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Chapter 209: Inhuman (17) (1st update + 2nd update + 2,700 thunder 3rd update) [VIP]
[A Thousand Miles of Advancement] is an atypical buff.
Shi Pang walked in front, scratching his head as he introduced: "It's like this, did you know we came from Port N?"
Bai Jinshu nodded.
"We were originally going to trigger the S-level ghost story in N Port," explained Shi Xiulan, the older sister of the two sisters. "As long as you complete an S-level ghost story, the lowest rating when leaving the Novice Village will at least be in the front row. So we basically didn't do any other ghost stories in the past seven or eight days. We have been brushing the buffs that are conducive to exploring this ghost story and preparing to trigger the ghost story."
"You know the result," Shi Pang curled his lips, "There was a big mess in Port N, and we had no choice but to leave the half-triggered S-level weird story behind and run to City S."
He didn't elaborate on what the big mess was, but Bai Jinshu knew in his heart that Shi Pang was referring to the Gu King who had appeared in N Port and killed people indiscriminately, and this Gu King was most likely a member of [0106], otherwise Lu Changfeng would not have stayed with him.
But he didn't know who it was.
"It's less than ten days until we leave the Novice Village, but all of us have completed zero ghost stories," said Shi Xiuzhu, the younger sister of the two sisters, who came over from behind. "It's too late to do other ghost stories, and there's not enough time to trigger other S-level ghost stories."
That's true.
"Are there no S-level ghost stories in other areas with shorter triggering times?" Huangmao thought about it.
"You think I don't want to? How would I know how to trigger the S-level weird stories in other areas? I only know the one in Port N!" Shi Pang looked indignant. "Our weird story has been triggered halfway. It's a pity to just throw it away like this!"
"Are you guys going to go back?" Xiao Tang poked his head out curiously. "That would be a shame. Wouldn't it be a wasted trip?"
You know, the price Shi Pang's team paid for appearing in City S was the loss of two team members while traveling all night.
Looking at Yuan Shanming's reaction, we can see that once there are casualties in the team, the blow to the captain's score will definitely be severe. If given a choice, no one would want to have casualties in their team.
After paying such a huge price to escape from Port N to City S, if they want to go back, then the two team members who died in City S at night would have died in vain.
Apparently, everyone thinks so.
"That's why we need this buff," Shi Pang said sincerely, "With this buff, we can quickly travel between these two areas, making it easier to escape."
A Thousand Miles a Day is an atypical functional buff that provides its holder with a special skill with a CD time of up to 12 hours.
"Teleport, do you know?" Shi Pang gestured. "To put it simply, the buff of Thousand Miles a Day is teleport. After getting this buff, we can teleport to a certain place every 12 hours. We can go back and forth between S City and N Port."
"We have already triggered half of the S-rank ghost story," everyone in Shi Pang's team showed unwilling expressions, "There are not many things left to prepare. As long as we get this buff, we can successfully trigger it within three days."
No wonder they fled to S City.
Although Bai Jinshu had never seen the map of the Novice Village, it was obvious that City S was an inland city, and Port N was a coastal port city. It was absolutely impossible for these two areas to be connected.
Yuan Shanming's reaction also proved this point. If N Port and S City were connected, then there would definitely be a large number of teams fleeing from N Port in the next few days. It would be fine if they, the newcomers, lacked channels and didn't know about it, but Yuan Shanming had a good relationship with ghost stories. He was a captain who could get information about the limited trigger of Xuxu Photo Studio and directly grab the trigger just by going out. His connections were absolutely terrifying.
When he saw Shi Pang for the first time, the expression on his face was indeed one of surprise.
He didn't know that something had happened at N Port. In other words, N Port was far away from S City. Before he met Shi Pang, he didn't know that something had happened at N Port and a large number of troops fled to the surrounding areas.
This proves that the distance between S City and N Port is definitely very far.
So why did Shi Pang choose S City?
Before, Bai Jinshu was puzzled by Shi Pang’s choice, but now after hearing this, he understood Shi Pang’s thoughts.
