They Are Very Hospitable (10)
Fu Moyang deliberately stopped talking. He withdrew his gaze and said, “Let’s go, it’s late, and it could be dangerous.”
The words “dangerous” sounded unnatural coming from his mouth.
Chen Li believed him and nervously followed his pace.
Inside, Chen Li was torn by the secret he was holding while also remaining alert to the surrounding darkness. He had already forgotten about his hand, which had been trapped in a tight grip.
It was like a naive lamb being lured back to the den by a cunning, calculating wolf.
This village rarely used electricity, and there were no streetlights along the road. They could only rely on the faint moonlight to guide them along the narrow path.
Their shadows stretched long in the dim light.
As they walked, Chen Li couldn’t help but move closer to Fu Moyang.
The man walked steadily, looking ahead as if the darkness of the night had no effect on him.
In fact, it was true. If anyone looked directly into his eyes now, they would see his silver-gray irises faintly glowing, like a fierce nocturnal predator.
As the naive lamb instinctively drew closer to him, Fu Moyang squinted in satisfaction, even deliberately slowing his pace to enjoy the subconscious trust.
It was the first time something so fragile and weak had instinctively relied on him. Though it was due to external factors, it still gave him an experience he had never felt before.
He thought to himself, perhaps he had found something more meaningful than simply scaring the lamb.
Chen Li had no idea what was going through the man’s mind. He had never felt that this path was so long.
Finally, the small courtyard appeared in front of them. But just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the sudden appearance of a figure almost made him jump out of his skin.
Sana stood at the door, slowly raising her head to stare at them.
Fu Moyang stopped as well, his expression emotionless as he met her gaze.
She wasn’t holding the large butcher’s knife that seemed so out of place for her petite frame, but the strong smell of blood still lingered around her.
Chen Li couldn’t help but recall the pleading look in the red-haired guy’s eyes after he was transformed into a pig. In the end, he wasn’t saved and was sent to Sana’s slaughterhouse.
Perhaps the bloodstains on her now came from that, or maybe it was the accumulated scent of slaughter that had seeped into her bones over time.
It was strange—why hadn’t he noticed it before?
It was as if a curse, only revealing its true nature when one became aware of it, slowly made itself known bit by bit.
They were all people cursed, blindfolded and muffled, seeing only the surface.
Just when Chen Li was about to turn and flee, Fu Moyang spoke up in a tone devoid of emotion, as though it were a matter of course: “Get lost.”
Chen Li watched, unable to move, as Sana’s face twisted for a moment. She looked like she had been threatened, her gaze lingering on him with unwillingness for a few seconds before she turned and walked away down another path.
Another one of those looks.
Chen Li shivered, fear creeping up on him.
She really had her eyes on him.
If it hadn’t been for Fu Moyang, Sana would have probably caught him by now and dragged him back to the slaughterhouse.
Would he end up like a little pig? Or something else?
As he wandered aimlessly through these thoughts, he couldn’t help but glance at Sana’s retreating figure.
Was it just his imagination? Her walking seemed odd, her shoulders constantly sagging. By the time she disappeared around the corner, her whole back had arched.
Why did she walk like that?
Before he could think any deeper, Fu Moyang interrupted his thoughts, his voice tinged with irritation: “Do you want to walk with her?”
There was an obvious frustration in his voice, stemming from the fact that the young man’s attention had been diverted elsewhere, which made him unhappy.
Chen Li quickly shook his head. “No.”
He didn’t understand why the man suddenly seemed so angry, feeling a little tense inside.
Fu Moyang narrowed his eyes. “Go inside.”
Chen Li was taken aback. “Aren’t you going back to your room to sleep?”
It seemed he hadn’t expected the frightened lamb to bleat at him, offering an invitation. Fu Moyang paused, then asked, “Do you want to sleep with me?”
Chen Li froze. It was strange to be asked this—after all, they shared a room, both men, and it wasn’t like they would sleep in the same bed. Why did it sound weird coming from him?
Still oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, the naive beauty easily slipped out of the man’s grasp, blinking. “Goodbye.”
He quickly ran towards the room in the corner, as if he feared something terrifying would catch him if he slowed down.
Only when he had completely shut the door behind him did Fu Moyang’s expression turn dark. The violent and cruel side of the handsome ghost finally emerged.
He thought, it was time to give them a lesson.
Even a core NPC in an instance dared to covet his prey.
Chen Li lay in bed and called out: [System, are you there?]
System 001: [I’m here.]
Chen Li: [Did you go for maintenance again just now?]
System 001: […Yes.]
Chen Li tilted his head: [Did your creator leave some kind of bug in you?]
