Seven Days, Seven Nights

After a short silence, Su Er suddenly asked, “Have you ever seen a tongue-pulling ghost?”

Ji Heng shook his head.

Su Er frowned: “What if the other party is not a young lady but an old man in his seventies or eighties?”

He was afraid he couldn’t take it.

Ji Heng glanced at him: “You’re quite picky.”

“…”

Su Er didn’t know if it was an illusion, but as soon as the other’s voice fell, a gloomy gust of wind passed by.

In fact, the forced kiss was just a joke. He didn’t think he had the ability to knock out the tongue-pulling ghost.

Ge Xuyan’s death made the players feel pressed for time. Before the fox could be sad about the rabbit’s death, they already went out one after the other to execute their respective plans. (1)

Su Er and Ji Heng didn’t stay in the yard for long and went to collect clues about the three most popular brothers.

After finding out where they lived, Su Er thought for a while and said, “we can make a judgement after we’ve studied them in depth.” (2)

Ji Heng was very experienced in this respect, and he chose to visit them directly. He maintained a weak posture, though there was not much humility in his tone. “We want to visit Mr. Li.”

A young man in his early twenties opened the door and asked, “Which Mr. Li?”

Ji Heng: “Anyone will do.”

The man looked at them with scrutiny.

Ji Heng lowered his head slightly: “The two of us grew up in the Educational Hall. We were punished for stealing alcohol a few days ago, so we’re often turned away when looking for work.” 

Su Er cooperated very well and echoed, “Everyone in the village thinks highly of the three gentlemen of the Li family. If they can help persuade others, it will be easier to find a job.”

The young man looked disgusted when he heard that they had been secretly drinking. He had planned to drive them away, but then rolled his eyes and changed his mind for some reason. “Wait here for a moment.” 

He then closed the door, probably to go back and discuss with someone.

The two of them were left outside for a while. The sparrows screeched non-stop on the tree behind them

Su Er smiled as he asked: “Will they agree?”

Ji Heng: “There’s a 10% chance they’ll agree to help us and a 70% chance they’ll just ask us to stay and help for the time being.”

Thinking back to the performance of the chief guard to go look for someone to preach through when in the face of a corpse that morning, Su Er’s tone was more than just a little mocking: “Then they can publicize how we repented and embarked on the right path under their guidance.”

It was indeed a good case of canvassing votes, but it was ridiculous compared to the respect held for the rules here.

Ji Heng saw his thoughts and said indifferently: “Rules are rules, and the human heart is the human heart. No person’s heart is the same as another’s.” (3)

About three to four minutes later, a man in his fifties walked out the door. His hair was meticulously combed, and his mouth was squeezed into a mean frown, likely because he never smiled all year round.

Su Er and Ji Heng bowed and greeted him respectfully.

He was fairly satisfied with their attitude: “Come with me.”

The town emphasized blood ties, so the Li family lived in a large house.

As an elder, the man naturally couldn’t talk too much to them. A young man took over the job and introduced them: “This is my father, Li Youzun.” After a pause, he said, “I’m Li Shouzhang.”

According to the clues they obtained in advance, Li Youzun was both the oldest of the three brothers and the most popular. Originally, he held the position of Chief Guard. However, his reputation declined when his daughter cursed vulgarly while quarreling with others.

When the owner of the breakfast shop mentioned Li Youzun’s daughter, he said in disdain, “The ignorant younger generation implicates the elders in the family. (4) Fortunately, she held a little shame and hanged herself two days ago. I heard that her whole tongue was sticking out.”

Su Er recalled the morning and looked at Ji Heng who nodded, indicating that the tongue-pulling ghost was most likely Li Youzun’s dead daughter.

Although the games in this world were cruel, they paid attention to cause and effect, and the clues gathered often connected in tandem until a completed series of events formed. (5)

Su Er breathed a sigh of relief at that moment. Gently tugging Ji Heng’s sleeve, he mouthed “It’s a young lady.”

He could do it again. (6)

Ji Heng’s eyebrow twitched, and he pretended he didn’t hear those words.

