Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 359 Weird
The knocking continued without ceasing, as if the thing outside had no intention of getting a response and was simply knocking meaninglessly.

However, for some reason, Zhou You felt a chilling sensation from that voice that seeped into his internal organs, as if it were scraping his bone marrow.

It was like the lingering chill of a wronged soul who died unjustly.

Looking back at Old Man Li, whose gaze was also slightly solemn, I saw him take out a candle from his sleeve, light it with a flick of his wrist, then take a deep breath, let the smoke fill his mouth and nose, and then exhale.

In the blink of an eye, pale white smoke swirled around him and Zhou You, blurring their figures and obscuring most of their 'human scent'.

Old Li gave Liu Hao a wink, signaling him to go back inside and avoid the situation, before leading Zhou You to the front gate.

He cleared his throat first, then spoke in a low voice.

"Who?"

The knocking finally stopped.

After a long while, a muffled voice finally came from outside the door.

"To obtain a confession."

Old Li frowned, but still shouted as if nothing was wrong.

"Weren't you supposed to finish collecting them around 7 AM? Why are you here so early?"

But the other party did not answer, and remained silent for an even longer time.

Then, for some reason, they suddenly started knocking again.

Old Man Li sighed.

"Without any intelligence, and acting rigidly, this person has become a ghost. I wonder which poor soul it is."

Then, he suddenly turned his head and said to Zhou Youfu again.

"Kid, this thing might be a bit troublesome today, be careful."

After Zhou You nodded in agreement, Old Man Li took a deep breath and opened the door.

At that moment, a tall, thin, and strange-looking man was standing outside.

This person's appearance was quite ordinary, except for being so pale it looked as if a layer of powder had been applied, there was nothing else to say about him. The reason he was described as strange was...
It's because 'he' is too tall.

This person was over two meters tall, which would be quite eye-catching even in modern times, let alone in ancient times when malnutrition and short stature were common.

but.

Zhou You always felt a sense of unease about their actions.

That's as if...
Are all the joints in the limbs artificially pieced together?
However, just as Zhou You frowned and leaned closer to observe, Old Man Li had already struck up a conversation with the other party.

"I said, you must have worked so hard coming all this way so early in the morning!"

"."

There was silence.

"Have you eaten, buddy? If not, how about we find a place to grab a bite?"

"."

There was still silence.

"If that doesn't work, how about..."

However, before Old Man Li could finish speaking, the man suddenly spoke up.

"Tribute."

These were very ordinary words, but there was a strange quality about them that seeped into people's hearts, even making Old Man Li speechless.

However, he reacted very quickly, and just a few breaths later, he immediately greeted Zhou You with a smile.

"Apprentice, apprentice, come here for a second—look, the things you wanted are packed right here. Why don't you check them first?"

The man did not answer directly; he seemed to be very slow to react, remaining silent for a while before speaking.

"Since the item is inside, why isn't it moving?"

Old Li's fawning smile remained unchanged.

"We were afraid his crying would disturb the adults' enjoyment, so we gave him some medicine beforehand to make him fall asleep."

Upon hearing this, the man seemed not to believe it at all, and slowly walked to the box—only then did Zhou You sense a strong stench of decay and finally become certain of it.

—This man was indeed pieced together.

Although the clothing concealed most of the marks, subtle details revealed that the body's joints and torso were clearly not formed naturally. Instead, it appeared as if several different human bodies had been disassembled and pieced together inch by inch, bit by bit.

Even in the exposed areas, you can still see the stitches that belong to the sutures.

How utterly depraved must one be to do something like this?
However, just as Zhou You was feeling disgusted, the man had already lifted the lid of the box and, by the faint light of the morning sun, peeked inside.

There was only one paper figure in the box.

But for some reason, the man nodded as if confirming something, and then said to Old Man Li.

"The items are indeed correct. Please bring your men over."

After saying that, he ignored Old Man Li's reaction, stood up unsteadily again, and walked into the alley in the morning mist.

Zhou You wanted to say something, but was immediately stopped by Old Man Li, who only gave him a look to follow.

Although it's not fully light yet, it's market day these days, and everyone's here to make a living, so many vendors are already getting ready around this time.

But today, the streets are deserted.

The once bustling street was deserted, not even a dog could be heard. Occasionally, a gaze would peek out from a crack in the window, but the moment it saw Zhou You and his companion, it would quickly and frantically retreat as if greatly frightened.

Amidst this eerie atmosphere, the three arrived at the town gate—which should have been guarded by soldiers, but like the streets, it was deserted, with only the gate wide open.

They looked as if they had known all along that they were coming.

Once outside the town, the fog grew even thicker, giving off a chilling and gloomy feeling.

In fact, it's not just that.

Upon contact with the mist, Zhou You felt as if countless insects were crawling all over his body, their dense segments scraping against his skin, causing the hairs on his body to stand on end.

Fortunately, the smoke from the fire that Old Man Li lit was still effective; it protected the surrounding area from being corroded by the thick fog.

Each time he finished burning incense, Old Man Li had to avoid the man and light the incense again, his face showing even more heartache.

And so, they walked for an unknown amount of time.

The sky remained overcast, and even though it was past Chen Shi (7-9 AM), there was still little sunlight. The traces of human activity around them gradually faded, replaced by withered branches and fallen trees, and increasingly muddy and difficult-to-traverse soil. But all of this suddenly opened up around the corner.

Amidst the withered branches and fallen leaves, a spacious house with upturned eaves and red paint stood tall, its vermilion doors flanked by stone lions, appearing even more magnificent than Liu Hao's house.

Upon arriving here, the man finally stopped. He looked at Zhou You and the other man, and then said.

