Xiaoshan was hit, his face looking incredibly pale. Coupled with his extremely thin and frail figure, he looked like he was about to collapse, very fragile.

But he stood blocking the front of the heart; no one could get close to it.

Everyone had different thoughts.

Although Xiaoshan could control rocks, just being hit once seemed to take half his life away. He looked like a “crispy skin” (slang for fragile character), not durable at all. Another hit might leave him unable to resist.

But everyone had seen the tragic state of the male player earlier, crushed alive into a meat patty. Inflicting even a scratch on Xiaoshan meant risking their own lives. Who was willing to sacrifice themselves to subdue Xiaoshan?

Everyone hesitated, looking at Xiaoshan.

Just then, Xiaoshan clutched his head in pain, letting out beast-like whimpers and low growls.

Everyone watched him in astonishment.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, a tumor actually grew on Xiaoshan’s head, about a quarter the size of his head, directly overlapping his forehead.

Everyone gasped in shock and retreated one after another.

Xiaoshan was no longer the Big Fool. His thoughts were no longer pure. Like everyone else, he had been infected by the curse.

Seeing the tumor grow, Xiaoshan himself was stunned.

Gu Rong had been standing at the edge of the cave all along, together with Lu Li. Except for Gu Rong, no one could see Lu Li.

Gu Rong saw a blob of mosaic appear on Xiaoshan’s head, blurred together, unable to see clearly. But it was the same as the ones on the heads of the other Gu Family villagers. He knew Xiaoshan had also been infected by the curse.

He looked again at the heart. No time to delay, he had to do the task. He whispered to Lu Li: “Lord Devil, Zaizai get drop blood from big heart, task complete?”

Before Lu Li could answer, the cub frowned his little eyebrows: “But Gu Family Village many people. One drop blood not enough share? Not enough fill Zaizai tooth gap.”

Lu Li: “…”

Oh, almost forgot, this is a Little Zombie. His staple food, constantly on his mind, is human blood.

Lu Li said, “This heart is almost withered. Even if you get all its blood, you can’t save many people.”

Lifting an individual’s curse doesn’t mean the curse itself is lifted while others remain afflicted.

Gu Rong’s little face was thoughtful. After thinking for a while, his gaze quickly shifted back to Lu Li.

Since Lord Devil knows everything, he must also know how to lift the curse.

But Gu Rong didn’t ask directly. Instead, he spread his small hands and muttered to himself: “Then how Zaizai lift curse? Cannot lift curse, then how Zaizai get Lord Devil’s key?”

Lu Li glanced at him with a half-smile, having already seen through his thoughts, but deliberately didn’t intervene proactively.

Seeing Lu Li not responding, Gu Rong blinked his eyes and said: “Lord Devil surely bu ji dao too.” (Don’t know.)

Even knew how to use reverse psychology.

Lu Li was unmoved by the provocation: “Own task, do it yourself.”

In the previous instances, although Lu Li had appeared, he had never interfered with Gu Rong’s tasks, always maintaining the stance of an observer.

Gu Rong crossed his little arms, tilted his little head away, puffing up his little bun-face. Hmph, do myself, then do it myself!

Gu Rong thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his little forehead, having thought of a good idea.

Lu Li had been watching Gu Rong. Seeing him think of a solution so quickly, He raised an eyebrow.

Gu Rong again, with a slap, stuck the Eye of Wisdom onto his forehead.

The Eye of Wisdom rolled gulu-lulu. Seeing Lu Li, the eye, which had always been arrogant, inexplicably became timid, showing fear, even trembling uncontrollably.

Gu Rong, however, couldn’t see the Eye of Wisdom’s reaction. His eyes shone brightly: “Zaizai have Eye of Wisdom! Stick on, will know everything!”

Gu Rong closed his eyes. The Eye of Wisdom timidly glanced at Lu Li, then also closed tremblingly.

