Chapter 38: The Banquet Begins! So It Was You, You Scoundrel!

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Wu Wang circled back to his dilapidated shack outside the village, finding the teenage version of Wu Xiaoyou sitting on the bed, swinging her feet in sheer boredom. Just as he was about to say something, a violent fit of coughing seized him. A metallic, fishy sweetness surged up his throat, and he spat out a glob of fluid with total disregard for etiquette—after all, the floor was already as filthy as a trash heap.

[Sanity: 35 -> 30]

"Ptooey!"

The atmosphere in the room instantly froze. The teenage Wu Xiaoyou looked down at the ground in shock; the mess he had spat out was a pool of foul-smelling black blood!

Wu Wang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said dismissively, "A bit overheated lately. My phlegm turned red. I’ll just drink some herbal tea later."

*Are you kidding me, buddy?*
*That is clearly not phlegm!*
*Are you not about to drop dead?!*

Ignoring her bizarre expression, he pulled a large white steamed bun from his pocket and handed it over. "Eat something to line your stomach. When I go out to the funeral feast tonight, I’ll swipe some more for you."

Only after she took it did Wu Wang turn and sit on the other end of the bed. He rolled up his sleeve and stared at the red vertical pupil on his wrist. Whispers began to emerge in his ears, and his skin itched as if something were wriggling and growing beneath the surface.

[Sanity: 30, 29, 28...]

Under the stimulation of the Abyss God's mark, Wu Wang's gaze grew hazy and his thoughts sluggish, yet his state of mind became increasingly manic.

"Cough, cough... I don't believe it... You think you're tougher than the Abyss God?" Wu Wang muttered to himself with a twisted grin.

He had realized something was wrong the moment he coughed. Back when he had been pierced by bone spikes and died, he had resurrected the moment he hit the ground. Logically, he should be at peak condition. Coughing up black blood was clearly not normal. Combined with the old village chief’s talk of using the "Yinyuan Great God" to deal with him, it was obvious the chief himself wasn't that deity. It felt like a curse, something like a hex that affected him regardless of his location. And unlike other status effects, this didn't dissipate upon death; even after resurrection, he remained afflicted.

But it didn't matter! He wasn't even afraid of being "doxxed" by the universe itself—why would he fear such low-level tricks? What kind of curse had the qualifications to clash with his big brother, the Abyss God?

"Sizzle, sizzle... Ah!"

As expected, when Wu Wang stared fixedly at the red vertical pupil, his brain flooded with eerie whispers. As his sanity plummeted toward a critical threshold, a strange sound erupted from his back—a sizzling noise, like something being scorched, ending in a shrill scream before fading into nothingness.

[Sanity: 15]

Wu Wang abruptly looked away. He grinned, breathing heavily, and laughed, "How was that? Doesn't feel good to stare directly at the Abyss God, does it? Hope you don't turn into a tentacle monster. This is the confidence the Abyss God gives me!"

Not everyone could handle the bizarre psychic impact of looking directly into the red vertical pupil like Wu Wang could. He could afford to be reckless because, at worst, he would just die and come back. Others—even ghosts—could not go that far. The entity behind the curse had definitely been viciously "doxxed" by the red pupil tracing the mark back to its source. That scream had been truly pathetic.

*Talk about tracing the connection to hammer you!*

Turning back, he saw Wu Xiaoyou’s expression had grown even stranger. She was clutching the bun and gnawing on it like a hamster, muttering unintelligibly, "How long do I have to stay here? It’s so boring."

She didn't mention the bizarre phenomena happening to Wu Wang. She knew it was his secret. Since he hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't pry. Though she didn't understand his manic state, she chose to respect it.

"Er... don't worry. You only have to stay here for three days at most. If you're really bored, I'll find a way to get you out tomorrow," Wu Wang said cheerfully.

In a sense, the dilapidated shack was quite safe. Almost no villagers came here. The young girl was safe for now—at least temporarily. But staying hidden forever wasn't an option. The instance wouldn't allow such a loophole; eventually, he would have to find a way to figure out what the Yinyuan Great Festival was about.

After feeding her, Wu Wang left the shack. He went out to explore the village outskirts, spending several hours away. By the time he returned, dusk was approaching. He had a rough grasp of the surroundings: the entire Yinyuan Village was surrounded by mountains, mostly uninhabited forests, with not a single normal path leading out. Furthermore, the deeper Wu Wang ventured into the woods, the more severely his sense of direction failed him. He always ended up circling back to the village.

He had spent the previous year trekking through several of the country’s "forbidden zones," relying only on a survival knife. He had hunted everything from rats to crocodiles. If anything, he was more experienced than professional adventure teams combined. Under such circumstances, being unable to find his way meant some mysterious, invisible power was controlling the area, forbidding his departure.

Seeing the sky grow dark, and remembering Aunt Li’s promise to take him to the feast, he hurried back to the shack to avoid raising suspicion.

"Erwa! Are you asleep? Auntie is here to take you to eat!" Aunt Li’s booming voice echoed.

Wu Xiaoyou silently pulled on that ugly hat. The little beggar had said that if she wore this thing and crouched down, others wouldn't see her. She didn't know if she had lost her mind, but she had actually believed such nonsense.

*Click.*

The door opened.

Aunt Li walked in, a strip of gauze wrapped around her neck, forcing a smile that held a trace of pity. She knew this poor child would be offered to the Yinyuan Great God in two days. Let him have a few good meals while he could; it would be better to be a well-fed ghost on the road to the Yellow Springs.

"Auntie, why are we going outside to eat? Is there something good going on?" Wu Wang’s eyes suddenly turned vacant and dull. He bit his finger and asked like a simpleton, then dug his nose and wiped the grime onto Aunt Li’s clothes.

Wu Xiaoyou almost burst out laughing. She found it hard to imagine this was an act. After all, he really looked like a foolish, wide-eyed little lunatic!

Aunt Li said as gently as she could, "We are holding a sacrifice for the Yinyuan Great God the day after tomorrow. We will have feasts for three days starting today. We must make it grand so the Great God will be pleased and ensure favorable weather for the village."

As she spoke, she took a thick piece of hemp rope and tied it around Wu Wang’s neck, terrified he might run off. Then, as if leading a small animal, she dragged the "little lunatic" outside. She didn't even glance at Wu Xiaoyou.

The girl was stunned. *That ugly hat actually works!?*

***

Wu Wang chatted happily with Aunt Li on the way, his words seemingly nonsensical and rambling. In reality, every few sentences, he slipped in inquiries about the village. He didn't care at all about the insulting rope around his neck. After all, in his eyes, Aunt Li was nothing more than a walking corpse.

She, and everyone in Yinyuan Village, would pay the price before long. Since the main objective wasn't clear, he would just do as he pleased. Sacrifice him in three days? By then, their lifespans would have run out!

Just as he had told the murderers in the beginner instance, he had never claimed to be a good person. In a sense, no one in the world despised life more than Wu Wang. So, there was no point in getting angry at corpses.

They arrived at the square. Wu Wang didn't look at the grand decorations or the massive crowd of villagers gathered, nor the spectacular sight of whole roasted lambs and suckling pigs on every table. His eyes were fixed on one thing: a sign, dozens of meters high, standing on the platform where the old village chief sat in the center of the square.

It depicted a vivid, lifelike eye.

Judging by the shape and color scheme, it was an exquisite "Plus" version of the red vertical pupil on his own wrist.

*Son of a b****! Why is it you again, you malicious bastard?!*
*Has this instance been corrupted, too?*
*Abyss God, you deserve to die!*