You can’t see the sunrise and sunset underground, so people can only rely on the time on their mobile phones to carry out their activities.
In the evening, because Qi Mi spent a lot of money to buy food, Kuai Liang and Sister Li felt bad and refused to let them get involved in such a small matter in the kitchen. So Zheng Yuanyuan and Du Rui had nothing to do, so they took the children to the outside of the temple to help Qi Mi chop trees.
The dead trees must have sunk from the ground, and rotten leaves can be vaguely seen. The trees, several meters high, run through the entire living space, like a natural barrier around the temple.
Qi Mi waved his hand, signaling them to stand further away.
She took the machete she had picked up at the market and tapped her left eye. In an instant, the thick tree trunk in front of her was divided into several pieces by lines. She hit the place where the most colors were concentrated, and instantly split the dead tree in two from bottom to top, forming two semi-cylinders that slowly fell to both sides.
I don’t know where the children learned this from, but when the dead tree slowly fell, the little ones all shouted in unison: “The tree is falling—be careful—”
The baby voice is so innocent and cute.
Qi Mi chuckled softly and continued to concentrate on his work.
She simply chopped down half a dead log on one side to create a long dining table. From the remaining scraps, she fashioned a dozen simple wooden blocks. With careful sandpaper polishing, she ensured the table and blocks wouldn't scratch the children's skin. After busying herself in the kitchen preparing the dishes, she was almost done with the table and stools.
The delicacies were served and everyone sat around. The scene that was full of laughter just now became silent the moment they sat down.
Hanging on the temple wall is a list of daily rules written by Chen Banxianer, one of which is "Don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping." Just like Kuai Shi Zhuangzi, everyone can only eat in silence, and even drinking soup cannot make any noise. The only noise allowed is the sound of chopsticks or spoons hitting the bowls and plates.
If you don't comply, you will lose your health.
Qi Mi lowered his head to eat, his eyes furtively scanning the others. Unlike the newcomers, Kuai Liang and Sister Li, who had lived here their entire lives, adhered strictly to the rules, their gaze fixed only on their own bowls and the dishes on the table. Even Chen Banxian'er remained expressionless, showing only a hint of pleasure when she ate the meat.
Unlike them, although no one was talking, their eyes were moving back and forth across the dinner table.
The children were very good at reading the atmosphere and facial expressions. Seeing that no one was talking, they didn't make any sound either. Except for the unexpected sneeze of Yang Shengzhuang, everything was fine.
So this grand gathering ended in this eerie silence.
When the youngest Di Yuntong put down his spoon with an unnatural expression, everyone stood up and left, and the temple suddenly became lively again.
Sister Li's expression changed very quickly. She looked like a soulless puppet when she sat in her seat, but when she stood up the next second, a big smile appeared on her face. "The kitchen is too small. You guys sit here while I wash the dishes."
Qi Mi watched silently as Sister Li snatched the bowl from her hand, and looked at the densely packed rules on the wall with a subtle expression.
One of the rules is: [You may leave the table only after the last person at the table has put down their bowl and chopsticks.]
She felt an inexplicable chill.
There was still half a bowl of rice in Di Yuntong's bowl. It was obvious that the child had not finished eating. The reason why he put down the spoon in his hand was entirely because of the oppressive feeling given to him by the people at the table.
Qi Mi thought about it, if it was her last meal, with more than a dozen pairs of eyes staring at her, with that expressionless and gloomy look, the tingling feeling on her scalp would make her put down her chopsticks quickly.
Suddenly, Sister Li's loud voice interrupted her thoughts.
Sister Li took the remaining white rice in Di Yuntong's bowl and looked embarrassed. "Ah, kid, how could you not finish your meal? Teacher Qi, look, it's clearly written on the wall that no leftovers are allowed and we must save food."
Without waiting for Qi Mi's response, Di Yuntong, feeling extremely wronged, burst into tears.
Sister Li was so frightened that she was at a loss: "Why are you still crying? I didn't say anything. Teacher Qi, look at this..."
Qi Mi walked over and patted Sister Li on the shoulder, then took the bowl from Di Yuntong. "It's okay, go ahead and do your work. I'll take care of this."
"Okay, then I'll go wash the dishes." After saying that, Sister Li looked at Di Yuntong meaningfully, turned around and left.
