Chapter 19 Hanging the Corpse

Xu Huo looked ahead; an old Chinese-style villa stood at the end of the path, with no streetlights outside. The only source of light came from the white lantern hung in the mouth of the stone lion at the entrance, its feeble glow barely illuminating the area right in front of the gate just enough to clearly make out the few people standing there.

There was a tall foreign young man with blond hair and blue eyes standing by the door, talking to a young man beside him who was holding a denim jacket, while a muscular man squatted to his left, smoking.

A few steps away, next to the stone lion, stood a middle-aged man in a crisp suit, dressed impeccably, the very image of a successful businessman. On either side of him were two female players, one with long hair and one with short; both women stood close to him but simultaneously cast their gazes disdainfully at a greasy middle-aged man opposite, who had lost half his hair.

Behind the middle-aged bald man were a man and a woman. The man was decked out in designer wear, his demeanor arrogant; the woman wore smoky makeup, her attitude affectionate.

There was also a young man who looked like a college student standing on his own to the side.

Ten people in total.

These ten people were growing impatient. Seeing the late arrivals Yuan Yao and Xu Huo, their expressions were quite unfriendly, and the muscular man suddenly stood up, "Couldn't you wait to come until dawn? If you're so cowardly, go home and suck on milk, why even play this instance!"

Xu Huo was jostled by Yuan Yao, who had stepped back, shaking his cigarette. He smiled and offered the cigarette, "Brother, chill out. The car only got here at this time; there was nothing I could do."

The muscular man snorted coldly and pushed his hand away.

The denim-clad man said in an indifferent tone, "We're all in the same boat now, why spoil the mood?"

"Whether we're in the same boat is yet to be seen." The middle-aged bald man said sarcastically to the two female players, "You never know until you take off your clothes."

The long-haired female player had thick black hair that reached her waist and seemed innocent and charming. She was very put off by the middle-aged man's malice, but merely frowned without saying a word.

The short-haired female player appeared lively and capable, and more outspoken. She unsparingly retorted, "Seeing a woman and you think of stripping; why don't you ask your mother to strip for you? Oh, being as ugly and bald as you are, if I were your mom, I'd wish I'd never had you!"

The middle-aged bald man's face turned red then purple with anger as he rushed over, ready to start a fight, but the man in the suit intervened, blocking his slap, "A big man squabbling with a woman, what for!"

The foreigner came over too, restraining him with his halting Mandarin, "Wan, be a gentleman!"

The middle-aged bald man, referred to as "Wan" by the foreigner, despite being physically superior, let himself be held back by the two men. Seeing the others watching and laughing at his expense, he turned around and yelled at Xu Huo and Yuan Yao, "What are you looking at!"

Xu Huo smiled and kept quiet, noting that these people seemed to know each other already, though not pleasantly.

"What are you all quarreling about for no reason?" The rich second-generation wrapped in the smoky makeup spoke up discontentedly, "The fog is getting thicker out here. How much longer do we have to stand in this wind?"

The rich second-generation was one of the earlier arrivals, thinking early arrival would give him a head start, but who knew that without everyone there, they couldn't even enter the villa.

The suited man glanced at the time, "The place covered by the fog shouldn't be part of the instance. Everyone knows the game content; the Beheading Demon roams inside the villa, and if we stay out here, we might run into danger."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's hurry in!" The muscular man rushed ahead to knock on the door, "Is there anyone alive in there, open the door!"

The wooden door was banged until it resounded loudly, but there was no response.

"Perhaps the gate will only open at midnight." Xu Huo suggested from behind.

The muscular man's face contorted, "I don't buy this crap!"

After speaking, he attempted to kick the door, but before his foot could land, the wooden gate creaked open on its own. Unprepared for the release of resistance, he tumbled in, crashing down with a muffled thud.

The people outside laughed at the scene in clusters. The rich second-generation followed in gleefully, "That's what you get for not watching the time; it's exactly midnight now."

The remaining eleven entered the villa.

Inside the villa was not much better than outside, what faced them was a densely planted garden, with only a barely passable pebbled path running through it, other places were packed tight, difficult to navigate with hands and feet.

However, following the path, they could see a few street lamps and a sign indicating registration ahead.

"Why are the trees here so lush?" complained the one with smoky makeup, "And no one trims them."

"It's not surprising, this place might have been uninhabited for a while now," said the rich second generation.

"There should be people living here," said the man in the suit: "The pebble path is clean, with no fallen leaves or dust. Someone must clean it regularly. It doesn't seem like there are people living around here, and it's inconvenient to go up and down the mountain, so living here would be more reasonable."

"Fuck! Then that's an NPC! The bastard won't come out to open the door!" The muscular man rolled up his sleeves and began cursing, "Where are the people, where did they die off to!"

"Gulp!" The long-haired female player at the back swallowed her saliva and pointed to a spot in the bushes with a cry in her voice, "Do you see that, is that a person..."

Everyone turned their heads, only to see a particularly tall tree extend out from the dark forest, with two dark shapes hanging from its branches, beneath which a heavy object was swinging!

Was he murdered?!

"Quick, let's go check it out!" The group searched in the woods for a while before noticing a narrow path against the wall near the entrance, leading directly to the tall tree.

But by the time they got there, it was too late. The body was hanging from the tree in silence, tongue stretched out long, saliva dripping.

"Ugh!" The long-haired female player's knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground.

The other players' faces didn't look good either. This person was likely from the villa and might have known some inside information about it. But coincidentally, as soon as they arrived, he had died, as if someone was waiting for this moment to kill him and let them find the body.

Although they didn't know if the killer was the Beheading Demon mentioned in the copy, the presence of a murderer lurking around was chilling to the bone!

"I think he might have committed suicide," said Xu Huo after going around the vicinity.

Actually, the situation nearby was quite clear. Directly under the tree where the man was hanged was a small wooden cabin, just a few square meters large, with only a bed and some lumberjack tools.

Behind the cabin were several graves, among which one was fresh; the paper money on the ground had not yet decayed.

He patted the pile of wood heaped high at the feet of the corpse, "This height is just right for someone to climb up and hang themselves."

"Maybe someone hung him up while he was still alive," said the middle-aged bald man, "He's not the only one here after all."

"But according to the copy, doesn't the Beheading Demon chop heads?" questioned the young foreigner, puzzled.

The man in the suit briefly examined the hanged man's body, his expression complicated as he spoke: "He might really have hanged himself."

"He must have been sick for a long time, his body is all covered with pustules."

Xu Huo approached and lifted the corpse's shoulder to look; green pustules covered the entire back, not an inch of the original skin visible.

Yuan Yao approached, "Brother Xu, have you found anything?"