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The two dangerous men glared at each other coldly, the atmosphere so tense it felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees. The silence was so absolute you could hear a pin drop.
Miao Li was still Miao Li, but the elegant, gentle demeanor of a noble young master had completely vanished. His eyes were dark with barely suppressed violence—a murderous intent that wished nothing more than to crush his opponent into pieces.
Only when his gaze landed on the hostage in Mu Ye’an’s arms did that terrifying aura ease slightly.
The players never expected things to escalate like this. They had now directly provoked this terrifying man.
Kidnapping his fiancé was nothing short of a blatant challenge. Few men would let such an insult slide—unless they didn’t care about their fiancé at all, unless there was no love between them.
But the problem was… no one could help loving the village chief’s son.
It was as if he carried some kind of enchantment. Even knowing he was unfaithful, even knowing it was like a moth flying into a flame, resisting the pull of his charm was nearly impossible.
If even players who lived on the edge of life and death couldn’t help but soften toward him, how could an NPC from this world resist?
This was a dead end. And they didn’t even have time to hide or escape.
The players stood stiffly to the side, faces frozen in visible terror, bodies trembling uncontrollably. They instinctively retreated a few steps, desperate to distance themselves from Mu Ye’an.
Mu Ye’an had the strength to face this man head-on. They did not.
No wind could penetrate the dark corner they were in—and even if it could, it wouldn’t dispel the suffocating tension.
Ruan Qing’s delicate face was filled with fear and unease. He remained rigid against Mu Ye’an’s chest, his head tilted back and pressed tightly into the man’s embrace.
Mu Ye’an was even taller than Fang Qingyuan—close to 6’3", nearly a full head taller than Ruan Qing.
Because of the angle, Ruan Qing’s hair had slipped slightly loose. In a place no one could see, a few strands had fallen against Mu Ye’an’s neck, even slipping past the tightly buttoned collar of his shirt to brush against his skin.
Even though the owner of that hair didn’t dare move a muscle, the sensation against his skin was… unsettling.
Mu Ye’an’s lips thinned, his expression growing even colder. He pressed the blade a fraction closer, a silent warning for the man in front of him not to make any reckless moves.
Ruan Qing was forced to arch his neck back further, his body now completely flush against Mu Ye’an. More strands of hair spilled free, the back of his head nearly resting against Mu Ye’an’s throat.
Ruan Qing wasn’t exactly short, but against Mu Ye’an’s towering frame, he looked delicate and slender—almost as if he were completely enveloped in the man’s arms.
This was not an innocent distance, nor one an ordinary person would accept—but no one present gave it much thought, assuming Mu Ye’an was simply preventing the man from suddenly snatching Ruan Qing away.
The boy was their lifeline. They couldn’t afford to give the man even the slightest opportunity.
Ruan Qing’s lip was already bitten raw, a trace of blood seeping out, the skin slightly swollen—proof of just how terrified he was. Paired with his pale face and frightened eyes, it was impossible not to feel a pang of sympathy.
The players noticed it too, but their expressions weren’t sympathetic—just slightly odd.
Because the blood and teeth marks perfectly masked the earlier redness and swelling. No matter how you looked at it, it no longer resembled the aftermath of a kiss, nor would it invite any misunderstanding.
Miao Li had long since stopped moving. His gaze was dark and terrifying, sending a chill of fear through the players, making them shiver involuntarily.
The way he looked at them was like he was staring at dead men.
"What do you want?"
Mu Ye’an didn’t seem intimidated by Miao Li’s glare. His voice was icy as he demanded, "Tell me how to leave Miao Village."
Miao Li acted as though he didn’t care if others knew. He answered without hesitation or reservation.
"All the gu worms in Miao Village must die."
The players froze. They hadn’t expected him to actually answer—let alone so easily.
But no one was celebrating, because this answer was practically impossible to achieve.
Miao Village was covered in farmland, and the fields teemed with countless gu worms. A single plot alone could hold tens of thousands of them, let alone the entire village.
Even the woods where they had gotten lost earlier were crawling with gu worms.
Exterminating all of them? That was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Mu Ye’an frowned. "Is that the only way?"
Miao Li’s tone was frigid. "That’s the only way."
The players exchanged uneasy glances. This so-called "solution" was effectively impossible—there was no way they could kill every last gu insect.
It seemed their only option left was to survive for seven days and clear the dungeon that way.
The woods were infested with gu worms, impossible to guard against completely—but within Miao Village itself, they were rarely seen outside the farmland.
It was as if all the gu worms had gathered in the farmland, and unlike the aggressive ones in the forest, none would crawl out even if someone walked along the ridges.
Under these circumstances, surviving seven days might not be all that difficult.
Yet, the players couldn’t shake off a vague sense of unease. A high-level dungeon shouldn’t be this straightforward—and it was completely different from what they had initially expected.
They had assumed the dungeon would be closely tied to the village chief’s household, but ever since entering the village, the only danger had come from the gu worms, with no apparent connection to the chief’s family at all.
Even the method of leaving Miao Village had nothing to do with the chief’s house.
Was that single working phone call just a lure to draw them into Miao Village?
But their entry into the village had no connection to the chief’s son either, making it impossible to link him to the dungeon.
Strange. Too strange.
On the surface, this dungeon seemed straightforward, yet the players were more confused than ever, as if they were missing some crucial clue.
Ruan Qing stood frozen in place, the cold blade against his neck making his lashes tremble slightly. His silky black hair spilled loose, fully revealing the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye—along with his slender, vulnerable neck.
Dangerous things held a peculiar allure, and the thrill of death could sometimes be intoxicating. The gleaming silver knife pressed against Ruan Qing’s fair, delicate skin created a stark contrast, striking enough to captivate the gaze.
