Who Hung the Corpses?

The team was lucky; the rain stopped after about an hour, the dark clouds dispersed, and a bright, white sky was revealed.

They can set off now.

During this time, Yu Xing gained a clear understanding of the information about the tomb palace. Some of his doubts were resolved, but new questions arose.

That was the sense of unease he could feel at any moment. Now he was almost certain that he had forgotten something. What place in the mountains had he experienced something that he had then forgotten?

Only during the time he lay in the coffin.

Although Carlos said he was only inside for three minutes, the supernatural power that blurs the flow of time is not uncommon, Yu Xing has encountered it many times since becoming a deducer.

Yu Xing was wary. The power to alter his memories without him noticing must be incredibly strong. Furthermore, the fact that he was unharmed and hadn't sensed any malice suggested it was some kind of "plot necessity."

Deduction Yugi are, after all, just Yugi. Even if the NPCs in investigator-type deduction games have a lot of freedom, they are still just characters in Yugi whose identities can be arbitrarily replaced by the deducer. Even if this world operates independently, Yu Xing doesn't believe it's real.

Speaking of which, Yu Xing had encountered other people from the real world before, such as Ning Feng. He had not yet made contact with the anomaly research group in the Persona Mask template, so he did not know what system Ning Feng's side belonged to.

But since they've formed their own faction and are participating in the deduction, Yu Xing will tentatively assume that their world is at the same level as his own, and can be called "real."

In short, in this simulated world, everything seems to be moving towards the future randomly, but Yu Xing feels that this is just because the predetermined path is too vast, resulting in a lack of a sense of compulsion.

He probably has some memory loss right now, but that's part of the "plot," so he doesn't need to worry too much.

The group was about to depart when Yu Xing stopped Carlos: "Where is the painting hidden?"

Upon hearing that Yu Xing still cared about the painting, Carlos helplessly pointed behind the memorial tablet. "I was afraid it would get creased or crumpled, so I rolled it up and put it in a wooden box for you. How about that, isn't that good treatment?"

"It's fine." Yu Xing satisfaction and happily packed up her painting tube.

In this way, if later generations come here drawn by the reputation of the demon daoist, only to find a painting belonging to the terrifying artist San, it would be like people finding a smartphone in Sanxingdui that can still display contacts; the number on it would surely become famous.

Even if it's not made public, people will secretly notice him, thus affecting his character's experiences... Yu Xing has already discovered a predictive technique in investigator-type deductions: as long as he leaves clues, the next time he comes in, the deduction content will most likely be related to the clues he left behind, more or less serving as a prophecy.

Familiar people and environments can greatly increase the survival rate.

Yu Xing threw away some unused items, put on the supplies assigned to her by the new team, and then stepped out of the ancestral hall with her team members, heading back home.

To get back to Live Tail Lake, you have to pass through the Bird Corpse Forest and that corpse pit that even Yu Xing couldn't stand.

The journey was safe. Yu Xing, Carlos, and Lin were all secretly watching to see if the thing that had sneaked in had reappeared. Lin held a wooden compass in his hand and walked in the middle of the group, muttering to himself.

However, no one could understand or hear it clearly.

As they approached the Bird Corpse Forest, the wind carried the smell of decay, Yu Xing began to feel disgusted, slowing his pace as if he were walking through a cesspool.

"What's with that expression?" Carlos chuckled, putting his hands in black leather gloves and putting them in his jacket pockets. He nudged Yu Xing with his elbow Yu Xing, "A germaphobia? Or..."

"Don't you find it awful?" Yu Xing's dislike was practically overflowing, with many people around listening. He adjusted his backpack strap, looking troubled. "Maybe someone like you, a big shot, has developed the ability to ignore your surroundings. I'm different. I've been pampered since childhood, and I can't stand this smell."

San is indeed spoiled and pampered; in the story, she is a child born with a silver spoon in her mouth from a wealthy family.

Ash leaned closer. "San, is your family very wealthy?"

"So-so. They're only so rich that the brothers can't stand each other, are always trying to trip each other up, and even want the old man to pass away soon so they can fight over the inheritance." As Yu Xing spoke, he put on the new mask he had acquired, blocking out most of the smell.

