Chapter 116: Strange Tale Instance Anomaly, Encountering a Ghost Wall!

Su Qiu was still pondering the situation in this Shi Zi Yuan Qu; he kept feeling that something was wrong about that rabbit turning into a fifth lion just now.

But he had no leads for the moment, and his mind was a mess.

Just as he was thinking about what his next move should be, several hurried footsteps suddenly came from ahead, along with the sound of people shouting.

"Ahhh! Run!"

The voice was clearly a woman's, and it sounded quite panicked.

Su Qiu frowned and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see several young women stumbling out from the other side of the park, their faces filled with panic, with a Guiyi shadow in hot pursuit behind them.

"What the hell!" Su Qiu muttered.

He gripped the three-foot-long sword he still had in his hand, didn't waste any words, pushed off the ground, and charged toward those figures.

"Stop!"

He shouted, and the young women's footsteps faltered; when they turned back and saw Su Qiu, they all seemed to heave a sigh of relief, and the tension on their faces eased.

Especially the blonde, blue-eyed girl running in the front, who showed a hint of joy on her face.

"Great, someone's here!"

"I'll handle it, you guys fall back!"

Su Qiu didn't say anything more and charged straight ahead.

The Guiyi shadow moved strangely, looking like a deformed creature; its twisted arms were more than twice as long as a normal person's, dragging on the ground and making a harsh, grating sound, and its skin was as pale as paper, like a monster that had never seen the sun.

The sword in Su Qiu's hand traced a streak of light; he didn't give the monster any time to react, and with a flash of the blade, he split the monster in two, leaving it to twitch on the ground a few times before it went still.

"Done!"

Su Qiu let out a long breath and turned to look at the young women.

Only then did he notice that these girls, who didn't look very old, were wearing all sorts of different clothes, clearly from different places.

The blonde, blue-eyed girl standing at the front looked at him with a face full of gratitude, her voice soft: "Thank you, you saved us!"

"It's nothing, how did you end up here?" Su Qiu asked, casually sheathing his sword.

"We... we were sent in too!" The blonde girl caught her breath and explained slowly: "I'm Lina, from Fengche Guo!" She pointed to the other two beside her: "This is Ling Qiu, a Chosen One from Lingdong Guo, and she is Jiude Mai, from Xiaochong Guo!"

Su Qiu nodded and glanced in the direction behind them: "How long has that thing been chasing you?"

Lina lowered her head in embarrassment: "About... since we entered the park; we didn't expect there to be such terrifying things!"

"God Su, that sword strike just now was so cool! Explosively cool!"

【Damn! My eyes went wide at God Su's sword strike just now! That was too awesome?!】

【As expected, God Su is the most powerful; those people couldn't hold out at all. It's lucky they met God Su, otherwise they would've been goners!】

【Say, what's the deal with these girls? Isn't God Su the only Chosen One? They really are from different countries... Heh, I feel like the upcoming plot is going to be interesting!】

Su Qiu ignored the live stream comments and scanned them again.

Ling Qiu, the cold, mature-looking woman from Lingdong Guo, appeared expressionless, standing there without saying much, arms crossed, looking at Su Qiu coldly as if she had no interest in his performance just now.

As for the other one from Xiaochong Guo, Jiude Mai, she was clearly very timid, hiding behind Lina the whole time, her eyes darting around, obviously terrified.

Su Qiu frowned: "Alright, stop standing here; we need to leave this place quickly, there are plenty of Guiyi here!"

Lina nodded quickly: "You're right, it's really too dangerous here, we were about to reach our limit, it's a good thing you came..."

Ling Qiu spoke up at this moment, her voice flat: "Since you are the Chosen One here, then you lead the way, we'll follow you!" Her tone carried an air of indisputability; it was calm, but it made people feel a bit uncomfortable.

Su Qiu didn't mind her attitude and simply replied: "No problem, but you have to keep up, don't fall behind!"

"I'll keep up with you!" Jiude Mai spoke up cautiously, her voice very small, as if afraid of being startled by something.

Su Qiu glanced at her, thinking this girl really was incredibly timid.

He waved his hand: "Alright, let's go!"

The group followed Su Qiu one after another and began to continue walking forward.

