[Soul-Shaking Ancient Village] Death Confirmed

Shen Jing and the other three hurried to the third-floor storage room. When they pushed open the door, dust rushed into their faces. The only difference in the room from before was that three more dolls were missing.

Shen Jing looked especially grim. Jing Xi was a little hesitant as she softened her voice and asked, "Sister Jing, are all three of them dead? What do we do next?"

Shen Jing let out a long breath. She waved a hand and closed her eyes, calmly analyzing the situation. Thoughts raced through her mind as images of the burly man, the male student, and Si Yehan surfaced, every detail playing over again.

After a long while, Shen Jing opened her eyes. "Chen Yong, you and Xie Ran go take a look on the second floor. Check every room. The dolls disappearing doesn't necessarily mean they're dead. Maybe they took them."

Chen Yong and Xie Ran nodded, leaving only Shen Jing and Jing Xi in the storage room.

Shen Jing looked down at the faint signs that someone had searched the storage room. Her voice was quiet, but it echoed clearly in the cramped room. "Someone touched the objects used for the ritual and put them back where they were. Jing Xi, who do you think it was?"

Jing Xi stood in the storage room, looking around uneasily. Shen Jing's sudden question caught her off guard. Once she recovered, she quickly gave her assessment. "I think it was probably the handsome guy in the trench coat. He seems very cold, and the way he talks shows no reverence for life. And given what that burly guy said earlier, I'm almost certain it was him."

Shen Jing laughed. "Your guess partly matches mine, but although the guy in the trench coat is suspicious, I think the burly man is more likely. We can't rule out the possibility that he came back. He's a newbie, but he's no fool. He wouldn't make himself everyone's target. But what if the thing he took was enough to change the situation? So we have to watch out for both of them."

Jing Xi suddenly understood. "So, Sister Jing, you mean the most urgent thing is to figure out what was taken?"

"We don't need to know what it was. We just need to be careful from now on and find some things to defend ourselves with this afternoon. In a dungeon, we have to watch out not only for ghosts, but for people too." Shen Jing stood up and shook her head.

While they were talking, Chen Yong and Xie Ran returned from the second floor.

Chen Yong said, "There's no one in 201 or 202."

Xie Ran leaned against the doorway, blocking the light behind her. She said calmly, "There's no one in 203 or 204. The door to 205 was locked, and someone was inside, but I don't know who. I didn't knock. I came straight back when I found I couldn't open it."

As she spoke, she noticed that the three people in front of her had fallen silent. Their expressions changed, and they all stepped back slightly, as though something were happening behind her.

The hairs on Xie Ran's back stood on end, and sweat ran down her forehead, but she did not panic. A voice rang out, sounding especially familiar to her. "Besides me, is anyone else staying in 205 now?"

Xie Ran spun around and saw the handsome young man in the trench coat. Her tense heart immediately relaxed.

She silently took three steps back, moving closer to Shen Jing, before saying, "Can you make a little noise when you walk next time?"

Si Yehan stood where the spiral staircase met the entrance to the storage room. Light and shadow crossed his handsome face, making his expression hard to discern. The others only felt uneasy and afraid.

He looked at the four of them indifferently. They stood close together, clearly having formed a temporary alliance and instinctively trusting one another.

Si Yehan usually napped for only about twenty minutes. When Shen Jing had tried the door handle outside, he had already woken up and was getting dressed.

After she left, he opened the door and followed her.

Si Yehan said nothing. Xie Ran could not tell whether he was refusing or agreeing, so she offered him a way out. "Maybe I was too focused at the time and didn't notice you behind me."

As a doctor, she had her share of social obligations. Even though she was naturally quiet and disliked a fuss, such interactions were hard to avoid.

Shen Jing patted Xie Ran. "Xie Ran, come stand behind me for now."

Then she smiled and said, "So you're still alive. I saw that the doll corresponding to you was gone and thought something had happened to you."

"Whose else are gone? I took mine myself." Si Yehan pretended not to know and offered a half-truth.

"The other two who aren't here," Shen Jing answered calmly.

"Have you all told each other your names?" Si Yehan had noticed how the ponytailed woman addressed the female doctor. Remembering her earlier words—"In a place where death can arrive at any moment, is there any need? It won't be too late to exchange names after clearing the dungeon"—he suddenly found it a little funny.

"Yes. My name is Shen Jing. What's your name?" Shen Jing asked with a smile. She regarded Si Yehan with even greater importance now. Perhaps she could recruit him into the organization after they left the dungeon.

As she spoke, she signaled to the other two with her eyes.

The man in the suit spoke steadily, unlike when he had first entered the dungeon yesterday. "My name is Chen Yong."

There was still some unease in the white-dressed woman's voice because of their surroundings. "My name is Jing Xi."

"Si Yehan." Si Yehan's lips curved into a smile, but against his face, the smile carried a hint of cold mockery.

With that, all five of them knew one another's names.

After going downstairs, they discovered that the person sent by the village chief had already delivered the food and left.

There were seven portions. Clearly, they had known all along that one of them would die the previous night.

They were all rice with home-style country dishes.

Si Yehan had always been picky about food. With his rice, he took only two pieces of lean meat and did not touch any of the other dishes.

Chen Yong had not eaten his fill. He swallowed and asked Si Yehan, "Brother Han, are you going to eat those? If not, you can give them to me."

Si Yehan poured the dishes into the leftovers bucket the delivery person had prepared, answering Chen Yong with his actions.

Si Yehan had never been in the habit of giving his possessions to others. Even if he disliked something, he would rather hold on to it until it rotted. Letting others benefit had always disgusted him.

He had been born with a particular loathing for all life in the world. As a child, he had always shown a drowsy weariness. Later, he saw cats, dogs, and people die horribly before his eyes: some died of illness, their skin shriveled and their eyes lifeless; some had their skulls burst open, blood covering the ground; and some died slowly as their bodies rotted.

After witnessing death, Si Yehan felt genuine delight. Only then did he find the true meaning of life. His family was wealthy, and he had enjoyed the benefits of power and wealth from childhood. He had no interest whatsoever in pursuing what the world commonly called power and riches, and he had long since grown tired of sightseeing.

The world's magnificent scenery ought to be adorned with blood and fire.

Si Yehan lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the expression in his eyes, and turned to go upstairs.

Chen Yong stood frozen, his expression ugly, but he did not dare lash out. All he wanted now was to clear the dungeon and go home as quickly as possible, so naturally he would not offend someone who clearly had the potential to become a big shot.

Jing Xi patted him and offered a few words of comfort, then shared some of the food she had not yet eaten with him.

That afternoon, Shen Jing went out with Xie Ran.

By the time they returned, they had found three weapons, which they distributed to Xie Ran, Jing Xi, and Chen Yong.

Si Yehan stayed in his room without going out. By evening, neither the burly man nor the male student had appeared.

The lights were on in the living room. Shen Jing reached a conclusion. "The other two are definitely dead. It's just not clear whether they broke a rule or whether someone killed them."