He didn't know what S-level ghost stories there were in other areas, but he knew that there was a buff in S City called "A Thousand Miles a Day", and he came here for this buff.
That makes sense.
As long as someone in Shi Pang's team can complete an S-level ghost story, the loss of one or two people is completely acceptable.
The newlyweds present also understood this truth.
Xiao Tang's face showed a look of understanding: "Oh, then Captain Shi, can you tell us about this strange story?"
The four of them are now following Shi Pang's team and are on their way to the trigger location for the ghost story [Revenge].
Yuan Shanming took Xiao Yang, Li Zi and others to the trigger point of the C-level ghost story. Before leaving, he specifically reminded them that although there was no conflict of interest between him and Shi Pang, and the two of them were good friends, they should always be on guard against others. In the Novice Village, everyone knew the importance of team members to the captain, and if the opponent wanted to attack them, they should not be soft-hearted and just fight back.
By the same token, in order to prevent the opponent from making a dirty move, all issues concerning the internal affairs of Ghost Talk should be raised in front of Shi Pang's team members. This way, in order not to mislead his teammates, he would not deliberately tell the newcomers of other teams wrong information.
"But Shi Pang rarely harms people in the Novice Village, and his temper is pretty good," Yuan Shanming added, "I am confident in the abilities of Xiao Tang and Er Si. If they really fight, it's still unclear who will win."
Not to mention that there is a living devil following Ersi.
He believed that as long as Er Si was not exposed, this great ghost storyteller would be able to kill on the spot anyone who tried to attack him.
This is the reason why Yuan Shanming dared to entrust his four team members to Shi Pang and take charge of the low-level ghost stories himself.
"Tell me about a ghost story?" Shi Pang recalled as he walked. "Actually, I don't remember what happened in this ghost story. I only remember that the buff of this ghost story is very suitable for traveling, and the death rate in the ghost story is very high."
"Captain Shi, do you still remember what type of ghost story this is?" The yellow-haired man was not giving up.
"Type... I vaguely remember that there seemed to be a ravine inside," Shi Pang racked his brains, "It's very similar to your teahouse. After entering, you will have a new identity, and people can't tell that the identity has changed..."
"Anything else, Captain Shi?" Xiao Fei also spoke up. "My brothers in the live studio said this weird story is very off-the-beaten-path, and they can't remember what it is."
Bai Jinshu glanced at the live broadcast room. Xiaofei was right. The comments did not provide much information:
[A very unpopular weird story. ]
[A strange story that not many teams will trigger. 】
[I remember that it was very difficult to survive.]
[Is there a plot-killing scene at the end? 】
[It’s been so long, I can’t remember clearly. ]
"Ouch..." Shi Pang's face twisted into a ball, "I really can't remember. I haven't been to S City for more than ten years."
He really didn't seem to remember.
Several newcomers from Yuan Shanming's team looked at each other and gave up asking further questions.
The new members of Shi Pang's team nearby accepted this situation well. Shi Xiuzhu even took the initiative to say, "Captain Shi is like this. He knows a lot about the triggers of S ghost stories in N Port, but he can't remember many other things related to S ghost stories."
"The trigger items for us this time were obtained by him from the owner of the teahouse," Shi Xiulan pointed at the bag in Shi Pang's hand, "When the trigger is triggered later, we each take one and pawn it in the pawn shop..."
As she was speaking, Shi Pang suddenly seemed to remember something: "Oh, right! I remembered something!"
He turned his head and looked at the group of newcomers following behind him: "There is a very useful life-saving rule in this ghost story, that is, you must do whatever the undead in the ghost story says. You must listen to them."
There was a hint of hesitation on everyone's face.
"Do I have to listen to whatever you say?" Xiao Fei looked embarrassed.
"I'll listen to whatever you say." Shi Pang nodded affirmatively.
*
On a busy modern pedestrian street, between tall buildings, there is a narrow shop.
"Juren Pawnshop..." Xiao Tang raised his head and read the sign above, curling his lips in disdain, "No, I mean, is there anyone in this pawnshop? Is this the one?"
