Chapter 4 Night Sacrifice 3 Nameless Village
Sang Niang was shocked by Wu Wangwang's bold statement. She stammered, "Is this feasible? What if the village chief catches us? If he catches us, wouldn't that be a serious violation?"
Wu Wangwang frowned and pondered for a long time: "Then as long as another major event happens that keeps the village chief busy, you can find a way to prevent those who left the village from returning on the same day. Without the news, the village chief will definitely choose Dalin the next day. Then you can ask questions to those who can't come back."
This method is actually very risky, but it's not just the players who are anxious; the villagers who can't find Dalin are also in a hurry.
From another perspective, they might be even more anxious than the players—if the players fail at the wedding, they can simply postpone it for a few more days and eventually find a way. The villagers are different; they've put in so much effort, and they're determined to make sure the wedding takes place no matter what.
Players don't care whether the wedding is held or not; in comparison, players can more easily make their own moves.
Sang Niang understood what Wu Wangwang meant. She was betting with the villagers that they wouldn't abandon the wedding and make a big fuss about searching for someone just because they were temporarily missing. She was betting that they would complete the wedding no matter what unexpected events they faced. If she won the bet, the player would naturally get the most authentic information from the villagers who couldn't return to the village.
Even if they lose the bet, they won't lose out. Not choosing a second Dalin means the village chief will have to handle a wedding without a groom, but they can still learn some of the rules and deal with it better.
After making up her mind, Sangniang went to inform Da Gao that it was getting dark and that Sangniang did not need to mourn that day. She had to go home early, as lingering outside could easily trigger other death rules.
No sooner had Sang Niang left than the widow returned. She saw Sang Niang again and immediately questioned Wu Wangwang upon entering: "What are you doing here again, Mourning Mother? It seems like your relationship has suddenly become very good."
Faced with the widow's questions, Wu Wangwang explained, "She just came to tell me that the village chief is sending someone to the provincial capital to find Dalin tomorrow. Mom, do you think Dalin will come back on time? Can he be cured in the provincial capital?"
The widow was stumped by Wu Wangwang's question, so she used the common parental terminology: "Children shouldn't worry about so much. Adults will handle their own affairs."
When parents use this phrase, they usually mean they want to end the conversation. They want to say, "I won't ask you anything, and you shouldn't ask any more questions."
Wu Wangwang knew when to stop and obediently went into the kitchen to start a fire.
This night was like the calm before the storm, seemingly no different from any other peaceful night. In fact, everyone had something weighing on their minds. Even the widow, who usually fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
Thankfully, Wu Wangwang doesn't sleep at all, otherwise, being disturbed all night would definitely leave her with no energy during the day.
The widow couldn't sleep, so she got up a little earlier than usual, not as punctually as before, probably because she still couldn't sleep. However, she waited until 4:30 before waking up Wu Wangwang, who was pretending to be asleep.
The routine after getting up was no different from the previous days, but the widow did not take any farm tools with her when she went out. She told Wu Wangwang that the village chief was going to hold a meeting today to select people to go to the provincial capital to look for Dalin's family.
Wu Wangwang nodded silently, unsure of what the widow meant by suddenly telling her this.
After the widow finished speaking, she stared at Wu Wang for a while, and suddenly said, "Zhenzhen, if Dalin really has an accident, then you may really have to find a new fiancé."
"..." Wu Wangwang didn't know how to answer for a moment. She had pretended to like Dalin so much a few days ago, and seemed to be looking forward to the wedding. Now she suddenly said that she wanted to change partners. What should she say?
The previous human girl didn't teach her either.
If she had known the widow would ask this, she would have asked Sang Niang beforehand. The widow, not getting an answer, sighed to herself, "Oh well, you were only close to Da Lin before. With something like this happening all of a sudden, you're still young and probably can't figure it out. Just stay home and behave yourself; maybe Da Lin will be back tomorrow."
Unexpectedly, the widow managed to smooth over the matter by talking to herself. Wu Wangwang felt relieved, nodded, and watched her leave.
