Jiang Xiuxiu fell asleep quickly, and in her dreams, strange and fantastical scenes began to unfold.
There were no longer the indistinct villagers, the cacophony of noise, or the red decorations everywhere.
She dreamt like a normal person, with many blurry and vague scenarios.
Sometimes, she dreamt of her high school days when she was still a carefree student, with no worries about the future, and happiness was simple.
Other times, she dreamt of having left the game, far from all the people she didn't want to see, sitting alone in a dessert shop leisurely waiting for her milk tea, looking at her bank balance with countless zeros.
She forgot she was in a game and all the events of reality.
In her dream, Jiang Xiuxiu didn't realize she was dreaming.
She only knew she was happy, carefree, and very comfortable.
And after an unknown amount of time, as Jiang Xiuxiu was still immersed in her dreams, the scenes began to disperse one by one.
In the end, without knowing why, those hazy and mixed scenes intertwined, transforming into a scene from long ago.
It was when she had just finished her college entrance exams and was about to head off to university.
At that time, she had arranged a date with her best friend to meet at a dessert shop.
Because they had gotten into different universities located far apart, they figured they might not see each other often in the future, so they decided to meet one last time before heading off to school.
Jiang Xiuxiu rarely reminisced about this.
College was too busy, with new friends and troubles taking her by surprise, and gradually, she stopped thinking about the past.
But for some reason, tonight, she vividly recalled it.
Moreover, the scene in her dream was unusually clear.
"Time flies so fast, doesn't it? In the blink of an eye, we're going our separate ways."
Under the warm and cute pale yellow lights of the dessert shop, the girl with a ponytail and bangs sat across from Jiang Xiuxiu, speaking to her softly.
Jiang Xiuxiu could barely remember the girl's face, but she could still recall the tone of her voice when she said that.
"Yes," Jiang Xiuxiu felt a pang of sadness and sighed, "I really don't want to part with you."
Even though she was still dreaming, Jiang Xiuxiu could feel the helplessness and pain within her dream self, as if she had returned to that moment after many years.
But people always have to move forward, no matter how unwilling they are to part.
They used to be so close, always sticking together during and after class, but now, even in the dream, she couldn't see the other girl's face clearly.
"If you don't want to part, then stay with me, okay?"
As Jiang Xiuxiu felt distressed, her friend suddenly said this.
Stay with me, okay?
Wait, wasn't there something off about that sentence?
Jiang Xiuxiu paused slightly upon hearing this.
In the next second, she saw that the girl sitting across from her had somehow turned into a man.
A very handsome man.
With his appearance, a thick white fog suddenly appeared in her dream.
Then, the warm orange glow of the dessert shop disappeared.
Before her eyes, the dilapidated and desolate Wang Family mansion from reality reappeared.
Jiang Xiuxiu was astonished to find herself standing outside the courtyard.
And standing in front of her was Xu Bai.
The young man in the exquisite red robe tilted his head slightly and smiled faintly at Jiang Xiuxiu.
Against his jet-black hair, his pale, handsome face looked even more ghostly, with only a pair of dark eyes glimmering with eerie excitement.
"I've found you," he said with a slight smile.
I've found you.
The moment she heard this, Jiang Xiuxiu suddenly woke up.
The moonlight outside streamed through the broken window, casting a pale light on her face.
She had dreamed of Xu Bai again.
What on earth was going on? Did he know she was at the Wang Family mansion?
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought.
Without hesitation, she got up and looked outside.
In one glance, Jiang Xiuxiu saw a dense crowd of people standing outside the Wang Family mansion.
They had somehow gathered there, holding outdated kerosene lamps.
Through the broken window, she saw countless orange lights and the indifferent faces of the villagers.
Crap, the villagers had found her.
Without thinking, Jiang Xiuxiu turned and ran towards the back door of the courtyard.
But outside stood thirty to forty people.
Jiang Xiuxiu wanted to escape, but all the exits were tightly blocked.
