What a Shame

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Even though he wasn't very smart, Ben Fu could tell that something was wrong with Zhou Rong and Yin Zhiping in front of him. Even if they weren't ghosts in disguise, they were certainly corpses controlled by a ghost. It was possible that Zhou Rong and Yin Zhiping had died as soon as they entered the building.

But just as he turned around and had only run a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

A shadow had appeared on the staircase, where there had been nothing just moments ago.

His pupils shrank, and it felt as though his heart had been grabbed by something. Then, a strange thought flashed in his mind: could the two people who had just pointed at him have been referring to this shadow?

Before he could think further, the clouds parted, and the bright moonlight streamed through the broken window. Ben Fu finally saw that the shadow wasn't what he had thought—it was a person squatting on the ground.

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"Did you see who it was?" Zhou Rong's voice came, low and menacing.

Jiang Cheng, Chen Xiaomeng, and Jiang Zhongyi huddled behind the door. They hadn't opened it but only cracked it slightly, peering through the gap.

Jiang Zhongyi's throat moved nervously as he said uncertainly, "I think... I think it was Ben Fu."

He had been the one on watch earlier. Compared to Jiang Cheng, the previous watchman, Ben Fu had been quite diligent, checking every few minutes and cautiously peeking outside. About ten minutes ago, when he checked again, he had noticed a suspicious figure sneaking around. However, because of the angle, he hadn't been able to get a good look before the shadow disappeared from his view.

In his flustered state, he could only vaguely remember the figure's back and assumed it was Ben Fu.

"What should we do?" Jiang Zhongyi habitually turned to Zhou Rong, asking, "Should we inform the others?"

Zhou Rong lowered his head, thinking, and didn't respond immediately.

For Zhou Rong, he was more concerned with why Ben Fu had dared to leave the room alone, especially at night. The village chief had specifically warned not to go outside at night.

Ben Fu might have been a bit slow, but he was definitely not a fool, so something was definitely wrong here.

"Mr. Yin," Zhou Rong suddenly raised his head and looked at Jiang Cheng, "Do you have any thoughts?"

Ever since earlier, Jiang Cheng's face had been very unnatural, full of confusion, regret, and a hint of remorse. None of this had escaped Zhou Rong's attention, and he quickly guessed that Jiang Cheng might have discovered something.

Jiang Cheng stroked his chin for a while, and then regretfully said, "What a shame about that sweet potato."

Zhou Rong: "???"

Jiang Zhongyi: "???"

Chen Xiaomeng: "I told you, he's got a screw loose."

Zhou Rong, now calmer, tried to interpret Jiang Cheng's words from another angle. "Mr. Yin," he swallowed, quickly looking at Jiang Cheng and said, "Do you mean that Ben Fu...?"

"If that was really Ben Fu," Chen Xiaomeng interrupted impatiently, "then either he found some clue, or he was lured by something." She glanced at Zhou Rong with a cold look, "But the result is the same."

Jiang Zhongyi's face turned pale. Everyone knew what "something" referred to in Chen Xiaomeng's words.

"Of course, there's a second possibility," Chen Xiaomeng continued coldly. "That Ben Fu was a ghost in disguise, trying to lure us outside."

Jiang Zhongyi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking that the ghost must have been overestimating its chances. Who would go outside in the pitch black night?

"Creek—"

The creaking of the old door hinges sounded like a pair of scissors, cutting through Jiang Zhongyi's soul. He stared wide-eyed as Jiang Cheng opened the door and walked outside.

Then came Chen Xiaomeng and Zhou Rong.

He quickly glanced outside and saw the door to another room open. Pei Qian, Yu Man, and Li Lu were standing behind the door, their faces grim.

Especially Li Lu, who was trembling even from a distance.

After a few seconds of shock, Jiang Zhongyi rushed after them.

He thought it would have been better to be killed than left alone in the room.

Now things were clear: the one who left really was Ben Fu, not a ghost in disguise.

"I... I sleep very lightly," Li Lu said, trembling, her body still shaking from the cold, though the heat from the furnace couldn't dispel the chill in her heart. "I heard wind outside, so I got up to see what was going on, but the door was open, and Ben Fu... he was gone!"

After hearing what Jiang Zhongyi had said, Pei Qian's face darkened. After a while, he said, "Ben Fu must have been tricked by a ghost, and it's probably bad news for him."

Apart from that, no one could think of any reason why he would leave alone. The task had just begun, and with just him alone, it was impossible to find any crucial clue and complete the task.

But it was too late to say anything now.

Luckily, none of the people here were newcomers. Although some of them were showing signs of emotional distress, ultimately, it was just the typical case of a rabbit mourning for the fox.

People dying in nightmares was common. What they needed to do was figure out the taboo of the task and avoid becoming the next victim.

The advantage of having experienced players was that no one would ask stupid questions like whether they should go looking for someone. Instead, they all silently gathered in one room to rest.

They closed the door tightly, stoked the furnace fire, and increased the number of people on watch to two.

Every hour and a half, they would switch shifts to ensure everyone had enough rest.

So they waited until morning.

When footsteps finally sounded outside, Zhou Rong opened the door.

It was the village chief and the dark, strong man again, the man carrying a long bamboo pole with baskets hanging from both ends, covered by thick cloth. A faint fragrance wafted from beneath.

"Sorry, sorry," the village chief immediately apologized as soon as he entered, "You all must be hungry, come, come, eat something!"

He lifted the cloth, revealing a whole basket of steamed buns.

But they weren't the usual white buns; they were a pale yellow color, and if you looked closely, there were rough bulges on top.

In this era, white flour was a luxury, and even these coarse grains were probably collected by the village chief from house to house.

After thanking him, everyone took a bun and began eating. Another basket contained a black jar, and inside was something that resembled a gourd cut in half, floating in it, meant for drinking water.

If anyone felt choked by the buns, they could drink some water.

Everyone ate and drank in silence, not speaking a word.

The village chief's gaze occasionally scanned the group, his mouth opening several times, but he quickly closed it and made some polite remarks to cover it up.

Chen Xiaomeng stood by the window, nibbling on a bun, occasionally glancing at the village chief. She had noticed earlier that the village chief was intentionally or unintentionally checking their numbers.

He would stretch his neck now and then, peeking into the room.

He had already realized that someone was missing but seemed to ignore it, pretending nothing was wrong. Chen Xiaomeng's gaze gradually grew more subtle.

(End of the Chapter)

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