Chapter 28: Poison-Insect Stronghold 27

Standing for so long had become tiring. The rice paddies of the Gu Village were low-lying, so Zhou Zhou had chosen a spot on higher ground, a vantage point that offered a clear view of the players' situation.

The sun was scorching. Sweltering in her heavy, dark cloak, she had asked Zhou Shan to help her take it off. Now, dressed in loose, comfortable clothing, she felt a rare sense of relief. She sat on a wooden stool provided by a villager, looking dazed, her head bowed as she hugged her knees. In reality, she was deep in thought, calculating how to leak the clues she had seen in her dreams.

Her hair, as black as crow feathers, shimmered with a beautiful luster, and her hands were as fair as fine snow—exquisite beyond compare. Her crystalline eyes darted around, inadvertently resting on the cold-faced man standing not far away.

Chu Mingxiu felt the girl's soft, probing gaze. He whipped his head up, his sharp, piercing stare locking onto her with undisguised iciness. Zhou Zhou’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly lowered her head.

This player must hate her, she thought to herself, her small face, previously hidden under the dark cloak, flushing slightly.

Well, let him keep hating her. She had no intention of getting close to him anyway.

Chu Mingxiu could only see the girl bowing her head silently, as if terrified to look at him. He stared at her soft, dark hair whorl and noticed her pale pink fingertips—which always seemed to draw the eye—trembling nervously against her knees. After a long moment, he let out a slow, mocking scoff.

The players worked themselves to the bone catching insects. By the time the work in the paddies was finished, it was already noon. Before they could even catch their breath, they heard the cold, ruthless voice of the dungeon boss.

"Finished? Then crawl over and bleed."

"The Gu God Festival cannot proceed without these insects. Being fed by your blood is a blessing for you."

Zhou Shan’s emotionless gaze swept over the players. They were all stunned by his words. Bleeding... the players knew it wouldn't be easy to survive until the Gu God Festival. In the few dungeons they had cleared, the days surrounding key plot points were never peaceful, so the boss's current behavior was, in a way, expected. However, after hearing the second part of his sentence, they all felt a collective, speechless irritation: *You can have this "blessing" for yourself.*

No matter how much they resisted internally, they nodded submissively on the surface. "Fine..."

The villagers took the baskets filled with insects and, holding small knives with stiff, expressionless faces, began to slit the players' wrists. Intense pain flared, but the players weren't afraid; they were not ordinary people, and their recovery rates were high. It just hurt, that was all.

Zhou Zhou watched the scene with a pale face, feeling as if she had accidentally wandered into a mass suicide ritual for some major cult. Zhou Shan didn't bother to shield her from the sight. The girl was so timid... how would she ever endure the parasite of a Gu insect later? If she wanted to survive in this man-eating Gu village, she had to learn to face reality.

Bright red blood dripped from the players' wrists into the baskets. As the blood flowed, the dense mass of insects inside began to writhe more vigorously. As if gorged on fresh blood, their black bodies took on an eerie crimson hue, emitting constant, hissing chirps. It made the players’ skin crawl.

What terrified the players even more was the realization that their bleeding wouldn't stop.

Only Chu Mingxiu and Liang Ye had their wounds heal instantly. The players weren't surprised; both were talented individuals with god-tier skills, their physical recovery comparable to monsters. But for the rest of them, with their varying strengths, it was a disaster.

What was going on?

The blood from their wrists seemed to be swallowed by something. Even when they covered the wounds with their hands, there was no sign of stopping; in fact, the flow only accelerated. This defied all logic.

"Why won't the bleeding stop?" Some players used blood-clotting potions, but they were useless.

"What do we do..."

"The boss definitely won't save us. Should we face him head-on now?" Some players weighed their chances against the boss. The conclusion left them in despair: zero. In this forbidden dungeon, facing the boss now was equivalent to courting death.

"Then what now? Just wait to die?"

"What is actually happening..."

Brother Cheng interjected with a key observation: "The knives the villagers are holding must be abnormal."