After a moment, Gu Rong opened his eyes, stored the Eye of Wisdom in his system backpack, and swapped it for a sword in his hand. It was the Soul Sword he had copied earlier. Once in his hand, the Soul Sword shrank to a size suitable for him to grip, but the blade remained incomparably sharp.

Gu Rong said: “Zaizai must stab big heart dead!”

The god wasn’t dead. His body served as fertile ground, nourishing countless monsters and bugs. The curse was being parasitized by bugs. To lift the curse, one must cut off the source of the curse – kill the bugs. And to kill the bugs, one must kill the bugs’ host. —Kill the god. This was what the Eye of Wisdom had told Gu Rong.

Gu Rong held the Soul Sword, looked at Xiaoshan below the heart, who was very pale from being hit earlier, his small face hesitant: “But Zaizai does not want to kill Big Brother Xiaoshan. Lord Devil just said big heart almost withered? Almost dead? Can wait for him to die himself?”

Lu Li said: “Can also.”

Gu Rong: “Really?”

Lu Li: “Just wait another one or two hundred years. Almost completely dead then.”

Gu Rong: “…”

Instance time only two days! How wait one or two hundred years? Besides, still need to find Daddy Mommy, and Grandpa Ming! No time to wait here!

Gods don’t die easily. Even though the heartbeat before him was extremely faint, it would still take at least a hundred years for it to truly wither and die.

Meanwhile, Xiaoshan, having grown a tumor on his head, was stunned for a long time, then began to laugh, strangely and meaninglessly.

“Truly terrible,” Xiaoshan sighed, saying, “Everyone might as well die together.”

“…”

Xiaoshan’s current state was abnormal, a calm facade hiding destructive madness, undeniably chilling.

After speaking, without giving anyone time to react, he moved his fingers, controlling the rocks. Like a cat playing with mice, he began chasing everyone.

Everyone fled desperately. Two people ran too slow, weren’t caught by the rocks, but were instantly crushed against the cave wall, bursting like squashed tomatoes into a cloud of red mist, leaving only a puddle of meat paste.

But the rocks deliberately avoided Gu Rong.

Gu Rong held the Soul Sword tightly, equipped the [Hanged Little Ghost] identity card, and prepared to fly over and stab the big heart dead with one strike.

With no rocks obstructing him, Gu Rong easily flew near the heart. But flying close inevitably meant Xiaoshan noticed him immediately.

The sword in Gu Rong’s small hand, rather than a deadly blade, looked more like a child’s toy. But the sharp edge and the black mist swirling around the blade let everyone know this was a lethal sword capable of killing.

Xiaoshan merely glanced at the sword, his expression unchanged. His gaze fell on the little dumpling’s face: “Rongrong, Big Brother Xiaoshan can send you out now. Do you really want to oppose Big Brother Xiaoshan?”

Gu Rong held the sword, still wearing ancient clothes and a small helmet. This mix-and-match style only added to his soft cuteness.

Gu Rong said: “Rongrong wants to lift curse! Big Brother Xiaoshan head grew a big bump! Lift curse good for Big Brother Xiaoshan too!”

A trace of deep pain flashed in Xiaoshan’s eyes. He lowered his eyelashes. After a long while, he whispered softly: “…Cannot be cured.”

Gu Rong tilted his little head. The next second, two rock arms resembling human arms stretched out horizontally, snatching the little Zaizai cub away instantly.

Gu Rong: “?”

The two rock arms each had a hand. The palms supported Gu Rong, but the stone arms wrapped tightly around Gu Rong’s small body, pinning him against a stone pillar, unable to break free.

Gu Rong’s small body was trapped. His hands and feet could move, but his body was fixed in mid-air.

Gu Rong stretched out his small hands: “Help! Help! Let Zaizai go!”

Xiaoshan smiled gently at Gu Rong: “Don’t be afraid. After dealing with them, Big Brother Xiaoshan will send you up.”

He waved his hand again. Dozens of stone tentacles emerged around the heart, encircling it tightly in the center, preventing anyone else from getting a chance. Although the tentacles were stone, they waved in the air, very flexibly, like octopus tentacles.

