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Bonus chapter! Thank you to --- for the donation! ^^
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Miao Linyuan smiled faintly, but his eyes were icy cold. Meanwhile, Miao Ciyu’s gaze was equally dark and oppressive.
The air seemed to freeze, thick with nothing but spreading danger.
The villagers in the courtyard and mourning hall wore expressions of terror, trembling as they backed away.
The Overseers had never gained their position through the villagers’ elections—they became Overseers simply because they were strong enough to claim the title.
In Miao Village, the Overseers were the most powerful.
Traditionally, there had only ever been one Overseer per generation. But this time, it was shared between Miao Ciyu and Miao Linyuan—because both were absurdly strong, surpassing all previous Overseers.
The two had never openly clashed before. This was the first time they had so blatantly displayed hostility toward each other, sending chills down everyone’s spines.
All eyes were fixed on them, so no one noticed the big black dog on the ground.
Its eyes had turned a blood-red hue, and it stared up at Miao Linyuan on the roof. Its face twisted unnaturally, saliva dripping uncontrollably from its jaws like a predator about to tear into its prey—making it look even more terrifying.
The live-stream audience hadn’t noticed either, until the camera abruptly zoomed in on the dog.
The viewers were stunned.
[Holy shit! That’s terrifying! What the hell was in those pastries?! Did that bastard Miao Ciyu poison them?!]
[No wonder my wife didn’t even touch the pastries—he must’ve known something was wrong. But how did he know?!]
[If I were in that dungeon, I wouldn’t last a day. I’d have gobbled those pastries up without a second thought. Who’d expect the guy who just made those lewd demands to turn around and poison them?! This is just messing with people! (flips table.JPG)]
Even after hearing Miao Linyuan’s voice, Ruan Qing stayed in the kitchen, his attention never leaving the black dog.
Its condition was horrifying—its snarling, twisted face barely looked like a dog’s anymore.
Just as Ruan Qing expected it to go berserk, the dog suddenly calmed down. It turned and walked step by step out of the courtyard.
It had come silently, and it left the same way, unnoticed by anyone.
Not that anyone would’ve had the focus to spare. Miao Ciyu and Miao Linyuan were locked in a murderous glare, as if they might lunge at each other any second.
But in the end, restrained by some unspoken consideration, neither moved.
With a light leap, Miao Linyuan jumped down from the roof, landing smoothly in a move that exuded effortless cool.
He turned to Ruan Qing and smiled.
"Mind if I join you for a meal?"
When Ruan Qing saw it was Miao Linyuan, his face immediately darkened. His tone carried no politeness as he replied, "Yes, I mind."
Yet Miao Linyuan acted as if he hadn’t heard the rejection, strolling leisurely into the kitchen.
He picked up a pastry and tossed a piece into his mouth, sighing with mock regret. "Such good pastries—what a waste to feed them to a dog."
Ruan Qing’s eyes flickered imperceptibly at the words. Was it the pastry that was wasted—or the poison inside it?
He strongly suspected the latter. This man was undoubtedly the one who had laced them.
Ruan Qing betrayed no reaction, simply ignoring Miao Linyuan and lowering his head to continue playing on his phone.
Unfazed, Miao Linyuan casually took a seat on the bench beside Ruan Qing, waiting with him for the food to finish cooking. His lazy demeanor made it seem like he was right at home.
Miao Ciyu radiated cold hostility, but he said nothing, returning to the kitchen to continue cooking.
The three of them occupied themselves in silence, the atmosphere in the kitchen growing increasingly eerie. Villagers passing by no longer dared to glance inside, let alone suggest staying for a meal.
Some didn’t even linger in the courtyard.
Miao Ciyu, clearly an experienced cook, worked with near-chef-level skill, the dishes he prepared fragrant and perfectly seasoned.
Once the food was served, Miao Linyuan dug in without hesitation.
He took a bite of one dish and wrinkled his nose in disapproval. "Overcooked."
His chopsticks moved to the next.
"Too greasy."
"This one’s bland."
"Did you rob a salt merchant? There’s enough here to preserve a corpse."
Miao Linyuan critiqued every dish on the table before finally setting down his chopsticks. "Not as good as mine."
Miao Ciyu ate in silence, ignoring him entirely. Ruan Qing did the same—after all, the original owner would never show kindness to a Miao Village resident, especially one who had stolen his phone.
The meal ended under that strange tension. Miao Linyuan left without another word once he finished eating.
