Chapter 128

Three in the afternoon.

Overcast clouds obscured the originally clear sky. A damp, low-pressure air blew against people, bringing a chill along with its coolness. Jiang Liu held an umbrella, waiting at the north gate. The patter of the autumn rain blurred her vision, and she closed her eyes slightly, listening to the noisy discussions around her.

“Let’s gather up after we get in. We can’t get separated.” On one side, Zhao Ziming was nagging his companions, sounding surprisingly like a mother hen.

This time, they didn’t have a Team Kit, but they had the help of NPCs like Lin Jiao. Barring any accidents, they shouldn’t be separated. Jiang Liu closed her eyes to rest, half-listening to their idle chat. Suddenly, she felt a gaze on her back—probing, observant, and exceptionally complex.

The gaze was somewhat familiar.

She couldn’t help but open her eyes and turn slightly to look back. Through the chaotic crowd of players, she saw a person standing at the far end, silently staring at her. She had experienced such a gaze many times before. A hundred years ago, every time she entered an Instance, Qiao Ke would also stand in the distance, silently watching her just like today.

Now that her memories had returned, meeting this familiar gaze again, Jiang Liu felt a sense of ridicule in her heart. As she thought this, a slight smile appeared on her lips. She met his gaze without flinching and successfully saw a flash of panic on his face. He had already been kicked out of the Inspection Team, and most of the NPCs, led by Lin Jiao, were now biased against him, just waiting to completely remove him from the System and take his place.

Jiang Liu blinked and mouthed a message across the distance—

Bring it on.

After that, without waiting for Qiao Ke’s reaction, she turned decisively, closed her umbrella, and strode into the Instance.

A slight dizziness washed over her brain. Jiang Liu had just steadied herself when she heard the sound of sorrowful crying from not far away. It sounded like both men and women, which made her subconsciously look over. Not far away were single-story houses with brick and tile structures, which looked quite old from their decorations. Everyone was dressed plainly and had surrounded a courtyard so tightly that not even a drop of water could get through.

This should be a village. The soil under her feet was still a bit soft, completely different from the feel of concrete. With this in mind, she walked forward, intending to ask someone what had happened. Before she could get close enough to speak, she already heard people’s discussions.

“I heard he passed away early this morning, without much suffering.”

“Sigh, go and persuade Xiao Zhao. No matter how reluctant he is, don’t delay the auspicious time.”

“…”

It sounded like someone had died in the family. Jiang Liu blinked, moved to a corner, and took out her phone. As expected, there was no signal.

Just as she was about to observe further, she suddenly heard footsteps from around the corner. Before she could see the person, an anxious voice reached her ears.

“Xiao Jiang, what are you doing here?”

It seemed to be calling her.

A thought stirred in Jiang Liu’s mind, and sure enough, she saw a middle-aged man running over from the corner. He looked to be under fifty, but his weathered appearance made him look much older than his actual age. His dark face was covered with traces left by the sun, and his voice was deep and rustic.

Seeing that Jiang Liu didn’t speak, the man quickened his pace. “It’s quite a coincidence for you all. To run into something like this right after arriving. If you’re scared, come back with me first. I’ve already arranged your accommodations.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward that family’s house, perhaps afraid that a young girl like Jiang Liu would be timid.

“Where are the others?” Jiang Liu asked tentatively.

“Your younger brother is already there. I was tidying up and saw you were gone, so I hurried out to look for you.” He chuckled. “You don’t know, the roads in our village are hard to walk on. I was afraid you’d get lost and wander onto the mountain by mistake.”

Younger brother? Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow, unsure for a moment which one he meant. But with the system notification yet to arrive, she couldn’t just waste time. So she smiled at the man. “Then please take me there.”

Along the way, she finally got a general idea from him. According to the man, they were originally supposed to pass through the village to get to the next town, but their bus broke down halfway. It also happened that it had rained a while ago, and rocks from the mountain had fallen and blocked the only road, so they could only stay in the village for a few days. The man’s surname was Liu, and he was the village chief of this village. He had already negotiated a price with the driver to temporarily settle the passengers here and take care of them, and they would set off as soon as the road was repaired.

As he spoke, he had already led Jiang Liu to a courtyard. A young man was standing at the entrance, looking around. The moment he saw Jiang Liu, his face lit up with joy. “Sister Jiang, I’m here!”

Jiang Liu looked closely and saw that it was Jiang He. The boy was wearing a rustic-style jacket, and his body and face were dirty. She almost didn’t recognize him.

“How did you get like this?” Jiang Liu clicked her tongue and subconsciously moved a little farther away from him.

Village Chief Liu scratched his head. “I looked away for a moment, and this young man was kicked into a mud pit by a horse. Luckily, he’s fine.”

Jiang Liu said, “…Alright then.”

She looked at Jiang He with a complicated expression, wanting to take him inside to wash his face.

“Then you two wait here for a bit. I’ll go check on the others.” The village chief pointed not far away. “Our village is small, so it’s really not easy to accommodate all of you from the bus.”

Jiang Liu nodded and watched him leave, then looked around at the environment. “Are you alone?”

Jiang He hummed in agreement. “The other passengers should have been arranged elsewhere. Let’s go look for them later.”

Just then, the system voice finally arrived, belatedly.

