A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 417 or

For Rongkong's third hand to commit theft, three conditions must be met:
1. Know the appearance and location of the item to be stolen.
2. Neither you nor the item you intend to steal is in a state of being 'observed'.

3. The length of the ghost hand is limited, and the straight-line distance between it and the stolen item cannot exceed a certain limit.

When Ding Wei rushed into the room, he stopped Qin Shou from painting Miao Miaomiao's face.

Ning Zhe then used the notepad containing Xi Zhao's rules and the ability to synchronize their states to engage in a remote 'gamble' with Plumeria across the vast distance of time and space, winning ownership of [Rong Kong] and growing a third hand.

This invisible third hand ignored the obstruction of the house walls and reached directly into Qin Shou's arms, taking the cloth bag he had hidden there.

"I'm quite interested in this pen." Ning Zhe slowly untied the rope from the cloth bag and said casually, "It's like adding the finishing touch to a ghost painting. With the face of the grim reaper painted on it, it really has the characteristics of a messenger of the underworld. Isn't that amazing?"

Qin Shou sneered: "It is amazing, but it is really impolite of you to take other people's things without asking."

"Is it polite to coax someone else to replace you?" Ning Zhe chuckled.

Seemingly choked by those words, Qin Shou shut his mouth and said nothing more.

Ning Zhe untied the rope and completely opened the cloth bag, revealing a waxy yellow color inside—it was a pen.

"This...Oh my god, this..." Miao Miaomiao turned pale with fright after just one glance, and her hand holding the camera trembled slightly.

It was a pen that was difficult to describe in words.

Its penholder is waxy yellow, like the pale, emaciated skin of someone suffering from long-term malnutrition, and is engraved with lifelike, deep lines:
The legs were straight and together, the back was upright, the hands were folded and hanging down in front of the lower abdomen, the ribs were clearly visible, and the face was peaceful with the eyes closed as if the person was asleep.

The entire pen is sculpted into a lifelike miniature human body, head down and feet up, with the ink-soaked black nib serving as its 'hair'. Holding it and writing feels like holding an upside-down person.

"Is it a consecration tool? Or is it a ghost that exists in the form of a pen?" Ning Zhe asked with great interest, playing with the yellowed human pen in his hand.

—The Snake God's Summoning exists in the form of a Chinese almanac, while Taiyi is an unfinished four-faced Buddha statue.

"I have no obligation to tell you this," Qin Shou said coldly. "Give me back the pen when you've had your fun. There's still one face of the underworld official that I haven't finished drawing. If something goes wrong at tomorrow's funeral, we'll all be trapped here forever."

"What if nothing goes wrong and the funeral procession goes smoothly?" Ning Zhe asked, "Will we be able to leave here safely?"

Qin Shou immediately replied, "That's for sure..."

“You’re lying.” Ning Zhe interrupted him directly: “You will definitely be able to leave safely after the funeral ceremony, but we may not be.”

"That's not true." Qin Shou shook his head decisively: "We can all leave safely."

Does the "we" you mentioned include me?

This time it was Ding Wei who spoke. After Ning Zhe's reminder, he had clearly realized what was going on:

"I remember you said before that the underworld officials not only have to stand guard and maintain order under the stage, but also have to escort all the wandering ghosts of the village to the underworld after the play ends... Once they go, will they ever come back?"

Qin Shou remained silent; his silence was his answer. At this point, even the most obtuse person could understand the situation. Ding Wei looked down at his semi-transparent body, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

“How can a living person impersonating a ghost messenger go down to the underworld and possibly come back?” Qin Shou sighed after a long while. “But someone has to go. Someone has to make a sacrifice so that the others can leave.”

If we don't do this, the result will be that everyone will be trapped and die here.

Ding Wei and Zhang Genshuo exchanged a glance, then looked at Ning Zhe, who hadn't shown any emotion throughout, and whispered, "Thank you."

Ning Zhe didn't need to bring this up. He wasn't a ghost messenger. He could have boarded the train and left after the funeral tomorrow. Qin Shou's actions hadn't infringed on his interests. He could have left safely by remaining silent and didn't need to care about their lives.

But he still told the truth.

“Ning Zhe…” Feng Yushu, standing outside the door, looked at Ning Zhe’s back with some curiosity, feeling puzzled.

Does Ning Zhe seem like the type to do this? When has he ever cared about the lives of others? This is completely unlike him…

"Okay, okay, you're the good guy, I'm the bad guy." Qin Shou raised his hands in surrender and said helplessly, "So, Mr. Good Guy, what do you plan to do?"
We only have two options now: either send four people to serve as underworld officials and the rest of us leave safely, or we all stay here and don't move. Which do you choose?

"I choose to leave now." Ning Zhe stuffed the strange human-shaped pen into his pocket, turned around and left.

"Huh?" Feng Yushu was taken aback for a moment, then quickly jogged to catch up with him.

"You!" Qin Shou was stunned, seemingly not expecting Ning Zhe to do this. Seeing the two walking further and further away, he had no choice but to stride after them, shouting, "Wait! You can't leave like this! The train won't start until the souls of the deceased at the mortuary have been buried!"

As if he had taken his words to heart, Ning Zhe actually stopped walking.

Qin Shou, panting, said, "Changed your mind? While there's still time, give me back the pen. I have a way to make them fall into a deep sleep, letting the instincts of the underworld officials take over their bodies and complete the funeral procession..."

Ning Zhe slowly turned his head, his cold face expressionless, and said, word by word, "Why...why did you stop me?"

Qin Shou's expression changed: "Oh no!"

Ning Zhe silently took two steps back, shielding his aunt in front of him, and said softly:

"If it's really as you say, that the train won't start until the souls of the deceased at the mortuary are buried, then you don't need to stop me at all. You can just stay here and wait for me to return empty-handed. It won't be too late to bring up the proposal I just made after I've hit a wall."

"But you still caught up, even ignoring my warning that 'one more step closer and you'd die.'"

"Why did you risk your life to stop me?"

Ning Zhe spoke calmly, reaching into his pocket and stroking the strange pen. Qin Shou stood there dumbfounded, beads of sweat dripping down his temples.

Why are you in such a hurry? What are you afraid of?

Ning Zhe stared intently into his eyes, his chilling voice seeming to emanate from hell: "Are you afraid that after I board the train with this pen, it will just leave?"

(End of this chapter)