No choice. They had to go in.
The next second, the door was kicked open hard, slamming into the wall with a crisp bang.
The kid holding the sickle flinched reflexively. The trauma of last night’s zombie player attack still haunted him. In that one involuntary shiver, his foot caught on something, and the child fell straight onto the bed.
Zhou Qi’an retracted his white silk ribbon and stood up, seemingly prepared for this.
One villager was almost struck by the kid’s sickle. “You little bastard, trying to kill me?!”
As he cursed, he looked up—and realized that in just two seconds, that damned young man was already at the door.
Damn it.
How could he run that fast—did he grow four legs or what?
“Knock them out,” Zhou Qi’an instructed Kou Tuo quickly. “Don’t alert the others. And while you’re at it, ask about the pastor’s age.”
Kou Tuo gave him a long, unreadable look. Zhou Qi’an ignored the deeper meaning in it. After giving the order, he left the mess behind and walked outside to get some air.
The air outside was much better.
Zhou Qi’an took a deep breath, thinking over the details hidden in what the villagers had said.
Given the education level in Fengshui Village, if you rewind time a little more, things would’ve been even more backward. And yet, the women had a sense of political competition—that alone already put them ahead of their time.
She must’ve left Fengshui Village when she was older. It’d be impossible for her to both pursue education and run a business in such a short time. This sort of thinking was likely influenced by someone else—perhaps… the pastor.
Priority now was to locate that pillar.
Handling one adult and one child villager wasn’t a problem for the players. Working together, they subdued them easily.
The noise inside soon quieted down. Kou Tuo was the first to come out, his tone ambiguous: “Mr. Zhou, your lead was quite fruitful.”
Zhou Qi’an tilted his head slightly.
That clearly meant: your turn to share now.
Kou Tuo weighed how much to say, when he noticed the half-smiling look in Zhou Qi’an’s eyes—suddenly realizing something: the amount of information he gave now would directly influence how much Zhou Qi’an would reveal in return.
After all, Zhou had already implied he held more intelligence.
Kou Tuo deliberately teased, “Why not try guessing the relationship between the pastor and the saint?”
“Husband and wife.”
Kou Tuo clearly hadn’t expected such a fast and confident answer.
Zhou Qi’an explained, “For this level of vengeance, they must’ve been close. If he was just her responsible father, he wouldn’t have waited until she grew up and was killed to appear.”
The saint was pregnant—meaning she had once been in love. That person was most likely the pastor.
Zhou Qi’an remembered: depending on the religion, pastors may or may not be allowed to marry and have children.
“That’s correct.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Kou Tuo leaned in and whispered a few more things.
Zhou Qi’an absorbed the info with interest—it was genuinely useful intel. In exchange, he shared what he knew about the pastor and the umbilical cord.
By the time the teacher and others had finished dealing with the aftermath and came out, the two men had already ended their conversation.
With the thirty-minute window nearly up, everyone began sprinting back, barely making it inside the compound two minutes before the village chief arrived.
The NPC was more punctual than anyone. The hunched-over village chief showed up right on time.
Zhou Qi’an casually moved behind Shen Zhiyi, using the other man to hide the signs of his recent sprint.
Luckily, the village chief only cared whether everyone was present. After scanning the crowd, he said, “Honored guests, please follow me.”
The players trailed behind him.
A rugged mountain path led toward the back mountain. Zhou Qi’an, Shen Zhiyi, and Ying Yu walked together. On the way, Zhou Qi’an shared the latest intelligence with them.
“Ah!” a soft cry interrupted him.
A young woman ahead was staring at her feet, patting her chest in relief. “Scared me to death—I thought it was a snake!”
The village chief didn’t even glance over, just explained, “That’s just shed snake skin. There are a lot of snakes on the back mountain.”
His tone carried something unsettling. “Snakes are highly adaptable creatures. After shedding their skin, they become fresher and shinier.”
The players couldn’t help but think of the unnaturally smooth-skinned villagers of Fengshui Village, and shuddered.
Despite his body full of tumors, the old village chief walked surprisingly fast, leading them to a scenic mountain valley. The temperature dropped noticeably, and white mist rose steadily from a pool of crystal-clear water.
