Chapter 87: Lighthouse Village (Part 5)

Su Xi told Xiao Yan to wait by the seaside, cast a Defense Barrier around herself, and entered the sea.

She dived for about a hundred meters before stopping.

Looking at the scene below, her entire scalp went numb, and goosebumps broke out all over her body!

She saw villagers packed densely, standing upright in the water, their eyes hollow and vacant, yet all directed toward her, staring with pitch-black voids!

Suddenly, one villager moved, and the others followed suit, shooting toward Su Xi like arrows.

Su Xi was startled by their speed; she immediately summoned the Lei Guang Jian and struck out at the villagers.

Without any resistance, she crushed them completely, turning the villagers into ashes that drifted in the seawater.

A black Treasure Box floated up from the seabed.

Su Xi grabbed the black Treasure Box and swam rapidly toward the surface...

Once out of the water, she saw Xiao Yan picking up large fish, shrimp, sea cucumbers, and other seafood.

"Where did these come from?" Su Xi asked.

Xiao Yan replied, "They just ran up from the seabed, along with a school of great white sharks; I figured we couldn't eat them all, so I didn't catch them."

"..." It must have been her killing those villagers-turned-monsters that scared the sea creatures onto the shore.

"The villagers were on the seabed, turned into monsters; after I killed them, a Treasure Box appeared." Su Xi handed the black Treasure Box to Xiao Yan. "Open it and see."

"You open it instead." Xiao Yan held a large green shrimp in each hand, their claws still waving; they were very fresh.

"Fine." Su Xi opened the black Treasure Box.

Inside was a key.

"What is this?" Su Xi examined the key; it had some patterns on it, and the teeth of the key were triangular.

Xiao Yan said, "Let's put it away first; it might be a key to some secret realm."

"You keep it; my memory isn't very good, and I'm prone to forgetting things." Su Xi gave the key to him.

Xiao Yan tossed the large green shrimp into a basket, took the key, looked at it twice, and then put it away.

After delivering more than half of the gathered seafood to the old man and Xiao Shitou, Su Xi and Xiao Yan went to Lao Yutou's house.

She didn't tell the old man about the villagers; even if they were just clue characters, she couldn't bear to see them sad and heartbroken.

Perhaps holding onto a shred of fantasy was also a form of hope.

Just like when she was in the Nita chamber, she never dared to simulate Rong Shou...

At nightfall, Su Xi and Xiao Yan waited in Lao Yutou's house for clues to come to them.

Su Xi grilled some seafood. "Xiao Yan, come eat some lobster."

Xiao Yan was standing in front of a wall, where an old, yellowed photograph of a massive warship hung. Hearing Su Xi's call, he immediately hurried over. "It smells so good! Big sister knows how to cook gourmet food too?"

"When you're out and about, you have to rely on yourself," Su Xi smiled.

Xiao Yan replied, "Then I want to learn from you too. How do you grill this?"

"It's mainly about the heat; as long as the heat is right, you can just sprinkle some seasoning on it. Seafood is naturally very delicious..."

Su Xi taught Xiao Yan how to grill seafood.

*Dong dong dong dong—dong dong dong dong—* A knocking sound came from the door.

Su Xi raised her head and looked toward the door. "Four knocks, not human."

The sound of the door opening rang out, and irregular footsteps entered the courtyard, then headed straight for the room where the firelight shone.

Su Xi took a bite of grilled fish and said to Xiao Yan, "Not bad, the heat is just right."

The door opened, and a 'person' looking like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy stood outside.

His eyes were like two black holes, flickering with red light, just like the evil spirits Su Xi encountered when she first arrived at the village.

Moreover, more and more humanoid monsters were gathering toward this courtyard.

"Let me handle these." Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together and picked up a burning piece of firewood from the ground.

Su Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. "Alright."

Xiao Yan took the firewood and charged into the group of monsters.

Su Xi continued eating the grilled fish in her hand, even occasionally flipping the shellfish she was roasting.

Xiao Yan looked thin and weak, with slender arms and legs, but he was very skilled in martial arts; his movements were perfect, every strike hit its mark, and every time he knocked a monster down, it would dissipate into a puff of Chong Qi.

"Wow~ what beautiful movements!" Su Xi couldn't help but praise.

Hearing Su Xi's praise, Xiao Yan's youthful face flushed slightly. "My brother says this is just flowery, useless stuff."

"That's not true; these are combat techniques within martial arts. Among the people I know, only one has such beautiful and—" Su Xi's voice suddenly stopped. Zhou Chuchen... why was she thinking of him again?

Xiao Yan heard her stop suddenly and looked at her.

A monster lunged at Xiao Yan's neck!

Su Xi raised her hand and sent a Lei Guang Jian toward the monster, killing it just as it was about to bite Xiao Yan!

