Chapter 271 White Orchid Rain Festival (Fifty-four)
In fact, what they noticed at first was not the strange heavy rain outside, but the environment they were in, because this place was exactly the same as the courtyard where the eldest lady originally lived in the high priest's mansion, and the place where they were teleported was under the eaves of the courtyard.
"I've just taken a brief look. Whether it's the layout or the furnishings in the room, there's no difference at all. It's like a replica, except for the rain."
Bei Xi had been observing the surrounding environment before, so she had the most say. However, because this heavy rain was not uncommon and very strange in the real Bailan City, she was very cautious and did not go directly into the rain.
But as soon as Bei Xi finished speaking, everyone's attention was turned to the rain that was falling like a flood. It was raining so heavily, but there was no sound at all. Even when everyone was going down to the yard, it suddenly stopped without any warning.
"Could it be that just because we noticed it, it stopped? What's the logic behind this?"
President Alice wanted to step into the courtyard in disbelief, but before she could move, she was held back by Bei Xi, "Someone is coming this way."
Bei Xi frowned, the sound appeared suddenly. Her senses were sharp and she had been paying attention to the movements nearby since just now. But this place was like an empty city. There was no sound at all, and no sense of any life. But the moment the rain stopped, it suddenly seemed to come alive.
The moment everyone turned their heads, they finally saw an old acquaintance pushing the door open from the yard.
"Hello everyone, welcome to the High Priest's House."
It was still the familiar smell, and it was still the familiar butler, but he was no longer obsessed with their identities as candidates for the saint, and treated them as guests.
After all, everyone had just experienced the evil god's thorn bush and knew that this seemingly peaceful world was actually wrapped in black air, so they did not act rashly, and had not yet figured out the current situation. Instead, they returned to the butler and tacitly remained silent.
But the butler here still seemed to maintain the identity of an NPC. He did not expect an answer, but had his own set of procedures to follow. After saying this, he stood directly in front of everyone.
"But since we have come to Bailan City, we have to abide by the rules here. Only true believers of the evil god can receive his protection. Please don't forget this. There are also daily sacrificial activities, so everyone must participate on time."
He didn't keep you in suspense on purpose. After he finished explaining everything, he turned around and left.
Unexpectedly, Bei Xi blocked his way. "Sorry, I have something else I want to consult you about."
Her words seemed polite, but her actual actions had completely blocked the butler's steps from leaving. She seemed unwilling to give up without getting an answer from the other party. The butler was silent for a moment and did not object, as if he tacitly accepted their inquiry.
"We are just guests. We have to believe in the evil god just like the residents of Bailan City..."
After all, this upgraded side quest is quite different from the previous one. Nan Huan needs to confirm whether what the other party said involves the death rules of the game. Besides, there is no actual mapping for something like faith. She needs to know the system's judgment criteria. However, before she finished speaking, these words seemed to ignite a nerve of the butler that was easily explosive.
“What did you say?” The housekeeper’s reaction was particularly strong. It didn’t seem like a simple question directed at Nan Huan. It seemed more like Nan Huan had some grudge against her for killing his father. Her eyes were filled with anger. “No matter who you are, as long as you come here, you can only become a believer of the evil god. Otherwise, you will no longer be protected by the evil god.”
Seeing his murderous look, Nan Huan silently swallowed the question which would obviously provoke a war, "What's the use of getting the protection of the evil god?" and asked about the sacrifice instead.
"Are sacrificial activities held every day? What should we pay attention to?"
I don’t know if this question is a little milder, or if the butler is set up to be a loyal guardian of faith. As long as it doesn’t involve issues of principle, he will return to his original self.
"The sacrificial activities will be held as scheduled every day. As for the things that need attention," the butler seemed to have thought of something. He suddenly paused for a moment and then showed a strange smile to everyone, "You will know clearly when the time comes."
It was as if he hadn't said anything. Before they could find out any more information, the other party had already forcefully avoided Bei Xi's resistance and left the courtyard.
"So the evil god used this method to keep the consciousness of other residents of Bailan City here and let them believe in him? It feels like some kind of cult?"
