Chapter Index

He sat in a wooden wheelchair; his body was far thinner than that of ordinary people; his face was also pale; but his eyelashes were black, creating a kind of frighteningly colorful contrast.

 

The hand holding the stone tablet loosened its grip; he relaxed into the wheelchair, then slightly raised his head, looking at the person in front of him.

 

Kou Dong was still a child in size, so even if he was standing, he wasn’t much taller than he was while sitting. The young man was staring at him with a deep concentration that sent shivers down his spine, and then he suddenly said, “Come forward.”

 

Before Kou Dong could react, the big-headed doll behind him shivered and gently pushed him forward.

 

“This is the new one,” he timidly explained to the teenager. “He just came… two days ago.”

 

The words were more of a statement, as if trying to get away with it. The teenager glanced at him, his voice faint, making them unable to tell if he was angry or happy. “Since he came here, you couldn’t see it either?”

 

 

When the Big Headed Doll heard this, his facial expression became even more shocked, and he fell to his knees with a plop. He swallowed his saliva and hurriedly said, “He is older. He’s older than three or four years old.”

 

The young man let out a laugh and didn’t respond; he only took his hand and gently rubbed the side of the child’s face.

 

 

From his chin to his cheeks. Every part of his hand was rubbed very gently, and very delicately, and finally his palm moved upwards, slowly covering Kou Dong’s eyes.

 

 

His hand wasn’t warm, causing Kou Dong to shiver slightly.

 

 

The Beauty Snake quietly called out, ”Sir,” but he also seemed hesitant. The young man was obviously young, but their call was extremely smooth; they weren’t reluctant, but rather, they seemed to be used to it.

 

 

“Sir, he is not that old… Moreover, he was just brought in; he has a father and mother.”

 

 

He didn’t say the remaining half, ‘so he definitely wasn’t the person the boy in front of him was looking for’. In his view, the young man seemed more like he had gone crazy during the search, and now that he saw someone with similar eyebrows and eyes, he accepted it.

 

The smile of the person in front of him grew deeper. He didn’t turn his head to look at the beauty snake; he only asked, “Do you think I’m crazy?”

 

 

The Beauty Snake immediately lowered his head and said in a low voice, “I don’t dare.”

 

 

“There is nothing to be concerned about.” The young man said, then he asked Kou Dong, “What is your name?”

 

 

Before Kou Dong could answer, he answered, “Wrong. You should naturally be called Nui Nui.”

 

 

“Nui Nui…”

 

 

He pressed his palm closer to the boy, feeling his warm and delicate flesh, and finally, the corner of his lips slowly hooked up into a smile.

 

 

“Okay,” he whispered, “that’s great.”

 

 

Xiao Yu looked left and right again; this was already very unbelievable. After a while, she whispered, “Do you know each other?”

 

 

Kou Dong didn’t care about her doubts and only gazed at the NPC in front of him in the same way.

 

 

This person–

 

 

He had a strong intuition that practically screamed at the back of his mind, telling him that this was Xiao Shuanzhi.

 

 

Then the question came: if this was Xiao Shuanzhi, how could he take him along to escape from Taoyuan Town?

 

 

His gaze slowly slid down, finally landing on the other party’s non-existent legs: “…”

 

Was it possible to carry someone in a wheelchair and run?

 

 

Wouldn’t that be too exciting?

 

The teenager also noticed his gaze but didn’t care; he just calmly said, “I scared my Niu Niu.”

 

 

His two pants legs were empty.

 

 

“Don’t be afraid,” the young man said, gently patting his arm. “If you are afraid, I’ll let them have it.”

 

Kou Dong: “…”

 

Big brother, what you’re saying is a bit scary. It’s just about installing a prosthetic limb. Why use that posture, as if you want to saw off a living person’s legs and put it on?

 

 

He endured this feeling of panic and barely followed the way they addressed him: “Sir?”

 

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

 

“I have two more friends,” Kou Dong whispered. “We said we’d meet later, and we have to go back by wagon. I’m afraid they’ll be in a hurry.”

 

 

The teenager loosened his grip slightly and asked, “Hong Xiao?”

 

 

The beauty snake shook its pointed tail and answered.

 

 

“Bring the rest of them,” the teenager said, leaning down. “I’ll meet them too.”

 

 

He had no intention of letting Kou Dong go.

