Chapter 41:

Journey to Hell and the music box

Jin Guijuan was still in disbelief. “How could that child… do something like this?”

“Don’t worry, let’s see what happens first,” Grandma Fang comforted her.

Lu Lingxi couldn’t help but ask, “If it was Xu Siya, how did she take the book away? We might be asleep but Yan Hong and the others who were awake did not notice anything unusual at all.”

“That weird little girl appears and disappears suddenly every time,” Jing Qizhen commented, “If Xu Siya can do the same, it wouldn’t be all that surprising.”

As they spoke, everyone had already picked up a variety of tools and weapons, prepared for anything.

Lu Lingxi walked directly to the door and peeked through the gap to observe the outside surroundings.

The village that was supposed to be silent once nightfall was now bathed with a searing orange glow from the bright flames.

Countless oil pans were crowded together in the village, with the flames dancing beneath them. From time to time, a burst of fire would shoot up from under the pot with a ‘whoosh,’ illuminating the boiling oil within. Even the surrounding air seemed to have grown scorching hot.

In the oil pans, there were vague figures resembling humans crowded together. Those swaying figures were reaching their arms out while bobbing up and down in the oil pans in constant struggles. Their expressions were full of agony but no sound could be heard…

Lu Lingxi closed his eyes for a moment.

The entire village was gradually filled with the burning smell of blistering oil and a hint of charred air.

Jing Qizhen opened the door directly.

Jin Guijuan took in the sight of oil pan hell outside, disbelief reflected in her eyes.

“Is this…the image we saw earlier at the Xu family’s house?”

Jing Qizhen responded, “What we saw back then was only a projection of the oil pan hell. What we’re seeing right now is probably the real thing!”

Yan Hong added, “The temperature in the village keeps rising, yet none of the villagers seem to be reacting to it!”

Jing Qizhen breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, “Let’s go take a closer look.”

“The village chief’s house or the Xu family’s house?” Manman asked.

Jing Qizhen’s lips twitched. “Let’s check the village chief’s house first. If we go by the usual game mechanics, we need to talk to all the NPCs in advance and then we might get a boost or buff for the final boss battle, right?”

“That’s the common approach.” Manman nodded.

Grandma Fang and Old Xiao were familiar with the way to the village chief’s house, so they naturally walked in front to lead the way.

Jin Guijuan supported Grandma Fang while looking tense and uneasy, a touch of sadness visible in her expression.

Grandma Fang gently patted her hand. “Haven’t Little Jing and Tang Song keep reminding us all the time, that the erosion area is different from the real world. Child, don’t take it too hard.”

“I understand, Grandma Fang,” said Jin Guijuan, reluctantly forcing a smile.

Everyone has heard Jin Guijuan’s story. Naturally, they realized that when she was looking at Xu Siya, Jin Guijuan saw her own younger self—helpless and vulnerable.

However, it seemed that everyone might have misjudged Xu Siya when interacting with the child.

For others, what had happened at most only brought a tinge of regret and concern over the looming danger.

However, for Jin Guijuan, the emotional impact ran much deeper. She had genuinely cared for Xu Siya and hoped for her well-being. Xu Siya’s sudden action left Jin Guijuan feeling far more complicated and heartbroken than the others.

Jing Qizhen suddenly spoke up, “Did you hear any sound?”

In the distance, there was a faint sound like a whisper drifting from the other end of the village.

Yet, the bubbling oil pans around them were still accompanied by the occasional crackling sounds of flames shooting up and away, making the distant sound even more elusive.

They all stopped at the same time amidst the scorching heat of the oil pans to listen. After a long pause, they faintly picked up a vague voice.

Jin Guijuan whispered, “It’s Xu Siya’s voice! She’s in the direction of the Xu family’s house!”

The far-off voice had a childlike innocence as the child murmured continuously, “The souls of the sinful said… they returned to this hell again. In this prison, they see the boiling oil in the pans, and the skin and flesh shriveled…”

Manman frowned and listened attentively. After a while, she took out her phone and scrolled to a photo she had taken from the ‘Journey to Hell.’ Swiftly, she edited the photo to highlight the lines Xu Siya was reciting with a red line.

“She was reading this part on the book ‘Journey to Hell!’” Manman directly showed her mobile phone to her companions.

Jing Qizhen glanced quickly. “The part about the oil pan hell?”

Manman: “Yeah.”

Jing Qizhen: “It seems that the ‘Journey to Hell’ in Xu Siya’s hands works differently than it does in ours.”

Manman: “I was just thinking about that. It’s the only purple item we’ve seen! Remember the giant axe in the erosion area last time? When we found it, it had already turned into the ‘Bloody Giant Axe.’”

