ICSST Ch8: Burning Incense

The silent room was instantly filled with a strange melody.

Soft, gentle, and faint like flowing water, interspersed with some incomprehensible language, as if chanting prayers, making the listener’s mind clear.

The tape recorder was placed in the children’s room, and the audience was undoubtedly a child.

“There’s no such thing as early education like this.” Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow.

It felt like some kind of Great Compassion Mantra, suppressing one’s demonic nature.

As for why he felt this way, it was because Zhou Qi’an now had this suppressed, uncomfortable feeling.

What normal parent would let their child listen to this kind of music?

Zzzzz—

The tape suddenly started to spin faster, at a speed comparable to that of a meat grinder. Red blood gushed out uncontrollably, and the accelerated music turned the sound of spring water into a terrifying flood. The faster the music played, the faster the blood flowed.

The gaps in the wooden floor were all soaked with blood, Zhou Qi’an’s shoes were submerged, and the ground generated a huge suction, as if trying to root him there.

Zhou Qi’an didn’t move. He was now acting completely according to a regular schedule; the fierce ghost wouldn’t kill immediately, but if he was still stuck here when the music time was over, it wouldn’t be good.

The blood had already submerged half his shoe, almost reaching his ankle.

Zhou Qi’an: “Kid, are you there?”

Are you there?

Are you there?

These three short words echoed in the room.

It seemed no one liked this way of asking. The blood rose faster.

“How about you tell me who your mom is? Where is she? Then I’ll tell you who my mom is and where she is.”

When away from home, identity is important.

The ferocious Mother Zhou had evidently left a deep impression on this mother and child.

The tape’s speed finally slowed down a bit; the little ghost didn’t appear, but a woman’s eerie voice came from the tape recorder, very unpleasant, as if her vocal cords were torn.

“Who— is— she… who…”

Just hearing the hoarse voice made people uncomfortable.

Zhou Qi’an: “Ladies first, you go ahead.”

To confirm his terrifying suspicion from last night, he tentatively mentioned Xun the Wealthy’s name again.

The tape, which had barely slowed down, started spinning faster. Not only the floor, but also the walls and surroundings were seeping blood. The intense hatred and rapidly changing emotions made Zhou Qi’an realize the worst possible situation had happened.

This woman had a deep relationship with Xun the Wealthy.

There was no mention of Xun the Wealthy having a daughter, and Xun Er didn’t wear any wedding ring—

“You are Xun the Wealthy’s wife, and you had a child together.”

Such heavy resentment, the so-called separation of wife and child, likely meant that the wife and child’s deaths were closely related to Xun the Wealthy.

The woman’s hoarse voice came from all directions, filled with malice and sarcasm: “Didn’t you claim to be Xun the Wealthy’s child?”

Zhou Qi’an responded fluently: “I’m his illegitimate son from an affair, but don’t worry, no blood relation; he was cuckolded.”

A ghastly pale face suddenly appeared in front of him!

Zhou Qi’an instinctively wanted to step back, but was held in place by the blood.

The female ghost hung upside down from the ceiling, her eyes almost popping out and staring at Zhou Qi’an:

“…Just like that bastard, not a word out of his mouth is trustworthy…”

The face was almost touching his. Zhou Qi’an felt the pores on his face soaking up the ghostly aura. Clearly, the female ghost wasn’t planning to let him go, just waiting for the time to pass before making a move.

Zhou Qi’an strained to turn his eyes to look at the clock on the wall.

“At the end of my life, let’s chat.” Zhou Qi’an said, “I saw Xun the Wealthy was quite concerned about his family; even though he’s a bit senile, he still misses his wife and child.”

This successfully enraged the female ghost.

“He’s just a hypocrite!”

The ghost’s hatred was so intense that it almost set the circuit on fire.

Zhou Qi’an feigned confusion, the cold aura from the blood seeping in continuously.

Damn ghost, are you trying to freeze me to death?

