NFM Chapter 77

Zhang Mingge left triumphantly, leaving Chu Tianshu alone in the cage, wallowing in sorrow.

Squatting in the cage, chewing on grass leaves, he looked utterly listless. After confirming that Zhang Mingge had left, he leaned against the cage, glanced around, and then revealed a joyful smile.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph… he’s finally gone,” he thought. “Now it’s my turn to perform.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Mingge, after reaching the hall, pondered for a while and still summoned Cheng Xin, Yan Chuchu, and others.

“Mingge, what’s wrong?” Cheng Xin asked before even sitting down. “Isn’t our mission almost complete?”

“Exactly,” Yan Chuchu chimed in urgently. “You’re not thinking of tackling mission two, are you? Those two kids are quite cunning, not easy to deal with, and there’s also that…”

When she mentioned “that person,” she instinctively closed her mouth.

If the bizarre props Chu Tianshu used last night were still within their comprehension, Lin Huai’s combat style completely surpassed their imagination.

Red-robed, black-haired, exuding an aura of blood and baleful energy, with bloodshot eyes—this person was undoubtedly…

“That Lin Huai isn’t an ordinary person, is he?” Cheng Xin whispered. “From his attire, he seems very… very…”

He thought for a moment: “There’s a sinister aura about him.”

Yan Chuchu nodded hurriedly. The driver, sitting nearby, remarked, “…You only noticed now?”

“Yes, there’s indeed a sinister aura about him—I suspect he’s a Nether Being.”

Zhang Mingge’s earth-shattering statement widened everyone’s eyes. Yan Chuchu immediately stood up: “That’s impossible!”

She quickly realized her outburst but still spoke urgently: “How could he be a Nether Being? From his usual behavior, he’s just like an ordinary person…”

The driver, recalling Lin Huai’s thieving behavior, quipped, “…Are you serious?”

“I mean eating, sleeping, using the toilet,” Yan Chuchu said. “He even burps after drinking too much cola… That’s not something a Nether Being should do!”

“I’m also very puzzled by this,” Zhang Mingge adjusted his glasses. “Initially, I was highly suspicious of him and tested him multiple times, but his behavior is indeed quite different from an ordinary Nether Being.”

“Ordinary Nether Beings, regardless of their level, are driven by negative emotions like hatred and killing. You could say ‘malice’ and ‘obsession’ are the foundations of their existence,” Zhang Mingge drew on the table with his finger. “But Lin Huai, in his daily life, appears very happy—happier than any Nether Being should be. His intelligence level is also remarkably high—”

“What are you implying…?”

“At first, I didn’t interfere with him, even though he often slacked off and did some outrageous things. He always stood on our side. But during our hunt for Ren Chun—it seemed to anger him. Since then, his behavior has become somewhat uncontrollable.”

“Why?” Cheng Xin asked, puzzled. “Why would he be angered?”

“Perhaps sympathy for his kind,” Zhang Mingge said simply. “Or maybe because that person got injured while shielding Ren Qiu. The relationship between those two is quite intriguing. I always felt like Chu Tianshu wanted something from Lin Huai. He doesn’t seem to care much about the Instance or the Game; his focus has always been on Lin Huai. I even suspect—he entered the Instance following Lin Huai.”

“However, these aren’t the main points,” he finally said, pushing his glasses. “The main point is, Chu Tianshu is now captured by us, while Lin Huai escaped with Ren Qiu and Ying Xia. And now, the Qingxu Temple is inhabited by the Wang family, whose hatred far exceeds before.”

“The Wang family is essentially the source of the Ren family’s tragedy. From the oppression when the Ren family opened a flour mill, to their youngest daughter bullying Ren Qiu at school because she disliked Ren Chun, and finally to Wang Zhanpeng and Wang Zhankun’s actions against Ren Chun. You could say this family is the most hated by the Ren family. But one thing I don’t understand is why the system chose to leave them for last. From three years ago to now, every year it’s the same. The day the Taoist master emerges from seclusion is also the day the Wang family’s countdown begins—”

Before he could finish, laughter came from outside the window.

