Chapter 19: Human Skin Manor (Part 18)

Upon hearing this, the group instinctively recoiled; the sight of the human skin was simply too disturbing. Even Xiao Muyu had a slight psychological aversion.

At this moment, a slender, fair hand reached out, casually picked up the roll of human skin, and unrolled it for a few moments of examination. Then, it was spread out, and everyone except Xiao Muyu stepped back.

At closer inspection, they saw that the skin was marked with a talisman, painted in cinnabar. The characters and lines were bizarre and mysterious.

Xiao Muyu pondered for a moment before asking, “Is this the thing that makes the human skins come to life?”

The old woman nodded, her face showing a look of relief.

“Back then, I was in utter despair and wanted to end everything by killing them all. But then someone appeared, gave me this, and said that only with it could I truly make them suffer. As the price, I would remain here forever, accompanying them until someone could uncover the secret of the human skins. Now, it is time. Burn it and they will be freed. I… will be freed too.’”

Xiao Muyu, keenly sensing something was amiss, asked, “Who was this person?”

The old woman looked at her, smiled, and said, “He is my god, and also the god of this world.” She fell silent again.

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu exchanged a glance, then looked at the old woman for a while longer before nodding slightly in agreement to burn the human skin.

The group went outside and found that, despite the lightning and thunder the previous night, it hadn’t rained. The weather was exceptionally good today, and they could see the surrounding forest from the doorway.

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu walked a few steps forward, and then noticed the traces of the wounded human skin were still visible on the grass.

Shen Qingqiu smiled and said, “It seems our venture yesterday might have been unnecessary. Who would have thought that you could persuade the old woman to willingly hand over such an item, Miss Xiao.”

“So, you were stalling yesterday to find out where the human skins were hiding?” Cui Xiaoxuan caught on and looked at the two with admiration.

“Mm, but it really isn’t necessary now.” As she was speaking, Xiao Muyu took out the roll of human skin, while Xu Ran had gone to fetch fire.

As she reflected on the conversation between Xiao Muyu and the old woman, Shen Qingqiu felt a stir of emotions. She hugged herself and turned her head to look at the reserved and delicate person beside her. Her features were gentle and particularly soft, yet those beautiful eyes were filled with indifference and coldness.

“Were you serious about what you just said? Do you think her actions were justified?”

As if she didn’t expect such a question from Shen Qingqiu, Xiao Muyu paused for a moment before finally looking down at the grass beneath her feet and saying, “What does it matter if it’s right or wrong? When the law fails to deliver justice to those involved, personal revenge becomes legitimate, even noble, from that moment onward.” She suddenly made this statement and then gave a self-deprecating smile.

“Of course, this is just a personal perspective on a moral level. In ancient Roman law, there was a principle of ‘lex talionis (law of retaliation)’, but it was gradually abandoned. Sometimes, we need legal sanctions, to break the cycle of revenge and maintain societal stability through righteous law. Moreover, justice is such an elusive concept—who can truly grasp it? Would the justice given to you necessarily be what you want? And isn’t the justice you offer to others, just another form of injustice to someone else?”

“You seem to know a lot about this?” Shen Qingqiu continued to watch her quietly, posing the question.

Xiao Muyu’s expression was somewhat indifferent. “It’s just a shallow personal perspective.”

“But I think, if it were you, you would do something similar,” she said with a smile, and then added, “I would too.”

It was this that prompted Xiao Muyu to focus on Shen Qingqiu, and after a moment, she glanced at the human skin in Shen Qingqiu’s hand. “That’s why I’m grateful that real world society has rules and laws, because once judgment and law enforcement are up to ourselves, human selfishness and anger will push revenge beyond all limits.”

In this place, however, any notions of legal principles or moral boundaries, were shot to hell.

————

Once Shen Qingqiu threw the human skin into the fire, it suddenly began to writhe and screech, scaring the people around it into retreating several steps.

From the distant area where the milky-white liquid had spread, a series of ecstatic shrieks echoed, as if a bunch of demons were dancing wildly. The shrieks terrified the birds in the mountains, causing them to flee as if the apocalypse had arrived.

When everything finally settled down, Xu Ran suddenly shouted in panic, “I-it’s catching fire!”

Xiao Muyu and the others turned around to see the house behind them engulfed in thick smoke and roaring flames.

Xu Ran hurriedly said, “That granny is still inside…” But then he trailed off, as if he had realized how the fire had started.

The seven of them stood silently outside, watching the lone house in the wilderness burn fiercely in the roaring flames.

While everyone was focused on the house, the system’s voice suddenly chimed in.

“Main Quest: The Old Woman in the Mountains
Task 1: Understand the old woman’s ordeal, and help her overcome her predicament. Completed!
Task 2: Survive for 48 hours. Completed!”

