Chapter 350: Careful of the Rabbit (24) The Evil Spirit’s Hint

By the time Qi Si rushed back to the dormitory, the bell for the end of the second evening self-study session had already rung.

The previously baring-fangs-and-claws, hideous-looking students had returned to normal, chatting and laughing as they hurried toward the dormitory building.

The Recording Pen still had half a bar of battery left. Qi Si used its concealment effect to pass through the crowd and return to the dormitory building without attracting the attention of any NPCs.

His movements were much faster than those of the students playing and fooling around on the road, so he managed to reach Dormitory 0415 before his roommates and lay down on his bed in the dark.

At the moment he lay down, the Recording Pen, having fulfilled its mission, exhausted its last half bar of power, flickered twice, and went out.

About five minutes later, amidst the thunderous sound of footsteps, the Dormitory Head and the boy from bed No. 2 returned side by side.

When they saw Qi Si lying on the bed, they showed looks of disgust, just like on the first day.

“Lu Ming comes back early day after day, is there no end to it? If you’re really that sick, go home early!”

“I think he’s just faking it, staying at school on purpose, probably to steal our stuff, right?”

The two boys spoke back and forth, their expressions as exaggerated as if they were performing a stage play.

Qi Si rolled over and pretended not to hear, quietly calculating how to deal with these NPCs created by Lu Ming once the three lines of divine names were spread tomorrow.

Before long, Yang Fang walked into the dormitory with his head down, silently sat on bed No. 4, pulled out a notebook from under his pillow, and buried his head in writing something.

Qi Si asked abruptly: “Have you guys heard of the kagome kagome game? The children choose a ‘ghost’ and sing the kagome kagome song together, letting the ghost bear all the calamities and misfortunes…”

He kept his voice extremely light and low, like the whispering ghost words of a secret, making one’s heart turn cold.

The Dormitory Head was a bit spooked by him and pretended to be calm, saying: “Lu Ming, telling these ghost stories to scare us, do you think it makes you look impressive? Childish tricks; it’s because you’re stupid that we hate you!”

The boy from bed No. 2 chimed in: “You have no father or mother, so listen to Teacher Li’s words, read and study more, and do less of this nonsense!”

Qi Si was almost certain that in this timeline of Hope Middle School, the kagome kagome game had not yet spread very widely and was only known to a few people.

In Lu Ming’s design, the large-scale spread of the game would probably have to wait until August 3rd, after that booklet with the kagome kagome song was returned.

Unfortunately, Qi Si had already torn out the original page and replaced it with his own divine name. Whether Lu Ming’s script could continue was entirely unknown.

Yang Fang frowned in thought for a moment and said hesitantly: “I have heard of kagome kagome; it was a part of ancient sacrificial activities that later evolved into a children’s game.”

“I went for a walk by the lake after evening self-study and seemed to see some figures playing a game, hearing them chant phrases like ‘the crane and the turtle’ and ‘kagome kagome’…”

“Stop talking!” the Dormitory Head raised his voice, “Yang Fang, you usually hang out with Lu Ming the most. What’s the benefit of teaming up with him to scare us?”

The boy from bed No. 2 echoed: “Fiddling with that broken notebook all day, he’s probably just making up messy stories… He looks quiet, but who knew he was hiding so much malice!”

The two spoke loudly, but they weren’t very confident.

After hearing Qi Si and Yang Fang’s words and seeing the lights in the corridor flickering due to poor contact, they felt it was more and more eerie.

At the thought of going to the dimly lit public bathhouse later and passing through a large stretch of night on the way, they felt their spines go cold.

“Forget it, forget it, it’s late today, and I’m tired, so I won’t go take a shower.” The Dormitory Head said, taking off his shoes and lying on the bed, covering his head with the quilt and shrinking into the corner.

“If you’re not going, then I’m not going either. I’ll go to sleep early today.” The boy from bed No. 2 had already taken out his foot basin and washbasin, but now he shivered and put the toiletries back under the bed.

He was about to turn off the light when the female supervisor’s shout sounded from afar: “Everyone hurry up! I’ll check the head count in each dormitory after 9:30!”

They didn’t dare to turn off the light for now. The four of them lay straight on their beds, waiting for the female supervisor to arrive under the pale light.

Ten minutes later, the female supervisor, holding a megaphone in one hand and a roll call sheet in the other, pushed open the dormitory door and checked each bed.

She frowned with a look of worry on her face, ticking the roll call sheet as she passed each bed. She was so meticulous that it didn’t seem like she was completing a routine task, but rather as if something big had happened… When she reached bed No. 3, Qi Si spoke up at the right time: “Teacher Qian, why the sudden head count today? I remember you didn’t check much before. Did something happen?”

The female supervisor had a good impression of Qi Si and answered truthfully: “Someone reported that a little girl from Class 10 ran off with someone and didn’t return for the night. She hasn’t been found yet.”

