Chapter 39

Qin Lang’s terror slowly faded, replaced by calmness and… excitement.

This bizarre, grotesque scene ignited the dormant passion within him.

He curiously surveyed the entire cavern.

All the faces were slightly tilted, ensuring their hollow gazes converged on the altar. Whoever created this sight had a strong sense of spatial design.

“Qin Lang? Qin Lang?” Xia Xifeng patted the back of Qin Lang’s hand. “Let go.”

“Are you sure you want to see this?” Qin Lang came back to his senses. “Don’t cry tonight, saying you can’t sleep.”

Xia Xifeng snapped in embarrassment, “I’ve never cried!”

Qin Lang: “Oh.”

He truly let go.

Having steeled his heart, Xia Xifeng opened his eyes.

His mental preparation was useless. He screamed in terror, fell backward, grabbed Qin Lang’s hand, and plastered it back over his own eyes.

Forget crying at night while trying to sleep; he was crying right now.

Heavens, aaaaaaaaah, this is so terrifying! Help help help HELP!!!!!

Xia Xifeng trembled uncontrollably. “Th-this scene is too much, isn’t it?”

Xia Xifeng: [Isn’t Fantasy Realms supposed to be a 12+ game?! You’re telling me THIS is 12+?!?!]

Seeing Xia Xifeng still had the presence of mind to switch to system chat, Qin Lang knew he hadn’t been scared senseless.

Qin Lang: [Logically, stories set in an apocalyptic world cannot be 12+. Fantasy Realms only applied a 12+ censor patch for you. This is reality.]

Xia Xifeng: [Aaaaaauuuuggghhh!]

Qin Lang: [How much longer do you need?]

Xia Xifeng: [Did the monsters attack already?]

Qin Lang: [No.]

Xia Xifeng: [Then let me recover a bit more. I can’t handle this. QAQ.]

Hunched over, pressed tightly against Qin Lang’s chest, Xia Xifeng curled into a large, huddled ball in Qin Lang’s arms.

Too much stimulation. Too terrifying. Couldn’t there have been some kind of jump-scare warning before such a horrifying scene appeared?!

Xia Xifeng wasn’t the only one. The mayor was also white as a sheet.

Especially once she realized these grotesque corpses might all be her ancestors, going back generations.

The mayor collapsed onto the ground, clutching her chest, gasping for air. That she hadn’t immediately fainted from shock already showed considerable courage.

Seeing Xia Xifeng wouldn’t be recovering anytime soon, Qin Lang could only advance the plot himself.

Qin Lang asked, “Do you recognize these people?”

The mayor bit her tongue, using the pain to bring herself back to her senses. “I-I recognize them. They are… they are my ancestors, my elders.”

Confirming his suspicion, Qin Lang said, “All former mayors of Blackstone Town?”

The mayor shuddered violently. “Yes…”

Qin Lang said, “You should be very familiar with the previous mayor. Did he die a natural death? Where is he buried?”

The mayor paused, then spoke rapidly. “My father died naturally of illness! The Wastelands are rife with chaotic, corrupting energies, so the Free Alliance advocates cremation. I personally saw my father cremated! I witnessed it with my own two eyes! How could his body be here?!”

Qin Lang said, “Then what’s here aren’t ordinary corpses. They’re something else. Xia Xifeng, have you calmed down yet?”

As for what exactly these figures were, Qin Lang, who completely skipped all plot, had no idea. He could only rely on Xia Xifeng the lore enthusiast.

Xia Xifeng had absolutely not calmed down, but he bravely reopened his eyes anyway.

He absolutely, positively could not hold Qin Lang back. He had already been a burden to Qin Lang once before.

Xia Xifeng forced his eyes open, then hurriedly squeezed them shut. He waited a moment, then opened them again.

After repeating this several times, after perhaps a minute or two, he could finally keep his eyes fully open.

“Help… help me up. My legs gave out.” Xia Xifeng was too far gone to even feel embarrassed anymore. Qin Lang already knew every single one of his most embarrassing moments anyway.

Qin Lang helped the jelly-legged Xia Xifeng to his feet.

Stiffly turning his neck, Xia Xifeng carefully studied the cavern, comparing it against his memory.

