Ita Era

Chapter 127 The Ghost Lady

Ding looked up at the dark clouds, which were as thick as ink, seemingly within reach of someone standing on the wall. Everyone knew these were not the same dark clouds as before, for there wasn't a single flash of lightning in them; they were simply pure, dark clouds.

The royal residence was bustling with activity. The NPCs left the residence quietly and orderly through the main gate. Some players tried to leave, and the butler at the gate didn't stop them. Everyone watched as the players walked onto the road, turned the corner to the west, and disappeared from sight.

Standing at the gate of the Wang residence, the group lacked a leader and someone to rally them; most wore expressions of bewilderment. Five bandits also joined the group of players at the gate.

Finally, the steward and two guards disappeared in a carriage at the corner of the southwest road. At this point, only 18 players and Wang Yi, hiding in the inner ancestral hall, remained in the entire Wang residence.

It seems that killing Wang Yi has become the only thing that can be done.

As they were discussing, a man appeared at the corner of the northeast highway. This man was the brave warrior who had disappeared at the corner of the southwest highway an hour earlier. The warrior was very surprised to see them. He quickly walked over and looked around for a long time before finally admitting that he had gone in circles.

Ding Shi quietly left the crowd and whispered in Zi Qing's ear, "Let's go."

The two separated from the crowd, and Ziqing asked, "Where are we going?"

Ding Shi said, "Go back to the Bamboo Courtyard immediately. There are some basic tools in the servant's room, including a type of U-shaped nail. Take as many as you can, and also take a nail puller and place them at the entrance of the Bamboo Courtyard." These nails are relatively rare in modern times; their scientific name is "horse king nail," and they are mostly used on wooden doors. Their purpose is to nail two pieces of horizontal wood together.

For example, the gate to the bamboo garden opens outwards. From the inside, the left and right doors are nailed together with thick nails, making them virtually impossible to pull apart under normal circumstances. The nails are very thick and extremely hard, making them difficult to break unless a hacksaw is used.

Ziqing asked, "And what about you?"

Ding Shi said, "I'll go to the cafeteria to get some food. We'll talk about the other issues later."

At the main gate, the five bandits exchanged glances, retreated to the entrance, and drew their homemade weapons. There were spears with daggers, spiked clubs, and double-headed steel forks. One bandit ran to light the lanterns. Lighting all the lanterns in the Wang residence was no small task, but lighting the lanterns for the road was not difficult.

The skilled bandit players have drawn two conclusions from the current situation. First, the existing laws and regulations are no longer enforceable. Second, with the system's combat power boost and shared interests, they occupy the top of the food chain among the players.

“Thirteen people,” Bandit A said. “Killed them all?”

Bandit B replied, "Killing one means one less person's share."

The bandit expert said, "Let's see how they offer their price."

The distribution of assets is divided into two types: immediate and final settlement. For example, players who become the main wife, or those who defeat the evil god of the Bamboo Garden at the hour of Ding (丁时), can receive a 10% share. The final settlement will take place at 7:00 AM tomorrow, calculating the number of survivors and the total allocation for those who have died.

For example, if there are only 4 people sharing the profits, Ding Shi's immediate quota is 10%, and Zi Qing's immediate quota is 0.1%. The final settlement yields an 80% result, which is divided into four parts. Ding Shi will receive 30%, and Zi Qing will only receive 20.1%. The fewer the people, the higher the quota for the remaining people.

The total quota is 100%, but the total assets will change. For example, if you originally had $10,000, and a bandit or other player steals $1,000, your total assets will only be $9,000.

"What do you mean?"

"Please pay the toll." Four bandits blocked the small entrance, shutting all the players out in the courtyard inside the gate.

The guy who had been extorted only realized what was happening afterward and quickly told the other 11 players. They all joined forces to attack the bandits. But the bandits not only had the advantage of weapons and unity, but also the advantage of system buffs. Moreover, there was a real-life expert among them who quickly subdued the 12 players who were lingering at the door.

The masked expert said, "Five hundred dollars each. Once you pay this amount, we won't bother you anymore. If you don't have five hundred dollars, you either fight us to the death, be swallowed by darkness, or write an IOU to the system with 5% interest per day."

As they spoke, dark clouds descended onto the road, and darkness slowly approached the Wang residence.

One male player said, "Brother, we should unite now. Nobody knows what's in the dark. We should light the lanterns first."

The expert said, "No rush. I have a brother who's lighting lanterns. Once you pay, you can enter a world of light. Just because I'm not killing now doesn't mean I won't. Think it over."

Another male player said, "Five hundred is too high. We only lose two hundred if we commit suicide."

