“Cough, cough, cough…”

Wu Wang returned to his dilapidated little hut outside the village. Inside, he saw Wu Xiaoyou sitting on the bed, swinging her feet out of sheer boredom.

Just as he was about to speak, he was wracked by a violent coughing fit.

A sweet, metallic taste welled up in his throat. Wu Wang spat instinctively to the side. The floor was already as filthy as a garbage dump anyway.

【Mental Strength: 35 -> 30】

“Ptooey!“

A thick wad of foul-smelling black blood splattered across the dirt floor.

The atmosphere in the hut froze.

Wu Xiaoyou stared at the ground in astonishment. He had actually coughed up blood!

Wu Wang casually wiped the dark stain from the corner of his mouth.

“I’ve been running a bit of a fever lately,” he said nonchalantly. “Even my phlegm is red. I’ll just drink some herbal tea later and I’ll be fine.”

No, you idiot! Wu Xiaoyou screamed internally. That’s clearly not phlegm! Are you about to die?

Ignoring her strange expression, Wu Wang took a large white mantou from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Get something in your stomach first. When I go out for the feast tonight, I’ll sneak some more back for you.”

After watching her take the steamed bun, Wu Wang turned and sat on the other end of the bed.

He rolled up his sleeve and stared at the Red Vertical Pupil on his wrist. Faint, delirious whispers began to echo in his ears, and his body itched as if something were squirming just beneath his skin.

【Mental Strength: 30, 29, 28…】

Under the stimulation of the Abyss God’s Mark, his gaze grew dazed and his thoughts sluggish. Yet, at the same time, he felt increasingly agitated.

“Cough, cough… I refuse to believe it,” Wu Wang muttered to himself with a grin. “You think you’re tougher than the Abyss God?”

He knew something was wrong the moment he had first coughed.

When he’d died from the bone spur, he had revived the instant he hit the ground. Logically, he should have been in peak condition. Coughing up black blood was a clear sign that something was amiss.

He recalled what the Old Village Chief had said about finding the Yin Fate Great God to deal with him. It seemed this was the result.

It felt like a curse, some kind of black magic that affected him no matter where he was. Worse, it didn’t dissipate upon death. Even after reviving, he was still afflicted.

But none of that mattered.

I’m not even afraid of a Doxxing Strike! Why would I be scared of a low-level trick like this? What kind of curse dares to challenge my big bro, the Abyss God?

“Tzzzz… Ah!”

As expected, while Wu Wang stared at the Red Vertical Pupil, his mind flooding with bizarre whispers and his Mental Strength plummeting, a strange sound tore through the air.

It started as a sizzle, like something being scorched, then crescendoed into a piercing scream before fading into the void.

【Mental Strength: 15】

Wu Wang violently averted his gaze.

He grinned, panting heavily as he laughed.

“How was it? Staring directly at the Abyss God doesn’t feel too good, does it? Hope you don’t turn into a tentacle monster. This is the confidence the Abyss God gives me!”

Not everyone could withstand the bizarre mental impact of looking at the Red Vertical Pupil. Wu Wang could handle it because he could simply say, “Screw it, I’ll just die.”

Other people, and even ghosts, couldn’t go that far.

The entity behind the curse must have just been viciously counter-attacked by the Red Vertical Pupil through the spiritual connection.

That scream had been truly miserable. It was the equivalent of getting blasted through the internet cable.

Turning his head, Wu Wang saw Wu Xiaoyou’s expression had grown even stranger.

She was nibbling on the mantou like a hamster.

“How long do I have to stay here?” she mumbled indistinctly. “It’s so boring.”

She didn’t say a single word about the bizarre events that had just unfolded. She knew it was his secret, and since he hadn’t brought it up, she wouldn’t pry. Though she didn’t understand his crazed state, she chose to respect his privacy.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be here for three days at most,” Wu Wang said cheerfully, catching himself before he could call her ‘Second Sister’. “If you’re really bored, I’ll figure out a way for you to get out tomorrow.”

In a way, the dilapidated hut was very safe. Almost no villagers ever came here, so Wu Xiaoyou was safe for now.

