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Bonus chapter! Thank you to Katt for the donation! ^^
***
Miao Li walked in calmly, his expression indifferent, yet an overwhelming pressure radiated from him, suffocating everyone present as if an invisible hand were tightening around their throats.
Unlike the dangerous gu worms, this was something far more terrifying—a chilling, sinister aura that seeped into the bones.
The players were no different from the other villagers of Miao Village, their eyes wide with horror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
This man was clearly no ordinary villager.
He didn’t even seem like someone who merely coexisted with the gu.
The moment Ruan Qing saw Miao Li, his face paled. His slender frame trembled slightly, his delicate hands clenching so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his nails nearly digging into his own flesh.
Perhaps now, he understood what true fear was.
With the real fiancé alive and returned, the wedding had become unbearably awkward. The courtyard fell into dead silence, the air itself seeming to freeze.
No man could bear to see his betrothed marry another in his absence—let alone on the same day, in the same festively decorated courtyard, wearing the very wedding robes that should have been his.
Everything was exactly the same.
Except… the groom was no longer him.
A terrifying darkness churned in Miao Li’s eyes, his entire being exuding an indescribable danger as he slowly advanced toward the mourning hall.
The villagers scrambled aside in panic, some even crawling backward in fear, desperate not to block his path.
If not for their legs giving out beneath them, they might have fled the village chief’s house altogether, never to return.
But sheer terror robbed them of even the courage to run.
Though the players had no gu worms inside them, they fared no better than the villagers. The man before them was too horrifying. Sensing the unrestrained menace in his aura, they silently confirmed his identity in their hearts.
This man… was undoubtedly the boss of this dungeon.
And right now, this boss was clearly enraged. What he might do next was anyone’s guess—staying any longer could mean certain death.
Gritting their teeth against the fear, the players began inching toward the courtyard exit, eventually slipping away from the village chief’s house.
Yet before long, they returned, their faces twisted in sheer terror, their eyes wide with panic.
Gu. The outside was swarming with gu.
The swarm was so dense it nearly enveloped the entire village chief’s house, completely cutting off any chance of escape.
If not for the fact that the gu worms seemed to be wary of something—stopping just outside the courtyard—they likely would have devoured the entire place already.
But the gu worms appeared to have gone mad. Unable to approach the house, they began attacking each other, tearing into their own kind. The sight was so visceral it felt like the players’ own flesh was being gnawed on, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.
There was a very real chance they would die here today.
Perhaps because all hope of survival was lost, the players grew eerily calm, huddled in the corner as they watched the mourning hall—a scene utterly at odds with the horror of this dungeon.
Inside stood a few figures: a young man in crimson robes and several strikingly handsome men.
The players couldn’t help but admire the boy’s audacity. Not only had he cuckolded the dungeon boss, but he’d also dared to marry someone else right under his nose—it was like dancing on the edge of a blade.
And yet, against all odds, the boss still hadn’t killed him.
The short-haired woman, however, found it strange. Even from this distance, they could feel the suffocating terror, yet the boy only seemed… pale-faced?
He did look terrified, his delicate features drained of color, his slender frame trembling faintly, exuding an air of fragile vulnerability.
But the short-haired woman wasn’t fooled by appearances. Cautiously, she took a step closer—only for that oppressive aura to crash into her like a tidal wave. Her heart raced, primal fear surging uncontrollably, her legs giving way as she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Gasping for air, she clutched her chest, wide-eyed, struggling to steady herself. But the terror refused to fade.
It was the kind of fear one felt in the face of an unimaginable monstrosity—where logic no longer governed the body, where instinct screamed of mortal danger.
A fear carved into human DNA, the hardest to overcome.
This village chief’s son… was anything but ordinary.
***
Inside the mourning hall, the men stood facing each other, their gazes so chilling it rivaled the nightmare outside.
Miao Li’s eyes settled on Mu Ye’an. Then, with detached indifference, he glanced down, as if looking down on him from an unassailable height. His voice was calm, almost casual, when he spoke:
“How does my clothes fit you?”
Miao Li's tone was as casual as if he were discussing the pleasant weather, yet the underlying menace was unmistakable to anyone listening.
Mu Ye’an wasn’t in the best state at the moment—his crimson wedding robes were disheveled, even torn in several places.
Though he had only recently merged with the gu worms, he could clearly sense their fear of this man. His expression darkened, and he let out a cold laugh. "Yours? You say it’s yours, so it is?"
"Is your name written on it? Or will it answer when you call?"
In contrast to Mu Ye’an’s disheveled state, Miao Li exuded an air of refined elegance. He merely chuckled softly at Mu Ye’an’s words.
"Something dirtied by another’s touch isn’t worthy of bearing my name."
