Rules and Survival

The Old Daoist: "So-called hunger is merely an illusion. You are already ghosts; you will not die without food or drink. As long as you can maintain your original heart, these illusions cannot truly harm you."
Ma Ping's emotions were somewhat frayed: "Then why didn't you tell us such an important thing before?!"
If the Old Daoist had told them earlier, they could have avoided all these troubles!
The Old Daoist looked calmly at the distraught Ma Ping and said, "These things, if you do not ask, I cannot speak. And there are some things, even if you ask, I cannot speak. Because this is the Dao of this world."
The Old Daoist seemed to once again perceive everyone's confusion. "What is the Dao? The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things... The Dao is the origin of all things, the foundation of all things, the law by which the entire world operates. I am a Daoist seeking the Dao, and like you, one of the myriad things bound by the Dao. Before the Dao, you and I are the same; we can only obey, not overstep."
Ye Yu was surprised: "He's talking about the Dao, so it wouldn't be... our anomaly rules, would it?"
Shi Ying was even more startled upon hearing this: "You know the existence of rules? You can actually perceive the existence of rules?!"
Compared to Ye Yu's mere surprise, Shi Ying was utterly shocked. She had encountered too many anomalies, but had never met a derived anomaly like the Old Daoist. He could actually perceive the existence of rules, perceive that he was bound by rules. This was as if... a character in a fictional manga or anime suddenly broke the fourth wall and recognized the real world!
In manga, anime, and films, there were many characters who could break the fourth wall, but in reality, Shi Ying had only seen one derived anomaly like the Old Daoist who could perceive rules and realize they were bound by them!
The Old Daoist merely looked at them calmly: "I am a Daoist. If a Daoist does not know the existence of the Dao, what else can he know?"
Shi Ying was momentarily bewildered. "Is it just because of the Daoist setting?"
Although Ye Yu was also very surprised, she was more concerned about another matter: "If the Old Immortal says there are some things you cannot tell us unless we ask, then does the Old Immortal know how we can escape this place?"
The Old Daoist stroked his silver beard.
"Do not worry. When this matter is over, I will personally escort you all to the underworld. Then, after crossing the Naihe Bridge, seeing the Three-Life Stone, and drinking Meng Po's soup, you may all go reincarnate."
"Judging by your appearances, I don't know what evil deeds you committed in life to become half-human, half-beast. If you are fortunate, perhaps you can reincarnate as humans. If King Yama judges your sins to be heinous, then you can only enter the animal realm."
These words were too vague. Ye Yu and the others wanted to ask more, but the Old Daoist shook his head, indicating that his words were exhausted.
"It's getting late. I still need to meditate. Please return."
Everyone didn't really want to leave, but seeing that the Old Daoist refused to say anything more, they could only reluctantly depart, exiting the Yama Temple. Shi Ying looked up at the sky and was immediately startled. Her phone showed it was just past 9 o'clock, yet the sun was high above everyone's heads, making it seem like midday!
Shi Ying tilted her head, about to inform everyone about this, when suddenly she saw a black shadow leap out from the forest behind the mountain, charging straight towards Ma Ping.
"Watch out!"
Shi Ying immediately pulled Ma Ping back towards herself and kicked the black shadow away.
Everyone looked closely and found that it was indeed a hungry ghost with emaciated limbs and a swollen belly. As that hungry ghost got up, the grass in the forest behind the mountain rustled, and countless black shadows leaped out. Looking closely, there were over thirty hungry ghosts, half the height of a human!
This number was truly too many. Everyone was startled and immediately wanted to retreat to the Yama Temple. But they only heard a thud, and the temple gate of the Yama Temple quickly closed before their eyes.
Everyone: ...Damn it!
Ma Ping anxiously knocked on the door for help, but only the Old Daoist's calm voice came from inside: "As you sow, so shall you reap. I cannot interfere with this karma."
Shi Ying and the others looked at these hungry ghosts with some realization. It was because they had stolen many ghost-suppressing talismans yesterday, causing these hungry ghosts to awaken and start moving around even during the day.
This delay allowed the hungry ghosts to quickly surround them. Their blood-red eyes were full of greed, clearly seeing them as delicious prey.
Shi Ying: "We can't fight them haphazardly! Let's break through!"
