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Bonus chapter! Thank you to JustSomeOne for the donation! ^^
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The moment his phone was snatched, Ruan Qing instinctively reached to grab it back, but Miao Linyuan nimbly dodged each attempt.
"What’s the rush? Eager to whisper sweet nothings to your little wife?"
"Why not let us listen too?"
With that, Miao Linyuan hit the answer button and turned on speakerphone.
Everyone in the field stopped what they were doing, their attention fixed on the phone in Miao Linyuan’s hand. The farmland fell silent, save for the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Soon, a voice came through the speaker.
"Brother, can you help us? We’re really lost..."
The voice was deep and magnetic, laced with a pitiful, pleading tone—like a big, dejected dog wagging its tail for its owner’s affection. It was the kind of voice that made refusal feel impossible.
Yet, no matter how coquettish or plaintive it sounded, there was no mistaking it: this was unmistakably a man’s voice.
Every single person present stared at the phone in shock, as if this revelation had never crossed their minds. Even Miao Linyuan and Miao Ciyu were no exception.
They’d only known that the boy’s blind date was from outside the village—but they’d never imagined this so-called "match" would be another man.
Unexpected, yet somehow... it made perfect sense.
The young man could barely take care of himself, let alone support some delicate woman. Clearly, the late village chief had understood this too—hence why he’d sought someone from outside who could actually provide for him.
After all, no one in Miao Village would be charitable enough to raise another man’s son for him.
Miao Linyuan paused. Strangely, he didn’t seem displeased by this discovery. He glanced sideways at Ruan Qing.
"Your blind date... is a man?"
Ruan Qing pressed his lips together. "He’s not—"
"Excuse me, sir, I’m a woman." The voice on the phone abruptly cut in, now laced with polite detachment.
Unlike before, this time the speaker had adopted a higher pitch, mimicking the cadence and tone of a woman’s speech—as if straining his voice.
But... it was still undeniably a man’s voice.
A heavy silence fell over the field.
This voice... Who did he think he was fooling?
The villagers’ expressions twisted into something indescribable. Even the players on the other end shared the sentiment, all of them staring at Fang Qingyuan with varying degrees of disbelief.
They had spent a long time wandering through the woods without finding a way out, and the only clue they had was that phone call—so they decided to try again.
But the moment the call connected, they were stunned by Fang Qingyuan's "Brother", not to mention the way he deliberately softened his voice afterward.
Even the live-stream audience felt the same.
[Is this really the Fang Qingyuan we know? Did he get possessed or something?]
[How does he call someone 'Brother' so naturally? I’ve watched his streams for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen him act pitiful. Just listening to his voice, it really does make you want to give in.]
[Damn, that fake voice is making me want to punch something. Bro, if you can’t convincingly play the opposite gender, just don’t! Anyone with functioning ears can tell it’s fake!]
[Gotta respect a top-tier player’s adaptability for the sake of clearing the level. Typical Fang Qingyuan move—too bad the guy on the other end is his love rival, lol.]
The other players' gazes were filled with mixed emotions, but Fang Qingyuan paid them no mind. He continued in that deliberately sweet tone:
"Sir, are you… a friend of my Brother?"
Without waiting for a reply, he paused briefly before adding, "Is he with you right now? Could I… speak to him?"
Miao Linyuan let out a derisive laugh, as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous thing. "Since when can any random stray claim relations so casually? As far as I know, the village chief only had one son."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before the voice corrected itself, now tinged with nervous hesitation—almost shy.
"...Is my husband with you right now?"
It sounded like the first time he’d ever called someone that.
Miao Linyuan’s smile froze. His grip on the phone tightened violently, the force nearly enough to crush it.
If it hadn’t been someone else’s phone, it might have already shattered.
Logically, the village chief’s son’s blind date had nothing to do with him. Yet Miao Linyuan couldn’t suppress the surge of fury coiling in his chest—his veins stood out starkly against his skin, tension locking his entire body.
At this moment, he looked downright dangerous. The surrounding villagers recoiled, fear twisting their expressions, their faces twitching involuntarily.
Miao Linyuan’s voice was icy, laced with a quiet threat. "Hah. A blind date isn’t a marriage. Who’s to say it’ll even work out?"
