***
Bonus chapter! Thank you to --- for the donation! ^^
***
That man was nothing like the boy. Just his appearance screamed danger, and the players still knew nothing about Miao Village. Being exposed to his gaze would be an extremely risky move.
The man wouldn’t even allow anyone to so much as glance at the boy, let alone tolerate them cornering him by the lake.
Hearing the short-haired girl’s warning, the players startled and immediately looked in the direction the man had left. There was no sign of him.
But instinctively, they backed away, putting distance between themselves and the boy.
Fang Qingyuan didn’t care about danger. He showed no intention of retreating.
However, with the other players stepping back, the path cleared. Seizing the opportunity, Ruan Qing broke free from the encirclement and ran in the direction Miao Ciyu had gone.
Fang Qingyuan’s expression darkened, but in the end, he didn’t give chase.
This wasn’t the ideal first meeting. As the boy’s potential suitor, he could arrange a better encounter—and a more legitimate identity.
Like his… husband.
The players had been able to enter the village thanks to the scent the short-haired girl detected.
They had followed the smell of burning flames to get here, and if not for that, they might still be lost in the woods.
But now, following the scent was out of the question—it led straight toward the dangerous man.
After a moment’s thought, the players chose to head in the opposite direction.
Night in Miao Village was eerily quiet. Though the players didn’t yet understand the village’s secrets, they knew nighttime in a dungeon was the most perilous.
They had to find shelter before the sky darkened completely.
Without further delay, they hurried off in the opposite direction.
After walking for just a few minutes, the players finally saw the house.
It was a wooden structure—not too big, but not exactly small either. Yet, with no other houses around, it stood alone by the roadside, giving off an eerie vibe.
The players exchanged glances before finally deciding to knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
The bespectacled male player rapped on the door. "Hello, we're tourists visiting Miao Village. Could we stay here for the night?"
There was no response from inside, as if the house were empty.
"Hello! Is anyone there?!" He knocked again, harder this time, raising his voice.
Still, silence.
Just as the bespectacled player turned to ask the others what to do, his gaze landed on the window at the side of the house.
A figure stood there, silent, staring at him with an expressionless face—an unsettling, bone-chilling sight.
The player jolted in shock, eyes widening as he stumbled back several steps, nearly falling.
The other players followed his gaze and finally noticed the person inside.
Fang Qingyuan, however, didn’t seem frightened. Smiling, he addressed the villager behind the window, "Hello, may we stay at your place for the night?"
"We can pay."
The villager responded by yanking the window curtain shut, cutting off their view, making it clear he had no intention of entertaining them.
Unfazed, Fang Qingyuan raised his voice again, "Then could you at least tell us where the village chief’s house is?"
"I’m here as a potential match for the chief’s son."
The moment those words left his mouth, heavy footsteps thudded from inside. The door swung open.
"Match for the chief’s son?" The villager stood in the doorway, his cold, scrutinizing gaze fixed on Fang Qingyuan—uncomfortably intense.
Fang Qingyuan’s smile didn’t waver, as if oblivious to the hostility. He nodded slightly. "Yes, I came to Miao Village specifically for the blind date."
The villager’s voice was icy. "You’re too late. His wedding is tomorrow."
Fang Qingyuan’s smile stiffened. Even though he already knew, hearing it again still displeased him.
Is it the man in the lake?
He suppressed the odd look in his eyes and feigned surprise as he spoke, "Did he get together with one of the other blind date candidates? I thought I was the earliest one here."
The villager answered stiffly, "No."
"He’s with someone else?" Fang Qingyuan frowned slightly. "Parents' orders, matchmaker's words—even if he doesn’t like arranged meetings, he should at least meet the candidates before deciding."
Without waiting for the villager’s reply, Fang Qingyuan sighed helplessly. "I came all this way just for this meeting. No matter what, I should at least see him once to make things clear."
"Maybe he’ll change his mind after meeting me."
The villager stayed silent. He knew exactly why the village chief’s son had suddenly married—under the influence of the gu worm, not only would he defy his mother’s dying wish, he might even kill her with his own hands.
But as he looked at the man before him, he silently pointed the way.
Being infected with a gu worm meant being controlled and influenced, but before the parasite fully took hold, there was still a chance to break free.
Even if escape was impossible, causing trouble for that terrifying man wouldn’t be so bad.
That was why the villager gave directions—even going so far as to offer to lead the way himself, afraid the man might take a wrong turn.
