is?” Shen Dongqing shook the little demon.

Little Demon Saw was only a wannabe who did as he was instructed. How could he have known such a thing? It feverishly shook its head, but couldn’t speak and simply produced “ahah” sounds.

Shen Dongqing questioned two or three Little Demon Saws in a row and received the same response. Just as he was ready to find the next one, a young man bound to the stake feebly muttered, “Save, save me, I’ll tell you—”

Only God knows how much suffering the young man had endured in Saw Hell. His clothes were rags and splattered with blood. The real horror of this hell was not being sawed, but that after being sawed into two parts, they would immediately return to their former state, suffering the agony of being sawed again and again. 

Some of those tortured in hell’s eighteenth level were genuine ghosts, while others were players.

When the player could no longer bear the torment, they would lose consciousness, forfeit their player identity, and become one of the punished NPCs.

Shen Dongqing seized the saw from Little Demon Saw when he heard this.

Even when the saw was robbed, the small demon with the terrifying green face and fangs dared not speak in front of Shen Dongqing. Its small face was aggrieved as it pouted. 

Shen Dongqing grabbed the saw and sawed off the youth’s bonds.

The young man collapsed as soon as he lost the support of the wooden stake. He was scarcely awake, saying intermittently, “Under, underground… layer…” He passed out shortly after speaking.

The Eighteen Hells were located underground. The larger the layer number, the deeper you had to go, until the eighteenth floor which was really deep down. The tower’s design was completely reversed, with the layers ascending.

Thinking in the opposite direction, the genuine tower floors were the subterranean floors. 

The tower stood tall from the outside, and visitors would naturally move up instinctively, unaware that there was another floor below.

This is how the young man arrived at the eighteenth floor. By the time he grasped the reality, he was stuck in Saw Hell, unable to escape.

“Let’s go down first,” Zhou Wenyan said, picking up the unconscious young man.

As a result, the two of them descended again. 

Wu Jia was still squatting on the fourth floor of Mirror Hell, waiting for the two bigshots to return from their fruitful journey. After some thought, he reasoned that the later levels of hell should not be a challenge for them.

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan did return soon, and they returned rather loaded.

But there was something wrong with this treasure; why was it a person?

Wu Jia was taken aback: “Where did he come from?” 

Shen Dongqing: “Picked him up.”

“Keep him for now,” Zhou Wenyan said nonchalantly as he tossed the young man to Wu Jia.

Wu Jia found himself picking up a hot potato and not knowing what to do. He could only set down the youth aside first. When he looked up, he only saw the backs of the two people. “Where are you going?” he yelled at them.

Shen Dongqing waved back at Wu Jia: “We’ll go down and have a look!” 

The figures then vanished at the top of the steps.

The duo went back to the first floor.

The woman with the large tongue had been knocked dizzy, and her brain was so foggy that she couldn’t function. She heard someone approaching and her body soared through the air one step ahead before she could see who was approaching.

Boom— 

She bashed another large hole in the wall.

Shen Dongqing had kicked her reflexively, and he was a little mortified after putting his foot down, so he went up to apologize.

As a result, the woman’s eyes rolled back and she promptly fainted.

Shen Dongqing rubbed his nose and walked away from the long-tongued woman as if this matter had nothing to do with him. 

Zhou Wenyan looked about and, as anticipated, discovered a secret entrance.

The secret door was hidden behind the mural at the entrance.

Originally, the mural depicted the long-tongued woman being tortured. There were only two befuddled imps remaining after the long-tongued woman left the mural, and the secret entrance was between them. In general, players would avoid such places, and hence wouldn’t notice the flaw.

Zhou Wenyan extended his hand and pushed it, and the secret door opened, revealing an underground road. 

The steps were steep and seemed to go on forever.

Zhou Wenyan and Shen Dongqing walked down one after the other, leaving only the sound of superimposed footsteps in the narrow space.

They had no idea how long they had gone before noticing a little light in front of them.

They arrived at the bottom of the steps after walking along the light. 

They had reached an empty square with a high platform in the middle. A small chest stood in the center of the high platform. They had no idea what was inside the chest because it was locked.

Shen Dongqing suspected it was the ghost king’s treasure.

“—Otherwise, who is full and has nothing to do but make this junk and store it here?” He stated.

Zhou Wenyan: “You’re right.” 

It’s just that the contents of this chest were not so easy to obtain. Faces stood out on the surrounding walls in the faint light, and the skeletons confined inside came to life, glaring maliciously at this pair of intruders.

There were countless cracks in the ground, and rotting hands shot out one by one, constantly grasping in the air.

“The welcome ceremony is extremely warm… but the cheerleaders are a tad too ugly,” Shen Dongqing said, tilting his head.

The underground “cheerleaders” took offense, and the ghouls crawled out one by one, hunched over and howling at Shen Dongqing. The vacant square was suddenly full with people, no, no, it was crowded with ghosts. 

Shen Dongqing fanned towards his nose.

There were just too many ghosts. The stench of their bodies had combined, and this was a closed space. It went well beyond the average person’s tolerance.

He raised his eyes to the high platform in the center.

This high platform was a little far away, and there were a bunch of cheerleaders in the middle, so getting to it was still a challenge. 

Shen Dongqing stroked his chin and pondered: “How about burning them all?”

Zhou Wenyan pulled a lighter from his pocket.

Shen Dongqing attempted to fire the lighter, but it took much effort until a small flame appeared.

A ghoul pounced with its mouth wide open just then. 

Shen Dongqing did not fight back and approached it with the lighter.

For a brief period, the flames flickered, showing the ghoul’s rotten maggot-infested face and wide open mouth along with the stink radiating from it.

“Oh, it doesn’t appear to be working…”

The ghoul froze for a moment before getting kicked away by Zhou Wenyan. The ghoul was huge and clumsy, knocking over numerous comrades in the process. They rolled into a ball and were unable to get up. 

Shen Dongqing had no choice but to abandon his plan and crush them.

These skeletons and ghouls had low IQs and were only useful as cannon fodder. Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan reached the high platform after some work and time.

Shen Dongqing leaned down to inspect the chest after getting near.

The chest was delicate and gorgeous with numerous patterns all over it and a lock in the center. 

Shen Dongqing reached out his hand to touch the chest, but an indiscernible voice above said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t touch this chest.”

Shen Dongqing looked up and noticed a figure suspended near the ceiling. Like a complete Chunibyo, that figure was covered in a cloak from head to toe, with a mask on its face exposing a pair of ruby-like eyes staring at the people below.

Shen Dongqing: “You…”

That person triumphantly exclaimed before Shen Dongqing could continue, “I know what you’re going to ask, so I’ll be gracious and answer it. I am— Ghost King.” 

Despite waiting a while, he didn’t see the two of them terrified as he had expected, and he yelled angrily: “What? You look down on Ghost King!”

“No…” Shen Dongqing remarked sincerely, “I just think you look like someone with an IQ problem rather than Ghost King.”