The gu worm inside his body had been removed, and Ruan Qing naturally regained his memories.
He stared at the man before him, whose entire being radiated a terrifying aura, his face turning pale. His beautiful eyes flickered with unease and fear, and he even subconsciously took two steps back—only stopping when he bumped into Miao Ciyu.
Even when he was under the influence of the gu and had lost his memories, he had instinctively feared this man. Now that his memories had fully returned, that fear was even more pronounced.
But perhaps because he had been through too much—and because he himself had once been a ghost—Ruan Qing had grown stronger than before.
At the very least, he no longer needed deep hypnosis to face him.
Miao Li’s gaze swept indifferently over Ruan Qing and Miao Ciyu’s clasped hands before settling on Ruan Qing. His voice was cold as he spoke.
"Come here."
Miao Ciyu didn’t let go of Ruan Qing. Instead, he pulled him behind him, his tall frame completely blocking Miao Li’s line of sight.
A dark intensity swirled in Miao Li’s eyes. The chilling aura around him grew even heavier, dropping the temperature of the air by several degrees. His voice was so cold it sent a shiver down the spine.
"Don’t make me repeat myself."
Ruan Qing trembled at his words, his fingers shaking slightly. He pressed his pale lips together tightly before finally taking a hesitant step forward.
But before his foot could touch the ground, Miao Ciyu yanked him into his arms. In one swift motion, he threw a yellow talisman at Miao Li, then scooped Ruan Qing up and dashed northward into the woods.
Clearly, Miao Ciyu had no intention of handing Ruan Qing over.
As he had said before—if he died, he would drag Miao Qing down with him. He had never been able to stand the thought of him smiling in someone else’s embrace.
Besides, in this game, it was still unclear who would live and who would die.
Li Tianyi’s corpse was buried in the north. If he destroyed it, Miao Li would no longer be a threat.
The talisman slowed Miao Li’s movements for a few seconds—just enough time for Miao Ciyu and Ruan Qing to vanish into the forest.
Miao Li watched the direction they had fled, a faint trace of disdain and mockery flashing in his indifferent eyes. It was obvious he didn’t consider Miao Ciyu a worthy opponent.
And he had every reason to think so.
Miao Ciyu’s power came from his symbiosis with gu worms. No matter how strong the gu inside him was, it would always be vulnerable to the influence of sinister energy—something gu worms feared on an instinctual level.
Under these circumstances, Miao Ciyu stood no chance against Miao Li.
What’s more, he was still holding Ruan Qing in his arms—someone who couldn’t even harm a chicken.
Miao Ciyu clearly knew he was at a disadvantage, yet he had no intention of handing Ruan Qing over. However, he didn’t confront Miao Li head-on either. Instead, he used the trees for cover, trying to put distance between them.
But Miao Li was simply too fast. No matter what Miao Ciyu did, he couldn’t shake him off completely.
It was only a matter of time before he was caught.
Fortunately… the northern edge of the forest wasn’t far now.
Miao Li seemed to have guessed Miao Ciyu’s plan. His eyes darkened to an extreme, and he sped up, finally closing the gap and mercilessly crushing Miao Ciyu’s hope.
A direct confrontation would only end in Miao Ciyu’s death.
Yet Miao Ciyu didn’t panic. Expressionless, he set Ruan Qing down, pressed a jade pendant into his hand, then gave him a push in a certain direction.
"Go."
The push wasn’t forceful, but Ruan Qing still staggered, nearly falling. His slender, pale fingers tightened around the pendant. He glanced back at Miao Ciyu once before stumbling away in that direction—
This time, without looking back.
The pendant was the same one Miao Li had once given away, the one he had always carried close. Over time, it had absorbed a heavy yin energy, capable of suppressing ordinary gu worms to some extent.
But only ordinary ones.
The pendant wouldn’t be enough to get Ruan Qing out of Miao Village. The closer he got to the exit, the stronger the mist’s suppression of the gu worms became—meaning any that could follow him there would be exceptionally powerful.
And there was another, more pressing problem.
The gu worms’ frenzy didn’t mean they’d lost all reason. They would still instinctively avoid the mist, possibly giving up the chase halfway.
To keep them pursuing him, he’d need a constant trail of fresh blood.
But his body, weakened from years of inactivity, couldn’t handle much blood loss. Even a little would leave him dizzy, weak, and barely able to move. There was no guarantee he’d make it to the exit.
And even if he did, leaving Miao Village didn’t mean he’d clear the game. The original owner’s mother would surely seize his body the moment he stepped beyond the village’s borders.
In this instance, he clearly got the worst possible role.
As soon as Miao Li appeared, the players wanted to run—but they couldn’t. If they strayed too far from Miao Ciyu or Miao Li, they would instantly be devoured by the gu worms.
So when Miao Ciyu fled with Ruan Qing, the players also gave chase at their fastest speed.
Luckily, neither Miao Ciyu nor Miao Li had any interest in them. Even when they spotted the players, they showed no intention of attacking.
