Ke Xun believed that, given the complete lack of information about the current situation, the only way was to persistently stick with one of them and then act according to circumstances.
Based on his observation of the previous group, Ke Xun felt that this aloof and handsome man seemed more reliable than the others, so he chose him.
While they were talking, the last three to arrive, amidst surprise and curses, followed. In fact, they had no other choice; besides this small village, the surrounding area was desolate. Where else could they go if they didn't follow the others into the village?
Moreover, people have a herd mentality; in this strange and incomprehensible situation, most people would choose to stick together for courage.
The group, each with their own thoughts, entered this eerie little village.
Ke Xun wasn't sure what time it was in this "painting." In the real world, it was still morning, but here the sky was dark and gloomy, and the village was also pitch black. All the doors and windows of the houses were wooden; some window panes were covered with tattered paper, while others were simply nailed shut with planks.
Whether peering through window openings or door cracks, all that could be seen was absolute darkness.
Ke Xun wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt as if something was peering out from those dark cracks in the doors and windows.
Following the group through the winding village, a dim yellow light suddenly appeared ahead—a house with a light on.
"That's it," someone in the group said.
"Let's go in," someone else sighed.
The group went over, and the portly middle-aged man at the front knocked on the door.
The wooden door creaked open from the inside, revealing the face of a gray, wrinkled old man.
"Everyone's here? Come in," the old man said, stepping aside.
The group filed in and saw that the walls and floor were made of a mixture of mud and straw. Inside, there was only a broken table and a few long benches, with an oil lamp burning on the table. The words "utterly destitute"
and "impoverished" perfectly described this household.
The old man stood in the middle of the room, his cloudy eyes slowly scanning everyone present. When Wei Dong met his gaze, he couldn't help but shiver.
The old man's pupils were devoid of warmth and focus, as unfocused as a…dead man's.
Wei Dong quickly lowered his eyelids, afraid of making a bad impression by looking at him directly, and only listened to the old man's words: "Now that everyone's here, let's assign tasks."
He then pulled a roll of cloth from his robes and held it out to everyone: "Let's tie these, one for each person."
Ke Xun and Wei Dong were completely bewildered, but they saw that the people who had arrived earlier seemed used to it, each reaching out and pulling a cloth from the roll. The two had no choice but to follow suit.
The cloth was about an arm's length and two fingers wide, made of coarse grayish-white hemp, with a dark red character written in the middle, whether in vermilion or some other pigment.
Ke Xun's strip had the character "央" (Yāng) written on it, while Wei Dong's had the character "辜" (Gū).
Before they could figure out the meaning of the characters on the strips, the old man continued, "The person who gets the strip with the character '民' (Mín) will be on guard duty at the Li family's house tonight. The person who gets the strip with the character '且' (Qě) will go to dig a pit five li north of the village, six feet long, four feet wide, and two feet high. The person who gets the strip with the character '辜' (Gū) will go to the Li family's woodshed to chop firewood. The person who gets the strip with the character '央' (Yāng) will guard the Li family's granary. The person who gets the strip with the character '歹' (Dǎi)... the person who gets the strip with the character '取' (Qǔ)..."
As the old man spoke, Ke Xun pondered inwardly.
What was the meaning of "民," "且," "辜," "央," "歹," "取"...? Clearly, having everyone choose a strip was to group the thirteen people, but judging from the characters alone, it was difficult to connect them to the current situation.
After dividing the work into groups, the old man said, "The Li family lives under the three old locust trees in the north of the village. Everyone, you can start working now. Remember: those who stay to work at the Li family's house must not go out at night. Okay, everyone come back to me at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."
Hearing this, everyone turned and walked away. Wei Dong couldn't help but walk up to the old man and ask, "Grandpa, can you explain what's going on here?"
The old man's face was serious: "The Li family lives under the three old locust trees in the north of the village. Everyone, you can start working now. Remember: those who stay to work at the Li family's house must not go out at night. Okay, everyone come back to me at eight o'clock tomorrow morning." "Gather here."
Wei Dong: "...No, could you tell us where this is?"
Old man: "The Li family is under the three old locust trees in the north of the village. Everyone, we can get started. Remember..."
Wei Dong: "...Did I accidentally activate your sadomasochistic mode? Can you say something else?"
Old man: "The Li family is under the three old locust trees in the north of the village. Everyone, we can get started. Remember..."
Wei Dong turned to look at Ke Xun: "Is it illegal to beat up an uncivilized old man in a painting?"
Before Ke Xun could answer, the guy with the pigtail suddenly laughed and walked over to look at him: "Don't waste your energy, he's not human."
"Holy crap, what is he?!" Wei Dong was shocked, "A broken record?!"
"You can think of him as an NPC in a game, only responsible for explaining the plot or 'game' rules, and some specific questions that he can answer. He won't answer any other questions." The guy with the pigtail curled his lips in a mocking smile.
