Chapter 139

Chapter 139

The Yin Bridge village was as silent as it had been yesterday, but the moods of the broadcasters fluctuated with the situation. The paper figures "living" here were becoming more and more frequent in their sights.

Even the brave Luo Xi, the big boss, walking along, suddenly saw a white figure flash past him.

Not to mention the typically timid Su Ziyan, who was so nervous that he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Luo Xi couldn't help but complain, "You know it's all fake, so what are you afraid of?"

Su Ziyan replied confidently, "Afraid of the unknown."

Xi Yu sighed, "You should be more afraid of a broadcaster rushing out from the shadows to attack, right? The rules just emphasize that you can’t kill each other, but there’s plenty of room for mutual harm."

This was true. With prior examples of stabbings, kidnappings, and causing unconsciousness, it seemed that any of these methods could be used.

Upon hearing this, Su Ziyan’s expression grew even more uneasy, as if he had goosebumps from the cold. He immediately crossed his arms, but just as he took two steps forward, he was startled by a drunken paper figure blocking the way.

It was just a paper-made monster, but it was drunkenly swaying and even had a pungent smell.

Su Ziyan cowardly hid behind Zhi Shan, stammering, "Wh-what’s going on?!"

The paper figure, activated by the scared man, appeared before everyone. It mumbled, "Little girl, come, drink, drink with me!"

Su Ziyan immediately forgot his fear and spat at the creepy face of the paper figure, "You're just a few sheets of paper, and you dare to mess with me?"

Xi Yu furrowed his brow and grabbed the figure directly, "Stop. I’m asking you, is there a place in the village where they make jewelry?"

The drunken paper figure, seeing his face, immediately became more excited and clumsily tried to speak, "Hey... where did this beautiful person come from…"

Unfortunately, before it could finish its words, Luo Xi ruthlessly kicked it away.

Su Ziyan hurriedly grabbed a lantern and threatened, "Hey! Answer what I ask, or I’ll burn you!"

Paper figures were afraid of fire, even if they were drunk.

The figure immediately woke up somewhat, crawling to the wall and saying, "What... what time is it, who still makes jewelry?"

Su Ziyan quickly replied, "There must be a place, where else would the bride’s jewelry come from?"

The paper figure hurriedly shook its head, "I... I don’t know…"

Su Ziyan immediately held the fire closer to it.

The paper figure slowly started to flee in panic, "I... I really don’t know… You can ask the silver boss at the gold shop—why are you bullying me?!"

Su Ziyan finally stopped and gave up chasing.

Xi Yu wasn't angry about the paper figure's insolence. Instead, he smiled, "You’ve made some progress."

Luo Xi snorted, "Finally did something useful. Let's go, we really need to check out the gold shop."

Xi Yu was about to nod when he saw gray smoke rising under the night sky. He shook his head, "If the gold shop is in that direction, we’re probably too late."

"Heh, finally, it's all out in the open." Luo Xi remained calm, his gaze turning sharp, "Then no one should leave anyone any way out."

Xi Yu had already developed the right perspective on the competitors. The fire was coming from the small gold shop in the village.The intense flames were beginning to subside, and the inside of the house was a complete mess.

The most valuable gold and silver jewelry had not disappeared, but the paper figure boss who should have been here was completely gone. The drawers had been roughly opened, and many of the items inside were missing.

Luo Xi, overcoming his discomfort in the fire-affected environment, covered his nose and said, "They definitely took the tools for processing gold and silver. Maybe they’ll be useful for making earrings."

Xi Yu calmly investigated the scene and brought some surprising news: "There’s blood."

Paper figures don’t bleed. Could a broadcaster have been injured?

Luo Xi raised an eyebrow.

Xi Yu pointed outside, signaling everyone to go out first, then analyzed at the door, "This kind of violent destruction is indeed a method in the game, but if someone completely destroyed the village, no one could continue playing. So I guess the person who set the fire has been punished."

"Eliminating everything in an uncertain situation... that doesn’t sound like something Ying Zhixing would do," Luo Xi nodded thoughtfully, "But Mu Yuan doesn’t like taking risks and usually has others do his dirty work."

Xi Yu blinked, "Are you saying that Wang Lou or Zhao Zhusheng were unlucky?"

Luo Xi raised an eyebrow and answered, "Whoever it is, I’m not letting them leave this game unscathed. If they do, they’ll bring endless trouble."

Xi Yu thought of the special privileges for the winner tonight announced by the Old Woman and couldn’t help but worry.

Right now, Luo Xi was the most targeted, and maybe Mu Yuan would retaliate against him, but Ying Zhixing, the calm one, would surely choose to eliminate Luo Xi...

No, he couldn’t let anyone get ahead!

Xi Yu’s expression darkened. "Forget it. Let’s go check somewhere else."

Although earrings weren’t everyday items, trying to find even the faintest clue in the winding village wasn’t going to be easy.

While the broadcasters were all nervously wandering, the Old Woman’s hoarse voice finally rang out through the broadcast.

[Stupid candidates, your performance tonight is still pitiful.]

[Let me tell you, the bride’s jewelry design comes from an ancient painting.]

[The painting is called "Ten Miles of Red Makeup" and is currently hanging in the temple in the village.]