Other shops on the pedestrian street are either clothing stores or various milk tea and snack bars. The human skins on the undead walking back and forth are mostly fashionable. Not far away is the largest commercial center in S City. The brands of high-end shopping malls exude expensive aura even in the daytime.
In such a place, this narrow shop is extremely out of place.
The dilapidated signboard is almost scrapped, the store is dark and deserted, and no one steps into it. Even people standing on the roadside chatting with milk tea will avoid this gloomy shop.
This place doesn't look like a good place for a pawn shop, but more suitable for a haunted house.
"That's right," Shi Pang lowered his head to check the map, then nodded to everyone, "You guys go in directly later, and then ask for the things in this bag, and then you can trigger the strange story."
"Don't you need to say any special lines or do any special actions?" Bai Jinshu asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No need, just follow him," Shi Pang handed the bag to Shi Xiuzhu, "This strange talk will last for five days. The flow rates inside and outside are different. When you come out, it should be afternoon, and we still have time to go back to the teahouse."
Since Shi Pang said it was not necessary, no one asked any more questions. Shi Xiuzhu, who was holding the bag, walked carefully in front and everyone followed her, passing through the narrow door of the pawnshop one by one.
Behind the small door was a very deep corridor with little lighting, only dim lights flickering back and forth overhead. After walking inside for about half a minute, the group finally saw the room at the end of the corridor.
It was a very small room. The surrounding walls were covered with old-fashioned wallpaper. Although it was not damaged, it had turned yellow. Combined with the not-so-bright lighting, it created a tense and depressing atmosphere.
There were two armchairs for rest against the wall in the room, but there were no cushions on the stools, and the two armrests had been worn out with a thin layer of marks by the guests who had sat on them.
There is a very tall window in the middle. Iron railings were installed in front of the window. Now the only window is blocked by a wooden board with a line of words written in brush on it: [Please ring the bell to pawn items.]
Everyone glanced to the side and saw a handheld bell placed next to the counter.
"Then I will shake it?" Shi Xiuzhu took a few steps forward and looked back to ask for everyone's opinions. "Are you all ready?"
"I'm ready."
"Shake it."
Everyone nodded.
Shi Xiuzhu held up the cloth bag and walked forward, shaking the bell twice.
"Ding-ling-ling--"
The sound of the bell was so faint and small that even the people in the room couldn't hear it clearly, let alone the pawnbroker who was standing across a wooden board. Shi Xiuzhu shook it twice and felt something was a little strange, so he continued to shake the bell with more force.
"Ding-ling-ling--"
The sound is still very small.
"Is it because the gasket inside is inserted too tightly?" Shi Xiulan stepped forward, took the bell from Shi Xiuzhu's hand, turned it over and looked at it, "No... There is no gasket here? Why is the sound so quiet?"
She swung it twice vigorously.
"Ding-ling-ling--"
The sound of the bell was still faint.
Just when everyone felt something was strange and were about to go forward to check it out, the wooden board was taken away by someone with a "bang".
A face with wrinkles like orange peel appeared behind the window: "Stop shaking! I can hear you! It's so noisy!"
Quarrel……?
Everyone's eyes involuntarily fell on the bell.
The sound of this thing is so small that you can't even hear it if you stand far away. How can you afford to make a noise?
Xiao Tang was outspoken and said whatever came to his mind: "It's so noisy, I didn't hear it? Master, are your ears so good?"
The old man behind the window stared at her for a few seconds and said, "If you are here to pawn something, bring it here. If you are not pawning, get out."
"Ding, ding, ding," Shi Xiuzhu and Shi Xiulan stepped forward quickly and handed over the cloth bag in their hands, "Master, we want to pawn this thing. Please give it a try."
"Well... let me see," the pawnshop master behind the window took the pawned item, slowly put on a pair of glasses, took out a pair of gloves from the drawer at the back and put them on, then slowly opened the cloth bag.
As he drove, he said, "What are you doing? Do you want to make money... or something else..."
Before the word "thing" was uttered, the pawnshop master was stunned.
