Sacrificial Lamb (3)
Chen Li had been dreaming all night.
In the dream, invisible things kept tormenting him. Finally, one opened its blood-red mouth, saying, “You belong to me,” and swallowed him whole.
Startled, he jolted awake.
He then saw a ceiling that was both familiar and strange. Half-supporting his head, he sat up and looked down to find his clothes intact.
His memories of last night were hazy, but he still remembered some small details.
Like that invisible fear…
There was a cool, gentle touch lingering on him. When he finally woke up, he was still in bed—and fully dressed. Had he lost a chunk of memory?
Chen Li shivered and nervously asked his system: “Was what I encountered yesterday a ghost?”
He didn’t remember everything clearly, nor did he recall the system’s cowardly disappearance last night. He pitifully sought comfort from the only reliable companion he had left.
System 001, feeling deeply guilty: [Yes…]
In a sense, it really was a ghost.
But it wasn’t the kind of terrifying ghost he’d imagined—one with flowing red robes, bloodstained from head to toe.
This world not only had ghosts, but this ghost had targeted him. Although he didn’t understand why it hadn’t killed him last night, the fact alone terrified Chen Li deeply, and his frustration was obvious.
System 001 scrambled to make up a comforting explanation: [Maybe it’s a good ghost—only killing those who harmed it in life.]
But that backfired. Chen Li’s reaction was surprisingly intense: [No, it’s not a good ghost.]
Maybe it was a very bad perverted ghost… He vaguely remembered it licking him twice.
But saying something like that was too embarrassing, so Chen Li stubbornly sulked until the young maiden came to deliver his breakfast.
Seeing the unexpectedly abundant meal—mostly dishes he liked—his bad mood eased considerably.
He was easy to please.
He called the young maiden over to ask why the breakfast was so lavish today.
After last night’s interaction, the young maiden seemed to feel it was okay to talk more. Being young and unable to hold back, she quickly replied: “The High Priest ordered the kitchen to prepare it this morning.”
They were all surprised. It was the first time the High Priest had treated a Holy Son so well.
Others in the town might not know, but the staff here all understood that the Holy Son’s status wasn’t as high as people imagined.
Yet out of respect for the High Priest’s authority, they usually dared not speak about it.
Just as Chen Li happily picked up a piece of lychee pork to eat, hearing the young maiden mention the High Priest made him flinch, and a plump piece slipped back into the bowl.
He lost his appetite: “Why would the High Priest order this?”
His emotions, finally settling down, sank again.
The young maiden shook her head, saying she didn’t know, then left—thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
What had been a lavish feast now looked like a deadly trap in his eyes.
All coated in honey sweetened with poison.
System 001: [I’ve tested it. It’s harmless.]
Chen Li sighed lightly: [Maybe this is my last meal.]
The meal lost its flavor, and he only picked at it a few times before stopping.
Outside the window, a small bird suddenly appeared. Its normally round, jet-black eyes had changed into fierce, silver-grey eyes like a wild beast’s. It silently stared at the barely touched feast on the table, tilted its head coldly and in puzzlement, then spread its wings and flew away.
Not long after breakfast, System 001 enthusiastically invited Chen Li to watch a movie—but was firmly refused.
Chen Li steadied himself to focus on the mission and asked the system for the players’ movement track.
They had been exploring the village early that morning for clues about the rituals, and it was obvious that the mission was related to this.
System 001 could only provide a rough route, not detailed info. It told Chen Li the players had gone to the Zhou family—the household whose eldest son had been taken as a sacrifice—and had stayed there for a long time, still there now.
Tilting his head, Chen Li decided he needed to go check it out. But after what happened last night, he couldn’t afford to be careless anymore. He had to sneak out without anyone noticing.
Thinking of it, he suddenly raised his hand and touched his neck.
It hadn’t hurt at all today.
To his surprise, when he felt it, his skin was completely smooth. Chen Li hurried to check the mirror—his long, fair neck showed no sign of a single mark.
He paused thoughtfully for a few seconds.
System 001 felt a bit nervous, thinking their host was about to figure out the truth.
Chen Li said seriously: [So my healing ability is really that good, huh.]
System 001: […]
Silence was the system’s mood tonight.
It decided not to tell this clueless host anything.
This was just a small episode. In daily life, Chen Li had always been the classic clueless beauty. He never paid much attention to bruises or marks that occasionally appeared on his body. Even though things were reversed now, he was still incredibly laid-back.
After ten minutes of discussion with the system, they finally came up with the perfect escape plan.
Chen Li grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off all the inconvenient parts of his clothes, making it much easier to move.
He was cutting completely at random, but somehow, with his looks, he managed to pull off a sort of alternative fashion style.
At first glance, no one would suspect it was just badly cut clothes.
With the system’s strategic help, he easily avoided the servants in the mansion and reached the courtyard on the west side.
There was a woodshed here—and a… dog hole.
