The No. 1 Hunfen King in the Entire Server [Interstellar] Chapter 4

Xu Wanzhi lowered his gaze to look at him. His pitch-black eyes resembled glass marbles soaked in water—cold and sharp.

Blondie’s expression beside them was no less than the world collapsing. “Brother Lin, you can’t be serious!”

Lin Jing had always been charming since childhood, adept at interacting with people. He smiled, “Relax, I don’t snore, grind my teeth, sleepwalk, or shout in my sleep. No bad habits at all.”

Blondie’s eyes widened, his face ashen, on the verge of tears.

He could only pin his hopes on Xu Wanzhi now. All along the way, Brother Xu had been distant with everyone and didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed company. Surely, he’d say no.

Please refuse, please refuse, please refuse.

But after staring at Lin Jing for a moment, Xu Wanzhi retracted his gaze and said flatly, “Okay.”

“…!!!”

Blondie was utterly defeated. He made one last desperate plea, wailing as if mourning, “Brother Lin, no! Daddy Lin, Grandpa Lin, don’t abandon me! I swear I’ll stop bothering you in your sleep!”

“Be a good grandson and don’t cry. Goodnight.”

Amid Blondie’s cries of despair, Lin Jing shut him into the room and locked the door before turning to follow Xu Wanzhi.

Xu Wanzhi’s room was the one closest to the stairs, right by the staircase.

Lin Jing glanced thoughtfully at the staircase. The dim lighting revealed the stairs twisting upward into darkness, resembling the open maw of a bottomless abyss.

The second floor, strictly off-limits, seemed to hold many secrets.

True to his word, Lin Jing prepared to sleep on the floor, making no attempt to take advantage of the situation. But just as he was about to roll out his bedding, Xu Wanzhi spoke.

“Forget it, don’t bother, just sleep together.”

Lin Jing froze in place.

Xu Wanzhi’s tone was drowsy and languid, as if he still wasn’t fully awake. The tear mole at the corner of his eye softened the distant coldness he had during the day. After speaking, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Lin Jing, having gotten what he wanted, was all smiles. Sleeping on a hard floor? No one would willingly choose that. He immediately beamed and said, “Alright, thanks, Brother Xu.”

Just for taking him in, he was happy to call him “brother.”

Was it just his imagination, or did Xu Wanzhi treat him a little differently? Had they met before? Probably, but not to any significant degree—at least his attitude seemed normal.

A brief acquaintance, maybe?

Lin Jing didn’t plan on asking. He was too exhausted.

The Next Morning.

When they woke up, the village chief was busy in the courtyard, sorting through a pile of dried red cloth, bundles of straw, and some firewood.

Breakfast consisted of a few rock-hard steamed buns. The group stood in the yard, munching on them while watching the chief at work.

Blondie, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, had stayed up all night and had no appetite. Seeing him like this, Lin Jing, mid-bite, casually took the bun from Blondie’s hand.

Blondie had finally come to terms with the fact that this was a supernatural script. Emotionless, he asked, “So what do we do now?”

Lin Jing replied, “One step at a time.”

The guy with sunglasses was named Feng Haozhong, the chubby one was Liu Cheng, and the two girls were Xi Xi, the one with long hair, and Xiao Xu, the one with short hair. After a night of rest, everyone had more or less accepted their situation.

Xiao Xu and Feng Haozhong had both tried chatting with the village chief, but the old man had the temperament of a latrine stone—both stubborn and foul. They barely got a few words in before being yelled at to get lost, returning dejectedly.

As the second-highest-ranked player in the group, Xiao Xu had some authority and sighed, “The chief is an important NPC, but he’s hard to get information from. We might as well ask around where there are more people.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The village chief finally sorted out the red cloth and straw, then, with his frail shoulders trembling, he struggled to load the firewood onto a three-wheeled cart.

Wiping the sweat off his brow with his sleeve, he turned to warn them, “I’m heading out for a bit. Go wherever you want, but don’t go upstairs. Got it? If something happens, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

No one responded.

Lin Jing, having finished breakfast, clapped his hands and stepped forward, pretending to be familiar. “That’s a lot of firewood. Looks like good quality too. Village Chief, are you taking it to the market to sell?”

Blondie, taking cues from Lin Jing, nervously chimed in, “Village Chief, are you selling firewood?”