Like a dying swan—fragile and beautiful, tempting one to leave marks upon it.
Marks of a darker, more depraved nature.
Mu Ye’an didn’t seem to notice how enticing the person in his arms was. He maintained his hold, his expression indifferent as he stared at Miao Li. "What are the gu worms afraid of?"
Miao Li’s eyes remained fixed on the blade at Ruan Qing’s throat, his gaze seething with something thick and unreadable—yet he had no choice but to suppress it.
"Different gu fear different things. Some fear water, others fear fire. It depends on their nature."
If their weaknesses varied, completely eradicating them would be even harder.
With his question seemingly answered, Mu Ye’an fell silent again, and the standoff resumed.
After hesitating for a long while under the oppressive atmosphere, the short-haired girl finally mustered her courage and spoke in a small voice, "...Were the villagers of Miao Village always here from the beginning?"
The moment she spoke, Miao Li’s cold, ruthless gaze swept over her, his hostility undisguised.
Clearly, in the man's eyes, they were all accomplices—whether they asked or not, the outcome would be the same.
That’s why the short-haired girl had dared to speak up in the first place.
But even mentally prepared, she still felt her legs weaken under his gaze, nearly buckling to the ground. Trembling, she instinctively stammered out an explanation.
"I—I noticed the villagers' features vary a lot... They don’t look like they’re from the same place."
"No." Miao Li withdrew his dark stare but kept his eyes fixed on the blade pressed against Ruan Qing’s throat. "Living blood agitates the gu worms, drawing them into the body."
"If you can suppress them, you form a symbiotic bond with the gu—and become one of Miao Village’s people."
The players weren’t entirely surprised by this answer. After seeing the villagers, they’d already begun to suspect as much.
The villagers clearly didn’t look like they came from the same region. This place only took people in—never let them leave. Either the gu parasites would infest and kill their hosts, or the hosts would achieve symbiosis and become villagers.
The short-haired girl, seemingly shaken, murmured, "After symbiosis... are they still even considered alive?"
She had meant it as a whisper to herself, but Miao Li took it as a question and answered coldly:
"They’re no longer human."
The players’ hearts dropped. They caught the implication in his words.
Not that they weren’t living—but that they weren’t human at all.
Then what were they? Gu?
They swallowed hard, hands trembling at the horrifying possibility. Did "eliminating all gu worms" include... the entire village?
Soon, they got their answer.
The short-haired player’s eyes widened, and she blurted out urgently, "After symbiosis... do they become gu?"
Miao Li: "Yes."
Miao Li was surprisingly cooperative, answering every question without evasion—though whether his words were truthful was another matter.
Encouraged by the short-haired girl’s lead, the other players mustered their courage and began asking their own questions.
They’d already angered this dangerous man—might as well get as many useful clues as possible.
The medicinal herbs in Miao Village were used to suppress the gu worms. All gu had periods of agitation, and when that time came, the herbs had to be planted to pacify them.
Otherwise, the agitated gu worms will swarm out in full force and devour the entire Miao Village in an instant.
This is precisely why, apart from the farmland, there are virtually no other gu worms left in the village.
As for why no one can leave Miao Village—it’s because of the mist surrounding it. That mist exists to keep the gu worms contained, but it also traps everyone else inside.
Even with the medicinal herbs suppressing them, the danger is never truly gone. Gu worms in their agitated state are easily provoked by the slightest temptation—a drop of blood, a whiff of living human scent—and any of these could rouse them.
With every question, the players grew more horrified—not just by the dangers of this dungeon, but by how much this man knew.
He seemed to understand every minute detail of Miao Village, answering every question without hesitation. It was the first time the players had ever obtained dungeon clues so effortlessly.
But would an ordinary NPC really know this much?
From what they knew, the only one who could possess such comprehensive knowledge of a dungeon was… the dungeon’s boss.
Their hearts nearly stopped. The bespectacled male player stared at the man in terror and demanded, "Who the hell are you!?"
This time, Miao Li didn’t answer. Instead, he cast a cold, eerily calm glance at the bespectacled player.
That look alone sent the man collapsing to the ground, his face deathly pale and frozen in shock. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out—only pure, unadulterated fear in his eyes.
There had been no killing intent in that gaze, no overwhelming pressure, yet it sent an icy chill straight to the bone, sapping all will to resist. His body went weak, as though he had just glimpsed something unspeakably horrifying.
As though he had just stared death in the face.
This man… was terrifying.
Seeing that the man wasn’t going to answer, the players realized the question had angered him. Their faces paled, and they instinctively backed away further.
They had learned enough. Asking more would be pointless—and they didn’t dare push further, afraid of provoking him even more.
Mu Ye’an tightened his grip on Ruan Qing and began retreating. Miao Li wanted to pursue, but the blade pressing closer to Ruan Qing’s throat forced him to halt.
The players knew that if they released the boy now, the man would kill them without hesitation. Their only chance of survival was to keep the boy as a hostage and escape his sight.
Miao Li understood exactly what they were thinking. But as he watched the boy being taken away, a dark, violent storm brewed in his eyes, thick with murderous intent.
"If even a single hair on his head is harmed," he said, his voice dripping with menace, "I will make you beg for death."
The players shuddered at the man's eerie, chilling words and instinctively quickened their pace, not daring to relax until they had completely disappeared from his sight.
The short-haired girl gasped for breath, her body drenched in cold sweat from terror, her face still pale with lingering fear. She looked utterly disheveled.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she glanced at the ashen-faced boy beside her. "What about him?"
Mu Ye'an spun his knife deftly in his hand, the blade tracing cruel, gleaming arcs in the air—dangerous yet mesmerizing.
With a cold, indifferent glance at the trembling boy, he spoke as if discussing nothing more than the weather:
"Kill him."