Everyone subconsciously looked over and saw a small incense burner in his hand.
It was also the first time they saw what was in the cloth bag.
It was a jade incense burner no bigger than half a palm. The patterns on it were delicate and it gave off a very soft glow under the dim light. The material felt warm to the touch and even an amateur could see that it was a jade material with excellent water content.
The most common way to process jade is to make it into jewelry or ornaments, and few people make it into incense burners.
All of a sudden, everyone's attention was attracted by that thing.
All the patterns on the incense burner were carved in great detail. The bottom of the burner was a relief, while the top lid was a hollow carving. It seemed to depict a species they had never seen before, with a long, drifting tail.
"What are you doing..." The master's expression changed again and again, and finally he grabbed the incense burner in his hand, his face full of greed, "Where did you get this from?"
Although his expression was greedy, as if he wanted to take the thing for himself the next second, his tone was quite cautious: "If this was stolen from your elders or teachers at home, it is better to return it as soon as possible."
"This thing... was given to us by someone," Shi Xiulan said softly, "The source is fine. The person who gave it to us wanted you, Master, to take a look at it and see what it can be used for."
"Someone gave it to you..." The pawnbroker's face showed a bit of anxiety and urgency, "What does that person look like? Is he tall or short, fat or thin, male or female? What kind of clothes does he wear? What's his accent?!"
The two sisters didn't expect him to react like this and were subconsciously stunned.
"Master," Bai Jinshu stepped forward and said, "We are here only to pawn this thing. If you don't want to, we will go to another place."
When he said this, the master actually became anxious.
"Pawn it here! If you go out and look for someone else who knows how to do it, who else can do it except me?" The pawnshop master retracted his hand and actually held the jade furnace in his hand. He instantly withdrew it behind the window. When he stretched it out again, the impatience on his face had turned into a cautious look. "But before you pawn it, I have to make it clear! This thing can only be pawned dead! It can't be pawned alive! Once it's in my hands, you can't take it out again!"
"What is a dead pawn and what is a living pawn?" Xiao Fei asked in a low voice.
"Live pawning means you leave your things with me, I give you money, and you can redeem your things when you come back with the money," the pawnbroker heard his question and took the initiative to explain, "while dead pawning means you leave your things with me, and after you take the things of equivalent value, you can no longer take them back!"
Everyone came here with the purpose of triggering a ghost story. Not to mention whether they could get their things back, they didn't even know what was inside a few minutes ago, so it naturally didn't matter whether they were dead or alive.
However, the pawnshop master looked very serious. After confirming that they could pawn the jade furnace, he took it out again and touched it again with great care: "I didn't expect to see another person pawning a jade furnace in my lifetime."
"You can't exchange this for money, or it will break the rules," the master muttered to himself, and actually opened the door next to the window, "Come in, all of you."
Only then did everyone realize that the master was only one meter tall.
Behind the window where he was sitting was a very high stool, and he was wearing an old-style suit that looked very old. He was holding the cup in one hand and a large iron key in the other.
As if he was used to other people's strange looks, when he saw everyone's surprised eyes, the master just snorted softly, then turned and walked inside.
The newlyweds looked at each other, and finally entered the iron gate one by one, each of them tense.
After all, Shi Pang said that the mortality rate of this ghost story is very high.
Now no one knew whether they had entered a ghost story or not. The old man didn't look friendly either, so everyone was naturally on high alert.
After everyone entered the main door from the outer room, the door behind them slammed shut, making everyone nervous all of a sudden.
At this time, the old man walking in front spoke faintly: "Actually, I know that you guys just lied to me."
Everyone was shocked.
"The owner of the jade furnace would never hand it over to someone who doesn't know it," the old man said, making everyone breathe a sigh of relief. "How could a group of people come to pawn something instead of just one person? Your jade furnace must have been passed down from your family or ancestors, and it was lost in your generation, right? You guys don't even recognize the bell outside, and you're only bringing the item here to try to survive."
Is that bell something special?
