The 1.6 update for Stardew Valley has added loads of new stuff for players to discover. Even though it's only been live for less than 24 hours, some have already found a new, slightly spooky interaction with the strange Mister Qi.
You're only really meant to reach the Summit in the late stages of Stardew Valley, as the path will open up after perfection is reached (aka, you've completed everything), so it's meant to be a momentous occasion. However, if you deploy some nifty scythework around the bottom of the path by Robin and Demetrius' home, you'll be able to break into the edges of the map, make your way through the forest, and reach the Summit in no time.
This tactic isn't new, with players discovering the workaround a couple of years ago, but until 1.6, all that would happen to players who managed to reach the top was, well, nothing. You'd get to look out over a nice view and maybe see a bird fly past every now and then. However, this is no longer the case—it looks like Eric Barone has found us out, and instead of patching the glitch, he has added a spooky fourth wall break instead.
A video showcases what happens to players who want to cut corners, cheat the system, and skip sections to get ahead in the game. Instead of the old scenic views at the Summit, this time, you'll be greeted with a hellish dark red void and random items floating around in the sky—I think I saw some parsnip seeds on my trip up the mountain. But floating foodstuffs aren't the only thing at the Summit. Mister Qi is waiting for you at the wooden bench, and he's definitely not happy to see you.
This strange character, who already creeped me out before this weird encounter, proceeds to just stand there for a few minutes and berate you for your foolish choices: "'How can I cheat the system for my own benefit?' you thought. Or, in layman's terms: 'Me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me'." Jeez, tell us how you really feel.
The scene ends with Mister Qi calling you "despicable," running headfirst at you, and supposedly clonking you on the head. But I'm not sure what happened, all I know is that I woke up in Harvey's clinic after someone found me battered and unconscious. I'm sure it was bad, though, as he had to perform emergency surgery and even charged me 500 gold at the end of it. So I guess the moral of the story is don't cheat, otherwise a strange blue man will beat you up, and you'll lose a whole week's farming budget.