She pulled out a yellow talisman and stuck it on herself, leading the charge towards the weakest direction. The others followed suit, sticking yellow talismans on themselves and catching up to Shi Ying. Due to the urgent situation, no one noticed that Ye Yu and Wu Xi, mixed in the crowd, did not have yellow talismans on them.
The hungry ghosts, who were slowly tightening their encirclement, saw them trying to escape and immediately charged at them ferociously. The most eager one stretched out its claw to grab Shi Ying. As a result, the yellow talisman on Shi Ying flickered, and the hungry ghost's claw, upon touching Shi Ying, immediately emitted a wisp of black smoke, forcing the hungry ghost to scream and quickly retract its claw.
Except for Ying Jian Yun, this was the first time everyone had seen yellow talismans effective against hungry ghosts. Several people felt joyful. However, after the first hungry ghost burned by the yellow talisman realized Shi Ying had a yellow talisman on her, it immediately took a deep breath. Its already swollen belly swelled even more, as if stretched into a thin layer by air.
Then, an invisible surge of Yin energy was blown out by it, and the yellow talisman on Shi Ying immediately flew off. At the same time, another hungry ghost seized the opportunity and pounced on Shi Ying!
"Sister!"
Shi Shuo was startled and quickly took two steps forward, blocking Shi Ying. The hungry ghost pounced and collided with him, immediately screaming in pain as it was burned and rolled onto the ground.
Shi Ying, quick-witted, quickly snatched the flying yellow talisman in mid-air. Another hungry ghost lunged to bite her. Shi Ying kicked it away, then quickly unfolded the crumpled yellow talisman in her hand. Her fingers pinched the top, trying to reveal the cinnabar charm drawn on it. The hungry ghosts indeed showed wary expressions at this sight.
But before Shi Ying could breathe a sigh of relief, a gust of Yin wind suddenly swept in from the side. The next second, the yellow talisman in her hand tore with a "rip," the talisman was blown apart, and half of it floated to the ground.
Shi Ying's fingers, clutching the remaining half of the talisman, had just lifted her head when she saw a hungry ghost stepping on the half-talisman on the ground, its emaciated face revealing a ferocious, bloodthirsty smile at her.
Shi Ying: ...
Shi Ying was silent for a moment, then punched the hungry ghost in the face. As a strong woman who exercised all year round, Shi Ying's fists were not for show. The hungry ghost, only waist-high to her and lighter than a child, was immediately sent flying by her punch.
Having gained a moment to breathe, she immediately stuck another yellow talisman on herself, not daring to prolong the fight. She and her brother worked together to barely create an opening, then, while calling out to everyone, they flashed out.
Ma Ping's yellow talisman was blown away by a gust of Yin wind from a hungry ghost. She instinctively reached out to catch it back but was pulled away by Bai Miao Miao, who turned her head and grabbed her arm.
"Run!"
Never mind the talisman, save your life first!
At this moment, Gao Bai and Ying Jian Yun had already followed Shi Ying and Shi Shuo out, but Bai Miao Miao was half a beat slower due to this delay. The opening that Shi Ying and Shi Shuo had created was now filled by a hungry ghost. Its blood-red eyes stared greedily at them. Noticing the yellow talisman on Bai Miao Miao, it immediately began to inhale, preparing to blow away the talisman on Bai Miao Miao.
Bai Miao Miao was so scared that her steps faltered. Fortunately, at this moment, a long blue fish tail, like a snake's tail, suddenly swung out. The hungry ghost that was inhaling was immediately struck by the fish tail like an inflated rubber ball and sent flying, and the opening was once again cleared!
Originally thinking she couldn't escape this time, Bai Miao Miao instinctively looked back and saw the black cat man stepping on the heads of several hungry ghosts, leaping out of the encirclement as if walking on flat ground. His long legs covered the distance in one stride, even surpassing her and Ma Ping, and once again walked side-by-side with the small fish in front.
How could he run so fast? Weren't everyone's transcendent abilities sealed? Or could ordinary people achieve this level with training?
The doubts in Bai Miao Miao's mind flashed by, but as she saw the hungry ghosts starting to chase, she had no time to think about these things. She lowered her head and ran desperately forward. But she hadn't run long before she felt her steps become light and heavy, her heart pounding, and cold sweat pouring down.
Oh no, she hadn't eaten anything for two days. She was too hungry to run!
