Chapter 61 Crazy Love Season
The child’s identity remained a mystery all this time.
When Red Jacket Lady strongly demanded that Wen Shi give her the child, most players watched with interest, curious about Wen Shi’s choice.
The audience’s comment about “brilliance of humanity” was hilarious, but some of the lower-ranked players actually wished it were true. They wanted the other party to have a big argument with the NPC over the child. That way, his ranking would drop in the next round.
Wen Shi didn’t act recklessly to that extent. No matter how many cards he had, breaking certain game rules meant death.
He looked around a bit, but he was actually staring at the feature called【Family Afternoon Tea Party】. When activated, family members could briefly meet in another room. Using this, he could make the child disappear unnoticed for a while. Knowing how Red Jacket Lady was, if the child vanished, she’d surely create a scene. He might even turn this situation around in a surprising way.
However, A’Sang spoke up at that moment, “G-go play with Big Sister.”
A’Sang’s eyes were unlike Wen Shi’s. Wen Shi had light-colored irises, while the child’s eyes were distinctly black and white, with dark pupils. As the mountain air grew colder, his skin got paler, just like snow.
This child was far from weak, but until Wen Shi saw his strength firsthand, he held onto the caution of an old father.
“Then go.”
Holding the child in his arms, Wen Shi discreetly handed him a communication item he had bought from the in-game store. It only cost fifty points and allowed players to contact each other in instances. However, generally, players rarely used it unless in the later stages of an instance. Roughly about ten percent of instances, if not less, had a rule against using communication items privately.
“If you have any problems, call me.” Wen Shi had already entered his player number into it.
A’Sang wasn’t a player. As long as he rang, Wen Shi would directly activate【Family Afternoon Tea Party】.
Red Jacket Lady was eager to take the child away. Wen Shi walked them forward for a bit.
Red Jacket Lady’s true nature showed as she impatiently dismissed him, “Don’t follow us.”
A’Sang said seriously beside her, “Big Sister, you haven’t given your gift in return.”
The gift had to be given now, or there might not be another chance.
Glancing at the time gate, Red Jacket Lady yelled at him, “There’s no place for you to talk here!”
A’Sang stared at Red Jacket Lady intently. After three seconds, he activated a skill that all children have—throwing a tantrum.
Wen Shi wanted to feel sorry for the child, but when he saw the child struggling to squeeze out tears and holding onto unwavering anticipation in his eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He rubbed his forehead and said, “We’ll have to call the host to settle this.”
Other players hadn’t received return gifts because they hadn’t met their matches’ requirement yet. However, Wen Shi had handed over the child on the spot.
Later, there were more ceremonies to prepare for. Good timing was scarce in a day. Red Jacket Lady didn’t want to get delayed by pointless matters. She took a key from her waist and said, “In my room’s cabinet, there’s something you can take.”
“O-okay…let’s go.” A’Sang was even more eager than Red Jacket Lady. His small hand almost left an afterimage as he waved it. “Dad, goodbye.”
Wen Shi watched them go from a distance. Just in case, he summoned the Old Man Ghost and had it follow them. The Wandering Corpse was currently in a state of low intelligence. Without Wen Shi’s guidance on the side, its ability to adapt to unexpected situations was quite poor.
He himself, carrying the key given by Red Jacket Lady, returned to the village.
Even during the day, there were hardly any living souls moving about in Sealed Coffin Village. Every household’s door was tightly shut. The cameraman walked silently behind him, capturing both scenery and people, with a focus on capturing Wen Shi’s expressions. Seeing no trace of doubt on his face, he disappointedly shifted the focus back to the landscape.
Wen Shi held deep suspicions inside him, but he didn’t show it.
When the cameraman saw the Old Man Ghost trailing behind Red Jacket Lady, he didn’t give any comment. He simply called over a colleague to film the scene. Facing ghosts seemed like a normal occurrence for the production team. So, the question arose: Are the viewers watching their show humans or ghosts?
The houses were spaced apart. And with nobody coming out and about, the wind moved freely, creating a whooshing sound in this overly quiet village.
A small door ahead cracked open a bit, revealing a pair of lifeless eyes peering from behind.
Wen Shi took three or four steps forward, then dashed over like a gust of wind. Before the other person could react, he kicked the not-so-sturdy wooden door. The impact immediately left a visible crack on the door.
“Enjoy peeking so much?”
Behind the door, an old lady fell to the ground, clutching her waist, glaring angrily at the violent figure before her.