"Um... Big Brother Su Qiu, you're really amazing!" Lina said in a low voice as she walked beside him: "We've heard about you before, I really didn't expect to see you in person!"

"Hm? You've heard of me?" Su Qiu was a bit surprised.

Lina nodded, her voice slightly louder: "Yeah, your story has already spread in the circle of Chosen Ones; you're a legendary figure who has turned danger into safety several times! We always thought it would be great if we could team up with you, I didn't expect we'd actually meet."

"Oh, I see," Su Qiu replied: "But you still have to rely on yourselves, you can't always think about depending on others!"

"Ye-yes..." Lina smiled a bit awkwardly.

【Heh, God Su is quite humble, though it's true, he has nothing to be proud of, after all, he's too awesome, that's just how awesome people are!】

【Say, that girl from Lingdong Guo is kind of cool, doesn't talk much, but looks like someone you shouldn't mess with!】

【Jiude Mai, hahaha, this name sounds so cute and dorky, her behavior really matches her name!】

【Lina from Fengche Guo is definitely the gentle type, oh my, God Su is truly unmoved amidst a sea of flowers!】

"We need to pick up the pace!" Su Qiu reminded them, his steps quickening slightly: "This place isn't somewhere we can stay for long, more things might come chasing after us in a while!"

"You mean there will be more Guiyi?" Lina's voice carried some nervousness: "That thing just now was already terrifying enough..."

"Very likely!" Su Qiu didn't explain in detail, but this place had always felt wrong to him; ever since that strange fifth white lion appeared, the atmosphere had kept him feeling uneasy.

Ling Qiu spoke coldly: "No matter what comes, we have to deal with it; running away is no solution!" Although she spoke calmly, the meaning in her words clearly held a determination not to retreat.

Su Qiu didn't argue, just nodded in agreement.

"How about... how about we find a safe place to hide?" Jiude Mai suggested in a small voice.

"Hide? Do you think there's a safe place in this area?" Ling Qiu didn't spare her any face and said directly: "As long as Guiyi exist, nowhere is safe."

"Instead of hiding, it's better to face it head-on!"

Jiude Mai was too intimidated to say anything, shrank her neck, and continued to stay close behind Lina.

"Alright, stop arguing!" Su Qiu waved his hand: "We need to find a way out now, otherwise we'll be done for if we walk into a dead end!"

Lina nodded: "We'll follow you, we'll listen to you!"

"I hope nothing goes wrong!" Su Qiu glanced at them and quickened his pace again.

【Oh my, Su God is taking the girls to charge into a Guiyi; this kind of scene is truly nerve-wracking!】

【Speaking of which, that girl from Lingdong Guo has a truly venomous tongue; she doesn't leave anyone any face!】

【Hahaha, that Jiude Mai is truly scared out of her wits; she's too adorable!】

【Oh my, Su God, hurry up and think of a way; don't leave us viewers feeling so anxious!】

The few of them continued walking forward, and from time to time on the road, they could hear the faint movements of monsters in the distance, constantly reminding them that this place was absolutely not that simple.

"Guiyi are always so headache-inducing!" Su Qiu muttered, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Lina walked

beside him, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Big Brother Su Qiu, do you think we can find the exit? Or is it that there is no exit here at all?"

"What do you think?" Su Qiu replied to her, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

Lina gave a bitter smile: "I don't know either; it feels like this place is just an endless maze!"

"Alright, don't worry about it, let's just take it one step at a time!" Su Qiu said as he took the lead and continued walking forward.

The few of them were silent for a while, and no one spoke again.

In the air, there were only the sounds of footsteps and the occasional strange noise coming from afar, so oppressive that it made one feel a bit breathless.

【This atmosphere is truly getting more and more Guiyi; it feels like something could jump out at any moment!】

【Guiyi are just like this, making you feel like you are in danger every single moment!】

【Speaking of which, can these few girls hold up? Su God is definitely fine, the key is them!】

【Oh my, just looking at the way Su God solves problems, you know he has a way; no need to worry!】

"Alright, we've almost arrived!" Su Qiu suddenly stopped his footsteps and looked around: "There shouldn't be any more Guiyi ahead!"

