Chapter 33 The Wandering God of the Ancient Town - The Vanished Corpse

Bai Xiao thought carefully, what was her best and most precious thing?

Her house? Supplies in the game storage? mall items bought in her backpack?

But these had nothing to do with this game.

The only thing related to the game was the travel bag issued by the game; other than that, she possessed nothing else.

Were the bread, water, money, and black cloth in the bag considered precious?

She thought that normally these were very ordinary things, but in this town, a pastry for a child could sell for three hundred yuan. An adult would need at least three or four to be full. One thousand could only buy three pastries at most. Like bread and water, it could only provide one full meal.

She was a stranger in a strange land, and the Guesthouse didn't provide meals. This money and food/water could barely keep her from starving for two days.

The Guide said the Procession Assembly wouldn't be held until three days later, meaning the game would last for three days.

From this perspective, these seemed like they could be called her precious things.

But giving the things away, wouldn't that mean the player would have to go hungry for an extra day? Moreover, some shops clearly didn't offer anything. How to explain that?

For a moment, Bai Xiao's thoughts were in a whirl, unable to find a clue.

...

Knock, knock, knock.

After an unknown amount of time, a messy sound of footsteps came from outside the door. With a bang, the Guesthouse door was pushed open forcefully, and several players ran in, panting heavily.

They looked as if they had been chased by something all the way, each resting with hands on their hips to catch their breath.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6?

"Why is one person missing? Where is Zheng Wen?" Bai Xiao saw only six of the seven players enter; only Zheng Wen was absent.

"It's all his fault!" Feng Huilin shouted angrily, pointing at Wang Yongqiang's nose.

She had recovered a bit and took a deep breath before continuing her accusation: "It's all his fault. He wanted to see what clues were at the square, but he wouldn't go himself. He egged Zheng Wen on, insisting that since Zheng Wen suggested finding the Divine Path and the Temple, whoever suggested it should find it. Zheng Wen is honest but not stupid. Seeing that the others weren't moving, he just pushed Zheng Wen in!"

"And then?"

"Seeing he was already inside, Zheng Wen was too embarrassed to back out, so he went to the Sacrificial Altar to investigate. Who knew that as soon as he got close, a group of people suddenly emerged from the alley behind the Sacrificial Altar, grabbed Zheng Wen, and dragged him away!"

"Oh dear, I said long ago that we should go up and save him. Maybe we could have snatched him back. But who knew you guys would turn around and run!" Chen Sheng slapped his thigh and said with regret.

Seeing everyone scolding him, Wang Yongqiang argued defiantly, "That's because he's stupid. Why did he have to go to the Sacrificial Altar? Did I force him to go to the Sacrificial Altar too?"

After saying that, he pointed at Chen Sheng's nose and cursed, "And you, stop acting like a peacemaker here. Saying I ran—you didn't run? Which one of you didn't run all the way back!"

"Alright, alright! Everyone, don't be so quick to turn on each other. Things have come to this; let's first think about what to do tonight," Han Yadong hurriedly advised, seeing everyone arguing incessantly.

This game was just that cruel. If one wasn't constantly vigilant, any thoughtless action could bring about a fatal disaster.

"Let's talk about what everyone discovered," Han Yadong suggested, seeing the group stop arguing.

Several people shook their heads. Only Huang Xinxin was counting on her fingers, hesitating whether she should speak: "I don't know if what I found counts as a clue."

"Just speak up. Anyway, no one has any clues right now."

"I found that the townspeople's offerings are mostly food. Occasionally, even if they don't offer food, they keep burning incense. Earlier, I saw a shop where the incense was already half-burned. When I came back after so long, logically the incense should have finished burning, but when I took a quick glance while running, they had lit new incense," Huang Xinxin said firmly, looking into everyone's eyes.

"What does that mean?" Wei Yun asked, puzzled.

Huang Xinxin pinched the corner of her clothes. She had been a bit afraid of teachers since she was a child, especially middle-aged female teachers like this. Seeing her being questioned, she stammered her answer, "This is why I was hesitating whether to speak. I don't know if I can provide any ideas for everyone."

Only Bai Xiao was suddenly enlightened upon hearing this: "Your discovery is definitely useful. I understand now. It turns out our offerings are right beside us."

"What do you mean by that?" Wei Yun pressed.

Bai Xiao pointed to the travel bag issued by the game and said, "The offerings are the supplies the game gave us. Today I asked several people in town about the offerings. Without exception, they all said that what they give to the Mountain God is their best thing. Most people offer their freshest food. Those who don't have any will keep burning incense for the Mountain God to show their piety."

At this point, she asked Huang Xinxin, "The shop you saw burning incense, did it not sell food?"

Huang Xinxin nodded. "Mhm, that shop sells bamboo products."

"That's it. For merchants who don't sell food, their food from the morning is leftover from the night before. To show their piety, they won't offer leftover food to the Mountain God. And just now I found Xiao Liu at the Guesthouse. He said the Guesthouse doesn't provide food, which means there's no food here. But the Guesthouse also belongs to the town, so it must also offer sacrifices to the divine statue. We just need to go to Xiao Liu's room and see if he also burns incense for the Mountain God to find out."

After saying that, Bai Xiao led everyone to the backyard, straight to Xiao Liu's room.

Bang, bang, bang!

Several people knocked on the door aggressively.

"What's the matter, guests?" Xiao Liu rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned as he opened the door.

As soon as he opened the door, the two men, Wang Yongqiang and Han Yadong, each held one side of the door and pushed it wide open.

Bai Xiao and the others poked their heads in to look. Sure enough, a divine statue was hanging on his wall, with three sticks of incense burning in front of it.

"Nothing, just checking if you were in." Several people laughed it off and, amidst Xiao Liu's stunned gaze, helped him close the door and returned to the front hall.

"It seems that's indeed the case, but does this prove the offerings are the supplies given by the game? Could it be that we can also burn incense?" Chen Sheng said doubtfully.

"And the supplies the game gave us include money, bread, water, and a piece of black cloth. If we have to say what's most precious, I feel like a thousand yuan is more valuable than bread," Han Yadong also voiced his thoughts.

Bai Xiao looked at Han Yadong and shook her head. "Don't forget, everything the townspeople offer is food."

"Then what should I do?! I ate the bread the game gave me at noon!" Wang Yongqiang said anxiously.

"My bag is on the bus. Someone died on the bus, and I was too scared. When I ran off in a hurry, I forgot to bring it." Wei Yun looked out at the bus parked by the roadside. After a whole day, she didn't know how terrifying the corpse inside would be. She really didn't dare go up.

Ma Huilin seemed to suddenly remember something and said to everyone, "That boy who died, isn't his bag on the bus too? Can we use his to fill in first?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Yongqiang felt like he had caught a lifesaver. Ignoring his fear, he hurriedly ran towards the bus.

"Hey! Wait for me, I'm going too!" Seeing Wang Yongqiang run, Wei Yun followed hurriedly, afraid of being left behind.

Seeing the two leave, some of the remaining people whose game bags were still in their upstairs rooms also took the opportunity to go up and get them.

A moment later, Wei Yun suddenly screamed, then shouted angrily, "Wang Yongqiang, that's my bag! Give it back to me!"

Bai Xiao, Chen Sheng, and Han Yadong were carrying their bags with them, so they had been waiting in the front hall. When Wei Yun's voice came, the three looked at each other. What happened now?

First Wang Yongqiang ran in, followed by Wei Yun. Of the two, only Wang Yongqiang was holding a bag.

"What's the situation?" Chen Sheng asked.

While dodging Wei Yun, Wang Yongqiang said in horror, "That man's corpse has disappeared!"