Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 483 Strange Events
Although I don't know what kind of formation those two guys set up, judging from their appearance, even an idiot should know.

If the candle burns brightly, nothing can get in from outside, and everyone can survive. If the candle goes out, everyone in this room will die!

But then a problem arises—how can we preserve this candlelight?
He didn't even have a flint with him, let alone something that probably couldn't be lit by ordinary flames.
Wait a moment.

Zhou You suddenly realized something.

When those two guys came in to set up the formation, there weren't just these candles; there were quite a few other things around, perhaps...
Is there anything we can find to salvage the situation?

Seeing that another candle had gone out, and the eerie silence began to spread again, Zhou You didn't have time to think anymore. Dragging his ailing body, he rushed to a shaky array point.

However, he was immediately taken aback.

I was huddled in the corner before, and the room was so dark that I couldn't see clearly, but now that I look closely, I can see it.

The materials used to set up this formation are, well, incredibly powerful and unorthodox.

The foundation was a simple white clay brick, with several flag-like objects stuck around it, and a miniature scarecrow standing in the middle, as if worshipping the candle in the very center.

It seemed fine at first glance, but who was Zhou You? He had seen countless strange things along the way, so he recognized the problem at a glance.

He scraped the adobe brick with his hand, revealing the fine, sharp stubble underneath. He then smelled the dripping wax and quickly identified what materials these were.

"The foundation stones were made by mixing human bones with mud, and the wax was refined from human fat. As for these straw figures..."

He stretched out a finger and dug a small opening in the straw.

Within it, a set of organs, shrunk hundreds of times but still intact, continued to pulsate—

This thing is actually alive!
Hearing the straw man's silent screams, Zhou You quickly put it down, then frowned, took a step back, and turned his gaze to the flags.

Both are made of human bones for the pole and human skin for the banner, but the patterns on them look increasingly familiar to Zhou You.

After thinking about it carefully, he quickly realized what was going on.

"Isn't this the cloud pattern from talisman magic? Wait, maybe I can fix this?"

Seeing the patterns on it getting darker and darker, Zhou You wanted to bite his finger—but after thinking about it, he dipped his finger into the straw doll's body twice, and then slowly filled in the faded areas according to his memory.

Strangely enough, just as the patterns gradually became clearer, the candle that was about to go out actually stabilized, and as the straw figure below kept bowing, the light gradually spread outward.

It wasn't very bright, but combined with the other array points, it was enough to cover the barn.

at the same time.

The 'silence' outside stopped.

The word 'stop' is quite subtle.

Normally, the 'action' should have stopped and returned to silence, but this was the exact opposite. The moment it stopped, the roars of the Taoist priests and the wails of the villagers instantly reached our ears—although they disappeared again after only a few seconds.

but.

Zhou You also sensed that the other party seemed to really not want to chew on this hard shell anymore and planned to find another place to eat.

after all.

There aren't many people in this village, but it's enough for a meal.

Zhou You, having exhausted all his strength, could only sit down on the ground against the pile of straw, then tilt his head back and look at the gloomy sky through the skylight.

And they kept looking until dawn.

—And then, I don’t know how much time passed.

The noise came again—it was the sound of the large lock outside being opened—a few breaths later, Xuan Cheng leaned in and looked around with his bloodshot eyes.

Zhou You huddled in the corner, seemingly like the other unconscious children around him, but through his half-closed eyes, he could still see Xuan Cheng's extremely astonished expression.

"Damn it, I was prepared for this whole batch of goods to be lost and for me to be punished when I got back, but I didn't expect that only a few people would die."

But before he could finish his reflection, another voice came from behind him.

"Didn't I tell you to hurry up and collect the body? Even though that thing is gone, but..."

However, the sound also stopped abruptly.

Han Xuzi, who had just walked in, was also taken aback, but he immediately turned around and asked.

"How is this going?"

Xuan Cheng chuckled.

