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Before he could finish, something gripped his chin, cutting off his words—and his breath. His eyes widened. He wanted to struggle but didn’t dare, leaving him trembling, fragile, and utterly helpless.
The living and the dead were nothing alike. No matter how cold a living person was, their kiss still held warmth.
But a vengeful ghost?
There was nothing.
It was as if an intangible block of ice had entered his mouth—its coldness drilling deeper, as though it intended to invade his entire body.
From top to bottom, from the inside out.
The sensation of being completely taken over sparked uncontrollable fear and trembling.
Ruan Qing’s face was pale to the point of bloodlessness, yet his lips—violated—were red enough to seem like they could bleed. His mouth couldn’t close; a faint pink shape inside was being manipulated by some unseen force, as if it were being sucked out. Saliva he couldn’t swallow in time spilled down the corners of his lips, making the scene look obscenely erotic.
Only when Ruan Qing was nearly out of breath did the unseen entity slightly relent, granting him a brief moment to breathe.
And it was only the barest moment—because Ruan Qing could feel the cold force becoming increasingly invasive.
He tried to reach out and stop it, but touched nothing.
A vengeful ghost, when it chooses not to reveal itself, cannot be seen by the living—let alone touched.
Turning his head, Ruan Qing looked to the side with tear-brimmed eyes. In a trembling voice, filled with fear, he spoke:
“Miao Ciyu, don’t—mmph…”
But the furious ghost heard nothing. His mind was consumed by those words Ruan Qing had spoken—words that belonged to someone else.
All that remained was malice and killing intent, leaving only the instinct to take and possess.
Ruan Qing tried to struggle, but doing so only further enraged Miao Ciyu. It was completely useless.
His lashes trembled faintly. In the end, he chose to respond—to this cold kiss. Whether it was an act of comfort, or surrender, even he didn’t know.
Ruan Qing had always been the one passively kissed. This was the first time he had ever tried to respond. Though clumsy and tentative, the moment he did, the frigid aura shuddered violently—and a figure materialized behind him.
It was Miao Ciyu.
He wrapped Ruan Qing in his arms from behind—one hand clutching the boy’s slender waist, the other gripping his chin, forcing him to turn his face toward him—and kissed him with reckless abandon.
Ruan Qing’s eyes were already glazed with tears from lack of oxygen, and his lips, swollen and red from the abuse, looked as though they’d been utterly ravaged. He looked even more irresistibly tempting.
Perhaps it was Ruan Qing’s response that calmed Miao Ciyu, bringing him back to his senses. Before Ruan Qing could suffocate, he let go.
Gasping, Ruan Qing struggled to steady his breathing. He nervously pressed his swollen lips together and spoke in a soft, pained voice:
“I was just mad at you… I didn’t want you to disappear.”
Now back in control, Miao Ciyu understood what Ruan Qing meant. Even though he no longer had a human body, his emotions at that moment were stronger than ever.
It was an emotion of extreme exhilaration, as if a heart left empty for so long had finally been filled.
Ruan Qing raised his eyes to meet Miao Ciyu’s gaze, finally offering a gentle smile. "Let’s leave Miao Village together, okay?"
Miao Ciyu looked at the person before him, his voice low and rough as he answered, "Okay."
The gu worms could not leave Miao Village, but Miao Ciyu was no longer a gu now—perhaps leaving wasn’t impossible.
"Though before that, we need to deal with a little pest."
As soon as Miao Ciyu spoke, his hand made a grasping motion in the air. A red figure crashed to the ground, writhing in an attempt to escape.
But it was already too late. The figure dissipated into nothingness.
"Let’s go." Miao Ciyu took Ruan Qing’s hand, interlacing their fingers, then led the way in the direction Ruan Qing had originally been searching.
With Miao Ciyu by his side, hardly any gu worms dared approach, keeping a cautious distance behind the two.
The players, though they had the jade pendants Ruan Qing had given them, had long stopped venturing deeper. Their presence was no longer enough to lure the gu worms.
They knew fresh blood could attract them, but none of the players dared use their own. The pendants’ suppression was only moderate—they definitely couldn’t hold back gu worms that caught the scent of blood.
