Ita Era

Chapter 13 Peach Blossom Village (Part 11)

At this moment, Ding Shi was reading a book called "On Ghosts" in the library. This book introduced the basic settings of ghosts in the world of Ita. Ding Shi thought that Ita did a good job in this respect, putting everything out in the open.

Category 1: Ghosts, which have no offensive capabilities, no physical form, cannot be seen except under special circumstances, and cannot be communicated with.

The second type: Obsessive Ghosts. In their previous life, they longed to eat braised pork but couldn't, creating an obsession. For seven days, they will desperately search for braised pork. After seven days, they disappear; whether they go to the underworld or heaven is unknown.

These kinds of ghosts are formed from obsessions and cannot be destroyed or resisted by human power. They will only attack those who stop them from eating braised pork. They have no concept of killing and no intelligence.

The third category: Evil spirits, rule-based ghosts, have no physical form in daily life, but can pass through walls and enter houses. They only take physical form when they kill someone. They are bound by the laws of heaven (rules) and can usually only move within a certain area, such as a house or a boat.

Evil spirits are not highly intelligent and possess a strong desire to attack the living, but they are bound by rules. Normally, they appear no different from ordinary ghosts, but once a living person triggers the rules, the evil spirit can materialize and kill that person.

The rules vary, such as a living person losing a game of rock-paper-scissors to a mirror in the middle of the night, or a living person stealing things from the homeowner. Even sneezing might trigger a rule that the other party commits murder.

The way to eliminate evil spirits is to complete a task without breaking the rules.

The fourth type: Ghost Kings. These creatures are extremely powerful, possessing high intelligence and extraordinary strength, and are not bound by geographical limitations. However, each Ghost King has a fatal weakness, making them vulnerable to being eliminated by humans.

Ghosts: They're everywhere.

Obsessive Ghost: Rare.

Evil spirits: They only appear in specific locations and cannot be seen elsewhere.

The Demon King: Although it can kill freely, once its weakness is exposed, humans can easily retaliate. Therefore, the Demon King is almost extinct in the world of Ita.

The treatise on ghosts mentions ghosts, demons, and monsters. Ghosts are what people become after death. Demons are animals that have become spirits. Spirits are plants that have become spirits. Monsters are objects that have become spirits.

Finally, the ghost theory states that ghosts and monsters will only appear in specific instances.

In Ding Shi's system interface, a new stamp has been added to the main quest, bearing the character for "ghost," indicating that ghosts are present in this instance. The instance's danger level has also been adjusted from "extremely low" to "low."

The ghost grandmother is clearly a possessive spirit; she has something she needs to do or something she needs to find. If she can't find it at home, she'll search everywhere, prioritizing her family members because they are most likely to help her fulfill her obsession. To deal with a possessive spirit, either wait seven days for it to dissipate on its own, or fulfill its obsession.

Ding Shi intended to turn the bookshelf into cards, but the system refused. The system explained: The information provided by the books on the bookshelf is related to the dungeon mission and cannot be collected or stolen by individuals. In the end, Ding Shi could only borrow two books through the automatic book lending machine and pay a two-dollar deposit.

He had just left the library when the village chief caught him precisely: "Xiao Ding, help the Wang family find their grandson."

Zhao Liu is missing? Ding Shi knew Zhao Liu hadn't kept vigil last night, and the Ghost Grandma hadn't found him, but he didn't expect he couldn't find him either. Ding Shi accepted the quest and headed to the elementary school to find Sun Qi. If Zhao Liu needs help, he'll most likely seek the player's assistance first.

Yesterday, Ding Shi and Zhao Liu had a disagreement. Ding Shi felt that Zhao Liu wouldn't come to him first if he needed help. Based on Ding Shi's biased view of Zhang San, Zhang San wasn't the type to selflessly help others. The only person most likely to help Zhao Liu was the soft-hearted woman, Sun Qi.

……

Sure enough, Ding Shi met Zhao Liu in Sun Qi's school dormitory.

Before Ding Shi could speak, Zhao Liu became anxious and threatened, "Wang Wu, if you dare to betray me, don't blame me for being impolite."

Sun Qi tried to smooth things over: "Don't be in such a hurry, Wang Wu, please sit down."

