Free Web NovelAs Gu Qianqian charged towards the strange villagers, they seemed startled and turned to run into the dense forest.
Seeing this, the system's heart skipped a beat, its first reaction being—when did they stand there?
Then...
Wait, no Spiritual Energy fluctuations? Then it's fine!
Gu Qianqian, well done! The most direct way to solve a situation that feels off is to solve the people creating the weirdness!
After confirming that there were no Spiritual Energy fluctuations on those villagers, the system, which was submissive towards Lu Yibei but went all out chasing villagers, finally began to seriously ponder why living villagers would appear in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion.
It clearly remembered that the last time Su Yigan came, there were no living people in the entire illusion, only a group of urban legend with blood-red lanterns parasitizing their bodies.
But why was the situation different this time?
Could this difference be because last time it was merely consciousness entering the illusion, while this time Gu Qianqian was brought in as a whole, living person? As the system thought, a loud shout interrupted its train of thought.
"Folks! Folks, don't run! I won't hurt you, I just want to ask you some questions!" Gu Qianqian shouted at the villagers.
Then, the villagers ran even faster.
"Gu Qianqian..."
"Huh?!"
"Before you shout those things, can you put down the bat in your hand first? Look at yourself, you look like a mountain bandit robbing people." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Oh!"
...
Gu Qianqian's Spirit Mark, 【Mythical Species: Ku E Divine Body】, is a type that focuses on strengthening physical power. Having it for a long time, even without releasing the Spirit Mark's power, her physical strength was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Yet, even so, she couldn't catch up to those villagers in a short time.
Perhaps it was because those villagers were used to mountain roads and were particularly familiar with the surrounding environment, but their speed was astonishing as they ran through the forest, and their running posture was quite strange.
The dark green, almost black, bushes in the dense forest were exceptionally thick, waist-high in most places. From a distance, only the upper bodies of the villagers could be seen.
Their upper bodies were completely rigid, with hands hanging down, backs straight, and even their necks were stretched straight as if being pulled by something invisible.
It would be difficult for a normal person just to maintain this strange posture, let alone run. However, those villagers could not only run but also at a very fast speed. They looked like several puppets being pulled by something, flying through the grass, without even making a sound.
"System, I think they might not be people!" Gu Qianqian noticed something strange and whispered to the system, "Look, don't their movements look like they're hanging? They run like they're floating over the grass. Ugh, it's really scary."
"..." The system was silent for a moment, then replied, "I also think those villagers are strange. If the situation seems wrong later, just kill them."
The system was usually a law-abiding system and never instigated Gu Qianqian to do anything illegal or chaotic. Sometimes, it even corrected Gu Qianqian's wild behavior when it couldn't stand it.
For this, it even issued Gu Qianqian a daily task like 【Do One Good Deed】. Although it was just a gimmick, completing the task only gave a little integral, the intention was good after all.
But the situation was different now. This was the Bamboo Scroll Illusion. From the perspective of the system, which had some understanding of the Bamboo Scroll Illusion's background, everyone here, whether human or Strange Tale, was not a good thing.
If you don't kill them, they will very likely try everything to kill you...
...
Gu Qianqian chased those villagers through the mountain forest for about an hour, covering a distance of nearly ten kilometers. Despite this level of exertion, comparable to a world-class half-marathon, she still couldn't catch up to those strange villagers.
Those villagers disappeared from sight after crossing a mountain peak. When Gu Qianqian caught up about ten seconds later, she could no longer find any trace of them.
Fortunately, she found some signs of human activity on her path forward. In the distance, in a low-lying area ahead, she also saw plumes of smoke rising. All signs indicated that she was approaching the settlement of the people living in the Bamboo Scroll Illusion.
"System, there seems to be people living in that mountain valley ahead. How about you issue a task, and we go take a look?" Gu Qianqian said. freewebnøvel.com
The system, which was in the process of drafting a reasonable task description, was momentarily speechless upon hearing Gu Qianqian's words.
"..."
Damn it! Are you telling me how to do my job? Are ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) you the system, or am I? I won't!
"Why issue a task for such a small matter! Go down first, look around, and when the time is right, I will naturally issue you a task."
I'll use this opportunity to draft a reasonable task description, the system added in its heart.
"Oh!" Gu Qianqian responded indifferently and walked along the winding, muddy mountain path towards the hidden village in the mountain hollow that she couldn't see.
Before leaving, a gelatinous black shadow suddenly floated out from behind her. The black shadow condensed into a strange face, somewhere between human and fish, stretching a long, thin neck to observe the footprints on the ground for a while.
The shape of the footprints was very strange. Each step dragged a long distance in the soft mud, looking like marks made from an accidental fall, or like the prints left by someone with a leg disability who couldn't bend their knees, dragging their feet as they walked.
...
The sky gradually darkened. The light before her eyes was like the twilight on a rainy day, casting a hazy, yellowish-grey shroud over everything visible.
Gu Qianqian walked along the narrow, cramped mountain path for about ten minutes, finally leaving that strange forest. Her view became wider.
In the distance, she saw some cultivated fields. The fields were bare, the soil compacted, looking as if crops hadn't been planted for a long time. Strangely, however, not even a single weed had grown on the abandoned fields.
These fields, surrounded by the dense forests of the distant mountains, looked like they were sick, inexplicably bringing to mind bald spots suddenly appearing in thick hair.
Further away, some finely crafted scarecrows stood. Illuminated by the dim twilight, they looked like tall, slender figures. A gust of wind blew, and a faint stench of decaying flesh and blood drifted into her nostrils.
Gu Qianqian lightly covered her mouth and nose with one hand and, following the paths between the fields, saw a gloomy village. At the village entrance stood a stone tablet with only its base remaining. On the nearby well hung a few strands of decayed, blackened hemp rope, likely dried up.
Most of the houses in the village had walls built of stone and covered with grey plaster. Wild grass reached up to the ankles in front of many doorsteps and at the base of walls, presenting a scene of dilapidation.
Night was approaching. In the twilight, the wooden windows of the old houses were all pitch black, without a hint of light. Some doors were half-open, the gaps like gaping mouths swallowing the light.
Even before the last rays of sunlight faded, the village was enveloped in a vast darkness and silence. Not a sound could be heard. Being there felt like suddenly stumbling into a long-abandoned, deserted village.
In the eerie silence, Gu Qianqian could even hear her own breathing.
However, although it was quiet all around, it did not feel peaceful.
In those dark houses, something was emitting a faint, ethereal glow. Within those strange lights, there seemed to be some non-human gazes and prying eyes.
Gu Qianqian looked around and couldn't help but frown, whispering, "System, it's so strange! Didn't those villagers live here? But we clearly saw smoke when we came down from the mountain!"
"..." The system didn't respond immediately. After a few seconds of silence, a mechanical voice sounded in Gu Qianqian's mind.
【This is a world of void, a distorted utopia.
Deep in the valley, where moonlight cannot reach, things never before seen are stirring.
In the treasure vault deep underground, only writhing venomous snakes and nameless scaled creatures are found.
Task: Investigate the deserted village, find a villager, obtain useful information, and locate the village's ancestral hall.
Reward: 300 integral, a sumptuous dinner.】
Hearing that the task reward included a sumptuous dinner, Gu Qianqian's eyes immediately lit up. She asked the system, "Um, um, system, is the dinner all you can eat?"
"All you can eat!" the system replied through gritted teeth.
"That's great! Finally, the task reward isn't those nasty, weird-tasting potions!" Gu Qianqian cheered, "Can future bonus rewards all be swapped for big meals?"
"..." The system was silent for a few seconds, then said in a serious tone, "No."
"Aw—!" Hearing this, Gu Qianqian let out a long sigh, a lingering trace of sadness and disappointment appearing between her brows.
System, "..." Why are you sighing! Do you think I want to feed you those Alchemy potions? They're expensive, alright! Isn't it all to make you stronger?
In fact, if Gu Qianqian's Spirit Mark hadn't reached a bottleneck recently, requiring higher-level materials to advance further (materials that were difficult to buy on the market), the system would still continue to feed her those Alchemy products.
After accepting the task, Gu Qianqian didn't think much and strode towards the nearest house. She stopped in front of the dilapidated wooden door, leaned the bat against the mud wall, and was about to knock when a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Outsider, don't knock after dark."
The voice sounded very strange, as if it had a lisp, mixed with gusts of wind, making it inexplicably uncomfortable.
Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw an Old man in a dark coat walking quickly from a distance.
His posture was very strange as he walked. His hands hung down, his back was straight, his neck was stretched out, and his knees didn't bend. His feet took short, dragging steps, as if dragging on the ground. From a distance, he looked like a person who had been hanged floating towards her...
