Chapter 1 When He Saw It

When Feng Bujue saw this scene, his mind exploded, and countless thoughts flooded his brain.

But these thoughts didn't confuse him; on the contrary, he was very calm, thinking about problems more quickly and efficiently than usual.

Just two seconds later, he decisively started to act.

His Scare Value was still zero, and his steps and movements were calm and steady, but the expression on his face was rarely so serious.

Feng Bujue first picked up the equipment [Spider Silk Gloves], directly equipped them, put the flashlight into his pocket, and walked over to pick up Si Yu's lantern.

He held the lantern in front of his eyes, carefully observing the footprints on the ground. After repeated checks, he confirmed the direction Si Yu had been dragged and set off in that direction.

When he was alone, Feng Bujue walked very fast. Previously, he had slowed down consciously because he was considering Si Yu behind him, and also to see if there were any items of equipment to be found in the forest.

But now, Feng Bujue was rushing to save people alone. As a person without the psychological barrier of fear, give him a five-meter range of visibility, and even if he was in hell, he could walk quickly.

The further he went, the thicker the surrounding darkness became, and even the air seemed to stagnate. The faint strange noises in his ears also disappeared completely. Soon, Feng Bujue was surrounded by a deathly silence.

Suddenly, an open space appeared in front of him. In the center of the open space was a wooden stake, and Si Yu was now tied to the stake with heavy iron chains. She was tied to the middle of the wooden stake, half a meter off the ground, and her entire midsection was bound by chains, wrapped as tightly as a zongzi (glutinous rice dumpling). Only the parts above her shoulders and below her knees were not wrapped.

Seeing his teammate, Feng Bujue was half-relieved. After letting out a long sigh, he smiled and said, "What's this? A kebab made by a giant?"

Si Yu didn't have time to joke with him. She reminded him seriously, "She's nearby."

"I know," Feng Bujue replied, "but... I don't understand. Since she can easily catch you, why doesn't she catch me too? Also... is she already this strong? Then what are we even playing for? There's something wrong here..." As he spoke, he held up the lantern and looked around. At the same time, a thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately reached into the inner pocket of his jacket...

"Take a guess," the third voice came, the sweet voice of a little girl.

Feng Bujue turned his head when he heard the voice and saw Ling Er. She was wearing a coarse cloth jacket, her hair was braided, and her face was quite cute, but her complexion was very pale. The most incongruous thing was that her expression didn't look like a child's at all.

"Guess, huh..." Feng Bujue could still smile even when facing a vengeful ghost. "Heh... you kidnapped my friend, expecting me to be scared, panicked, and running around like a headless fly. But you didn't expect that I wouldn't show you what you wanted to see, so you went straight to the next stage, um... probably planning to... torture us for fun?"

"Very clever."

The moment Ling Er's voice entered his ears, Feng Bujue suddenly felt a darkness in front of him. Then he felt a small hand pinching his neck, and he was completely unable to resist. His body was pulled and moved, and he seemed to vaguely hear Si Yu shouting something, but he couldn't hear clearly.

Seconds later, he came back to his senses and found himself also tied to a wooden stake with iron chains. The lantern in his hand was gone, but that unique light screen was now shining from behind him.

"So powerful..." Feng Bujue muttered in a low voice.

"Hey, how are you?" Si Yu's voice sounded from behind his head.

"Eh?" Feng Bujue turned his neck as much as possible, almost ninety degrees, and realized that he and Si Yu were tied to opposite sides of the same wooden stake. He immediately smiled bitterly, "I say, little sister Ling Er, you're quite the playful one."

At this moment, Ling Er was seen holding the lantern and walking slowly in front of Feng Bujue. Feng Bujue was quite surprised that this Boss actually took the player's equipment.

"Do you know how many years I've been in this world? Are you calling me little sister?" Ling Er said. Her tone and expression were indeed no different from an adult, and even more mature than the average adult.

"I thought women of any age would like to be called that," Feng Bujue said, looking like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. "So... Miss Ling Er, can I ask, how do you plan to torture us?"

"Yeah... how to torture you... you don't even seem to be afraid of death..." Ling Er put her small, tender hand to her mouth, using one finger to pull at her lip and said, "Oh yeah... you seem to care about her a lot, don't you."

Feng Bujue's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he felt a chill in his heart. But he immediately squeezed out a smile and said, "Hehe... it's not really as much as you think..."

Ling Er didn't let him finish, and walked around the wooden stake, reaching the blind spot behind Feng Bujue's vision.