He had seen this face in the audience last night. Wen Shi deduced that those who came to watch the show recording were humans, as only they had carried umbrellas to avoid getting splashed with corpse oil while leaving.
Wen Shi quickly went to the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and came back. Then, he helped the old lady sit in a chair and stood with the knife. He softly asked, “Ma’am, why aren’t there many people around the village during the day? And why do you all wear clothes with the character for ‘longevity’?”
It made sense for middle-aged and elderly folks to do so, but even children were them. Young people were advised not to casually wear clothes with that character, because it was said to shorten one’s life according to local beliefs.
The old lady had a stubborn temper. “If you have guts, go ahead and kill me.”
Wen Shi lacked the courage to do that, so he began rummaging through the house, taking everything like firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Trembling with anger, the old lady attempted to get up, but the reflection on the shining kitchen knife blinded her.
The cameraman said, “Weren’t you planning to showcase the brilliance of humanity?”
Wen Shi: “Are you saying this kitchen knife isn’t brilliant enough?”
“……”
With nothing to eat or wear, he had to go ask the neighbors for help. In recent days, except for yesterday’s unusual circumstances, villagers refrained from going out if they could avoid it.
The old lady finally gave in, her thin lips moved slightly.
“We’re from Sealed Coffin Village. For generations, we’ve been making coffins, burial clothes, and other funeral items. Wearing these clothes is our tradition. Our ancestors passed down the belief that black burial clothes ward off evil spirits, and red ones…”
Wen Shi thought about the clothes he had seen in the graveyard’s coffins and asked, “What does red burial clothes represent?”
“Wearing red burial clothes means lending one’s life.”
Wen Shi frowned. This went against the common belief outside. “Aren’t burial clothes supposed to avoid dark colors?”
The old lady’s smile was creepy. “Many believe black is the color of the underworld, making it harder for the deceased to be seen. But sometimes, not being seen is a good thing.”
Her words seemed to imply that Sealed Coffin Village might be a small gateway to the underworld, and the living villagers didn’t want to attract the attention of spirits.
No matter how much he threatened her, she wouldn’t say another word. Convinced he had gathered enough information, just as Wen Shi was about to leave, he noticed a calendar hanging on the wall. Today was the thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month.
His pupils contracted as he realized something. “The third day of filming ‘Crazy Love Season’ coincides with the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month.”
The Ghost Festival, when the gates to the spirit world open.
From the moment Wen Shi glanced at the calendar, the cameraman’s lips had already spread into a grin. The old lady’s lips were curving upwards too, her loose skin forming layers of wrinkles. She looked at Wen Shi as if preparing offerings for a household ritual.
The old lady, with unsteady steps, began tidying up the disarrayed room. The clinking of utensils sounded as they collided. She inserted her chopsticks heavily into a bowl of incense ash and muttered to herself, “Ah, here comes an outsider.”
Wen Shi suddenly had a very bad feeling, fearing that the gates to the underworld might open in Sealed Coffin Village.
The instance itself had an unsolvable death rule: CPs were eliminated based on popularity, one by one.
If they were to open another gateway, it would be like sealing players’ fates.
For the first time, the system broke free from its mechanical tone and played with an eerie and peculiar pitch.
“Congratulations on discovering a special clue— the calendar. Activate the helpful hint.”
“Attention all players, it’s highly likely that the ‘Crazy Love Season’ instance will undergo an upgrade in two days. After this upgrade, the instance will become a permanent feature. Each time players enter, they will embark on a unique and wonderful journey.”
“Following the upgrade, there will be improved details in the instance’s functionality and experience. Three new special maps, including【Rewind Journey on the South Mountain Road】and【Haunted Dried-Up Well】, will also be added.”
“Players, please take note that after a successful upgrade, the instance’s difficulty will be adjusted to 2S.”
“Wishing the first group of players an enjoyable experience.”
“……”
Wen Shi felt that cursing right now was acceptable.
This time, the camera successfully captured the change in his expression. Still smiling, the cameraman said, “In order to thank the vast audience for their support, the production team will be inviting a portion of the audience to participate in the recording live.”
Not just watch the recording, but participate.
Wen Shi remained silent for a moment, set down the kitchen knife, and walked out of the house. The sky outside was densely black, with rolling clouds that made the distance between heaven and earth’s gates feel infinitely close, making it hard to breathe.
After gazing fixedly for a few seconds, Wen Shi suddenly rushed back into the house and slammed the table hard. “You, hand over the umbrella!”
Two minutes later, amidst the old lady’s furious curses, Wen Shi contentedly carried a large black umbrella and headed towards Red Jacket Lady’s house.
