CH 3

The scarlet moon grew brighter and brighter, clearly illuminating ‘Yu Miao’.

Perhaps the yin qi in the house was denser, and after the woman possessed her, she integrated some of her own appearance into that of the possessed Yu Miao.

The woman had lost track of her enemy and could only search throughout the house.

The scarlet moonlight imbued an aura of ominousness. The woman walked for a long time. She heard movement around her, then turned and walked toward the source of the sound.

Inside the wall were the three people in Wang Nie’s group.

The three had managed to escape from the ghosts’ pursuit and hid in a building, waiting for the group of ghosts to float away before coming out.

At that time, the three were chatting.

Wang Nie asked: “Have you guys found anything?”

Yang Fu scratched his head and announced that he hadn’t found anything, then shoved Yang Tu and gestured for him to speak.

Yang Tu pouted and said: “I found a well in the yard. It must be the well mentioned in the introduction, but I don’t know if the woman is still inside it.”

“A water well?” Wang Nie squinted his small eyes, preventing light from reaching them. “Let’s go take a look right now.”

“Now?” Yang Tu looked at the red moon hanging in the sky and felt uneasy, so he suggested: “How about we go before dawn? Let’s find a place to rest first, Wang-ge.”

Wang Nie’s rebuttal was sharp: “Yes go or no go! What did you say when you joined the team?”

Yang Fu said: “I will listen to you, Wang-ge.”

“Scared piece of shit, ah!” Wang Nie said. “If we wait until dawn, clues may already be found by others. Do you still want to clear the task?”

As soon as the words were spoken, Yang Tu could only resentfully agree. Not only that, but he also had to say flattery to Wang Nie: “Wang-ge, I was wrong. You have a lot of knowledge that I do not.”

Wang Nie glanced at Yang Tu. Seeing the resentful expression on his face, he couldn’t help but sneer internally.

He just wanted to clear the task, what about daydreaming?

He was only worthy of being his stepping stone!

After the three agreed, they were ready to leave.

But as soon as they exited, Yang Tu saw a woman standing in front of them with her head lowered.

He asked: “Who are you, ah? Get out of our way.”

The woman slowly lifted her head. Yang Tu watched her movements. They were a little strange.

The woman’s motions were very stiff, like a machine that hadn’t been used for a long time, and each of her motions was off-putting.

Then, the woman raised her head. Yang Tu could only see a burst of red light as the woman rushed toward him. Her fingernails were sharp and hooked, instantly slicing open his arm and bringing forth the scent of blood.

‘Yu Miao’s’ scarlet eyes focused on Yang Tu’s bloody arm. Yang Tu covered it and stepped back. Wang Nie, who was behind him, saw that not only did Yang Tu not leave, but also retreated. He was annoyed and said frustratedly: “Yang Tu, if you don’t want to go, then go back and stay, don’t get in the way!”

Yang Tu’s face was pale as he looked back at Wang Nie. Before he could speak, ‘Yu Miao’ acted at an astonishing speed.

Yang Tu had no weapons, so his only option was to retreat. Perhaps it was because he was inspired by facing down his life or death, but he quickly took a large step back and pushed Wang Nie forward, perfectly aimed toward the hand that ‘Yu Miao’ had stretched out.

Wang Nie quickly released a weapon from his bracelet, a rusty iron knife.

Then he twisted his fat body and fought against ‘Yu Miao’. Although ‘Yu Miao’ was stiff at the beginning, the woman gradually adapted to her body and became more agile with her actions. Her fighting power wasn’t bad.

Wang Nie couldn’t fight against ‘Yu Miao’ for very long before he was exhausted.

The iron knife in his hand was purchased in the shop. It cost him a lot of survival points, since the function of the iron knife said it was able to kill ghosts.

But when the iron knife touched ‘Yu Miao’, it didn’t do it’s job. Because of its special shape, it was actually even more difficult to use than a kitchen knife.

Wang Nie gasped for breath. Yang Tu, who had been beside him, already ran away, and Yang Fu had followed.

Wang Nie looked at the ghost in front of him, grit his teeth, and used all of his strength to slash at her.

