Chapter 1 An Ominous Night

Not long after lunch, the sky in the city turned gloomy. Tang Qisheng looked up at the continuous dark clouds, which were hanging so low that it felt suffocating. "It seems there will be a heavy rain tonight."

Hearing this, the tall soldier packed his luggage and sighed. "If the Dragon King wants to bring rain, let him. It's up to the gods. I just hope that kind of thing doesn't happen again. The people of Luoan City only want stability. We finally stopped fighting, and now this strange thing has happened. Alas..."

Not long after, a soldier came to deliver a message, saying that the general had invited all the masters to a banquet.

The group dared not delay and set off immediately. The journey wasn't very short, taking about an incense stick's worth of time. The road became increasingly remote, moving away from the main street. Finally, they stopped in front of a secluded courtyard.

The general stood outside the door to greet them personally. They passed through the front yard and were led into the main hall, where a table of food and wine had already been set.

After everyone was seated, the general raised his glass, offering a welcome to Jiangcheng and the others, who had traveled from afar. The banquet was lively, with dishes being brought in from outside. As they passed through the front yard, they saw an inconspicuous small house, built with a mixture of thatch and adobe. It seemed to be the kitchen.

The food on the table was much more plentiful than at noon, especially a meat soup made from what was said to be crane meat. The broth was extremely delicious. The fatty savored it for a long time, but couldn't figure out how it was made. It seemed to be mixed with some very special seasoning. However, all this superficial courtesy came to an abrupt end when the final main course was served.

The final main course was a fish, a very large fish.

The fish was steamed whole and presented intact on a huge tray. The fatty stared at the fish's milky white eyes, and a creepy chill suddenly ran through him.

That's right, everyone thought of what he thought of. Such a large fish was likely from the so-called Chun Shen Lake. According to the soldiers, the lake was very strange. The originally calm surface could suddenly rise with wind and waves, or a fog would suddenly appear and spread quickly across the entire lake. No one knew if there was something hidden inside.

Most importantly, it was rumored that the creatures in the lake carried evil energy, as if cursed, and eating them would bring misfortune.

Thinking of this, the fatty kept his distance from the fish. But to his surprise, everyone else seemed not to care. They ate as usual. He even saw the doctor pick up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth.

He originally thought that the doctor was just putting on a show, deceiving the general, and would find a way to spit it out later. But then he saw the doctor's throat move as he swallowed.

The fatty was worried, but suddenly, his eyes met the general's. The general's playful gaze instantly sobered him up. The fatty followed the example of the doctor and the others, picking up the dishes with his chopsticks, eating everything without distinction, including the fish.

After the banquet, the general bid farewell and politely invited Jiangcheng and the others to stay there for the night, saying that it was quiet and wouldn't be disturbed. He also reminded them that he would come there early the next morning to take Jiangcheng and the others to the Zhennan Marquis's residence.

The general had just walked out of the main hall when he hesitated for a moment and returned. He reminded Jiangcheng and the others that the city was not peaceful at night and told them to stay in their rooms as much as possible and not go anywhere.

Then, he mysteriously lowered his voice and said that even if they heard strange noises, they should not be curious and should not open the door to investigate.

After saying these words, the general left without waiting for everyone to ask why.

While the remaining soldiers were cleaning up the table, Zhang Qizheng asked where the outhouse was and then went out alone. The remaining soldiers quickly cleaned up the table, but they didn't leave until Zhang Qizheng returned without a word.

The uniforms of these soldiers were also different from the patrol soldiers they had seen before. They seemed more like the general's, or even the Zhennan Marquis's, personal guards.

Before leaving, the soldiers closed the door to the main hall.

Now, only Jiangcheng and his group were left in the main hall. Everyone gathered together, and the fatty couldn't help but mention the fish. Unexpectedly, Gao Yanqing snorted with disdain. "You don't need to tell us that. We can all see it, but seeing it is useless. We have no choice but to eat it."

"I know, it's all the general's idea." The fatty remembered the general's strange gaze, and a chill kept running through him. They had obviously been plotted against again.

In the end, the experienced Zhang Qizheng stepped forward to smooth things over, saying gently, "Brother Wang, there is indeed a problem with that fish, but there's more than just the fish."

