Chapter 118: [Harboring a Ghostly Secret] Arriving at Lan Mountain
That snake was very fast.
A player instinctively took out a prop, but before they could use it, they had already been bitten by the snake.
Bai Cha frowned and summoned a section of dodder vine, which entangled the snake and burrowed into its eyes and mouth.
The snake struggled violently in pain.
A player slashed at it with a knife, cutting the snake into two pieces.
Everyone then breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But Gao Wei and a player named Wang Yan had both been bitten.
“This snake doesn’t seem to be poisonous.”
Although that was said, the two of them still took first aid measures, forcing out some of the blood.
“How could there be snakes?”
Gao Wei shook his head.
“I was originally planning to use a stick to push that shoe aside, but who knew there was a snake next to the shoe, and it bit me all of a sudden.”
Humanity’s fear of snakes was ingrained in their bones.
Some people might not even be as afraid of ghosts and monsters as they were of snakes.
After all, in reality, it was almost impossible for everyone to see ghosts, but snakes were not necessarily the same.
Gao Wei had made all the preparations.
He had even thought that the female ghost might directly grab his hand or something.
He just hadn’t expected a snake.
“That prop you just used, it looked pretty handy. Why don’t you go move that shoe away?” At this moment, a voice suddenly spoke.
Everyone looked over. It was Jin Qiao speaking, and she was addressing Bai Cha.
The players’ gazes then fell on Bai Cha.
Xu Shengsheng was instantly furious.
“What are you talking about? You look like you’re capable, why don’t you move that shoe?”
Bai Cha raised her eyes and suddenly weakly tugged at Xu Shengsheng.
“It’s okay, don’t bother with her. I’ll go try.”
“Sis!” Xu Shengsheng immediately looked worried, grabbing Bai Cha to stop her from going, and glared at Jin Qiao.
Jin Qiao sneered, not afraid of her at all.
“Then I’ll go with you.” Seeing that Bai Cha was really going, Xu Shengsheng was really worried.
Bai Cha thought for a moment and agreed.
She wouldn’t feel at ease if she left Xu Shengsheng here alone.
The two walked to the front of the car.
The pair of embroidered shoes lay quietly in front of the car.
The shoes were embroidered with mandarin ducks and peach blossoms, and the insoles inside were embroidered with peonies and double happiness symbols.
For some reason, it felt a bit damp.
The dodder vines that Bai Cha had just summoned were wrapped around her hand. She released them again, and they缠住 (entangled) the embroidered shoes on the ground.
Then Bai Cha tugged.
It moved very easily, not like there was a very heavy person standing there.
The embroidered shoes were placed by the side of the road.
The car lights turned back on, and the car door opened.
The players immediately got back on the bus one after another.
Xu Shengsheng and Bai Cha naturally lagged behind a bit.
Bai Cha let Xu Shengsheng go up first, and she looked back at the embroidered shoes by the roadside one last time.
They were quiet, as if they were just an ordinary pair of shoes.
Walking into the bus, the door closed again.
Bai Cha looked back out the window at the embroidered shoes, which could still be illuminated by the faint light.
Then she paused slightly.
The direction of those shoes had changed to face the bus at some point.
Bai Cha returned to her seat.
The bus didn’t encounter any more bridal sedan chairs blocking the road this time.
However, Gao Wei and Wang Yan both felt a bit dizzy.
“Damn it, I’ve already exchanged for an antidote pill, why am I still dizzy?” Gao Wei cursed.
The store had a universal antidote pill specifically for snake venom, which was expensive.
But if it was for saving their lives, they definitely had to buy it.
Wang Yan’s expression was also not very good.
“But that snake didn’t look poisonous. It looked quite like a water snake.”
“What water snake would be on land? It couldn’t have crawled up from the water, right?”
Everyone started discussing.
Jin Qiao once again turned her attention to Bai Cha.
“That embroidered shoe you just touched, were there any clues on it? Don’t hide anything and end up killing us all. You won’t fare any better!”
Xu Shengsheng was so angry that she was about to speak, but Bai Cha gently pulled her arm.
She turned her head and saw Bai Cha’s eyes were red-rimmed, her lips were pursed, and she looked very aggrieved.
“You were the one who told me to go. I thought you knew what the consequences would be of touching the embroidered shoes!”
Her voice was soft and gentle.
Although her comforting words to her sister earlier had been somewhat shocking, her tone had always been consistently gentle.
However, these words made Jin Qiao quite angry.
“What do you mean? Are you implying that I know there are clues?”
Bai Cha shrank closer to Xu Shengsheng and reached out to hug her sister.
She didn’t say anything, yet it seemed like she had said everything.
Although her tactics were very clumsy and obvious, no one called her out on it.
In fact, compared to Bai Cha, players like Jin Qiao who attacked people at every turn were really annoying.
Especially in this kind of instance where they had to explore the storyline together, having such a player basically meant that it would be difficult for everyone to cooperate.
Although after spending a long time in the game, everyone found it hard to trust the people around them.
But at least when there were no open conflicts, being able to cooperate naturally increased the chances of survival.
Wang Jiangtao then comforted Bai Cha, “Don’t mind her, but what were the consequences you just mentioned?”
Bai Cha hesitated, then turned her head to look at the back window.
It was very dark outside, and it wasn’t clear if there were any embroidered shoes.
“When I just got on, I looked back and saw that the direction of the embroidered shoes had changed to face us.”
Her voice was very low, as if afraid of disturbing some existence.
The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became terrifying.
Wang Jiangtao couldn’t help but turn his head to look as well.
Confirming that he didn’t see anything, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay, don’t be afraid, it’s just the beginning…”
Since nothing had happened just now, it meant that the female ghost probably wouldn’t act for the time being.
It was also normal. This was originally a storyline exploration instance, and the early stages would be relatively safe.
The game would give players some time to explore the storyline.
The inside of the car gradually quieted down.
The road ahead gradually became winding and rugged.
Soon, they seemed to have entered a mountain area.
Villages also began to appear ahead.
There were some lights, looking quite warm.
The bus stopped at the entrance of the village, and the door opened.
[Congratulations to everyone for successfully reaching the destination, wishing you all good luck—]
This notification sound made many players’ lips twitch.
The game’s blessings were rarely good.
Everyone got off the bus with their bags.
The bus restarted and slowly drove away.
Clearly, they would be staying here for the foreseeable future.
The village looked extremely dilapidated, with many places still being earthen houses.
Moreover…
When they saw the village from the bus, it felt like a warm place with lights in every house.
But after arriving at their destination, they discovered it wasn’t like that at all.
There were indeed lights. Two red lanterns hung in front of every household, with a dim glow emanating from within.
The red candlelight, especially when swayed by the wind, flickered gently, bearing no resemblance to warmth.
“Who are you people?”
A voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
The players were startled and quickly turned around.
