The No. 1 Hunfen King in the Entire Server [Interstellar] Chapter 5

A cow to guide the way and pull the coffin?

Lin Jing paused, then asked, “Granny, do funerals here also require straw and red cloth?”

The old woman, who only wanted to buy firewood, was growing impatient with the questioning. She glanced at Lin Jing but reined in her temper, perhaps because of his handsome face. “Yes, that’s the tradition. The deceased must wear red shoes for good fortune in the underworld. A family member leads the procession, carrying the soul. But the mountain path is difficult, and funerals on cliffs are already troublesome, so people eventually started using straw mannequins to replace the corpse.”

Upon hearing about the village’s funeral customs, the group exchanged looks, recalling the straw and red cloth the village chief had displayed in the courtyard. These items were for the deceased?

As the old woman left, she asked Blondie once more, “Young man, are you sure you don’t want to help me herd cattle?” Blondie vehemently shook his head like a rattle-drum, signaling his refusal.

The cart of firewood was sold out by noon—thanks to their looks.

In the morning, Feng Haozhong and Liu Cheng had split off to explore the western side of the village. They returned around midday with arms full of wild yams, dirt still clinging to them.

Xixi asked, “Where did you two go?”

Feng Haozhong, no longer as arrogant as before, took a sip of water before explaining, “We drove to the west side of the village, where there’s a large forest. The deeper you go, the eerier it gets. We didn’t dare venture too far in and found these wild yams outside.”

Xiao Xu said hesitantly, “But selling yams won’t earn enough, will it?”

Feng Haozhong frowned, sounding irritable. “Make do. You won’t find anything better.”

Xixi, already a bit intimidated by him, immediately fell silent.

In The Immortal Players, those with high scores naturally carried a certain arrogance, while those with lower scores rarely voiced their opinions—except for two particularly clueless players who were at rock bottom with 0 points.

Lin Jing tossed a yam in the air and said, “Why so pessimistic? Even if they’re yams, we could sell them as a rare variant of ginseng.”

Liu Cheng blinked in confusion. “Ginseng? These… don’t look like ginseng at all.”

Lin Jing replied, “Think of them as a mutated variety of ginseng—shorter and rounder but with all the same functions. Longevity, calming the mind, nourishing the body… Selling them for 100 each is perfectly reasonable.”

Feng Haozhong scoffed. “You might fool yourself, but no one else would believe that. How are you going to convince them?”

Lin Jing glanced at him and said, “We can put up a sign—’Fake Guarantee: Tenfold Compensation.’”

Feng Haozhong sneered, “And then we get arrested for fraud.”

Lin Jing replied smoothly, “Then we bundle the yams in packs of ten and sell them wholesale.”

“…”

Blondie burst out laughing, saying, “Brother Lin, you’re a real business genius.”

Feng Haozhong was left speechless and angrily drank a whole bowl of water.

Meanwhile, Xu Wanzhi quietly touched the prayer beads on his wrist, his gaze dropping as the faint redness in his eyes subsided.

Of course, in the end, they didn’t scam the innocent villagers.

After exchanging information, Feng Haozhong spoke gravely. “That forest I mentioned earlier, in the western slope, feels off. At first, I wanted to go deeper, but Liu Cheng said he heard a baby crying from the trees. Later, I heard a girl laughing.”

Liu Cheng, still shaken, added, “Yes, and the deeper we went, the thicker the fog became. We were afraid of getting lost, so we came back.”

Xiao Xu thought aloud, “Tomorrow, we should check out that forest together. Although this is a supernatural script, it’s an entry-level one. The ghosts shouldn’t kill us outright.”

Feng Haozhong, who only took Xiao Xu’s words seriously, nodded and turned to Blondie. “Was that you screaming last night?”

Blondie, still a little afraid of the sunglasses-wearing Feng Haozhong, nervously admitted, “Yeah, that was me.”

Feng Haozhong, “What did you see?”

Blondie really didn’t want to recall last night’s terrifying events, but under the pressure of a high-score player, he trembled as he retold everything.

“An old man, burial clothes, the bathroom?” Feng Haozhong raised an eyebrow.

Lin Jing turned his head with a smile in his voice. “You forgot to mention the person you saw at the staircase.”

Blondie froze. “That wasn’t real, right?”

Lin Jing: “In a supernatural script, there’s no such thing as hallucinations. I’d bet the figure you saw in the bathroom and on the staircase was the same person. He’s the one who opened the door.”

Blondie’s face turned pale, and he was on the verge of tears. “Brother Lin, please don’t scare me.”

Lin Jing: “I’m guessing he came down from the second floor.”

The second floor. From the items the village chief had prepared for funerals, the group could already guess that the eerie second floor was off-limits.

“Tonight…” Xixi, visibly anxious, twisted her fingers nervously and asked, “Are we going to check the second floor tonight?”

Her gaze landed on Lin Jing.

Lin Jing, ever the gentleman toward women, smiled and said, “Let’s forget about it tonight. The village chief has warned us again and again. We’d better pick a time when he’s not around and sneak up quietly.”

Xixi let out a breath of relief and nodded. “Alright.”

Beside them, Feng Haozhong’s face was sour.

Blondie, the type to grow braver the more he’s scared, had no choice but to adapt to this horror game setup. On the way back, watching Lin Jing’s composed demeanor, he couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Lin, is your mental power level super high?”

