The small grass imprisoned in the darkness will desperately absorb any bit of light it glimpses.
Right now, Li Zhi was like a resilient beam of light, tearing a hole in her gray world.
She heard that firm yet gentle voice: “Then go study. Go to school, read books, and see the outside world with your own eyes. Search for the answer you seek.”
Zhen Zhen stared at her, dumbfounded. “Do I still have a chance?”
“You’re alive now,” Li Zhi said. “As long as you’re alive, there’s a chance.”
“Alive…” Zhen Zhen repeated the word several times, her gaze becoming resolute. It was as if she were speaking to both Li Zhi and herself: “I want to live. I don’t want to die for a husband I only married three days ago.”
Li Zhi had shown her a different way for women to live, and the doubts in her heart seemed to finally have an answer. Although she still didn’t know the exact answer, she knew she didn’t want to die before finding it.
“Li Zhi!” Suddenly, Zhen Zhen lunged forward, her rough but healthy hands gripping the window bars. Her gaze was urgent and bright. “I don’t want to just die like this. What should I do?”
Li Zhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief and comforted her: “All you need is a firm will to live. My companions and I will help you.”
Zhen Zhen became excited, but then frowned in worry: “But the ‘Staged Death Festival’ is approaching, and the closer it gets, the stricter the patrols at the village entrance. Even if I escape from this yard, I won’t be able to leave the village. I heard that some people have tried before, but they were caught the next day.”
Li Zhi solemnly promised, “I will find a way. As long as you want to live, no one can force you to die.”
“I believe in you, Li Zhi!” Zhen Zhen’s eyes sparkled. “You’re the smartest and most knowledgeable person I’ve ever met!”
Li Zhi smiled. She glanced at the sky; by now, the villagers attending the feast should be returning soon. She passed Zhen Zhen the paper and pen she had brought and asked, “Zhen Zhen, today we went to the Shrine of Virtuous Women and saw the highest-ranking memorial tablet there, called Lady Zhen. Have you heard of her?”
“Of course! Lady Zhen was the first virtuous woman in our village to die for her husband.” Zhen Zhen had grown up hearing her story.
“Lady Zhen and her husband, Zhou Shaoyuan, were very much in love after their marriage, but a war broke out, and the court was conscripting soldiers everywhere. Her husband was drafted. More than a year later, news of his death reached the village. Because Zhou Shaoyuan had performed well in the army, the court promoted him posthumously. The news of his death and the decree honoring him were sent to the village together.”
Posthumous honors are typically a source of pride, but Lady Zhen was devastated by the loss of her husband and decided to follow him in death.
So, on that day, Lady Zhen climbed the platform and hanged herself, shaking the entire village. After her death, the local authorities reported her act of loyalty to the court, which awarded her a memorial archway and built the Shrine of the Virtuous Women in her honor. From then on, the name ‘Lie Nu’s Village’ (Village of Virtuous Women) became known far and wide.
It sounded like a tragic love story, not unusual in itself.
Li Zhi faintly heard voices in the distance and whispered, “Stay here, eat well, rest well, and regain your strength. I’ll come back for you.”
Zhen Zhen nodded vigorously.
She watched Li Zhi leave, tiptoeing and peeking out for a long time. Only when she heard the sound of the courtyard gate being unlocked did she quickly extinguish the kerosene lamp, clutching the paper, pen, and the comic book Li Zhi had given her, and burrowed into bed.
The funeral banquet ended, and after another night of vigil, Fang Lin would be buried in the Tomb of the Virtuous Women tomorrow, and her memorial tablet would be placed in the Shrine of the Virtuous Women.
Li Zhi returned to the courtyard early, standing by the door, waiting for everyone to come back. The performers were the first to return, and from a distance, she could hear Tao Yu’s voice: “That village chief is really generous! I thought he was just being polite, but he actually gave Fang Lin a grand funeral.”
Another person chimed in, “Exactly! Ordinary people don’t get such a lavish funeral feast. Come to think of it, Fang Lin was pretty lucky. An orphan with no parents, no children, and no spouse, yet she’ll be placed in the Shrine of the Virtuous Women after her death. She won’t lack for offerings and prayers.”
Unexpectedly, Tao Yu spat at the speaker in disgust. “Dying young is lucky? If you really think that Shrine of Virtuous Women is such a good place, why don’t you go die and join it yourself?”
The person was embarrassed by her sharp retort, but, out of respect for her status as the troupe’s lead performer, didn’t dare argue further and quickly quickened their pace into the house, looking visibly annoyed.
Tao Yu crossed her arms and snorted coldly, “What a joke! Who do they think wants to enter that Shrine of the Virtuous Women? If it were me, I’d rather die outside and have my corpse exposed in the wilderness than go to that disgusting place!”
After saying this, she quickly slapped her own mouth several times. “Ptooey, ptooey! Just nonsense, just nonsense!”
The person following behind her chuckled, “How old are you now, still saying ‘just nonsense’?”
“None of your business! I’ll say whatever I like!”
Tao Yu bantered a few more playful curses as the group entered the courtyard, followed by the other players.
From a distance, Chi Yi noticed Li Zhi standing by the door and ran up to her, bouncing to a stop in front of her. “Zhi Zhi! What were you daydreaming about? I’ve been waving at you for ages, and you didn’t even see me!”
Li Zhi smiled slightly. “Nothing, let’s head inside.”
Chi Yi pouted with a mock-hurt expression, “Am I not your best friend anymore? Are we keeping secrets from each other now?”
Li Zhi laughed and gave her a gentle push on the head. After a moment of thought, she said, “I was just thinking about something, but I need to confirm it first. If I told you now, you might get scared.”
