"Rules of Burial": Poor, Helpless 248, Innocently Caught in the Crossfire

Hang Ze blinked.

"Hey buddy, what a coincidence! We've run into each other."

"..." Xu Xi looked at him, then at the pile of broken memorial tablets, and tried to speak.

As if noticing his hesitation, Hang Ze also looked down at the wood chips at his feet and the deep crater behind him.

He grunted, "Are you trying to ask me how I got out of there?"

"If I told you I actually didn't know either... would you believe me?"

Xu Xi: "..." no faith.

Hang Ze didn't care about the young man's silence at all, and changed the subject on his own.

"But none of that matters," he said, his tone tinged with the excitement of surviving a close call and making a major discovery. "What matters is—I know how to beat the game!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi's expression shifted slightly.

He now understood that the loud noise was caused by the earring-wearing kid in front of him.

As for how the other party survived and caused such a commotion... he glanced at the other party's right earlobe.

There was only one of the two silver earrings that should have been worn there.

So, the Rollback moves the timeline forward because of this guy?

Seeing that the person still didn't respond for a long time, Hang Ze followed the other person's gaze and touched his own ear. When he touched the empty ear piercing, his fingers paused noticeably.

"Oh, this? We just used it to destroy the memorial tablet."

The tone was casual and understated.

Xu Xi: "..." You still say you don't know??

After Hang Ze finished speaking, seeing that the other person was still staring at him, he couldn't help but joke, "Dude, at least give me some reaction! Why are you staring at me like that? I know how to pass the level!"

Xu Xi withdrew her gaze, offering no explanation. "How does it connect?"

"The reaction is remarkably calm." He muttered under his Hang Ze, concealing the curiosity in his eyes, and said seriously, "Write down the names."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi was surprised for a moment.

The information revealed by the white-clad maidservant beside Seventh Concubine immediately flashed through his mind.

The Seventh Concubine wanted to remove her son's name from the Clan Genealogy.

However, due to the rule that the Shen Family Clan Genealogy is only accessible to members of the Shen clan, they had to ask the player for help.

Whoever crosses out the name of the Sixth Young Master will have to go to the underworld in his place.

But what Hang Ze said next was not quite what he expected.

"We can leave as long as we cross our names off the Clan Genealogy."

It's not about crossing out someone else's name, but crossing out your own?

Xu Xi seemed to be deep in thought.

Based on the clues we have so far, this method of clearing the level does sound quite reasonable.

Only...

"Let's go?" Xu Xi noticed this choice of words keenly.

"If we cross out our names, we're no longer Shen Family. What's the point of keeping watch then? As outsiders, of course we have to 'leave'."

Hang Ze raised an eyebrow and deliberately emphasized a certain word.

Xu Xi understood instantly.

Logically, they should have finished offering incense and that would have been the end of their participation in the funeral. The reason they were required to keep vigil was because they were Master Shen's "children."

If their names are removed from the Clan Genealogy, they become outsiders and naturally no longer need to stay and keep watch.

"The funeral must be held at least seven days in advance; no one may leave before then," except... outsiders?

Xu Xi pondered for a moment and felt that most of the information was connected, and some of the missing rules were also filled in.

Reasonable! Absolutely reasonable!

The way he looked at Hang Ze subtly changed.

Isn't this the awesome teammate he's always dreamed of?

The solution to the game was presented to him directly; all he had to do was effortlessly win.

At this moment, Hang Ze reached into the pocket of his mandarin jacket.

"As for the Item that can cross out names, I've got it too. How I got it is another story, I can't explain it right now. Anyway, here it is, all we need now is a Clan Genealogy to complete the process—"

Before he could finish speaking...

"Bang--!"

Suddenly, another loud bang was heard.

"Cough cough." Xu Xi subconsciously raised her hand to block the falling shards of tile and wood chips, then coughed lightly twice, choked by the dust in the air.

He waved his arms vigorously, and only after the surrounding dust had settled slightly did he raise his head.

When he saw the scene before him clearly, his pupils contracted sharply.

The coffin lid smashed through the roof above, and the broken wooden beams groaned under the weight.