“Let me think, let me think… it is a bit familiar…” Xia Xifeng tapped his head, jammed by fear.

There should be a similar scene in the game. Maybe not a quest scene, but perhaps from a lore book or a more abstract background cinematic.

Yeah, definitely not a quest scene. Otherwise, Fantasy Realms couldn’t possibly be 12+.

Xia Xifeng took a deep breath. “This should be… no, this definitely isn’t corpses. It’s a ‘Curse Manifestation’.”

After speaking this cryptic term, the terror in Xia Xifeng’s heart lessened somewhat.

If it was something he knew about, not an unknown danger, he could calm down a little.

Xia Xifeng explained to Qin Lang and the mayor what a “Curse Manifestation” was.

Simply put, every successive mayor of Blackstone Town had been cursed. This place was the core of the curse, and the curse’s source. The scene before them was a visual representation of the curse’s specific nature, rendered in a direct, visual fashion.

Xia Xifeng said, “Someone attempted to use them to curse the moon.”

[Mission Decryption Successful.]

[Dungeon “Fall of the Sun,” Chapter Two, “The Chapter of the True Moon and the False Moon,” has been activated. Players may enter the Story Dungeon at any time.]

Xia Xifeng tugged Qin Lang’s sleeve.

Qin Lang replied, “I can see it.” He wasn’t blind. It was a massive quest notification.

Xia Xifeng: [Shall we return to the inn and do the quest now?]

Qin Lang: [Is your mental state up for it?]

Xia Xifeng: [Maybe the shock overloaded my brain; I’ve actually calmed down! But I’m afraid that if I sleep tonight, I’ll be terrified again tomorrow. Let’s do the quest now while I’m still functional!]

Qin Lang: [Then we’ll enter the dungeon here. She’s about to break down. She needs a pillar of emotional support.]

Xia Xifeng glanced at the mayor and understood Qin Lang’s meaning.

Blackstone Town had always believed it was worshipping the Silver Moon. The truth might be the exact opposite. In a world where gods truly existed, a believer’s spirit could very well shatter.

Xia Xifeng: [Wouldn’t it be bad to leave her alone here? It’s so terrifying.]

Qin Lang: [Choose the lesser of two evils.]

Xia Xifeng hesitated, then nodded. [Alright. We’ll enter the quest here.]

The mayor looked like she was about to collapse at any moment. She couldn’t hold on much longer.

For combat professionals of the Free Alliance, seeing a lot of corpses or even the undead might not be overly frightening. The Wastelands were full of bizarre, eerie occurrences. Besides, vile beings like necromancers existed.

But a crisis of faith was far more devastating than fear alone.

Xia Xifeng said to the mayor, “The Silver Moon shields Blackstone Town. The Silver Moon learned that this town’s faith was being exploited. That’s precisely why we’re here. I apologize that we couldn’t tell you the truth until now.”

The mayor was stunned. “It was the gods who sent you… That’s right, that’s right! You were blessed by the God of the Silver Moon! The God of the Silver Moon blessed you!”

Xia Xifeng put on the serene smile of a mystic. “The God of the Silver Moon is shielding you.”

The mayor covered her eyes with both hands and wept uncontrollably. “Yes… yes… the God of the Silver Moon is shielding us. The God of the Silver Moon is shielding us. Thank the Silver Moon. Thank our deity!”

Yes, it must have been the God of the Silver Moon shielding Blackstone Town, sending God’s Favored bearing the Silver Moon’s blessing to expose this evil conspiracy.

What Blackstone Town worshipped truly was the Silver Moon. Their faith truly was in the Silver Moon.

The Silver Moon had come to save them, to save Her followers!

“Qin Lang and I must immediately enter the world of this curse and trace its source,” Xia Xifeng said, his expression tinged with worry. “Are you alright? Do you need to return to the surface first?”

The mayor shook her head vigorously. Though fear still lingered in her eyes, resolve had returned to the depths of her gaze. “I will wait right here.”

She swept her gaze around the chamber, then pushed herself up from the ground using both hands.

“I will wait right here,” the mayor declared. “They are my ancestors. I will guard them. They will surely guard me.”