Zhang Mingge opened the window and looked out at Chu Tianshu in the cage, frowning: “What are you laughing at?”

“Laughing at you for not understanding such a simple question,” Chu Tianshu said.

Zhang Mingge raised an eyebrow, and Chu Tianshu continued: “What do you think sustains the Ghost Face’s possession of Ren Qiu? It’s hatred—his hatred, the entire Ren family’s hatred for Jiang Village, for the Wang family.”

“Therefore, the Wang family cannot die,” he said. “The Wang family is the greatest source of the Ren family’s hatred, and both the Game and the system are well aware of this. It arranges the Wang family on the absolutely safe sixth and seventh days repeatedly, just to lure Ren Qiu… to make Ren Qiu keep running around for revenge, following the system’s instructions, but never achieving the result he desires.”

Zhang Mingge watched him in the cage silently for a long time, then said: “Your words are truly cold-hearted.”

“…” Chu Tianshu narrowed his eyes. “It’s not me who’s cold-hearted; it’s this world. Even cold-hearted me needs some warmth. So, let me out.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Zhang Mingge said coldly. “This cage is a purple-grade item; only it can suppress all your items.”

With that, he slammed the window shut.

Chu Tianshu: …

“In any case, the likelihood of Lin Huai coming to trouble us is quite high,” Zhang Mingge said. “There are only two days left until the Game ends. In two days, we can leave this Game. At this critical moment, we can’t afford to fail.”

“Come to trouble us?” Yan Chuchu said incredulously. “Here? What trouble can he cause?”

She looked around the Qingxu Temple and marveled: “Speaking of which, it’s surprising that in Jiang Village, there’s such a powerful Taoist temple…”

“According to past data, the power level of Jiang Village’s Taoist temple has been increasing year by year,” Zhang Mingge said. “I suspect this is a consequence of Ying Xia’s actions. Originally, this Instance should only have Ren Qiu as the boss, but as an ordinary NPC, he repeatedly hindered the Game, even to the point of changing the Game’s definition—from Ren Qiu alone to the twin brothers. I suspect his actions ultimately angered the Game, leading it to create such a powerful Taoist temple.”

He shook his head: “This Game holds many secrets, from balance to playability, all worth exploring.”

“But I don’t think Lin Huai and the others will necessarily come,” Cheng Xin commented. “If I were them, seeing how powerful the temple is, why would they come here? Moreover… with mission one completed, shouldn’t they be happy?”

“Who knows what they’re thinking—” Zhang Mingge shook his head. “Sympathizing with mission targets in the Game is abnormal in itself. As human players, they actually sympathize with Fierce Ghosts?”

He adjusted his glasses, frowning: “Forget it. We shouldn’t try to understand the logic of lunatics.”

“You hurt me, then laughed it off—” Chu Tianshu’s off-key singing echoed from the backyard. Yan Chuchu, hearing the grating noise, rolled her eyes and said: “I’ll go check on him.”

“Don’t bother,” Zhang Mingge said. “He’ll stop when he gets bored.”

He still looked deeply worried, so Cheng Xin comforted him: “Actually, we don’t need to worry too much. With the Qingxu Taoist master here, Lin Huai and those two little ghosts won’t dare come here in broad daylight. If I were them, I’d choose to sneak attack at night—”

“Exactly,” Yan Chuchu patted his shoulder. “I’ll check the yard for any vulnerabilities that could be exploited for a sneak attack…”

Before she could finish, a loud shout came from outside the temple.

The shout, amplified by a loudspeaker, was deafening. Yan Chuchu and the others exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.

“Old Qingxu, don’t hide inside and not come out, I know you’re home! You have the guts to shelter criminals, why don’t you have the guts to open the barrier? Open the barrier! You have the guts to shelter criminals, you have the guts to open the door! Don’t hide inside and not come out! I know you’re inside the barrier!”

