The courtyard was pitch black and very quiet.
Li Zhi wasn’t in a rush to find Zhen Zhen. She first cautiously circled around to confirm there was no one in the house. Only then did she walk to the locked door and gently knocked: “Zhen Zhen.”
“Li Zhi?” Zhen Zhen, who had already gone to bed, was surprised and quickly got up. After some rustling, a dim light shone through the small window. Holding a kerosene lamp, Zhen Zhen leaned toward the window. When she saw the two people outside, her eyes reflected the light, sparkling: “You really came to find me!”
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Li Zhi would come for her again, but ever since she left in the morning, her in-laws had increased their surveillance of her. They no longer left the house together, with one of them always staying behind to keep an eye on her.
Several times, Zhen Zhen secretly peeked out through the window, only to feel the constant watchful gaze upon her.
It wasn’t until nightfall that she overheard the neighbors inviting her in-laws to watch a free performance. The farmers worked in the fields year-round, and people from the Lie Nu Village rarely left the village, with no form of entertainment to speak of. Now that a theater troupe had come with a free show, how could they not seize the opportunity?
Her in-laws had hesitated at first, thinking to leave one person at home. But when they saw everyone else in the village going, it felt like they would miss out if they didn’t. After some discussion, they added another lock to her door and then left together to watch the show.
Zhen Zhen didn’t know that this was all part of a plan devised by the players to help her; she was just happy to see her new friends again.
Curiously, she glanced at Chi Yi, who stood beside Li Zhi. Chi Yi quickly introduced herself: “Zhen Zhen, I’m Chi Yi. The ‘Chi’ from pond, and the ‘Yi’ from reliance. We’re here to help you!”
Zhen Zhen was momentarily stunned: “Help me with what?”
Chi Yi said, “Help you leave here! Four days from now, you won’t have to die!”
Zhen Zhen’s eyes widened in shock, the flickering candlelight reflecting her disbelief. She unconsciously took a step back: “No… I can’t leave.”
Chi Yi grew anxious: “You’re still so young! Do you really want to throw your life away like this?”
Zhen Zhen shook her head again: “This is my fate. I was dealt a bad hand, and I’ve accepted it.”
Chi Yi wanted to say more, but Li Zhi stopped her. Through the narrow crack in the window, she gazed gently at the girl inside. Her voice was soft: “Zhen Zhen, do you really want to sacrifice yourself willingly?”
Zhen Zhen quietly responded: “Yes.”
Li Zhi asked softly: “Then why did they lock you up?”
Zhen Zhen froze, unable to respond for a long time.
Li Zhi continued to look at her: “If you were truly willing to die, they could let you move around freely. When the time comes, you would go to your death on your own. Why go through the extra trouble of locking you up, and even adding another lock to the door?”
There had only been one lock in the morning, but now there were two.
Zhen Zhen opened her mouth, as if to say something, but Li Zhi didn’t give her the chance: “Because even they know what they’re doing is wrong. It’s cruel. They’re afraid you’ll escape, so they’ve imprisoned you.”
Her voice was gentle, but like a cold wind piercing through the night, it made Zhen Zhen shiver. “Even they feel this is wrong. They had to use force to make you submit. Haven’t you ever, even for just a second, doubted this? Haven’t you ever felt unwilling to accept your fate?”
Haven’t you ever, even for just a second, felt unwilling to accept your fate?
The kerosene lamp in Zhen Zhen’s hand flickered weakly. Her breathing grew heavier, and after a long while, she whispered: “But it’s always been like this. For hundreds of years, every widow in our village has died this way. Who am I to refuse? We’re all the same.”
Her trembling eyelashes cast a shadow as she lowered her gaze. She repeated, “It’s always been like this.”
Chi Yi couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted, “Just because it’s always been like this, does that make it right? What if it was wrong from the very beginning?”
In the small, dark room, the girl’s once-bright eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
“No… no!” She took two steps back, her voice panicked: “You should go. Don’t come back.”
Chi Yi finally understood the feeling that Mr. Lu Xun once described—anger at their refusal to fight back, and sorrow for their misfortune.
Li Zhi didn’t say much more. She simply took out a book she had found earlier in the theater troupe’s luggage and passed it through the crack: “Zhen Zhen, this is for you. Don’t you like reading?”
Zhen Zhen hesitated but moved closer to the window, a little excited yet unsure: “But I can’t read.”
Li Zhi smiled: “It’s a picture book, full of illustrations. You’ll understand it.”
Only then did Zhen Zhen take it, delighted: “Li Zhi, thank you!”
Li Zhi gently replied, “We met by chance, and being able to become friends before your death is a kind of fate. Zhen Zhen, do you have any wishes? I can help you fulfill them.”
