Recalling the host's carefree demeanor as he left the Tianyi Gua Haunted Mansion this morning, the contrast to his current fury was stark. Back then, the fortune teller probably thought that simply having the child appear before him would solve all his problems.
But what he didn't expect was that all the senior high school students had a firm belief: my destiny is in my own hands.
The root cause of the tragedy is that the invigilator helps the ignorant students to cheat.
After realizing this, Suhl didn't put all the blame on himself, and he felt much better. He didn't give up easily, but ran to the kitchen to have someone boil a few eggs, and brought them back to the child, trying to start a new round of love education.
After saying "My father Sur" for the second time and not getting the egg, the child began to clap his hands angrily, and did not stop until his palms turned red.
"Forget it." Ji Heng said lightly behind him.
Su Er was also worried that if he continued to push the child, it might backfire and turn him evil prematurely, so he gave the egg to the child and got up and left the sad place.
The child didn't know how to control his strength when hitting the snake, and several scales of the snake were scratched off. Now it followed behind Sur with a wronged look on its face, and the scary human face that was about to take shape was drooping.
It wilted and didn't ask for blood, which saved Suer a lot of trouble.
The fresh air blows away some of the depression.
The mansion's scenery emphasized luxury rather than harmony. Every few steps offered a lavishly crafted spectacle, like a small waterfall in the backyard. Water splashed down, drizzling onto the serpent, whose mottled hide trembled, seemingly enjoying the experience.
Soul put the child's affairs aside for the moment: "Where to go now?"
"Looking for Wei Jun." Ji Heng stopped and said, "According to the fortune teller's prediction, Wei Jun might drown after midnight tonight."
After Wei Jun, it was Cao Ledao.
Relying solely on the flower snake will definitely not prevent the fate of death.
After knocking on the door for a long time without receiving any response, he pushed it open and went inside. The room was empty. He asked the servants, but they all said they had not seen Wei Jun leave.
Soul: "Missing?"
Ji Heng: "Not necessarily."
Less than an hour had passed since the players separated, and Wei Jun might have other plans and was busy with other things.
The two of them sat in the house waiting for a while, during which time Su Er suddenly had an idea: "If fate is absolute, then before the predetermined fate comes, no matter what dangerous things we do, we will not die?"
Of course, he also knew that this idea was unrealistic. According to the Tianyi Gua, if Li Li was a step slower, he might be bitten to death by the snake.
Ji Heng shook his head: "The prophecy given by the divine fortune teller refers to a doomed disaster, which means that all the difficulties encountered before this will have a glimmer of hope."
Whether you can grasp it depends on the individual.
Su Er's eyes moved: "So the time of death is not absolute?"
Ji Heng nodded. "It's like when White Fox was among the players on the first night. If they weren't careful, it would be normal for the whole team to be wiped out or even lose a few people."
There is still a chance for them, but Li Tian, who was criticized as "dying in misery and having no place to be buried", is doomed to die.
"No wonder..." Suer murmured in a low voice. He was originally quite curious why no one tried to start from the time of death.
Ji Heng suddenly laughed and said, "Time is the biggest scam in the game."
Su Er hummed doubtfully.
Ji Heng stood up and walked to the window. "In the dungeon we went to before, the host said the voting would be on the sixth day, so the players subconsciously limited their thinking to the dilemma of having to survive six days."
Even veterans like Wan Yi and Shen Jiangbei didn't react.
Su Er could feel that Ji Heng was subtly instilling theories into him, but it was like solving a problem. He only knew the formula but had no actual practice. If he really encountered it, it would be difficult for him to react for a while.
Ji Heng saw what he was thinking: "You're only on your fourth copy, take your time."
Suer began to daydream: "Maybe one day I can collect twenty-four achievement points in a dungeon and quit the game directly?"
Ji Heng sneered: "Unless all the hosts ascend to heaven."
"…"
The sound of chaotic footsteps interrupted their conversation. Wei Jun stumbled in, his dazed eyes narrowing slightly when he saw them. "Come to see me?"
Ji Heng pulled a towel off the shelf and threw it over: "What else?"