Xiao Yan hurriedly regained his focus. "Thank you, sister."

"Stay focused." Su Xi put down the grilled fish in her hand and joined the battle.

A moment later, she flew lightly into the air, watching as more and more monsters came from all directions toward this place.

A Lei Guang whip suddenly appeared in Su Xi's hand; she flicked it lightly to bind Xiao Yan, pulled him to her side, and then Teleported to the lighthouse.

"Except for the lamp hanging in the old man and Xiao Shitou's house, the entire village is pitch black." Xiao Yan stood on the observation deck and said to Su Xi.

Suddenly, the light in the old man and Xiao Shitou's courtyard also went out.

The entire village became completely dark.

Su Xi watched as those monsters seemed to lose their target and began to slowly retreat.

Some hid underground, some hid in the villagers' houses, and others in the woods; a moment later, it was deathly silent.

A Lei Guang ball appeared in Su Xi's hand, which she hung on the lighthouse.

Those hidden monsters have appeared again, and are coming rapidly in the direction of the lighthouse.

"That pair of grandfather and grandson," Su Xi said to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan nodded, leaped lightly off the lighthouse, and headed quickly toward the courtyard of the old man and Xiao Shitou.

Su Xi took out her Thunder-Gang Mace and began to clear away these evil entities.

Once finished, Su Xi also arrived at the old man's place.

In the courtyard lay the corpse of an octopus-like monster, while the old man had only one breath left; black blood spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his pair of blood-red eyes stared at the octopus, appearing insane.

After Su Xi arrived, he stared at her too, "How did you discover it?"

"At first I truly didn't suspect anything, but we discovered on the lighthouse that when your house's light was on, those monsters appeared, and when the light went out, the monsters retreated. I tried setting up a light on the lighthouse too, and the monsters came over as well. In fact, the villagers in the village had long since been submerged into the seabed; you knew it all along, and it might even have been your doing."

"My grandson was picking up seashells by the sea; he didn't provoke anyone, he was an especially well-behaved and obedient child. The son of Lao Yutou across the way brought a group of children and threw my grandson's seashells, along with his basket, into the seawater. My grandson went into the seawater to retrieve the basket... and just like that, he was gone! I want them to be buried with my grandson!"

"I prayed to the Sea God, and he bestowed a lamp upon me. Whoever I wanted to die, I just had to place the lamp at their door at night. The next day, that entire family would disappear!"

"But there was no need for the whole village to be buried with your grandson, was there?"

"I begged the Sea God to return my grandson to me, and he agreed."

"The price was the people in the village."

"Yes. And you outsiders too!"

"They all eventually turned into evil entities, listening to the instructions of the lamp in your hand. And the Talisman could ensure that you and your grandson retained your own Soul."

"Originally I didn't intend to kill you so quickly, but you had to say that you recognized this Talisman."

Su Xi, "Where is that Sea God?"

The red light in the old man's eyes suddenly extinguished, and his Soul dissipated.

A black Treasure Box appeared.

Xiao Yan opened it; inside was another key, but this time the teeth of the key were in the shape of a five-pointed star.

"It seems we have to go into the sea one more time." Su Xi let Xiao Yan put the key away.

Xiao Yan said, "Let me do it this time."

"Let's go together; I have a feeling this Sea God isn't easy to deal with." Su Xi looked at the octopus, "Is this Xiao Shitou?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan saw that one of the octopus's tentacles was still clutching a lollipop. On another tentacle was a small Guild Token.

Xiao Yan picked up the small Guild Token; on it was a line of heavily worn text—Shi Zuo Yuan Zheng Jun First-Class Military Merit.

Su Xi raised her hand and sent a ball of thunder-light, blasting a pit in the courtyard to bury the octopus and the old man together, "It's a good thing for them, too; to be released early, to be reincarnated sooner."

Xiao Yan pressed his palms together in a bow, and two white wisps of smoke drifted out from the grave of the grandfather and grandson, taking the outlines of an old man and a young boy; after bowing to Su Xi and Xiao Yan, they flew toward the horizon.

This was the first time Su Xi had seen the form of a Soul, and she looked at Xiao Yan in surprise, "What did you do?"

"I was a priest before, so I know a few spells for deliverance. I just delivered their Souls away; otherwise, if they stayed here, they would sooner or later become wandering ghosts," Xiao Yan replied.

Su Xi looked at him, her gaze revealing gentle approval, "Very good."

Xiao Yan scratched his head in embarrassment, "It was luck; not every Soul can be delivered. Like those evil spirits, their Souls have already been soaked through with pollution and cannot be delivered, only purged, to prevent them from harming others."

"Mm!" Su Xi patted his shoulder, "Big sister suggests you must continue with this priest profession; you can accumulate merit."

