Chapter 441: Evil God Festival - Boathouse

"Your brother is dead?!" Aota's mind went into a tizzy, and he took two incredulous steps back, "But Bai six, my lord, said he was going to find your brother!"

Xiaokui turned her head sideways as she lay on the ground and laughed mindlessly, smothering a laugh that made her whole body shake: "Looking for my brother? Then he'll have to go to whatever shrine is filled with sacrificial tablets to find him."

"But at this point in time, Bai six can't see my brother past the shrine, only my brother's ......"

Aota looked up in horror, "Spirits of discontent?!"

"It's not my brother's spirit, my brother is not buried in the shrine." Xiaokui smiled oddly, "The Bei Yuan family doesn't allow sacrificial corpses in their shrines."

Aota was stunned, "Isn't the shrine a place for sacrificial offerings? Why is the body of the sacrifice not allowed?!"

"How can you put a sacrifice in a sacrificial offering." Xiaokui rolled her eyes and looked at Aota, "Of course you have to put something much more horrible than the body of the sacrifice."

Xiaokui blushed miserably and covered her mouth with a giggle, "Guess what the shrine put in it?"

Outside the shrine, Bai Liu stands silently.

After nightfall, the shrine is closed, an inexplicable smell of blood emanates from the doorway, and the shadow of some kind of monster can be seen writhing inside the paper door, in front of which hangs a thick, hand-rolled knotted rope with imperial rice paper at regular intervals - the stuff that, according to legend, can be used to seal away evil demons.

And when the rope breaks, the demon is released.

Bai Liu lifted his hand to lift the rope and calmly stepped into the night at the shrine.

A wave of translucent water rippled around him, which expanded and then dissipated, the knotted rope snapped, blood stained the imperial paper, Bai Liu's temperature dropped several degrees, and the shrine automatically lit up without any lights being turned on.

The light was an obscure, wavering orange fire, not the light of a shrine lamp, but rather the treacherous luminescence of some huge animal's pupils in the dark, with a dangerous peek.

There was a wind blowing out of the closed shrine, blowing outwards and inwards as if breathing, back and forth, swirling the hem of Bai Liu's coat and carrying a strong, fishy smell as if from the mouth of a vicious dog.

Bai Liu walked as if he hadn't smelt it, with a shallow expression, to the shrine enshrined on the huge wooden cabinet, bowed slightly with folded hands and a polite bow, then lifted his head, lifted his hem and stepped onto the shrine.

The breath-like ebb and flow of the wind paused for a moment as if in dismay, then the wind grew violently louder with a whirring sound, as if a dog was baring its teeth in fury at a thief who had offended its master's territory, exhaling snorts and a warning gurgle in its throat, and a huge, unmistakable yellow eye appeared on the back of the wooden cabinet, staring straight, maliciously, at Bai Liu.

Bai Liu, oblivious to all the strange appearances, climbed up to the first level of the wooden cabinet and looked up to see the shrine placed at its highest point.

The shrine contains a black and white photograph of a young boy, no more than 12 or 13 years old, with a baby face, who was giggling when the photograph was taken.

--This is the only posthumous photo of a smiling offering in the entire shrine of the Bei Yuan family.

Below the photograph is a tablet with the inscription [Bei Yuan Jiro].

Bai Liu reached for the picture and without hesitation reached straight for the black altar beneath the shrine, he touched the wet and blood-smelling carcass of an animal, which he then took hold of and removed.

It was a tiny black Shiba Inu corpse with its neck artificially broken and soaked in some kind of embalming preparation.

The Shiba Inu's arms and legs hang limply against his belly, a steady stream of fluid slides and drips onto the floor, and his eyes, which should be a bright, clear yellow, are now so cloudy that only a yellowish haze can be discerned.

The black pupil in the huge, clear yellow eye behind him suddenly shrank to a vertical line the moment he saw Jiro Bei Yuan's posthumous photograph being taken down, the light from the iris around the pupil flowed, the light inside the shrine dimmed, and something jumped out from behind the wooden cabinet, barking at Bai Liu standing on it with sharp teeth.

In the pitch blackness, some kind of huge beastly roar resounded through the shrine.

[System Alert: Congratulations to player Bai Liu for activating the first page of the Monster Book of "Evil God Ritual - Boathouse"].

Loft.

Aota was scratching his head in anxiety, " Bai six now go over to the shrine, Xiaokui, I'm begging you, can you tell me what was put in the shrine."

"If there is no sacrificial corpse in the shrine, why did that old servant say that there are terrible spirits there and that we should not come out at night?"

"Of course there are spirits at the shrine." Xiaokui curled her mouth wryly, "It's true that the bodies of sacrifices are not placed there, but the bodies of pets with the same name as the sacrifices are."

