Chapter 73: A Gift for the Gatekeepers
"Outsiders..."
"...are forbidden from entering."
The voices of the two gatekeepers echoed together.
Creak... Creak...
The grotesque faces carved into the stone steles twisted into eerie smiles.
The instant their gazes landed on Mohan—
A sharp pain exploded across his back.
His expression changed.
Beneath his skin, his spine seemed to swell violently.
It felt as though something inside his body was trying to tear its way out.
"Tch..."
Without hesitation, Mohan grabbed Lu Xian by the arm and shoved her toward the village gate.
"I’ve brought you a gift."
The two gatekeepers tilted their heads.
"A..."
"...gift?"
Their stone faces smiled wider.
"Then..."
"...she may enter."
Unable to resist, Lu Xian stumbled through the entrance.
Strangely...
Neither gatekeeper attempted to stop her.
Mohan smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
He calmly followed her into the village.
After taking several steps, he turned around.
"Mount Tai."
"You can’t force your way in."
"Remember what I taught you."
The giant gave a silent nod.
"...Mm."
He walked directly toward the gatekeepers.
Before either of them could speak—
He reached inside his coat and produced a short knife.
Slash!
Without hesitation, he carved a large piece of flesh from his own chest.
His brows didn’t even twitch.
The bloody chunk of meat landed in his palm.
He respectfully offered it to one of the gatekeepers.
The carved face upon the stone stele slowly stretched into a pleased grin.
"A bearer of gifts..."
"...may enter."
Mount Tai lowered his head respectfully before stepping through the gate.
What was truly horrifying...
Was that despite removing such a large piece of flesh...
Not a single drop of blood flowed.
Instead...
Pink muscles wriggled beneath the wound.
Fresh flesh rapidly grew back before the naked eye.
Within moments...
His chest had completely regenerated.
The black fog thickened.
Mohan...
Mount Tai...
And Lu Xian...
All three slowly turned around together.
Beyond the village gate...
Only Shen Yu remained outside.
Mohan smiled.
"This is reality now."
"Once you enter..."
"...there’s no leaving until the dungeon ends."
"So."
"You have two choices."
"Stay outside forever..."
"...or find your own way inside."
His mocking laughter drifted through the mist.
Even the two gatekeepers turned toward Shen Yu with unfriendly expressions.
Shen Yu remained silent.
Something felt...
Wrong.
Everything Mohan had done was too smooth.
Too practiced.
It was almost as though...
He had entered Twin Tomb Village before.
But that was impossible.
Before the dungeon descended into reality...
There had never been a village entrance.
Never any gatekeepers.
Never any ceremony.
So...
How did he know the rules?
Watching everything unfold, Shen Yu felt an unsettling sense of déjà vu.
Something wasn’t right.
It was as if he had unknowingly stepped into Mohan’s carefully prepared plan.
Everything had gone far too smoothly.
From offering Lu Xian as a "gift"...
To Mount Tai cutting flesh from his own body...
To the gatekeepers accepting them without hesitation...
It all felt rehearsed.
Almost as though...
This wasn’t Mohan’s first visit to Twin Tomb Village.
But that was impossible.
When Twin Tomb Village first appeared as a dungeon, it had never descended into reality.
There had been no village entrance.
No gatekeepers.
No ritual for entering.
Only after the dungeon merged with reality had these grotesque guards appeared, each carrying a massive stone stele growing from their backs. The gray-white monuments constantly writhed, as though countless gray-brown heads were trying to crawl out from inside the stone.
So...
How could Mohan already know the rules?
Shen Yu narrowed his eyes.
He’s hiding something.
The two gatekeepers slowly turned toward him.
The carved faces on the backs of their stone steles suddenly became strangely complicated.
"You..."
"...You..."
For a brief moment...
Their expressions looked almost hesitant.
At the same instant—
A sharp pain shot through Shen Yu’s spine.
Crack... Crack... Crack...
His back felt as though it were splitting apart.
Something beneath his spine seemed ready to burst through his flesh.
Shen Yu’s expression darkened.
"So even looking at them has a price..."
He immediately stopped probing the strange sensation.
Instead, he calmly activated the new skill he had earned.
"Mirror Flower, Water Moon."
Buzz—
A ripple spread through the black mist.
Behind Shen Yu, the phantom of Qing Shan Mental Hospital flickered into existence.
The outline of a nurse slowly emerged.
His figure blurred.
His clothes shifted.
His features softened.
Within moments...
The handsome young man had transformed into the image of Yang Jin.
Her long silver-white hair cascaded over her shoulders.
The pink nurse uniform hugged her graceful figure.
The sharp click of high heels echoed across the silent village entrance.
Click... Click... Click...
The two gatekeepers stared blankly.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
They simply watched "Yang Jin" walk past them.
Only after Shen Yu crossed the entrance did the illusion quietly fade.
His original appearance returned.
He glanced back at the motionless guards.
"So that’s it..."
"The people they wanted to see..."
"...were women."
Mirror Flower, Water Moon created an illusion based on the deepest desire of its targets.
For these two lonely gatekeepers...
Their strongest desire was simply to watch a beautiful woman enter the village.
"...How pathetic."
Shen Yu shook his head with a helpless smile.
Meanwhile...
Because Mirror Flower, Water Moon had only affected the two gatekeepers...
Mohan, Mount Tai, and Lu Xian saw none of the illusion.
In their eyes...
Shen Yu had simply walked through the gate in his ordinary clothes without offering any gift or performing anything unusual.
Mohan’s confident smile immediately stiffened.
"...Impossible."
His brows furrowed tightly.
No sacrifice.
No offering.
No special ability that he recognized.
Yet Shen Yu had entered the village just as easily as they had.
For the first time since arriving...
A trace of uncertainty appeared in Mohan’s eyes.
Far above Shen Yu, hidden from everyone else, a faint pink halo shimmered.
Inside his Heart Cabin, Yang Jin crossed her arms and huffed proudly.
"Hmph."
"My appearance really is useful."
A familiar cold voice sounded beside her.
"Still showing off?"
The Ghost Bride, Lily, leaned lazily against the doorway, her crimson wedding dress swaying gently.
She smirked at Yang Jin.
"I’ll admit it."
"For once, your face was more useful than mine."
Yang Jin’s cheeks turned slightly pink.
"I-It’s not like I wanted to help him..."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Sure."
"You’ve already cleaned his house, claimed his wardrobe, and practically declared yourself his wife."
"And you’re still pretending?"
Yang Jin’s face immediately flushed crimson.
"I... I didn’t!"
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