Chapter 324: A Pillow Right When You’re Sleepy—Exactly What I Wanted!
Zhang Yangqing showed audiences around the world what a real eating broadcast looked like.
Anyone who turned on the Dragon Country screen would see a baffling scene.
While other Chosen Ones were matching wits and courage against the strange events happening along the way, Zhang Yangqing was happily eating here.
It wasn’t that Zhang Yangqing couldn’t cook—he was just usually too lazy to do it.
Now that he had no lackeys around, he had to do it himself.
In this Strange Tales World, Zhang Yangqing’s attributes were very high, and the bonuses to this body that wasn’t originally his were also very high.
So while other Chosen Ones were weak enough halfway through to need to find food, Zhang Yangqing hadn’t felt any weakness yet.
When he walked into the Strange Forest, that weakness from an empty stomach finally hit him.
He knew he needed to eat.
As luck would have it, just as he was about to look for food, a plump, beautiful rooster appeared in front of him.
Wasn’t this a pillow right when you’re sleepy—exactly what I wanted?
Zhang Yangqing thought the Strange Tales was delivering him a meal. What was there to hesitate about? He just grabbed it and slaughtered it to eat.
What was more important than filling your stomach?
While the fire was being started, the rooster was also cleaned and prepped by Zhang Yangqing.
Before long, the chicken was roasted until glistening with oil, its golden exterior wrapping tender yellow meat. One bite and juices burst everywhere.
That meaty aroma—it felt like you could smell it through the screen.
It made many people watching his screen swallow their saliva like crazy.
Watching what other Chosen Ones ate made the audience lose their appetite.
But watching Zhang Yangqing’s screen, the audience was dying of craving.
After roasting it, Zhang Yangqing ate while walking. Whatever he couldn’t finish, he put in a prepared plastic bag to eat later.
“Strange—why is this Strange Tales World so kind this time? It gives you food when you’re hungry. It wasn’t this straightforward before.”
Zhang Yangqing’s words made countless audience members’ mouths twitch slightly.
If they hadn’t seen the other Chosen Ones’ screens, the audience really would have thought this was a foodie tour.
Man, only you dare to eat. All the other Chosen Ones are treating these animals like honored elders.
They can’t even curry favor fast enough.
But before long, after eating another grilled fish on the road, Zhang Yangqing did have a realization.
Because he had already arrived at the graveyard and encountered that giant centipede.
When Zhang Yangqing saw the giant centipede, he was stunned for a moment.
The giant centipede thought Zhang Yangqing was afraid of it and was there smugly laughing wildly.
Especially when it saw the chicken wing in Zhang Yangqing’s hand, it laughed even more recklessly.
As if saying: You brat ate the chicken, so now I can eat you.
But Zhang Yangqing wasn’t afraid of it—he just suddenly connected some clues in his mind.
Could this level be ‘when an animal blocks the road, there must be a reason’?
It’s all about cause and effect, right?
Why didn’t anyone tell me? I already ate the chicken.
But it seemed like it didn’t matter…
The giant centipede hadn’t been smug for long when a black shadow wearing a cloak flashed past unexpectedly.
Zhang Yangqing had already continued walking onto the main road, as if he hadn’t seen anything terrifying.
The giant centipede twisted its body, wanting to chase this passerby who planned to ‘run away.’
But it suddenly discovered that its body wouldn’t obey.
Rumble, rumble!
As chunks of flesh kept falling to the ground, the giant centipede collapsed at the spot where it had just appeared, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The giant centipede’s massive body looked as if it had been evenly sliced by a sharp weapon—so fast that the dead creature hadn’t even realized it was dead in that short moment.
Many of the eyes on its head seemed to be wide open, staring fixedly at the person walking forward on the road.
Even in death, the giant centipede couldn’t understand how it had been instantly killed.
It was already a terrifying existence in this area, but this cloaked man before it seemed to have exceeded its range of understanding.
The second level, the black water river, still had a certain difficulty.
After all, Zhang Yangqing wasn’t at full strength at this time. Having lost his heart, he couldn’t use his vast spiritual energy to build a bridge for long periods.
Given the special nature of this river, even if Zhang Yangqing fell in, there was a risk of sinking to the bottom.
