Chapter 12

Chapter 11 Changming Town 11

After saying that, the woman looked even more terrified.

She cautiously raised her eyes to Shi Zong and saw him looking down at her, speaking in an unusually cold tone: “Who told you to hide? Answer my question honestly, and I’ll let you go.”

The woman said, “Elder Gong is dead. After the heads of the three great families learned of this, they quickly held a meeting. They believe that Elder Gong was most likely killed by you. You… you…

“You only killed Elder Gong because you regained your memory.

“They said that as long as you regain your memory, it means you’ve awakened.

“Once awakened, you will regain terrifying power and might kill all of us. So the family heads told us to hide first, until… until…”

“Until what?” Shi Zong asked expressionlessly.

The last trace of color left her face.

She seemed too afraid to speak the answer aloud, opening her lips several times before closing them again, and finally pleaded bitterly: “Please… I beg you, spare my child! If you spare my child, I’ll tell you everything! Please don’t kill her!”

The next moment, Shi Zong said what she couldn’t:

“Until they find another expert to deal with me, right?

“They need at least five hours to bring that expert?”

Five hours later, the people of the three families would kill Jiang Wan’er.

This was what Li Eldest had said to Shi Zong before.

Back then, Shi Zong found it strange why the three families had deliberately given Jiang Wan’er five hours. Now he had the answer—

It wasn’t that they wanted to give Jiang Wan’er extra time, but they needed time to summon another expert as powerful as Elder Gong.

Upon hearing this, the woman fainted in fright, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

“Mother—!”

The child in the wardrobe widened their eyes, screaming hoarsely.

Shi Zong’s gaze immediately turned toward her.

She instantly stepped back into the wardrobe, tears streaming down.

Shi Zong looked at her coldly for a moment, then remembered something and turned to Zuo Sanqiu.

The moment their eyes met, Zuo Sanqiu flinched and instinctively took a step back.

The immersion in this game was just too strong.

Affected by the mother and daughter’s fear, and by the character he was inhabiting, Shi Zong’s face appeared cold and cruel to Zuo Sanqiu, almost indistinguishable from a vengeful ghost.

Seeing his reaction, Shi Zong raised an eyebrow and asked without any emotion: “Yesterday afternoon, how long did it take us to go from the Li family manor to the Zhang family?”

“About 40 minutes. That’s by carriage,” Zuo Sanqiu replied.

“Hm. This map in the scenario is just too big. It’s already 10 o’clock now. I estimate that by 2 p.m., I’ll be wiped out. I don’t have enough time to explore. So…”

Shi Zong turned back to the little girl, scaring her so much that she knelt on the ground, which made Zuo Sanqiu wince.

Zuo Sanqiu’s feelings were complex.

This scenario was truly unfriendly to Shi Zong. He got the deceased’s role from the start, barely turned the tide, yet still didn’t have enough time to explore.

For the others, it was okay. But if Shi Zong didn’t uncover the truth in time, he’d die.

It was incredibly difficult.

If Zuo Sanqiu had received Jiang Wan’er’s role, he probably would have given up long ago.

However… watching Shi Zong bully the little girl, Zuo Sanqiu couldn’t bring himself to do anything.

So when Shi Zong coldly and relentlessly approached the little girl, he couldn’t help speaking: “Wait, um… what exactly are you trying to do?”

Shi Zong ignored him, staring at the girl as if she were a corpse.

When he spoke, his voice was extremely cold. “Little girl, do you want to live?”

“Yes… yes!”

“Do you want your mother to live?”

“Yes! Please spare us!!!”

“The others are hiding in their homes too, right?”

“Yes. It happened suddenly; we could only hide at home.”

Hearing this, Shi Zong reached out and gently touched her forehead, a faint smile appearing in his eyes.

But the next words he spoke were merciless:

“I have indeed awakened. I won’t kill for now, I just want to understand everyone again, especially Li Guangrong, Li Guangtong, Li Zhaodi, and Wang Zhi’en.

