"Greed," Make a Wish to Me

The middle-aged woman standing before me, who could remain in the Mountain God Temple without any restraint, was undoubtedly that special Shamaness.

No one expected their luck to be so strange; they deliberately avoided the villagers when they came to the Mountain God Temple, only to run into the Shamaness.

But... who is favored by the Mountain God?

The other five people followed the Shamaness's gaze.

"..." Feeling the gazes from all sides, Xu Xi's mind went blank.

Hmm? Him?

"You are deeply favored by the Lord Mountain God, so I will not stop you." After saying this, the Shamaness and Xu Xi looked at the other five people, "And considering your sincerity, I will make an exception and let you all come in this time."

After saying this, the Shamaness turned her body aside, making room for everyone at the doorway.

Through the open gate, they could clearly see a Mountain God standing in the center, its eyes slightly lowered, as if watching them, or perhaps looking down upon the mundane world. A few wisps of incense smoke curled from the incense burner, adding a touch of solemnity and reverence to the statue.

Judging by appearance alone, this Mountain God seems to be a compassionate deity who protects the region.

But Xu Xi felt like she was being targeted.

Now he was certain that the old man knocking on the door really was coming for him.

He now seriously suspects that the other party's persistence towards him might be due to this so-called "Mountain God's favor."

Xu Xi took the lead and went inside.

He wanted to see what this Mountain God was all about.

--

[A person favored by the Mountain God? No, no, no, they should be called a person scammed by Shining Players]

[The Mountain God's favor, ah, what good is it?]

[It might make you die even faster]

[Aside from the old man knocking on the door in the middle of the night, this Dungeon seems a bit bland.]

[The only obvious danger we see right now is that old man, and he was easily dealt with by Boss Xu Xi, which is a bit strange.]

But I always have a sense of dread, afraid that Xu Xi might suddenly disappear at any moment.

[First came the eerie knocking on the door, then the inexplicable favor of the Mountain God; are you even going to continue acting in "Shining Players"?]

[I'm the first to taste the food, the first to open the door when the old man knocks, and the first to enter the Mountain God Temple. Hey buddy, take it easy! You're not worried, but I am!]

On the way back to the village, unlike on the way there, the atmosphere among the six was somewhat silent.

Xu Xi recalled the androgynous, high-ranking voice that seemed to echo in her ears when the Shamaness asked them to offer incense—

"Make a vow to me, become my follower, and I will grant you extraordinary abilities and immortality."

Xu Xi agreed in his dazed state, but when he heard the words "immortal life," he was immediately jolted.

Immortal? How immortal?

Is it even more deadly than his Rollback?

With her mind inexplicably clearing, Xu Xi cautiously replied, "Get lost."

Just when he thought the voice would get angry and either strike him dead with lightning or send a message to the Shamaness saying he was disrespectful to the Mountain God, and that he would definitely have to Rollback here, then... nothing happened.

The voice seemed to have truly been driven away by his scolding.

Xu Xi felt a bit conflicted.

This Mountain God gave him... a very weak feeling?

After all, what Mountain God would force a believer to make them make a wish if they wanted to be accepted?

Just as he was lost in thought, a figure quickly walked up to him.

The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap asked with a smile, "Dude, how did you suddenly become a follower of the Mountain God?"

He made no attempt to hide the inquisitive tone in his words.

I don't know.

Xu Xi herself wanted to know too.

"When you offered incense... did you make a wish?" the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap asked in a low voice.

The players had different expressions after emerging from the Mountain God Temple.

After some conversation, it was discovered that each of them had been bewitched by an androgynous voice while offering incense, and the content of the bewitching was different for each of them.

Whether they were persuaded to make the wish or not, only the players themselves know.

Xu Xi: "No."

The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap responded with an "oh" and followed slowly behind, falling a step behind.

The brim of his hat obscured his eyebrows and eyes, making it difficult to discern his expression for the moment.

The Young Woman in a Long Dress suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. "The Old Man Who Knocks on Doors committed suicide by swallowing gold and the strange wheat field might both be related to this Mountain God."

The Curly-Haired Woman seemed lost in thought, but upon hearing this, she composed herself and said, "I think it might be the result of making a wish to the Mountain God."

But after she finished speaking, the irritation in her eyes unconsciously intensified.

"At least we've gained something. Putting aside the so-called Mountain God, the Shamaness seems to be just an ordinary person." The Man in a Suit remained calm, showing no change in expression.

He kept replaying the middle-aged woman's every move in his mind, but no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't find anything special about it.

"If stopping the ritual is really the way to clear this Dungeon, it would be easier to target the Shamaness directly."

Unlike the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap, they didn't ask the Young Man in a Hoodie about the Mountain God's favor.

Since they had already replied that they didn't know, they naturally wouldn't pester them with further questions.

Putting everything else aside, no one would think this favor is a good thing.

When the six returned to Village Chief Zhu's house, they saw Village Chief Zhu, who hadn't been there since noon, standing by the well in the yard, doing something they couldn't tell.

The Man in a Suit stepped forward and asked, "Village Chief Zhu, what are you doing here?"

Village Chief Zhu turned around and saw that it was the "experts" he had invited, he immediately replied, "Oh, the impeller is broken. I'm checking it now."

He noticed the strange expressions on their faces and asked curiously, "Have you encountered some trouble, masters? Could it be...?"

He seemed to have thought of something bad, and his voice lowered considerably. "Is it Awang's mother is difficult to deal with?"

The Man in a Suit rubbed his temples, feigning exhaustion. "It is indeed a bit tricky; we'll need some more time."

"We're sorry to trouble you experts," Village Chief Zhu sighed softly.

In his view, it was normal for it to be troublesome, after all, it had killed more than sixty villagers in three years, which must have reached the level of a vengeful ghost.

Taking this opportunity, the Man in a Suit asked the Shamaness and the Mountain God, "... I've heard that your village has a Mountain God worshipped under the guidance of a Shamaness, and he seems quite efficacious. Why don't you ask him to help you with Awang's mother?"

"The experts all know now." Village Chief Zhu paused for a moment, then his expression turned somewhat bitter. "Alas, I didn't mean to deliberately keep it from you experts."

"The Lord Mountain God did indeed bring blessings to our village, but after I invited several other experts to exorcise the evil spirits, it still didn't work... so I asked these experts to pretend to be my old woman's relatives."

The Village Chief Zhu's subsequent confession was largely in line with the players' guesses.

In fact, more than 40 people died in Ninghe Village in the first year of those three years. In the second year, the Shamaness communicated with the Mountain God, which greatly reduced the number of deaths in the village.

Until half a month ago, three villagers suddenly died in a very strange way, completely different from before. The Shamaness said that Awang's mother's power had increased again, and the Lord Mountain God could hardly suppress it anymore.