A few minutes later, Di Yuntong gradually calmed down in Qi Mi's arms. Zheng Yuanyuan dragged a wooden stool over and sat down, picking up some of the little guy's favorite dishes and feeding him the rest bit by bit.
"Teacher Qi, I feel so scared eating this meal." Zheng Yuanyuan whispered, "We ate outside at noon. I didn't expect to have to follow so many rules when sitting at the table to eat. The atmosphere just now was so scary."
Qi fans also have this feeling, but what is more terrifying is that they cannot change it at all, because if they do not follow the rules, they will lose health points inexplicably. Over time, they will become believers of these rules like these people.
"We have to find a way to leave as soon as possible," she said.
Unlike fighting against those tangible and terrifying monsters, you will feel pain every time the monster hurts you. There may be wounds and blood, but these are clearly visible injuries on your body.
But here, the invisible loss of health points was not a big deal. If she didn't have the skills, she would not even know how she died.
These rules are like shackles, tied to them for no reason, silently sucking their blood until they are exhausted.
There will be no peace until death.
After feeding Di Yuntong, Qi Mi walked to the kitchen with the empty bowl.
Sister Li was cleaning the stove. Seeing her coming, she smiled and took the bowl and threw it into the sink, apologizing, "I'm sorry, I have a naturally loud voice. Did I scare the child just now?"
"It's okay, he's just a coward."
Sister Li said sheepishly, kindly reminding them, "You have to make sure those little guys remember the daily rules. Otherwise, if they're not careful, they'll lose health points, which is very dangerous."
Qi Mi hummed calmly, but then suddenly asked, "How did you find out about the health loss? Is there a place to check?"
"Well, we should just follow the rules our ancestors left us. Why bother checking? As long as they're alive, they're fine." Sister Li grinned. "But if you really want to check, you can go to the main statue in the Kuai Family Underground Palace and pray devoutly. The god will tell you how much life you have left."
"oh."
Qi Mixu leaned against the wall, thought for a moment, took out his phone from his pocket, and pulled out the photo of the pass he had taken earlier. He asked Sister Li, "Have you seen this thing?"
Sister Li wiped the water off her hands and asked in surprise, "Is that a cell phone in your hand?"
"yes."
"Wow, your phone is amazing! This is the first time I've seen one." She pulled out a phone from her pocket, an old-fashioned flip-top phone with buttons. "This is what my phone looks like."
Qi Mi looked at the date on Sister Li's phone and confirmed that it was the same year, month and date as on her phone, but it seemed like it had gone back several decades.
Perhaps attracted by Sister Li's loud voice, Chen Banxian leisurely poked a fat black head in and asked, "What cell phone?"
Qi Mi was shaken.
"Oh my god, this is so high-tech! I didn't expect you to be rich!" Chen Banxianer walked over with square steps and took a closer look. "Beautiful! Can you watch movies on this phone?"
"Yes."
"Can I play games?"
"That's fine."
Having said this, Chen Banxianer could no longer close his mouth.
Being able to watch movies and play games at the same time, this is simply his 'dream machine'!
Qi Mi saw through his thoughts and pointed at the passport photo on the screen: "Have you seen this thing?"
Chen Banxianer looked at it himself and shook his head: "No, what is this pass of yours?"
"It's something very important to us. How about this, if you can help me find it, I'll watch movies and play games with you?"
Chen Banxian'er's eyes lit up immediately and he said excitedly, "Are you serious?!"
Qi Mi smiled and nodded: "It couldn't be more true."
She had saved several animated movies and single-player games on her phone. There was electricity and sockets in the temple, and she had made a suitable charger during the polar night apocalypse, so there was no problem letting Chen Banxian play with them.
As if he had found the motivation to act, Chen Banxianer supported his eyes with his hands and carefully imprinted the photo in his mind. He vowed that he would definitely go out and find out for her tomorrow, but he immediately asked Qi Mi to help him complete the second task.
Qi Mi saw through his little plan at a glance, turned the phone to child mode and handed it to him.
Chen Banxianer ran out holding his cell phone, his back looking like a child's excitement.