"Wow!" Ash's eyes lit up. "You know I'm not very good at math. If I'm not mistaken, you should be richer than the nobles in my hometown!"

"A great country like ours, with many wealthy people." Unica was incredibly proud, almost as if she were one of them. "Ash, if you're interested in our history, perhaps you can come find me. I can help you learn more about it. Trust me, once you understand it, you'll fall in love with this place."

Yu Xing glanced at her without showing any emotion; to him, it sounded like the NPC was starting to issue notifications.

If you want to learn about the history of the period of demon daoist cultivation, you can consult historian Unica.

Ash thanked Unica, then looked at Yu Xing: "You're so rich, why are you doing such a dangerous business?"

Everyone except Carlos pricked up their ears; this was what they wanted to know as well.

Yu Xing immediately realized that Ash was pretending to chat casually, but in fact he was trying to extract information about Yu Xing's identity and could also judge how much he could be trusted based on the motives Yu Xing mentioned.

He politely shook his head, then sighed deeply, "That money belongs to my family, not me. I'm just one of many children, and my chances of inheriting even a tenth of the family fortune are slim. Ultimately, the family will choose a pillar to inherit the majority of the assets. As for the others, it's already a miracle if they aren't killed or expelled."

"I came to tomb raiding because the captain of another team invited me to join. I'm not really interested in money, but I wanted to take this opportunity to achieve something and let the elders see me, so I agreed."

This reason is so easy to come up with, and it's plausible and hard to verify.

"You're such a talented and famous painter, yet your elders aren't satisfied?" Lin, who had already put away his compass, interjected. Because he usually spoke rather bluntly, it sounded like an interrogation.

But in fact, he didn't mean that. When Yu Xing looked at him, Lin Weiwei shook his head, indicating that there were no ghosts following them.

He asked this question purely because he had witnessed Yu Xing's painting skills last night and was puzzled as to why such a talented painter was not recognized by his family.

"Painting is nothing to them. After all, I'm just a painter who's popular in a small circle. I'm far from being a world-renowned painter. The value a painting can create is very limited, far less than what my brothers and I can make in business." Yu Xing extremely wronged. When he mentioned his family, his knuckles turned white, as if he had been bullied and was enduring it silently.

"They look down on my painting skills, so I was thinking of using this opportunity to integrate into the tomb raiding circle. Being able to snatch treasures from corpses and ghosts would be a skill in itself. If I could regularly bring in goods for my family's antique business, my elders would believe in my abilities and courage."

Yu Xing took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. "Never mind... there's no point in talking about this now. I can't change these spoiled habits of mine all at once, but I'll overcome them slowly. I'll just wear this mask in the Bird Corpse Forest. Let's go."

Carlos's brow twitched; he felt contempt for this guy who first flaunted his wealth and then feigned weakness.

Yu Xing his family background, which not only prevented the team members from feeling burdened by his wealthy background, but also made them praise his awareness. He really knows how to guide people's hearts!

The Magician really wanted San to abandon her paintbrush and learn the simplest card tricks from him.

It might become popular.

Yu Xing had no idea what Carlos was thinking about him. In fact, a large part of what he said earlier was nonsense, based on the background when the character was created, he made up a bunch of random things.

He didn't even know what painter San's family did for a living, and they certainly weren't as rich as Ash claimed.

However, the danger in his home was definitely greater than that in the demon daoist Tomb Palace. The dangers of the two were in different directions. The Tomb Palace was large enough to devour any living person who came here but was not careful enough, and he was just one of them.

In the Tomb Palace scenario, having strong teammates can help you survive even if you're not particularly strong yourself.

The strangeness in San's house must be localized and targeted at this family. It's highly targeted, and no one can escape it. For the deducer, the latter is more terrifying. His boss at the investigation studio, whom he had never met, also said that if he made a significant contribution this time, he would help him resolve the family matters.

This shows that his superior believed he could survive in the tomb, but not that he could handle things at home, which is further evidence of the horrors of San's family.

As the group chatted, the stench of decay in the air grew stronger. By the time the bird carcasses hanging high in the trees were visible to the naked eye, several people had already put on masks.