As Bai Miao Miao thought this, she felt completely powerless, her steps growing heavier. Her heart panicked, and she quickly reassured herself that the Old Daoist had said that in this anomaly domain, she was a ghost, and wouldn't die without eating or drinking. Hunger was an illusion, yes, just an illusion!
Unfortunately, the feeling of hunger in her stomach and the feeling of weakness in her body were so real. Bai Miao Miao, because of the existence of the notebook, suspected that the Old Daoist was Liu Dao San Ren, so she couldn't fully trust the Old Daoist's words, nor could she ignore the constant hunger signals from her body.
Therefore, even if she screamed "this is an illusion" a hundred times in her heart, the situation didn't improve one bit. Not only Bai Miao Miao, but everyone except Wu Xi realized that their already limited physical strength was rapidly depleting. Among them, Gao Bai, with his leg injury, was in the worst condition.
Ying Jian Yun, although also injured, besides losing one eye, his other injuries were superficial, not affecting his tendons or bones. At least he could still run swiftly.
But a large chunk of Gao Bai's thigh had been bitten off by something, the wound deep to the bone. At this moment, he limped when walking, let alone running. No matter how hard he tried, under the two unfavorable conditions of hunger and leg injury, his speed was halved compared to normal. Slower even than the less-exercised Ma Ping. So, he, who had originally run with Ying Jian Yun, gradually began to fall behind the group.
On the other side, the hungry ghosts were very fast, running on all fours like hyenas, quickly catching up to the tail of the group. The hungry ghost running at the front immediately inhaled and exhaled.
Then, only Ma Ping's scream was heard, and the yellow talisman she had just stuck on was blown away again. Not everyone had Shi Ying's agility and coordination to both fight hungry ghosts and retrieve talismans.
Ma Ping could only watch helplessly as the yellow talisman was blown away, her eyes red as she quickly stuck a new yellow talisman on herself. Except for Gao Bai and Ying Jian Yun, everyone only had three yellow talismans. This was her last one!
The heavy panting of the hungry ghosts behind them was terrifying. Ma Ping was so scared that her heart trembled. Fear stimulated her potential, and her speed increased by several points, surpassing Gao Bai, who was second to last in the group.
As she passed Gao Bai, a thought suddenly flashed through Ma Ping's brain, which was almost entirely filled with fear. She had seen a saying: when being chased by a beast, you don't need to run the fastest in the world. You just need to run faster than your companions.
No, no, no, how could she think like that?
Ma Ping quickly came back to her senses, feeling ashamed and sad for her dark thought. Unexpectedly, the person at the very end, whom the hungry ghosts considered their target, Gao Bai, was maliciously staring at her retreating figure.
The Anomaly Town was not large, and everyone quickly reached a populated area. Ma Ping saw people as hope and immediately screamed for help.
Unfortunately, at this moment, there weren't many people on the road or in the fields. The three or four residents of Anomaly Town, seeing a swarm of black hungry ghosts chasing everyone, were even more frightened than Ye Yu and her group. They screamed and immediately scattered and fled.
Shi Ying had anticipated this, so she wasn't disappointed, only anxiously saying, "No, we can't run around like this! With our current physical strength, we absolutely cannot outrun these hungry ghosts!"
Ye Yu immediately called out loudly to Shi Ying, "Do you see that wooden house by the field? Quick, let's hide there!"
Shi Ying's gaze swept over, indeed seeing a small wooden house closest to the barley field, but she wasn't entirely in favor of this suggestion.
She stated that although ghost-suppressing talismans had a breath-concealing effect, the hungry ghosts had already seen them. Even if they stuck talismans inside the house, the hungry ghosts would still attack the house.
Ye Yu immediately stated that she wasn't trying to hide. Yellow talismans weren't just for sticking on doors; they could stick all the talismans they had inside the walls and on the windows, leaving only the door un-talismanned. That way, the hungry ghosts would definitely focus their attack on the wooden door. They just needed to guard the door. They just needed to repel the attacking hungry ghosts.
Based on the situation where Shi Ying and her group repelled three hungry ghosts on the first night, hungry ghosts also felt fear and would flee when scared. So, if they hid in the wooden house and fought to the death, there was still a lot of hope of repelling these hungry ghosts.
However, if they just kept running, their speed would not allow them to escape these hungry ghosts. And their already limited physical strength would eventually be exhausted under such intense exertion. At that point, without the strength to resist, they would truly become sweet treats for the hungry ghosts.
