Ita Era

Chapter 123 Waist Token and Curse

When Niulang returned, he saw Ding Shi sitting by the well, tending a fire with a wooden stake. Niulang said, "Nineteen, I've contacted the other six courtyards. We'll have a meeting at Plum Courtyard in half an hour."

Ding raised his hand: "I understand, thank you for letting me know."

The Cowherd asked, "What are you doing?"

Ding Shi glanced down, poured another half bowl of kerosene, and said, "Slay demons and eliminate evil!"

The Cowherd looked on suspiciously: "That's all very mysterious. Half an hour, remember."

Ding Shi: "Understood." Why should he remember? He's not even participating. A department has eight staff members; three will be selected as deputy section chiefs through assessment, but Niu Lang wants everyone to roll up their sleeves.

After the last bit of ashes burned away, the system message arrived, albeit belatedly: "Destroying the evil god's statue has increased your property allocation to 10%. You can now move into the main house of the Bamboo Courtyard and gain the right to command servants. Move in?"
A 10% increase? Where does that 10% come from? If one gains it, someone else must lose it. Furthermore, during breakfast, Ding Shi knew at least a dozen players had died, but his own 0.1% didn't increase at all. Where did their quotas go after those players died?

Ding Shi chose no, saying that the servant could be paid for this.

Ding Shi stood up, feeling dizzy. His vision blurred for a moment, and he saw many stars dancing in the air. He took two steps back before regaining his balance. What happened?
Ding Shi walked towards his room, feeling distinctly tired. This was very wrong; at his age, with his body, he shouldn't be experiencing this. Perhaps it was due to lack of sleep?

He entered the room, closed the door, lay down on the bed, and then Ding Shi knew something was wrong. Because of these simple actions, he was already out of breath and could clearly hear his own breathing.

But what went wrong?

Ding Shi got out of bed, stripped naked, and did twelve high leg raises in place to check his body; it seemed okay. Ding Shi put his clothes back on and did twelve more high leg raises in place. He was exhausted, it was strenuous, he was panting, and even felt a bit weak. Ding Shi quickly stripped naked again.

Can't I wear clothes?
If they could provide a mask, that wouldn't be out of the question. Considering the risks associated with the 404 (likely a reference to a specific type of drug), Ita wouldn't possibly ask players to do that; it would rather erase that word from human memory.

Thinking rationally, Ding Shi didn't believe the Ita World would allow him to run naked. Ding Shi's gaze fell on the waist token. This waist token didn't seem like a good thing. The butler said that the waist token was mandatory. Why? The waist token could protect one from attacks by evil spirits and deities. If an evil spirit wanted to attack a player, it needed to be cursed with a gold ingot by the main wife, and the curse would destroy the waist token.

Therefore, the waist tag serves a protective function, right?

However, everything has two sides. Insurance is useful, but it costs money. Seat belts protect most of the time, but they can also jam, preventing timely escape. A six-month checkup may detect health abnormalities early, but it also exposes you to more radiation than usual. Antibiotics kill germs, but the body may develop antibiotic resistance and weaken the immune system.

Ding tried wearing only clothes and pants, took off his waist tag from his belt and put it aside, and did a set of high knees. Sure enough, the problem was with the waist tag.

Ding Shi is now confused about whether or not he should wear the waist tag when he goes out. Wearing the waist tag leaves him feeling weak, as if his energy is constantly being drained. Not wearing the waist tag, however, might mean he'll be killed by the evil spirits of the rules.

The butler only said that we must wear the waist tag, but didn't say that we would be killed by evil spirits if we didn't wear it. At present, we can only confirm that the curse of the gold ingot will indirectly kill people. It is the waist tag that is killed, not the person.

Where did I deduce something wrong? But if my deduction was wrong, how do I explain all this? If my deduction was right, I would die if I left the room, unless I stubbornly endured it with this weak body.

You can't tough it out. The waist token doesn't give your body a negative buff, but it continuously drains your vital energy. It's just that you only wore it for a short time after burning the evil god statue. If you were drained for several days, you would definitely turn into a mummy.

An idea flashed through Ding Shi's mind, so he opened the door and looked outside for a while. Just then, Zi Qing returned, and Ding Shi asked, "Have you seen Er San?"

Ziqing didn't even look at him: "No."

Ding Shi: "Come here."

Zi Qing frowned. What was he up to? Regret for not treating him well? Let's see what he's up to. Zi Qing walked up to Ding Shi: "Speak!"

Ding Shi: "Squat down."

Ziqing squatted down and looked at Ding Shi, who was sitting at the door, with eye level. Was he about to go through a wife-chasing-after-the-cremation ordeal? Actually, it wasn't impossible, but he didn't bring his friend card.

Ding Shi rarely looked at someone's face so intently. He stretched out his finger and gently rubbed under Zi Qing's left eye, frowned, pointed to the area under his own left eye, and asked, "What's the makeup you wear here called? I think it's something like...what the hell makeup, right?"

Ziqing was exasperated: "The 'aegyo sal' makeup is used to cover up eyeshadow. Basic cosmetics are provided in the restroom. Do you have a problem with that?"

