Fatal Game Syndrome

By the time they finished their meal, it was already completely dark outside. In the pitch-dark small mountain village, the whistling mountain wind and the eerie chirping of birds created an atmosphere no worse than that of a horror movie.

"Go to sleep!"

Ruan Lanzhu didn't even open his eyes, he just hugged Ling Jiushi and pressed him into his arms.

"But something is calling outside!"

Ling Jiushi pulled the quilt and tucked his head inside it. His good hearing was sometimes a problem, just like now, he couldn't sleep at all.

“The birds are singing!”

Ruan Lanzhu covered his ears with his hands. Ling Jiushi was a little speechless. There were indeed birds singing outside, but mixed in with them were sobbing sounds. It was clearly a woman crying!

There was no moon or stars in the sky today, and it was pitch black outside without any light. They certainly couldn't risk going out to check, so they buried their heads in the quilt, leaned against Ruan Lanzhu's chest, listened to his heartbeat, and slowly fell asleep.

"Morning, Lingling!"

When Ling Jiushi opened his eyes hazily, Ruan Lanzhu had already put on his clothes and was ready to get breakfast.

"morning!"

Ling Jiushi, with dark circles under his eyes, climbed out of bed. When he finished washing up, Ruan Lanzhu also came back with breakfast.

"The crying noise last night should have come from the right. Let's find a chance to check it out!"

"right......"

Ruan Lanzhu took a bite of the steamed bun slowly, "The watchtower is in that direction!"

A watchtower?

Find the place where the human skin drum is!

"Let's go down first. It's almost eight o'clock. I guess the NPC has already arrived."

Ruan Lanzhu threw the dry steamed bun in his hand back into the plate with a clanging sound. This thing was so hard that it could be used as a weapon!

"it is good!"

Ling Jiushi was also choking, so he put the remaining half of the steamed bun back, picked up the bag, and followed Ruan Lanzhu out the door.

"There are only a few dozen families in our village, all of them are descendants of the Xu family!"

Seeing that everyone was present, the tour guide said that he would take everyone to familiarize themselves with the environment today. He led everyone through the bamboo forest opposite the cave, down a long steep slope and to the foot of the mountain.

When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, everyone discovered that the mountain they had just descended was a mountain range that seemed to be bent in half, and there was a small river between the two peaks. The source of the river was the stream on the cliff.

According to the tour guide, the sparse houses on both sides of the river are all owned by the Xu family.

"There are no outsiders here, so people outside call us Xujia Village."

The tour guide brought everyone to the hillside at the source of the river. After passing through the woods, they discovered that the building halfway up the mountain was the exhibition hall they had seen before.

"Why didn't you see there was a river outside?"

Cheng Qianli was dumbfounded. The last time he came in, this place was clearly flat! If the buildings hadn't looked exactly the same, he would have suspected that he had remembered it wrong.

"This is the ancestral hall of our Xu family!"

The original exhibition hall has turned into a clan temple!

"Everyone, that's all for the morning. Let's get familiar with the surroundings first. I'll take you to the watchtower this afternoon. Starting tomorrow, I'll ask for your help in finding the tribe leader's little daughter!"

The tour guide smiled and said, "Everyone must remember not to look up!"

The four people who had been here looked at each other in surprise. The taboo conditions were actually the same as before!

After the tour guide left, Ruan Lanzhu and four others entered the ancestral hall first. The passer-by, who had originally said that it was not good to trespass into other people's ancestral halls, also followed quietly behind them.

“It’s completely changed inside!”

Ling Jiushi looked at the shrine in the middle which was filled with tablets, and sure enough, they were all people with the surname Xu.

"Go and have a look at both sides!"

Li Dongyuan took Cheng Qianli and Tan Zaozao directly to the yard on the left, while Ruan Lanzhu and the others turned and went to the right.

Apart from the main hall in the middle, there were places with miscellaneous items piled up on both sides. I looked around but didn't find anything.

"Go look outside!"

After going out, there are some small rooms on both sides of the ancestral hall that are independent of the courtyard. Perhaps they belong to the ancestral hall, so they look particularly clean and there is not a trace of dust.

"These doors are locked!"

Ling Jiushi pinched the heavy copper lock on the door and said, "What's in here? Why use such a big lock?"

"Open it and you'll know!"

Ruan Lanzhu reached into his pocket and took out a hairpin. Just as he inserted it into his suit pocket, before he could unlock the door, he heard the tour guide's voice.

"Why so fast!"

Ling Jiushi leaned over to look and saw that the tour guide was already standing at the main entrance of the ancestral hall.

"Let's familiarize ourselves with the route with her today, and we'll come back and see when we go on our own tomorrow!"

Ruan Lanzhu took out the departure card and put it back. It was almost eleven o'clock, and the tour guide should be here to take everyone back for dinner.

"It makes me sad to think about the food here."

Ling Jiushi simply didn't want to eat the food here. He didn't know who cooked it, but he was not fired!

"Let me make you some sausage fried rice!"

Thinking of the bacon and sausages hanging from the kitchen beams, and the eggs and rice in the cupboard, Ling Jiushi's mouth almost watered. "I wonder if the bacon and sausages here are authentic!"

"It doesn't matter if it's authentic or not, what you make is definitely better than what's provided."

Ruan Lanzhu turned around and gave him a thumbs up. Compared with the food here, the two of them were the real chefs.

"Then let's go!"

After returning to the residence, under the eager gazes of several people, Ling Jiushi cooked a big pot of fried rice with bacon, sausage and eggs. Cheng Qianli and Tan Zaozao ate it with tears in their eyes, and the other guests who had passed by nearby drooled at the smell of it. Finally, they ran to the kitchen to make a bowl of noodles.

As expected, the watchtower the tour guide took them to in the afternoon was exactly the same as the previous watchtower, even the interior had not changed at all.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at five o'clock. Remember, don't make any loud noises!"

It’s the same taboo conditions again!

“The drum here is gone!”

Several people came to the place where the drum was originally placed, but it was empty.

"Let's go look somewhere else!"

Except for the top floor of the watchtower being locked, other places were no different from before. Even the wall where the corpses were hidden was still filled with bones when opened.

"I'll open the door!"

Ling Jiushi took out the hairpin from his bag and prepared to start. Now he was considered an expert at lock picking!

The door lock was easily opened, and as soon as the door was pushed open, a strong smell of blood mixed with a disgusting stench of decay hit Ling Jiushi in the face, almost making him fall backwards as he pushed the door open.

"Ugh~"

Before Ling Jiushi could react, Tan Zaozao couldn't bear it anymore and vomited first. Ruan Lanzhu looked at Ling Jiushi and his face turned green. "Open it first!"

"How many people were killed?"

Cheng Qianli and Tan Zaozao had already shrunk to the back window, and only Li Dongyuan was still looking inside with a calm expression.