So Zhang Yangqing used the Golden Light Spell to make two ropes connecting to the other shore.
When the audience thought he was about to start walking a tightrope, he conjured a golden board on the ropes.
They watched as he stepped onto the golden board, and the golden board, like an elevator, directly shuttled him across.
Just like that, Zhang Yangqing crossed the black water river without any danger.
This stunned the audience. Before, Daoist Zhang was still down-to-earth—now he’s directly playing with elevators?
The river was only two hundred meters wide. Even in this state, Zhang Yangqing handled it with ease.
The fish in the black water river hadn’t even started to act when they discovered this guy had already crossed!
This left them with no chance to deceive Zhang Yangqing.
Zhang Yangqing’s methods of clearing levels always made the audience feel like it was within reason, yet beyond expectation.
Next, any danger other Chosen Ones faced could potentially be a delicacy on Zhang Yangqing’s side.
He tasted every kind of wild game along the way. Anyway, other Chosen Ones wasted time because they were busy rescuing these animals and facing the descent of strange creatures.
Zhang Yangqing wasted time because he was busy eating, busy barbecuing.
As for the descent of those strange creatures—if they looked good, Zhang Yangqing might consider trying a bite.
If they looked bad, like the giant centipede, Zhang Yangqing couldn’t even be bothered to eat them.
Finally, when they were almost at the destination, the other Chosen Ones started feeling weak from empty stomachs again. Zhang Yangqing really couldn’t eat anymore—he was carrying quite a bit of food on him.
The main principle was not wasting anything.
After all, food had to be prepared in advance—the rules seemed to remind them of this too.
Seeing this, the audience finally realized that Daoist Zhang’s rules this time really seemed different from the other Chosen Ones.
The time had already reached 6:30. Nightfall generally referred to seven o’clock.
Rahman had been walking this stretch for over four hours, and for the latter half, he was even carrying an old man.
If he hadn’t encountered so much trouble, he probably could have reached Young Master Kongxu’s graveyard in two hours.
And Rahman didn’t know if it was his imagination, but why was the old man on his back getting heavier and colder?
“Could this be the omen of a strange descent?”
Rahman muttered inwardly, but no matter how he called out, the old man still had that ‘offline’ look.
Only breathing—unable to answer his words.
The further Rahman walked, the more strenuous it felt.
He even discovered that the ground sank in where he stepped.
Because of the changes in his body, he didn’t know exactly how heavy the old man was, but he could no longer continue forward.
There were still thirty minutes left. If he couldn’t reach the old man’s dwelling, Rahman would have no choice but to give up.
The sign the old man had mentioned before falling unconscious was right here. As long as he carried him along the small path for less than ten minutes, he would reach the old man’s home.
Seeing the endpoint so close, Rahman was unwilling to give up. He had trekked over mountains and rivers to carry him here—just give up like this?
You had to know, the harder the task, the greater the reward upon completion.
Never mind Rahman—even some Transcendents were starting to be unable to bear the old man’s weight.
Like the newly promoted Transcendent Miller with powerful muscles, after walking a bit further than the other Chosen Ones, he also lay down on the ground.
It wasn’t exhaustion—this body couldn’t feel fatigue at all.
But the old man’s body was truly too heavy, making it impossible for him to carry it.
Quite a few Chosen Ones even began to suspect that this old man was just trying to kill them.
But Miller didn’t think so. Once he abandoned the Transcendent’s way of thinking, he was actually relatively clear-headed now.
“The hardest task in this level is none other than carrying him back. The so-called ‘when an animal blocks the road, there must be a reason’—humans are also animals in a sense. So as long as I help him with this, he’ll also help me solve a problem.”
Miller’s judgment made the American expert team outside cheer.
But as for how to do it, no one seemed to have thought of a way.
The expert team turned on the Dragon Country screen wanting to see the correct answer, but that guy wasn’t even carrying the old man!
Inside the Strange Tales World, Miller paced back and forth on the main road. As time passed, the old man’s body emitted a faint black aura, as if it was about to lose control.
Miller scanned his surroundings. The sky was gradually darkening, and he hadn’t found anything useful.