The female ghost couldn’t tolerate the idea of Xun the Wealthy being concerned about his family; her densely packed teeth almost shattered:

“When there were no children, he prayed daily, willing to exchange anything for a child. When the child was born, his business plummeted, and he prayed to exchange anything for wealth. In the end… he wanted to raise his own son as a little ghost… to gather wealth…”

“Getting old, he wanted to return to his younger days…”

The ghost’s murderous intent made the blood flood the room, converging on Zhou Qi’an, the object of her wrath: “Isn’t it ridiculous? Isn’t it ridiculous?!”

“That business deal was quite a good one.”

Zhou Qi’an was sprayed with blood; he wiped his face and said, “Invest in youth, collect returns in old age, charge him a heavy interest.”

He was truly a ruthless businessman, just like his dead boss.

“…” The ghost was completely enraged: “Die a horrible death, die a horrible death!”

Zhou Qi’an’s expression changed; he said coldly: “Then kill him.”

Why bother killing innocent people instead of the main culprit? Does that make sense?

“You don’t understand? His ancestors were virtuous for ten generations, not only blessed but also leaving an heirloom to protect the house. Although this bastard has squandered most of it, killing him in the old house is as hard as ascending to heaven.”

“But it doesn’t matter.” The woman’s voice became soft, almost gentle, “I’ve accumulated quite a bit of energy, and once I devour you all, it should be enough.”

So devouring people makes the ghost stronger.

Zhou Qi’an glanced at the clock: nine twenty-five.

The silent standoff continued for three more minutes as death approached step by step.

He cleared his throat: “Dad—”

He called twice, but Xun the Wealthy had no intention of appearing.

The female ghost looked at him with increasing amusement.

Zhou Qi’an didn’t actually expect Xun the Wealthy to show up, so he switched to calling, “Mom—”

His voice was like a great bell, and he continued to shout, “Look what I’ve found!”

The female ghost’s first reaction was the terrifying woman from last night.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the blood that had blocked the locked door was easily pushed open, but it wasn’t the ferocious woman from last night who came in; it was Han Li.

Zhou Qi’an: “Save me.”

Han Li: “You’re pretty confident.”

When Zhou Qi’an had gone upstairs earlier, he had told her to come after about twenty minutes, listening for any commotion.

Zhou Qi’an just smiled and said nothing.

The identities of the wife and son were the most straightforward information in this instance. There was only one female player in the entire instance, which was naturally advantageous for Han Li. He didn’t believe the game would favor a woman alone; Han Li must have intervened in some way.

He now held the son’s identity; integrating their information was the quickest way to clear the game.

“It seems you’ve grasped some useful things.”

In the next second, Han Li, who had been smiling and talking to Zhou Qi’an, suddenly made a move against the female ghost.

A vortex appeared around Zhou Qi’an, isolating him from the surrounding blood. The grooves formed by the blood around the female ghost started to become unstable, and some unknown electrical current made her body tremble violently.

“Run.” Han Li signaled Zhou Qi’an: “It’s daytime now; her energy is weak, but the electrical current won’t last long.”

As Zhou Qi’an sprinted outside, he glanced at Han Li: “Your ability is to generate electricity?”

Han Li casually acknowledged it, her evolutionary path being that of an electric eel, a rather powerful evolution system.

The blood caught up before the woman did.

Zhou Qi’an noticed that the pool of blood contained not just pure blood but also some internal organs, as if someone had been shredded before death.

These mixed organs and blood sealed off the stairs.

“Upstairs.” Han Li gritted her teeth.

The two of them dashed upstairs frantically.

At the same time, a mechanical voice was broadcasting in Zhou Qi’an’s mind:

[You just love music; you can’t stop at all.]

[Congratulations on finishing listening to the female ghost’s blood and tears story; you’ve obtained White Silk *1.]

[White Silk: for hanging yourself, pairs well with the ceiling.]

Zhou Qi’an had no time to care, running as fast as he could.

The third floor had only three rooms, one occupied by Xun the Wealthy; the other two were storage rooms. Now, every room’s door was blocked by the following blood. Only the altar at the end of the hall stood firm in the dim, bloody light, undisturbed by the female ghost’s power.

White candles were placed at both ends of the altar. In the center was a Buddha statue, with a face rounder than that of a typical Bodhisattva.

The more Zhou Qi’an looked at the statue, the more unnatural it seemed.

He couldn’t help but stop running.

