This old man looked like a seasoned troublemaker... Zhang Yuanqing contentedly sheathed his knife and asked:
"First question, how did Wang Xiao'er become like this?
Generally speaking, there are two ways for Yin corpses to form. One is artificial refining, like how he refined Undead No. 1.
The other is when a corpse is buried in a place with extremely strong Yin energy, absorbing Yin energy over time, giving birth to weak intelligence, and becoming a zombie (Yin corpse).
Wang Xiao'er doesn't fit the second type. If it's the first type, being able to refine an ordinary villager into such a powerful Yin corpse, even surpassing Undead No. 1,
this method is a bit horrifying.
The old man said with grief and indignation:
"It's all because he went to the tomb and brought back unclean things. A while ago, Wang Xiao'er, who had been missing for several days, suddenly returned to the village with a large bag of gold, silver, and jade artifacts, saying that he had made a fortune and wanted to build the best house in the village to marry a girl from the provincial capital.
"He found Mr. Xu, who taught in the village, and asked him to help look at some antiques and estimate their prices."
Antiques... Zhang Yuanqing didn't dwell on the issue of Wang Xiao'er turning into a Yin corpse, and asked, "What antiques did he bring back?"
The old man recalled:
"I was there watching the fun at the time. He showed Mr. Xu three antiques. One was a girl doll sculpture without a tongue, with prominent ears, black and shiny. It felt cool to the touch. Mr. Xu said it was Yin jade, which needed to be buried in a tomb for many years to become so glossy."
"One was a rouge box, with a silver box carved with flowers, very beautiful. The rouge inside, oh my, was as red as blood. You said, how could this thing not dry out after being buried in a tomb for so long?"
"What was the third item?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, not taking up the topic.
"A bronze mirror, dusty, inlaid with some beautiful stones. Mr. Xu said they were gemstones. It's a pity that the mirror couldn't reflect people, otherwise it could be sold to the wealthy ladies in the provincial capital."
Well, none of these three items were for living people. Wang Xiao'er really knows how to pick... Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but complain.
"Did Wang Xiao'er sell those three items?" He remembered searching the house for a long time earlier and finding nothing.
The old man nodded and then shook his head:
"The rouge box was bought by Mr. Xu. I don't know about the girl doll and the mirror.
Anyway, ever since Wang Xiao'er brought back those things, strange things have happened in the village for several days."
"What strange things have happened?" Zhang Yuanqing continued to ask.
"According to Widow Li at the entrance of the village, on the night Wang Xiao'er returned, she got up in the middle of the night and saw a woman in red entering the village through the window. That woman was very pretty. She had never seen such a pretty girl, but her face was a little pale. The next day, Wang Xiao'er turned into that ghostly appearance," the old man said.
According to the description in The Way of the Extraordinary, the woman in red should be the Princess. So it seems that Wang Xiao'er was retaliated against by the Princess and turned into a Yin corpse. This Princess is a bit fierce.
Alas, female ghosts have always been beautiful, but it's a pity they are ghosts. Oh right, the Princess is probably a Yin corpse, not a vengeful spirit. If I could subdue her, I would definitely use her every day, um, use her to fight... Zhang Yuanqing thought nonsensically and said:
"Anything else?"
"Yes, Zhao Erdan's child had his tongue cut off. According to Zhao Erdan's wife, she was cooking dinner that day, and Xiao Dan, Erdan's child, was playing in the yard. She saw Xiao Dan go out with a girl. She didn't pay attention at the time, thinking it was someone's child coming to play with Xiao Dan. However, the girl's face seemed to be black, like a shadow. She found it very strange.
"After Erdan's wife finished cooking, she went out to find Xiao Dan and found him passed out at the door, his tongue gone." The old man said, with fear flashing in his eyes:
"Since then, as long as it gets dark, there is a dark girl in the village who likes to lie on other people's windows and ask if they want to play games.
"As long as she lies on whose window, the next day, that family's tongue will be cut off. That girl will keep wandering around the village until the first watch of the night before leaving."
So that's how the villagers' tongues were cut off. She leaves at the first watch of the night, so does that mean the game has to be played until the first watch? Zhang Yuanqing asked:
"What game are they playing?" The old man shook his head: "Who knows? She doesn't say what game it is."
