Chapter 35
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After announcing the start of the test of courage, no one volunteered to go first, either out of restraint or fear.
The organisers of the event were naturally prepared for this outcome.
The hostess smiled mysteriously and said to everyone, “Since no one has taken the initiative, let’s play a game. The peach blossom in my hand was picked from the peach blossom forest, and is attached to the grievances born from the stories around the peach forest——how’s this, we will now start to pass the branch clockwise, and I will count with my back to you. Whoever holds the branch when I turn back around, will be the one who enters first. Those who return will randomly name the next person to go in.”
In the crowd, some people’s brows jumped imperceptibly and there was a trace of nervousness and terror in their eyes, but some people’s lips couldn’t help raising at the corners.
Except for the native NPCs of this world, players all know that there must be ghosts in this instance.
Of course, Ye Zun was also among the thirteen people. He glanced at the president who took the peach branch from the host and began to pass it clockwise.
——It turns out that everyone here who touches the peach branch is stained with resentment, so there is no doubt that they have a large number of test subjects.
——There must be many players who chose C: (You are a player of an infinite survival game and have gotten a mandatory task. You must survive in the designated location for seven days and avoid the death condition before you can withdraw and return after the specified period). For these people, they only need to avoid the death condition, and you can reach the clearance condition by living until the seventh day. The death condition can only be revealed by trial and error.
——The more people who try and make mistakes, the more obvious what the death condition is, and the survival rates of C-option players will be higher. The person behind the Ghost Stories Club is very likely to be a C-option player.
Compared with Ye Zun’s calm analysis, someone in the crowd looked at the president with resentment.
Jiang Yucheng was a player who chose option C. He had no ambition, only wanting to pass the level.
Choosing A meant becoming a detective from a paranormal agency. He would have to go deep into the dangerous situation to find out the truth and solve the problem. Choosing B meant becoming the protagonist of a horror story, and having a very high mortality rate. It was basically a death sentence. He naturally chose C, the option which seemed to be the furthest away from the storm, without hesitation.
However, he did not expect to be told by the amusement park immediately afterwards that the survivors will share all rewards equally.
Of course, he was excited when he heard this. But what he felt more than stimulation was a vague fear.
Jiang Yucheng was someone who had gone through two instances, and he knew how veteran players treated their opponents in order to get the rewards.
At that time, he was still holding onto the idea of luck. However, when he entered the instance, he was immediately assigned a mandatory task by the game. He had to take a flyer from the Ghost Stories Club, become a member of the club, and arrive at the location tonight to participate in a test of courage.
Among the three options, option C seemed to be the easiest and safest, with him only needing to survive. However, only then did he realise that option C had a fatal weakness. Because their task is to avoid the death condition, they will be forced to be present at a scene of death during a dangerous time.
——If I knew that earlier, I would’ve chosen to be the protagonist. As long as I didn’t go to dangerous places, I should’ve been able to avoid this kind of test of courage!
——What to do, if I touch the peach blossom branch, I will definitely be targeted by the resentful spirit, but if I avoid the branch on purpose, I will immediately be discovered by other players hiding in the dark. I will be the first to be eliminated!
——Damn, it’s an obvious plot ah.
Jiang Yucheng glanced resentfully at the president, who didn’t seem to act anything out of the ordinary.
——Wait, the president also touched the branch, does that mean touching the branch is not a certain death condition? Or, there could be other possibilities.
——Touch the peach branch to enter the peach forest or touch the peach branch and not enter the peach forest… I understand, this is the death condition that could occur tonight. I just need to throw the peach branch to the others as quickly as possible. As long as I’m fast enough…
After thinking about it clearly, Jiang Yucheng immediately turned all his focus on passing the peach branch.
Although he couldn’t hide the panic and poor look on his face, because the thirteen people in the circle showed more or less the same nervous and scared expressions, it was not obvious for a while.
After the peach branch went through all thirteen people, the hostess called for the passing to stop and she turned around.
The one who held the peach branch was a handsome man, an internet celebrity named Asker*.
Asker obviously knew how to utilise the atmosphere and interact with everyone. He first showed a very exaggerated expression of shock, a disbelieving look that said “how could it be me?”, and then faintly displayed his grievances and fears in his body movements, all while putting on a show of him trying to pretend that such a thing was nothing to be scared of, that he will bravely face the challenge.
The handsome guy showing his comedic act as a moron brought up good feelings and everyone else around him joked with him, either cheering him on or deliberately making fun of him.
Asker followed along with the bubbling atmosphere created from everyone’s enthusiasm and advertised his live broadcast room while he was at it, reminding everyone to save him after he faints.
“If you don’t mind, I will order a black coffin for myself first.”
“Alright, your fans don’t mind, stop delaying this, hurry and go!” The hostess urged him, pretending to be ‘fierce’.
This entire exchange was captured by the cameras of the five staff members.
When Asker took the broadcasting equipment and walked along the dimly lit lake to the peach blossom grove on the other side, many people took out their phones and searched for Asker’s live broadcast room, watching him be scared, play tricks, and complain all the way, constantly swiping through the barrage* or chatting with the people around him.
[T/N: the comments from views that take up the screen in livestreams]
Only the real players appeared to do the same on the surface, but in actuality, they were staring at the pictures taken by Asker, trying to find hidden dangers. Even if they can’t find any, they can familiarise themselves with the terrain, so that when it is their turn, they can find the path to escape as soon as they encounter danger.
Ye Zun was also watching the live broadcast on his phone, but his mind was thinking back to what happened during the day.
After learning that the game wanted players to kill each other, Ye Zun’s first thought was to hide his player identity as much as possible.
He was an outsider. It was obviously difficult to enter this school and appear at the scene of the crime without attracting attention.
So in the beginning, he did nothing at all. He only exchanged some magic crystals into the currency of this world and asked someone to investigate the seven deceased people in this school that was mentioned by the client, Miss Zhou, in the tape recorder.
Especially Jiang Shao and the fourth year student who had an accident this year.
As a result, he quickly found out that Jiang Shao and the senior student actually had a connection no one else knew. Both of them were members of the Ghost Stories Club, or in other words, the only two members.
These two people were obviously researching the resentful spirit in the peach blossom forest and provoked something they shouldn’t have provoked.
After the senior committed suicide, Jiang Shao was clearly panicked, but not long after, he began to behave like a completely different person and fell in love with someone he had never seen before.
Ye Zun guessed that the thing seemed to be shifting its target. At the beginning, the target was the senior, and then it transferred to Jiang Shao. Then, after Jiang Shao’s death, did the thing disappear and go back to the peach blossom forest for the time being? Or has it already found a new victim?
He thought that his latter guess was very likely.
Especially after seeing the sudden appearance of a new Ghost Stories Club that was recruiting new members, he was almost certain that there must be accomplices to the resentful spirit among the members of this new club.
Therefore, he must not rashly contact the Ghost Stories Club.
However, it was still necessary to investigate the peach blossom forest up close.
What should he do? Continue to have someone to investigate remotely?
Ye Zun was stuck thinking until he picked up a flyer from the club off the ground: they were looking for new members with high quality appearances.
Thinking of the looks of the seven victims in his investigation, it was not difficult to guess the intentions of the people behind these flyers.
Therefore, Ye Zun immediately used more money to package himself as a new magazine model in a short period of time, going for a shoot on campus, appearing right under their eyes.
Just like this, he was easily noticed by those people, and his plan went off without any mistakes as he was hired as a guest of the Ghost Stories Club to warm up their activities.
The people behind the club were very well prepared, going all in for their event. Not only did they sign on Ye Zun, but they also recruited some small Internet celebrities who had top-notch looks but were not yet famous.
Not only that, but they also prepared equipment for a live broadcast, packaged as a long-term business project, which can quickly turn internet celebrities who cooperate with them popular.
In addition to Ye Zun and the first beauty guru blogger who just left, Asker, there were also two female internet celebrities invited by the Ghost Stories Club.
The people in the club were very smart. They communicated with him completely in the format of a paranormal live broadcast.
“When it’s your turn, you have to follow along with the game. During the live broadcast, our staff may disguise themselves as a ghost and randomly appear in front of one of you. At that time, you must not panic too much and pretend that you didn’t notice anything unusual. You can interact and say something flirtatious, it will be a contrast to the audience who is watching the live broadcast and thinking it is real. With that, our live broadcast will be very watchable.”
