Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 313 Design
Four or five days passed just like that.

The military camp was still filled with eating, drinking, gambling and whoring. Due to the forced labor, most industries in Songzhou were in decline, except for the brothels, which were thriving.

Zhou You waited quietly in his tent. Apart from going out once or twice, seemingly to meet someone, he practiced meditation like a Taoist, not asking about anything outside.

Until this day, a messenger suddenly came to his door, saying that the general was looking for him.

Entering the camp and lifting the tent flap, this time what came into view was not the mountain of food.

Everything was cleared out, including the few remaining fat pigs. For the first time, the tent no longer smelled of food mixed with swill. Instead, there was a huge bed where the general lay sprawled, his body covered in fat and dung like a water bag. His eyes were lifeless, and he kept making groaning noises.

Several hired prostitutes were temporarily used as servants, some wiping sweat, others turning over, but because the body was so large, they only managed to move it a little after working for a long time.

In the past, General Zuo would probably have started cursing, but now he felt nauseous even opening his mouth, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Seeing this, Zhou You didn't say anything. He kicked up a stool, then waved his hand, signaling the sweating women to leave. He then sat down with a thud and laughed.

"General Zuo, it's only been a few days, how come you've become like this?"

The obese body on the bed turned its head with all its might, and the moment it saw Zhou You, its mouth trembled and it couldn't help but shed tears.

"Taoist Master~~~~"

That sound was truly heart-wrenching and deeply moving.

Zhou You's only response was to move his chair away from the thing as much as possible.

Fortunately, after letting out a howl, the thing stopped talking and then shakily reached into its coat. Zhou You thought it was going to take out some kind of handwritten note, but to his surprise, the guy pulled out a chicken leg and started gnawing on it, tears streaming down his face.

"Master, I think I'm about to die!"

Zhou You coldly stared at the greasy hands and mouth, and silently complained.

"General, why do you seem to be enjoying your meal so much, as if there's nothing wrong with you at all?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing these words, General Zuo was overcome with grief.

"Master, you've misunderstood—do you know how many meals I used to eat a day? Eight! And each meal lasted for an hour. But these past two days I've reduced it to three meals a day, and each meal is just a few chicken legs and a bowl of rice—isn't that going to kill me?"

—No, that's the normal amount of food a person should eat, okay?

But Zhou You didn't argue with this guy. He spread his hands and asked casually.

"Then, General, what is the reason for your greatly reduced appetite?"

"How would I know that!" General Zuo said, becoming increasingly aggrieved. "I was just eating my meal in the barracks, waiting for the day to come before we set off. Who would have thought that disaster would strike me out of nowhere? I was eating perfectly fine, and suddenly I started vomiting and having diarrhea. My stomach felt like it was churning. The doctors in the army all said I was possessed by an evil spirit, so that's why we came to you, Taoist Master."

Even with his sincerity, Zhou You's attitude remained aloof and distant.

"General, you seem to have a close relationship with the Houtu Sect. Why don't you ask them to handle this possession issue?"

"Well, because the Prince's birthday is approaching, all the members of the sect have returned to the prefecture. Now there are only a few big cats and small cats left in the army, and their level is probably not even as good as those roadside shamans."

"What about those two Maoshan Taoists? They are from a prestigious sect, and they are much better at this than a small sect like mine."

Upon hearing this, General Zuo's face turned even paler, and his eyes began to dart around.

"Old Daoist Yu had a disagreement with me a few days ago, and in a fit of anger, he took his disciples back to Maoshan. Even if we went to chase after him now, it would probably be too late."

Seeing this, Zhou You could only sigh, move his stool, and then put his arm around General Zuo's wrist with great disdain.

But soon, his expression suddenly changed.

At first he was nonchalant, but soon his eyes lowered, his brows furrowed more and more, and his expression became extremely serious.

As General Zuo's expression changed, his heart began to tremble.

After a while, Zhou You finally withdrew his hand and shook his head.

"It's alright now. Eat and drink well these next few days."

