Chapter 135

Chapter 135

Chapter 135

The sudden kiss was like an unexpected gift, sweeping away all of Xiyu’s suspicions about Zhishan and his worries about the situation.

His once-tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and then, seeing Luo Xi—who looked extremely out of place in women’s clothes—he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Luo Xi didn’t mind and raised his eyebrows. “Happy now? No more gloomy mood?”

Xiyu sighed helplessly. “Isn’t it because of you?”

Taking advantage of the harmonious atmosphere, Luo Xi decided to speak frankly. “I used to think you weren’t someone who cared about such things. Whether Zhishan is Ling Xue or not, it doesn’t matter. She just wants to take advantage of us now. No need to overthink it.”

Xiyu said softly, “I overthink because I’m afraid you’ll overthink.”

Luo Xi couldn’t help but laugh. “When have I ever been some kind of saint?”

“You’re no saint, but you’re a man of honor—if someone does you a favor, you’ll definitely repay it.” Xiyu frowned slightly. “Maybe it sounds strange, but even though I’ve never met Ling Xue and know nothing about her, I just don’t think Zhishan could be her. A person’s character can’t change completely, even if their memories are reset.”

Luo Xi nodded. “Great minds think alike. That’s why I never really bought into the idea of Zhishan being her—she showed up too suddenly.”

Xiyu looked him in the eyes seriously. “Really?”

Luo Xi asked in return, “Have I ever lied to you?”

Xiyu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. Then let’s end the topic of Zhishan here.”

Only then did Luo Xi start eating from the table. His mood had improved so much that even his pale complexion—caused by blood loss—looked a little better. After swallowing the bland but filling food, he couldn’t help but add, “Still, I really enjoy seeing you get jealous. It’s hilarious.”

Xiyu had been lowering his gaze, lost in serious thought. At that, he blurted out, “And your whipped-husband, tiptoeing-around-his-wife look is pretty funny too.”

Luo Xi burst out laughing. “So you admit you’re my wife?”

“...” Xiyu opened his mouth but didn’t speak. Instead, he shoved another steamed bun into Luo Xi’s bowl. “Eat up and get to sleep. Tomorrow’s probably going to be even harder to handle.”

There was still a while until noon. The other streamers were handing in their tasks one after another, and it was unclear how long things would drag on before everything settled down. So Luo Xi simply nodded, already calculating how much trouble lay ahead. The teasing and lighthearted look in his eyes gradually faded.

Though Xiyu wanted to be responsible for guarding the room, after walking and struggling all night, his body couldn’t keep up.

After a quick wash, he drifted into sleep, half-collapsed on the red carpet beside the bed.

Yinqiao Village felt like a fictional world escaped from a storybook. Once the crude door to the room was closed, it was as if the space fell into a vacuum—completely silent, making for an unusually peaceful sleep.

No one knew how much time passed. After several rounds of vivid dreams, a sudden shout broke the deathly stillness in the courtyard—Xipo’s furious voice rang out: “Time’s up, and those two are still missing! Go call Agu to catch them! Candidates who can’t complete the task are only fit to be sacrifices!”

Xiyu instantly opened his eyes, alert, and nudged Luo Xi. “Did you hear that?”

Although Luo Xi’s lips were still pale, after a few hours of sleep, his condition had improved noticeably. He sat up on the bed, rubbing his now-long black hair. “The wedding dress-dyeing task was vague, but not hard. How could two people have failed?”

Xiyu, already familiar with his competitors, said, “Probably got sabotaged. Even if they wanted to finish, they couldn’t.”Luo Xi got up briskly and used the water brought by the paper figure to casually wash his face. “Let’s go out and take a look. Hopefully Zhao Zhusheng didn’t show up.”

Then he laughed at himself. “Unlikely. The wicked live long.”

Just then, the long-absent Fat Cat suddenly appeared. With a thud, it flopped onto the table, freezing the game screen, and stood with hands on hips, announcing cheekily, “Hey, I’m here to deliver gifts!”

Luo Xi snorted. “How rare. I thought the audience had given up on us.”

Fat Cat chuckled. “Not quite. It’s just that the last few gifts violated the rules and got intercepted by the system!”

—To ensure fair competition, the Yuntai platform strictly prohibited viewers from providing streamers with information or power-ups. So when sending gifts, viewers had to get creative and play guessing games with the system. This wasn’t hard to understand.

Xiyu didn’t want to anger those cruel yet enthusiastic viewer overlords, so he asked gently, “So, what good stuff do we have this time?”

“These two are for Luo Xi. Please accept them.” With a pop, Fat Cat produced a large bag of red dates and a face mask.

The red dates made sense—probably to help Luo Xi recover his strength. But the mask…

Luo Xi was pissed and frowned without taking it.

Fat Cat giggled. “There’s a message from the audience—‘Boss Luo, no bride behaves like you. Please act accordingly!’”

Luo Xi: “……”

Fat Cat quickly moved away from him and pulled out a small gadget. “Xiyu baby, this one’s for you. The audience hopes you’ll protect yourself.”

Xiyu asked doubtfully, “What is it?”

Fat Cat explained, “A self-defense flashlight.”