The chief glared at him with murky gray eyes. “What’s it to you?”

Lin Jing lazily smiled. “What do you mean, ‘what’s it to me’? We eat your food, sleep in your house. Just paying rent isn’t enough—we should help out too. Otherwise, our conscience won’t let us rest easy.”

Their teammates watching from the side twitched their lips.

The village chief gave him a strange look and scoffed, “Help? How? You think you can sell my firewood for more money?”

Blondie, as if injected with adrenaline, blurted out, “Yes! Of course! Village Chief, our Brother Lin is a Harvard graduate! He studied business at Harvard! If you don’t believe me, you can check with the station chief!”

“…” Lin Jing turned to give him a silent look, then immediately played along. “That’s right, Village Chief. I graduated from Harvard’s business school. Selling an extra hundred is no problem.”

The village chief remained unimpressed, casually picking at his ear. “Harvard? What? Never heard of it. Which god is that?”

Blondie: “?”

A village elder in the interstellar era who had never heard of Harvard? Even he, a country bumpkin, knew about it!

“Harvard, it’s—” Blondie started to explain, but Lin Jing quickly covered his mouth and dragged him back.

Lin Jing smoothly improvised, his smile as warm as a spring breeze. “It’s an ancient god of fortune.”

Keeping a straight face, he continued, “I misspoke earlier. I wasn’t trained at Harvard—I was blessed by Harvard. Harvard’s divine blessing brings wealth. Trust me just this once, Village Chief.”

Their teammates watching from the side: “…”

What the h*ll is Harvard’s divine blessing?

The village chief sneered, just about to tell them to get lost.

Suddenly, a voice interjected.

“Let’s just go to the market today.”

A tall young man emerged from the crowd. After waking up, Xu Wanzhi’s voice had lost some of its huskiness. His naturally cool tone, crisp like cold springwater striking stone, startled everyone.

The village chief, mid-motion of picking up wood, froze, and the word “scram” that was about to leave his lips was swallowed awkwardly.

Lin Jing tilted his head, surprised that this stoic figure had joined their charade.

Post-nap, Xu Wanzhi was slightly less unapproachable, but his expression remained one of weary indifference. It seemed as though he had casually thrown out the suggestion.

The village chief lowered his gaze in fear but masked it with a hostile tone. “Fine, fine, you can go sell the firewood today, but you’d better be back before dark.”

Blondie was ecstatic! Wow, was Harvard really that effective? If he had known, he’d have added it to his résumé too.

The village chief provided a cart and firewood. Examining the vehicle briefly, Lin Jing realized it was simple enough, but Feng Haozhong insisted on taking charge, leaving Lin Jing no reason to protest.

The group sat atop the heap of firewood as the cart rattled its way to the market. Along the route, lush green hills and sparkling streams stretched endlessly, with fields of brilliant rapeseed flowers dotting the landscape.

Xixi, the girl with long hair, was new to the game. Among the trio of novices, she seemed the most timid, hugging her knees atop the woodpile. She nervously asked, “When we get to the market, what should we ask about?”

Blondie, loving the sense of being relied upon, put on a show of confidence. “There’s so much to ask! Questions about the village chief, Scar Brother, and the coffin the NPC showed us earlier.”

Admiration flashed in Xixi’s eyes, but after hesitating briefly, she murmured, “But none of that seems related to the Door of Life and Death.”

Blondie faltered. “Uh, well, if we keep asking, clues will eventually surface.”

Xiao Xu chuckled. “That’s right. In my last round, I scored an average of ten points. NPCs will usually lead to clues if you just ask.”

They arrived at the market, but things didn’t go as expected.

An auntie approached to buy firewood. After completing her purchase, she stared at them for a while.

“Are you new here, girls?”

“Yes, auntie.”

“Where are you staying now?”

“At the village chief’s house.”

“Oh my, the village chief? That cranky old man? How can you bear to stay there? Girls, why don’t you come stay at my house?”

Their inquiry seemed to strike a chord, and the group brightened. Xixi tentatively followed up, trying to gather information.

“Does the village chief have a bad temper? Auntie, what kind of person is he?”

“Just an old geezer, that’s all. Girl, instead of asking about the village chief, why don’t you ask me about my son? Let me tell you, my son is handsome.”

