Chapter 100: The Twenty-Second Person

Hu Guanjiayu finished speaking.

He stepped backward with an eerie gait and closed the door behind them.

After he left,

everyone exhaled in relief.

They were finally somewhat safe, and since only humans remained in the room, they could relax a little.

Hu Yunkuan spoke up.

He Qiong checked her phone.

“If we divide into seven groups, there’s one extra person—what do we do?”

It’s more believable that malevolent spirits would save people than that Shi Ji’s body smells nice.

After finishing this, the old man shuffled dejectedly to the corner of the courtyard, hugging his knees and crouching, looking pitiful.

He scrambled out of the room, burst through the door, ran a distance, then stopped in the center of the courtyard, knelt before everyone, frantically gesturing with his hands, and finally banged his head several times on the ground.

Among all twenty-two people, Huo Gai disliked Wu Xian the most—this dislike had no basis, perhaps because his companion Sha Xiwen kept glancing at Wu Xian?

He couldn’t explain it himself…

The exit from this blessed land lies in the eighth room.

Moreover, although this thing has been following them, it hasn’t harmed anyone yet, so they could only temporarily ignore it and focus on resting.

Time was tight.

Wu Xian heard his question and looked at him with the gaze of someone pitying a child, saying nothing in rebuttal.

Wei Dian immediately lost the urge to kill it.

The dead old man…

Thinking of this, Wu Xian dismissed his own thought.

Several Juan people with offensive abilities suddenly glared with malice—they had dared not act while in danger, but now that only a minor malevolent spirit remained, could they possibly let it go?

Isn’t this a Sui incense offering handed to them on a silver platter?

Especially Wei Dian was eager—he pulled something from his hand and prepared to throw it.

At first, Wu Xian assumed they had come to harm them—this line of thinking was reasonable.

To protect the guests attending the birthday banquet, merely sending a few malevolent spirits would suffice; those spirits didn’t need to choose humans resembling themselves—each could pick one person, and there was no reason for the dead old man to return.

Hu Yunkuan nodded: “Fine. We have seven hours until tomorrow morning at eight. Each Juan person takes two newcomers as a group, each group with one phone to track time, taking turns keeping watch for one hour—this way, everyone can sleep six hours. Maintaining physical strength and mental clarity within the blessed land is vital.”

So the grouping didn’t waste much time.

Wu Xian raised his hand again.

“One a.m.”

“But if that’s the case, the guests attending the birthday banquet would die—hence the dead passengers were dispatched to protect them in advance…”

Then what did “the eighth room” mean? Was the room they were currently in one of the eight?

Therefore, Wu Xian judged that Fengxian Travel Agency was not the main stage of the blessed land—and indeed, after many trials, they had finally arrived at the Liu residence.

First, the Liu residence; second, the malevolent spirits on the bus earlier.

But Hu Guanjiayu was clearly a fox spirit—so the Liu family’s Great Grandma was likely no good either. This entire forest was filled with willow trees—could the Liu family’s Great Grandma be a willow spirit?

But the old man had discovered the Juan people’s intentions in advance.

If so, then the requirement of “the eighth room” would be too simple?

If not, where were the rooms they were meant to experience?

Wu Xian hadn’t shouted or attacked the old man.

“Perhaps the dead passengers and the Liu residence are one and the same—the Liu family’s Great Grandma needs us to attend her birthday banquet, and since the Liu residence lies beneath the cliff, a vehicle cannot reach it normally, so the car must be forcibly pulled down.”

“But they didn’t want to attend the banquet—so their white bus stopped early to block the road!”

But Hu Guanjiayu had been present then, so Wu Xian didn’t expose the truth—he waited until Hu Guanjiayu had left and everyone was relatively safe before revealing it.

Thinking of the old man’s humble demeanor, a sudden insight flashed through Wu Xian’s mind.

“Exchanging information only makes sense after splitting up to investigate. Since entering the blessed land, everyone has stayed together—we’ve all experienced the same events. If we’ve still missed something, it’s our own fault.”

And precisely because of this,

the old man’s movements were strange—he seemed to glide on tiptoe, his arms occasionally twitching, reminding Wu Xian of what’s called “spirit possession.”

Also, Hu Guanjiayu said they had come here to celebrate the Liu family’s Great Grandma’s birthday.

What would happen during the birthday celebration?

The official certificate had already stated it.

But judging from the outcome, these malevolent spirits had actually saved Wu Xian and the others.

If Wu Xian was correct, then where did this extra person come from?

Wu Xian noticed him not because he was particularly perceptive.

The atmosphere grew tense again.

“Celebrating the birthday… saving people… Hu Guanjiayu counting… the old man kneeling and bowing…”

Liang Fang raised her hand: “Aren’t we going to discuss the information?”

“Does anyone still have a phone? What time is it now?”

Could it be that we humans are the birthday offering to the Liu family’s Great Grandma?

Wu Xian couldn’t think of anything else for now, so he turned his thoughts to the dead passengers on the bus.

He noticed the dead old man because Wu Xian had been secretly evaluating everyone in the group—he was the first to spot the corpse, shuffling behind them.

Wei Dian grinned—he clearly enjoyed provoking Liang Fang.

The others’ expressions darkened, a thread of dread creeping into their hearts.

This thing moved quickly—if chased alone at night, one might not be able to return to this room.

This place was likely the main stage of the blessed land.

“Perhaps the dead passengers were meant to attend the birthday banquet!”

“They boarded the bus because they wanted the Liu family’s Great Grandma to pull it down—they protected us so we could replace them in attending the banquet!”

“That’s not worth discussing—it’s just stupid.”

After discovering there was a dead person in the room,

He lay on the bed, not sleeping yet, because he still had two things to think about.

They checked everyone—sure enough, there were twenty-two people in the room; the extra person was unmistakably the old man who had already died!

He crouched in the dark corner, hidden behind a lantern stand, his expression pitiful—if not deliberately searched for, one could easily overlook his presence.

If the dead passengers hadn’t boarded the bus, the vehicle would have plunged from that height—and all of them would have died instantly; only Wu Xian, with his hardened qi, could have survived.

Huo Gai couldn’t help laughing: “You’re stupid—the old man’s dead. We only have twenty-one people now—perfect for seven groups.”

Wu Xian, Qi Peiyeh, and another woman were assigned to the fourth watch shift.

“Because the old man was frightened to death beforehand, the malevolent spirit assigned to him had no choice but to possess him and attend himself!”

Ten minutes late. Ugh, this is too hard.

(End of Chapter)