Zhou Qi’an walked closer—turns out it was a natural hot spring.
It was summer, yet the surrounding trees were so sparse and withered they could be mistaken for dead branches. In contrast, the spring water stood out as eerily vibrant.
The chief turned to face the players. His raspy voice echoed through the mist: “Please change clothes shortly and take turns enjoying the spring.”
Two village women stood in the fog, holding trays with folded garments.
At first, they blended into the mist so well that no one had noticed them. The players jumped when they suddenly realized two people were standing nearby.
A young woman mustered the courage to ask, “I thought we were here to test the water quality?”
The village chief’s face looked bluish in the mist. His voice sent chills: “Experiencing it is a form of testing, too.”
A Little Red Riding Hood team member asked, “Do we have to go in one by one?”
At some point, the chief had appeared beside him. “It’s an old ancestral rule.”
The mist was thick, and having a voice suddenly whisper beside your ear—Little Red Riding Hood almost shoved the man into the water. Thankfully, he reacted fast and pulled the old chief back just in time.
Feigning calm, he said, “Sorry, my foot slipped.”
Cursing inside—damn old geezer almost scammed me into a murder charge.
A game prompt chimed in, interrupting the awkward moment.
[Preliminary Mission Unlocked]
Mission: Experience the hot spring and cultivate your mind and body.
Note: Completion of this mission will unlock the [Sampling] mission, which is critical to whether the main quest can be completed.
At least it was related to the main quest. That would push progress forward significantly.
The players breathed a bit easier.
But before they could relax completely, the chief’s murky eyes landed on Xu Gui. “Let this expert go first.”
Everyone froze. Then instinctively, they all stepped a bit away from her—no one wanted to face the unknown risk first.
Xu Gui, however, remained calm. She even seemed… pleased to be chosen first.
“Where do I change?” she asked the village women.
“Follow us.”
The women led her away. The others looked up and saw a small wooden hut nestled among the trees—not visible at first glance, but rather peaceful and mysterious.
The village chief didn’t give them much time to stare. He turned and led the rest in the opposite direction, toward another wooden house completely out of view from the spring.
Inside, besides a few chairs and a heater, the room was empty.
“There are bells near the spring. When you hear one ring, it means the soak is over. The next person should go in order,” the chief said.
He placed a small bamboo box on the table, letting the players draw lots to decide the order.
Zhou Qi’an went up first—and drew the very last lot.
“……”
Several players gave him sympathetic but secretly relieved looks. No one wanted to go first or last.
Zhou Qi’an sighed. He had thought wearing the village chief’s talisman might give him a bit of luck.
Feeling a little bummed, he asked something to lighten the mood: “By the way, where did our team leader go?”
He hadn’t seen Miss Shen since that morning.
The village chief’s face instantly darkened. “She went to help search for some villagers who haven’t returned.”
“Miss Shen really works hard,” Zhou Qi’an said with a soft smile. “If she’s not searching for people, she’s on her way to go search for people.”
Monkeys were meant to run around.
Maybe it was because the more the village chief looked at his face, the more irritated he felt—he walked away and sat at a spot far from him. The players also stopped talking. Someone tried to come up with an excuse to sneak out and check if there was anything strange about the hot spring, but eventually gave up the idea, thinking it was too dangerous.
In the quiet room, every minute of waiting felt like torture.
Especially for the young girl who was going next—she kept wringing her fingers anxiously. Zhou Qi’an noticed that her timidity wasn’t an act, but it didn’t stop her from stabbing that square-faced man with a knife.
Ding-a-ling!
A crisp bell sound rang out from the distance—signaling that the first person to enter the hot spring had finished.
The young girl instinctively shot to her feet.
The village chief urged her, “Hurry up and go. Don’t waste time.” His tone suddenly dropped, becoming more serious. “Remember, try not to talk. The mountain wind is strong. It’s not good if you breathe in the cold air and catch a chill.”
During the mission, NPCs’ words were law, so the young girl could only walk out silently.
Not long after she left, Xu Gui returned. Anyone with eyes could tell her face was a bit pale.
A player was just about to speak when the village chief coughed and cut them off.
