I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 81 - 64: The Key, Village Ghost

Sang Que smiled slightly, and took out a piece of jerky and a compressed biscuit from her bag, handing them to Xia Chan.

Xia Chan took them and clumsily tried to untie the hemp rope wrapped around them. The more anxious she got, the harder it was to untie. Sang Que saw this and reached out to help her.

"See this string? Just pull it gently, and it will open. Eat slowly, be careful not to choke."

Xia Chan gazed foolishly at Sang Que, lost in thought. As she crouched there, she moved closer to Sang Que and suddenly broke into tears.

"I miss my mother. She never got to eat this."

Seeing Xia Chan like this, Sang Que felt an inexplicable sting in her nose but couldn’t come up with any words to comfort her.

When she first arrived at Black Mountain Village, to overcome her fear, she subconsciously told herself to treat everything here as a game. Everyone was an NPC, and the Evil Spirits were monsters. As long as she defeated the monsters and completed the tasks, she could level up and return home.

Before coming this time, because of what her mom told her about her principles, she reinforced this mindset in her heart.

Time and again, she reminded herself to treat this like a game, not to let emotions cloud her judgment, not to fear, not to sympathize, not to meddle in others’ affairs, and to maintain absolute rationality regarding everything.

But now, seeing Xia Chan, who was about her age, cry over a piece of jerky, and having lost her own birth mother at such a young age, Sang Que found it hard not to feel heartache and sympathy when comparing her situation to herself, who had no worries about food or clothing and was lovingly protected by her mother.

Taking a deep breath, Sang Que shifted her attention back to the keys and quickly engaged in visualization.

In a daze, Sang Que saw several scenes.

One, Old Tian standing in front of the Skywell Building’s barrier gate, the outside pitch black. He glanced at his watch, it was 11 pm, and he took out a key to lock the door.

The second, as the sky slightly brightened, Old Tian checked his watch again, it was 5 am. He took out another key to open the door.

The scene shifted, and Sang Que suddenly woke up, her heart pounding fiercely.

The last was Old Tian’s resentment. She ’saw’ Old Tian desperately pleading with the landlady, and then in the fifth floor women’s restroom, Old Tian with a sinister face, grabbing the night-shift nurse Xu Jiayi by the hair and dragging her out from the stall, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

Xu Jiayi struggled desperately but was ultimately killed by Old Tian in the underground room of the Skywell Building, along with her family, all wiped out.

Therefore, the massacre at Brother Watch Shop was instigated by village resentment using Old Tian.

Sang Que reasonably speculated that Old Tian was likely a loner, having nowhere else to go but to stay as a security guard at Skywell Building, which even gave him a slight sense of power.

Losing everything because of the demolition of Skywell Building, Old Tian, under the influence of village resentment, committed the massacre.

This explains why, inside Skywell Building, the security guard Old Tian acted like a BOSS, able to kill intruders according to the rules.

Old Tian was equivalent to a doppelgänger of village resentment, and the Butcher must have been a similar doppelgänger, dropping yin objects upon being killed. Both yin objects were influenced by village resentment, so the pig-killing knife could kill Old Tian.

Moreover, the dragging bloodstains she saw in the fifth-floor women’s restroom of Skywell Building were left by Xu Jiayi, who was trying to escape being hunted down. Xu Jiayi was wearing a blue dress at the time.

Sang Que was now clear about the keys’ functions, without the power of village resentment, both keys were one-time-use items. After use, they would bring about a significant misfortune, enough to be fatal, just like Old Tian, whose future hopes were destroyed.

One key is used to close the door, and the other to open it.

Between 11 pm and 5 am the next day, the key to close the door can create a barrier-like existence, trapping people or Evil Spirits inside without escape.

The key to open the door must be used within the time limit, between 5 am and 11 pm, allowing trapped individuals to open an escape route.

With the power of village resentment, Sang Que could reuse these two keys repeatedly, achieving unexpected effects.

The pig-killing knife was not in Skywell Building and was less influenced by village resentment, so it most likely couldn’t be reused.