Lina let out a sigh of relief: "That's great, it's finally a bit safer!"

Ling Qiu did not speak, but just stood to the side observing the surroundings, seemingly pondering something.

Jiude Mai still had a nervous look on her face, and she looked up and asked cautiously: "What are we going to do next?"

Su Qiu smiled: "What else can we do? Keep walking!"

As the few of them walked, Su Qiu suddenly felt that the scene before his eyes was a bit off; the path they had walked seemed somewhat familiar.

He frowned, his heart sank, and he turned his head to look at Lina beside him, asking: "Do you feel... like we've come back again?"

Lina was stunned for a moment, looked around, and her complexion changed instantly: "Oh my god! Isn't this... isn't this That Place we just came from?!"

Ling Qiu's brows were also tightly knitted together: "Something's wrong, we should have been walking forward, how could we have returned to the starting point?"

Upon hearing this, Jiude Mai was so scared she almost cried: "What? Returned to the starting point? This... how is this possible? Didn't we agree to find the exit?!"

Su Qiu narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings; this was indeed the place where they had first encountered those few lions, the surrounding environment had not changed at all, and even that extra fifth lion was still there.

"A ghost-beating-wall!" Su Qiu said coldly.

【What's the situation? They went back again? Isn't this the previous place?!】

【Holy crap, a ghost-beating-wall! This trope is very classic; it looks like Su God and the others are trapped!】

【Mai is about to have a breakdown, right? This girl is too timid; Su God needs to think of a way quickly!】

【They don't have rabbit blood; didn't they say before that they must use rabbit blood to solve the problem? What to do?!】

Upon hearing the three words "ghost-beating-wall," Lina's face turned deathly pale instantly: "Ghost-beating-wall? Then what do we do? Are we going to be trapped here forever?"

Ling Qiu gave Su Qiu a cold look; clearly, she had not expected to encounter this kind of situation either: "Didn't you have plenty of ways before? What do you say now?"

Jiude Mai was already about to cry: "I... I don't want to see that lion again! It will eat us! We don't have any rabbit blood at all, what do we do!"

Su Qiu's brows were tightly locked, he pondered for a moment, and then said: "Alright, don't panic.

I'll go check if there's anything useful in this Dong Wu Yuan; we can't really stay trapped here forever!"

Lina nodded, her eyes full of anticipation: "O-okay, we'll go with you!"

Ling Qiu did not speak, but she clearly had no other way either, so she could only nod, which counted as tacitly agreeing to Su Qiu's proposal.

Su Qiu took the lead, and the few of them started wandering around the Dong Wu Yuan again.

This place was truly sinister; going around and around always led back to the starting point, and from time to time, they could hear Guiyi noises coming from afar, as if something was peeking at them in the dark.

Although no Guiyi appeared for now, that oppressive feeling made everyone feel quite uncomfortable.

"We must find a clue quickly!" Su Qiu walked in front, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings: "The Guiyi here could appear again at any time; the longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it is for us!"

Lina followed closely behind him, and with lingering fear, she said: "But this place is so big, what are we supposed to find? There are no clues to be seen here at all!"

Jiude Mai was even more desperate: "I... I really don't want to encounter those lions again; they look so scary!"

Ling Qiu stood at the back, remaining silent the whole time, her gaze cold, seemingly pondering something.

【Mai's mental fortitude is too poor; oh my, girl, you need to be a bit tougher!】

【Lina is actually quite calm, and Ling Qiu is ruthless enough, but Su God is still the most reliable; he really is calm to an unbelievable degree!】

【Speaking of which, why is this Dong Wu Yuan so sinister? Walking around and around is always the same spot; the ghost-beating-wall is confirmed!】

【Do you guys remember? It was said before that rabbit blood is needed to handle that fifth lion, but Su God and the others didn't get any rabbit blood!】

"We must find a way!" Su Qiu looked back at them, his voice calm: "A ghost-beating-wall cannot be unsolvable; the rules mentioned rabbit blood before, as long as we can find rabbit blood, we can break that fifth lion!"

Lina nodded: "That's right, rabbit blood is... but where can we find rabbit blood? You also said before that you didn't see any rabbit blood at the Yin Liao Dian, right?"