The widow locked the door today, and even though the whole village was discussing it, she didn't seem inclined to include Wu Wangwang.
Wu Wangwang was home alone and would occasionally look at the clock on the wall to estimate the time. Today, the clock had slowed down by fifty minutes. It kept slowing down, and perhaps one day it would reach the correct time again.
The widow's house was already piled with wedding-related items, but she wouldn't allow Wu Wangwang to touch any of them, saying she was worried that if she broke them, there wouldn't be enough time to buy new ones for the wedding. It was best to seal them all up with red cloth and red paper now and take them out to use when the wedding arrived.
The village meeting didn't seem to last long, because it wasn't lunchtime yet when the widow returned, bringing Sangniang and her aunt with her.
They were carrying a lot of things, including red cloth and red silk. The widow said, "Zhenzhen, come out and help us. We need to decorate the house today."
Sang Niang gave Wu Wangwang a subtle nod and then followed her aunt to get busy. Wu Wangwang didn't say much; she did whatever the widow told her to do, appearing very obedient.
Today's decorations are red flowers and red "double happiness" characters hanging in the house. It seems the village meeting this morning went smoothly, so the wedding preparations are about to begin.
The widow found some scissors for Sang Niang to use, and went with Sang Niang's aunt to hammer nails and cook paste, leaving Sang Niang and Wu Wangwang to work inside the house.
When the sound of frying paste in the kitchen grew louder, Sang Niang lowered her voice and said to Wu Wangwang, "This morning, the village chief summoned everyone in the village, including Da Gao and the lame old man. The lame old man wasn't too happy about it, but I think Da Gao will be able to get some information out of him tonight."
Wu Wangwang wasn't surprised by this development: "That's good. But, did any players get selected to leave the village?"
Sang Niang shook her head helplessly: "No, the players who were supposed to take their place were all young people, but the village chief rejected them all because they didn't know the way. In the end, he chose a few middle-aged men to go. No women were chosen."
Not selecting players is a game feature to prevent players from cheating to pass the level after breaking the rules, while not letting the woman leave is the village's selfishness.
Wu Wangwang nodded slightly: "It seems that everything is as we expected. Did the village chief say when those men will probably return? These next two days, everyone should be preparing for the wedding all night, and many people should be able to go out at night. You can take advantage of this opportunity."
“It’s uncertain when they’ll be back. Currently, only a few players can stay up all night to prepare for the wedding. They’re responsible for setting up the banquet and preparing the ingredients. They’ll probably have to work through the night. Fortunately, the guards aren’t strict. We’ve agreed that we’ll gather as many people as we can at night. As long as we guard the main road at the village entrance, those who have gone out won’t be able to come back,” Sang Niang said fiercely.
It's the last two days. I might as well not sleep at all and just camp out at the village entrance. No matter when those who went out come back, they won't escape the players' eyes.
Wu Wangwang was very satisfied with Sang Niang and the others' arrangements. The players in this batch were actually quite nice and clever. They knew how to arrange things with just a little hint, which was much better than some of the idiots she had encountered before.
The original Wu Wangwang didn't want to return to real life, otherwise she would definitely have survived this ordeal.
If you've already unlocked such a powerful cheat as the Ghost Mother, how stupid would you be to still fail?
The widow and her aunt returned shortly afterward. They had already prepared the paste, which they brought in a large bowl, ready to paste up the red "double happiness" characters and new couplets.
The paste was made from reserved sweet potato starch, and it was a hot, sticky lump that was also scalding hot to the touch.
The widow placed a small bowl separately for Sang Niang: "Xiao Fang, you eat this. It's boiled sweet potato noodles with sugar, so it's sweet. You and Zhenzhen can eat it together. Your aunt and I are going to put up the 'double happiness' characters."
Sweet potato noodles were meant to be used to entertain guests. There wasn't much good food at home, and the widow didn't want to touch Wu Wangwang's dowry, so she could only scrape together a bowl of sweet potato noodles from her own home.
