Chapter 138

Chapter 138

That night, the streamers gathered again in the house where the bride candidates were staying, and they quickly realized that Luo Xi hadn't shown up.

Yan Ruyu couldn't hold back and was the first to ask, "Where did Luo Ge go? Is he not doing the task anymore?"

Xiyu didn't try to make excuses, simply answering, "It doesn't matter if it's him or me."

Mu Yuan snorted, clearly full of suspicion.

As for Ying Zhixing, it seemed he had sensed something, and his gaze suddenly became deep.

But so what if he realized something?

The truth was, there was no trustworthy bond between these so-called collaborators. No one had the courage to leave and not listen to the task given by Old Lady Xi. After all, Fei Ling and Ma Ruofei had both been eliminated in tragic ways. The tasks ahead would only get more and more difficult, and they had to listen carefully.

Soon, the old woman with wrinkles like deep ravines hobbled in.

This time, she was alone, without any paper figures to help her.

All eyes immediately focused on her, eager to hear what she had to say.

Old Lady Xi’s gaze was eerie as she sized up the nine streamers. She sneered, "Has Luo Xi given up? I knew he had no talent. He really dug his own grave."

Xiyu asked, "What’s the task? I’ll pass the message to him. What do we need to do tonight?"

Old Lady Xi stroked her thin, withered arm and after a long pause, revealed a cold smile. "Of course, you continue preparing the dowry. Your wedding dresses are perfect, but now we just need decent jewelry."

Yan Ruyu frowned. "There are so many types of jewelry. Can't you be more specific?"

Old Lady Xi didn’t hide anything and directly replied, "Earrings. Bring back a pair of earrings that the bride needs to wear before twelve noon."

The streamers looked at each other, confused. Although they had all tried their best to examine the corpse from midnight, the earrings were such a small detail that no one could accurately remember them.

Mu Yuan took a deep breath. "With your evasive nature, I guess this is all you're going to tell us?"

Old Lady Xi’s smile grew even colder. "I believe you'll find a way. Of course, I’ll provide one piece of information every two hours, and… the first candidate to complete the task tonight will receive a privilege."

Privilege?

Now, the streamers perked up.

Although most of them were not particularly interested in the game itself, they were all eager to secure any advantage.

Old Lady Xi continued, "The so-called privilege is… the chance to choose any candidate to sacrifice to the heavens!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was even more shocked.

Regardless of whether they had any grudges with each other, it was inevitable that they would eye each other more often, especially with someone like Mu Yuan, who still harbored deep resentment. His gaze immediately turned sharp as he glared at Xiyu.

Xiyu remained calm and smiled faintly, "Well, you're quite good at motivating us."

Old Lady Xi raised her hand again, her voice low as she said, "So why are you still standing here? If you don’t hurry, you might find yourself becoming the sacrifice even if you bring the earrings back in the end."

Since Luo Xi was still nowhere to be found, and the streamers had already been uneasy about what he was up to, hearing this made them quickly set off.

Xiyu, along with Su Ziyan, stepped out of the courtyard, but he deliberately slowed his pace a few steps and suddenly said, "You keep watch here. I'll go back and check."Su Ziyan was puzzled. "What are you looking at?"

Xiyu replied, "Since Ziye was also a candidate, she must have lived here before. I want to confirm if there are any belongings left behind."

"Yeah, Xiyu Ge, you're so smart." Su Ziyan immediately praised, patting his chest and assuring, "Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no suspicious person gets close."

Zhi Shan, who had benefitted the day before, was still carefully following behind, nodding in agreement, "Yes, but we have to hurry. Be careful, they might realize this too."

Xiyu didn’t need any more reminders and immediately hurried back to the courtyard.

Old Lady Xi, having found some peace, had just sat down on a stone bench and started making paper figures with paste and scissors. Upon hearing Xiyu’s footsteps, she coldly asked, "Why are you back? I’ve already said everything that needs to be said."

Xiyu got straight to the point, "Where did Ziye live last?"

Old Lady Xi lifted her dark but murky eyes, "What do you want to do?"

Xiyu responded, "Of course, I want to look for clues. You only told us about the jewelry, but you didn’t say how to find it. I assume there are no restrictions, right?"

Old Lady Xi remained silent for a few seconds before finally smiling. "Of course, after she became the bride, she lived in a single room on the west side of the second floor. It’s easy to find."

"Thank you." Xiyu turned back and glanced at the empty doorway, afraid that Ying Zhixing or Mu Yuan might come back. Not daring to delay further, he quickly sped up and left.

The winner from the candidates would definitely have different treatment.

Xiyu followed the faint scent of cosmetics upstairs and found the small, delicate, but cold room.

Red satin adorned every corner. The once-lit red candles had burned out, leaving only a few pools of sorrowful tear stains.

Using the wolf-repellent flashlight provided by the audience, Xiyu scanned the room. Finally, he spotted the vanity next to the bed and immediately moved over, dumping out the jewelry box.

As expected, inside the box, among the various types of jewelry, there were indeed two small, delicate earrings.

The earrings were identical in style—elegant and made of pearls. They felt cold to the touch.

