Duosheng Danyuan

"Strange Tales of Rules, what's that? Oh, you mean that... uh, what's it called again? I think it's about elephants, rabbits, and some other animals..."

"A strange tale about zoo rules," Su Wanqing said.

"Oh right, right, Zoo Rules Ghost Stories, it used to be really popular. Ah! You mean, we're in a Zoo Rules Ghost Stories right now?" Wang Hao was more oblivious than we imagined; it wasn't until this moment that he realized he was probably in a Zoo Rules Ghost Stories world.

"Wait a minute, none of the three of you know about the strange rules?" Lin Xu asked curiously.

"I don't know, I have absolutely no idea." Wang Hao stared at Lin Xu with wide eyes, looking quite surprised. "When we saw the rules yesterday, we all thought these were the rules the elders were talking about, and that we just had to follow them."

"Sigh..." Lin Xu sighed when he heard Wang Hao say that.

"Uncle Wang Hao, let me tell you about it."

"Okay, but could you please stop calling me 'uncle'? I'm actually not even thirty years old yet..."

"Okay, sure."

Then, Su Wanqing began to explain to Wang Hao what the strange tales of rules were, and what the world of strange tales of rules was, just like she had explained it to Lin Xu yesterday.

"So that's how it is... According to you, as long as we follow the rules, can we leave here?" After hearing Su Wanqing's explanation, Wang Hao's eyes lit up instantly.

"Of course not. In novels, there are basically no rule-based fantasy stories where you can escape as long as you follow the rules."

"Hey, but the zoo rule mystery seems to just mean that as long as you follow the rules, that's all that matters, right?"

"The Zoo Rules Ghost Stories aren't just about following the rules, are they?" Su Wanqing said speechlessly. "To be honest, the original Zoo Rules Ghost Stories only had the rules themselves. They didn't tell the stories of people who traveled into the Zoo Rules Ghost Stories at all, so there was no such thing as someone who could escape just by following the rules. The obstacle course type or even the superpower type of Zoo Rules Ghost Stories were works that emerged after Zoo Rules Ghost Stories became popular."

"is that so?"

"That's right," I affirmed.

"You know so much about this? How come I didn't notice it yesterday?" Lin Xu asked in surprise.

"Hehe, I was just too nervous yesterday," Su Wanqing said with a simple smile.

"So, according to you, Chen Yu is in danger!?" Wang Hao pondered for a long time before belatedly exclaiming in surprise.

Looking at Wang Hao, Lin Xu paused for a moment, then said, "Actually..."

"Actually, there shouldn't be any problem," I interrupted Lin Xu before he could finish speaking, "Although this place is strange, everything should proceed step by step, or at the very least, there should be a reason for everything. Otherwise, they could just let the elders here torture and kill us at will. We all saw it with our own eyes yesterday; this is a genuine world of cultivation."

"So, Chen Yu should be alright?" Hearing my words, Wang Hao felt a little relieved and asked.

"I think that's right. Just like you said, we're absolutely safe at the Retreat."

Hearing my words, Wang Hao pursed his lips and nodded. However, Su Wanqing's next words made Wang Hao anxious again.

"Actually, the fact that breaking the rules will result in death is quite common, especially in situations like ours where there are many people. In the novels I've read, apart from the main characters, the plot is driven by the deaths of cannon fodder characters."

Children speak without restraint, and Su Wanqing spoke her mind as she pondered the words.

"is that so!?"

"Wang Hao, don't worry too much. Chen Yu's situation is irreversible." Lin Xu, who had come to his senses, also spoke up. "Trust the rules. We are safe in the Tranquil Abode."

"But the rules also say that the Sheng Dan Academy does not welcome lazy disciples. What does that mean?" Realizing that Chen Yu's situation was much more dangerous than he had imagined, Wang Hao immediately looked at us with pleading eyes.

"I don't know, but we'll find out soon," I said.

"I do have some guesses, but it's pointless now. Overthinking will only scare me. Let's just accept it for now." Shaking his head, Lin Xu shrugged, looking helpless.

In fact, we were truly powerless. Although, based on Su Wanqing's description, we realized that the sound of banging on the door outside might correspond to Su Wanqing's dream inside, this was just a deduction without any basis. Moreover, Chen Yu had been in the room well past the designated 9 o'clock time, so even if we told Wang Hao this information, it wouldn't help.

A moment of silence.

"Brother Wang Hao, I think Brother Chen Yu should be fine."

Why?

"Because good people get good rewards. In novels, the bad guys always die first. Uncle Chen Yu is a good person, so he definitely won't be the first one to get into trouble," Su Wanqing said naively.

"Ah... really? Okay." With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Wang Hao lowered his head slightly, speechless, and began to ponder.

After hearing Su Wanqing's words, Lin Xu and I turned our faces away, unsure of what to say.

Silence fell again.

I said...

Just as Lin Xu opened his mouth, a familiar white light flashed past the window.

"What the hell?" Wang Hao asked in surprise, looking out the window.

"Same lightning as yesterday, but it's morning now?" Lin Xu said.

"No, it wasn't just yesterday's lightning; it looked just like the deathly white sky I saw in my dream!"

As we spoke, the white light dimmed, but before we could react, another beam of white light pierced through the entire sky, as if to split the heavens in two.

