Ita Era

Chapter 122 Evil God
The three of them went to the outer ancestral hall for breakfast. They noticed a significant decrease in the number of players, and everyone in the restaurant looked quite grave. They whispered amongst themselves, not trying to hide it. Dead bodies had been found in all the courtyards, but most didn't mention Jin Yuanbao; the deaths were just considered suspicious. In one courtyard, a die-hard Conan fan had tried various methods to solve the locked-room hanging murder case, unable to think of any other possibility besides suicide.

A guard walked into the dining room and loudly announced, "The weather is bad today. Gentlemen and ladies, please do not leave the inner courtyard unless absolutely necessary." He then left without checking whether everyone was present or not, and ignored all the questions.

Ding Shi hurriedly ate breakfast and left alone, walking quickly to the east courtyard. To get to the east courtyard, one had to pass through two arched gates. Last night, Ding Shi saw guards at the outer arched gate, and today he saw guards at the inner arched gate as well. Ding Shi tried to approach and communicate with them, but the guards replied, "Without the permission of the steward and the master, no one can disturb the madam."

Ding Shi detoured to the southwest, where two bundles of firewood were leaning against the wall. He moved one bundle aside, revealing a dog hole. Peeking inside, he saw only weeds. Wanting to get a closer look, Ding Shi suddenly saw a head appear on the other side of the hole. A man's cold eyes met Ding Shi's.

Ding Shi saw the splattered bloodstains on his face and the dried bloodstains on the weeds. Ding Shi raised his hand to greet him: "Hey, have you eaten?" Ding Shi was not afraid of him as he was 1.2 meters away from the dog hole.

The other person said, "Come in if you're not afraid of death." Then, his head left. However, Ding Shi didn't hear any footsteps and wasn't sure if he was lying in ambush outside the cave.

As Ding Shi pondered, rain began to fall from the sky, a light, cold drizzle.

Ding Shi's eyes darted around, and he asked, "Big brother, do you have an umbrella? It's raining."

Ding Shi waited for a long time: "I won't leave if you don't give me an umbrella." There was still no response from inside. Ding Shi had no choice but to stand up and leave. An oil-paper umbrella was then pushed out of the dog hole.

"Thank you." Ding Shi opened the umbrella, found no problem, and prepared to return to the bamboo courtyard.

Stepping out of the archway, Ding Shi saw a person disappear around the corner. He was puzzled. Judging from the person's attire, they were likely a player. Since players were going to the dog hole, they would inevitably take the same path as him. Why was the person ahead of him?

After walking for about a minute, the butler and two guards stopped Ding Shi: "Young Master Nineteen, this umbrella is too heavy. Let me exchange it with you."

Ding Shi smiled and replied, "No need."

The butler smiled and said, "Yes, I will."

Damn it, someone's spying on the dog hole and you're complaining? How old are you?

Ding Shi said, "Give me the money."

The butler didn't understand.

Ding Shi said, "If you want this umbrella, you have to buy it with money." He was testing the waters.

The butler shook his head: "I'm sorry, Young Master Nineteen, this umbrella is a stolen item. According to the law, you cannot use stolen goods, so please find a different umbrella for me."

The guard handed out the umbrella, while another guard's left hand was already on the stick on his back. Since it was against the law, they could take action according to the rules.

Ding Shi chuckled, "It's just an umbrella, right? I'll change it."

After exchanging umbrellas with the guard, Ding Shi asked, "May I go now?"

The butler and guards made way for them.

Ding Shi returned to the bamboo courtyard without any trouble, entered his room, ignored Zi Qing's words, and went to room two or four to look around. He went out, returned to his room to light the oil lamp, and then pushed Zi Qing out the door, causing her to stumble.

caveat!

Ding Shi's left leg was sealed, and he knelt on one knee. Zi Qing turned around and saw that his angry eyes had turned confused. But then she saw Ding Shi grit his teeth and close the door with a pained expression. Zi Qing couldn't help but think of a possibility: he must have his reasons for treating himself this way.

Dragging his left leg, Ding Shi sat down on the chair and pulled a slip of paper from inside his little leather shoe. It was a slip of paper he had obtained by turning the handle of his oil-paper umbrella. After discovering that someone was watching the dog hole, Ding Shi had carefully examined the oil-paper umbrella.

The note contained two sentences. The first sentence read: "Wang Yi must be killed before 5 a.m. on the fourth day, or everyone will die."

Wang Yi is the same person as Old Master Wang.

The second sentence: Each courtyard in the inner courtyard has a secret passage leading to the inner ancestral hall.

Dragging his left leg to the door, he pushed it open a crack but didn't see Ziqing, so he opened the door wider and made a bird-like sound: "Chirp chirp chirp!"

Hearing the sound, Niulang looked around in suspicion and saw Ding Shi. He walked over and asked, "Are you cursed?"