He was originally sitting in the corner and enjoying himself, but he didn't expect that when there were so many children around, he had no space to be alone at all. At first, Wang Xiaohu and Yang Shengzhuang heard Ultraman's voice and ran over, then came the curious babies Yu Jiaojiao and Fang Xinyue, and later more and more children surrounded him.
"Oh, you guys are affecting my breathing here!" Chen Banxian shouted and stood up.
It was the quietest moment when Wu Muchen spoke with a resentful look on his face, his hands in his pockets, and everyone could hear him clearly.
"Uncle Banxian, it's obviously the smell on your body that affects our breathing, why are you trying to turn the tables on me?" He said expressionlessly.
As a victim, Peng Yichen also has a say: "Yes, uncle, the corn you hid in your sleeve almost made me vomit."
So these little guys looked at each other and talked to each other, which made the unhygienic Chen Banxian's face turn red. He tried to think of no words to refute for a long time. In the end, he could only raise his head and ask the three teachers who were watching the show to take these little guys away quickly. This was the third thing that Qi Mi did for him.
At this time, the simple projector had been completed. Qi Mi took back his mobile phone and used a convex lens made from ordinary paper boxes and white wine bottles to project the movie on his mobile phone onto the white wall.
The kids were so excited that they immediately pulled the wooden blocks to sit in a row against the wall and enjoy the big-screen movie with Chen Banxianer.
Kuai Liang and Sister Li exchanged glances and sat over since they had nothing to do.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the temple was very harmonious. Especially when Ultraman transformed, the cubs all stood up and imitated his movements, which was both funny and cute, making the adults laugh.
Qi Mi sneaked out of the door, sat at the door of the temple with a machete, and dealt with the remaining half of the wood.
The ground was damp, so she would make a flat wooden board to raise the children's sleeping area before they went to bed to prevent the moisture from seeping into their bodies and causing them to catch a cold.
I was chopping the bark of a tree seriously when I looked up and saw a group of uninvited guests coming from a distance.
Everyone was holding a weapon in their hands, and it was obvious that they were here with ill intentions.
Qi Mi stood up, found a wooden stick and passed it through the two rings on the temple, temporarily trapping everyone inside.
The children were enjoying the show and excited shouts could be heard from time to time. Except for Zheng Yuanyuan and Du Rui who were guarding the door, no one noticed the subtle noise.
Zheng Yuanyuan tried to push the door and stared at Qi Mi through the gap between the doors.
She held a machete in her hand and stared straight ahead, like a female general about to go to the battlefield.
"What happened?" she asked worriedly.
Qi Mi glanced sideways and said, "It's okay. It should be someone from the Kuai family who came looking for us."
She had made the house so lively today that a family this size would surely not tolerate this. There were cameras installed in every corner of the house, and they must have captured her and Chen Banxianer entering together. It was only a matter of time before they came looking for her.
Zheng Yuanyuan said "oh" and thought for two seconds: "Teacher Qi, remember to be gentle."
It can be heard that she is giving instructions very seriously.
When Qi Mi heard this, he laughed and quickly put the knife on the ground: "Don't worry, it was my fault for breaking into someone's house today. I won't do anything."
Just as the two of them were saying this, the large force sent by the Kuai clan arrived and stopped a few meters away from the temple. Standing at the front was a woman wearing a black cheongsam, about forty or fifty years old, with black hair and red lips, who looked very aura-filled.
"Were you the one who broke into the wedding and funeral hall of Kuai's manor today?" She clasped her hands, ready to start a quarrel.
Qi Mi nodded slightly: "Sorry, I'm from another place and don't know the rules of your family. I'm sorry to bother you."
But the woman didn't want to accept the apology. She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief and looked at the temple with disdain: "This place is dirty and shabby, it really affects my mood. Now that you admit it, let's not waste time. Butler, get started."
"Yes, ma'am!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the thugs rushed over with weapons raised.
Qi Mi immediately used her toes to hook the machete from the ground, kicked it into the air, and caught it gracefully. Her action looked simple, but it was actually very skillful. Firstly, it told them that she had a knife in her hand, and secondly, it showed that she was a martial artist. These thugs would have to think twice before trying to arrest anyone else.
Sure enough, the thugs stopped in a hurry and looked at each other.
Qi Fan: "It was wrong of me to break into your funeral hall today, but I didn't take anything from your house, and I didn't destroy anything from your house. I won't go there again... What else do you want?"