Wei Jun wiped the water off his clothes and breathed a sigh of relief.
Suer asked someone to bring in a pot of hot tea, and waited until he had recovered enough before asking what had happened.
The bronze mirror reflected the flower snake following behind him, and Wei Jun's expression changed slightly: "I passed by the pond and vaguely saw an extra shadow in it."
Soul: "And you leaned over to take a look?"
Wei Jun: "Of course I'll run as far as I can."
"…"
Wei Jun: "I quickly ran in the opposite direction, but the snake tripped me and hit my knee, and I was dragged towards the pond."
This is not about warding off disaster, it is clearly about taking lives.
"This is normal." Ji Heng didn't say much to comfort her.
Wei Jun raised his eyebrows and listened to him: "Do you think a snake can really guarantee that everyone survives to the end?"
After a few seconds of silence, Wei Jun's eyes showed some thought: "That's right."
Su Er kept staring at the flower snake, and from a few steps away he couldn't help but say, "Look, doesn't this human face look a bit like you?"
Normal people would instinctively be afraid of a strange snake. Wei Jun hadn't usually paid much attention to it, but after hearing what he said, he began to observe it carefully. The outline of the snake's face, which was almost human-like, was indeed developing in a familiar direction, especially the small black spot above its left eye socket, which was exactly the same position as his own mole.
Young people are full of imagination. Suer boldly speculated: "If we feed it flesh and blood every day, will the snake accumulate enough power after a certain period of time and devour humans to survive us? But if that happens, will we still be alive?"
"That depends on how you define life and death," Wei Jun said solemnly, "Perhaps he can still retain some consciousness, which would still count as being alive."
Everything was just speculation at the moment. Ji Heng said to Su Er, "You go back first. I'll stay tonight."
It seems that he is ready to face the crisis at night with Wei Jun.
His strength was pitifully low, and his charm could only be used for support. If they were in real danger, Ji Heng would have to devote his attention to rescuing them. Su Er reassessed his own worth, gave up on trying to show off, and obediently returned to his room.
The period before night fell seemed particularly long due to having nothing to do. Su Er lay in bed for a while, not daring to sleep too deeply, as he was worried about the flower snake, which would wake him up every few minutes.
A gust of wind blew open the window, and the wind that blew in carried a salty smell of mud. When he smelled it again, there was a faint smell of smoke. Sul frowned, not knowing what he was thinking.
·
This salty and fishy smell is not only in Su'er, but also permeates Wei Jun's room, even far more than other places.
The colorful snake following beside him was enjoying it very much. It crawled to the window and stretched out a part of its body to feel it carefully.
The moon tonight is exceptionally bright, pouring in and slowly flowing across the ground.
Wait, flowing?
Wei Jun's pupils shrank as he watched the cold moonlight entwine layer by layer, piling up thicker and thicker. He felt like he was in a sink and someone was pouring water into it with a pipe.
Wei Jun took out a talisman and stuck it on the ground. As soon as he let go, the talisman suddenly floated to his knees, and below his knees was all condensed moonlight.
Finding it useless, he sighed regretfully and looked at Ji Heng who was standing by the window.
The window was half-open. Ji Heng stretched out his hand, but was blocked by something invisible. On the contrary, the snake moved in and out without any hindrance. He turned around and tested the white fox again. Amid Su Mei's yelling and cursing, he tried to throw the white fox out of the window, but failed.
It seemed as if a transparent film was condensed in the air, forming an obstacle and preventing entry and exit.
Now even the white fox started to get anxious and started scratching around with its claws.
While Wei Jun was trying to find a way out, he joked, "I'm going to drown in the moonlight instead of dying at the hands of a ghost?"
It sounds quite romantic.
"Who says there are no ghosts?"
Ji Heng stood still and punched the invisible barrier. The moonlight accumulated under his feet shook slightly.
Wei Jun could faintly hear a hissing sound. Ji Heng's punch had clearly injured something, and the fishy smell in the air became even stronger. In just a blink of an eye, the real scene appeared before him.
In the faint light, there were tiny snake shadows everywhere, densely packed together to form a thick barrier wall.
