Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 372 Master and Disciple
Is this finally over?
Old Li cautiously peered out for a long time to make sure the thing had completely disappeared before carefully jumping down from his hiding place.

After the host was gone, the villagers who had turned into ghouls also fell down. The growths that covered their bodies began to wither rapidly, and it was as if their original flesh had disappeared along with them. The huge lumps of flesh were like deflated balloons, and in the blink of an eye, thin human skin grew out.

Even so, some still survived.

—It's the one who initially negotiated the deal with them.

Now this person's face is 'slumped' on the ground—but even though most of their internal organs are gone, they are still managing to breathe.

Naturally, he also saw Old Man Li walking over.

But no words were spoken.

It did see it, but that was all; its eyes rolled around, but there was no emotion in them.

Old Li also looked down at it, and after a while, he suddenly squatted down and asked.

"I ask you, did you invite this evil spirit?"

The neighborhood leader didn't even bother to answer; he just looked at Old Man Li and gave him a mocking smile.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes. But you shouldn't be able to hire someone of this caliber, so are you having someone backing you up?"

The man just kept smiling; it was only because he was too weak to speak that he was able to, otherwise, judging from his appearance, he would have spat all over Old Man Li.

Old Man Li's expression gradually turned cold. He looked at his hand and summoned Flower Lady.

"We're not very good at this, so you should take over."

Hua Niangzi looked at the object and suddenly revealed a charming smile.

"Leave it to me. This guy has wasted half my day. I'm just looking forward to venting my anger."

As she spoke, she took out the small box she had used to do Zhou You's makeup, picked up a thin needle from it, gently stroked his gaunt face, and then slowly inserted it.

Strangely enough, even though his pain receptors were almost completely destroyed, when the thin needle was inserted, the person suddenly showed an expression of extreme pain. The muscles on his face twitched as he tried his best to expel the needle.

But given his current situation, it's destined to be futile.

With a smile, Hua Niangzi picked up another needle and pricked it again.

This time, the man finally couldn't help but groan, but before he could speak, the third and fourth pipes were already inserted.
When it reached the tenth stem, it finally opened.

"I said, stop pricking me! I'll tell you everything!"

Only then did Lady Hua stop regretfully.

"Why did you confess so easily? I was hoping you could hold out until you got twenty needles. Never mind, Li Lao Er, just ask him."

Old Li nodded, and then continued.

"I still have the same question: this isn't something you can just bring in. So who's helping you behind the scenes?"

"I don't know. He gave us this pot, but he never shows his face. He always unilaterally tells us to fetch the ingredients. We really don't know anything else. He just tells us to worship this thing as a god, to offer sacrifices to it every day, and to add ingredients to it from time to time. And the god just makes sure we have enough to eat and wear."

Old Li looked into those eyes and was certain they weren't lying—but then, as if remembering something, he suddenly asked a question.

"You have no worries about food and clothing. But do you know what the consequences of this lack of food and clothing will be? It's one thing for you to have this body, since you chose it yourself, but do you know how many people will die because of this evil influence?"

The man laughed again.

“I say, sir, judging from your appearance, you are from the same social class as us. How can you say such things like ‘master’? When people are starving to death, they will even eat their own children, let alone others. If we don’t eat people, we will die. Rather than die ourselves, we would rather become a ghoul and kill others for food.

Old Li opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he stepped down and crushed the thing into a lump of rotten flesh.

Then, he looked at Zhou You.

The situation was much better than he had expected.

When the large pot was overturned earlier, it was fortunate that Hanlu intervened in time, preventing Zhou You from being thoroughly drenched by the pile of ash. However, it seems that the aftereffects of the ear-piercing demonic sound have not yet subsided, and he is currently covering his head, still appearing somewhat dazed.

Then Old Man Li looked at the contents of the tumor.

The severed body was still twitching. Although it was not dead yet, it looked like it was about to die.

At this moment, Zhou You, clutching his dazed head, also walked over.

"Master, are you sure this is the person from the tavern?"

