B U G Arc
Exam God 05
Four people remained, and the mother-in-law continued to move forward, going to knock on the door of another house.
A young girl opened the door, and after the four of them entered, she closed the door.
“Esteemed guests, please follow me.”
She wore a rather innocent smile on her face, looking very endearing.
“Young lady, are you the only one at home?”
Yuanyuan looked around and saw that no one else had come out of the house, so he continued to chat with the NPC.
“Uncle Two is gone, and everyone at home has gone to his funeral.”
“Why didn’t you go?”
“His status doesn’t deserve me to attend his funeral.”
The little girl said with a playful smile, and her appearance created a stark contrast with the words coming out of her mouth.
Her smile remained unchanged, but it no longer seemed quite as endearing.
“Why doesn’t he deserve it?”
“He just doesn’t. Anyway, you’ve arrived at your rooms.”
The young girl seemed to not understand why they were asking such questions and stood in front of the rooms.
Yuanyuan wanted to ask something but the little girl had already run away.
Two adjacent rooms, two men and two women, the choice was naturally understood.
Wan Yan felt quite content in her heart, but she didn’t dare to show it too much on her face.
Xin Lan glanced at her and knew what she was thinking, but she didn’t find it awkward.
After all, it wasn’t the first time they had shared a bed. This person knew she could be grumpy in the morning and wouldn’t move around much while sleeping. She was a very good “bedmate.”
Opening the room door, a somewhat strange smell wafted out.
Xin Lan unconsciously furrowed her brow and surveyed the room.
It wasn’t particularly dirty; there was no dust on the tables, chairs, or stools, and there were no cobwebs on the ceiling beams. However, there was an odd smell.
It wasn’t a scent of long neglect, nor was it a musty dampness.
Wan Yan naturally noticed it too and began to inspect the room more thoroughly.
She opened the wardrobe, and in the instant it was exposed to the light, some black things immediately scattered.
They were bugs.
It was a bit disgusting.
Wan Yan then lifted the bedding on the bed and found that there were also some bugs underneath, all of them pitch-black.
Wan Yan rolled up the bedding and threw it on the floor, luckily there was nothing on the bed frame.
From next door suddenly came Yuanyuan’s exclamation of “What the heck!” It seemed like he had also discovered the bugs.
“Should we wait here?”
Wan Yan sat on a stool. The room was quite unpleasant, but there didn’t seem to be anywhere else to go.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
The mission was to protect the Guzi from the village to the altar, but now the Guzi was not with them.
And what the old woman had said, that the Guzi was the lifeblood of this place.
Since Xiao An was the lifeblood of Guzi Village, then why was he outside and coming back here?
And also, since he’s the lifeblood, why does the mission say to protect the Guzi to the altar?
Who created the danger in between?
“Let’s go outside and take a look.”
They were certainly not brought here for the exam just to sit around and wait. Unfortunately, Zero Nine’s surveillance function couldn’t be used, so they couldn’t keep an eye on Xiao An at all times.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan left the room and coincidentally ran into Yuanyuan and the man in the white shirt who had also come out from the neighboring room.
“How did it get dark so quickly? It’s really eerie.”
Yuanyuan exclaimed. When they entered, although they didn’t know the exact time, the sun was still shining brightly. It had been bright when they came in, so how had it become dark so rapidly?
“There were bugs in that room, so be careful, both of you.”
Yuanyuan suddenly remembered the bugs he had seen earlier, and considering they were in Gu Village, he couldn’t help but rub his hands together as a reminder to Xin Lan and Wan Yan.
The man in the white shirt remained calm, looking at Xin Lan and Wan Yan thoughtfully.
“Thank you, we’ve noticed it too.”
“Are you planning to go out and take a look? Huo Xu and I are also planning to go, so how about going together? Strength in numbers, and after all, we’re all here for the same exam.”
Yuanyuan patted Huo Xu’s shoulder and suggested they travel together.
The man in the white shirt turned out to be named Huo Xu.
The four of them headed out together, but they were stopped by the young girl in the main hall.
The young girl sat in a chair, swinging her legs in the air.
“What are you going out for?”
“Just going for a walk.”
“It’s dark outside.”
The young girl said, lowering her head and speaking as she fiddled with her fingernails.
“Outsiders should avoid going out after dark.”
The young girl advised, lifting her head and wearing a smile.
“What will happen if we go out?”
However, the young girl didn’t respond; she just started singing on her own.
It was a tune that Xin Lan had never heard before, mournful and sorrowful, as if it were a dirge.