Zhou Qi’an quietly observed Xu Gui. Her complexion quickly returned to normal, but was replaced by a hint of confusion—as if something had happened in the hot spring that left her puzzled.
After about twenty minutes, the cabin door was pushed open.
The young girl came in quickly. Although the temperature wasn’t very low, she looked cold. She instinctively moved closer to the brazier, trying to warm herself.
But when she saw that the fire pit was cold, she rubbed her arms, trying to chase away the goosebumps on her skin.
“Her steps are steady, no injuries,” Zhou Qi’an thought, “but she looks shaken.”
Whether by coincidence or not, the first three players were all women. The last to return—the female teacher—didn’t react as strongly as the first two.
When it was Shen Zhiyi and Ying Yu’s turn, both left and returned with expressionless faces.
Once Ying Yu returned, the village chief suddenly said, “We’re running out of time. Go in pairs now.”
The Little Red Riding Hood team member was momentarily stunned, then looked at Kou Tuo, whose number was next to his.
Kou Tuo nodded—being able to go in pairs was naturally better.
Zhou Qi’an muttered, “…Wasn’t this against ancestral rules?”
The village chief replied without much care, “Thinking about it now, maybe that rule wasn’t necessary.”
“?” Zhou Qi’an: Great, now I’m the one going solo again.
Another twenty minutes passed, and the duo returned. Kou Tuo was as calm as usual. The Little Red Riding Hood member looked similar to the female teacher—mostly confused.
Finally, it was Zhou Qi’an’s turn. He stretched his stiff body and walked alone into the forest, which had somehow become foggy.
After roughly the same amount of time, a bell rang in the distance. Five minutes passed, and still, no one returned.
The cabin was silent.
The young girl whispered, “Did something happen to him?”
As soon as she spoke, Shen Zhiyi’s cold gaze swept toward her. She quickly shut her mouth.
Another five minutes passed, and still no sign of anyone returning.
Everyone grew restless, almost convinced something bad had happened to Zhou Qi’an.
Just as they were imagining various terrible scenarios, Shen Zhiyi stood up to go out.
The moment the door opened, someone walked in from outside.
The two collided right at the doorway.
Zhou Qi’an’s hair was still damp. He paused slightly, seemingly unable to stabilize himself immediately for some reason.
Shen Zhiyi instinctively reached out, trying to pull him into his arms.
But just as his hand touched Zhou Qi’an’s waist, Zhou Qi’an slipped away, turned his back, and apologized to the others, “Sorry, sorry. I was so sleepy I almost overslept.”
His fair and soft cheeks still bore a red mark, as if he had accidentally leaned against a rock and dozed off.
The village chief stood up, cutting him off, “Alright, seems like the experts have finished their experience. Let’s go back.”
The players couldn’t wait to leave this creepy place and quickly followed behind.
Zhou Qi’an fell to the end of the group. Watching their backs, the smile on his face faded instantly.
On the way back, no one spoke—per the village chief’s restrictions.
Zhou Qi’an kept walking at the rear, his cold gaze occasionally sweeping over each player. It was almost noon, and cold rain began to fall from the sky. Having just come out of the hot spring and now exposed to the wind, his lips turned bluish-white.
Back at the courtyard, the village chief finally broke the silence.
He spoke with a burning kind of expectation, “Yesterday’s blessing ceremony was interrupted by an accident. Later today, we will continue the unfinished celebration.”
“…I’ll come notify you when the time comes.”
Once the village chief left, almost ten minutes passed in total silence.
Then, the young girl walked to the entrance, checked carefully to ensure no villagers were hiding, and cautiously closed the courtyard gate.
Everyone exchanged glances, finally silently agreeing to speak.
Preliminary tasks were usually not very difficult, sometimes even free, but what they had just experienced was deeply strange—best to talk it through.
Everyone’s gaze first landed on Xu Gui, who had gone into the hot spring first.
Xu Gui fell silent for a moment, then slowly described what she saw.
“When I went in, nothing unusual really happened—except one thing… I saw a person…”
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow.
Xu Gui bit her lip. “At first, because of the mist, I thought it was a person. But then I realized—it was a whole, smooth human skin.”