She said indignantly: “These children are really thoughtless.”

Qi Si raised his eyebrows slightly: “Teacher Qian, can I ask who it is? Class 10 is the class next to ours; I might know what’s going on.”

“Her name is ‘Reiko,’ what a strange name.”

The female supervisor walked to the door, turned off the room light, gently closed the door, and walked toward the next dormitory.

The lights-out bell had long since rung, and darkness descended, signaling the arrival of sleep time. Even if no one was asleep at this moment, the students didn’t dare to violate the school rules and use conversation to dispel their fear.

Reiko was missing. Qi Si knew she was probably already dead.

Previously, after refusing to clear the game directly, the progress of the main quest 【Find all of Reiko’s remains】 had rolled back to 【6/7】, meaning there was still one more set of Reiko’s remains to be found.

That might be Reiko’s true state of death, the cause of Reiko’s death in reality, rather than the Rabbit God’s deliberate intimidation of Lu Ming or Lu Ming’s veiled cover-up in the consciousness space.

【The girl died on August 6th, her body buried deep in the woods.】

There was such a clue in 【Lu Ming’s Diary】.

Today was 【August 2nd】. Qi Si guessed that he would probably have to wait until the instance’s time progressed to 【August 6th】 to find Reiko’s remains.

Before the body is found, a person’s disappearance is called “missing”; only when the body is found and the matter is settled does “death” become a certainty.

Qi Si took out the small Rabbit God Idol and gripped it tightly under the cover of the quilt.

The cold touch eroded the warmth of his palm, and white mist permeated the darkness, diluting the pitch-black color into a thin gray.

His soul suddenly rose and then fell. When Qi Si came to his senses, he was standing beneath the fluttering Prayer Ribbons, on top of the worn silk ribbons that had fallen into the mud, facing Lu Ming.

【”Escape from Rabbit God Town” Third Playthrough】

【Quest Objective: Escape from Rabbit God Town】

【Warm Reminder: Careful of the Rabbit】

【Save Points: “Suspicious Questioning”; Reiko’s Rabbit God Mask; Reiko’s Prayer Ribbon; Reiko’s Death; The Imprisoned God】

【You have paused. Do you wish to continue the game?】

Golden words floated before his eyes. Lu Ming looked directly at Qi Si calmly, without speaking.

Qi Si scanned the text and said, “Yes.”

The ignorant gray and the fragmented silk ribbons all dissipated. He smelled the scent of incense and rotting wood, and from further away, the fragrance of cherry blossoms and sandalwood was blown over by the wind, tremulously emerging amidst the various smells.

The Recorder tirelessly played the legend of the Rabbit God. The crisp tinkling of wind chimes and the “pa pa” sound of wooden plaques hitting the window alternated, and the oil lamp flickered, reflecting light and shadow on his eyelids.

Qi Si opened his eyes, sat up from the tatami, looked at the Rabbit God Idol still sitting perfectly in the shrine, and nodded with a very good mood, as if saying hello.

The sky outside was still dark. Going back and forth hadn’t taken much time and hadn’t shown any signs in the world of Rabbit God Town.

This really seemed like a single-player game set up for him; as soon as he left, the world stopped running.

On the side table by the door, a touch of bright red was particularly striking and eye-catching.

Qi Si walked over and saw the 【Divine Chisel】 carving knife placed right in the center of the side table, his expression slightly grim.

What was going on? Why was the Divine Chisel on the side table?

Qi Si clearly remembered that after discovering the Divine Chisel could be taken out of the instance, he had put it into his inventory.

He didn’t remember taking it out again from beginning to end, and he hadn’t even noticed when the item’s icon had disappeared from the inventory slot.

Was it a memory error, or some mechanism of the instance?

Qi Si reached out to touch the Divine Chisel, and out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a touch of blood-red on his right wrist.

A blood-red Prayer Ribbon had been tied there at some point, with a mischievous bow.

At this point, Qi Si was certain that after he fell asleep in Rabbit God Town, someone had definitely come and done something to him while he was unaware.

Since the “Escape from Rabbit God Town” game was paused, why would the plot in this time and space continue to develop?

Who was playing tricks? Lu Ming or the Rabbit God? What was the purpose behind it?

Qi Si pulled the Prayer Ribbon off his wrist. On it, three words were written in gold—

【Eerie Game, rule, transaction】.

This was the Prayer Ribbon he had hung up himself. It was a token of loyalty he had given to the Rabbit God before he knew the full picture of the event, and it was also a test for the Rabbit God.

This one, mixed among countless Prayer Ribbons, was not conspicuous unless the Rabbit God was willing to look through them one by one.

And a god willing to read millions of words word by word was either already insane during their imprisonment or so persistent that they wouldn’t let go of a single ray of hope.

Only then would Qi Si dare to talk to Him with peace of mind.