“You are responsible for the piece of land behind the house,” Li Youzun said. “Of course the wages will not be too high.”

Su Er pretended to be grateful: “If it can alleviate our pressing problem, we’re already thankful.”

Most of the children from the Educational Hall could only attend up to the middle school, or else they would be admonished by everyone around them. Because they had no parents, the village couldn’t waste any more time on their education. (7) As a result, these children usually had low self-esteem and directly went to learn craftsmanship to make a living after graduating middle school.

Su Er felt quite sympathetic with these orphans at the beginning, but after learning Li Youzun’s daughter’s experience, he suddenly felt that no one could really live a good life in this morbid place.

.

There were some scattered trees on the ground behind the house.

“Every year, my father takes us to plant trees here,” Li Shouzhang said with a sense of honor. “You must take good care of them. My father hates weeds so you must remove them when you see them.”

Su Er looked around: “But there aren’t many trees here.”

Li Shouzhang: “The crooked ones were chopped off by the roots.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Er saw a tree lying on the side of the road. It’s leaves had not completely withered to yellow, so it seemed that it had just been cut down.

Li Shouzhang briefly explained the daily work that needed to be done before turning around and leaving. Su Er shook his head: “They cut down even the roots? Fortunately, these trees have not grown up yet, or else the roots would have spread for tens of meters below ground, tiring them to death.”

The two guarded the land, but they didn’t encounter any other person. It was not until lunch time that someone finally called them. The Li family had two nannies. Because of their small assets, they also hired a night watcher. These helpers had a designated place to eat.

According to common sense, the two could obtain the most useful information from them. Unfortunately, no one can speak at the dinner table, and even the sound of chewing is rare. No matter how clever your tongue is, you can’t use it. (8)

After a quiet meal, Su Er was about to go look for Li Shouzhang, but he took the initiative to come over first. After scanning the room to make sure everyone was there, he said, “Tonight is the seventh day after my sister’s passing. My father wants to invite someone to help guide her, so please don’t go out after 10 in the evening.” (9)

Su Er seized the opportunity to ask about accommodations: “The roofs of the place we currently live are broken.” (10)

Li Shouzhang was young and easy to talk to. He arranged two adjacent small rooms for them to stay in temporarily.

During the lunch break (11), Su Er and Ji Heng sat under a tree in the backyard.

“Is it better to stay tonight?”

Ji Heng nodded: “Something will definitely happen on the night the soul returns. Knowing more about the Li family is helpful, but risky.” (12)

After being made clear, Su Er raised a more realistic question: “Why don’t the other players come to inquire about the situation?”

As expected, the final candidate for the chief guard will be one of the three brothers of the Li family.

“Maybe they had other plans,” Ji Heng said flatly.

.

The house was very quiet. Everyone was soft spoken and walked quietly. When the sun was about to set, there was finally a noticeable sound. While hiding in the dark, Su Er observed a monk dressed in a buddhist robe be escorted in. (13)

Next to him, besides Li Youzun, there were two similar-looking middle-aged people. They were most likely Li Youzun’s brothers. What was being discussed? Unfortunately, they were too far away to be heard clearly.

The work ended early. Before entering the room to rest, Ji Heng gave Su Er a talisman.

“A new soul that has just died won’t be too powerful,” Ji Heng said. “This talisman was taken from a previous zombie instance. It can be stuck on the ghost to restrict its movements.”

Su Er looked at it from both sides with curiosity: “Is there a time limit?”

“No more than five minutes. It’ll be enough for you to run out for help.”

Su Er thanked him, “but I don’t think I’ll be so unlucky.”

“Players are easier to attract ghosts than natives,” Ji Heng said no more and entered his room first. (14)

Staring at the talisman in his hand, Su Er thought about what preparations he could do now if he really bumped into a ghost at night… and quickly came to a conclusion: make up for sleep.

Staying up late will only reduce people’s concentration. To ensure he would be sufficiently rested, Su Er almost forced himself to fall asleep.

At this time, it was hard to sleep soundly. The sky turned from dark to dark to finally a thick inky dark, while the sounds of chanting scriptures faintly came to his ears between sleep and consciousness. Su Er opened his eyes and quickly became awake.