Zhang Mingge: …

Cheng Xin: …

Yan Chuchu: …

“And my driver, you’ve kidnapped my big driver!” Lin Huai held the loudspeaker, sitting bored on a roadside rock. “Driver, do you have a heart? I made you experience human emotions, and you just ran away on your own…”

Under the gaze of Yan Chuchu and the others, the driver raised his hands: “…I’m really just an ordinary NPC, I have nothing to do with him…”

“Open the door! Open the door! You have the guts to open the door!” Lin Huai continued shouting.

After saying this, he casually tossed the loudspeaker to Ren Qiu beside him, crossed his legs, and said: “Set it on loop, keep playing.”

Ren Qiu, holding the loudspeaker, looked dumbfounded: “Lin… Lin-ge, are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Lin Huai blinked. “Play.”

Ren Qiu cautiously placed the loudspeaker at the entrance of the Qingxu Temple. Since Lin Huai had disciplined him the previous day, the ghost face on the back of his head had been much more obedient, not daring to bother him all day. Ying Xia stood on the other side, watching their actions, his heart filled with indescribable emotions.

As the noise of “Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!” continued, Chu Tianshu’s off-key singing also echoed in the yard: “The flower in my heart, I want to take you home…”

“In this late-night bar, who cares if it’s real or fake…”

Lin Huai: …

Ying Xia: …

Ren Qiu on the other side: …

“Didn’t you say…” Ying Xia looked at Lin Huai. “He’s very strong?”

Lin Huai expressionlessly plugged his ears: “This is actually a tactic of internal and external coordination.”

Seeing Ying Xia’s disbelief, he explained: “I’m attacking their eardrums from the outside, he’s attacking their minds from the inside.”

Lin Huai shouted outside, Chu Tianshu sang inside, the two voices rising and falling, making the entire temple restless. Cheng Xin and Yan Chuchu covered their ears and went outside.

Zhang Mingge, his temples throbbing, also went out. For a moment, only the driver remained in the hall.

Just as he was about to speak, someone entered the hall.

The first to enter was Wang Zhanpeng. He looked impatiently at the driver: “What on earth are you all doing?”

“It’s so noisy, I can’t even watch videos properly,” Wang Zhanyuan also complained.

The two showed no awareness that they were still in hiding. Wang Zhanyuan complained for a while, but seeing no one paid attention, she pouted and looked at her father: “Dad, when can we leave? Staying in this temple is so boring, there’s no air conditioning, no streets to stroll…”

“Behave yourself,” Father Wang was already headache from his children’s noise. “If it weren’t for your mess, why would our whole family have to come here… Every year we have to come, it’s unbearable.”

Wang Zhanyuan pouted: “If we had known that ghost wasn’t Ren Chun, but Ren Qiu, Dad, you should have taken their house back and sold it. Without a place to live, they wouldn’t have a place to cause trouble!”

“You still have the nerve to say that,” Wang Zhanfeng couldn’t stand her sister’s coquettish demeanor and mocked. “If it weren’t for you, always talking about Ren Chun, Ren Chun, Ren Chun, would Zhanpeng have taken a liking to her and gotten into this mess?”

“She’s the one who dressed so provocatively at school, acting all flirtatious,” Wang Zhanyuan complained.

Wang Zhankun also said: “Back then, it was just not enough money. I told you, after playing with her, send her back, but you wouldn’t listen, and now it’s led to a death…”

“If I had known she could become a ghost, and her brother could become a ghost even if he didn’t die, would I have played with her?” Wang Zhanpeng argued.

“Our family is so unlucky, trapped in this ghostly place,” Mother Wang also complained. “Our bright future was ruined by their family, sigh!”

This family showed no awareness of being the perpetrators. The driver listened, feeling disgusted. But since the Game’s mission was to protect these people, he had to treat their words as background noise.

After their conversation, Cheng Xin and the others, who had been patrolling outside, finally returned.

Upon seeing Cheng Xin and the others, their expressions immediately changed. Yesterday, they had witnessed the extraordinary skills of this group, so their attitude towards them was vastly different from their attitude towards the driver. Wang Zhanyuan, seeing Zhang Mingge, cooed: “Mingge, it’s so noisy outside, can you make them quiet down, please?”

