Time flew, and soon it was night.
Ye Ming had no objections to Jiang Xiuxiu's arrangements. Shortly after he left, the other players arrived at Wang Xiaoyue's grandfather's house.
Ye Ming hadn't mentioned Jiang Xiuxiu's existence to them, so they assumed she had disappeared like the other players from the previous nights.
Once the players entered the house, Jiang Xiuxiu quietly slipped away. Returning to the Wang residence was her decision alone, and she hadn't told Ye Ming where she was going, only that she would be hiding outside.
After the disappearance of three male players the night before, the remaining players should have realized that it was no longer safe to accept gifts from the villagers.
Under such circumstances, the number of players who could meet the criteria to become the new bride would be very few. Since Jiang Xiuxiu had already escaped, she would undoubtedly become the villagers' primary target.
She knew that tonight, her survival was uncertain. The night was when the villagers sacrificed brides, and although she had narrowly escaped yesterday, it would be difficult to use the same tactics again. Especially since Xu Bai might reveal her location to the villagers through prayer or other means.
Thus, she needed to find a new way out before the villagers captured her.
Jiang Xiuxiu cautiously bypassed the broken gate and entered the Wang residence. She went straight to Wang Xiaoyue's room, standing before the disheveled cabinets. Previously filled with Wang Xiaoyue and Wang Xiaoyun's old toys, the cabinets were now almost empty. Only some children's clothes, shoes, and a few elementary school textbooks remained, likely deemed worthless by the villagers.
"Are you there, Wang Xiaoyue? Wang Xiaoyun?" Jiang Xiuxiu called out softly but received no response after several minutes. She recalled seeing the Wang sisters in her dream last time, where they had transformed into paper brides and subtly hinted at her current situation.
Maybe she needed to sleep again to encounter them. It was only six or seven in the evening, so she could afford to take a nap and wake up later to stay alert through the night.
Determined, Jiang Xiuxiu found a spot and lay down. She hadn't slept much the previous night due to various events, and the hard floor in the temple had made it difficult to rest. She had woken up early, anxious and on edge all day, fearing discovery.
Now, she was genuinely exhausted, so sleep came easily. With straw as her bedding, she quickly felt the gentle touch of sleep envelop her.
Gradually, Jiang Xiuxiu slipped into a dream. As she wished, she saw Wang Xiaoyue again, standing with her back to Jiang Xiuxiu in a thin white dress, long black hair flowing behind, making her appear frail and ghostly pale.
Finally, she appeared.
In the dream, Jiang Xiuxiu's awareness was clear, and she knew she was dreaming. She crawled out of the straw, cautiously asking, "Are you Wang Xiaoyue or Wang Xiaoyun?"
Though she asked, Jiang Xiuxiu already knew the answer. Despite their resemblance, the twin sisters had differences, especially since one had been a diligent student while the other had done daily farm work. If this was Wang Xiaoyue, she wouldn't turn her back on her classmates.
"I'm Wang Xiaoyun." The ghost, back to Jiang Xiuxiu, finally moved, sighing softly. "I volunteered to take my sister's place as the bride for the river god."
As expected, Jiang Xiuxiu thought. The bond between the Wang sisters was deep, and there was no betrayal. Instead, the younger sister willingly sacrificed herself for her older sister. But her sister still died, and her body was hidden in a haystack.
"After I appeared last time, the river god discovered me," Wang Xiaoyun continued before Jiang Xiuxiu could respond. "I can only tell you that before the wedding, my sister secretly came to me. There were others nearby, so she vaguely hinted that she had found a way to defeat the river god, and had recorded it on something the villagers wouldn't notice."
"She was killed by the villagers because she told them that she and her classmates could destroy the river god," Wang Xiaoyun added.
So, Wang Xiaoyue's death was because of this. Jiang Xiuxiu now understood why the villagers feared the players. Just as the villagers could sabotage the players by ruining food and shelter, the players had powers that could threaten and even restrain the villagers.
But what exactly was the method to kill the river god? What was recorded on something unnoticed by the villagers, and where was it?
Elated by this revelation, Jiang Xiuxiu wanted to ask more. However, before she could speak, Wang Xiaoyun's figure wavered like a bubble and vanished from her dream.
She was gone.
As Wang Xiaoyun disappeared, the dream collapsed, and Jiang Xiuxiu woke up.
Upon waking, Jiang Xiuxiu turned her head to check the time and found that only five minutes had passed since she fell asleep.
"I don't know why, but after I appeared last time, the river god found out," Wang Xiaoyun had said.
Lying in the straw, Jiang Xiuxiu realized that under Xu Bai's surveillance, Wang Xiaoyun couldn't stay long. Perhaps in the previous round of the game, there were similar rogue spirits, making Xu Bai vigilant, Jiang Xiuxiu speculated.
Wang Xiaoyun had appeared briefly because it was only six or seven in the evening, a time when Xu Bai was not around, allowing her to sneak in. Her brief visit had provided Jiang Xiuxiu with crucial information on how to kill the river god.
However, there was a complication. Wang Xiaoyue hadn't directly told Wang Xiaoyun how to deal with the river god. She had left a vague, puzzling message about something the villagers couldn't see.
"She and her classmates have the power to kill the river god," Wang Xiaoyun had said.
But the players, instead of wielding any power, were being sacrificed as brides to the river god by the villagers. They hadn't received any useful information or hints from Wang Xiaoyue. All they got was a message saying she was locked at home and needed their help.
Jiang Xiuxiu recalled all the details since entering the game, but couldn't figure out where to look. What could the villagers not see but Wang Xiaoyue and her classmates could?
What was the significant difference between the players and the villagers? Was it because they had left the village and seen the outside world? Or something else?
After pondering for a while, an idea struck Jiang Xiuxiu. She quickly stood up, went to the desk, and picked up the elementary school textbooks, carefully flipping through them.
The biggest difference between Wang Xiaoyue and the villagers was that she had left the village to study. She could read and write, unlike the villagers who had lived in the countryside all their lives without even a television, likely illiterate. Even when the villagers searched the house, they deemed the books useless and discarded them.
If Wang Xiaoyue's method was hidden in the books, Jiang Xiuxiu might be able to figure out how to break the curse by examining the contents.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiuxiu eagerly grabbed the language textbook, which had the most words. She looked at the table of contents and noticed a red circle marked around one of the lessons.
When she first found the book upon entering the game, she had seen the mark but ignored it, thinking it was just a student's note. Now, the red circle seemed like an invisible guide pointing her to the solution.
She quickly turned to the page and read the title of the lesson: "Ximen Bao Governs Ye County."
The lesson described how Ximen Bao, upon becoming the county magistrate, discovered the local tradition of sacrificing brides to the river god. He then devised a plan to dispel the superstition, saving the people from the corrupt officials and shamans.
The situation was eerily similar to what Jiang Xiuxiu faced now.
This must be it, Jiang Xiuxiu thought. Wang Xiaoyue believed the method to free the villagers from the river god's superstition was hidden here.
She meticulously read and reread the lesson until she could recite it perfectly.
Time passed, and as she felt fatigue returning around nine or ten in the evening, Jiang Xiuxiu hid the textbook and lay back in the straw to continue sleeping.
She quickly fell into a deep sleep again.
From the riverbank not far away, faint sounds of gongs and drums could be heard.