Pinky promise

Some clung to Li Xian's trouser legs, while others grabbed his arms, their grips so forceful that he could not break free.

[I'm dying here! Why won't the camera follow him underwater? What's happening in the river?!]

Ever since Li Xian entered the water, the livestream had remained on the riverbank. All the viewers could see was the flowing river, with no idea what was happening beneath it.

[Some special scenes can't be viewed. There wasn't any underwater footage of the people dragged alive to the riverbed before, either...]

In moments, the Village Chief approached the riverbank. He stopped and slowly crouched down, his eyes fixed on the water before him.

Meanwhile, Li Xian was tightly surrounded by the children's skeletons.

As more and more bones climbed onto him, Li Xian grew steadily heavier, about to be pinned to the riverbed.

Li Xian reached out, but he did not try to pry away the fingers clutching him.

Instead, he stroked one of the terrifying skulls.

"I have something important to do right now. I can't stay here and play with you."

He spoke the words in his mind.

The skeletons paused at this, then began rocking against him like children throwing a tantrum.

"No!"

"You can't!"

Their refusals rose around his ears. Li Xian struggled to steady himself, then said in his mind:

"Your big sister Xiao Mei has something she needs to do, too. I know you're lonely, but this is very important."

The skeletons fell silent for a moment.

"I don't care!"

"Hardly any big brothers or sisters come here. It's always kids about our age..."

Li Xian took a skeleton's hand. They were no longer gripping him as tightly as before.

"Once this is done, no more children will come here."

After hearing those words, they remained silent for a long time.

Li Xian felt the air in his lungs dwindling, but he did not hurry them. He simply waited quietly.

At last, the skeletons moved away from him, then reluctantly dispersed from around Shen Xiaomei as well.

Only the skeleton that had climbed onto Li Xian first still clung to his arm.

He held up his little finger.

"Pinky promise."

Li Xian hooked his pinky around the tiny finger bone and gently shook it.

"Goodbye."

He grabbed Shen Xiaomei and prepared to swim upward, only to feel something grip his ankle.

Li Xian looked back. At some point, Zhou Shan had appeared beneath his feet.

His corpse had already begun to turn pale and bloated. His eyes were wide open as he gripped Li Xian's ankle.

Li Xian kicked him twice, but found he could not break free.

The air in his lungs was running lower and lower. At this rate, he would never make it to the surface.

I can't waste any more time!

Just as Li Xian was about to act, the skeletons crowded forward again.

This time, they did not hold Li Xian back. Instead, they began gnawing on Zhou Shan's fingers where he gripped Li Xian's ankle.

"Bad big brother!"

"Bad man!"

"He won't play with us!"

"He even hit us!"

Almost instantly, Zhou Shan was forced to release his grip. Li Xian hurriedly dragged Shen Xiaomei toward the surface.

The skeletons stopped and all looked after Li Xian.

"Goodbye, big brother!"

Their voices overlapped in a noisy chorus, saying goodbye to Li Xian like children leaving kindergarten. This time, however, he heard no notification of his mental value dropping.

Carrying Shen Xiaomei's corpse on his back, Li Xian struggled to swim upward.

The Village Chief waited quietly on the bank.

[How many minutes has the streamer been underwater? Has he drowned down there?]

[Don't jinx it! No way. I think he'll be up any second!]

[But why hasn't the Village Chief gone into the water? Is he afraid of what's in the river?]

[The Village Chief doesn't need to go in at all...]

[Huh? Why?]

[Because all he has to do is wait until the streamer surfaces, then hold him underwater until he dies.]

[!!!]

Just then, the Village Chief's pupils contracted. As though he had spotted something, he reached toward the water-

The chat's prediction came true. The moment Li Xian's head broke the surface, before he could take a single breath, he was shoved firmly back underwater.

"Mmph-"

Li Xian choked on a mouthful of water.

He freed one hand to cover his mouth, desperately suppressing the urge to cough as he tried to push Shen Xiaomei's corpse onto the bank first.

[I think I saw the body! Shen Xiaomei's corpse really was at the bottom of the river!]

The comment appeared in the chat.

But the Village Chief easily saw through Li Xian's intentions and gave him no opening at all.

[This isn't working... The streamer can't get out. He's so close to clearing it. Please don't let him die here!!]