"The evil spirits formed by animals are much more terrifying than people."

Sitting on his knees, Aota was dumbfounded and asked back in dismay, "A pet's corpse?! How can it be the corpse of a pet!?"

Xiaokui squinted at Aota: "A pet's corpse, of course."

" The Bei Yuan family are torturing sacrifices every day, so how can they be afraid of the spirits formed by the sacrifices? Even if a person turns into a ghost, it is the ghost that is afraid of the person, right?"

Xiaokui continued with an indifferent look on her face, "But animals are different."

"They don't remember as well as humans, and after they turn into spirits of grievance they won't remember who tormented them in life, only who was their master, then the evil spirits they form will frantically attack humans who are near the shrine of sacrifice, their master, in order to protect their master."

Aota was in a trance as he listened and sat down paralyzed: "...... Why is the shrine full of dead pets?"

Xiaokui said, "Because the bodies of the sacrifices are not allowed in the shrine."

Confused, Aota asked back, "Why?"

At this question Xiaokui laughed, she laughed until she choked and coughed, she laughed until she wept and was still laughing: "Because the shrine does not accept people who have died in vain."

"The sacrifices here either could not endure the pain and killed themselves before the evil sacrifice, or they endured the pain and successfully sacrificed at the evil sacrifice, but killed themselves because they saw the evil god's eyes go mad."

"Anyone who commits suicide is a person who has died in vain and is unclean and cannot enter the shrine to receive offerings."

Xiaokui's face turned fierce as she hammered the floor and cursed viciously, "But these bitches of the Bei Yuan family, who are obviously enjoying the pain of these sacrifices, are pretending to glorify the pain of these sacrifices by erecting a plaque to honor their contribution to the Bei Yuan family, as if the pain is no longer pain, but their as if the pain was no longer pain but a voluntary sacrifice!"

"And standing shrines offer sacrifices, most of these sacrifices are tragic deaths by suicide, again not in keeping with the rules of shrine holiness."

"So the group came up with a solution." Xiaokui sat up with her hands propped up on the floor, she looked straight at Aota, not a trace of emotion on her face, "They decided to replace the sacrifice with a substitute to put into the shrine and receive worship."

Xiaokui said this and took a deep shaky breath before continuing, "I was going to bury my brother's body by the sea, but the Bei Yuan family said they would let my brother enter a shrine where he could be worshipped and appreciated all the time, so that after committing suicide my brother's resentful spirit might become a Buddha instead of forming an earthbound spirit that would remain trapped in the Bei Yuan family."

"As much as I resent them, I really want my brother to get out of here, even if it means being a ghost and getting out of here."

"So I gave them my word and let them take my brother's remains."

Xiaokui tugged at the corner of her mouth, "My brother had a Shiba Inu with the same name as me, mine died, but his is still alive."

"After my brother, that Shiba Inu lay under the same roof where my brother hung, not eating or drinking for over three days until I force-fed him and kept him alive."

"After that it seemed to realise that my brother was dead and it would eat when I gave it something, but mostly stayed under the eaves and stared."

Xiaokui had tears on his face: "He was a very docile dog who never hurt anyone when beaten, but after my brother's death, when I was being tortured by Bei Yuan's family, he would frantically rush over and show his teeth to those people, trying to protect me and not backing down even after being beaten several times, he was very stubborn."

"-just like my brother did when he was alive."

"It would always follow me around, but on the day my brother's shrine was made to be brought into the shrine, I couldn't find it for the life of me."

"I searched and searched in the yard and shouted and shouted its name - Jiro, Jiro, Jiro where have you been, come out Jiro."

"I found the Shiba Inu from dawn to dusk shouting until dark, and still no sign of it."

Xiaokui sidled over to the dumbfounded Cangta, grinning broadly in a twisted, hideous way, tears welling up: "And then I finally found it."

"They told me to go to the shrine that had just been inaugurated to worship my brother, and I went there while worrying about Jiro, and then in my brother's shrine I saw [Jiro], who had had his neck broken and sealed up!"

Xiaokui cried heartbreakingly, "They're animals, they chose [Jiro] when there were so many alternatives!"

"They just want us living squires to keep suffering! To become sacrifices in the next round!"

Xiaokui cried until her voice was hoarse and she couldn't make a sound, her tears flowing numbly: "After that, I heard rumours of spirits of discontent."

"I know that it is the ghost of [Jiro] who is transformed into a grievous spirit that guards my brother's shrine day and night, and that if anyone but me dares to look up at him, [Jiro] will be chased after this disrespectful person who has disrespected my brother and will drag the other person into the shrine and tear him to death."