Gu Rong flailed his little legs. Pinned in mid-air, he looked down and saw Lin-dalao‘s trio dodging the pursuing rocks.

Seeing Gu Rong captured too, the three, while dodging rocks, looked up at the cub, their faces showing worry.

Xiaoshan, seeing that Gu Rong could no longer cause trouble, turned his attention to the others. He was injured now, controlling the rocks somewhat sluggishly. But he wasn’t rushed; anyway, there was plenty of time…

Just as he thought this, the next second, his smile froze. He looked back incredulously.

He saw Gu Rong, still pinned by the stone arms, but somehow producing a fishing rod. He had directly hooked the heart as if fishing.

He couldn’t go to the heart, so he hooked the heart to come to him.

Xiaoshan forgot to control the rocks. The group, originally fleeing from the rocks, saw the rocks stop moving, paused their escape, and looked up together towards Gu Rong in mid-air.

Gu Rong used the fishing rod to hook the giant heart, raised the Soul Sword in his right hand, and stabbed it into the heart without hesitation…

The heart, originally emitting a faint glow, now burst forth with intense light. Everyone uncontrollably raised their arms to shield their eyes.

The heart before them shattered into specks of glowing light. When the light was extinguished, the heart also disappeared.

Xiaoshan spat out a large mouthful of blood, closed his eyes, and fainted.

After a long silence, a player said in fear: “The heart is gone? What the hell? The heart is gone, what do we use to lift the curse? How do we clear the instance?”

Before anyone could answer him, the cave began to shake violently, on the verge of collapse. Rubble rained down, and the cavern seemed ready to cave in at any moment.

“Run quickly! The cave is collapsing!”

Everyone forgot everything else and immediately began fleeing in panic.

The stone arms restraining Gu Rong also broke into pieces, releasing him. Once free, Gu Rong immediately flapped his little arms and flew down.

But instead of flying towards Zhuang Yu’s trio, he flew to where Lu Li had been standing earlier, looking for Him.

Lu Li still stood in the original spot. Rubble rained down susu, but Lu Li, with his arms crossed, was completely unaffected. The rocks seemed unable to touch Him.

Lu Li said, “Little follower, take your friends up. We will meet again next time.”

Hearing this, Gu Rong looked down at his own little legs and said: “Okay! Let them grab Zaizai’s little legs, Zaizai carry them fly!”

Lu Li: “…”

These little legs, how many people can even grab onto them?

Lu Li’s figure gradually thinned, like mist, about to disappear at any moment. Before leaving, He said: “Use the Ghost Ship.”

Gu Rong had already lifted the curse at this point, having completed the task. Lu Li rarely gave reminders…

Gu Rong watched Lu Li disappear before his eyes, stunned for a moment. Prompted by Lu Li’s reminder, he finally remembered he still had the prop Ghost Ship, composed of countless undead skulls, which could fly them out.

Gu Rong didn’t hesitate, immediately taking out the Ghost Ship. As soon as the skulls were released, they started singing lalala, rolling around to grab anyone still alive. Regardless of the consequences, they grabbed anyone they saw and threw them all into the ship’s hold.

The Ghost Ship could change shape and size at will. At this moment, it transformed into a small boat capable of carrying 20 people. Just before the cave completely collapsed, it carried everyone and rushed upwards.

–

At the cave entrance, the ground had collapsed into a huge, deep pit. Everyone was scattered on the ground, lying around haphazardly.

After bringing everyone to the surface, the Ghost Ship simply dropped them off and was retracted back into the system backpack by Gu Rong.

006’s voice sounded in his mind: [Little host, are you okay!]

Hearing 006’s voice, Gu Rong was overjoyed: [006! You were released!]

006: [Wuwuwu, yes! As soon as Lord Devil left, I was released!]

Gu Rong: [Then, where did Lord Devil go?]

