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

Yunxi's "Spring Festival couplets to ward off evil spirits" not only blew away the monsters outside the door, but also shattered the world's values.

The villager NPC who fell into the courtyard is now slumped on the ground, trembling all over, his eyes filled with the terror and confusion of surviving a disaster.

He looked at the Spring Festival couplets above his head, which were still faintly glowing, and muttered to himself.

"What... what kind of divine magic is this? I've lived this long and I've never seen red paper kill ghosts before..."

Yunxi didn't care about him. As long as you enter this courtyard, you'll be protected by the "New Year's Flavor Field." As long as you don't do anything reckless, you're basically guaranteed to survive.

He looked at the sky.

The hazy sky had begun to darken completely, a suffocating blackness that seemed to swallow even the light.

Several mournful cries of crows echoed from the depths of the village, sending chills down one's spine.

"It's about time to get down to business."

Yunxi clapped her hands and turned to look at her cheap ghost father huddled in the corner.

"Dad, stop shaking, or your bones will fall apart." Yunxi walked over and kicked her father's shin.

"It's getting dark, time to go pick up Grandpa."

Upon hearing the words "pick up Grandpa," the already purplish-blue face turned deathly pale—though it was hard to imagine how the purplish-blue could turn white, the fear emanated from his very bones.

He shook his head desperately, making "hoho" sounds in his throat, and clung tightly to the door frame with both hands, as if he were being dragged to the execution ground.

Yunxi frowned.

"What? You don't want to go? That's your own father! During the New Year, how can you, as his son, let him go out alone and starve?"

The ghost father was almost in tears.

Is that his biological father? That's a thousand-year-old zombie from the mass grave at the west end of the village! We'd normally avoid it like the plague, and now we're going to bring it back? Isn't this like delivering takeout?

But under Yunxi's oppressive gaze, especially when he saw that Yunxi was still holding a piece of red paper that hadn't been used up, Ghost Father finally gave in.

Compared to that terrifying old zongzi, this filial son who would cover people's faces with red paper at the drop of a hat seemed a bit more frightening.

"That's right."

Yunxi nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Ghost Mother and called out.

"Mom, don't just sit there. Go to the kitchen and chop the dumpling filling. Remember, chop it finely, or you'll find a fingernail or something in your dumpling, or I'll flip the table!"

The ghost mother trembled and ducked into the kitchen with her head down.

After arranging everything at home, Yunxi slung her somewhat worn-out backpack over her shoulder, grabbed her ghost father, and walked out the door.

At this moment, in the Dragon Kingdom's live broadcast room.

"What's he going to do? It's almost dark, why is he going out?"

"Didn't you hear him say he was going to pick up Grandpa? My God, what kind of guy could Grandpa from Fengmen Village be? He's probably some big boss!"

"I heard that in Japan, Tanaka Taro was hiding under the bed. He was so hungry that he came out to find something to eat, and he found a human head in the rice bin. He was so scared that he fainted on the spot."

"Don't mention that coward, I just want to know where Yunxi is going to pick up Grandpa."

In the scene, Yunxi and Guidie walk on a quiet village road.

It was completely dark, pitch black all around. Only the red lantern Yunxi was carrying emitted a faint light, illuminating the muddy path beneath her feet.

Ghost Father walked ahead, leading the way. He really didn't want to walk, turning back every few steps, his eyes filled with the sorrow of an abandoned young widow.

"Watch where you're going! Don't look at me!"

Yunxi slapped Ghost Father on the back of the head.

"I can't conjure anything up now. Hurry up, don't keep Grandpa waiting."

The ghost father, feeling wronged, held his head in his hands and quickened his pace.

The further west you go into the village, the heavier the yin energy becomes.

The trees on both sides of the road had long since withered, and their twisted branches cast menacing shadows under the glow of the red lanterns, like evil spirits lurking in the darkness.

The air was filled with a strong stench of decay, mixed with the acrid smell of burning paper money.

Suddenly, a strange crying sound came from ahead.

"Waaaah... My son... Why haven't you come back yet..."

The sound was sometimes near, sometimes far, and it was unpredictable, making people's hearts tremble.

The ghost father stopped abruptly, his body stiffening, refusing to take another step forward.

Yunxi raised an eyebrow

"What? Did you run into someone you know?"

He raised the lantern and shone it forward.

A woman dressed in white was squatting by the roadside ahead.

The woman had her back to them, her shoulders swaying as she burned paper money. But instead of yellow paper, she was burning pale human skin.

"Waaaaah... It's the Lunar New Year... Who will keep me company...?"

The woman seemed to notice the light behind her and slowly stopped crying.

She didn't turn around, but her head turned 180 degrees backward, just like that ghostly old woman from before!

It was a face without features! Like a blank canvas, with only a bloody crack in the middle, from which black blood was still dripping.

"Hey bro...where are you going...please stay and play with me...?"

The crack opened and closed, producing a sound like two pieces of iron rubbing against each other, extremely grating.

Many people in the live stream covered their ears.

"Holy crap! A faceless woman! This is an S-class vengeful ghost!"

"Yunxi, be careful! Don't look at her face! You'll be cursed if you do!"

"Oh no, oh no, we're in the middle of nowhere, there's no door for him to put up Spring Festival couplets, how are we going to fight now?"

Faced with this terrifying scene, Ghost Father was already so frightened that he crouched on the ground and ran away with his head in his hands.

But what about Yunxi?

Instead of running away, he took two steps forward and shoved the red lantern in his hand into the faceless woman's face.

"Play? Play my ass!"

Yunxi looked impatient

"Can't you see I'm busy? Instead of staying home making dumplings for the New Year, what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere acting like a big shot? And what's wrong with your face? Don't you have money for makeup? Being ugly isn't your fault, but scaring people is!"

The faceless woman was clearly taken aback by this sudden barrage of insults.

Her gaping mouth froze, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

According to the script, shouldn't this person scream and run away, only to be caught up and swallowed whole? This plot isn't going in the right direction!

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a handsome guy before?"

Yunxi looked her up and down, then curled her lip in disgust.

"Wearing all white, you look like you're going to a funeral. It's New Year's Eve! Don't you know the rules? Go home and change into something red! If I see you out and about in this again, believe me, I'll skin you alive and use your skin as a lantern!"

As she spoke, Yunxi took out an unlit red candle from her bag and threw it at the feet of the Faceless Woman like a bone.

"Here you go! Consider it your New Year's money. Now get lost! Don't block the way!"

The moment the red candle fell to the ground, it emitted a pure yang energy.

The faceless woman screamed as if she had been burned, picked up the red candle, turned and ran, as fast as Liu Xiang hurdling, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The live stream room fell silent, then erupted in a burst of laughter.