I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

"Waaaaah..."

"Waaaaah..."

The candles in the morgue burned steadily.

When Su Ya and Yang Asha left the room, their faces were only slightly pale.

Side Quest 2: "Wearing Funeral Clothes" Completed, Completion Rating: Excellent.

[Found a clue fragment: "The village is suffering from a severe rat infestation; every household has rat holes. It seems that Old Mrs. Huang kept a large black cat before she passed away."]

[Progress in solving the mystery +15%]

……

As soon as the two stepped outside, the eight players waiting there immediately surrounded them, bombarding them with questions about what had happened.

Seeing that they were safe and sound, with not even the hem of their clothes disheveled, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I told you there was nothing wrong during the day!"

Xiao Ding patted his chest, his tightly clenched makeup bag loosening. "What kind of trouble can happen when you dress up a dead person?"

"Yeah, it scared me half to death before, but it turns out it's not that bad."

Xiao Zhuang laughed along, his tone feigning nonchalance.

Lin Jianguo frowned but didn't reply; he felt the mission had gone too smoothly.

But with so many people in front of him, he couldn't spoil the fun, so he asked in a deep voice, "Who's next for a solo mission? Xiao Ding will be the one to pay the bet, right?"

"Ah...it's me."

The color drained from Xiao Ding's face instantly.

She had breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that everyone else had gone in and was fine, but now that it was her turn, that feeling of oppression and anxiety surged up from her stomach again.

Clutching the quest item, the Five Emperors Coins, she stood dawdling at the door of the earthen house.

"Don't be afraid, just follow the mission prompts."

Su Ya patted her arm and kindly comforted her, "We're all outside. Just call out if you need anything. Besides, there are two children inside."

"Yes, I understand."

Xiao Ding took a deep breath and, as if heading to the execution ground, lifted the curtain and slipped inside.

……

The moment the curtain fell, the noise outside subsided.

The two children were still kneeling before the coffin, weeping bitterly, their voices choked with sobs.

"Don't cry..."

Xiao Ding felt uneasy at the sound of crying, but dared not say anything, so he swallowed his words and put on a smiling face:

"Little one, don't cry. Your grandma wouldn't want you to be so sad either—"

A thought struck her quickly. She tossed the copper coin in her hand, then cautiously glanced outside before lowering her voice to speak to the little girl kneeling to her right:

"Little sister, could you please do me a favor and help me put this coin under your grandma's tongue? I'm a little hesitant."

The little girl kneeling before the altar didn't move at all, only lowering her head, covering her face, and crying "Waaah!"

"That idiot, he's not smart at all."

Seeing that the two children were unwilling to help, Xiao Ding cursed in frustration.

But she had no choice but to grit her teeth and walk to the body.

— Suya and Yang Asha had already dressed the body in burial clothes. The exquisite burial clothes hanging on the old lady really gave her a noble air.

Xiao Ding swallowed hard, staring intently at the corpse on the door panel.

The corpse's face was exposed, its eyes were closed, and its skin was grayish-blue.

Xiao Ding was afraid that if he looked at it even once more, he would have nightmares that night.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm just a worker, I'll leave as soon as I finish my task, please forgive me..."

She muttered to herself to bolster her courage as she slowly moved to the head of the bed.

The task is simple: place the five-emperor coins under the deceased's tongue, with the tip of the tongue pressing down on the coins, ensuring they are not tilted.

What should have been an easy task for Xiao Ding felt like an insurmountable obstacle.

Staring at the old woman's purplish lips, she dared not reach out to pry them open.

People are strange.

To put it bluntly, a living person is a piece of raw meat that can move.

A dead person is just a quiet piece of raw meat.

But people can calmly touch pork, mutton, beef, chicken, and fish—yet they cannot face the corpses of their own kind.

This is a fear etched into our genes.

Xiao Ding gritted his teeth and suddenly closed his eyes.

Close your eyes.

If you close your eyes and can't see, you won't be afraid.

Her left hand trembled as she reached out, trying to pry open the corpse's mouth.

Without sight, the sense of touch is instantly magnified countless times:

My fingertips touched the skin on my chin first; it was cold and stiff, like touching a piece of dead pork.

The corpse's lips were taut, and Xiao Ding used his thumb to pry them open with a little effort.

Next comes the tactile sensation of the tongue.

It's hard and tough, with a dry surface and a slightly rough, frosted texture. It feels like a braised pig tongue that you bought from the market and left out for several days.

Xiao Ding felt like crying but couldn't, and almost vomited.

She will never eat braised pig's tongue again!

She felt a churning in her stomach and almost vomited, but she managed to suppress the nausea and stuff the copper coin under her tongue.

My hand was shaking so badly that the edge of the coin jerked and grazed the right corner of the deceased's mouth.

A slight tearing sensation came through.

Xiao Ding's heart skipped a beat. He opened his eyes and was instantly terrified.

It's torn!

She cut the corner of the corpse's mouth!

The old lady had a small cut on the right corner of her mouth from the copper coin, but no blood came out.

A scratch was left on her grayish-black skin, as if the dead man was grinning at her, eerie and chilling.

Xiao Ding's mind went blank, and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

The corpse is about to turn into a zombie!!

Mission failed!

Her legs went weak with fear, and she almost burst into tears on the spot: "Why am I so unlucky—I had to draw this mission!"

Just then, Xiao Ding caught a glimpse of the makeup bag she was carrying out of the corner of her eye.

A brilliant idea flashed through her mind, and she almost shouted out in excitement.

She's a makeup artist on the film crew, so she should have pressed powder in her bag!

Like grasping at a last straw, Xiao Ding hurriedly opened her makeup bag and found the powder compact.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..."

