Chapter 20 Mountain God
After Qi Heng returned to the room, he began to search the room inch by inch, carefully not missing any corner. The hard bed board was turned over, the wardrobe was moved away, clothes were picked up one by one to be observed and touched, and no pots, bowls, spoons or ladles in the kitchen were left out.
The name of the copy, the temple that is out of tune with the surrounding environment, almost indicates the center of the main line. First, we need to find out what happened to the village and the so-called mountain god.
After such an extensive and careful search, he only found a wooden sign, a hand-made work that was several times more exquisite than the furniture. It was only the size of a palm, engraved with unrecognizable chaotic lines, and was carefully hidden in the upper corner of the bed.
Qi Heng played with the wooden sign in his hand, thought of something, returned to the bed, lifted the quilt, found the zipper and unzipped the quilt. I reached in and searched carefully, and sure enough, I found a piece of torn paper.
I almost missed you, but the rough, hard fabric of this quilt cover hid you well. Qi Heng hummed in his heart, shook the crumpled paper, and looked at the words on it.
"Big Chicken, when can we worship the mountain god up close?"
The handwriting is so ugly, and there are typos, so funny that it shows the writer has a low level of cultural literacy. Qi Heng could barely understand it by relying on the strokes and the connection between the upper and lower parts.
But the wording of the reply below is pretty good, at least it is neat and can be read smoothly.
"As long as you sincerely worship the mountain god, he will look down upon you."
It sounds weird, but it's also an important clue. The electronic voice said that in order to maintain the character, he had at least found the direction, so that he would not be attacked by angry villagers on the first day.
The protagonists should have almost finished their search, so let's go out and exchange information with them.
Qi Heng found another way and climbed out through a quiet window, thinking that this would be much easier than repairing the door and would not attract much attention.
He flipped over lightly and landed safely, then turned around and met the eyes of the familiar trio again.
"......"
Silence is Qi Heng's character, but not Shi Xu's. He decided to learn mind-reading to avoid being frightened after he got out.
Si Yu'an smiled, scratched his face and said embarrassedly: "Sorry, the villagers are out, the gate is not accessible, just go in directly."
"We have found a clue. Do you want to share it with us?" Lin Muyu had a folded paper in his hand, and he shook it between his fingertips as he said this.
Qi Heng pursed his lips, then silently went back into the house, turning around and motioning for the trio to follow him.
"I found two objects, one is a wooden sign, and the other is a piece of paper, on which there is a conversation between this body and the high priest." He took out the thing in his mouth and put it on the table. There were only two stools in the room, which he kicked aside and did not sit on.
After seeing this, Si and An excitedly took out their own clues, which turned out to be another wooden sign similar to the one on the table, except that the details of the carved patterns were different.
"Ours are almost the same. I found mine by the bed."
"There must be a connection, and it's related to that mountain god." Ye Yunhe placed the wooden signs together for comparison. "In my room, there is a mountain god statue placed in the center, with fruits and incense placed there, and it looks like it's changed every day."
"That mountain god statue is ugly. It's probably carved from my character design. You can vaguely see that it's a human figure."
I really don't know how such an abstract thing can be worshipped as a god. Living in the same room with the bed, the smell of smoke is almost suffocating.
Well, the three players at present are all villagers who believe in the mountain god. Their degree of fanaticism is unknown, but the minimum guarantee is not low.
"So the captain is the only one who is different."
"Yes, it's just the opposite of you." Lin Muyu showed them his paper, which contained a rough plan on how to leave the village, to be implemented starting in three days.
Qi Heng carefully memorized the rough outline of the village drawn on the paper, which marked the locations of the high priest and the mountain temple. It could be used as a simple map in the early stages and was considered the most useful clue among the four.
"The high priest is an important NPC. I will go to him to ask some questions later." After memorizing the map, Qi Heng raised his head and asked the trio about their next move, "What are you going to do?"
"According to the known clues, you are the most suitable candidate."
In order to prevent the dungeon from forcing players to change their clothes or seize their personal belongings, Lin Muyu specially prepared four small communicators to be pinned behind his ears. He took one off and placed it on the table, gently pushing it over.
"Take this with you. Contact me anytime if you need anything. We will act separately next. We will meet here later. Your room is the most remote."
Qi Heng picked up the communicator without hesitation and put it on. He nodded to show that he had no problem, then turned around and left through the window.
Before going out, I looked around to see if there was anyone around before I climbed over with confidence.
The protagonists watched him go away, and one by one they climbed out the window and left like dumplings, walking in different directions.
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It was around seven in the morning, and the villagers went out one after another, each doing their own thing. It was as lively as a real scene.
A few middle-aged ladies were sitting together eating melon seeds and chatting, talking about everyone's family matters. When they saw Qi Heng appear with their smiling eyes, they immediately waved and called his name.
"Hey! Xiao Heng, are you going to see the high priest today too?"