Yet, the young girl continued to sing with a smile, as if she had been smiling since they entered.
Xin Lan walked out, and the young girl didn’t stop her but swung her legs and watched Xin Lan and her companions’ backs, her laughter strangely eerie.
“Strangers from afar, no matter where you’ve come from, stay in our soil. I gaze at the white star bugs and ask Ah Ya when they will bloom…”
The song had an eerie charm, sung with haunting beauty, but punctuated with giggles.
Xin Lan pushed the door open, and Huo Xu, who was last, closed the wooden door.
There weren’t many people on the road, and it was very quiet.
Gu Village didn’t have a large population, and its size wasn’t extensive either. The four of them walked from the beginning of the village to the end but didn’t find anything particularly noteworthy.
Every household had tightly closed doors, and it seemed like no lights were on; it was all pitch black.
The only source of illumination was the lanterns along the road, white paper lanterns that lit up a small section of the path in front of each house.
In a row, the lanterns looked like drifting will-o’-the-wisps, making the night even darker by contrast.
Xin Lan and her group decided to wait at the entrance of the village head’s house; after all, they had no idea where else to go. They had already checked the places with lights, and if there were no lights, there was nothing to visit.
When Xin Lan arrived, there were already people waiting there.
Six people, not more, not less, were all present.
“Have you found anything?”
The middle-aged man asked as he watched them approach from another direction.
Yuanyuan shook his head.
The other three were rather indifferent, typical no-reaction cool types.
“What about you? Have you found anything?”
“We only saw a bunch of bugs.”
Said the woman in the white down jacket, her face filled with disgust. Just thinking about the bugs made her want to vomit.
“What’s the deal with this mission anyway? I’d rather go back and guess the murderer.”
Things were indeed very strange and unsettling here, as if they had stumbled into some kind of bug nest.
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
A scream came from inside the village head’s house, and the middle-aged man immediately pushed open the door and rushed inside.
The Guzi were still in there. Their mission was to protect the Guzi and take him to the sacrificial altar.
If the Guzi died before reaching there, it would spell disaster for all of them.
The group entered the main hall and discovered that there was no one inside.
Two cups of water were placed on the table, and Xin Lan touched one with her fingertip to find it was still warm.
“Where is everyone?”
They scattered to search, but found that there was no one in the village head’s house either.
So where did that scream come from just now?
Someone cursed, and everyone exchanged puzzled glances.
Xin Lan’s clothing was tugged by Wan Yan, who pointed to a spot. There, Xin Lan saw some small black dots.
They were bugs, very tiny bugs.
“Could you all make some room?”
Xin Lan spoke up, as they were all crowded together, and many of them had black dots under their feet, but they hadn’t noticed.
Although no one understood her intention, they saw that Xin Lan was both attractive and appeared formidable, so they silently backed away a bit.
Those black dots gradually gathered into a line.
Xin Lan quickly followed that line and arrived at the courtyard.
Wan Yan picked up a stone and tossed it inside the well. They soon heard an echo, indicating that the well wasn’t very deep.
“Should we go in?”
Wan Yan asked, looking at Xin Lan, who nodded.
Wan Yan was the first to jump down, making a swift and decisive move.
Xin Lan followed closely, landing gracefully.
“So… we’re just going down like this?”
Yuanyuan was puzzled.
Huo Xu didn’t say much and, after stepping forward, also jumped down.
Yuanyuan, seeing his three companions who were together jump, gritted his teeth and also jumped down.
There was a passage in the well, about two meters long and a little over two people wide.
The passage had no lights, but it was quite bright.
Above the walls, there were clusters of dots of light, resembling stars and looking quite magnificent. Their colors were much more beautiful than fireflies, a pure bright white.
But upon closer inspection, it was discovered that all those were densely packed bugs, and the brightness emanated from those bugs.
Wan Yan and Xin Lan walked through the passage, and after a while, the path suddenly opened up before them.
Before them lay a massive cave with something depicted on the ceiling and walls, but Xin Lan didn’t have time to see.
She had already spotted two figures ahead, one holding the Guzi and the other being the village head. They were running swiftly, like paper figures.
“Chase them.”
Both Wan Yan and Xin Lan burst into action, pursuing the paper figures ahead.
Xin Lan’s physical abilities were exceptional, and with Wan Yan’s inherent involvement, they were formidable.
They quickly caught up with the paper figures, forcing them to stop.
These were not the pure white paper figures; they were more like those used in funerary rituals, with detailed facial features. However, they were incredibly stiff, making it impossible to discern their gender. Their mouths were gaping, with thick eyebrows and upturned eyes, giving them a menacing appearance.