 

 

A few minutes later, Kou Dong saw familiar-looking figures walk in through the doorway. Ah Xue and Song Hong had been collecting money at the door and were suddenly called over, so they were still a bit bewildered and didn’t know what was going on. When they saw the young man sitting in the wheelchair in front of them and Kou Dong, who was being held by him, they were even more confused.

 

 

Who was this?

 

 

Where did this NPC come from?

 

 

Their expressions weren’t hidden, and they were seen by the teenager in front of them. The young man didn’t care and only said, “Are you Nui Nui’s friends?”

 

 

Song Hong: “…”

 

Ah Xue: “…”

 

 

What daughter?

 

[TN: Niu Niu means daughter]

 

What kind of plot was this?

 

 

The little girl was quick-witted and glanced at Kou Dong. She had a vague guess in her heart and lowered her head as she said yes. The teenager re-surveyed them, but in fact, he didn’t give them a proper look; it was just a rough head-to-toe sweep.

 

 

“Then stay,” he said faintly, “no need to go over there.”

 

 

The Beauty Snake nodded but still showed some hesitation. “Sir, but those beasts there…”

 

 

“Just three,” the young man’s look was a little impatient. “Tell them that the others don’t matter; just these three—I want to keep them.”

 

 

The beauty snake replied, “Yes.”

 

 

Then he closed his mouth and stopped talking.

 

 

Kou Dong’s mind was spinning with many thoughts, but because of the many ghosts and people in front of him, it wasn’t easy to say anything.

 

 

“Let’s go,” the young man said to him. “I kept a room for you. Go and see if you like it.”

 

 

The Beauty Snake clapped his hands, and the crowd dispersed like birds. Song Hong stood in place for a while, hesitant to follow, but was pulled by the Big Headed Doll.

 

 

With these two, his attitude wasn’t as cordial as with Kou Dong, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

 

 

“What?”

 

 

Song Hong was shocked and quickly explained, “The three of us are together; I am a little worried.”

 

 

“No need to worry.”

 

 

The big-headed doll’s head roughly blocked his vision and he sternly said, “Don’t make Sir Angry; go, go!”

 

 

Song Hong had no choice but to take one step forward and three steps back, and was driven out by the NPC. When he reached the door, he still couldn’t help but look back in the end, only to see the wheelchair-bound teenager tightly pulling Kou Dong’s hand, slowly leading him towards the depths of that white mist.

 

 

What in the world was this situation?

 

 

He asked the little girl in a low voice, “What do you think? Isn’t this matter too unusual?”

 

 

At least to Song Hong, it was truly unheard of. He knew that this game particularly favored Kou Dong, but he never expected him to be so favored.

 

 

It was as if Kou Dong wasn’t a player; it was like he had been written into the copy plot.

 

 

It was like he was the boss’s white moonlight who was taking advantage of the advanced plot.

 

[TN: White Moonlight — First Love]

 

The little girl sat down on the steps in front of the vermilion door, but she was calmer than him. “It’s normal.”

 

 

Song Hong: “How is it normal?”

 

 

He was concerned about the rules, but he didn’t dare mention the game; he just pointed to the sky and said, “It’s like a malfunction.”

 

 

The little girl said, “It isn’t normal, but when it happens to him, it is normal.”

 

 

She paused before saying, “We talked about this before.”

 

 

The two of them were different from Kou Dong. Kou Dong and them were only acquainted in the game and didn’t actually know each other; Song Hong and Ah Xue, however, had known each other in reality, and both knew each other’s family situation and real identities perfectly well.

 

After coming out of the copy of Siren, when they got together to review the plot, they talked the special nature of the youth.

 

 

It was just that the specialness at that time wasn’t as eye-catching as the situation in front of him; then, it was more like the NPCs were paying extra attention to him. At that time, Song Hong thought that it was because Kou Dong’s actions were so unexpected that they attracted extra attention.

 

 

But this time, it wasn’t even extra attention; it was simply blatant favoritism—there was even a subplot related to him.

 

 

This game had no intention of concealing its favoritism and directly went around with the word “favoritism” written on it.

 

 

Song Hong sighed softly.

 

 

“To put it this way, it’s really enviable,” he said in a low voice. “Even if something really goes wrong, they won’t lay their hands on him.”

 

Ah Xue, however, said, “Can it really be considered a good thing?”

 

After a pause, she added, “Being dragged in by a mermaid into a nest who wants to make him lay eggs for him day and night—can that be considered a good thing?”

 

 

Song Hong shivered slightly as he remembered it.

 

 

“Of course it doesn’t count.” The straight man replied from the bottom of his heart, “In that case, it’s better to die.”

