42. The Ghost Village Worships Gods (8)

Xie Yunhuai, does he have flowers growing on his face?

Incense and candles were lit and placed in the incense burner. Qin Fu'an looked up and watched the smoke rise, and the clay statue of the mountain god became even more blurred in the smoke.

His gaze pierced through the swirling smoke, breaking through the clay statue, and gently looked at the clusters of dark tentacles curled up within it.

They are not beautiful. If others could see them, they would definitely think they are the embodiment of evil spirits and demons, rather than some kind of deity protecting believers.

However, in Qin Fu'an's eyes, they were not terrifying or evil. On the contrary, when they smelled the incense and slowly woke up, tentatively extending the tips of their soft tentacles to touch the smoke swirling in the air, a barely perceptible smile flashed in Qin Fu'an's eyes.

They are different from the tentacles inside Xie Yunhuai's body because they do not recognize Qin Fu'an, nor are they attached to Xie Yunhuai's body.

Yet the two are so similar, both hungry and curious. Their soft tentacles seem to particularly love the scent of incense and candles. After greedily devouring the smoke, they lock onto Qin Fu'an standing before the statue, like a greedy child, wrapping their tentacles around his long, slender fingers and gently shaking them, expressing their desire for more incense.

Qin Fu'an didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and gently stroked the tentacles. After they stiffened in surprise and then abruptly retracted as if shy, he lowered his eyes and gave his standing position to the other two players.

The incense sticks inserted into the incense burner looked no different, but the tentacles that had just been trying to reach out to Qin Fu'an to ask for incense, roared angrily when they came into contact with the incense offered by the player. The tentacles inside the statue surged out and frantically shouted and muttered words that no one could understand.

Qin Fu'an stood quietly to the side, watching the scene unfold before him. After offering incense, as the third brother led them out, he deliberately lagged behind by two steps. The instant he reached out to close the temple door, his fingers twitched slightly, and an invisible spiritual energy removed the two incense sticks from the incense burner, destroying them completely.

It's unknown whether Xie Yunhuai will sense anything, or whether the changes in the souls within the statue will have any impact on him.

Qin Fu'an didn't know the answer, but he was concerned about the boy's condition. After confirming some of the doubts, he didn't stay at the mountain god temple for long and soon led the two players down the mountain.

"It feels like we didn't get any information on this trip..." Zhong Hao sighed regretfully. "Xiao Cen and I quickly walked around the area near the mountain god temple. There were people following us the whole time, so we couldn't investigate more thoroughly."

So their trip up the mountain was largely fruitless.

In fact, they didn't understand what was so strange about the mountain god statue whose face they couldn't even see.

“There are still some.” Cen Tian shook her head and retorted, “The villagers of the Ghost Village have a very strange attitude towards that statue, it’s too contradictory.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fu'an raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Zhong Hao also perked up and pressed Cen Tian to tell him if she had discovered any clues.

“It’s actually quite obvious.” Cen Tian thought for a moment and compared it to the temple statues in real life: “My friends and I have been to temples several times. Although we went to worship the God of Wealth, we had already been there. We had seen all the other temples, but I have never seen a temple that locks up the gods like the Ghost Village.”

She hesitated for a moment before saying with certainty, "They were locked up, and they would close the door of that temple when they came in and out, as if the mountain god inside was something that couldn't be seen by people or touched by light. Although the environment inside many temples is very...shady, there has never been a temple where gods and Buddhas are locked in a dark room, right?"

She made a point of recalling it many times along the way, making sure that she didn't remember it.

Let alone the most popular temples dedicated to the God of Wealth, even the small temples set up for the Earth God along some mountain roads have an open statue of the Earth God sitting there. How could they possibly lock up the gods and Buddhas?

After she said that, Zhong Hao suddenly realized, "That's right! And that mountain god temple, it's so rudimentary, it hasn't been repaired at all, it's like they'd love for it to collapse sooner..."

As he finished speaking, he seemed to have figured something out, and suddenly fell silent, turning his head to look at Qin Fu'an in disbelief.

Meeting their surprised and suspicious gazes, Qin Fu'an tilted his head slightly and said teasingly, "Look, so many clues, how can you say we've come up empty-handed?"

The two: "..."

