On the table, a soft *plop* sounded.

A wobbly slice of boiled pork, perfectly marbled with fat and lean, landed in the food basin before Song Ciwan.

Yes, what sat before her wasn’t an ordinary bowl, or even a common, large soup tureen, but a basin the size of one you’d wash your face in! That was why, upon first glance, Song Ciwan had silently dubbed it a "food basin" in her mind.

The food basin was already heaped high with glistening white rice, and the villagers beside her kept piling on more meat.

As they served her, they continued to press, "You poor dear, look at you, so thin you’re nothing but a handful of bones... Here, here, eat up! Don’t hold back!"

The enticing aromas of food mingled in the air, and from somewhere, a stomach rumbled in a deafening, appreciative growl.

The other refugees at Song Ciwan’s table had long since given in. They needed no encouragement, already stuffing their faces and wolfing down their food with abandon.

They too had washbasin-sized food basins before them. They snatched up their chopsticks, slurping down the food with gusto. The more they ate, the better it tasted, and the better it tasted, the more they ate. Trapped in the middle, Song Ciwan couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably.

A pair of chopsticks had been placed in her hands as well, ready for her to begin.

But Song Ciwan managed to control her hungry instincts. Her sense of propriety compelled her to maintain a basic level of courtesy.

Song Ciwan placed a hand on her stomach and first expressed her gratitude to the villager urging her to eat. "Thank you, ma’am. And thank you to all the sirs and brothers of the village for your kind hospitality. But I... I have nothing of value to offer in return..."

As she said this, a look of shame crossed her face.

’I have nothing. How can I repay their generosity? I can’t just accept a free meal, can I?’

Aunt Zhou, who was sitting to Song Ciwan’s left, had already picked up her chopsticks. But upon hearing Song Ciwan’s words, she froze mid-motion.

The female villager who had been pressing food on Song Ciwan spoke up. "Oh, my dear young lady, why would you worry about such things? We’ve already said that all who come here are our guests. Seeing how much you’ve all suffered on your journey, I know it hasn’t been easy. My heart truly goes out to you. So please, just eat and don’t you worry!"

As she spoke, she grabbed a nearby spoon and, as if the food cost nothing, savagely scooped up a heaping spoonful of rice. Then, she shoved it directly at Song Ciwan’s mouth!

As she did so, a benevolent, expectant smile spread across her face.

It was far too benevolent. So benevolent, in fact, that it made one’s heart shudder and their hair stand on end.

Song Ciwan instinctively flinched away, blurting out, "Ma’am, I know you all mean well, but... but no matter what, I can’t just take a free meal!"

The moment those three words—"a free meal"—left her lips, the entire clearing fell silent.

The refugees, lost in their gluttony, continued to gorge themselves. But the villagers of Wealth Village, who had just been so warmly encouraging them, all stopped. As one, they turned their heads, their gazes swiveling in perfect unison to lock onto Song Ciwan.

The encouragement and laughter vanished. In the vast clearing before the village, the only sound that remained was the frenzied chewing of the feasting refugees.

SLURP SLURP, CHOMP CHOMP—

An invisible, unutterable, terrifying pressure accompanied those stares, pressing down on Song Ciwan with crushing weight.

’What was this feeling?’

’It was the formless power of a world drowning in filth, inviting you to sink along with it.’

’It was a terrible, suffocating doubt, pressing in from the heavens and the earth, from front to back, left to right—from every conceivable direction.’

Those gazes were silent, yet they seemed to roar in unison: *Why not? Why won’t you eat? Look, everyone else is eating! Everyone! You’re the only one who isn’t. It must be—it absolutely must be—that there’s something wrong with you!*

’*There’s something wrong with you! Something’s wrong with you...*’

The questioning voices echoed, binding Song Ciwan fast and making escape seem impossible.

She could only watch, paralyzed, as the female villager beside her stretched out her arm, once again thrusting the spoonful of rice toward her mouth.

She wanted to dodge, but the formless pressure held her immobile. She wanted to protest, but if she opened her mouth, the rice would surely be forced inside!

For some reason, though she was still disoriented and her stomach burned with a fiery hunger, a conviction solidified within Song Ciwan: ’I must not eat the food of Wealth Village!’

In a flash, just as the spoon touched her lips, Song Ciwan suddenly jerked her head up.

She couldn’t move left or right, couldn’t dodge with her body, but miraculously, she managed to lift her head!

Of course, Song Ciwan didn’t realize it at that moment, but to bow one’s head was to lose one’s dignity. Looking up was the only way out.

The moment her head was up, she repeated loudly, "I will not eat! I don’t take free meals! I don’t take free meals! I may have no possessions, but I can work for my keep. I have my own two hands! I don’t need to eat what belongs to others. I can support myself!"

As she spoke, her voice grew stronger and louder. And strangely, the invisible pressure binding her began to weaken, fading away bit by bit.

Finally, she was even able to shoot to her feet!

Across from Song Ciwan, the female villager’s spoon-wielding hand was left hanging in the air. Her expression instantly stiffened.

The benevolent smile vanished without a trace, replaced by a grim, dark scowl.

The villager remained seated while Song Ciwan stood tall. Now, the woman was forced to crane her neck to look up at her.

"You really won’t eat?" Her voice had lost all its earlier warmth, the question repeated in a chilling tone.

Standing tall, Song Ciwan replied with conviction, "I will not!"

It was that unwavering voice, that powerful conviction, that finally connected with and ignited a mysterious, gossamer thread in the void.

Like the strum of a pipa, a single note... DONG... echoed with a long, lingering resonance.

From the void, a black-and-white scale slowly materialized before Song Ciwan’s eyes. On one of its Balance Plates rested a swirling mass of energy, accompanied by a line of text: [Village Level Mysterious Ghost Spirit, Hate, Hate, Hate, One jin and seven liang, Tradeable.]

No one could possibly know what Song Ciwan experienced in that instant!

The fog in her mind parted, and the veil clouding her vision shattered.

The very instant the Heaven and Earth Scale appeared, long-lost memories from the depths of Song Ciwan’s mind came rushing back like a tidal wave, slotting perfectly into place!

Song Ciwan was lucid once more. It all came flooding back. ’What Miss Song? What Bixi Village? What Yun Country, what famine? None of it was real! This all must have started with the disaster at Bibo Lake!’

’Is the Flood Dragon from Bibo Lake dead now?’ Song Ciwan had no idea.

’After falling into that chasm, how did they end up here?’ That, too, was a mystery to her.

But one thing she could discern with certainty: this world was clearly one massive Deceitful Realm.

Deceit... The name itself hinted at its nature: an existence even more elusive and indescribable than Demon Fiends. In this world, it wasn’t just humans who feared Deceit—even Demon Fiends were terrified of it!

After all, all living things fear the inexplicable.

Truth be told, the Song Ciwan from before hadn’t really understood the concept of "Deceit." Thankfully, when she’d bought that copy of the *Great Zhou Chronicles*, she had skimmed the sections introducing the phenomenon.

Deceit is ranked in Levels, from lowest to highest: Wilderness Level, Village Level, Small City Level, Great City Level, Country-Breaking Level, and Catastrophe Level...

Song Ciwan didn’t know if there were any levels beyond that; the *Great Zhou Chronicles* didn’t say.

The book had offered a rough overview: though Deceit is elusive, it operates on rules. All manifestations of Deceit must adhere to their rules. Therefore, once trapped within a Deceitful Realm, discovering its rules is the only path to survival!

’So then, what are the rules of the Deceit governing this Wealth Village?’