[Where are his teammates?! Even one of them would help!]

Hearing the commotion by the riverbank, Zhao Fengyi lifted his head with difficulty. After Li Xian jumped into the water, everyone's mental value had instantly dropped below 60, leaving them collapsed on the ground. Only now had he barely recovered his senses.

His vision was still swaying. When Zhao Fengyi focused enough to make out what was happening on the riverbank, his breath caught.

I have to help him, now!

He tried to push himself up quickly, but the more frantic he became, the less steady his footing was. Before he could stand, he staggered and fell back to the ground.

Li Xian struggled underwater, the air in his lungs about to run out. Just as he reached for the hand the Village Chief was pressing against his head-

The pressure on his head suddenly vanished.

He immediately seized the opportunity to push Shen Xiaomei's corpse onto the bank, then climbed out of the river himself.

"Hah... hah..."

Li Xian braced himself against the ground and gasped for breath, his ears ringing.

His mental value had already dropped to 30.

Li Xian turned and saw Aunt Wang pinning the Village Chief to the ground.

Zhao Fengyi had only just managed to push himself up. He sighed in relief at the sight, while Qian Xin and Xu Yao had barely opened their eyes.

The Village Chief apparently had not expected a villager to attack him. He was restrained for a moment, giving Li Xian the chance to escape the water. His pupils contracted when he saw Shen Xiaomei's corpse, and he twisted around and hauled Aunt Wang aside.

Aunt Wang cried out in pain and grabbed the hem of his clothes to stop him from leaving. Meanwhile, the corpse on the ground slowly opened her eyes.

Everyone's breath caught.

With bloodshot eyes, the Village Chief kicked Aunt Wang away. His lips trembled as he took two steps back.

Li Xian frowned as he watched. Suddenly, a pair of hands helped him up from the ground.

He looked up and found Song Qingzhang standing there.

"You... cough!"

Li Xian tried to speak, only to break into a violent coughing fit.

Song Qingzhang pulled Li Xian a couple of steps away from the bank and said between heavy breaths, "I went to get Aunt Wang... But the other villagers nearby might have heard the commotion, too... We have to clear this quickly..."

Only then did the viewers, who had kept their attention on Li Xian, learn what Song Qingzhang had run off to do.

[I was wondering why he ran back into the village. I thought he was so scared he'd lost his way.]

[This Song Qingzhang looks pretty clueless, but his brain actually works when it counts?]

[The streamer finally has a reliable teammate... I'm tearing up.]

Supporting Li Xian with one hand, Song Qingzhang suddenly scratched his head with the other.

Why did I just get a tip...?

After rising, Shen Xiaomei stared fixedly at the Village Chief, but did not rush to attack. Silence spread along the riverbank as the two faced each other without a word.

Only then did Zhao Fengyi, Qian Xin, and Xu Yao manage to stand, supporting one another.

Qian Xin pointed at the woman standing beside the river, his voice trembling. "She... she's Shen Xiaomei...?"

Having witnessed everything, Zhao Fengyi looked even worse. "To be precise, she's Shen Xiaomei's corpse."

Qian Xin sucked in a sharp breath. "Then... then how do we clear this?!"

Everyone watched the situation by the river nervously, not daring to make a move. The scene seemed frozen in that moment.

At last, the Village Chief spoke first:

"I never imagined... you would harbor so much resentment."

Shen Xiaomei covered her severed arm, her expression venomous. "Have you forgotten what happened that night?"

The Village Chief actually let out a cackle. "Didn't you just try to escape the village, then lose your footing and fall off the bridge into the river when I caught you?"

"Lose my footing?"

As though struggling to contain her fury, Shen Xiaomei advanced two steps toward him.

"I was holding on to the bridge planks. You could easily have pulled me up..."

"But you took an axe and hacked my arm off!"

Shen Xiaomei practically screamed the words, closing in until she was almost against the Village Chief's face, her eyes blazing with rage.

Aunt Wang trembled as she covered her mouth. She had never imagined Shen Xiaomei had endured such things.

But the longer Li Xian watched, the more wrong it seemed.

Shen Xiaomei hated the Village Chief so much. Why was she still refusing to attack, merely standing here making pointless accusations?