Jing Qizhen understood her implications instantly. “So, you’re suggesting that items in the erosion area may change based on the influence of NPCs there.”

Manman: “Exactly. It just crossed my mind, though we don’t have any concrete evidence yet.”

Jing Qizhen made a mental note of this matter. “I’ll ask Earth later! The colors of these special items probably indicate different types of energy contained within the erosion area.”

Immediately, Jing Qizhen added, “Forget about her for now. Let’s go see the village chief first!”

Old Xiao looked a little nervous as he nodded silently.

The surrounding temperature was so high that it dried the cold sweat on his forehead instantly. At least today he wouldn’t have to keep wiping it himself, Old Xiao thought, finding a bit of humor in the uncomfortable situation.

The group cautiously navigated through the maze of boiling oil pans. The firelight from beneath the pans reflected on everyone’s faces, casting thin and elongated shadows on the walls of the village houses, making them look like monsters with outstretched claws.

While walking, Jing Qizhen suddenly noticed something, causing a shock in his heart.

His voice was a little urgent as he said, “The ‘Jingle Bells’ background music! That song disappeared again!”

With Jing Qizhen’s reminder, everyone suddenly came to a realization.

“I remember that as I was falling asleep, the nursery rhyme was still echoing in my ears,” Lu Lingxi frowned as he carefully recalled the details of the night before he went to bed.

Yan Hong’s lips were pursed into a thin line. In the tension and anxiety, he took a drag on the cigarette he’d been chewing on, steadied himself, and said in a deep voice, “During the night watch, the music was still there. Right around the time something happened outside, I heard the faint crackling and popping sound and I stopped paying attention to the music.”

Manman ran her hand through her hair, which was warmed by the surrounding heat, making it feel hot to the touch. “When I woke up, the ‘Jingle Bells’ music in the background was already gone.”

“So we can roughly deduce that the nursery rhyme ‘Jingle Bells’ background music stopped right around the time the oil pan hell appeared in the village,” Jing Qizhen summarized.

After a moment of thought, he added, “The night before, when we stayed at the couple’s house, the background music didn’t stop and that night, nothing unusual happened in the village.”

Even if he didn’t have to wipe his sweat, Old Xiao couldn’t resist the urge to lift his hand, only to lower it again.

He said with a grimace, “The concept of ‘oil pan hell’ comes from Buddhist stories and folklore, characterized by high temperature and boiling oil while ‘Jingle Bells’ is a Western nursery rhyme about a group of kids happily sledding at Christmas. Who would have thought that these two things, one Eastern and one Western, could come together in a small mountain village?”

Lu Lingxi suddenly had an idea. “Old Xiao, it sounds like the book ‘Journey to Hell’ and the music box aren’t just coming together but rather counterbalancing each other!”

Hearing this, Manman also had a sudden realization and exclaimed, “The ‘Journey to Hell’ matches up to the music box while the oil pan hell counters the song ‘Jingle Bells.’ There are seventeen other hells in the ‘Journey to Hell’ but the music box only plays one song, right? No wonder the music box is a blue item while the ‘Journey to Hell’ is a purple item.”

“…When you put it that way, the item level suddenly makes sense,” said Jing Qizhen.

Yan Hong furrowed his brows and pondered, “If the oil pan hell is countered by the music box, could there be other special items to counter the other seventeen hells?”

Jing Qizhen shook his head. “I think it is unlikely. Earth said that within this erosion area, two different energy waves have been detected and they probably originate from these two mutually balancing forces.”

“The scene we saw earlier at the Xu family’s house was the projection of the oil pan hell and the book ‘Journey to Hell’ has always been in Xu Siya’s possession. I feel like she could only command one hell,” Manman casually added, “After all, the ice and snow weather in ‘Jingle Bells’ song is the most effective counter for the oil pan hell. If she can summon a different hell, the music ‘Jingle Bells’ wouldn’t be as impactful.”

At her words, Jing Qizhen was struck by a sudden thought, his mind racing. “The music ‘Jingle Bells’ initially came from the music box that belonged to the weird little girl who we assumed to be Xu Erya! Can we then assume that the background music in the village has always come from that weird little girl? The first time we couldn’t hear the nursery rhyme background music was when we were in the Xu family’s house!”

“Right, and the book ‘Journey to Hell’ had always been hidden in the Xu family’s house before!” added Manman immediately.

Jing Qizhen concluded, “In other words, the oil pan hell and nursery rhyme not only counterbalance each other. It’s actually the power struggle between Xu Siya and that weird little girl!”