No, isn't this information at all surprising?

They were initially shocked, and there was also a sense of surprise at discovering a great secret, but Qin Fu'an's expression clearly reminded them: I already knew this information.

This inevitably reminded me of what Qin Fu'an had said yesterday when we were sharing information: that they should investigate on their own.

Qin Fu'an probably knew about this information before that, but he was clearly not the type to generously share all information with them. That's why, after creating a good environment for them, he left it to the players to find out for themselves.

Whether or not you can find useful clues, and how many clues you can find, depends entirely on your own skills.

Qin Fu'an completely abandoned his duties as manager. This trip up the mountain was more like that of a bystander or examiner, coldly watching them use all sorts of methods to observe and test them.

Only when Cen Tian and Zhong Hao obtained useful information did he agree to rate their conjectures.

Such condescension, such lofty superiority.

Despite knowing his arrogance and condescension, the two couldn't muster any resentment. Instead, like students facing a difficult test, they continued to analyze the situation, trying to glean more correct answers from the trip to the mountain temple and present them to Qin Fu'an for further evaluation.

As it turns out, they might actually be capable of being excellent test takers.

Upon arriving at the haunted village, Cen Tian and Zhong Hao obtained another special piece of information based on Qin Fu'an's behavior.

"That stick of incense——!"

Zhong Hao suddenly asked, "Brother Qin, was that incense you lit earlier one you bought in the shop before entering the game? Is it any different from the other incense?"

The two stared intently at Qin Fu'an, their eyes filled with a nervous anticipation that even they themselves could hardly perceive.

Some viewers noticed that Zhong Hao's way of addressing Qin Fu'an had changed.

Previously, he always addressed Qin Fu'an as "Little Qin" based on his age, and addressed others as "Little Cen" or "Little Guo," etc.

But just now, he called Qin Fu'an "Brother Qin".

It has nothing to do with age, but rather with a genuine sense of concession and acceptance.

Qin Fu'an naturally noticed it as well, but he didn't care. After all, in terms of age, he could even be Zhong Hao's ancestor.

Therefore, he simply nodded casually and said to the two players with bright eyes, "I guess so. If there's a ritual of burning incense and paper money later, you'd better not touch it."

He hadn't forgotten that he was the only one of the seven players who bought incense and paper money back then.

Zhong Hao and Cen Tian obviously couldn't forget that when they learned the buyer was Qin Fu'an, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

They had initially thought it was Liu Yu or another player pretending to be weak, so they were on high alert. Now that they had confirmed it was Qin Fu'an, their vigilance had lessened considerably.

Then, they were happy that Qin Fu'an had agreed.

Qin Fu'an's answer proved that they were right. This also meant that Qin Fu'an probably had more information waiting for them to learn. Qin Fu'an didn't hide anything, and it was up to them to figure out the clues themselves.

Strangely enough, the two of them felt completely lost when doing quests in the dungeon before, and the sense of urgency that made them anxious was overwhelming. But now that Qin Fu'an was there to support them, they felt at ease and were even motivated to compete.

We can definitely get more information from Qin Fu'an.

They don't need to be in crisis, they don't need to gamble with their lives; all they need is more reasonable speculation and conjecture to get a yes or no answer from Qin Fu'an...

This is practically an open-book exam!!!

If they still can't get a passing score, then Cen Tian and Zhong Hao won't resent dying in this dungeon. Instead, they'll feel that they're not strong enough and deserve it.

Perhaps this is the joy of having someone to back you up.

Qin Fu'an paid no attention to the increasingly frequent exchange of information and speculation between the two. Just as he was about to enter the village, he caught a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye and paused slightly.

As soon as he stopped, the two people behind him also stopped and looked in the direction of his gaze with puzzlement.

“…That’s…Xiao Xie Yunhuai?” Zhong Hao barely managed to finish his sentence.

They spotted each other, but Xie Yunhuai didn't see them because the other person was being cornered by two people.

"It's Liu Yu and that newbie player." Cen Tian vaguely sensed something, glanced at Qin Fu'an with an indifferent expression, and then looked at the two blocking Xie Yunhuai. A sense of regret washed over her.

It's a pity we won't hear Liu Yu, this oddball whose insults are actually quite pleasant to hear, anymore.

