Wandering around in a cemetery at night, the slightest movement can make one's hair stand on end.
The cemetery keeper was sleeping soundly in the house and could not hear the several wild cats making noise outside.
This area wasn't a basin, but a steep slope, the highest point reaching over ten meters. The path was difficult to walk on, with weeds growing wildly between the cracks of the piled rocks. Suer had to be careful not to step on the graves with every step, which was quite time-consuming.
Once you reach the high ground, your view will be much wider.
There was an inconspicuous bungalow in the distance, and Suer guessed that it was Xu He's secret base.
Xu He and Wang Sansi shared a common trait: a suspicious nature. While it was unclear what had happened to cause the object sealed in the incense burner to shift locations, assuming they knew about it or were even the instigator, they would have transplanted the Poison King to a nearby location.
The mission of a drug detection dog in life is to detect drugs, and even after death it may unconsciously move towards the location of the drug lord.
Just as Sur was thinking about where to investigate, the surrounding trees suddenly began to shake unnaturally. Before his brain could analyze what was happening, his body reacted first and dodged behind a large stone tablet.
The game blocks the Charm skill, making it impossible for players to distinguish between humans and ghosts. This restriction seems to work both ways, as ghosts are not as sensitive to human magnetism as they are in other dungeons.
The stamp ghost wandered among the graves and did not immediately notice Sul's presence.
It stopped at one place and released the Yin energy in its body. Some sleeping ghosts absorbed it unconsciously. Just when they started to enjoy it, the feeding was suddenly stopped. Some of them were forced to wake up because of resentment.
The stamp ghost was slightly disappointed after counting. Among the five ghosts that woke up, three were probably over a hundred years old before they died. They were hunched over and couldn't even possess people normally.
The only advantage is that they are slow-thinking and easy to control.
Stamp Ghost: "Listen to my instructions later. Two young men will be here soon. One is called Su Er, wearing a white T-shirt and long pants, and the other is called Ji Heng, who is unkempt."
Hearing the word "unkempt", Suer, who was hiding in the dark, almost laughed out loud.
When Ji Heng entered the dungeon, his clothes and hairstyle had changed due to the settings, and he didn't marry a rich woman like him, so he was still wearing that tattered gown.
Stamp Ghost: "Start preparing now, when they arrive..."
Behind the stone tablet, Sur's breathing quickened and he quickly pricked up his ears not to miss a single word, thinking that he had inadvertently uncovered a huge conspiracy against himself and Ji Heng.
"Sprinkle small flower petals and give gifts to create the illusion of a heaven-sent marriage."
"…"
Su Er couldn't help but straighten his stiff spine and think carefully about what he had heard. His expression suddenly changed... Could it be that after regaining his memory, the stamp ghost had gone mad?
The stamp ghost was still explaining the key points and indicating that he wanted to bribe people.
The more Su Er listened, the more surprised he became. His slightly heavier breathing was instantly caught. In the blink of an eye, the stamp ghost appeared behind the stone tablet where Su Er was hiding. It hung upside down and looked at him with its head lowered: "Are you eavesdropping?"
When their eyes met, Sur was not afraid at all, because ghosts and monsters had to follow the rules when killing people.
"I'm here to find a stamp." Su Er preemptively asked, "Why did you try every possible way to bring Ji Heng and I together from the very beginning?"
The stamp ghost thought for a while and prepared to make up a story.
He was all too familiar with the change in his demeanor before he started spouting nonsense. It was like looking in a mirror, unable to get the truth out of him. So Su Er simply interrupted, "How about cooperating? I don't know why you're doing this, but I can cooperate. In return, you tell me where I can find a stamp with a dog on it."
The Stamp Ghost thought carefully and felt that it could just do some superficial work. The new boss seemed to have a bad temper, and if it messed things up, it would probably be in trouble.
"The fact that you can find this place proves that your thinking is correct."
Even the host can't reveal the question, let alone a mere ghost.
The stamp ghost said very subtly: "Just don't forget that everything is relative."
Su Er understood immediately: "You mean we can think in reverse and try to lure it to find me."