Ding Shi asked, "Can you wipe it off and let me see?"

Ziqing asked suspiciously, "What are you planning to do?"
I want to see the real, innocent you. Of course, it's impossible to say that; Ding Shi isn't that kind of person. But Ding Shi has a way of solving problems: he directly makes 20 cuts, and when he sees Zi Qing about to go berserk, he makes another 30 cuts.

Ziqing glanced at the five banknotes, reached out and took them, then went back to her room. A moment later, she squatted down in front of Ding Shi again and asked, "Looking for your first love?"

Ding Shi's answer was to close the door and shut it.

Ziqing flew into a rage and kicked the wooden door twice.

My initial thought was correct; the curse might not be on the gold ingot, but rather on the waist token. The gold ingot acted more like a catalyst, activating the curse function of the waist token. This would align with the rule in the Ita world that there is no certain death: I could choose not to wear the waist token.

This idea was confirmed when I saw Ziqing without makeup. After removing her makeup, Ziqing had obvious dark circles under her eyes, meaning that her energy was being drained by the waist tag. The waist tag was no good, the butler who required everyone to wear it was even worse, and the old man was definitely no good either.

It's speculated that this old man might be planning something big, summoning everyone back to the Wang family to use the Wang family bloodline and the Taoist arts left behind by his father to... what could he be doing? Nothing more than seeking longevity or extending life. As mentioned before, such a heaven-defying idea wouldn't gain the approval or help of righteous gods, but it's hard to say about evil gods. Evil gods want to collect principal and interest; are the Wang family descendants the principal and interest?
No, not entirely. The seven main wives—plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, south, northwest, and north—should all have sided with the evil god; otherwise, they wouldn't have obtained their positions. The main wives helped the evil god use gold ingots to kill the concubines. Only when the number of concubines decreased to a certain extent, given the evil god's insatiable and untrustworthy nature, would the main wives become his targets.

As long as you don't touch the gold ingot, is there no way the evil god can do anything about it? No, there are still paper figures. The paper figures were made by Madam Wang and can harm people without relying on the power of the evil god.

Are Mrs. Wang and Mr. Wang in cahoots?

Ding Shi's mind raced, and he came up with a possibility: all of this happened a year ago. A year ago, Old Master Wang married Madam Wang. A year ago, many servants and guards died. Madam Wang only had her adopted son by her side, without any dowry maids or other servants, which didn't fit her status.

A year ago, a similar evil spell was activated at the Wang residence. Previously, Madam Wang was perhaps 50 or 60 years old, but she has now transformed into 25 years old.

A year later, Grandpa Wang is about to activate his evil magic again. If he succeeds, Grandpa Wang may also become 25 years old.

Why insist on finding Wang's descendants? Is your thinking correct? You can find out by checking the information of people who died a year ago and see if they were related to Madam Wang.

The Wang family was wealthy. It was perfectly reasonable for Madam Wang, who was originally poor, to introduce her poor relatives from the village to work for the Wang family after marrying into the wealthy family.

Damn it, how could bad people be so evil? I want to go home, I want to go back to Shanghai and be my gigolo again.

Ding Shi finally took the first step without wearing his waist tag, circling the courtyard twice. Nothing happened. Then Ding Shi circled outside the courtyard twice more, still nothing happened.

Ding Shi headed towards the front yard, but this time he was stopped by the guards at the back gate: "Young Master Nineteen, without your waist tag and without permission from the steward and the steward, you cannot leave the back yard." There were two stewards, one for the outer courtyard and one for the inner courtyard, who handled logistical matters such as food and lamp oil.

Ding Shi was dissatisfied and asked, "Why?"

The guard explained politely, "Because many bandits have infiltrated the front yard, the steward specifically instructed that, starting this morning, anyone not wearing a waist tag is prohibited from entering or leaving the front or back yard." The guard added, "It must be their own waist tag."

As Ding Shi took two steps back in thought, a voice came from behind him: "Brother, what's troubling you?"

Ding Shi turned his head and saw a man appear silently near the gate, about seven meters away, without him even noticing. The man was tall and long-legged, with captivating eyes that seemed to smile at everyone. Ding Shi rarely saw such a handsome man. Perhaps there were, but he had never noticed. What man would get so close to another man that he wouldn't even bother looking in a mirror?
Ding smiled and said, "No."

The man said, "My name is A-Ba, and I am the main wife of Lan Yuan."

Ding Shi exclaimed in surprise: "A turtle?"

The man's eye twitched, but he managed to suppress it and said, "I prefer everyone to call me Ah Ba."

Ding Shi shook his head: "My father is already dead."

The man was quite well-mannered and said, "Or you can call me Eighth Brother."

Ding Shi shook his head again: "I'm only 22, more like a myna bird?"

If they wanted to continue the conversation, they had to accept a name. At least "Myna" was a name that everyone could barely accept. Myna nodded in agreement: "You want to go to the front yard? Is something wrong?"

Ding Shi said, "Yes."

The myna bird said, "I can let you pass, as long as you come back within two hours."