The next second, Si Yu let out a painful groan.

Feng Bujue could clearly feel the chains on his body tightening violently, and at the same time, a faint smell of blood filled the air.

When Ling Er reappeared in Feng Bujue's sight, she was still holding the lantern in her right hand, and in her left hand, she was holding one of Si Yu's feet.

The foot was torn off from the calf, exposing bone and flesh, and was still dripping with blood.

Many drops of blood had splashed on Ling Er's fair face, but she just showed a bloody smile, "What do you think I should bring next time?"

"I'm fine..." Si Yu's voice trembled, as if trying to reassure Feng Bujue.

"As expected... the villagers of Cang Ling Town weren't wrong to kill you." At this moment, Feng Bujue's face was unusually cold, without the slightest emotion. His eyes were as sharp as if they could see into other people's souls, "If you had grown up smoothly, this world would probably never have peace."

Ling Er threw the severed limb on the ground and sneered, "What makes you say that?"

"I saw the scene of you being burned to death in front of the Cang Ling Temple, and one detail puzzled me." Feng Bujue replied, "Why did you call your mother 'mama'? Generally speaking, shouldn't you call her 'niang' (mother)?" He paused, then continued, "Also, I always have a feeling that your crying and your words are a bit of an act, as if you're deliberately trying to win sympathy."

Ling Er's eyes changed, and the smile gradually disappeared from her face.

"Whether it was when you were burned to death, or after you died, those villagers insisted on calling you a monster." Feng Bujue continued, "From beginning to end, they only revealed anger and fear, but I didn't detect the slightest remorse. Why is that?" He tilted his head, "As long as a person has a conscience, no matter how ignorant they are... after doing something wrong, their conscience will definitely feel uneasy. This unease doesn't come from fear, but from internal self-reproach." He looked down at Ling Er, "The villagers of Cang Ling Town didn't have that kind of emotion. Their reaction showed that everything they did was based on a most basic conclusion. And they firmly believed in this conclusion - you are a monster."

"Heh..." Feng Bujue laughed, "You've been misleading us since we entered the mountain. What we've seen and heard has made us presuppose that you are a wronged ghost, and that you were just an innocent little girl when you were alive." He snorted coldly and continued, "When I heard those villagers attribute events like 'no rain, dead crops in the fields, and children born with disabilities' to you, my trust in them dropped to the lowest point.

Maybe it's just my personal preference at work, because the things they said are the same as the reasons for burning innocent women as witches in medieval Europe. A group of ignorant fools attribute all happiness to God's grace, then attribute all misfortune to a fictional fact, and let a scapegoat bear those unwarranted crimes and be burned alive, so that this group of fools can live in peace of mind for the next period of time.

Such things are common in ancient times, all over the world. I think you should agree with me on this, right?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about..." Ling Er replied in a deep voice.

"Is that so?" Feng Bujue said, "Then do you know that the word 'mama' in the Song Dynasty referred to a procuress, and in the Qing Dynasty it became a term for older women. It was only after the New Culture Movement that it was commonly used to refer to mothers.

So, in the era when you were killed, you could call her 'niang', 'niangqin', or directly use the word 'ma', but not 'mama'."

"Just because of this detail... you're determined that I am..." Ling Er glared at Feng Bujue and said.

"I haven't determined what you are yet, but I can make a few bold assumptions." Feng Bujue interrupted, "For example... a psychic who was born with the ability to see the future; a soul from the future that traveled back to a little girl; or, some kind of powerful consciousness higher than this dimension?"

Ling Er's expression changed drastically. A few seconds later, it became extremely gloomy, "Hmph... let's just say your reasoning is correct..." At this moment, she didn't care about saying words like 'reasoning' anymore, and simply stated it, "That's right, I am indeed some kind of higher-level will. I was exiled to this world and became this little girl named Ling Er. My body is as weak as an ant, but I can still use some special powers.

Originally, I was hiding it well, but... after accidentally killing my 'parents', my abilities were discovered, and some of the things I had done before... were revealed one after another. Those villagers discovered the truth, so they caught me and burned me to death.

After even losing my physical body, I became a bound spirit and was subject to many restrictions. Therefore, I can only harvest souls on this mountain and cannot contaminate the world outside Cang Ling Town."

Feng Bujue continued, "Since the words of those villagers are true, then the words of that tree and that monk are naturally lies. Once you understand this, many problems can be solved easily." He sneered, "Those two demons hinted to us that Ling Er was a wronged ghost. And they guided us to enter this Lingzhong Realm (Bell Realm) with this wrong idea, come to this island, and fall into your hands..."