“I need everyone in the wealthy district to help me search all the rooms in the three family manors and bring all clues related to these four people to the central plaza.

“Additionally, if these four have done anything memorable or acted unusually, anyone who remembers must come to the central plaza and report it.

“The deadline is before noon.

“No one may lie or hide any clues from me. If I catch anyone deceiving me, I will tear them apart on the spot.

“Little girl, you have ten minutes to go door to door on these two streets, telling everyone what I said and make sure they go to the three manors to inform the people there. Otherwise—

“I will kill you all.”

After assigning the task to the little girl, Shi Zong went to the neighboring house.

Two burly men lived there, and Shi Zong assigned them a task in the same way—

Go to the riverbank and dig up the coffins of Li Eldest, Li Second, and Wang Zhi’en, without disturbing anything inside.

No time to explore?

The whole town fears me?

Then let the whole town help me find clues.

Thirty minutes later. Dongtian Fuju.

Shi Zong leaned against a dead tree, looking into the distance. The damp wind lifted the strands of hair on his forehead. With Jiang Wan’er’s frail and slender face in mind, he looked delicate yet fragile.

Beside him, there were sounds of digging—Zuo Sanqiu wielding a hoe.

The ground was uneven, possibly concealing something, so Zuo Sanqiu decided to dig.

While digging, he occasionally glanced at Shi Zong, feeling both fear and anger.

—Shi Zong doing nothing yet looking so solemnly aggrieved was infuriating.

Still, Zuo Sanqiu didn’t dare complain; he felt both Shi Zong and Jiang Wan’er were terrifying.

Come to think of it, what was Shi Zong doing just now?

The three families were after him; most people would be hiding, yet he actively confronted them and even threatened them?

Ever since placing the love curse on Elder Gong, Zuo Sanqiu had been shocked at Shi Zong’s tactics.

He truly didn’t expect Shi Zong to turn NPCs into such tools in the game.

Shi Zong yawned, glanced at Zuo Sanqiu’s expression, and reassured him, “Don’t be afraid of me.”

Zuo Sanqiu rolled his eyes silently, saying nothing.

Shi Zong: “I just used a small trick to save everyone time.”

Zuo Sanqiu: “……”

Through exploration, Zuo Sanqiu discovered that Elder Gong had only come to Changming Town last year.

He didn’t hide much here: a Taoist robe, a Yunnan drum, bells, a crystal ball, tarot cards, etc.

Some items were Taoist, some shamanistic, and others seemed related to black magic.

Additionally, Zuo Sanqiu found a travel journal. It recorded that Elder Gong had sought Taoism in Maoshan, meditated in Tibet and India, and studied under shamans in the northeast.

His beliefs were mysterious and eclectic, but one thing was certain: he could communicate with yin and yang and control souls.

The final key clue was two arrays recorded in a notebook—

【Array Name: Memory Rewriting Array】

【Applicable to: Humans, ghosts, immortals, animals; any spiritual being can have its memory rewritten】

【Effect: Even the strongest immortal or vengeful ghost, if their memory is rewritten and they believe they are ordinary, will lose all powers and live like a normal person. This array can change memories and fundamentally alter a person】

【Important Note: If the person regains their memory, it means “awakening.” Upon awakening, they regain their former powers…】

【Array Name: Memory Recovery Array】

【Effect: Removes the effects of the Memory Rewriting Array, restoring normal memory…】

…

Beyond this, Dongtian Fuju had no more information.

These clues were just unearthed by Zuo Sanqiu.

This indicates the other players hadn’t explored this place in detail.

Clearly, they all knew Elder Gong’s origins. At least Jiang Wan’er’s three ex-husbands knew.

Zuo Sanqiu realized that, apart from Jiang Wan’er, he was likely the only one still under the influence of the Memory Rewriting Array.

If he successfully married Jiang Wan’er, he should, like the other three men, have his memory restored by Elder Gong using the Memory Recovery Array, thus learning much of the truth.

After searching, the two left Dongtian Fuju.

They didn’t find clues about the love curse here.