The fatty recalled for a moment and immediately reacted. "And the crane meat soup?"

The crane meat soup was served by the general himself, who gave everyone a bowl, so they couldn't refuse. The fatty remembered it very clearly. Thinking of this, his face changed. "Are you saying that fish was also added to the crane meat soup?"

But he vaguely felt that something was wrong. He had eaten crane meat before, and it wasn't this taste. In addition to crane meat and fish, there must have been other things in the crane meat soup, but the other party was very skilled. Even he, as a chef's assistant in a restaurant, couldn't taste what ingredients or seasonings were used.

"Hehe, a bunch of idiots, what's so hard to taste? That soup base was clearly made with that stuff." Shao Tong suddenly laughed nervously, then licked his lips, his expression strange. "It's ziheche." (human placenta)

After hearing these three words, the fatty reacted for a while, then suddenly thought of some terrifying image. The next second, he felt a violent spasm in his stomach and almost vomited.

Ziheche is the name when it's used as a Chinese medicine. The more well-known name is the placenta, a human placenta.

Thinking that he had just eaten such a thing, the fatty felt like there was fire burning in his stomach. Although Jiangcheng and the others didn't look too good, they could still accept it.

"And that chicken soup. I don't know if you noticed, but although the chicken was cut into small pieces, there was no chicken head. I looked for it several times but couldn't find it, and I almost got noticed by the general." This time it was Li Bai who spoke. She said solemnly, "It's a headless chicken, eaten by people who are about to die, to help them on their way."

"So all this is a plot, and we're scapegoats for the people in the city?" Zhu Jie asked.

After a moment of silence, Jiangcheng slowly shook his head. "I don't think that's entirely the case. If they just wanted to find scapegoats, there's no need to go to such lengths. There are plenty of people in the city. If that doesn't work, they could find a few death row inmates and no one would know. I think the general is deliberately testing our abilities. If we can survive tonight, it proves that we have real skills. If we die, then they will find new experts to come."

"That's right. I agree with what Mr. Jiang said. This is more like a test for us. Remember what the general said when he left? He said he would come back tomorrow morning to take us to the Zhennan Marquis's residence. I think that's true, but only if we can survive. If we die, then he will come tomorrow morning to collect our bodies." Tang Qisheng was obviously more experienced in this kind of thing than Zhu Jie, and his words matched Jiangcheng's thinking.

"So... something is definitely going to happen tonight?" the fatty asked cautiously, as if there were things standing around them that they couldn't see.

Yao Shunyu looked towards the door. There was light outside the door, and two figures were projected onto the paper of the door. "They left two soldiers outside to guard the night."

Because the figures moved from time to time, as if they were moving their stiff bodies, everyone confirmed that these two people were alive, and not the straw men wearing clothes that they had seen near the city gate last night.

This house was relatively large and had many rooms, so it was enough for everyone to live in. Zhu Jie suggested that everyone should not separate tonight and should stay together, so that everyone could take care of each other if something happened, but no one responded.

In the end, everyone decided to stay on the second floor of the house, because the scene at the Fu'an Inn was deeply imprinted in everyone's minds. If they really attracted the water from Chun Shen Lake, the water would be huge, and they would have a little time to struggle if they lived on a high floor.

Everyone's rooms were 5 connected rooms, and each room was not very large. Jiangcheng and the fatty shared one room, Li Bai and Yao Shunyu shared one room, Zhang Qizheng and Gao Yanqing shared one room, Tang Qisheng and Zhu Jie were a couple, so they naturally shared one room. To the fatty's surprise, Lu Qin was willing to share a room with Shao Tong, who was definitely abnormal.

But then he thought about it again. Those who could survive until now were either powerful disciples or had 800 tricks up their sleeve like the doctor. Especially a guy like Shao Tong, who looked abnormal, might be a ruthless character who was hiding his strength. Also, Shao Tong actually tasted the ziheche, which meant that he must have eaten it before, and might even eat it often.

Slowly, the fatty also figured it out. In this environment, he should worry about himself. In this high-end game, he was just a dispensable mixed bag, often out of tune with the rest of the team because he wasn't perverted enough.