Su Qiu shook his head: "The situation was urgent at the time, I didn't look carefully.

This time we must look properly, perhaps there are other clues!"

Ling Qiu spoke up abruptly at this moment: "You mean we are going back to the Yin Liao Dian?"

Su Qiu nodded: "That's right, something might be hidden there.

Let's go, let's go take a look first!"

Jiude Mai was clearly still somewhat hesitant: "Then... then what if we encounter a Guiyi again? Will we be trapped to death here?"

Su Qiu waved his hand: "Don't think so much, hurry up and go!"

The few of them walked toward the direction of the Yin Liao Dian again.

After circling for a while, they finally found the Yin Liao Dian they had passed by earlier.

The lights inside the shop remained dim, and a strange smell still permeated the air. Su Qiu walked in first and began to carefully inspect the shelves and the counter, not even sparing the corners.

Lina followed cautiously behind him, helping to search: "This looks just like a normal Yin Liao Dian. Where do you think the rabbit blood would be hidden?"

Su Qiu crouched behind the counter to rummage through it: "It should be hidden in a more secretive place. The rules mentioned earlier that this thing wouldn't be found easily!"

Ling Qiu leaned against the door frame, watching them work coldly: "Are you sure you can find it? This place doesn't look like it has any rabbit blood at all!"

Jiude Mai shrank to one side and whispered: "What should we do if we can't find it?"

Su Qiu ignored them and continued to search carefully.

Just then, his hand suddenly touched a slightly protruding spot under the counter.

"Hmm?"

He pressed it lightly, and the protruding spot actually moved, making a "click" sound as a small, hidden compartment opened.

Inside, there was indeed a small bottle filled with a dark red liquid that looked somewhat wrong.

"Found it!" Su Qiu picked up the bottle and handed it to them to see.

Lina's eyes widened: "Is this... rabbit blood?"

Ling Qiu glanced at it coldly: "Looks like you really have some skills!"

Su Qiu didn't respond to her and examined the bottle closely: "This should be the rabbit blood. The rules mentioned it earlier; we can use this to deal with that extra lion!"

Jiude Mai walked over cautiously to look at the bottle, her face full of doubt: "Can... can this thing really work?"

Su Qiu smiled: "Won't we know once we go back and try it?"

The group took the rabbit blood and returned to the Shi Zi Yuan Qu.

The lions were still staying in their original spots, and the extra lion was still standing to the side, seemingly waiting for them.

"Are you ready?" Su Qiu asked.

Lina nodded nervously: "I... I'm ready!"

Ling Qiu said coldly: "Do it, don't drag it out!"

Su Qiu did not hesitate; he pulled the stopper from the bottle and splashed the rabbit blood inside violently toward the extra lion.

The blood sprayed into the air and landed on the lion's body. The lion's body suddenly twisted violently and let out a low roar.

Immediately after, its body began to shrink rapidly, and in the end, it actually turned back into its original rabbit form.

"It's effective!" Su Qiu shouted: "Quick, do it!"

Lina didn't hesitate either; she immediately pulled a dagger from her waist and stabbed it violently toward the monster that had turned back into a rabbit.

The rabbit let out one last shrill cry, fell to the ground, and stopped moving completely.

"Success!" Lina said, her face full of joy: "We succeeded!"

Jiude Mai let out a long sigh of relief: "Great, it's finally over..."

Ling Qiu looked at the dead rabbit and said coldly: "This is just the beginning. Who knows what we'll encounter next!"

Su Qiu nodded: "She's right. This place isn't finished yet; we have to keep moving forward!"

【Wow! Su-shen is truly amazing; the rabbit blood actually worked!】

【Too awesome, Lina is actually quite a fighter too; solved it directly with a dagger!】

【Finally got the fifth lion taken care of; that wasn't easy!】

【But Ling Qiu is right, this definitely isn't over yet. There are more troublesome things waiting for them next!】

Su Qiu led the others deeper inside. Everyone had their nerves taut; the surrounding environment made it impossible to relax.

Low sounds of wind drifted through the air from time to time, as if something were watching them from the shadows, but whenever they stopped, those sounds seemed to disappear.

Lina asked in a low voice: "Where are we going now?"