Qi Heng stopped a meter away from them and responded, to prevent the unruly melon seed shells from spitting on him: "Yes, Auntie, I don't know when I can succeed."
He crossed his arms tentatively and sighed, his long bangs hanging down to block his vision and his eyes that were not good at acting. His unnatural tone and movements showed that his acting skills were only 18th-rate.
The ladies didn't have any obvious reaction and didn't seem to deviate much from their character.
Qi Heng made a secret judgment in his mind.
"Don't be disappointed. Everyone in the village hopes that they can serve the mountain god more closely, but after so long, only the chief priest has stayed there." The old lady forcefully pulled the man to her side, stuffed a handful of melon seeds into his hand, and comforted him in her hoarse voice, "But you have persisted the longest. You have been trying to offer the mountain god your ideal sacrifice since you were four or five years old, and you finally succeeded not long ago. Hey, this is great. We will probably have another little priest soon."
Everyone around started laughing. There was no malice in the sound, they were just simply teasing a child. The atmosphere was joyful and Qi Heng felt that the lady who patted his back so hard should be the one who was closest to him, or the one who was most familiar with him.
He felt numb and hot on his back, so he cracked a few melon seeds and hurried back, saying that he had to go to the high priest as soon as possible. Then he fled the scene in a hurry and ignored the laughter.
The NPCs this time are just as realistic as ever, and their hand strength is just as strong.
This time, Qi Heng stayed away from the enthusiastic villagers and sneaked to the door of the high priest's house.
The house is no different from others. He knocked on the door, adding a little disappointment to his cold expression, waiting for the next wave of acting.
I don't know why, but this shell made of light ball is not easy to make expressions. Could it be facial paralysis?
He complained in his mind.
The door opened, and the high priest himself, who appeared frequently, finally appeared in real sight.
An old man in his seventies, only as tall as Qi Heng's neck, with wrinkles all over his thin, dark face, leaning on a cane and hunching over, slowly pushed the door open. Seeing who was coming, his cloudy eyes turned away as usual. Although he had no expression, Qi Heng felt that he was being silently mocked and despised.
The high priest's dress is unique and he stands out in the village. He wore several gold bracelets on his wrists, a large silver pendant around his neck, and even his walking stick was inlaid with precious gold. The material of the clothes is completely different from Qi Heng's. You can tell how smooth and comfortable it is without even touching it. The style is also novel and fashionable. If this village judges its high priest based on trends, then he is the right person to choose.
The almost non-existent disappointment on Qi Heng's face quietly disappeared.
The old man walked into the house with a cane, sat on a chair and ignored people. He followed in quietly, looking at the furniture that was completely different from the ones in his own house, and felt that the smooth cross-section would definitely not scratch his hands.
"The high priest..."
Qi Heng stood beside the table and just shouted something full of resentment, and then said nothing more.
The old man poured himself a glass of water slowly and drank it. He hadn't kept his eyes on him since the first glance, and he didn't ask anyone to sit down. He just kept doing his own thing.
Qi Heng stood there quietly, roughly guessing how the two of them got along, and decided to wait until this person spoke. His eyes casually swept across the visible areas of the house, conducting a void search.
I heard the old man putting down the cup and the bracelets on his wrists making a clinking sound. He simply picked up the kettle and dutifully added water.
After drinking the third glass of water, the old man finally spoke: "Didn't I tell you that it's useless to be anxious. As long as you continue to offer sacrifices to the mountain god and have sincere faith in your heart, he will naturally turn his attention to you."
"You still have a long way to go. This is only your first time. The most taboo thing for young people is impatience. You have to change. When that day comes, I will naturally notify you."
Qi Heng obediently put down the kettle, took his hands back and tightly grasped the clothes and kneaded them, his fingertips turning white from the exertion.
He pursed his lips and whispered three words: "Three days later..."
"Ah!" The old man impatiently put the water cup heavily on the table and smacked his lips.
"It's endless. Well, since we've been together since childhood, there shouldn't be any problems. I'll let you stand closer and do something. But you have to remember, being too impatient will only annoy the mountain god. There won't be a next time."
"If you miss the sacrifice, the villagers will not forgive you!"
After saying that, he patted the intact tabletop again, sneered, and his eyes were full of disgust, as if it was something not presentable.
"Look at the table I asked you to make. Does it meet my requirements? It's uneven and rubbing against my hands. It's not very comfortable to use. Please make me another nice one as soon as possible. It will be your reward for my kindness. You are lucky. Others can't even ask for it."
After giving the order, the old man shook his hands vigorously, glared at the person next to him, and pointed at the door to signal him to get out.
Qi Heng left obediently, and politely closed the door for the high priest before leaving.
He slowly smoothed out his wrinkled sleeves, turned into a narrow corner, and relaxed his body in the shadow where he would not be easily discovered.
The high priest’s day was definitely not an idle one. Qi Heng thought, he would just squat here and wait to see when this old man would come out. He was talking so wildly that he would turn the house upside down.
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