Xiao Tang tugged at Shi Xiuzhu's sleeve, and Shi Xiuzhu shook her head slightly, indicating that she didn't see anything special.
Shi Xiulan also shook her head.
The keys in the old man's hand made a clinking sound. "Otherwise, I don't think you would have found me. Normal people would not come to my shop to pawn things. It's good enough if they don't run away immediately."
"This thing, if you see one less, there will be one less..." He walked to the end and used the key to open a huge door, muttering to himself as he opened it, "These are cut from the same piece of jade. This is the piece in the middle..."
"Okay, come in," he turned around and reminded me worriedly, "The elders at home told you not to touch anything after you come in. These things choose you, not you who choose them."
"No matter what you are chosen by, you can't regret it." The wrinkles on his face moved seriously, "Otherwise, I don't want that jade furnace anymore, and you get out immediately."
After making sure that everyone nodded, he opened the door and allowed everyone to enter.
The room was terribly dark, as if one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Bai Jinshu was standing in the middle of the crowd. The next second after he stepped in, he felt his head buzzing.
The surrounding scenery suddenly changed.
There were some strange noises constantly heard around, like the sound of the wind, or like someone mumbling.
He listened attentively, but heard nothing. He felt that his thoughts were being distracted by the sound. When he regained consciousness, the sound had stopped.
He was standing in a rural adobe house, surrounded by straw and farm tools, wearing clothes that didn't look very new.
"Chuanzi, Chuanzi?!" A thin young man wearing the same style of clothes called him a few times and waved his hand in front of him in surprise, "What are you thinking about? Have you been in a daze for a long time? Leave when you have rested enough."
"Hmm?" Bai Jinshu suddenly came back to his senses and held his forehead. "I wasn't thinking about anything, I just suddenly felt a little dizzy."
This is truly entering the realm of ghost stories, right?
This was the scene right at the beginning. He remembered what Shi Pang said, that he must not let others find out that he had been replaced.
This strange story can kill people, and the mortality rate is very high. No one dares to bear the consequences of sudden exposure.
"Dizzy? Are you suffering from heat stroke?" The skinny young man had dark skin and an expression of concern. "Let me take a look. Why don't you go soak in the spring outside for a while? Your family has almost harvested all the food, so you can wait a little longer."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to measure Bai Jinshu's forehead and said, "It's a little hot."
"I can still do it," Bai Jinshu narrowed his eyes and shook his hands weakly, "There's only a little left. I'll finish collecting it this afternoon. Don't delay any longer."
"That's right...your mother has been nagging us for days, asking us to hurry up and start. This morning, the village chief told everyone to hurry up and harvest the summer crops, and that they must be finished by tonight at the latest. A group of adults threw the work to us and disappeared. They were so mysterious, and we didn't know what they were doing." The thin young man raised the farm tools in his hand and opened the door first, "Let's go."
Bai Jinshu followed him out of the bungalow and saw the exterior of this strange place for the first time.
This is a village in the mountains.
There are mountains and forests in the distance, and hillsides on all sides that are higher than here. It seems that this place is in a valley among the mountains.
The farmland that the thin young man was talking about is on the side of the mountain, not far from the bungalow. It looks like terraced fields. Now, in the fields in the distance, there are young men and women working with bent backs.
The weather outside was hot. Once you step into the sun, you feel like you're being roasted. The thin young man in front was carrying farm tools and walking very fast as if he was used to it. Bai Jinshu followed behind him, and after only a few steps he felt like he was really going to get heatstroke.
I don't know if it's because this place is in a mountain valley and the air is not circulating, but the air around me is as stuffy as a steamer. Even the breeze is hot. With every breath I take, I feel a burning pain from my trachea to my lungs.
No wonder the skinny young man had no doubt that he was pretending to be feeling unwell.
Even if Bai Jinshu was pretending just now, he is about to become serious now.
The ground beneath his feet was so hot that it burned his feet. The cloth shoes he wore had only a thin sole. Now walking on the road felt like walking on an iron plate. It was an immersive experience like a mermaid coming ashore - every step felt like walking on the edge of a knife.
