Chapter 72 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 72

Before the commotion reached them, Lu Zhizhen was upstairs on the second floor talking with Huang Wenli.

After a few days of emotional settling, Huang Wenli had finally managed to digest the reality of being ignored, rejected by Wu Letong.

Lu Zhizhen was worried about her. She cautiously leaned closer and asked whether she hated Wu Letong.

Huang Wenli paused, grabbed a pillow and punched it twice, pouting as she said, “What’s there to hate? I was just abandoned, that’s all. My relationship with him wasn’t even that close to begin with. It’s normal for him to abandon me. Even my own parents could abandon me—let alone someone who’s basically a stranger.”

Lu Zhizhen sighed and gently patted her head.

And it was right then that the sound of someone falling into the water carried over to the Ji household.

Wu Letong came out from another room and hurriedly knocked on the door, calling everyone to gather, then went downstairs to look for Ji Xiu.

Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli’s hearts clenched. They quickly put down what they were holding, pushed open the door, and followed.

When something happened, staying close to the boss was obviously the safest and smartest choice.

This had become their ironclad survival rule over the past few days. So the moment they heard villagers shouting that someone had fallen into the water, everyone’s first thought was to find Ji Xiu.

When they reached the first floor, Ji Xiu and Wang Qiuyue happened to be pushing open their door together.

“You heard it too?” Ji Xiu asked.

Wu Letong nodded, nervously avoiding Wang Qiuyue’s gaze as he cautiously asked, “Boss… should we go out and take a look?”

Ji Xiu’s eyes were calm as he swept a glance at the pitch-black night outside. His brows knit slightly. “Something’s probably gone wrong. I have to go see.”

Wu Letong didn’t want to go, but leaving Ji Xiu felt even more dangerous. He said without hesitation, “We’ll go with you.”

Ji Xiu didn’t care much. He casually agreed, telling them to stay close and not fall behind.

Wang Qiuyue naturally followed behind him.

Wu Letong froze for a moment, then steeled himself and followed. The other newcomers didn’t have that kind of courage. They tried their best to avoid Wang Qiuyue’s line of sight, shrinking behind Wu Letong with fear in their eyes.

Nothing had happened for three days, and everyone’s tolerance for Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng—both ghosts—had improved somewhat.

But no matter how used to it they were, being this close was still hard to endure.

Just thinking about Wang Qiuyue’s identity made their scalps tingle and their backs go cold.

Even Wu Letong—who had already gone through three worlds—was experiencing for the first time what it felt like to coexist peacefully with a ghost whose identity had been exposed.

It was… intense.

The group left the house and headed toward where the sound was coming from.

Tonight, the starlight and moonlight were unusually dim, almost making it impossible to see the road. But Ji Xiu had inner strength, Wang Qiuyue was a ghost with night vision, and the players had flashlights, so it wasn’t a problem.

However, as they drew closer, Ji Xiu suddenly stopped.

“Something’s wrong.”

The distant clamor remained neither loud nor quiet. The shout of “someone fell into the water” sounded eerily unchanged, as if stuck in a loop. The night wind blew cold to the bone, sending chills straight into the heart.

It was far too strange.

Most importantly, this hadn’t happened at all in the previous life.

Why was it happening now?

Ji Xiu raised his head toward the direction of the sound, calculating silently. His brow suddenly furrowed deeply.

If he remembered correctly, that direction led to the deep pool.

His eyes darkened. His voice turned cold. “We’re going back. We’re not going.”

Wu Letong was startled. “What? Not going? Didn’t you say something was wrong and we needed to check it out?”

Ji Xiu ignored him. He grabbed Wang Qiuyue’s hand. “Let’s go. Back home first.”

Wang Qiuyue followed his lead obediently, her brows faintly furrowed, worry flickering in her eyes as if she wanted to say something.

Ji Xiu noticed and lowered his head. “What is it?”

Wang Qiuyue hesitated, then explained.

In the past, Ji Family Village had always been under her power. Any changes within it were instantly known to her. But tonight, for some reason, once night fell and the moon was covered by dark clouds, she suddenly lost her ability to sense what was happening in the village.