The woman snorted coldly and glared at her. "It's just a small matter. Our Kuai family is too magnanimous to bother with a little girl like you. But you, an outsider, absolutely shouldn't have touched the daughter-in-law chosen by our gods. It was after coming into contact with you that Alua is now suffering from unbearable abdominal pain. The master of the main family was furious after watching the surveillance video and insisted that we take you back and beat you to death in front of the gods!"
As she spoke, she waved her hand and ordered the thugs to attack again.
The thugs exchanged glances, raised their swords and axes, and attacked.
Qi Mi's eyes flashed, and he walked among the thugs with a machete in his hand, getting rid of them effortlessly. He captured the leader first and put the knife on the woman's neck.
The woman came to her senses when she felt a chill on her neck. She screamed in fear, which echoed through the sky and reached the ears of everyone in the temple.
Soon, the noise of children and adults talking to each other came from the door.
Qi Mi glanced at the clanging door and scoffed, "You Kuai family are really good at extorting people. I just helped that girl up, and now you're blaming me for her stomachache. Am I a venomous snake? I just touched her and she got a stomachache."
"I, I don't know either. The master gave me this order, and I had no choice but to obey!" The woman was trembling with fear. "Girl, girl, calm down. Don't hurt me again by mistake. How about this, I, I'll go back and ask, can you let me go first?"
Qi Mi lowered his eyes and stared at her for two seconds, then put down the knife and pushed her away.
The woman was so frightened that her legs went limp. After thanking him repeatedly, she quickly asked the housekeeper to help her go back. The thugs saw Qi Mi's cold face and knew they couldn't beat him. They didn't want to lose their lives here, so they quickly followed the two leaders and left.
"Heh, your stomach hurts when I touch you?" The more Qi Mi thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed to him. He thought to himself, if he were a man, wouldn't he suspect that she was having an affair with that girl?
She put away the knife and walked back, pulled out the wooden stick that locked the door and opened the temple door.
Chen Banxian'er popped out like a giant bomb. The light was too dark, and he could only vaguely make out a few moving shadows in the distance. "What's going on? What's going on?"
"Someone from the Kuai family came to arrest you, but I helped you fight them off." Qi Mi joked.
Chen Banxian believed it and immediately shook her hand seriously and solemnly: "Lady, be righteous!"
Qi Mi chuckled and pulled his hand away.
This incident came suddenly and went away in a hurry. Everyone just treated it as a small episode. After gossiping, they all sat back in their original seats, clicked the pause button, and continued watching the movie.
After everyone took their seats, Qi Mi also sat back on the steps. When he turned around, he found that Kuai Liang was still standing at the door, staring into the distance.
Just now, she took Kuai Liang's feelings into consideration, so she endured a lot of complaints about the Kuai family and pushed Chen Banxianer as a shield. Although Kuai Liang was the one who was expelled from the family, they all had the surname Kuai after all, and he would definitely not like to listen to a group of people pointing fingers at his family.
Qi Mi took the knife and continued to chop wood as if nothing had happened.
Soon, Kuai Liang slowly asked, "The Kuai family didn't come here for Old Chen, did they? He used to eat and drink for free, but no one from the Kuai family ever came. Do you really think they didn't know he was there for a free meal? They're just being generous and don't mind." As he spoke, he lowered his head and stared at Qi Mi, "The Kuai family came here for you, right?"
Now that things had come to this, Qi Mi no longer concealed it and nodded.
"Why did the Kuai family come looking for you?"
"Because I touched the daughter-in-law chosen by their gods, that girl now has a stomachache, and the Kuai family says it's because of me."
After hearing this, Kuai Liang sneered, "Sure enough, only the Kuai family can come up with such a ridiculous excuse."
Qi Mi glanced at his expression and didn't continue speaking.
After she fell silent, Kuai Liang also fell silent. During the silence, Kuai Liang sighed, turned around and walked back to the temple.
Qi Mi stood up and closed the door, and everything returned to normal.
On the other hand, the woman returned empty-handed with a group of thugs, which aroused the wrath of the master of the house.
The master of the house is named Kuai Weitian. He is already in his eighties, but he is in good spirits. He wears a solemn black robe and sits on a chair, holding a cane with both hands. Although he does not open his eyes, his slightly moving eyeballs seem to be able to accurately look at everyone.