Seeing all the doors blocked, Jiang Xiuxiu's eyes flashed, and she retreated back into the room.
It was likely impossible to escape now. She might as well prepare for being caught.
She quickly ran to the kitchen, found a small knife, and hid it in her sleeve, covering it with her fist.
After that, she shrank into a corner of the kitchen cabinet, hiding herself.
She couldn't fight them off, so she could only hope they wouldn't find her.
At this moment, many villagers had entered the house to search since no one had come out.
Jiang Xiuxiu tightly closed her eyes, listening to the footsteps outside the cabinet, barely daring to breathe.
It wasn't until the footsteps gradually receded that Jiang Xiuxiu dared to move.
She opened her eyes, carefully pushing open a crack and taking a peek outside.
In the next moment, she met the eyes of a villager.
The villager, holding a lamp, looked at her expressionlessly.
Jiang Xiuxiu: "..."
Jiang Xiuxiu: "Hi."
And that was the end of it.
Without much struggle, she was quickly captured by the villagers again.
This time, to prevent her from escaping, they tied ropes around her feet and wrists.
Desperately, Jiang Xiuxiu was carried onto a sedan chair, accompanied by two other female players.
The sedan chair swayed slightly as it was lifted.
Inside the sedan, Jiang Xiuxiu looked around and closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath, calming her anxious heart.
No, she couldn't give up entirely.
As long as she thought carefully, she could find a way to break the situation, especially since she had just obtained important information left by Wang Xiaoyue.
With this in mind, she quickly used the small knife to cut the ropes on her hands and feet while carefully recalling the events of Ximen Bao's governance of Ye City.
Based on the text, Ximen Bao’s method of dealing with the River God was straightforward. Before the bride could be thrown into the water, he declared that the chosen girls were not beautiful enough to be the River God's wife and demanded a new selection.
Then, under the pretext of “asking them to report to the River God,” he had his men throw the witch and the local officials into the water.
When Jiang Xiuxiu first encountered this story, she felt a bit puzzled.
According to the background in the language textbook, the River God didn’t exist.
After Ximen Bao drowned the witch and the local officials who harmed people under the pretense of serving the River God, the people saw through the scam and realized the River God wasn’t real, so they naturally stopped believing in him.
But in this game, the River God, who is Xu Bai, truly exists.
In this context, would the same method still work?
Jiang Xiuxiu was skeptical.
However, since Wang Xiaoyue insisted that this story could subdue the River God, there must be a reason behind it.
Jiang Xiuxiu thought that, putting other aspects aside, the message this story was trying to convey to the players was very clear.
It encouraged the players to mimic Ximen Bao by throwing the “witch” and the “local officials” into the water to kill them.
And in this game, the ones holding the roles of “witch” and “local officials” were obviously the village chief, the elderly man in the black robe who prayed to Xu Bai.
Why did Wang Xiaoyue want to kill him?
Maybe because he was the leader of the villagers, but more likely, because he was the only one among them who could communicate with Xu Bai.
Jiang Xiuxiu figured that Wang Xiaoyue wanted the players to get rid of the black-robed elder for this very reason.
By eliminating the leader of the superstitious group, they might be able to deceive the remaining villagers and gradually break the situation.
But the problem was, she was now tied up. How could she throw the black-robed elder into the water?
It was her who was about to be thrown in.
As Jiang Xiuxiu was contemplating this, the sedan chair was already being carried to the riverside.
Cold, damp wind swept through the curtains, making all the players inside shiver involuntarily.
The time was almost up.
Through a gap in the curtain, Jiang Xiuxiu could see the villagers standing solemnly in a line, waiting for the black-robed elder to start the ritual.
No, she couldn’t sit here and do nothing.
Thinking quickly, Jiang Xiuxiu shouted, “Wait, I have something to say!”
Hearing her voice, the villagers turned their heads.
The black-robed elder also stopped his actions and looked at Jiang Xiuxiu with a gloomy expression.
Jiang Xiuxiu raised her head and met his eyes.