At this, she swallowed hard. “That pale, lifeless skin was hanging from a tree branch across the pool. When the wind blew, it made an eerie rustling sound.”
“On a branch?” the young girl who went in next was stunned. “That’s not right. I clearly saw a human skin floating on the water—it was even a little wrinkled.”
Xu Gui froze.
Zhou Qi’an offered, “Maybe the wind blew it down.”
The young girl: “…”
You think it’s a kite?
The female teacher looked close to tears. “So it was human skin? I’m terribly nearsighted and never upgraded my eyes. I just vaguely sensed a figure in the pool and thought it was a village woman fetching clothes.”
The three descriptions clearly matched their reactions when they had returned.
Except for the nearsighted teacher, the other two had both clearly seen human skin.
Ying Yu and Shen Zhiyi said nothing, but nodded slightly, indicating they saw the same.
Kou Tuo said, “When I went in, the steam was already thick. I couldn’t see anything clearly. Just knew there was something in the water—not sure what.”
The Little Red Riding Hood member frowned. “That’s right.”
Thinking back to the scene, he couldn’t help but shiver.
Due to the village chief’s warning against communication, the Little Red Riding Hood member hadn’t dared speak to Kou Tuo. The hot spring had been covered in thick mist, and they had remained on high alert the entire time.
When it was Zhou Qi’an’s turn, he shrugged. “I could see even less—just vaguely felt something blurry was there.”
After everyone spoke, they all looked at Xu Gui differently—only she had seen something so distinct.
Xu Gui pressed her lips together and said nothing.
Knock knock.
“They’re probably here to bring us food,” the young girl said with a forced smile, breaking the silence as she walked over to open the door.
It was the two village women from the hot spring earlier. Their hands, pale to the extreme, were still holding trays—but they weren’t here to deliver food.
A beautifully crafted bronze incense burner sat in the center of the tray, with some incense materials placed beside it.
“The village chief instructed that once the incense finishes burning, all honored guests may proceed to the chapel.” The two women recited the village chief’s message word-for-word. Before leaving, they gave one last reminder: “Please be mindful of the time.”
Bathing, incense, and fasting.
Compared to yesterday, today’s ritual seemed even more solemn.
No one moved to touch the fire striker.
In the end, it was Shen Zhiyi who calmly and steadily lifted his arm and lit the incense.
Everyone held their breath. Who knew what this stuff was? Better not inhale it if they could help it.
The incense burned quickly. When only ashes remained in the burner, a gust of cold wind blew, scattering the gray dust into the air.
Then came a cold, mechanical voice—
[Prerequisite mission complete]
[Main Mission II — Sampling: Unlocked]
The game didn’t immediately announce the mission objective. Everyone silently watched the incense burn down, and nothing else happened in the meantime.
“Let’s go,” Kou Tuo said, rising first. “To the chapel.”
Same path, different feelings each time they walked it.
From a distance, they noticed the two village women hadn’t left—they had been waiting at the village outskirts. Their overly pale skin and faceless features made them look like snow maiden dolls.
As the players approached, one of the women cautioned them: “You must not run off like yesterday. If you offend the gods, divine punishment may fall…”
She shivered before finishing her sentence.
Even though there was no sun, after walking a while, the woman kept wiping sweat from her forehead.
One player walking in front noticed something white stuck to her sleeve… It looked like dead skin.
A wave of nausea hit him.
No wonder the villagers’ faces all looked like they’d been photoshopped—turns out they were literally hand-polished.
As usual, Zhou Qi’an walked at the very back, remaining unusually quiet all afternoon.
Shen Zhiyi, walking beside him, narrowed his eyes slightly. “Qi’an, you’ve been sneaking glances at me a lot today.”
That was fine.
What wasn’t fine was—he was also sneaking glances at Ying Yu.
Ying Yu, walking ahead, slowed his pace. Glancing sideways at Zhou Qi’an, he said, “You’ve been observing everyone since we got back from the hot spring.”
They’d both noticed. Just hadn’t called it out yet.
At this, Zhou Qi’an slightly raised his head, his expression unreadable.
He inhaled the ever-present, unpleasant metallic stench lingering in the air, then slowly said, “I lied.”
