There were so many hosts, and it was obvious that Suer's actions had not yet reached the fortune teller.
The fortune teller released his hand and pretended to ponder deeply. After a moment, he said, "Indeed, there's no need for you to go. Why don't you stay here and wait for the results?"
It was hard to tell whether what he said was true or not, and Su Er couldn't see any clues on his face. But common sense told him that being left alone in the mountains overnight was one step closer to death, so he chose to follow the main group without hesitation.
The divine fortune teller never interfered too much with Suer's decision, and diligently gave him advice: "It gets dark early in the mountains, so everyone should hurry on their way."
He himself did not follow, but waved his sleeves at the player's back.
The stairs, weathered by the sun and rain, had many cracks. To avoid twisting their ankles, the players kept their heads down and walked cautiously. Once they had walked a sufficient distance, Wei Jun slowly spoke, "Something's wrong."
Generally speaking, the host is responsible for informing the players of the conditions for passing the level, and then lets the players fend for themselves. Occasionally, when he becomes interested, he will secretly add fuel to the fire.
The fortune teller was different from most of the hosts they had met, and even seemed like a major participant in the game.
"Be careful." Ji Heng said calmly, "Don't forget the main purpose."
Wei Jun closed his eyes and instructed everyone: "To the best of your ability, first ensure Su'er's survival."
Seeing the different expressions on the faces of the people around him, Suer felt a little uncomfortable when his name was suddenly called.
Wei Jun said bluntly: "You have the highest charm value, far exceeding others, which will be a good breakthrough point."
Sur suddenly admired these players, who risked their lives again and again in order to seize the initiative in the confrontation with ghosts.
"Ahem."
The short man named Cao Ledao, who was a few steps behind him, saw the admiration on Su Er's face and coughed awkwardly: "Not as great as you think."
Su Er was stunned.
Cao Ledao smiled bitterly, "I'm not very capable, so something bad will happen to me in the game sooner or later. The team's condition is that as long as I complete this dungeon, whether I live or die, they will give my family some money."
Several people had similar reasons.
Wei Jun confirmed this statement: "Several major organizations each sent a member. The premise of cooperation is that if any of us escapes alive, we must inform them of all our findings."
Suer couldn't help but look at Ji Heng. Why hadn't he heard about the team providing benefits before he came?
Ji Heng said calmly: "There are few people returning to the grave, whoever has time can come."
"…"
It turns out that the elite route is not easy to take.
Climbing the stairs was strenuous, and halfway up, the sky suddenly became overcast and a steady drizzle began. This made the climb even more difficult, and no one dared to stop to rest, hoping to conserve energy. Someone, finding a way to be humorous, joked, "My legs are sore. I'm afraid I'll run into something so filthy that I can't even run."
"Look!" At this moment, Cao Ledao stood on a nearby rock and looked up with some surprise: "We're almost there!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two or three people stood on tiptoe to look, and indeed they saw the outline of the temple faintly visible in the mist shrouded in rain.
With a goal in mind, everyone subconsciously quickened their pace and climbed to the top of the mountain in one go. When we actually stood in front of the temple gate, we were speechless.
"This temple..." Su Er pondered for a moment: "Isn't it a little dilapidated?"
One sentence expresses everyone's thoughts.
According to the fortune teller, this was a place where fate could be changed, so they subconsciously believed it would be a majestic temple. However, they didn't know that the small, dilapidated temple before them had not been repaired in many years. It was surrounded by weeds, and the wind blew, causing the old wooden door to sway back and forth, making a creaking sound.
It was getting dark and the wind was about to get stronger. For them, even though they knew there was something wrong with the temple in front of them, the only way was to go in and take a look.
Cao Le said: "Does anyone want to go to the bathroom?"
It is best to resolve physiological problems before dark. No one will risk going out to relieve themselves for the rest of the night.
"Just bear with it." Wei Jun stopped him: "There's probably a lot of dirt in this mountain."
A few people nodded in agreement. Cao Ledao's spiritual power was too low to sense it, but they could feel it... From time to time, a cold air would invade from the forest ahead.
Nothing is more important than life, so Cao Ledao finally chose to go into the temple together.
The wind grew stronger, and the player near the door closed it and moved forward a little.
Knock knock!
The strong wind hit the door, like an uninvited guest was banging on it.
Ji Heng walked around observing everything inside the temple, while Su Er stood not far from him, observing it carefully. Perhaps due to his inexperience, he could not see anything except that the spider webs on the roof were a bit dirty.