Xiyu lowered his gaze and tried to recall. He remembered that the earrings on Ziye's body were also white.

Unfortunately, as a man, he wasn’t very sensitive to these kinds of things. Now, all he could do was put the earrings in his pocket and hurry to meet Luo Xi.

—Could this be the item Old Lady Xi wanted?

Xiyu didn’t think so.

If the game were this simple, they wouldn't have eliminated so many streamers.

But the more chances you had, the more paths opened up. Getting the item was better than letting someone else have it.

As he pondered, he left the house, which felt completely devoid of any joyful atmosphere.

While all the streamers were searching for clues around the village, Xiyu and his two companions had already gone directly to the agreed location to meet up with Luo Xi, who had been busy retrieving the corpse.

Having crossed the bright red lake, Luo Xi was soaked and disheveled, but he still received a warm hug.

Xiyu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and was the first to confirm, "Are you okay? I was afraid that crossing the water would violate some rule."Luo Xi shrugged casually. "I'm fine, don't worry."

Zhi Shan looked him over and quietly asked, "You didn’t find the body, huh…?"

Luo Xi then explained, "The lake bottom is already filled with bones and corpses, and visibility is extremely low. I searched seven or eight times around the spot where Ziye sank, but I couldn’t find her. I figured your mission would be starting soon, so I came back here to rest for a while."

"It wouldn’t be that easy to find," Xiyu said, taking out the earrings. "I wonder if the jewelry that Old Lady Xi wanted us to hand over is this style?"

Luo Xi, who was also not sensitive to female accessories, frowned and examined them.

Just as they were at a loss, Zhi Shan finally spoke, "…Isn’t it like this? Her earrings were also made of pearls, but they had special decorations on them. I saw them."

"What kind of decorations?" Xiyu didn’t expect her to be helpful, but since the game was important, he decided to put aside past grudges.

Zhi Shan's words were uncertain: "There was a special silver floral design, very delicate, but I can’t recreate it."

Luo Xi thought for a moment, then said, "No matter. Let's go back to the village and look for more clues."

Xiyu glanced at him. "Not going to search for the body anymore?"

Luo Xi replied seriously, "Searching for the body is a gamble. I’m afraid by the time we find it, they’ll have taken all the evidence. It's better to wait a bit and go back when we have a better chance."

Xiyu thought for a moment, then said, "That’s true. The body is important, but those few people don’t like taking risks, so they won’t rely on it."

Su Ziyan blinked. "So, we’re going back to the village now?"

Luo Xi looked him over and suddenly smirked. "Yes, and I have a special task for you."

Su Ziyan, who was always nervous about responsibilities, immediately tensed up. "What… what is it?"

Luo Xi said, "The wedding dress was dyed with blood yesterday. Do you think today’s jewelry won’t follow the same approach? What if the earrings also require something from a human body? Those few people won’t do it themselves, and if the danger is unavoidable, there’s no escaping it. So, let's just follow the rule of 'don’t harm me, and I won’t harm you.' If you see Ying Zhixing or Mu Yuan, tell them the earrings are with me and let them come try and take them."

Su Ziyan wasn’t foolish enough to not understand. "You want them to believe this is the final item to hand in?"

Luo Xi narrowed his eyes. "It’s best if they believe it. How would we know if we don’t try?"

Su Ziyan played with his growing chestnut-colored curls and nodded. "Fine, but why do you want me to say it…?"

"Because, among us, you’re the only one who speaks the truth without any filter," Luo Xi said harshly, while Xiyu helped wipe the blood from his face. "Alright, go find the evidence."

Xiyu nodded and started walking towards the direction of the Yin Bridge village. "Even though there weren’t any proper dyes at the dye house yesterday, there was a method for dyeing fabrics. I’m sure today there will be corresponding shops that offer similar services. Otherwise, even if we have the right materials for the earrings, we probably wouldn’t be able to make them."

Luo Xi recalled the map. "The village has gold and silver shops, as well as jewelry stores, but someone might have already gotten ahead of us."

Su Ziyan hummed, "That’s fine. Maybe their eyes are blind, and they won’t see the evidence. I’ll go look. My luck is great."

"That’s true. With all those smart streamers, it’s a miracle you made it to the quarterfinals," Luo Xi couldn’t help but mock.

Su Ziyan wasn’t angry. In fact, he even earnestly said, "Luo Ge, if I get eliminated, and if Lily also gets eliminated… If you ever see me reset, make sure to tell me that I once had a friend named Du Li."

It was a rare moment of sincerity, and it made those present feel a little heavy in their hearts.

Xiyu looked at Luo Xi’s back, then at Zhi Shan, who had the same appearance as Ling Xue, feeling a whirlwind of emotions.

Zhi Shan, sensing something, turned her head slightly with a faint smile. "After being reset, you still think the other person is really good. After I was reset, everything that happened before seemed to not exist anymore. It’s like I’ve always been alone."Luo Xi seemed to want to say something but stopped, as if there was something on his mind that he couldn’t be bothered to say. He simply ignored it and led the way directly into the brightly lit village.