They Are Very Hospitable (13)
A chilling sensation shot from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head. Chen Li stammered, “It… it’s started?”
He felt like he couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of those simple words.
It was only a few short syllables, but he pondered them for several minutes.
“…Was it because of me?”
Fu Moyang raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I glimpsed the truth about this world,” Chen Li mumbled, sounding like a kid who had done something wrong. “This world stopped keeping animals two years ago. That means it used to be a normal village. The animal villagers now were probably once just pets kept by humans who lived here. But then something awakened in them and flipped the rules of the village—humans became livestock, and they became the ones who feed on us.”
Fu Moyang’s lips lifted in amusement—he hadn’t expected someone who looked so frightened to still speak with such clarity. “Impressive.”
It was clearly just an ordinary exchange, but when spoken in his gentle, encouraging tone, it carried an oddly affectionate warmth.
Chen Li was startled by the word that suddenly popped into his mind—affectionate. For a moment, he even forgot he was supposed to be mad at him.
Fu Moyang reached out and patted his head. “Just remember one thing: you don’t need to think of yourself as livestock. You’re just a guide. A guide who made a deal with the village.”
“So my role is to knowingly bring innocent tourists into a man-eating village?” Chen Li looked even more dejected.
Fu Moyang’s silvery-gray eyes didn’t waver. He couldn’t understand the soft-hearted compassion of the little lamb, but that didn’t stop him from disguising himself and taking advantage of the opportunity.
He lowered his voice slightly. “You don’t have to feel guilty. You’re not the reason the battle royale started early. Someone else triggered it.”
Though his tone was as if he were comforting a child, Chen Li couldn’t help but ask, “Who?”
Fu Moyang showed no interest in any other humans. “That newcomer with the black glasses.”
Ning?
Chen Li remembered that’s how he had introduced himself—a name that was clearly fake.
He hadn’t been in the courtyard just now, either.
He hadn’t expected him to be the one who triggered the battle royale early.
Thinking of the three players still lost in thought in the courtyard, Chen Li hesitantly asked, “Are the villagers coming?”
“Two minutes and fifteen seconds left,” Fu Moyang said casually.
He could even count down to the second. Anyone else would’ve found that deeply suspicious—but to Chen Li, it only confirmed that Fu Moyang really was a top-ranked player.
This time, he didn’t hesitate. He gently tugged on Fu Moyang’s sleeve and said, “Can you help tell them to find a place to hide for now?”
The village wasn’t very big, and they couldn’t leave before the festival. Even if they hid, how long could they really last?
Fu Moyang didn’t point out his naivety. He turned and went into the courtyard to directly inform the three players.
There was just over a minute left before the villagers would come to slaughter them. If someone else had said this, the players might have doubted it. But coming from Fu Moyang, even if it wasn’t true, they had to treat it as if it were.
Baldy, Sister Huang, and another female player were not newcomers. Without saying a word, they leapt over the opposite wall of the courtyard without hesitation.
Chen Li stepped into the courtyard, still unwilling to give up. “Will all the villagers hunt down players?”
“Mhm,” Fu Moyang replied indifferently. “There are two ways to beat this instance.”
“Kill Sana. She was the first animal to awaken. At the time, she’d already been sent to the slaughterhouse. Her awakening triggered the upheaval in the village, which is why she naturally became the village butcher.”
Once she’s killed, the rest of the village’s animals will return to normal.
Chen Li thought back to the image of her small, skinny frame effortlessly wielding a giant butcher’s knife and couldn’t help but feel that this method sounded utterly unrealistic.
“What’s the other way?”
Fu Moyang replied, “Hold out until the day after tomorrow, and you’ll lead the tourists out yourself.”
As things stood, it was the only viable path for the players.
The sun was already setting, and night was about to fall.
Chen Li blinked. “But the mission says we have to survive until after the fifth-day festival…”
Fu Moyang was surprisingly patient. “Did anyone say the festival has to be held at a certain time, or by certain people?”
The task only required that a festival be held on the fifth day.
Chen Li wasn’t stupid—he instantly caught the implication: “I’m an NPC too… so I can host the festival?”
That would drastically shorten the time the players needed to survive.
They just had to make it through tonight and all of tomorrow. Then, once midnight on the fifth day arrived, Chen Li could secretly host the festival and end the game early.
Just as he wrapped his head around this idea, the main gate was suddenly kicked open.
A group of villagers wearing animal heads stormed in, wielding weapons. They were ordinary NPCs—if the players worked together, they might be able to fight back. The real problem was the core NPC leading the charge: Sana.
She held a butcher’s knife taller than herself. The moment she stepped in, she realized she was too late.
The livestock had already fled.
Her cold gaze swept across the room and, once again, uncontrollably settled on Chen Li.
At the same time, it was impossible to ignore the gloomy man standing behind him.
The wounds on her body began to ache uncontrollably, and both her reason and emotions screamed at her to run from that terrifying ghost.
But Chen Li misunderstood its gaze. He finally remembered that Fu Moyang was also a player, which naturally meant he was seen as ‘livestock’ in the eyes of the NPCs.
