He seemed to have finally glimpsed at the truth of this world through the layers of fog. All that remains was to confirm them one by one and string these fragmented clues into a complete necklace.
Who was it that they were going to look for?
His eyes shifted to the eldest grandson player in the mourning hall.
At this moment, it was still less than half an hour before midnight.
"Aiyo, my stomach doesn't feel good, I have to go to the backyard." Ren Yifei covered his stomach and stood up.
This night-watchman was concerned, "Did you eat something wrong?"
"I'll be back later. Save some peanuts for me," he said as he left.
"All right, all right, you hurry up and go."
He didn't go far as he caught an NPC instead.
"Ah Fei, what do you want from me?" The face of the night-watchman who was caught revealed an expression of guilt, just a moment ago, he was hiding in the kitchen to steal some food.
"It's like this," Ren Yifei said while covering his stomach, a look of hesitation was shown on his face, but in the end, he gave in, "This matter was originally explained to me by my sister-in-law, take care of this for me ..."
He repeated such-and-such matter all while stomping his feet, mimicking the actions of someone with the urge to go to the bathroom, "...and that's exactly what happened."
"Okay, I'll run a trip for you, you go quickly."
"I'll have to trouble you then."
After a while, the night-watchman ran into the mourning hall and said a few words to the eldest grandson who was burning paper, the eldest grandson's face changed slightly before he followed him out.
The other players stared at him, but since it was not yet time for them to move freely, no one moved.
It'll soon be midnight, so nothing would happen…..right?
The eldest grandson player came to the backyard while the night-watchman did not follow.
Who spread the rumour that 'sister-in-law said her stomach was not feeling well'? Could it be that the 'eldest grandson's wife' is not dead?
Because it was not yet midnight and the information on the card had not been updated, the eldest grandson player was not too sure, despite the fact that he had crushed her to death, what if? What if the opponent still had some special rule-bending, life-saving prop in their hands?
"You came?" The slightly mean and sharp voice of the 'eldest grandson's wife' suddenly came from behind.
She's not dead?
Goosebumps formed on the eldest grandson's skin, he put a hand into the pocket of his pants which contained his life-saving prop and quickly forced a kind smile on his face, "It's all a mistake ..."
However, a black shadow appeared in front of his face while a heavy blow was dealt to his neck.
"Damn, it was a trap ..." The eldest grandson suddenly fainted. Before losing consciousness, he seemed to have seen a tall, thin shadow.
Ren Yifei put down the shovel in his hands and waited a few seconds to make sure that he was not pretending to have fainted before taking out a piece of hemp rope from his pocket, using a special method to tie his hands and feet.
This was the method pirates had used to tie people up in the past. The more they struggle, the tighter it would get.
Once the eldest grandson's movements were restricted, Ren Yifei took out a card, which he got from the eldest grandson's wife, from his pocket
The card was placed on the eldest grandson player's body, but nothing happened.
He thought about it for a moment and took away the eldest grandson player's card. It came with a mini key-shaped object and a ring, both of which he does not recognise.
The golden words 'eldest grandson's wife' immediately appeared above the eldest grandson player's head.
The corners of Ren Yifei's mouth hooked up slightly: it really was the case.
The method Granny Chun Zhi used to fool the players, he had found it.
After determining this information, the next step would be to inquire about how to find the killer ghost.
He dragged the eldest grandson player to the dry well, removed the lid and the large rock on it before throwing the man in with some difficulty.
The well is narrow, and the eldest grandson player was thrown into it vertically, shaking off a lot of debris.
Ren Yifei dusted his hands and let out a breath.
The amount of force Ren Yifei exerted was very precise, the eldest grandson player did not stay unconscious for long and soon woke up wailing after the fall.
He woke up and found himself in a narrow, dry cylindrical well with his hands and feet unexpectedly tied up, unable to move. The eldest grandson player looked up and saw a backlit shadow that obviously belonged to a man.
A man…he cycled through several people in his mind, comparing their figures one by one, "You're the ninth person?!"
The ghost?