Su Mei screamed and jumped onto the table, trembling.
"Don't bow your head."
Ji Heng's warning was too late; Wei Jun had already glanced down... Transparent water snakes slithered beneath his feet, each one sporting a human face, its murky, vertical pupils fixed on them. Wei Jun reflexively kicked, easily sending the snakes flying. But as the moonlight gradually faded, each step became more difficult.
Wei Jun took action directly. The snakes were easy to kill, but unfortunately, after killing one, several more would soon appear under the moonlight.
"Is there any way to get out?" Wei Jun asked, tilting his head.
Ji Heng nodded: "Yes, but there is a price to pay."
Despite what he said, he had no intention of risking his life to escape. Wei Jun guessed that he was probably still thinking of another way to escape. Seeing that the water level was about to reach his waist, he couldn't help but say:
"discipline..."
Ji Heng waved his hand to interrupt him, made a gesture to silence him, and indicated that he should look in the direction of the door.
The barrier there seemed unstable, swaying unsteadily. Intermittent sounds could be heard, probably coming from outside the door.
"It's Su'er." Ji Heng walked over and said, "If we attack at the same time, the three of us might be able to make a breakthrough with our combined strength."
Sur stood just outside the door, unable to see anything from his angle. He tried to inhale a breath of Yin Qi, but nearly died from the suffocation. After careful consideration, he reached into his pocket and used the electric shock device through the fabric.
Finally, the door that seemed to be welded shut loosened slightly. Before Sur could kick it open, the flower snake behind him swung it's tail and knocked it into the house.
He bumped into someone's shoulder head-on and was caught by a pair of hands before he fell. With a 'click', the door behind him closed again.
Seeing that Su Er had stood firm, Ji Heng let go of his hand: "Are you okay?"
Suer nodded, sighed and looked at Wei Jun, finally understanding how the other party felt when he was attacked by a snake in broad daylight.
Wei Jun smiled bitterly and reminded: "Don't look around randomly, you'll get scared."
Even if Sur didn't look intently, the numerous snakes around him would have caught his eye. Actually, calling them snakes wasn't quite accurate; they were complete human faces, save for the vertical pupils.
Wei Jun frowned: "If we don't get out now, I'm afraid we will become one of those snake-bodied people with human faces."
Despite the cruel reality, Sur was very calm. He squatted down calmly and let the child off his back. It was because he was carrying the child that his center of gravity was unstable, which allowed the sneak attacking flower snake to succeed easily.
Wei Jun was so busy explaining the situation that he didn't even have time to ask, "Why did you bring him here?"
Su Er: "Hold the emperor hostage to control the princes."
"…"
Wei Jun didn't know the whole story, so Ji Heng said a few words.
He had a premonition that he was going to be drowned by the moonlight just now, but he was not surprised now. If everything was not connected, Wei Jun would definitely think that they were making up a story.
Su Er stared at the child who was happily rubbing the snake with his hands: "Since this child may become the future Ghost King, he should not die here easily."
In other words, the fortune teller would not watch him die.
"My father, Su'er..." The child opened his mouth wide and bit off the snake's tail in one bite. After finishing his meal, he said the rest of his sentence: "Everyone... is garbage."
Suer touched his head.
Ji Heng raised his eyebrows: "Occasionally, I'll switch to a different sheep."
If you only catch a lamb, no matter how fat it is, you will eventually pluck it bald.
"I am changing." Suer said seriously.
He had been using the Skeleton Ghost King before, but now he decided not to exploit Zhou Linjun anymore and not to drain the pond to catch fish.
Wei Jun, standing by, didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "But you're really good at thinking of bringing him here."
Picking up the child, Su Er shook his head and said, "I didn't expect it at first, but just now this naughty kid ran to my door and set fire in the middle of the night."
The child didn't understand their conversation, and he just smiled foolishly and wanted to jump in to catch the snake.
Suer smiled soothingly, carried him to the door and played with the snake.
Just looking at the picture, the interaction between the two sides is very warm.
Gazing at the backs of the two figures, one large and one small, Wei Jun couldn't help but sigh, "...what a loving father and filial son."