Chapter 007: The Widow in the Mansion 7

[Player Yu Deng, please note: Special mission target locked—Player Cheng Xiao.]

Yu Deng: "??"

Was it just his imagination? He actually sensed a trace of urgency in the system’s voice, as if it was desperate to lock the target behind bars immediately.

Yu Deng shook his head inwardly. Wake up, main system! The target still has you in his grasp!

He was counting on Big Brother to save him!

Not to mention, he hadn’t even had time to study the specifics of this special mission.

Yu Deng half-heartedly replied to the system, “Got it. Don’t bother me while I’m on the mission.”

Main system: [……]

The electronic voice fell silent for a moment and didn’t push him further.

The rustling noises in the mourning hall grew closer. Cheng Xiao quickly lit the bundle of straw he had kicked near the door.

The lighter’s flame persisted stubbornly for a few seconds, finally igniting the dry straw.

The fire from the burning hay was much brighter than the lighter’s, barely dispelling the darkness enough to vaguely see objects within two meters.

Suddenly, the system’s electric hum spiked, crackling with static.

Yu Deng inexplicably felt the system’s “blood pressure” rising... though silicon-based lifeforms don’t have blood pressure.

But he had no time to pay attention. With the firelight, Yu Deng could finally take in everything before him.

…and once he did, he wished he had remained blind.

—Master Cheng’s corpse lay face down on the floor, head facing outward, his half-decayed side profile staring at the door.

That dull thudding noise earlier was the sound of the coffin tipping over.

The rustling was caused by flipping paper.

Two paper figures were inching closer to them.

The paper effigies resembled children of about seven or eight years old in shape and height. Flat paper, propped up by bamboo sticks, dressed in vivid red and green clothes.

Their eye sockets were blank, unpainted, but their noses and mouths were lifelike.

Yu Deng: “……”

He took a sharp breath, wanting to faint on the spot. But perhaps from the overload of stimulation in the past few hours, he stubbornly stayed conscious.

One of the red-clothed paper figures noticed Yu Deng’s gaze and awkwardly turned its head.

Its mouth, drawn with thick black lines, slowly curled upward, the paper trembling to form an exaggerated grin.

It was smiling at Yu Deng.

“Ah!”

Yu Deng let out a short, startled cry, turning his head away in embarrassment to avoid looking at the paper figure.

The figure froze, its smile fading slightly.

“Why do you only smile at me?” Cheng Xiao held the trembling Yu Deng, flicking the burning straw with his shoe. “Don’t like seeing me? Or just naturally not one to smile?”

Paper figure: [……] Heh, no one who plays with fire is a good person.

The paper figure’s grin vanished completely. Thin sheets rose into the air, its comically short paper arms lifted, and it suddenly swung toward Cheng Xiao.

Cheng Xiao pulled Yu Deng aside just in time. The paper slice was as sharp as a blade, slicing off a layer from the solid wooden door behind them.

[Holy crap, this attack power and speed—is this really a level D newbie dungeon monster? Feels more like a B-level dungeon difficulty now.]

[This rookie’s got guts and quality.]

[Hahaha, suddenly realized ghosts all like to smile at Deng Deng, scaring him so badly.]

[Player Deng Deng: Don’t come near me!]

The other paper figure in green charged forward as well.

Cheng Xiao suddenly released Yu Deng. “You go that way, don’t follow me.”

Yu Deng was confused and a little hurt at being left behind but obediently ran off as instructed.

After a moment, Yu Deng realized why Cheng Xiao told him to run.

Because the paper figures mainly targeted Cheng Xiao. Their aggression towards Yu Deng was much less.

Sometimes a paper figure would float over, feint an attack to scare Yu Deng into falling, then return to assault Cheng Xiao.

Yu Deng: “?”

He blinked, wondering if this was what the system meant by… generally not being the primary attack target? Or was it that Cheng Xiao had garnered so much aggro?

Meanwhile, Cheng Xiao deftly dodged the paper figures’ attacks, skillfully singeing them with fire. He also glanced occasionally at Yu Deng’s status.

Cheng Xiao had initially wondered why Yu Deng, an NPC, appeared so frequently at the mission site. But judging by the paper figures’ focus, Yu Deng might just be collateral damage.

Cheng Xiao casually grabbed a straw bundle and threw it, burning a hole in the green paper figure’s shoulder.

The figure’s expression twisted into a snarl, slashing a wound across Cheng Xiao’s arm.

Yu Deng stared blankly at the fight, sensing the complexity of human experience.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a corpse lying on the ground nearby.

Was it just his imagination…? The corpse seemed to have shifted its position.

Yu Deng felt a growing unease, convinced worse things might happen.

After all, the fight’s outcome was uncertain; if it dragged on, Cheng Xiao—a mere mortal—would be at a disadvantage.