This kind of heat cannot be explained by the terrain here.
Fortunately, most of the terraced fields here are rice fields, so when harvesting crops, you don’t have to endure the iron plates under your feet. You can just take off your shoes, roll up your trouser legs, and step into the water.
However, the water surface at this temperature is probably not that cool, and the water is probably hot.
But it's better than nothing.
It was abnormally hot in this place. Bai Jinshu felt dizzy and about to fall after taking a few steps. Holding on with his last breath, he couldn't fall on such a hot iron plate. He took a few quick steps forward and caught up with the thin young man.
"In this weather... do you think we can finish the harvest tonight?" he asked weakly.
"...Hey, if we hurry up, we can still make it." The lean young man's tone also sounded a little depressed. "If you really feel uncomfortable, I can help you collect the rest of your house. You don't have much left. We can share it among the others and it will be done soon."
Harvesting crops is a physical job. Bai Jinshu has acted in movies before, so although he hasn't done it for a long time, he is not incapable of doing it. However, the obvious problem now is that he has no idea which piece of land his family owns.
"Forget it, I'll do it myself," he covered his forehead and fell towards the thin young man, "Help me, help me to the edge of my field, I can't walk anymore."
The fact that he couldn't walk was three-quarters false and three-quarters true. He really couldn't stand this weather. He felt like all his internal organs were sending out alarm signals.
The fake part, of course, was that he wanted to use this excuse to get the skinny young man to take him to his land.
While the sturdy young man was supporting him, Bai Jinshu quickly glanced at the live broadcast room:
[Who still remembers what this strange story is? ]
[I don’t remember.]
[The last time I saw this weird story was three or four years ago.]
[I have actually been here for three or four years…]
【Three or four years is too long, right?】
[Is the point about three or four years? What is going on with this strange story? ]
[This strange story is not easy to trigger. 】
[The trigger is too hard to get. There is a limit on the number of times it can be triggered. If you use one, there will be one less. It will become harder to trigger in the later stages. ]
…
The issue that triggered the ghost story was being discussed on the barrage. Bai Jinshu looked at it for a while and only looked away after making sure that there was no important information.
In just a few minutes, he felt even more dizzy.
This time I'm really going to faint.
It felt like his breathing was being roasted on fire. Bai Jinshu glanced at his arms, which were already red from the sun. He had no doubt that if he didn't apply sunscreen, his arms would be sunburned and peeled when he went back home tonight.
The thin young man next to him had dark arms with a faint red undertone, and looked no less tanned than him.
Fortunately, we arrived at our destination very quickly.
"Chuanzi, sit down by the field and take a good rest before you continue working," the thin young man put him by the field, "I'll leave first."
Bai Jinshu felt dizzy and his eyes were blurry. He sat by the field and waved his hands, unable to speak. He probably sent the thin young man away.
His brain was rusty from the heat, and there was no way he could guarantee that this person wouldn't recognize him as not himself. He could only use the excuse of "feeling unwell" to talk less and observe more, hoping that people around him would attribute his abnormality to physical discomfort.
Fortunately, the weather was indeed hot, and the thin young man did not pay too much attention to his familiar friend. After putting him at the edge of the field, he hurried away.
At this time, he no longer cared about hygiene. Bai Jinshu scooped up a bend of water from the rice field and splashed it on his face.
The water is indeed hot.
Bai Jinshu raised his eyes slightly and subconsciously looked at the crops in the water.
As expected...with water at this temperature, most of the crops are half dead.
No wonder the thin young man said “there are not many left”. I’m afraid he didn’t mean that there are not many fields waiting to be harvested, but that there are not many crops that can be harvested in the fields.
In this weather, people can't survive outdoors, let alone crops.
Fortunately, although the water was hot, it was better than being on the ground. Bai Jinshu leaned against the shade of a pile of earth by the water and splashed water on his face for a long time before he recovered. He followed the example of others, rolled up his trouser legs, and went into the water.
My arms have been sunburned, and they feel hot and painful when touched. In this situation, let alone collecting intelligence elsewhere or meeting with teammates, the best option is to stay here and wait until the sun goes down.