After cleaning up, Miao Ciyu also departed, seemingly preoccupied with some business.
The kitchen fell quiet once more.
With the meal already eaten, lighting another fire would be too suspicious. Ruan Qing had no choice but to abandon his plan to burn down the kitchen and the original owner’s bedroom.
Just as he was about to leave the kitchen, his phone rang.
Ruan Qing initially thought it was a call from Blind Date (4), but to his surprise, the caller ID showed Blind Date (1).
He paused. This was the first time any of the other blind date candidates had called him.
After a brief hesitation, he answered the call. Before he could even speak, the voice on the other end came through first.
"Where is Miao Village?"
The voice was deep and magnetic, like the low notes of a cello, carrying a hint of lethargic indifference.
But once again—it was unmistakably a man’s voice.
Out of his blind date candidates, three were men. This wasn’t a coincidence. It was highly likely that his mother had intentionally set him up only with male suitors.
Before Ruan Qing could ponder what his mother’s intentions might have been, the man spoke again.
"I’m here to kill myself."
Ruan Qing: "……?"
He wondered if he’d misheard. Staring at his phone, he asked uncertainly, "Kill yourself?"
The man on the other end seemed to pause briefly at Ruan Qing’s voice before replying with a faint, "Mhm."
"I heard that once you enter Miao Village, you can’t leave alive. So I’m here to give it a try."
The man continued, "But I’m lost in the woods. Which way do I go to get into the village?"
Ruan Qing found this strange. Couldn’t he kill himself anywhere? Why did it have to be Miao Village?
And just what criteria had his mother used to pick these blind dates? This Blind Date (1) was clearly not a player—and clearly not normal, either.
The method to leave Miao Village might be tied to the blind date candidates, but that didn’t mean these men were safe for him.
Rushing out to meet this candidate would be anything but wise.
Besides, the original owner wasn’t the helpful type. Though he stood out in Miao Village, the frequent deaths there had desensitized him. After hearing the man out, Ruan Qing replied dismissively, "If you want to die, why bother finding the village? Just do it where you are."
Without waiting for a response, he hung up and headed toward the mourning hall—it was almost 2 PM.
The original owner didn’t know most of Miao Village’s customs, but after his mother’s death the previous night, a villager had specifically briefed him on his duties.
Every day at 2 PM, it was time to clean the mourning hall.
In Miao Village, whenever someone died, the mourning hall had to be cleaned daily until the burial.
And it wasn’t just a casual sweep—this cleaning was thorough and meticulous, covering everything, including the coffin and even the corpse inside.
Unlike setting up the mourning hall, the cleaning task was assigned to the deceased’s relatives. Only if the deceased had no family would it be delegated to other villagers.
In other words, since Ruan Qing was the original owner’s mother’s only relative, the duty of cleaning the mourning hall fell to him.
Unaware of these hidden rules, Ruan Qing had no choice but to comply. He took a deep breath, picked up the cleaning tools, and stepped inside.
Thanks to Miao Linyuan and Miao Ciyu’s earlier presence, none of the villagers had lingered. Now, the village chief’s house was empty except for Ruan Qing.
The mourning hall was as eerie as ever—black and white contrasting starkly, sending an involuntary chill down the spine.
After a discreet but thorough glance around revealed nothing unusual, Ruan Qing began sweeping, making sure to cover even the most remote corners.
The hall was spotless, as if the cleaning was just a formality.
He finished quickly, leaving only the coffin—and the corpse inside—untouched.
Ruan Qing’s gaze shifted from the dark lacquered coffin to the treasure basin in front of it.
Ghost money* burned steadily inside. Since the corpse had been placed in the coffin the night before, the flames had never died out, not even in the dead of night.
(T/N: *A type of paper offering burned in traditional Chinese rituals to honor ancestors and spirits. It is believed that burning the paper sends the money to the spirit world, providing the deceased with wealth and comfort in the afterlife.)
The moment the paper was close to burning out, a villager would arrive to mourn and add more.
After observing all morning, Ruan Qing suspected that the real purpose wasn’t mourning—it was keeping the treasure basin supplied with ghost money.
The villagers’ eyes were hollow, their expressions indifferent. Their "mourning" felt more like fulfilling an obligation.
And that obligation was likely ensuring the ghost money never stopped burning.
Not even for a second.
Miao Village had only four official rules, but countless unspoken ones. This—keeping the ghost money burning—was probably among them.
Ruan Qing refused to believe these customs were baseless. There had to be a reason.
