Volume 2. Game Update in Progress
In one day, I had covered a distance of two hundred and forty kilometers, and it didn’t cause any negative effects on my body.
That was quite terrifying.
But I didn’t dare to talk about it.
Shao He asked as well, and I didn’t dare tell her either.
That woman… cough, cough, that girl's past experiences gave her a certain understanding of human physical limits.
If she found out, then I’d be in serious trouble.
Moreover, after that night of running, I unexpectedly discovered something.
I mentioned before that this was a remote mountain village.
If the Liu Family hadn’t built the Liu Family Bridge decades ago, this small village would have likely become very isolated.
In villages like this, naturally, there would be legends of ghosts, demons, and fox spirits.
Children who grew up in the countryside had probably all heard some kind of supernatural tale.
Originally, I considered myself an atheist.
But after the incidents with the APP, that belief had completely collapsed.
And seeing those souls of the people at the hospital fade away so quickly made me realize one thing.
Human beings indeed had souls.
And in this world, there were likely places where soul forms could permanently remain.
Although the odds were small, over the course of tens of thousands of years, there would inevitably be some soul forms that managed to remain under the right circumstances.
And during last night’s run, I unexpectedly discovered a place where such soul forms might exist.
As for why I believed that—
It was because when I ran near that area, I felt my Evil Spirit Form being pulled, as if it wanted to be absorbed.
Of course, the sensation wasn’t strong.
At first, I didn’t pay it any attention.
But when I passed by the place a third time, the sensation of the soul form being drawn in grew slightly stronger.
Of course, such a force still couldn’t affect my Evil Spirit Form in any significant way.
But I definitely felt it.
Still, I didn’t recklessly go in and take a look.
After all, I really didn’t know if the Evil Spirit Form could handle such a situation.
But I planned to check the place out after this long-term mission was issued.
I wanted to see what was going on there.
Why did the Evil Spirit Form feel attracted to it?
Could it really be some kind of legendary feng shui site?
Was it an extremely yin place, which caused the Evil Spirit Form to instinctively want to approach it?
Or was there something else entirely?
With that in mind, I returned to my room.
As soon as I walked in, I saw Aunt Zhao tidying up my winter break homework.
“Miss is back? This little thing’s been pretty well-behaved, huh~”
Aunt Zhao continued tidying while occasionally glancing at me, as if she had something to say.
“Hmm, this little one’s actually quite smart.”
As I spoke, I walked over to the greenhouse cage prepared especially for Little Grey.
While taking off the little one’s outer clothes and placing it into the greenhouse cage, I kept an eye on Aunt Zhao.
But I found that she kept sneaking glances at me, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
“Aunt Zhao… is there something you want to tell me?”
Seeing her like that made me feel a little awkward.
So I walked over to her table, casually pressed the switch on the electric stove built into the tea tray, and touched the cool lotus-shaped kettle.
It was inlaid with pure gold, with a jade knob on the lid, and the whole thing was crafted from pure silver.
I asked casually.
“Um… actually, I wanted to ask if I could take a few days off…”
Aunt Zhao froze for a moment, then answered shyly.
After so many days of interaction, Aunt Zhao had probably gotten used to my temperament.
So she didn’t beat around the bush and said it directly and openly.
But she still looked a little apologetic.
After all, she had only just started working, and now she was suddenly asking for time off.
It really did seem a bit inappropriate.
Seeing how troubled she looked, I couldn’t help but shake my head.
“Aunt Zhao, you don’t need to be so formal. May I ask what’s going on?”
Although my behavior didn’t quite match that of a typical girl my age, I didn’t plan to hide too much of my personality.
Otherwise, it’d be even more troublesome if something was exposed later.
Right now, a great excuse was: “my boyfriend died.”
Damn it…
I never imagined I’d end up becoming my own so-called “fictional boyfriend.”
But I had to admit, the misunderstanding by Liu Wanqian and the others actually worked in my favor.
Even if Liu Yunyan changed her personality because of it, no one would suspect anything.
Come to think of it… my urn was still sitting on the display shelf.
Hmm… it was a golden-thread nanmu box, quite heavy, with a square piece of jade inlaid on the surface.
The carving was exquisite, high quality, crystal clear, with excellent clarity.
Even the edges of the coffin were gilded.
One could imagine how expensive that little nanmu box must have been.
I really… never thought that even in death, I’d receive this kind of treatment.
And even more unexpectedly, I’d end up using my own urn as a decorative item on a display shelf.
Maybe it was because of that—
Except for Aunt Zhao, almost none of the other servants came into my room.
After all, anyone who walked in and immediately saw a shiny, polished urn would probably not be in the best mood.
‘This is “my” eternal “home,” after all… I should at least keep it clean.’
By the way, I even opened it up and took a look.
Mm, it was full of crushed bone fragments… looked pretty much like the pork bones I used to smash for broth in the kitchen.
When Aunt Zhao heard me ask, she hesitated slightly, nodded, put down her backpack, and said with a bit of embarrassment, “Actually… I don’t know if you believe in this kind of stuff…”
“Believe in what?”
My back instantly straightened, and I stared intently at Aunt Zhao.
If she was asking that, then there could only be one reason…
Aunt Zhao was talking about ghosts, gods, or fox spirits.
If it had been the old me, I wouldn’t have even thought before refusing outright—“I don’t believe in that.”
Even when writing horror novels, I’d scare myself so badly my back would turn cold.
But I still never believed there were demons or monsters in the world.
Now, the moment Aunt Zhao asked that question, my nerves tightened all at once.
My hand instinctively reached for the watch, and even my Evil Spirit Form stirred slightly.
“Well… you know, stuff like ghosts or spirits…”
Seeing my reaction, Aunt Zhao looked confused.
“…Go on, tell me.”
I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t say I believed, but I couldn’t say I didn’t believe either.
If I said I believed… well, up to now, I hadn’t encountered a single soul form that could permanently stay in the Surface World.
“My kid… he’s being looked after by his grandparents now, only thirteen years old, same as you, still in middle school. Usually, that little rascal’s a bit tough to manage… hehe, don’t laugh at me…”
Though she said it like that, a trace of pride appeared on Aunt Zhao’s face.
It seemed her kid made her proud as a mother.
But immediately after, her expression turned grim.
“It happened just a couple days ago. That rascal—don’t know what kind of madness got into him—went with a group of other boys to Dongling Grave Hill. Ever since he came back, he’s been running a constant high fever. It’s been two days now… I’m worried, so I wanted to go back and check on him. I think… maybe he provoked something…”
So that’s what this was about...