Chapter 53 The Seven Little Fairies are lined up like hemp.

Chapter 53

Clearly, this crappy game doesn't care about the player experience at all, and like a certain novel reading app from my previous life, there's no way to complain to customer service.

Du Yu tentatively approached, but Gu Yinglan looked at her no differently than she would at any other villager. Just as Du Yu was about to say something, a deafening wail suddenly erupted from the southwest corner.

"Xiao Qi! How am I supposed to live like this?!"

No matter where you are, it's human nature to watch a spectacle. The villagers quickly gathered around, and Du Yu soon learned the whole story from their chatter.

Xiaoqi's father passed away unexpectedly during a year-end worship ceremony, leaving Aunt Liu and her daughter Xiaoqi to depend on each other. But fate was cruel; Xiaoqi contracted tuberculosis at the age of ten and did not have much time left.

Only those under the age of twenty-six can worship Tai Sui. Xiao Qi insisted on coming to help support the family, but before the immortals arrived, she fell ill and collapsed. Aunt Liu knelt beside her, her face ashen like the earth beneath her feet.

"Xiao Qi is such a good girl, it's such a pity, God is blind..."

"How long has it been since anyone in our Redwood Village has contracted tuberculosis? I think it's possible that Old Wang Er offended some powerful figure..."

"Everyone who went back came back safe and sound, how come only Wang Lao Er..."

"The village chief is here! The village chief is here!"

Rumors spread quietly among people like the flu. Even with Gu Yinglan's approach, those whispered, shameful words merely shifted from the light of day to the shadows. After all, rumors are a stubborn disease that even renowned doctors struggle to cure.

Xiao Qi hunched over and curled up on the ground, blood seeping from the handkerchief covering her mouth. Her body trembled uncontrollably, like a river shrimp washed ashore, gradually suffocating under the gaze of the crowd.

"village head……"

Aunt Liu grasped at the last straw. Gu Yinglan squatted down, pinched Xiaoqi's chin, stared at her tongue for a few moments, took out a cloth bag from her sleeve, unwrapped the layers of cloth, and held out a small, black, fingernail-sized lump of flesh to Xiaoqi's mouth:

"Child, thank you, Grandfather."

As Gu Yinglan made her move, gasps rose from the crowd, and some people became excited, wanting to say something but mindful of the village chief's silence.

As the black chunk of flesh was exposed to the air, a sense of unease and agitation rapidly spread through the crowd.

Du Yu calmly examined the dried meat, which, though shriveled, was as smooth and lustrous as jade, almost reflecting light like a mirror. His heart skipped a beat. This was the mission item, the Black Tai Sui.

Gu Yinglan seemed oblivious to the commotion in the crowd. She held the dried meat in a cloth bag and quietly held it to Xiao Qi's mouth without urging him to hurry.

"vomit--"

Xiao Qi turned her head away, her pale face contorted with veins, and vomited a pool of dark red blood. She closed her eyes and breathed silently, seemingly oblivious to the village chief's words.

The smell of blood aroused the crowd's restlessness. Some even took a step forward, only to be glared back by the woman with bloodshot eyes. The woman hurriedly turned around and tightly gripped Xiaoqi's arm. The posture was not like a mother supporting her daughter, but rather like a drowning person clinging to a weak tree branch extending from the shore.

"Quickly thank the village chief, thank the village chief! Xiao Qi, you eat!"

"You eat it!"

Why aren't you eating?!

Eat! Go ahead and eat!

The woman gripped Xiaoqi's fingers tighter and tighter, as if she wanted to dig them into her flesh. Her urging voice was urgent and sharp. Xiaoqi turned her head and stared straight at her, showing no reaction even though her arm was bruised from being pinched.

Until a single tear slid down his distorted features, seeped through the linen and touched his skin, burning him intensely.

Xiao Qi's eyelids twitched, and her pale face flushed red like eczema. She finally turned her head slightly, her eyes still fixed on the woman. She took a bite of the black jerky that Gu Yinglan was holding, and swallowed it without chewing.

"You child, you're always making me worry."

With the help of several older women, Xiaoqi was helped up. After eating the piece of Tai Sui meat, her complexion became rosy at an astonishing speed. Surprisingly, none of the surrounding villagers were surprised, and the undercurrent of restlessness in the crowd dissipated as the dried meat disappeared.

As Aunt Liu helped Xiao Qi up, her face was no longer pale, but her eyes were somewhat vacant, as if what was embedded in her eye sockets were not eyeballs, but a pair of yellowish pearls.

Du Yu frowned slightly, having made up his mind that he would resolutely refuse to eat the flesh of the Tai Sui unless absolutely necessary. Among the corrupted species, those with ferocious appearances that inspire fear are not the most terrifying.

The most terrifying are those seemingly harmless monsters that lure people into letting their guard down, then quietly twist their minds, leaving them completely unaware even when they are swallowed whole.

Is the so-called Tai Sui the latter?

Du Yu pondered silently, then quietly moved a little further away from the villagers. Someone inadvertently looked up and suddenly exclaimed, "The immortal has arrived! The immortal has arrived!"

"Flying on swords, this time it's the Immortal Sword Sect!"

Du Yu suddenly looked up, and several figures "whooshed" closer in the sky. A large number of people knelt down, with only a few standing still.

Du Yu was one of them, but it had nothing to do with her daughter having diamonds. She was just stunned for a moment and forgot to observe her surroundings.

Do you guys call this the Legend of Sword and Fairy?

Don't think that just because you painted your flying skateboards the original wood grain color, you can pass them off as flying swords!

The telecommunications logo is printed on it; don't think she didn't see it!

At this moment, Du Yu's吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments) spirit was burning fiercely. If she hadn't still had some rationality, she would have stepped forward to question these so-called "immortals".

It's not that Du Yu is completely ignorant of the world.

The sight of a group of so-called "immortals" dressed in Blue Grid Communications Company uniforms, riding on flying skateboards that were disguised but not very well disguised, and carrying the latest model of energy guns on their backs, suddenly appearing above a group of villagers dressed in burlap clothes and ancient-style earthen buildings would be unsettling.

Du Yu's reaction was relatively good.

Du Yu realized what was happening, pursed her lips, and kept her head down tightly.

The leading "immortal" glanced at Du Yu and saw that although this bold villager did not kneel, he still "respectfully" lowered his head. Considering the importance of this mission, he reluctantly let Du Yu go. He snorted coldly and looked at the only two people standing besides Du Yu and the village chief.

Aunt Liu trembled, her legs as weak as overcooked noodles, and she looked like she might faint at any moment, but she was held up by one arm to prevent her from kneeling.

Under the cold gazes of the "immortals," the girl tried her best to straighten her back, biting her lower lip until it turned white, desperately trying to keep her face from showing any fear.

"grown ups."

Gu Yinglan stepped forward to greet them, subtly blocking one of them from looking at Xiao Qi with displeasure.

"It's already too late this year. May I ask, sir, when will you take people to worship Tai Sui?"

"Oh."

The man withdrew his gaze and gave a cold, enigmatic laugh: "No need to rush! You've come at a good time. All mortals under fifty can go and worship Tai Sui this year!"

"How can this be?"

Gu Yinglan's expression changed slightly, and she couldn't help but step forward, but the man walked past her, glanced meaningfully at the group of villagers dressed in hemp clothing, and burst into laughter:

"You don't need to tell me. Paying respects to Tai Sui is entirely voluntary. Anyone who is of the appropriate age can come this year!"

A thunderous cheer suddenly erupted from the crowd. Gu Yinglan pursed her lips and slowly closed her eyes.