System 001 instantly flared up, his childlike voice speeding up like a machine gun: [How dare you question my father! He’s the greatest person in the world! I was created by him personally. I, this lord, know everything and anything. You can question anything—but not my father!]
It was obvious the system had great respect for its creator, to the point of blind devotion.
Chen Li replied politely: [Sorry.]
Questioning someone’s parent really wasn’t very nice.
System 001 huffed: [As long as you know you were wrong. My father doesn’t make mistakes.]
Chen Li asked curiously: [What kind of person is your father?]
He really wanted to know why someone as ordinary as him had been chosen. Maybe it had something to do with the system’s father.
System 001 thought for a moment: [My father is not human.]
There was a strange pride in its tone—after all, humans are a weak species.
[Oh, so your father isn’t human.] Chen Li repeated seriously.
System 001: [……]
If it didn’t know how genuinely naive its host was, it would’ve thought he was being sarcastic.
Drowsiness gradually crept over him. Listening to the system praise its father, Chen Li slowly drifted off to sleep.
Even as he fell asleep, one question kept lingering in his mind—What exactly is Fu Moyang’s secret?
System 001 continued to ramble, only to realize it had become nothing more than background noise for sleep. Frustrated, it really wanted to wake up its host and continue the praise session, but before it could act, the bedroom door creaked open.
The ghost, full of rage, changed the moment he saw the peacefully sleeping boy on the bed. His gaze turned intense and possessive.
System 001 vanished without a word.
The night… was far from over.
. . . . .
When Chen Li woke up, he felt a sting on his neck—it felt like the skin had been broken.
He mentally poked the system: [Did something happen last night?]
System 001: […Nothing happened.]
Nothing, aside from someone staring at you the whole night, unable to resist taking a bite in the end. The look in his eyes said he wanted to take you apart and swallow you whole.
Chen Li believed it. He figured he’d probably been bitten by a mosquito. After all, it was the countryside—mosquitoes were common.
System 001 couldn’t help but feel grateful this instance didn’t have any mirrors. Otherwise, it really didn’t know how to explain the kiss mark that had appeared overnight.
When he stepped out of his room, he saw all the players gathered together, faces grim as they discussed something.
Fu Moyang was there too, wearing a look of amusement.
When he saw Chen Li come out, his gaze lingered suspiciously on his neck.
The mark on that fair skin was his brand, a clear declaration of ownership.
Fu Moyang was in a great mood. “Want to know what happened?”
Chen Li really wanted to nod, but seeing the other players around, he forced himself to hold back.
Fortunately, Fu Moyang didn’t leave him hanging this time. He took the initiative and said, “Someone’s dead.”
He said it so casually, like it wasn’t worth mentioning.
Chen Li felt a bit scared, but he couldn’t show it in front of the other players. He stole a glance toward the room next door—what he saw was blood-red. The body was already gone.
He had slept in the room right next to that one just last night…
And hadn’t heard a single sound.
Fu Moyang said, “They were already dead when we came back.”
This time, it was two male players—both veterans.
The ritual is the day after tomorrow, and now only six of the ten players remain.
Chen Li almost immediately thought of someone—Sana.
So that’s why she had been standing at the courtyard gate yesterday—she’d already made her move.
In a whisper barely audible, Chen Li asked, making sure the other players couldn’t hear, “But they didn’t kill the sacrificial animals. How could they have triggered the death condition?”
He didn’t realize how strange it was for an NPC to be discussing the rules of the instance with a player.
Under the hunter’s deliberate guidance, he had already been regarded as some kind of special existence.
And that fit exactly with what Fu Moyang expected. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: Such a naive little thing.
Still thinking this instance would have such a simple death condition.
“The secret I mentioned yesterday—I wanted to tell you the true nature of this instance.” Fu Moyang leaned down slightly, speaking softly into his ear.
The little kitten had bitten the hook again.
This time, Chen Li genuinely wanted to know. He clung to a piece of the man’s clothing, not letting him leave, tilting his head up to reveal his neck marked with faint traces of intimacy—like a swan stretching out its neck in a beautiful act of sacrifice.
Fu Moyang asked, “Do you want to know?”
He was downright wicked—dangling the juiciest bait, only to suddenly slow things down.
Chen Li nodded, falling right into the trap.
“Then you’ll have to pay a price,” Fu Moyang said, deliberately pausing before adding, “Or… let me collect a little reward…”
Author’s note:
Someone has used the same bait to hook poor Li Bao twice now—he seriously needs to be called out for it (pointing fingers x2)!
The author is undoubtedly talented in descriptive writing…it’s just that I don’t know what to do with 15 different metaphors romanticizing a wolf leading a lamb to slaughter
Also are the villagers all animals???