The air was so cold that he specially checked whether the windows were closed tightly or not. The bitter cold pierced into him, making it almost impossible to move.

Su Er was certain a ghost was staring at him.

No wonder Ge Xuyan could not escape the first night. This coldness slowed down the speed of his body movements. (15)

He lowered his head to look at the palm of his hand and exhaled. When he looked up, the frigid air came to his face, and a face suddenly appeared close to his, her mouth festering and her hollow eyes filled with deep resentment. (16)

Su Er scrambled to take a few steps back, trying not to scream. (17)

Looking at each other for a few seconds, the female ghost ran out of patience first and stretched her skinny hand directly towards his mouth.

At the same time, Su Er struggled to move his stuff fingers. Enduring the chill, he stretched out his arms and stuck the talisman on the female ghost. For a moment, he wondered if the talisman would fall off, but fortunately, there were like two ends of a magnet. The talisman was firmly glued to the shoulder of the female ghost.

Instead of immediately running out for help, Su Er stared at the female ghost. Ji Heng said that a new soul was often not very strong. In other words, it would be a good experimental object.

First, he took out the taser and shocked the ghost’s body. Because of the pain, the female ghost mouth opened and the festering area became larger.

Su Er tried again, and the surrounding temperature gradually rose, confirming that the female ghost was indeed in a weakening state. He carefully recorded the observations. While the taser could replenish energy to the host, it can also cause harm to ghosts. (18)

Why is that?

Unfortunately, only two experiment objects (the Rose Gentleman and the female ghost) could be found so far, and no further data could be collected. Su Er sighed and withdrew the taser, preparing for the next test. He seriously asked the ghost, “Did you fall in love with me at first sight?”

The female ghost shook her head desperately, her long hair dancing in the air. No one knew if she understood.

Su Er frowned and muttered to himself, “it seems that the charm value doesn’t make ghosts feel closer to you.”

Since it was juxtaposed with the force value and spirit value, its existence must have value. 

After thinking about it, Su Er blinked and wanted to try and continue electrifying the ghost. (19)

The eyes of the ghost were obviously still hollow, but she looked at him as if looking at some kind of demon.

The talisman could only drag out five minutes. Even with the taser, Su Er dared not pin all his safety on an uncertain thing. Seeing that there was not much time left, he hurried and crooked his fingers at the female ghost and made a few pictures he thought were cool and handsome.

“What about this?”

“How about this?”

“Speak quickly, have you fallen in love with me yet?”

While performing different trials, Su Er’s sixth sense that had been extremely sharp since entering the game suddenly became alert. His head snapped to look out the window where a familiar figure stood: “Ji Heng?”

Ji Heng touched his left earlobe. This was the code set by the two before, so as to prevent dirty things from disguising as them.

Su Er opened the window. There were no guardrails around the bungalow, so the person outside easily jumped in. (20)

Ji Heng: “I heard some noise coming from your room.”

Not wanting to wait for Su Er’s call for help, he chose to go out and check the situation just in case. After all, it was easier to break through a window than through a door. Unexpectedly, what awaited him was the scene of Su Er flirting with the female ghost. (21)

At that moment, the female ghost clung onto the talisman and huddled in the corner of the room. She shook her head frantically, the wounds on the corners of her mouth deepening. She looked so pitiful.

Su Er cleared his name: “This is all for show. Only last night, she pulled Ge Xuyan’s tongue out of his head.” (22)

Ji Heng turned a deaf ear to the female ghost. Instead of inquiring about the Li family, he asked a rather strange question: “Is there anyone else like you in this village?”

The female ghost raised the corners of her bloody mouth, revealing a threatening smile.

Ji Heng pointed at Su Er: “Or I could ask him to interrogate you.”

The female paused for a moment, then shook her head fiercely.

Ji Heng repeated the question, and this time the female ghost nodded quickly, indicating there were more creatures like her.

Ji Heng: “Is Li Youzun your father?”

The female ghost continued to nod.

Ji Heng: “What happened before you died?”