Chi Yi huffed, “Are you kidding? What would someone as brave as Chi Da Dan be scared of? Go ahead and tell me!”
Li Zhi motioned for her to come closer, and Chi Yi immediately leaned in with her ear. After hearing what Li Zhi had to say, her once confident expression immediately crumpled into one of dismay. “Huh?”
Li Zhi raised an eyebrow.
Chi Yi whined, “Waaah!”
The viewers watching the stream were getting anxious:
[What could possibly be so secret that we, the esteemed VIPs, can’t hear it!!!]
[Ahhh, first the instance storyline keeps us hanging, and now even the players are teasing us!]
[I feel like Li Zhi is building up to something big. There’s going to be some real drama soon!]
[System, hurry up and open a paid feature. I’ve got money! I need to see the next part of the storyline right now!]
[I want to see Li Zhi pull some crazy moves! Friends, start voting quickly! Doesn’t this smart and capable boss deserve your vote?]
[To the Li Zhi fan up there, I’ve been watching you for days. You pull this same voting trick every day! Get a new pitch already!]
…
Back in the courtyard, everyone washed up and got ready for bed. Just as Li Zhi was about to close the door to sleep, Pink Hair and his two brothers appeared, clutching their blankets and looking pitiful as they stood at the door. “Sister Zhi, can we sleep in the same room as you tonight?”
Li Zhi gave them a glance. Pink Hair, shameless as ever, pleaded, “We all went to the well together this morning, right? If we accidentally triggered a death condition, it’s better if we stay together to face it! And just in case you won’t agree, here’s an offering!”
He handed over a few of their items. “These are our tools; you can use them as you wish, Sister Zhi!”
From the back, Chi Yi commented, “Do you think we care about your measly items? We’re more worried about your snoring disturbing Zhi Zhi and me while we sleep!”
Pink Hair quickly promised, “We’re quiet sleepers! No snoring, I swear!”
In the instance, players usually avoided sleeping in the same room to prevent a group wipe if one room triggered a death condition. It was like the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
But if they had already triggered a death condition by the well that morning, sleeping in the same room didn’t make much difference now.
Li Zhi stepped aside to let them in. “Make your beds on the floor.”
The three of them were overjoyed. “Yes, yes! Thank you, Sister Zhi! You’re the best!”
Once all five of them were settled, Li Zhi extinguished the kerosene lamp by the bed. The room darkened, and only the soft glow of the crescent moon illuminated the courtyard outside, casting the silhouettes of tree branches on the ground.
Pink Hair and his brothers breathed lightly, careful not to disturb their “boss.” However, the room was small, and even though Chi Yi tried to lower her voice, they could still hear her and Li Zhi talking.
Chi Yi asked, “Does your plan require their cooperation?”
Li Zhi replied, “No.”
“Then can their props be of any use?”
“They worked hard to exchange their popularity for those props, so they should keep them for themselves.”
Pink/White/Blond Hair: “……”
Who’s looking down on whom here!!
Pink Hair sat up abruptly. “Sister Zhi! If you need us to cooperate in any way, just say it! Don’t hold back!”
In the darkness, Li Zhi’s gentle voice responded, “Really, there’s no need. Just focus on protecting yourselves.”
Pink Hair: “Sister Zhi! Are you looking down on us?!”
Li Zhi: “Yes.”
Pink/White/Blond Hair: “……”
Pink Hair pouted and lay back down again. After a while, they heard Li Zhi say, “If Fang Lin really comes at dawn, I plan to have a chat with her. You just need to listen and don’t interrupt.”
Pink/White/Blond Hair: “???”
What do you mean by chat???
Boss, do you realize the person you plan to chat with is a vengeful ghost?!
The audience, who had been dying of curiosity earlier, were now even more intrigued. Although startled by Li Zhi’s plan to chat with a ghost, they recalled her past antics and felt like maybe this wasn’t so surprising:
[Is it really just a chat? I don’t believe it.]
[Last time, she pretended to be one of the ghosts by using Confusion Perfume. What’s her plan this time?]
[I don’t know why, but the chat hasn’t even started, and I’m already feeling nervous for Fang Lin.]
…
With this announcement, not only did the audience stay up all night, but Pink Hair and his two brothers also didn’t dare sleep deeply. Pink Hair, in his light sleep, had a nightmare. He dreamt that Li Zhi and Fang Lin were standing at the door, chatting and laughing. At the end of their conversation, Li Zhi asked if Fang Lin had eaten, and when she said no, Li Zhi turned around, pointed at them lying on the floor, and said, ‘Then take them and eat.’
Pink Hair jolted awake in fright.
When he opened his eyes, the sky outside was already turning light. The breathing of the others in the room was soft, and Pink Hair couldn’t tell if they were awake or not. He gently turned over and hugged himself tightly, trying to calm his racing heart from the nightmare.
Just as he was starting to relax, the same sorrowful opera singing they had heard the previous night began again, drifting closer through the hanging flower doors.
Pink Hair tensed up as Li Zhi’s voice broke the silence: “She’s here.”
Realizing their boss was also awake, Pink Hair felt a little less afraid. He tried to sit up, and in the dim light, he saw Li Zhi already up, casually holding a stopwatch and heading toward the door with a calm expression.
“Stay lying down,” she told him.
Is this what they mean by overwhelming confidence?!
Pink Hair hugged himself again and shrank back down.
By then, Li Zhi had reached the doorway, leaning against the doorpost. The sharp, eerie singing eventually stopped right outside. Even through the wooden door, she could feel the cold, ghostly chill radiating from the other side.
Then came the sound of knocking on the door.
Thud—thud-thud—
Li Zhi looked up and, through a small crack in the door, caught a glimpse of the feet that were knocking against it, swaying eerily under the roof in the wind.