The Beginning of the Truth

When Uncle Cai asked, Zheng Wuyou simply smiled faintly, then parted her lips and slowly uttered a few words…

"The new mission is actually right in front of everyone."

"You mean… this children's rhyme?" Hu Yu widened her eyes exaggeratedly, her hand instinctively pointing to the first spot on the ground that was already drying.

Miao Laisheng's nod confirmed her guess.

"If we can't figure out the first two lines of the children's rhyme, we might repeat last night's disaster," Zheng Wuyou's eyes cast an appreciative glance at Wen Dian, thanking him for not hiding anything.

Then, she tucked her hair behind her ear and stood seriously at the center of attention.

"The flower platform is Zhu Village, so who should sing this play? And who should wear the King Yama mask? Trapping Zhu Village… the riddles before seem to be about completing the mission, but each step is actually guiding us to understand Zhu Village and find the pattern. This children's rhyme is the real beginning."

Zheng Wuyou looked up, her gaze firm as she looked towards the uninvited guest at the door.

A rhythmic clapping sound echoed from behind everyone.

They turned back in terror, finding a strange man sitting at the door, though no one knew when he had gotten there.

He sat in a wheelchair, his hands clasped together.

The smile on his face seemed to agree with their words.

And behind him…

People stood densely packed, whether it was the middle-aged man they recognized, the old woman who loved to smoke opium, the old man, or the old lady with her feet facing backward.

They all gathered behind him like walking corpses.

There were also many people they hadn't seen before.

All their gazes were fixed intently on the inside of the wooden house's door, and everyone felt a chill at the sight.

They immediately got up and scrambled towards the entrance leading to the backyard.

Trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and this group of strangers.

"Very impressive, I didn't expect you to actually retrieve the hairpin." The man in the wheelchair stopped clapping and his eyes swept over the crowd, finally settling on Zheng Wuyou.

Zheng Wuyou watched the man in the wheelchair warily, "Zhu Li? You can leave the house?"

The man gently turned the wheels of his wheelchair, moving forward slightly, "The words of the Zhu family cannot be trusted, don't forget, I am also a member of the Zhu family."

"I am the maintainer of the rules, and the rules are set by me, so naturally, I can move freely."

Zhu Li's elegant voice echoed across the mountainside, but it struck Zheng Wuyou and the others like a heavy hammer.

Hearing this, everyone's hearts grew more anxious.

"You've solved some of the puzzles, very good. But if you want to truly leave, I'm afraid it will take some effort." The man in the wheelchair's smile turned sinister.

Zheng Wuyou clenched her fist, "You've been manipulating things from the shadows?"

Recalling carefully, every step had been arranged perfectly.

At every crucial juncture, a guide would appear…

The man shook his head, "Not at all, I am merely abiding by a distant agreement."

Just then, a figure was suddenly pulled from the crowd. It was Xiao Xia, whom they had tied up in the west three room…

Xiao Xia remained in a semi-crouching position, her eyes tightly shut, already in a deep coma.

There was no sign of her waking up.

To everyone's astonishment, Xiao Xia's originally clear figure began to gradually become transparent before their eyes!

It was as if a thin veil was lightly draped over her, or as if her curled-up body was deeply embraced by Xiao Wan's soul.

This made her entire being appear ethereal and unreal.

The middle-aged man standing beside her tightly held Xiao Xia's body.

"What did you do?" Hu Yu rushed forward two steps, her angry roar proving useless.

It couldn't alleviate Xiao Xia's increasingly light and transparent body.

Even though Xiao Xia had lost consciousness before, this moment made them realize that she ultimately didn't belong to this world, and she was like them!

Finally, just as Wen Dian and Hu Yu couldn't bear to watch any longer and wanted to snatch Xiao Xia back.

Xiao Xia's body completely turned into a pool of clear liquid, which slid rapidly through the middle-aged man's fingers like flowing water.

The pool of liquid didn't stop at all, falling directly to the ground with a crisp "plop" sound.

Immediately after, it seemed to be swallowed by the earth, seeping into it and disappearing without a trace.

Only Hu Yu was left standing there blankly, staring at the unbelievable scene before her through the doorframe.

Everyone inside the house gasped, but the man remained calm, "There isn't much time left. If you don't want to disappear one by one, quickly figure out the meanings of 'King Yama' and 'rose symbiosis'."

Zheng Wuyou took a deep breath, calming herself to think.

Miao Laisheng walked to her side and whispered, "Cooperate."

Zheng Wuyou nodded, her eyes scanning the surroundings again, attempting to start with the wooden house.

Zhu Li had led everyone from Zhu Village to block the entrance of the wooden house, so it wouldn't be as simple as a verbal explanation.

Recalling the first day, the old man had forbidden everyone from looking around the backyard...

So the backyard must be hiding something unspeakable!

Zheng Wuyou leaned close to Miao Laisheng's ear and whispered something.

Then she squeezed to the back of the crowd. The two of them acted as if they had a huge secret.

Even Wansi, who was closest, couldn't hear the content of their conversation clearly.

Zhu Li sat in his wheelchair, watching the panicked people inside with amusement.

The sun was slanting towards the western mountains, indicating it was past noon.

Sneaking from behind the bustling crowd, Zheng Wuyou crept towards the backyard and slowly raised her head to look upwards.

She saw the scorching sun hanging high in the sky, still relentlessly releasing its incredibly hot radiance.

It was as if it wanted to bake the entire world into a molten state.

Zheng Wuyou mused to herself. She clearly remembered that breakfast and dinner were always served in the dilapidated earthen house on the left side of the backyard.

When she turned her head towards the right side of the backyard, she found that next to the kitchen, bundles upon bundles of tightly bound firewood were piled up like a mountain.

These pieces of firewood varied in shape and size.

Some were slender sticks, while others were neatly chopped blocks.

She recalled that the old woman from the Old Zhu family had solemnly warned them not to step into the backyard before.

But just now, Zhu Li had reminded them that the words of the Zhu family couldn't be trusted.

In fact, entering the backyard wouldn't incur any punishment...

Thinking this, Zheng Wuyou gritted her teeth and resolutely charged straight towards the kitchen under the blazing sun.

The most eye-catching thing in the kitchen was undoubtedly the large stove built from black earth.

It squatted there quietly, like a giant beast.

And in the corner beside the stove, a large pile of dark, messy dregs was haphazardly stacked.

It made one feel disgusted just looking at it.

Since the entire kitchen wall was smeared with the same colored black earth, Zheng Wuyou couldn't tell at first which part had been blackened by the smoke and fire from the firewood.

And which part was the original color of the wall.