Chapter 325: You’re All Guessing About the Present, But I’m Already Predicting the Outcome!
“Wedding?”
The moment Rahman heard that word, he got a bad feeling—even a chill down his spine.
What do you mean I came at just the right time? I feel like I came at the wrong time!
In a normal world, a wedding would be a joyful occasion. Crashing it for a free meal would even count as sharing in the happiness.
But this is the Horror Tale World. If there’s a celebration like this, then danger is bound to follow.
After Rahman continued asking, the White-Clothed Ghost, having received its payment, began chattering on and on about the situation inside.
It said that tonight, aside from fine 【food】, many rather formidable people would be coming. Rahman would get to see some powerful beings that don’t normally show themselves.
Hearing this, Rahman’s heart went cold. I’m just here to deliver something, damn it—I don’t want to meet these guys.
In the eyes of these eerie beings, “formidable people” could only mean even more powerful horrors.
There might even be quasi-BOSS-level horrors showing up, which meant he’d have to be even more careful.
Especially when the White-Clothed Ghost mentioned 【food】—Rahman remembered a rule.
【Rule 17: Never eat human flesh. Once you do, there’s no turning back.】
Along the way, Rahman could see what most things were, which is why he dared to eat them.
But here, he might not even know what the ingredients are. How could he dare to eat?
The general store was at least his own turf. He’d been there long enough to be familiar with it. But the place he was heading to next—that was the horrors’ territory.
If he didn’t have no idea what to do next, Rahman would never set foot in a hellhole like this.
“No wonder they gave me eight rules right off the bat. They really don’t want me getting out of here in one piece.”
Rahman kept adjusting his emotions, trying not to get too nervous.
But in this unfamiliar environment, all alone, Rahman really didn’t have much confidence.
Actually, when he first entered the Horror Tale World, his thinking was similar to Miller’s and Gregori’s—he wanted to learn the Dragon Nation Celestial Master’s playstyle. If he could find a partner, clearing the horror tale would be much easier.
But after a day in the Horror Tale World, he couldn’t find a partner at all.
Because the prerequisite for a partner is that this person has to have goals similar to your own. Otherwise, cooperation is impossible.
So far, he really couldn’t find such an NPC.
Among the horror tales Rahman had cleared, his best performances were always when he had companions.
Even in the Wax Museum level, wasn’t there another security guard?
Right now, all Rahman knew was that he was a general store clerk. He didn’t even know what his objective was. Everything was unknown to him, so he had no confidence and no way to find a partner.
Not every Chosen One could be like Zhang Yangqing, who had already guessed what he needed to do.
The other Chosen Ones, like Rahman, couldn’t even judge the hints given by the general store rules. They could only start speculating after gathering intelligence.
The deeper they went, the stranger the Chosen Ones found it. And it wasn’t just the other Chosen Ones—even Zhang Yangqing was somewhat surprised.
As a Chosen One fighting on home turf, and an extraordinary being with the identity of a Celestial Master, Zhang Yangqing had special insight into many of the rules here. He didn’t even need to question the White-Clothed Ghost—just by observing the white ‘囍’ characters pasted around, he could guess what was about to happen.
Well well, a ghost wedding at night. Exciting!
He even had some guesses about the destination that was about to appear.
But the scene before him caught him off guard.
When Zhang Yangqing arrived, he’d predicted that Empty Void Young Master’s place would be a chaotic graveyard—pitch black, with messy grave mounds everywhere, definitely complex and eerie.
But when he got here, his assumptions were shattered.
Once they left the forest, moonlight spilled down, revealing vast mountain ranges. A massive structure was hidden within them.
Its entrance was formed by a tall, majestic stone gate, carved with exquisite dragon and phoenix patterns so lifelike they seemed real.
It symbolized royal nobility and mystery, stunning anyone who laid eyes on it.
At this stage, the other Chosen Ones’ views were completely different from Zhang Yangqing’s.
Among the Chosen Ones, the one most familiar with tombs was naturally Rahman, the archaeology expert.
Though he’d never been in a tomb like this, he still had some understanding of them.
To put it plainly, he’d seen pictures and materials of some Dragon Nation tombs.
If the excavated portion of this tomb was already so grand and magnificent, then the underground palace must be enormous.
The tomb surely contained many dead bodies, which meant there would be an abundance of horrors.
