Chapter 1 Early Morning

At dawn, Wei Linglan, having regained control of her body, didn't immediately cry for help. Instead, she quietly found some socks and put them on her ankles, which still bore the bluish-purple handprints, before calmly lying back in bed and pretending to doze.

She waited calmly for Tian Yourong and Song Zhen to wake up, listening to them discover the corpse outside the bedroom door through the thick, bloody smell.

Tian Yourong and Song Zhen were terrified, and Wei Linglan also pretended to be woken up, putting on a frightened expression when she saw the corpse, as any normal person would.

Compared to the "thing" that had let her off the hook last night, Wei Linglan was more wary of the secrets hidden in this village, and the other player, whose existence she couldn't confirm.

Disguise, concealment, lurking, and probing are always the best ways for players to protect themselves—especially in the real world.

Wei Linglan followed Tian Yourong and his wife out of the house in a panic, shouting for help.

Village Chief Lu Gui arrived after hearing the news. His face darkened when he learned of Lu He's death. Leaning on a wooden cane, he led several strong young men into the house.

Most of the villagers and passengers in Dusheng Village surrounded Lu He's house, layer upon layer, holding umbrellas, peering at the house with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Lu He was about the same age as the village chief, and his wife had passed away long ago. His children were all in other places.

The rain had subsided slightly, but communication with the outside world had not yet been restored, and Lu He's relatives could not be contacted.

Village Chief Lu Gui then instructed several strong young men to fetch an iron stretcher, place Lu He's body on it, cover it with a white cloth, and send it to the village's idle assembly hall, where it was temporarily placed with Shi Derong's body.

Two people had died in a row, and Lu He's death was so tragic and terrifying. It was impossible to brush it off with excuses like "suicide" or "accident" anymore...

Village Chief Lu Gui wanted to leave, but was surrounded by an agitated crowd, their questions forcing him to raise his hands, asking them to speak one at a time.

Driver Tian Yourong, relying on his height and strength, squeezed in front of Lu Gui. His face was as dark as water, and his attitude was quite unfriendly.

He and his wife were only separated from Lu He's death by a thin wooden door, and he was the first to discover the body this morning when he woke up.

Lu He's death was extremely tragic, half of his head smashed to pieces. It would be impossible for an ordinary person to do that without making any noise, even with tools.

For the innocent passengers caught up in this incident, what "thing" killed Lu He was not important. The top priority was to leave Dusheng Village as soon as possible.

With a gloomy face, Tian Yourong didn't waste any time asking the village chief what was going on. He said directly to Lu Gui, "Village Chief, the rain is a little lighter today.

I'd like to borrow some tools from your village to dig open the blocked road and rent a car to go to the county seat for help."

Although Tian Yourong was making a request, his tone was very firm. The passengers standing behind him also expressed their attitude with silence.

Village Chief Lu Gui's face darkened as he scanned the crowd.

It wasn't just the passengers who had the idea of "leaving Dusheng Village." Many villagers lowered their heads under his threatening gaze.

If the road was dug open, these villagers would probably follow the passengers and escape from Dusheng Village...

After all, except for a few people, they were all involved.

In Lu Gui's eyes, a flash of indifference and cruelty passed by.

If they were going to die, they had to die together.

He smiled, nodded kindly, and said to Tian Yourong, "Of course. You go back and wait a moment. I'll mobilize the people and bring the tools. We'll go with you to dig through the road later.

After all, there's been a murder here, so we need to report it as soon as possible."

Tian Yourong nodded and said with a smile, "Then we'll wait at the entrance of the village."

The driver had played a trick, not letting the passengers return to their homes to avoid the rain and wait for news, but gathering together at the entrance of the village to prevent the villagers of Dusheng Village, including Lu Gui, from plotting against them.

Staying together at the entrance of the village allowed them to exchange information, listen to the opinions of the masses, and even run away faster.

"Okay."

Village Chief Lu Gui nodded and watched Tian Yourong lead the frightened passengers to the entrance of the village.

"Dad." Lu MaoCai quietly approached, covertly pointing to Tian Yourong and the others, his eyes flickering slightly, "Should we..."

"Don't act rashly."

Lu Gui shook his head and said calmly, "Go knock on every door and give them the tools."

"Then they'll run away?" Lu MaoCai gritted his teeth, "That vengeful ghost is getting more and more arrogant. You can't just kill our own people, can you?"

"They can't run."

Lu Gui smiled coldly, looked at the backs of the passengers, and said quietly, "They can't run..."

While he was staring at the passengers, Li Ang was also observing him through the reflection of his mobile phone screen.

Yesterday, Lu Gui's legs and feet were still very flexible, but today he inexplicably started using a cane.

Although the psychic vision function of the cat's eye could not be used, Li Ang had a vague intuition that the seemingly brand new wooden staff in Lu Gui's hand was full of the aura of decay and rot....

Li Ang didn't go out last night. Instead, he wanted to continue searching for the grave of the village teacher Meng Qixi on the other side of the gully during the day.

If there was time, he also wanted to examine the bodies of Shi Derong and Lu He in the assembly hall.

But now that these passengers were eager to dig through the mountain road and leave, it might not be a bad thing.

At worst, he could sneak back to Dusheng Village and hide. Without these witnesses, he could take more drastic measures.

Li Ang followed the passengers to the entrance of the village,

While on the other side of the village, Lu Gui sent his youngest son to gather shovels, bamboo baskets, and other tools, while he himself, leaning on his cane, returned to the three-story villa and went up to the top floor attic.

The attic was shaped like a low, squat pyramid, with a glass window on each of two sides. The wooden floor was painted with many ghost drawings in white paint, as well as nested patterns and symbols.

If Li Ang were here, he would definitely be able to recognize that these characters and patterns were very similar to the talismans he had seen in the Longheng Shopping Mall.

In the center of these patterns, there was an artificial altar that took up most of the attic's area.

This circular altar was made entirely of miscellaneous objects such as dry branches, bones, aquatic plants, rice, and rotten meat. It was complex and chaotic,

Disgusting, yet it had a unique beauty that was ancient, distant, and even strangely magnificent.

Lu Gui stepped over the dry branches and bones, entered the center of the altar, and gently tapped the ground with the long staff in his hand.

The air in front of him stirred up layers of ripples, and pale blue light condensed into dots, the dots connecting into lines, weaving out a projection of the Dusheng Village terrain.

Standing in the center of the altar, Lu Gui looked at the projection, waved his hand forward, and said quietly, "Feng Xiao Yu Hui." (Wind and rain obscure.)

These simple four words almost took all of Lu Gui's strength.

His face was pale, and he had to lean on the wooden staff to avoid falling to the ground.

Suddenly,

The strong wind, which had already shown signs of stopping, stirred up again, and even more dense torrential rain poured down, leaving only a thick rain curtain that could not be penetrated or seen through between the heavens and the earth.

At the village entrance, the passengers and villagers who had already obtained the tools could not dig through the mountain road in such a downpour. Everyone had to return to their homes, trapped in the layers of rain.

In the attic, Lu Gui barely straightened his body and looked at the projection, which had dimmed a lot. He muttered to himself, "According to the tax laws in the ancient books,

Digging open the canals to submerge the farmland and restore the ancient feng shui terrain of Dusheng Village has indeed enhanced the altar's power.

However, it still needs sacrifices, more sacrifices, to defeat it..."