It seemed Elder Gong specialized in controlling ghosts and altering memory

Zuo Sanqiu caught up with him and said after a moment: “I have a theory.”

“Oh? Let’s hear it,” Shi Zong said lightly.

Zuo Sanqiu glanced at him. “Do you think the so-called marriage ceremonies are some kind of sacrifice?”

Shi Zong showed no expression. “Elaborate?”

Zuo Sanqiu swallowed. “Look, all the men you married are young and handsome, with high family status, all from the three great families.

“And you… you’re a vengeful ghost who’s killed many people. I’m thinking, maybe Elder Gong wanted to soften your rage by letting you experience love?”

Zuo Sanqiu had already learned about “Ye Yunfeng” from Shi Zong.

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable his theory seemed.

“You, born in the slums, served as a servant in the Ye family, and then fell in love with Ye Yunfeng. But your backgrounds were worlds apart; Ye Yunfeng’s parents didn’t approve, forcing you apart. Later…

“Later, maybe Ye Yunfeng respected his parents’ wishes and broke up with you… No, perhaps to force you to leave him, he killed you. Out of love and hatred, you became a vengeful ghost and killed the entire Ye family.”

After delivering this melodramatic theory, Zuo Sanqiu continued: “After wiping out the Ye family, you still wanted to kill the whole town. The three families quickly called Elder Gong for help.

“The root of your madness comes from unfulfilled love, so the three families offered their young men as sacrifices to you, exchanging them to maintain peace in the town. That’s why the Li Eldest, Li Second, and the Wang family young master died one after another after marrying you.

“See, us four men wouldn’t willingly marry a ghost, nor give ourselves as sacrifices! So our memories were rewritten, and a love curse was placed on us, making us fall in love with you at first sight.

“Tsk, my theory makes sense everywhere, right?”

Shi Zong paused, looking at Zuo Sanqiu. “It’s interesting, but there are still doubts. First, I still think Li Eldest, Li Second, and the Wang family young master aren’t truly dead.

“Second, these three men were attentive before marriage but changed completely afterward, meaning Elder Gong restored their memories. If this were a sacrifice, why restore their memories?

“Third, if this were a sacrifice, the most logical way for the three families would be to adopt young men from the slums and offer them.

“But now? The Li family only had two sons, both sacrificed. The Wang and Zhang families sacrificed their only sons.

“The three families, at the peak of power, would they really sacrifice their heirs and risk extinction? It’s unreasonable.”

After thinking for a while, Zuo Sanqiu spoke dejectedly. “Hm… you make sense.”

Shi Zong comforted him: “No rush. Keep exploring. I think we’re close to the truth.”

For the next period, the two visited several shops.

Entering a grocery store, Shi Zong glanced around and asked Zuo Sanqiu: “After being in this scenario for so long, have you noticed anything strange?”

Zuo Sanqiu scratched his head. “Strange? Too many things!”

Shi Zong said: “There’s no calendar here. I’ve never seen a calendar or anything related to dates. In your knowledge, what year is it?”

Zuo Sanqiu: “1938. I was born in 1916, so I’m 22 this year.”

“Mm.” Shi Zong nodded. “Same here. But you remember the love curse’s drug record, right? According to it, you should already be 32. So… maybe it’s actually 1948.”

Zuo Sanqiu looked pained. “I’m lost. I don’t know many things. I didn’t know I was under a love curse, didn’t know the Ye family existed, didn’t know what happened in this town. We’ve both been kept in the dark.”

They entered another home.

After searching for a while, Shi Zong waved Zuo Sanqiu over. “Look at this.”

Shi Zong had found a suicide note—

“Thanks to that Jiang woman’s wickedness, no one in Changming Town lives past 35. In three days, I turn 35, and that will be the day I die.

“Father, please burn my body to ashes and scatter them. I want the wind to carry my remains. Perhaps in the next life, I won’t have to live on this cursed land.”

Author’s note:

Some questions can’t be answered yet to avoid spoilers, like when the male lead will appear.

Anyway, soon everyone will officially meet him~ hh.