 

 

Ah Xue said, “I think it’s quite necessary, so that you guys know how hard it is for a woman to give birth to a child.”

 

 

Song Hong’s chest was hit by an arrow, and he helplessly responded, “There is no need to fire a cannon right now. Not all men are cancerous straight men, okay?”

 

[TN: Cancerous straight men is a derogatory term used to describe men who are stubbornly supportive of traditional gender roles and therefore considered sexist and chauvinistic.]

 

 

He thought carefully and frowned again.

 

 

“But it’s also strange to say so,” he whispered, pulling the topic back to business. “They love him yet they want to torture him.”

 

 

That was too big a difference in attitude.

 

 

The little girl lowered her legs, not saying anything about what she had read earlier about “the youth,” as he had been called on the forum.

 

 

If it was really like what she thought…

 

 

She was afraid that the youth was more than just the key to unlocking a few copies.

 

 

He was the key to unlocking the entire mystery of the game “The Undead.”.

 

 

The key himself followed the wheelchair-bound NPC and was taken all the way inward. It was then that he realized that the room that he had thought only held an altar was actually quite deep and that there was another door at the end that led to a new room.

 

 

There was no one in this room, but there was no dust to be seen; it had been cleaned. It was full of furniture, and there was something on the table that was golden and dazzling.

 

 

The beauty snake followed them in and said to Kou Dong, “These are all good yellow currant willows.”

 

 

His tail gestured towards the table.

 

 

Kou Dong touched it; the wood was delicate and also had a light fragrance.

 

 

“Those on the table were previously prepared for you by Sir,” the beauty snake said to him in a respectful tone. “Every year, Sir buys a cart of toys.”

 

 

Kou Dong finally saw clearly that there were some things on the table. The tambourine, the exquisitely crafted rabbit lantern, and the grasshopper were cleverly crafted. There were also many gold and jade ornaments, dressed in gold and painted with colors; dragons and phoenixes were carved on them, which revealed their extraordinary value at a glance.

 

 

He didn’t know where they came from, but they filled up a table.

 

 

“And this,” the beauty snake said. “Sir said you like to collect stones.”

 

 

Oddly-shaped stones in a delicate box.

 

 

The young man, however, reached out and knocked the box over at once.

 

 

Kou Dong: “…???”

 

 

He looked at the other party in a very incomprehensible manner. How could he drop something at the drop of a hat?

 

 

The young man in the wheelchair said, “Throw it away.”

 

 

He faintly said, “Nui Nui’s eyes used to light up when he saw these; now, he doesn’t like them anymore.”

 

 

Kou Dong secretly marveled at his perceptiveness and glanced at his cub; both of them became a little more wary.

 

 

He easily responded, “I just grew up.”

 

 

It was normal to grow up and not love the things you loved as a child.

 

 

The youngster nodded and didn’t look like he cared. “No harm done. What do you like? Let them buy it again.”

 

 

Kou Dong suddenly had an illusion; it was like he was adopted by the overbearing president.

 

 

The teenager seemed to be very tired, and after talking to him, he swung his wheelchair out. Kou Dong was alone in the room, so he took the opportunity to try to ask the beauty snake something, but the other party just shook his head. It took a while before he said anything: “Even if he recognized the wrong person, he won’t care.”

 

 

Kou Dong said, “Why?”

 

 

The Beauty Snake responded, “People and ghosts are the same; they all rely on a thought. If the thought is gone, it is meaningless.”

 

 

After he finished this sentence, he sighed softly and sang the two most widely known lines in the Peony Pavilion: “I don’t know what started my love, but it goes deeper and deeper.”.

 

That night, Kou Dong was unable to go back. There weren’t many people looking for them, so it seemed that the kid-nappers had tacitly accepted the fact that the circus had detained some people.

 

 

The more Kou Dong and Ye Yanzhi discussed it, the more they found it odd.

 

 

The circus was supposed to be owned by the kid-nappers, but now it seemed that the kid-nappers living in this house were not in charge of anything; Xiao Shuanzhi was actually the one in charge.

 

 

Even if Xiao Shuanzi had a deep hatred, he should be targeting the kid-nappers. How could he still help the kid-nappers torture these children?

 

 

And he also made them into inhuman monsters?

 

 

He thought this meant that the circus and the kid-nappers were also a group. But when the beauty snake spoke that day and referred to them, he seemed very disgusted and called them beasts.

 

 

This wasn’t a good name.

 

 

Ye Yanzhi was silent for a while and said, “They should hate the abductors.”

