bookcurios Chapter 178 Forced Consent? Wasn't it supposed to be a 3-day clear?
Chapter 178 Forced Consent? Wasn't it supposed to be a 3-day clear?
If we stop them, they might be able to clear the level—
boom!
The ancestral hall's main gate was blown shut by a gust of wind that appeared out of nowhere, leaving it completely dark.
All the players were startled, staring in fear at the ancestral hall gate.
At the same time, the sound of the elders kowtowing in the ancestral hall grew louder and louder, and in the darkness, a dim yellow candlelight faintly shone.
Although they didn't know how the "candlelight" could be lit in this ancestral hall full of earthworms.
Among the players, only Yu Shijiu did not react at all.
"I?"
Compared to the suddenly closed ancestral hall doors and the candlelight that appeared out of nowhere, Yu Shijiu found the player's accusations in front of him utterly ridiculous.
Yu Shijiu pointed to himself, his slender, pale fingers curling slightly, and then he chuckled.
"What am I supposed to stop? And what right do I have to stop it?"
The player who shouted was someone we knew.
Huang Hao regretted it the very next second after he shouted it out.
He cowered and dared not look at Yu Shijiu, his eyes darting around in alarm.
Yu Shijiu didn't seem to recognize him, and just yawned lazily before continuing:
"Look, if you want to go, go by yourself. Nobody's stopping you."
Huang Hao: "..."
If he dared to go, he would have gone already. Why would he be here asking others to go?
"Oh, yes."
Yu Shijiu seemed to suddenly remember Huang Hao, and asked curiously, "So did you go to that courtyard to check on the other people yesterday?"
"coward."
Huang Hao: "..."
He opened his mouth, and just as he was about to say something, An Li, who had just woken up, walked over with a sullen face.
Snapped--
A loud slap echoed in the ancestral hall, where only the sound of kowtowing could be heard.
Yu Shijiu's eyes widened instantly.
He watched as Huang Hao was thrown back a step, his mouth silently agape in an "O" shape.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Anli closed her eyes, her pale face full of exhaustion.
She turned her head and met Yu Shijiu's gaze, who was still in shock.
“Sorry, that’s just how he is,” Anli pointed to her head, saying helplessly.
"There's a problem, don't take it to heart."
Yu Shijiu stared blankly at someone for the first time, then asked curiously half a beat later:
Does it feel good to slap someone?
"..." Anli was a little confused by the question. She said "Ah" and hesitated before replying:
"what?"
What do you mean, "Does it feel good to slap someone?"
Yu Shijiu also came to his senses. He gently touched his face, feeling that he had learned something at this moment.
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Yu Shijiu said softly, revealing her signature smiling, obedient face.
"I forgive him."
"……sorry to bother you."
An Li, who was completely unaware of this, thought that Yu Shijiu really meant to forgive her, and nodded somewhat embarrassedly upon hearing this.
Then, An Li turned around and looked at Huang Hao, who was covering his face and not daring to speak, and her gaze suddenly turned cold.
“Huang Hao,” An Li stopped beside Huang Hao and sighed helplessly:
"Don't bother me anymore, I'm exhausted, really."
After Anli finished speaking, without waiting for Huang Hao to explain, she dragged her tired body into the group of players and found a place to stand and wait for the plot to continue.
It'll only be a short while.
Anli exhaled a breath of stale air.
Now, she has begun to hate her own personality, which always makes her unable to resist stepping in to help others out of trouble.
Huang Hao, who had been slapped again, stood alone in place. He looked around blankly, and seemed to finally realize something. His face turned pale and he dared not make a sound.
Yu Shijiu was too lazy to pay attention to this player who was obviously out of his mind, so he found the best spot to watch the story and stopped there.
The kowtowing session, which lasted for nearly three minutes, came to an end.
Liu Laosan was the first to stand up. He walked to the incense table, bent down and picked up the bowl. When the twenty old men behind him looked up at the same time, he suddenly turned his head to look at the players who had already woken up.
The players were startled by his gaze, and some almost couldn't help but back away and try to run away.
"The guests are already awake."
Old Liu smiled, held the bowl in his hand level, and spoke in a kind tone:
"Come, bring your chosen guests here, so that the deity may see them with his own eyes."
At the same time, the system voice, which had been silent for a long time, finally rang in the ears of all players.
[The player has activated the ritual process in the "Eternal Life Village" game instance... This process is mandatory; players within the instance must follow the NPC's ritual procedure.]
The players who wanted to rebel: "..."
What does this mean?
It's just a three-day survival game, why are there mandatory requirements?!
Yu Shijiu accepted it well. He was the first to step out of the shadows and waved to Yang Wan, who was looking up at him from the old man's face.
"Grandma! I'm here!"
The boy's shout drew the attention of not only Yang Wan, but also the other elderly people who were carefully examining the player's features.
Including Liu Laosan.
Many elderly people glanced at Yu Shijiu before continuing to search for their chosen "guests," while Liu Laosan...
Liu Laosan looked at Yu Shijiu with a strange gaze that was both like looking at a fool and satisfied, before glancing at Yang Wan, who was walking out from the group of old people.
The much-anticipated Yang Wan: "..."
She looked at Yu Shijiu, who was waving at her and walking towards her, with a complicated expression, and then turned her head to meet Liu Laosan's gaze.
"village head."
Yang Wan said in a low voice, "He is my guest."
It was me, the "stand-in" I chose.
Liu Laosan smiled and said, "Of course, you are the first villager to bring a 'guest' to me, so,"
Liu Laosan handed the bowl to Yang Wan, saying, "Dip your finger in the blood of the offering and let your 'guest' be marked."
Yu Shijiu, who was excitedly walking over here: "..."
Yu Shijiu glanced hesitantly at the liquid in Liu Laosan's bowl, and suddenly realized that he might not really want to be the first "guest" anymore.
That thing looked really dirty, and probably poisonous too.
"Yes."
Yang Wan responded softly, then dipped her index finger into the bowl to draw a drop of blood before gently beckoning to Yu Shijiu, who was currently struggling with his thoughts.
"Come on, child," Yang Wan said with a smile on her face, which was half old and half young, as if she were bewitching Yu Shijiu.
"This is the most famous sacrificial ceremony in our Longevity Village. Don't you want to experience it for yourself?"
As soon as Yang Wan finished speaking, the earthworms that made up each part of the ancestral hall seemed to get excited, and countless hissing sounds rang out, causing many players to stand still in fear.
No one dares to imagine what kind of hell it would be if the area outside this ancestral hall collapsed right now... and they were drowned by countless earthworms.
For some reason, Yu Shijiu's gaze was fixed on the drop of blood on Yang Wan's fingertip, and a strange greed sprouted from the bottom of his heart, briefly suppressing Yu Shijiu's mind.
He walked slowly toward Yang Wan.