Chapter 40: The Legend of the Eerie Dirge

"Could it be..."

"Is the spread of the pollution in the West River related to that rising and falling blood-colored monster eye on the water's surface?"

"And does my suona music have the ability to restrict this monster eye, thereby curbing the pollution?"

Chen Ye paused slightly, observing the river surface with his Pupils of Fortune. The billowing black mist had almost covered the entire lower reaches of the West River, but the trend of its expansion had indeed been checked.

Not only that.

After the blood-colored monster eye disappeared, the growth rate for his role-playing as the [Wandering Musician] increased from "210" to "220."

Chen Ye tried stopping his performance, and only when the blood-colored monster eye reappeared did he begin to play again.

As a result, the growth rate reverted to two hundred and ten points.

"Does this mean..."

"Has the amount of Weirdness Points I receive increased because my suona restricts the blood-colored monster eye?"

"Perhaps this aligns with some kind of role-playing rule for the [Wandering Musician]."

Through repeated comparative experiments, Chen Ye confirmed that the growth of his Weirdness Points was indeed linked to the monster eye.

That monster eye would surface from time to time, only to be forced back to the riverbed by the discordant, wailing sounds of the suona.

After several repetitions, the gaze of the West River’s monster eye seemed to turn peculiar. Originally, the eye was hollow and devoid of any expression, but now, it seemed to harbor a hint of resentment.

Chen Ye found this rather amusing; after all, the giant blood-colored eye could not harm him for the time being.

It actually felt quite fun!

Before he knew it, most of the day had passed.

Chen Ye’s Weirdness Points had already risen to four thousand nine hundred.

He had a vague feeling that once his Weirdness Points crossed the five-thousand mark, it would bring about an improvement to his own abilities.

Just then, the number of figures near the lower reaches of the West River began to increase.

Among them, some players were attracted by the faint sound of the suona drifting from downstream.

Driven by curiosity, they came to take a look.

Since Chen Ye had been practicing repeatedly, his lung capacity had grown increasingly strong. If he played at full strength, the powerful penetration of the sound could be heard from far away.

Some players who had been holding a party by the river had managed to solve their immediate survival resource issues. In this day and age, entertainment was scarce, and the Scarlet Phone offered little beyond surfing the web. Thinking they might as well see what the commotion was about, they decided to join the crowd.

However, upon reaching the embankment, they discovered that this eerie sound, which kept piercing the air, was actually the king of all instruments—the suona!

The crowd felt a sense of novelty.

In this nearly crippled world, who would have thought they would hear someone playing a musical instrument?

Only... the sound was a bit terrible!

The suona’s melody was sometimes sharp, sometimes shrill.

Whenever the notes felt like they were hitting the right pitch, they would suddenly go out of tune.

It felt like a blade scraping against their eardrums!

After listening for only a short while, the nearby players could no longer stand it and fled back to their party spot by the river.

As they retreated, they cursed:

"Damn it! Why does this broken game even include funeral music?"

"I thought that figure might be a player who loved music, someone who insisted on keeping up an elegant hobby even after the 'Age of Weirdness' descended."

"But... after listening closely, this isn't music for the living; it's music for the dead, isn't it?"

"It’s a good thing we didn't get too close. If we had finished the whole song, we might have triggered some weird rule and faced a lethal danger!"

"..."

From then on, a legend about a forbidden entity began to circulate on the Scarlet Phone’s forum—

In the area near the polluted downstream, there was a ghost that specialized in playing the suona, and it was exceptionally dangerous!

Anyone who listened to the ghost’s funeral music would suffer a fate worse than death.

Several victims had already nearly fallen prey to the demonic sound, only escaping because they ran fast enough.

Otherwise, they would surely have been lost to it forever...

No one knew who had started this rumor, nor how it had spread.

Overnight, it became a trending post in the "Romance and Leisure" section.

Many adventurous players in the West River area had originally wanted to go downstream to investigate, to see what the pollution looked like and if it was as terrifying as rumored.

But with the emergence of the "Funeral Music Ghost," which lingered for long periods in the polluted downstream area, they hesitated.

Some players had even gotten close enough to hear the suona, only to be terrified, fearing that if they listened a moment longer, they would trigger that legendary, horrific rule.

They hurried back to the river party site, loudly telling everyone that the legend was true!

Through word of mouth...

In less than a day, the legend of a forbidden ghost had taken root in the lower reaches of the West River.

At this moment, Chen Ye had no idea that he had inexplicably earned the titles of "Forbidden Ghost" and "King of Funeral Music."

A short while ago, his Scarlet Phone had popped up a notification—

【Weirdness Points +250!】

The growth rate had suddenly seen a massive jump.

Finally, his Weirdness Points broke through the five-thousand mark, and he vaulted up to 25th place on the leaderboard!

At the same time...

Chen Ye clearly sensed that as his Weirdness Points broke through five thousand, some indescribable change had occurred within him.

It was as if his perception of the entire world had become increasingly clear and profound.

He took a light step.

The surrounding scenery seemed to retreat faster. Using the wild grass by the roadside as a reference, Chen Ye had completed an evolution from "four meters per step" to "five meters per step."

The efficiency of his step-counting had clearly improved.

Because he had spent almost all of last night obsessed with practicing his culinary skills, he had neglected his steps, causing his progress to slow slightly.

But now, he had already completed "77,777" steps toward his weekly goal of one hundred thousand.

As long as no accidents occurred, completing the weekly task was a certainty.

And judging by his current efficiency, completing the monthly goal of one million steps might not be impossible.

He looked up at the sky.

Without realizing it, night was about to fall. The setting sun over the West River was like blood, and the golden rays cast upon the river surface created shimmering ripples.

Chen Ye’s heart stirred, and he attempted to play the suona once more.

Suddenly.

The first sound that emerged seemed to echo the imagery of "a lone smoke plume in the vast desert, a long river against the setting sun."

Although the tone still sounded unusual, the sharp, ear-piercing noise had been greatly reduced, replaced by a sense of "lofty and refined" solitude.

Suddenly.

Chen Ye’s mind drifted with the music, thinking of his hometown to which he could never return.

The melody took on a distant, sorrowful quality, accompanied by the high-pitched, piercing timbre of the suona, as if it were protesting against a reality that could not be changed...

"Can my suona now change with my mood, allowing the tone and style to harmonize and stir the emotions of the listeners?"

Without noticing, Chen Ye felt his own emotions being stirred by the sound of the suona.

The progress was truly remarkable!

After playing a piece, seeing that it was late, Chen Ye put away his suona. He stopped practicing and quickened his pace back toward the Xining alleys.

From the spread of the pollution in the lower reaches of the West River and the abnormal scenes he had witnessed throughout the day...

He realized that the latent crisis in this city might be gradually surfacing. The difficulty of the instance might increase, and the sources of danger would multiply accordingly.

Even when returning along the faint white mist, he had to remain focused and vigilant against the dangers around him.

Before leaving the West River Park, Chen Ye felt a sudden urge. Taking advantage of the temporary safety of his environment, he opened his Scarlet Phone for a quick peek.

At some point, more than a dozen trade invitations had appeared on his list.

The corners of his mouth curled upward:

"Two hundred and fifty copper coins..."

"The money is within reach!"