No, he has not been exposed yet, thus, he would not be a priority for the 'ghost'. On top of that, this figure felt a bit familiar for some reason.
Ren Yifei did not speak, he just shovelled the soil into the well. The dirt hit the eldest grandson player's face, causing him to sneeze and cough.
This suddenly extinguished his rationality and calmness, "What do you want? Are you here for the Millennium Ghost card? If that's the case, can't we discuss it?"
However, he was only answered with shovel after shovel of dirt.
Was this guy trying to bury him alive?
The eldest grandson player began to struggle, but not knowing how the rope was tied, the more he struggled the tighter it got. The person above did not utter a word, only shovelling dirt at a regular pace. One at a time, not too slow and not too fast, his psychological state at this moment was really not fu*king good.
He had seen these kinds of people before, they looked honest and quiet but they have a really ruthless personality.
Could it be that he was going to die like this in a novice game?
"I know who the 'ghost' is! Precisely Granny Chun Zhi, her role identity ….her identity, it's the 'sweeper'! Yes, it has to be him, he was always with A Song."
Feeling the threat of death, the eldest grandson player began to panic.
"I know several other players, that 'lamp trimmer', who must also be here for the Ghost card, and there's ..."
The shovelling movements above slowed down for a while, the eldest grandson player stared blankly, convinced that his persuasion had worked.
He resisted the urge to sneeze and continued, "Identifying the 'ghost' is easy, it could be done by revealing its true identity. However, in order to subdue it into becoming your card, you have to fight and win to get the card."
The figure puts down the shovel.
"I have a secret prop to subdue the boss, I can help you!" The eldest grandson player revealed his trump card, "Really, you have to believe me! You can take it and spare my life."
The figure above did not move for a long time, making the eldest grandson player think that the other party was moved. Unexpectedly, the man squatted down and lifted a lid to cover the well, afterwards, a muffled sound of a heavy object was heard.
The fear of being buried alive shattered the veteran player's towering arrogance and he panicked, shouting and wailing for mercy, his voice echoing in the well.
There was less than a quarter of an hour left.
Under the moonlight, Ren Yifei half-squatted by a bucket to wash his hands, calculating the time in his heart.
He slowly and methodically washed each of his fingers and carefully cleaned under his nails. The voice in the dry well gradually stopped, and after a short silence came loud cursing.
Ren Yifei stood up and shook his hands before walking towards the back door.
With each step, the world darkens a bit, and after a few steps, his world was completely dark. A beam of round light fell from the sky and shone on a face.
Ren Yifei walked past the 'second grandson', who was the first to die.
He was hanging by a white cloth, swaying, his face was full of confusion and struggle. The second grandson's bloodshot gaze followed Ren Yifei until he walked past it and the world became dark again.
The second to appear was the eldest grandson, he was standing in the dried-up well while cursing.
For profit, he killed the eldest grandson's wife without hesitation, like a hyena, fierce and insatiable, but he was impatient. He left too many traces and did not know how to clean up.
Ren Yifei waved his hand and the figure of the eldest grandson disappeared into the darkness.
The lamp trimmer and Xiao Mei appeared before his eyes.
The lamp trimmer was a veteran player who was the most threatening, he was cautious, courageous and resourceful.
There was also the newcomer who was very good at seizing opportunities, Xiao Mei.
Compared to her, the sweeper was just as good as being a tool, or rather, a death witness.
In the darkness, the images of the old woman, A Song and the monk appeared in the light at the same time, they all raised their heads.
Three pairs of eyes looked at Ren Yifei at the same time, Ren Yifei also looked back at them.
Slowly, the images of the three people overlapped.
A vision appeared before his eyes:
The middle-aged woman pressing on the old woman's struggling hands and feet.
The middle-aged man grabbing the hemp rope and tightened it forcefully.
Their veins were violently bulging, unlike their faithful and honest appearance back in the mourning hall, their faces resembled evil spirits.
The elder's hands kept scratching at the air, leaving scratches on the armrests. Her small round eyes were bloodshot, she seemed to be crying and laughing, yet there was a nightmarish sense of distortion.
