It was already late, and despite their reluctance, the students on their graduation trip still had to cross the bridge to the other side.
The driver led the way, flashlight in hand, walking steadily with each step. Behind him followed a group of seemingly nonchalant and brave boys, who even sang songs along the way, showing off their bravery.
Of course, girls are no less capable than anyone else; they just don't like to show themselves off as much.
The last group consisted of fearful people like Ren Yifei. Regardless of gender, they were all filled with dread about the swaying iron chain bridge in the wind.
"Waaah, I think I'll just go home." The girl clung tightly to the bridge railing. She had a friend who stayed with her the whole time.
"Let's walk together. If you're scared, don't look to either side, just look ahead," her friend said.
Encouraged by her friends, the girl mustered her courage and slowly walked across the bridge. Several times she was terrified, especially at the center of the bridge, where the swaying was most severe. The two girls clung to each other, touching the iron chains, before finally crossing.
"Hey—coward!" someone who had already crossed the bridge shouted from the other side.
Ren Yifei was still standing there; besides him, there were three other students.
Gritting his teeth, Ren Yifei pulled his suitcase onto the suspension bridge. The sound of the wheels rolling over the wooden planks was exceptionally clear, even carrying a slight rhythm.
It's rare to see someone like him carrying a suitcase for just one day; most people carry large travel bags. If the original owner's bag hadn't been so lightly packed, he wouldn't have been sure the original owner had brought a suitcase.
At first, the bridge was quite stable, so he gritted his teeth and continued walking. However, the closer he got to the middle section, the more the bridge swayed, and several times his legs went weak and his feet trembled.
"Coward!" Someone laughed when they saw him bend over and stand in the middle of the road, too scared to move. Another person even raised their DSLR camera and started taking pictures of him.
Ren Yifei gripped the iron chain tightly. He stood up and walked forward carefully and slowly. All they could see was him mechanically lifting and lowering his feet step by step, his expression stiff, his eyes avoiding looking outside.
But he had actually been observing the suspension bridge the whole time.
The thick iron chain used as a handrail is fairly smooth, having been worn smooth by countless touches. However, some of the screws securing the wooden planks underfoot show signs of rust, and a few are even loose.
If the goal is to keep these people in this remote village for longer, the only thing to do is to sever this vital link to the outside world.
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What did the original owner plan to do? If it were him, what would he do?
Ren Yifei suddenly remembered the unusual and illogical electronic key in his pocket, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Who's the coward?!" This was the first thing Ren Yifei said after reaching the other side of the bridge.
The boy who had been egging him on looked at the cold sweat he was sweating, his pale face and bluish lips, and suddenly felt embarrassed and stopped laughing: "I wasn't talking about you, it was just a joke."
Ren Yifei pursed his lips tightly. He took a few steps, then suddenly couldn't hold it in and ran to the side to vomit. The others saw this and said awkwardly, "No way, you were scared like that?"
"I remember when we talked about coming here, he was against it. It seems he really disliked this kind of place… you know."
Did the original owner object to traveling here?
They were speaking softly, but Ren Yifei, with his keen hearing, still caught it. He wiped his mouth with a tissue, analyzing in his mind why the original owner of this body had done this.
Firstly, it was to clear his name; secondly, the more he opposed it, the more those who disliked him supported him.
Soon everyone had arrived. The teacher counted them and found no one missing, then led them into the village.
After crossing the suspended iron bridge, there was still a road on the other side, a winding dirt road, and at the end of the road was the village they were going to.
From a distance, the village appears small, with lights scattered throughout like embers in a dying stove. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is a large village, with four interconnected carved stone archways at the entrance.
It was already dark, and they couldn't see the stone archway clearly. Even with their phone flashlights, they could only see mottled shadows, so they just guessed at its origin.
Some people say it's an ancient memorial archway for successful candidates in the imperial examinations, while others say it's an ancient memorial archway for chastity; each person makes a very convincing claim.
"It's a chastity archway." Finally, someone with good eyesight realized it.
The students were stunned: "All four of them?"
"My goodness, in such a remote place, this place is so traditional." They didn't want to say anything too harsh, so they used the word 'traditional'.
"Pah! What a load of rubbish, tradition! It's all dross!"
Many people were seeing the actual chastity archway for the first time and found it amazing. Students with DSLR cameras were already taking pictures of it non-stop.
"It's so dark now, what can you possibly capture? You should try shooting tomorrow."
"The ancients were so lucky. They had three wives and four concubines. If someone died by accident, their wives would stay by their side, and they might even commit suicide together." Chi Bo, who had been looking for cigarettes, showed a longing expression.
"Come on, you're just an ordinary citizen. You'd be lucky to find a wife in ancient times," the dark-skinned man mocked him.
"Exactly. If someone can have three wives and four concubines, then they're a rich man. You should just find a man to settle down with."
"Shh, let's get back to the topic of this memorial archway. Have you ever heard of the 'widow who waits for her husband to marry'? It means that if the groom dies during the engagement, the bride is taken away and hidden in a secluded place. Except for one person to take care of her, no one else can see her until she dies."
The horror enthusiast said mysteriously, "I heard that the place we're going to stay in used to be the house of a wealthy family in the village, with an attic upstairs..."