006 said: [Don’t know! Lord Devil comes and goes without a trace.]

The livestream chat also started flooding with comments.

[Wuwuwu, yes! Lord Devil left, and we were finally released too! We can post comments again!]

[Lord Devil is too bossy! What’s wrong with us posting comments? It’s so lively! [Gift Points]]

[Lord Devil is clearly about the same size as Zaizai, yet has no childishness at all. He stayed with Zaizai for so long, yet the only true cub wasn’t cubified? Unbelievable! [Gift Points]]

Gu Rong looked at the comments, tilted his head, let out an “Huh?”, having no idea when Lu Li had turned off his comments. Although the comments were turned off, the livestream itself wasn’t. It was just that the aunties couldn’t post comments before, and now they started spamming frantically.

At this time, everyone gradually woke up.

“I’m not dead? I, we all got out?!”

“I thought I saw skulls just now! Those skulls were defying heaven, they could even sing songs! I thought I was hallucinating before death…”

“Xiaoshan? How was Xiaoshan rescued too?”

The last sentence attracted everyone’s attention. Instantly, everyone looked towards the teenager lying on the ground, slowly waking up.

At this moment, the tumor on Xiaoshan’s head had disappeared. He had returned to being a handsome and fair-skinned youth.

Seeing the vanished tumor on his head, everyone was stunned. Could it be that not only were they saved, but the curse was also lifted?! But the heart was clearly shattered by that little cub’s sword. How could the curse still be lifted? Could it be… lifting the curse didn’t require obtaining the heart’s undried blood, but killing the god? If the god died, then the parasites nourished by the god would also disappear? But what about Xiaoshan? Why is he still…?

Gu Rong also turned his head, looking at Xiaoshan.

Xiaoshan’s eyes were clear. He looked like the same Xiaoshan from before entering the cave, but his expression was completely devoid of foolishness. It seemed he had not only survived the heart’s shattering without disappearing or dying, but he was also no longer simple-minded.

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao walked over, ruffling Gu Rong’s little head.

The tourist NPCs didn’t know how they got up here, but the players all knew: it was this little cub again, saving them once more.

Lin-dalao looked into the distance and said, “Shenzhong Mountain has disappeared.”

His voice wasn’t loud or soft, but everyone heard it. Instantly, everyone looked up and around. No matter which direction they looked, the shadow of Shenzhong Mountain was gone. The view before them was wide open; besides weeds and trees, there was only this suddenly appeared deep pit before them.

Shen Hanxiao looked at the deep pit and said, “Don’t tell me, Shenzhong Mountain got buried underground?”

Hearing this, the others also craned their necks to peer into the deep pit. The pit was unfathomably deep, pitch black, and exceptionally frightening, as if one could fall headfirst into it at any moment.

Lin-dalao said, “Perhaps, Shenzhong Mountain never existed from the beginning.”

Everyone looked at Lin-dalao.

“Wh-what does that mean? Could it be… Shenzhong Mountain was a ghost mountain?”

“No, no, Shenzhong Mountain was formed from the god’s body; it should be a holy mountain.”

As they spoke, they secretly glanced at Xiaoshan’s expression. Although Xiaoshan now looked like an ordinary person, the trauma he inflicted on them in the cave couldn’t be erased so quickly.

Especially since everyone knew that Xiaoshan now was an individual fragment split off from the god. Perhaps precisely because he had already split off and existed independently from the god, Xiaoshan was still able to survive after the god died.

Lin-dalao said, “Perhaps it’s simple. Shenzhong Mountain was just an image reflected in people’s eyes. That’s why, no matter how close one got, or how the angle changed, Shenzhong Mountain remained unchanged.”

He took out a photograph, one he had taken before entering the cave. And the scenery in the photograph was identical to what lay before them now, except for the black hole. There was no Shenzhong Mountain in the photograph at all, only open wilderness.

Gu Family Village was very backward, without mobile phones, let alone cameras. Consequently, no one had ever taken a photograph of Shenzhong Mountain.