“Good. Stand guard beside the greatsword blessed by the Silver Moon until we return.” Xia Xifeng pulled out a massive pile of food and potions that reduced fear and fortified mental resilience. “Take these. If you feel unwell, eat and drink a little.”

Seeing Xia Xifeng pull out a huge spread of snacks and drinks, the mayor’s resolute expression cracked for a moment.

The oppressive atmosphere of terror was considerably diminished by Xia Xifeng’s actions.

“Thank you.” The mayor knew this was no time to refuse.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back soon. Let me check… good, the communicator works here too. If you get scared, chat with a friend on your device.” Xia Xifeng offered his advice. “You definitely brought your communicator, right?”

The corner of the mayor’s tightly pursed lips involuntarily lifted just a fraction. “I did.”

Following Xia Xifeng’s suggestion, she opened her communicator.

As Xia Xifeng said, the signal was excellent, no different from usual.

Her suspended heart settled onto solid ground.

Didn’t this prove that everything was under the God of the Silver Moon’s control?

Everything would be fine. The deity was already watching this evil.

Qin Lang rolled his eyes internally as he watched Xia Xifeng barely manage to act like a mystic for a moment before quickly reverting to his usual fussy, warm-hearted self.

Xia Xifeng had to be the least prophet-like Prophet ever.

Still, the fact that Xia Xifeng was in the mood to comfort someone else meant he’d recovered fairly well himself.

Though Xia Xifeng wasn’t the bravest, he was carefree, recovering quickly from fear. At worst, he’d have a few nights where he was too afraid to sleep alone.

Currently, Xia Xifeng already didn’t dare sleep alone anyway. A little more fear wouldn’t change much.

After reassuring the mayor, Xia Xifeng gave Perila and Leo a heads-up.

Leo beat his chest in despair.

How could he miss fighting alongside his friends again?!

Perila rubbed his face in distress, like a cat utterly spooked.

Having been frightened himself, Xia Xifeng decided to scare his friends right back. Not only did he describe the scene to them vividly, but he also took screenshots, showing them panoramic views.

A regular communicator couldn’t capture traces of a curse, but the System could. It could even convert the images into standard recordings, transmitting them via the communication magic conduits to others.

Click, click, click. Xia Xifeng furiously took pictures, aiming to scare his friends to death.

Qin Lang forwarded the images to Suer and Amuruo.

While disturbing seniors late at night was rude, encountering major matters involving Evil Gods necessitated immediately informing their powerful backers. It was a cardinal rule of horror films to avoid dying from poor communication.

Suer didn’t respond right away. Amuruo seemed to be pulling an all-nighter and replied very quickly.

Amuruo: [I’ve participated in Blackstone Town’s secret rituals. I only ever sensed dense Silver Moon divine power. Tch. As expected of Outer Gods, hiding so deeply. Who knows how many years this has been concealed. The Suns are utterly useless.]

Qin Lang was extremely curious. Amuruo, the City Lord, bluntly insulted the Suns. Why didn’t divine punishment descend?

Could it be that Amuruo hadn’t just beaten up a parallel world’s Sun, but had beaten up this world’s Sun too?

Perila and Leo had already contacted their deities. This time, even Birth’s Sun was a bit nervous and more talkative than usual.

The gist from both deities was: Thinking about it, investigating it, trying hard to figure out what’s going on.

Xia Xifeng sent Perila and Leo an “OTZ” emoji—a little stick figure kneeling in exhausted defeat.

What kind of gods are you?! Do you have even a shred of the dependable image depicted in your respective churches’ scriptures?!

“Let’s go.” Qin Lang had finished adjusting his gear.

“Alright.” Xia Xifeng took a deep breath and clutched Qin Lang’s hand tightly. “Don’t get separated this time.”

After a moment’s thought, holding hands didn’t feel secure enough. He turned around and wrapped Qin Lang in a tight hug. “Entering the dungeon.”

Qin Lang: “…”

As they were teleported into the dungeon, he noticed the mayor standing nearby had a very strange expression on her face.

Clearly, the mayor had formed an improper misunderstanding about him and Xia Xifeng. His reputation had been tarnished.