He picked up an unburned sheet, rubbing it between his fingers. The texture felt off. Bringing it to his nose, he inhaled—the scent was unusual, even more so when burned.
This ghost money… seemed specially made.
Ruan Qing could smell several types of medicinal herbs in the mix, but the scent was too muddled, blended with the natural odor of burning paper, making it impossible to distinguish them clearly.
His delicate brows furrowed slightly as he pondered, unable to piece anything together—though one thing did come to mind.
In Miao Village, medicinal herbs grew abundantly in the fields, and the collective morning labor had also involved planting them.
Ruan Qing stared at the ghost money in his hand. Were the herbs grown in the fields used to make this paper? But why would Miao Village go to the trouble of crafting such specialized ghost money?
Just as he was lost in thought, a faint rustling of fabric sounded behind him.
The noise was barely audible, so quiet that an ordinary person might have missed it entirely.
But Ruan Qing didn’t. The moment he heard it, he instinctively sidestepped.
Standing behind him was… Miao Linyuan.
Ruan Qing hadn’t forgotten how dangerous this man was. His entire body tensed in alert.
Miao Linyuan raised an eyebrow slightly when Ruan Qing dodged. "Pretty quick reflexes."
Ruan Qing gripped the broom in his hand, his expression cold as he stared at Miao Linyuan. "What do you want?"
Instead of answering, Miao Linyuan stretched out his hand, revealing a few pieces of candy in his palm. He was already chewing on one himself.
"Want some?"
Candy wasn’t common in Miao Village. Few villagers bothered growing non-essential luxuries, and these sweets were wrapped in delicate, colorful paper—clearly not from the village.
Since leaving Miao Village was impossible, this candy had most likely been brought in from outside.
And the only outsiders who would have come to Miao Village recently were… his blind date and the players.
Ruan Qing’s heart skipped a beat, his wariness spiking. But not a trace of it showed on his face—if anything, he looked mildly disgusted.
"No."
Miao Linyuan wasn’t offended by the rejection. He unwrapped another piece and popped it into his mouth.
"Cleaning the mourning hall?" He glanced around. "Need any help?"
Ruan Qing ignored him outright, meticulously wiping down the coffin with a cloth.
Miao Linyuan could tell at a glance that this guy had no idea what "cleaning" truly entailed—it wasn’t just about tidying up.
But he didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he simply stood there, watching as the boy diligently polished the coffin.
Likely due to the mourning period, the young man was dressed entirely in plain white hemp cloth, with a white band tied around his head.
His fair skin, already pale, took on an almost startling radiance against the stark white fabric—strikingly beautiful, even haunting.
The flickering flames from the treasure basin cast shifting light over him, making his beauty seem almost unreal.
At that moment, he was carefully wiping down the coffin, still immersed in grief over his mother’s death. His brows carried a trace of loneliness and melancholy, revealing a fragile vulnerability.
…Like a delicate young widow who had just lost her husband.
Miao Linyuan suddenly felt his teeth itch. He pressed his tongue against the candy in his mouth, then abruptly bit down, shattering it with a crisp snap.
The sound drew Ruan Qing’s attention.
Seeing Ruan Qing glance over, Miao Linyuan threw him a flirtatious wink.
Furious, Ruan Qing nearly hurled the cleaning rag at his face—but this was his mother’s funeral hall. Swallowing his anger, he settled for a glare.
Yet even his glare was captivating, carrying an unintentionally alluring charm.
Miao Linyuan’s throat moved slightly, his eyes darkening. He unwrapped another candy.
But this time, instead of popping it into his own mouth, he appeared beside Ruan Qing in an instant.
Ruan Qing had been wary of him, even keeping a cautious distance—but he hadn’t expected Miao Linyuan’s speed to be so terrifying, as if he had teleported.
Reacting swiftly, Ruan Qing turned his head away when Miao Linyuan tried to feed him the candy. But Miao Linyuan gripped his chin, forcing it into his mouth.
Against overwhelming strength, resistance was futile.
Ruan Qing’s eyes widened, pupils shrinking. He instinctively tried to spit it out—but it was too late.
The substance seemed to melt instantly, sliding down his throat.
Miao Linyuan didn’t give him a chance to expel it. As soon as it was in, he clamped a hand over Ruan Qing’s mouth, tilting his head back forcefully.
Ruan Qing struggled, but Miao Linyuan’s grip was unshakable. The effort only made his beautiful eyes glisten with unshed tears.
It… went down.