Ding Shi handed over the note: "This was given by Madam Wang. Spread it around."

"You..." The Cowherd saw Ding Shi lying on the ground, with a strange left leg: "Your leg? I understand." For this intelligence, Ding Shi had lost a leg, and couldn't even call the palace doctor; he could only suffer in silence. This is the story of an unsung hero.

Ding Shi nodded, turned around, and dragged his left leg to the chair. At that moment, Niulang's eyes welled up with tears.

The old man encouraged himself to kill Madam Wang and his adopted son, while the adopted son encouraged everyone to kill the old man. Both sides were lying. Since the adopted son knew about the dog hole, why didn't he crawl out? And why didn't Madam Wang crawl out?

Why did Ding Shi let people spread the note instead of the news about the gold ingot?

The essence of this instance is a treasure hunt; the fewer people there are, the more money you get, and all players are competitors. NPCs spare no effort in creating factions and using various methods to eliminate players. Due to the influence of various rumors, players have slowly forgotten their original purpose.

The information in the small copy comes from three sources. The first is the system explanation, which clearly states that everyone is going to the Wang residence to divide the property. According to Ding Shi's speculation, the main houses in each courtyard will receive a large proportion of the distribution, and there are transactions between the main houses and the old man.

The second source of information was the housekeeper's public statement, which outlined several rules, including suggestions and requirements, with almost no unnecessary details.

Obeying the laws of this dynasty means not to kill. It is believed that every dynasty had similar laws. More accurately, this regulation prevents the principal wife from being killed.

From 11 PM to 5 AM the next morning, it is recommended that you do not leave your room or stay overnight in someone else's room. This is also to protect the main house and prevent it from being killed by the concubines.

The distribution of assets will take place in the outer hall at 7:00 AM on the fourth day. The third source of information comes from various inquiries, private meetings, and other channels.

Ding Shi's opinion: The main wife player colluded with Old Master Wang, using the curse of the gold ingot to eliminate the concubines. Ding Shi's first mistake was understanding the power of the waist token, which stemmed from the fact that the second and fourth players died because they didn't wear waist tokens.

After learning about the gold ingot, Ding Shi believed that the first person the woman in the cheongsam in the main house of the bamboo courtyard killed with the curse of the gold ingot was Er Si. Therefore, the woman in the cheongsam would still boldly drink tea after seeing Er Si poisoned to death.

Ding Shi believed that Er Si died because he wasn't wearing a waist tag. Ding Shi had just gone to Er Si's room and didn't find a waist tag there. One possibility was that the waist tag was taken. Another possibility was that Er Si was wearing a waist tag when he died, but Ding Shi didn't see it. Ding Shi didn't agree with either of these possibilities. He believed that the waist tag could indeed ward off attacks from evil spirits, but the curse of the gold ingot could destroy the waist tag.

The Cowherd also took the gold ingot. He didn't die because the protective jade amulet bestowed upon him by his profession blocked the curse of the gold ingot. Therefore, the Cowherd carried the gold ingot without incident. At this moment, the paper figures appeared and attacked the Cowherd, intending to kill him for stealing the source of the infection. During his escape, the Cowherd lost the gold ingot, the curse of the gold ingot restarted, and the paper figures stopped attacking.

Ding Shi's theory has a flaw: why would the main wife also fall victim to this? Based on the situation inside the main wife's room, Ding Shi believes that the woman in the cheongsam didn't actively take the gold ingot; rather, the second son who jumped into the well gave it to her. As for whether the second son who jumped into the well was a human or a ghost, and how he forced the woman in the cheongsam to take the gold ingot, Ding Shi has no idea.

As concubines, they are inherently inferior to the principal wife. If they want to gain more benefits, they must eliminate the principal wife.

Now that the main wife of the Bamboo Courtyard is dead, Ding Shi believes that what needs to be done now is to figure out how to become the main wife himself, not to choose sides, but to unite and cooperate to eliminate Madam Wang or Old Master Wang. After all, this is a treasure hunt, not a defense of the country.

Completing missions for each faction isn't entirely meaningless; it might allow you to directly plunder the total wealth.

Twenty minutes was enough time for Ding Shi to organize his thoughts. He peeked furtively outside, but saw no one, so he slipped out of his room and went into the main room.

The main house is twice the size of the side rooms and has additional amenities: a dressing table, bookshelves, and a shrine.

The shrine was hidden away. Only after moving aside a full-length mirror that was over a meter tall could one discover a passage less than a meter wide and two meters deep, at the end of which was the shrine. Unlike ordinary shrines, this one was covered by a beaded curtain. The offering placed in front of the shrine was not livestock, but a bowl containing dried blood, with the bloodstains covering about a third of the bowl.

The most impressive thing is that there's a bloodletting tool and instructions for using it. It's similar to a modern hospital's blood-drawing tool; one end is inserted into a blood vessel, the valve is released, and the other end will bleed.

