Night fell.
The panel of guests gathered in Jiang Nuo's room to analyze the clues.
Zhou Ling fiddled with the astrolabe, sitting next to Si Yan and Jiang Nuo, her tone as cool and aloof as ever.
" Feimina, repeat what you said in the temple again."
Feimina nodded, opened the spellbook, and repeated, "In July, Sangyage will descend upon this place with pure holy wine. Believers will water the paradise with the holy wine and welcome His arrival amidst blooming flowers..."
"Wait a minute," Zhou Ling said, frowning as she asked Jiang Nuo, "Will Sangyage be today's twin messenger, and you be the chosen believer?"
Jiang Nuo seemed distracted and a little sleepy. "Tomorrow is the so-called Flower Fair. If the deity the messenger mentioned is indeed the Nine-Headed Mountain God, then he's probably the boss of this game arena."
Tuoba Hong was very interested in the dungeons and the so-called system that Jiang Nuo had mentioned many times before. Even now, Jiang Nuo did not hide anything from him, but only gave a simple explanation.
"I didn't understand." Tuoba Hong honestly shook his head.
Si Yan glanced at him.
"No, no, no, I understand perfectly now! Really."
Tuoba Hong immediately changed his tune, shaking his head vigorously, "Since it's a game arena, what kind of reward will we get if we finally clear it?"
Jiang Nuo leaned against Si Yan, and after hearing this, she lowered her eyes and pondered for two seconds. Her clear and elegant voice sounded strangely cold and melancholic.
"Surviving the level is the greatest reward."
After saying that, he looked up and smiled brightly, "It could also be a path to the most authentic copy."
Tuoba Hong looked him straight in the eye, feeling that something was off about what he was saying.
"Games are more fun to play online. I don't want to be a character in a game at all."
Tuoba Hong muttered his complaints.
"Then how do you know so much?" Si Yong had been sitting in the background as a guest, asked again, his tone less than friendly, his narrowed eyes filled with suspicion. "You have way too many secrets, don't you ever think about clarifying them?"
Jiang Nuo stared at him, a half-smile playing on her cold, stern face. "Are you provoking me?"
Before Si Yong could utter the excuse he had prepared, a black knife was swung at him, startling him so much that he quickly got up to dodge.
With a whoosh.
Jiang Nuo even added his own voiceover, his smile deepening, "If you want to become food for some monster..."
After saying that, he tilted his head, leaned against Si Yan's shoulder and rubbed against him, his voice drowsy.
I'm sleepy.
Si Yan held his wife protectively in his arms. "Go to sleep. I'll chase them all away."
Before he could move, Zhang Quan, who had just heard the noise, stopped Si Yong, who was about to retaliate, his dark aura intensifying. "Get out of here. Don't disturb their rest."
Si Yong's cheek was cut and was still bleeding.
He wiped the blood away with two fingers and suddenly laughed.
Hopefully, after a while... you'll be able to smile again.
He spoke in a very low voice, so low that no one but himself could hear him.
Feimina turned to stare at Si Yong, her eyes darkening for a moment.
"Oh no!!"
Just as everyone stepped outside, they heard Xiaodie's mother wailing, "Come quickly and help! Our Xiaodie is about to give birth!"
Guest group:???
Jiang Nuo was wide awake. "Good heavens, that's faster than Nüwa!"
She was flat-chested just a moment ago!
[Holy crap, this is so weird. What's with the people in this Sleeping Village that they're so obsessed with having children?]
I also find it incredibly strange; they have absolutely no idea that the child they give birth to is a monster!
If this continues, won't the entire Sleeping Village eventually be devoid of humans...?
Aside from the guest group, I feel like the other people in the Sleeping Village don't really look human.
Xiaodie's mother had already called to the door, seemingly anxious but she didn't even move her feet, simply waiting for the guests to come out.
Just like a real NPC.
The Dao Xuan Association had carried out so many missions, but this was the first time they had encountered something so strange.
After all the guests had left the room, Xiaodie's mother suddenly seemed to wake up from a dream and rushed to the kitchen to boil water.
What's even more horrifying is that when Xiaodie gave birth, sharp claws ripped open her belly from the inside, leaving it a bloody mess, and the cotton and linen sheets were soaked with her blood.
Xiaodie seemed oblivious to everything. Her lifeless eyes were now overflowing with happiness. Her husband and father were waiting by the bedside, their four hands reaching into Xiaodie's belly and stirring, almost half an arm inside, while they muttered something under their breath.
"I can feel it now, these are the child's little hands, these are the child's little feet..."
The blood flowed to the ground, was absorbed by the bamboo house, and bloomed into countless colorful flowers.
The scent of flowers mingled with the smell of blood, and the "baby" emerged faster, its sharp claws fully extended, clearly not belonging to a human, but more like an animal.
"Coming, coming, the hot water is here!"
Xiaodie's mother brought over a pot of hot water and asked the group of guests blocking the doorway to make way.
Zhou Ling frowned, genuinely puzzled, "With this production method, what role can the hot water play?"
Jiang Nuo remained calm, her gaze fixed on the little monster, and explained in a low voice, "If you compare this place to the lowest level dungeon, the NPCs will subconsciously mimic normal people's habits, even if it seems to have no effect."
Therefore, many newcomers entering the instance world for the first time have no way of connecting NPCs with people in the real world.