Early that morning, He Jian, Shi Lianshan, and Chen Ping left the inn.
After leaving the inn, the three headed straight for the village's Ancestral Hall.
But they ran into the Village Chief and his group, who had also risen early, and failed to get inside to investigate. Judging by their expressions when they later left, however, something very unpleasant seemed to have happened inside the Ancestral Hall.
"Too bad. The doors are shut, and they've even left four people guarding them. There's definitely something strange in there."
Shi Lianshan muttered.
He Jian studied the Ancestral Hall's size and overall design, then said, "The enclosing walls were added later, but this hall itself is probably several hundred years old. There's more to this village than meets the eye."
"If there weren't, it wouldn't be haunted," Shi Lianshan said. Then, as if something had occurred to him, he added, "Tell me, ghosts clearly exist in this world, and every one of them is so powerful. Even people like the Ten Seats can't confront a Vengeful Ghost head-on after redeeming Permanent Items. So why hasn't the real world fallen into chaos yet?"
"Restrictions imposed by rules, perhaps. I imagine even ghosts can't resist the will of the entire world," He Jian answered, drawing on his own knowledge. "Ultimately, our world is a material world, while ghosts are almost entirely mind-based entities. Their existence might pose an enormous threat to the foundations of the material world, so the world itself should be restricting them too."
"I... I was thinking... this Game might be... an incarnation of the World Will." The usually quiet Chen Ping offered his opinion as well.
"Ah, let's stop talking about that." He Jian sighed. "Judging by the Opening Lines, the layout of the entire village, and the strange movements