They not only told this disclaimer to Ye Zun, but also the three other influencers.
In addition, they signed a non-disclosure agreement with the club, requiring that they must not reveal the secrets of the staff members pretending to be the resentful spirit, and that they must act realistically.
Only Ye Zun knew that this was not some kind of special effect at all, nor was it a disguise. There will really be ghosts.
The four of them were scapegoats found by the people behind the Ghost Stories Club.
Even Asker, the first person to head into the peach blossom grove in the test of courage, was also someone arranged a long time ago.
Although the hostess was playing the mini game with her back to them, she was using a device to see whether the peach blossom branch was about to reach Asker.
The resentful spirit had no need to deliberately coax and choose victims. Even if it did, it didn’t need to find so many people to hide their goals.
It was obvious that there were not only the accomplices of the resentful spirit that Ye Zun suspected to exist, but also other players like him.
There must be other people in this game who also chose to be a detective, choosing to be the oriole stalking from behind*.
[T/N: the second half of the quote “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind”. There is an english equivalent of this quote but I can’t remember what it was]
So, he must never reveal himself.
There were other players who had the same thoughts as Ye Zun.
Asker came back not long after, running towards their group as if he was being chased by a ghost.
But although he wore a scared expression, there was more excitement in his face. He was obviously just scaring himself.
Everyone also found it very invigorating, especially when watching the live broadcast, and they laughed at the exaggerated appearance of Asker’s playful, cowardly and idiotic behaviour. Everyone felt that if it was them in his place, they would perform better.
And so, before Asker could call out a name, the second person to test his courage took the initiative to stand up.
Then came a second person, then a third, a fourth…
In order to prevent people from losing interest in the middle of the event, the order in which Ye Zun and the three Internet celebrities went to test their courage had already been arranged prior to the activity.
Asker went first, and the two female internet celebrities were planned to be the fourth and seventh. Ye Zun was the last.
However, the hostess made some impromptu changes for the rules, letting the person who came back from their test of courage to randomly designate the next person, resulting in a complete mess of the order.
During the fifth person’s go, a girl who was going to test her courage suddenly ran back in fear.
“Ahhhhh, I saw it, I saw a white figure float by, it scared me!”
The surrounding atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.
Everyone immediately got together to study the footage she had filmed back then.
“It was this way, I really saw a white figure drifting past.”
“Could it be a passerby? Did you really see it? Are you sure it’s a ghost?”
The girl hesitated. “Just, I just saw something white that floated by.”
In addition to some people expressing genuine fear, several people felt even more exhilarated.
The girl’s panic was appeased by everyone’s performance, and she even wondered whether she had seen it wrong, but when it was her turn to appoint the next person, she had a hard time.
She was a timid girl, so she didn’t dare to let other girls go, but when she thought about designating a boy, she didn’t know anyone in the group, so she hesitated.
Instead, the atmosphere became tense during her extended choosing period.
Although everyone said that she had seen it wrong, the hidden players knew that there was a real ghost out there. No one took the initiative for a while.
The girl’s eyes passed over Ye Zun several times, hesitating before shifting away, her fingers trembling.
According to the prior agreement, at this time, it should be the two female internet celebrities who would raise their hands to save the situation, but who knew whether they were frightened or just forgot to remember the arrangement as they closed their eyes and covered their ears, hugging each other and not daring to look. Like the other timid people, they had the appearance of being afraid to be chosen.
The president and the hostess exchanged a few whispers. The president obviously had no intention of cutting things short since the beginning, so the host smiled and looked at Ye Zun.
“This super handsome little brother, can you be a hero by saving the beauty, and give a helping hand to this little cutie?”
The girl bit her lip and looked at Ye Zun, hesitant to say anything but still not directly appointing him as the next participant.
The hostess came over with a smile and patted the girl’s head. “Ya, this little brother is too good-looking, absolutely can’t bear to send you out. What should we do? Our little cutie is too kind.”
Originally, before the game began, Ye Zun, who wore a white shirt and a black suit, just sat there without speaking, attracting everyone’s attention. But because he always seemed to have no obvious expression on his face, just playing on his phone with his eyes lowered slightly, thinking of something or other, not talking to anyone and looking a little cold and aloof, other people didn’t dare to take the initiative to talk to him. After the real ‘Mr Perfect’ president came out, they were all immediately distracted.
Right now, under the spotlight, everyone looked at him together. That quiet and handsome face was so good-looking that he seemed to be glowing.
“Wow, Xiao-gege*, what’s your name ah? I wouldn’t mind getting your WeChat!”
[T/N: forgot to mention I think, but they call him ‘xiao gege’ which is literally ‘little big brother’. I think girls use this in a flirtatious way of addressing a boy]
Ye Zun pursed his lips slightly, and said the name he gave when he signed the contract: “Shen Yuan.”
“Our little brother Shen Yuan is a model oh, not only is he good-looking, but also walking hormones… “
Fortunately, he used that man’s name, so he could keep this entire ordeal completely unrelated to himself and calmly listen to these strange compliments that made people restless.
But in the eyes of others, they didn’t think these praises were too much at all.
In the dark night, there was a young man in the crowd wearing a simple white shirt and black slim suit. Anyone can think up a 3 million-word romance novel just by looking at his face——
The noble young master of a wealthy family, who has never endured hardship since he was a child, having always kept art as his companion. The person who was supposed to hold power suddenly died overnight, and the empire would collapse, thus he was forced to come out to take over the company. In the morning, he abandoned his art and transferred himself into business. Attending a celebrity banquet at night, in the midst of the treacherous and complicated intrigue, he calmly supported himself in the crisis, all alone. After the late-night banquet, he walked out of the garden for a breath of fresh air, finally relieving his fatigue, if only temporarily, showing a slightly quiet indifference. At this time, you, the heroine, appeared and became his white moonlight*…
[T/N: ‘the one that got away’/soulmate or whatever]
Ye Zun had absolutely no idea what those people were thinking, otherwise, even while using Shen Yuan’s name, he would have no way to calm down.
He smiled politely at the girl who was still hesitating. “I will go ba.”
Ye Zun took the live broadcast equipment from her hands.
“You, you must be careful. If you see something wrong, you must quickly run.” The girl bit her lip and warned him quietly.
Ye Zun was slightly startled, then nodded his thanks. He slightly suspected that she was also a player.
By this time, the test of courage activity was almost halfway finished. Ye Zun was the sixth participant, and there were seven other members who had not yet had their turn.
Of course, this did not include the hostess and the club president.
And it also did not include the five staff fiddling with the equipment.
Except for the staff, these fifteen people’s looks were all above average. You didn’t need to think twice to know that inside the Demon God’s Amusement Park, there was nothing that could be so coincidental. The players in this instance all happened to be good-looking.
Maybe it was something the game manipulated to make everyone appear more beautiful in the eyes of others.
As for the white shadow, Ye Zun naturally took what the girl said just then to heart, and kept calm and vigilant all the way.
But if you don’t think about anything at all in a dark, oppressive environment, your heartbeat and breathing will involuntarily quicken.
To disperse the nerves in his body, Ye Zun subconsciously began to analyse.
They were already halfway through the test of courage, but there has been no deaths yet. Maybe the first five people have not triggered any death conditions, or maybe their deaths will not be upon them immediately, and will be determined after participating in the test of courage.
After all, of the seven victims before, some disappeared that night, and some committed suicide a few days later. Obviously, the conditions and endings were different.
As long as you don’t die immediately, there is no need to be afraid.
Ye Zun walked at the same pace every step of the way, without pretending to be afraid or hesitant, nor acting like he did not care at all by marching forward.
After walking halfway around the lake, he looked back to where he came from. Even the members of the club in the distance looked a little abnormal in the light.
Ye Zun didn’t look more than necessary, but acted like he was carefully turning his focus to the peach blossom grove.
The night wind blew through the grass and trees. If one was even a little unsettled, they will think of some terrible existence, but if one looked closely, they will realise that there really was no trace of any person.
It was already eleven-forty at the time, almost hitting twelve o’clock of midnight. It was no wonder that no one volunteered to go.