Although the iron knife couldn’t kill ‘Yu Miao’, it could injure her. Because Wang Nie’s strike was powerful, it directly sliced into ‘Yu Miao’s’ arm.

The tip of the knife pierced the flesh with such great force that the bones within could be seen clearly.

Although ‘Yu Miao’ couldn’t feel pain, it would still impair her physical mobility. At the moment ‘Yu Miao’ paused, Wang Nie grabbed the knife and ran away with all of his ability.

The woman didn’t try to catch up. She had to use yin qi to repair her body. Otherwise, if the body died, she would be useless.

Wang Nie ran in the same direction as Yang Tu and Yang Fu, but due to their head start, Wang Nie didn’t catch up to them.

Under the scarlet moonlight that was as bright as day, the three of them wildly ran down the path as if there were wolves chasing after them.

Yang Tu followed Yang Fu and rushed to the courtyard.

They entered cautiously, and as soon as they stepped foot inside, they saw a bit of red in the corner of the courtyard.

The two were scared at first, but then they were relieved to realize that it didn’t seem to be a ghost. It was only the color of someone’s clothes.

When they walked a few steps inside, they heard a cold voice: “Who is it? Come out.”

Yang Tu and Yang Fu froze. They weren’t scared, just intimidated.

Then they saw a man in red coming out from the corner.

And he was holding a knife in his hand.

Gu An’s eyebrows were cold, and there was killing intent in his eyes that did not match his delicate face.

He looked at Yang Tu and Yang Fu before saying: “It turned out to be you two, ah.”

The silver light refracted from the black knife frightened them, and they were slightly regretful.

Why did he come in?! Is it so bad to live?!

But Gu An obviously couldn’t hear what they were thinking, and only continued: “What, did you come to fight?”

His voice was full of displeasure.

~ Half an Hour Earlier ~

Gu An stared at the roses and became unintentionally enchanted. When he regained his senses, he realized that he had transformed into a rose once more.

He immediately looked around and was relieved to find that there were no people nor ghosts around.

521 was surprised: “An An, why did you turn into a rose again! Could it be that you’re a rose flower demon?”

Gu An replied: “No.”

He tried to change back into his human form, but found that he couldn’t manage to transform.

He told 521 about the results, then suffered through the sensation that his brain was being bombarded.

521 sobbed in Gu An’s mind. The sound was harsh and ugly, and Gu An grimaced.

“Stop crying.” Gu An interrupted 521’s sobs and asked: “Can you stop making noise in my head?”

521 whimpered: “Wu wu, not right now.”

Gu An was speechless at 521. He had never seen such a whiny yet timid person.

Although, 521 wasn’t a person.

521 whispered: “If An An doesn’t want to hear my voice, you can block me, but blocking me requires affection points, which you don’t have, so you can’t block me.”

Gu An: “……”

That was truly bad news.

Gu An tried a few more times, but still couldn’t change back.

He recalled how he had felt when he transformed into a human last time. It was a warm feeling inside his body, and then suddenly he had been a human.

Hearing that, 521 glanced at its balance, then went to the shop to purchase a heater.

If anyone passed by at that time, they would have been stunned by the strange scene in front of them.

Next to a beautiful rose was a small heater. The heater was special and it could be used without being plugged in.

Gu An was silent for a moment, but decided to try it out.

521 cheerfully pressed the switch, and the heater began to run.

Gu An felt a wave of heat flow toward him. He closed his eyes and tried to transform back into a human form, but because the shop’s products were so high quality, the temperature was too high. It directly reached beyond hundreds of degrees, and almost roasted Gu An.

“521, hurry and turn off the heater!” Gu An was sweating all over his body, but he still didn’t appear human at all, and the temperature of the heater seemed to be raising higher and higher, which made him uncomfortable.

Although roses weren’t flammable, they would still be charred if the temperature was too high.

Hearing Gu An’s voice, 521 rushed to look, and found that the heat was indeed too high. HE quickly turned off the heater, but the heater seemed to flicker on and off, so it was anxious: “An An, the heater is broken and can’t be shut off. What should I do QAQ”

Gu An was silent after hearing that, and the veins on his forehead swelled. He twisted his body to get away from the heater, but his feet were rooted beneath the soil and he couldn’t move at all.