But he couldn’t keep her hidden forever. The Instance wouldn’t provide such an easy loophole. He still had to figure out what the Yin Fate Grand Ritual was all about.

After feeding her, Wu Wang double-jumped out of the hut and set off to explore the area outside the village.

He was gone for several hours and returned at dusk, having gotten a general sense of the surrounding environment.

Yin Fate Village was encircled by mountains, a vast and uninhabited forest with no proper path leading out. Not only that, but the deeper he went into the woods, the more his sense of direction failed him. He would eventually find himself dazedly circling back to the village.

This was highly unusual. To practice his survival skills, Wu Wang had previously trekked through several of the country’s most dangerous “forbidden zones of life” with nothing but a combat knife. He had ganked everything from rats to alligators. A normal adventurer, or even several professional teams combined, couldn’t match his experience in the wild.

For him to lose his bearings meant that some mysterious, invisible force was manipulating the area, preventing anyone from leaving.

As dusk approached, Wu Wang hurried back to the hut. Aunty Li had said she would take him to the village feast, and he had to be there so she wouldn’t discover anything was amiss.

“Er Wa! Are you asleep? Aunty’s here to take you to eat!” Aunty Li’s boisterous voice called from outside.

Inside the hut, Wu Xiaoyou silently put on the ugly hat Wu Wang had given her. The little beggar had claimed that if she wore it and squatted down, no one would see her. She didn’t know why, but despite how absurd it sounded, she found herself believing him.

Click.

The door opened. Aunty Li, a circle of gauze wrapped around her neck, walked in with a forced smile. Her expression was tinged with pity as she looked at Wu Wang.

She knew this poor child was to be offered to the Yin Fate Great God in two days. It was best to let him have a couple of good meals before then. It was always better to be a well-fed ghost on the road to the Yellow Springs.

“Aunty, why are we goin’ outside to eat? Is somethin’ good happenin’?” Wu Wang asked, his eyes taking on a vacant look as he bit his finger like a fool.

After speaking, he picked his nose and wiped the booger on Aunty Li’s clothes.

Hiding in the corner, Wu Xiaoyou almost burst out laughing. It was hard to believe he was faking it. He really did look like a dumb, crazy little kid.

Aunty Li softened her voice as much as she could.

“The day after tomorrow, we’re holding a ritual for the Yin Fate Great God. Starting today, we’ll be feasting for three days straight. We have to make it a grand and splendid affair so the Great God will be pleased and grant the village good weather and fortune.”

As she spoke, she took out a length of coarse rope and tied it around Wu Wang’s neck, afraid he would run away. Then, as if leading a small animal, she pulled the little madman out of the hut.

She didn’t glance at Wu Xiaoyou even once.

It actually works!? Wu Xiaoyou thought, completely dumbfounded. This ugly hat really makes me invisible!

On the way, Wu Wang chattered cheerfully with Aunty Li, spouting what seemed like mad ravings and nonsensical questions. In reality, every few sentences, he would slip in a subtle question to learn more about the village.

He paid no mind to the insulting rope around his neck. In his eyes, Aunty Li was merely a corpse that could talk.

She, and everyone else in Yin Fate Village, would soon pay the price for their actions. Since the Main Quest was unclear, he would just have to improvise.

Sacrifice him in three days? By then, their time would be up.

Just as he’d told the murderers in the Novice Instance, he had never claimed to be a good person. In a way, no one in the world held life in greater contempt than he did. There was no point in getting angry with a corpse.

The two soon arrived at the village plaza.

Wu Wang’s gaze swept past the magnificent decorations and the vast crowd of feasting villagers. He ignored the whole roasted lambs and suckling pigs on every table.

His eyes were fixed on only one thing.

It was the massive, several-dozen-meter-tall plaque on the platform where the Old Village Chief was sitting.

Carved upon it was a single, lifelike eye.

Judging by its shape and color, it was an exquisite, plus-sized replica of the Red Vertical Pupil on his wrist.

Damn it! It’s you again, you bastard!

This Instance has been corrupted too?

Abyss God, you deserve to die ten thousand deaths!