The location where they hung the number plates was deep in the peach blossom forest.
There were some pink peach blossoms by the river. It looked like a gust of wind would clean out the tree*, but the variant in the peach blossom forest was a vague purple-leaf peach tree**. The flower branches wove intricately and densely, with layers upon layers. They bloomed brilliantly and abundantly, with the potential to grow even more. There was no sign of decline in the flowers.
[T/N: 看着快要谢干净了 literally no idea what it means because I think the author misused a word, so I made it up]
[T/N: 紫叶桃, flowers are red and pink, then gradually turn purple]
But with a gust of wind, or a slight touch, the full branches of flowers will rise one after another. No matter how many petals fall, the branches will still flourish.
The hazy moonlight shone through the thin clouds, covering the peach trees with a silver film.
But because of the dense foliage and the ups and downs of the mountains, the shadows crowded, causing the scenery to be a little unclear, as if something was lurking.
For a second, the flowers blinded his eyes. For a second, the shadows grew heavy.
Half of his mind found the sight beautiful, while the other half felt a chill running down his back, as if he was being watched by something terrible, something he hasn’t noticed yet.
The knot on Ye Zun’s throat rolled instinctively. He held back his nervousness slightly, using the lights of the broadcasting equipment to illuminate the peach trees, finding a sign with a number on it.
Fortunately, the rules were not very tormenting. You pass as long as you get a random number, it is not mandatory to find the corresponding number of the order you went in.
The phone’s flashlight swept by and he absentmindedly saw a shaking number ‘13’.
Ye Zun looked in the direction from his memory. The branch with the sign hanging off seemed to be on a slightly higher terrain.
Staring at the sign, afraid that he would lose sight of it in a blink of an eye, Ye Zun walked around the flowers, trees and stones, one step at a time.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of something white. Ye Zun suddenly came to a stop.
In an instance, his heart pounded erratically and wildly, but he didn’t avoid it. Instead, he stared directly in that direction, unblinking.
The peach blossom tree was flourishing, with branches thicker and taller than normal trees, planted on a half-sloped terrain.
If one looked closely, they would see that someone was leaning against the trunk.
The tulle-like moonlight shone on the white sleeves, glowing softly and misty pearl-like lustre.
It wasn’t in the style of a casual everyday shirt sleeve, but a rather gorgeous blouse with lacework.
The person leaning against the tree was a little slender, with their head bowed slightly. Their hair was long enough to reach the back of their waist.
——Is, that a girl?
The figure’s standing posture was not in a very relaxed natural state, nor was it reminiscent of eerie stiffness. It was a kind of restraint with a slight self-discipline, just like how Ye Zun behaved during his breaks while in the middle of shooting an advertisement, because he was afraid of messing up his clothes and having to be done-up by the makeup artist again, so he deliberately maintained an unnatural state.
“Who is there?” He slowed his voice, making himself seem friendly, keeping his distance while he walked around to the other side where the person stood.
The first thing he saw was the chin and a head that was lowered slightly, with beautiful lines and soft lips, slightly pursed, coldly and without emotion.
Then there was the lower half of the face, followed by the eyes covered with white gauze under the long black hair.
Ye Zun was slightly stunned, looking at the person in front of him in surprise.
Although this sight was a little strange and unusual, there was no way to tell whether the person in front of him was a ghost. Just like how Ye Zun had no way to judge whether they were male or female.
A thin and light figure; although the details in every element were gorgeous, the overall outline of the shirt and pants were cold and detached, seemingly world-weary and abstinent. Seeing these pieces together, the person looked more like a man.
However, they also had beautiful long black hair, a face that was so perfect it looked like it belonged to on different plane of existence, a somewhat silent and empty temperament, and beauty that blurred the line between genders.
Especially the eyes that were blindfolded with chiffon fabric, appearing calm and restrained, which made Ye Zun subconsciously think of Nogawa Kaoru.
This person certainly didn’t have that obvious vulnerability, but there was also a sense of incompletion that evoked a desire to protect.
They looked like they were thinking about something, yet also like they were waiting for someone.
Hearing Ye Zun’s voice, they raised their chin slightly and looked at him quietly, as if indifferent.
The other party’s attitude of showing little interest in him actually relieved Ye Zun’s nerves that were ready to run away and escape at any time.
He took a few more steps towards them, slowly.
“I’m waiting for someone. What are you doing here?” The person finally spoke. Their voice was soft and clear, but Ye Zun was still unable to identify their gender. He only felt that there was no emotion and only apathy, but it wasn’t unfriendly either.
Ye Zun looked at the other party and vaguely felt that his behaviour was a little rude, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off the other person.
——They don’t look like a ghost at all, they don’t have the ethereal feeling I got from Nogawa Kaoru. But if they are a human, who would be in a place like this in the middle of the night? Are they really someone arranged by the Ghost Stories Club?
Because the other party had their head lowered slightly, he could not see whether there was an Adam’s apple. A slightly unbuttoned shirt revealed a perfect collarbone with delicate lines. Although their skin was very white, it was also the kind of lovely and clear milk white, not one to make something think of an unhealthy paleness or ghosts.
“I, I’m with some other people. Across the lake, we’re having a test of courage. Who are you waiting for? Why are you blindfolded?”
Asking this, Ye Zun unconsciously held his breath slightly. He clearly thought it was unlikely, but a terrifying picture flashed through his mind in his subconscious——
A ghost who suddenly reveals its true face, a pair of blood-filled eye sockets, forming a chilling smile aimed directly at him and saying, “I’m waiting for you ah.”
The author has something to say:
Ye Zun seemed to be more protective of weak girls, so, the Abyss put on a new suit for himself and gave himself a weak character.
·
Ye Zun: “My name is Shen Yuan, what is your name?”
The mysterious person: “……”
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
After announcing the start of the test of courage, no one volunteered to go first, either out of restraint or fear.
The organisers of the event were naturally prepared for this outcome.
The hostess smiled mysteriously and said to everyone, “Since no one has taken the initiative, let’s play a game. The peach blossom in my hand was picked from the peach blossom forest, and is attached to the grievances born from the stories around the peach forest——how’s this, we will now start to pass the branch clockwise, and I will count with my back to you. Whoever holds the branch when I turn back around, will be the one who enters first. Those who return will randomly name the next person to go in.”
In the crowd, some people’s brows jumped imperceptibly and there was a trace of nervousness and terror in their eyes, but some people’s lips couldn’t help raising at the corners.
Except for the native NPCs of this world, players all know that there must be ghosts in this instance.
Of course, Ye Zun was also among the thirteen people. He glanced at the president who took the peach branch from the host and began to pass it clockwise.
——It turns out that everyone here who touches the peach branch is stained with resentment, so there is no doubt that they have a large number of test subjects.
——There must be many players who chose C: (You are a player of an infinite survival game and have gotten a mandatory task. You must survive in the designated location for seven days and avoid the death condition before you can withdraw and return after the specified period). For these people, they only need to avoid the death condition, and you can reach the clearance condition by living until the seventh day. The death condition can only be revealed by trial and error.
——The more people who try and make mistakes, the more obvious what the death condition is, and the survival rates of C-option players will be higher. The person behind the Ghost Stories Club is very likely to be a C-option player.
Compared with Ye Zun’s calm analysis, someone in the crowd looked at the president with resentment.
Jiang Yucheng was a player who chose option C. He had no ambition, only wanting to pass the level.
Choosing A meant becoming a detective from a paranormal agency. He would have to go deep into the dangerous situation to find out the truth and solve the problem. Choosing B meant becoming the protagonist of a horror story, and having a very high mortality rate. It was basically a death sentence. He naturally chose C, the option which seemed to be the furthest away from the storm, without hesitation.
However, he did not expect to be told by the amusement park immediately afterwards that the survivors will share all rewards equally.
Of course, he was excited when he heard this. But what he felt more than stimulation was a vague fear.
Jiang Yucheng was someone who had gone through two instances, and he knew how veteran players treated their opponents in order to get the rewards.
At that time, he was still holding onto the idea of luck. However, when he entered the instance, he was immediately assigned a mandatory task by the game. He had to take a flyer from the Ghost Stories Club, become a member of the club, and arrive at the location tonight to participate in a test of courage.