Chen Li looked at the somewhat familiar dog hole and was reminded of some unpleasant memories from his past life.
[Do I really have to crawl through here?]
System 001: [What, can you climb over the wall instead?]
Chen Li looked up at the tall wall, then gave in after a couple of seconds.
Just as he was about to crouch down, footsteps sounded behind him.
Although the footsteps’ owner deliberately made some noise beforehand, Chen Li was still startled.
He blinked his dark eyes and glanced back—nearly tripping over himself in fright. He whispered barely audibly, “High Priest…”
His neck suddenly started aching faintly and uncontrollably.
The man wearing a multi-eyed mask stood silently, watching him. A closer look showed his movements were even stiffer than before.
Like a puppet on strings, or someone being forced here.
Unfortunately, Chen Li was too nervous to notice this difference. Instinctively, he covered his neck and timidly apologized, “I—I didn’t mean to go out. I just got lost.”
Even he thought the excuse was ridiculous.
The High Priest stared at him silently for a few seconds, then hoarsely said: “Fine. You may leave.”
“Huh?” Chen Li was stunned, not expecting that response. He looked at him oddly.
The High Priest repeated: “Fine. You may leave.”
Chen Li asked: “So… I’m going now?”
He couldn’t shake the feeling that this version of the High Priest was even more terrifying.
The High Priest didn’t say another word, watching silently as Chen Li ran past him.
System 001: [Great, Host. You don’t have to crawl through the dog hole after all.]
Chen Li, still worried: [I have a bad feeling about this.]
Could it be the High Priest took the wrong medicine this morning?
No—something’s off, and where there’s something off, there’s always trouble.
He’s definitely plotting some other way to torment me.
Knowing there was a tiger in the mountains, he had no choice but to go.
Locked inside the mansion, he couldn’t gather any terror points or complete any missions.
There had to be a reason the mission panel was missing, his instincts told him something big was about to happen.
Chen Li kept running outside. This time, many servants didn’t stop him—clearly they had been warned.
Out of his sight, the High Priest suddenly dropped to his knees, as if crushed by a thousand-pound weight, coughing up blood. After a night of torture, he was finally free to move. Panicked, he shouted desperately: “Wait! Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! I’m still useful! I know what you want, I can help you—”
Before he could finish, his bones were crushed with a sickening crunch.
Only after his limbs twisted in agonizing pain was he released.
A cold, sinister presence swiftly approached, whispering with deadly intent.
The High Priest gasped in terror, each breath sending sharp pain ripping through his chest.
. . . . .
With no obstacles, Chen Li walked openly out of the gloomy mansion. As he strolled along the town’s paths, he felt dazed.
Everything here was too peaceful for a town known for human sacrifices and terror.
Everyone who saw Chen Li greeted him warmly and eagerly.
They called him the Holy Son.
To avoid saying too much and making mistakes, Chen Li responded with nothing but smiles—his face nearly frozen from it—until he finally found the Zhou family through the system.
The Zhou family was once wealthy but had fallen on hard times. Their mansion was large but neglected, overrun with weeds.
The system said the player was still here, so why was the gate wide open with no one inside?
Carefully, Chen Li stepped into the ruined courtyard: “Is anyone here?”
No one answered.
He apologized quietly as he moved further in. Suddenly, behind him came a creak—the door slammed shut on its own.
Chen Li flinched: [System, it was just the wind, right?]
System 001 considered, then answered honestly: [No.]
Chen Li’s fear grew. He raised his voice a little: “Is anyone here?”
Still, no response.
Finally, inside the house, he saw a figure standing with their back to him, dressed in black.
Relieved to see someone, Chen Li’s eyes lit up. He hurried over and poked the figure gently: “Hello.”
His pale, delicate finger barely touched the man, who stiffly toppled forward with no resistance and collapsed onto the floor.
Chen Li stared in disbelief, looking from his finger to the man on the ground.
Did he knock him out with a poke?
He crouched down, terrified, flipping the body over. The face was deathly pale with sunken eyes, lips colorless, the corpse stiff—this person had been dead for a long time.
“Ugh!” Chen Li jumped back, his almond-shaped eyes instantly filling with tears.
[He’s dead?]
System 001: [Yes.]
Not wanting to stay in the same space as a corpse, Chen Li jumped up and ran to another small room, flinging open the door in panic.
Click. A mechanism snapped.
System 001: [Careful!]
The opened door cut a rope, and the corpse hanging there suddenly fell, its head hitting the floor with a sickening smash—like a rotten watermelon bursting open.
Red and white brain matter splattered everywhere, even brushing past Chen Li’s ear and almost hitting his face.
Chen Li stood frozen, staring down at the puddle of mush on the floor.
System 001 was about to praise the host for staying calm—when he realized something was wrong.
[Host? Host?!]
Chen Li didn’t respond. His eyes slowly welled up with tears.
System 001: Oh no, it’s over, the child is scared silly.
Author’s note: Silly little lamb.