A gust of night wind howled past.
Wan Yi realized that ever since teaming up with Su Er, the air would fall into silence from time to time. Only Su Er himself was utterly serious, asking everyone what they thought of the plan.
Faces shifted from solemn to complicated. Wan Yi finally said, “I have no objections.”
Yi Zhu’s sense of morality was already unlike ordinary people, so she didn’t feel anything wrong with such a proposal. One by one, the rest nodded. In the end, it passed unanimously.
Seeing the atmosphere drifting toward awkwardness, Su Tangyi brought up the plan she hadn’t had the chance to carry out earlier: “I want to go check the village entrance.”
Late at night, the big black dog that barked endlessly during the day was curled under a post, fast asleep.
Su Tangyi cautiously took a small step closer. The dog only twitched its head, then continued sleeping. She was about to take another step when Su Er suddenly pulled her back. “Wait.”
She blinked in puzzlement. Before stepping forward, she had already tested the ground with a pebble; when it made no reaction, she was about to land her foot.
Half crouching, Su Er pried up a few stones. After three or four tries, he finally uncovered a centipede. Without worrying about waking the dog, he stepped back a few paces, wrapped the centipede in his coat, and flicked it outwards.
Su Tangyi was stunned by his caution—he was treating even the air outside the village as something not to be touched.
The coat landed with a thump. The black dog opened its eyes, and everyone tensed. Luckily, its eyelids drooped again, ignoring them.
Soon the players had no mind for the dog; their attention was drawn outside.
The centipede writhed uneasily on the coat, then crawled slower and slower until it stopped completely, its body shriveling.
When the wind blew, the corpse was so light it rolled away.
“Its shell dried up.” Seeing this, Su Tangyi shivered. “The ground temperature must be extremely high.”
If they really went outside, they might not die immediately, but their feet would probably be scorched.
Su Er said, “From the foot of the mountain to the village there’s a stretch with not a single wild blade of grass. That’s not normal.”
Hearing that, Su Tangyi instinctively looked toward the distant green slopes, and at the trees inside the village, then frowned. Centered on the village, the land for miles around had an abnormal temperature—ensuring no one could escape at night.
Turning back to Su Er, she sighed from the heart: “Now I finally understand your secret to surviving this long.”
To still be alive while being this reckless—it had everything to do with his extreme caution.
Since they couldn’t leave, they could only return to rest. At dawn, they awoke quickly, washed, and gathered together.
When the rooster crowed thrice, the village came alive again.
The lazy black dog of the night barked occasionally by day. The group followed the sound of children playing and finally found one gnawing on a chicken claw by the well.
Recalling the hand bones they had dug up nearby the night before, Su Er’s expression darkened. He beckoned the child. “Want to play a game?”
The child wasn’t as good as the adults at putting on a front. With no one watching, he looked impatient. “Don’t want to.” He spat out bits of bone. “But if you’re willing to eat the sacrificial pig head, maybe I’ll consider it.”
Not pressing further, the group turned back toward the courtyard.
Stools, white cloth, kitchen knives… The first thing they did upon entering was gather tools.
When everything was ready, Su Er deliberately made a huge commotion. A passing villager glanced inside, and his face instantly changed. “What are you doing?!”
The scene was terrifying—
One man standing on a stool with a noose, another sharpening a knife at his neck, yet another holding a torch ready to burn the courtyard.
“Stay back!” Su Er roared, torch raised.
“Don’t be rash!” The villager, terrified the fire would spread, rushed off to find the village chief.
The chief had long been involved in dark dealings, merciless to the core. But seeing this sight, he was stunned.
“We want to see the god. We can’t wait another moment,” Su Er said first, seizing the momentum.
The chief nearly cursed aloud. In the past, outsiders were desperate and hopeless when burned alive. And now—these fools were volunteering?!
“You can’t do it now—” He nearly let slip the truth, but bit his tongue and changed: “Why would you seek death when everything is fine?”
The ruckus had drawn a crowd. Among them was the child with the chicken claw. Su Er immediately put on a tragic face. “It’s because of him. He refused to play with us.”
“......”a
Su Er continued, “Children are the purest. A god’s envoy despised by them is unworthy of life.”
At that, Ji Heng in the house kicked away the stool with the noose, Li Zicang made to gut himself, and the rest had all sorts of methods ready.
“Wait!” The chief signaled two strong men to approach slowly.
Of course Su Er saw through it. He retreated to the doorway, torch raised toward the men trying to sneak over the wall.