She apologized softly as she applied a thick layer of powder with a powder puff, held her breath, and carefully applied it to the old woman's wound at the corner of her mouth.

The powder shade was off-white, which was surprisingly close to the grayish-blue color of the corpse.

As you apply layer upon layer of powder, the marks become increasingly faint.

In the end, you can't even notice it unless you look closely.

Xiao Ding checked it three times to make sure there were no flaws before letting out a long sigh of relief.

Her back was already soaked with cold sweat, clinging to her body with a chill.

She quickly stuffed the copper coin under the tongue, gently closed the deceased's mouth, adjusted the collar of the burial shroud, and, after confirming there were no other flaws, turned to leave.

As soon as I turned around, I saw that the white curtain had been lifted a crack.

Huang Facai craned his neck, peering inside.

His neck was stretched out so long that it made one wonder, "Could a living person really do that?"—he had that smile on his face, his eyes were narrowed, and his gaze was fixed on the corpse's face.

His mouth was stretched into a wide grin; it was impossible to tell how long he had been staring.

Xiao Ding's heart jumped into his throat, and he even stopped breathing for a moment.

Did he see it?

……

……

"Hey beautiful, all done?"

Huang Facai shifted his gaze from the corpse's face to Xiao Ding and chuckled, "Are you done? Come out when you're done. Don't stay in there too long and disturb my mom."

Despite saying that, he kept his feet stuck outside the house and refused to take a step.

His tone was normal, and there was no hint of anything unusual about it.

But Xiao Ding always felt that the other party had seen everything.

But she dared not ask any more questions, nor dared she linger any longer. She mumbled an "Mmm" and quickly lifted the curtain to leave.

A line of ink-wash text popped up before her eyes:

Side Quest 1: "Bribery Money" Completed. Completion Level: Poor.

[Clue fragment obtained: "There is a clay ghost covered with a red cloth in the main hall of the ancestral hall..."]

[Progress in solving the mystery +5%]

Perhaps due to a mishap, she only received half a sentence as a clue to the mission.

……

……

As soon as he stepped out of the morgue, a gust of wind blew in his face, and Xiao Ding's legs went weak, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

"What's wrong? Why are you so scared?"

Xiao Zhuang leaned closer, looking frightened. "Are you alright?"

Xiao Ding shook his head, not mentioning that he had cut the corner of the corpse's mouth.

—What if everyone finds out and blames her for causing trouble?

"Alright, who's next? Hurry up and do your missions. The rest of us, let's gather the mission clues."

Lin Jianguo turned to look at Xiao Ding, wanting to ask her about the clues she had obtained for the mission. The latter was already feeling a bit guilty, and her eyes darted around.

She pursed her lips and, forcing herself to speak, uttered the half-finished clue: "There's a clay statue covered with a red cloth in the ancestral hall—"

For some reason, Xiao Ding added a sentence as if possessed, trying to make his clues seem similar to those obtained by Su Ya, Lin Jianguo, and others:

"...The clay ghost is dangerous; do not enter the main hall of the ancestral temple."

—A clay ghost sounds scary, so it's probably okay for her to say that.

Fortunately, Su Ya and the others did not notice anything unusual, nor did they realize that Xiao Ding had only obtained half a clue.

Xiao Ding was secretly delighted and let out a soft breath.

……

Next came the task of providing food for the deceased and covering them with a shroud.

Xiao Zhuang first brought in three large bowls of white rice, and then ten minutes later, he came out dejectedly, indicating that he had not received any task notifications.

Xiao Qian went in with a white cloth, came out trembling, and cried, saying that the eyes on the corpse were open, and the deceased in the portrait also had open eyes and wouldn't let her cover them.

His mission naturally failed as well.

Of the five tasks, only three were completed.

The group exchanged bewildered glances; the relaxed atmosphere from moments before had vanished completely.

"How could two fail..." one of the players who hadn't been assigned a task complained. "It's just setting out a meal and covering it with a cloth, right?"

"You make it sound so easy, then why don't you go?"

Xiao Ding was already feeling guilty, so this accusation sounded particularly harsh to her. "We're not from a funeral home, we don't see dead people all the time—ask around, who here touches corpses every day?!"

It looked like the players were about to start arguing.

"Alright!"

Su Ya pursed her lips and interrupted the others, "If we failed, we failed. There's no point in arguing about who's at fault now. Let's look at the clues we've gathered first."

The group then stopped their efforts and compiled the clues they had gathered.

……

……

Clue 1: Old Mrs. Huang died unjustly. Before her death, she kept a large, pure black old cat that was extremely intelligent.

Clue 2: Every household in Huangshan Village has hidden rat holes, and the rat infestation has been a long-standing problem, but the villagers never mention it.

Clue 3: There is a clay ghost in the main hall of the Huang Family Ancestral Hall... The main hall of the ancestral hall is dangerous and should not be approached.

……

Three clues, three events.

The old lady was wrongfully killed; she had a cat before she died.

There are rats in the village.

There is a ghost in the main hall of the ancestral hall.

The three clues were completely unrelated, leaving everyone bewildered.

"What on earth is going on?"

Yang Hexuan scratched his head. "What kind of clues are they giving? Are they playing with turtle soup? It's completely irrelevant. Cats and mice, what do they have to do with the old lady's wish?"

"Yeah, I thought doing the missions would give me something useful, but this is all?"

"That's as good as saying nothing at all."

"The old lady's wish isn't to continue petting cats after she dies, is it? Or does she want to catch that cat and burn it for her?"

"That doesn't make sense either. Aren't there plenty of stray cats in this village? How come there's a rat problem... Did we just waste our time completing this mission?"

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, mostly complaints.

Originally, I thought that completing the task would give me a crucial clue, but instead I got three completely unrelated pieces of information, which only made me more and more confused.