Many of the rules were telling the Chosen Ones how to avoid getting killed inside.
Everything inside was unknown, so Rahman could only extract keywords.
Those were 【spirit tablet】【sedan chair】【living person】.
As long as he found these and obtained the corresponding clues, he could survive the tomb.
Rahman began to think. Last night, he’d encountered many different types of customers. They looked terrifying, but they all shared one thing in common—their bodies were ice-cold.
He hadn’t touched the White-Clothed Ghost before him, but it probably felt the same.
The so-called ‘spirit tablet’ represents the identity of the dead, used for offerings.
“So Rule 1—does it mean I need to find Empty Void Young Master’s spirit tablet?”
After all, in this place, the only one Rahman was familiar with was Empty Void Young Master.
Besides, not just anyone could have a spirit tablet. At least in this place, they wouldn’t enshrine a普通 person’s spirit tablet.
Next was the sedan chair. Yesterday, he’d seen Empty Void Young Master arrive by sedan chair to buy things.
So the sedan chair was a means of transportation for powerful beings. That was all Rahman could think of for now.
The most critical thing was the living person. Since he knew the horrors here weren’t living people, and he wasn’t sure if he himself was one, how could he identify a living person? He could continue the approach from the last horror tale.
Since dead bodies are cold and their skin is pale, then whoever has a warm body and normal skin is a living person.
Only by finding this living person could he leave the tomb alive.
But Rule 7 said to stay here as long as possible, since the air here is good for your body.
Rahman didn’t understand this point.
He could only follow the rules, then find a map of this area in the tomb, find news of the Ghost Market, and through Empty Void Young Master, make contact with that Ghost Cultivator who has ties to a Demon Cultivator.
This was what Rahman needed to do tonight.
You could say the night was long, or you could say time was pressing.
Whether his guesses were correct was another matter—based on the available intelligence, this was all he could predict.
The other Chosen Ones’ thoughts differed slightly from his, but the specifics were about the same.
But Zhang Yangqing’s thinking was different. While the other Chosen Ones were considering how to survive this level, Zhang Yangqing was already guessing how the final settlement would play out.
Actually, this level wasn’t as difficult as they imagined—though it was only relatively simple for Zhang Yangqing.
There were dragon and phoenix patterns at the entrance, and the tomb was this massive. The other Chosen Ones might not know, but Zhang Yangqing was certain—this was an imperial tomb.
Normally, these horrors along the way were just ordinary lesser ghosts.
You have to understand, the ones buried with an imperial tomb were never these ‘trash’ types.
Zhang Yangqing deduced that Rule 1—”Please do not offer incense to unfamiliar spirit tablets, as it is very impolite”—was telling the Chosen Ones that this tomb was originally an imperial tomb, but it had been occupied by outsiders.
The Chosen Ones needed to find the 【spirit tablet】 of the tomb’s true owner, then offer incense to it, and they would receive benefits.
As for what benefits, and how to use them—perhaps the other Chosen Ones would only find out later in the mid-stage of the horror tale, after encountering that ‘Old Blind Man.’
Everything was connected, but the other Chosen Ones didn’t have the intelligence yet and couldn’t deduce it.
Now, Zhang Yangqing had already determined that this horror tale world was definitively cultivating the Chosen Ones as zombies.
The moment they lost their hearts, they could no longer be considered living people—but they weren’t completely dead either.
Their current bodies were probably being sustained by someone using the heart as a medium and some kind of spell.
According to Daoist terminology, this should be the ‘Taiyin Body Refinement Method.’
Every Daoist had a different understanding of this spell.
The so-called three hun nourish the bones, seven po guard the flesh, the fetal spirit records the qi—Taiyin Body Refinement.
Flesh rots but bones remain, fluids and blood stay within.
According to Zhang Yangqing’s understanding of the Taiyin Body Refinement Method, this cultivation method involves letting your body continuously rot, then growing new skin and flesh.
Through this process of constantly refining skin, flesh, and bones, the body would continuously grow stronger.
If this method were cultivated to perfection, the physical body could reach a state of neither dying nor perishing.
Those zombies with mangled bodies they’d seen—those were just cases of incomplete cultivation.
Those who truly succeeded in cultivation looked no different from normal people on the outside, except for being pale.