The recent rain didn't wash away the stench; in fact, it made it worse.

Yu Xing suddenly realized something was strange. When he arrived, he only smelled a faint fishy stench after entering the forest, so how come he could smell it from a long distance when he left?

Even if it were due to wind direction, it wouldn't be this outrageous; something else has quietly changed.

All these fragmented anomalies accumulated in his mind. The group continued to move forward, but Shi Jiu suddenly called for a halt.

Shi Jiu urgently told everyone to stay still, and squinted as he looked towards the entrance of the corpse forest.

What is that?

Ash blurted out instinctively, "What? What is it... Oh, God."

Everyone had good eyesight, and after receiving the tip, they took a closer look and gasped in shock.

I didn't notice it when I was far away, but now that I'm closer, I see corpses hanging on the trees near the entrance to the forest of corpses, corpses much larger than bird carcasses.

The corpses were barefoot, their limbs hanging limply, all dressed in white burial clothes, their hair disheveled and obscuring their faces, swaying in the wind like the tolling of a bell.

Those were human corpses, both men and women, all with hair that reached their chests and abdomens.

The corpses hung in a dense row, swaying in the wind, as if on display, and an ominous premonition enveloped everyone's hearts.

"Damn it, this beast isn't satisfied with hanging bird carcasses, he's started hanging people now!" Master Li liked to swear, and judging from his first reaction, he had actually seen hunchbacked people who liked to hang bird carcasses before.

But then, everyone, including Master Li, was taken aback.

Carlos slowly turned his head and asked Yu Xing, "Were these corpses already here when you arrived?"

Yu Xing was certain that there were only bird carcasses here before, not human carcasses, because he had searched the forest for a long time in order to find the hunchbacked man's dwelling.

His exposed eyes were filled with bewilderment and shock. He said nervously, "No, no, this body appeared after I left."

But the problem is!

Shi Jiu and Wine drew their knives and looked around warily.

The problem is that the hunchbacked man who hung the corpse was already dead.

It was bitten in two by the fish monster and thrown into the dark river. The hunchbacked man couldn't have resurrected so quickly, because his resurrection relied on the black coffin, and they stayed in the shrine all night, with nothing ever coming out of the black coffin!

What is it...?

Besides the hunchbacked man, are there other intelligent humanoid creatures lurking in this forest?

Carlos asked, "And who are those corpses? From other teams?"

No one answered him, because no one was sure.

Lin's first thought was, could this be the work of that ghostly thing mixed among them? He immediately took out his compass again, reciting the feng shui incantations passed down in his family.

The atmosphere in his eyes began to shift. The others knew he was searching for a reason and dared not disturb him. They all took out their weapons to be on guard. Only Will hesitated for a moment and then took out a folding metal plate.

Will unfolded the metal plate, which turned out to be an exquisitely crafted Ouija board. It had a black background with white lettering, and was decorated with gold foil patterns that exuded mystery and nobility. It contained twenty-six letters and the numbers 0-9, as well as some symbols that no one but a medium could understand, used to communicate with the dead.

He took out his tools, laid a disposable mat on a patch of barely dry ground, sat down cross-legged, and placed the Ouija board on his lap.

Will began the divination.

His choice of the Ouija board as a divination tool signifies his intention to communicate with the spirits here. Coincidentally, with many corpses here, the Ouija board is a very useful and direct method.

Lin and Will both started to get serious. Carlos stroked his chin, turned to Yu Xing, "Take a look, are any of your old teammates among those corpses? If you can't see their faces, look at their bodies."

"It seems... there aren't any." Yu Xing could see more clearly. The members of Brother Sun's team were all burly, but the corpses hanging in the trees were of varying sizes, with some fat and some thin, but none of them were strong.

This certainly doesn't seem like the work of a hunchbacked person; hunchbacked people wouldn't specifically dress a person in funeral clothes before hanging them up.

Suddenly, Yu Xing tilted her head and chuckled in a low voice, "I suddenly remembered the Rookie Tournament from before. Count the number of corpses, doesn't it seem familiar?"

Carlos recalled for a moment, then frowned and clicked his tongue.

Twelve corpses.

Ten men and two women.

That matches their team perfectly.