The players' expressions turned grim. If the bleeding didn't stop, even if they were tough, they weren't immortal. If this continued, it would cost them their lives. Brother Cheng’s face was equally dark. If they wanted to find clues about the dungeon, they needed to stay alive first. Since this was the boss's doing, there had to be a way to break the cycle—it just depended on whether Zhou Shan would tell them.

Brother Cheng glanced at the girl nearby. The distance was short, and a plan formed in his mind.

"If you don't want her to die, tell us how to stop the bleeding!"

Seizing a moment when no one was looking, Brother Cheng snatched the knife from a villager and pressed it against the girl's fragile, fair neck.

*Ahhh, Brother Cheng, you deserve to die!! How dare you! How dare you bully my goddess!!*

*If this idiot tries to hurt her, we’re using our donation points for a protection barrier. We won't let this scum hurt her!*

*Ah, she’s so pitiful, my heart is breaking...*

The thin silver blade reflected against her snow-white skin, making her look even more frail and pitiable. Zhou Zhou shivered instinctively. She suppressed her fear of the blade against her throat and raised her eyes to look at Zhou Shan.

"Brother Zhou Shan..."

Chu Mingxiu watched quietly, his cold, narrow phoenix eyes drooping to hide a dark, brooding gloom. *Facing death, and she’s still calling him brother.*

"Zhou Zhou!" Zhou Shan’s expression shifted instantly. *These bugs, they deserve to die!*

Suppressing his murderous intent, he said coldly, "Put the knife down first!"

"I can put it down, but you have to guarantee our safety," Brother Cheng said coldly. However, seeing how delicate the girl looked, he instinctively pulled the tip of the blade back just a fraction.

But from Zhou Shan's perspective, it was still dangerously close, as if it could slice through her skin at any moment. Zhou Shan’s expression turned hideous. Violent, destructive impulses surged within him as he glared at Brother Cheng, his gaze fiercer than any wild beast.

"As long as you don't hurt her, I'll do whatever you want. Put the knife down first."

How could Brother Cheng put the knife down? He sneered, "Tell me how to stop the bleeding."

Zhou Shan suppressed his rage. "My blood."

He took a knife and sliced his own palm. Blood, slightly fishy and smelling subtly of bitter-sweet pine and snow, seeped out and trickled down his long, slender hand.

The players’ eyes turned red. They had Gu inside them, and the daggers the villagers had handed them contained invisible parasites. Zhou Shan’s blood contained the most powerful Gu, which could suppress the parasites in their bodies and stop the bleeding.

A pale red insect crawled out from his palm, and a faint, golden glint flashed in Zhou Shan’s eyes. As if given a command, the insect flew to the players' wounded wrists. They felt a slight sting, and the bleeding stopped.

The players smelled the blood in the air and stared hungrily at Zhou Shan’s bleeding palm...

Gu insects were bloodthirsty. The Butterfly Blood Gu was no exception; like the parasites in the players, it craved blood as food.

*What is going on?* Zhou Zhou stared at Zhou Shan’s palm.

*It’s the Butterfly Blood Gu. The insects are all bloodthirsty... similar to the ones in the players. Blood is their food,* the system whispered. *We need to find a way out now.*

Ning Jidong stood in the corner, watching silently. Whether due to his constitution or something else, neither his nor his two sons' wrists had bled much; instead, the wounds had healed quickly. Watching the increasingly bizarre developments, his handsome, sharp face revealed a hint of inexplicable agitation.

It was too strange here. The mysterious Gu village, the beautiful girl, the villagers who didn't seem alive, and the flesh-eating insects.

Ning Cheng and Ning Yan couldn't help but fixate on the girl with the blade at her throat. Looking at her hazy, overly pitiful eyes, and her slender, graceful neck trembling against the white blade—perhaps out of fear, they thought distractedly—they found her incredibly moving. It stirred a strange, primal feeling within them. She was clearly just a victim, with not a shred of malice, but these thoughts were purely their own projections.

Ning Cheng bowed his head, suppressing his expression, trying to stop the thoughts, but the girl remained stubbornly in his mind.

