Just in case, Sur did not step into the room and waited quietly outside.
I don't know how long it took, but the little clay figurines came out in a line.
After counting back and forth three times to confirm that the number had not changed, Su Er looked puzzled: "Not a single one was chosen?"
So what does the Statue of Liberty like?
Ji Heng took a more comprehensive view: "Ordinary ghosts are also quite cruel to their own kind."
Killing their own kind to absorb negative energy is their normal operation.
The fact that the clay figurine came out completely intact indirectly proves that the thing sealed in the incense burner cannot strengthen itself through the method of raising Gu.
"It's a man-eating ghost," Ji Heng said solemnly, warning, "Don't provoke it again unless you're absolutely sure."
Soul nodded.
·
There were countless ghosts in the Xu family's house. Suer asked the little man to hide under the bed and not come out without his order.
As long as they were out of sight, the villain wasn't completely under control. Soul knew this, and he added to the dull faces, "Anyone looking for death, run outside. There's a pervert living here. If you're discovered, they'll disfigure you before killing you."
Fortunately, the villains in Su'er all have a certain pursuit of beauty, and a few of those who had bad ideas gave up their thoughts for the time being.
After scanning them one by one and confirming that Ni Ren would not have any other intentions in the short term, Suer pulled the bed sheet out a little with satisfaction and discussed the next plan with Ji Heng.
Less than a minute into the conversation, there was a knock on the door.
Xia Zhi stood outside the door, her long hair loose: "Do you have any scissors in your room?"
Su Er glanced at her, and they both reached a tacit understanding.
"I'll look for it."
After saying that, he really started searching in the house.
Xia Zhi leaned against the door frame and said casually, "Xiao Cui asked me to help her cut paper."
"Why aren't you resting so late?" Suer found a pair of scissors in the drawer and handed it over.
"She said she wanted to cut some happy characters and beautiful patterns to use when decorating her wedding room." Xia Zhi revealed her true purpose: "Why don't we go together?"
Su Er glanced at Ji Heng, who nodded slightly: "It's okay to go and take a look."
A small lamp flickered in the dark night. Xiao Cui sat alone on a stone bench in the yard, with several pieces of red paper on the table.
Seeing them coming, I was slightly stunned.
Su Er took the initiative to explain: "I am very interested in the art of paper cutting, so I came here to observe."
Xiao Cui showed a look of realization and modestly said that her craftsmanship was just average.
Suer carefully picked up one. The cut-out pattern was a jar covered with dense patterns. Looking closely under the light, it looked like half a human head.
A good paper-cutting master can achieve the effect of "breaking the lotus roots and connecting the threads", and can construct complex content with lines as thin as a hair. Xiao Cui's paper-cutting skills are not inferior at all. After the content of the pattern is recognized, the moment when the human head desperately tries to get out of the jar makes people feel extremely real.
"Isn't it unlucky to put this up?"
Xiao Cui was busy with her work. "It's just a humorous paper-cut. Sharp and exaggerated styles are popular out there right now."
She was able to complete the delicate work very quickly, and soon all the paper on the table was used up.
Xiao Cui stood up: "I'll go get some more."
She was away for a long time, and Xia Zhi was glad that she had called Suer and Ji Heng in advance. Otherwise, staying here alone, guarding a table full of paper cuttings in the dead of night, would be a great mental torture.
Twenty minutes later, Xiao Cui came back and muttered that the paper had been gnawed by mice, forcing her to cut a lot more.
A few of them chatted for a while.
After a while, Su Er discovered that Xiao Cui's conversation was more like fishing, and she only put out a little bait at a time. She always mentioned Xu He casually, and when it came to the key point, she would cleverly change the subject.
Su Er only liked being a fisherman and had no mood to be a fat fish. He yawned and pretended to be very sleepy: "I'm going to sleep first."
A scream interrupted the next action.
Not only they were startled, but others as well. The head of the Governance Bureau who was close to the source of the sound was the first to arrive, and lights were lit in the distance.
Ji Heng explored the terrain of Xu's house in the afternoon and knew the location of the accident at a glance.
He met Soul's gaze and whispered, "Go to the kitchen."
The Xu family's kitchen was not very big. When Suer and the others arrived, the small door was crowded with people inside and outside, and two of them were holding onto a big tree and retching.
Su Er frowned and squeezed through the crowd of onlookers with ugly faces.
The exaggerated bloodstains made it difficult to identify the deceased. The person was soaking in the tank, with half of his head exposed. Most of the white of his eyes was visible, like a drowning person, desperately trying to breathe in air, but ultimately died in the irresistible waves.