“…I didn’t see anything in the hot spring.”
Ying Yu paused mid-step.
“The sacred artifact’s light was strong enough to banish anything unclean. I even used it to look around—stone walls smooth, water crystal clear,” Zhou Qi’an said in a tone that made people uneasy. “Everything else… there was nothing. Including the ‘human skin’ you all mentioned.”
Absolutely nothing.
In the heavy silence, Zhou Qi’an stared straight ahead. “If there was a piece of human skin… where did it go? Did it evaporate, or…”
A chilling smile slowly spread across his lips. “Did someone among us put it on?”
·
The world fell into an eerie silence—even breathing seemed to vanish.
Put it on.
Those three light words seemed to drift into everyone’s ears, while a wind colder than death seeped through their pores.
Eight players went in. But how many came out—who could say for sure?
Ying Yu’s eyes scanned the figures walking ahead and murmured, “Anything’s possible.”
Logically, the two players who entered the spring before Zhou Qi’an were most likely to have put on someone else’s skin.
After all, it was only when it was Zhou Qi’an’s turn that the bathing rule suddenly changed.
But nothing’s absolute. It was also possible one of the earlier players had their own skin swapped, and their real skin was discarded in the water. So what the others saw wasn’t a “real” skin, but the human player’s shed one—slowly wrinkling and dissolving like the villagers’ peeling faces.
By the time Zhou Qi’an entered, it had simply… vanished.
Then Zhou Qi’an said quietly, “The chances of the skin being worn by a male player are higher.”
He brought up what he’d learned earlier.
“…I exchanged some info with Kou Tuo. The purpose of the ritual is to select a ‘Holy Maiden.’ More precisely, it’s to find a vessel for the Holy Maiden’s reincarnation. But so far, they haven’t found a suitable body.”
As for the corpses of those who were eliminated—the Holy Maiden didn’t fully give up on them. The villagers, following instructions, had sealed them somewhere special, nurturing them with cold and death.
Some of the corpses leaking out of the game’s instance were likely from this source.
The main ritual was being held in the chapel—so if the Holy Maiden could simply reincarnate using a piece of skin from the hot spring, why go through all the trouble?
Then Shen Zhiyi, who had been silent, finally spoke. His tone casual, as if reading from a manual:
“Skin monsters—formed from an accumulation of shed human skin over many years—can possess a host for up to three days, and can read memories to mimic behavior.”
Zhou Qi’an and Ying Yu both paused.
“In the last instance, it was mentioned in the textbook Ghost Scripture.” Shen Zhiyi lifted his eyes. “Didn’t you study?”
“….”
Coming from someone who always ranked dead last—what gave him the right to say that?
At least now they could confirm that the skin monster had nothing to do with the Holy Maiden. It was simply a creature born from the villagers’ years of peeling.
Zhou Qi’an looked at Shen Zhiyi. “Back when we bumped into each other, you instinctively tried to take advantage of me.” Then he turned to Ying Yu. “Mr. Ying almost tried to sneak off with the fireplace. Even if ghosts inherit memories, they wouldn’t act like that.”
He could basically rule those two out.
“…”
Although Zhou Qi’an said that, Shen Zhiyi and Ying Yu still exchanged meaningful glances—his method of elimination was a little too subjective.
Judging from how no player had shown any odd behavior so far, the skin monster’s disguise was exceptionally convincing.
Zhou Qi’an thought the same. He had to fully rule out the people around him, or else—during a crucial mission—who knew if he’d get stabbed in the back.
The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
As the two continued quietly sizing each other up, Zhou Qi’an suddenly stepped between them and pulled something out from behind his back.
In the daylight, the Trident’s brilliance had dimmed. He activated its trait, [Edge Concealed], and held the sacred artifact close to his chest, asking sweetly:
“Wanna get real close and cuddle?”
If someone was a skin monster, just touching this thing would sear them like meat on a grill.
“…”
–
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an: My sacred artifact is literally a ruler!
PS: In the school instance, the [Edge Concealed] trait, once activated, suppressed the Trident’s golden light. Any normal human who touched it for less than 30 seconds would not be harmed.