“Staying indoors and not going out, keeping an umbrella is simply a waste.”
It became much more useful in his hands.
The cameraman, who had initially anticipated capturing his expression of fear: Outlaw, no, savage outlaw!
Red Jacket Lady’s mansion was currently quite deserted.
It was clear that just yesterday, a group of people had been busy back and forth. Wen Shi found the steward, Uncle Li, and said, “Your Young Miss asked me to get something from her room.”
Regardless of whether the instance would upgrade or not, he had to finish his current tasks quickly to earn a bit more of a lifeline.
Uncle Li cooperated very willingly and led the way.
Wen Shi casually mentioned, “There seem to be a lot fewer people in the house.”
Uncle Li’s lips curled upward as he cryptically said, “They’re all busy helping our Young Miss.”
“What about your Master?” Red Jacket Lady’s father might be even more formidable. If both father and daughter were absent, to ensure A’Sang’s safety, Wen Shi would promptly activate the homestead feature.
“Master is getting older, so he leaves the estate matters to our Young Miss.”
Recalling the story of Li Xiaoluo, Wen Shi smirked. “I thought in this remote village, people favor boys over girls.”
Uncle Li didn’t deny it. “That used to be the case a long time ago. Later, people’s thinking changed, realizing that having boys or girls doesn’t make a difference. In order to better promote economic development in the village, we actively send young people out to study, following the outside world’s road-building example.”
On the map, aside from the graveyard to the north, there was also a marked spot to the south, a road that had only been partially constructed. Wen Shi asked knowingly, “Has the road been completed?”
“It’s only been under construction for about half a year. There was a landslide. But I believe it will be rebuilt soon.” Uncle Li sighed. “We should be able to fix it quickly.”
As they conversed, Uncle Li led him into the third courtyard and arrived at a small room behind the main house. “Young Miss’ chamber is right here.”
Using the key Red Jacket Lady had given him, Wen Shi opened the door. The old-fashioned room emitted a mix of fragrant and unpleasant odors.
The cabinet was unlocked, and inside were various items: perfumes, a small knife, an abacus, and more. There were even a few tattered books.
Red Jacket Lady had only mentioned one item, without specifying which one. Clearly, this was intentional.
Uncle Li stood behind Wen Shi and softly reminded, “Our Young Miss hates thieves the most. You can only take what she’s given you permission for.”
Wen Shi extended his hand, hoping to rely on the game’s appraisal system to get by.
“Our Young Miss doesn’t like others touching her belongings. Tell me what you want, and I’ll get it for you.”
Amidst the various items, there were even a few incense sticks stuck in between. With a cursory glance, Wen Shi could at least distinguish what each item was, spread across three layers.
While Wen Shi hesitated, Uncle Li grew impatient and urged, “I have many things to attend to. You only have one minute to choose.”
Selecting the wrong item could lead to being treated as a thief and eliminated on the spot.
Wen Shi squinted his eyes and carefully observed the rows of items.
It seemed like Uncle Li intentionally kept him from focusing by constantly speaking. “Our Young Miss has allowed you to take something. Just choose something she mentioned and take it. Hurry, only half a minute left!”
Simultaneously, as the door closed with a solid thud, the already dim room grew even darker. Uncle Li bent over, and the mirror in the cabinet reflected a ghastly pale face. In a chilling tone, Uncle Li said, “Last ten seconds.”
“I want this.” Wen Shi suddenly pointed at a small bronze lamp shaped like a wine cup. “This is an eternal lamp, right? I want to take it.”
The whites of Uncle Li’s eyes in his eye sockets increased frantically, almost covering his pupils. “Are you sure? What do you need a lamp for?”
This time, it was Wen Shi urging him, “I’m sure. Hurry.”
Uncle Li’s features gradually returned to normal, tinged with deep regret. He retrieved the requested item for him.
The moment Wen Shi’s hand touched the lamp’s surface, the game’s appraisal automatically appeared in his mind.
【Eternal Lamp: Have you heard the story of lighting sky lanterns? The scent emitted when the lamp is burning might help you blind certain things. Note that this lamp can only be used in this instance.】
Back when Wen Shi was studying history, he had come across stories of using corpse oil to light sky lanterns. This gruesome punishment had been inflicted on emperors and innocent commoners alike.
A’Sang had mentioned that the rainwater in Sealed Coffin Village was corpse oil. Collecting rainwater should be able to light this lamp. It was the only item currently related to Sealed Coffin Village.