General Zuo spoke with a glimmer of hope.

"Master, are you saying I'm alright?"

Unfortunately, Zhou You cruelly shattered his illusions.

"No, what I mean is that you should eat and drink something good right away, because you won't have this chance again."

General Zuo was taken aback.

".What's the meaning?"

"It means you're beyond saving, you should start preparing for your death."

After saying this, Zhou You turned to leave, and the Left General's expression changed several times before he finally couldn't help but plead.

"Master Daoist, Master Daoist, please wait a moment. I've helped you out, and in the future, I might even be able to help your sect. At the very least, please give me a hand!"

Most likely moved by the words "mentorship from the sect," Zhou You turned around again and spoke earnestly to General Zuo.

"Okay, I'll try to help you out, but you have to tell me the truth."

General Zuo quickly replied.

"No problem, no problem. Whatever you ask, Daoist Master, I will answer to the best of my knowledge!"

“Very good, then,” Zhou You nodded, “have you killed quite a few people during this period of time?”

At that moment, General Zuo's ingratiating smile froze instantly. He stammered for a long time but couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing this, Zhou You didn't waste any more words and made a move to leave again.

Seeing this attitude, General Zuo finally became anxious. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally spoke up.

"I hope you know, Master, that I've been suppressing several groups of rioters connected to the rebels these past few days. Are you implying that my illness is related to the bandits I've been suppressing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou You stopped in his tracks and said coldly.

"You are haunted by resentment and possessed by evil spirits. You are a typical case of being entangled by vengeful spirits. If you are not saved, you will be tortured to death sooner or later."

When it came to his own life, General Zuo hesitated for a long time, but in the end he could only manage to utter one sentence.

"Please, Taoist priest, save me!" Zhou You carefully examined the fat face, seemingly considering whether the deal was worth it—but in the end, he sighed and said.

"There is a way to save you. I have two options here. You can choose which one you prefer."

"Please speak, Daoist Master!"

"First, gather a group of eminent monks and virtuous masters to perform a water and land ritual for these wronged souls and help them all be delivered from suffering. But you certainly can't find that many bald men in this desolate wilderness, so you can only wait until you return to the prefecture to perform the ritual. And after so many days, I estimate that half of your body will have rotted away. But at least you can be saved."

Upon hearing about these serious consequences, General Zuo was clearly extremely unwilling, so he asked again.

"What about the second one?"

"The second one is a bit more insidious. You take the people who did the first attack, and when we get there I'll cast a spell to bring those spirits back to life. Then you can use your enchanted swords to kill them all again."

Before Zhou You could finish speaking, General Zuo hurriedly called out.

"I choose the second one!"

As if he had expected this, Zhou You replied.

"Alright, then I'll go and make the preparations first. However, since this is a matter that would be considered immoral, I'll ask the general to handle it later."

"Don't worry, I know. It's just a matter concerning your sect, Daoist Master. I will do my best to help!"

Upon hearing this guarantee, Zhou You said no more, but simply lifted the tent flap and went out.

However, before leaving, he happened to make eye contact with an ordinary-looking prostitute outside.

Zhou You nodded at him.

The prostitute named 'White Heron' returned his simple, unpretentious smile.

The mountain roads were muddy and difficult to travel.

The mountain path that the villagers had made themselves was already winding and rugged, and with the spring rain that had fallen last night, the entire path seemed to be soaked in mud. When you stepped on it, you couldn't even feel the substance; all you felt was a sticky, damp sensation that was extremely disgusting.

Soldiers like Wu Qi had never received any training in field raids, let alone trekking in this kind of terrain—in just two hours, several brothers had fallen flat on their faces, and one even slipped and almost slid off a cliff!
Fortunately, someone pulled him back at the last second, preventing him from falling to his death.

But as a result, resentment was rampant throughout the entire army.

They didn't dare target their own leader—after all, their comfortable lives over the years were all thanks to his corruption, and everyone had witnessed the torture techniques of the Hou Tu Sect. Nobody wanted to have their brains ripped out while they were alive, and even their family members would be turned into pigs—so naturally, all their resentment was focused on one person.