If these were real village children, they would probably be overjoyed. Snacks are scarce in villages, and sweet potato starch is a favorite treat for children.
However, Sang Niang clearly couldn't accept it. She knew this stuff was supposed to be used to stick things together, and thought it was just glue. How could you eat glue? Even if it was sweet, it was still glue.
The widow and her aunt left the room. Sangniang looked at the bowl of sweet potato noodles with difficulty, unable to eat it, and looked to Wu Wangwang for help.
Wu Wangwang took the food directly and finished it in a few bites.
Looking at it, Sang Niang felt like her throat was filled with mucus: "Is it edible?"
"Yes, it's edible. Actually, it's quite delicious, sweet," Wu Wangwang answered truthfully.
However, Sang Niang's face was still scrunched up: "I can't stand it. I actually bought those instant sweet potato noodles to eat myself, as a way to lose weight, but the ones I made were completely different from the ones they cooked. They still look like glue to me."
Wu Wangwang didn't know what sweet potato starch was, and fearing that her identity would be exposed, she could only show a standard smile to get away with it.
Sang Niang made many simple red ribbons tied into flower balls. She said they had to be hung on all the doors and windows, the Kitchen God statue, and the place where the wedding ceremony was held. She even made one for the wall clock.
Because she did so much, Sang Niang became noticeably impatient, but since it was her task, she had to finish it.
After finishing, it was past noon. The widow wanted to invite Sangniang and her aunt to have lunch together to thank them for their help, but her aunt declined, saying that she had other things to do.
The wedding was a grand affair, requiring the entire village's resources to organize, and it couldn't be handled by just one or two people. So, Sangniang and her aunt were only there to lend a hand, and their main focus was on the wedding venue.
The widow knew the two were busy, so she didn't keep them any longer and gave them some sweet potatoes as a token of her gratitude.
After seeing the two off, the widow turned to Wu Wangwang and said, "Tomorrow, if nothing unexpected happens, we need to start preparing for the wedding. Zhenzhen, are you nervous?"
Wu Wangwang looked up at the widow and smiled: "Not nervous, I'm looking forward to it."
The widow spent the afternoon tidying up the house, setting the table, organizing the rooms, and sweeping the yard without a moment's rest. But as she busied herself, the house gradually took on a festive atmosphere, clearly indicating that a happy occasion was about to be held.
That night, the village was unusual. It seemed as if everyone in the village was working at the same time, hanging up dim, yellow lanterns. Since each bulb could only illuminate a limited area, several lanterns were hung up. Small lanterns were also hung at the door of each household, making the village brightly lit, even brighter than usual when only the lights in the homes were on.
The sounds of many people bustling about could be heard all the way to the end of the village, but the widow's house was noticeably quieter, as if it were out of place with the village's liveliness.
After dinner and a bath, the widow, without taking another bath, strung up an electrical cord and hung up a light bulb. She then began making wedding cakes in the yard, steaming several batches.
Wu Wangwang wanted to help, but the widow told her to go to sleep, saying that she might not have much time to sleep for the next few days, and that she should sleep as much as she could now, otherwise the wedding wouldn't be able to take place.
Since the widow had said so, Wu Wangwang naturally wouldn't refuse. She went back to her room and lay down, listening to the widow's movements while counting the time.
For the players, there are four days left until they are new to the game. For Wu Wangwang, there are four days left, and she no longer needs to be so careful, considering the referee who knows her very well, and she doesn't even dare to raise her voice.
Like the other villagers, the widow worked all night. When Wu Wangwang woke up at dawn, he saw that tables and chairs had been set up in the yard, with various pastries that the widow had made all night. Some of them were covered with red paper and red seals, indicating that they were for the wedding and should not be moved, as it would be bad luck.
Hearing the noise, the widow turned to look at Wu Wangwang standing by the door. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated. In the end, she only said, "Go wash up and have breakfast. You don't have to do anything today. Rest at home and sleep as much as you can. These are the last few days. Listen to your mother."
