Players, Please Board the Train

Xu Huo turned back and saw it was the Long Braid Girl’s brother. He was holding an axe, his gaze sweeping over the stone statue at Xu Huo’s feet. “Xiao Yun said you wanted to buy sculptures, come with me.”

Xu Huo didn’t refuse, and followed him out of the woods.

The siblings lived near the station. Leaving the woods they had to cross a street, and just like yesterday, many households either openly or from hiding watched the outsiders.

There were also some players staying in the guesthouses outside; even wearing the same clothes, they were unmistakable compared to the lifeless local residents.

As they passed one household, cries and pleas for mercy came from inside. An elderly man had been kicked into the yard, and through the half-closed door Xu Huo could make out a tall man pressing a little girl down on a table.

Neighbors shut their doors one after another. Xu Huo noticed Xiao Yun’s brother clench his axe; he stepped into the yard and released the Swallowtail.

The black, swallow-shaped blades whirled and shot into the house. The continual attacks forced the player out; the man retreated into the yard, sneered upon seeing Xu Huo, and with a kick launched himself at him while a curved blade in his hand swept toward his throat!

Xu Huo stood still, used Like Repels Like to block him, then raised Danger Makes You Blind. When the player, forced back three meters, looked up he unavoidably saw his own eyes in the small mirror and then his pupils lost their luster.

Just as Xu Huo was about to finish him off, a rubber toy-like sticky hand flew in from outside the yard, wrapped the man up and pulled him straight out!

Xu Huo turned and saw another unfamiliar player supporting his now-blind companion, saying, “Two-on-one? You won’t come out on top.”Xu Huo wasn’t feeling energetic and didn’t want to get into a fight, so he said, “Bullying the old, weak, and women? You’ve got some nerve. I won’t argue with you, just leave, or I’ll call the police.”

This county had no administrative offices or police stations, and besides, this was inside a dungeon; players generally defaulted to solving problems with force, so no one expected him to actually call the police. When Xu Huo said that, the two players across from him looked baffled.

“What are you doing!” Yi Pei came over from not far off and quickly stood by Xu Huo.

The two players slunk away. Xu Huo turned to help the elderly man on the ground. The man flinched at his touch, then managed to stand and croaked a thank you.

Yi Pei comforted the little girl inside before coming out, helplessly saying, “Some people really are animals.”

Whether in the game or out of it, the weak are easy targets. It had nothing to do with gender, only that women were physically weaker and so became targets for those who preyed on the helpless.

“With so little guts,” Xu Huo said, “they only attack when they’re stronger; when faced with strength they lack courage.”

Xiao Yun’s brother showed disgust and said stiffly, “Are you buying or not? If not, I’m leaving.”

Of course Xu Huo wanted to buy. After slipping a few hundred White Bills to the elderly man, he and Yi Pei went into Xiao Yun’s house.

Xiao Yun was preparing lunch. She greeted them warmly and offered fresh wild fruit.

Her brother came back and dumped a basket of wood carvings on the ground. “Pick whatever you want.”

Then he sat in the yard and continued carving with a chisel, unfinished pieces in hand.

The carvings in the basket were exquisite, unlike the woodwork seen in other homes. Xiao Yun’s brother’s carvings had especially lifelike eyes.

This wasn’t a matter of skill. Apart from Xiao Yun’s brother, everyone else made their carvings with blurred or indistinct eyes.

People in the county were very superstitious about eyes.

“Can I use your restroom?” Xu Huo asked Xiao Yun.

She pointed out where it was.

He entered the bathroom: a simple squat toilet, a small sink with a towel hanging beside it, and a wooden rack above the sink holding toiletries.

He stood in the restroom for a moment, washed his hands, and came out.

Yi Pei had already chosen her carving and motioned for him to buy it and move on.

Xu Huo noticed a small wooden hand mirror among the items. He opened it outward, first sticking a finger in to touch it before flipping it open. “This workmanship is good. I have kids at home… why doesn’t it have a mirror?”

“My brother only does woodworking.” Xiao Yun brought them water. “And nowadays many little girls think wooden mirrors aren’t fashionable, so few buy them. If you want, I can give you a few.”

“I’ll be staying here a few more days. How about this: I’ll order a batch of wooden mirrors, and you help me fit the mirror pieces in, okay?” Xu Huo said.

Xiao Yun looked troubled. “We can’t make that many right away, and lately we don’t plan to go out much.”

Xu Huo smiled and put down a wooden frame. “Then I’ll order fewer. I’ll install the glass myself, but you’ll need to give me a discount.”

Xiao Yun happily agreed and brought out all her stock. Xu Huo picked some other small trinkets as well. Before leaving he asked which household would go out to purchase supplies.

“The others go buy daily necessities. If you really need them, ask Big Hai at the hotel—he sometimes runs errands for guests.”

After thanking her, Xu Huo left; even from far away he could still see Xiao Yun standing in the doorway waving.

“Why do you always ask about mirrors?” Yi Pei lowered her voice. “You went to the restroom just to see if their house had a mirror, didn’t you?”

“The few households I checked today had no mirrors. Don’t you think that’s strange?” Xu Huo countered.

Yi Pei felt the voice recorder in her pocket. “But the hotel has mirrors.”

“This dungeon is called Shared Eyes, so at least it relates to eyes. The county’s handicrafts are well made, but no one focuses on eyes. Every household doesn’t use mirrors. There’s a daily vehicle passing through; buying some mirrors wouldn’t be hard. They shouldn’t keep making excuses.”

“From these small things, the residents here might be avoiding ‘eyes.’”

“Avoiding eyes?” Yi Pei frowned. “But they don’t seem to avoid people’s gazes. If they were so taboo about mirrors they wouldn’t want to look others directly in the eye either. That’s contradictory.”

Xu Huo glanced at her. “It’s just a small detail—maybe a local custom. Any other findings?”

“Nothing particularly noteworthy,” Yi Pei said. “The only oddity is that these people don’t seem to understand the local religion well. There are no ritual festivals, no household altars. They’re clearly wary of outsiders, yet they seem to want guests to stay.”

The two exchanged a few simple observations and returned to the hotel. When Tian Kunwen and the others came back, they gathered in Fu Danhong’s room to swap information.

“They do have deities they worship,” Tian Kunwen said, “in their bedrooms.”