Xiao Cheng kicked the statue to the ground, and a corner of its golden shell broke off, revealing the straw and mud filling inside.
"So this is what it is?" Xiao Cheng squatted down, took out his dagger, and pried out a small piece of finger bone covered in mud.
Xu Chu stood aside, cautiously observing his surroundings, but everything remained calm and nothing happened.
"It seems even the true god isn't that concerned about this so-called statue." Xiao Cheng clapped his hands, stood up, and turned to look at the tightly closed shrine doors. "I'm planning to go in and take a look. What about you? Want to come along?"
Player #4 shook his head: "No, I want to wander around the village. If I can find Player #7 along the way, that would be even better."
“I’m planning to go to the village chief’s house. How about we split up and meet at the ancestral hall before dawn?” Xu Chu suggested after thinking for a moment.
After they all left, Xiao Cheng stood alone at the entrance of the ancestral hall, looking up at the ghost-face-shaped totem at the top of the porch, and then pushed the door open a crack.
The interior was much brighter than during the day, and the candlelight cast dancing shadows on the screen wall, like intertwined ghostly figures, making it appear very eerie.
The statue has been moved outside, revealing the scriptures that were previously completely hidden.
Xiao Cheng frowned and stared at it for a long time.
I didn't understand it at all.
But it's reasonable to guess that this is what the priestess recited when they retired from their profession.
There weren't many things in the main hall. Xiao Cheng looked around but didn't find any valuable clues, so he turned and walked towards the only side door.
The side door leads to a cave that has been dug through, with the walls covered in signs of human excavation. Candles are also hung there, and by the light of the candles, one can proceed forward until the end of the cave is a covered well.
Next to the well was a bucket for drawing water, and an upside-down golden basin was placed on the well cover. Xiao Cheng recognized it at a glance; it was the same basin that had been given to them to wash their hands that morning.
She walked over and picked up the gold basin; it was much lighter than she had imagined, and could be described as cheap.
Compared to the unremarkable golden basin, the well caught her attention more, so she put the basin aside and forcefully lifted the heavy well cover.
Surprisingly, it was a dry well.
The bottom of the well was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. A faint stench of decay emanated from it, and the well walls were covered with pure black crystals.
Xiao Cheng thought for a moment, then turned around and took a candle lamp down from the wall, fixed it to the bottom of the bucket, and then, holding the hemp rope on the bucket handle, slowly lowered the bucket into the well.
The bucket was lowered down the well wall, the faint candlelight illuminating the scene inside. The further down you went, the fewer black crystals remained on the well wall, replaced by sticky, rotten mud, from which the putrid smell originated.
The well was very deep; even with the rope in Xiao Cheng's hand extended to the bottom, it didn't touch it. She was about to get closer for another look when the bucket suddenly started shaking violently, as if someone had grabbed it and pulled on the rope.
The candle in the bucket swayed precariously, then finally fell over with a thud and went out instantly.
The sparks ignited the hemp rope, and flames shot up in the blink of an eye, along with the black crystals on the well wall.
Blue and red flames mingled together, creating a sweltering heat that distorted even the air above the wellhead.
Xiao Cheng was momentarily blinded by the firelight, her eyes stinging, and she instinctively turned her head away.
A cold hand reached out from behind and landed silently on her shoulder.
Xiao Cheng's body trembled violently. He reflexively drew his dagger and, before turning around, slashed horizontally with his backhand.
However, the blade missed its target and did not touch anything.
"Oh dear, silly girl," a sweet female voice rang out from afar, "This is the dagger I gave you, how could it possibly harm me?"
Xiao Cheng frowned and turned to look in the direction of the sound.
Near the cave entrance, a semi-transparent woman floated shakily in mid-air, then moved in front of him in an instant amidst laughter, leaning slightly down to look him over.
"You are... the woman in the coffin?!" Xiao Cheng looked at her in surprise. "But you..."
"Please, if I had a choice, who would want to appear looking like that? It's so ugly, it makes me want to vomit."
The female ghost floated above the well opening, peered inside, and her head became contorted from the heat.
"Oh no, I'm doomed! I finally managed to sculpt this perfectly!" She covered her face, turned around quickly, and floated to a corner. Xiao Cheng watched as she took the head off, molded it like clay to create facial features, and then put it back on.
"How is it? How is it?" She excitedly moved closer to Xiao Cheng, pressing her face against hers for her to examine. "Are your features asymmetrical? Is your face not uneven? Or should I get a different face shape? Oh, silly girl, say something!"
Xiao Cheng: "...No, that's fine, no need to change."
The female ghost was so happy that she spun around on the spot: "That's good, that's good. Then I won't blame you for cutting me like that. I know you must have a lot of questions now. Ask away, I'll answer you."
"Who are you? Why were you skinned and put in a coffin?" Xiao Cheng asked directly, seeing that she seemed relatively calm.
"Is it really that hard to tell? Waaah, I've been dead for so long, I guess I really do look unprofessional." The female ghost pretended to be sad and covered her face, crying for a while.
"I was the previous priestess, and I was in the place closest to the true god. But I'll soon become the priestess before that, because the true god has new ideas... Oh dear, what a fickle person, don't you think?"
"What are those monsters?" Xiao Cheng looked at the dagger in her hand and continued to ask. Those things were clearly related to the true god. If she was also a believer of the true god, why would she turn around and help her?
The female ghost's face showed disgust: "Trying to defile the creation of the true god, the faith in the true god here is no longer pure. There are always some foolish bastards who are self-righteous. If I find him..."
Her eyes turned crimson in an instant, and the skin on her face gradually dissolved, revealing the true appearance of her corpse.
But she quickly recovered, covering her face and laughing sheepishly, "Oh dear, we've gotten onto weird topics. It's getting late, I'll answer one last question for you, and then you should go back and get some rest, okay?"
She extended her little finger and beckoned to Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng looked at her thoughtfully and said, "Okay."
She smiled and hooked her fingers together: "My last question... do you know where the true God is right now?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
