Forbidden Zone of Deception

Chapter 16 Villager Code of Conduct
Not only that, but the bowls and chopsticks on the table in front of that missing armchair were also gone!

Jiang Jin swiftly swung the fruit knife forward!

The Bone Whistle of the Dead can dispel spirits, but it's unknown how long it can last!

Although he and Deathstroke were of one mind, they could only communicate about simple matters; he couldn't obtain specific information about the ghosts through Deathstroke!
Jiang Jin forced himself to calm down!

Now that we've chosen this mission, we can't back down!
He must find the wine jug as soon as possible!

"Deathstroke, can't you smell the wine jug upstairs either?"

The death knell's head droops, its meaning self-evident.

Theoretically speaking, if the flask was still on the second floor, a dog's sense of smell, especially since Deathstroke was a skeleton hound, should have been able to find it.

However, such a haunted house cannot be judged by common sense.

"Alright...you continue exploring ahead."

The man and the dog walked out of the hall and down the corridor to the room on the other side.

The door to that room was closed at the moment.

Jiang Jin slowly moved to the doorway.

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water filled the room again, this time with a distinct rhythm.

Jiang Jin held the fruit knife high, the blade clearly reflecting his stern face, the disgusting herbal smell of the moss ointment on it clearly audible.

Then, he looked at the death knell beside him.

"Once you sense a ghost, pounce and bite! Don't let go, even if it kills you, unless I give the order!"

Jiang Jin was initially worried that Deathstroke's strength was still relatively weak, and that it would be dangerous for it to directly attack the ghost. However, given the current dire situation, he had no choice but to let it suffer.

Upon hearing its master's command, the death knell immediately nodded seriously and waved its paw to show its determination.

Jiang Jin opened the door.

It appeared to be a study, with a mahogany desk on the right and an extinguished oil lamp with a glass shade on it. On the left was a small door, which should lead to the balcony on the second floor.

He carefully examined the room. In addition to the messy furniture, the floor was covered with a lot of debris.

Fragments of a mirror.

In the center of the room, there was a bronze mirror that was mostly shattered.

Some of the mirror fragments had begun to transform into a black substance at the edges, but it wasn't the black liquid it had been before.

It looks remarkably similar to the black substance found inside the nail beds of the villagers.

Jiang Jin carefully examined the mirror to make sure that his reflection was normal.

Suddenly, the death knell pointed at the mahogany desk and began to bark, its claws waving forward.

Jiang Jin immediately understood what Deathly Bell meant and was overjoyed: "You mean the wine jug is here?"

He walked over quickly, and then he noticed a photo frame on the table containing a photograph.

In the photo, a man in a long gown and a woman in coarse cloth are distributing mooncakes to three children. At the same time, he also saw Deathstroke, still just an ordinary mongrel dog, in the photo. At that moment, he immediately remembered the five chairs and five sets of bowls and chopsticks in front of the eight-immortal table he had just seen.

Clearly, this was the Huang family who used to live here. At this moment, Deathstroke jumped onto the desk and looked at the photo in the frame. Jiang Jin could feel Deathstroke's strong reluctance to part with its deceased owner.

Jiang Jin went up to the desk, gritted his teeth, and tried to open the drawer, but he couldn't pull it open at all; it seemed to be locked.

This time, he learned his lesson and kept his gaze fixed on the photo frame, afraid that someone might suddenly be missing from it.

He gripped the drawer tightly, but still couldn't succeed.

Then, Jiang Jin thought for a moment, then tried to pick up the fruit knife smeared with resentment moss ointment and slammed it into the drawer lock!

Two seconds later, the drawer actually opened!
Ignoring the fact that SAN had dropped another 12%, Jiang Jin quickly opened the drawer, and to his surprise, he found a slightly rusty wine jug lying inside! Sure enough, the words "Chen's Homebrew" were engraved on it, just as the owner had said!

He immediately picked up the wine jug, preparing to leave quickly, when he suddenly noticed a yellowed piece of paper and a paper bag next to it.

Originally, Jiang Jin should have taken Deathstroke and escaped immediately, but the four words on the yellowed paper caught Jiang Jin's attention.

He quickly picked up the paper.

It says on it:

Villager Code of Conduct

Article 1: No villager may drink the water from the village pond, nor may they wear blue clothing near the pond. Anyone who violates this rule must immediately go to the ancestral hall and consume the raw glutinous rice provided by the hall.

Article 2: Every month, the village selects villagers by drawing lots to take turns on duty at the ancestral hall. The people on duty are responsible for carrying water from the pool into the ancestral hall, filling all the water tanks in the central courtyard of the ancestral hall, and scattering glutinous rice around the water tanks.

Article 3: A bronze mirror issued by the ancestral hall must be hung at the entrance. If you see an abnormal reflection of yourself in the mirror, it means that [the spirit/person] has targeted you and will immediately come to haunt you and take your life. You must immediately cover the mirror with a red cloth to seal it away, after which the bronze mirror will return to normal. If the bronze mirror shatters and turns into black liquid, go back to the ancestral hall to retrieve another one.

Article 4: If you hear a woman singing opera in a deserted place at night, you must immediately light a red lantern, and the singing will gradually stop.

Article 5: If a child asks you, "Have you seen the aunt in the blue dress?", never answer. That is bait for ▇▇▇.

Article 12: Unless there are force majeure events such as weather or disasters, there will be a fixed nightly parade performance from 9 pm to midnight every night. All villagers must follow the procession to watch the performance throughout the entire village.

Article 12: Two to three times each month, someone wearing a bracelet and a blue theatrical costume will appear in the night patrol performance team. Under no circumstances should you deliberately look away during this time. If someone points their bracelet-wearing hand at a villager, that villager will become the sacrifice. If no villager is pointed at, the performance must not end (even if extended past midnight). However, if someone wearing red and not wearing a bracelet appears, immediately avoid eye contact and report to the village committee personnel stationed at the scene.

Article 8: The Cantonese opera "Picking Up the Jade Bracelet" must be performed at least once a month during the nightly parade. During the performance, the actress in blue must always appear. When the actress in blue appears, regardless of what happens, the actress playing the female lead must immediately leave the stage, and the villagers must continue watching as usual; otherwise, the actress in blue will immediately turn into the actress in red.

Then, a new text prompt appeared on the retina of his left eye: "Reincarnator Jiang Jin has discovered the [Villager's Code of Conduct], rewarding him with 10% SAN value."

Note: If you can start to see or hear one or two of the words ▇▇▇, it means your SAN value is about to drop below 30% and fall into the annihilation layer. Once you can see or hear all of them, it means you have completely entered the annihilation layer.

Even the same ghost, existing on different levels such as the Mysterious Layer, the Lost Layer, and the Annihilation Layer, is completely different.

Looking at the paper full of ▇▇▇, Jiang Jin suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

At this moment, Deathstroke wagged his tail and lay on the desk, staring at Jiang Jin, whose expression was becoming increasingly grim.

Suddenly, its empty eyes saw a pale hand abruptly reach out from behind Jiang Jin and grab his neck!

　This chapter is an important foreshadowing of the final battle in this volume. Please look forward to the exciting conclusion of the first dungeon presented by Fireseed!

　　Please read and collect!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)