She kept saying to play a game... Zhang Yuanqing frowned upon hearing this.
The information here is problematic. The information given by the Meow King Speaker was to play "You Clap One," but the old man said there was no game.
"How did you get your tongue cut off?" Zhang Yuanqing asked for details.
The old man recalled the terrifying past, his face horrified:
"I was very scared at the time and hid under the bed, afraid to come out. She kept lying on the window, constantly saying to play the game. Later, she disappeared. I remember I fell asleep, and when I woke up, my tongue was gone."
Combining his own experience, Zhang Yuanqing quickly analyzed.
Playing the game is actually the correct way to avoid the crisis. It's just that the villagers are too scared, and no one dares to play with the little girl.
Demon Monarch, as a Way of the Extraordinary, complied with the rules and boldly played the game, so he successfully cleared the level. He played...
Zhang Yuanqing understood. Demon Monarch played "You Clap One." No wonder, after listening to the Meow King Speaker's audio, he felt very strange.
"You Clap One" is a nursery rhyme, which shouldn't appear in a Ming Dynasty background instance.
The nursery rhyme did not originate from the weirdness in the instance, but from the Demon Monarch. The Meow King Speaker only recorded the Demon Monarch's original method of breaking the situation and played this method to him.
The three antiques that Wang Xiao'er brought out, this is the first one. There should be strange things happening later... Zhang Yuanqing said while thinking:
"Are there any other strange things?"
The old man heard this and showed a look of horror, unconsciously lowering his voice: "Mr. Xu is dead!"
As expected... Zhang Yuanqing did not interrupt, listening to the old man continue:
"The next morning, the children in the village went to the private school to study. Mr. Xu, who always came early, did not appear. The children told the adults. Everyone went to his house to take a look,
and found that Mr. Xu was already dead. He died a terrible death, having been reduced to a mummy.
"He was lying straight on the bed, with a paper figure beside him. The paper figure was very beautifully made, with a very red face and red lacquer on the eyes. Oh, not red lacquer, it was that rouge box. The rouge box was placed on the bedside, still open. The village chief found that Mr. Xu's fingers were stained with red rouge. He should have used it to paint the paper figure's face and put dots on the eyes."
Speaking of this, the old man said stealthily:
"Li Tieniu next door said that in the middle of the night... around the second watch, he heard Mr. Xu playing with a woman, but Mr. Xu had been widowed for many years. Where did he get a woman in his house?
"It was that paper figure that came to life at night and harmed Mr. Xu."
In the middle of the night, a paper figure, with painted eyes and rouge, lying beside you, and then coming to life... Zhang Yuanqing felt a little horrified just thinking about it.
That's why I never buy figures. I don't want any silicone dolls or inflatable dolls. They are irrigated with billions of fresh lives every day. What if they come to life one day? It'll be a big joke... Zhang Yuanqing said, "Where is the rouge box?"
"It's still at Mr. Xu's house. Who would dare to take it?" The old man sighed: "After Mr. Xu died, that paper figure was seen walking around in the village that night, around the second watch. It was terrifying."
Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing narrowed his eyes.
The paper figure will be walking around the village at the second watch, which means that the second wave of crisis is coming at the second watch.
I wonder how Demon Monarch dealt with the paper figure. I'll ask the Meow King Speaker later. "Old man, there should be a third strange thing, right? For example, at the third watch," Zhang Yuanqing said.
Based on the old man's account, he had figured out the pattern. At the first watch, it was the tongue-less ghost doll causing trouble. At the second watch, it was the paper figure.
There will definitely be trouble at the third watch.
Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head: "The third watch? There was no strange thing. However, it seems that strange things happened at the fourth watch."
Zhang Yuanqing quickly asked: "What strange things?"
The old man frowned, his wrinkled, dark face flashing with confusion: "I, I forgot..."
Forgot? Then I can only ask other villagers. So far, this instance is not too difficult. Finding the tongue can get a lot of information and basically figure out the weirdness in the instance.
Play the game before dark, play until the first watch, and you can send the ghost doll away. Deal with the paper figure at the second watch. There is nothing weird at the third watch. There should be something at the fourth watch, but the old man forgot. You can ask other villagers.