Ji Heng caught Su Er's expression from the corner of his eye and raised his hand: "Look over there, there's a ghost."
Su Er felt that he was teasing him like a child and curled his lips slightly.
Wei Jun on the side couldn't help but look at Ji Heng, as he couldn't imagine that this guy could be so childish.
Ji Heng: "I'm serious."
Su Er hesitated for a moment, then looked in the direction of his finger and found that there was someone there. He was wearing a square scarf and had pale lips. His attire showed that he looked a bit down and out.
The sudden appearance of the figure scared everyone!
Cao Ledao had been holding back from going to the toilet, and now that he was closest to it, he was so scared that he almost became incontinent and took several steps back.
The scholar seemed to be unable to see them. He walked around in place with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself.
"Hello."
The player who initiated the conversation was a female player named Song Jiayue. She didn't want to be the first to speak up, but she was helpless because the fortune teller had predicted that she would die a violent death on a certain night. Who knew if 'some night' would be tonight? So she could only do her utmost to gather information and change the fate set by the dungeon.
The scholar ignored her at first, immersed in his own world, but after a while he suddenly came closer, startling Song Jiayue so much that her breathing quickened.
"Can fate be changed?"
Song Jiayue didn't dare to give a definite answer and only said, "I need some time to think about it."
The scholar pushed her away with such great force that the people behind her had no time to help her. Song Jiayue fell heavily on her back against the wall. She groaned, covering her numb shoulder, and did not dare to scream.
Su Er didn't know what his luck was. Although he was the farthest away, he could only watch the scholar walking towards him quickly.
"Can fate be changed?"
The scholar's tone was even more irritable than before, and his long gown rustled as he walked.
If you don't understand, just ask back, Su Er: "What do you think?"
The scholar stared at him intently for a long while, then suddenly turned his gaze to the others, his eyes full of contempt: "None of them have a good life!"
It was at this time that Ji Heng spoke: "We came here specifically to find a way to change our fate."
The scholar rolled his eyes and agreed immediately: "Yes!"
The crisp answer made people feel uneasy.
"But I have to do one thing first." As there's no such thing as a free lunch, the scholar quickly laid out his conditions: "There's a white fox-incarnated monster in the dense forest. You must help me kill it first."
Su Er: "Do you have a grudge against the white fox?"
As soon as I asked the question, the air around me suddenly turned cold.
The scholar was filled with indignation. "A fortuneteller said I would die from the Peach Blossom curse at the age of twenty. To avoid it, I've never had much contact with women since I was a child. But the white fox was cunning. It disguised itself as a man and went with me on the imperial examination. Halfway through, it tricked me into removing my protective jade pendant and ended up killing me!"
Sur: "You also said that the white fox is cunning. If we fail to kill it..."
The scholar sneered and kicked aside the weeds on the ground. A faint white mass could be seen, the remains of a human or an animal. There was a raised part in the middle, and Su Er took a closer look and confirmed that it was a human head.
I used to sympathize with the scholar's situation, but now I realize again that ghosts are ghosts, and it is a taboo to abuse compassion for them in the copy.
The scholar said sinisterly, "If the white fox doesn't die before daybreak, then you will die."
Leaning against the wall, Song Jiayue was sure her shoulder was bruised. Enduring the pain, she asked, "Does the white fox have any weaknesses?"
The scholar said, "Of course, it's afraid of my blessed jade pendant." His anger returned, "If I hadn't trusted the demon and taken off the jade pendant, it wouldn't have been able to harm me!"
Song Jiayue quickly asked, "Where is the jade pendant?"
The scholar waved his hand impatiently: "It probably fell in the woods."
The forest area is so vast. This sentence was said vaguely, obviously not wanting to tell the truth. The scholar wanted revenge on one hand and wanted to kill on the other. Now, the latter had the upper hand.
The initiative is not in the hands of the players, and letting it go is the only thing they can do now.
Several people who were predicted to die first joined together and prepared to search nearby.
Ji Heng's reputation spread widely among the players. Before setting off, Song Jiayue looked at him and said, "If you can come with us, the things will be yours if we find them."
It sounds like this jade pendant is very likely to be a prop.
After she finished speaking, she felt very nervous, wondering whether the props could tempt Ji Heng enough to make him go out and take risks.
Ji Heng didn't answer immediately. In her uneasiness, she glanced at the sky outside. Seeing that the rain was gradually easing, she slowly said, "I'll be back in half an hour if you can't find me."