Everyone looked at the photograph, slightly surprised in their hearts. Lin-dalao actually took a photo before entering the cave?

Lin-dalao looked towards Xiaoshan, and everyone else’s gaze followed suit, shifting onto Xiaoshan.

Xiaoshan emerged from his dazed state, as if only at this moment had he truly returned to reality. He paid no attention to everyone’s gazes, reached out, plucked a nameless little wildflower from the mountainside, placed it between his fingertips, twirling the stem.

Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face, looking very beautiful as he smiled: “When you regard this flower not, it sinks with your mind into silence. When you come to see this flower, then its color becomes clear at once.”^[1]T/N: It’s a quote from philosopher Wang Yangming, which highlights the idea that our awareness and attention bring things to life in our experience. When you don’t pay attention to the flower, it … Continue reading

Everyone thought, Xiaoshan really isn’t the Big Fool anymore. But the Little Fool…

Everyone looked again at Gu Rong. If not for this little cub, they might have been eternally buried underground.

Gu Rong, seeing Xiaoshan pick a small flower earlier, immediately and curiously went to pick some too. He had already picked a small handful, even tucking one behind his little ear, looking very cute.

Everyone: “…”

He’s started playing already?

Didn’t they just survive a life-and-death catastrophe?

Isn’t his heart a bit too big (too carefree/unconcerned)?!!

The aunties were melting from the cuteness. [Cub with a flower tucked behind his ear is the cutest! Auntie kisses!!]

[Too cute, too cute! Paired with this ancient outfit, it’s cuteness overload! [Gift Points]]

[Quickly ordering the adult version, getting matching parent-child outfits with Zaizai hehe!]

Gu Rong held a large handful of wildflowers in his small hands, his little face beaming.

[Ding! Congratulations, little host, for completing the task. Reward: 1,000,000 points, Devil’s Key *1.]

A small key fell into Gu Rong’s palm. He pinched it up and looked at it; it was identical to the previous ones.

Gu Rong: [Zaizai collected four keys now!]

006 said: [Little host, if our guess is correct, there’s one more key, and we’ll have collected them all! Maybe we can synthesize the master key?]

Gu Rong didn’t know, and Lord Devil hadn’t said either.

But are these keys made from Lord Devil’s bones? It must hurt! Rongrong fears pain the most! Lord Devil isn’t much bigger than Rongrong; he must fear pain too!

Just as he asked 006 to help store the key in the system backpack, a trembling, aged voice called out from not far away: “Rongrong!”

Gu Rong looked up and saw the hunched figure of Gu Laohan hurrying towards him, his steps slightly staggering.

At this moment, the tumor on Gu Laohan’s head had also disappeared. Originally, almost half the size of his head, squashing his features out of shape and covered by a mosaic, now the tumor was gone, revealing his original appearance.

Gu Rong looked, let out an “Huh?”, then his eyes lit up shua. He immediately stopped picking flowers, grabbed the handful he had, and ran dadada towards Gu Laohan.

Running close, he threw himself into Gu Laohan’s arms: “Grandpa Ming!!!”

Gu Laohan looked exactly like Grandpa Ming!

Gu Laohan was originally angry, worried, and afraid something had happened to Gu Rong. Seeing Gu Rong rush up and hug him, he was momentarily stunned. He gently pushed Gu Rong’s little forehead away, his face cold, his tone deep, his temper still foul: “What Grandpa Ming? Call me Grandpa Gu! You little cub, haven’t seen you for two days, already forgot your Grandpa’s surname?”

Only then did Gu Rong realize: the person before him looked like Grandpa Ming, and his temper was quite similar, but he wasn’t Grandpa Ming. Grandpa Ming used a small cane, but his back wasn’t this hunched.

Probably just an NPC borrowing Grandpa Ming’s shell, not really Grandpa Ming.

Gu Rong’s little milky voice immediately switched obediently: “Grandpa Gu!”

