Peach Haven Village (32)

Back at the village chief's house, Ding Shi shut the main gate and headed for the side guest room. He knew he had to get some sleep. Now that Sun Qi was dead, whether he would be ambushed by zombies in his dreams was entirely up to fate.

A drop of water fell from the sky and landed on Ding Shi's shoulder. He instinctively turned his head for a look, but the darkness kept him from seeing the wet mark. The next second, Ghost Third Lady appeared out of thin air atop the main house's roof. One hand curled into a claw before her, she floated toward Ding Shi. She was not particularly fast, as though she were savoring her prey's fear before death.

Ding Shi tore open his shirt with both hands, sending an entire row of buttons flying and exposing his muscular chest. He then yanked the shirt off, threw it at Ghost Third Lady, and took a long stride out of the courtyard and into the passageway before the guest room.

Ghost Third Lady's head was covered by the shirt, but it did not slow her down. She still reached for Ding Shi's back. Just as her claw was about to touch him, a bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Ghost Third Lady to the ground.

Ghost Third Lady immediately let out a shrill, agonized scream. Ding Shi turned back and saw a rotating yin-yang diagram on her back, countless sparks of electricity dancing across it. Like a dying fish, Ghost Third Lady thrashed and rolled around the courtyard, hoping only to lessen the pain even a little.

Seeing this, Ding Shi was in no hurry. He sat on the threshold, lit a cigarette, and encouraged her, "Come on, do another one."

At that moment, Ding Shi was certain he saw emotion in Third Lady's eyes—an emotion that would not rest until one of them was dead. Ding Shi asked in confusion, "I'm not allowed to look?"

Ghost Third Lady continued screaming and rolling around the courtyard, her eyes still fixed viciously on Ding Shi. Her expression had already answered his question: You may see me and be afraid, but you may not be happy because you saw me make a fool of myself.

As time passed, the electrical sparks grew fewer and fewer, and Ghost Third Lady gradually calmed down. About five minutes later, the sparks vanished, and Ghost Third Lady disappeared with them. Ding Shi knew this disappearance was not a true disappearance. The five minutes were Ghost Third Lady's punishment under the rules of Heaven.

Ghost Third Lady had been wronged too. She had followed Heaven's rules to the letter when killing people. The problem was, how exactly was Ding Shi's act of taking off his shirt supposed to be counted?

The system's thinking was much simpler: both sides had a point, so Third Lady lost. Reason: Third Lady would not file a complaint, so striking her with lightning was no big deal. It gave no consideration at all to Ghost Third Lady's dignity. Unlike Zombie Third Lady, Ghost Third Lady possessed intelligence. Previously, she had resented Haitang for refusing to fight; now, she resented Ding Shi's arrogance. She did not dare reason with Heaven, so she naturally transferred her hatred over being struck by lightning onto Ding Shi.

Compared to Ghost Third Lady, Ding Shi feared Zombie Third Lady and her gang of underlings more. He could go without drinking water. He could avoid getting rained on. But he could not go without sleep.

Over the past seven days, Ding Shi had averaged less than five hours of sleep a day. Last night had been another all-nighter, and with the darkness never lifting, he had reached the point where he could fall asleep standing up.

Just as Ding Shi resolved to sleep for a few hours, Pan'er's scream came from the courtyard. Ding Shi pulled aside a corner of the curtain and looked out, only to see two red figures ganging up on Pan'er.

Ding Shi guessed that Zombie Third Lady had driven Pan'er into the courtyard, and Pan'er getting rained on had triggered Ghost Third Lady's killing rule. The two Third Ladies had taken Pan'er out together.

What a pity. Better Pan'er than the village chief.

After killing, Ghost Third Lady obediently disappeared. Once Zombie Third Lady had finished drinking blood, she flew to the roof, stood on the tiles, then soared forward with her red robes fluttering, like someone suspended on wires in an immortal fantasy drama.

How could he possibly dare sleep now?

Ding Shi snapped his fingers and took out his homemade oxygen hose. He fed one end through a rat hole into the neighboring granary and placed the other end beneath the covers, then buried his head under the blanket. Perhaps due to the lack of oxygen, once he relaxed, he drifted into a groggy sleep.