Although the room was small, it was well-equipped, with two small beds, a set of tables and chairs, and a dressing table. It looked like a woman's room. They also found a large chamber pot under the bed. This thing was very important. Anyway, the fatty was determined not to go out tonight, unless there was an accident.

Jiangcheng sat at the table, the candle on the table burning faintly. Not long after, there was a very soft knock on the door. When he opened the door, Li Bai and Yao Shunyu immediately walked in, carrying quilts in their arms.

"Is everything set up?" Jiangcheng quickly closed the door and turned to ask.

"Everything is set up. The candles in the room are also lit, and the door is closed. No one should have noticed." Yao Shunyu skillfully spread the bedding on the ground. He didn't want to sleep in the bed, he just wanted everyone to live together, so that he would feel safe.

After seeing this, the fatty couldn't help but sigh. "I said that Zhu Jie's suggestion was quite good. Everyone should live together, so that there would be enough manpower to keep watch at night."

Unexpectedly, Li Bai shook her head this time. "It's not that simple. This mission is different from the previous ones. Don't forget, there were 6 people in the Fu'an Inn, including one of our teammates. What happened? All 6 people died, and they all died in the same way. According to the soldiers before, this kind of thing has happened many times. The really scary thing is that no one was left alive."

"So it's useless for us to gather together. This time it's not targeting one person. Once something happens, all of us might die. In this case, it might be better for everyone to separate, so that we don't have to worry about someone stabbing us in the back." Li Bai explained in detail.

"Everyone should be careful tonight. It looks like something will definitely happen tonight. I just don't know where it will happen, and who will die." When Jiangcheng said this, what appeared in his mind was the Fu'an Inn after being flooded. That strange flood had taken root in Jiangcheng's heart.

According to Jiangcheng's instructions, everyone took turns keeping watch tonight. He and Li Bai were on the first shift, and Yao Shunyu and the fatty were on the second shift. Compared to Li Bai, Jiangcheng trusted Yao Shunyu more. After all, the fatty had saved his life, and Jiangcheng had seen Yao Shunyu's feelings for the fatty recently.

Keeping watch was tense and boring, so Jiangcheng had to chat with Li Bai in a desultory manner. The first half of the night went very smoothly. The general didn't lie to them. This place was remote and very quiet. After waking up the fatty and Li Bai, Jiangcheng lay on the bed. He originally didn't want to sleep, he just wanted to rest for a while, but not long after, waves of drowsiness surged up, like waves beating against his body. In a few breaths, Jiangcheng fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long had passed, but Jiangcheng suddenly woke up, along with Yao Shunyu, the fatty, and Li Bai. The fatty and Li Bai had also fallen asleep.

"What's going on?" Jiangcheng got out of bed and came to the fatty's side. He knew that the fatty was not an unreliable person, and there was no reason for both of them to fall asleep.

This reminded him of what happened last night. All of them had also fallen asleep. It seemed that this was very likely the rule of this world. At a certain moment, everyone would fall into a dream.

Suddenly, Jiangcheng looked at the ground, as if... as if the ground had shaken, no, not shaken, but more like being pushed by something and surging.

The outside of the window was no longer calm at this moment, but the sound of wind and rain was heard. Large raindrops were pattering on the window, and there was also the sound of the wind. This heavy rain had finally arrived.

But slowly, everyone felt something was wrong. The sound of wind and rain... the sound of wind and rain seemed too intense, and the shaking of the room was getting stronger and stronger.

At the same time, water kept overflowing along the window seams and floor cracks. At first, there was only a little, but as time went on, the water became larger and larger, and even began to form streams.

The sound of "crashing" kept ringing outside the window, like waves lapping against the shore.

"What's going on?" The fatty was shocked. The situation was getting more and more chaotic. He had to grab the bed with his hand to avoid being shaken and falling. "Is this an earthquake? What... what exactly are we..."

Jiangcheng rushed over and pushed open the window. The world outside was pitch black, and it was also shaking violently. Suddenly, a flash of lightning flashed, and a vast expanse of water appeared before Jiangcheng's eyes.