Rules of the Strange: Starting with the Lunar New Year's Eve Dungeon

Ghost Father and Grandpa caught the bead, stuffed it directly into their mouths, chewed it up with a "crunch" and swallowed it, and their aura instantly became stronger.

Big-headed Ghost watched from the side, trembling with fear, not daring to even breathe loudly.

That's so brutal! That's so terrifying!

Eating ghosts like snacks? Just who are this family?

"Alright, get lost."

Yunxi waved her hand

"Remember this, from now on this road belongs to the Li family. If I see you robbing people here again, I'll twist your head off and use it as a football!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll get out now! I'll get out now!"

Big-headed Ghost scrambled away, more than ten times faster than when he came.

Yunxi watched its departing figure, clapped her hands, and turned to her family, saying...

"See, that's the truth. Sometimes, a fist is more effective than a mouth."

"Let's go! Next stop, the village chief's house!"

The chat room was flooded with comments.

"Is this what they call winning people over with virtue? Virtue that overflows with martial prowess!"

"Big Head Ghost: I was terrified. I thought I was the hunter, but I was the prey."

"Yunxi's move was brilliant. She not only established her authority but also boosted her family's experience points."

"Next stop: the village chief's house? I have a feeling this village chief is in for trouble."

Indeed, the village chief of Fengmen Village is no benevolent figure. In the background story of this instance, the village chief is one of the instigators who caused the entire village to become a ghost town.

Yunxi led her family in a grand procession toward the large mansion in the very center of the village.

There, the air was thick with yin energy, and a faint red light appeared.

......

After resolving the minor incident on the way, Yunxi and her family finally arrived at the core area of ​​Fengmen Village—the village chief's mansion.

This house is much more impressive than the old Li family mansion. There are two huge stone lions at the entrance, except that the eyes of the stone lions are red and are dripping blood.

The gate was pitch black, with two bright green lanterns hanging above it, giving off a sinister and eerie atmosphere.

Before she even entered the room, a new notification sound popped up in Yunxi's mind.

[Warning! You are about to enter a special area: the Village Chief's Residence.]

[Side quest triggered: The Village Chief's Invitation.]

[Mission Description: The village chief has hosted a New Year's banquet, inviting all the village's "prominent figures." Your task is to please the village chief and leave alive.]

Immediately afterwards, lines of new rules appeared before Yunxi's eyes.

[Rules for the Village Chief's Family Banquet on the First Day of the Lunar New Year]

[1. When entering the village chief's house, you must bring a gift. The more valuable the gift, the closer you will be to the front of the table. If you have no gift, you are the gift.]

Second, all dishes at a banquet must be eaten; leaving any food uneaten is disrespectful to the host.

Thirdly, you must drink the toast offered by the village chief, and you must drink it all in one gulp.

[4. There may be some "entertainment activities" during the meal. Please keep smiling and refrain from screaming, as this will be considered disruptive.]

5. Never ask the village chief his age, and never stare at his face for more than three seconds.

After reading the rules, Yunxi smiled knowingly.

"Attending a banquet? I'd like that."

He glanced back at the few moldy steamed buns in his mother's tattered basket; clearly, the gift was rather unpresentable.

"As for gifts... we already have some ready-made."

Yunxi pointed to the mourning stick he had just seized from the big-headed ghost (that's right, he picked it up on the spur of the moment), and a few stones he had picked up from the roadside.

"Dad, break this mourning stick in half and give it to the village chief as a jade ruyi. These stones, wrapped in red paper, are dinosaur egg fossils. We're cultured people; we have to be mindful of auspicious meanings when giving gifts."

The ghost father stared blankly at the stinking mourning stick in his hand.

Is this supposed to be called a jade ruyi?

This is clearly the weapon that big-headed ghost used to beat people up, isn't it?

But under Yunxi's confident gaze, Ghost Father obediently did as he was told.

"Let's go in and freeload!"

Yunxi straightened her collar and strode towards the gloomy door.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Open the door! The eldest grandson of the Li family has come to wish us a Happy New Year!"

The door slowly opened, making a teeth-grinding scraping sound.

The person who opened the door was a paper maid wearing a red cotton-padded jacket. Her makeup was extremely exaggerated, with two red cheeks that looked like monkey bottoms, and her mouth stretched all the way to her ears.

"Welcome...Young Master Li..."

The paper maid's voice was shrill and piercing, and she made a gesture of invitation.

Upon entering the courtyard, a strong stench of blood assaulted the senses.

The courtyard was filled with tables, and all sorts of oddly shaped "villagers" were sitting there.

Some were headless, using their heads as plates on the table; some were covered in hair, gnawing on a raw pig's trotter; and others were tearing at each other, seemingly fighting over something.

Is this what is meant by a "prominent" person?

As soon as Yunxi and the others entered, the previously noisy courtyard instantly fell silent.

All the ghosts' eyes were focused on this combination of "one person and three ghosts".

Especially when they saw the ghost father who was covered in bronze light and the zombie king grandfather who was covered in corpse energy, many of the little ghosts subconsciously shrank their necks.

The Li family is not to be trifled with.

Yunxi, however, acted as if she hadn't seen any of this, and greeted everyone with a beaming smile and clasped her hands in a respectful bow.

"Dear neighbors! Happy Chinese New Year! How are you eating? You seem to have a good appetite!"

He greeted everyone as he led his family toward the main table at the far end of the room.

There was only one person sitting at the main table.

It was an old man dressed in a black Tang suit, leaning on a dragon-headed cane.

His face was wrinkled, like dried orange peel, and his eyes were cloudy, yet they shone with a sinister light.

This is the village chief of Fengmen Village—an old monster who has lived for countless years.

"Oh, the Li family's young master, what a rare guest."

The village chief looked at Yunxi with a forced smile.

"I heard you chased away the Nian monster last night? You've really made something of yourself."

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just lucky."

Yunxi smiled and placed the stone wrapped in red paper on the table.

"Village Chief, this is a small token of my appreciation. It's a top-quality dinosaur egg fossil, a very rare find. I wish you a long and prosperous life."

The village chief glanced at the "fossil" that looked exactly like a roadside stone, and his lips twitched.

Does this kid think I'm blind?

However, he did not react, because he also sensed the unusual aura emanating from Yunxi, especially the zombie king who was grinding its teeth beside him, which made him somewhat wary.

"Please sit down."

The village chief waved his hand, "Since you're here, try some of our village's specialties."

Yunxi sat down casually, and her ghost parents and grandfather followed suit, instantly taking up half of the main table.

Soon, the paper maid came up carrying a plate.

"First dish: Braised Lion's Head Meatballs."

As soon as the lid was lifted, a pungent, fishy smell assaulted my senses.

What's on the plate isn't a lion's head at all, it's clearly several bloody human heads!

Moreover, the head was still moving, the eyes were still rolling, and it was even making faint cries for help.

"Help...help..."