“Exactly, my heart is jumping around from the noise…” Mother Wang also covered her chest, looking overly startled.

“By the way, who are those people outside?” Wang Zhanpeng asked. “I saw that person outside, he seems to be with you… no, he came to the village with you, why is he standing with those two ghosts?”

“He…” Cheng Xin hesitated.

“Master, please speak well for us, we repent, truly repent, we’re willing to pay them any amount of money,” Father Wang also stood up. “Every year, twice a year, it’s unbearable to live in fear…”

The drastic change in their expressions left the driver dumbfounded. At that moment, a clear laughter came from outside, and the Wang family, as if seeing a savior, eagerly said: “Taoist Master!”

Indeed, it was the Qingxu Taoist Master. With white hair and beard, he looked like an immortal. He said to everyone: “Dear benefactors, do not worry, I have made a decision regarding the demonic matter.”

“The statue enshrined in the temple was originally a clay figure. Over time, it became greedy from receiving incense offerings and turned into a demon, possessing Ren Qiu. I will find a way to exorcise the demon from Ren Qiu, and I have a sixty percent certainty.”

“Then…” Father Wang hesitated. “What about the remaining forty percent?”

“The demon and Ren Qiu are originally one body, two souls. If Ren Qiu is exorcised during the day, the demon will naturally be exorcised as well,” the Taoist Master stroked his beard.

The Wang family was overjoyed. Father Wang even held the Taoist Master’s hand and said: “Taoist Master, after this is done, I will greatly renovate the Qingxu Temple!”

“No, no, money is not the point,” the Taoist Master said. “I have been in seclusion for a year, and seeing the demons still causing trouble at the foot of the mountain is truly worrying. But usually, I am busy with cultivation, oblivious to worldly affairs. Previously, I could only offer you some protection. Now that the truth is out, I will help you. This matter has lasted too long, causing suffering among the people. It’s time to bring it to an end… Cheng Xin,”

Cheng Xin straightened up: “Taoist Master, I am here.”

“Let’s go out and talk to them,” the Taoist Master said. “As for Mingge… go to the backyard and make Chu Tianshu quiet down.”

Zhang Mingge nodded and took his bow to the backyard.

Chu Tianshu, who had been singing in the cage, saw him coming and leaned against the cage: “I told you, I’m the invisible guardian, this is called internal and external coordination.”

Zhang Mingge sneered: “How long do you think your throat can last?”

Chu Tianshu said: “No problem, when my playlist is finished, I can still sing Lost River.”

Zhang Mingge gave up on treating Chu Tianshu and returned to the front yard. Meanwhile, Cheng Xin had already followed the Taoist Master out of the gate and approached Lin Huai.

The Taoist Master signaled Cheng Xin to talk to Lin Huai first. Encouraged, Cheng Xin seemed to have gained immense courage and walked towards Lin Huai.

…After all, he was representing the side of justice. Cheng Xin thought, we also want to resolve everything… all the disputes.

The young man they were watching was sitting bored on a large rock under the shade of a tree.

Despite being mentally prepared, seeing Ren Qiu and Ying Xia obediently standing beside Lin Huai, Cheng Xin visibly trembled.

…Two monsters.

Thinking this in his heart, he looked at Lin Huai and said gently: “Why did you bring them here…?”

“What do you think?” Lin Huai looked at him with a half-smile. “I brought Ren Qiu and Ying Xia, and in the temple are the Wang family. What do you think I’m here for?”

“…I think you’re also here to seek a better solution,” Cheng Xin swallowed and said gently.

“…For us, it is indeed a better solution,” Lin Huai crossed his other leg. “A solution that kills two birds with one stone.”

His gaze made Cheng Xin inexplicably flustered. After a long while, Cheng Xin glanced at the Taoist Master beside him and lowered his voice: “Lin Huai, what exactly are you here for?”