Old Man Li summoned a paper figure and instructed it to pull the body out of the blood vessels and granulation tissue, then turned it over.

Amidst the fragments of flesh and blood, a tattoo resembling an eagle spreading its wings could be faintly seen.

"That's right, the traces of their faction are undeniable. I never expected that this guy would die here after only a few days."

Hearing the sighs in Old Man Li's words, Zhou You remained silent for a few seconds before suddenly asking a question.

"Could this actually be a trap? A trap set by this guy to lure us in?"

However, Old Man Li shook his head at this very common guess.

"The reason why Qingyu Tower has survived until now is entirely due to its neutrality and the principle of not offending anyone. Moreover, judging from the traces, he seems to have only become like this in the last two days, which doesn't match the timeline."

After saying this, Old Man Li fell silent, then sighed and began to clean up the mess.

To be honest, although he came here simply to earn some money to make ends meet, so many unexpected things happened along the way, and he had quite a lot of cleanup work to do. First of all, he had to inform the government about this supernatural disturbance at the Class C level, even though the government wasn't doing anything about it at the moment. Then, someone from Qingyu Tower died, and he had to explain to them what happened. And then there was that damned conference. Supernatural disturbances had been increasing in recent years, and he had just taken on such a disciple. Shouldn't he...?
But just as he was pondering this, somewhere no one was paying attention, his upper body suddenly moved slightly.

The movement was so subtle that it was impossible to notice unless you looked closely.

A voice could be faintly heard.

"Run away."

Old Li subconsciously looked around, but no one spoke.

Then, the sound suddenly became clear.

"Run away!"

Old Li looked down and realized that the sound was coming from the half of his body on the ground.

The body's mouth opened painfully, quickly exceeding the limits of what a normal person could achieve, and a miniature coffin emerged from it—the very same one that had just been carried away by the two underworld officials!
You son of a bitch, if you took the money, at least do the job properly!
Forgetting about cursing the two guys anymore, Old Man Li quickly picked up his mourning stick and prepared to chant the funeral rites again.

However, by then, it was too late.

Old Man Li felt the entire space around him becoming thinner, and the barrier between reality and the underworld gradually disappeared—the situation was even worse than before. If this guy were to crawl out, the entire Zhangping would be tainted by death energy and completely turned into a ghostly realm no different from the Yin Road!

But who can we count on now?
Flower Lady?
No, all her magical skills rely on external forces, and there's simply no time for her to pick up her zither now.

Her disciple is Hanlu?
No, that won't work either. Although this person is a dancer and has sufficient ability to engage enemies, she is too far away and it's impossible for her to get here in time.

Who is there?
But at that moment, a short knife slashed towards them like a firefly.

Old Li looked up in astonishment, only to realize that this was an apprentice he hadn't even considered. And the reason he hadn't considered him was quite simple.

—This kid is clever, and he has some skills, but he hasn't even been practicing for long. He can at most play the role of a funeral officiant, and at most he can handle things like iron chains that are strong enough to make bricks fly. He doesn't have any magical power to directly confront this kind of evil spirit.

But now, he saw a faint glow emanating from the dagger.

Although faint, this is a legitimate Taoist talisman for warding off evil.

Where did this kid get this?

But before he could think too much about it, Zhou You shouted.

"Master, what the hell are you spacing out for!"

It was extremely impolite behavior, but Old Man Li immediately snapped out of it, then grabbed his mourning stick and slammed it hard on the ground.

"The immortals have not yet closed their eyes; please send off the spirits once more!"

With these words, the paper figures he had painstakingly gathered gradually turned to ashes. Although his heart was still bleeding, at least the coffin that had been struggling to emerge was pushed back down.

He doesn't need to hold out for long; once the two ghost messengers realize the thing is missing, they will naturally take it back.

However, seeing that escape was hopeless, the creature actually chose another method.

That is to drag others down with you.

Old Man Li was a bit far away and couldn't reach him for a moment, but there was another person closer to him.

