"That's right!"
"Keep them! Keep them all!"
The other villagers chimed in, their hands moving even faster.
As Old Man Weng watched this group of people "cherish" the water as they poured it into their own tattered containers without touching their lips, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
The men around him also frowned.
Jiang Fu, Jiang Shou, and the others in the third room were a little bewildered by the scene.
Jiang Fu couldn't help but say, "Village Chief, they asked us to..."
"Shut up!" the village chief interrupted him sharply, glaring at him. "No manners!"
Old Man Weng stared at this group of "uncooperative" people for a long time, and knew that force-feeding them was impossible.
Once the water in the bucket was all distributed, he forced a stiff smile and managed to squeeze out a few words through clenched teeth, "Alright...alright! Brothers...it's good that you have a plan! Well...once the water's been filled, get some rest!"
Without another word, he abruptly waved his hand, his face grim, and turned to leave with the man carrying the bucket. His steps were quick and heavy, and the glow of the lanterns swayed angrily in the darkness as they disappeared into the distance.
Old Man Weng and the others disappeared completely into the darkness, leaving the courtyard deathly silent.
"Quick! Everyone come here!" The smile on Village Chief Chen's face vanished instantly. He lowered his voice and hurriedly beckoned to the others.
The people in the first and second rooms immediately gathered nervously in the first room, while only the people in the third room inexplicably approached.
The village chief took a deep breath and quickly recounted the contents of the eerie voice from before: "...It rang right next to our ears! Clearly! 'Sending people to brothels,' 'selling illegal mines,' 'the old and the young slitting their throats,' and 'sleeping drugs'! It's definitely not a dream!"
"Yes! It's not a dream! We all heard it!" Li Laosan nodded vigorously, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
Liu Dazhuang clenched his fists. "Right next to the pillow! It's creepy!"
Zhang the butcher said in a muffled voice, "Otherwise, why would they be so desperate to give us water?"
"Village chief, you heard it too? We... what... what happened?" The man in the second room asked, his voice trembling.
"Village chief, we heard it too!"
"Me too!"
Those who hadn't heard this gasped in shock and felt a chill run down their spines!
"Huh? A sound? I didn't hear anything!" Jiang Fu looked confused.
“Exactly! It’s all superstitious! What kind of sound is that?” Jiang Shou also scoffed.
Someone frowned and said, "Village chief... could this be... the mountain god appearing? Seeing that we are about to suffer, sending down a warning?" This made the atmosphere even more eerie.
"Whether it's a divine revelation or not!" the village chief said resolutely, his eyes sweeping over everyone. "You all saw it just now! The way they treated us when they offered us water... that water is definitely problematic! From now on, in this Wengjia Village, accept anything they give you—water, food—but absolutely! Absolutely do not eat it! Keep it safe, we'll talk about it after we leave this village tomorrow!"
He stared at everyone, lowered his voice, and said with unprecedented sternness, "Tonight, nobody sleeps! Everyone be on high alert! We'll take turns keeping watch! Keep your eyes wide open! As long as we're awake, they won't dare to make a move! If we don't make it through tonight, we'll all be done for! Understand?!"
"Understood!" Li Laosan, Liu Dazhuang, and the others nodded immediately, their eyes resolute.
"Hmm!" Butcher Zhang tightened his grip on the knife.
The other men nodded vigorously, their faces showing fear, but even more so, a fierce determination to survive.
"What...what do we do?" Jiang Fu pointed to himself and the other men who had drunk the water, his voice a little panicked, "We...we just drank that water!"
The village chief's face turned grim. "Quick! Find a way to make him vomit it out!"
Jiang Fu, Jiang Shou, and the others immediately reached out to pry it off.
He gagged a few times, his face turning bright red.
"Ugh...no...Village Chief..." Jiang Fu gasped for breath, "That water...it's like watering parched land, it just...it disappears as soon as it goes in...I can't vomit any of it up..."
“Yes… my stomach is empty… I can’t vomit anything…” Another man drinking water also looked miserable.
The village chief's heart sank.
He watched as Jiang Fu and the others started yawning, their eyelids drooping. "You guys... try to stay awake! Don't fall asleep!"
"Ah—ha—" Jiang Fu let out a huge yawn, his eyes unfocused, "...I...can't hold on any longer...so sleepy..."
The other men who had drunk the water also seemed to have their bones removed; one after another, they were on the verge of collapse, then rushed to their beds and lay down, refusing to wake up no matter how much they were pushed or shoved!
The person who hadn't drunk any water looked in horror at their companion sprawled out on the bed, snoring loudly, and felt a chill run from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their head!
That water... it really did contain sleeping potion!
That voice... it was real!
Wengjia Village... truly a den of monsters that devours people!
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