Chapter 24: Loss Of Control
“Let’s go take a look at the Ancestral Hall and Altar.”
After wandering around here for a while without getting any useful information, with time passing bit by bit, they must find more useful clues before the sacrifice arrives.
“Maybe we can stop by to find Wang Siyuan on the way.” Lu Jinzhao said.
Wang Siyuan was the person who had been walking with the missing Li Haoyang earlier; they seemed to know each other in the real world as well.
Hearing this, Wei Ling glanced at Lu Jinzhao with some curiosity: “Are you thinking of asking him what Li Haoyang’s zodiac sign is?”
Lu Jinzhao was not surprised that Wei Ling had thought of this; she nodded: “Yes.”
If the old man had really seen Wei Ling and thought of his granddaughter, it wouldn’t be odd to ask something, even directly asking her age would be normal, but he specifically had to ask her zodiac sign?
If it were the real world, Lu Jinzhao wouldn’t think much of it, but this was inside the platform, and with the key element of the sacrifice.
With just a little more thought, she figured this out.
Ye Jingyun’s reaction was half a beat slower; only after hearing Wei Ling’s words did she react: “You two suspect… this village uses people to sacrifice to the evil ghost?”
Wei Ling clearly knew Ye Jingyun’s reaction would be slower, and patiently explained: “It’s just a suspicion, after all, this is inside the platform; this kind of thing is very possible, isn’t it?”
“And if that’s really the case, then this evil ghost suppressed through sacrifice might have some origin with this village’s history; perhaps finding that origin could increase our chances of survival?”
Hearing this, Lu Jinzhao thought for a moment, then deliberately asked: “But even if we know that, we still don’t have any method against the ghost, right?”
Wei Ling replied without any burden, even her tone could be called perfectly reasonable: “That’s the case, but then we can avoid in advance the points that might cause the ghost to target us first; compared to others, doesn’t that increase our chances of survival even more?”
As expected.
Inside the platform, there is no such thing as knowing the source of the ghost, resolving the ghost’s regret or something else to make the ghost disappear.
Lu Jinzhao didn’t find anything wrong with Wei Ling’s words, but Ye Jingyun’s complexion became a bit downcast upon hearing them.
Soon after, they found Wang Siyuan and asked about Li Haoyang’s zodiac sign; he told them it was “Rat,” and at the same time, learned some information from their questions.
“Do you know something?” he asked anxiously.
It wasn’t anxiety for Li Haoyang; although they knew each other and had some friendship, more of it was for himself.
Wei Ling shook her head and told him what had happened: “We’re just considering this possibility.”
“Like this…” Wang Siyuan sighed with regret.
Hearing that Li Haoyang was Rat zodiac, Lu Jinzhao had no reaction, but Ye Jingyun’s complexion suddenly turned pale.
She was also Rat zodiac.
“…I hope Wei Ling’s guess is wrong; Li Haoyang’s disappearance definitely has nothing to do with zodiac sign!”
“It can’t be that coincidental; Li Haoyang must have done something he shouldn’t have…”
She kept praying in her heart, but when Wei Ling wanted to take her to the Altar again, she hesitated a bit.
“Do we really have to go there? It’s too dangerous.”
Wei Ling turned to look at her, her gaze holding a moment of doubt, then sudden realization.
“You don’t want to go; your zodiac sign is also Rat?”
Ye Jingyun’s complexion looked bad for a moment; since Wei Ling had pointed it out, she no longer hid it: “Yes, I’m a bit scared to go.”
She and Wei Ling had already gone through two platform missions together; even though Wei Ling, this little sister, had led her each time, she hadn’t been completely useless, and they got along well in the real world too, so Wei Ling should consider her feelings somewhat, right?
Just as Ye Jingyun was thinking this, the girl who usually gave her the impression of being lively, cheerful, occasionally lacking tact with a sharp tongue, but very friendly to friends, unhesitatingly shook her head: “No, we have to go.”
“Eh?” Ye Jingyun clearly hadn’t reacted yet; she urgently explained: “But it’s too dangerous; what if it’s really related to zodiac sign?”
“You can choose not to go, but I have to.” Wei Ling said firmly.
When she said this, she still had a smile on her face, though she comforted Ye Jingyun: “It’s okay, it’s normal to be scared; you can wait for us in the courtyard, we’ll come back after checking.”
“But if you’re alone…” She trailed off here, her face showing some hesitation and worry.
Seeing this, Ye Jingyun immediately said: “Forget it, I’ll go with you, but I won’t go in… I’ll wait for you outside the door.”
Silly girl.
Lu Jinzhao sighed in her heart.
She had completely seen through it: the dynamic between Wei Ling and Ye Jingyun was entirely Wei Ling unilaterally controlling Ye Jingyun.
Just two or three sentences, and the other followed her thinking.
However, Lu Jinzhao had no intention of meddling.
Each person has their own fate; if Ye Jingyun relied on the smarter Wei Ling, she had to be prepared to bear the consequences of entrusting herself to another.
It was just that Wei Ling suddenly getting close to her—was it because she sensed this instance might be very dangerous, one Ye Jingyun wasn’t enough, so she needed to bring her along too?
“…Not simple, this child.”
The way to the Ancestral Hall went very smoothly, but when they arrived, the door of the Ancestral Hall was wide open; the old man they had seen before was sweeping inside with a broom. Hearing the sound, he turned and saw Lu Jinzhao and the others, still with that sour-faced appearance.
“Why are you back again?”
Wei Ling smiled: “Old Man, didn’t you say we can’t come here normally? I see the door is open now, and you’re sweeping; it should be fine for us to take a look, right?”
The old man just scowled and refused: “No!”
“Old Man, don’t refuse so quickly.” Wei Ling wasn’t annoyed, just looked at the old man and said directly: “One of our companions is missing; he’s Rat zodiac. Do you have any clues?”
As soon as the words fell, the scene instantly became silent.
The old man, who had been somewhat angry, stopped speaking, just looked at Wei Ling with probing eyes, paused for two or three seconds, then said as if nothing had happened: “What clues would I have? He ran off somewhere to play on his own and you didn’t see, huh.”
“Don’t come here spouting nonsense!”
This old thing…
Though she thought this in her heart, Wei Ling still smiled on the surface: “Old Man, just let us go in and look? What if he’s inside?”
The old man didn’t rush to refuse after hearing her words, but instead unusually asked the three of them: “Are you sure you want to go in and look?”
There were no lights inside the Ancestral Hall, only an Eternal Lamp and sunlight from outside providing illumination; the environment really couldn’t be called bright. At this moment, the old man stood in the dim Ancestral Hall interior, stopping all movements and just staring straight at them, the words he asked seeming to carry some deeper meaning, causing Wei Ling, who had wanted to walk right in, to pause.