"You're wrong about that." Ling Er replied, "How could simple-minded wraiths like them know my secrets?"

"I see..." Feng Bujue said thoughtfully, "They were also deceived by you..."

"Only by deceiving them first can they help me lure those monks and Taoists who come up the mountain to catch ghosts into this Lingzhong Realm." Ling Er replied with a smile, "That's why no one can transcend me, this 'ghost'."

"There's still one thing I don't understand. Over the years, haven't any of the many high monks and Taoists been your opponent?" Feng Bujue asked.

"There was only one." Ling Er replied, "His magic power was so high that he could fight me to a draw and retreat unscathed." She snorted coldly, "That person did have some skills. After he escaped, he drove away all the villagers of Cang Ling Town, renamed the town Cang Ling, and reorganized the mountains and rivers here, trying to resolve my 'resentment' in this way. Hmph... unfortunately, I'm not a wronged soul at all. Even after another thousand years, I won't be reborn."

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue pondered, "Very well, I have no more questions."

A cruel expression appeared on Ling Er's face again, "Then it's my turn to ask questions, right... Traveler from another world?" she threatened, "You should know very well what will happen if you don't answer well, right?"

"Traveler from another world?" Feng Bujue asked doubtfully, "So, before you possessed this body, you were a subordinate of the Four Pillar Gods? And it seems like you were at a high level."

"You know quite a lot..." Ling Er raised her small hand, "But now it's my questioning time. Who allowed you to talk nonsense?" She waved her hand casually, wanting to use her telekinetic powers to tear off one of Feng Bujue's legs.

Unexpectedly... nothing happened...

"Huh?" She tried two more times, but there was still no reaction.

"That's strange, why can't I control it? Could it be..." Feng Bujue showed a chilling expression. As he spoke, one of his arms actually stretched out from the gaps in the iron chains. This hand was wearing a glove, and in his palm was sticking a small silver bell. To be precise, it was a bell that had been squeezed out of shape and damaged, "... Could it be that something has stopped working?"

It turned out that a few minutes ago, when he put his hand into the inner pocket of his jacket, the bell had already been attracted to the palm of his hand.

"When I first came here, I kept thinking about a question, 'Is she already this strong? Then what are we even playing for?' I think you heard that sentence too." As Feng Bujue spoke, he actually broke free from the chains and stood firmly on the ground.

At the same time, due to his escape, Si Yu, who was tied to the other side, was also released. Although she hadn't completely escaped the entanglement of the chains, she had already landed on one foot, and her arms could move to a certain extent.

"Destroy the bells." Feng Bujue said loudly without turning his head.

When Si Yu heard this, she immediately took out her own bell from her knapsack and smashed it hard on a hard ground near her feet. The silver bell was immediately knocked out of shape and destroyed.

Ling Er's face became very ugly, but even a loli face making this expression was still very moe (cute).

"I'm the kind of person who often asks questions and the answers pop into my head. I think this is the result of many years of training." Feng Bujue continued from what he had just said, "At that moment, there were many kinds of hypotheses that flashed through my mind. I won't go into them one by one. The more reliable ones are... in the Lingzhong Realm, your power is stronger than in the outside world; and on this island, your power is stronger than in other places in the Lingzhong Realm; but the most important thing is that there is one thing, one thing that we inevitably bring with us when we come here, that allows you to play with us at will."

As Feng Bujue spoke, he threw the bell in his hand on the ground and stepped on it, "After entering the mountain, we got these two bells from your minions, hmph... my reaction was also half a beat slow. It's clearly written on them [This little bell seems to have a connection with a powerful evil spirit], such an obvious hint... Fortunately, I was able to squeeze the bell into my hand before you tied me up." As he said this, he had quickly come to Si Yu's side and gave the ***-500 to her.

Si Yu didn't hesitate and immediately ate a piece. The next second, her severed foot began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"The Taoist priest who fought you to a draw must have been a smart man. He realized the problem before he was fatally injured and dropped the bell." Feng Bujue said, "And we can only be said to be lucky, because we are the so-called 'travelers from another world'."

Ling Er's expression changed several times, but in the end, she still recovered a kind of ruthless composure, "Then have you ever considered? Why did that Taoist priest still fight me to a draw in the end?"

Before the words fell, she instantly transformed into a black shadow, pouncing towards Feng Bujue and Si Yu.