Seeing that the rose’s leaves were about to be seared from the high heat, at the critical moment, 521 cried, while Gu An transformed back into a human.

Then he immediately picked up his black knife and chopped the heater into two pieces with one shot.

The circuit was cut and the heater was completely trashed.

Gu An looked at the heater on the ground and questioned 521: “Is everything in your shop of this same quality?”

He was almost roasted after using it. If all of it was that quality, he truly wouldn’t dare to use it.

521 responded: “Of course not.” But then it whispered: “It’s because this one is the cheapest. I’m so poor, I can’t afford the expensive ones.”

Gu An’s speechlessness toward 521 increased to a new level. He glanced at the black knife and asked: “IS this black knife cheap?”

“It’s not cheap!” 521 said. “I bought this knife for you by taking out all of my wealth! It’s not the same as that cheap heater!!”

Seeing that it was so determined, and the black knife was easy to use, Gu An didn’t say anything. On the other side, 521 was a little angry.

It took out all of its wealth to buy weapons for An An, but An An still doubted it?!

Hmph. I’m pissed!

Stinky An An still isn’t coming to coax me QAQ

“521, thank you.” Gu An thanked 521.

It’s not just anyone that would buy things for another person with their own money. Although 521 wasn’t a person, it didn’t seem much different than a person.

Hearing that, 521 immediately put its trivial displeasure behind it, and said softly: “Thank you for what., ah As long as An An gains affection points as soon as possible, that’s the best thank you to me!”

“……” Gu An was silent for a few moments, then said: “521, I’ve told you many times. I’m single and don’t have a lover. How can I gain affection points?”

521 murmured lowly: “An An says that, but it’s so easy to hook others with that face……”1

Its voice was so low that Gu An couldn’t hear it clearly, and asked: “What did you say?”

“Nothing, nothing.” 521 quickly changed the topic. “By the way An An, did you notice anything about that well?”

When it mentioned the well, Gu An couldn’t help but consider.

Although he had concluded that the marks on the cover had been made by a human, there was no evidence, and he wasn’t entirely sure.

And as for the bones, why did they all go to the main house together? Why would the ghosts devour the yin qi in the bones?

There was someone in the well, that’s for sure. But who was the woman trapped in the well…..

Gu An contemplated with his eyes lowered until he heard the sound of footsteps. In this quiet area, the footsteps were obvious.

Gu An had no choice but to rescind from his contemplation and stepped out with the black knife. But since his contemplation was interrupted, he was displeased. He was even more so once he saw that the people who had arrived were the two people who fought against him.

Yang Tu and Yang Fu had no weapons.

If they really wanted to confront Gu An with their bare hands, it’s probable they won’t succeed. Not to mention that Gu An still had a knife in his hand.

Swords don’t have eyes.2 Yang Tu clutched his injured arm and stepped back to hide behind Yang Fu.

Although the large man was behind Yang Fu, he wasn’t stupid. He announced: “We have no ill intentions. We just turned the wrong way. We’ll leave now.”

After that, Yang Fu prepared to pull Yang Tu away.

Gu An spoke lightly: “Stop.”

The two of them acted as if they were holding down a pause button. They didn’t dare to move at all, except to turn around slowly.

Yang Tu forced a smile: “Is there anything else?”

Even Yang Fu gave an awkward smile.

They had followed Wang Nie before, and he often spoke about certain issues..

Completing tasks was directly related to money. Some players would do whatever they could to complete a task.

A loving brother could stab you in the back if you turn your head. What’s more, he could bully other players because of his ability.

Fortunately, a player’s bracelet could only be used by himself in the game. Otherwise, players with weak abilities would simply be robbed.

There were also people like Wang Nie who relied on their own experience to deceive or coerce new players. If they looked good, he would accept them. If their appearance was bad, he would use them as a stepping stone and human shield.

So Yang Tu and Yang Fu were very afraid that Gu An would attack them. After all, they had offended Gu An before.

Just when they thought they were about to be permanently dealt with, they heard Gu An ask: “The injury on your arm, where did it come from?”