Among the three options, option C seemed to be the easiest and safest, with him only needing to survive. However, only then did he realise that option C had a fatal weakness. Because their task is to avoid the death condition, they will be forced to be present at a scene of death during a dangerous time.
——If I knew that earlier, I would’ve chosen to be the protagonist. As long as I didn’t go to dangerous places, I should’ve been able to avoid this kind of test of courage!
——What to do, if I touch the peach blossom branch, I will definitely be targeted by the resentful spirit, but if I avoid the branch on purpose, I will immediately be discovered by other players hiding in the dark. I will be the first to be eliminated!
——Damn, it’s an obvious plot ah.
Jiang Yucheng glanced resentfully at the president, who didn’t seem to act anything out of the ordinary.
——Wait, the president also touched the branch, does that mean touching the branch is not a certain death condition? Or, there could be other possibilities.
——Touch the peach branch to enter the peach forest or touch the peach branch and not enter the peach forest… I understand, this is the death condition that could occur tonight. I just need to throw the peach branch to the others as quickly as possible. As long as I’m fast enough…
After thinking about it clearly, Jiang Yucheng immediately turned all his focus on passing the peach branch.
Although he couldn’t hide the panic and poor look on his face, because the thirteen people in the circle showed more or less the same nervous and scared expressions, it was not obvious for a while.
After the peach branch went through all thirteen people, the hostess called for the passing to stop and she turned around.
The one who held the peach branch was a handsome man, an internet celebrity named Asker*.
Asker obviously knew how to utilise the atmosphere and interact with everyone. He first showed a very exaggerated expression of shock, a disbelieving look that said “how could it be me?”, and then faintly displayed his grievances and fears in his body movements, all while putting on a show of him trying to pretend that such a thing was nothing to be scared of, that he will bravely face the challenge.
The handsome guy showing his comedic act as a moron brought up good feelings and everyone else around him joked with him, either cheering him on or deliberately making fun of him.
Asker followed along with the bubbling atmosphere created from everyone’s enthusiasm and advertised his live broadcast room while he was at it, reminding everyone to save him after he faints.
“If you don’t mind, I will order a black coffin for myself first.”
“Alright, your fans don’t mind, stop delaying this, hurry and go!” The hostess urged him, pretending to be ‘fierce’.
This entire exchange was captured by the cameras of the five staff members.
When Asker took the broadcasting equipment and walked along the dimly lit lake to the peach blossom grove on the other side, many people took out their phones and searched for Asker’s live broadcast room, watching him be scared, play tricks, and complain all the way, constantly swiping through the barrage* or chatting with the people around him.
[T/N: the comments from views that take up the screen in livestreams]
Only the real players appeared to do the same on the surface, but in actuality, they were staring at the pictures taken by Asker, trying to find hidden dangers. Even if they can’t find any, they can familiarise themselves with the terrain, so that when it is their turn, they can find the path to escape as soon as they encounter danger.
Ye Zun was also watching the live broadcast on his phone, but his mind was thinking back to what happened during the day.
After learning that the game wanted players to kill each other, Ye Zun’s first thought was to hide his player identity as much as possible.
He was an outsider. It was obviously difficult to enter this school and appear at the scene of the crime without attracting attention.
So in the beginning, he did nothing at all. He only exchanged some magic crystals into the currency of this world and asked someone to investigate the seven deceased people in this school that was mentioned by the client, Miss Zhou, in the tape recorder.
Especially Jiang Shao and the fourth year student who had an accident this year.
As a result, he quickly found out that Jiang Shao and the senior student actually had a connection no one else knew. Both of them were members of the Ghost Stories Club, or in other words, the only two members.
These two people were obviously researching the resentful spirit in the peach blossom forest and provoked something they shouldn’t have provoked.
After the senior committed suicide, Jiang Shao was clearly panicked, but not long after, he began to behave like a completely different person and fell in love with someone he had never seen before.
Ye Zun guessed that the thing seemed to be shifting its target. At the beginning, the target was the senior, and then it transferred to Jiang Shao. Then, after Jiang Shao’s death, did the thing disappear and go back to the peach blossom forest for the time being? Or has it already found a new victim?
He thought that his latter guess was very likely.
Especially after seeing the sudden appearance of a new Ghost Stories Club that was recruiting new members, he was almost certain that there must be accomplices to the resentful spirit among the members of this new club.
Therefore, he must not rashly contact the Ghost Stories Club.
However, it was still necessary to investigate the peach blossom forest up close.
What should he do? Continue to have someone to investigate remotely?
Ye Zun was stuck thinking until he picked up a flyer from the club off the ground: they were looking for new members with high quality appearances.
Thinking of the looks of the seven victims in his investigation, it was not difficult to guess the intentions of the people behind these flyers.
Therefore, Ye Zun immediately used more money to package himself as a new magazine model in a short period of time, going for a shoot on campus, appearing right under their eyes.
Just like this, he was easily noticed by those people, and his plan went off without any mistakes as he was hired as a guest of the Ghost Stories Club to warm up their activities.
The people behind the club were very well prepared, going all in for their event. Not only did they sign on Ye Zun, but they also recruited some small Internet celebrities who had top-notch looks but were not yet famous.
Not only that, but they also prepared equipment for a live broadcast, packaged as a long-term business project, which can quickly turn internet celebrities who cooperate with them popular.
In addition to Ye Zun and the first beauty guru blogger who just left, Asker, there were also two female internet celebrities invited by the Ghost Stories Club.
The people in the club were very smart. They communicated with him completely in the format of a paranormal live broadcast.
“When it’s your turn, you have to follow along with the game. During the live broadcast, our staff may disguise themselves as a ghost and randomly appear in front of one of you. At that time, you must not panic too much and pretend that you didn’t notice anything unusual. You can interact and say something flirtatious, it will be a contrast to the audience who is watching the live broadcast and thinking it is real. With that, our live broadcast will be very watchable.”
They not only told this disclaimer to Ye Zun, but also the three other influencers.
In addition, they signed a non-disclosure agreement with the club, requiring that they must not reveal the secrets of the staff members pretending to be the resentful spirit, and that they must act realistically.
Only Ye Zun knew that this was not some kind of special effect at all, nor was it a disguise. There will really be ghosts.
The four of them were scapegoats found by the people behind the Ghost Stories Club.
Even Asker, the first person to head into the peach blossom grove in the test of courage, was also someone arranged a long time ago.
Although the hostess was playing the mini game with her back to them, she was using a device to see whether the peach blossom branch was about to reach Asker.
The resentful spirit had no need to deliberately coax and choose victims. Even if it did, it didn’t need to find so many people to hide their goals.
It was obvious that there were not only the accomplices of the resentful spirit that Ye Zun suspected to exist, but also other players like him.
There must be other people in this game who also chose to be a detective, choosing to be the oriole stalking from behind*.
[T/N: the second half of the quote “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind”. There is an english equivalent of this quote but I can’t remember what it was]
So, he must never reveal himself.
There were other players who had the same thoughts as Ye Zun.
Asker came back not long after, running towards their group as if he was being chased by a ghost.
But although he wore a scared expression, there was more excitement in his face. He was obviously just scaring himself.
Everyone also found it very invigorating, especially when watching the live broadcast, and they laughed at the exaggerated appearance of Asker’s playful, cowardly and idiotic behaviour. Everyone felt that if it was them in his place, they would perform better.
And so, before Asker could call out a name, the second person to test his courage took the initiative to stand up.
Then came a second person, then a third, a fourth…
In order to prevent people from losing interest in the middle of the event, the order in which Ye Zun and the three Internet celebrities went to test their courage had already been arranged prior to the activity.
Asker went first, and the two female internet celebrities were planned to be the fourth and seventh. Ye Zun was the last.
However, the hostess made some impromptu changes for the rules, letting the person who came back from their test of courage to randomly designate the next person, resulting in a complete mess of the order.
During the fifth person’s go, a girl who was going to test her courage suddenly ran back in fear.
“Ahhhhh, I saw it, I saw a white figure float by, it scared me!”
The surrounding atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.
Everyone immediately got together to study the footage she had filmed back then.
“It was this way, I really saw a white figure drifting past.”