 

 

Kou Dong nodded in agreement.

 

 

“That should be the case according to reason. But the fact that they haven’t made a move means that there is something they are afraid of at the abductor’s place.”

 

 

“What is it?”

 

 

He thought carefully. These members of the circus had become ghosts. The only things that made them scorn, fear, and dare not lay their hands on…

 

 

He suddenly shuddered, snapped out of it, and blurted out, “It’s skeletons!”

 

 

Ye Yanzhi was also stunned.

 

 

“It should be skeletons!” Kou Dong said, “Think about it; what else can ghosts fear? Aside from the gods and Buddhas, all that’s left are their bones—that’s their handle.”

 

 

“We didn’t see anything related to gods and Buddhas over there or over here. And those kidnappers’ actions are not humane, so it’s unlikely that they would be blessed by gods and Buddhas.”

 

 

“Then it can only be the skeletons. They were originally in the circus, and the abductors must have been the ones to dispose of the bodies after they died. It’s just that I don’t know the reason why they didn’t enter the underworld after death, but instead turned into ghosts and remained in this circus—wanting to take revenge but unable to do so, but the abductors are still afraid of them and don’t dare to refuse their request!”

 

 

The more he spoke, the clearer his thoughts became, and he snapped his hands together.

 

 

“In that case, by stealing their skeletons, they can have their revenge!”

 

 

The villain sat on his shoulder and nodded quite seriously. “Makes sense.”

 

 

There was just one faulty point.

 

 

These members of the circus could still seek revenge on the abductors.

 

 

Who should the children who were made into monsters by these members seek revenge from?

 

 

This thought made Ye Yanzhi’s eyes darken a bit. However, he didn’t say anything to Kou Dong about such worries.

 

 

Kou Dong said, “Then next, we have to first verify if there are really skeletons.”

 

 

He told the other two about his suspicions, and Song Hong and Ah Xue were both shocked. Without delay, the three of them discussed it and decided to go and look for it first.

 

 

But just as Kou Dong walked towards the door, the strong gatekeeper blocked his way and asked in a rough voice, “Young master, where are you going?”

 

 

Kou Dong: “I have something important to go out and do.”

 

 

As he spoke, he attempted to crawl under the other person’s arm. Unfortunately, the gatekeeper was agile and held him in one hand, then lifted him back and put him back inside the door, as if carrying a thin and weak chicken cub. He said gloomily, “If you have anything to do, you can instruct someone to do it as you please. You don’t need to go out in person.”

 

 

Kou Dong stared at him.

 

 

“I really can’t go out?”

 

 

Gatekeeper: “No.”

 

 

Kou Dong: “…”

 

 

He was like a young master without any personal freedom.

 

 

It made his heart feel stuffy.

 

 

Song Hong and Ah Xue stood outside the door, both looking at him. Song Hong said, “What should we do? Why don’t we both go there first?”

 

 

He actually preferred Kou Dong to go along. With him there, at least the circus people would pay attention, and it would be a kind of protection for all three of them.

 

 

If just the two of them went and were found out, they wouldn’t be able to do any good, and they might even draw another round of wooden sticks.

 

 

But …

 

He looked at Kou Dong, looking hesitant. Kou Dong also thought of this and said, “No, I have to go.”

 

 

Song Hong looked at him speechlessly: “…”

 

 

How could he leave?

 

 

Kou Dong thought for a while, stomped his foot, and asked the gatekeeper again, “Will you let me go out?”

 

 

The gatekeeper didn’t answer this time; he only put his arm heavily in the air. His attitude was clear.

 

 

Kou Dong sighed. “Okay.”

 

 

When he said that, they thought he was going to give up. How did they know that his next sentence would be followed by, “Then I’ll cry?”

 

 

Everyone present: “…?”

 

 

Crying?

 

 

Kou Dong stretched out his hand and pinched himself vigorously. He was still in a child’s body at this time, and his skin was exceptionally tender; a pinch quickly left a startling red mark. Soon, his eyes accumulated tears, and he huffed and puffed pitifully.

 

 

“Woo …” Kou Dong raised his voice and cried in a shocking manner, “Woohoo wow wow wow, he won’t let me go out wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow!”

 

Gatekeeper︰”…”

 

 

Song Hong and Ah Xue: “…”

 

 

Ye Yanzhi: “…”

 

 

What kind of operation was this? Could he be so pampered by the NPCs?