"I will." Xiao Yan flashed her an innocent and kind smile.

"Let's go, let's go meet that Sea God. Actually, when I was on the seabed, I faintly felt that something was watching me," Su Xi said, her expression turning solemn.

"Then I'll go into the sea this time; Big Sister Miao, don't go down," Xiao Yan grasped Su Xi's hand.

Su Xi looked at his hand, then looked up at him.

Xiao Yan hurriedly withdrew it, "I'm sorry, Big Sister Miao, I was anxious for a moment."

"I treat you as my own younger brother; a younger brother holding his big sister's hand doesn't need to apologize," Su Xi said, drawing a line between her and him.

Xiao Yan lowered his head, "... I understand, Big Sister Miao."

"Since you understand, remember to abide by it~" Su Xi put her hands behind her back and gave him a playful wink, easing the stiff atmosphere from just a moment ago.

Xiao Yan raised his head, his long, thick eyelashes masking the color of his pupils, his face wearing a gentle and kind smile, "Mm."

The two arrived at the seaside once again.

The calm sea surface suddenly surged with monstrous waves.

Su Xi grabbed Xiao Yan and used Teleportation to reach the air.

They saw a massive warship in the distance, gradually emerging from the water.

"This Sea God, what on earth is it? Why is there a warship?" Su Xi was stunned.

She had originally thought it was just a monster like a wicked dragon.

Xiao Yan was silent and did not speak, his emotions still somewhat sluggish.

Su Xi glanced at him and sighed inwardly; it seemed that once this mission was completed, she could no longer partner with him.

"Xiao Yan."

"..."

"Xiao Yan!" Her voice was a little louder.

"Big Sister Miao, what is it?"

"Regarding this, do you have any thoughts?"

"Oh, this is a military warship. The purpose of the lighthouse is to guide these ships at sea. The homes of those villagers also had related items to some extent. Xiao Shitou had a badge hanging around his neck; that was a military medal."

"You mean, the old man was a soldier?"

"The villagers in that village were likely mostly soldiers. On the wall of Lao Yutou's house, there was a photograph, and it was the same as this warship."

Su Xi hadn't noticed these things.

"You are still the observant one; then what is the Sea God?"

"The name of this warship is the Sea God. The old man's words were part of the game's own plot."

"Then what is this Sea God?" She felt this mission had deviated from the norm.

Suddenly, she remembered what Xiao Yan had said: the God-Favored Game is just a war wearing the guise of a game!

"This is a projection of a corner of the Shen Ming Zhan Chang," Xiao Yan replied, though his expression was still somewhat dazed; he was not focusing on the mission, answering only what was asked.

Su Xi also sensed his absent-mindedness and raised her hand to rub his head, "Cheer up, young man, the battle is about to begin; with the strength of the two of us, we are going to fight a warship."

"..." Xiao Yan looked at Su Xi, "Oh."

Su Xi did not say anything more and used Teleportation to appear directly above the warship.

Before she could even steady herself, a cannonball shot toward her, its speed fast enough to rival her Teleportation.

Su Xi dared not underestimate the enemy again; this warship was definitely not ordinary.

The Thunder Essence Mace appeared in her hand, and she slashed it toward the cannonball.

The cannonball was split in two and fell into the sea.

But immediately after, several more cannonballs shot toward her.

Su Xi dodged them, but one was still heading toward Xiao Yan.

And Xiao Yan was still dazed, not moving at all.

She flicked her hand and threw the Thunder Essence Mace in her hand, chasing after the cannonball.

Just as it was about to hit Xiao Yan, the Thunder Essence Mace collided with the cannonball, knocking it off course from Xiao Yan.

Su Xi frowned and scolded, "Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Yan was stunned, "Sister Miao."

"Go to the seaside and wait for me!" Su Xi ordered, then retracted the Thunder Essence Mace.

The cannonball that had been knocked away by the Thunder Essence Mace exploded in the air, tearing a black hole in the sky, but soon, flickering data light appeared, and the sky returned to normal.

It was indeed still inside the game; Su Xi took a deep breath, focused all her attention, and faced the Sea God.

Er Miao was the Divine Weapon System; with upgrades, she would certainly face such war scenes often, so this was a perfect opportunity to practice.

Xiao Mi had said that the God-Favored Order was a recruitment order, a way for the gods to select suitable soldiers to enter the Shen Ming Zhan Chang!

And Xiao Yan had said that this place was a projection of a corner of the battlefield.

Is this a real god-level warship?

Suddenly, a dazzling, blinding light erupted from the warship!

Xiao Yan suddenly snapped back to his senses, his speed so fast that his figure was almost invisible, and he hugged Su Xi, shielding her from this light!