Ning Yan looked directly at Zhou Zhou. His features were handsome and shy, yet at this moment, they held a trace of a man’s possessive desire. The girl was too beautiful... and so weak, with no ability to protect herself. Such beauty would invite the greed of wicked men. If she weren't protected by someone strong, those with dirty intentions would surely act maliciously.

*I want to protect her so much.*

With the bleeding stopped, the players breathed a sigh of relief. Brother Cheng, however, wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He feigned movement, pressing the dagger closer to the girl's throat, and asked the increasingly furious Zhou Shan, "I want to know, why does the Gu Village raise these insects?"

It was a blatant threat. Zhou Shan was forced to comply because the girl was in their hands. Seeing Zhou Zhou looking so frail, as if she might faint at any second, his heart ached, and murderous intent surged in waves. *These damned scumbags!*

"We raise Gu to extend our lives. We are parasitized by these insects; the stronger the insect, the longer we live," he said, not daring to gamble with her life. "Feeding the insects with the flesh and blood of visitors like you makes them stronger."

"What about the Gu God Festival?" Brother Cheng didn't intend to stop. "Why hold it? To summon the Gu God?"

"No, to extend our lives," Zhou Shan said coldly. "The Gu God bestows even stronger insects."

Another player couldn't help but ask, "Then the Gu God, what is 'His' name?"

"I don't know. No one has ever known 'His' true name." Zhou Shan’s tone was devoid of emotion, radiating a chilling aura.

Liang Ye stood far from Brother Cheng, his arrogant expression unusually cold and gloomy, his temperature-less gaze fixed on Brother Cheng. *Damn it, these wretched players only know how to bully the weak.*

*Zhou Zhou, my Zhou Zhou...* How could these idiots dare to bully her? He wanted to kill him right now, but the tip of the blade was too close to her neck. He couldn't guarantee he could kill Brother Cheng without hurting her. He could only watch like a monster, dark and cold.

After the players asked a few more questions, Zhou Shan answered them one by one, his face frozen. Once they were satisfied, Brother Cheng spoke up.

"Alright, we’ll take her with us for a while and let her go halfway. I promise we won't hurt her. Just let us go."

Zhou Shan’s expression was beyond ugly. He gritted his teeth, his jaw trembling, his face a brewing storm. "How can you guarantee that? What proof do you have that you won't hurt her?"

"You don't have a choice, do you?"

Brother Cheng nudged the blade, and Zhou Shan had no choice but to let them leave, his face rigid. Ning Jidong and the others followed.

The blade remained pressed against the girl's neck throughout the journey. Brother Cheng had seen Liang Ye confront the boss for this girl earlier. While he didn't believe a top-tier player like Liang Ye would have feelings for an NPC, he chose to be cautious.

When they reached the edge of the Gu Village, Liang Ye’s gaze turned murderous as he looked at Brother Cheng, his tone chilling. "That’s enough, isn't it? Why are you still holding the knife? Zhou Shan isn't here anymore."

Brother Cheng felt something was off. Liang Ye’s tone sounded like he was standing up for a wronged girlfriend. Could he actually have feelings for an NPC? The thought tightened his chest.

"God Liang, I know she’s innocent, but we can't let our guard down." Brother Cheng forced a smile. "Do you think we should leave her here or keep taking her with us?"

Liang Ye didn't hesitate. "Of course we take her. I'll take care of her."

Brother Cheng’s heart sank. It seemed Liang Ye really did have some feelings for this fool. *No, I absolutely cannot hand the girl over to Liang Ye.* He had treated her so poorly and used her to threaten the boss; Liang Ye was known as the "Ghost" who slaughtered dungeons and was famously petty. He would never let him get away with it.

"God Liang." Brother Cheng sighed, looking serious. "We are players. It’s inconvenient for her to rough it on the road with us—food, shelter, you know how it is for a girl..."

He left the rest unsaid. Liang Ye fell silent, his silky silver hair drooping. Even though he felt he could take care of her himself, he was restricted in the dungeon. What if he had a lapse in judgment? He began to feel uneasy.

Brother Cheng jumped in at the perfect moment. "God Liang, how about this? Why not let those NPCs take her back?"

"I have a few puppet talismans. I can use them on them, so we don't have to worry about them harboring any ill intent on the way back."