"You won't hand it over?" Yin Xiu casually shoved the fishing rod into Li Mo's hand, his fingers slowly resting on the hilt of his knife.
The villagers, who had initially been aggressive, gradually calmed down upon noticing Yin Xiu's actions. "As long as... as long as you return the line, we'll let bygones be bygones last night. You can move freely around the village, and we won't bother you for the next few days."
For ordinary players, this was practically a guaranteed win, although most players wouldn't receive such special privileges anyway. But Yin Xiu wasn't interested.
"I don't know what kind of line it is. Even if I had it, I wouldn't give it to you. Come at me if you want to kill me. I haven't used a knife in a long time." He stood lazily in place, his hand still gripping the hilt of his knife.
The villagers' faces darkened, glancing left and right.
If one of them mustered the courage to rush forward, the rest would follow. After all, ever since they learned that Yin Xiu was the one entering this instance, they had already prepared themselves for a trip to the Spring of Rebirth—it was just a matter of time before they died.
But now that they were actually standing face to face, they just stared at each other, none of them moving an inch forward.
Was this inevitable death?
Knowing they'd be killed and then have to go through the motions, they absolutely didn't want to go through that process.
Other players might send them on their way, but with Yin Xiu, it was only sending them on their way.
With the atmosphere so tense, someone finally broke the silence.
"Why don't you guys go make some dinner first? We'll eat our fill and then consider giving you the line," suggested Ye Tianxuan, leaving the villagers silent.
At this hour, someone was still thinking of using them as free labor.
The scene that should have been a fierce battle became incredibly quiet. The normal course of the dungeon had already been disrupted from the start, and now there was no hope of a peaceful passage.
Facing Yin Xiu wielding his sword, his boyfriend present, and the dungeon mini-boss beside them, they could die in all sorts of ways. Compared to that, making dinner suddenly seemed like a good idea.
"Anyway, it's not midnight yet…there's still some time, so why don't we…" one of the villagers whispered.
The other villagers quickly followed suit, "Yes, yes, it's still early, no need to make things so tense."
They awkwardly took a step back, making way for the group
. Although they were eager to get their hands on the red thread, they didn't dare to confront them directly. "You guys are so kind," Ye Tianxuan joked with a smile, then stepped through the crowd and left.
Zuo Meng was sweating profusely among the big shots.
The red thread was on him; if he hadn't been with the big shots, he would have been skinned alive by now.
When the group reached the marriage tree, Zhong Mu was already waiting there. However, today he was covered in blood, sitting there wiping the blood off his axe, with scratches on his arms.
"What happened to you?" Ye Tianxuan asked as he passed by.
"I helped the doctor clean up the sick patients in the clinic." Zhong Mu smiled and looked up. "This way, the doctor can rest a bit tonight."
Ye Tianxuan's gaze swept over the scratches on Zhong Mu's arm. "I remember Mu He is quite fierce at night."
"Nonsense! The doctor is very cute at night." Zhong Mu retorted seriously, completely ignoring the scratches on her arm. Ye
Tianxuan clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Where's the medical record? Did you get it?"
"Yes." Zhong Mu nodded, secretly glancing at Yin Xiu standing in the distance, then shoved an old booklet into Ye Tianxuan's hand. "I asked the doctor and he just gave it to me. It's hidden quite well; it would be difficult to find normally."
"Alright, I know your doctor is good to you." Ye Tianxuan took it and waved his hand. "Go wash the blood off your body. Dinner's almost ready."
"Okay." Zhong Mu nodded with a smile, grabbed her axe, and ran towards the nearby well.
"Red thread, photos, medical record—all complete." Ye Tianxuan held the medical record booklet and flipped through it, his gaze landing on the records in the middle.
A clear "Pregnant" was recorded below the bride's name.
This was probably the record of her last visit to the clinic, leaving with trepidation and excitement, but... she died with resentment before she could tell anyone the news.
This was her dying wish.
With these three items, clearing this dungeon shouldn't be a problem; now it's just a matter of waiting.
"Boss Ye, have you collected everything?"
Zuo Meng leaned over, and Ye Tianxuan closed the medical record. "Yeah, almost."
"Then we can clear it with five stars, right?" Zuo Meng was slightly excited; at least he had helped with this dungeon. But then his expression darkened. "But it was a bit of a pity just now." "Just now
? What was a pity?"
"It was the villagers and Brother Xiu," Zuo Meng gestured softly, "...it's such a pity they didn't fight. With Brother Xiu's strength, he could definitely have killed them all."
He clenched his fist seriously, and although he said some terrifying words, the killing intent emanating from him wasn't that strong.
Ye Tianxuan couldn't help but chuckle, "You really want the villagers to die?"
"Of course." Zuo Meng answered without hesitation, "I remember the town mentioned when summarizing this strange world that most of the dungeon backgrounds were based on events that happened in the real world, only those people became monsters, NPCs under the rules." "
What happened in this village did actually happen. These villagers, at least in the past, did real bad things and killed many people. I think they truly deserve to die."
Players who know what happened to the bride should be able to sense what happened in this village.
Most players treat it as a dungeon setting and complete it, but few can empathize with it. Zuo Meng is probably one of the rare ones.
"You didn't remember the dungeon strategy, but you remember this very well." Ye Tianxuan smiled and stuffed the medical record into Zuo Meng's arms, "Take good care of these three things, don't lose them."
"All three for me?" Zuo Meng took the medical record tremblingly, her hands shaking.
He had the most important items in the entire dungeon in his hands. Wouldn't these villagers seize any opportunity to rip him off?
"It's alright, it's alright," Ye Tianxuan chuckled, patting his shoulder. "You're protected by Boss Ye."
He glanced at the surrounding villagers, then turned and leisurely strolled off to eat.
Throughout the meal, the villagers watched from a distance, probably discussing what to do next.
They had discovered the important items were with Zuo Meng and didn't want to confront the big boss head-on, but taking things from a player like that was still an option—they outnumbered him.
Zuo Meng, constantly watched by the villagers, was also trembling with fear, praying throughout the meal that time would pass quickly so he could clear the dungeon and leave.
Ye Tianxuan, who finished eating first, said he was going for a walk to digest his food, and then strolled off to find the villagers.
Zuo Meng, while shoveling food into his mouth, secretly peeked over. He didn't know what Boss Ye had said to the villagers, but he saw the surrounding villagers obediently follow him into the burial area.
"Brother Xiu, is Boss Ye alright with them?" Zuo Meng asked with some concern, looking in the direction Ye Tianxuan had led the villagers away.
Yin Xiu glanced at her indifferently, "He's fine. The ones who should be worried are those people."