What Ding Shi had not expected was that he would sleep for over twenty hours, only waking because his bladder was about to burst.

After waking up, Ding Shi first checked the system time. It was already seven in the morning on the eighth day. His first thought was, That works too? His second thought was: organize the items.

At present, Ding Shi had one skill card: Three Missing One. It could be placed in a skill card slot.

He had even more item cards: the Demon-Revealing Mirror, a set of throwing knives, a bird gun, gunpowder, steel pellets, the Wordless Heavenly Scripture, Seven of Spades, the Ghost-Attracting Bell, and the Five Thunder Talisman. There were also miscellaneous items such as a claw hammer and cigarettes.

There were only four slots, so Ding Shi could take only four items with him.

The Wordless Heavenly Scripture, Seven of Spades, and the Five Thunder Talisman were must-haves. The remaining candidates were the Demon-Revealing Mirror, the Ghost-Attracting Bell, the throwing knives, and the bird gun. If possible, Ding Shi also wanted to bring a pot, several pounds of meat, a bag of rice, a bed...

The Demon-Revealing Mirror was a magical treasure, but without the corresponding incantation, it was useless. The bird gun was the pathetic little brother of firearms, so it was definitely out. As for the Ghost-Attracting Bell... Ding Shi ultimately chose the throwing knives. No special reason—he just liked them. To put it bluntly, Ding Shi had decided from the beginning to invite the throwing knives to be guests at the island villa.

Fifty minutes remained. Ding Shi glanced out the window. It was daylight. Though dark clouds covered the sky, it was indeed bright outside. Even better, it was not raining, and the fog had dispersed.

Ding Shi left the room and turned right, finding a wooden chamber pot. After thinking for five seconds, he decided to sit down to pee, lest splashes of liquid land on his shoes and draw Ghost Third Lady over. It was daylight, but who knew whether Ghost Third Lady was still around?

Pan'er's corpse still lay in the courtyard. Since Ghost Third Lady had killed her first, she had not turned into a zombie. Holding a large black umbrella, Ding Shi passed Pan'er's body, crouched down to close her eyes, then covered her with a blanket.

"Little Ding."

Ding Shi sprang to his feet and turned to see the village chief holding a cane. He could not help giving him a thumbs-up. "A scourge really does live for a thousand years."

The village chief ignored Ding Shi. He crouched down, lifted the blanket, looked at Pan'er for a while, then covered her again. "Little Ding, Peach Haven Village is gone. Take me to the bus stop."

Task: Take the village chief to the bus shelter.

Would this ever end?

Ding Shi said nothing. He supported the village chief as they avoided the puddles on the road. The village chief held a cane in one hand and an automatic umbrella in the other. The two walked in silence and arrived at the bus shelter without incident. It was 7:23.

Once inside the bus shelter, they turned back and looked. No one could be seen in the entire village. The only thing moving was a zombie leaving one footprint after another in the flooded fields.

Ding Shi asked, "Village Chief, where are you planning to go?"

The village chief said, "Three Talents City."

Ding Shi asked curiously, "Three Talents City?" Three Talents City, Four Symbols City? Were there also Five Elements, Six Harmonies, and Seven Stars?

The village chief replied, "To join my daughter."

The village chief looked desolate. As if to match his mood, rain began to fall from the sky—not heavy, but not light either.

Ding Shi looked worriedly at the sky, then at the time. This isn't going to drag on forever, is it? Suppose he missed the eight o'clock minibus—where would that leave him? Would he still be forcibly killed?

At the same time, countless Peach Haven Village instances were nearing their end. Unlike Ding Shi's Peach Haven Village, everyone else's was peaceful and harmonious.

Countless Haitangs looked up at their groom players with deep affection. "Can you stay? For me?"

Countless children gathered around volunteer players. "Teacher, can you stay?"

Countless Cuihuas clung to their grandson players, crying prettily through their tears. "Don't go."

Countless young women held the hands of Night Patrol Team players. "Even if you decide to leave, I will never forget you. You are my hero."

Countless assistant players kicked the old village chief flying with one foot. "You're the one with the most bullshit going on."