Han Li also seemed to be afraid of it: “Last night when I was guarding the candles, Xun the Wealthy told me that incense offerings must follow three principles: the heart has a wish, the self has a sacrifice, and the sacrifice must be greater than the wish.”

The first two were easy to understand: when kneeling, you must make a wish and state what you are willing to sacrifice for it.

As for the last measure, it was uncertain. Take Xun the Wealthy as an example: when he was young, he was willing to exchange his wealth for a child of his own, but later regretted it and wanted to exchange the child for wealth.

How to measure a child against wealth varies from person to person and stage of life.

Han Li said, “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Later, I’ll hold off the female ghost, and you pray for a way to deal with her.”

Given Zhou Qi’an’s strength, it would be impossible for him to block the female ghost.

There were three sticks of incense on the altar.

It was worth noting that the incense burner was unusually large, even surpassing the size of ancient royal cauldrons, filled with ash.

Clearly, this was not accumulated in a short time.

“These numbers are really ominous,” Zhou Qi’an muttered, “The King of Hell wants you dead at three in the morning.”

Han Li’s mouth twitched. Was he really thinking about that at a time like this?

The female ghost had already arrived, but the little ghost was nowhere to be seen.

Han Li got into a battle stance, asking in a low voice, “What do you know about the female ghost? Maybe we can find her weakness.”

While Han Li tangled with the female ghost, Zhou Qi’an lit the incense, repeating the female ghost’s words verbatim.

Then he said, “You tampered with the clock in my room, didn’t you?”

His confident tone almost made Han Li lose her balance and fall into the hands of the enraged female ghost.

“My room has a ghost closely related to the NPCs. It’s unlikely Xun the Wealthy and Xun Er came alone. The college student with a saintly heart is out of the question; Wang Mu is brainless; and out of the three veteran players, you and your brother are the most likely suspects compared to Chen Jian.”

Is this how calculations work? Han Li was speechless: “If I wanted to kill you, why would I save you just now?”

“You saved me to get information from me. Killing me means you find me increasingly uncontrollable and potentially the final winner.”

“Of course, you might have come to my room initially just to find clues but then changed your mind.”

The peripheral relatives’ rooms were unlikely to have any useful information.

Han Li’s smile faded a bit.

Zhou Qi’an’s moves had indeed surprised her, being ruthless, thinking outside the box, and still retreating unscathed afterward.

This was beyond her initial assessment of him having some cleverness.

Moreover, the heirs were competitors by nature.

If she could monopolize the inheritance in this instance, the benefits would be huge. It was already painful enough to share with her brother, and she couldn’t tolerate another piece of the pie being taken.

But so what if he knew?

She had seen the schedule in his room. The incense offering was obviously a must-do.

Their conversation about the game sounded like gibberish to the female ghost, further inciting her rage.

“Hurry up,” Han Li said sideways, “When I can’t hold on anymore, I’ll run first.”

The female ghost was a definite trouble. Usually, malevolent spirits grew stronger as the instance progressed, so it was best to resolve it quickly. She needed to find a way to deal with the female ghost.

For Zhou Qi’an, incense had to be offered.

He knelt on the cushion.

The time for incense offering and listening to music was seamlessly connected, impossible to do simultaneously, and normal incense offerings wouldn’t last more than an hour.

Zhou Qi’an asked unhurriedly, “When you guarded the candles last night, were there any special requirements?”

Han Li used electricity to force the female ghost back a step, “Kneel the whole time.”

Three sticks of incense. Zhou Qi’an pondered how many to light and finally decided to go all in, and he wouldn’t get up until the incense burned out.

Han Li glanced at him and sarcastically said, “Didn’t you say the King of Hell wants you dead at three in the morning, and you’re sure about lighting three sticks?”

Without a flame, Zhou Qi’an inserted the incense into the burner, and the next moment, the incense began to burn on its own.

As the incense ignited, the Buddha’s face became extremely eerie, devoid of any compassion.

Han Li was unreliable, and the female ghost was even more so. He couldn’t win in a fight.

It was time to call for help.

Zhou Qi’an closed his eyes and sincerely prayed.

Oh mighty deity above,

Please let me meet my biological mother immediately.

The devotee is willing to forsake romantic ties for life.