Shi Ying's eyes lit up, realizing Ye Yu's idea was highly feasible. She immediately changed direction, leading everyone to run frantically towards the wooden house by the field.
This was probably a resting place for farmers at the ends of the fields. The farmers had just been scared away by the hungry ghosts. Now, it was convenient for them; the door was unlocked. Shi Ying was the first to rush in, sticking the two remaining talismans on herself to the two side walls. Shi Shuo followed closely, sticking all the yellow talismans on his person and in his bag onto the windows.
Shi Ying: "Quick, everyone get in!"
"Get lost!" Gao Bai knocked away a hungry ghost that pounced on him, ignoring the wound on his arm, and quickly stuck another yellow talisman on himself.
As the last person, he could be said to be suffering unspeakably. The hungry ghosts ran faster and faster, and their attacks on him increased from one to five. In a short time, he had already used up six yellow talismans, but even so, in the brief moment he changed talismans, the hungry ghosts seized the opportunity, inflicting more wounds.
He could clearly feel the sharp pain of his flesh being torn by sharp teeth, and he could also see the greedy hungry ghosts devouring his flesh. And most importantly, he had no more talismans!
It was all because of that damn monkey. If that damn monkey hadn't ruined so many of his talismans, he would definitely still have some talismans to use now!
And this woman... Gao Bai maliciously looked at Ma Ping's retreating figure. He had just seen that the hungry ghosts' target was originally her. This woman deliberately surpassed him, using him as a shield!
He could have crushed an ordinary person like her with one hand, yet she dared to treat him like this!
Gao Bai suppressed the urge to pull Ma Ping behind him. It wasn't that he didn't want to do so, but he was wary of the rules, fearing that if he actually acted, he would be immediately judged to enter the animal realm. Fortunately, they were almost at the small wooden house. Just a little more effort, and once inside, they would be safe.
But just a few steps from the wooden house, a gust of Yin wind suddenly blew, and the last yellow talisman on Gao Bai was blown away. The vanguard hungry ghosts quickly enveloped Gao Bai, and three of them even leaped high, pouncing on Bai Miao Miao and Ma Ping.
"Ah!"
Both of their talismans had long been used up. Bai Miao Miao pushed Ma Ping away, but she herself was bitten on the shoulder by a hungry ghost, immediately screaming in pain.
"San Shui!" Shi Ying was startled. She risked leaving the house, kicked away a nearby hungry ghost, and quickly pulled Bai Miao Miao inside. At this moment, the hungry ghost on Bai Miao Miao's shoulder still hadn't let go. Shi Shuo quickly went over, twisted the hungry ghost's neck, and only then pulled it off Bai Miao Miao.
It was also at this moment that a scream came from outside the door, followed by Shi Ying's furious roar.
"Gao Bai! What are you doing?!"
Gao Bai, covered in blood, rushed into the room and leaned against the wall, panting heavily. At the same time, Shi Ying once again risked leaving the house. Shi Shuo was startled and quickly followed her out. Then, the two pulled Ma Ping in.
Bang! The wooden door was quickly closed by Shi Shuo. The hungry ghosts chasing them immediately crashed into the door.
"Ma Ping, are you okay?! What happened?"
Bai Miao Miao had no time to bandage the wound on her shoulder and quickly went to check on Ma Ping's condition. She saw that Ma Ping had bite wounds on her arm and waist. Even a piece of flesh had been gnawed off her face!
"San Shui!"
Ma Ping, covering her face, hugged Bai Miao Miao and cried out in agony. She seemed to want to cry out all the fear and despair she had just experienced.
Bai Miao Miao thought that Ma Ping's screams and fear were all because of the hungry ghosts, and quickly hugged Ma Ping to comfort her. Bai Miao Miao's comforting effect was not great. However, as a loud crash came from outside the door, Ma Ping's crying was immediately scared back.
Everyone stood in the room, clearly hearing the ferocious hungry ghosts outside colliding, gnawing, and scratching at the wooden door. The door frame trembled, and countless dust particles rustled down.
Shi Ying said in a deep voice, "This door won't hold much longer. Everyone get ready."
The rest of them nodded. They had covered the room with talismans, and each found a handy weapon in the room. Because this was a wooden house for farm tools, they found many hoes, rakes, and various weapons with decent destructive power.