This was also why Rahman recovered so quickly after his hand was cut.
Normal cultivation would take over ten years, even decades.
So this horror tale lets the Chosen Ones stay in the underground imperial tomb for a while—there’s plenty of corpse qi inside.
Corpse qi is also a supplement that accelerates the transformation into a zombie.
Plus the benefits from Rule 1—in other words, this level is actually a bonus level, letting the Chosen Ones continuously gain benefits to strengthen their physical bodies.
That Old Blind Man must be the one who teaches the Chosen Ones how to become stronger.
Once you can guess this much, the other rules become easier to understand.
【Rule 3: Do not casually agree to anyone’s requests unless you can fulfill them.】
Presumably, this request refers to the imperial tomb owner’s request.
Thinking about it this way, this level had no secrets left before Zhang Yangqing.
In the past, Zhang Yangqing only understood after entering the level. This time, he’d already guessed most of it at the entrance.
But the more this was the case, the more he didn’t dare be negligent.
Because imperial tombs have many traps, and he wasn’t at full strength right now. If he didn’t proceed properly and triggered a collapse or something, he’d basically be playing himself to death while being unkillable.
Zhang Yangqing had always been arrogant, and his tone made it seem like he didn’t take anything in the world seriously. But those who truly understood knew—that was just talk.
A true strong person will make you think he’s careless and underestimates his enemies, but he will never actually be careless or underestimate them.
In other words, if anyone else had Zhang Yangqing’s strength, they’d most likely get stuck in the horror tale world.
Even though Zhang Yangqing could already determine the final objective, he was still carefully handling every detail.
A powerful enemy isn’t scary. What’s scary is a powerful enemy who’s also more careful than you.
Zhang Yangqing was clearly that kind of person.
Inside the Horror Tale World, as the stone gate rumbled, Zhang Yangqing followed the White-Clothed Ghost into the tomb.
The moment the tomb door opened, a thick, corrosive stench hit them in the face. The tomb was like a giant abyssal mouth, devouring even light.
Plus, unsettling sounds echoed from within the tomb from time to time. Without a ‘guide’ leading the way, the Chosen Ones really wouldn’t dare go down there at night.
The first stretch was a downward slope of steps. After the steps came a long corridor, with countless giant stone statues lining both sides. These statues were incredibly lifelike, as if they were guardians of the imperial tomb.
After passing through the corridor, they arrived at the core structure of the imperial tomb—the main burial chamber.
This chamber was dozens of meters tall, with a spacious area enough to hold hundreds of people.
Dozens of horrors in different attire were hanging various wedding decorations here.
It felt both festive and oppressive.
Every place exuded an eerie feeling.
The other Chosen Ones were afraid because they worried something would go wrong at this wedding, or that powerful beings from other places would show up.
But Zhang Yangqing thought they were overthinking it. These were all so-called ‘distractions’—things the Chosen Ones didn’t need to obsess over at all.
He was just a general store clerk, a delivery person.
To put it bluntly, on someone’s big day, he’d sneakily grab some benefits and leave.
Wouldn’t that clear the level?
If you can’t face your own identity properly and keep fantasizing about what might go wrong at the wedding, then you’re just torturing yourself for nothing.
Those words from the White-Clothed Ghost were just distracting the Chosen Ones’ judgment. Empty Void Young Master would definitely invite the Chosen Ones to the wedding too.
But no rule said the Chosen Ones couldn’t refuse, and no rule said they had to attend.
Since you know there’s trouble, just avoid it directly.
After entering the main burial chamber, Zhang Yangqing’s guesses were further confirmed. There were all kinds of ghosts and monsters here—nothing like what an imperial tomb should have.
The horrors guarding an imperial tomb should be wearing bright armor, doing things in an orderly manner—not a messy rabble like this.
But Zhang Yangqing didn’t say anything for now. It wasn’t really his concern.
Led by the White-Clothed Ghost, Zhang Yangqing passed through some corridors and arrived at an auxiliary burial chamber.
This was where Empty Void Young Master resided.
From his living quarters, you could tell his status wasn’t low.
Seeing Zhang Yangqing approach, Empty Void Young Master temporarily set aside his affairs and warmly came up to greet him.
“Good thing you delivered it. We’re really short on gold-edged candles here.”