Although powerful, just thinking about the pig-killing knife still struck fear in Sang Que’s heart. Her neck had been slashed three times already; a few more, and she’d lose her neck.

After each use, within 24 hours, a living human soul or an Evil Spirit comparable in strength to the security guard Old Tian must be sacrificed to the keys, or they will be damaged.

The strength of security guard Old Tian was akin to that of a Second Layer Evil Spirit.

Before completing the sacrificial rite, the keys would cause her to lose direction, and she would face various dangers even when staying still.

Yin objects, like Evil Spirits, were very dangerous and required careful handling, or they’d lead to one’s death, just like the pig-killing knife.

After waiting in the underground darkroom for nearly an hour, it was dusk when Kou Yushan finally arrived at the Witch Temple.

Sang Que left the glutinous rice and other items she didn’t need temporarily in the darkroom and went out with Xuan Yu, Liu Tianyou, and Xia Chan.

Sitting obediently beside Sang Que by the dilapidated divine statue of the Witch Temple, Xia Chan pouted and glanced around innocently, looking carefree, while Xuan Yu squatted on the other side of Sang Que, licking its paws and washing its face, like a guardian.

Kou Yushan chuckled upon seeing this, "I knew Little Chan would like you. In fact, you two were born in the Witch Temple on the same day, and Little Chan is two hours older than you."

Sang Que was shocked and looked back at Xia Chan.

"Xia Chan was delivered by your mother. At that time, your mother was also about to give birth. After delivering Xia Chan, she gave birth to you. Unfortunately, Xia Chan inherited her mother’s special traits, having the mind of a four- or five-year-old child."

Sang Que frowned, "Let’s not talk about that. Look at this map."

Sang Que took out Yan Daozi’s sacrificial map and handed it to Kou Yushan, glancing at the sky. "It’s almost nightfall. You won’t be able to leave tonight. You must evacuate first thing tomorrow morning."

After looking at the map, Kou Yushan’s expression turned somber, and he shared his thoughts with Sang Que.

"...Even if I instruct the village chief to forge documents from the County Magistrate, it’s unlikely that we can evacuate all the villagers. Yan Daozi will definitely obstruct us, so... I plan to kill Yan Daozi."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tianyou, who was holding a bookcase, was startled, but soon he remembered his tragically deceased parents and sister, and gritted his teeth saying, "Uncle Yushan, count me in. If there’s anything I can do, just tell me!"

"Are you planning to use the village ghost?" Sang Que asked, "By the way, what exactly is the village ghost?"

Surprised by Sang Que’s ignorance of the village ghost, Liu Tianyou, with Kou Yushan understanding the situation, carefully explained, "Every village registered with the government receives a document stamped by the Evil Suppression Bureau."

"The document lists the names of everyone in the village aged 18 and over. After pressing their blood handprints, if the village faces an unbeatable Evil Spirit or Evil Ghost and can’t seek help in time from the Evil Suppression Bureau, the village leader can sacrifice their Life Soul to summon the village ghost to fight back."

Liu Tianyou added, "Every time the village ghost is called upon, other than the village leader who will surely die, the village ghost will randomly take half of the souls from the list as compensation, and this half cannot be fewer than twenty souls."

Sang Que was somewhat shocked, but then thought, compared to complete annihilation, sacrificing half of the village seemed preferable. Moreover, since the village ghost randomly selected the souls, it was easier for villagers to take a gamble and let the leader summon the village ghost for help.

Kou Yushan spoke gravely, "I won’t use the village ghost, but Yan Daozi must be killed. Without him to preside over the sacrificial ritual, everyone can be saved. So, Mulan, I’d like your help. As long as you can help me restrain the Evil Spirit controlled by Yan Daozi, I’ll have a chance to kill him."

Sang Que was silent, pondering for a moment, then finally made up her mind, "Tonight at eleven o’clock... as soon as midnight arrives, I’ll kill Yan Daozi, but I’ll need your help as well."