Chapter 129

“Let’s go.” Jiang Liu withdrew her hand, ready to call the others to leave, but as she turned, she unexpectedly met the eyes of a young man. The new arrivals were a young man and woman. The man was probably just casually observing and didn’t expect to be noticed, so his expression became a little awkward. He cleared his throat, instinctively averted his gaze, and nodded at Jiang Liu as a greeting.

Jiang Liu gave him a smile and, without wasting any more time, beckoned for Tang Rui and the others to leave first. It wasn’t until they were out of the memorial hall that Tang Rui looked back, his voice very low. “Those two are staying next door to us. Looks like they’re also investigating clues.”

“Don’t worry about them for now.” Jiang Liu shrugged, temporarily not paying any mind to the other players. To be honest, she was still reeling from the shock of what she had just seen.

Recalling the scene in the coffin, Jiang Liu couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of her nose, hesitatingly saying, “Looks like we won’t be sleeping tonight.”

“What’s going on?” Tang Rui and the others exchanged a look, their tone puzzled.

He noticed that Jiang Liu’s expression was quite grave, as if she was perplexed by something but didn’t know how to put it into words for a moment. This was strange. Jiang Liu had seen her fair share of big scenes. How could she be scared by a dead person? Even if the person in the coffin reanimated, they could just capture it and interrogate it. There was no need to be so nervous.

Jiang Liu pursed her lips and deliberately kept them in suspense. “You’ll find out later.”

She took out her phone, checked the time, and after a moment of thought, made a decision. “There are too many people coming and going now. Let’s meet back here at two o’clock. There’s a surprise.”

With that, she ignored the others’ suspicious looks and left with a big yawn, leaving them to look at each other. Finally, Tang Ruo blinked. “Let’s listen to her and go back for now.”

Jiang Liu wouldn’t do anything unnecessary. The fact that she was hiding it now must mean she had her reasons.

Jiang He quickly nodded. “Okay, I’ll go back too. See you at two.”

In the span of a few sentences, Jiang Liu had almost disappeared around the corner. Jiang He quickly trotted to catch up. Watching the two of them leave, Tang Rui hesitated and scratched his head. “So what about us…”

“Let’s go ask the village chief,” Tang Ruo decided. The three of them exchanged a look and also quickly left the memorial hall.

It had rained heavily a few days ago, and the village’s dirt roads were still muddy. Plus, there were no streetlights, making it very difficult to walk. Jiang He shone a flashlight, following beside Jiang Liu. He looked around and saw that many of the houses had their lights out, so quiet they seemed uninhabited.

He clicked his tongue in amazement. “It’s not even nine o’clock, and they’re already sleeping so early.”

Jiang Liu smiled faintly. “There’s no TV or phones here. If they don’t sleep, there’s nothing else to do for entertainment.”

The two didn’t go back to their residence right away. Instead, they used the flashlight to wander around the village. Mountain Well Village wasn’t large, with only about a dozen households in total. At this time, there were almost no people walking around, and even the other players were nowhere to be seen. It was unclear if they had also gone to rest. Of course, it was also possible that she and the other pair had arrived late, and the others had probably already been here in the afternoon.

Jiang Liu thought about it nonchalantly when she suddenly heard a few shouts from not far away. Looking in the direction of the sound, it was surprisingly coming from the house where the incident had occurred. Unlike the other dark houses, perhaps because they had to handle the funeral arrangements overnight, the Zhao family’s house was brightly lit. From a distance, they could see several figures in the courtyard.

Jiang Liu slowed her pace and shot a look at Jiang He. He understood and quickly turned off the flashlight. The shouting was only a couple of sentences, the tone sounding like someone had lost control in a fit of anger and was now lowering their voice after realizing it. From their position, they could no longer hear clearly.

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow and beckoned for Jiang He to follow. The two of them squeezed into a corner in the dark, and only then could they barely hear some fragments.

“I already… no…” The speaker’s voice was very old, and he coughed twice in the span of a few sentences, making his voice very recognizable.

The person talking to the old man was a middle-aged woman. She kept her voice very low, and her accent was mixed with some unknown dialect, making it hard to understand. Jiang He’s ear was almost pressed against the wall, but it was no use. He couldn’t help but frown. “What are they mumbling about?”

Jiang Liu shook her head, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. “Someone in the family died today, and they’re already arguing and having conflicts tonight. Something’s not right.”

Jiang He clicked his tongue. “Of course it’s not right. There are only two people left in their family. Where did this old man come from?”

Jiang Liu’s eyes shifted, and she made a “shush” gesture to Jiang He. She looked up at the height of the wall, took a running start, and jumped up to climb onto the wall. Using the light from the window, she observed the situation in the courtyard—about six or seven people were gathered in a circle. In the center was the back of a white-haired man. He looked a bit stooped, and with his thick coat, his back appeared broad and sturdy. She couldn’t see his face.

The woman opposite him, however, Jiang Liu remembered. She was the deceased’s mother, and she had been the one crying the loudest in the courtyard this morning. It was truly heartbreaking for a white-haired person to send off a black-haired one.

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly heard a couple of barks from below, followed by Jiang He’s gasp. “Where did this stray dog come from?” He was startled and wanted to shout but didn’t dare, afraid that Jiang Liu on the wall would be discovered. He trembled as he reached for his flashlight to drive it away.