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Even with our uncle's protection last night, we were still in such dire straits. Several of our fellow disciples perished. I never expected so many of these little brats to survive. I remember this exorcising formation was given to us by our grandmaster, right? Could it really be some kind of ancient immortal's inheritance?"

"how is this possible?"

Han Xuzi rolled his eyes.

"You're dreaming. Such a valuable item shouldn't fall into our hands. Besides, you've seen its effectiveness before; it can only hold off those monsters for a while, and even then, it risks provoking them."

Xuan Cheng wanted to say something after hearing this, but he ignored him and instead carried the body that was lying on the ground to the front of the magic array, seemingly wanting to examine it carefully.

Zhou You, who was dressed in formal attire, suddenly stiffened.

—As luck would have it, this guy was heading straight for the very spot he had repaired!

What if he really finds out?
A slight feeling of annoyance had just surfaced, but Zhou You quickly suppressed it.

Given the circumstances at the time, if he didn't fix it himself, he would only be waiting to die. On one hand, it was game over, and on the other hand, he could still take a gamble. Even a fool would know which choice to make.

However, a problem has arisen.

How should I escape after being exposed?

Zhou You glanced at the skylight of the barn.

This may seem like an insurmountable barrier to a child, but it's actually not difficult for him to climb over it.

After a night, their bodies had recovered considerably. In addition, the Taoists were clearly exhausted, both physically and mentally. Given this disparity, the probability of them escaping by risking the destruction of a protective dragon scale was not low.

Outside the village lies a vast expanse of primeval forest; once you reach that point, you're basically safe.
Zhou You turned his gaze to the little girl and the boy named Aqua.

He ran away, but what about the two left behind?

He didn't believe there were any legal provisions in this godforsaken world that would treat associates well. He might be able to run away, but these two were definitely going to get into serious trouble.

so
However, just as he was thinking of a way to achieve the best of both worlds, Hanxuzi, who was checking the array points, suddenly paused.

—They've arrived?
To Zhou You's surprise, the man only paused for a few breaths before casually gathering all the materials together.

Xuan Cheng, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately asked upon seeing this.

"So, have you found any clues?"

Han Xuzi shook his head. "No, the formation hasn't changed at all, it's just that it's been drained too much and it'll probably have to be scrapped."

"How did these guys survive?"

Hanxuzi lowered his head and pondered for a few seconds before speaking.

"Perhaps it was just luck? That thing had taken too much effort from my master, and with dawn approaching, he didn't want to waste any more energy on these children, so after a few unsuccessful attempts, he went to find other food."

It was a rather far-fetched answer, but after thinking about it for a while, Xuancheng actually agreed with this explanation.

"That's true, after all, with those guys' physiques, they wouldn't even be enough to fill his teeth."

After saying that, he casually kicked the child next to him.

"Stop pretending to be dead! It's already dawn. Get up now or I'll wake you all up one by one!"

Soon, all the surviving children in the barn were called to a table.

Xuan Cheng originally wanted to ask a few more questions, but due to the excessive fear brought by 'that thing' last night, many children showed symptoms of memory loss. The questions he asked were all incoherent, so he had no choice but to give up.

Then, as usual, they were herded into the prison van, locked, and the livestock were tied up—and with a few shouts and the sound of whips, the procession set off again.

Except for a few fewer people wearing Taoist robes, everything was the same as before.

just.

The peaceful atmosphere lasted only until this area was opened.

the reason is simple.

The village, which was as silent as a cemetery yesterday, has suddenly become lively today.

Every household came out of their houses, and neighbors greeted each other warmly. Some small business owners also brought out their carts. The candlelight crackled under the stove, and the soup in the large pot above was boiling. Thin-skinned, generously filled dumplings tumbled in it, and the aroma was so rich that even the children in the prison cart couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

However, they knew their place, and even though they were starving, no one dared to utter a sound.

On the contrary, the vendors who set up their stalls heard the gurgling sound, ladled out a bowl, and handed it over with a smile.