The chief clearly didn’t dare gamble—if they all died, the entire village would be buried with them. Forcing a strained smile, he said, “Let’s talk this through.”
Su Er hesitated for a moment.
Seeing that there was room to maneuver, the village chief let out a sigh of relief, promising repeatedly that no one would dare look down on the god envoys.
Su Er cast a glance at the child gnawing on the chicken feet.
“......”a
Plop.
The chicken claw fell from the child’s hand.
The village chief gave him a hard push, teeth clenched: “Go talk with these brothers and sisters.”
He had finally figured it out—none of the so-called god envoys this time had a normal mind.
Ignoring the villagers’ strange looks, Su Er was downright delighted: “Come on, let’s play Eagle Catches the Chicks.”
But when he looked up at the village chief, his tone turned cold: “Play together?”
The chief had just opened his mouth when Su Er cut him off: “Too bad—we already have enough people.”
“......”a
With everyone gathered together, the chief could only grit his teeth in frustration yet remain helpless. He told the villagers to disperse first, but before leaving he held the child’s hand tightly, instructing: “Behave, don’t anger the envoys.”
The child nodded, then slowly walked up to Su Er, choking slightly as if from the chicken claw: “I want some water.”
He hiccupped as he spoke.
Su Er let him into the house and poured a cup of water.
Just as the cup was about to reach his mouth, the child handed it back, fawning: “Envoy should drink first.”
Catching sight of the powder under the child’s fingernails, Su Er smiled faintly: “If you don’t drink it right now, we’ll die in front of you.”
The child’s hand trembled. In the end, Su Er didn’t push him, simply took the cup and set it on the table: “I’ve seen plenty of brats like you. The last one was tougher—not only could he poison, he could set fires.”
Li Zicang, standing close to Ji Heng, asked curiously: “There was really one like that?”
Ji Heng nodded: “Su Er repaid evil with virtue—he taught that one how to read and write.”
Though to this day, that child probably only knows how to say: ‘All of you here are trash.’
The child’s heart pounded wildly. When Uncle Village Chief had secretly slipped him the medicine, the plan was to kill one person to create chaos, and the chief would use the chance to rush in with others and subdue several. Unfortunately, the plan had failed.
Su Er slanted a glance toward the doorway and raised his voice: “I already said we’ve got enough people. If you want to join a game, sign up early next time.”
The village chief hiding outside spat out a curse.
One of the guards asked: “Shall we keep waiting?”
The chief’s eyes rolled: “Go back.”
Once they left, the players finally relaxed.
Su Er dragged over a stool and sat down: “Let’s continue this morning’s topic.”
The child was now truly frightened of him: “Eagle Catches the Chicks?”
Su Er shook his head: “This game is called I Ask, You Answer.”
With no choice under the roof, the child stiffly nodded.
Su Er: “Where did the previous envoys go?”
The child’s eyes darted: “Never seen them.”
Su Er smiled faintly and spun an imaginative tale: “They were burned alive by fire. The flames slowly roasted the fat out of their skin. They howled in agony as they were scorched…”
The child’s hands clenched unconsciously—not from fear, but from excitement.
“This is the punishment for deceiving the gods.” The child clung stubbornly to what he had been indoctrinated with since birth: “To die in the flames of atonement is the greatest honor for an envoy.”
“Well said!” Su Er’s tone was even more fervent: “I want to see God right now. Come with me.”
Staring at the blazing torch, the child shrank back to the corner in terror.
Su Er’s expression chilled as he approached: “It’s an honor.”
As the fire drew near, the child let out a shrill scream.
Su Er drew back his hand: “Unwilling?”
In the past, when the village burned the envoys, those who lit the flames always felt honored. This child, too, had lit the fire twice before, and he relished the feeling—so long as the fire was on someone else.
Su Er never expected to correct such twisted values. Once he was sure the brat was terrified, he asked coldly: “On the fifteenth of the seventh month, if an envoy hasn’t died, what happens?”
The child didn’t dare conceal it anymore: “The village will suffer Heaven’s punishment.”
As for what form it would take, he wasn’t sure.
“Only a few children like you here?”
The child nodded: “After the envoys are sacrificed, God temporarily forgives the village for a month and allows newborns to be born.”
Su Er looked back at the other players, signaling that they could ask questions freely.
Li Zicang spoke first: “Has anyone ever left the village?”
The child’s face twisted with terror: “Anyone who tries to escape dies in the desert.”
Being so young, he was easy to coax into talking—but correspondingly, he answered many questions with a clueless “I don’t know.”
