Chapter 77: Wang Bokao Is Shocked Speechless
The person calling out to them was none other than the perpetually unlucky Jiang Liang, who had been missing for quite some time.
He lay sprawled on the ground inside the small Earth Temple, one hand dangling outside the door while the other feebly reached out, trying to grab onto them.
“What happened to you?”
“Help me… take me away, take me with you…”
Jiang Liang weakly dragged himself toward them, his voice strained. “Take me away, I’ll tell you everything! I’ll confess everything!”
As soon as he finished his last desperate plea, his outstretched hand fell limply to the ground, and he passed out completely.
…
“What’s wrong with him?”
“No idea…”
The four of them hesitated for a moment. “Bringing him along would be inconvenient. This Earth Temple seems pretty safe. Besides, this is a script shop—how could he even get hurt here? Just find a spot for him to lie down, and he’ll be fine.”
Ultimately, Li Tiechui made the call. This Jiang Liang didn’t look like any sort of good person, and what real danger could there be in a script shop? For all they knew, this guy was just scheming something.
He grabbed Jiang Liang by the legs, ready to drag him further inside the Earth Temple. As Jiang Liang’s head was about to hit the doorstep, Gu Qing and Zhao Wen quickly stepped in, each grabbing an arm to lift him off the ground.
“Over there—there’s some dry grass,” Wan Niang directed from the side. “Lay him down there; at least it’ll be soft.”
After settling Jiang Liang in, the four of them quickly left. Following Li Tiechui’s analysis, they picked a direction and made a break for the altar.
…
Meanwhile, Jiang Liang, still unconscious, stirred slightly. A faint groan escaped him as he struggled, feeling the soreness in both his arms.
The ground beneath him was soft, and the air carried the faint scent of grass and earth. Hmm, those players must have been decent people—they probably saved him.
With great effort, he forced his eyes open, ready to thank them. But the moment he did—
He was met with the sight of a group of skeletons looming over him.
!!!
“Why am I still here?!”
“Stay away! Stay away!”
He kicked out in panic, knocking over one of the skeletons as he frantically scrambled backward, searching for a wall to brace himself against.
Then—
A few strands of messy black hair brushed against his forehead.
Trembling, he lifted his head—only to meet a pair of bloodshot eyes staring straight at him.
With a loud thud, Jiang Liang passed out again.
As he lost consciousness, his last thought was a desperate prayer that he would never wake up again.
The owner of the bloodshot eyes sighed and stood up. “Seriously? He faints that easily?”
Su Li dusted herself off and straightened her hair, glancing at Jiang Liang with a thoughtful expression. Had her thousand-year-old ghost act finally improved today?
…
The four of them rushed toward the altar, moving as quickly as they could. Fortunately, the villagers hadn’t arrived yet.
At the center of the altar, sitting casually on the lid of a coffin, was none other than Wang Bokao.
“Phew, finally found you!” Zhao Wen exhaled. “Didn’t think you’d get here before us.”
He plopped down next to Wang Bokao, completely out of breath. “Where the hell have you been all this time? Got any new leads? We’ve been looking for you forever.”
“I do, actually,” Wang Bokao replied, shifting his position and resting his chin on one hand. “But… tell me, do you guys wanna play a high-stakes game?”
“Huh?”
Zhao Wen shivered. From experience, whenever Wang Bokao said something like this, it meant he was about to pitch another one of his terrible ideas.
“Ahem, no thanks!”
He quickly gathered everyone. “Let’s just share our info first.”
Without hesitation, he rattled off everything the four of them had experienced so far.
“Alright, your turn now.”
“Me? My story’s pretty simple.” Wang Bokao twirled his folding fan absentmindedly, though his gaze drifted toward Wan Niang.
“The moment I entered the courtyard where Wan Niang had been, I got stuffed into this very coffin you’re sitting on.”
“Then those guys carried me around for a while before dumping me here at the altar.”
“So, Wan Niang,” he drawled, “care to explain why your experience was so different from mine?”
Swoosh! Four pairs of eyes locked onto Wan Niang.
Wan Niang: … “Haha. Uh. Misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding! Let me explain!”
“I had the same experience as you. I got thrown outside the ancestral hall at one point, but I couldn’t push open the coffin from inside. Then I heard footsteps running outside, so I knocked on the coffin to call for help, but no one paid attention to me.”
“Later, some… let’s just say wise person decided to throw me out and climbed in instead.”
“I just didn’t tell you guys right away because I was worried you wouldn’t believe me. Haha, really! Trust me!”
Wang Bokao nodded. He looked convinced.