Layers of fleshy growths climbed up Zhou You's arm with such force that his already weak body had no chance to resist. He could only watch as he was dragged over bit by bit.

However, just as Old Man Li was sweating profusely with anxiety but was completely unable to stop it.

—A peach blossom fan suddenly unfolded.

The Cold Dew has finally arrived.

The fan fluttered, and the fleshy bud was instantly severed—quickly, with the combined efforts of the two, the thing could only fall back down with a resentful scream.

But before it left, it used its last bit of strength to smash open the remaining barrier!
Seeing the Yin Road reappear in Zhangping City, Old Man Li's eyes almost bled from staring—but at this moment, Zhou You suddenly spoke.

"Master, why don't I go in first?"

Old Li was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood.

Indeed, now only Zhou You remains connected to them. As long as he jumps in himself, the breach will naturally be closed.

but
"Get lost! You're still my disciple, no matter how disrespectful you are, a disciple is still a disciple. What kind of master sends their disciple to their death? You wait, I'll burn through my entire fortune to give you this!"

Just then, Zhou You sighed again.

"Don't worry, Master. I've walked this path through the underworld many times before. I know that place pretty well. Nothing will happen."

"Bullshit! You're so young, how could you possibly wait? Are you serious?"

Looking at Zhou You's seemingly genuine face, and then at the ever-expanding, clearly unstoppable cracks around him, Old Man Li could only grit his teeth and shout.

"Are you sure it's genuine?"

"Absolutely true."

"Alright, I'll trust you this once!"

Old Li twirled his mourning staff and changed his method again.

Dozens of paper figures began to burn simultaneously. At the same time, Old Man Li rummaged around in his sheepskin coat and pulled out an old book that was clearly quite old, which he then stuffed into Zhou You's arms.

“You’ve only been with me for a short time, and I haven’t taught you everything I need to know. This is a method passed down from our White Clan’s ancestors. You should study it carefully when you have time—but don’t lose it, or your ancestors, including me, will kill you.”

Old Man Li took a deep breath and then gave further instructions.

"Also, once you enter this Yin Road, no one knows where you'll end up—but remember, your master is headed to the Ghost Market in Beian City. I'll be waiting for you there, and you absolutely have to come—"

Zhou You simply smiled as he spoke.

"Don't worry, Master, I will definitely come to you. After all, I still need your help to finish this script."

"What the hell are you talking about, kid?"

But what Old Man Li saw in the end was just an arm that was waving around nonchalantly.

After that, the underworld and reality were severed.

a few days later.

After helping Old Man Li resolve everything, Hua Niangzi watched as the old man hurriedly set off again to find his apprentice. Finally, filled with melancholy, she returned to the inn.

Just as she was sighing over an IOU, the door was suddenly pushed open.

She didn't look up; after all, only one person could have passed through the allure of the brothel and come here.

Looking at her sorrowful face, the man smiled.

"Since you're so reluctant to let go, why don't you just chase after him? Anyway, that old man can't do anything about you. If you stick by his side like a leech, he can't possibly chase you away."

Upon hearing these teasing words, the sorrow on Hua Niangzi's face did not ease but instead deepened.

Coupled with her already stunning beauty, she now appeared even more pitiful.

"I know, but if I do that, wouldn't I be the one who ends up paying for it?"

The visitor chuckled but didn't say anything more. Instead, he sat down on the other side and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

"I really don't understand you. You clearly like him to death, but you're so stubborn, just like a duck."

Hua Niangzi rolled her eyes and then looked at the person opposite her.

"Never mind how stubborn I am, but what about you? Have you found what you're looking for?"

"Found it. Luckily, we had those two helpers, otherwise this wouldn't have been so easy."

Amidst the rising steam of the tea, the man revealed a satisfied smile.

If Zhou You were still here, he would surely recognize him immediately.

This person speaks to Lady Hua on equal terms, and whose status is even subtly superior to Lady Hua's.

He used to be so unsophisticated and barely spoke.
That 'Cold Dew'.

(End of this chapter)