Upon hearing this news, no one was not drawn in, and even Luo Xi and his group were no exception.

Su Ziyan was the first to react, "The temple? Isn’t that the place where we picked the evening primrose yesterday? But I didn’t see any painting."

"It’s likely a special prop that appeared tonight." Luo Xi identified the direction, "Anyway, let’s go over and destroy the painting."

Xi Yu, though reluctant for Luo Xi to risk punishment, knew that speaking now would be pointless. He could only say, "Let’s go first, quickly."

As soon as he finished, he was the first to start running.

Although they had all turned into women, the physical differences were still immense.

Su Ziyan stumbled along behind, and Zhi Shan struggled even more, desperately trying to keep up: "Wait for me, wait for me."

"It doesn’t matter if you arrive a bit later," Xi Yu answered directly.Zhi Shan was still uneasy, but she didn’t dare question it. She could only grit her teeth and desperately move her legs.

At the same time, Ying Zhixing, Zhou Ze, and Yan Ruyu were also making their way toward the old temple.

Now that Fei Ling was dead, Yan Ruyu seemed somewhat useless in this team, though she herself didn’t realize anything was wrong and kept complaining, “The game planners are completely useless, just messing with us. Are we going to have to make all the bridal gifts one by one? Are they trying to force us into self-harm or get others killed?”

Ying Zhixing ignored her, leading the way ahead with a cold expression.

Zhou Ze, appearing relatively kind and rational, smiled and said, “Even a simple and crude game like playing ‘Fight the Landlord’ could work. The important thing is to win, right?”

“But we’ve been walking for so long and still haven’t found a clue about the earrings,” Yan Ruyu returned to a more delicate tone, grabbing him and saying, “Brother Zhou, how about you two take action and tie up the weaker broadcasters? If they can’t complete the task, they’ll be out, and we can take their spot.”

Ying Zhixing suddenly turned around, his refined face darkening with an ominous look: “That reminds me. If I tie you up, it’ll reduce the burden a little.”

Yan Ruyu felt awkward: “Brother Ying, what do you mean by that? I’m very loyal to you.”

“You really know how to touch yourself,” Ying Zhixing said with a dismissive tone, then motioned for them to follow him to the shadow by the roadside.

Soon, Mu Yuan and his group passed by.

Ying Zhixing waited for them to disappear from view, then subtly showed himself: “That Wang Lou is limping, seems like he’s been injured. Let’s wait for them to clash with Luo Xi, and we’ll sit back and watch the fight.”

Zhou Ze smiled: “I heard Mu Yuan and Xi Yu have deep grudges, this is getting interesting.”

“If we win tonight, I’d love to see Xi Yu be eliminated,” Ying Zhixing said unexpectedly. “I can’t explain why, but there’s something in his willpower. Among all the broadcasters I’ve seen... no one has ever wanted to win so badly.”

It seemed that although "The Bewitched World" had been long gone, the image of Xi Yu, desperately fighting under the scorching sun and risking his flesh to burn, was still etched in Ying Zhixing’s memory.

Zhou Ze squinted: “Now I’m curious. He looks so serene, though.”

Ying Zhixing started walking again: “It’s just a façade. Don’t provoke him.”

Xi Yu, who had been running at full speed, arrived first at the ruined temple. Sure enough, the once dusty Buddhist hall now had a blood-red ancient painting hanging on the wall.

Sitting cross-legged beneath the painting was a small skeleton holding a large steel knife.

At this point, any thoughts of casually destroying the props vanished.

Xi Yu took a moment to adjust his breathing and confirmed, “Is this the 'Ten Miles of Red Makeup' that the Old Woman mentioned?”

“That’s right. To prevent you from messing with it, I’ll be staying here tonight,” the small skeleton said coldly. “Take a good look, then get lost.”

Xi Yu ignored the poor attitude and immediately focused on the painting.

Luo Xi, along with Su Ziyan and Zhi Shan, arrived shortly after and also began to observe.

The painting was very strange. A beautiful bride sat on a red phoenix, and the men carrying her litter were all black-clad, evil-looking figures. The streets were filled with red, and the setting sun was blood-colored. It was far from beautiful—almost terrifying.

The earrings worn by the bride in the painting were indeed round pearls, and upon closer inspection, the silver around the pearls was decorated with skull patterns.

Su Ziyan rubbed his hands together: “Scary. I wish I had a camera.”

Unfortunately, before anyone could respond, Mu Yuan’s group stepped into the Buddhist hall.

Wang Lou’s leg was wrapped in cloth, still bleeding, and his face had grown a bit pale.Su Ziyan couldn’t help but chuckle: “Oh, so this is the price for burning the jewelry shop, huh?”

Wang Lou had a look on his face that clearly showed he didn’t want to argue with him.

Su Ziyan huffed: “What’s there to be proud of? Brother Xi Yu has already gotten the earrings from Ziye’s life, you’ve already lost.”

Mu Yuan naturally didn’t believe it: “Wake up, okay? How could it be that easy?”

“The relics of Ziye are still in the bride’s room, what’s so hard about that?” Xi Yu pulled a pair of earrings from his pocket, intentionally showing them off: “But this has nothing to do with you guys, let’s go.”

Mu Yuan’s brows slightly twitched, watching the four of them leave one after another, his expression growing colder and more malicious.