However, to her surprise, when she saw Xie Yunhuai being harassed, Qin Fu'an did not immediately step in to help him out.

Instead, he quietly moved closer to the tree behind him, leaning lazily against the rough trunk, listening with his eyes downcast to the obviously unfriendly conversation not far away.

Cen Tian and Zhong Hao didn't know what Qin Fu'an's attitude was, but he was really hard to figure out. After hesitating for a moment, they also hid.

In the quiet afternoon, the not-so-bright sunlight made people drowsy, but the eerie village always had a cold and damp atmosphere, day and night. The sunlight on the horizon seemed unable to penetrate the thick fog surrounding the village. In the deathly silence where not even the chirping of insects could be heard, the cold voice not far away sounded exceptionally clear.

"Since you can't speak or write, I'll ask you questions and you answer. Nod if it's yes, shake your head if it's no. You'd better be honest. If you dare to lie to me, don't blame me for being rude to you."

Liang Ping is no longer as timid and cowardly as he was when he first entered the game. When facing weaker opponents who are even smaller than him, he makes no attempt to hide his malice, and the sinister threats in his words send chills down one's spine.

Liu Yu seemed to have known Liang Ping's true nature all along. Seeing this, he was not surprised at all. Instead, he curled his lips in disdain and urged impatiently, "Stop pretending. Hurry up and ask. If we delay any longer, that green-eyed weirdo might come back."

wack.

The three people behind the tree heard this name clearly.

Cen Tian and Zhong Hao's eyelids twitched slightly, and they both subconsciously held their breath to look at Qin Fu'an.

But Qin Fu'an seemed to be quite interested as he curled his lips into a smile. Instead of being angry, he raised his eyebrows and smiled in a way that made people uneasy.

So the two of them lowered their eyes in unison, pretending that they hadn't heard or seen anything.

As for how many candles were lit in their hearts, Liu Yu and Liang Ping will probably find out when they receive the incense and paper money.

In fact, Qin Fu'an was not angry.

Not only was he not angry, but he also silently repeated the term "green-eyed weirdo" twice more, and then hummed it with considerable satisfaction.

A strange man with green eyes, an unkillable monster.

How well they complemented each other! He and Xie Yunhuai were truly a match made in heaven.

If Zhong Hao and Cen Tian knew what he was thinking right now, their fear and awe would probably shatter instantly, and they would disgustedly mutter: "Pah, love-struck!"

Unfortunately, in this strange world, only Qin Fu'an can hear the souls of others, but no one can see what Qin Fu'an is thinking.

Meanwhile, the interrogation from the corner continued. Liang Ping, like a seemingly harmless venomous snake, finally revealed his fangs to the weak.

He grabbed Xie Yunhuai's tattered clothes with both hands, forcing him to answer his question, "Who will be the offerings for tomorrow's Mountain God Festival? Are they us outsiders?"

He was undoubtedly clever, even cunning, but the boy he threatened and questioned kept his head down, as if he were not only a little mute but also a little deaf, unable to hear his threats and therefore unable to answer his questions.

Seeing the mute man's lack of cooperation, a hint of anger flashed in Liang Ping's eyes. He gripped the mute man's collar even tighter, and with his other hand, he gripped the mute man's neck firmly, forcing him to look up at him.

"I'll ask you one more time, aren't the offerings for the Mountain God Festival from outsiders?!"

Every word he uttered carried a ruthless intent, as if if Xie Yunhuai's answer did not satisfy him, he would use every means to torture the other party to the point of death.

Unfortunately, the fangs of the venomous snake did not seem to frighten Xie Yunhuai.

The little mute was forced to raise his pale face, his eyes, a few shades deeper than amber, staring silently at the angry and sinister Liang Ping, his eyes showing neither fear nor panic.

Instead, it was deathly silent and empty, like looking at a dead person.

Liang Ping's heart clenched under that gaze. When he realized that he had been frightened by a mute, his anger became uncontrollable. As Liu Yu grew increasingly impatient, Liang Ping slowly clenched his fists, coldly deciding to teach this damned mute a painful lesson.

He's just an NPC in a game. If he's killed, he's killed. As long as he can survive, Liang Ping wouldn't even blink if all the NPCs and players in this instance were to perish with him.