Xiaokui suddenly burst out laughing nervously, her face full of tears and her eyes in a trance, " Bai six would have been eaten by [Jiro] as a bone before she met the evil god if she had gone to the shrine!"

"What!? I have to go back and tell Lord Bai six about this quickly!" Aota panicked and tried to tumble out of the window.

But as soon as he stood up, Xiaokui swooped in and grabbed Aota by the ankle and pulled him to the ground.

Xiaokui looked up with a messy, confused expression, a weird smile on her tear-stained face, "[Jiro] hasn't been let out to eat people in a long time."

"Instead of making your Lord Bai six a painful sacrifice to the Bei Yuan family for their development, let him feed [Jiro] well."

Bai Liu sits casually on the floor of the shrine, his left hand gently stroking a huge black Shiba Inu next to him.

This Shiba Inu has golden pupils and an unpleasant aura of resentment. The white bones of his neck are clearly visible, but he keeps rubbing against Bai Liu's hand and sticking his tongue out, sticking out his white bony neck for Bai Liu to rub.

When the Shiba Inu fell on Bai Liu's coat, it looked like it had caught a strange scent and instantly bared its teeth, but when Bai Liu reached over, it sniffed Bai Liu's hand twice in confusion and lay down again to reveal its belly.

Then continue to repeat the above process.

It is extremely unfamiliar with the scent on Bai Liu's body, but it is familiar with the scent on Bai Liu's hands.

--That is the scent of its owner's sister, Xiaokui.

Bai Liu looked down at what he was holding - it was a roll of soft, fine hair, which he had taken from the outer curtain of the window thrown down by the pale lady who had climbed up.

This is Xiaokui's hair, one of the weaknesses of this [Black Dog Grudge] monster.

From the two Shiba Inu-shaped stone lanterns in front of Bei Yuan's house, where the previous year's offering was Xiaokui's brother, to the photo of the topmost offering here at the shrine, which looks a bit like Xiaokui, the old servant said that the shrine does not accept people who have died in vain, but the offering here at the shrine is Xiaokui's brother, all this information combined is enough for Bai Liu to deduce where the key is. The combination of this information is enough for Bai Liu to deduce where the key is.

Bai Liu slowly pushed two fingers through the Shiba Inu's teeth, slid them down his throat and removed an antique key wrapped in plastic.

[System Alert: Congratulations to player Bai Liu for completing the side quest - Stealing the key to Bei Yuan's shrine].

[Two warm tips.

One, player Bai Liu can now use the Shrine Key to open the Shrine to meet the evil gods, but there is a greater risk of zeroing out your spirit level, so please choose your path through the game carefully.

Two, every morning at five o'clock, the master of the Bei Yuan family will come to the shrine to pay his respects and check the key placed inside the corpse of the black dog, so please make sure that Bai Liu returns the key before then.

Bai Liu placed his hair on the tip of the black dog's nose, then turned and walked out of the shrine, alone in the night, draped in a thin, almost transparent, white, saggy coat, with barely a pause and a calm face, towards the shrine above Bei Yuan's house.

Aota, who was struggling on the windowsill, suddenly saw a very dim light on the road leading to the shrine.

She jerked Aota away and reached out to look in shock at the lamp that kept God Xiang society approaching, " Bai six actually got the key ......"

"Doesn't this guy want to die? Get the key and head straight for the shrine." Xiaokui muttered, "Isn't he afraid that the evil gods will make him go crazy?"

"Or maybe you've been crazy about the evil god all along, Bai six ......"

Xiaokui gazed in a daze at the lamp that was moments away from the shrine gate.

"...... shouldn't really be lovers, should they?"

Aota argued in a small voice, "I told you, Lord Evil is Lord Bai six's lover."

Xiaokui looked instantly calm: "So what if he's a lover? He can't see the evil gods even if he opens the shrine."

Aota asked incredulously in return, "Why?!"

Xiaokui sneered, "This evil god only opens his eyes when he feels enough pain from someone, the rest of the time he is a corpse, a corpse that is sealed in a huge shrine and no one, in any way, can wake him up."

" The Bei Yuan family had also tried to use various methods to force the evil gods awake after they got the key, but they made no progress except for the people they sent near them to be alienated and turn into monsters to commit suicide or be killed."

Xiaokui's gaze fell on the shimmering light at the top of the hill and his tone was extremely cold: "That is a very cruel and evil god."

"It's not good to have sex with someone like that, something like sex with a god is wishful thinking on his part, isn't it?"

Aota's face turned red with anger and she swung her fist hard, "No! Lord Bai six said they were a pair of lovers! A pair!"

Xiaokui swept a glance at Cang Tai and then turned back to the top of the hill, looking at the light with a tone and a look that suggested something Buming, as if she were in a trance, but also as if she were asking.