“Could it be a passerby? Did you really see it? Are you sure it’s a ghost?”
The girl hesitated. “Just, I just saw something white that floated by.”
In addition to some people expressing genuine fear, several people felt even more exhilarated.
The girl’s panic was appeased by everyone’s performance, and she even wondered whether she had seen it wrong, but when it was her turn to appoint the next person, she had a hard time.
She was a timid girl, so she didn’t dare to let other girls go, but when she thought about designating a boy, she didn’t know anyone in the group, so she hesitated.
Instead, the atmosphere became tense during her extended choosing period.
Although everyone said that she had seen it wrong, the hidden players knew that there was a real ghost out there. No one took the initiative for a while.
The girl’s eyes passed over Ye Zun several times, hesitating before shifting away, her fingers trembling.
According to the prior agreement, at this time, it should be the two female internet celebrities who would raise their hands to save the situation, but who knew whether they were frightened or just forgot to remember the arrangement as they closed their eyes and covered their ears, hugging each other and not daring to look. Like the other timid people, they had the appearance of being afraid to be chosen.
The president and the hostess exchanged a few whispers. The president obviously had no intention of cutting things short since the beginning, so the host smiled and looked at Ye Zun.
“This super handsome little brother, can you be a hero by saving the beauty, and give a helping hand to this little cutie?”
The girl bit her lip and looked at Ye Zun, hesitant to say anything but still not directly appointing him as the next participant.
The hostess came over with a smile and patted the girl’s head. “Ya, this little brother is too good-looking, absolutely can’t bear to send you out. What should we do? Our little cutie is too kind.”
Originally, before the game began, Ye Zun, who wore a white shirt and a black suit, just sat there without speaking, attracting everyone’s attention. But because he always seemed to have no obvious expression on his face, just playing on his phone with his eyes lowered slightly, thinking of something or other, not talking to anyone and looking a little cold and aloof, other people didn’t dare to take the initiative to talk to him. After the real ‘Mr Perfect’ president came out, they were all immediately distracted.
Right now, under the spotlight, everyone looked at him together. That quiet and handsome face was so good-looking that he seemed to be glowing.
“Wow, Xiao-gege*, what’s your name ah? I wouldn’t mind getting your WeChat!”
[T/N: forgot to mention I think, but they call him ‘xiao gege’ which is literally ‘little big brother’. I think girls use this in a flirtatious way of addressing a boy]
Ye Zun pursed his lips slightly, and said the name he gave when he signed the contract: “Shen Yuan.”
“Our little brother Shen Yuan is a model oh, not only is he good-looking, but also walking hormones… “
Fortunately, he used that man’s name, so he could keep this entire ordeal completely unrelated to himself and calmly listen to these strange compliments that made people restless.
But in the eyes of others, they didn’t think these praises were too much at all.
In the dark night, there was a young man in the crowd wearing a simple white shirt and black slim suit. Anyone can think up a 3 million-word romance novel just by looking at his face——
The noble young master of a wealthy family, who has never endured hardship since he was a child, having always kept art as his companion. The person who was supposed to hold power suddenly died overnight, and the empire would collapse, thus he was forced to come out to take over the company. In the morning, he abandoned his art and transferred himself into business. Attending a celebrity banquet at night, in the midst of the treacherous and complicated intrigue, he calmly supported himself in the crisis, all alone. After the late-night banquet, he walked out of the garden for a breath of fresh air, finally relieving his fatigue, if only temporarily, showing a slightly quiet indifference. At this time, you, the heroine, appeared and became his white moonlight*…
[T/N: ‘the one that got away’/soulmate or whatever]
Ye Zun had absolutely no idea what those people were thinking, otherwise, even while using Shen Yuan’s name, he would have no way to calm down.
He smiled politely at the girl who was still hesitating. “I will go ba.”
Ye Zun took the live broadcast equipment from her hands.
“You, you must be careful. If you see something wrong, you must quickly run.” The girl bit her lip and warned him quietly.
Ye Zun was slightly startled, then nodded his thanks. He slightly suspected that she was also a player.
By this time, the test of courage activity was almost halfway finished. Ye Zun was the sixth participant, and there were seven other members who had not yet had their turn.
Of course, this did not include the hostess and the club president.
And it also did not include the five staff fiddling with the equipment.
Except for the staff, these fifteen people’s looks were all above average. You didn’t need to think twice to know that inside the Demon God’s Amusement Park, there was nothing that could be so coincidental. The players in this instance all happened to be good-looking.
Maybe it was something the game manipulated to make everyone appear more beautiful in the eyes of others.
As for the white shadow, Ye Zun naturally took what the girl said just then to heart, and kept calm and vigilant all the way.
But if you don’t think about anything at all in a dark, oppressive environment, your heartbeat and breathing will involuntarily quicken.
To disperse the nerves in his body, Ye Zun subconsciously began to analyse.
They were already halfway through the test of courage, but there has been no deaths yet. Maybe the first five people have not triggered any death conditions, or maybe their deaths will not be upon them immediately, and will be determined after participating in the test of courage.
After all, of the seven victims before, some disappeared that night, and some committed suicide a few days later. Obviously, the conditions and endings were different.
As long as you don’t die immediately, there is no need to be afraid.
Ye Zun walked at the same pace every step of the way, without pretending to be afraid or hesitant, nor acting like he did not care at all by marching forward.
After walking halfway around the lake, he looked back to where he came from. Even the members of the club in the distance looked a little abnormal in the light.
Ye Zun didn’t look more than necessary, but acted like he was carefully turning his focus to the peach blossom grove.
The night wind blew through the grass and trees. If one was even a little unsettled, they will think of some terrible existence, but if one looked closely, they will realise that there really was no trace of any person.
It was already eleven-forty at the time, almost hitting twelve o’clock of midnight. It was no wonder that no one volunteered to go.
The location where they hung the number plates was deep in the peach blossom forest.
There were some pink peach blossoms by the river. It looked like a gust of wind would clean out the tree*, but the variant in the peach blossom forest was a vague purple-leaf peach tree**. The flower branches wove intricately and densely, with layers upon layers. They bloomed brilliantly and abundantly, with the potential to grow even more. There was no sign of decline in the flowers.
[T/N: 看着快要谢干净了 literally no idea what it means because I think the author misused a word, so I made it up]
[T/N: 紫叶桃, flowers are red and pink, then gradually turn purple]
But with a gust of wind, or a slight touch, the full branches of flowers will rise one after another. No matter how many petals fall, the branches will still flourish.
The hazy moonlight shone through the thin clouds, covering the peach trees with a silver film.
But because of the dense foliage and the ups and downs of the mountains, the shadows crowded, causing the scenery to be a little unclear, as if something was lurking.
For a second, the flowers blinded his eyes. For a second, the shadows grew heavy.
Half of his mind found the sight beautiful, while the other half felt a chill running down his back, as if he was being watched by something terrible, something he hasn’t noticed yet.
The knot on Ye Zun’s throat rolled instinctively. He held back his nervousness slightly, using the lights of the broadcasting equipment to illuminate the peach trees, finding a sign with a number on it.
Fortunately, the rules were not very tormenting. You pass as long as you get a random number, it is not mandatory to find the corresponding number of the order you went in.
The phone’s flashlight swept by and he absentmindedly saw a shaking number ‘13’.
Ye Zun looked in the direction from his memory. The branch with the sign hanging off seemed to be on a slightly higher terrain.
Staring at the sign, afraid that he would lose sight of it in a blink of an eye, Ye Zun walked around the flowers, trees and stones, one step at a time.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of something white. Ye Zun suddenly came to a stop.
In an instance, his heart pounded erratically and wildly, but he didn’t avoid it. Instead, he stared directly in that direction, unblinking.
The peach blossom tree was flourishing, with branches thicker and taller than normal trees, planted on a half-sloped terrain.
If one looked closely, they would see that someone was leaning against the trunk.
The tulle-like moonlight shone on the white sleeves, glowing softly and misty pearl-like lustre.
It wasn’t in the style of a casual everyday shirt sleeve, but a rather gorgeous blouse with lacework.
The person leaning against the tree was a little slender, with their head bowed slightly. Their hair was long enough to reach the back of their waist.
——Is, that a girl?