He wanted to live. He wasn't afraid of this game instance. Compared to fear, he felt more smugness, and his ambition and desire were growing ever stronger.

Because he not only wanted to live, he also wanted to climb higher and higher, looking down on everyone from above, making those who were once arrogant crawl at his feet, becoming stepping stones for him to reach the top.

He was certain he would survive, because the moment he was chosen by the game, his destiny began to turn. Liang Ping had read so many novels and watched so many movies and TV series, he never thought he was born mediocre. He dreamed of climbing out of the dark gutter. Being chosen by the game was the first step for him to become the protagonist of destiny.

That's why he took the initiative to approach the little mute boy. He hated Qin Fu'an, hated the aura and nonchalant demeanor Qin Fu'an exuded when he easily controlled the situation. Even just seeing Qin Fu'an's back was like a sharp thorn pricking Liang Ping's eyes.

But he knew very well that he was no match for Qin Fu'an, so he chose the mute girl who couldn't speak. Through this girl, he vented his jealousy and hatred towards Qin Fu'an, then continued to endure and lie low, growing stronger and stronger in places Qin Fu'an couldn't see, until one day he would completely crush the arrogant Qin Fu'an under his feet, utterly shattering his pride and arrogance.

Before the man's wildly gleeful gaze and raised fist could even land on the little mute's pale face, the previously weak and defenseless little mute suddenly raised his leg and slammed his knee into his abdomen.

When Liang Ping released him from his hunched back due to the sudden pain, Xie Yunhuai's eyes were no less sinister than his.

Xie Yunhuai couldn't speak, and his only memory of his life over the past many years was being insulted and beaten time and time again. But he wanted to live, so he learned to endure and to fight back.

From initially being powerless and only able to hold his head and endure the pain, to being able to grab a half-brick and smash the head of the person who bullied him until it bled, Xie Yunhuai took a full eight years to complete this process.

From the age of eight to sixteen, Xie Yunhuai was a little mute, but he was no longer a little bastard monster who was bullied and beaten by people who were pinned to the ground and surrounded by others.

From the moment he smashed that person's head, no one dared to call Xie Yunhuai a bastard monster in front of him anymore.

But now, these two outsiders in front of Xie Yunhuai are calling Qin Fu'an a green-eyed weirdo.

Such beautiful eyes, such gentle Qin Fu'an...

Xie Yunhuai gripped Liang Ping's thick, red neck fiercely. Liang Ping couldn't make a sound or say anything in defense of Qin Fu'an. So, these inability turned into even fiercer and more deadly force, causing Liang Ping, who hadn't been tempered by the game, to have his pupils dilate and his consciousness to gradually dissipate in the suffocating pain.

"Damn it, we've run into a tough nut!" Liu Yu was also startled by the sudden turn of events. After regaining his senses, he immediately tried to attack Xie Yunhuai.

Liang Ping cannot die, at least not now.

Liu Yu wanted to keep such a useful and obedient dog a little longer.

Therefore, he did not hold back against Xie Yunhuai. His physical attributes, enhanced by attribute points, were obviously much better than those of Xie Yunhuai, a mute boy who had suffered from malnutrition for many years. So, his first move was aimed at Xie Yunhuai's head.

Xie Yunhuai was gripping Liang Ping's neck tightly, and even though Liang Ping had fainted from suffocation, he did not let go immediately.

Feeling the sudden attack from behind, he turned to try to dodge, but in that instant when he turned his head, he caught sight of that familiar figure and unconsciously froze for a moment.

"Bang--"

Xie Yunhuai subconsciously closed his eyes.

The expected pain and death did not come.

Hearing painful coughing sounds, Xie Yunhuai opened his eyes and first saw Liu Yu lying on the ground, clutching his chest and coughing violently. Then, as if remembering something, his body stiffened, and he slowly turned his head to look in the direction he had just been.

Qin Fu'an, who was originally standing by the tree trunk, had already walked up to him.

As he approached, Xie Yunhuai subconsciously released Liang Ping, who seemed to have been strangled to death. He awkwardly hid his hands, which had been gripping him tightly just moments before, behind his back, and looked up at Qin Fu'an, who was looking down at him.

I feel like I've killed someone.

Qin Fu'an also saw it.