The two paper figures attempted to flee but were effectively blocked by Wan Yan and Xin Lan.
Xin Lan grabbed one of Xiao An’s hands, and the hand of the paper figure carrying Xiao An reached out towards Xin Lan. Their fingertips looked unusually sharp.
Xin Lan leaned aside, avoiding the attack, but had a few strands of her hair clipped.
She grabbed the paper figure’s hand, which was quite thin and easy to grip.
With her other hand, she seized Xiao An’s collar and flung the paper figure away, simultaneously pulling Xiao An out.
Xiao An tumbled to the ground, and the paper figure attempted to grab again. Xin Lan used both her hands to tear open a gap in the paper figure’s hand.
Paper figures had no life and couldn’t feel pain, only vulnerability to water, fire, and scissors.
On the other side, Wan Yan jumped directly onto the stone wall, pinning the paper figure to the ground, forcing it to release the village head.
The two paper figures attempted to resist but more people arrived behind them.
When some saw the appearance of the paper figures, they let out a cry of astonishment. Seeing the increasing number of people, the paper figures tried to escape.
The village head didn’t mind the dust on his clothes and hurried to help Xiao An up.
“Lord Guzi, are you alright?”
Xiao An shook his head and got up from the ground.
“Dear guests, there’s no need to restrain them. Let them go.”
(Support me at littlepandatranslations.com)
The village head said so.
Upon hearing this, Xin Lan and Wan Yan released their hold, allowing the paper figures to drift away.
The people who had arrived behind them were left dumbfounded by Xin Lan and Wan Yan’s actions.
“Sisters, you ran too fast.”
Yuanyuan gasped, and ahead of him, Huo Xu seemed in much better shape. Most of the people who were chasing from behind were also panting.
“Thank you for your assistance, dear guests.”
The village head expressed gratitude, but there was a solemn look in his eyes.
“Who created those paper figures, and why did they want to take the Guzi and you?”
Xin Lan inquired.
“They are renegade Gu servants from the village, and I don’t know where they learned to create paper figures to deal with us. They must have heard that the Guzi have returned, which is why they took action.”
Sighed the village head, his expression complex.
“Fortunately, the sacrificial ceremony will begin tomorrow night, and after the ceremony, the Guzi will lead us to eliminate the traitors.”
The village head said with a solemn tone, and his voice echoed in the cave.
Xiao An had an expressionless face, raising his head with a somewhat vacant look in his eyes.
“We kindly ask for your assistance in protecting the Guzi.”
“That is natural, but you must first tell us what’s going on. Why did the Guzi return from outside, and what’s the story behind the renegade Gu servants?”
Xin Lan stared into the village head’s eyes, waiting for an answer.
She wanted to see if this NPC would speak or not.
This time, the village head didn’t just stare blankly. Instead, he began to answer.
“A few days ago, two servants who served the Gu King rebelled, taking the Gu King with them, intending to escape from Gu Village. We managed to intercept one of them, but the other one got away. The one we intercepted is the same person who just sent the paper figures to capture us.”
“These paper figures are not afraid of insect bites, insect toxins, or even being controlled by parasitic Gu. We are helpless against them, and we don’t know where the traitor is hiding now.”
“The one who escaped took the Gu King with them. This Gu King is a companion Gu, and the other one had already been living inside the Guzi’s body. During the ceremony, we plant the one we have been nurturing into the Guzi’s body. Now that the Gu King has been stolen, only the Guzi can sense it. That’s why the Guzi went outside to bring the other one back. Fortunately, it was brought back. May the Gu God bless us, and may the ceremony proceed smoothly.”
The village head concluded, expressing gratitude.
The village head disclosed everything, and it seemed that this NPC answered based on predetermined permissions.
The village head mentioned that the Guzi had been frightened, so he took Xiao An back to the house.
Xin Lan and Wan Yan didn’t follow but instead stayed to examine the cave’s wall paintings.
Since they didn’t move, the others remained with them, also observing the paintings.
After a short while, the woman in the white down jacket turned pale and asked,
“Do we really have to deal with those paper figures and insects? But we don’t have anything, how can we deal with them?”
They thought of themselves as ordinary people, not capable of dealing with such supernatural things.
“How can we not handle it? Just now, these two ladies here managed just fine. I don’t think those paper figures are a big deal at all.”
The middle-aged man chuckled.
In the next moment, he found himself knocked to the ground with a kick to his knee.
“You want to say that again?”
Xin Lan raised an eyebrow.