The figure’s standing posture was not in a very relaxed natural state, nor was it reminiscent of eerie stiffness. It was a kind of restraint with a slight self-discipline, just like how Ye Zun behaved during his breaks while in the middle of shooting an advertisement, because he was afraid of messing up his clothes and having to be done-up by the makeup artist again, so he deliberately maintained an unnatural state.
“Who is there?” He slowed his voice, making himself seem friendly, keeping his distance while he walked around to the other side where the person stood.
The first thing he saw was the chin and a head that was lowered slightly, with beautiful lines and soft lips, slightly pursed, coldly and without emotion.
Then there was the lower half of the face, followed by the eyes covered with white gauze under the long black hair.
Ye Zun was slightly stunned, looking at the person in front of him in surprise.
Although this sight was a little strange and unusual, there was no way to tell whether the person in front of him was a ghost. Just like how Ye Zun had no way to judge whether they were male or female.
A thin and light figure; although the details in every element were gorgeous, the overall outline of the shirt and pants were cold and detached, seemingly world-weary and abstinent. Seeing these pieces together, the person looked more like a man.
However, they also had beautiful long black hair, a face that was so perfect it looked like it belonged to on different plane of existence, a somewhat silent and empty temperament, and beauty that blurred the line between genders.
Especially the eyes that were blindfolded with chiffon fabric, appearing calm and restrained, which made Ye Zun subconsciously think of Nogawa Kaoru.
This person certainly didn’t have that obvious vulnerability, but there was also a sense of incompletion that evoked a desire to protect.
They looked like they were thinking about something, yet also like they were waiting for someone.
Hearing Ye Zun’s voice, they raised their chin slightly and looked at him quietly, as if indifferent.
The other party’s attitude of showing little interest in him actually relieved Ye Zun’s nerves that were ready to run away and escape at any time.
He took a few more steps towards them, slowly.
“I’m waiting for someone. What are you doing here?” The person finally spoke. Their voice was soft and clear, but Ye Zun was still unable to identify their gender. He only felt that there was no emotion and only apathy, but it wasn’t unfriendly either.
Ye Zun looked at the other party and vaguely felt that his behaviour was a little rude, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off the other person.
——They don’t look like a ghost at all, they don’t have the ethereal feeling I got from Nogawa Kaoru. But if they are a human, who would be in a place like this in the middle of the night? Are they really someone arranged by the Ghost Stories Club?
Because the other party had their head lowered slightly, he could not see whether there was an Adam’s apple. A slightly unbuttoned shirt revealed a perfect collarbone with delicate lines. Although their skin was very white, it was also the kind of lovely and clear milk white, not one to make something think of an unhealthy paleness or ghosts.
“I, I’m with some other people. Across the lake, we’re having a test of courage. Who are you waiting for? Why are you blindfolded?”
Asking this, Ye Zun unconsciously held his breath slightly. He clearly thought it was unlikely, but a terrifying picture flashed through his mind in his subconscious——
A ghost who suddenly reveals its true face, a pair of blood-filled eye sockets, forming a chilling smile aimed directly at him and saying, “I’m waiting for you ah.”
The author has something to say:
Ye Zun seemed to be more protective of weak girls, so, the Abyss put on a new suit for himself and gave himself a weak character.
·
Ye Zun: “My name is Shen Yuan, what is your name?”
The mysterious person: “……”
After announcing the start of the test of courage, no one volunteered to go first, either out of restraint or fear.The organisers of the event were naturally prepared for this outcome.The hostess smiled mysteriously and said to everyone, Since no one has taken the initiative, let's play a game. The peach blossom in my hand was picked from the peach blossom forest, and is attached to the grievances born from the stories around the peach foresthow's this, we will now start to pass the branch clockwise, and I will count with my back to you. Whoever holds the branch when I turn back around, will be the one who enters first. Those who return will randomly name the next person to go in.In the crowd, some people's brows jumped imperceptibly and there was a trace of nervousness and terror in their eyes, but some people's lips couldn't help raising at the corners.Except for the native NPCs of this world, players all know that there must be ghosts in this instance.Of course, Ye Zun was also among the thirteen people. He glanced at the president who took the peach branch from the host and began to pass it clockwise.It turns out that everyone here who touches the peach branch is stained with resentment, so there is no doubt that they have a large number of test subjects.There must be many players who chose C: You are a player of an infinite survival game and have gotten a mandatory task. You must survive in the designated location for seven days and avoid the death condition before you can withdraw and return after the specified period. For these people, they only need to avoid the death condition, and you can reach the clearance condition by living until the seventh day. The death condition can only be revealed by trial and error.The more people who try and make mistakes, the more obvious what the death condition is, and the survival rates of C-option players will be higher. The person behind the Ghost Stories Club is very likely to be a C-option player.Compared with Ye Zun's calm analysis, someone in the crowd looked at the president with resentment.Jiang Yucheng was a player who chose option C. He had no ambition, only wanting to pass the level.Choosing A meant becoming a detective from a paranormal agency. He would have to go deep into the dangerous situation to find out the truth and solve the problem. Choosing B meant becoming the protagonist of a horror story, and having a very high mortality rate. It was basically a death sentence. He naturally chose C, the option which seemed to be the furthest away from the storm, without hesitation.However, he did not expect to be told by the amusement park immediately afterwards that the survivors will share all rewards equally.Of course, he was excited when he heard this. But what he felt more than stimulation was a vague fear.Jiang Yucheng was someone who had gone through two instances, and he knew how veteran players treated their opponents in order to get the rewards.At that time, he was still holding onto the idea of luck. However, when he entered the instance, he was immediately assigned a mandatory task by the game. He had to take a flyer from the Ghost Stories Club, become a member of the club, and arrive at the location tonight to participate in a test of courage.Among the three options, option C seemed to be the easiest and safest, with him only needing to survive. However, only then did he realise that option C had a fatal weakness. Because their task is to avoid the death condition, they will be forced to be present at a scene of death during a dangerous time.If I knew that earlier, I would've chosen to be the protagonist. As long as I didn't go to dangerous places, I should've been able to avoid this kind of test of courage!What to do, if I touch the peach blossom branch, I will definitely be targeted by the resentful spirit, but if I avoid the branch on purpose, I will immediately be discovered by other players hiding in the dark. I will be the first to be eliminated!Damn, it's an obvious plotah.Jiang Yucheng glanced resentfully at the president, who didn't seem to act anything out of the ordinary.Wait, the president also touched the branch, does that mean touching the branch is not a certain death condition? Or, there could be other possibilities.Touch the peach branch to enter the peach forest or touch the peach branch and not enter the peach forest I understand, this is the death condition that could occur tonight. I just need to throw the peach branch to the others as quickly as possible. As long as I'm fast enoughAfter thinking about it clearly, Jiang Yucheng immediately turned all his focus on passing the peach branch.Although he couldn't hide the panic and poor look on his face, because the thirteen people in the circle showed more or less the same nervous and scared expressions, it was not obvious for a while.After the peach branch went through all thirteen people, the hostess called for the passing to stop and she turned around.The one who held the peach branch was a handsome man, an internet celebrity named Asker*.Asker obviously knew how to utilise the atmosphere and interact with everyone. He first showed a very exaggerated expression of shock, a disbelieving look that said how could it be me?, and then faintly displayed his grievances and fears in his body movements, all while putting on a show of him trying to pretend that such a thing was nothing to be scared of, that he will bravely face the challenge.The handsome guy showing his comedic act as a moron brought up good feelings and everyone else around him joked with him, either cheering him on or deliberately making fun of him.Asker followed along with the bubbling atmosphere created from everyone's enthusiasm and advertised his live broadcast room while he was at it, reminding everyone to save him after he faints.If you don't mind, I will order a black coffin for myself first.Alright, your fans don't mind, stop delaying this, hurry and go! The hostess urged him, pretending to be fierce'.This entire exchange was captured by the cameras of the five staff members.When Asker took the broadcasting equipment and walked along the dimly lit lake to the peach blossom grove on the other side, many people took out their phones and searched for Asker's live broadcast room, watching him be scared, play tricks, and complain all the way, constantly swiping through the barrage* or chatting with the people around him.T/N: the comments from views that take up the screen in livestreamsOnly the real players appeared to do the