Chu Qingjiu flirted and left it at that. By then, they had reached the third floor of the stilt house, leaving Qi Wu little chance to get lovey-dovey with him.
Bottles and jars crowded a small corner of the third floor. If they quieted their minds and held their breath, they could almost hear insects rustling as they crawled over one another.
Those jars most likely contained Gu insects, or insects being raised to become them.
The chief of the Gu Miao Tribe led them to a wooden table. On it sat an earthenware jar about twenty centimeters tall, its top sealed so that nothing inside could be seen.
"You are all here to marry our girls. The first rule is that you must not be fickle. Whichever girl you chose in the beginning is the one you must spend your life with.
"The second rule is that no matter what happens to the girl you choose, you must never find her repulsive. Otherwise, the Gu insects will devour your heart and kill you.
"The third rule is that until you have chosen which girl to live with, you must not leave that room."
The chief of the Gu Miao Tribe spoke coolly, as casually as if she were carrying out a routine duty, but Chu Qingjiu had a question.
Did the chief's references to "the girl you chose in the beginning" and "until you have chosen which girl to live with" mean they had to choose the Miao girl who had originally planted the Gu in them, or would any "girl here" do?
Looking at the chief's beautiful, alluring face, Chu Qingjiu suddenly said something no one had expected.
"May I live with you, Chief?"
The chief seemed caught off guard and froze for a moment. Her beautiful black eyes narrowed slightly as she studied Chu Qingjiu with interest.
The other Miao girls also gave Chu Qingjiu appraising looks, and he clearly saw the chief's and the other girls' favorability toward him rise until it stopped at 30 points.
Chu Qingjiu found that strange. He could understand the chief's favorability rising, but why had the other Miao girls' favorability risen too? Did they have some strange fetish?
The chief was silent for a while before she spoke. "...Yes. Move in tonight."
"But you probably aren't the girl I chose in the beginning. If we live together alone like this, I'm afraid that girl will get angry. What if she accuses me of being unfaithful and has my heart devoured?"
Chu Qingjiu was probing. Since the chief had said they must not be fickle, did choosing the wrong person count as being fickle?
"That won't happen."
The chief's answer made the players breathe a sigh of relief. After all, most players were reasonably intelligent. But before they could celebrate for long, the chief gave them an ambiguous smile and said:
"You'll merely have to endure some pain. You won't die."
The players were speechless. ...So being unfaithful meant being tortured with pain.
Chu Qingjiu had more or less figured it out. Looking toward A Xue, he said evenly, "Then I'll choose A Xue."
A Xue seemed overwhelmed by the honor. Her pretty, fair face immediately flushed crimson, even faster than Chu Qingjiu's ears could turn red.
Not daring to look at Chu Qingjiu's face, she nervously clutched the hem of her clothes and whispered, "I-I... I'd be happy to."
Chu Qingjiu was speechless.
Why did she look as though he was about to do something to her and she was bashfully, coyly consenting?
Wu Zhong looked at Chu Qingjiu in confusion. "Qingjiu, aren't you being a little hasty?"
Hadn't the chief just told them they would suffer if they chose the wrong person? Chu Qingjiu had chosen A Xue with barely any hesitation. Was he really so certain she was the one who had planted his Gu?
Chu Qingjiu merely shook his head slightly, unwilling to explain.
He knew A Xue was the one who had planted his Gu because, when Qi Wu mentioned his poor health, he had happened to look at all their expressions.
They had only just arrived then, and the chief had not even begun speaking. The Miao girls probably had not started concealing their expressions yet.
After the chief finished speaking, A Xue had begun her performance, acting as though she were meeting him for the first time and putting on all sorts of bashful airs. Her acting was far too obvious. She ought to take lessons from Qi Wu.
After Chu Qingjiu chose A Xue, seven Miao girls remained. The other players had no leads yet, but the chief said they could spend time with the girls before lunch.
The Miao girls would reveal information as they interacted, allowing the players to make some rough guesses based on what they learned and then choose whoever they believed had planted their Gu.
The remaining seven each picked a girl to try spending time with. No one would die today anyway. Since this instance had a three-day deadline, the rule that no one died on the first day applied.
The other Miao girls were all particularly fond of Qi Wu and Wu Zhong. That was not a good thing for them: with all seven girls expressing interest in them, it would be difficult to identify the ones who had actually planted their Gu.
While they chose their girls, the chief simply watched quietly from the side, occasionally narrowing her eyes at them. No one knew what she was thinking.
A Xue and Chu Qingjiu walked along the stilt houses, but they moved so slowly that they might as well not have moved at all.
"Cough, cough... Sorry, I'm not in good health."
Chu Qingjiu looked apologetically at A Xue, making no effort to hide his frailty.
A Xue hurriedly waved her hands. "I-it's all right. Why did you choose me?"
"Because I felt a connection with you. I thought we would be a good match."
"Really?"
Her eyes lit up as she looked at him, her dark pupils sparkling with delighted surprise.
Chu Qingjiu watched A Xue quietly and gave an ambiguous answer. "Do you think I meant it?"
He simply felt he should not answer that question too directly, since he had no idea what A Xue would say next. Playing a little verbal tug-of-war with her could hardly go wrong at this point.
"I don't know, but..." A Xue suddenly gave him a sly smile. "People who aren't sincere get eaten by the Scorpion Ghost."
Chu Qingjiu was speechless.
Fortunately, he had not answered. But just because he had not answered did not mean the other players would not.
The man walking with A Feng had dark skin, but he was not as tall and imposing as Wu Zhong or Qi Wu, so the Miao girls were not as fond of him as they were of those two.
Still, this rugged, macho type probably ranked third among the Miao girls' favorites.
The man was named Li Yunlong, an obscure bit-part actor who usually worked as an extra. He had entered the instance after nearly being struck by a falling chandelier on set, and had only narrowly survived by clearing it.
A Feng looked shyly at Li Yunlong and asked in a sweet, coy voice, "Why did you choose me?"
Li Yunlong was a rough sort. He had been completely at a loss when choosing and had only picked A Feng because no one else had chosen her. Besides, they were fairly close in age.
But Li Yunlong felt he could not tell A Feng that outright. What girl did not like hearing pretty words? Though he was a longtime bachelor, he often watched the male and female leads act out romances on set, so he had picked up a thing or two.
"'Cause I thought you were real pretty. Just about exactly how I pictured my wife."
A Feng covered her mouth and giggled coyly, an inquisitive interest flickering in her dark eyes.
"Really? You're not just saying that to sweet-talk me, are you?"
"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you? You really are prettier than those other girls."
A Feng seemed pleased by his flattery. She covered her mouth and laughed, only speaking again after a long while.
"People who aren't faithful get eaten by the Scorpion Ghost."
Before you continue