Xiyu: “……”

Fat Cat added, “But you’re not allowed to use it on other players. If it causes player damage, the item will be destroyed immediately.”

Regardless, Yin Qiao Village was pitch-black and still required clue-searching. A flashlight with some attack power was extremely useful. Xiyu accepted it gladly. “Thank you, I’ll use it properly.”

“As long as you’re satisfied. I’ll take my leave then.” Fat Cat draped a red bridal veil over itself. “Wishing you both a speedy marriage!”

With that, the overly talkative messenger NPC quickly disappeared.

Xiyu hung the flashlight at the side of his skirt, then picked up the face mask. “This is pretty practical. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it.”

Without mercy, he covered up his beautiful face.

Luo Xi gloated beside him. “Well done. Our room’s viewership is about to plummet. The person who picked this gift is a genius.”

Xiyu said helplessly, “Still in the mood to joke? Let’s go.”

Only then did Luo Xi move with him, pushing open the door and stepping into the still-dark courtyard.

As expected, Yin Qiao Village had no daytime. If not for the NPC announcing the time, the surroundings were exactly the same as when they first entered the instance—making it hard to feel the passage of time.

Xiyu glanced from a distance at Ying Zhixing and Zhou Ze, who were also peeking out to watch the commotion. Then he took the initiative to ask Xipo, “Who didn’t turn in the task?”

Xipo’s wrinkled face was full of shadow as she snapped, “Who else? Fei Ling and Ma Ruofei. What a shame—Fei Ling was such a pretty girl. She had great potential to be the bride.”Xiyu didn’t hear the answer he wanted, so naturally, he was in a bad mood.

Luo Xi pressed further, “Then what should we do now?”

Xipo shot him a cold glance. “I’ll be presiding over a funeral in the afternoon. Once you’ve rested, there’ll be a new task at midnight.”

Ying Zhixing, who had been rummaging around the courtyard, immediately came over upon hearing this. “A funeral? Those two still need a funeral?”

Xipo sneered, “Of course not for them.”

Ying Zhixing immediately understood. “It’s for that female corpse, Ziye’s funeral?”

“No matter what, Ziye was the bride chosen by the mountain god. She deserves a proper farewell.” Xipo didn’t deny Ziye’s existence and responded just like that, then added a threat: “If you don’t want to end up like her, you’d better behave.”

Ying Zhixing had always been aloof and naturally ignored the threat.

Zhou Ze smiled warmly and mysteriously. “But of course. Whatever you ask us to do, we’ll do.”

Luo Xi said nothing in response, only lowered his head and muttered, “Ziye is very important. If there’s a chance, take a closer look at her. As for the rest, we’ll adapt as we go.”

Xiyu nodded obediently.

Only then did Luo Xi glance provocatively at Ying Zhixing. “Judging by how fresh you all look, not a scratch on you, looks like you had a good time yesterday. What’s the matter—Fei Ling and Ma Ruofei became your scapegoats?”

Ying Zhixing shot back, “Don’t you think… what I did is the correct way to play the game?”

Luo Xi cast him a look of disdain and said deliberately, “Absolutely, I admire you deeply.”

“Enough, there’s no need.” Xiyu stopped him from stirring up pointless conflict.

After all, aside from Ying Zhixing being a formidable opponent, Mu Yuan and Zhao Zhusheng were even more dangerous. One careless word could easily get them in trouble.

Just as everyone was talking over each other, the thin yet terrifying Agu barged into the courtyard. His stride was arrogant as if no one else existed. Behind him followed four large, sturdy paper figures—and the ones they had restrained, who else could they be but Fei Ling and Ma Ruofei?

However, these two streamers were no longer the energetic figures from the previous day. Especially Fei Ling—her once rosy lips and complexion were now pale, a tightly wrapped bandage around her arm stemming blood loss. Her limbs were bound, and she couldn’t even attempt to take her own life to take down her enemies.

Agu gripped a steel blade, his expression unreadable in the darkness. “Get them up. Time for the execution.”

Fei Ling remained motionless, barely conscious, while Ma Ruofei struggled with all his might.

Ying Zhixing didn’t show a trace of sympathy or guilt. He turned and instructed Zhou Ze, “Tell everyone to move. Don’t waste time.”

Xiyu turned his gaze aside, a heavy feeling pressing on his chest.

Luo Xi placed a hand around his shoulders and said, “Someone’s gotta be eliminated. Just hope these two suffer less.”

Agu looked at Luo Xi with indifference and let out a mocking snort.

The execution ground and the funeral site were in the same place—by the river where the withered wood clan’s elder had hauled them up.

Ziye’s corpse, her face ashen gray, lay beside them.

Fei Ling finally woke from her faint and was so terrified she lost her wits, whispering, “Just let me die quickly… don’t torture me…”

“A sacrifice without fear is meaningless.” The clan elder’s voice was grim and commanding. Holding a strange bamboo stick container, he walked up to her, muttered some incantation, then suddenly tossed out a bamboo slip.Fei Ling stared in shock, fixing her gaze on it. Written on it in bold was the character “刿”.

Although she didn’t know exactly what it meant, it was clearly nothing good.

Fei Ling’s eyes widened as she weakly demanded, “What are you going to do…”

Agu approached with the knife in hand, silent.