He quickened his pace: “I’m telling you, the mission is almost complete, don’t cause any trouble…”

“What can I do? Just complete the mission,” Lin Huai said indifferently. “But before, I was standing on the NPC’s side, now, I’ve decided to stand on the boss’s side.”

Under Cheng Xin’s horrified gaze, Lin Huai’s smile gradually widened: “I’m going to massacre the temple.”

“You’re crazy…”

“Don’t be so serious,” Lin Huai extended a finger. “Since we’re all playing a game, naturally, we should play in the most fun way, don’t you think?”

“Compared to protecting lives, I think taking lives is more interesting,” he said.

“…You,” Cheng Xin looked at him incredulously. “Do you know what you’re saying?”

“You want to kill people, you want to help the boss kill people?” he questioned Lin Huai. “What are you joking about, you…”

“I said, don’t—be—so—serious. Just like you treat it as a game, where completing the mission means winning the game, I have my own standards for my game victory,” Lin Huai stood up. “And that is—”

“I play for fun.”

“Before, I wasn’t having fun, I was very unhappy, do you know why? Because here, it’s just too boring,” he said. “Boring villagers, mediocre food, disgusting rules, I was very, very unhappy.”

“But now I’ve found a more interesting way to play, and two more interesting people,” Lin Huai blinked. “So I decided to continue playing by their rules.”

“—They, they are murderers, game bosses, Fierce Ghosts!” Cheng Xin said urgently. “Lin Huai, are you going to stand on the side of Fierce Ghosts?”

“Why not?” Lin Huai said. “Oh, by the way, I never said I thought they were right. They are murderous arsonists, and so are the people in the Taoist temple. It’s just that I think—”

“They are more interesting than the people in the temple. And I prefer their script,” he whispered into Cheng Xin’s ear.

“Lin Huai, grow up. No matter how unjust the Ren family’s grievances were, they are already dead,” Cheng Xin tried to persuade him. “Aren’t the living more important than the dead? They are still alive, with many futures ahead… Moreover, we have a mission to complete…”

“Patron,” the voice of Taoist Master Qingxu rang out as Cheng Xin continued to persuade.

Upon hearing the voice, Lin Huai’s eyebrow twitched, and he turned around. He saw a white-robed, white-haired Taoist holding a whisk, bowing to him in front of the temple.

“Rise and be at ease,” Lin Huai said.

The old Taoist: …

“Little friend Cheng Xin, come back,” the old Taoist waved his hand.

Cheng Xin walked back to the old Taoist with reluctance. The old Taoist then looked at Lin Huai, who stood there with a faint smile: “This old Taoist senses a lot of resentment in you, may I ask why? Is it because of witnessing injustice? Or perhaps speaking out for justice, or…”

“None of that,” Lin Huai said coldly. “It’s purely because the weather has turned cold recently.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“When it gets cold, I feel like making the Wang family go bankrupt,” Lin Huai said. “Coincidentally, the richest family in this village happens to be surnamed Wang, so I decided it would be them.”

Taoist Master Qingxu: …

“I have long heard of your mission, patron,” the old Taoist said. “Would you like to have a few words with me?”

Lin Huai raised an eyebrow noncommittally, and the old Taoist smiled: “Then I shall take it as your tacit agreement.”

“Do you know what the real culprit of the Jiang Village incident is?” The old Taoist coughed and drew a circle in the air. “It’s resentment.”

“Because of resentment, the factory workers became negligent, ultimately leading to the factory explosion. Because of resentment, Ren Chun, a young girl in her prime, died an innocent death. Because of resentment, Ren Qiu prayed to a demon and was possessed, becoming a monstrous killer.” The gentle and magnanimous voice carried on the breeze. “For three years, Jiang Village has been trapped in a vortex of resentment, with the people living in misery… Do you think I am right?”

Lin Huai nodded. The old Taoist continued: “Over the past three years, dozens of people have died tragically, and the once picturesque Jiang Village has become a hell on earth filled with fear. However, now… the root of this resentment has finally been uncovered. After so many years, it is time to resolve it.”