The Lost Spirit Tablet!

The autumn air was crisp and clear, the lake shimmering invitingly.

A beauty was playing in the water, her cheerful voice like that of swallows and orioles filling the air.

As Yimo and Dieyu chatted, they completely relaxed, eventually dozing off on a rock.

In the hazy state between consciousness and sleep, Yimo seemed to hear someone calling their name.

"Mr. Siba Jungler?"

"Mr. Siba Jungler?"

"Honestly, I deliberately wore such a sexy swimsuit, and he actually fell asleep!" a hint of resentment laced the voice.

"Heh heh, but it's precisely because of this that it makes one really want to get closer, to tease them."

"However, even if the system shows that attacks are not allowed during the day, it doesn't mean the day is always safe."

"Really, I didn't mean to."

"As expected, the face beneath the messy bangs is very beautiful, very delicate."

"If I didn't have other things to do, I'd really want to lie here and sleep with you."

"What a shame... this death game doesn't allow for true relaxation."

"..."

"Goodbye, Mr. Siba Jungler~"

When Yimo woke up, the sky was already completely dark.

They blinked in surprise, wiped away some drool, and rubbed their head, which ached slightly.

Instinctively, Yimo looked towards the lake and the surroundings, but Dieyu was nowhere to be seen.

"I actually fell asleep, I was so careless..."

"But then again, I didn't sleep well yesterday..."

Yimo opened the system page and saw that it was past 3 PM.

Fortunately, it wasn't too late. The clear weather had simply turned overcast.

It seemed... a storm was brewing.

Yimo thought for a moment. They and Dieyu had arrived very early, so she had likely already returned. After confirming there was nothing unusual with their own body, Yimo couldn't help but look towards the nearby ancestral shrine and walked over.

When chatting with Dieyu earlier, she had mentioned that the shrine was gloomy, filled with many spirit tablets, and nothing else of interest, so there was no need to go.

But Yimo still wanted to take a look.

As Yimo approached the shrine, the sky grew even darker, and a sudden wind picked up.

Looking back, many birds were circling above the lake, and fallen leaves were constantly swirling on the grass.

The shrine was very old and dilapidated, with moss growing on the blue bricks and cobwebs filling the corners.

Only half of a swallow's nest remained, seemingly occupied by insects.

"It's quite different from those thatched huts outside..."

"The architectural style... Republic of China era?"

Yimo felt that the shrine seemed out of place here, but as large raindrops began to fall with a "pitter-patter," they didn't think too much about it and quickly pushed the door open and ran inside.

"Creak—!"

The door was no longer in good condition, emitting a rather grating sound.

The sky was already overcast, and the shrine had no windows, making the interior extremely dark, giving Yimo the feeling of being in a horror movie.

Yimo's eyes glinted with cold light; they weren't afraid.

They had always believed that.

Compared to ghosts, humans were the most terrifying.

"5 people have been here?"

Since the shrine had been abandoned for an unknown amount of time, a thick layer of dust covered the ground.

And on the ground, there were quite a few footprints.

The path here involved crossing a small stream, and the traces left by the water-soaked dust were still very clear.

"Something's not right..."

Just as Yimo identified the presence of several people, they felt a chill down their spine, goosebumps rising all over. They suddenly turned around.

Crack!

A bolt of thunder struck, the sky turning a deep blue.

Behind Yimo stood a total of nine rows of spirit tablets, covered in thick dust and leaning precariously!

Rustle... rustle...

Creak... creak...

Accompanied by the sound of thunder, the rain, which was gradually intensifying, kept pounding on the grass outside.

The wooden door, constantly blown by the wind, made noise in his ears.

The atmosphere was very eerie, as if something had awakened.

Yimo's subconscious kept telling him.

Someone was staring at him, and this ancestral hall did not welcome him!

This place was very dangerous!

Yimo clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and carefully scanned the grass outside the ancestral hall and behind the trees.

After confirming that no one was there, he turned around again.

He continued to look at the footprints on the ground.

"Someone... was here not long ago..."

Yimo pinched his bangs and looked at the messy footprints on the ground.

Four of them were completely dried.

And the smallest footprint, with no pattern...

was wet!