"Bah, I didn't say that!" The stamp ghost retreated repeatedly, almost openly accusing the other person of harming ghosts.
Su Er was not one to burn bridges after crossing them, so he immediately added, "This is all the fruit of my personal wisdom."
The stamp ghost breathed a sigh of relief and deliberately looked in a certain direction.
Seeing it convey answers with its eyes, Soul paused in thought, suddenly realizing that the Stamp Ghost was the prerequisite for maintaining fairness in the dungeon. It could bring crucial information to players on the side of justice. Otherwise, the benefits would all go to the drug dealers, leaving the other side with no chance of turning the tables.
When he reached the place the stamp ghost hinted at, Suer didn't feel anything. He made a cruel decision and cut a line on his palm. Blood dripped onto the ground. Both the smell and the speed of its spread were like rust, and soon it floated around with the night wind.
The sound of the beast pierced the eardrums through the air.
The roar was so shrill that Soul couldn't tell what decibel range it belonged to, and his head was buzzing.
A black mass, perfectly blending into the night, pounced, threatening to bite off the bloody palm. Soul dodged quickly enough, and in the brief seconds, his fingers seemed to touch something sharp, the stinging sensation reminding him of several broken skin spots.
Ignoring the wound, Sur quickly put his hands into his sleeves and put them behind his back to suppress the smell of blood from spreading.
The moon appeared from behind the dark clouds, and he could finally see the black mass a few meters away.
A giant dog was staring at him fiercely with its fur standing on end.
The frizzy hair here is absolutely not cute at all. Every hair of the black dog is standing upright and as hard as a steel needle.
From a distance, Sur could clearly feel the black dog's disgust towards him, and couldn't help wondering... Even if a drug-sniffing dog turned into an evil spirit, its instinct might be to kill, but there shouldn't be that kind of hostility in its eyes.
While keeping an eye out for any big trees to climb nearby, he suddenly thought of something. He tore off his sleeve that was half stained with incense ash, wrapped it in a stone and threw it out.
Almost at the same time, the black dog pounced on the stone.
Sure enough... Su Er breathed a sigh of relief. The source was those scents.
Even if the animal has been dead for a long time, the drug detection dog will still subconsciously bite and reject the smell.
After solving the hidden danger, he held the two pieces of red paper that Ji Heng had given him earlier tightly in his hands. The black dog became cautious and did not dare to act rashly.
Su Er also didn't dare to look away, keeping his gaze fixed on the dog, to prevent it from taking the opportunity to attack. He carefully pulled out a clay figurine from his coat pocket and asked, "Can you speak dog language?"
Of course, the clay figurine does not have this skill, because too little Yin energy is injected into it. It cannot even speak like the little figurine that Sur made at the beginning.
Su Er glanced at the stamp ghost out of the corner of his eye.
Stamp Ghost: "You'll know if you can do it if you die once."
Sur then gave up communicating.
The black dog suddenly turned around and growled a few times in another direction. Su Er originally thought it was Xu He's men and was about to dodge when the stamp ghost suddenly said, "Don't forget what you promised."
He opened his mouth and uttered perfunctory words.
The stamp ghost suddenly took out a "sex" prop. After being caught, he could save the ten boxes of betrothal gifts. He could still afford a few props that could only be used in a single copy.
Adhering to the principle of not letting go of any wool that can be plucked, Su Er did not refuse.
Just as the person finally approached, the familiar figure gradually enlarged in his pupils. After seeing that it was Ji Heng, Su Er greeted him with a shy smile: "You are here."
Ji Heng stared at him for a few seconds, then put a talisman on Sul's forehead.
"…"
As soon as the talisman paper touched the skin, it immediately fell down lightly as its owner let go.
Ji Heng frowned, took the talisman and put it away again, looking at Su Er with scrutiny: "Not possessed?"
Soul kept smiling.
Ji Heng could see the indifference behind the smile. He glanced at the stamp ghost who was watching on the side and thought about how he made up stories over and over again in an attempt to establish a connection between himself and Sul. He vaguely guessed some of the inside story.
"Thank you for your hard work." Ji Heng gently helped him smooth his hair that was blown up by the wind. With a gentle smile, he turned around and walked towards the black dog, apparently preparing to control the dog spirit.
