Dating the Fallen Lord Chapter 2

The tranquil mountain village was isolated from the world, seemingly nothing special.

However, Wu Yang and his companions didn’t dare to lower their guard. In the game world, the more ordinary a place seemed, the more terrifying it could be when it revealed its true nature.

At the village entrance stood a stone tablet engraved with words: Qingshan Village (Green Mountain Village).

As the group stood at the entrance, a middle-aged man with a slightly hunched back walked out from the village.

His skin was dark, and he wore a perpetually troubled expression. Yet, he greeted them with a cheerful smile, “You must be the young people here to experience country life at Qingshan Village today, right? The village has already prepared accommodations for you. Come with me.”

Wu Yang put on an innocent smile and said, “Thanks, uncle.”

The middle-aged man, the village chief of Qingshan Village, proudly introduced the village to them, clearly feeling that they had made a wise choice in coming here. Every now and then, he gave them an approving look.

The group: “…”

Experienced players didn’t appreciate compliments from obvious NPCs like this. The more they praised you now, the more lethal they would be when they turned into monsters.

From the village chief’s introduction, they learned that Qingshan Village had sixty-six households and roughly three hundred residents. Most of the houses were clustered together, with only a few located on the mountainside at the far end of the village.

As they entered the village, they saw villagers going about their activities—some carrying farm tools, others herding cattle and sheep…

It all seemed ordinary, with a distinctive rural charm.

The villagers glanced curiously at the strangers led in by the village chief, and when he introduced them as visitors here to experience village life, they all greeted them with friendly smiles, welcoming them warmly.

It was a perfectly friendly and simple rural scene, with no hint of anything unusual.

The village chief led them to an old, dilapidated-looking house.

The house had two stories, made of wood. The first floor had three rooms and a hall for activities, while the second floor had four rooms.

“This is Old Li’s house. Old Li lives with his family of three on the first floor. You can split the four rooms on the second floor among yourselves. You’ll have your meals at my place. Just let my wife know what you’d like to eat,” the village chief said warmly.

Wu Yang, feigning curiosity, asked, “Why aren’t we having meals at Old Li’s place?”

The village chief sighed, his expression turning more somber. “There’s no one at Old Li’s house to cook for you. Three years ago, Old Li broke his leg while chopping wood in the mountains and has been bedridden ever since. His wife left him later, leaving only his frail elderly mother and a young child at home.”

The group understood—the family’s situation was dire.

“Thankfully, you’ve come to experience village life here. The fee you paid for lodging is quite substantial. With that money, Old Li can finally get treatment for his leg.” As the village chief spoke, he perked up again.

After showing them around, the village chief excused himself, saying he had other matters to attend to, and told them to come over later for dinner.

Though the house looked old, it was still sturdy. However, when they walked upstairs, the stairs creaked loudly, as if straining under their weight, making them worry that they might collapse.

The four rooms on the second floor were similar in layout and size, with a bathroom located next to the staircase.

Wu Yang looked around at the group and said, “Let’s choose our rooms first. There are four rooms…”

“Brother Wu, I want to share a room with you,” Lin Dandan eagerly interrupted.

Wang Peiping was displeased, scoffing, “You’re a woman. Why would you want to stay in the same room as a man?”

Lin Dandan ignored him. Among the seven players here, Wu Yang had the most experience in these game worlds, and his protective energy was the strongest. In this kind of game world, it was safer to stay with the most capable person.

Wu Yang seemed a bit embarrassed, not used to sharing a room with a girl. But seeing the hopeful look in Lin Dandan’s eyes, and considering the bond they had built in the previous game world, he eventually agreed.

In the game world, the distinction between men and women didn’t matter much—one’s life was the priority.

The room allocation went as expected: Wu Yang and Lin Dandan shared a room, the chubby and skinny brothers took one, Gu Jiu and Lu Ji, the two girls, shared another, and Wang Peiping had one to himself.

Wang Peiping had the same idea as Lin Dandan, hoping to room with Wu Yang for safety, but didn’t expect her to be so shameless. In the end, he was left alone, feeling both resentful and a little afraid.

He considered squeezing into the room with the chubby brothers, but one look at the bed told him there was no space.

It was afternoon, and they had about an hour until the village chief’s promised dinner time. Everyone carried their game-issued backpacks into their rooms to check things out.

Gu Jiu and Lu Ji entered the first room on the left of the staircase. The room was simply furnished: a 1.5-meter bed, a wardrobe, a bedside table, and two chairs. There was nothing else.

Gu Jiu glanced around the room and then sat on one of the chairs to rest.

After walking for an hour, her legs felt as heavy as lead, making her want to collapse onto the chair and do nothing.

After resting for a while, Gu Jiu noticed that her roommate was no longer in the room and had left at some point.

She didn’t think much of it. She wiped the sweat from her face with a tissue, leaned on the chair for support, and walked to the window.

The window was an old rural style, pushing outwards. The glass was covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. When closed, even in daylight, the room’s light was dim.

Opening the window, she could see the village scene: a group of naked children ran around, and occasionally, she could hear the loud voices of women calling them home for meals. It all seemed like a perfectly normal countryside scene, with no signs of anything unusual.

But the very fact that they had arrived here was the biggest anomaly.

Gu Jiu adjusted her glasses, pondering the events she had witnessed since waking up and the information she had gathered earlier. She let out a soft sigh.

Although she didn’t know why she was chosen as a player in the Multiverse Game World, the clarity of the world before her eyes suggested that this place had a significant effect on her eyesight.

Was it because of the glasses or the game world itself?

The creak of the door opening snapped her out of her thoughts. Gu Jiu turned to see her roommate entering the room.