The expert replied, "But if you stay, in another 23 hours, you might get several thousand, or even tens of thousands." As he spoke, the expert pulled a wad of silver dollars from his canvas bag and showed it to everyone, saying, "Besides the distributable property, the Wang residence is full of Yuan Shikai silver dollars. How many you find after you enter this door is up to you. In addition to the silver dollars, there are also 12 chests of gold in the Wang residence. Think about it yourselves."

……

Since there was no ready-made food in the canteen, Ding Shi packed a bag of rice, a piece of pork belly, and some seasonings into an oilcloth bag, took a sharp knife and two pieces of pine wood, and hurriedly returned to the bamboo courtyard.

Ziqing had already taken the things to the front door. Dingshi pulled out two or four bed boards and placed them across the closed door, then hammered in eight horse-head nails to make the door unbreakable, or at least make it appear so.

The Wang residence is a high-walled compound, with walls over five meters high and inlaid with shards of glass. It's not that it's impossible to climb, but climbing it would be very noisy and could easily lead to injury.

Ding Shi asked, "Can you cook rice?"

Ziqing opened the oilcloth bag, glanced at it, nodded, and left. While Ding Shi was away, she had figured out why he was holding onto the bamboo courtyard; what was likely to happen next was a chaotic battle among the players.

Ding Shi instructed, "Cook everything, I'll go find the tunnel." Rumor had it that each courtyard had a tunnel leading to the inner ancestral hall. It was clearly unwise to cause trouble for Wang Yi at this time, but they couldn't be trapped in the courtyard; they would have to escape through the tunnel if necessary. Compared to them, outsiders were unfamiliar with the Bamboo Courtyard, making it extremely difficult to find the tunnel entrance.

Seeing that the dark clouds had reached the rooftop, Ding Shi first lit the lanterns hanging on the pillar.

The courtyard brightened up as the drizzling rain finally stopped, only to be replaced by a chilling wailing sound emanating from the dark clouds. Even with ears plugged, the sound couldn't stop it from reaching the brain. The wailing brought a strange sense of dread; even those who weren't afraid of death would have their heartbeats disrupted by the rhythm of the wailing, leading to chest tightness and shortness of breath.

Ziqing cooked rice in a basin from the servant's room, built a makeshift stove with a few stones, and used a wood-chopping knife to chop bed boards for fuel. While the rice was cooking, she sliced ​​off pieces of pork belly and marinated them. When the rice had turned into porridge, she placed the pork slices on top of the rice, and the aroma wafted through the air.

Ding Shi used two pieces of pine resin and a bed board to make six torches. Zi Qing was amazed and asked, "Why did you make these?" Ding Shi replied, "When I was a child, I lived in the countryside and often went out at night to catch loaches." Later, due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, loaches could no longer survive in the fields. A handful of fertilizer would turn the fields white. Reading novels where other people's goals after being reborn were to become rich and marry beautiful women, Ding Shi felt that if he were reborn in the 6s, he would definitely do two things: catch loaches and fish with a platform fishing rod.

He speared the loaches because he could have wielded the spear instead of the torch the following year, but the loaches had died the previous year. He fished because he was foolish; a bunch of kids with no one to teach them, everyone figured it out on their own, using big hooks for big fish, the fish eating big earthworms, the thicker the line the better. When I go back, I must correct them, and fish properly before that little river gets polluted.

Lost in thought, I heard a knock on the door: "Is anyone home?"

Ding Shi gestured for Zi Qing to continue, then walked to the door and answered, "No."

"Hahahaha!" The masked expert laughed angrily. Of course he knew there were people inside, but he didn't expect them to disregard him. He kicked the door, but it didn't budge.

Ding Shi said, "Stop kicking it, there's a ghost blocking the door. If you're not afraid of death, climb over the wall. Madam Wang is waiting for you downstairs."

The expert ordered, "Go and bring the A-frame ladder."

A minute later, the expert climbed onto the wall. A pebble flew towards his face. With the system's enhancement, his head flashed, and the pebble flew past his left ear. It was so close that he could hear the sound of it flying, and he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Then the pebble exploded, and a bolt of lightning struck his neck.

The expert convulsed and fell from the A-frame ladder, but luckily his brother was quick-witted and caught him from below.

The expert exhaled a puff of white smoke: "You little bastard, you've got some skills. Let's go lift the logs and just break the door open."

Bandit A: "Boss, can't we just leave him alone?"

The expert said, "Never mind him, we have nothing else to do. Let those suckers help us collect the gold treasure first. We need to make others obey us and fear us. We must eliminate any troublemakers like this."

Bandit B asked, "Boss, you must have been a gangster before, right?"

The expert laughed, "The martial world is like this!" He seemed to be deep in thought, then removed his mask, revealing a face that was neither male nor female.