Su Er took the opportunity to walk up to the stamp ghost and said, "Show your affection, give me the benefits."
The stamp ghost promised to hand over the "sex" prop once.
Soul put it in his pocket and said, "You can tell that this is an act."
There is no point in doing this.
The stamp ghost said: "Smart people are good at acting."
Every performance process is a psychological suggestion, and the highest level of acting is actually self-deception.
As a player, Su Er only focused on the immediate benefits and was too lazy to analyze the psychology of a ghost. Ji Heng didn't make much movement. When Su Er turned around, he saw him squatting in front of the black dog. The black dog bared its teeth, but didn't pounce on it.
Su Er raised his eyebrows. Is it the nature of all things to bully the weak and fear the strong?
Stamp Ghost: "Don't be lazy, I will check from time to time."
"good."
The stamp ghost disappeared.
The black dog followed Ji Heng reluctantly but suppressed his ferocity, and ran towards the place where the most unpleasant smell was emitted as he instructed.
During the conversation, Ji Heng casually asked, "What is that ghost planning?"
"I don't know, maybe there's some misunderstanding." Su Er said calmly, "Mr. Rose is his new boss. He can't possibly give such a ridiculous order."
Ji Heng also didn't care about the stamp ghost's calculations. He just said, "This is a rare opportunity. You can try to get more benefits."
Soul nodded.
The black dog was disgusted by the smell of humans, which was inevitable as a soul, but it hated opium even more. The conditioned reflex formed by past training made the black dog unconsciously seek out that smell even after death.
Ji Heng touched the black dog's head, and the dog shuddered. The dog's tough fur left a few bloody marks on his palm. Ji Heng didn't care at all. He just waited for the black dog to stop and warned it, "If anyone comes, you must hide immediately."
The black dog growled impatiently.
Sur: "Can it understand human language?"
Ji Heng: "It can sense threats."
"…"
The black dog's uneasiness and irritability did not entirely come from Ji Heng. Suer looked around and saw a familiar surname: Xu.
He was now particularly sensitive to this word and could see it at a glance even in the dim moonlight.
"Xu Chengguang."
After calculating his birth and death dates, it is possible that he is Xu He's father, especially since the time of death matches.
Sur bent down and found that the soil was very loose, as if it had been turned over frequently.
Digging holes is a talent. Whether it is digging for others or actually digging the soil, Suer is very good at it and immediately prepared to dig with his bare hands.
"Wound."
When Ji Heng reminded him, Su Er remembered the injury on his hand and stood up angrily.
Ji Heng analyzed: "Although the cemetery keeper doesn't do anything, he often digs up graves and makes a lot of noise."
Su Er was stunned for a moment: "Could it be a mechanism?"
He took a step forward and pressed on the stone tablet casually. It was really just a try. Unexpectedly, the ground shook, and the top layer of loess fell off. A gully appeared in the middle of the tomb, revealing the coffin inside.
A few moths suddenly flew out.
Su Er: "...The last time I saw this scene was in Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai."
Ji Heng lowered his eyes: "Xu He is really not particular."
The old man's graveyard was directly used to hide things. Even though the player may not have much affection for the nominal parents in the dungeon, they would generally avoid doing anything taboo.
Moreover, after the coffin was opened, the old man was left with only a white skeleton, with a huge flower rooted in it. Some of the roots were so thick that they directly cracked the bones. The old man also had some degree of fractures in his neck and chest, so the cause of death may be man-made.
"Poison King?"
As he spoke, Sur saw the black dog pacing restlessly, and realized that he couldn't handle the situation with just this dog alone.
Ji Heng didn't know whether it was because of his skill and courage, but he actually pulled off a petal.
The flowers had no intention of attacking and allowed themselves to be pulled off piece by piece.
Finally, Ji Heng stopped his cruel treatment: "It's a bit troublesome."
Sur noticed something unusual but didn't know the reason.
Ji Heng explained: "It has a heart, but the heart grows last."
After imagining the scene, Su Er frowned: "Then the attack before that..."
"Even if it's blown to pieces, it can be restored."
