Night in Zhu Village

Wen Dian's sharp eyes noticed that Miao Laisheng was actually smiling just now.

Surprised, he nudged Guo Mu with his elbow, urging him to look.

They had made a bet the first night, guessing whether this person would smile.

Before Guo Mu could even look, Miao Laisheng's expression returned to normal.

"She wasn't wrong; this is why Madam Zhao is eternally trapped here." Miao Laisheng's eyes fixed on Zheng Wuyou's hair, his emotions imperceptible to others.

"What are you two talking about, going back and forth like this?" Hu Yu's eyes held confusion.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, but with things having reached this point, she felt too embarrassed to return to the wooden house without a way out.

"Sis, I don't understand what this means either!"

Uncle Cai immediately saw Hu Yu's awkwardness and offered her an out.

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Madam Zhao being eternally trapped here isn't just being stuck in a coffin, but in an endless tomorrow." Zheng Wuyou poured a cup of tea and splashed it onto the ground.

The steaming tea left splatters on the wooden floor.

Everyone remained confused.

"It's simple. From the first day, all we've known are the tasks they mention for tomorrow. But think about it, have we ever experienced the 'tomorrow' they talk about?" Zheng Wuyou placed the teacup back down, her gaze sweeping over everyone.

Looking at the water on the floor, Wen Dian had an epiphany, shaking his head, then nodding again.

"I get it! This cup of water, once spilled, represents the future, or tomorrow. According to the normal timeline, if no one interferes, the water on the ground will naturally dry up within tomorrow. But in the future timeline, this water could cause everything to happen—it's a definite butterfly effect."

After speaking, Wen Dian looked at Zheng Wuyou. Receiving confirmation from her raised eyebrow, he continued, "But in this village's timeline, this spilled water ceases to exist. You must be wondering why? Because although the events of each day seem connected, there's no butterfly effect. This disconnects today's timeline from tomorrow's. Without a butterfly effect, Madam Zhao can never escape."

"Speak plainly!" Guo Mu, his head aching, watched Wen Dian pace back and forth through the spilled water.

He hadn't understood a word of it, except for the part about the water drying naturally.

"Leaving aside the complex principles, put simply, we are eternally trapped in today. The wedding is always tomorrow, so the key to passing isn't getting married." Miao Laisheng calmly walked to the spilled tea, his foot stepping into the edge of the water, his eyes rippling in the reflection.

"But there really is a bride in the backyard?" Uncle Cai was also a bit confused, feeling lost.

"This timeline doesn't target one person or one event; it encompasses the entire village, including the bride." Zheng Wuyou crouched down, dipped her finger in the water, and drew a large circle around the wet patch.

Using the water to illustrate her point.

"I still don't quite understand. What does this have to do with what we're doing now?" Uncle Cai was trying his best to keep up with the young people's thinking, but his own thoughts were simple.

He just wanted to figure out how to leave.

"I understand, Uncle Cai. We've been working according to our assigned roles and the list, believing the key to passing was the wedding, right? But the further we go, the more we realize this village isn't as peaceful as it seems. If we don't find the hidden rules, we'll never be able to leave this place. And one of those hidden rules is... we're always stuck in today."

Hu Yu quickly stepped back into the main hall. She understood Zheng Wuyou's meaning.

Naturally, there was no longer any need to cause trouble.

As a boss, the first lesson was learning to be flexible.

She had seen similar theories on the "Yin Yue" short video platform, with a title like What If You Were Forever Trapped in Today?

Uncle Cai stood there, nodding as if he understood, though it no longer mattered if he truly did.

"Then, was our task yesterday completed or failed?" Wen Dian recalled the scene from the previous night, with white bones crawling out of the ground.

He couldn't help but shiver.

He took out the list he and Guo Mu had, only to find that the text on it had changed at some point.

How could this be?

Wen Dian's disbelief piqued everyone's curiosity.

In his astonishment, he quickly handed the list to Zheng Wuyou, who stood in the center of the hall.

Each stage was a riddle; the others didn't understand why he looked so surprised.

Returning the hairpin to Old Zhu's family this morning should have completed the task, yet his expression suggested otherwise.

Zheng Wuyou glanced at Wen Dian, puzzled, and took the list.

On the list...

It was a blank white expanse, devoid of any writing.

As if the previous tasks had never existed, it felt dreamlike.

The task... had disappeared?

Or perhaps the time for its announcement hadn't come yet?

Zheng Wuyou tightly gripped a corner of the list, creasing a small part of it.

"Why is the task gone? Should we go ask the village chief?" Uncle Cai's list was the same.

They pieced together the lists from each household.

But all they could see was blinding white, with only the water stains on the floor reflecting the light from outside.

It was glaringly obvious.

Hu Yu, standing by Wansi, pondered for a moment before stating with certainty, "Zhu Youcai said our work for today is finished... Could this be related?"

"Mm, let's stay sharp. It's almost the final stage," Miao Laisheng said, looking up at the door of the wooden house, his voice low.

In his eyes, the sky outside the door seemed unpredictable.

The mountain wind swept past the wooden house door, making it creak and groan.

Everyone in the main hall couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Whether it was because of his words or the wind outside.

"It looks like we're in for a tough fight tonight."

Zheng Wuyou's intuition told her that no one would have an easy time tonight.

Especially her and Wansi, who were frequently targeted.

Five...

Four...

Standing on the water stains, Zheng Wuyou closed her eyes and counted down from five, making a decision.

She had ultimately made this choice.

She had originally decided not to meddle in other people's affairs anymore.

"I'll tell you all the rules I've discovered now. Whether you can survive tonight depends on yourselves." Zheng Wuyou habitually reached for paper and a pen from her bag, but unfortunately, this was the Countdown Nightmare.

So, she could only squat down and simply use the water stains to record them.

Her hand lightly brushed across the water stains, leaving a long trail of marks on the floor.

She wrote down her first discovery.

"One, the day we are trapped in is the night of the fifteenth of July. The children's rhyme at night sings of this village's secret: '[Mid-July sets up flower platforms, King Yama arrives with a masked collection of graves.]' This is the original line of the rhyme. What does 'flower platform' refer to? King Yama wearing a mask... what do you think that means?"

"Two, the graves in the back mountain are engraved with the names of all the Zhu Village residents, corresponding one by one. But none of the grave mounds are empty. We three have seen this with our own eyes. What do you think this is because of?"

Zheng Wuyou paused for a moment, ignoring everyone's astonished gazes.

She continued speaking