But the two moved far too quickly. No matter how hard the players pushed themselves, they couldn’t catch up.
Without those two suppressing the gu worms, the swarm surged toward the players like a tidal wave.
The worms drew closer and closer—so close that the players could almost feel the agony of being eaten alive.
Fear completely overtook the players’ eyes, their faces twisting with despair.
Just as they thought they were about to die, the gu worms slowed.
Because not far ahead in the woods, a young man was running toward them.
It was… the village chief’s son.
The gu worms slowed because of him.
Suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope, the players mustered every last ounce of strength and lunged toward the boy, barely crossing into the safe zone before the swarm could catch them.
Even the slowest player made it—though he had fallen so far behind that he had to throw himself forward, landing hard on the ground. A branch sliced open his hand.
The gu worms, which had already stopped, grew agitated again at the scent of blood, stirring restlessly.
The jade pendant on Ruan Qing was just an ordinary piece. Once the gu worms realized it couldn’t actually harm them, nothing would hold them back.
At that moment, a figure in red materialized behind Ruan Qing, floating just above him.
The restless gu worms instantly stilled, even backing away in terror—as if they had encountered Miao Li himself.
But this time, it wasn’t just the livestream audience who could see it. The players could, too.
Their eyes widened, pupils shrinking. Fear stole their voices. One player even collapsed to the ground.
"Y-you… behind you…"
A figure hovered at Ruan Qing’s back—wearing red embroidered shoes, toes pointed downward. Its clothes looked dyed in blood, its skin withered like tree bark.
What was even more terrifying was that her hand hung straight toward Ruan Qing, and the gaze she fixed on him was filled with ravenous greed, her fingers seemingly just a second away from clamping around his neck.
At first, some might have thought she was trying to help her son, but at this moment, no one would believe that anymore.
Because it was pure malice—so pure it was chilling.
Seeing the players' reactions, Ruan Qing immediately understood why. The moment "she" appeared, he had felt an icy coldness creeping up his back.
That was no illusion. There was "someone" above and behind him.
Ever since entering this dungeon, there had always been "someone."
Ruan Qing’s face had long lost all color, his slender fingers trembling uncontrollably. He clenched his hands tightly, refusing to turn and look behind him.
The unknown was terrifying, but some sights were just as horrifying to witness. Not looking might be better.
The gu worms were devouring each other. As time passed, the surviving ones would only grow stronger—strong enough that even Yin energy might not suppress them.
If they couldn’t leave Miao Village, death was their only fate.
The short-haired girl instinctively glanced at Ruan Qing. She didn’t know why, but something about him didn’t feel like an NPC from the dungeon.
At least in past dungeons, there had never been an NPC who could earn the affection of the dungeon’s boss—let alone any storyline involving love.
The boy was special, and not just in this dungeon.
It made the short-haired girl think of that one player, the one whose bounty sat at the very top of the leaderboard.
Unaware of her thoughts, Ruan Qing forced himself to ignore the cold presence behind him. After scanning his surroundings, he quickly picked a direction and ran.
The players followed close behind.
The right path wasn’t easy to find at first. Ruan Qing changed directions several times before finally locating the correct one.
As long as they followed where the gu worms grew fewer, they wouldn’t lose their way.
Ruan Qing led the players swiftly in the right direction. The closer they got to the mist, the fewer gu worms pursued them, and the harder it became to discern the correct path.
Clearly, the scent of living humans alone wasn’t enough to lure the gu worms past the mist’s suppression.
If this continued, soon there would be no gu worms left to guide them.
The only option left was to use the blood of a living person to lure the gu worms.
This method was extremely dangerous, growing more perilous the closer they got to the end. And once it began, there was no turning back.
No way to retreat.
Either they would succeed and leave Miao Village, or they would be devoured by the gu worms and die.
Ruan Qing's footsteps slowly came to a stop. He lowered his gaze and looked at his fingertips, where a small wound remained from his attempts to force out the gu worms.
However, Miao Ciyu had already bandaged it, masking even the scent of blood with some medicinal odor.
The smell of medicine seeped through the gauze—pungent, unpleasant, even slightly nauseating.
The other players didn’t pay much attention to Ruan Qing stopping, since he always paused whenever he needed to determine the direction. But this time, the pause lasted a little too long.
One by one, they turned to look at him, only to freeze the next second.
For someone who could provoke competition between the NPCs and top players in the dungeon, the young man’s appearance was naturally exceptionally beautiful. Even after fleeing for so long, he didn’t look the least bit disheveled. The way his forehead glistened with sweat, his hair clinging to his skin as he lowered his eyes, carried a fragile, disheveled kind of beauty—one that made people instinctively want to protect him.
And yet, it also stirred an inexplicable urge to torment him.
The short-haired girl was the first to snap out of it. Without thinking, she softened her voice and asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing." Ruan Qing withdrew his hand and continued walking in the right direction, never looking back again.
Just like before.
Thank you for the chapter!!
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