same on the surface, but in actuality, they were staring at the pictures taken by Asker, trying to find hidden dangers. Even if they can't find any, they can familiarise themselves with the terrain, so that when it is their turn, they can find the path to escape as soon as they encounter danger.Ye Zun was also watching the live broadcast on his phone, but his mind was thinking back to what happened during the day.After learning that the game wanted players to kill each other, Ye Zun's first thought was to hide his player identity as much as possible.He was an outsider. It was obviously difficult to enter this school and appear at the scene of the crime without attracting attention.So in the beginning, he did nothing at all. He only exchanged some magic crystals into the currency of this world and asked someone to investigate the seven deceased people in this school that was mentioned by the client, Miss Zhou, in the tape recorder.Especially Jiang Shao and the fourth year student who had an accident this year.As a result, he quickly found out that Jiang Shao and the senior student actually had a connection no one else knew. Both of them were members of the Ghost Stories Club, or in other words, the only two members.These two people were obviously researching the resentful spirit in the peach blossom forest and provoked something they shouldn't have provoked.After the senior committed suicide, Jiang Shao was clearly panicked, but not long after, he began to behave like a completely different person and fell in love with someone he had never seen before.Ye Zun guessed that the thing seemed to be shifting its target. At the beginning, the target was the senior, and then it transferred to Jiang Shao. Then, after Jiang Shao's death, did the thing disappear and go back to the peach blossom forest for the time being? Or has it already found a new victim?He thought that his latter guess was very likely.Especially after seeing the sudden appearance of a new Ghost Stories Club that was recruiting new members, he was almost certain that there must be accomplices to the resentful spirit among the members of this new club.Therefore, he must not rashly contact the Ghost Stories Club.However, it was still necessary to investigate the peach blossom forest up close.What should he do? Continue to have someone to investigate remotely?Ye Zun was stuck thinking until he picked up a flyer from the club off the ground: they were looking for new members with high quality appearances.Thinking of the looks of the seven victims in his investigation, it was not difficult to guess the intentions of the people behind these flyers.Therefore, Ye Zun immediately used more money to package himself as a new magazine model in a short period of time, going for a shoot on campus, appearing right under their eyes.Just like this, he was easily noticed by those people, and his plan went off without any mistakes as he was hired as a guest of the Ghost Stories Club to warm up their activities.The people behind the club were very well prepared, going all in for their event. Not only did they sign on Ye Zun, but they also recruited some small Internet celebrities who had top-notch looks but were not yet famous.Not only that, but they also prepared equipment for a live broadcast, packaged as a long-term business project, which can quickly turn internet celebrities who cooperate with them popular.In addition to Ye Zun and the first beauty guru blogger who just left, Asker, there were also two female internet celebrities invited by the Ghost Stories Club.The people in the club were very smart. They communicated with him completely in the format of a paranormal live broadcast.When it's your turn, you have to follow along with the game. During the live broadcast, our staff may disguise themselves as a ghost and randomly appear in front of one of you. At that time, you must not panic too much and pretend that you didn't notice anything unusual. You can interact and say something flirtatious, it will be a contrast to the audience who is watching the live broadcast and thinking it is real. With that, our live broadcast will be very watchable.They not only told this disclaimer to Ye Zun, but also the three other influencers.In addition, they signed a non-disclosure agreement with the club, requiring that they must not reveal the secrets of the staff members pretending to be the resentful spirit, and that they must act realistically.Only Ye Zun knew that this was not some kind of special effect at all, nor was it a disguise. There will really be ghosts.The four of them were scapegoats found by the people behind the Ghost Stories Club.Even Asker, the first person to head into the peach blossom grove in the test of courage, was also someone arranged a long time ago.Although the hostess was playing the mini game with her back to them, she was using a device to see whether the peach blossom branch was about to reach Asker.The resentful spirit had no need to deliberately coax and choose victims. Even if it did, it didn't need to find so many people to hide their goals.It was obvious that there were not only the accomplices of the resentful spirit that Ye Zun suspected to exist, but also other players like him.There must be other people in this game who also chose to be a detective, choosing to be the oriole stalking from behind*.T/N: the second half of the quote the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. There is an english equivalent of this quote but I can't remember what it wasSo, he must never reveal himself.There were other players who had the same thoughts as Ye Zun.Asker came back not long after, running towards their group as if he was being chased by a ghost.But although he wore a scared expression, there was more excitement in his face. He was obviously just scaring himself.Everyone also found it very invigorating, especially when watching the live broadcast, and they laughed at the exaggerated appearance of Asker's playful, cowardly and idiotic behaviour. Everyone felt that if it was them in his place, they would perform better.And so, before Asker could call out a name, the second person to test his courage took the initiative to stand up.Then came a second person, then a third, a fourthIn order to prevent people from losing interest in the middle of the event, the order in which Ye Zun and the three Internet celebrities went to test their courage had already been arranged prior to the activity.Asker went first, and the two female internet celebrities were planned to be the fourth and seventh. Ye Zun was the last.However, the hostess made some impromptu changes for the rules, letting the person who came back from their test of courage to randomly designate the next person, resulting in a complete mess of the order.During the fifth person's go, a girl who was going to test her courage suddenly ran back in fear.Ahhhhh, I saw it, I saw a white figure float by, it scared me!The surrounding atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.Everyone immediately got together to study the footage she had filmed back then.It was this way, I really saw a white figure drifting past.Could it be a passerby? Did you really see it? Are you sure it's a ghost?The girl hesitated. Just, I just saw something white that floated by.In addition to some people expressing genuine fear, several people felt even more exhilarated.The girl's panic was appeased by everyone's performance, and she even wondered whether she had seen it wrong, but when it was her turn to appoint the next person, she had a hard time.She was a timid girl, so she didn't dare to let other girls go, but when she thought about designating a boy, she didn't know anyone in the group, so she hesitated.Instead, the atmosphere became tense during her extended choosing period.Although everyone said that she had seen it wrong, the hidden players knew that there was a real ghost out there. No one took the initiative for a while.The girl's eyes passed over Ye Zun several times, hesitating before shifting away, her fingers trembling.According to the prior agreement, at this time, it should be the two female internet celebrities who would raise their hands to save the situation, but who knew whether they were frightened or just forgot to remember the arrangement as they closed their eyes and covered their ears, hugging each other and not daring to look. Like the other timid people, they had the appearance of being afraid to be chosen.The president and the hostess exchanged a few whispers. The president obviously had no intention of cutting things short since the beginning, so the host smiled and looked at Ye Zun.This super handsome little brother, can you be a hero by saving the beauty, and give a helping hand to this little cutie?The girl bit her lip and looked at Ye Zun, hesitant to say anything but still not directly appointing him as the next participant.The hostess came over with a smile and patted the girl's head. Ya, this little brother is too good-looking, absolutely can't bear to send you out. What should we do? Our little cutie is too kind.Originally, before the game began, Ye Zun, who wore a white shirt and a black suit, just sat there without speaking, attracting everyone's attention. But because he always seemed to have no obvious expression on his face, just playing on his phone with his eyes lowered slightly, thinking of something or other, not talking to anyone and looking a little cold and aloof, other people didn't dare to take the initiative to talk to him. After the real Mr Perfect' president came out, they were all immediately distracted.Right now, under the spotlight, everyone looked at him together. That quiet and handsome face was so good-looking that he seemed to be glowing.Wow, Xiao-gege*, what's your nameah?I wouldn't mind getting your WeChat!T/N: forgot to mention I think, but they call him xiao gege' which is literally little big brother'. I think girls use this in a flirtatious way of addressing a boyYe Zun pursed his lips slightly, and said the name he gave when he signed the contract: Shen Yuan.Our little brother Shen Yuan is a modeloh, not only is he good-looking, but also walking hormones Fortunately, he used that man's name, so he could keep this entire ordeal completely unrelated to himself and calmly listen to these strange compliments that made people restless.But in the eyes of others, they didn't think these praises were too much at all.In the dark night, there was a young man in the crowd wearing