She’d originally thought it wasn’t important, so she hadn’t mentioned it. It wasn’t until something actually happened in the village and she came out with Ji Xiu that she realized it might matter.

“That’s how it is,” Wang Qiuyue said softly, looking up at him, unease in her gentle eyes. “I don’t know why I suddenly can’t sense anything. Could it be… something big really happened?”

Ji Xiu rapidly replayed memories in his mind.

In the previous life, when Wu Letong entered this world, none of this had happened. But suddenly, he remembered that when the male and female leads came, a similar scene had occurred.

Because the leads were exceptionally clever, they had found the survival path early, befriended Wang Qiuyue and her son, and gained the protection of the strongest boss. They had remained safe the entire time.

On the seventh day, the game grew dissatisfied with how easy it was for them and forcibly increased the difficulty, awakening the memories of all the villagers. A massive clash followed.

It was during that battle that Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng discovered the truth—that they had been reincarnating and losing their memories countless times, and that the Ji Xiu they had waited for so desperately had actually died of old age many years ago, never to return.

Unable to accept it, the mother and son committed suicide in rage, trying to escape the game’s control—only to cause the protagonists’ deaths and the collapse of the world.

This time, the protagonists hadn’t even appeared yet.

And yet, the same situation had already begun.

These past three days, under his guidance, Wu Letong and the others had behaved themselves. No one died. The game couldn’t stand it anymore—and forced the villagers to awaken collectively.

Their progress was even faster than the protagonists’.

The leads didn’t face the battle until day seven.

Wu Letong and the others were facing it on day six.

Ji Xiu: “…Fuck.”

It looked like his family had ended up being dragged into trouble because of them.

If not for the players’ arrival, none of this should have happened.

And it was obvious—the awakened villagers, once united, had grown stronger than Wang Qiuyue. That was why she could no longer sense the village.

At this moment, the villagers were the greatest power in Ji Family Village.

To fight them, Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng had to unite.

“Let’s go back. We have to find Chunsheng immediately!”

Ji Xiu instantly understood the key point. He tightened his grip on Wang Qiuyue’s hand and quickened his pace.

Wang Qiuyue was briefly stunned, then quickly realized his intention and followed.

But they were still too late.

They knew the villagers had to separate the mother and son.

Didn’t the villagers know that too?

Three hundred heads were better than half a Zhuge Liang. After awakening collectively, the villagers deliberately created a disturbance to lure Ji Xiu away—so they could take Ji Chunsheng.

When Ji Xiu and the others rushed back and opened Ji Chunsheng’s door, the room was brightly lit.

The bed was empty.

He had just been taken.

Wang Qiuyue’s expression instantly darkened. Her composure shattered.

“Will something happen to Chunsheng?”

She worried for Ji Xiu, but the son she had relied on her entire existence was just as important.

Seeing the empty room, fury surged through her, nearly overwhelming her reason. She wanted to rush out and fight the villagers to the death.

But before she could move, Ji Xiu’s face darkened first.

He walked into the courtyard, grabbed the firewood cleaver from the corner without a word, whistled to call Da Huang, his gaze deep and cold.

“I’m going to bring Chunsheng back.”

Wang Qiuyue followed immediately. “I’m going too!”

“Alright. We’ll go together.” Ji Xiu didn’t want to save one only to lose the other. He brought her along.

Wu Letong and the others’ legs went weak at the sight.

The sense of an impending storm—the tension, the darkness, the grim expressions of Ji Xiu and Wang Qiuyue—made the night feel overwhelmingly dangerous.

Wu Letong gathered his courage. “Can we go with you?”

This time, Ji Xiu refused.

“I can’t look after you. Stay here. Don’t wander around.”

Wu Letong panicked. “Boss! Take me with you! There are over three hundred villagers—what if some slip through?!”

He stepped forward anxiously, but accidentally brushed against the firewood cleaver in Ji Xiu’s hand.