And ordinary NPCs, under the effect of the Eerie Game’s cognitive distortion, could not see the words written on it.

The Rabbit God must be able to see and understand it to prove that He was an NPC that could be communicated with and had intelligence, rather than a dead object or ghost with only divine power.

In this way, He would have the value of letting Qi Si negotiate with Him on equal terms and carry out further cooperation and utilization.

So… was this Prayer Ribbon wrapped around his wrist by the Rabbit God to convey a request for cooperation?

Qi Si fell into deep thought.

If He wanted to cooperate long ago, why did He act so aggressive before, as if He couldn’t wait to swallow him alive?

Was it because the Rabbit God had only just seen this Prayer Ribbon a few minutes ago?

The Divine Chisel on the side table suddenly flew up and tapped heavily on the wooden table twice, making a muffled “knock-knock” sound.

Qi Si looked over and simultaneously placed his right hand over the Pocket Watch of Fate on his left wrist, ready to activate it at any time.

A block of wood flew out of the wooden box and landed on the table. The Divine Chisel stood upright and carved words on it stroke by stroke.

The wooden block was fixed to the left of the center line, and the Divine Chisel hung obliquely on the right side, as if an invisible person was standing there, holding the wooden block in one hand and the carving knife in the other, carving unhurriedly.

Qi Si held his breath and tentatively reached out to touch it, but his fingertips passed through the air without any sensation.

The Divine Chisel continued to carve on its own, and the first line of text had already revealed its full appearance:

【1. The Rabbit God can be communicated with, but do not overestimate His wisdom. Shichiro was still a child when he died and doesn’t understand subtext; (I brought the Prayer Ribbon back. If you have any ideas for a transaction, tell the Rabbit God directly.)】

Was this a new rule, or… a hint?

Qi Si’s gaze fell on the text in parentheses, slightly freezing.

Did the other party see through his thoughts?

He had always been good at hiding his own thoughts and seeing through others’, but he didn’t expect to be seen through one day… It was truly a novel experience.

【2. When carving the Rabbit God Idol, do not carve it according to the Rabbit God Idol in the shrine, otherwise it will only make you the Rabbit God’s new vessel; just carve according to the Rabbit God Idol in your hand, and you can appropriately add some details.】

The Divine Chisel drew a large period to indicate completion and lay motionlessly on the side table.

Qi Si thought of Ending 1 of the “Escape from Rabbit God Town” game, “Seed of the Evil Spirit Who Committed Murder.”

The narration said that the Shichiro he played was in league with an evil spirit. At that time, he guessed that it wasn’t an exaggeration and that he might really have a connection with some “evil spirit.”

He didn’t expect it to happen right here.

Unable to see the form, yet able to manipulate the Prayer Ribbon, Divine Chisel, and other items, and giving hints of disrespecting the god at critical moments… it indeed matched the image of an evil spirit in legends.

Qi Si pondered for a moment, walked to the side table, and asked with a half-smile, “Qi? Are you worried about me and stopped by to take a look?”

There was no response. The Divine Chisel lay on the table as still as a mountain, as if it were a dead object that had lost its manipulator.

Had they already left, or was it like in the “Wraith” instance, where they couldn’t hear his voice?

Qi Si picked up the Divine Chisel and carved on the wooden block: 【Qi?】

He put down the Divine Chisel. This time, the carving knife wrapped in red silk floated up and drew a large cross on the wooden block.

Qi Si picked up the Divine Chisel again and carved: 【Li?】

The Divine Chisel’s response was still a large cross. He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but this cross was even larger than the previous one, and the edges were even shaking, as if it were suppressing a laugh.

The front of the narrow wooden block was covered with dialogue. Because of the special nature of the “pen and paper,” the strokes of the handwriting were sharp, the shapes were loose, and they were all equally ugly. At first glance, it was impossible to distinguish them.

Qi Si narrowed his eyes and carved again: 【Me?】

This time, there wasn’t even a response. That passing “evil spirit” either really left or couldn’t be bothered to respond to Qi Si’s boring question.

Qi Si used the Divine Chisel to carve patterns on the surface of the wooden block until not a single complete word could be seen, then threw it under the bed.

In any case, the text on the wooden block indeed suggested a new direction—to have a good talk with the Rabbit God.

Anyway, the man and the god would be staring at each other in the room for the next five days, so there was plenty of time to bargain.

Qi Si held the Recorder, which was still playing in a loop, walked step by step toward the shrine, and sat cross-legged on the futon in front of the Rabbit God Idol.

He unfolded the Prayer Ribbon with the three words 【Eerie Game, rule, transaction】 written on it and held it up with both hands to the incense table in a sincere and defenseless posture.

“Lord Rabbit God, whether you believe it or not, I am not here to harm you, but to save you.”

“Shichiro was still a child when he died,” huh? Qi Si liked fooling children the most.