Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 318 The Prince's Mansion
When Zhou You was being courteously helped into the carriage, he was taken aback at first.

It's unclear what kind of magic was used, but the interior of the carriage seemed much larger than the outside, and everywhere you looked, it was filled with jewels and precious stones—that goes without saying.

The main thing is
At the innermost side, two beautiful women were standing there.

Judging from their appearance, the two were only around sixteen years old, with gentle and sweet smiles on their lips, skin as smooth as cream, and beauty as lovely as peach blossoms. If they were in later generations, either of them could easily win a beauty pageant. Each of them was only covered by a thin veil.

—But to be honest, with this outfit, it's practically the same as not wearing anything at all.

But Zhou You's frown wasn't solely due to this.

These two beauties are indeed like celestial beings, and they're clearly offering themselves up. Anyone with a simpler brain would have pounced on them.

However.
These two are not human.

Or rather, they look like a human, feel like a human, and are like a human inside, but in reality, they have no human warmth at all.

To be more specific, it's like a 'person' pieced together from a mass of life, a bunch of skin, and some other unknown things.

He was quite familiar with most of them.

—Hiss, this is a creation of the Thick Earth Cult? These guys actually managed to make it work?
Zhou You sized up the two smiling women for a while, and then suddenly smiled as well.

Then, he casually sat down at the table, ignoring the two men, picked up the wine jug, and began pouring wine for himself.

Soon after, the sound of drums and music rang out, and the convoy began to move forward again.

However, the direction the group headed was neither outside the city nor to any mansion within the city.

Accompanied by deafening Buddhist music, a tall horse pulled a golden carriage, but deliberately went into a secluded corner of the alley, until the crowd of onlookers dwindled and the surroundings became increasingly deserted.

Suddenly, the light went out.

Zhou You frowned again, then casually lifted the curtain.

It was still daytime outside, but
Everything I saw had changed.

—The chariot was still pulled by tall, powerful horses, but the bodies were already more than half rotten, with only the internal organs slowly writhing. The soldiers cleaning the streets ahead were still imposing, but their necks were empty, and none of them had heads. The music grew increasingly shrill, and the musicians playing it had long since lost their lungs and mouths, leaving only the eerie sounds of white bones echoing.

Zhou You's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

It looks like a ghostly path, but it's actually completely different; it feels like another world.

—A strange world completely detached from reality, where only fear and distortion remain.

Seeing Zhou You's expression, the two girls finally spoke.

At the same time, in the same tone, even the manner of speaking was exactly the same.

"Please understand, His Highness dislikes being disturbed by common people, so the passageways to his residence are kept secret. Only through this method can one enter."

"is it?"

Zhou Yu remained noncommittal, rolled down the carriage window, and continued to pour himself a drink.

Even though there were two beautiful women beside him, he didn't even glance at them. It was as if he treated them as mere objects.

And so, an unknown amount of time passed.

Just as the wine was about to be finished, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the voice of the official from before could be heard outside the door.

"Sir, we've arrived."

Pushing open the car door, everything outside had returned to normal: the soldiers, the horses, the musicians, even the official wore a humble and respectful smile. Everything was as usual, nothing had changed.

It was as if these things were perfectly normal, living beings.

Upon seeing the maidservant still draped in a light veil inside the carriage, the official paused for a moment, then bowed and smiled.

"Guest, is there something you're unhappy with about these two? Why haven't you had a chance to enjoy yourselves during this long journey?"

Zhou You glanced back and then said casually.

"I just don't like it."

"You really startled me, sir. I thought there was something wrong with our hospitality." The official breathed a long sigh of relief, then instructed the soldier beside him, "The guest doesn't seem to like these two items. They might be defective. Take them to the incinerator later."

The words were spoken without any attempt to conceal them from others; even the two women heard them clearly. Yet, they maintained their naturally alluring smiles, showing not a trace of panic, as the soldiers dragged them down and took them away like objects.

Zhou You habitually grasped Duan Xie, but quickly shook his head.

This thing only looks like a person, but is actually a puppet covered in human skin, so it won't expose itself for this reason.

After giving his instructions, the official led the way inside.

After looking around, the first thing he saw was a lake.

The lake was clearly not naturally formed, but rather man-made. The problem was that it seemed to stretch endlessly as far as the eye could see—amidst its shimmering surface, one could only see verdant reeds, blooming lotus flowers, and the occasional sound of flapping wings, with flocks of waterbirds emerging from its depths.

But that's not the point.

The highlight is a magnificent artificial mountain built in the center of the lake. The mountain is made of tribute stones, which even the emperor had to use sparingly. Here, it is used as if it were worthless. Looking around, you can see green peaks, steep cliffs, and even a fairy palace that appears and disappears among the clouds.

How to put it? It's as if the wonders of the world have been condensed and then replicated in this palace. It's rich and luxurious. All words seem pale and powerless. Only two words can describe the scene at this moment.

That was the shock.

But Zhou You was thinking about something else.

In Songzhou, a place devoid of mountains and water, these two things were created by sheer willpower.
How many people are buried at the bottom of this lake?
Seeing his expression, the official next to him offered a timely explanation.

"So that our guest may know, His Highness once spent a long time in Qianzhou. Even after leaving, he missed the mountains and rivers there very much. So he spent a lot of money to hire the best craftsmen to create this landscape painting here. Although it is not as magnificent as the original, it is still quite exquisite. What do you think, guest?"

Zhou You smiled but did not answer. He simply followed the official inside.

After passing through several more gates and gardens, the two finally stopped beside a rather exquisite courtyard.