“Wishes?” She thought for a moment. “I don’t think I have any particular wishes. If I had to say something, I’d wish for my grandmother and sister to live better after I’m gone, for them to have enough food and clothes, and not be bullied. I hope my grandmother lives a long life, and that my sister grows up and marries a man who lives long, unlike my unfortunate fate.”
“I understand. Tomorrow, I’ll visit your grandmother and sister on your behalf, okay? With the autumn harvest coming soon, I can also help them with the farm work.”
Zhen Zhen was overjoyed: “Really? That would be wonderful! I’ve been so worried that without me, the autumn harvest would be too hard for them. Li Zhi, you’re so kind. After I die and join the Shrine of Virtuous Women, I’ll definitely protect you!”
Li Zhi smiled and nodded, then asked for the location of her grandmother’s house before leaving with Chi Yi.
As they retraced their steps and climbed over the wall, Pink Hair rushed over upon hearing movement: “This plan worked perfectly! None of the villagers returned; they’re all watching the show! Did you find any useful information?”
Chi Yi clenched her fists, fuming: “She’s already been brainwashed! This place is like one big PUA cult! I just want to kill them all! Kill them all!”
Li Zhi glanced back: “Let’s go. Tomorrow we’ll visit her grandmother’s place and see what’s going on.”
Back at the courtyard, the performance over by the stage hadn’t ended yet. Tao Yu had really gone all out to keep the villagers entertained. Listening to the distant sounds of the play, Chi Yi sighed: “It’s impossible to see these NPCs as mere data. They’re real people—there’s no way to stay detached.”
The players only returned after the show dispersed.
Although the plan had gone smoothly, the outcome was still not promising.
After hearing what Chi Yi had to say, the others were exasperated: “Her wish is for her grandmother to live long and for her sister to grow up and marry a good man. How can we help her fulfill that? We can’t stay in this instance until her grandmother dies and her sister grows up! That wish is way too vague.”
Wen Qianxue remarked, “It seems the difficulty of this task lies in figuring out what Zhen Zhen’s real wish is. If she dies before we uncover it, we’ll fail this mission.”
At first, when they heard the system issue this task, they thought it sounded simple. Only now did they realize the system had no intention of making it easy for them. No one could be certain what Zhen Zhen’s real wish was, and even if she expressed it, could they be sure it was her true desire?
After discussing for a while and reaching no conclusions, they decided to visit Zhen Zhen’s grandmother the next day and then headed to bed.
Finally, they didn’t have to fetch water from the well tonight. The players quickly washed up, and one by one, the kerosene lamps in the rooms went out, restoring silence outside.
Lying in bed, Chi Yi fumed, unable to sleep: “If we don’t complete the task by the last day, I swear I’ll set this place on fire before I die! The whole Shrine of Virtuous Women, I’ll burn it to ashes! Let no one survive!”
Li Zhi’s eyes flickered: “Tomorrow, after we visit Zhen Zhen’s grandmother, let’s check out the Shrine of Virtuous Women.”
Chi Yi thought for a moment and lowered her voice: “Zhi Zhi, do you think this instance might be like the last two? Could the Shrine of Virtuous Women be the key to breaking the cycle? Maybe if we destroy that place, all the vengeful spirits of the women who committed suicide could be released, and they’d kill everyone!”
Before Li Zhi could respond, Chi Yi added angrily: “But if they all died like Zhen Zhen, willingly sacrificing themselves, they probably wouldn’t hold any resentment, right? Did you hear what Zhen Zhen said? She said she’d protect you after entering the Shrine of Virtuous Women. The villagers have clearly brainwashed them, making the shrine seem as prestigious as becoming an immortal. They probably consider it an honor to have their names enshrined there.”
If that were the case, tearing down the Shrine of Virtuous Women would be as pointless as dismantling the Infant Tower.
“Let’s sleep.” Li Zhi turned over. “We’ll know tomorrow.”
Her voice remained as calm as ever. Being around someone with such stable emotions, Chi Yi quickly calmed down as well.
Since nothing happened last night, the players hadn’t done much today, and the chances of triggering a death condition seemed slim. As a result, everyone slept better that night. It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that faint sounds of opera singing could be heard outside.
Tao Yu and the others often practiced their vocals, and the players had grown used to the operatic tones, so no one found it unusual at first.
However, the sharp, eerie notes of the singing grew louder as they passed through the ornate gates and moved closer and closer to their courtyard. Finally, the singing stopped near the water tank they used to store water.
The now-awake players could clearly hear the opera’s haunting melody: “…Shang Xiang bids farewell to her nurturing mother, seeking death after saying goodbye.”
The sorrowful, eerie tune suddenly reached a piercing crescendo, the sharpness of the voice like it was being squeezed through the eye of a needle, shrieking outside the door: “Better to die and meet my husband!”
The piercing sound jolted Chi Yi awake from her sleep. She mumbled something, still groggy, when suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth, and Li Zhi’s low voice whispered in her ear: “Don’t make a sound.”