Something's Wrong with My Love Simulation Game (Patreon)

Chapter 34: A Bit Challenging to Overcome

~Hide and seek... Hide and seek... Let's play hide and seek together... Second brother hides in the water tank, Third brother hides in the attic, Fourth brother buries himself in the pile of dirt, Fifth brother crouches under the bed, Sixth brother crawls into the chimney, Seventh brother hangs from the rafters, And where's the eldest? The eldest went to grandma's house. Hide and seek... Hide and seek... ...~

Eerie childish voices sang along with the music, creating a spine-chilling atmosphere.

Fortunately, the lyrics were still normal, not evoking any creepy imagery.

"Wait a moment, doesn't the music box only play the music? then where does this lyric come from? are you the one who sang it?"

Li Pai looked at Snow White desperately.

Something was off! It was way off!

Upon closer consideration, the quality of the singing just now, and the sound of the music box, weren't the same!

It definitely didn't come from the music box!

So, who was singing?

Li Pai looked around, feeling a cold shiver.

"Oh, it was me, Haven't you heard this song before?"

Snow White nodded, then asked.

"Uh.... It's really you? Next time, don't use that babyish tone to sing! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Li Pai let out a sigh of relief.

He thought there might be someone else in the room... or a ghost, turn out it's just Snow White.

"Oh, by the way! What's with the content of this nursery rhyme?" Li Pai suddenly asked.

Upon careful consideration, the lyrics seemed to mention seven children!

It could very well be a clue about the seven dwarves!

"You don't know this song? It's the most popular nursery rhyme near the Imperial City in recent years."

"It tells the story of septuplets being slaughtered by a wicked mother, and only one of them manages to escape."

Snow White explained.

"Whoa... How come it's that creepy? Just from listening to the lyrics, it sounds pretty normal..."

Li Pai's mouth twitched upon hearing the mass slaughter.

"Well, that’s true, but there's more to it."

"Basically, it goes on to say that their mother used dark magic to kill them one by one, extracting their hearts and eyes to brew a secret elixir."

"The first half of the hide-and-seek lyrics is about the locations of their bodies."

"In this nursery rhyme, the reason why the eldest managed to escape was because she wasn't home when that massacre happened."

Snow White continued explaining.

"This..."

Li Pai hand that holding the torch trembled slightly.

This nursery rhyme was too horrifying.

But Li Pai was curious about the second half.

It was such a conflicted feeling—being scared yet wanting to hear more.

~ Hide and seek... Hide and seek... ~

The eerie child's voice resounded once again.

This time, it sang the second half Snow White had just explained.

~ The crazed mother hunted down her children room by room, gouging out their hearts and eyes and hastily burying their bodies. 

These hearts were thrown into a cauldron and boiled into a potion with all sorts of peculiar ingredients... ~

"Alright, Snow White, don’t sing it anymore, it gave me a chill."

After listening to a few lines, Li Pai felt a sense of unease and immediately stopped it.

These things were becoming a bit too much, and his mental state might start to deteriorate.

"Huh? It wasn't me who sang!"

Snow White tilted her head and said.

She was just as puzzled. Where was the singing coming from?

".... What?"

Li Pai's heart trembled in trepidation and horror.

If it wasn't Snow White who sang that other half of the song, then who is it?

Li Pai immediately surveyed his surroundings.

The torchlight swayed, revealing every corner of the room, and there wasn't anywhere to hide.

Suddenly! Li Pai's gaze fell upon the rocking horse by the wall.

That rocking horse...

It was swaying slightly!

What's going on?

"Snow White?"

Li Pai gave Snow White a glance, signaling that there was something wrong with the rocking horse.

Snow White nodded, and a strand of her long hair floated over slowly.

"Hee hee hee~"

As the strand of hair was about to reach the rocking horse, the singing suddenly stopped, replaced by a string of crisp laughter.

This laughter, as if it was equipped with Dolby surround sound, traversed every corner of the room, sending shivers down one's spine.

"Are you here to play with me?"

"Hee hee hee~"

The rocking horse began to sway more vigorously.

Following that, a figure slowly appeared on the horse's back.

It was a girl who appeared to be less than ten years old!

At first glance, the girl seemed like an ordinary spirit, but when Li Pai saw her eyes, it felt as if something had suddenly tugged at his heart.

They were hollow eyes.

The pitch-black void seemed like two abysses, ready to suck a person's consciousness away if they weren't careful.

Snow White's hair stopped in front of the little girl.

She turned her head and looked at Li Pai.

This was her way of waiting for Li Pai's instruction.

After a moment's thought, Li Pai retrieved the Hunter's Compass from his consciousness space.

As soon as he held it, the compass reacted like a jumping egg, vibrating intensely.

The pointer spun wildly.

This degree of movement was similar to what happened when Li Pai met Snow White on the second floor of the Elora house.

But...

The current Snow White's strength had plummeted to just ten percent of what it was.

So, this vibration wasn't caused by Snow White.

Then it must be...

The little girl on top of the rocking horse!!!

This little girl... was stronger than the both of them!

"Could you give the rocking horse a push for me?"

The little girl opened her mouth.

Her clear voice echoed throughout the room.

Li Pai thought for a moment and nodded.

For now, it was best to maintain a good rapport. If they could solve things through conversation, it was better to avoid fighting.

With Li Pai's permission, Snow White's long hair wound around the rocking horse beneath the little girl and gently began to sway it.

"Hee hee hee~~"

"It's so fun~"

The little girl grinned.

If it weren't for those hollow eye sockets, she almost looked like she was happy.

While the little girl was immersed in the joy of riding the rocking horse, Li Pai's brain worked rapidly.

'If my estimation is correct, the seven children mentioned in the nursery rhyme should be the seven dwarves, but their appearance and setting here differ quite a bit from the fairy tale...'

Li Pai didn't dare to keep staring at the little girl.

Those hollow eyes were truly eerie.

Considering the nature of this game, the appearance and design of the dwarves might have some deviations... Li Pai could understand that.

'In the original fairy tale, Snow White received help from the seven dwarves and the prince to defeat the evil stepmother, If there's not much deviation from this point... the evil spirit of the little girl here should be an ally, or at the very least, Snow White should gain some power to defeat the queen from here, so.... what should I do...'

Li Pai frowned, deep in thought.

'Could it be...'

Li Pai remembered that in the forest, Snow White had mentioned that souls could increase their strength by devouring other souls.

If there were six dwarves here... and the soul of the little girl was so strong...

Absorbing them all could significantly boost their strength!

Li Pai felt like he was onto something.

But...

How could he devour her?

Remember, at the moment, there were three souls in the room: if their level are converted into game mechanic, Li Pai at LV.0, Snow White at LV.1, and the little girl who was probably at least LV.2 if not LV.3!