This is clearly another benefit from Ita, to prevent people from being unaware of the risks and either failing to bleed properly or dying from the process.

Ding Shi picked up Bu Qiu Ren, lifted the beaded curtain, and inside was a wild god. The term "wild god" is a very polite way of referring to a spirit; more accurately, it should be called a wild ghost or an evil god. These kinds of things can grant wishes that most gods cannot, but at a very high price.

For example, if you kneel and pray to deities or sages like Guanyin or Confucius, asking your son to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, that's clearly impossible. Many people have this wish, and if it's granted to you, how can it be granted to others? Why should it be granted to you? As the saying goes, Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs.

Since fewer people worship evil gods, their influence might be more effective. For example, if your son is only second in his class, the evil god could simply kill or make the top scholar sick. However, if your son is only capable of attending a private junior college and your goal is for him to become the top scholar, this is a level of difficulty that an evil god could not achieve through normal means.

For example, a petition might say: "Live two more years, perhaps there's a way to borrow my life." Or a petition might say: "Have a son." Perhaps someone will become a nurse and help you switch the baby, as long as you offer enough incense and other offerings, they might even help you with surrogacy.

The higher your demands, the higher the evil god's conditions will be.

The black evil god faintly emitted a red glow. Ding Shi raised Bu Qiu Ren and slapped the evil god to test it. The evil god's red glow suddenly surged and then disappeared, as if it had been seeing things. Ding Shi slapped it again, but this time it didn't react.

You definitely can't worship it; there's no such thing as a free lunch. If you don't worship it, you have to make it worship you or kill it. Obviously, Ding Shi didn't have the ability to make the evil god worship him, so he reached out, grabbed the evil god's head, grabbed it with a wad of cloth, and left.

A voice came from my mind: "You dare to do this? I am the 108th Arhat under the Buddha."

Ding Shi: "The 108 Arhats are named: Shakyamuni."

He paused for two seconds, seemingly a little embarrassed, or perhaps he went to Baidu, before continuing, "As long as you become my disciple, I'll give you a share of the profits."

Ding Shi: "Give it to me now, or I'll throw you into the cesspool."

Voice: "Haha, the Wang family doesn't have a cesspool." Are you going to flush this huge lump of me down the drain? You'll clog it up.

Ding Shi: "Two thousand dollars. I'll give you five minutes. Whether you send your followers to raise funds or to rob, I'll give you five minutes."

Voice: "Ignorant child."

Ding Shi poured kerosene on the evil god: "You mere piece of wood, dare to fight me? Hurry up and pay me, lest you accidentally set it on fire." He lit a match and took a puff of his water pipe.

Ding Shi waited a moment: "40 seconds left."

The voice quickly corrected itself: "Only 40 seconds have passed."

It seems they are sincere, but sincerity also requires ability. The voice said, "I can only give you $742.7." This is the entire wealth of the other wives.

Ding Shi: "Let them rob and cheat."

The voice then turned threatening: "Go ahead and burn it down. Losing your Bamboo Courtyard won't affect my plans much."

At Ding Shi, ignite directly.

The voice said helplessly, "You can try to negotiate."

Ding Shi said, "I'm sorry, I've already offended you. No matter how much money you offer, I can only kill you." In gangs, you'll encounter all sorts of people, including many desperate criminals. Talking about benefits with these people is a win-win situation. But once you offend them, never take chances; the best strategy is to strike first.

Years ago, Ding Shi had a girlfriend. After dating for half a month, he discovered that she was the ex-fiancée of a key member of Wang Meng's direct subordinate gang. The man had been unilaterally dumped by his girlfriend and was currently upset and causing trouble for his future in-laws. It was a very awkward situation, so Wang Meng smoothed things over by treating everyone to drinks to help them reconcile.

That night, on his superior's advice, Ding Shi eliminated the key personnel. He was in a wolf's den; he couldn't gamble on the enemy's character. Besides, while the enemy might be hesitant to harm him, his girlfriend was certain to suffer a terrible fate.

Of course, they broke up not long after, quite inexplicably. Ding went abroad and was detained by the local police. He returned to China two weeks later, and three days after his return, he tried to contact his girlfriend, only to find he couldn't reach her. He asked her best friend and, knowing she was still alive, didn't think much of it. A little over a month later, while using the restroom, he impulsively opened WeChat and found a bunch of messages, including one from his girlfriend with 1+ messages. Leaving aside the profanities, the message roughly said: "Let's break up. Let's break up! You scumbag, break up!" Blocked!

Ding Shi was puzzled. His WeChat contact name was: "I don't check WeChat, call me if you need anything." If that's the case, why give his WeChat ID to others? Because when meeting new friends, most don't want a phone number, they want a WeChat ID. He couldn't possibly explain it to everyone, could he? And even if he did explain, would the new friends remember it?
(End of this chapter)