Ding Shi smiled and sat down to the side: "You're the one who caused this mess, aren't you? I wanted to help you fix it, but you lied to me. Now you're shamelessly threatening me. How can someone be so shameless?"

Zhao Liu's face turned as red as a pig's liver, and he was speechless for a moment.

While pouring water, Sun Qi asked, "Wang Wu, what exactly happened?" Ding Shi replied, "Zhao Liu failed to deliver the pickled vegetables to the driver on time, which led to Grandma Wang's death. He also left the mourning hall last night, losing his last chance of survival."

Zhao Liu asked in confusion, "The last glimmer of hope? What do you mean?"

Ding Shi replied, "Grandma Wang will come to see you tonight."

Zhao Liu jumped up: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Ding Shi said, "Your only chance now is to guess Grandma Wang's obsession before she died and fulfill it before 11 p.m., otherwise you will die."

Zhao Liu retorted, "How would I know what she's thinking?"

Ding Shi: "You get paid a dollar a day, don't have to do any work, eat and drink well, and have Cuihua to warm your bed. I doubt you had time to pay attention to Grandma Wang's every move before she died. That's the situation. You decide what to do. Either commit suicide to leave the instance, or wait for the ghost grandma to come knocking on your door."

Sun Qi asked from the side, "Wang Wu, is there really a ghost?"

Ding Shi nodded: "You can check your main tasks; there's a new 'Ghost' tag over there. I have to go now. Good luck." He gave Sun Qi a deep look. The subtext: I've already said my piece; if you take Zhao Liu in again tonight, you'll be caught in the crossfire.

Ding Shi left, telling the Wang family patriarch that the younger members of the Wang family would go and intercept Zhao Liu. Although Zhao Liu escaped first, Ding Shi's mission was complete.

Grandma Wang's family members had arrived. After some haggling, several middle-aged and elderly men from a neighboring village, who were half monks and half Taoists and specialized in performing rituals, set up a Taoist altar in the mourning hall to chant sutras.

Ding Shi watched with great interest. The three men, draped in robes, recited scriptures in the local dialect. One held a bell, another struck a wooden fish, and the third clasped his hands together, circling the coffin. Each time they circled, they would bend down slightly. Ding Shi was puzzled by this action and asked an elderly woman who was also watching. She whispered to him that they had to kneel and bow once with each circle, and that this had been simplified over the decades.

After completing their circling, the three sat down to chant scriptures, while an assistant struck a gong and drum with a distinct rhythm, which sounded quite interesting.

After lunch, Ding Shi was assigned by the village chief to hang banners and paint slogans: "Better to add ten graves than one more person. Family planning is good; the government will help with elderly care." In the afternoon, he participated in the supply and marketing cooperative's inventory. Tasks came one after another, not difficult, and all quite interesting. Aside from the tasks caused by the player's reckless actions, the system tasks allowed Ding Shi to fully experience rural life of that era.

Digging sweet potatoes before dinner and taking a walk with the village chief after dinner to aid digestion—these were all tasks. It wasn't until 9 PM that the village chief and Ding Shi returned home, marking the end of their third day in Taoyuan Village.

Ding Shi slipped out of the village chief's house, skillfully climbed over into Cuihua's house, and climbed up the persimmon tree. He saw that Grandma Wang's house was empty, with all the lights on.

"Boy."

Ding Shi turned his head and saw Zhao the Blind standing outside Grandma Wang's house, looking up at him.

Ding Shi climbed down from the tree, scaled the wall, and landed beside Blind Zhao, grinning, "I thought it was still early, so I came over to check. Uncle Zhao, are you planning to arrest her?"

Zhao the Blind said, "Catch your ass! She's beyond human strength now. Unless it's a highly skilled old man, no one can beat her."

Ding asked doubtfully, "Then why did you come?"

Zhao the Blind sighed and said, "When I was young, I revealed heavenly secrets, which led to my being childless in this life. I hope to accumulate some good karma so that I won't be reborn as an animal after I die."

Ding Shi asked, "Hidden virtue?"

Zhao the Blind said, "By fulfilling the obsession of the Queen Mother, one can gain merit."

Ding Shi asked, "Is it finished?"

Blind Zhao shook his head: "No."

(End of this chapter)