When the announcement ended, it felt like the lid of a box was finally closed. However, it was still too early to conclude anything definitively!

They had completed the tasks, but some of them still felt a lingering unease, because the criterion for clearing the game wasn’t just about finishing the tasks.

After a few seconds of silence, Xiao Muyu finally heard the voice of the initial speaker, Arbiter No. 001.

“Dear players, I am Arbiter No. 001. First of all, congratulations on successfully completing the main quest and surviving until now. There are still 10 hours left until the 48-hour mark. I think unless any of you make a poor decision, surviving the full 48 hours shouldn’t be a problem.”

While the statement was true, Xiao Muyu frowned slightly. Why did it feel like there was an ulterior motive in the arbiter’s words, something malicious?

“Next, we move on to the part you’ve all been waiting for—the score calculation! Please pay close attention to your control panels. Let’s count down together to see who will claim the top spot on the leaderboard for this round! And, who will be so unlucky as to fail to meet the conditions for clearing the game?” The voice was full of cheer and sounded sweet and pleasant, but it gripped the hearts of Xu Ran and Old Liao tightly.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven…” The countdown echoed in their ears, and the hearts of those who knew they didn’t have many points pounded in their chests.

When the countdown finished, everyone except Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu stared intensely at their own scoreboards.

With a ‘ding’, everyone’s scores locked in, and a leaderboard appeared before them. In first place, unsurprisingly, was Xiao Muyu, with a score of 125 points.

Some of them couldn’t help but exclaim in astonishment upon seeing that score.

“Is she even human?”

“The realm of a genius is beyond the understanding of us mere mortals.”

Next, in second place, was Shen Qingqiu, with a score of 100 points.

This was within expectations, but still difficult for some to accept.

“She barely said anything. How did she get such a high score too?” Chen Xi muttered through gritted teeth.

Xu Ran, who had long noticed the undercurrents between Chen Xi and Shen Qingqiu, replied earnestly, “Whatever Sister Xiao knows, Sister Shen likely knows as well. She might not have said much, but she certainly did the most.”

The others immediately recalled Shen Qingqiu’s nearly supernatural combat abilities and nodded in agreement. Without her decisiveness in killing the human skins and subduing the old woman, none of the subsequent events would have been possible.

Third place: Liu Wei, Chen Xi, tied at 70 points

Fifth place: Cui Xiaoxuan, 67 points

Sixth place: Xu Ran, 64 points

Seventh place: Old Liao, 58 points

As all seven players’ scores were displayed, the scoring rules also began to scroll past. The two main tasks were indeed not worth much, each accounting for 15 points, meaning that just by surviving, a player could earn 30 points.

Chen Xi’s daring venture into the old woman’s room turned out to be valuable, earning him an additional 15 points for discovering crucial evidence.

The reason Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu scored so highly was mainly because each of them earned 15 points for killing the human skin that had possessed You Qiaolian. Shen Qingqiu also subdued the crazed old woman by herself, earning her 15 points. Finally, Xiao Muyu convincing the old woman to willingly hand over the human skin scroll was the key action that completed the task, earning her 20 points.

Xu Ran gained an extra 10 points for retrieving the torch and burning the human skin. Without those 10 points, he would have failed too.

After seeing the final scores, Old Liao’s face had turned ashen. In truth, he had mentally prepared himself for this outcome.

At the end of the side task, he and Leopard had the lowest scores among the group. That was why Chen Xi managed to convince Leopard to take a gamble with him the previous night. If he didn’t do it, even if he completed all the tasks, he might still not clear the game. Leopard paid a heavy price for that gamble.

Old Liao didn’t go, so he didn’t gain any extra points. Later, he only earned 5 points for his participation in supporting roles, which left him short of the required 60 points.

At this moment, even Chen Xi, who had been acting peculiarly throughout, looked at Old Liao with a hint of sadness. For a moment, everyone fell silent, not knowing what to say. This wasn’t just a test—they were dealing with Old Liao’s life.

Old Liao took a deep breath, his expression a mix of bitterness and acceptance. “I have mentally prepared for this. I’m over fifty years old, and if I have to walk that path, it’s not so hard to accept. I don’t have the talent or ability to keep surviving in this place. If it weren’t for wanting to see my son one last time, I wouldn’t have come here at all. This time, I basically just followed everyone along. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Miss Xiao, Miss Shen, thank you for getting me this far.”

Shen Qingqiu glanced at him and, for once, didn’t respond coldly. Instead, she gave a slight nod.

“You didn’t bring this on yourself, so there’s no need to thank us.”