“My master is doing his morning prayers inside. You should take that thing and wait in another room. He will call you over when he finishes his prayers.”

After saying this, the tall, thin man ignored it and pushed open the vermilion door, stepping into the thick fog. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared among the pavilions.

However, someone did greet them afterward.

Soon, several dwarfs came running over – judging from their appearance, this guy was no more than 1.2 meters tall, and his arms and legs were extremely short.

But Zhou You soon discovered it.

If the tall, thin man was made from multiple body parts pieced together to reach that height, then these dwarfs must have had a section of them deliberately sawn off.

As for where the broken part went, that goes without saying.

These dwarfs didn't seem to be able to speak; they just made "ah ah" sounds and led Old Man Li and Zhou You to a guest room. After settling them in, they left together.

So, once again, only the two of them remained in the empty house.

Looking around, the decorations around the magic scroll were truly magnificent, with carved beams and painted rafters, adorned with gold and silver everywhere, exuding wealth and luxury. Moreover, whether it was prepared in advance or not, a pot of fine wine and several exquisite dishes were specially placed on the table.

After carrying the box for such a long distance, Zhou You was exhausted. He found a chair and sat down with a thud. However, when he looked up at Old Man Li, he found that his master was standing far away to the side, not willing to come any closer.

It seems like the opposite of what was intended, but...
Zhou You sniffed the air briefly, then suddenly revealed a playful expression.

Then he picked up the wine pot and teased.

"Master, you used to enjoy two dishes of pickled vegetables and a radish, so why won't you touch this table full of fine wine and delicacies?"

Old Li stared at Zhou You speechlessly for a long time, then sighed.

"I really don't know if you're bold, heartless, or just trying to harass this old man—after seeing that scene, even if I had the guts of the world, would I dare touch anything here?"

As he spoke, Old Man Li took out a talisman, lit it on a candle next to him, and tossed it forward.

As the firelight illuminated the scene, the true view of the place was finally revealed—

Looking around, where is the hall?

The mahogany table was made up of several pieces of jumbled stones; the carved beams and painted rafters were decorated with patches of thorns and withered branches; the delicacies on the plate were pieces of rotten flesh and wriggling maggots; and as for the things to sit on around the table...
That wasn't a chair at all, but a broken piece of a tombstone.

—This is no elegant mountain retreat, it's clearly a mass grave!

Zhou You opened the wine jug, looked at it, then pursed his lips and casually poured the wine aside.

The foul-smelling, pitch-black liquid spilled on the ground made a sound like corrosion.

"Master, could you please explain this?"

Old Li rolled his eyes.

"What explanation is needed? This is the effect of supernatural disturbances, but it's not some kind of illusion; it's simply a distortion of everything around us."

Watching the flames burn out and the surroundings return to normal, he found a stool and sat down.

"Now that things have come to this, let me explain to you in detail—this kind of evil spirit is something that only appeared in this dynasty. Generally speaking, it is transformed from demons and evil spirits, and some of them are human. But unlike ordinary demons and evil spirits, this thing has little intelligence and is basically impossible to communicate with. To be precise, the existence of this thing is like a natural disaster—all its actions have only one purpose."

"That is to expand one's influence and find ways to pollute everything."

Old Li picked up his water bottle and took a sip.

"Of course, disasters are also divided into different levels. Major disasters can only be dealt with by experts. But lower-level disasters can actually support people like us. Now that we've rested enough, let's stop talking and get ready as I told you before. Once that thing comes out, there won't be any time left."

Zhou You wanted to ask more questions, but seeing that Old Man Li didn't want to say anything more, he could only shut his mouth, take out various tools and items from another box, and start preparing.

Not long after, the tall, thin man knocked on the door again.

His expression remained indifferent, just as his words were devoid of any inflection.

“The Lord wants to see you; come with me.”

Following behind the man, along the winding road—at first it looked like a proper hall, but soon the colors and decorations became strangely bizarre.

How to put it? If I had to describe it, it would be like letting a mentally ill person scribble on a painting at will, with no limit on the paint or the subject matter.

And in the end, all you'll get is this kind of thing.

The man, as always, had great difficulty moving his overly tall legs. Each time, he had to bend several joints at once in order to barely take a step forward.

So by the time they arrived at their destination, a full ten minutes had passed.

According to normal house structure, the main house should be in the very center of this house, but for some reason, when I arrived, all I could see was a plain white expanse.

Of course, it wasn't snowing; rather, countless white sheets were fluttering in the air.

The two were taken aback for a moment, then immediately recognized what it was.

This place is a funeral hall!

Seeing this, Zhou You quietly nudged Old Man Li next to him.

"Master, this is your job, isn't it? This time it was a piece of cake."

However, the other party did not respond.

Old Li stared blankly at the mourning hall, his expression clearly showing some fear. Even though it was early winter, a closer look revealed that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

He was muttering something to himself, but you had to lean in close to hear him clearly.

"No, no, this thing looks like..."

He suddenly grabbed Zhou You halfway through his sentence.

“My disciple, listen to me first. This is probably not right. Although I know this thing is a coffin, I didn’t expect it to become a funeral procession. You’ve only just become my disciple, and I can’t possibly harm you. If things turn out badly, we’ll split up and run away quickly. Then we’ll go back and tell Liu Hao’s family that they either have to give up their grandson or move away overnight.”

But before he could finish speaking, a piercing sound suddenly rang out.

It took three or four breaths before Old Man Li realized what that sound was.

—It's a loudspeaker.

Accompanied by jarring music, the doors of the mourning hall slowly opened.

Yellow paper fluttered everywhere, but no living creatures could be seen among them.

Looking around, there was only a thin coffin placed in the very center of the room.

(End of this chapter)