While Bai Jinshu was harvesting crops, he was thinking about how to deceive a group of people who must know the original owner. Soon it was evening.
As the sun slowly set, the perceived temperature outside finally came down. A girl with pigtails walked towards us from the direction of a village in the distance.
"Brother Xiaochuan! Brother Xiaohe! Brother Xiaohu! Brother Dajiang! Brother Dahai!" the girl's voice was crisp, "The village chief asked if you have finished collecting?"
It took Bai Jinshu a few seconds to realize that this "Brother Xiaochuan" was calling him.
This string of names, rivers, lakes, seas...are all related to water?
Just as he was thinking, a voice came from the field not far away: "It's almost time, Xiao Han, tell the village chief, we will be back soon."
"Okay," the girl agreed, "Brother Dajiang, please come to the village ancestral hall later. The village chief said he has something to tell everyone, so we have to wait until everyone arrives."
"Okay." Several voices of agreement came from the fields.
It seems that these peers have a good relationship with each other.
This ghost story is called [Revenge], but it seems to have nothing to do with revenge at the moment. I'm afraid what the village chief is going to say tonight will be an important turning point for the ghost story to begin.
That is, he had to prevent those people who were very familiar with the original owner from noticing anything unusual, and at the same time he couldn't miss the ancestral hall meeting in the evening. It seemed that pretending to be sick required some skills.
Bai Jinshu was paying attention to the movements around him. After a while, several young men of the same age came over and shouted as they walked, "Xiaochuan, we heard from Dahai that you were not feeling well. Are you feeling better?"
Bai Jinshu also raised his voice: "It's a little better."
He pretended to stand up, then swayed and quickly grabbed hold of the pile of earth next to him.
"You don't look any better at all," a familiar figure among his peers came over and supported him, "Okay, let me support you."
The man came over and lowered his voice: "Call me Xiaohe."
"Thanks, Xiaohe." Bai Jinshu looked calm and stood up with the help of him.
This man is one of the three brothers in Shi Pang’s team, and coincidentally, his name is also Xiao He.
The two of them walked a few steps slower and followed their peers. Xiao He softly gave Bai Jinshu a lesson: "The one on the left is the sea, the one on the right is the big river, and the one in the middle is the small lake. The five of us grew up together. This afternoon, the adults in the village left the village for some reason, leaving us here to harvest the crops. The village seems to be preparing for something. The elders have been hiding it from the younger generations, but most of the younger generations have noticed it."
Bai Jinshu: "I understand."
It was such a hot day, but Xiao He was able to find out so much information.
"You have been heat intolerant since you were a child. You get dizzy when exposed to the sun. The elders in your family say it's because your name doesn't have three drops of water. When you enter this strange story, the trigger will seem to be affected by the state of the extracted identity, so you will feel uncomfortable." As if sensing his doubts, Xiao He continued, "Just pretend to be sick when you go in later."
Bai Jin said: "I understand."
The two of them walked into the village.
After the sun went down, the temperature of the ground dropped a lot. Bai Jinshu felt much better as he walked, but he still looked uncomfortable because he had to pretend to be sick.
The ancestral hall in the village was on the edge of the village. They didn't see any villagers along the way. After entering, they found that the ancestral hall was full of people.
In the middle of the crowd was an old man who looked quite dignified.
Seeing the five people coming, he tapped the cane in his hand, cleared his throat and said: "Well... now we are all here."
"Xiao Han, close the door."
The girl with pigtails closed the door.
Bai Jinshu glanced around and saw many familiar faces among the villagers in the ancestral hall.
The number of people seemed to be all there, everyone was there except Huai Jiamu.
The village chief cleared his throat again and said, "Today, everyone is here, so I won't keep you in suspense."
"Tomorrow, a distinguished guest will come to the village. We old guys risked our lives to invite him."
"Can we put an end to this weather that has lasted for more than 20 years? Let's try this."
The author has something to say:
It's been a long time, first 20 + random 20 (sigh)