As the round of questioning was about to end, Ji Heng suddenly brought up the villagers’ extreme thirst at night: “Do you get that too?”
The child hesitated for a moment before answering: “Before fourteen, it doesn’t happen.”
“Reason.”
For some reason, the child was quite afraid of him. He swallowed hard and said: “They say it’s because of the Holy Infant’s blessing.”
Those words made many people’s eyes brighten.
Heaven never cuts off all paths—clearly, the Holy Infant was crucial information.
Ji Heng continued asking about the origin of the Holy Infant.
Child: “I only ever heard the village chief mention it once. The Holy Infant was born from an ancestor steeped in heavy sins. God originally wanted to destroy this land. But the Holy Infant cried tears of blood every night, and God softened, agreeing to accept the sacrifice of envoys instead.”
The child had revealed almost everything he knew. He asked cautiously: “Can I go now?”
Ji Heng gave no indication. The child pinned his hopes on the others, and finally Su Er gave a small nod.
Just before he ran out the door, Su Er spoke very calmly: “If the village chief learns you told us so much, he’ll be furious.”
The child whipped his head around.
Making a shushing gesture, Su Er gently assured: “I won’t tell him any of this.”
The child’s eyes flickered, and then he ran off.
Yi Zhu licked her lips: “The story matches—the Holy Infant is the child on the mural by the well.” She paused, then sneered lightly: “But saying God’s heart softened? That’s blatant nonsense.”
On that point, everyone agreed.
Night after night of crying tears of blood—without question, the child had died.
Ji Heng: “An infant who dies with such grievance often turns into an extremely destructive ghost.”
Su Er had already experienced the horror of children back in the novice scenario.
“Rather than call it God’s compassion, it’s more like a compromise.” He pressed his lips together. “If we find the Holy Infant, maybe we can use it to escape God’s grip.”
Then he lifted his head: “Did any of you hear crying last night?”
In the first half of the night, they had been roaming the village and heard nothing. In the second half they had rested briefly, though few had slept soundly. If there had been crying, surely they would have heard it.
Everyone shook their heads.
Wan Yi thought aloud: “Since the Holy Infant protects the children, it won’t be deep in the wilderness.”
That judgment brought some relief. By day the outside temperature was normal, but venturing out would inevitably mean clashing with villagers.
Wan Yi: “We need to lock down the search area quickly.”
In the silence, Su Er analyzed slowly: “Underground, villagers’ homes, or wandering about… I lean toward the first.”
He had barely begun speaking when Ji Heng walked out without a word, returning with a fistful of black seeds.
Seeing what he was planning, everyone quietly fetched shovels, buckets, and other tools, beginning a new round of “group activity.”
Starting three feet from the doorway, they dug one pit after another.
The village chief had sent a woman to loiter nearby and watch for movement. When she saw the digging, she rushed to report.
Soon, the chief arrived with several villagers, his eyelids twitching at the sight.
Su Er made a show of wiping sweat from his forehead, smiling faintly: “We can’t wait to be reborn and serve by God’s side, but before we leave we’d like to do something for this village.”
The chief wanted nothing more than to snatch the shovels and bury these troublesome envoys right there. But every time he advanced, they retreated. In the end, he could only force a smile and ask: “And the holes are for…?”
“To plant flowers.” Su Er’s face turned dreamy. “I want fragrance to cover this land.”
“......”a
No matter how the chief tried to dissuade him, Su Er was determined to plant flowers. He was mostly just talking, but the others were seriously digging while he kept him busy.
The chief tried to stop them: “It’s a trivial matter. We wouldn’t dare trouble the envoys. I’ll have people come help.”
His authority was strong. Soon a dozen burly men with shovels arrived. From a safe distance, Su Er tossed the seeds to the chief, signaling him to distribute them.
The strong villagers began digging. Yi Zhu chimed in coyly: “Then we’ll go plant on the west side—it’ll be faster.”
Chief: “No need. People will be sent there soon.”
Before he could hear anything more irritating, the chief snapped at the messenger woman: “Go fetch fresh fruit to reward the envoys.”
Li Zicang, with his obsession for food, asked for a basket and carried the fruit on his back. The group strolled around like a project inspection team, gnawing on watermelon while watching the digging.
“Too shallow! The pits must be one meter deep.”
One of the men forced a smile: “Flower seeds can’t be buried that deep.”
Li Zicang’s face darkened instantly. He spat out several watermelon seeds into his hand, as if planning to plant them next.
“They must be a meter deep. It’s the rule of the god realm.”