What was even more terrifying was that he was shedding two lines of blood and tears, but his expression was smiling.
The cause of death is exactly the same as that paper-cut!
"It's Xiao Zhang!" someone shouted.
Although he didn't know who Xiao Zhang was, Suer looked around and confirmed that the player and the two Xu brothers were there. The deceased could only be someone from the Governance Bureau.
After all, having handled a few homicide cases in his youth, the head of the Justice Bureau was one of the few who could maintain composure. He took a deep breath and approached, sighing as he unexpectedly discovered something in the deceased's mouth... a paper cutting.
Because the deceased had been pursing his lips, half of his lips were stained red, forming a strong contrast with his pale face.
The person in charge carefully unfolded the folded paper, which was easily damaged by saliva. At first glance, it was a Hanged Man. However, a closer look revealed many differences. This little man was much bloodier.
Its limbs bore some mottled marks, like burn marks from a fire, but paper-cutting, with its limitations, made it difficult to determine. The Hanged Man's face was easy to discern, however. The person in charge turned and looked at Xia Zhi, who looked stunned.
Death notice.
These four words suddenly rose in the hearts of many people.
Could it be that the next person to die will be Xia Zhi?
The stamp ghost saw Xia Zhi's pupils shrink suddenly and sneered, "You're not really going to die, what are you afraid of?"
Xia Zhi clenched his fists. Even though the stamp ghost repeatedly emphasized that death in the illusion would not affect the real world, who could completely believe the words of a ghost when it came to a matter of life and death?
Even if we take a step back, the death of the hanged man in the paper-cut is so painful. If you really experience it, what's the difference between that and losing half your life?
He couldn't help but look at the players present, trying to persuade them to work together to deal with the stamp ghost and leave the illusion.
However, Wang Sansi deliberately avoided meeting her gaze, and Ji Heng didn't even spare her a glance, clearly choosing to stay and investigate. As for Su Er… the latter's focus wasn't on the deceased, but on Xu He's fiancée.
At this moment, Suer simply wanted to know how Xiao Cui would explain herself. After all, the corpse in the jar was exactly the same as her paper-cut.
As they looked at each other, Xiao Cui suddenly covered her chest and fell towards Xu He steadily and fiercely, looking frightened.
Xu He quickly picked up his 'fainted' fiancée and carried her back to the house.
"…"
Sur curled his lips. It seemed that the suspect didn't even want to explain.
"Not good, a feint to the east and an attack in the west!" The person in charge suddenly changed his expression and growled. He hurriedly pulled Xu He, who had just returned from sending Xiao Cui, and said, "Go and see if the incense burner is still there."
A group of people hurried towards the room where the incense burner was stored. Wang Sansi was about to follow them, but when he saw that Suer and others were there, he gave up the idea.
"The person in charge is brilliant." Su Er glanced at the corpse: "He still thought of the incense burner at this time."
"The people here have a morbid obsession with the free town." As a family mediator, Wang Sansi frequently interacts with the townspeople and is very familiar with their ideological trends.
"...There are too many uncertainties right now. Wouldn't it be safer for us to leave the illusion?"
After hesitating for a long time, Xia Zhi finally said this.
Sur remained silent.
Seeing that no one spoke, Ji Heng directly pointed out: "Time cannot be wasted."
I have been in the illusion for most of the day. Only a crazy person would leave without gaining anything.
Wang Sansi shared the same idea, playing the role of the good guy and subtly comforting Xia Zhi: "If we don't complete the mission within seven days, we'll all die. We've come all this way... it wouldn't be good to return empty-handed."
Xia Zhi's expression changed constantly, and he finally left without saying a word.
The kitchen was filled with the smell of blood. Ji Heng seemed to be preparing to check the scene. Wang Sansi had no intention of staying any longer and walked to an open area outside to get some fresh air.
"Props." Ji Heng suddenly turned sideways and said to Suer.
After reacting for two seconds, Su Yan took out the little girl's milk teeth. According to the previous identification results, this was a growth item that required blood sucking to use.
When the milk tooth came into contact with the blood, it immediately started to absorb it crazily. Fortunately, it was like a glutton with big eyes and a small belly. It stopped absorbing after absorbing half a bowl of blood.
Su Er breathed a sigh of relief. If the baby teeth drained all the blood at once, he would really have to consider whether he could continue to carry this thing with him.
Ji Heng looked at the corpse scrutinizingly and suddenly said, "The more you try to hide something, the more obvious it becomes."
Su Er bent down to pick up the baby tooth and nodded. "Xiao Cui deliberately cut the paper in front of us and left in the middle of it, as if to declare that she was the murderer."