“But since the human skins no longer exist, does failing the task still mean becoming one of them?” Xiao Muyu asked.

Arbiter No. 001 responded this time, “There may be none here, but there are certainly other places.”

This sentence revealed a piece of information. Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu exchanged a glance and then discreetly looked away from each other.

“He’s just 2 points short; can’t you make an exception?” Cui Xiaoxuan asked, unable to bear it.

“Yeah, it’s just such a small difference.”

“Do not attempt to change the rules, and do not attempt to persuade the arbiter, or you will face punishment together.” No. 001’s sweet voice turned cold, indicating that there was indeed no room for exceptions.

At this moment, a girl in a white dress suddenly appeared before them. The little girl matched her voice—sweet and adorable, with big, expressive eyes. She flashed them a smile and said, “Congratulations to the six of you for successfully clearing Instance No. 001,Human Skin Manor. When the time comes, you’ll know where to go and what to do. As for this person, I’m taking him.”

She pointed at Old Liao, with her head tilted and a smile. Xiao Muyu pressed her lips tightly together. Although Arbiter No. 001 was smiling innocently, Xiao Muyu could clearly sense a kind of cruelty when she pointed at Old Liao. How would she take Old Liao away?

Old Liao, despite being mentally prepared, felt his breath catch when No. 001 pointed her finger at him.

A massive force seemed to crush down on his body, and his internal organs wrenched in intense pain. When he glanced down, he saw his fingers had become like thin paper cutouts, swaying with the wind. He could no longer stand steady, and the overwhelming fear surged within him, making his heart feel as if it would burst.

The people around were pale with shock. They had just witnessed a living person being compressed, flattened until he was nothing more than a thin sheet of paper. Old Liao’s twisted, terrified expression, was frozen on that paper, which the little girl carelessly rolled up before disappearing with it.

No one could have anticipated that those who failed would be taken away in such a brutal, and merciless way. Xu Ran’s face was ashen, and he looked completely beside himself. Liu Wei and Cui Xiaoxuan were speechless for a while, their earlier relief and joy at clearing the instance, now overshadowed by a heavy gloom.

For a long while, no one spoke. Finally, the first to break the silence was Chen Xi. His eyes were red as he looked at Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu, saying, “You two are definitely not ordinary people, nor are you ordinary in your heartlessness. From start to finish, your expressions haven’t changed a bit. So very impressive.”

Shen Qingqiu ignored the madman, and Xiao Muyu remained equally unperturbed.

Chen Xi felt like he was punching into a soft cushion. Gritting his teeth, he continued, “You played your cards well this time, but don’t forget, no one knows how this game will truly end. His fate will eventually be yours. As long as you live, there will be no rest, no peace.”

Whether Chen Xi’s words were true or not, that last line hung heavy like a boulder on everyone’s hearts. Although this round was over, who knew what awaited them in the next one?

“You’re right. As long as we live, there will be no rest and no peace. So, Chen Xi, there’s no need to target me or Xiao Muyu. You should realize that once you start using others as shields, it becomes a habit. I hope Xiao Muyu and I always manage to handle things as smoothly as we did in this round. And, I hope you’re always the one pushing others forward as your scapegoat.” Her cold words cut straight to the heart, making Chen Xi’s face turn pale. He had always directed his hatred toward Shen Qingqiu, as if that could make him forget how Chen Dong truly died. But Shen Qingqiu would not help him live in self-deception.

“Time is running out. Take care, everyone.” After saying this, Shen Qingqiu stood up and began walking alone toward the dense forest to the west.

The group watched in surprise, but no one asked where she was going.

It was only when she passed by Xiao Muyu that Shen Qingqiu paused. She winked her left eye at Xiao Muyu, her expression indescribably charming, with a playful smile on her lips as she said, “I look forward to seeing you in the next game, Miss Xiao.”

Xiao Muyu remained serious, as if she hadn’t heard a thing. She lowered her gaze as Shen Qingqiu walked past her. Even though their cooperation had been seamless, Xiao Muyu didn’t want to see Shen Qingqiu again. She wasn’t sure why, but her instincts told her so.

As time was running out, the group exchanged farewells. Although the 48 hours they spent together would’ve been just a few drops in the ocean in the real world, barely leaving a trace, here they were invaluable. It might not have been entirely pleasant, but it was still worth saying a proper goodbye.

“Miss Xiao, take care,” Cui Xiaoxuan and a few others said sincerely.

Xiao Muyu nodded. “Take care,” she replied before also departing.

Xiao Muyu didn’t like this sentimental atmosphere. To her, this wasn’t a farewell; it was merely the beginning of the next chapter. Those people might truly be grateful to her, or they might genuinely wish her well, but in this world, not everyone would be hoping for a reunion.