Escape from the Thriller World – Chapter 13

Volume One: The Old Corpse in the Mountain Village

More Than One

I now suspect there is more than one ghost in this building.

Master Wei Jinye’s words didn’t match up. He told her the day before, “That family are all extortionists,” but now today, it naturally turned into that family disappearing without any reason.

His words were clearly deceitful, with mixed-up logic from beginning to end. What is the real truth of the matter?

The two of them analyzed it, and asking like this was useless. They needed to know the whole truth to understand what really happened on the 18th floor.

Nothing useful could be found from Master Wei Jinye’s mouth. Whether he had the bronze mirror in his hand was still a mystery.

Shen Qingyou asked, “Are we not going to find that mirror to complete the side quest and just waste time here on the 18th floor?”

Ning Lan calmly replied, “Shen Qingyou, haven’t you figured it out yet? If we can’t uncover the secret of the 18th floor, we can’t get that bronze mirror, and the plot can’t continue.”

The game’s hint seemed to be guiding them to get the bronze mirror, but in reality, it was pushing them to uncover the truth of the 18th floor.

The game system sent another hint:

【The Old Corpse in the Mountain Village Instance】

【Game Player: Watanabe Keiko randomly killed game characters, skill points deducted, Constitution -10】

Hearing this news, Ning Lan was startled.

Did Watanabe Keiko kill Sun Er Pao all by herself, without Xie Wu’s help?

Was Ning Lan’s reasoning wrong?

No, how could Watanabe Keiko, all by herself, manage to kill Sun Er Pao from behind and dismember him in such a short time? Completing such a physically demanding task seems unlikely.

She didn’t have enough time to commit the crime.

Altogether, it was just three hours.

Shen Qingyou continued, “Don’t forget, she is a Japanese female spy. With the training she received in Japan, dismembering is a small matter for her.”

Japanese female spies are skilled not only in judo, shooting, and bayonet fighting but also in using seductive techniques to kill.

Ning Lan nodded and said, “I’ve had the chance to hear about bayonet fighting. It’s a type of martial spirit promoted in Japan, generally known as Japanese-style bayonet combat.”

Shen Qingyou continued, “It’s quite possible she could have completed it easily by herself.”

Ning Lan shook her head and said, “No, I still believe the murder was completed through their cooperation. Within the crime timeframe, Watanabe Keiko couldn’t achieve such a high level of completion.”

“Here’s the problem: could Xie Wu, just an ordinary person, perform such a precise assassination and complete the difficult, neat cutting?” Shen Qingyou continued.

Ning Lan nodded thoughtfully and said, “What you say makes sense.”

Ning Lan felt they were missing some crucial clue, so they sneaked back into Ah B’s house to find the place that attracted the “ghost” that day.

Ah Gong’s body had already turned into a zombie and was taken away by Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming said that the zombie couldn’t stay in the Tong Lau, fearing it might be used by the “ghost” again to harm people.

Shen Qingyou held an iron wire and poked it into the door hole, breaking the door’s internal lock, and easily opened the door.

“Officer Shen, nice skill there,” Ning Lan said, giving a thumbs up.

After learning Shen Qingyou’s identity, Ning Lan stopped calling her “Ice Block” and switched to “Officer.”

Unknowingly, their relationship shifted from being sworn enemies to temporary allies.

In the real world, Shen Qingyou is a police officer. While working on cases, she saw locksmiths use this trick, and over time, she picked up a bit of the basics.

Old-style locks can be opened, but it might not work on modern electronic doors.

“Hurry up while the security guards downstairs are having their meeting,” Shen Qingyou said, pushing the door open and gesturing for Ning Lan to come in.

The security guards gather for a meeting at 5 PM every afternoon, and they used this gap in time to go to Ah B’s house next door.

Ning Lan nodded and turned on the lights in the room, which was in complete disarray.

The room was littered with garbage cans, and a few candles were scattered around.

When they first entered this world, the first thing they saw was “candles.” Could it be a subtle hint to them?

Ning Lan picked up a candle from the floor and sniffed it, catching a strong scent. She said, “The candles indeed have corpse oil mixed in. Did it summon the ghost?” (“Corpse oil” is a concept in some Asian folklore, believed to be an ingredient in rituals to summon spirits or ghosts.)

“Analyzing the game plot, it seems related to Bixian (pen fairy game) and corpse oil candles, which is quite thought-provoking,” Shen Qingyou said as she also picked up another candle.

Ning Lan took a piece of the candle with corpse oil and said, “Let’s go ask Xiao Ming. He can see things differently.”

Shen Qingyou nodded and said, “Makes sense. I’m starting to suspect there might be more than one ghost in this building.”

The two of them took advantage of the early hour to head to the paper shop on Dingxiang Street in the Kowloon District of Hong Kong to find Xiao Ming.

Ning Lan closed the door, and right after that, the room was restored to its original state by the game system.

In the game, those who kill characters in the instance recklessly are punished by the devil.

This punishment soon fell upon Watanabe Keiko.

Tong Lau, 22nd floor.

Watanabe Keiko and Xie Wu took over Sun Er Pao’s house. They promised to continue paying rent to Master Wei Jinye, and without much thought, he agreed.

Businessmen seek profit, and Master Wei Jinye was no exception.

Neither of them felt uneasy; they had just teamed up to kill Sun Er Pao and were now comfortably living in his house.

Living on the 22nd floor, Watanabe Keiko suddenly felt her body shake violently. Her arm started trembling, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, dripping down her nose.

Xie Wu, holding a cup of warm water, handed it to Watanabe Keiko and said, “Why is the game system only punishing you, while nothing happens to me?”

