Appetite

The candle was brought to the dining table by the woman, its dim white light casting a pall over the otherwise beautifully prepared dishes.

The village chief's words struck the group like a thunderclap.

"In the coffin? You mean... Zhou Yongsheng is dead?" Ju Lan asked tremulously.

"Huh? When did he die? Are you sure, Chief? I was in contact with him just a few days ago," Carlos said, not showing much surprise, a hint of probing in his green eyes.

The village chief seemed astonished. "In contact? I wouldn't know about that. We had a heavy rain a few days ago. Little Sheng and his friends went up the mountain to play and accidentally got buried. The villagers worked hard to dig him out."

He spoke with certainty, meaning that all the messages they had recently received from Zhou Yongsheng were from a dead person.

As Yu Xing listened, his gaze swept over the fish on the plate. The aroma of braised fish wafted into his nostrils, whetting his appetite.

As it stood, Zhou Yongsheng wasn't an NPC meant to advance the plot, but a Ghost.

So, why did he lie about being a fan and lure them here? What was his purpose?

Also, Ju Lan had mentioned that her "boyfriend" was Zhou Yongsheng's classmate. Now that Zhou Yongsheng was confirmed dead, what about her boyfriend?

Licking his lips, Yu Xing showed deep regret. A hint of sadness and a touch of sympathy appeared on his pale face.

"Zhou Yongsheng was a decent person, quite cheerful. I didn't expect him to meet with an accident this year. I think, since we knew each other, I should come to see him off."

He skillfully shifted the purpose of his visit, following the village chief's lead. Since so many people had been in contact with Zhou Yongsheng, and all clues pointed to him, he believed the Main Quest must be related to this.

It was time to extract information about the Main Quest.

"It's wonderful that Sheng has friends like you who came all the way to attend his funeral. I think he'll be very happy to see you in the coffin," the village chief said, clearly fond of Yu Xing. The young man was fair-skinned, polite, and spoke well.

"Then, then I... what about the friends who went up the mountain with Zhou Yongsheng?" Ju Lan's eyes widened.

"Those young people... they were all found. Dug out. But they weren't good-looking. Many parts of their bodies had rotted when they were dug out. Not good-looking, not good-looking," the village chief shook his head.

Ju Lan's expression changed.

"Little girl, don't be sad. It's a good thing you didn't come with them. Otherwise, you'd be rotten too. Rotten, and not good-looking," the woman said with a smile, her face shrouded in flickering dim light.

Her words killed everyone's appetite, perhaps due to the content or the strange expressions on the village chief and the woman's faces as they spoke of the dead.

Even though Ju Lan, Wei Fan, and Xu Hong hadn't gone to the kitchen, they sensed that something was wrong. The logic of the village chief and the woman was unlike that of normal people.

Were only these two like this, or was the entire village like this?

The food in their hands suddenly lost its appeal.

"Eat, eat, it'll get cold," the village chief urged when he saw no one touching their chopsticks.

They couldn't eat this food. What if eating it triggered some death condition...

The people who had entered the kitchen thought this and secretly exchanged glances with the others who were unaware, silently stopping them from eating the food of unknown origin.

Just then, a pair of chopsticks reached out before their eyes and picked up a piece of scrambled eggs.

"...?"

Everyone looked over in surprise. San, who had been quietly sitting there, had already stuffed a large piece of scrambled eggs into his mouth. He then picked up another piece of braised fish, his cheeks bulging, like a defenseless hamster.

"..."

Was he starving?

Was he so hungry he didn't care about his life?

Xiao Xuechen frowned, inexplicably worried about him. Ju Lan was between her and San, so she stretched her hand under the table. Ignoring Ju Lan's surprised gaze, she tried to subtly tug at a tuft of fur on Yu Xing's plush clothing.

Yu Xing was eating with gusto when he suddenly felt his clothes being tugged. He pretended not to notice and offered a smile. "This dish is really delicious. You should eat too."

Xiao Xuechen withdrew her hand and sighed. What do I do if a teammate speaks up for a Ghost? Waiting online, it's urgent.

However, perhaps he had a Sacrifice that could detect the authenticity of food...

Thinking this, she reluctantly extended her chopsticks and picked up a small green vegetable to taste.

It's just average.

With them taking the first bite, the remaining deducers ate with doubt. Given that the village chief and the woman were still watching, they all ate a little just for show.

Yu Xing swallowed the food in his mouth and casually asked, "When is the funeral?"

The village chief slapped his thigh. "Haha, Sheng hasn't been dead long. Today is the First Seven. The funeral is tomorrow night. I'll take you to see it then."

Several death flags were triggered in one sentence.

The First Seven, tomorrow's funeral – neither sounded like safe times.

[Main Quest Triggered: Attend Zhou Yongsheng's funeral and leave Guan Family Village alive]

The Main Quest became clear at this moment, exactly as Yu Xing had predicted.

"We will stay to attend. Then, Chief, where will we be staying tonight?" Wei Fan, the oldest among the deducers, looked around the courtyard at the rooms. It was obvious they weren't enough for seven people.

This meant they would be separated tonight.