Beneath the eerie stone archway, amidst the ancient village, and with the incredibly atmospheric voice of a horror enthusiast, several people nearby were so frightened they kept rubbing their arms, saying, "Holy crap, stop talking!"
Ren Yifei followed behind, walking slowly. He looked up, but the incised characters had been eroded by hundreds of years of wind and rain, making them unrecognizable.
The guesthouse arrived quickly. It wasn't far away and looked quite legitimate. There were two staff members, and we were asked to show our identification for registration.
Generally speaking, it's rare for people to collectively risk their lives by going on vacation to remote, untouched mountain forests. Although this place is remote, it looks like a well-established tourist attraction.
"Shaobo, you're here? When did you arrive?" As soon as they entered, they saw a tall boy sitting on a recliner. He was carrying a travel bag, wearing a black hoodie and jeans, holding a bouquet of pink roses, with layered hair, a high nose, and narrow eyes.
Upon seeing the person approaching, the person glanced at them sideways, their eyes light and indifferent.
Several men ran up to him, seemingly familiar with him, while the others avoided him like the plague, their eyes filled with both inquiry and fear.
Xiangxue and Xiaomin, who had always stood apart from the girls' group, were even more noticeable. The girl named Xiaomin kept making faces, glancing at the bouquets in the hands of the boys who arrived first, and nudging the school beauty with her elbow.
The school beauty's face froze.
The moment this person appeared, Blackie went from being a suspected school bully to just another passerby.
A faint smell of tobacco mixed with perfume wafted over him, along with a burnt, bitter scent that others couldn't detect.
The school bully who relentlessly pursues the school beauty, huh.
Now that everyone has arrived, it's time to assign rooms.
The guesthouse they booked together was indeed a rather old courtyard house, with three courtyards, facing south, with carved beams and painted pillars, clearly belonging to a wealthy family.
Most of the buildings inside are single-story, except for the main building in the inner courtyard, which is two stories high. Because the second floor is low, it was used as a storage room, and the stairwell is locked.
This isn't a famous tourist destination, and there are only three long-term guests, all of whom live in the back rooms, so there are still many vacant rooms to choose from.
The school beauty, Xiangxue, and her best friend, Xiaomin, chose a room; they selected a wing room on the left side of the main courtyard.
"Then let all the girls live in this main courtyard," the teacher suggested. Once the main gate and the two side gates are closed, the main courtyard becomes a closed space, which is quite safe.
"Why? This room is the best," a boy said sourly.
The house has three courtyards. The main courtyard is where the master lived, and it has the largest and best rooms. The other two courtyards, a rear building and a back building, were where servants lived in ancient times. The rooms and courtyards were small.
It's always unfair that people pay the same amount of money but receive such different treatment.
"Teacher, why don't we let everyone choose for themselves? I don't think it's a good idea either, since everyone is paying the same amount of money," Xiaomin said frankly.
Xiangxue blushed immediately because she was the first to suggest staying in the side room.
Actually, some boys weren't too happy about it, but seeing how they acted, they felt they were being quite ungentlemanly: "It's good for girls to live in the same courtyard; it's safer that way."
They discussed the room allocation for a long time, and finally decided that the girls would live in the main courtyard in the middle, as safety was the top priority when they were out and about.
The girls paired up and quickly distributed the keys, leaving only three girls standing there in an awkward situation, though they all looked calm.
They are players.
Along the way, Ren Yifei didn't always isolate himself; occasionally, unexpected situations arose that required his response. In a sense, this was a trial, a way to filter out the players.
These three female players made mistakes in their responses. Either their personalities were incompatible, or their replies were inappropriate. After a few times, they naturally became ostracized by the NPC group.
However, they themselves don't seem to care much.
Those who get hung up on these things are basically just playing a camouflage-style player. High-level players have their own priorities, focusing only on developing their strongest areas and keeping the others at a passable level so as not to drag the team down.
After the main courtyard was divided, the front row of houses and the rear row of houses remained, all in a row and divided into several small rooms. The boys were also assigned rooms in pairs.
Those who usually played together were quickly divided up, leaving four people behind.
Two of them were also ostracized players, along with Ren Yifei and the school bully who arrived early.
"You're the one." The school bully glanced at Ren Yifei, picked up the keys, and left.
Others were curious about the ownership of the roses in his hand, but he walked past the school beauty without glancing at her, and went to the innermost room of the back building with the roses in his arms.
The school beauty immediately breathed a sigh of relief: It's not good for anyone to have scandals after graduation.
Other onlookers, however, were somewhat disappointed.
Ren Yifei watched his retreating figure, then lowered his head, picked up his suitcase, and followed him.
The remaining two players will be used to make up the numbers for now.
The room was small; although it was a double room, the two small beds were pushed together, making it almost the size of a large bed. As soon as the school bully, Jiang Shaobo, entered, he frowned, reached out and pushed the two beds apart, one against the wall and the other against the window, leaving enough space between them for a large bed.
He put his backpack on the bed by the window, stuffed the roses into the trash can, and then ignored everyone.
Ren Yifei glanced at the bed in the corner: ...Okay, that'll do.
Author's Note: Saman: Stay away from me!
Afei: That works too.