Lin Jing thought to himself, Of course, double-S tier back in the day. But that was all in the past. Now, he was just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill B-class.

Lin Jing sighed. “No, it’s not high.” Those memories were better left untouched.

Blondie pressed on, “Then why do you seem so skilled? You don’t look like a rookie at all.”

Lin Jing stared off into the fields beside the road. The bright yellow rapeseed flowers stretched endlessly, painting the hillsides. Of course, he wasn’t a rookie. But after the car accident, he’d lost all memories of the year prior. The game Immortal’s Journey had also undergone a complete overhaul, wiping all old version records. All he remembered was his previous game ID.

In response to Blondie’s curiosity, Lin Jing said casually, “Maybe it’s just natural talent.”

Feng Haozhong, unable to suppress his irritation any longer, finally snapped with a sarcastic remark. “A six-point entry-level scenario, and you’re talking about talent?”

Lin Jing couldn’t be bothered to argue. “Six points?”

Somehow, he felt… this scenario didn’t quite seem like just six points.

Back at the village chief’s house, dinner was served in the courtyard.

After eating, the village chief inexplicably brought out some red cloth, washed it, and hung it in strips on bamboo poles to dry.

Lin Jing, having finished his meal, wandered over to the village chief again.

Blondie, holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, happily tagged along.

The village chief was thoroughly annoyed by him. “What now? Once you’re done eating, get back inside and don’t come out tonight!”

Lin Jing said, “Village chief, I feel a special connection with the cow in your barn.”

The village chief immediately gave him a wary look. “Spit it out!”

Lin Jing got straight to the point. “I want to let the cow out.”

At that, the village chief erupted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His frail and wiry frame burst with rage as he roared, “Dream on!” He angrily hung up the last strip of red cloth and hobbled away. At the doorway, still fuming, he turned back and glared. “Don’t even think about it!”

Blondie, stuffing his face with rice, mumbled, “What’s he so worked up about? Afraid we’ll steal his cow and cook it?”

Lin Jing lowered his gaze and turned to touch the still-damp red cloth, muttering, “Is beef even that good?”

Blondie nearly dropped his bowl and chopsticks. “D*mn, Brother Lin, don’t play so wild! If you cook his cow tonight, he’ll cook us tomorrow.”

Lin Jing: “…”

You’re overthinking it. I’m really not someone who stirs up trouble for no reason.

As Lin Jing touched the cloth, something felt off. He withdrew his hand to find red stains on his fingertips.

Blondie commented, “This cloth bleeds color that badly?”

Lin Jing brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed. The smell was strange—though mixed with the fragrance of detergent, there was a faint rotten, meaty stench that couldn’t be masked.

Night fell quickly in the countryside.

Lin Jing had been meaning to chat with Xu Wanzhi since last night, but fatigue had gotten the better of him. Tonight, he finally had a chance.

“Are you asleep?” Lin Jing asked softly in the dark.

Xu Wanzhi, ever distant since entering the game, had a demeanor of detachment, boredom, and cold indifference.

“No,” came the calm reply as Xu Wanzhi opened his eyes.

“Then let’s talk?”

Lin Jing’s impression of Xu Wanzhi was surprisingly positive.

When he first joined the game, he’d assumed Xu Wanzhi would be one of those aloof, show-off bigshots. Unexpectedly, while Xu Wanzhi was indeed cold, he wasn’t overbearing. Polite and easy to get along with, he’d even say “thank you” and lend a hand to teammates. However, he carried a persistent air of weariness, as if he hadn’t fully woken up all day. Strangely enough, his detached attitude actually made many people comfortable.

Turning his head slightly, Lin Jing’s brown eyes glimmered faintly in the moonlight. “I’ve been meaning to ask—have we met before?”

Xu Wanzhi seemed momentarily lost in thought at the question. His expression, caught in the interplay of light and shadow, was both peculiar and unreadable. After a long pause, he chuckled softly.

Gone was the weariness; his smile carried a lazy, inexplicable charm.

“Yes, we’ve met.”

He didn’t deny it.

Lin Jing blinked, a little surprised. So it’s true, he thought, scratching his head. “I had a car accident and forgot some things.”

Xu Wanzhi’s fingers twitched slightly, his tone indifferent. “It’s fine. It was just a brief encounter.”

“Oh.”

Satisfied with the answer, Lin Jing closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

But this cursed village wasn’t about to let him rest.

Late into the night, urgent knocking shattered the silence, accompanied by a man’s panicked, terrified cries.

“Village chief, help! Village chief, save me! Open the door! Open up, hurry, please!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At first, the man pounded with his fists. Soon, he resorted to slamming his body against the door, making it creak loudly.

His voice grew louder and more desperate, laced with sobs. The incessant knocking and shouting were deafening, waking nearly everyone inside.

Lin Jing was thoroughly exasperated. This damned village. What kind of feng shui is this? Can’t I get one good night’s sleep?

Frustrated, he walked out the door, only to bump into Feng Haozhong and Liu Cheng, who looked just as bewildered.

Feng Haozhong’s face was grim. “What’s going on?”

Lin Jing rubbed his eyes and muttered, “Did someone choke on your yam and die? Now their family’s here to collect?”

Feng Haozhong: “…”

Feng Haozhong: “You’re full of cr*p!”

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