"Wow, boss, you're so beautiful and handsome!" Everyone asked, "Is the boss a man or a woman?" If you said she was a woman, her features were quite defined, exuding a heroic air. If you said she was a man, she had a touch of gentleness, with deep, captivating eyes.

Modern dramas are not like period dramas. With simple makeup and voice changing, men can be turned into women, and women can be turned into men.

People usually judge and distinguish based on body shape, but there are also beauties with large figures among women, and there are also many handsome men with effeminate figures.

This expert is 1.75 meters tall, which is a good height for a man and an outstanding height for a woman. He appears strong, but not extremely strong; his gender is impossible to determine unless he takes off his clothes.

It's 8:30 in the morning, but the visibility is about the same as when the sun just set. Fortunately, the bandits have lit lanterns here and there on the road, so we can see some things, but not so much that we can't see anything at all.

Several bandits walked towards the direction where the long logs were being laid. After turning a corner, the expert raised his hand, and the group stopped. About 20 meters ahead was a bend, and from the bend, a corner of an umbrella protruded.

A small part of an embroidered shoe peeked out from around the corner, and a glimpse of red clothing fluttered out from behind it—all of this indicated that someone was standing behind the corner. Normally, no player would wear embroidered shoes, but there are always some unusual players who simply like to wear them.

The red shoes, embroidered with lotus flowers, don't look particularly attractive to modern eyes. Why are cheongsams beautiful? Many men believe the highlight of a cheongsam is its thigh-high slit—sometimes more subtle at the knee, sometimes more revealing at the upper thigh. Without this slit feature, perhaps only women would find them appealing.

The bandits didn't move, but the other side did. The first thing they saw was an umbrella as red as blood.

A ghostly, ethereal voice drifted over: "Where is my dowry?"

Dressed in red and holding a red umbrella, Madam Wang floated out and appeared before everyone in her entirety. Besides being eerie, Madam Wang was also very beautiful, one could say she was incomparably stunning.

Madam Wang looked at them, her gentle voice suddenly changing: "Roar! Give me back my dowry!" She rushed over.

The expert turned and ran: "Run!"

One of the bandits wasn't quick enough and fell behind. Madam Wang's right hand pierced through his neck. The bandit, however, was quite cunning; instead of retreating, he advanced, lecherously reaching for Madam Wang's breasts. He could brag for the rest of his life about touching such a beautiful woman before he died.

Suddenly, the bandit felt a lightness in his body, and the canvas bag he was carrying fell to the ground. He knew he was in trouble; if he died now, the silver dollars in the bag wouldn't be redeemed. Before he could even make a decision, his head was twisted off. Madam Wang waved her hand, and his head flew dozens of meters away, landing in front of the expert.

The expert remained very calm and said, "This is a ghost obsessed with something. Hide all the silver dollars, quickly."

Madam Wang picked up the dead bandit's canvas bag and placed it by the roadside. In her mind, this meant she had retrieved some silver dollars. Whether the silver dollars would be stolen if left by the roadside was beyond her comprehension.

Madam Wang chased after them to the entrance of the bamboo courtyard, where she saw four bandits trying to appear calm as they approached her. She raised her hand, and one bandit was lifted three feet off the ground, swaying back and forth for several seconds. Not hearing the clinking of silver coins, she pushed him aside. Then came the second, and the third. Having shaken all four without finding any silver coins, she continued to float forward.

"Boss, what is this?"

The expert explained: "The obsessive ghost, the silver coins were her dowry, and she knows they were taken. Now she's going everywhere looking for the silver coins. Don't get close to her if you don't have any; she might just throw them away and kill someone. The best way now is for us to each hide our silver coins and retrieve them at 7 a.m. tomorrow, when it's safe, then go to the ancestral hall to collect our allotted property."

What the expert didn't mention was that he believed Madam Wang had hidden treasure in the east courtyard. Last night, their murder and robbery of silver dollars were so hasty that they didn't conduct a systematic search of the east courtyard.

Even a skilled leader has his worries. Originally, the five bandits all trusted him and were able to unite against a common enemy. Now, with the arrival of the Ghost Lady, things have changed. They can no longer carry silver coins, and the group lacks genuine trust; the group is essentially falling apart.

The expert said, "Or you could consider committing suicide. You currently have 800 silver dollars; after deducting the deposit, you'll still make a profit of 600 dollars." The expert knew his bandit brothers were eyeing the other people's silver dollars. Now, two of them were itching to go to the dead bandit's location to find the silver dollars. If they got the dead bandit's silver dollars and then committed suicide, they could become rich overnight.

After the expert finished speaking, he took his canvas bag from the water tank by the roadside, threw down a sentence, and left: "I suggest that everyone not kill each other."

(End of this chapter)