Chapter 128

Chapter 128

The eerie voice of the matchmaker in the broadcast added a sense of tension to Yin Qiao Town. At this moment, Mu Yuan was walking with Zhao Zhusheng on the empty streets. They could only hear the noisy sounds of people, yet not a single ghost was visible, which naturally made them feel quite frustrated. The red lanterns cast a cold, shadowy light on Mu Yuan's beautiful face.

In fact, Zhao Zhusheng's collaboration with him was based on their mutual hostility towards Xiyu. Thus, he spoke carefully: "This situation is abnormal. There's not a single NPC in the game, the mission is unclear, and we must have missed some trigger condition. Otherwise, what are the audience watching?"

Mu Yuan furrowed his brow: "What are you implying?"

Zhao Zhusheng answered calmly: "What I mean is, aimlessly wandering around isn't a solution. It might be better to follow someone else and see what happens."

Mu Yuan coldly replied, "Only if we can follow them. In this game, Luo Xi and Ying Zhixing are the core of two separate groups. If they catch us, we won't get away easily."

It seemed that the previous failure had indeed affected his arrogant mindset, but Zhao Zhusheng didn't point it out. Instead, he hinted: "The streamer named Su Ziyan has good hearing, and his luck is pretty high. He's also quite simple-minded. It might be worth trying to follow him. Luo Xi wouldn't always have the patience to take care of him. After all, before meeting Xiyu, Luo Xi preferred to work alone."

At this, Mu Yuan glanced at him with mild surprise: "You're just a beginner streamer, and you know quite a lot."

Zhao Zhusheng smiled faintly: "After all, I don't have many strengths, so I have to gather information if I want to survive."

Mu Yuan did not comment, but he could tell that Zhao Zhusheng might become a useful substitute. There was definitely something fishy about him, but for now, having this newcomer with such a mysterious background wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

As the two of them continued their discussion, a sharp scream suddenly rang out from ahead.

Mu Yuan reacted quickly: "Let's go check it out! Something's happening!"

Confident that they had finally encountered a clue in the storyline, they rushed over. However, as they got closer, they saw Yan Ruyu, the female streamer, frantically running away, being chased by a paper effigy?!

Mu Yuan and Zhao Zhusheng exchanged glances, then blocked her path and helped her, grabbing the paper effigy tightly.

Yan Ruyu, shivering, backed away to the side and stood tall now that she had support. The paper effigy, however, looked aggrieved: "Hey, are you all in on this? Bullying an honest merchant like me!"

Its facial features were carelessly drawn on paper, and it looked both comical and terrifying when it became agitated.

Mu Yuan frowned: "What's going on?"

Yan Ruyu explained: "I finally found this book in a room, and then this ghostly thing suddenly appeared, yelling that it wanted to kill me!"

She raised the "Textile Dyeing Methods" book, which was clearly related to tonight's mission.

Mu Yuan didn't hold back, snatching the book from her hands and flipping through it. Yan Ruyu hesitated, not knowing how to stop him.

The ignored paper effigy was quite displeased, clumsily waving its arms in protest: "This is my shop's stuff! How could you just say you found it? Give it back!"

Zhao Zhusheng, quick on his feet, took the opportunity to stealthily grab a lantern and threateningly said: "Stop talking, move aside, or I'll burn you!"

The paper effigy was not as agile as a human and was even more afraid of the fire in the lantern. Although it showed an angry expression, it quickly cursed and vanished into the air.

Yan Ruyu sighed in relief, then, ever the opportunist, flattered: "Mu Ge, this book mentions the process for dyeing wedding dresses. I've read it, and if you like it, you can take it."

"Thank you." Although Mu Yuan had turned into a woman, her aura remained unchanged. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you following Ying Zhixing? Why are you alone?"

Yan Ruyu looked frustrated: "It seems he had something to do with Zhou Ze, so he asked me and Fei Ling to wait for them at a tavern. But there were all sorts of voices and occasionally some unfriendly paper effigies floating around. It was really scary, and I didn't want to stay with that scheming bitch, Fei Ling. I thought, rather than waste time, I might as well find some game clues, and look, I've found this."

Zhao Zhusheng listened carefully, then asked in confusion: "Apart from the matchmaker's subordinates, how many times have you seen paper effigies?"

Yan Ruyu cautiously looked around, then replied: "I can't remember. Those things always appear and disappear mysteriously."Zhao Zhusheng fell silent for a moment, sighed, and looked at Mu Yuan: "I get it now, no wonder we haven't encountered anything."

Mu Yuan tilted his head in confusion.

On the other side of Yin Qiao Village, Xiyu and the others were still searching for clues. Luo Xi seemed to have figured something out but insisted on keeping quiet, occasionally forcing the most cowardly Su Ziyan to scout ahead.

Su Ziyan, whose courage was on par with Du Li, frowned and said: "What should we do now? It feels like we can't do anything except wait for the next clue."

Luo Xi grabbed him by the back of the neck: "There's an alley ahead. Go check it out."