...For some reason, Xie Yunhuai, who had been able to kill without batting an eye before, suddenly became flustered and at a loss in front of Qin Fu'an. He was like a child who had done something wrong, hiding his evil hands and deliberately avoiding Qin Fu'an's gaze, his eyes full of helplessness.

Xie Yunhuai wanted to explain.

But he didn't know what he was supposed to explain.

So he continued to remain silent, head bowed, as if awaiting Qin Fu'an's judgment.

"Get up." Qin Fu'an's voice finally reached his ears.

Xie Yunhuai's eyelashes fluttered rapidly. He looked up again, backlit, making it impossible to discern whether Qin Fu'an's expression was one of joy or anger.

But he couldn't stop his own wild thoughts.

Qin Fu'an was definitely angry; there was no smile in his voice.

Qin Fu'an was understandably angry, as he had just strangled his companion to death. This person, like Qin Fu'an, was an outsider; they were the ones from the same world.

But this person deserves to die; they spoke ill of Qin Fu'an…

My mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, but they all ended up pointing to the same thing: Qin Fu'an was angry.

Xie Yunhuai was a little exhausted. He had just used all his strength to subdue Liang Ping, and now that he had suddenly relaxed and was frightened, his hands and feet were weak and he couldn't muster any strength at all.

He hung his head, looking dazed and silent, as if he hadn't heard Qin Fu'an's words.

Until a hand grasped his trembling wrist and forcefully pulled him up.

The next second, he met Qin Fu'an's clearly displeased gaze and his questioning, which was tinged with emotion: "How much longer are you going to sit on this dead man?"

ah? ?

Xie Yunhuai was stunned.

The three players with long ears next to them were also stunned.

Even Liang Ping, whom Qin Fu'an called a "dead man" but who was actually struggling to breathe, inexplicably started coughing violently, the heart-wrenching sounds as if he was coughing up his internal organs.

So he wasn't dead after all.

A hint of regret flashed in Xie Yunhuai's eyes, but then someone turned his face away unhappily.

"Still looking?" Qin Fu'an frowned, his eyes full of displeasure. "Xie Yunhuai, does he have flowers growing on his face?"

Qin Fu'an had just seen Xie Yunhuai straddling Liang Ping for over a minute. Xie Yunhuai wasn't strong enough to kill Liang Ping, so the scene was extremely offensive to Qin Fu'an.

As expected, Liang Ping was still alive, and Qin Fu'an was even tempted to give him a final kick.

Meeting Qin Fu'an's displeased gaze, Xie Yunhuai shook his head blankly, his hand unconsciously rising to grasp Qin Fu'an's sleeve.

Qin Fu'an was angry, but the reason for his anger seemed a bit strange.

Xie Yunhuai was initially apprehensive, but seeing Qin Fu'an's even angrier and more disgusted with Liang Ping than he was, he suddenly felt like laughing.

The smile had barely spread across her lips when Qin Fu'an pinched her cheek in an annoyed manner.

"Don't fight like that again."

Is it a fight or someone being taken advantage of?

Although there's no reason for taking one's anger out on someone else, it's just that Qin Fu'an doesn't like the other person.

Qin Fu'an never intended to let Xie Yunhuai live, given that he dared to threaten him like that.

But the premise is that Xie Yunhuai cannot get his hands dirty with the blood of these bastards; Xie Yunhuai's hands must always be clean.

"If anyone bullies you again, tell me." Qin Fu'an gently stroked the boy's soft, short hair, his gentle tone concealing a barely perceptible, subtle killing intent: "I'll deal with them for you."

[Author's Note]

Anzai's Diary: Ghostly Village, Dark. (Grinding teeth) That damned bastard, he bullied my wife behind my back! I've never even had my wife sit on my stomach! Assassination blacklist +1.

Yunzai: (flipping through her diary) (stunned) (attempting to leave a comment explaining) (crossed out the explanation) (left a comment: ...)

I updated early today! It's Friday, my darlings, be happy! You can rest and recharge over the weekend!

.

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution:

Yixi, 30 bottles;

28 bottles, damn it!

One bottle of "Wen Pang You He" and "Qing Yu Gu Zhou" (literally, "A Lonely Boat in Clear Rain").

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!