"Miao Miao?" Wen Zhiyan pulled her into his embrace.
"I'm fine," Fang Miaomiao patted Wen Zhiyan's back. "I'm back, aren't I?"
"Miao Miao, what exactly happened before?" Cui Mantong also pressed, "When I came back later, I found you gone."
Fang Miaomiao briefly recounted what had happened.
"Good heavens, it can happen like that?" Cui Mantong was stunned.
After a group of people reunited, they continued to walk deeper.
Along the way, the sounds of children clapping and singing could be heard everywhere.
Cui Tong tightly held Cui Mantong's hand.
Chen Huan stopped at a spot.
Before everyone could react, they heard her shout to run.
Immediately after, the sound of a metal rod dragging on the ground reached their ears.
And it grew faster and faster.
"Damn it." Cui Tong also pulled Cui Mantong and ran.
Watching the few people being frantically chased on the camera, the livestream audience erupted in laughter.
[OMG, this is so thrilling! It's my first time seeing celebrities looking so flustered without being pranked. Cui Tong is running so fast, he disappeared in a flash.]
[I'm sure now, Cui Tong is really timid, and he truly loves his wife. He didn't forget to hold Mantong's hand tightly even while running for his life. I finally understand why Mantong married Cui Tong.]
[Really, bless them. I'm in tears watching this.]
Wen Zhiyan and Fang Miaomiao ran into a room.
"Miao Miao, are you okay?"
Fang Miaomiao shook her head. "What is this place?"
"I don't know. We'll find out soon."
As he finished speaking, a sharp female scream came from outside.
"You, why are you here? This is not a place for people like you. That person will kill you."
"Be careful, don't speak," Wen Zhiyan put his arm around Fang Miaomiao's waist and crouched down.
The sound of the metal rod dragging on the ground invaded their minds little by little.
Wen Zhiyan held her tightly in his arms.
"Leave here, all of you, leave here now."
Fang Miaomiao took Wen Zhiyan's hand, signaling him to bring his ear closer.
"Don't you think this woman's voice is a little different from the one we heard outside earlier?"
Wen Zhiyan pondered, "Miao Miao, you think the bride isn't alone?"
Fang Miaomiao nodded. "And judging by her tone, she really wants us to leave, as if this place is very dangerous."
Wen Zhiyan's gaze settled on a spot.
"What is it?"
"We must have reached the village ancestral hall."
"Then let's go in and take a look."
The two squatted down and tiptoed into the ancestral hall.
Looking at the densely packed memorial tablets on the altar, a hint of surprise flickered in Wen Zhiyan's deep eyes. "Strange, these people's names."
Fang Miaomiao followed his gaze. "These people's names seem to be arranged in the order of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."
Wen Zhiyan nodded. "What's even more interesting is that the topmost memorial tablet is empty, with no information written on it."
"How peculiar."
Wen Zhiyan shook his head. "Let's look around now. There should be other things nearby."
The two searched in the ancestral hall for a while before finding a book behind the memorial tablets. They read it by the lamplight and finally understood the cause and effect of the events.
"So, all of this was the witch's doing?" Fang Miaomiao's expression was complex.
At this moment, the loudspeaker sounded again: "Because a player found crucial evidence and angered the bride, three more brides will appear on the streets. Please prepare yourselves."
Fang Miaomiao swallowed upon hearing this. "Three brides?"
One bride was enough to make them struggle, and now there were three?
She could already imagine herself being chased in a state of panic.
[I feel like this haunted house is thrilling! It's more fun than some escape rooms. What should I do? I want to play too.]
[I agree, three NPCs are ignoring everything and just chasing people. I suddenly want to apply to be an NPC and chase customers every day, hahaha.]
[Also, I think something is a bit off. I don't know if you've noticed, but ever since Miao Miao and the others got the documents, the skeletons of the three appearing NPCs seem to be male.]
[Male? No way. Maybe they're afraid it's too tiring for girls to chase people, so they let men dress up as brides?]
[Who knows? We'll have to see later. I just feel it won't be that easy.]
Fang Miaomiao swallowed and retreated to Wen Zhiyan's side, hearing the sounds outside the ancestral hall.
Wen Zhiyan held Fang Miaomiao's hand. "This way."
The two retreated into the darkness.
With a creak, a tall figure in a red robe slowly walked in.
He looked at the memorial tablets above and chuckled. "You, why are you so disobedient? You killed my Xiao Xiao, and you still want to harm me. You, you truly deserve to die. Do you think those young people will spread these things? Dream on. We will catch those few, and then, we will deal with them. You only deserve to atone here."
After speaking, the man left with his metal rod.
Wen Zhiyan noticed something and pulled Fang Miaomiao into a dark room.
"Who!"
"Huanhuan?"
"Miao Miao, why did you come in?"
Fang Miaomiao explained briefly.
"So that's how it is." Chen Huan nodded thoughtfully. "By chance, Ye Fei and I also found quite a bit here. Want to take a look?"
The two also handed what they found behind the memorial tablets to Chen Huan.
Chen Huan raised an eyebrow. "What is this?"
Wen Zhiyan rubbed his nose. "I thought it was useful, and when I was about to put it back, the male bride came in. There wasn't time to go back, so I kept it in my hand."
Chen Huan flipped through it briefly. "So that's what happened."
Fang Miaomiao looked at the small room, with the words "Devil, Run" written in blood-red ink all over it.
"We also stumbled in here by accident, and then we discovered that the entire story might be fake. Except for the bride who died at the beginning, all the others are men."
"I heard the name Xiao Xiao from the male bride's mouth just now. Could it be that the brides sacrificed here were men? And then the bride's lover, Xiao Xiao, unwilling to let her beloved be sacrificed, knocked out the man and went herself."
Chen Huan nodded. "You could say that."
"Is the picture of the male bride you saw earlier like this?" Ye Fei placed a picture on the table.
Fang Miaomiao examined it closely. "The eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar, but the person outside looks a bit older."
"Then it makes sense. The person who died was Xiao Xiao, and the one seeking revenge is the man who was originally the bride."
"This village is playing some… I don't know how to describe it."
"So our task now is to resolve the male bride's resentment and allow these people to be reincarnated," Wen Zhiyan stated the mission.