That damned, despicable, insane bastard, may his whole family suffer a terrible death!
Taoist Zhou.

Feeling the nauseating sensation of mud seeping into her shoes, Wu Qi carefully raised her head and looked ahead.

The Taoist priest is now sitting in a sedan chair, chatting happily with General Zuo.

Looking at the brothers below them who were about to be crushed, Wu Qi curled his lip in disdain.

"When I first met him, I thought he was a rare and good Taoist priest, but... ugh, he puts on a serious face, but in reality, he's just like those scoundrels, a petty thief."

Upon hearing this, a colleague next to him immediately burst into laughter.

"Hey Lao Wu, that's quite a joke you're making. In this godforsaken world, where are you going to find a good Taoist priest?"

"That old Taoist priest Yu from before"

Wu Qi suddenly remembered something, glanced cautiously ahead, and quickly shut up.

His colleague did the same, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to them before lowering his voice to speak.

"Hey Lao Wu, when are you going to get rid of this big mouth of yours? You know how much trouble that old Taoist Yu has caused our general. Lately, anyone who dares to mention his name has received at least a beating, and in more serious cases..."

Wu Qi knew what the other person meant, but simply sighed.

"What a pity. He was quite a man to lead away over a hundred of us all by himself."

"What use are men? Didn't we still chop them into two and a half?" His colleague scoffed. "And don't worry about it. Our general has treated many people like honored guests before, but you know how miserable they became afterward."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qi laughed as well, but there was something she didn't tell her colleague.

Since the start of the expedition, he had been plagued by a vague sense of unease, as if something incredibly terrifying was about to happen.

The team was small, only two or three hundred people, all of whom were 'elites' carefully selected by General Zuo—otherwise they wouldn't have been brought in to do dirty work—but because the mountain road was too difficult to travel, they barely made it to their destination around dusk.

Wu Qi didn't care about military regulations. He sat down and started panting. He wanted to take off his shoes to pour out the mud inside, but found that it had already hardened, so he had no choice but to give up.

However, he was not the worst off. The worst off were the brothers who carried General Zuo—these men had now collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, their twitching limbs the only proof that they were still alive.

As for the Taoist priest who made them grit their teeth, he wasn't even a speck of mud on him. He had just jumped off the carriage, exchanged a few words with his general, seemingly preparing some kind of spell, and then stepped on his brother's back and strolled leisurely into the woods.

—You bastard, just you wait. When you lose power, I'll shove a branding iron up your ass.
But before he could finish cursing in his heart, his team leader started shouting from the side.

"Hey Wu Er, what the hell are you standing there for? Didn't you hear your superior order to go and investigate?"

—Shangguan, you're fucking crazy!

Exhausted from a long day, Wu Qi wanted to yell at the top of his lungs, but in the end he just forced a smile.

"Han, don't worry, I'll go right away, I'll go right now, okay?"

While muttering curses under his breath about the Taoist priest, the general, the squad leader, and everything else, Wu Qi walked into the village.

The dim sunlight cast long shadows on the empty house, and for some reason, Wu Qi's unease grew stronger, even giving her a creepy feeling.

Thinking of the old and young who had died by his blade, Wu Qi, who had never believed in evil, began to pray for the first time.

"May the Bodhisattva protect you, for the dead cannot be brought back to life. It was indeed I who killed you, but please don't come looking for me. At worst, I'll burn you two extra pounds of paper money next year on this day."

Whether it was the comfort in his heart or the effect of his prayers, Wu Qi's chilling feeling finally subsided a bit. When he turned around and looked at the large group behind him, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself for being so easily startled.

Pushing open a wooden door, accompanied by a creaking sound, the furnishings inside came into view.

Inside were scattered pieces of furniture, still bearing traces of the people's cries and struggles—Wu Qi didn't dare linger, quickly glancing around before hastily preparing to leave.

However, just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

There seems to be someone behind it all.

(End of this chapter)