Seeing that the people in the courtyard were attracted by the noise, Jiang Liu had no choice but to quickly jump off the wall, pull him away, and rapidly think of a way to bluff their way through. “Who’s outside so late at night?” A shuffling sound of footsteps soon came from the courtyard, accompanied by a man’s unfriendly tone, which made Jiang He’s heart tighten.

Seeing that the man was about to walk out of the courtyard, Jiang Liu was just about to step forward to deal with it when she suddenly saw a flashlight beam appear not far away, followed by a familiar voice—

“It’s me.”

Yang Caisi was wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket, her slightly long hair half-tied up, with a few stray strands fluttering by her face. Her tone was unhurried and exceptionally calm. When the man opened the door and saw it was her, the wariness on his face instantly vanished. “Oh, it’s Doctor Xiao Yang. Coming home so late?”

Yang Caisi nodded. “Auntie Li was having some trouble, so I was delayed.”

“Be careful on the road at night. There are a lot of dogs in the village. Don’t let them bite you,” the man said with a smile before closing the main door again.

Watching the person inside go back, Jiang Liu’s eyes were filled with undisguised joy. She ran over to Yang Caisi’s side in a few steps. “Xiao Si!”

Yang Caisi winked at her, carefully made a “shush” gesture at her lips, and took Jiang Liu’s hand to lead her away from the area first. It wasn’t until she felt the warm touch on her hand that Jiang Liu’s heart settled, and she squeezed back slightly.

After they had put some distance between them, Yang Caisi chuckled softly. “I went to the memorial hall first and didn’t find you. I guessed you might be here.”

“You’re the doctor? The one who lives with us?” Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow, feeling that this plot point was a bit off.

She had checked the house during the day. The owner was indeed a delicate female doctor, and her photo was on the cabinet, but it wasn’t Yang Caisi’s face.

“It took me some time to get in,” Yang Caisi said, frowning with a hint of displeasure.

Qiao Ke had deliberately separated her and Jiang Liu, even privately changing the settings of the Instance. Fortunately, she had noticed it in time and used some tricks to get in at the last minute. Otherwise, she probably would have been excluded this time. After all, there was a rule in the System that if it wasn’t an Instance she was in charge of, outsiders could no longer enter after the players had triggered the clues.

After explaining the reason, Jiang Liu suddenly understood and realized something. She looked up at her. “You’re not a key NPC?”

Yang Caisi hummed in agreement. “So I don’t know the situation of the Instance either.”

She spread her hands, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Liu, her tone carrying a hint of unexpected innocence, as if she was acting cute—”My sister won’t despise me for being useless, will she?”

Being stared at by her sparkling eyes, Jiang Liu felt her heart melt. She playfully pinched her cheek and said righteously, “How could I? I’m responsible for clearing the instance. As for you…”

She deliberately paused for a moment, then her voice was tinged with a smile. “…you can be responsible for warming the bed.”

Yang Caisi blinked, tilted her head slightly, and kissed the hand she had placed on her cheek. “I’ll listen to whatever my sister says.”

After acting out this scene, the two of them both laughed out loud, the air filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Except for the non-existent Jiang He following behind them. He remained silent, not daring to speak, his heart already streaming with tears.

Sisters, shouldn’t you pay attention to the occasion when you’re flirting!

He silently turned off his flashlight, feeling like he was a shining beacon at that moment.

***

At two o’clock sharp, the group gathered at the memorial hall. “Sister Yang is here too? That’s great,” Tang Rui said with some surprise when he saw Yang Caisi.

“How’s the situation inside?” Jiang Liu glanced at him and asked softly.

“The one on watch is already asleep. We can go in now,” Tang Ruo said, taking out a bottle of medicine and shaking it in front of her.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Liu nodded and slipped inside quietly. The memorial hall at midnight was strangely eerie. The smell of incense still lingered inside, and the portrait at the front seemed to come alive in the candlelight, making them subconsciously lighten their steps.

“Are we just going to open the coffin?” Tang Rui swallowed, his eyes wide as he looked at Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu smiled strangely, walked forward, and knocked on the coffin. “Come out yourself.”

“Huh?” Jiang He gasped, thinking to himself, is there really a zombie inside?

The group all looked at the coffin, their curiosity reaching its peak, but unexpectedly—after a moment, the coffin remained motionless.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow in confusion and gave the coffin lid a hard push—

A pair of overly familiar, large eyes were staring at her without blinking, a wide grin on his lips.

“Surprise!”

Zhao Ziming shot up from the coffin, admiring the dumbfounded expressions of the others, looking quite pleased with himself.

The others, “?????”

Why is he in the coffin?

Now they finally understood why Jiang Liu had such a hesitant and speechless expression. Who wouldn’t be stunned by this situation! Yet Zhao Ziming had no self-awareness at all. He slowly stretched and climbed out, complaining softly, “Lying motionless for a whole day, my body is about to go stiff.”

Tang Rui narrowed his eyes, threw an arm around his shoulder, and held him down. “What’s going on? Where’s the deceased?”

Zhao Ziming chuckled. “I hid the deceased.”