"Are you hungry? Come and have some. Don't worry, it's free. Consider it a gift from me."

Seeing the fragrant wontons sprinkled with cilantro, some starving and somewhat dim-witted children actually tried to take them—but before they could even reach out their hands through the gap, they were pulled back.

But when he looked back, he couldn't see who had pulled him at all.

Zhou You stood by, arms crossed, watching coldly.

Putting aside the fact that those villagers were clearly terrified of this group, why were they suddenly so enthusiastic?

You have to understand that 'that thing' just crossed the border last night. How could everyone be acting like nothing happened after only one night?
Moreover.

Even if I don't know what kind of bag it is, I can see it floating in the milky white soup.

He clearly saw
A human hand that has been soaked until it's rotten.
-
Soon, the convoy arrived at the village entrance.

The village chief had been waiting there for a long time. When he saw the group, he quickly ran over, bowing and greeting them with a smile.

"Gentlemen, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Is there something wrong with the hospitality in our village that we find unsatisfactory?"

This time, it was Xuancheng who came to meet them again.

However, compared to his arrogance yesterday, Xuan Cheng was extremely cautious at this moment—his face even showed a well-hidden, yet clearly heartfelt fear.

"Old man." Although Xuan Cheng hadn't dismounted, he still bowed and addressed him very politely. "It's not that we're dissatisfied, it's just that the sect has urgent matters to attend to, and this batch of disciples can't be delayed, so we must hurry back. We're truly sorry."

"If it's an emergency, then there's nothing we can do." The village chief stroked his beard and smiled as usual. "Alas, it's because our place is too small, so there's not much to be happy about. A few years ago, we suffered from war, and what little we had left..."

Perhaps due to his advanced age, the village chief began to ramble on without him realizing it, and Xuan Cheng could only patiently listen attentively—or pretend to listen attentively.

However, in the prison van next to him, Zhou You's eyes gradually turned cold.

He also discovered where the problem lay.

From beginning to end, the village chief and all the villagers did not change their expressions.

They all had the same beaming smiles and were equally enthusiastic.

Apart from that, there wasn't even the slightest twitch.

After a long while, the village chief finally finished rambling, then looked at Xuan Cheng's application and suddenly slapped his forehead in realization.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. As people get older, they tend to talk a lot. I hope I didn't bother you?"

Xuan Cheng's lips twitched, but he still replied politely.

"No, no, sir, if there's nothing else, we'll be going now?"

Unexpectedly, the village chief laughed again.

"Indeed. But since you gentlemen have stayed here for one night, shouldn't we settle the bill?"

Normally, Xuan Cheng would probably have lashed out with a whip—but now, he merely twitched his lips, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a few silver ingots.

"Look at my memory, I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it—this is the room fee for tonight, plus our food expenses and compensation for the broken things. Would you like to check it?"

The village chief accepted it with a smile and then said...

"No need, I trust the disciples of your prestigious sects."

However, for some reason, the village chief's head suddenly tilted to the side the moment he received the money.

Then, with a 'thud,' it fell to the ground.

And at that neck
Where is the flesh and blood?
Beneath that skin, there was only a mass of dark, unwashed cotton wool, like cotton wool that hadn't been washed for many years.

The area around the prison van fell silent immediately.

Xuan Cheng's face turned ashen, and the children in the prison cart, though terrified, all covered their mouths tightly to prevent themselves from making a sound.

It took the village chief a while to realize what was going on.

He tossed the money aside as if it were worthless, then groped for his head and put it back on.

A silver needle appeared out of nowhere, dancing in mid-air and quickly sewing up the joint. Only then did the village chief smile.

"I wasn't paying attention, please excuse me, gentlemen—I'll take the money, please take care on your way!"

Xuan Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly patted the donkey's rump and shouted towards the front.

"Alright, the problem is solved. They didn't hold it against us and let us off this time—go tell your master."

"We can continue on our way!"

(End of this chapter)