Immediately upon hearing him, Yang Tu responded: “We were caught by a woman just now. The woman looked scary. Her eyes were red, and she moved very fast, at speeds that humans couldn’t possibly reach, and her nails were pointed and long, like a zombie……”

He said a lot, and after Gu An listened, he asked again: “She could touch you?”

“Yes, ah.” Yang Tu recalled and said. “Not only could it touch us, but even Wang-ge’s ghost-killing knife didn’t work. If we hadn’t run away quickly, we would have been food in that person’s stomach.”

Gu An’s brows creased as he heard those words. He flexed his fingers and said: “She eats people?”

Yang Tu didn’t speak, so Yang Fu spoke up from beside him: “Yes, she does. When Yang Tu’s arm was scratched and bleeding, the woman stared at his arm, just like a starving dog!”

Gu An recalled Zhao Yuan’s words.

She threw herself at them crazily and bit people……

What Yang Tu and Yang Fu said matched.

— It is this ‘person’ who eats people.

Yang Tu looked at Gu An and asked cautiously: “Is there any more to ask?”

“No more.” Gu An said. “You can leave now. Thank you for the information.”

Yang Tu and Yang Fu quickly waved their hands in dismissal, then walked out. When they were about to exit, Yang Tu looked back at Gu An and hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Wang Nie is going to the well to search for clues.”

He then told Gu An the well’s location. Gu An listened to his words, put away the black knife, and thanked them.

After Yang Tu and Yang Fu left, Gu An returned to the rose bush. He felt the roses must contain a clue.

He looked at the large, dense roses and fell into contemplation. At that moment, the roses suddenly chaned.

Gu An watch black yin qi gush out of it and quickly took a few steps back. He watched the roses grow bigger and bigger, and the petals grew brighter and more red until the vibrant color seemed as if it was dripping blood.

The blossoming petals gradually closed, but after time passed, the tightly sealed rose buds bloomed, revealing the black yin qi inside.

Gu An analyzed it carefully and discovered that the yin qi gradually took on a shape until it turned into the ghostly figures he saw.

There was a ghost inside each blossoming rose. They were probably asleep and hadn’t noticed Gu An’s existence.

After a few minutes, the roses gradually returned to their original appearance. The ghosts were once more covered by the rose petals, revealing only a slight trace of yin qi.

Gu An looked up at the red moon in the sky.

The moonlight at the moment was auspicious, but after fortune comes recession.

The red moon was clearly not as dark as before, and the light on the ground dimmed bit by bit.

Gu An lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then asked 521: “521, what time is it now?”

521 said: “Ten minutes past twelve.”

Gu An made an estimation and assumed that the roses’ sudden strange behavior should have been ten minutes ago, at twelve o’clock.

“is there a problem with the time?” 521 asked Gu An.

Gu An said: “There’s no problem.”

“Then why do you look so displeased. I thought something was wrong?” 521 muttered quietly.

Gu An ignored 521 and instead contemplated things.

After a while, he asked 521 again: “When we came here, what time was it?”

521 replied: “Around seven o’clock, ba.”

Generally speaking, night time was the time for magic. Ordinarily, ghosts came out to play at night. The sky at that time was already very dark, enough that it was impossible to see five outstretched fingers.

The moonlight was most likely due to the heavy yin qi, and the ghost’s murderous aura affected the color of the moon. In other words, the ghosts dyed the moon red.

The roses became strange at twelve o’clock.

Twelve o’clock at night was the most yin qi dense moment of the day. For the roses to bloom, and for the ghosts to sleep at that time……

Gu An considered that the ghosts were not actually sleeping, but fell into slumber for other reasons.

The ghosts were also human before they died, so when do people need to sleep?

When they’re tired or sleepy, or after eating and drinking.

Gu An felt like he had figured it out. He looked at the rose bushes. The ghosts were sleeping peacefully, and he couldn’t see any hint of their wild appearance from a few hours ago.

But why did the ghosts go back to sleep in the roses instead of choosing a cool and comfortable place? Other than being heavier and larger than ordinary roses, there was no other difference about these roses, so why could they withstand the dense yin qi of the ghosts without being corroded or destroyed?

