The "black hair" restraining Fat Jun lifted him into the air before suddenly yanking him downward. In the blink of an eye, he was nearly dragged into the dry well.
Prince Kai, with astonishing reflexes and agility, leaped into action. The muscles in his arms bulged instantly, becoming thick and rock-hard as he locked his arms around Fat Jun's belly from behind, getting pulled toward the well alongside him.
Thud.
At the last possible moment, Prince Kai planted his feet firmly on the well's outer rim, bracing himself.
"AAAAHHHH—!" Fat Jun screamed in agony. If not for his 200-plus pounds of blubber, his bones would have shattered under the violent tug-of-war between the two opposing forces.
Unable to drag Fat Jun into the well, the black hair flung him high into the air again. Prince Kai refused to let go, soaring upward with him.
The hair whipped them sideways.
BAM!
Fat Jun and Prince Kai crashed into a nearby house, splintering wood and kicking up clouds of dust.
Still entangled, the black hair began dragging them in circles along the ground.
CRASH—BAM—THUD—
Like a wrecking ball, Fat Jun and Prince Kai were hurled around the ancestral hall, smashing through doors and windows, snapping beams, and even crashing through the second-floor railing. In less than half a minute, the entire hall was reduced to rubble, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Thankfully, Prince Kai acted like a human shield, absorbing most of the impact and protecting Fat Jun. Otherwise, the latter would've been crippled—if not dead.
Gao Yang and Officer Huang stood frozen at the hall's entrance, pistols raised like idiots but unable to fire. Even if they'd had submachine guns, bullets would've been useless against the black hair. A flamethrower might've worked, but that wasn't an option.
Their only hope now was Qing Ling. She knew it too—already crouched low, her long blade drawn, waiting for an opening.
Soon, one came.
Seizing a moment when the hair slowed, she dashed forward, swung her blade—
Swish!
A flash of steel, and thousands of black strands scattered in the air. The hair binding Fat Jun began loosening. Just as everyone thought they were saved, even more tendrils surged from the well, lashing toward Qing Ling.
Caught off guard, she slashed desperately but missed a few strands. They coiled around her wrist, then multiplied, quickly wrapping her into another squirming cocoon.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gao Yang fired, but as expected, the bullets passed through the hair like water, dealing no damage.
The hair seemed done playing. With a sudden yank, it dragged both Fat Jun and Qing Ling toward the well.
Qing Ling twisted midair, bending her knees and bracing against the well's rim. At the same time, Prince Kai still clung to Fat Jun, his legs also hooked on the edge.
"...HELP!" Fat Jun wailed.
Gao Yang and Officer Huang rushed over, grabbing Qing Ling and Prince Kai with all their strength.
What followed was a grotesque tableau: five people tangled together in a twisted, many-limbed knot, straining against the well's edge as the black hair relentlessly tightened around them.
From a distance, the scene looked eerily still.
In reality, both sides were locked in a fragile balance of power.
Gao Yang swore this was the longest, most excruciating "tug-of-war" of his life.
Three seconds passed.
Five.
Ten...
Prince Kai, the strongest of the five, began faltering. "Shit—shit... I can't hold on... I'm gonna let go..."
"NO! DON'T!" Fat Jun begged. "I don't wanna die..."
"Fatty, sacrificing one to save four is a fair trade. I'll avenge you later..."
"WHY ME?!" Fat Jun shrieked. "Why not let go of Gao Yang?! This is his test! I'm just collateral damage—"
"SHUT UP, DUMBASS! I'd rather die... than abandon my bro—"
BOOM!
Before he could finish, the ground around the well collapsed, sending all five plummeting into the darkness below.
"AAAAHHHH—!"
Amid the chaos, Gao Yang's vision went black.
...
[Life detection in progress...]
[Status: Alive]
[Injury level: Minor]
[Alert: You have entered an uncharted zone. Exploration unavailable. Luck Points multiplier increased to 2x.]
[System shutting down.]
[Beep—]
Gao Yang slowly opened his eyes, squinting against blinding sunlight.
He raised a hand to shield his face, his fingers coated in dirt and the musty scent of moss. Sitting up gingerly, he checked his limbs—nothing broken.
The first thing he saw was Qing Ling. She had shed her tracksuit jacket, revealing a sleeveless black tank top. Head slightly bowed, she held a roll of bandages between her teeth as she wrapped a wound on her right arm. For a split second, she looked uncannily like the heroine from Tomb Raider 9.
"You... okay?" Gao Yang asked.
Qing Ling glanced up: Help.
He took the bandage from her mouth and finished wrapping her arm.
"Where are the others?"
"Don't know. I just woke up too."
Once done, Gao Yang's eyes finally adjusted to the light. He looked around—and froze.
They were at the entrance of Gu Family Village. The sun hung high—noon.
This can't be real... Am I still dreaming?
He pinched Qing Ling's cheek.
Probably not a dream. Dreams never felt this good.
She glared. "What the hell?"
"Testing if I can copy your talent." Gao Yang kept a straight face, watching her reaction. Good, she bought it. "Still can't. Means I wasn't out for more than 12 hours."
After a pause, he added, "Also probably not heaven."
Qing Ling raised an eyebrow. "You would make it to heaven?"
"...Probably?" Even he wasn't convinced.
"Honk! Honk honk!"
Gao Yang turned—an actual white goose waddled past him.
Before he could process it, an entire flock of geese surrounded them, honking loudly as they passed.
"HONK! HONKHONK—"
Ten seconds later, the geese were gone, leaving Gao Yang and Qing Ling covered in feathers.
"You two from the city?"
The voice belonged to an elderly man—short, wiry, sun-darkened, bare-chested, wearing coarse black pants and no shoes. His calloused feet were caked in mud, and he held a long bamboo pole in one hand, a smoking pipe in the other.
There are people here?! What's going on?
Before Gao Yang could react, Qing Ling was already on her feet, tense.
"Here for the funeral?" the old man asked.
"Uh... yeah." Gao Yang played along.
"Head to the ancestral hall. Our village holds operas there for the dead." The man pointed his pipe toward the hall atop the slope. "Right there."
Gao Yang looked. A makeshift canopy covered a dozen banquet tables in the plaza outside the hall, flanked by white funeral wreaths. Faint opera singing drifted from inside.
"Thanks."
"Ah, the Hua family... died so horribly. Five lives, gone in one night, all torn apart... I live next door, didn't hear a thing. Woke up to limbs everywhere—the yard, the shed, the trees, the roof... Old Hua's head was stuck right..."
The man trailed off, eyes dropping to the cracked "Gu" stele at his feet, its surface stained with long-dried blood.
"Such a sin..." Sighing, he herded his geese away.
Gao Yang immediately noticed something. "You see it?"
Qing Ling nodded. "This stele was broken when we arrived."
Though not 100% certain, Gao Yang had a theory.
This Gu Family Village... isn't the same one we came from.