It was less than ten minutes’ walk—was he going to give up just like this?
“Right! The old man told me where he lives. Then there’s likely a way to bring him back there, or the key to unraveling the mystery on his body. Instead of racking my brain here, I might as well go take a look!”
With that thought, Miller sprinted toward the fork in the road with the signpost.
In less than five minutes, Miller had already run to a purple bamboo house.
Don’t be fooled by it just being a bamboo house—the construction craftsmanship amazed even Miller. It was filled with the flavor of mysticism everywhere.
Around the purple bamboo house were some props resembling yin-yang fish, and many flags surrounded it.
Perhaps only Rahman could understand a bit of these. The other Chosen Ones really didn’t know, but they felt it was very impressive.
Why was it said that Rahman understood relatively well? Because Zhang Yangqing never came at all, nor did he see it.
Ever since entering this area, Miller felt like this place had some kind of powerful force that stabilized the irritable energy within one’s body.
It could be seen that the old man was definitely an expert.
At this moment, Miller had no mind to appreciate the architecture or study the wonderful constructs here. He was searching for a way to bring the old man back.
The house’s front door was tightly locked. Just as he was about to pry it open, he heard low rumbling sounds from behind the house.
As if possessed, Miller walked to the backyard.
Seeing the scene before him, he suddenly thought of a solution.
In the backyard was a massive millstone, and a donkey pulling the mill beside it.
This kind of animal had a strong load-bearing capacity, and according to the old man, this was where he lived—so this donkey was definitely no ordinary one either.
Perhaps because Miller had carried the old man all this way and had the old man’s scent on him, the donkey didn’t resist. After Miller untied the rope, it followed him out.
“So heavy!”
On the main road, Miller finally managed to hoist the old man onto the donkey’s back, then urged the donkey to hurry back.
Time was racing against the clock, and Miller was pushing from behind.
He had to admit, this donkey really could carry the weight. Before long, it had carried the old man back to the courtyard.
Ever since returning to the courtyard, the black aura on the old man’s body was slowly suppressed—not as frightening as before.
Should he wait for him to wake up and give him benefits, or go complete the main quest first?
Miller waited a while. Feeling that the old man didn’t seem about to wake up, he prepared to leave this place.
Actually, when leaving this place, the Chosen Ones thought about taking some things with them.
The items here all looked like pretty impressive props.
They didn’t understand them, but they had spent some time in the general store.
Some of the prop patterns here were similar to the patterns on the coin sword and peach wood sword brought from the general store.
Didn’t that prove these things definitely had some use?
But then again, he had helped the old man. Theoretically, the old man would help him when he got into trouble.
If he woke up and found the props in his house stolen, he would surely be angry too.
With that thought, the Chosen Ones dismissed the idea.
By the time they returned to the main road, it was already past seven, and night had fallen.
In a place with dense trees like this, even sunlight could barely penetrate, let alone faint moonlight.
This made the already difficult mountain path even harder to traverse.
Last time walking at night, at least there was a guide dog. Now they could only feel their way.
Quite a few Chosen Ones even started using matches to light candles to illuminate the area. The smarter ones took out lanterns.
Anyway, everyone had anticipated this situation when they came.
So they had also selected some useful things from the general store to bring out.
Miller carried the coin sword on his back, held the peach wood sword in one hand, and a lantern in the other, advancing along this dark road.
At night, whether it was an illusion or the swaying of shadows, Miller always felt like the crooked trees around him had come alive. As long as he didn’t stare at them, they would change posture after a while.
Restless energy came from the forest from time to time. Wisps of ghost fire flickered in the mountain caves among the trees. Everything was so terrifying.
Miller also experienced the benefit of not having a heart—his heartbeat wouldn’t accelerate.
The further in he went, the louder the commotion around him, as if something was approaching.
Fortunately, Young Master Kongxu’s graveyard wasn’t far from the old man’s place. After walking about half an hour, Miller saw light ahead.
When he quickened his pace forward, he was unsurprisingly stopped.
Perhaps because he was holding the peach wood sword, the person stopping him didn’t appear. Instead, several bamboo stalks flew at him and stabbed fiercely into the ground.
“Who are you? What business do you have here?”