After Cheng Xiao was dealt with, it would be his turn. And what of that strange corpse…

But Yu Deng was neither clever nor able to fight. What could he do…

The temperature in the hall dropped further; the firelight dimmed from earlier brilliance. Yu Deng rubbed his numb arms, suddenly noticing the extinguished candle right beside Master Cheng’s hand.

He thought hard, and a sudden flash of insight struck him.

The candle had gone out, causing this chaos. If he relit the candle, would things improve?

But to retrieve the candle, he’d have to get dangerously close to the corpse. Boo hoo.

While Yu Deng hesitated, the two paper figures grew twice their size, almost the height of adults. In the corner, an unstable paper figure had somehow risen.

Yu Deng could hear Cheng Xiao’s breathing grow heavier.

Gritting his teeth, Yu Deng staggered over, grabbed the candle, and scrambled away using all limbs. He didn’t dare consider the cold sensation near his ankle as he approached.

Tears in his eyes, Yu Deng pressed the candle flame to the remaining straw bundle used for light. The wick flickered and slowly lit.

The darkness in the hall suddenly swirled like a vortex, enveloping them.

The floor shook violently; Yu Deng lost his footing and fell, scraping his arm along the wall.

He groaned softly in pain.

Fortunately, after the tremor, the light returned.

Yu Deng squinted awkwardly, stunned to find the hall restored to its former state before the candle went out. Master Cheng lay peacefully in his coffin.

Only the hole in the green paper figure’s shoulder and Cheng Xiao’s bleeding arm proved the earlier events were real.

Yu Deng’s cheek brushed against some dust, unsure if it was from his fall or ash from the fire.

“You’re so smart, little mom,” Cheng Xiao approached, placing a hand on Yu Deng’s shoulder, studying him for a moment before smiling. “You solved it all at once.”

Rarely hearing such praise, Yu Deng straightened proudly, rubbing his nose and smudging the dust worse.

Like a proud little kitten—pitiful yet adorable.

[ Ding! Congratulations, Player Yu Deng, on surviving the anomaly in the mourning hall. Side mission ‘Guarding the Vigil’ completed.]

Yu Deng snorted coldly.

Sneaky dungeon! The side mission only gave a name—no warning it would be a life-or-death struggle!

[Reward points have been added to your personal score; final tally after dungeon completion.]

Yu Deng: “Huh?”

[Congratulations to the host on completing the side mission.]

The voice in his mind switched back to the electronic tone of his system 01.

Yu Deng responded, slowly realizing the side mission came with rewards.

So that’s why veteran players eagerly take on side missions—not just for clues but for rewards?

“System, why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

System: [Sorry, such information must be inferred by the player. It also serves as a measure of player acuity.]

Yu Deng: “……” Felt like he’d just been scolded.

[It’s fine. The host has discovered it now.] The system was unfazed. [Points can be exchanged for items; this feature will unlock after the first dungeon ends. No need to rush.]

Shortly after the hall was restored, dawn slowly broke.

Yu Deng exhaled deeply.

Veteran player Sister Tong entered, eyes flickering with subtle meaning. “My side mission failed. When did you finish yours?”

“Just now,” Cheng Xiao glanced at her. “You didn’t know?”

“No, we slept through it. Didn’t hear a thing.”

Cheng Xiao pondered. So the earlier mission effectively opened a new space? Or was it a hallucination?

Was this ability unique to someone or common to all players in the dungeon?

Yu Deng also mulled it over but the sudden insight had passed, and no conclusions came.

The rookies looked at the veterans with troubled expressions, clueless. “Isn’t it good? The side mission’s over, no more fear and worry. It was so dangerous…”

Just as the veterans tried to brush it off, a terrified scream came from a nearby house.

“Bad news—Fourth Madam, she—!”

Everyone’s faces tightened. Just as they moved to investigate, another scream came from the mansion where players were resting.

Two incidents back to back?! Had two people died?

Yu Deng had been proud of completing the side mission moments ago, but now his good mood vanished and his heart tightened again.

As Yu Deng hesitated on where to go first, Cheng Xiao grabbed him. “Let’s go check it out. Little mom promised me last night.”

Yu Deng nodded without objection, following Cheng Xiao to see the deceased madam. Sister Tong shot Cheng Xiao a glance and led two rookies elsewhere.

The courtyard gradually filled with people; Yu Deng found himself unable to push through.

He glanced up at the sky.

After two consecutive mishaps, the damp mist around the Cheng family mansion thickened noticeably.

Yu Deng gazed toward the area where the fog was densest, murmuring curiously, “What’s that place?”

Cheng Xiao followed his gaze, recalling the map he had checked.

“That’s the Cheng family burial ground.”