The women, housekeepers, and thugs all knelt on the ground, not daring to look up.
"You can't even do such a small thing. I really don't know why my Kuai family keeps you around." Because of his old age, Kuai Weitian was obviously a little out of energy. He shouted this sentence in a hoarse voice, and his crutch clanged on the ground with anger, making a loud noise.
The woman's name was Kuai Zhenzhu. She belonged to a branch of the Kuai family and had a very low status. She had wanted to take advantage of this good opportunity to improve her status, but she didn't expect that it would be in vain.
She knelt down and kowtowed three times: "I'm sorry, Master, I'm sorry to the Kuai family, I'm a waste, I'm useless!"
"Enough! It's so noisy!" Kuai Weitian knocked the ground with his crutch again.
Kuai Zhenzhu quickly shut her mouth and remained in the kowtow posture, not daring to move.
In the silence, a middle-aged man in a suit knocked on the door twice, one long and one short in a very regular pattern.
At this time, Kuai Weitian slowly opened his eyes, and cast a pair of sharp eagle eyes at him: "How is she?"
The middle-aged man was the family doctor, named Kuai Bo. After hearing the master's question, he knelt down and replied, "Master, Miss Alua is fine. She just has some flatulence. She probably fell out of the window while eating and is holding her breath. It's nothing serious."
"Nothing serious?"
“…”
Hearing that something was wrong in Kuai Weitian's tone, the doctor hurriedly leaned over and kowtowed.
Kuai Weitian: "She came into contact with someone from another family during her celibacy period. Is that okay? What if the gods deem her unclean and refuse to accept the marriage? What if the future of our Kuai family is ruined by that outsider?!"
"Master, don't worry. I will try every possible way to bring that damn girl back, tie her up in front of the gods, and beat her to death with sticks to vent the gods' anger!" Kuai Zhenzhu took the opportunity to express her loyalty loudly.
Kuai Weitian didn't say whether it was good or bad. After staring at her for a few seconds, he suddenly seemed to remember something and stood up tremblingly with his crutches.
"Come with me to the gods and ask for divination to see how the gods intend to deal with that outsider."
"yes."
Kuai Zhenzhu and the doctor quickly got up, kept a certain distance from Kuai Weitian, and arrived at the ancestral hall where the statue of the god was placed.
A row of lanterns were lit outside the house, and below the lanterns were two incense altars. According to the rules of the Kuai family, one had to light three incense sticks for the gods outside the door before entering. There was also a special incense watcher at the door. When the incense at the door was about to burn out, he would ring the bell at the door to remind the people inside to come out immediately.
If you want to go in again, you have to light three more incense sticks.
The three of them walked into the house, with Kuai Weitian at the front, while Kuai Zhenzhu and Kuai Bo knelt on both sides, asking for divination from the gods.
The statue of the Kuai family is a venerable figure with a peaceful appearance. His body is made entirely of gold, with his hands raised to his head as if picking up a flower. His brows are lowered and his eyes are closed, showing a kind and loving look that shows pity for the people.
Eighteen eternal lamps are lit on both sides of the statue. The collision of light and gold brings a dazzling golden glow, which further demonstrates its sacredness and inviolability.
This is the incarnation of the deity that was invited into the house. The main deity statue is in the underground palace. It is said that the ancestor of the Kuai family discovered the main deity by chance, built an underground palace for it, and made a golden statue of it and brought it into the house.
Kuai Weitian placed his crutch respectfully in front of him, shook the tortoise shell fortune stick holder five times, then spread the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Bagua diagram on the ground and poured the snake bones on it.
Several strange runes were written on the snake bones in red cinnabar.
Kuai Weitian took a look, frowned unnaturally, then put away the snake bones and made another divination.
The two hexagrams were the same, which was God's will. If he asked for a third one, it would be disrespectful to the gods. So Kuai Weitian put away the fortune stick box, stood up with his crutch, and left the house before he dared to convey the oracle of the gods.
"The gods are merciful and have said that they will not bother with that outsider. Let's just let this matter go."
Kuai Zhenzhu and Kuai Bo looked at each other and lowered their heads obediently: "Yes."
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