a simple white shirt and black slim suit. Anyone can think up a 3 million-word romance novel just by looking at his faceThe noble young master of a wealthy family, who has never endured hardship since he was a child, having always kept art as his companion. The person who was supposed to hold power suddenly died overnight, and the empire would collapse, thus he was forced to come out to take over the company. In the morning, he abandoned his art and transferred himself into business. Attending a celebrity banquet at night, in the midst of the treacherous and complicated intrigue, he calmly supported himself in the crisis, all alone. After the late-night banquet, he walked out of the garden for a breath of fresh air, finally relieving his fatigue, if only temporarily, showing a slightly quiet indifference. At this time, you, the heroine, appeared and became his white moonlight*T/N: the one that got away'/soulmate or whateverYe Zun had absolutely no idea what those people were thinking, otherwise, even while using Shen Yuan's name, he would have no way to calm down.He smiled politely at the girl who was still hesitating. I will goba.Ye Zun took the live broadcast equipment from her hands.You, you must be careful. If you see something wrong, you must quickly run. The girl bit her lip and warned him quietly.Ye Zun was slightly startled, then nodded his thanks. He slightly suspected that she was also a player.By this time, the test of courage activity was almost halfway finished. Ye Zun was the sixth participant, and there were seven other members who had not yet had their turn.Of course, this did not include the hostess and the club president.And it also did not include the five staff fiddling with the equipment.Except for the staff, these fifteen people's looks were all above average. You didn't need to think twice to know that inside the Demon God's Amusement Park, there was nothing that could be so coincidental. The players in this instance all happened to be good-looking.Maybe it was something the game manipulated to make everyone appear more beautiful in the eyes of others.As for the white shadow, Ye Zun naturally took what the girl said just then to heart, and kept calm and vigilant all the way.But if you don't think about anything at all in a dark, oppressive environment, your heartbeat and breathing will involuntarily quicken.To disperse the nerves in his body, Ye Zun subconsciously began to analyse.They were already halfway through the test of courage, but there has been no deaths yet. Maybe the first five people have not triggered any death conditions, or maybe their deaths will not be upon them immediately, and will be determined after participating in the test of courage.After all, of the seven victims before, some disappeared that night, and some committed suicide a few days later. Obviously, the conditions and endings were different.As long as you don't die immediately, there is no need to be afraid.Ye Zun walked at the same pace every step of the way, without pretending to be afraid or hesitant, nor acting like he did not care at all by marching forward.After walking halfway around the lake, he looked back to where he came from. Even the members of the club in the distance looked a little abnormal in the light.Ye Zun didn't look more than necessary, but acted like he was carefully turning his focus to the peach blossom grove.The night wind blew through the grass and trees. If one was even a little unsettled, they will think of some terrible existence, but if one looked closely, they will realise that there really was no trace of any person.It was already eleven-forty at the time, almost hitting twelve o'clock of midnight. It was no wonder that no one volunteered to go.The location where they hung the number plates was deep in the peach blossom forest.There were some pink peach blossoms by the river. It looked like a gust of wind would clean out the tree*, but the variant in the peach blossom forest was a vague purple-leaf peach tree**. The flower branches wove intricately and densely, with layers upon layers. They bloomed brilliantly and abundantly, with the potential to grow even more. There was no sign of decline in the flowers.T/N: literally no idea what it means because I think the author misused a word, so I made it upT/N: , flowers are red and pink, then gradually turn purpleBut with a gust of wind, or a slight touch, the full branches of flowers will rise one after another. No matter how many petals fall, the branches will still flourish.The hazy moonlight shone through the thin clouds, covering the peach trees with a silver film.But because of the dense foliage and the ups and downs of the mountains, the shadows crowded, causing the scenery to be a little unclear, as if something was lurking.For a second, the flowers blinded his eyes. For a second, the shadows grew heavy.Half of his mind found the sight beautiful, while the other half felt a chill running down his back, as if he was being watched by something terrible, something he hasn't noticed yet.The knot on Ye Zun's throat rolled instinctively. He held back his nervousness slightly, using the lights of the broadcasting equipment to illuminate the peach trees, finding a sign with a number on it.Fortunately, the rules were not very tormenting. You pass as long as you get a random number, it is not mandatory to find the corresponding number of the order you went in.The phone's flashlight swept by and he absentmindedly saw a shaking number 13'.Ye Zun looked in the direction from his memory. The branch with the sign hanging off seemed to be on a slightly higher terrain.Staring at the sign, afraid that he would lose sight of it in a blink of an eye, Ye Zun walked around the flowers, trees and stones, one step at a time.Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of something white. Ye Zun suddenly came to a stop.In an instance, his heart pounded erratically and wildly, but he didn't avoid it. Instead, he stared directly in that direction, unblinking.The peach blossom tree was flourishing, with branches thicker and taller than normal trees, planted on a half-sloped terrain.If one looked closely, they would see that someone was leaning against the trunk.The tulle-like moonlight shone on the white sleeves, glowing softly and misty pearl-like lustre.It wasn't in the style of a casual everyday shirt sleeve, but a rather gorgeous blouse with lacework.The person leaning against the tree was a little slender, with their head bowed slightly. Their hair was long enough to reach the back of their waist.Is, that a girl?The figure's standing posture was not in a very relaxed natural state, nor was it reminiscent of eerie stiffness. It was a kind of restraint with a slight self-discipline, just like how Ye Zun behaved during his breaks while in the middle of shooting an advertisement, because he was afraid of messing up his clothes and having to be done-up by the makeup artist again, so he deliberately maintained an unnatural state.Who is there? He slowed his voice, making himself seem friendly, keeping his distance while he walked around to the other side where the person stood.The first thing he saw was the chin and a head that was lowered slightly, with beautiful lines and soft lips, slightly pursed, coldly and without emotion.Then there was the lower half of the face, followed by the eyes covered with white gauze under the long black hair.Ye Zun was slightly stunned, looking at the person in front of him in surprise.Although this sight was a little strange and unusual, there was no way to tell whether the person in front of him was a ghost. Just like how Ye Zun had no way to judge whether they were male or female.A thin and light figure; although the details in every element were gorgeous, the overall outline of the shirt and pants were cold and detached, seemingly world-weary and abstinent. Seeing these pieces together, the person looked more like a man.However, they also had beautiful long black hair, a face that was so perfect it looked like it belonged to on different plane of existence, a somewhat silent and empty temperament, and beauty that blurred the line between genders.Especially the eyes that were blindfolded with chiffon fabric, appearing calm and restrained, which made Ye Zun subconsciously think of Nogawa Kaoru.This person certainly didn't have that obvious vulnerability, but there was also a sense of incompletion that evoked a desire to protect.They looked like they were thinking about something, yet also like they were waiting for someone.Hearing Ye Zun's voice, they raised their chin slightly and looked at him quietly, as if indifferent.The other party's attitude of showing little interest in him actually relieved Ye Zun's nerves that were ready to run away and escape at any time.He took a few more steps towards them, slowly.I'm waiting for someone. What are you doing here? The person finally spoke. Their voice was soft and clear, but Ye Zun was still unable to identify their gender. He only felt that there was no emotion and only apathy, but it wasn't unfriendly either.Ye Zun looked at the other party and vaguely felt that his behaviour was a little rude, but he couldn't keep his eyes off the other person.They don't look like a ghost at all, they don't have the ethereal feeling I got from Nogawa Kaoru. But if they are a human, who would be in a place like this in the middle of the night? Are they really someone arranged by the Ghost Stories Club?Because the other party had their head lowered slightly, he could not see whether there was an Adam's apple. A slightly unbuttoned shirt revealed a perfect collarbone with delicate lines. Although their skin was very white, it was also the kind of lovely and clear milk white, not one to make something think of an unhealthy paleness or ghosts.I, I'm with some other people. Across the lake, we're having a test of courage. Who are you waiting for? Why are you blindfolded?Asking this, Ye Zun unconsciously held his breath slightly. He clearly thought it was unlikely, but a terrifying picture flashed through his mind in his subconsciousA ghost who suddenly reveals its true face, a pair of blood-filled eye sockets, forming a chilling smile aimed directly at him and saying, I'm waiting for youah.The author has something to say:Ye Zun seemed to be more protective of weak girls, so, the Abyss put on a new suit for himself and gave himself a weak character.Ye Zun: My name is Shen Yuan, what is your name?The mysterious person:
