Free Web NovelChapter 593: Chapter 505: Ghost Village_2
Yang Cha took a deep breath and no longer hesitated, taking Yang Xiao away from the chaotic square. The ritual to worship the heavens had ended, and it was now a matter of waiting.
Soon after, Yang Xiao’s competition number was issued—it was Taoist No. 31. Each contestant obeyed the Great Scholar of the Yang Family and drew one character out of four.
Yang Xiao also received a mask. This mask was similar to the Character "Li" Mask in his hand were both light and of fine texture. The word "Taoist" elegantly scripted in the center and the number 31 was inscribed in small characters on the right cheek.
As he ran his fingers across the mask, Yang Xiao suddenly looked up and asked, "Do you know the numbers of the other three people from Rongcheng?"
"One is Sky No. 97, one is Dragon No. 243, and one is Prisoner No. 44," Yang Cha answered, indicating that he had already proactively found out for Yang Xiao.
"One character each?"
"Yes, it’s designed to scatter people from the same region to ensure fairness in the competition," Yang Cha explained.
"Exactly how many people are participating in the secret competition?" Yang Xiao was surprised as Dragon had reached No. 243, indicating far more participants than he had expected.
"The numbers are virtual, to keep outsiders from guessing the actual number of participants. They add many empty numbers. As for the actual number of participants, I’m also not sure. Only a few high-level officials in the Law Enforcement Hall know that."
In the afternoon, Yang Xiao’s competition schedule was also revealed. It was Class E, Match 7, with the competition time at 2 a.m. tonight.
Yang Cha had gotten hold of Yang Xiao’s opponents’ number plates earlier—they were all Taoist competitors, comprising Nos. 9, 24, 40, 86, 127, 189, and 281, making a total of eight people including Taoist No. 31 Yang Xiao. The competition rules were to narrow down eight to three.
This match was merely a qualifying match, and only by securing one of those three spots would one qualify for the next round of the main competition.
"As expected, it’s a qualifying match, and the academy isn’t paying much attention to it. They don’t even provide a day’s rest; a ritual in the morning and the fight at night," Yang Xiao sighed inwardly.
To let Yang Xiao rest, Yang Cha used his connections to place Yang Xiao in a secluded student dormitory. This place was rarely frequented by people and served as a cover for Yang Xiao’s identity.
After dinner, Yang Xiao rested alone in the apartment. He sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate, a habit he had before writing Drama Robes to calm his mind. Now, a Drama Robe lay before him.
"Dear sister, it’s all up to you this time. If I, Yang Xiao, survive, I will definitely fulfill your wish," Yang Xiao made a promise to the Drama Robe, then wore it underneath his clothes, which gave him a great sense of security.
The academy had a bell that chimed the time. After the 1 a.m. bell rang, Yang Xiao put on his mask, stood up, and followed the path Yang Cha had shown him during the day, arriving at a remote small square deep within the academy. A building made of pitch-black stones stood there, not very large, about four or five stories high. Several dozens of white lanterns hung around the building, swaying left and right in the night breeze. The lanterns did not contain candle flames but dim light bulbs.
However, when the lantern light shone on the pitch-black building, it seemed to be swallowed by an indescribable force, making the building appear deeper than the darkness of the night. Staring at it for too long would make one shiver, as if the soul itself could be sucked away by the building.
Walking slowly towards the building, he had received instructions to head for the D entrance. At the moment, several passages were isolated around the building, each with a wooden sign hanging outside, inscribed with characters like A, B, C, and D. After finding the D sign, Yang Xiao walked straight towards it. The door of the passage was half-closed, and outside hung a green Shaking Bell.
He reached out to shake the bell. The sound it made was not crisp, but instead carried a repressive, muffled tone. "Creak—" The door of the passage opened halfway, and a pale face, seemingly bloodless, appeared inside.
It was a middle-aged man with hollow eyes, who glanced at the mask on Yang Xiao’s face, then turned and walked inside. Yang Xiao silently followed him. freёweɓnovel.com
After walking a few dozen steps, the two stopped in front of a cave made of black stones. An old-style wooden door stood at the entrance of the cave. Through the cracks in the door, a gray mist could be seen enveloping the inside, which reminded Yang Xiao of the door through which he left the Nightmare World, behind which lay a similar scene.