Ding Shi didn't believe it: "Oh?"

The myna bird said, "Hi, cousin."

The guard responded, "Hi, cousin."

Ding Shi drew 10 daggers: "Hey, Ita coins." Since kinship can be used to make way, money can certainly be used to bribe.

The guard took the money and whispered, "Young Master Nineteen, please come back as soon as possible. Your shift will change in two hours."

"Thank you." Ding Shi smiled at the myna bird and left.

The myna bird responded with a smile, and a short, short girl with short hair walked out from the side: "Ah Ba, what's so special about him?"

Myna said, "He wasn't wearing a waist tag. He had Ersan give us the note from Madam Wang. He was traveling alone, so he must have information that we don't know."

The girl said, "It's time. Everyone has arrived at Plum Garden."

The myna bird nodded: "Okay."

……

"Laifu?" The farmhand who lived in the same courtyard as Laifu replied, "Laifu took three days off yesterday afternoon and went back to his wife's parents' home."

Ding Shi nodded, and was about to bribe someone to ask a question when a girl with pigtails entered the courtyard. She looked around, then looked at the farmhand and asked, "Hello, where is Uncle Laifu?"

The farmhand answered the twin-tailed girl's question in the same way. The twin-tailed girl thanked him and turned to leave the courtyard. She had only taken a few steps when Ding Shi stopped her: "Beautiful lady, wait a minute."

The girl with twin ponytails turned to look at Ding Shi, who asked, "Beautiful lady, is your father perhaps Lai Fu's savior?"

The girl with twin ponytails replied, "No, but according to my father, Laifu often goes to the provincial capital to bring some local specialties to our family. He can be considered the Wang family member that my family is most familiar with."

Ding Shi asked, "Did you come looking for Lai Fu yesterday?"

The girl with pigtails nodded.

Ding Shi said, "Did he tell you a lot of news, like bandits and such? Did you meet the steward not long after you left, and he asked you to go to the inner ancestral hall to see Master Wang that night?"

The girl with twin tails exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know? Ah... could it be that you..."

"Just a guess." Ding Shi turned and left, finding the steward of the outer courtyard through inquiries. He handed him 20 taels of silver and asked, "How many people asked for leave today?"

The manager was a plump woman who, after taking the money, replied, "About ten people, all of whom took three days off."

In other words, the Wang family wasn't indifferent to their descendants living elsewhere; rather, they maintained a subtle, almost imperceptible connection with them through servants. This news wasn't particularly important, but it corroborated Ding Shi's suspicions: Old Master Wang had long harbored the idea of ​​using sorcery to benefit himself.

Ding Shi gave the steward another 20 dollars and asked the questions he wanted to know.

Steward: "Who says otherwise? Those who died a year ago were all relatives of Madam Wang. I remember the steward of the outer courtyard was Madam Wang's nephew. Madam Wang's nephew was very polite to us when he first arrived, but he was very strict with Madam Wang's relatives. There were even uniform regulations for their clothing and waist tags."

Ding Shi asked, "Auntie in charge, how old is Madam Wang?"

The steward said, "That's a good question. I didn't know until last month. After Madam Wang came to the Wang residence, she lived in the inner east courtyard and almost never went to the outer courtyard. When she did come, she always wore a lot of foundation and looked pale and sickly. If you're talking about age, she's definitely younger than the old man. Last month, Madam Wang came again and chatted with me for a while. When I saw her, I was amazed at how young she was. She was younger than I thought, probably around 25 years old."

So the story that Lady Wang was 25 years old originated from here.

Ding Shi asked, "Auntie in charge, what's the situation with the adopted son?"

The steward looked around and whispered, "I don't know, but I heard that the adopted son and Madam Wang have a very good relationship." He refused to say more.

Ding Shi paid again. This time, the steward hesitated a bit, but still accepted the money, saying, "The cook in the outer courtyard, Liu, kept a dog. One day, while looking for the dog, he crawled through the dog hole in the inner east courtyard. According to him, he personally saw his adopted son and Madam Wang making love in the bedroom in broad daylight."

Ding Shi asked, "Was Chef Liu fired or dead?"

The steward shook his head: "No, Chef Liu is still in the house, but his apprentice was beaten to death by the master."

Ding Shi was puzzled: Was it to kill the chicken to scare the monkey? No, shouldn't it be the adopted son who beat Liu Chef to death? Why was it the old man who beat Liu Chef's apprentice to death?
The steward explained, "Master Liu's apprentice was someone the master picked up when he was away, and he was extremely loyal to him. We took what Chef Liu said as gossip, but Chef Liu's apprentice stood up for the master and told the steward about it. That very night, Chef Liu's apprentice was discovered stealing valuables, and when he resisted with a knife, he was accidentally killed by the guards."

This might seem like idle gossip, but Dante noticed there was far too much gossip surrounding the adopted son, Madam Wang, and the old man. He believed their relationship was more complex than it appeared, and understanding the core information was key to unraveling the seemingly allied yet hostile relationship between Madam Wang and the old man.

(End of this chapter)