“…Uh, I feel like there’s more to the village chief than just that. Auntie, can you tell me more about him?”

“What’s there to say about him? Girl, let me tell you about my son instead! He’s tall, strong, hardworking, and honest. Plenty of girls in the village have their eyes on him. Do you want to meet him?”

The two girls exchanged glances, both seeing deep helplessness in each other’s eyes.

Then, another wave of people arrived.

Another auntie.

“Auntie, why do you place coffins on the cliffs after people die?”

“That’s an old rule set by our ancestors, same as how women must marry and have children. Who knows where it came from? Speaking of marriage, girl, are you married yet?”

Another auntie.

“Auntie, have you ever heard of the ‘Door of Life and Death’?”

“Door of Life and Death? There are so many doors in this world, why talk about one with ‘death’ in the name? So unlucky. Now, a Joyous Door, that’s a different story! Step through, and you become family. By the way, how old are you two girls?”

“…”

Blondie’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit a goose egg. “D*mn, are all the middle-aged women in this village obsessed with matchmaking?”

Xixi and Xiao Xu were drowning in frustration.

Meanwhile, Lin Jing sat on the side, eating. Having just come out of the hospital, his mental energy was weak—he got tired and hungry easily. After watching the two girls’ repeated failures, he had them step aside.

He pulled Xu Wanzhi up instead. Xu Wanzhi shot him a cold, beautiful glance but didn’t say anything.

And just like that, the situation took a turn.

“Auntie, do you know when the police station was built?”

“What do you mean Auntie? I’m only a few years older than you! Call me Sis!”

“Alright… Sis…”

“Tsk tsk tsk, such a sweet talker—and so handsome too! You don’t have a girlfriend yet, do you? What do you think of me?”

Lin Jing: “…”

Finally, an elderly man arrived to buy firewood.

“Grandpa, may I ask about the village’s coffins—”

The old man wheezed and turned to shout, “Erhu, get back here and call your sister over! She’s almost thirty and still obsessed with those ridiculous cartoons. Now she’s finally got a chance—this young man looks just like the ones in those cartoons! Tell her to hurry up before someone else snatches him away!”

Lin Jing: “…”

Blondie slapped himself twice to snap out of his daze. “What the heck is wrong with this village? All the men are desperate to marry, and all the women are desperate to wed?”

Lin Jing, exasperated, shoved Blondie forward to deal with the mess and retreated to drink water. Sure enough, key NPCs aside, most of the villagers were hopeless for gathering clues.

Blondie sat stiffly, waiting. Finally, an elderly woman shuffled over.

The old granny, baring her few remaining teeth, hunched over as she walked, muttering to herself, “No more firewood at home… gotta buy some, gotta buy some.”

After paying, she suddenly stared at Blondie for a long time, narrowing her eyes and inspecting him closely.

Blondie took the money and asked, “Granny, can I ask why people here bury the dead on the cliffs?”

The old granny replied absentmindedly, “It’s an old rule, been passed down for generations… By the way, young man, I see that you—”

Blondie’s heart skipped a beat. Oh sh*t, here it comes, I knew it! He panicked and quickly interrupted, “No, no, no! Granny, I’m not interested in your daughter or granddaughter! I know I’m handsome, but I’m really not in a hurry to get married!”

The elderly woman silently stared at him for a long time.

After a while, she slowly added, “…You look strong and healthy. You’re new around here and don’t have a job yet, right? How about helping me herd some cattle?”

Then she said, “Don’t worry. My daughter and granddaughter probably wouldn’t fancy you.”

Blondie: “…”

Blondie was about to refuse when Lin Jing responded on his behalf, “Granny, does every household here raise cattle?”

The old woman, her silver hair gleaming, her face deeply wrinkled, and her arms clutching firewood, gave them a strange look and replied, “Yes, every family has at least one cow. If we don’t raise cattle, when someone in the family dies, we’d have to borrow one from others.”

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Jing thought, As expected. Yesterday, he had been watching that big black cow near the cowshed and sensed something off. He pressed further, “So cattle are needed for after someone dies?”

The elderly woman rested her frail fingers on the firewood, speaking casually, “That’s right. The mist is heavy and the path is treacherous up the cliff. A cow is needed to lead the way and pull the coffin; otherwise, you can’t make it up there.”