After solving the three "antiques," do you have to fight the boss? If you survive successfully, you can clear the level.
Although I know the Princess must be very powerful, it's enough to figure out the weirdness in the instance. This kind of danger that is out in the open is much more reassuring than crossing the river by feeling for stones.
In fact, Zhang Yuanqing also has a trump card: the Demon Subduing Pestle.
This thing is a powerful weapon to restrain Yin objects, but he doesn't dare to use it very much. After the encounter at Golden Water Amusement Park, he suspects that using the Demon Subduing Pestle in the Night Wanderer's exclusive spiritual instance will definitely be sensed by the old hag.
If the old hag comes, it will be useless even if I kneel down and sing "Conquest."
What would be the result of attracting a big boss? Zhang Yuanqing doesn't know. He only knows that the old hag crushing him is like crushing an ant.
He doesn't dare to gamble his life on the other party's attitude.
At this time, Zhang Yuanqing looked up at the sky. It was already dark. The thin clouds were frozen in place, and the sky was very weak. In a while, it would be dark.
Zhang Yuanqing no longer delayed and said:
"Old man, it's getting dark, and that ghost doll is coming. You don't want to have your tongue cut off, do you? Let's play a game."
The old man never disappoints when it comes to going with the flow, immediately nodding, "What game?"
Zhang Yuanqing told the old man the game's incantation and how to play it. "Will this work?" The old man looked disbelieving.
"You don't have a choice," Zhang Yuanqing replied, and then summoned Undead No. 1, communicating with the mark in his sea of consciousness, dividing the spiritual body into two halves, leaving one half in the main body and the other half entering the Yin corpse.
The two people and one corpse stood in a triangle. Zhang Yuanqing clapped his hands and said:
"You clap one, I clap one, play games before dark."
The old man clapped his hands: "You clap two, I clap two, touch your tongue, touch your ear."
The two people and one corpse opened their mouths, touched their tongues, and then touched their ears. Undead No. 1 clapped his hands, his voice hoarse:
"You clap three, I clap three, add a shadow and there are three."
The sound of applause kept ringing, and the two people and one corpse just played like this, time passed by second by second, and it soon became dark.
The entire world was covered in a layer of dark curtain, and then, deep darkness swallowed this mountain village.
The night sky had no moon, no stars, only pitch-black darkness.
The mountain village fell into dead silence, with no insects chirping, no dogs barking, quiet enough to be frightening and unsettling.
The applause and voices of the two people and one corpse were the only sound sources in this dead silent world.
After dark, the Yin energy in the village became heavier... Zhang Yuanqing maintained the rhythm of the game. As a Night Wanderer, he keenly noticed the changes around him.
During the day, there was no Yin energy in the village, but once it got dark, a cold aura began to spread, and the entire village seemed to turn into a ghost realm.
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Moreover, the Yin energy gradually increased over time.
At this time, Zhang Yuanqing heard laughter coming from the darkness behind him: "Oh, someone is playing a game~"
This voice was childish and clear, from a young girl.
It's here... Zhang Yuanqing saw the old man's expression change, and his lips began to tremble. Zhang Yuanqing felt an extremely Yin and extremely cold Yin energy approaching. The strength of this Yin energy reminded him of the Ghost Bride, or rather, the oppressive aura that the Ghost Bride gave him.
This ghost doll is so terrible. Hard confrontation doesn't seem wise... Zhang Yuanqing also started to go with the flow like the old man.
That Yin energy stopped behind Zhang Yuanqing, and then, he felt a coolness stick to his back, slowly crawling upwards.
Does she want to possess me?
Zhang Yuanqing's spine prickled, his scalp tingled, and he almost couldn't maintain the rhythm of the game.
Fortunately, that cold aura only stayed for a few seconds before leaving Zhang Yuanqing's back and moving behind Undead No. 1, trying to possess it.
Zhang Yuanqing glanced out of the corner of his eye and finally saw what it was.
It was a shadow, a child's shadow. It fell on the ground behind Undead No. 1, as if it were Undead No. 1's shadow.
This shadow seemed to want to possess Undead No. 1, but all its efforts ended in failure.
"Why are there three people again... I want to play games, I want to play games..."
The short shadow made the childish voice of a girl, complaining unhappily. As long as there are three people playing, she can't join?