This meant that someone had been here while Yimo was sleeping!

Moreover... that person wasn't Dieyu.

Yimo remembered very clearly that Dieyu was wearing sandals, which were definitely different from that footprint with no sole pattern!

Naughty Cat or Ordinary Girl Village Chief?

Yimo rubbed his hair, constantly recalling the shoes of the two.

If he remembered correctly, one wore canvas shoes, and the other wore sports shoes.

This meant it definitely wasn't this small footprint with no pattern!!!

The more Yimo thought about it, the more terrified he felt, as if someone had been staring at his back.

"This... is Werewolf, not a horror game..."

Yimo gave a wry smile and opened the game rules interface to take a look. It was indeed not a horror game.

Thinking of this, Yimo decided to let go and stop thinking about it. He just wanted to quickly confirm if there was really nothing inside and leave as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if there were really any ghosts or monsters.

Him being here in the pouring rain would be incredibly foolish.

In a movie, he'd be the kind of supporting character who rushes to their death for no reason.

Yimo looked up.

Inside the ancestral hall, there were nine rows of spirit tablets, all of which were now askew.

Their styles also differed, clearly indicating different eras.

The topmost spirit tablets were the fewest, and they gradually increased in number below.

Yimo looked closely. He could still recognize some of the traditional Chinese characters on the spirit tablets.

"First Generation Hunter: Xu Zi X."

"Fourth Generation Witch: Xu Mao X."

"Third Generation Prophet: Xu Yin X."

"Seventh Generation Idiot: Xu Wu X."

"Fifth Generation Thief: Xu Chen X."

Xu was likely the surname of everyone in the village. The second character probably represented their generation, arranged according to the twelve earthly branches.

Not all nine rows of spirit tablets were present; Yimo counted several missing ones, unsure of where they had gone.

However, the footprints on the ground did not extend near the spirit tablets, leading him to deduce that they were likely missing from the start, not taken by players.

Looking at these spirit tablets, Yimo couldn't help but shake his head. "It seems Villagers don't get into the ancestral hall; they're all special roles."

"It's just that the Thief is actually enshrined in the ancestral hall, which is quite..."

"Too ridiculous..."

Thinking of this, Yimo felt a strange urge to laugh at the absurdity.

After all, being a Thief wasn't exactly an honorable thing.

"Everyone else is a special role, and you, with your unique identity, are placed alongside their memorial tablets..."

"Truly..."

"Wait!"

Thinking this, Yimo suddenly froze, shivered, and quickly ran over. They carefully examined the writing on the spirit tablets, even reaching out to pick up a few and wipe away the obscured characters.

After almost confirming all the spirit tablets, Yimo picked up a Thief's tablet, pursed their lips, and said, "The Thief is a special role and can enter the ancestral hall. Cupid is also a special role, and clearly a special role leaning towards the divine. Yet they didn't enter the ancestral hall!"

"No, they did enter the ancestral hall..."

Yimo looked up, gazing at the rows of spirit tablets before them. Several positions were actually empty, without any tablets.

These were the very tablets Yimo initially thought were missing.

But... these tablets weren't taken by players. They should have been here before, but were removed an unknown amount of time before the game began!!!

The varying thickness of dust clearly indicated this!

"Dieyu, there's a ton of information hidden here, and you said there wasn't!"

Yimo's voice was a little low. Instead of leaving, they immediately looked around the ancestral hall. In a corner, they found the crossbar that should have been used to secure the door. Not caring if it was clean, Yimo grabbed it. Standing on tiptoe, they swung the crossbar, scattering the spirit tablets chaotically.

"Crash..."

The spirit tablets that should have been standing neatly on the shelves were thrown everywhere by Yimo.

Although this was highly disrespectful to the village ancestors, Yimo repented in their heart and did it anyway.

Only when the tablets were a mess and scattered everywhere did they breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to leave.

But...

Crack!!!

With a muffled thunderclap, lightning illuminated the entire ancestral hall.

And right in front of Yimo.

On the shelves that had been full of spirit tablets just a minute ago, a shadow was reflected.

The shadow resembled a corpse tied with ropes, silently watching everything in the ancestral hall alongside Yimo.

From there, it swayed, and swayed