"For the reputation of my family, mother- please rest in peace mother."
"After your death, I will accompany your spirit for seven days, invite high priests to recite sutras for you, burn gold and silver treasures for you, and pray for your glory and prosperity in the next life."
Thus, the ground sprouted a red lotus, the Buddha scriptures were recited, the coffin was wrapped in gold paper and silver paper, holding a body with unresolved grievances.
Ren Yifei stepped a foot into the back door of the mourning hall, black and white flashed in his eyes, the illusion receded and the fog was dispersed.
There was a coffin in front and a group of people, it was a stage for a funeral vigil drama.
[ What people hate is what the 'ghost' hates. ]
[The secret of the 'ghost' had been eaten by the rats and ants, just like its heart.]
"Sometimes I can't tell the difference between a person and a ghost, probably because I don't know which is scarier."
The left side of the mourning hall was where the monks were chanting the scriptures and the 'monk' was in the far corner.
The bright altar lamps can not illuminate this small world. His back was to everyone and a spider was crawling on his head, halfway through weaving a web.
Ren Yifei walked over and sat down beside him.
"Does grandma want to eat some peanuts? I peeled them for you," he fished out a handful of peanuts with the red skin removed.
The 'monk' trembled.
"How could the gambler A Song keep repeating about the two children being hungry for the whole day? That man's head is so full of gambling that he won't even come. Only elders who sincerely thought of their juniors can be so careful. Isn't that right, Granny Chun Zhi- or perhaps, A Song?"
The 'monk' with a shrunken neck raised his head, his hands were full of wrinkles with greenish-black veins crawling across the surface of his wizened skin. He was A Song, yet was also not A Song, his face was turning into something else.
A Fei was eating the peanuts by himself and perhaps the peanuts had gone bad because after eating one, his eyes became a little red.
He exhaled slowly, "You cleared yourself of suspicion by killing the monk and then pretended to be him, right?"
The face full of wrinkles with greenish-purple spider veins and bloodshot eyes was Granny Chun Zhi's.
Her eyes were tinged with confusion, "Who are you? You're not Xiao Fei?"
Ren Yifei sucked in sharply through his nose, turned his head and rubbed his face on his sleeve, leaving two faint water stains before smiling at her again, radiating with light like a carefree youth, "Grandma, I remember, you had grabbed a handful of candy for me during New Year."
Granny Chun Zhi suddenly became silent, the familiar face and familiar expression made her recall the sweet memories of the past. With her children and grandchildren around, she also felt that she had not lived her life in vain, even her back was bent from carrying all the happiness she received.
"You've cleared this level," she said, "The game is over."
Don't cry, there's nothing to be sad about, she had been dead for so long, even her children and grandchildren were dead.
As she spoke, the hideous face at the time of her death slowly turned into the face of an ordinary old woman with tenderness carried in the lines of her face and eyes.
"Grandma, how much time is left?"
Granny Chun Zhi never thought that she would talk to a player in such a calm manner, she hadn't even noticed the loving expression she gave when looking at Ren Yifei, "A quarter of an hour."
"That would be enough."
When it came to acting, if the director doesn't say stop, the play must not stop.
There was still a quarter of an hour to the play so he was still A Fei for that quarter of an hour.
Although A Fei was a lazy person, he was a filial child who respected his elders.
His soul was like the blazing sun; white was white and black was black, he does not know about 'resigning to fate', he does not know about 'conforming to norms'.
"It's been dark for too long and there's no daylight."
Ren Yifei stood up and rolled up his sleeves as he walked, "Grandma, look at this mourning hall, people do not look like people while ghosts do not look like ghosts. The scriptures chanted are used to repress you, the clan's ceremony is also repressing you, it feels really bitter. I can lift it for you."
Granny Chun Zhi froze as her eyes widened, she stared at his back as he approached the coffin.
Cloth shoes strode across the floor yet it sounded like metal being struck, and swords being drawn.
Even the 'lamp trimmer', who had felt that something was wrong and was observing them, froze, the oil pot in his hand poured sesame oil onto the ground.
This kid, what is he trying to do?