Watanabe Keiko forced a smile and said, “You weren’t involved the whole time; you just helped me buy some time by holding off Xu Sanduo.”

Xie Wu hadn’t received professional assassin training, so he couldn’t have successfully completed the murder of Sun Er Pao. They did something else: they delayed time.

However, they added an unnecessary detail at the scene to confuse the police. They stabbed over ten bloody holes into the victim, claiming it was done by a ghost.

Too much cover-up at the scene could actually expose them.

Why would a ghost go to such great lengths? The game system had already seen through their tricks.

“Rest up, I’ll go gather some information and see how things are progressing on their side,” Xie Wu said with a slight smile.

Xie Wu was cunning. On the surface, he told Sun Er Pao that he would let Watanabe Keiko be toyed with, but in reality, he and Watanabe Keiko had another plan.

Their plan was to make Sun Er Pao disappear forever.

The two of them didn’t belong to this game era, and they thought that killing someone in the game was no big deal. Little did they know, they still faced punishment from the system.

Watanabe Keiko glanced at his figure and said, “I only keep you around because you’re still somewhat useful, otherwise I would have gotten rid of you long ago.”

In her bones flows the blood of the Japanese Empire; her Watanabe family has a deep-seated enmity with China.

Watanabe Keiko’s ancestor, Watanabe Shirō, was a Japanese spy.

This Watanabe Shirō once infiltrated the Hunan area of China, where he burned monks alive in a temple. After 1947, he smuggled the corpse of the temple master to Tokyo.

Watanabe Keiko’s family was heavily nurtured by the Greater Japanese Empire, and influenced by her ancestors, she also became a female spy infiltrating China.

In Watanabe Keiko’s eyes, Xie Wu, like other Chinese people, had the inherent flaw of being a traitor. (“Traitor” in the context of Chinese history often refers to a “Hanjian,” which means a Chinese person who collaborates with foreign invaders, particularly during wartime.)

Their relationship was one of mutual exploitation, and they both understood this clearly.

Xie Wu came out of the door and heard what Watanabe Keiko said.

He spat on the ground and said, “Did you really think I was having an affair with you, Watanabe Keiko? I was just bored with the loneliness of the game world’s instance.”

In the cruel and terrifying game instance, it’s best not to trust anyone.

In real life, Xie Wu had received disdainful looks from so many people, and he had already seen through the cold and warmth of human relationships.

【Game System Task Prompt】

【You have a new solo task, please accept it】

Xie Wu instinctively pressed the button and looked at the task details, a smile forming on his lips.

Xie Wu was thrilled, following the mobile phone navigation’s directions like a ghost behind them.

Ning Lan and Shen Qingyou arrived at the paper shop, where the sign read: “Funeral One-Stop Service.”

In front of the paper shop, there were paper dolls of a man and a woman displayed. Inside the shop, there were incense, yellow paper, and spirit money (“Spirit money” or “joss paper” is traditionally burned in Chinese culture as an offering to ancestors or spirits).

Xiao Ming usually handled business for the dead and also helped people with feng shui for gravesites (“Feng shui” is a traditional Chinese practice that involves arranging spaces to achieve harmony and balance).

Xiao Ming was holding a pen, adding a “new outfit” to the paper person in his hand.

Another person joined him, with one coloring the paper dolls and the other reading a customer’s palm.

“Master Xiao Ming, you’re busy, I see. We have some clues and want to confirm something with you,” Ning Lan said cautiously, taking out a candle wrapped in toilet paper, which was made from corpse oil, and handing it to Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming took the corpse oil candle and nodded to her. He pulled out a yellow talisman from the cabinet. Lighting the talisman on the corpse oil candle, layers of corpse oil melted through the talisman’s flame and flowed out as liquid.

“That’s right, this thing can summon ghosts. Consuming the corpse oil candle benefits ghosts without harming them,” Xiao Ming explained.

Ning Lan sighed and said, “I’m afraid that with just a few of us, we can’t handle the ghost in Tong Lau, and we can’t retrieve the bronze mirror.”

The person next to Xiao Ming spoke up: “The ghost you’re talking about isn’t impossible to deal with; it depends on whether you can resolve the resentment she carries.”

【Game System Prompt】

【Contact with Key Character: Xiao Qiang】

【Points +15】

Xiao Qiang, in the original story, was the last disciple of Chu Renmei. Aunt Mei had a final bit of kindness and couldn’t bring herself to kill him, saving him to be the last to be killed.

Now it seems the game instance has changed his identity, making him one of the story characters.

The principle of 《The Wicked Ghost》 hasn’t changed; the “ghost” in this game instance cannot escape the rules of cause and effect in the cycle of reincarnation.

Female ghosts become fierce ghosts for several reasons: First, because women are often in a weaker position in society, subjected to men’s bullying. Second, their accumulated resentment after death prevents them from reincarnating. Third, with no outlet for their anger, they become the ghosts everyone talks about.

But who has ever really considered who caused them to become like this?

“Please, masters, show us a clear path,” Ning Lan said, hands together in prayer.

Xiao Ming smiled and said, “He’s right. You need to find the source of her resentment, and then you’ll know how to deal with it.”

Before leaving, Xiao Qiang gave each of them a triangular yellow talisman and said, “Wear it around your neck. It can save your life at critical moments. Remember, don’t be afraid! The more scared you are, the more the ghosts will cling to you!”

Ning Lan took the talisman from Xiao Qiang and said, “We understand. The issue with the ghost in Tong Lau will definitely be resolved.”

【Game System Prompt】

【Received one yellow talisman item from a story character】

【Blocks ghosts: 3 minutes】

【3 minutes cooldown after use】

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