After being threatened by Jones and leaving, Gu Laohan hadn’t rowed the boat back to Gu Family Village. Instead, after they all went down into the cave, he followed them down. But his old arms and legs couldn’t keep up with crawling in the cave. He could only wait in the first cave.

Later, when the cave started collapsing, he could only climb back up first. At the time, he thought everyone who went down into the cave definitely wouldn’t come out, and Gu Rong couldn’t possibly return alive either.

Now, seeing Gu Rong safe and sound, Gu Laohan felt a mixture of complex emotions. He didn’t even notice Gu Rong had changed clothes. He bent down and picked up the little cub.

Gu Rong obediently let himself be held. Grandpa Gu looked like Grandpa Ming, increasing his affection for Gu Laohan considerably. From the small flowers in his hand, he picked the largest blooming one and tucked it behind Gu Laohan’s ear.

Gu Rong said in his milky voice: “Give Grandpa Gu little flower!”

Gu Laohan’s face was stern, but his wrinkled eyes filled with amusement, and also a hint of moisture, which he quickly wiped away.

[Wuwuwu Grandpa Gu has such a bad temper, gets angry easily, can’t even speak nicely, but is still willing to come find Zaizai for his sake! I’m crying.]

[Yeah, Zaizai too, right? Even though Grandpa Gu has a bad temper, he called him Grandpa obediently from the start. Must have felt Grandpa Gu resembled Grandpa Ming!]

[Forever moved by Zaizai! [Gift Points]]

Forget the livestream chat; even the survivors were utterly surprised that Gu Laohan would actually come looking for Gu Rong.

The group followed Gu Laohan back to the boat. Village Chief Gu was surprisingly also there. He hadn’t gone down into the cave but had waited on the boat. Seeing everyone return, especially Gu Laohan holding Rongrong, Village Chief Gu visibly relaxed.

A pile of leaves had fallen onto Village Chief Gu’s head; they rustled down when he moved. He shook his head, and after shaking his hair, the tumor was nowhere to be seen; the tumor on his head had also disappeared.

Village Chief Gu said: “You’re finally back! I waited so long I almost grew grass! The curse disappeared, so I knew you had succeeded.” So he had waited here all along, without leaving.

Having survived the disaster, everyone showed joy on their faces. They asked Village Chief Gu to hold another bonfire party after returning, to treat them to a big meal.

Village Chief Gu heartily agreed: “No problem! Roasted bugs, eat or not?”

Everyone shivered with disgust: “…”

Village Chief Gu laughed heartily, then turned his gaze to Xiaoshan.

Xiaoshan proactively smiled: “Village Chief.”

The difference between a fool and a normal person was obvious at a glance. Village Chief Gu widened his eyes: “Xiaoshan, you’re not foolish anymore? Could it be that lifting the Shenzhong Mountain curse also made you smart?”

Xiaoshan smiled shyly.

Village Chief Gu slapped his thigh: “That’s right! It must be! Everyone in Gu Family Village suffered the curse, except you and Rongrong. I guess your and Rongrong’s curse was becoming foolish! Now the curse is lifted, you both became smart! It’s just that Shenzhong Mountain disappeared too. Guess no one will come to Gu Family Village anymore.”

Xiaoshan smiled: “Maybe.”

Gu Rong huffed, crossed his little arms, and said: “Rongrong, not little fool!”

Everyone couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Everyone boarded the boat. Gu Laohan steered again, taking everyone back to Gu Family Village.

Xiaoshan covered his face, making funny faces, and started to tease the child again like he did on the way there. Gu Rong, this true cub, was indeed amused again, giggling hehehe.

Everyone was speechless. This silly child laughs so easily? What’s so funny about that?

But perhaps laughter truly is contagious. Watching Gu Rong giggle, everyone couldn’t help but smile too.

Late autumn. Fallen leaves covered the lake surface. Stirred by the boat, they scattered like colorful petals.

The boat gradually moved further away, carrying waves of joyful laughter.