“......”a
“A little later we’ll conduct random inspections. If we find even one pit not up to standard, we’ll…” Li Zicang trailed off.
Su Er took over the conversation and said, “Just commit suicide.”
They strolled along at an unhurried pace. On the surface, it looked as though the players held the upper hand, but in reality, they were treading on thin ice.
Everyone knew perfectly well—they were nothing but paper tigers right now. Even if the villagers really rushed them, there was no way they would actually “kill themselves.” Fortunately, as long as they didn’t cross the line, the villagers wouldn’t dare lightly gamble with the lives of all the god envoys.
Ji Heng said, “Pay close attention to where these villagers avoid digging.”
After finishing off three melons, they summed it up: aside from wells and houses, the villagers dug wherever they were told.
Wan Yi frowned. “We already checked several wells last night. Nothing unusual.”
Ji Heng suddenly stopped, turned slightly, and looked toward the black dog sleeping at the village entrance.
Wan Yi also noticed something was wrong. That dog was tied at the gate all day long, and no one ever took it for a walk.
The villagers noticed someone watching the entrance, and the muscles in their arms tensed.
Ji Heng kept his eyes fixed on the distance, deliberately lowering his voice no more. “The air in the mountains should be quite good.”
The villagers exhaled a heavy breath and said, before they could leave the village, “The day after tomorrow is an important day for the village. According to custom, the village is sealed off two days in advance.”
Ji Heng took a step toward the gate. The villagers were about to call others over when he turned back. “Forget it, it’s almost noon—it’s too hot.”
After seeing with their own eyes that the players had gone back, the villagers still weren’t reassured and called a few people over to guard the entrance.
The players understood well the saying “haste makes waste.”
Since they were sure there was something strange about the ground beneath the black dog, and with so many people coming and going during the day, they could only wait until night to investigate further.
Meanwhile, the chief couldn’t put his mind at ease about this group, especially after hearing they’d wanted to leave the village. He kept the watchers in place and demanded updates every hour.
“They’re all indoors keeping cool and eating melons.”
“Taking a nap.”
“Woke up, now eating tomatoes.”
“Praying. One lunatic is shouting that he’ll set himself on fire to meet God.”
“Back to eating melons, praying, and making a fuss about suicide.”
“After the fuss, they started cooking noodles, ate, and went back to sleep.”
The reports were all the same. In the end, the village chief couldn’t bear to listen anymore and cut them off: “Enough.”
Even pigs don’t eat that much!
He drew in a deep breath: “Any of them alone?”
The informant shook his head.
The chief frowned: “To the toilet…”
“They go together too.” The informant looked just as exasperated: “They’re still in the courtyard swearing brotherhood, calling themselves the Farmhouse Six.”
“......”a
In the courtyard.
Li Zicang plucked fruit from a tree, jumped down, and said, “Looks like there’s no one outside the gate.”
Wan Yi glanced at Su Er, who was lying comfortably on a deck chair like he was living out his retirement. He shook his head. Putting himself in the chief’s place, he figured the man must be furious.
At that moment, Su Er was fiddling endlessly with the little mirror.
Three trials of life and death: one was desert survival, one came from the gods—what would the last one be?
He reached out and tapped the peach-heart mark lightly: “That time we were forcibly drawn into the mirror’s world. I wonder if it can be used to connect with the outside.”
Su Er’s curiosity always showed in unusual ways. He knocked on the mirror, but aside from a cold echo, nothing happened.
“Host?” he tried calling.
“Game?”
No matter what subject he used, there was no reply.
Su Er yawned, about to put the mirror away and nap until nightfall, when suddenly a magnified, handsome face appeared inside without warning.
His hand jerked, and the mirror fell to the ground.
“Fuck—!” Li Zicang, who was closest, caught a glimpse and jumped in fright. So it really could make video calls.
The initial shock faded, and Su Er quickly calmed down. On second thought, it wasn’t so surprising—before entering the desert, he’d already been able to use the mirror to view everything inside the hotel.
Li Zicang helped pick up the mirror. Green Lotus Sage’s perspective shifted with it. Seeing that the number of players hadn’t dropped much, his expression stayed serene. But when his gaze finally landed on Su Er, his face showed a faint change: “…You’ve gotten fat.”
As a highly advanced AI, his vision far surpassed human eyes. He was confident he couldn’t be mistaken—the other really had rounded out a little.
If memory served, this should only be the players’ second day inside the mirror world.
Su Er lazily rubbed his stomach to help digestion: “The villagers take good care of us. I eat six meals a day.”
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