A questioning voice like ghostly wailing echoed through the area.
The voice was sometimes ethereal and melodious, making it impossible to pinpoint the speaker’s exact direction.
Sometimes it shook the eardrums, making one’s soul tremble and head spin.
“I’m a clerk from the Yin-Yang General Store. According to the agreement, I’m here to deliver gold-rimmed candles to Young Master Kongxu. This is the token.”
Miller took out Young Master Kongxu’s eyeball and explained to the surroundings.
He didn’t know if the people nearby could see it, but this was the procedure.
After all, something like a peach wood sword in his hand was a threatening weapon. Its purpose was to keep strange entities from getting close to him.
The person who had just spoken told Miller to wait while he went to report.
Miller stood there waiting, then habitually began observing the nearby environment.
Sure enough, there was a large stone tablet here. Some ghost fires near the tablet happened to illuminate the words written on it.
Graveyard Rules.
[Rule 1: Please do not offer incense to unfamiliar spirit tablets. This is very impolite behavior.]
[Rule 2: When walking, if someone pats your shoulder from behind, please do not acknowledge them, otherwise they will see you.]
[Rule 3: Do not casually agree to anyone’s requests unless you can fulfill them.]
[Rule 4: Courtesy costs nothing. Giving gifts will make the people here have a good impression of you, but only if you know what gift they like.]
[Rule 5: Absolutely do not sit in the sedan chair. That is not a place for the living to sit.]
[Rule 6: There is no turning back here, and do not sleep on the road.]
[Rule 7: Stay here as long as possible. After all, the air here is good for your body.]
[Rule 8: Remember, only the living can find the correct way out.]
Having found the rules, not just Miller—even the other Chosen Ones felt a bit more at ease inside.
Coming to such a strange place late at night, without rules, they really wouldn’t know what to do.
After all, they weren’t familiar with the local customs. One mistake meant death.
Chosen Ones with better memory tried hard to remember the rules.
Those with relatively poorer memory took out paper and pen, writing these rules down on paper—on the back of the general store rules.
Since rules appeared here, the Chosen Ones would definitely be given some time to record them.
After a few minutes, a strange entity dressed in white walked over.
This white-clothed ghost didn’t approach Miller, but kept some distance from him, and told Miller that if he wanted to come in, he’d better put away his weapons—the people here didn’t like peach wood swords.
Miller nodded, wrapped the peach wood sword in cloth, and hung it at his waist.
Some smarter Chosen Ones had even already put away their peach wood swords.
On the way into the graveyard following the white-clothed ghost, Miller began gathering intelligence, asking about basic information regarding this strange entity.
Any Chosen One with a bit of experience would do this.
After all, just from the strange atmosphere around them, they knew the road ahead was absolutely a dragon’s den and tiger’s lair.
Combined with the rule hints, it instantly gave people a bad premonition, so it was better to ask clearly first.
But no matter how Miller asked, this white-clothed ghost didn’t seem to want to engage with him, not answering a single word. This made Miller wonder—was there no storyline on this stretch of road?
While other Chosen Ones were hitting walls, the performance of the pyramid country Chosen One Rahman, who had studied archaeology, was somewhat standard.
He also initially asked about the basic situation of the next destination, but the white-clothed ghost didn’t answer him.
This made Rahman think for a moment that there seemed to be no storyline here.
But he suddenly remembered Rule 4’s hint—courtesy costs nothing. Only by giving gifts could the people here speak.
And the gift couldn’t be wrong. If it was wrong, they would be even angrier.
This was where the advantage of working as a clerk in the general store showed.
Rahman had dealt with many white-clothed customers and knew what white-clothed customers liked.
When he came, he had brought some props, and coincidentally had candles that white-clothed ghosts liked.
Since this one was also white-clothed, he should also like them. This was perhaps the intelligence one could gain from working at the general store.
Sure enough, after Rahman handed some medium-quality candles from his pocket to the white-clothed ghost, the atmosphere improved a lot.
Seeing how sensible Rahman was, the white-clothed ghost satisfactorily accepted the candles, then leaned in mysteriously and said:
“You came at just the right time. Tonight, our graveyard is holding a wedding!”
