72: Chapter 72: The Festival of Sacrifice (Part 17)

The girl on the ground who had been frightened was none other than Linlin.

She was trembling all over, muttering nonsense.

It looked like she had been scared out of her wits.

After all, she wasn't a player and didn't know this was a game; encountering such bizarre events, she was naturally terrified.

"How did they appear here?"

"Didn't they live in the far east? How did they run over here?"

Unfortunately, no one answered Tai You's question; those in the know were too terrified to speak coherently.

As for the NPCs in trench coats, they were even less interested.

Trench Coat Boss had no interest in them, keeping his gaze fixed on Qian Ye.

He looked suspicious.

He felt that the person in front of him was somewhat different from before.

Yet, this person looked exactly the same, with no changes other than a personality that had become even more malicious.

Qian Ye felt a burning gaze fixed on her. She looked up, met Trench Coat Boss's eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"Don't forget our mission." Leaving behind this single sentence, he flicked his trench coat and walked away.

The group left in such a grand, sweeping manner.

"Mission?" Qian Ye watched their retreating figures, lost in thought.

His words reminded her of the clear condition: the mysterious treasure always makes every living creature covetous.

Every living creature.

Living creatures naturally included humans.

Qian Ye had no interest in the affairs of the courtyard; she just wanted to sleep now.

Whatever happened, it could wait until she woke up.

Meng Yu and Tai You felt the same; what was the point of being here? If someone was dead, they were dead, and their presence here was of no help.

The remaining players were left staring at each other.

"How about we leave too and hurry to find some clues?" Dagen scratched his head and suggested.

What was the point of them staying here? They were just NPCs, and it had nothing to do with them.

Soon, silence returned to the place. In the courtyard, only a female corpse, a girl in a breakdown, and two boys remained.

"Why, why did such a strange thing happen?"

"Clearly, we clearly just wanted to come out for a vacation!"

"I want to go back, I want to go back!"

One of the boys had bloodshot eyes; the continuous events had caused him to break down.

The first time, they said it was a wild beast, but this time, in the village, was it still a wild beast?

"No! I want to go back! I want to go back!" The man, as if possessed, rushed out with bloodshot eyes, heading toward the village entrance.

The boy beside him was in a dilemma, not knowing whether to chase after him or watch the person in front of him.

A sense of powerlessness washed over him instantly.

Even though there were people here, he couldn't feel a shred of warmth.

Was no one even willing to lend a helping hand? Why?

— —

Qian Ye woke up from her sleep, stretched, and looked at the sky outside. It was still bright; this time she didn't sleep until nightfall.

Qian Ye hugged Little Flower and went out again.

Qian Ye looked up at the sky; it was still overcast, looking oppressive and gloomy. Qian Ye walked along yesterday's route again.

When she reached the south end of the village, she just happened to catch the rehearsal of the God-Worshipping Dance.

The sound of drums and music came from all directions again, and the older women on the stage began to dance to the music.

Their movements were still flawless. After watching a few more times, Qian Ye suddenly realized.

"So that's how it is."

She then found a spot, sat down, and waited for their rehearsal to end.

They danced six times in total, and Qian Ye was about to get sleepy when, suddenly, the tone of the drums and music changed.

It became melodious and festive, instantly waking Qian Ye up. Listening to this melody, why did it sound so much like a wedding procession?

The next instant, she saw a figure appear in the center of the stage. A woman wearing a purple long dress slowly rose from below onto the stage.

The woman had bright red lipstick painted on her mouth, wore a standard smile, and her eyes were wide open; the whole person looked like a mannequin.

The expression on her face looked painted on, and it also carried a sense of stiffness.

For a moment, Qian Ye lost interest and prepared to leave.

The drums and music continued, and the older women on the stage retreated to both sides, kneeling on the ground with their heads buried. Now it was the middle woman's solo dance time.

Qian Ye hadn't seen this before, so her interest was piqued again.

As the girl on the stage danced, Qian Ye looked at this posture, coupled with the face shape, and it felt familiar.

The more she looked, the more she realized that the woman's movements were very stiff, and the whole person was like a marionette.

Qian Ye's eyes flickered, and a red light flashed across them.

"So that's it."

At this moment, in Qian Ye's eyes, there were tiny strings on the woman's hands and feet. It really was a marionette.

By this time, she had already figured out who it was. Jiang Meimei!

Qian Ye sat up straight.

"Na na, so it's you~"

She hadn't seen her among those young people and thought she was already gone. She didn't expect her to have been made into a puppet.

"Interesting."

She was now very curious about the person behind controlling her. Could it be her good boyfriend?

This thought had just flashed through her mind when the drum and music stopped.

There was movement on the stage again, and another circular platform appeared beside Jiang Meimei.

Song Hao's figure slowly rose from below.

Dressed as a villager, upon appearing, he took Jiang Meimei into his arms and gently stroked her cheek.

"Look, how perfect this work is this time; the master will surely like it very much."

Qian Ye stared at his eyes; there was spirit in them, unlike those villagers whose eyes only had pure black pupils without a trace of spirit. This indicated that he had autonomous consciousness.

"Things are getting more and more interesting."

Song Hao saw Qian Ye's figure, looked at her delicate face, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

Qian Ye opened her hong ling umbrella, stood up, elegantly straightened her skirt, raised her hand, and applauded them repeatedly.

"This is really not bad."

"This God-Worshipping Dance is truly interesting."

Song Hao stared at her. "Who exactly are you?"

This didn't look like an ordinary person here for a visit at all.

"Hee hee, that's a good question~"

"Who am I?"

"And who are you?"

With a flash, Song Hao looked again, and Qian Ye had already appeared on the stage.

Qian Ye's fingertips brushed across the puppet's skin. His expression changed.

Qian Ye looked at him coldly, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "This is a puppet, right?"

Song Hao looked nervous and answered stiffly, "Yes."

"This puppet looks really nice~"

Her fingertips continued to move, slowly sliding upward, passing over the lips, the nose, and finally stopping on the eyes.

"Ah, these eyes look really charming~"

Qian Ye leaned forward slightly; fortunately, Jiang Meimei's height wasn't too tall, so Qian Ye only had to stand slightly on her tiptoes to meet her eyes.

At this moment, those eyes were full of pleading and also fear. She seemed to want to express her appeal from those eyes.

"This is my most satisfying work." Hearing Qian Ye's praise, for a moment, only pride remained on Song Hao's face. These were all his masterpieces. He was very proud.

The next second, laughter came from Qian Ye's side.

"Pfft... pfft hahahaha..."

"Your masterpiece?"

"Are you sure?"

Qian Ye tilted her head, staring at him; this person looked really interesting. He had turned a living person into a puppet and was still full of pride.

It really is... hee hee... fun...