The ghost opened her mouth and spit out her long tongue, which couldn’t be used to pronounce words.

Su Er reminded: “It’s not like you don’t still have your hands. Write it down,”

Since this hand could hold tongues, it should be able to hold a pen.

After saying that, he really did find half a pencil in a drawer.

The description given by the female ghost was not much different from the rumors. After the incident, her family viewed her as a disgrace, and the people in the village also gossiped about it. She couldn’t bear it and chose to die by her own hand.

When Ji Heng lowered his eyes in thought, the light on the talisman gradually dissipated, and the female ghost felt power returning to her body. She didn’t hesitate to seize the moment, growing her finger nails to jab them into the eyes of the person in front of her. Ji Heng didn’t even look up as he raised his palm and pushed forwards. The ghost’s movements stopped a few centimeters from her target.

Regarding the force value, the beginners pamphlet only wrote one sentence indirectly: a value of more than 150 could allow you to slightly distort space in order to deal with ghosts. It was only when he saw this scene that Su Er knew how incredible it was.

Seeing the female ghost’s body gradually fade into nothingness, Su Er frowned: “Is there a way to deprive her of her power and keep her soul behind? I’ll send her away after I finish studying the charm value.”

Horror sprung in the eyes that originally only held spite.

Ji Heng gave him a deep look. Before the ghost disappeared, he reached out his hand to close her resentful eyes, and he whispered: “Go with peace of mind. May there be no Su Er in Hell.”

“…”

The author has something to say:

Su Er: Please, let her stay
Female Ghost: Please let me go
Ji Heng: …Please rest in peace.

FOOTNOTES

体会那种兔死狐悲 – idiom meaning “The rabbit dies, and the fox grieves,” or “The fox mourns the death of the rabbit.” This means to feel sad because of the death of a companion. Even though foxes and rabbits are natural enemies in nature, they are both hunting targets to humans, so in this respect they are companions. The rabbit dying allows for the fox to be aware of its own demise ahead of time as well, increasing the fox’s odds of escaping.接触 – contact; judgement on who will be most likely to win the vote“They cannot be the same,” “They can’t be generalized.” I think he means that you can’t generalize how people think. Human hearts aren’t as rigid or unchanging as rules?Implicating elders for doing a poor job of raising the younger members of their family往往都可以前后呼应 – echo back and forth He can go through with his plan to kiss the ghost if it tries to kill him lol每个人都在告诫他们已经没了父母不可以再失了教养 – “Everyone admonished them that they had no parents, and they couldn’t educate them anymore.” Alternatively, the last part could be “they could no longer be saved without parents” I think No matter how clever you are at smooth talking people into giving you information, it doesn’t matter if you can’t even open your mouthThe belief that on the seventh day after a person’s passing, their soul will return homeReferring to their rooms in the Educational Hall/Yutang’s assigned courtyardAfter they finished eating, some time still remained in their break, I believe Original raws state “息有益无害” – knowing more about the Li family is “good and harmless,” but it felt weird because it followed directly by Ji Heng saying, “there are risks.”袈裟 – Buddhist monk robe; kāṣāyaNatives/aboriginals. Original inhabitants of the game world. They are not npcs, nor should they be thought of as such, even in this game analogy.频率 – Frequency, rate. Changed it to speedRaws said she appeared a few feet away from him. Her mouth was “festering” or “full of ulcers”“Su Er couldn’t help taking a few steps back”Su Er means that the taser has two functions. One is to strengthen ghosts and the other is to weaken them.想了想尝试眨一只眼放电 – I am not sure how to translate this平房 – bungalow – one story home with large windows; usually in southeast asia to help distribute the air inside the house. Also translated as cottage, but while cottages do tend to have just one room, their windows seem to be much smaller. 搔首弄姿 – flirting; posturing她昨晚才活生生扯了戈旭岩的舌头 – There are characters here I can’t understand how to put together, like 活 (live) and 生生 (A meaning I got from it was to grow/multiply without end). I think Su Er is saying she ripped Ge Xuyan’s tongue out while he was still alive to inform Ji Heng of how vicious she really was so he wouldn’t be fooled by her act.