Chapter 117: 0 and 1

The snow-white spine of the grandmother was covered in crimson blood threads, and the twelve opened ribs crawled on the ground like the abdominal feet of a spider. The wrinkles on the old woman's face bloomed into a smile, and that kind smile was as clear as the Song typeface printed on the letter paper.

The snow-white paper in Ji Taimi's hand was stained with crimson blood. That was the letter his mother had left him, and the content of the letter was advice like a list of eerie rules.

And at the very bottom of those rules that made one think and fear, there was such a line:

【6. Keep this letter paper well, never let it leave your body, and read it again after arriving at Grandmother's house...】

In fact, earlier, when he first crawled out of the coffin, Ji Taimi walked into his grandmother's house and immediately took out the blood-stained letter paper from his pocket to read it again. But at that time, the content on the letter hadn't changed, not even a word or a punctuation mark was different. He once thought whether there was something wrong with his posture when entering the house. Later, he didn't pay any more attention to it.

But when his grandmother, who was kneeling before the Earth Temple, was killed from afar by that woman in an incomprehensible and eerie way, the content on the letter changed quietly:

【Baby, when you see this sentence, you should already be dead.】

【I hope you don't blame Mom for being heartless because of this. There is no mother in the world who would be willing to let her child face such cruel things. If not forced by circumstances, your father and I would not have taken such a desperate measure.】

【This letter will soon burn itself, so you must firmly remember every word of the following content:】

The human bone snake that crawled out of the grandmother's chest wore the old woman's kind smile and crawled toward Ji Taimi, the snow-white bone joints rubbing against the sandy ground with a *rustling* sound.

The trigger condition that caused "the content of the letter paper to change" didn't seem to be "arriving at Grandmother's house," but "the death of either Grandfather or Grandmother"?

No... perhaps it was more general, perhaps it counted as long as anyone in the family died.

Ji Taimi had a hypothesis in his letter, but he had no way to verify his hypothesis now. This letter would soon disappear, and he had to race against time to read and remember the content on it:

【1. People who stay in Nursing Village will not die naturally, but they can be killed.】

When you see this line, it means you have already died once.

【2. No matter who killed you or by what method, you are temporarily safe now, even if it is "them," they rarely guard against a person who has already died.】

【3. You might be curious, what exactly are the "them" Mom mentioned? —They are people. People more terrifying than ghosts.】

They are more terrifying than ghosts, more powerful than gods, more brutal than demons... They are the wicked people who crawled out of the abyss of hell. They are rational, they are crazy, they are extremely evil, and even death cannot escape their pursuit.

You are very safe now, but it is only temporary. They will find you sooner or later.

【4. While they haven't found you yet, you must find something as soon as possible, something that can kill "them." It is hidden in this village.】

That thing was hidden by your grandfather in a very, very deep place. Mom doesn't know where it is, and your father doesn't know either.

Because "they" can even play with people's memories, we don't know, and we dare not know where your grandfather hid that thing. We only know that such a thing exists.

If you want to live, you must find it. You must find it before they do.

【5. When your grandfather was still alive, the only clue he left was "the deep place." He hid that thing in the depths of Nursing Village, a place that cannot be reached by human power, but you must reach it, no matter what method you use or what power you borrow.】

【6. Live on, protect your sister, Mom loves you.】

Almost at the same moment Ji Taimi finished reading the content on the letter, a crisp *crack* suddenly exploded from the scorching heart of the ginkgo tree in front of him, and a hot spark fell onto the letter paper in the boy's hand. An orange-red flame instantly rose, and the fire snake spread, burning the blood-stained letter paper into a pool of pale ash. Ji Taimi closed his eyes, breathed in a breath of scorching air, and his gaze became firm.

"I understand."

He had to solve the mystery of Nursing Village, go to the deepest place that could not be reached by human power, and find the thing that could kill "them."

The arrogant teenager was never afraid of challenges. As long as there was even a 1% possibility of winning, he was willing to give it a try, no matter how terrifying and eerie those ghost-like people were.

With a direction, the next step was just to move forward.

"So that's it... it was actually hidden in such a place."

The boy's determination had just been made when a lazy voice suddenly came from behind, appearing without any warning. He saw the kind smile on the face of the human bone snake wearing the grandmother's head instantly disappear, replaced by jealousy and resentment on that pale old face.

Ji Taimi's body stiffened, and he subconsciously wanted to exclaim, but only a hoarse *ah-ah* sound leaked from his broken throat.

A fair, delicate, and beautiful palm patted Ji Taimi's shoulder lightly, and a ferocious face wearing a ghost mask slowly probed out from behind him. Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe held a beautiful folding knife in his hand, and the exquisite blade with Damascus patterns plunged into the back of Ji Taimi's unprepared head with a *plop*.

"You really made me search for a while, friend." A gratified smile appeared on the face beneath the mask. Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's palm left the knife handle and pressed down on Ji Taimi's crown.

=9+Shu_Ba

The excruciating pain of the brainstem being pierced brought a feeling of chaos that turned the world upside down. Ji Taimi's lips trembled, and he let out a hoarse moan while convulsing: "You... how did you..."

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe chuckled: "I committed suicide."

The plain words were like a bolt from the blue, completely drowning Ji Taimi's remaining will. Before his vision completely plunged into darkness, he saw the grandmother's spine twisting and struggling painfully on the ground, and a woman standing calmly beside the human bone snake, her bare feet beneath her skirt pinning its shadow firmly like nails.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe held Ji Taimi's shoulder with one hand and pressed his head with the other, snapping his cervical spine with a *crack*, and lifted his head by the handle of the knife inserted into the back of his head.

Even though his head and body were already separated, the boy's eyes were still trembling slightly, and his face was twisting and squirming. He was still alive.

No, not alive, just not "dead."

Looking at the human bone snake whose shadow was stepped on by Feng Yushu, its snow-white bone joints and aged head were twisting violently under the influence of the instant-death rule of "Special Permission," slowly fading away, like a piece of rock sugar melting in hot water.

"In Nursing Village, people will not die naturally, but they can be killed by people."

"And here, people cannot be killed by people, but they can be killed by ghosts."

Then what is the next layer?

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe carried Ji Taimi's head, looking with interest at the human bone snake slowly disappearing on the ground, as well as the ghost shadows surrounding them from all directions.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 118 =====