"Keep moving forward. We have to find out what other Guiyi exist here!" Su Qiu glanced at her and remained vigilant.

The group continued walking for a while when suddenly, a strange sound of music came from ahead.

The music was sharp and piercing, mixed with bursts of Guiyi laughter.

Su Qiu frowned and signaled for everyone to stop and listen quietly.

As soon as Jiude Mai heard the laughter, her face turned pale. She grabbed Lina's arm, her voice trembling: "Wh-what is that sound? It's so scary..."

Ling Qiu glanced at her, expressionless: "Stop shaking. That sound probably isn't something that can threaten us immediately!"

"What kind of place is this?" Lina looked ahead and asked nervously: "It sounds like... sounds like circus music?"

Su Qiu nodded: "Yeah, it sounds like a circus!" He pointed ahead: "Everyone stay close, let's go over and take a look!"

They walked a few steps cautiously. The closer they got to the source of the sound, the more intense that Guiyi feeling became.

Soon, they walked out of a patch of shadows, and the view before them suddenly opened up to reveal a dilapidated circus grounds.

In the center of the grounds stood a rusted, large tent, surrounded by various scattered, broken circus props, a giant circular wooden horse, and broken ropes and railings.

The piercing music was coming from inside the tent, accompanied by that hair-raising laughter.

"This place..." Su Qiu frowned and looked around vigilantly: "Probably isn't a good place!"

Lina covered her ears, her expression clearly uneasy: "This music makes my scalp tingle. Are we going in?"

Ling Qiu said coldly: "Don't be ridiculous. In a place this Guiyi, can we solve the problem without going in?"

Su Qiu nodded: "Let's go in. This place must be hiding some puzzle; we have to find the answer!"

The group walked to the entrance of the tent. The entrance was half-open, and a sliver of dim light shone from within, as if something were waiting for them.

Su Qiu took a deep breath, pushed open the tent flap, and led the way inside.

The scene inside the tent made them stop in their tracks instantly.

The layout inside was like a small circus performance ring, with various strange props scattered around, and several broken wooden animal models placed in the empty space in the center.

Even more Guiyi is that in the center there is a dilapidated stage, upon which sits a puppet wearing a clown outfit, its expression twisted and ferocious, a Guiyi smile hanging from the corners of its mouth.

"What kind of ghost thing is this?" Lina asked, frowning and lowering her voice.

"I don't know either!" Su Qiu walked up a few steps, carefully observing that puppet.

Suddenly, the clown puppet's eyes turned sharply, its mouth slowly opened, and it let out a sharp laugh.

"Hahahaha—welcome to the circus! Today's protagonists are you!"

Jiude Mai was so scared she recoiled a few steps, almost crying: "No, impossible, it moved! It moved!"

Ling Qiu looked at the puppet and still said coldly: "It seems we have already entered its trap!"

Su Qiu ignored their panic, lowered his head to look carefully at the ground, and discovered a few lines of words drawn in red chalk on the floor.

Those words were crooked and looked like some kind of Guiyi game rules.

He read them out in a low voice: "Welcome to the Guiyi Circus.

Participants must complete three challenges, each challenge having its own rules.

Those who complete all challenges will receive the only reward; those who fail will remain here forever, becoming a part of the circus!"

"What?" Lina widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief: "Remain here forever? What does this mean?"

"The meaning is simple, if you don't complete the challenges, you can't get out!" Su Qiu frowned, staring at that text, and continued: "The first challenge: choose one person from here to enter the performance area of the central stage and play a game with the clown.

The winner will pass, the loser..."

He did not continue reading, but everyone had already understood the meaning of that sentence.

Ling Qiu looked coldly at Su Qiu: "What are you prepared to do?"

Su Qiu was silent for a moment, his expression grave: "We have to choose one person to play this game with the clown!"

"You mean someone has to go to their death?" Lina's voice trembled slightly.

"Not to their death!" Su Qiu shook his head: "We can win, as long as we follow the rules!"

Ling Qiu looked indifferent: "Are you going?"

Su Qiu raised his head to look at her and nodded lightly: "I'll go, it's not the first time playing this kind of Guiyi game anyway!"