Realizing they didn’t know how long they would be staying here, Gu Jiu greeted her amicably, “Miss Lu, thank you for your help earlier on the way.”

Whether it was her imagination or not, the title “Miss Lu” seemed to make the girl pause slightly before she continued walking over as if nothing happened, starting to organize her backpack.

Seeing that Lu Ji had no intention of responding, Gu Jiu didn’t mind and turned her gaze to her backpack on the table.

The backpack was issued by the game.

Based on the information they had so far, they were a group of young people from the city who came to Qingshan Village to experience rural life, so naturally, they would carry luggage. Opening her backpack, she found a set of clothes identical to the ones she was wearing, suggesting the game world was too lazy to provide players with different outfits, simply duplicating a set so they could wear the same thing every day.

Aside from clothes, there were some basic necessities and a flashlight.

Gu Jiu wasn’t sure if the other players’ backpacks were the same, so she asked her roommate.

“The same,” Lu Ji said, opening her backpack for Gu Jiu to see.

It contained the same style of clothes as Lu Ji was wearing, the same basic necessities, and a flashlight.

Gu Jiu wasn’t entirely sure of the situation in the Multiverse Game World, but the items provided by the game likely had their purpose.

“When there’s time, I should ask Wu Yang about the game details,” she muttered to herself.

Lu Ji glanced at her but remained silent.

Soon, it was time for dinner, and the group headed to the village chief’s house.

The chief’s house was located at the entrance of the village, a two-story wooden structure similar to the other houses in the village.

Dinner consisted of authentic farm-style dishes—chicken, duck, and fish. The village chief’s wife enthusiastically served them, mentioning that the food fees they had paid allowed them to eat as much as they liked.

Gu Jiu nibbled on the refreshing cucumber salad, feeling that the game was quite considerate in covering their accommodation and food expenses.

By the time they finished eating, the sky had already turned dark.

Gu Jiu glanced at the sky and noticed how quickly night had fallen—unnaturally fast.

The village chief sat by the doorway, puffing on a large bamboo pipe unique to rural areas. He warned them, “Don’t leave your house at night if you have nothing to do. Bad things will happen.”

The group exchanged glances, and Wu Yang cautiously asked, “What kind of bad things?”

Qingshan Village was very remote and had no electricity; the only light came from oil lamps.

Inside, an oil lamp flickered weakly, casting dim light. The village chief’s face was obscured in the shadows, and the friendly, hospitable tone he had during the day now sounded eerily uncertain. “Mountain spirits will appear and snatch souls.”

Mountain spirits?

Those who had experienced game worlds knew this was likely a hint, but was it related to a curse in the village?

The group made their way back to Old Li’s house.

The darkness came on too quickly. With no streetlights and only a dirt path, which was uneven and full of potholes, one wrong step could cause a fall.

Wang Peiping tripped over a stone by the roadside and banged his knee, grimacing in pain as he cursed under his breath.

Wu Yang remarked, “The night is falling too fast. This isn’t normal. Let’s hurry back.”

In the game world, it was crucial to heed the words of certain NPCs; they often revealed the rules of the game through NPCs. If players violated these rules, they could easily trigger death events—sometimes not even knowing how they died.

The group quickened their pace, hurrying back to Old Li’s house.

Gu Jiu followed the others, her steps light and steady. Despite the rough path, she moved more confidently than they did.

As someone with congenital low vision, she had trained from a young age to discern her surroundings by sound, becoming accustomed to navigating in darkness. Her impaired vision actually made her more adaptable to the environment.

When they arrived at Old Li’s house, the darkness had deepened to the point where they couldn’t see their own hands in front of their faces.

The entire village was pitch black, not a single house showing any light. This unusual situation caught their attention, but since it was their first day and the village chief had warned them, no one dared to explore further.

Old Li’s house was also enveloped in darkness, eerily silent.

Gu Jiu glanced at the three closed rooms on the first floor. The family consisted of three generations: a frail elderly woman, a bedridden Old Li, and a four-year-old child. Throughout the day, the doors remained shut, as if no one was home.

Logically, when renting out their house, the hosts should at least make an appearance, but the residents of Old Li’s house left everything to the village chief and did not show themselves at all.

Once the group reached the second floor, they didn’t say much. They took turns washing up in the bathroom before retreating to their rooms to rest.

Gu Jiu sat on the bed, feeling uncomfortable all over.

She was someone who valued cleanliness and had a habit of showering every day. After walking for an hour earlier, she was covered in sweat and found it impossible to sleep without a shower. However, she noticed that Wu Yang and the others didn’t seem to have any intention of showering, either due to inconvenience or perhaps fear. It was likely the latter.

Unsure of what was happening in this game world, Gu Jiu wasn’t willing to risk her life before figuring things out.

Suppressing her discomfort, she took off her light trench coat and lay down on the bed fully dressed.

Lu Ji lay on the other side of the bed, with a considerable distance between them. It was clear that neither of them was accustomed to having someone else on the other side of the bed.

In the middle of the night, just as she finally fell asleep, Gu Jiu was awakened by a creaking noise.

The sound was like someone walking up and down the stairs, the old wooden staircase unable to bear the weight, producing loud creaks that were particularly disturbing in the quiet night.

Unable to sleep because of the noise, Gu Jiu opened her eyes in frustration, lying still.

A tapping sound came from the window, as if a hand was patting on it. Gu Jiu didn’t want to know what it was, so she pulled the blanket over herself, forcing herself to go back to sleep.

—

Lu Ji is the male lead, a love-deprived neurotic, and a cross-dressing master.