[Mountain Well Village is a village isolated from the world. Due to a rainstorm, a group of outsiders was forced to stay in the village. The villagers were originally very happy to lend a helping hand and receive them. However, it happened to coincide with a funeral, and the villagers were too preoccupied to attend to them.]

[Main Quest: Please assist the villagers in burying the deceased.]

[Side Quest: Investigate the cause of death.]

[Special Reminder: The side quest is difficult. Once accepted, failure to complete it will result in a penalty. Please choose carefully and treat it with caution.]

Jiang He’s eyes widened. “Someone died?”

“Yes, I just saw it,” Jiang Liu nodded, pointing to the basin in the room for him to wash up, while she walked around the room herself.

The village houses were all self-built brick houses, with one room, one living room, and a small warehouse, very simple. It was clear that even this family was not well-off; apart from some tables and chairs, there were no other furnishings in the house. Jiang Liu patted the table; it was clearly very old, covered with signs of wear and tear. But it had been kept very clean and was spotless. The owner must have been very tidy.

“Did he say whose house this is?” Jiang Liu asked Jiang He after walking around.

“He said it’s the village doctor’s house,” Jiang He replied indistinctly, his face still wet.

Jiang Liu said “oh” and casually opened a few wooden boxes in the room, which were all filled with girls’ clothes. After Jiang He cleaned up, he also came over. The two of them rummaged through them for a bit but didn’t find anything crucial. He couldn’t help but hesitate. “Should we go out for a walk?”

Since they had to help with the funeral, they had to make contact with the deceased.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Liu said in agreement.

The two of them didn’t take the village chief’s warning about getting lost seriously at all and swaggered out the door. The road nearby was still quiet. Jiang Liu looked at the courtyards along the way; there were basically no people in them. They should all be at the deceased’s house.

Sure enough, just as they turned a corner, they ran into a familiar figure.

“Who’s so carele—hey, Sister Jiang?” Tang Rui stumbled from the collision. Just as he steadied himself and was about to get angry, he looked up and saw Jiang Liu’s highly recognizable face. A curse died in his throat, and his expression became a little awkward.

Jiang Liu was also amused. “It’s you. Where are Xu Meng and the other one?”

This boy was tied to Tang Ruo and the others. As long as one of them appeared, the other two must also be in this Instance.

“My sister is over there watching. I heard from the villagers that the other passengers were settled here, so I thought I’d come over and try my luck.”

Seeing a familiar face, Tang Rui’s heart immediately relaxed. He didn’t forget to look behind the two of them. “Where’s Brother Zhao?”

“Haven’t seen him. He’s probably at someone else’s house,” Jiang Liu shrugged, not in a particular hurry to find him.

Since the quest was related to the deceased, they would eventually run into him there. However, hearing Tang Rui’s words, it seemed they had been watching for a while. Jiang Liu couldn’t help but ask, “Who is the deceased? What’s the situation now?”

“It seems to be the family’s eldest son, only twenty-eight this year. It’s quite a pity,” Tang Rui sighed. “The villagers are comforting them now, and they’ve already started setting up the memorial hall. Let’s go over and take a look tonight.”

As he spoke, the three of them had already arrived nearby. Jiang Liu saw that the crowd of onlookers had dispersed quite a bit, clearing a path for people to handle the funeral arrangements. Among the group of simple villagers, the figures of Tang Ruo and Xu Meng were particularly conspicuous. In addition, there were some other faces looking around, and just from the expressions on their faces, Jiang Liu could tell they were not from the village.

Tang Ruo noticed her gaze and beckoned for them to come over. She approached Jiang Liu and said in a low voice, “I’ve asked around. There are more than ten passengers staying here. They might all be players.”

They had participated in multi-player Instances before, so she didn’t need to be so cautious. The group exchanged a look and immediately understood her underlying meaning. With multiple teams in the Instance, would their quests be the same? Would there be conflict between them?

Jiang Liu impassively withdrew her gaze and gave a barely perceptible nod.

***

In the evening, the group appeared at the memorial hall. It was a temporarily erected structure, not too large, but fortunately, it was kept clean. The strong smell of incense was noticeable right at the entrance, making Jiang Liu frown. Inside, only a young man was keeping watch. His eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying too much during the day, and he looked listless.

Seeing the group arrive, he bowed silently, handed them a few sticks of incense, and then stepped back to the side. Jiang Liu took them, her gaze sweeping over the photo at the front. It was just as Tang Rui had described; he looked very young. The coffin was placed in the center, not yet sealed. It was surrounded by wreaths and elegiac couplets. She glanced at them briefly and found that there were a great many, as if every household in the village had participated.

She silently offered the incense and shot a look at Tang Rui. He immediately understood, pulling Jiang He and the others into a line, murmuring words of condolence to attract the attention of the mourning youth, while secretly waving for Jiang Liu to hurry up.

Jiang Liu pursed her lips. Using the cover of their conversation, she quietly reached out and touched the coffin lid, giving it a hard push—

A faint breath brushed against her fingertips. She unexpectedly met the eyes of the thing inside, and her pupils contracted sharply. The sound of more mourners’ footsteps came from outside, and Tang Rui was already frequently looking back at her. Jiang Liu took a deep breath and, with a click, closed the coffin lid again.

This is quite a surprise in here… Jiang Liu thought with a blank expression.