How did Demon Monarch try out this rule? Uh, it doesn't seem difficult. If there were no reminders from the Meow King Speaker, I would definitely summon some villagers to play games.
"You clap two, I clap two, touch your tongue, touch your ear."
The old man's voice had already begun to tremble. It was obvious that he was very afraid. But going with the flow gave him the strength to keep playing the game.
In the following time, the shadow kept alternating behind the three of them, trying to possess and participate in the game, but all failed.
Good, it can't get in. Just maintain this until the first watch of the night. Also, the Yin energy in the village is getting heavier... Zhang Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything was going according to his plan.
He kept playing the game and keeping track of the time, and after a long time, he felt that the first watch of the night was almost there.
At this time, Zhang Yuanqing, whose brain was highly active under tension, suddenly thought of an unexplained point.
That is, the "three people" hint given by the Meow King Speaker and the ghost doll's recent "again three people."<
The rule about the number of people must have been summarized by Demon Monarch, but there is a problem here. Without knowing the rules, the more people there are, the better. If I were Demon Monarch, I would definitely find a group of villagers to play games.
Instead of precisely three people.
But just now the ghost doll said "again three people." If she was referring to Demon Monarch's time, then the problem is, how did Demon Monarch deduce that if the number of people reaches three, the ghost doll will be excluded?
The only answer is that Demon Monarch summarized the rules after trial and error.
Did Demon Monarch find a group of villagers in the beginning, only to find that having more people was meaningless, and the villagers had their tongues cut off or were killed one by one by the ghost doll until there were only three people left, and the ghost doll stopped?
It doesn't seem right. Villagers don't have such discipline. If one person dies, they will probably scatter and flee. Moreover, after Demon Monarch discovers that people are still dying while playing the game, will he continue to call on villagers to play the game?
It must have been a hard confrontation with the ghost doll, because he can't guarantee whether the ghost doll will possess him next.
So how exactly did Demon Monarch summarize this rule?
The first watch is almost here, let's send the ghost doll away first and then think about these things.
Just as he thought this, he saw the old man next to him suddenly show a look of pain and murmur:
"I remember, I remember, at the fourth watch..."
At this time, Zhang Yuanqing realized that intense Yin energy was actually emitting from the old man's body, and his skin had also changed from normal skin tone to bluish-black.
The surrounding Yin energy was too strong, covering up the Yin corpse aura emitted by the old man.
He is a Yin corpse? How is this possible... Zhang Yuanqing's pupils contracted. As a Night Wanderer, he could clearly see that the old man's body was being nourished by Yin energy and was gradually transforming into a Yin corpse.
The old man's fingers pierced out sharp claws, bloodshot burst out in his eyeballs, and he murmured: "At the fourth watch, everyone in the village died..."
Everyone in the village died... Hearing this sentence, Zhang Yuanqing felt a chill in his heart, and his scalp tingled slightly.
There are no normal people in this instance. The villagers have already died. They retain the form of humans during the day, and at night, nourished by Yin energy, they will transform into Yin corpses?
Damn it, I thought it was strange, how come there are so many living people in this instance? Are the Yin objects in a Level A instance so gentle? It turns out there are no living people at all.
Suddenly, he understood how Demon Monarch tried and failed.
Demon Monarch summoned a group of villagers to play games, and as a result, they all turned into Yin corpses at night. The game failed, but Demon Monarch did not die immediately. Perhaps he happened to have two Yin corpses, or had other means. In short, he summarized the rules and found that as long as three people play the game, he can avoid the ghost doll's killing rules.
At this time, the old man's reason completely disappeared, turning into a bloodthirsty Yin object, pouncing on Zhang Yuanqing beside him.
Damn it! Undead No. 1 intercepted from the side, its powerful impact knocking the old man away. The game was forced to end.
"Hehe, I want to play games too~"
A childish, clear voice rang out behind Zhang Yuanqing.
An extremely Yin and extremely cold aura stuck to his back. The next second, Zhang Yuanqing's neck made a "crack" sound, and his head was twisted to his back.
"Crack crack..."
His legs and arms were simultaneously twisted to his back, with all the joints contorted, like a randomly assembled puppet.
ps: Correct typos after updating.