With that, he used it as an excuse to naturally invite Zhang Yangqing to tonight’s wedding.
But Zhang Yangqing, already familiar with the pattern, politely declined on the spot.
And said: “I’m quite curious about this place. Could I look around?”
This was Zhang Yangqing’s cleverness. Since you’re thanking me for delivering the goods, it’s not unreasonable for me to take a look around, right?
If the other Chosen Ones muddle-headedly agreed to attend the wedding, then a horror would take them to the designated guest area.
To find the three things mentioned in the rules, they’d have to sneak away from that area, making it much harder.
At that point, even if Zhang Yangqing was discovered in some places, he could say he had Empty Void Young Master’s permission and simply didn’t know those areas were off-limits.
If the other Chosen Ones were discovered, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction among the horrors here.
And at this stage, if the Chosen Ones wanted to get Ghost Market intelligence, a map of the surroundings, or contact the person who knows the Demon Cultivator, Empty Void Young Master would use being busy as an excuse to make them wait.
Only after the wedding affairs were settled would he help the Chosen Ones with these matters.
So obviously, if they didn’t want to be led by the nose, the Chosen Ones needed to search on their own.
After walking around the tomb for a while, you could see how massive this tomb was. Besides the main burial chamber, there were many auxiliary chambers and corridors that led to who-knows-where.
Maybe even one or two hours wouldn’t be enough to cover all the accessible areas, let alone the mysterious zones.
The other Chosen Ones started getting headaches over how to find clues in this complex, enormous place. Did they really have to wait until Empty Void Young Master was free?
Here, Rahman’s approach was more effective. He first snuck away from the guest area.
Didn’t the rules say ‘courtesy costs nothing’? As long as he found a horror familiar with this place and gave it a gift, he could get the intelligence he wanted.
He’d gotten intelligence by giving gifts from the start, so this time it was familiar territory.
After half an hour of effort and exploration, Rahman finally bought a map from a White-Clothed horror with money.
Twenty minutes later, through a transaction, Rahman learned about the Black Market from a Red-Clothed horror.
If the other Chosen Ones knew about this pace, they’d be dying of envy.
After all, they’d spent nearly an hour just figuring out what traps were in these places and how to navigate them.
Rahman had already grasped two important pieces of information, putting him far ahead of them.
After all, he was an archaeology expert—his advantage here was huge.
The night was long. Whoever found things faster would avoid complications.
Everyone thought Rahman was already fast enough, but when they saw the Dragon Nation’s big screen, they were absolutely stunned.
How could Celestial Master Zhang find everything without asking anything?
At this point, forget about Ghost Market intelligence or a map of this area—
Celestial Master Zhang had already, while everyone else was still confused, passed through complex corridors and arrived at a place with bird and beast murals.
This place looked like a dead end.
But Zhang Yangqing was fiddling with the eyes and claws of these birds and beasts, which made the audience even more confused.
It wasn’t that they didn’t understand why Zhang Yangqing was doing this—they didn’t even know what he was doing.
Without any intelligence, Zhang Yangqing’s actions were so bizarre that the audience was completely baffled.
But after Zhang Yangqing finished adjusting them, the mechanism here was unlocked, revealing a mysterious passage.
Walking into this secret passage, a mysterious room appeared before everyone, and inside it was prominently placed the tomb owner’s spirit tablet.
These mechanisms and secret passages that other Chosen Ones needed to spend money and give gifts to learn about—Zhang Yangqing opened them like it was second nature.
Rule 1 was essentially solved, but the audience had no idea why. How did he know this intelligence?
We’ve been watching Celestial Master Zhang’s big screen the whole time. Fine, maybe we just can’t judge what Celestial Master Zhang knows—but how did he find and open the mechanism?
If it were other questions, Hu Liuqi wouldn’t be able to answer. But this was Hu Liuqi’s area of expertise, so he immediately explained to everyone:
“Tombs are basically laid out according to feng shui patterns and the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. Before building a tomb, they’d invite Daoists to inspect it. Any Daoist with decent cultivation would find descending into tombs child’s play—especially someone who’s a Celestial Master!”
After hearing Hu Liuqi’s explanation, the audience finally understood!
Other Chosen Ones were here to explore. Rahman had a big advantage here. But Zhang Yangqing was, in the truest sense, coming home!
