And the man with Josh.
Though that person’s spiritual body was a Maine Coon cat, he sensed a familiar aura from him.
Isn’t that strange?
His gaze fell on Josh.
Is the will of God really right?
Josh had been tormented for a long time, still having no clue about the wound on her heart.
It seemed that her spiritual power was on the verge of collapse.
The Mermaid King pursed his lips and let her go.
"Josh, I’m waiting for you here."
*
Josh slowly regained consciousness and saw Yuze beside her.
Yuze quickly helped her up, "How are you? Are you alright?"
Josh held her head, inhaling sharply from the pain.
Yuze’s spiritual power continuously flowed into her spiritual sea.
She was his paired Master An, and his spiritual power could protect her spiritual sea.
Josh sighed in relief, "I should be fine, just a headache."
Yuze slightly frowned, "How did you provoke that fish?"
Josh shook her head, "I didn’t... wait?!"
She suddenly sat up, "Fish?"
Yuze nodded, "What else?"
Josh recalled feeling a strong spiritual power attack before losing consciousness, and then... nothing.
"Josh, I’m waiting for you here."
An abrupt phrase sounded in her mind.
That voice... was it the Mermaid King?
Josh looked at the statue in shock, only to see it had reverted to its original form, now with even finer details in appearance.
She looked at Yuze, "What exactly happened?"
Yuze briefly explained what happened while she was unconscious.
Josh slightly frowned, "That mermaid had golden hair, eyes like blue gemstones, very beautiful, with long and narrow eyes and golden eyelashes. The voice was somewhat androgynous but very pleasant, right?"
Yuze’s face darkened, "I didn’t notice the color. Anyway, it was quite ugly; I didn’t look that closely."
Josh got anxious, "The statue came to life, and you didn’t look carefully?"
Yuze also got anxious, "I’m not a pervert, why would I look so closely at a man?"
"Oh..." Josh was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "That’s true."
Yuze’s mouth twitched, "..."
Josh found it strange, "It’s mostly him, but it’s not scientific..."
She looked at Yuze, "Captain, has there ever been a case where other instance NPCs appeared in different instances?"
Yuze shrugged, "I haven’t encountered it, but it’s not impossible. After all, it’s NPC modeling. Perhaps using him in this instance was convenient, so they included him in another instance that needed the same element."
Josh was hearing this explanation for the first time and was momentarily dazed.
Yuze’s mouth twitched, "With such a common face, how could I remember any details?"
Josh again dismissed her assumptions; the Mermaid King’s face could never be described as "common."
She couldn’t help but take a deep breath, massaging her brow, "Did this mermaid do anything to me after coming to life? Why does it feel like my head is about to explode?"
Yuze spread his hands, "I don’t know. When I arrived, he was holding you. We didn’t fight; he reverted back quickly."
Josh glanced at the Sea God’s statue and patted her head, trying to wake up a bit.
They both sat by the table.
Josh took out paper and pen, starting to organize clues.
Yuze yawned and said eerily from beside her, "I know why Ma Qi likes you; you both like having meetings."
Josh’s mouth twitched; she ignored him and wrote down the clues on paper.
1. Every night, a Sacrificial Girl dies. One with missing hair, another with a missing arm.
2. Sacrificial Girls are divided into trafficked university students and locals, considered ominous.
3. Yue Xi and the women under her are stiff, unlike living people.
4. Funeral lanterns and white paper in the pebble forest.
5. Eerie ghost woman and humanoid lantern in the houseboat.
6. Old Mrs. Cao, humanoid lantern, unwelcome by villagers, with a musk scent in her home.
Josh thought for a bit and added another point.
7. Ghost woman’s song about a doomed Holy Daughter who fell in love and eloped with a man.
Yuze glanced over quickly, raising his eyebrows, "Where did 7 come from?"
Josh, "The ghost woman sang a mountain song the other night. I think it’s a clue; otherwise, why would she sing about the Holy Daughter?"
Yuze nodded, took the pen from her hand, and circled the musk in clue six.
They exchanged glances.
Yuze, "The corpse also had the scent of musk."
Josh touched her chin, "You mean, these bodies might be related to Old Mrs. Cao as well?"
Yuze nodded, "Didn’t you trigger her side quest?"
Josh, "To find her daughter, but we don’t know if her daughter is alive or dead or who she even is."
Yuze, "From my experience, the clues are usually with the NPC. Did she say anything else when you triggered the quest?"
Josh recalled carefully, frowning, "She mentioned something like her daughter is everywhere, watching us."
Yuze nodded.
Josh looked at him, "It’s about to get dark, and I bet another person will die tonight."
She suddenly remembered something, "I forgot two points. That night when Yue Xi caught us, she originally went to the ancestral hall to repent. I used spider silk to listen in, and it seemed she was forced to do something terrible."
Yuze squinted slightly.
Josh continued, "Also, I discovered that the old Holy Daughter’s hair and both arms have become younger."
With just these two clues, the perpetrator’s identity seems obvious.
Yuze thought for a moment, "So, if it’s the old Holy Daughter and Yue Xi, they will continue to target Sacrificial Girls tonight."
Josh nodded, "But we’re still not sure how those people died."
Yuze, "The corpses have the scent of musk; maybe their deaths are also related to this Old Mrs. Cao. Perhaps she and the old Holy Daughter are working together?"
Josh shook her head, "I don’t think so. When just mentioning the Holy Daughter, Old Mrs. Cao looked like she wanted to kill her."
Yuze, "Hate doesn’t mean they can’t be working together."
Josh understood what he meant.
She thought a bit more and said, "But our main storyline task is the Forbidden Nightmare. We still don’t know what that is."
Yuze glanced at the main line, "The task is to resolve the resentment of the Forbidden Nightmare. I think this is related to the deaths of those Sacrificial Girls. Tomorrow, we should investigate further to see if anyone knows about the Forbidden Nightmare."
Josh nodded, "So tonight, should we split up to keep watch?"
Yuze looked at her, "How far can your spider silk monitor?"
Josh, "About within 300 meters."
Yuze quickly calculated in his head, "We shouldn’t split up tonight; let’s stay at the ancestral hall. This is the center of the village, within 300 meters of the houseboat, Old Mrs. Cao, and the old Holy Daughter’s place."