The pitch-black coffin trembled slightly, and the next second, a withered, bluish-gray arm suddenly stretched out from inside the coffin.

A purple figure slowly sat up.

Without a doubt, it came back to life.

The coffin lid, which he had been unable to budge no matter how hard he tried, was now easily overturned by the "person" and stuck diagonally into the wooden beam of the roof, scattering many tiles.

At the same time, Hang Ze exclaimed in disbelief, "A zombie?!"

Then he saw the figure turn its head and look at him expressionlessly.

His gaze was empty and cold, and deep within his eyes seemed to lie a certain anger.

Hang Ze: "..."

Xu Xi noticed that the old man was staring intently at the Earring-Wearing Young Man beside him, so she immediately took a step back to the side without making a sound.

Then he met the gaze of dozens of Paper Figures that had quietly gathered around him.

Xu Xi: "..."

An undeserved disaster! Absolutely an undeserved disaster!

He was absolutely certain that this inexplicable change was because the kid next to him had blown up the ancestral tablets!

The retribution has come.

Clearly, Hang Ze was well aware of his own actions.

"Hey buddy, sorry about that, got you dragged into this." Hang Ze gave an awkward laugh. "How about we split up?"

A scene that seemed familiar, words that seemed familiar.

Xu Xi closed her eyes briefly and pulled out her fruit knife.

Run? Where can we run to in this tiny place? Are we supposed to run out and continue being that Water Shadow's midnight snack?

Then he heard the Earring-Wearing Young Man scream in terror.

"Dude! We're not at our wits' end yet! We can always jump into the pit together..."

The rest of the words became increasingly indistinct; he could no longer hear them.

With his last glimpse, he caught sight of the broken calligraphy brush clutched tightly in the other person's hand.

Looks familiar.

Oh, it's that extremely precious calligraphy brush that Master Shen always carried with him, supposedly passed down from his grandfather, the one that produced calligraphy with a peculiar fragrance that lingered for a long time, and which was even taken to his coffin for burial.

Really.

The other party didn't bring that coffin in for nothing.

Looking at the stove that still retained some warmth, Xu Xi thought to himself, the fact that he could Rollback to this point in time proves that he was indeed destined to die later.

It is known that the first loud bang was caused by the Earring-Wearing Young Man blowing up the memorial tablet. He was serving it as a midnight Water Shadow at the time, so he was unaware that there would be a second explosion.

However, the Rollback didn't return him to the point before he left the room, but rather to an earlier point in time.

In other words, even if he had returned to the point where he hadn't left the house, and even if he had stayed safely in the room, he would still have died.

This leaves only one possibility: that the resurrected Master Shen has become a new variable, causing some change in the Dungeon.

If the other players wanted to come out and check the situation, they would end up doing the same thing—breaking the rules and giving the Water Shadow a treat.

Staying indoors doesn't necessarily guarantee safety from the new dangers brought about by change.

At least he didn't dodge it.

So it became a dead file.

Even after understanding the logic behind it, Xu Xi did not calm down.

Because immediately afterward, a new problem arose before him.

The timing of his Rollback was right after he had finished burning the offerings.

Assuming the method to clear this Dungeon is as the Earring-Wearing Young Man said, it simply involves using that broken brush to cross the player's name off the Clan Genealogy.

Let's set aside where the Clan Genealogy is located and what their names are.

This also involves a hidden key question—whether any of them are actually not members of the Shen Family.

It's highly likely that the calligraphy brush is already in the hands of the Earring-Wearing Young Man.

Even though he was still inside the coffin, Master Shen couldn't open it from his palm.

He couldn't get the most important Item at all, and by the time he could get it, he wouldn't be far from Ga.

Isn't this a new dead file?

Xu Xi pondered for a long time before finally deciding to trust the AI's ability to Rollback.

Having learned from his mistakes, he should be more likely to avoid jumping into a new dead end during the Rollback.

Okay, so here comes another question.

Without obtaining the calligraphy brush, what is the only way to survive this round?

As for mindless, passive winning?

Oh:(