Wen Shi carefully stored the lamp and returned to the filming location.
He was the first to arrive. The host’s mouth never stopped for a moment, introducing the pristine scenery to the camera, making sure the audience wouldn’t feel bored no matter which angle they switched to. The host, all alone, animatedly spoke, seeming to genuinely love this job.
“Come join us! Experience the colorful journey of love together!”
Knowing about the events of the Ghost Festival, these words sent shivers down one’s spine.
Following Wen Shi, the second to return was Liu Yun.
Her entire arm exhibited signs of severe varicose veins, but overall, she didn’t seem to have suffered major injuries.
Liu Yun didn’t glance at the candidates again. She approached Wen Shi and leaned against the hillside, her whole body seemingly drained. “During the offering ritual, they burned paper money. I was nearly pulled into a coffin.” Pausing for a moment, she suddenly added, “There was an empty coffin there, surrounded by fresh bloodstains.”
“That’s right, it’s mine.” The blood-stained shirt was the best evidence.
Liu Yun was genuinely a bit impressed by him. Though she didn’t know what he relied on, being able to resort to such ruthless measures, treating oneself as a sieve to stab, there probably wouldn’t be a second player like him in the game.
“Did you find anything?” Wen Shi asked her.
“The feigned corpse mentioned a few things. He died in a cave-in incident while working on the road. There were two different opinions at the time. The young people who had gone out to study believed in modern methods for repair, while the older villagers of Sealed Coffin Village insisted on using the traditional approach.”
Feigned corpse?
Wen Shi seemed to grasp a new usage for the feigned corpse skill and asked, “What traditional approach?”
“Human foundation,” Liu Yun said coldly, “Some people, during construction projects, bury or encase living young boys and girls in concrete as a sacrifice to the gods.”
Images of Red Jacket Lady’s eagerness flashed in Wen Shi’s mind, making his expression darken.
“The younger generation, impatient to achieve results, disregarded the season and weather, and directly decided on road construction. As a result, during the rainy season, there was a landslide that killed many people. The villagers attributed it to divine punishment. Over time, even these young people came to believe it.”
Sealed Coffin Village had attempted to align with outside civilization as the tides of time shifted, but under the intense clash of contradictions, most villagers couldn’t completely shed their ingrained beliefs.
“By the way,” Liu Yun began, and her purple-blue arm broke out in goosebumps before she could continue, “the notification just said that the instance might undergo an upgrade these two days.”
Wen Shi lowered his voice, “I saw in a villager’s house calendar that the Ghost Festival is in two days.”
Liu Yun’s eyes widened abruptly. Before she could double-check, Ji Yuanzhi returned, and the three gathered together. Wen Shi brought up the topic of the Ghost Gate again.
Ji Yuanzhi wasn’t overly surprised. “The concentration of Yin energy in Sealed Coffin Village is unusually strong. The activity frequency of ghosts during the daytime is quite high.”
In any instance, this would be an extremely abnormal occurrence.
Within the next ten minutes or so, almost all the players returned. The mortality rate during this segment was much lower than in the first game. Surprisingly, the only one who didn’t return was Red Jacket Lady.
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances. For the first time since they started playing, a candidate was missing.
The host knew very well where the child had been taken and what kind of ritual would be performed. It was bound to take some time, so he continued to wait with a beaming smile.
On the other side, Wen Shi wasn’t in a hurry either. The Old Man Ghost was quite shrewd. If there was any danger, he would have retreated long ago. Since there was no news from him yet, it meant that A’Sang’s safety was ensured.
…
South Mountain, the unfinished road.
Red Jacket Lady and a group of construction workers were desperately fleeing for their lives. The cameraman who followed her didn’t know what to do and mechanically used a drone to film. He stood in place, his legs feeling weak.
No one present was human. It was morning when Red Jacket Lady was crushed to death by falling rocks. The day had seen rain, and it was chilly in the early hours. She was wrapped in a jacket, supervising the road construction, when a landslide occured. Blood and flesh turned her jacket into a grim canvas. After transforming into a monster, her red jacket became infused with her endless resentment and hatred. It greedily absorbed the blood and flesh of those young lives, trying to extend its existence by remaining in the mortal world.
But today, this all-powerful red jacket met its Waterloo.
First, the human foundation method failed. When the child was buried alive, it simply snapped the shovel of the worker. Then, the red jacket flung itself at him, but it couldn’t borrow even a fraction of his life span.
Sensing the anomaly, Red Jacket Lady decided to flee. She kept looking back to see if she was being pursued. In the next moment, a shadow passed over her head, and a child with a pale face appeared in front of her. “Big Sister, I’m here.”