Ke Xun and Wei Dong exchanged glances. Ke Xun asked the boy with the braid, "So, is this a painting or a game?"
"A painting," the boy with the braid sneered. "It's just that the rules in this painting are strictly and precisely set. Violating the rules has only one result: death."
"Death? GAME OVER?" Wei Dong stared in disbelief. "How many lives does a person have? Can you save your progress and reload to start over?"
"I told you, this is a painting, not a game!" The boy with the braid glared at him impatiently. "If you die in this painting, you're really dead. You can never leave here and return to reality, understand?!"
"-Really?!" Wei Dong was shocked.
"Believe it or not, I've already made it clear to you. Don't blame anyone else if you die." The boy with the braid glanced at the strip of cloth in Wei Dong's hand with annoyance. "How did I end up in a group with you, the newbie? What bad luck! Are you leaving or not?"
"Leave? Where to?" Wei Dong was completely bewildered, looking at the boy with the braid and then at Ke Xun.
The boy with the pigtail rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly trying to control his temper. "I also got a strip of cloth with the character 'Gu' on it, which means we're in the same group. So now you and I have to do what this old man said and go to that so-called 'Li family,' understand?"
Wei Dong asked him, "What will happen if we don't do what the village chief says?"
"Didn't you hear me?" the boy with the pigtail snapped. "Breaking the rules means death! Death!"
"Then, can we form our own groups? For example, I can go with him to guard the granary instead of chopping firewood with you?" Wei Dong pointed at Ke Xun.
"Death!" the boy with the pigtail roared, his face contorted with rage.
"Damn it." Wei Dong looked at Ke Xun. "What do we do?"
Ke Xun stroked his chin, thinking for a moment. "I think we've really encountered something strange that defies common sense. We probably won't figure out the reason for now. Let's listen to him for the time being. This guy seems to know something; better safe than sorry. Safety first."
"Okay," Wei Dong asked him, "What about you? Who are you paired with?"
The three of them came out of the old man's house, and Ke Xun saw a tall man standing at the bottom of the steps. He had a cold expression and an incredibly handsome face. A
loosely tied strip of hemp cloth, which he had drawn, had the character "央" (Yang) written on it.
Wei Dong looked at the man, then at the man with the pigtail beside him. "By the way, what would happen if we swapped the cloth with someone else?"
"Death!" the man with the pigtail gritted his teeth.
"Be careful, stay alert, safety first," Ke Xun instructed Wei Dong.
This guy had been incredibly naive since childhood, and Ke Xun was afraid he wouldn't know what was good for him and might actually lose his life in this strange place.
"Got it. You be careful too, don't let lust get you down." Wei Dong gestured with his lip towards the tall man below the steps.
"...Get lost." Ke Xun shrugged, utterly speechless.
According to the old man's plan, most people's destination was "Li's house." The others had already gone ahead, so the four of them traveled together.
They hadn't gone far when Ke Xun looked back and found that the old man's house had been darkened at some point, plunging into silence and darkness like the other houses around it.
In a village without lights, the roads were difficult to walk on. The dirt roads in the countryside were uneven, sometimes hard, sometimes soft. The soles of his straw sandals were thin, making the tactile sensation even more acute.
Ke Xun put his foot down and suddenly felt as if he had stepped on a hand. The distinct, sharp, stiff outline of the fingers was clearly visible against the sole of his foot.
Ke Xun reacted with lightning speed, leaping up and colliding with the tall man. Upon landing, he could almost hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He had to press his hand against his chest, as if removing it would rip his heart, flesh and blood, right out of his chest.
"Holy crap, what are you doing? You scared me to death!" Wei Dong exclaimed.
Ke Xun's heart was pounding so hard he couldn't even speak for a moment.
Just as he felt his palms and lips grow cold from the shock, he heard the tall man's calm voice: "Don't worry about anything, keep going."
It was as if he had guessed why Ke Xun had suddenly jumped up.
Ke Xun hummed in response, trying not to look at his feet, and focused his gaze on the distance. He saw that the small village had been shrouded in a thick gray night fog, making the already poor visibility even more obscure.
"Hey, right, since we're teammates now, why don't we get to know each other?" Wei Dong seemed to sense something too, and emboldened by his words, he first extended his hand to the guy with the braid, "I'm Wei Dong, and this is my buddy Ke Xun."
The guy with the braid refused to shake his hand, only snorting, "Liu Yufei."
Wei Dong turned and extended his hand to the tall guy, "And you, buddy?"
The tall guy glanced at him coldly, also not shaking his hand, "Mu Yiran."
Wei Dong had no choice but to grab Ke Xun's hand and shake it, "Nice to meet you."
Ke Xun felt the cold sweat on Wei Dong's palm, squeezed his hand hard, then let go, turning to the handsome guy next to him named Mu Yiran and asking, "To avoid being a bad teammate and dragging you down, young man, could you tell us the whole story?"