Inside Gu An’s mind, an idea formed.

But he frowned immediately. It was just a guess, and he wouldn’t know if it was true or not until he found evidence.

The night wind was cool. Gu An pulled his clothes closer and asked 521 to put the black knife back into its system space.

Speaking of 521’s system space, Gu An was silent for a while.

Because that system space was really too much like a thief. Even 521 couldn’t access it sometimes, and if it wanted to access it, it had to pay a certain amount of affection points.

Not much, but it still had to pay.

But Gu An had no affection points at all, and the system space would naturally not allow Gu An to access it. It was also supposed to be intelligent. Where is it intelligent?

521 wanted to trick it to let Gu An in, but it recognized him. As a result, 521 was tossed out, and when 521 tried to enter alone, it couldn’t get in.

521 tried changing its appearance, but it couldn’t enter. It could only put things in or take them out.

Gu An thought that sure enough, birds of a feather flock together.3 It’s true.

Seeing that the roses hadn’t changed, Gu An left the courtyard.

After he left, only a few minutes later, a dark figure floated over.

The dark figure sniffed the air and learned that Gu An had left. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Ever since he smelled An An, he had been looking for him, but Gu An wouldn’t stay in one place.

And there were too many scents inside the house, which were messy and confusing. He needed to find Gu An’s scent in the midst of many scents, and then he would follow the scent to find Gu An.

His nose twitched slightly, sniffing Gu An’s scent.

Then he turned into a cloud of black qi and floated in the direction that Gu An had left in.

On the other side, after Gu An went to the wooden cottage, he happened to encounter Wang Nie.

There were scratches all over Wang Nie’s body, as well as a strong odor. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it was unpleasant.

Gu An took a step back without warning. He frowned, wanting Wang Nie to enter before he did.

But Wang Nie paused and spoke to him: “We meet again. How about it, do you want to join our team?”

Gu An looked at Wang Nie. He really wanted to beat him up and then say to him, I really don’t need your help!

But he just imagined it internally, and Wang Nie was unwilling. “I’m so powerful, why won’t you follow me? Why?!”

Gu An’s eyes were stern as his fingers clenched in to fists. If Wang Nie took one more step forward, he would punch him.

Before he could move, Wang Nie ran into the yard panicking, as if he had seen something.

Gu An turned to check it out. He couldn’t see anything. After pulling his gaze away, he also entered the yard.

There was a person lying on the ground not far away.

That person was Yu Miao. When the woman left her body, she naturally passed out and returned to her original appearance.

Because she happened to be near the wall when she fell, Gu An couldn’t see her.

After the yin qi left Yu Miao at that time, it floated into the water well.

Then a sound came from the well. Its contents were trying to escape.

Wang Nie stood by the well listening to the sounds inside, and was scared. But when he thought of the clues, he was no longer afraid, and was even tempted to stick his head inside to see what was happening.

But he didn’t do it. He was afraid that something inside would take the opportunity to pull him in. He turned back and looked at Gu An.

Gu An was holding a long black knife. The blade was sharp, and the refracted silver light made his heart feel cold.

Wang Nie couldn’t help but hold his breath. His palms were sweaty, and his earlier thoughts were solidified.

The clues could only belong to him. What is someone wanted to fight him?

There was a murderous aura in Wang Nie’s small eyes. That person could only be killed!

He looked at Gu An’s delicate facial features and felt a small amount of pity, but in front of his own desires, such emotions were nothing at all.

Just as his thoughts became crazy, his ankles suddenly froze. He looked down just in time to meet a pair of sullen eyes.

— His ankle had been grabbed by a pair of bruised and water-swollen hands.

He panicked and screamed: “Aaaaaahhhh! Ghost, ah!!”

Then he was suddenly pulled backward, leaning on the edge of the well.

But the hand holding his ankle didn’t let go.

As soon as Gu An entered the yard, he saw a woman crawling out of the well.

He looked at the woman’s bruised and water-swollen hands, and smelled the rancid odor in the tip of his nose, and thought something to himself–

— Not a person, but a ghost.