"After all… no one knows whether tomorrow or misfortune will come first. Don’t you agree?"
Just as he was about to say more, the phone was abruptly snatched from his hand.
Miao Linyuan slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes cold enough to kill—until he saw it was Ruan Qing who had taken it. His expression eased slightly, though his next words dripped with sarcasm.
"Oh? You haven’t even met yet, and you’re already protecting your little wife?"
"None of your business!" Ruan Qing snatched the phone back and hung up, shooting Miao Linyuan a glare brimming with fury and disgust—as if he wanted nothing more than to kick him.
But the difference in their strength was far too great. If it came to a fight, Ruan Qing would be the one at a disadvantage.
The original owner had been willful, but he wasn’t the type to lose his head to anger. As a child, he’d once picked a fight with a villager—choosing the one who looked the weakest and skinniest—only to end up utterly crushed.
Had his mother not arrived in time, he might have been beaten to death.
In Miao Village, human life was cheap—worth less than even a single medicinal herb growing in the fields.
After that near-fatal beating, no matter how furious or resentful he felt, the original owner never raised a hand against anyone in the village again.
With one last disgusted glance at Miao Linyuan, Ruan Qing turned and walked away. This time, no one stopped him.
But the truth was, the further he got, the more his composure wavered—his eyes betraying unease beneath a thin veneer of calm.
That villager’s face earlier… The twitching hadn’t been from fear. It was as if something inside his skin had been moving.
Were the people of Miao Village even human anymore?
Ruan Qing found no answers in his memories. The original owner had holed up at home, relying entirely on his mother, and knew next to nothing about the village.
His mother must have known something. She, more than anyone, would’ve understood how hard it was to leave Miao Village—yet she’d repeatedly insisted that if the arranged marriage succeeded, he should leave with his match.
She likely knew a way out.
The problem was, she’d died before the players entered the instance, without ever telling the original owner how to escape.
The trail ended there.
Still, her attitude suggested that the key to leaving lay with the marriage candidate—or perhaps, more broadly, with outsiders.
Without the natural advantage other players had as tourists, his only path to clearing this instance was probably cooperation with them.
Gripping his phone tighter, Ruan Qing headed home.
Right now, the priorities were figuring out the dangers hidden in Miao Village—and bringing his match into the village as soon as possible.
If calling someone Brother had surprised the players, then husband outright shocked them. They all stared at Fang Qingyuan with expressions like they’d seen a ghost.
Fang Qingyuan paid no attention to the players' shock. He calmly put away his phone and spoke in a steady voice:
"The person on the other end probably isn’t a ghost, but someone from Miao Village. Based on what that man said, the blind date candidate is likely the village chief’s only son."
"Though it seems he assumed his match was a woman."
The players had all heard the call and knew this as well. A short-haired girl nearby chimed in, "It probably wasn’t a mistake."
"One person getting it wrong is possible, but two? That’s unlikely."
After all, both Fang Qingyuan and Mu Ye’an—a seasoned player—were men. This clearly wasn’t just a coincidence.
Fang Qingyuan nodded. "Right."
"It’s strange that someone wouldn’t know their blind date’s gender. That defies common sense."
He paused, then added, "And his tone was impatient the whole time—bad-tempered, hanging up at the slightest provocation. It seems he’s strongly against the idea of this arranged match."
The girl thought for a moment. "He probably didn’t agree to this willingly."
The players sat on nearby rocks, discussing the clues they had gathered.
None of them noticed the worm beneath the stone, inching its way up until it drew closer… and closer… to one of them.
"Ah—!"
A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air, jolting everyone to alertness.
The players leapt to their feet, scanning their surroundings—but no immediate threat was visible.
The woods were dead silent, devoid of any other living presence besides them.
Their gazes snapped toward the screaming player, tension thick in the air.
"What happened?!"
The player couldn’t even speak. He frantically yanked up his pant leg, revealing a black worm latched onto his calf, blood oozing from the wound.
Thinner and longer than a leech, the creature had already bitten through his skin and was now burrowing deeper—its slick body squirming relentlessly inward.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, the player grabbed at the worm, trying to pull it out.
But half of it had already vanished into his flesh. Slippery and relentless, it wriggled free of his grip—and within seconds, disappeared entirely beneath his skin.