"Before entering, you need to know a few things. First, beyond this point, it’s the same as the Nightmare World—there are no rules, and anyone could die."
"Second, the world inside generally lasts only thirty minutes, though it’s not absolute. Three or four hours have also occurred. Once the time ends, as long as you’re not dead, you will be transported out and any injuries will be healed."
"Third, if you want to surrender, find a piece of green jade inside. No matter how the world changes, this green jade will always be there. Just get close to the jade and the character on the mask on your face will dissolve. After you come out, if the mask has no character, you will be eliminated, even if there are fewer than three survivors,"
"Fourth, there is no so-called safe house inside. Even if you approach the jade and erase the character on your face intending to surrender, you might still be attacked. There are no rules in the secret competition, and if you like and have the ability, you could kill everyone. No one will hold you accountable."
The middle-aged man pointed down at the ground and spoke in a heavy tone, "This is Ru Lin Academy, you’re a contestant, we guarantee your personal safety."
Then, the man pointed toward the old wooden door behind him, "That is another Nightmare World, the only one you can rely on is yourself."
"Thank you," Yang Xiao nodded.
The man grimaced with an ugly smile, hooked a bamboo basket out from under a broken wooden table with his foot, and lifted the lid. Inside were three masks, "These were left by contestants who opted out temporarily, but I don’t shun such actions, because it’s better to know oneself. Fleeing before the battle is just shameful, actually going in might cost your life."
"Each contestant enters through a different entrance, right?" Yang Xiao asked.
"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded, "You are in the seventh round, and there were six contestants before you who went into the world through that door behind me."
Six contestants, three masks in the basket, a fifty percent dropout rate—that’s fairly high, Yang Xiao felt sorry for their entry fees.
"Have you decided?" the middle-aged man pressed.
"I have decided, I want to compete," after a pause, Yang Xiao bowed to the middle-aged man, "Thank you for your kindness, senior, but I have reasons I must go."
"Everyone who comes here has their reasons," said the middle-aged man, hands behind his back, and without turning his head, walked outside, leaving a message, "Wait here until you hear the bell ring then you can push the door and enter. The space inside is bigger than what you see from outside, good luck."
A few minutes after the man left, Yang Xiao suddenly sensed some kind of disturbance behind the cave door. The gray fog became denser, and from behind the door came a ’whooshing’ sound, causing Yang Xiao to instinctively back away. It felt as if there was a primaeval beast lurking behind the door.
"Ding Ling—"
"Ding Ling—"
"Ding Ling—"
The sound of a bell floated over. Yang Xiao frowned, because he could not determine the origin of the bell sound, whether it was from behind the door or from the other end of the corridor.
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Yang Xiao took a deep breath, filled with great caution, and pushed open the wooden door in front of him.
As expected, behind the door was a world shrouded in mist. Vaguely, one could see indescribable glimmers of light flickering behind the fog. As Yang Xiao stepped out, a weird sensation of weightlessness came over him, but unlike leaving the Nightmare World, this time he did not faint. Moreover, the falling sensation lasted for less than ten seconds before stopping. He landed on a flat piece of land, a strange force cushioning most of the impact and causing him to stagger only slightly without injury.
Once steady, Yang Xiao looked around. The surroundings were dim, gray fog floated above, and the ground beneath his feet was scorched earth mixed with a few indistinguishable wild plants.
Not far in front of him was an earthen slope. Cautiously, he climbed up the slope and looked down. Below was a dark hollow with many dilapidated wooden buildings—it felt like an abandoned, uninhabited village. fгeewebnovёl.com
Due to poor lighting, visibility was not high. Yang Xiao could mostly make out only vague outlines of these buildings. Unconsciously, a layer of fog began to drift around the entire village.
As he continued to observe, the shock in Yang Xiao’s heart gradually turned into fear, his arms goosebumped. He held his breath, staring intently at the uninhabited village below, a familiar sense of coldness slowly surfacing.
"There are... ghosts in the village!" Yang Xiao confirmed through his intuition.