Su Erben wanted to go, but Ji Heng shook his head slightly at him, suggesting that he stay here.
Being in a temple with ghosts is definitely not a pleasant experience. The temple is damp and cold. Fortunately, there are still six people left, so they are not too scared.
The scholar began to pace and talk to himself again, and the player did not dare to communicate too much for fear of attracting his attention.
The days passed like years, and finally, sounds were heard from outside. Wei Jun had sharp eyes, and he saw something and hurried to the door to help carry a player into the temple.
"Cao Ledao?" Su Er walked over, gathered some weeds together to prevent moisture, and let him lie on them. "How did it get like this?"
From the outside, there was no visible injury at all, but Cao Ledao was visibly thinner than before, and his fighting strength had dropped by more than half.
Song Jiayue shook her head: "There was fog in the dense forest, and when the fog cleared, the man fell down."
I'm afraid the white fox saw that they were outnumbered and chose to attack them separately.
Ji Heng groaned, "It's not easy to deal with him since we can't see his true form."
"A bunch of trash." The scholar gloated, but his tone was vicious: "I don't take in trash here."
He pointed his slender finger at the unconscious Cao Le and said, "Throw him out!"
Song Jiayue: "This is different from what we said before. We will definitely find another way to go before dawn..."
The scholar interrupted her: "Either throw him out, or you get out with him."
It is unreasonable for a ghost to want to kill a person.
Song Jiayue's own strength had already reached critical mass, but it was far from enough to deal with the scholar. She then turned her attention to Ji Heng and Wei Jun, who nodded slightly. The next second, they attacked simultaneously with her.
In the Wudu dungeon, Su Er had personally witnessed Ji Heng slay a tongue-pulling ghost. This scholar was clearly much more difficult to deal with, and even with the combined strength of three people, he could still persist in a grappling match.
Ji Heng glanced at Su Er midway and said, "Let's try to extend the time. You seize the opportunity."
The scholar was enraged when he saw that he still had time to talk, and almost all his attacks were directed at Ji Heng alone.
Suer quickly understood what Ji Heng meant. Now was a good time to experiment with how to use charm.
The ghosts became braver as the battle went on, but human physical strength was limited. As the timeline stretched out, Ji Heng and the others fell into a disadvantage.
"Two minutes at most." Wei Jun growled.
Su Er calmed down, but he couldn't think of anything no matter how hard he tried. He was unwilling to leave with nothing, so he tried to take the risk and get closer to see if he would have any other feelings.
"One minute!" Wei Jun said, "Those who are weak should stand by the door. If things go wrong, run to the dense forest."
There were white foxes in the dense forest, so the scholar probably wouldn't dare approach them, otherwise he wouldn't have encouraged them to seek revenge. However, that place was also a den of wolves and dragons, so whether he could survive depended on his luck.
Only Su Er kept staring at the scholar as he kept approaching, and found that once he had the intention to kill him, there seemed to be a power clamoring in his blood.
Su Er tried to swing his fist, but it didn't cause any damage. Suddenly, Gou Bao Pu's smiling round face appeared in his mind, and Su Er took another small step forward.
It was very cold around the scholar, so cold that it bit him to the bone.
The cold didn't stop his brain from thinking. The scene of the transaction with Gou Baopu replayed itself in his mind. He vaguely remembered that when he bought the red paper, he said that he was satisfied with the Yin energy on it. Su Er's eyes instantly shone brightly, and he shouted, "Help me hold it down! I want to absorb it!"
Song Jiayue was frightened by the content of the voice and almost got seriously injured.
He gritted his teeth and insisted on cooperating with Ji Heng and Wei Jun's actions to force the scholar into the corner.
Ji Heng glanced at the other two and said, "Use props."
Song Jiayue took out a talisman. She only had two props in total, and her heart was bleeding at the moment. Wei Jun pulled off the small peach wood sword from his neck. As for Ji Heng, he also used a talisman.
Only with the combined use of the three props could the scholar be immobilized for a moment.
Sur rushed over without hesitation, followed his inner thoughts, and took a deep breath from a distance of one foot.
This breath was extremely prolonged, which was simply beyond the capability of human lung capacity.
The scholar felt the Yin energy in his body continuously draining away, and the skin on his face gradually shriveled up, like a tree forcibly pulled out of the soil, its vitality fading. He couldn't help but tremble and said, "Shut up..."
At this moment, he recalled the fear of being sucked dry by the vixen that day!