He had originally wanted to ask what would happen if he took action when the heart was halfway grown, but when he saw Ji Heng lowering his head in thought, Su Er knew that this method would not work. He changed to a more practical question: "Why didn't Xu He send someone to guard it?"
Ji Heng: "This type of monster is often at its peak when it grows up. Getting close to it is tantamount to committing suicide. However, after that, its power will gradually decline and it will fall into a deep sleep once again."
"So the best time to take action is to wait until it enters a recession?"
Ji Heng nodded: "Time is limited."
Seven days and seven nights is the limit for completing tasks in all copies. Before that, no matter how powerful the Poison King is, we must find a way to eradicate him.
The petals that were torn off a few minutes ago have grown back, and the Poison King is only one step away from fully blooming.
Ji Heng: "Let's leave here first."
Su Er had just taken a few steps when he suddenly pulled Ji Heng aside and whispered, "Can this flower understand human language?"
I asked casually and heard an unexpected answer.
"Can."
Ji Heng: "It's very common for monsters to transform into human form, just like the white fox you met in Tianji City before."
Upon hearing this, Su Er suddenly took a step back, glanced at the flowers growing on the bones, and began to comment: "The Poison King is indeed worthy of his reputation. If I had never seen a Chinese rose, I would definitely call it the most beautiful in the world."
After a while, he said slowly, "The rose is gorgeous. After transforming, it can seduce people with its appearance, but the Poison King can only create illusions with its scent. What does this mean?"
Ji Heng was amused and asked, "What does that mean?"
Soul: "It's not confident about its appearance."
After saying this, he didn't even give the Poison King a chance to express himself. He pressed the button again, as if he was going to run away after scolding him.
The black dog was forced to follow closely, and tried to escape several times, but failed every time.
Ji Heng: "In half a day at the latest, the Poison King will fully grow up."
Soul: "The people from the Governance Bureau must be searching the whole town for us right now."
Ji Heng suddenly stopped and looked at the black dog: "It's too conspicuous."
After thinking for a moment, he took out a stamp and waved it in front of it.
Of course, the black dog could also turn into a stamp, but he still wanted to fight back. Ultimately, under coercion, he reluctantly became a light and fluttery stamp.
It is much easier to move around because you don't have to guard against the black dog that may run away or attack at any time.
"The distance between the front and the back is too far." The stamp ghost appeared at some point and conscientiously fulfilled his duty of random inspection.
Suer cooperated and walked side by side with Ji Heng.
Ji Heng suddenly asked, "Where is the host?"
The stamp ghost generously pointed in a direction.
He hoped that these two people would cause trouble for their new boss and then kill him.
Ji Heng walked towards the place where he pointed, saying as he walked: "The flower has remembered our scent, and it will definitely chase us as soon as it takes shape."
Suer expressed his understanding, since they were discussing how to kill each other under the Poison King's nose.
Ji Heng: "Delay as much as possible."
The longer the consumption, the better.
The Poison King's strength is declining little by little from its peak every minute and every second.
In a dark alley, Suer and Ji Heng successfully met the host head-on.
Gentleman Rose smiled playfully and looked towards the hill in the distance: "Something is coming down the mountain."
Sur's expression tensed.
This dark alley is very damp and is often used as a garbage disposal site, with a foul smell.
Ji Heng: "Find a place to hide."
He actually found a hiding place in front of the host.
Not long after, a charming woman appeared in the alley. It was the transformed Poison King.
Her judgment was clouded by the stench of the garbage.
Gentleman Rose stretched out his hand and was about to point out the hiding place of the two men. The woman opposite suddenly noticed the rose by his ear and thought of the two bastards who had spoken out last night.
What kind of rose is so beautiful? It's a tasteless thing!
"So ugly." The woman looked disgusted and looked at the rose flowers that looked a little dim in the daytime with disdain.
"…"
The curve of Mr. Yue's mouth gradually retracted, and the aura of his whole body was cold and dangerous: "What did you say?"
The little clay figurine sitting on my shoulder couldn't speak very fluently, but he answered carefully and thoughtfully, "She said you're...ugly."
The last word is pronounced with particular emphasis.