If this went on... the other villagers would arrive soon.

As Shen Xiaomei approached, the Village Chief involuntarily clenched his hands into fists. "You know the rules. Once you become part of this village, you can forget about leaving."

"My only miscalculation was failing to realize you could borrow those little ghosts' power to wreak havoc in the village..."

As he spoke, the Village Chief slowly edged away from the riverbank.

Suddenly, a series of footsteps sounded in the distance.

The Village Chief felt a surge of joy. In that instant of distraction, Shen Xiaomei swung her arm at him. Two drops of rain grazed his cheek, leaving long bloody gashes.

Then, as though she had finally made up her mind, she launched a frenzied assault on him.

A trace of cold sweat broke out on the Village Chief. He faltered for a moment, and Shen Xiaomei seized the opening to snap one of his arms.

"Consider that repayment."

He clutched his arm in agony, looking toward the distance-the villagers had already come into view.

Unfortunately for him, Shen Xiaomei was faster. In the next instant, her hand shot straight toward his neck.

"Urgh-"

The Village Chief began struggling in pain.

But a crowd of villagers advanced with weapons raised, and the one at the front lifted a hand-

Clang.

A knife landed precisely beside the Village Chief.

He hastily snatched the short knife off the ground and thrust it toward Shen Xiaomei's chest.

The blade slid smoothly through a chest, and blood gushed out.

Shen Xiaomei stared blankly at Aunt Wang, who had fallen against her.

Aunt Wang clutched her chest in agony, her brows tightly furrowed with pain, yet a faint smile curved her lips.

Her lips trembled, as though she wanted to say something.

In the next instant, the bloodstained blade pierced her throat.

Aunt Wang fell to the ground. Her body twitched as she crawled a little farther, then she went completely still.

"Quick! Think of something! Those villagers are coming!"

Qian Xin and the others, who had originally stood some distance from the riverbank, had now retreated to Li Xian's side, shouting in panic.

Simply obtaining a weapon had actually given the Village Chief the upper hand against Shen Xiaomei.

He even had the composure to tell Li Xian:

"You're next."

Li Xian jolted, suddenly understanding why Shen Xiaomei had been so cautious.

It's because of me! My injuries are too severe. After they transferred to Shen Xiaomei, even she wasn't sure she could beat the Village Chief!

His mental value had dropped so far that he had actually forgotten about this!

"We're going to die! We're really going to die this time-!!"

Qian Xin shouted at the top of his lungs.

A crowd of villagers stood before them, and the churning river lay behind them. This time, even Song Qingzhang thought they were beyond saving.

"No..."

Li Xian murmured.

Why is Shen Xiaomei always the one opposing the villagers in this instance? What about those children? Don't they have any powers?

No, they can clearly drag people to the riverbed... but their power seems limited to the riverbed.

The Village Chief had just said that Shen Xiaomei had "borrowed" their power.

So the ones truly capable of overpowering the villagers should still be those children.

But something seemed to be restricting them...

Li Xian suddenly remembered the pile of irregular pieces of wood the Village Chief had kept beneath his bed.

He wouldn't have needed that much wood just to carve Shen Xiaomei.

Could those children have been carved too?!

If that was true, where would all those wooden figures be hidden?

Li Xian raced through every clue he had gathered since entering the Instance, and his gaze suddenly fell on Aunt Wang, who lay on the ground.

Her arm stretched forward, her index finger half bent, as though she were reaching for... or pointing at something.

Li Xian turned to follow that direction and saw the Square Well behind him.

Gritting his teeth, he lifted the well cover and jumped in.

Song Qingzhang cried out, "Bro?!"

When the Village Chief noticed what Li Xian was doing, genuine panic flashed across his face, and he hurriedly tried to dart past Shen Xiaomei.

By now, everyone had huddled in a despairing circle around the well. Xu Yao peered down with tears in her eyes and saw Li Xian reach out and knock on the bottom.

Thud-

A dull, echoing sound rang out.

The bottom of the well was hollow. There was something inside!

Li Xian's heart pounded as he felt around for a mechanism that would open the bottom of the well.

But the bricks and stones sealing the Square Well had been laid perfectly flat, without so much as a flaw. They fitted together so tightly that no one looking at them would ever suspect anything was hidden below.