Lina hurriedly grabbed his arm: "No! It's too dangerous! We... we can think of another way!"

Jiude Mai stood to the side, already trembling with fear: "No... don't go, that thing is too terrifying..."

Su Qiu didn't say anything more and patted Lina's hand lightly: "Don't worry, I'll handle it!"

After he finished speaking, he walked straight toward the center of the stage.

The puppet clown's eyes followed him as they turned, and the smile at the corners of its mouth became even more ferocious.

"Hahahaha, welcome! Today's protagonist has arrived! The game is about to begin!"

Su Qiu stood on the stage, staring at that Guiyi clown puppet, and said in a deep voice: "Start it, what are your game rules?"

The clown puppet's mouth opened, emitting a mechanical laugh: "Hahaha, a very simple game! As long as you can find the key I hid on this stage within one minute, you win! If you can't find it... hahaha, you will become a permanent member here!"

"A key?" Su Qiu frowned and looked around the stage; this place didn't look like it had a place to hide a key at all.

"Time has started! One minute!" The clown puppet shrieked.

Su Qiu immediately began searching on the stage, flipping through those dilapidated props while keeping an eye on his surroundings.

The things scattered on the stage looked very ordinary, with nothing special about them, but time was ticking away second by second, and Su Qiu's heartbeat was also accelerating.

"Did you find it?" Lina asked anxiously, standing under the stage.

"Don't make noise!" Ling Qiu said coldly: "He can handle it himself!"

Su Qiu's hand suddenly touched some hard object; he lowered his head to look and saw that an iron nail at the edge of the stage had loosened.

He quickly pulled the iron nail out and discovered that a small metal key was actually hidden underneath.

"Found it!" Su Qiu shouted.

The clown puppet's laughter stopped abruptly, and the smile on its face froze instantly: "No... impossible! How could you find the key so quickly!"

Su Qiu walked to the clown holding the key and said coldly: "The game is over, according to the rules, I won!"

The clown puppet's eyes flickered a few times, then its body shook violently and let out a scream, after which its entire body twisted rapidly and turned into a pile of dilapidated wood fragments.

"Great! Big Brother Su Qiu, you succeeded!" Lina shouted excitedly.

Jiude Mai also breathed a sigh of relief; although her face was still filled with fear, she was clearly not as tense: "Really... succeeded?"

Ling Qiu glanced at Su Qiu and said coldly: "This is only the first challenge, don't get too cocky!"

Su Qiu nodded and turned back to look at them: "We have to keep moving forward, there are still two challenges waiting for us!"

【I knew God Su could handle it! The clown was no match at all!】

【Speaking of which, this circus is too Guiyi, there are still two challenges left, can God Su and the others hold up?!】

【I feel like this place isn't simple, the following challenges will probably be even harder!】

【Ling Qiu really isn't panicked at all, she's cold enough to make one's hair stand on end... but this is good too, it stabilizes morale!】

Just as Su Qiu was preparing to lead everyone to continue forward, suddenly, a harsh laugh reached his ears.

That clown, which had already turned into wood fragments, actually emitted that hair-raising sound again, laughing even more crazily and more Guiyi than before.

"Hahaha! You thought it was over just like that? You stupid toys!"

Su Qiu turned his head abruptly, his gaze instantly fixed on that pile of wood fragments.

Those clown puppet pieces that should have been broken actually began to piece themselves together, the fragments moving bit by bit as if an invisible force were controlling them.

"Oh no, it's not over!" Su Qiu frowned, immediately realizing the situation was wrong.

The wood fragments rapidly formed an even more ferocious body, becoming no longer like a puppet, but like a living monster.

Its eyes became even more Guiyi, its mouth split wide open, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and its whole being became twisted and wretched.

"Hahaha! Now it's my turn to play with you!"

Lina was so scared she recoiled a few steps, her voice trembling: "It... how did it come back to life?! What on earth is going on!"

Jiude Mai was almost collapsing to the ground, her legs trembling: "My god, this monster is so terrifying! What are we going to do?"

Although Ling Qiu remained calm, a hint of vigilance had already appeared in his eyes: "This guy's power is much stronger than before; relying on the rules alone won't work anymore!"

(End of chapter)