What kind of creature was this little monster?!
“Die!” Red Jacket Lady gritted her teeth, attempting to shake off his grip.
The two weren’t even close in terms of speed. The frail little legs could easily climb and leap. In the blink of an eye, the child had already jumped onto her shoulders.
Red Jacket Lady’s sharp nails tried to grab hold of his neck. She cursed angrily, “Get lost, you little bastard.”
A’Sang’s eyes were bottomless.
He tapped his small palm against the crown of her head, causing the accumulated remnants of souls, grievances, and animosity to coalesce into a small crystal. A’Sang gently tapped the bowl, breaking through the robust skull, and the nearly solidified brain matter and blood started to slowly trickle down.
A’Sang emotionlessly took out the crystal and absorbed it directly. The brutal scene scared several workers into collapsing, yet they still crawled forward with all their might.
Red Jacket Lady stood still in a daze. Her bright red jacket gradually faded. After a moment, her entire body fell heavily backward.
A’Sang never wasted a single grain of food. On the dark and narrow mountain path, he began to hunt like a phantom. The small cracked bowl in A’Sang’s hand could rival the sturdiest hammer in the world. The monster’s head was as easy to split open as a watermelon. He pried it open with a crisp sound, and the rotten, black fluid spilled out. The only things that didn’t decay, the souls and resentment, became the perfect sustenance.
While A’Sang was in the middle of his frenzy feast, the group of players was still waiting in the mountain hollow, anticipating Red Jacket Lady’s return.
With the story of the “human foundation” ritual in mind, Liu Yun worriedly asked, “Will the child be alright?”
That child didn’t seem simple, but Red Jacket Lady appeared even more terrifying.
The host figured the ritual should be about done by now. He tried calling the cameraman who was following Red Jacket Lady, but surprisingly, there was no answer.
Red Jacket Lady hadn’t returned within the expected time, making it clear who would be the unlucky one. Wen Shi didn’t want the production team to head into the mountains right now to search, so he pretended to look mournful. “Why hasn’t she come back? Has something happened? My poor boy…”
This sentence successfully grabbed the host’s attention. He immediately approached with a smile to interview him, “Some viewers mentioned before that they saw the brilliance of humanity in you, Mr. Aaron. Why then, someone so humane, would you easily treat a child as a gift to others?”
Wen Shi partially masked his pained expression with his hand.
Seeing this, the host got more excited, “Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t know if what we’re witnessing now is a father’s remorse or the crocodile tears of a hypocritical soul.”
He had originally planned to read out a few comments, but he unexpectedly noticed that the number of comments had drastically decreased in the past ten minutes. Not only that, the number of sign-ups for the collective recording was also on the decline.
“?”
“!”
Almost all the comments were these consecutive symbols.
The host’s question hadn’t fully formed yet when Wen Shi’s mournful low hum interrupted, “My child, he’s still so young…”
His shoulders trembled slightly, and his disheveled hair hung down. Anyone could feel his sorrow.
The host took pleasure in the misfortune. “No need to worry too much. Maybe he just got lost.”
Ji Yuanzhi patted Wen Shi’s shoulder to comfort him, a glint of sharpness passing through his eyes behind his glasses. “Stop pretending.”
Everyone knew, this cat doctor didn’t shed tears, even when bleeding.
“This is an S-level instance,” Wen Shi’s eyes welled up with tears, “You don’t understand. A child travels a thousand miles, the father… uh, the father worries.”
His masterful acting didn’t deceive Ji Yuanzhi, but it did evoke sympathy from Liu Yun. “You’re right, an S-level instance, and just a child…”
Before she could finish speaking, the system’s icy notification sound suddenly rang out—
“Attention all players, attention all players—”
“Due to the collective death of fourteen key NPCs, the South Mountain Road is officially classified as a safe zone. Additionally, due to the redemption of the lost soul of one key NPC, the Haunted Dried-Up Well map is downgraded to a C-class danger zone. The upgrade of instance ‘Crazy Love Season’ has failed.”
Earlier, Wen Shi had given Ji Yuanzhi the location of Li Xiaoluo’s body. It was clear that he had exceeded the task requirements.
“From this moment onwards, the difficulty of this instance will be adjusted from S to A+.”
Each word sounded as if it were being gritted out through clenched teeth.
“……” Difficulty downgrade?
Wen Shi was so shocked that he almost shed a genuine crocodile teardrop.
My precious, are you really that capable?!
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