With the final sound of the door panel giving way under the strain, it finally broke a large hole, and a hungry ghost immediately rushed in. But as soon as it entered, the ghost-suppressing talismans all over the house immediately slowed its speed considerably. Shi Ying had long been waiting by the door, holding a hoe, and immediately smashed the hungry ghost's head.
The hungry ghosts behind, unaware of the situation, continued to squeeze through the large hole. Everyone immediately attacked fiercely with their weapons. At this moment, humanity's counterattack against the hungry ghosts officially began!
The hungry ghosts came quickly and left quickly. Seeing that they couldn't break through after a long time, and so many of their companions had died, they finally felt fear and gradually retreated.
Everyone remained vigilant for a long time, and when they realized the hungry ghosts had truly fled, they finally sat on the ground, exhausted, to rest.

But Shi Ying, at this moment, walked up to Gao Bai and slapped him hard.
"Gao Bai! Were you crazy just now? Give me an explanation!"
Whether Gao Bai was crazy or not, Shi Ying didn't know, but she was truly furious, so much so that she didn't even call him "Tree Monster," but directly called out Gao Bai's real name.
Just now, she was about to grab Ma Ping's hand, but this person actually grabbed Ma Ping's leg, pulled her over, and pushed her towards the hungry ghosts, while he himself seized the opportunity to escape into the room!
Gao Bai covered his face, his hawk-like eyes filled with sinister coldness.
"What could I do? I just wanted to survive!"
Shi Ying: "But didn't I go out to save you? Couldn't you have waited a bit longer?!"
"How could you expect me to wait in that situation? Wait until when? Wait until my heart was gouged out, my throat bitten off, wait until you rescued my corpse?"
Gao Bai pulled out a tattered label from his pocket, which had fallen to the ground. This was the 'guardian' protection label given by the Jiuan City Investigation Team, capable of generating a protective shield to block fatal attacks below level three. If it hadn't been for it just now, he would have truly died!
Gao Bai and Shi Ying tore off their pretense, completely devoid of respect for their team leader. "For an ordinary person, you dared to hit me. I think you're the crazy one. Is her life more important than mine? I am your team member, an elite investigator of the investigation team!"
Gao Bai's logic shocked Bai Miao Miao and the others, who looked over. Shi Ying was so angry that she slapped him again.
"You're no longer an elite. According to your logic, an ordinary person's life is inferior to yours, so an ordinary investigator like you must certainly be inferior to an elite like me, right? So, can I just throw you out to feed the hungry ghosts now?"
Gao Bai suddenly looked up: "You wouldn't dare! If you kill me, Commander Zong won't let you off!"
"Commander Zong... Commander Zong... Yes, who doesn't know that you, Gao Bai, are the commander's lapdog. All day long, you fawn over the commander, making it seem like you're filial to your own father. But to everyone else, you're arrogant. What are you pretending for?!"
Shi Ying kicked Gao Bai in the knee, forcing him to kneel heavily on the ground. "I truly regret agreeing to recruit a Pug like you into my team. At least a Pug has the virtue of loyalty. What about you? Your strength isn't high, but your ambition is sky-high. You find few clues, but you're born knowing how to harm others!"
Gao Bai cursed angrily: "Don't blame everything on me. When danger struck just now, weren't you the first to run? Why didn't you think of saving me then? If you were willing to wait for me, to help me, wouldn't I have not done that?"
Shi Ying's face turned cold, and she slapped Gao Bai again.
"I didn't help you? Just now, if my brother and I hadn't led the charge and opened a path, do you think you would have escaped that encirclement of hungry ghosts?!"
"And ultimately, don't forget how this chaos started. If you and Zhang Yun hadn't secretly stolen the yellow talismans from us and refused to return them, where would today's events be?!"
Gao Bai fell to the ground, clenching his fists in anger but powerless to resist Shi Ying. He could only say with venom: "Don't blame everything on me. You're so smart, why didn't you force us to return the yellow talismans back then? Ultimately, weren't you just as greedy?"
Shi Ying was furious but powerless to refute Gao Bai's words. Just as the two were at a stalemate, Ye Yu suddenly spoke. "Everyone has a will to survive. In fact, your desire to survive is not reprehensible."
Shi Ying frowned and looked over, unclear why Ye Yu was suddenly speaking up for Gao Bai. Then she heard Ye Yu curl her lips into a smile and say, "Unfortunately, have you forgotten this anomaly rule? Harboring evil thoughts and committing evil deeds will lead you to be cast into the animal realm."