And yet, he had just completely overlooked that fact. No matter how powerful Fu Moyang was, he was still human. Surrounded by so many hostile NPCs, even if he didn’t die, he would surely be injured.
So without hesitation, he turned and forcefully pushed Fu Moyang, shouting, “Run! I’ll cover you!”
Even the always composed and calculating, the handsome ghost was stunned for a moment. He thought the boy turned around out of fear, but instead, the boy—so naive—actually thought he could protect him with his small, fragile body.
It was obvious he was still terrified. Even knowing that he himself was a guide, he trembled slightly and didn’t dare glance at the beast-like NPCs. Yet this timid little lamb had done something the ghost hadn’t encountered in hundreds of years—he had tried to protect him.
A lamb without even the hint of horns, bleating and stepping in front of a predator, trying to shield him from the storm.
Even though that predator could tear him apart with a single swipe.
Even though that predator had been alone since birth, couldn’t even remember if his instinct for killing came naturally or was a defense formed after being hurt too many times. A soft, gentle creature like this should never have entered his world.
A strange emotion surged from within. Fu Moyang’s dazed expression faded. Out of Chen Li’s sight, he cast Sana a sharp, warning glance.
The meaning in that look was so unmistakable that even though Sana was trembling with fear, it immediately understood.
It was being told to protect his disguise.
Sana didn’t understand why such a powerful ghost—one who stood above all horror NPCs—would pretend to be a weak human, but it obeyed. Lifting its butcher’s knife, expressionless, it walked toward them.
It couldn’t suppress another emotion rising inside—it was ugly, bitter jealousy.
Yes, it was jealous of the ghost, of being able to receive the boy’s protection and genuine concern.
Such a sweet human—no ghost or monster could resist him. Even if they had to tear out their own bleeding heart, they’d still want to offer it to him, just for his affection.
The boy had only just entered the horror instance. The higher-level ghosts hadn’t discovered him yet. Sana had clearly had the chance to act first.
To possess him. To keep him captive. To promise him anything—so long as he stayed obediently by its side.
But that was no longer possible. Fu Moyang had warned it. Even though Sana didn’t know the ghost’s origin, it could feel it clearly—if it dared covet the boy again, the ghost would rip its head off without hesitation.
With heavy steps, Sana approached them. Despite the boy’s fear, it raised its butcher’s knife high—
Just as the blade was about to fall, Fu Moyang threw out a prop.
In an instant, they were teleported from the courtyard to the side of a small river in the village.
Chen Li, still shaken by Sana and its giant butcher’s knife, looked around nervously. “They’re not going to follow us, are they?”
Fu Moyang’s silver-gray eyes locked onto him with a deep gaze. “No.”
After a pause, he added, “Not for now.”
Chen Li breathed a sigh of relief. “Then let’s head to the festival site.”
They needed to get ready. Besides, standing in one place too long would only make them easier for the villagers to find.
It would be best to find the players and reveal this matter to them.
He turned to leave, but was pulled back into a cold, somber embrace by the wrist. Fu Moyang looked down, a rare trace of confusion showing on his face.
“Why?” he asked.
“What?” Chen Li still hadn’t sensed the danger.
In his eyes, Fu Moyang had just said so much and even revealed how to clear the game early—it clearly meant he saw him as a friend.
If that was the case, he could forgive him for trapping him in the slaughterhouse earlier to scare him.
Under the moonlight, Fu Moyang’s human round pupils shifted into wolf-like slits, a silver-gray shimmer glinting in them. His voice was low and hard to decipher.
“Don’t look up.”
Chen Li, just about to raise his head, obediently froze at the words.
He stood before the man, head lowered, exposing the vulnerable curve of his nape, completely unaware of the terrifying aura that surged behind him.
It was the kind of power that could consume him in an instant—one that demanded fear and submission.
Yet in the next few moments, it all vanished without a trace.
“Is it done?” Chen Li asked, completely defenseless.
Everyone had their secrets, and so did he.
That’s why he respected them—he wasn’t curious in the slightest.
Fu Moyang: “Yeah.”
He quickly reverted to his usual composed and arrogant demeanor.
When the boy looked at him, Fu Moyang curled his lips into a smile. “Did you just say you wanted to go to the festival site together?”
Chen Li nodded.
Fu Moyang raised an eyebrow. “Why should I go with you?”
…He’s back to his usual bullying self.
Was all that earlier kindness just an act!?
Chen Li looked aggrieved. “Didn’t you just…”
He trailed off.
Suddenly, he realized that the man had never actually said he would go with him, nor had he ever promised to help.
It was just his own wishful thinking—assuming they were already friends.
Seeing the stunned and confused look on the boy’s face, Fu Moyang felt an itch deep inside, like a feather brushing gently over his heart.
He didn’t know what would change when such a fragile little creature entered his world.
He just knew—he wanted him. And that was enough.
A ghost has no need for restraint.
Author’s note:
Ah right, the result of someone being “unrestrained” is that they’ll have to coax Li Bao endlessly in the future.
I see..so FMY is a kind of glitch/or just a ghost that makes him seem like a player?