Xiang Xiang added, "And the piece of paper in the deceased's mouth, cut in a horrific and bloody way, is meant to put psychological pressure on Xia Zhi."
It is impossible to leave the illusion by one person alone, and it is inevitable that you will feel alienated from them when you cannot ask for help.
"Sowing discord won't have much of an impact." Ji Heng smiled and asked, "If we think from Xia Zhi's perspective, what will she do next?"
Su Er lowered his head to think, and after a moment he sighed, "Kill Xiao Cui."
Since she was going to die anyway, she might as well try her luck and solve the problem from the root. Especially since Xiao Cui's every move was suspicious, even if there was an element of intentionality, she was definitely not unrelated.
"There's only one question left now," Ji Heng's only hint of a smile disappeared in an instant: "Why did Xiao Cui induce Xia Zhi to kill her?"
Just as Suer was about to respond, his head suddenly tilted to the side, and the stamp ghost outside the window was staring at him motionlessly.
"Someone sent me a message," the Stamp Ghost repeated word for word, "that you were too slow to react. They had already warned me with a limerick."
Su Er recalled the content: "You laugh and I cry, shutting the door dog?"
The stamp ghost was only responsible for delivering the message: "Dogs are very sensitive, so they must be locked up in a place where they cannot escape."
After he left, Su Er's eyes flickered. "The first half of the sentence corresponds to the victim's state at death. As for the second part... the loyal gravekeeper compared me to a dog, and we are now in the illusion of a coffin."
It's not like a reminder, but more of an irony.
"Not bad." Ji Heng said calmly, "Not only can he avoid contact with you, but he can also set a trap in the dark."
Very good at budgeting.
At this moment, the stamp ghost suddenly returned and said, "I forgot to mention one more thing. He said the dog's leash is in his hand. If you follow him, there's still a chance of survival."
The implication is that you should not go against the host's will easily, and begging for mercy is the only way to survive.
Su Er was silent for a long time, then slowly said, "Don't be too showy."
The saying that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind has been said so many times, but it is still worth learning from.
"The loyal tomb-keeper and the gentleman named Rose have a conflict. My plan is to make them friends so that I can escape."
I have been quite restrained, but now the other party is just being aggressive.
Ji Heng acted as a listener and listened to him quietly.
Sur: "Before leaving the dungeon, I signed a treaty with the loyal tomb-keeper."
Ji Heng nodded, indicating that he remembered it.
According to the agreement, one hundred tears of ghosts or monsters must be collected within one year, and the loyal tomb guardian will help remove the eyeball from the body.
Sur took out the bottle and shook it gently in the moonlight.
"The loyal tombkeeper clearly promised that the ghost's tears in the bottle wouldn't evaporate," he said, his eyes brimming with smile. "I did a reverse experiment and found that human tears wouldn't evaporate. But that's perfectly normal; it effectively prevents counterfeit goods from being mixed in."
"But think about it from another angle. Isn't this bottle the best ghost detection device? As long as you can make the person cry, you can know whether it is a human or a ghost."
Suer walked to the basket and picked up the unused onions. "There are so many ways to make people cry, like this onion."
"The game forcibly blocked the Charm value and the eye, just to prevent players from distinguishing who is human and who is ghost here. But the loyal gravekeeper gave me a bottle that can identify ghosts before I left the dungeon. What does this mean?"
Ji Heng raised his eyebrows, roughly guessing what would happen next.
"This shows he's been harboring rebellious intentions for a long time, wanting to go against the game!" Su Er said righteously. "If this isn't enough proof, then the line 'You laugh, I cry, shut the door on the dog' is irrefutable evidence. The host is reminding me to use tears to distinguish between ghosts and humans."
Ji Heng, who was in the same camp, couldn't help but be surprised by this ability to argue unreasonably. The original intention of the loyal tomb-keeper was just to use this sentence to ridicule Su Er as a dog, but it was forcibly interpreted as the examiner revealing the question.
"Not only that, the loyal tomb-keepers often trade tears with players under the pretext of collecting them, and every time they do, they have to give away the bottle. This is misappropriation of public funds, using game props for personal gain, and even going against the will of the dungeon to easily hand over the ghost identification artifact to the players!"
"He exploited his position to illegally profit and repeatedly infringed upon the game's ownership rights. He possesses subjective characteristics and shows no remorse!"
"Yugi, can you hear me?"
"He's the most shameless middleman in history, fleecing both the game and the players!"
"I! Su Er! To protect the interests of the game, I hereby report the host's loyal tomb-guarding servant by real name!"