If the gu worms went into a frenzy, they would be dead without a doubt.
But staying put also meant certain death.
Just as the players hesitated, two figures appeared in the distance. Recognizing them, the players sighed in relief.
It was Ruan Qing and Miao Ciyu.
Miao Ciyu saw them but made no move against them, allowing the group to follow.
He wasn’t blindly trusting Ruan Qing’s words.
The village chief’s roundabout schemes to escape Miao Village proved that even vengeful ghosts couldn’t leave—unless they possessed a living person.
With Ruan Qing now among them, the players acted without restraint, slicing their palms to draw blood and provoke the gu worms into chaos.
The moment the scent of blood spread, the gu worms went mad, surging toward them, closing the distance in an instant.
But as they drew near, the gu worms sensed that terrifying presence and hesitated, giving the players a chance to flee.
Blood trailed along the path, but with the help of the guiding worms, the players no longer lost their way this time. They sprinted swiftly into the depths of the mist.
Yet, they still failed to escape Miao Village smoothly. Once again, someone blocked their path.
Miao Li’s gaze fell on Miao Ciyu, icy and terrifying, as if the temperature around them had plunged below freezing.
This time, Miao Ciyu was no longer afraid of Miao Li. Even if he hadn’t been a vengeful ghost as long as Miao Li had, he was at least no longer powerless to fight back.
Old grudges and new hatred collided—without another word, the two clashed.
The players could barely breathe under the oppressive weight of the two terrifying auras. Some even struggled to stay on their feet. The surrounding worms, too, trembled in fear, frantically retreating.
Even the blood no longer held any allure for them.
The only exception was Ruan Qing. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised by Miao Li’s arrival—nor by the fact that the two had started fighting.
If he hadn’t come, Miao Li wouldn’t have cared whether a mere villager defected. The original host’s mother’s plan might have succeeded.
But he had come, and Miao Li would never allow her to succeed.
Unless… someone stalled Miao Li.
Ruan Qing cast a deep glance at Miao Ciyu before turning and running into the mist without looking back. The other players, seeing this, followed.
The heart of the mist was indeed the path leading out of Miao Village.
They were already at the village’s edge—no longer in need of the worms’ guidance.
The two combatants seemed to realize Ruan Qing was trying to escape and abruptly stopped fighting, chasing in the direction he had disappeared.
When Ruan Qing sensed the chilling presence behind him, he knew they had caught on.
The exit was just ahead, its faint glow visible in the distance. Ignoring whether his body could endure it, he mustered every last ounce of strength.
Faster.
Just a little faster.
If he could reach the village’s exit, he would clear the dungeon.
The intense exertion sent sharp pains through his chest. His vision blurred, his skin grew clammy with sweat—but he didn’t stop.
He couldn’t stop.
He couldn’t afford the consequences of deceiving both of them.
But the two behind him were too fast—so fast that Ruan Qing didn’t even have time to reach the finish line. In his desperation to run, he failed to watch his footing, and his toe caught on a branch.
His body lurched forward uncontrollably. His heart stuttered, his pupils contracted, and his eyes widened as he fell face-first toward the ground.
He was so close—just one meter away from the finish line.
Yet that one meter felt like an insurmountable distance.
Feeling the two chilling presences closing in, Ruan Qing, as if resigned to despair, slowly closed his eyes.
Suddenly, a tremendous force yanked his wrist, sending him flying. He crashed hard onto the ground, rolling uncontrollably several times before finally coming to a stop.
The intense pain made his eyes well up with tears. His mind went blank, and his vision blurred, barely able to make out the sunlight filtering through the trees above, illuminating the entire dark forest.
No—it wasn’t the forest being lit up. Just a single step separated two entirely different worlds.
On one side, the woods were damp and shadowed, sunlight blocked by dense foliage, with occasional dangerous shadows flickering in the darkness. But on this side, birds sang among fragrant flowers, and the sun’s warmth seeped through the leaves, so comforting it nearly brought him to tears.
Struggling to push himself up, Ruan Qing stared blankly behind him, as if unable to process what had just happened.
[Congratulations to Player Ruan Qing for clearing the dungeon <Miao Village>.]
[Hmph.]