“Fine, whatever,” he sighed. “That’s not important right now.”
“The key thing is, after I climbed out of the coffin, I ran into that ghost woman. She…”
—— [Rewind: Back to the moment Wang Bokao climbed out of the coffin] ——
Wang Bokao was crouched in a pile of hay, checking his belongings, when suddenly—
A voice, distant and filled with resentment, echoed from behind him.
His entire body went stiff. Slowly, he turned his head—
There she was.
A woman in a blood-red dress, her long, disheveled hair hanging over her shoulders, her entire body drenched in blood.
“You… are the one they chose as the sacrifice?”
Wang Bokao clenched his teeth. Damn it. Even though he knew this was all fake, it was still terrifying. Where the hell had Su Li found this woman? Could she have dragged a real ghost into this?!
“Hehehe…” The woman chuckled softly. “Are you scared?”
Wang Bokao remained silent.
“Don’t be afraid. You’ll die soon, just like me. Hehehe~”
Wang Bokao finally regained a bit of strength and reached out, trying to feel around, but he couldn’t find a single stone.
“Do you want to live?”
Whoosh! The female ghost moved with unnatural speed, suddenly appearing right in front of Wang Bokao. Her filthy, foul-smelling hair was nearly brushing against his face.
“Do you want to live?”
“Do you want to live?”
“Do you want to live?”
She repeated her question over and over, her voice growing increasingly shrill. Wang Bokao forced himself to keep his eyes from rolling back in fear. He knew that if he fainted now, he might be done for.
Realizing that she was determined to get an answer, he understood that staying silent might push her to the brink. So, with great difficulty, he forced a weak “Mm!” from his throat.
The female ghost: … Damn it, finally! The boss never told her she had to improvise dialogue while playing a ghost. If he kept ignoring her, they’d just be left staring at each other awkwardly.
The female ghost sighed in relief and continued in a ghostly whisper, “If you want to live, I can help you.”
“As long as you do one thing for me, I won’t kill you.”
She deliberately slowed her speech, giving Wang Bokao time to react.
The female ghost: …
Wang Bokao: …
The female ghost: …?
Wang Bokao: …
The female ghost sighed. “One of you is carrying a longevity locket. When I have devoured those beasts, place it on my remains.”
“Do you understand?”
Wang Bokao clenched his jaw. His eyes hadn’t blinked since this had started, and now unshed tears trembled at the edge of his lashes, ready to spill down his pale face.
The female ghost: … Why does he look even more pitiful than me? Am I not supposed to be the tragic one here?
The female ghost repeated, “Do you understand?”
“Do you want to live?”
(Say something already!!!)
Wang Bokao, having grown slightly accustomed to the situation, managed to move his lips just a little. His mouth quivered before finally squeezing out an even softer “Mm!”
The female ghost rolled with it. Fine! A nod counts as a yes! What kind of person takes this long to spit out a single word? Scaring that Jiang guy was way more fun!
Hiding her expression behind her long hair, she secretly rolled her eyes, made a small hand gesture, and then her figure swiftly retreated, vanishing into the mist.
Watching from a distance, Su Li: … Wow. Usually, when Wang Bokao has backup, he screams his lungs out about ghosts. But now, all alone? He’s putting on a brave front despite being scared out of his mind.
She was a little concerned. Normally, people who react like this are the ones who end up traumatized. She considered stepping forward to reassure him, telling him it was all fake.
Just as she was about to take a step forward, she saw Wang Bokao suddenly start slapping himself.
…?!?!
Did he lose his mind from fear?
She was about to rush over. The game didn’t matter—losing during an early playthrough didn’t matter—but if something happened to him, that would be serious.
But before she could move, she heard Wang Bokao cursing under his breath.
“Wang Bokao, are you even a man?!”
“Why couldn’t you move?!”
“She’s still waiting for you!”
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Su Li froze. This… didn’t seem like he had lost his mind from fear.
What had he been through all these years? Who was this person he was talking about? This wasn’t part of the game’s story.
Realizing this wasn’t the right moment to reveal herself, Su Li quietly left him to his space and went off to observe the other players.
Wang Bokao slumped onto the grass, forcing his eyes open to keep his tears from falling.
After a while, he reached for his folding fan, flicked it open with practiced ease, and once again took on the air of a carefree playboy.
“Tsk, tsk, where the hell did those guys run off to? Whatever, I’m tired. I’ll just wait here for them.”
“Ah, when I get out of here, I’ll have to tell little Lizi that the actors in this script aren’t up to par. They didn’t scare me at all. Tsk, tsk.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152