His tone was indifferent, devoid of mockery, yet every word dripped with disgust.
Ruan Qing’s face paled further, his body swaying slightly as if struck by a devastating blow.
After all, it wasn’t just the wedding robes that had been touched.
Miao Li had only been referring to the garment—no hidden meanings, no insinuations. After all, he had only been trapped in the grove for two hours.
But when he saw Ruan Qing’s ashen expression, realization seemed to dawn on him. His face darkened violently, all traces of the noble young master vanishing in an instant.
"Did he touch you?" Miao Li seized Ruan Qing’s wrist, his gentle tone sending a chill down the spine.
His grip was crushing, the pain sharp, but Ruan Qing couldn’t focus on it. Desperate to explain but lost for words, he could only shake his head.
The truth was undeniable—he had been kissed senseless, groped, even pulled into someone’s lap for far more than he wanted.
Even if they hadn’t gone all the way.
"Where did he touch you?"
Miao Li’s eyes grew darker as he stared at the trembling figure who only shook his head in silence. His fingers tightened. "Speak!"
"Ah—" A whimper escaped Ruan Qing as the pain flared, tears welling in his beautiful eyes, making him look utterly fragile.
"It doesn’t matter." Miao Li didn’t wait for an answer. He released Ruan Qing abruptly and turned to the others.
"Kill them all."
That way, no one would ever dare take what was his again.
As it turned out, everyone present shared the same thought—and Miao Linyuan was the fastest. A blade materialized in his hand, and in the next instant, he vanished from sight.
Symbiosis with gu worms was never true immortality. If a fatal wound was inflicted, death would still come.
Seeing this, the others hesitated no longer.
Though the men were each other’s enemies, driven by self-preservation, they instinctively joined forces to kill Miao Li first.
Miao Li was far stronger than them, and his natural dominance over the gu worms made him the inevitable victor—unless they united.
Yet the more they attacked, the more horrified they became. Was this man truly in symbiosis with a gu worm?
They had assumed Miao Li also shared his body with a gu worm—likely the most powerful one. But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Miao Li… might not be a gu worm host at all.
Huo Chen’an stood by without joining the fight, his eyes narrowing as he studied Miao Li’s movements. Something felt off.
Bringing his index and middle fingers together before his chest, a yellow slip of paper materialized between them, inscribed with eerie patterns.
A talisman.
In a flash, Huo Chen’an hurled it toward Miao Li—so fast it was nearly upon him in an instant.
It was a sneak attack, launched while Miao Li’s back was turned.
Yet Miao Li seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. The moment before the talisman could strike, he sidestepped, letting it whiz harmlessly past.
Though it missed, the attempt confirmed Huo Chen’an’s suspicion.
That talisman targeted only vengeful ghosts. And only a vengeful ghost would sense its danger and evade it.
This man was a corporeal li gui—a ghost solidified into flesh. Something far more terrifying than even a Red-Dressed Ghost*. (T/N: A vengeful Chinese ghost—often a woman who died violently in red—now a powerful, malevolent spirit seeking revenge.)
Specialization had its advantages. Now aware of the man’s true nature and power, Huo Chen’an joined the battle in earnest.
The fight grew brutal, each combatant fighting to the death without mercy, every strike a lethal blow.
Amid the chaos and their single-minded focus, no one noticed the slender figure of the youth had already vanished from the sidelines.
Ruan Qing had been taken—snatched away by none other than Miao Ciyu, who had been missing for some time.
Outside the courtyard, gu worms swarmed thickly. Before Ruan Qing could react, Miao Ciyu clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him out. He struggled at first—until the sight of the writhing mass of worms froze him in terror, leaving him stiff and trembling in Miao Ciyu’s arms.
Every path was choked with gu worms. Yet they seemed to fear Miao Ciyu, recoiling as he approached, clearing a narrow escape route.
Miao Ciyu didn’t hesitate—he scooped up Ruan Qing and carried him out.
The short-haired girl had been watching Ruan Qing closely. Seeing him taken away, she immediately gave chase, keeping a careful distance behind the two.
Her instincts told her this dungeon’s chance of survival lay with that young man.
The other players, noticing her follow, hesitated briefly before trailing after them as well.
And so the group headed toward the northern part of Miao Village—where Miao Li’s home stood.
It was the only direction where the gu worms were sparse.
The gu worms had already gone berserk. For now, they were still relatively low-level, and Miao Ciyu could barely suppress them.
But as the worms devoured one another, breeding stronger and deadlier variants, suppression would soon become impossible.
Wherever the gu worms swarmed, they gnawed everything to nothingness—stones, plants, nothing was spared.
None of them would survive until the seventh day.
Thank you for the chapter!!
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