Part Three, Shadow over the Ancient City (Thanks to Reader 20260328204245257)

The dead of night.

Cloud Rack Mountain Nature Reserve.

The Forest Ranger's Courtyard.

Xu Feng switched on the little lamp in his room again. After another stretch of sleep, he felt full of energy. Once he had confirmed nothing was amiss, he made his preparations to enter the next act of the game.

He checked his skills again.

His [Skills] had indeed changed. Under [Corpse Stitching], the (Familiar) tag had become (Proficient).

When questions arose, reading the reference books really was the best way to find answers.

He drank another can of sparkling water to steady his nerves.

Xu Feng plugged in the game console and started the game.

A bronze brazier, sticks of incense, a full moon.

Everything began according to the rules.

Xu Feng saw:

[Game cartridge detected]

[Loading game content]

[Save file detected]

[Save Two: Location: Luoyin County, Earth God Shrine; Time: third quarter of the Mao hour]

[Load game?]

[Yes]

When he pressed yes, black ink enveloped him once more, and light filled his body.

This time, Xu Feng simply waited for the game to begin.

Once immersed, Xu Feng found himself back before the shrine.

The familiar smell drew him into the moment at once.

The sky was growing pale.

The air was slightly chilly.

After taking a deep breath, Xu Feng ignored the mess around him for the moment and opened his status panel.

Alongside his quests and map, a new Affinity Panel had appeared.

Before opening it, though, Xu Feng had already noticed a small quirk in how affinity worked.

The Affinity Panel only notified him the first time.

For instance, he had received notifications when his master's affinity for him rose sharply for the first time, and when the Land God and the Day and Night Wandering Gods first grew more favorably disposed toward him.

Later increases brought no notifications.

He opened the Affinity Panel. He sat at its center like the sun, with lines of connection spreading outward to figures that seemed like stars revolving around him.

On those lines,

Xu Feng spotted his master.

His master's oversized portrait appeared there, labeled "Zhao Er (Master)." Beside it were three hearts.

One heart represented thirty affinity points.

Three hearts meant ninety.

Xu Feng wondered whether that was high or low, then discovered it was astonishingly high.

Because right beside it

were the affinity ratings for the Land God and the Day and Night Wandering Gods.

The Land God's affinity amounted to one heart.

That was thirty points.

Probably because Xu Feng had lived here all his life. He was, in a sense, a child the Earth God had watched grow up.

That must have been why he had so many points.

As for the Day and Night Wandering Gods,

they had five points each.

Not even enough for one heart.

They probably knew who Xu Feng was, but had little connection with him.

"No wonder. I've exceeded Master's expectations every time."

Even setting aside the first act,

of Xu Feng's three tasks in the second act, his Corpse Stitching had earned a "Passable" rating—neither good nor bad.

But when it came to dealing with the strange incident, his master had expected him to be "Disappointing."

Instead, Xu Feng had achieved "Quite Satisfactory."

That was two levels higher.

Only "Beyond Expectations" stood above it.

Such a leap had earned Xu Feng a huge amount of affinity. Of course, he could not keep taking advantage of low expectations forever. As his abilities came to light, his master's expectations would change with them.

Xu Feng understood that too.

This time, his chances of getting his own set of needles had probably risen considerably.

As for everyone else, such as Uncle Liu, perhaps they were unimportant, or perhaps they only knew Xu Feng through his master, making Xu Feng little more than an appendage in their eyes.

Their names did not appear.

Those thoughts flashed through his mind. When he finished looking, Xu Feng saw his master emerge from the West Room.

His face showed an indescribable exhaustion.

Xu Feng hurried over to meet him.

At the same time, text appeared before Xu Feng's eyes.

[Main Quest One: You learned your craft in your youth without making a mistake. Your master did not die because of you.]

[Main Quest, Act Three: Shadow over the Ancient City]

[Shadow over the Ancient City: An unsettling gloom had recently settled over Luoyin County, an ancient city beside the Yellow River. People from every walk of life were caught in it: Corpse Stitchers, Corpse Retrievers, the true gentleman, and the county magistrate. Dust from the past was spreading through the air. Had you noticed it yet?]

[In Act Three, learn about Fengxiong and obtain your master's permission to be taught it.]

[In Act Three, resolve Master Qian's Troubles completely. Follow the vine to its roots and find the culprit behind them, then earn a rating of "Passable" or higher from your master.]

[Under your master's guidance, encounter the Yellow River Corpse Collectors for the first time and return safely.]

[Complete the quests to unlock a game feature: Game Level.]

Xu Feng glanced over the new quests, then stepped forward to support his master.

His master raised a hand, indicating that he needed no help.

His master said, "Tidy this place up a little. Just make a show of it. Someone should be coming to collect the corpses soon."

He paused briefly.

He looked at Xu Feng solemnly and said, "You've grown up. It's time.

This time, you'll be responsible for bringing the corpse collector in!

The one coming is our local corpse collector. When you see him, just watch him work.

Follow him, but don't speak to him. He knows the way into our courtyard.

Remember, when he arrives, you must draw the curtain before the Earth God. Don't let the Earth God see this corpse collector.

If he tries to talk to you—"

His master glanced around, then went over to the stone carving, took the blade of grass from atop it, and set it on the ground.

After bowing to the carving, he handed the grass to Xu Feng and said, "Whip him with this blade of grass.

If that doesn't work, shout for me. If he tries to grab you, run to the Earth God and pull back the curtain."

Xu Feng said, "Got it."

His master waved him off and went into the side room alone.

Xu Feng tried to follow but was stopped.

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm going to sleep for a while."

Xu Feng did not insist.

After his master entered the side room, Xu Feng heard firewood crackling. Perhaps his master had lit another fire inside.

Xu Feng loosened up his stiff limbs.

It would have been a lie to say his whole body did not ache.

He was hardly a robust young man. It had only been a few days—how could he become strong as an ox overnight? Still, one advantage his body did have was its youth.

Looking at the scene before him,

most people would have lost their nerve before even starting.

They would have been at a loss, with no idea where to begin.

Fortunately, Xu Feng lived alone in the little courtyard and had learned a thing or two from doing chores.

From small to large, from one spot outward,

he gradually cleaned up the Earth God Shrine.

By rights, before cleaning the shrine, he should have offered incense to the Earth God and asked forgiveness.

But Xu Feng had not yet cleaned himself up, so he could not do that.

He started with the buildings and paving stones.

The ground inside the shrine courtyard was not entirely paved with stone.

There were only a few stone paths.

Now the place looked as though rain had poured down all night. The ground was covered not just in footprints, but in mud!

Several dead black cats lay on the ground.

Misfortune had long since overtaken them. They stank, and pus seeped from their bodies.

It was as if they had been dead for ages.

Xu Feng did not dare simply throw the bodies away. He would have to find somewhere to burn them!

And that was not all.

The whole place was filled with a foul, fishy smell of water.

There was the smell of mud and sand, too.

Xu Feng cleaned what he could first, until his back and waist ached and he was grimacing through the pain.

Then he turned to the muddy ground.

Before long, he spotted strange marks in the mud.

"A Snake-Trail Pattern?"

Looking at the marks, Xu Feng suddenly remembered the words "Snake-Shaped Pattern."

Snake-Shaped Pattern, Snake-Trail Pattern—the two meant the same thing. The names alone made clear what the markings resembled.

A snake.

They looked like tracks left by a snake slithering across the ground.

The trouble was, he wished they really had been snake tracks.

In fact, they were ripples left by water!