"Thank you for your hospitality these past two days. We will pay for our accommodation," Xiao Xuechen added. She hadn't revealed her profession at all. Although she was Wei Fan's colleague, she didn't look like a female engineer.

Yu Xing had observed her carefully. He guessed that this woman's role was on the level of a boss, and her social status in reality wouldn't be low. The tone of someone accustomed to being in charge couldn't deceive him.

"No problem, I'll arrange the accommodation! Almost every household in our village has a spare room. I'll find two reliable families for you. Oh, right, our house can accommodate two people. There's a spare room with two beds!"

The village chief embodied the spirit of hospitality, then looked eagerly at Yu Xing, "Young man, you should stay at our house. I find you quite agreeable, I like you immensely."

"Sure," Yu Xing, who had been addressed, smiled and agreed readily.

"Then I'll also—" Carlos's eyes lit up, but before he could finish, the woman interrupted him.

The woman's dark, beady eyes fixed on Xiao Xuechen, giving her a bad feeling: "I find your daughter very agreeable too. Little girl, you should stay at our house as well."

Hiss...

Xiao Xuechen bit her lip, her heart skipping a beat. She had seen the appearance of the woman's corpse earlier, so was this Ghost targeting her because of it?

The tone sounded subtly sinister, almost like a threat?

This was practically telling her that something bad was bound to happen to her tonight!

She wasn't sure if the village chief was a human with mental issues or another ghostly creature, but what she was certain of was that San's luck was no better than hers.

She had been targeted by a Ghost.

"But Auntie, Xiao Xuechen is a girl. It's not appropriate for her to share a room with a boy," Carlos objected. His intention seemed to be to stay at the village chief's house himself.

"Yes, Auntie. I'm also a girl. I want to stay with Sister Xiao," Ju Lan played up her girlish charm, her tone laced with the apprehension of leaving home.

"Oh, we don't have so many complicated rules in our village. What's wrong with a boy and a girl sharing a room? It's not like they're sharing a bed." The woman clearly wasn't giving up. She seemed set on Xiao Xuechen, which made Xiao Xuechen scoff inwardly.

"Fine, I don't mind." Being stared at repeatedly by the woman was starting to annoy her.

Did she really think she was easy to bully?

Besides, sleeping in the same room as San... would be a feast for the eyes!

Yu Xing didn't mind either. In fact, it wouldn't matter who he shared a room with.

It wouldn't affect him anyway.

Most people were unhappy during the meal, except for Yu Xing, who had a hearty appetite.

After dinner, it was completely dark. Yu Xing remembered asking earlier, and the village chief had said that after dusk, the villagers would come out to socialize at night.

He suggested going out for a stroll, and since the village chief was going to take them to other villagers' homes anyway, they all left together.

His accommodation had already been decided, so he didn't follow the main group. Instead, he casually walked off in another direction.

This village was truly strange, unashamedly so. It was practically screaming "trouble" in plain sight.

As night fell, scattered white lights began to drift through the village.

The wind rustled the branches of the withered trees, making a rustling sound. Other than that, there were no insects, no animals, no signs of life.

Only those white lights. As they drew closer, one could discern faint human silhouettes and hear snippets of conversation.

They were villagers, each holding a white candle!

Yu Xing felt a chill down his collar and back. He lingered near a few villagers, listening to their conversations, which were mostly along the lines of:

"Out for some cool air?"

"Yeah, it's too stuffy at home, just getting some fresh air."

"Heard about Xiao Sheng's funeral tomorrow?"

"Yeah, of course, we'll be there."

Listening further, Yu Xing became interested.

"A few outsiders came to the village today. The village chief is taking them to find places to stay!"

"Hmm~ Which families were so lucky?"

"Don't know, maybe those families on the west side of the village."

As he listened, a daring idea began to form in his mind.

Unfortunately, before he could act, the sound of footsteps approached from behind him. Immediately after, a girl's voice asked in a low whisper, "San, what are you planning to do tonight?"

"Hm?" Yu Xing turned around. It was Xiao Xuechen, who had also distanced herself from the main group.

Since both he and Xiao Xuechen were supposed to stay at the village chief's house tonight, her coming to find him now could only mean she wanted to discuss countermeasures.

He lowered his head slightly to look at her, "What, you think the village chief's wife is going to gank you tonight?"

"...I think it's possible. Her, the way she looked at me wasn't friendly at all. I think I'll be the first target." Xiao Xuechen's face was bare of makeup, her curly hair loosely styled. She appeared calm, even remembering the nature of this deduction, "San, you're a painter. I don't know if you believe in things that science can't explain. Wei Gong and I... we're actually from a supernatural investigation studio."

"Oh~" Yu Xing looked at her with a half-smile.

"Perhaps you don't believe in these things." Xiao Xuechen thought to herself that a deducer would surely believe in such things, but for the sake of character logic, she still had to explain seriously!

"Wei Gong and I came here because we were entrusted by someone to investigate the strange events here. Also, from what we understand, Ju Lan's so-called boyfriend is actually another investigator who went missing on a previous mission. I have reason to believe that Ju Lan is one of our colleagues." Xiao Xuechen was quite considerate. By saying this, she was essentially revealing their "veteran player" status – hers, Wei Gong's, and Ju