In the next second, she heard the elder’s cold order, “Gag her mouth as well.”
Jiang Xiuxiu: “…”
Jiang Xiuxiu: “Hey—”
“I have something to say! I dreamt of the River God last ni—mmf!”
The black-robed elder, obviously wiser from experience, didn’t give Jiang Xiuxiu much time to retort before stuffing a cloth into her mouth.
After ensuring she was gagged, the elder returned to the riverside to continue the ritual.
Due to the darkness and Jiang Xiuxiu’s pretense of being tightly bound, the elder didn’t notice that she had already cut through her ropes.
After he left, Jiang Xiuxiu angrily removed the cloth from her mouth, realizing she wouldn’t be able to talk her way out this time.
If that’s the case, she might as well try escaping again.
No matter what, she had to survive.
Only by surviving could she have a chance to return and kill the black-robed elder.
Thinking this, she took advantage of the villagers’ inattention and stood up stealthily.
She quietly slipped through the back curtain of the sedan chair, peeking out to see what the villagers were doing.
At that moment, the black-robed elder was still standing by the river, muttering something in a language she didn’t understand.
The other villagers stood behind him, their heads bowed in devotion, not glancing at the sedan chair.
They probably thought that, bound hand and foot, Jiang Xiuxiu wouldn’t be able to escape.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu backed up a few steps, ready to run.
Following her usual routine, she tossed a small stone behind the villagers to distract them.
When the sound of the stone hitting the ground caught their attention, she threw off her cumbersome outer garment and prepared to dash towards the mountain.
“Wait, there’s someone over there!”
Just then, a villager suddenly shouted.
He pointed to a figure on the rocks by the riverside.
Hearing this, everyone turned their eyes in that direction.
Even Jiang Xiuxiu, in the middle of her escape, curiously glanced over.
And that glance made her freeze.
She knew this person.
It was Ye Ming.
Jiang Xiuxiu looked towards the source of the shout and saw Ye Ming standing on the rocks, watching the villagers below.
He seemed to have just arrived, curiously observing the scene.
Holding a flashlight, its bright beam cut through the night, drawing everyone’s attention.
He was alone but stood there naturally, as if he was just out for a walk.
Why was he here?
Jiang Xiuxiu was startled, then realized he might be here to save her.
This thought brought a rush of joy to her heart.
All around, the villagers’ actions ceased, their eyes fixated on Ye Ming.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Xiuxiu lifted her skirt and ran to the side.
“What are you doing here?” the black-robed elder asked slowly after recognizing Ye Ming.
Sensing something from Ye Ming’s fearless attitude, the elder’s eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing.
The others, catching his tension, also grew serious, looking at Ye Ming with suspicion.
“I just wanted to tell you, instead of wasting time here, you should go back to the village and check on your homes.”
Ye Ming chuckled and replied.
Their homes?
Could the other players have done something?
Hearing this, Jiang Xiuxiu’s steps faltered slightly as she instinctively tried to figure it out.
She had been away from the group for too long and didn’t know what the remaining players were thinking or doing.
If they had gathered and were trying to resist the villagers, it made sense.
After Ye Ming’s words, the villagers realized something was wrong.
They caught the underlying message and many of their faces changed.
“Throw the bride into the river first, then go check the village,” the black-robed elder finally decided. “The River God is merciful and won’t mind if our ritual is rushed.”
To the villagers, the elder’s words were as good as law.
Hearing this, they nodded and refocused on the sedan chair.
This time, many villagers noticed a woman in a white dress running nearby.
“She’s escaping again!” someone exclaimed. “Catch her!”
Jiang Xiuxiu: “…”
The distraction didn’t last long enough.
Frustrated but without time to complain, Jiang Xiuxiu knew this was her only chance.
Luckily, she wasn’t far from the rocks.
She sprinted towards Ye Ming’s position.
“Reach out,” she heard Ye Ming say as she ran.
Obeying, she stretched out her arm.
With Ye Ming’s pull, she quickly climbed onto the rocks.