“Okay.” Wu Wangwang nodded in agreement.
Breakfast was no longer just coarse rice and sweet potatoes; the widow had prepared glutinous rice soup and red date cake separately for Wu Wangwang.
The glutinous rice soup is the water left over from boiling glutinous rice. The glutinous rice has already been made into rice cakes. The white and tender rice cakes are covered with red "double happiness" characters. The red date cakes have been cut off. The widow explained that the red date cakes will not be used at the wedding. They are one of the foods given to the bride separately during the wedding, so they are not covered with "double happiness" characters.
Wu Wangwang couldn't tell the difference between good and bad; everything tasted sweet. She finished eating in no time and then, as the widow had instructed, went back to her room to rest. She slept whenever she could, and if she couldn't, she tried to lie down as much as possible.
With nothing to do, Wu Wangwang sat in the room, watching the widow continue preparing food through the window. The morning was relatively quiet, but by noon, a group of people arrived at the widow's house, saying they were going to set up a banquet.
After listening for a while, Wu Wangwang roughly understood that the banquet would last for three days, with the widow's side being the first to start, so there would be more people there. As the bride was being sent to her husband's house, the flow of people would follow her to the Da Lin family's house. Two of the people were players, and they tried to get information out of the villagers, but the villagers skillfully deflected their questions, not letting them know any of the rules, not even whether the later banquets would be held at the Da Lin family's house or the new Da Lin family's house.
The players were clearly unhappy, but in the game, they were the fish on the chopping block, the NPCs were the butchers, and they didn't dare to raise their voices at the villagers.
After discussing it with them, the widow went into the room and reminded Wu Wangwang, "Zhenzhen, from now on, you can't leave the room. You don't need to take a bath tonight either. Mom will bring hot water in for you to bathe in the early morning. There are men outside, and you can't let them see you, otherwise it will be bad luck. Be good, it will be over soon."
Wu Wangwang nodded: "Okay, Mom, I'll listen to you."
Upon receiving Wu Wangwang's reply, the widow raised her hand to pat Wu Wangwang's head, but her hands were not clean and had residual flour, so she could only put them down, nod at Wu Wangwang, and leave the room. A short while later, she locked the room.
Wu Wangwang, who was inside the room, could see everything clearly. She even saw the widow go to find the lock and lock the windows, preventing Wu Wangwang from leaving the room and preventing others from spying on her.
The two players in the courtyard were sent away after helping to set up the tables and chairs. They glanced at the room, looking anxious, wanting to communicate with Wu Wangwang, but they had no chance. Not to mention the widow, the other men were eyeing them covetously, as if the house belonged to their wives.
Unable to get the message through, and fearing that speaking carelessly would alert the villagers, they had no choice but to leave sheepishly.
Wu Wangwang didn't expect them to send a message, and even thought that Sangniang probably wouldn't be able to come and report that she was safe on this day. With the wedding imminent, the villagers no longer cared about whether Dalin was big or small. Some rules could even be set aside to ensure that the wedding could proceed smoothly.
The commotion outside seemed irrelevant to Wu Wangwang; she lay quietly on the bed, waiting for the widow to announce the time for her bath.
As darkness fell, Sang Niang did not appear. The players protected by the Ghost Mother were still alive. Wu Wangwang waited until one o'clock in the morning when the widow opened the door, followed by four burly women who carried in a wooden bucket and several buckets of hot water.
The widow told them to put their things down, then prepared hot water, and looked at Wu Wangwang on the bed: "Zhenzhen, the wedding preparations are about to begin. Now, you need to take a bath to cleanse yourself of the impurities, and then Mom will dress you in a very beautiful dress, the one you brought back."
Wu Wangwang stood up: "But Mom, I'm not used to taking a bath with a lot of people. It doesn't seem very clean for the six of us to share one tub."
A note from the author:
----------------------
[End of this chapter]
Widow: The child is clean, but not very bright...
Wu Wangwang: OvO
————————
Thank you for watching, and I hope you enjoyed the article.
————————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