"What on earth is going on?! Is it another monster invasion?"

"I don't understand," Lin Xu shook his head.

"It's getting more and more like it..." Su Wanqing muttered.

As the second white light faded, the magnificent and familiar rolling thunder began to sweep across all directions from where we were, and the deafening thunder roared as always, boiling in the sky, as if trying to suffocate us.

"The seventh rule!?" Feeling his breathing becoming increasingly difficult, Lin Xu used his last bit of strength to loudly remind us.

"Remember the Tranquil Abode, but how do we remember it?" Wang Hao asked loudly, though his voice still sounded faint amidst the thunder.

"Keep repeating it silently!" Lin Xu continued loudly.

......

The rain pattered softly against the windowpane and rustled gently over the grass and trees. As the thunder subsided, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

"Ho—"

"Hiss—hiss—ho—"

The only sounds in the living room for a moment were our own panting.

"No, it's no use," I said first.

"Ha... indeed, I... I felt like I was going to suffocate just now! Cough cough cough!" Panting, accompanied by violent coughing, Wang Hao shouted loudly, he seemed to still be recovering from the rolling thunder just now.

"Hah—hiss—, it's no use?" Lin Xu almost collapsed to his knees, barely managing to avoid falling flat on his face by holding onto the sofa cushions.

"Ugh! My chest, my chest feels so uncomfortable, it's about to explode, explode..." Su Wanqing had collapsed on the sofa, sticking out her tongue, as if she was about to kick the bucket.

"..."

It took us about two or three minutes to gradually recover from the suffocation.

"It should still be useful." Lin Xu sat back on the sofa and said, "Just a moment ago, I felt like I was going to faint. Memories of the past flashed through my mind and then disappeared. If I hadn't kept silently chanting the name of Jingxi Lodge, I might have already passed out."

"This is like a revolving lantern..." Wang Hao said, shaking his head as his lips twitched.

"No, this has little to do with the rules." I calmed my breathing and tried to maintain my balance. "My experience was completely different from Lin Xu's. My experience wasn't suffocation, but rather it felt like my lungs were being stuffed with an increasingly swollen balloon. No matter how hard I tried to breathe, my consciousness kept dissipating."

"this......"

"I've been thinking about it carefully, and I actually think it's still effective," Wang Hao said after a moment's thought. "After all, we've all been silently reciting the three words 'Quiet Retreat.' Perhaps the places where we don't feel the effect are actually where the effect is manifesting? We just don't feel it. Um, to put it simply, I think our situation might be worse if we didn't silently recite it."

"That makes sense," Lin Xu nodded.

"...I can't deny it." I paused for a moment and nodded.

Indeed, the situation just now was dangerous, and none of us could possibly conduct the control experiment; doing so would be tantamount to suicide! When the situation described in the rules occurs, strictly following the rules is the optimal solution. In any case, preserving our lives is the most important thing.

"What...what are you talking about?" Su Wanqing looked at the three of us in confusion, seemingly having no idea what we had just said.

"Tell me the seventh rule of Jingxi Lodge," Wang Hao said matter-of-factly.

"I know the seventh rule of Jingxi Lodge, but what did you mean by 'silently reciting the three words Jingxi Lodge' just now, Brother Wang Hao?"

"Uh." Wang Hao was speechless for a moment.

"Wanqing, didn't you hear me just now?" Lin Xu asked, his mouth agape in surprise.

"Did you speak?" Su Wanqing looked blank again.

"Wait," I raised my hand, signaling Lin and Wang to stop talking, and turned to Su Wanqing to ask, "Tell me first, what just happened to you?"

"Oh, right. Wasn't there lightning and thunder just now? Then I suddenly felt a tightness in my chest, followed by a ringing in my ears. I remember this ringing; it's the kind of ringing I told you about before, the kind that occurs when encountering holy light during a dream's collapse."

"And then what happens after the tinnitus?" I asked.

"After the tinnitus, it felt like I lost all five senses, or even lost consciousness! But I still remember two things. One was the dull pain in my chest, and the other was the seventh rule of the Quiet Abode. My grandmother said that a person has three souls and seven spirits, and when the body goes wrong, it's because of a loss of soul and spirit. I think this is what the rule means by being absent-minded?"

"So you didn't hear what I said?" Lin Xu asked, confirming.

"Not at all, did the thunder last for a long time?"

"It rang for a few minutes," I replied.

"I only heard the first rumble of thunder, and then I couldn't hear anything else," Su Wanqing said, recalling the incident.

"..."

A moment of silence.

"Actually, there's nothing wrong with it, right?" Wang Hao suddenly spoke up. "Think about it. Although Su Wanqing didn't silently recite the name of Jingxi Lu like we did, she still remembered the three characters of Jingxi Lu, right? So her situation is essentially the same as ours, just different paths, right? If her experience can prove anything, it can only prove my conjecture just now, that is, Rule Seven has appeared and taken effect, but we just lack a comparison and haven't felt it."

"...Brother Changfeng, what do you think?" Lin Xu pondered for a moment and then asked me.

"Wang Hao is right." I blurted out, looking at Lin Xu's somewhat surprised eyes, and said firmly.

Just then, Elder Jianshan's voice rang out again from beyond the sky.

"Meet at the entrance of the Meditation Lodge within half an hour. We are about to begin our formal practice."