Dance

A crystalline object rolled to Lu Li's feet. He picked it up, and a prompt at the corner of his eye told him he had obtained a special item: [Rule Module: Fear]

Nearby, Puppet propped up her somewhat battered body and picked up some of the black fragments left after the Headless Buddha shattered. Whatever the rules of this world were, the fragments had become like coal, turning into fuel.

She silently tied the pieces together with threads, then said to Lu Li apologetically, "I'm truly sorry. I never expected to encounter the Headless Buddha here and put you in danger, Young Master. Thank goodness you're all right. Otherwise, I would never have been able to forgive myself."

"It's nothing. I'm fine, after all!" Lu Li smiled and let it go, though a faint glint of coldness flickered in his eyes. He and Puppet returned to the fire and tossed the fragments into it. Just then, the Old Man's sleeping figure suddenly turned hazy. Puppet's expression changed, and she hurriedly said to Lu Li, "Master is about to wake up, and you'll soon return to the real world!"

"Remember, don't let the fire go out. And in a little while, I'll find a way to pull you in here again. When I do, I'll give you something—"

Before Puppet could finish, everything before Lu Li twisted, as if he were about to fall asleep. He gazed drowsily at the blurred world. Puppet was still saying something in the distance, but Lu Li could no longer hear her. The world sank into darkness once more.

"Young Master! Young Master!" Lu Li had been woken by the Old Man. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the ruined temple. Looking up, he saw that the Headless Buddha statue inside was covered in cracks, as though it might crumble at any moment.

Seeing Lu Li awake, the Old Man said anxiously, "Young Master, don't go back to sleep. There are monsters everywhere outside. What are we going to do? It doesn't matter if an old man like me dies, but you're still young. You shouldn't have to perish here."

"Monsters everywhere outside?" Lu Li immediately snapped fully awake. He listened closely and heard creatures moving outside the ruined temple, along with the subdued snarls of Corpse Ghosts.

"Yes. I heard a lot of footsteps just now and woke right up. I secretly peered through the crack in the door. The place is full of those white-skinned monsters!" The Old Man's face was creased with worry, and he clutched Puppet tightly.

"I'll take a look." Lu Li glanced at Puppet in the Old Man's arms, picked up a piece of firewood, and opened the temple doors. He saw Corpse Ghosts retreating into the darkness, keeping out of the firelight.

Their snarls continued to come from the darkness. Lu Li knew they had not gone far. An unknown number of Corpse Ghosts had their eyes on this place, though he couldn't tell what they wanted. Were they seeking revenge for their dead kind? Or was there something inside the ruined temple that attracted them?

A commotion rose outside once more. Footsteps approached, and an unusually tall Corpse Ghost emerged from the shadows. It was at least two heads taller than the others, and its body was much bulkier. Its mouth, bare of lips, gaped with enormous teeth jutting outward. A wormlike thing with a chrysanthemum-shaped mouth writhed inside, serving as its tongue.

At the same time, the information about this special Corpse Ghost updated at the corner of Lu Li's eye:

[Variant Corpse Ghost]

[Physical Assessment: 2.48; Life Energy Generation: 3.0]

[Soul Assessment: 1.2; Mental Energy Generation: 1.0]

[Cause of Creation: A person died unexpectedly. After maggots covered his corpse, it touched something, rose again, and became a monster!]

[Special Abilities: (1) State Lock: Brief; (2) Life Absorption: It can use its specialized mouthparts to absorb and store life energy from living beings! (3) Life Pollution: It has absorbed a large amount of life energy, which has become polluted inside its body. It can inject this polluted life energy into other living beings through its specialized mouthparts, transforming them into Corpse Servants!]

[Weakness: Firelight, of course. But it has already developed a degree of resistance...]

[Monster Evaluation: This is the BOSS. Survive this, and the scenario should be nearly over!]

"Gah!!!" the Variant Corpse Ghost roared. It grabbed a Corpse Ghost and shoved it forward, driving it to charge. Lu Li hurriedly held the firewood in front of him. The dim firelight made the Corpse Ghost shriek and stumble away, rolling out of its reach.

Lu Li flung the firewood at the Variant Corpse Ghost. The flames rushed toward it, forcing it to retreat at once. The firelight only melted a little of its skin. When the wood fell into the snow and slowly went out, the melted skin immediately began to heal.

By then, Lu Li had already darted back into the ruined temple. The Old Man looked anxiously at him as he came in. "How is it? Have the monsters left?"

Seeing the Old Man's panicked expression, Lu Li considered for a moment before answering, "These monsters are afraid of fire. They won't come over for a while. We'll be fine once it's daylight. How long were we asleep? What time is it now?"

The Old Man trembled with fear. "About two shichen, I'd say. Dawn is still at least three shichen away!"

"Let's not sleep, then. We can sit by the fire and talk until daybreak. These monsters won't come out once it's light." Lu Li silently calculated the time. Judging by his body clock, he had spent no more than half an hour in the Dream of Delusion, while four or five hours had passed in the outside world. What a strange discrepancy.

Lu Li added another piece of wood to the fire. Seeing the Old Man's worried look, he smiled and said, "Don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of. We just have to wait until dawn!"

"Alas! I'm old, so I've grown timid. I must look ridiculous to you, Young Master." The Old Man forced himself to calm down and said this to Lu Li, but a trace of fear still flickered in his eyes. He wanted to die, but dying in his sleep was completely different from being eaten by monsters.

"The night is long, and we have nothing else to do here. Why don't you put on a puppet show for me, Old Master?" Lu Li seemed to be trying to change the subject. He glanced at Puppet in the Old Man's hands, then stood up and gave him the space, retreating to the Headless Buddha statue.

"Th-that would be fine." The Old Man raised Puppet and began reciting the lines of the opera. In his hands, the petite puppet seemed just like a living person. As he began to sing, the Puppet Girl danced gracefully, her every step deliberate and her every movement breathtakingly beautiful. Under the Old Man's hands, she acted out the story's joys and sorrows. Lu Li didn't understand what the opera was about, but he could still feel its happiness and grief.