Niujia Village

"Hiss!! This is weird."

Xiao Ran gasped, recalling his earlier observation. He had stared at the person for a long time on his way here, but this individual felt completely different from ordinary ghosts.

How to put it...

Li Ji didn't have that characteristic deathly aura that ghosts possessed.

This was Xiao Ran's first time being so wrong about a ghost.

Ghosts sometimes hid in the shadows, appearing indistinguishable from ordinary people at first glance. However, there were still significant differences, especially that deathly aura that no ghost could escape.

This aura would constantly erode the souls' thoughts. Some long-existing ghosts even lacked basic reasoning, existing in a daze, driven by instinct.

But the Li Ji he had just encountered was entirely different from any he had met before.

He still felt that either he had misjudged, or Li Ji wasn't necessarily dead. After all, it was an empty tomb without a physical body, so it didn't prove anything.

"Forget it, whether he's human or ghost, he hasn't harmed me in the end," Xiao Ran shook his head, placing the puppet in his hand back into the coffin. "But that woman..."

Xiao Ran thought of the woman from earlier. Was she crazy?

He casually closed the coffin lid.

He placed his backpack under his head, leaning against the edge of the bed, semi-reclining. Listening to the rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain outside, a wave of fatigue washed over him, and he drifted off to sleep.

Only when a rooster crowed in the distance and he heard murmuring whispers by his ear did Xiao Ran jolt awake.

He saw a blurry shadow moving by the window, instinctively making him shout, "Who's there!"

As his voice fell, the shadow outside the window immediately retreated.

But the noise outside grew much louder, and he could vaguely hear someone shouting, "He's awake, he's awake! He's really a living person."

Xiao Ran quickly got up, his gaze first falling on his backpack before he stood up. Looking through the window, he saw quite a few figures standing outside.

Once he got a clear look, he realized the people outside the door, both old and young, didn't seem to harbor any ill intentions. Only then did he walk to the door, move the stool aside, and open it.

"Buzz..."

As the door was pulled open, his gaze swept out to a world that seemed veiled in a layer of white gauze. A hazy fog meant he could only vaguely make out the outlines of the surrounding gray walls and tiled roofs.

Xiao Ran looked up but didn't see the sun. The light here was just slightly brighter than at night.

The area outside the door was already filled with villagers. These villagers were sizing him up with curious eyes. When they saw him emerge, the villagers who had been whispering to each other fell silent.

Being stared at by such a crowd made Xiao Ran feel uneasy. Just as he stood there bewildered, a path parted through the crowd behind them.

Two young children helped an old woman walk slowly out from the crowd.

Xiao Ran examined the old woman from head to toe. He couldn't tell her age. Beneath her sparse silver hair, her face was a network of wrinkles. Her clothes were faded, but overall neat and clean. Most importantly, there were no patches.

"Young man, where are you from, and why are you sleeping here?" The old woman's voice was a bit hoarse, but her tone was very gentle.

"Uh... it started raining suddenly last night, and I got lost. I stumbled here somehow and saw a house, so I came in to take shelter from the rain."

Xiao Ran didn't mention anything about Li Ji, as talking about ghosts would be too troublesome to explain.

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's words, the surrounding villagers began to whisper amongst themselves.

Seeing this, the old woman snorted, "What are you all crowding around for? It's not a festival. Go do what you need to do."

Hearing her words, the crowd didn't dare to linger and dispersed. However, Xiao Ran noticed that as the villagers left, their gazes towards him remained strange.

There even seemed to be a hint of suppressed joy on their faces.

Before Xiao Ran could ponder further, the old woman stepped forward and affectionately took his hand, saying, "Child, haven't you eaten yet? Come, let's eat first."

The old woman's hand was cold but surprisingly strong. Xiao Ran couldn't easily pull away, so he could only walk with her.

Along the way, the old woman was very talkative, holding Xiao Ran's hand and asking him various questions. Xiao Ran merely offered brief, perfunctory replies.

He found the old woman very strange. She was clearly alive, yet her hands were exceptionally cold, and she exuded an indescribable scent.

When the old woman led him into a courtyard, he saw that small dishes had already been prepared on the table.

A woman in a coarse cloth skirt, limping slightly, placed steamed buns and hot porridge on the table before retreating into the kitchen. She would occasionally peek out to look at Xiao Ran before continuing her work in the kitchen.

The old woman pulled Xiao Ran to sit down, smiling, "Child, eat without worry. This is all proper food. Although this place is hidden from the sun, it doesn't hinder our ability to grow crops."

As she spoke, the old woman picked up a bun and put it in her mouth, eating slowly.

While eating, she gestured with her hand, urging Xiao Ran to eat while it was hot.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran pretended to pick up the bowl of porridge, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip before putting down his chopsticks. "Old Woman, what exactly is this place? I've never heard of it."

"Alas!"

Seeing that he wasn't eating, the old woman didn't press him further. She simply sighed and said, "This is a ghost village."

Upon hearing the words "ghost village," Xiao Ran's expression remained unchanged, but he looked around curiously.

The old woman, thinking Xiao Ran was frightened, quickly explained:

"Don't be afraid. We are all living people. This village wasn't originally called Ghost Village; it was called Niujia Slope. The reason it became like this is all because of an evil woman!"

When mentioning the evil woman, the old woman's eyes filled with hatred.

It turned out this place was originally called Niujia Slope, a well-known large village in the surrounding area.

In the village, there was a prominent family whose son had studied since childhood and grown into a handsome young man. The master of the household then found someone to arrange a marriage for him with a young lady from the provincial capital named Yang Xuan.

She was said to be knowledgeable, virtuous, and understanding, but who would have thought this woman was actually promiscuous and had a heart as venomous as a scorpion's.

After marrying, she had an affair, and then on a stormy night, she murdered her own husband and poisoned the entire prominent family.

Unexpectedly, when the lover saw that things had escalated, he decided to go all the way and killed Yang Xuan himself, then set fire to the prominent family's home.

"Yang Xuan is dead, but her vengeful spirit lingers, turning into a malevolent ghost. This village has been cursed by her. It rains every night, and during the day, it's shrouded in white mist. You can enter, but you can't leave. The villagers are trapped here, neither truly alive nor dead. We don't even know what year it is outside anymore."

As the Old Woman spoke, her expression turned sorrowful. Xiao Ran looked at her with sympathy, but her words...

"I almost believed you."

However, the village was heavy with a deathly aura. Coupled with his own muddled arrival here, he couldn't afford to fall out with the villagers until he understood the situation.

"So, you're saying I can't leave?"

Xiao Ran looked up at the Old Woman.

She nodded at first, then her tone shifted. Grabbing Xiao Ran's hand, she said, "Child, I won't hide it from you. Since you've arrived, it means the village can still be saved. If you help us get rid of this malevolent ghost, Niujia Slope will never forget your kindness, and you'll be able to leave this place."

"Get rid of a malevolent ghost?? Me?"

Xiao Ran's lips twitched. He instinctively tried to pull his hand away from the Old Woman, but she only tightened her grip.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran was about to refuse immediately.

Putting aside the high degree of doubt he had about the Old Woman's words, even if they were true, he couldn't agree.

The entire village couldn't do anything about her; didn't he know his own limitations?

But just as the words were about to leave his throat, a piercing notification sound suddenly echoed in his ears.

[Main Quest Triggered: Help Niujia Village]

Quest Conditions: Help Niujia Village break free from the curse.

Quest Reward: F