The players watched the guiding villager with suspicion and wariness.
Just moments ago, he hadn’t wanted anything to do with them, yet now he was volunteering to lead them? It was beyond suspicious.
This didn’t feel like guidance—it felt like being led to their deaths. There were NPCs in dungeons who deliberately misled players to their doom.
As the players hesitated, Fang Qingyuan and Mu Ye’an followed without delay. Seeing this, the others eventually chose to go along as well.
As they walked, Fang Qingyuan chatted with the villager. "Did Auntie also agree to Miao Qing marrying someone else?"
The villager was momentarily confused by the term "Auntie." "The village chief?"
"Yeah." Fang Qingyuan nodded, spinning his words effortlessly, a hint of frustration in his tone. "Auntie told me before that she’d only agree to a marriage between me and Miao Qing. How could she suddenly let him marry someone else?"
The villager’s voice turned colder. "The village chief is dead."
"Dead?" Fang Qingyuan looked shocked. "When did she die? Wasn’t she fine before? How so sudden?"
In truth, Fang Qingyuan had no idea if she had been fine earlier, but since their group of matchmaking candidates had clearly been arranged by the village chief, it must have been while she was still alive.
The villager was visibly impatient but still answered Fang Qingyuan's question.
"Two days ago."
Fang Qingyuan was even more surprised—shocked, even. "Then her seventh-day memorial hasn’t even passed yet?!"
He was so stunned he could barely speak coherently. "How can he get married before his mother’s seventh-day memorial? This is just... just..."
He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone knew what he meant—even the villager.
The villager had been answering questions tersely, never offering an extra word, but upon hearing Fang Qingyuan’s words, he let out a cold laugh. "Yeah, getting married before the seventh-day memorial... truly inhuman."
The players didn’t know who the villager was cursing, assuming it was Miao Qing.
It really was inhuman. No matter how urgent things were, he should’ve at least waited until after his mother’s memorial.
This Miao Qing probably wasn’t a good person.
The sky grew darker, almost too dark to see the road, and the players finally arrived at the village chief’s house, led by the villager.
The chief’s house was now draped in red silk and lanterns, illuminating the entire building and its surroundings—including the man standing at the courtyard entrance.
While still far away, the villager stopped in his tracks, his face expressionless as he looked toward the courtyard.
"That’s the man Miao Qing is marrying."
Fang Qingyuan stared at the man, stunned and confused. This wasn’t the man from the lake?
The man at the courtyard entrance looked refined and dignified, every movement like that of an aristocratic young master—but he was definitely not the same man who had been kissing the youth in the lake.
Finally, Fang Qingyuan understood why that man had wanted to kill anyone who saw them kissing. He also finally grasped the meaning behind the man and the youth’s conversation.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the man before him was Miao Li—the man the youth was marrying tomorrow.
And that scene by the lake? That had been... an affair!
The players knew Miao Qing was the village chief’s son, but they didn’t realize the youth they’d just seen by the lake was Miao Qing. They had no interest in the man, giving him only a cursory glance before shifting their attention to inspecting the chief’s house for clues.
This dungeon’s mystery must be tied to the chief’s household—it might even be the core of the entire scenario.
After all, whether it was the matchmaking calls that only connected to specific people or the timing of the chief’s death, everything was just too coincidental.
The chief had died two days ago—the day before they entered the dungeon. And the seventh day after a person’s death was a significant date, one that just happened to coincide with their mission’s deadline.
This can no longer be explained away as a coincidence.
The village chief’s house is definitely connected to the entire dungeon—maybe even the key to clearing it.
The players were still some distance away from the chief’s house, so their view wasn’t clear. Just as they were about to move closer, the man standing at the courtyard entrance seemed to grow impatient and abruptly left the yard.
It looked like he was going to find someone.
But after walking only a short distance, the man stopped and turned sharply toward a specific direction—
Directly where the players were standing.
The villager who had led them there had already vanished without a trace, leaving only the players in that corner. Now, they realized the man had spotted them.
It was too late to hide. The players had no choice but to stand their ground as the man changed course and slowly walked toward them.
Only Fang Qingyuan was different. His gaze was dark and unreadable as he watched the approaching man, lost in thought.
The man drew closer. Just as he was about to reach the players, footsteps sounded from nearby. Everyone instinctively turned to look—and froze in shock the next second.
Two figures walked over, hand in hand, their posture unusually intimate.
And the players recognized them instantly—they were the same two who had been kissing in the lake earlier.