"Can an evil god who feeds on human suffering also know what love is and how to love someone?"

Bai Liu tilted his head to look at the closed up door, shone a light on it, and without a moment's hesitation inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it.

"Squeak-!"

With a fine fall of dust and dead leaves, the door is pushed open by Bai Liu, who carries a wavering gas lamp inside and pushes open door after door, ward after ward, to a shrine hut with flying eaves.

In front of the hut is a money box, and through the top compartment of the box can be seen a scattering of coins, which people use to make wishes to the evil gods.

Bai Liu drops his eyes as he looks to the game manager hanging over his heart - a coin.

It turns out that the coin, the human God Xiang wish-granting parasite, is why the system manager looks like it did after they, the players, entered the game of the evil god.

--because this is the medium through which you make your wish to the evil one.

Bai Liu raised his head as he rounded the banging bell, stepped over the cypher and pushed open the last wooden door to finally reach the interior of the shrine.

The interior is large, with some tatami mats on the floor, and directly opposite are two wooden doors placed some distance apart from the floor and closed in the centre, in what must be a huge shrine, depending on the style.

If there are no surprises, Xie Ta is in there.

Bai Liu stopped in front of the shrine and reached out his hand to pull open the door, but for some reason, the moment his hand touched the door valve of the shrine, it seemed like the pause button had been pressed, and it remained motionless in mid-air for several minutes.

He rarely hesitates in doing things because there are few things in this world that make him hesitate.

--but pushing open the wooden door at this time must be one of those things.

Bai Liu lowered his eyes as he looked at his hand, which was paused in front of the wooden door.

The Xie Ta of this game world would have been the Xie Ta of the other worlds before he met them, in other words, the Xie Ta of old.

No matter how much Bai Liu had probed and asked, Xie Ta had never told him about his past, and now this mystery was finally unfolding in front of Bai Liu.

...... What would a former Xie Ta, a Xie Ta who had been killed by [him], look like when he met him?

Will ...... kill him? Would they hate him? Or would they simply pretend he didn't exist, like they did with [Bai six] in this world line?

It's like what Xie Ta did to the other children at the orphanage.

He ignores children, investors, everything around him, and exists in the world like a statue, never holding any human being near him in his eyes.

It was from Xie Ta that Bai Liu began to understand that there seems to be no room for humans in God's eyes, not out of arrogance, but simply because ......

Unable to generate affection.

So Bai Liu doesn't understand why, of all the humans, of all the children, of all the [Bai six], Xie Ta would only look at him.

He asked Xie Ta, who thought about it and replied, "The problem is not with me, it's with you, Bai six."

Bai Liu found it very funny at the time: "How could the problem be mine?"

Xie Ta looked at him seriously, "Yes."

"Because the way you look at me, no matter what time of day I am, I'm bound to turn back."

"Something like a look doesn't convince me." Bai Liu propped his chin up and smiled lazily, "How do you tell the difference between the way I look at you and the way other people look at you? Can you tell the difference when someone who looks exactly like me is looking at you?"

"I can." Xie Ta gazed at Bai Liu with those silvery blue eyes, "Because you are different."

"No matter how many [Bai sixes] there are, you're the only one of these people who looks at me differently."

"The moment you looked at me with those eyes, I was endowed with your soul and developed feelings."

"It's because of you that I have a soul."

Bai Liu pushes open the door of the shrine and a huge light falls from within it.

Beyond the shrine pushed open was the back yard, and late in the night the silhouette of a man sitting on the veranda could be seen. Stepping inside, one could see the soft silver-blue curls of this man's hair falling to his waist in the moonlight, glowing with a soft shimmer.

Dressed in a broad kimono, looking perhaps eighteen or nineteen years old, with a long and fluid body, and with golden chains snaking behind him on his feet, the man appeared to be looking down at a book.

In the centre of the backyard is a huge goldfish pond with beautiful orange and red goldfish swimming around, their flower-like tail fins beating the water in sparkling waves, reflecting off the pages of the book and the quiet side of this man's face, the long eyelashes falling as if they were covered in broken snow, covered in water and moonlight.

Bai Liu stopped behind him, in a position where he could almost see the book.

The night breeze rustled the woods, and the two men's wide, thin, gauzy tunics both stretched in the wind, fluttering together like fluttering leaves.

The man put down his book and turned back to the table, his eyes raised to reveal those silvery blue eyes that Bai Liu knew so well.

The night breeze blew between them, and Xie Ta looked at Bai Liu through the blown-up gauze, raising the broken and then glued-together book in her hand with a light expression.

"I haven't seen you before, is this your first time at the shrine?"

"Want to watch it together?"