Su Ziyan hesitated: "W-what if I see a ghost?"

"Don't listen, and I'll leave you here. You'll really have only ghosts for company then," Luo Xi said, not giving him any room to refuse.

Su Ziyan reluctantly took slow steps toward the alley.

Xiyu found this strange and quietly watched Luo Xi.

Luo Xi, avoiding Su Ziyan's sharp hearing, took Xiyu's hand when the guy was finally not around and lightly wrote: "Fear attracts NPCs."

Xiyu blinked, suddenly realizing—no wonder the paper effigies always seemed to target Su Ziyan. No wonder the most practical Ying Zhixing had to bring Yan Ruyu along. It turned out that fear was what brought the paper effigies to life. If one were too brave, Yin Qiao Town would seem no different from a deserted island.

But... was Ten Miles of Bridal Makeup really a game for cowards?

There must be another way.

Just as Xiyu was seriously contemplating, Su Ziyan suddenly yelled in panic and rushed back with frantic steps, his face pale: "My... my head... my head fell off!"

Luo Xi: "..."

Behind him was a small paper effigy, about half a meter tall, indeed headless. The severed neck wobbled in the cold wind, creating a truly eerie scene.

Su Ziyan ran straight behind Luo Xi and grabbed his arm.

Luo Xi, speechless, plucked an innocent little paper head from the corner of Su Ziyan's skirt and softly said: "You probably knocked it off. It got stuck on your skirt..."

Su Ziyan blinked in confusion.

The little paper effigy, finally catching up, stood in frustration and took the head that Luo Xi handed over. It barely attached it to the neck and mumbled indistinctly: "Bastard, stick it properly!"

Its facial features were like a sketch, more hasty than the large paper effigies, but the sloppiness gave it a somewhat comical look.

Su Ziyan, now less scared, stammered: "H-how do I stick it to you...?"

The little paper effigy frowned angrily: "The matchmaker's house has paste. She's busy tonight, so she’s definitely not home. Go steal some."

"She's so fierce, I don't want to go!" Su Ziyan protested. "You appeared while I was walking, what does that have to do with me? Your head was already cut off, right?"

The little paper effigy was about to insult him, but Xiyu quickly intervened: "Don't be in a hurry. If you help us, we'll definitely get the paste for you."

Luo Xi added: "That's right, but you have to answer our questions first."

The little paper effigy's intelligence seemed like that of a child. Its two ink-like eyes rolled around: "Really?"Xiyu crouched down, calmly looking at it: "No need to lie to you. Do you have a name? Were all of you paper effigies created by the matchmaker?"

The little paper effigy nodded: "My name is A Jie, and my body was made by her... I don't know anything else... Anyway, we all have to listen to her and the withered tree chief..."

Xiyu: "Do you know what the mountain god is? Why does the mountain god need to choose a bride?"

The little paper effigy shook its head: "There’s no mountain here... Besides, all the brides... all..."

Xiyu: "All what?"

The little paper effigy held its unsteady head: "They're all dead."

Xiyu glanced at Luo Xi.

The little paper effigy seemed a bit nervous: "Don’t ask too much. If the matchmaker finds out, she’ll definitely stuff me into the stove!"

Xiyu: "Then tell me this, how did the previous bride die?"

"Well..." The little paper effigy seemed unusually sharp for a moment, refusing: "No paste, I won’t say anything. Goodbye."

"Wait here, I’ll go steal it." Luo Xi decisively said: "Where does the matchmaker live?"

The little paper effigy answered: "Not far from here, the house with six red lanterns at the entrance! The paste is everywhere! But there are many paper effigies guarding it!"

Luo Xi had experienced all sorts of challenges in various quests, so he considered a mission to steal an item to be nothing difficult. He just reminded Xiyu to stay safe, then quickly scaled a wall and disappeared.

The little paper effigy, as if not expecting such a good opportunity, suddenly raised its head, trying to see farther.

Su Ziyan’s eyebrows twitched, clearly uncomfortable with the strange scene.

But Xiyu took the chance to ask: "Why is it that sometimes we can see you, but sometimes we can’t? Can we always see you?"

The little paper effigy lowered its head and thought for a moment before saying: "We like dark emotions, like sadness, fear, loneliness... People with too much sunlight and confidence have bodies that are too warm..."

Su Ziyan suddenly realized: "I see, no wonder you guys are always around me—hey, am I a dark person?!"

The little paper effigy was blunt: "You're mainly stupid!"

Su Ziyan, hiding behind Xiyu, grumbled: "Who’s more stupid than you? I’ve never seen someone so stupid their head falls off!"

Xiyu calmly watched them argue, knowing that he couldn’t always rely on a coward by his side, so he forced himself to think of things that made him uncomfortable.

Like Luo Xi's fate, like the inevitable separation coming soon, like the despair of two people resetting and meeting each other as strangers...

Gradually, his originally clear eyes were clouded with a layer of mist.

And on the desolate street, some stiff shadows began to appear.