The next second— 【Weapon Name: Ji Xiu’s Firewood Cleaver】 【Description: An ordinary firewood cleaver that gained divine power because of its owner. It has drunk the blood of thousands of ghosts and can cut down ten thousand lives】 【Weapon Rank: A】 【Weapon Effect: Attack power increased by 300%. Deals devastating damage to spiritual entities】 Wu Letong froze.

How did it upgrade again?!

In just three days—from C-rank to A-rank?!

A-rank weapons were legendary.

He’d heard that the number one player in the entire game owned an A-rank weapon—unique in the whole game—obtained from the only S-rank world ever cleared.

Wu Letong was poor. He’d only ever seen D-rank weapons. Even C-rank was rare to him.

And now—an A-rank weapon?!

If it weren’t in the boss’s hands, he would’ve robbed it without hesitation.

When profits exceeded 300%, people dared trample all rules.

And an A-rank weapon far exceeded that.

But… it was Ji Xiu holding it.

Wu Letong painfully tore his gaze away and looked at Ji Xiu. “Boss, take us with you. We won’t need protection. We won’t drag you down.”

With an A-rank weapon, what was there to fear?

Ji Xiu frowned, impatient. “Be careful if you follow.”

They still had some value. He couldn’t let them all die.

Wu Letong thought Ji Xiu cared and was overjoyed, quickly agreeing and sticking close once they left.

The commotion near the deep pool grew louder.

Ji Xiu’s face was icy. On the surface, he looked calm—but inside, rage burned.

He hadn’t been angry in many years.

This time, they had crossed his bottom line.

…

When they reached the deep pool, ghostly flames floated everywhere—hundreds of them—illuminating the area.

All the villagers had gathered. No disguises. Their ghost forms were fully revealed as they surrounded the pool, staring at Ji Xiu and Wang Qiuyue with twisted expressions.

Wu Letong and the others’ hearts pounded. Regret crept in.

Everyone in the village was here.

If they’d stayed home, they’d have been safe.

But now it was too late.

The leader of the villagers was a tall, burly man. His ghostly form still vaguely showed his living appearance—fat squeezing his face. His eyes were narrow slits, but inside them were not eyeballs, only dark holes.

When he was alive, he’d leered at Wang Qiuyue constantly.

When Ji Chunsheng turned into a ghost, he dug the man’s eyes out without hesitation.

Evil men became even worse ghosts.

Even eyeless, he was now their leader.

Sensing the humans, the eyeless ghost split into a grin. “Ji Chunsheng is in our hands. You can’t beat us.”

“Oh?” Ji Xiu said flatly. “Then let’s try.”

He charged without another word.

The rusted firewood cleaver swung under the night sky, radiating terrifying power.

Despite their numbers, the ghosts trembled uncontrollably.

Ji Xiu had killed villagers daily these past days.

They remembered this blade.

Memory restored, terror surged.

The eyeless ghost screeched, “Stop shaking! Kill them!”

The ghosts surged forward.

Wang Qiuyue stepped out, revealing her ghost form, face twisted with hatred. Her claws shredded the first ghost.

Ji Xiu followed, cleaver flashing.

Even Da Huang lunged forward, biting at any ghost he saw.

Husband, wife, and dog—unstoppable.

In moments, over ten ghosts vanished into ash.

The eyeless ghost joined, ghostly pressure crushing down.

Ji Xiu’s eyes went cold. Inner strength surged. He struck.

The cleaver chopped into the ghost’s neck.

The eyeless ghost screamed, his form thinning.

“Stop! Don’t forget Ji Chunsheng is still with us!”

Ji Xiu’s gaze was terrifying. “Hand my son over.”

The eyeless ghost retreated, dragging Ji Chunsheng out.

Ji Chunsheng’s form flickered weakly.

The ghost bit into him. “Put down the cleaver—or we eat him.”

Ji Chunsheng faded further.

Ji Xiu didn’t move.

Then Wang Qiuyue sighed softly.

“If you’d chosen anywhere else, I might have had no choice…”

“But why here?”