"I'm so sorry, sir, you were among the last to arrive, so the accommodations we've arranged for you are rather simple. Please understand. But rest assured, His Highness will arrange other lodgings for you after the birthday banquet tomorrow."

Simple?
Zhou You glanced at the courtyard, which was even more spacious than the prefect's residence, and said nothing. He simply slung the large bundle over his shoulder and pushed open the door on his own.

This time, the officials did not come along. The courtyard was spotless, and although the decorations were not overly opulent, they could definitely be described as elegant and refined. The layout was clearly designed by a master; a few pine and cypress trees and several flower beds together created a harmonious and tranquil scene.

Moreover, there are acquaintances here.

Zhou You examined the only incongruous black stone tablet in the courtyard and walked around it—and found that, as expected, it was made of the same material as the one in the ghost village.

Moreover, the back also has words engraved on it—but unlike the oath in the ghost village, this time it is a story.

The language used is somewhat obscure, but with careful reading, most of it can be discerned: it tells of ancient times when demons and monsters roamed freely, and Songzhou, due to its unique terrain, suffered particularly severe damage. Ordinary people perished, and bones littered the land. The scene was far worse than the legendary demon kingdom. However, the gods were tyrannical, watching the mortal realm become a hellish place. Only a female immortal named Hou Tu Niangniang, unable to bear it, descended to earth and used most of her cultivation to suppress the three demon kings leading Songzhou. She then built a city on the site of the suppression, thus preserving peace in Songzhou for over a thousand years.
However, just as Zhou You was reading, a voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"My friend, you seem quite interested in our religion?"

who is it?

Zhou You's body tensed instantly.

With his current abilities, few people can approach him silently—but the person behind him seems to have no form at all. Even though he has already spoken, no one can sense his presence.

But Zhou You did not do anything rash; he simply turned his head away casually.

Suddenly, a tired face came into view.

At first glance, this man appeared to be around forty years old, dressed in a dark blue robe, clearly the attire of the Houtu Sect. He had deep dark circles under his eyes, suggesting he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

Seeing that Zhou You did not answer, the middle-aged man apologized very politely again—and then repeated what he had just said.

"Excuse me, I was just strolling around and noticed this door was open. I also happened to see you reading this stone tablet, so I couldn't help but ask—my friend, you seem quite interested in our religion?"

Zhou You scanned for a while, and then he laughed.

"I wouldn't say I'm interested, but the story sounds familiar—I've heard it elsewhere before, though the plot is a little different."

The middle-aged man, with his gentle expression, continued to ask.

"Oh? May I ask, sir, is there any difference?"

Zhou You pointed to the stone tablet, especially a string of characters on it.

"Well, what I heard in the first half of the day was pretty much the same as what I heard in the second half, but the main character changed—the so-called demon-suppressing and evil-sealing were actually these three saints, and the one that was sealed was actually the real enemy, and the core city was called the Netherworld City."

But before he could finish speaking, an angry roar suddenly rang out.

"What nonsense!"

Just like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, the middle-aged man's expression changed drastically the moment he heard those words, becoming extremely ferocious. But he quickly realized something was wrong, took a deep breath, forcibly restrained his emotions, and then said...

"Friend, you may have misunderstood something. Those are just rumors among the common people, and even some deliberate slanders by evil spirits. The actual situation is completely the opposite of what they say. The so-called Three Saints are the real demons. The Goddess of the Earth sacrificed almost everything to seal these things, but now these foolish people do not appreciate her kindness at all, and instead smear her like this."

Like a machine gun, the middle-aged man quickly rattled off a series of explanations—but after seeing Zhou You's ambiguous smile, he shook his head helplessly.

"Forget it, nobody believes the truth anyway, I knew it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You unexpectedly burst into laughter.

"My friend from the Thick Earth Cult, how do you know this is true?"

The other person ignored the teasing and pointed to their eyes, speaking very seriously.

"That's because I've seen it before—the Goddess of the Earth descended upon me personally and showed me everything that had happened."

Looking at that sincere face, Zhou You didn't refute anything further—but then, the other person sighed instead.

"But whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. Tomorrow, everything will be clear."

Then, just as he had come, he shook his head and sighed, and left on his own.

Zhou You didn't stop him; instead, his brows furrowed again. But in the end, he took the Broken Blade and went into the house.

—In a daze, I saw something else.

It was still that mountain of corpses and river of blood, still that tree of flesh and blood.

Even after thousands of years, nothing has changed here. Time seems to have frozen at a single point, stopping here and never moving forward again.

But this one person, this unchanging scene, suddenly underwent a slight change.

For some unknown reason, some humans have wandered into this place.

Those humans were so weak and so ignorant, yet over thousands or even tens of thousands of years, these ant-like beings occupied the entire earth and took over the territory that once belonged to them.

Angry?

No.

Do you hate it?
No.

Sad?
No.

Under this deep seal, not even the soul can generate the slightest emotion.

—No, under the erosion of endless years, even the soul may not exist anymore.

Now, all our ancestors have perished, and our race has turned to dust—the past glory, the past history, all seem like a dream, easily shattered.

We, all of existence, will perish completely under this mother tree before even seeing a successor to that person.

Now it's just a remnant like dregs, a lingering consciousness like inertia. If anything remains, perhaps only resentment.

But why have we ended up like this?
Why would the most noble people of the stars perish under the feet of ants?
This shouldn't be the case.

This shouldn't be the case.

Wait, what is this ant saying?
Houtu? The Earth Mother Yuanjun who has long since fallen and even been forgotten?
No. Perhaps
My lord, is this the prophetic liberation you promised us?

I was overjoyed and found it all delightful.
—A baby's cry, like an earthquake, suddenly rang out in this purgatory.

(End of this chapter)