 

 

Ye Yanzhi didn’t go through the first copy, so he didn’t know that Kou Dong actually could play this way. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be shocked or stunned; he was dumbfounded and couldn’t react. But Kou Dong didn’t have any psychological burdens. For one thing, why couldn’t he cry?

 

 

Secondly, he was still a child. What was wrong with a kid crying? It was normal! It was strange if he didn’t cry, right?

 

 

When you can’t solve things on your own, then you have to cry to your parents. Such a thick golden thigh was in front of him; how could he not hug it?

 

[TN: Golden thigh — a powerful protector]

 

Kou Dong thought of this and cried even louder. With this voice, he successfully called out everyone in the group, with the beauty snake and the big-headed doll at the front, and the human bear and the vase person behind… A great number of voices asked what was wrong in unison. Kou Dong only shook his head and remained silent until he heard the sound of the wheelchair. The people standing in front dispersed to make room for this person, and then he suddenly pounced forward, feeling aggrieved and lying on the armrest of the wheelchair.

 

 

If he had to embrace a thigh, of course he had to embrace the one with the highest gold content.

 

 

Kou Dong knew this well; he opened his mouth and said, “Sir…”.

 

 

He only called out in a small voice, and then he seemed to be aggrieved, not saying anything else. He only buried his face in the handrail of the wheelchair.

 

 

The teenager frowned slightly, his fingers lifting his chin and staring at him closely.

 

 

“You’re crying.”

 

 

His voice sounded weepy, making the gatekeeper startled. His legs and feet were already weak, and he suddenly knelt down on the ground.

 

 

The young man asked, “What’s going on?”

 

 

Kou Dong didn’t say anything for a while, and only when asked again did he whisper, “Sir, you let me stay here; is it to lock me up?”

 

 

The young man’s jaw clenched. Only after a long time did he faintly say, “Why do you ask?”

 

 

Kou Dong said in a low voice, “He refused to let me go out.”

 

 

He lifted his face up. The child’s face was full and flawless, his eyes were black and round, and he seemed to have been kneaded out of soft and gentle dough. It almost seemed like one poke would create a small pit. “Can’t I… go out?”

 

 

This glance caused Song Hong to be subconsciously tense.

 

 

The teenager’s fingers tightened a bit and he asked, “You want to go out?”

 

 

It was as if he saw the child, who was only tall enough to reach his knee again, pulling his hand and saying with him in a childish voice that he wanted to go out.

 

 

At that time, he didn’t stop him. He thought that he would be able to protect Niu Niu.

 

 

Later …

 

 

His eyes darkened, and his teeth clenched in anger.

 

 

Later, he realized how completely wrong he was.

 

 

From then on, he made up his mind.

 

 

He would never, and he must never…

 

Let Nui Nui leave his protection for another half-step.

 

 

For some reason, after asking this question, Kou Dong could see a look of cruelty on the face of the man in the wheelchair. The Beauty Snake sensed this and said something in a low voice.

 

 

The teenager listened and finally nodded.

 

 

“It’s okay.”

 

 

Kou Dong rejoiced in his heart. “I can go out?”

 

 

“–Can.” Then the teenager added, “But only with me.”

 

 

He glanced at the beauty snake.

 

 

Kou Dong was a bit surprised; this wasn’t quite what he thought. But on second thought, since he was going there to see the skeletons, naturally he wasn’t afraid to bring the other party along.

 

 

From this perspective, both sides should be considered comrades in the same trench.

 

 

Thinking this way, he agreed. Someone drove a carriage, carefully placing the teenager in a wheelchair on top. Kou Dong’s friends followed and lowered the curtain.

 

 

The Beauty Snake watched them move from where they were, and only after the shadow of the carriage was gone did he hear the big-headed doll beside him whisper, “How did you persuade Sir?”

 

 

They all knew exactly what the man was thinking. The Golden Chain, the White Jade Ring—after finding the child, the person never wanted to help him but to lock him.

 

 

Lock him in that room, on the bed. From then on, day and night, he wouldn’t be able to leave him, not even for half an hour.

 

 

This was how Sir was.

 

 

The Beauty Snake shook his head and slowly said, “It’s not like I said anything.”

 

 

His eyes looked at this clear sky and muttered, “I just told him that if he wanted to lock up a bird…”

 

 

“At least let it see what the sky looks like.”

 


 

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  1. Holy shit that last sentence goes so hard.
    He used the most effective weapon of a kid which is a double edged sword. Good thing he knew in front of whom to use it on otherwise he could have gotten a slap 😅

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