President Alice shuddered. "This doesn't sound like the death rule of the game. After all, faith cannot be quantified. As for the protection of the evil god, I know with my knees that it is not a good thing."
Nan Huan agreed with her statement. "But there is another point we need to pay attention to. This upgraded side quest has no time limit and only a specific goal."
"In other words, if we can't make these people who are so devoted to the evil god believe in the Dragon God again and save their consciousness from being trapped here, then we may be trapped here forever. I don't think it will be good for us if we are trapped in the enemy's base camp for a longer time."
When everyone confirmed that there might be no death rule in this side quest, they finally felt relieved, but after Nan Huan's explanation, they immediately felt that they still had a long way to go.
"Do you want to go out and take a look, first understand the situation, or contact the consciousness of the Bailan City residents trapped here?"
President Barbie suggested, "Besides, the consciousness of the dragon clan and the dragon god is also trapped here, maybe there will be some clues."
Unlike the actual Bailan City, there is no rule that prohibits leaving the High Priest's Mansion. Besides, it is still daytime, so it is very necessary to understand the situation first.
A few minutes later, they had left the High Priest's Palace and arrived at a familiar street.
"Hmm..." President Hongfen followed the group for a few minutes, stood on the street and looked back and forth a few times, then spoke hesitantly, "If I were someone who didn't know about this, I would probably be willing to stay here and not want to go back to the real Bailan City."
She checked her conscience and found it impossible to say anything against her will.
After all, the clean streets, the hawking crowds, and the thriving everything before them were not quite what they had expected.
But just as President Hongfen finished her words, she was hit on the head by President Alice.
"Are you stupid? Can't you see there's something wrong with those people?"
The president of the Red Pink Club covered her head and cried in pain, saying that she was not stupid.
"Everyone has the same smile on their face, as if they have no souls. Everything they do seems to have been planned in advance. Look at the jewelry vendor at the front. His words are all the same, without any change."
The president of the Workers' Guild felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere the moment she left the High Priest's Mansion. However, she could not tell whether there was any evil god's dark aura here. But she could feel that these people looked peaceful, but were actually very dull.
President Barbie was at the end of the group, trying to communicate with the residents along the way, but to little avail. When she caught up with the main group, she happened to hear the words of the president of the migrant workers, "Not only that, they also didn't respond to questions beyond the set parameters."
Nan Huan didn't know what President Barbie said and what she did before. He stood there and pondered for a moment, then walked towards a street vendor and said, "That may not be the case."
Bei Xi seemed to know what she wanted to do. The corners of her mouth curled up beautifully and she followed the other person.
This is a stall selling jade and stone toys. The owner, like everyone else, mechanically sits on a chair, waiting for customers to come. When he sees a customer coming, he says, "If you like anything, feel free to..."
"I'm not here to buy anything. I have a question to ask." Nan Huan waved his hand before he could finish.
But the boss didn't care what Nan Huan said at all. After being interrupted, he started chattering again, "Is there anyone I like? I can..."
"You should still remember the last sacrifice a hundred years ago, right?" She brought up the past events without warning. "How did the Dragon God and the Saint Lady disappear? You should know it better than anyone else."
I don’t know which word here touched the boss, but his originally repetitive words suddenly stopped. His eyes were suddenly filled with black energy and he glared at Nan Huan, as if it was some kind of warning.
Seeing that it really worked, Nan Huan did not stop there. As if he did not see the other party's reaction, he continued to talk to himself, "What kind of protection do you think the belief in the evil god can bring? You want to use the prosperity in front of you to continue to deceive yourself and indulge in this false belief..."
As Nan Huan deliberately provoked the other party, the boss who had no reaction at first was suddenly wrapped in black air. The people on the same street stopped their actions at the same time, turned towards Nan Huan and his group, and pressed forward step by step.
Suddenly, a lot of black air rushed out of the originally fine sky and headed towards Nanhuanpu, and everyone moved in unison.
"The evil god is the only belief, the evil god is the only belief..."
I don't know whether they said this to convince themselves or the evil god used it to brainwash them, but Bei Xi seemed to have considered this situation a long time ago. He had already taken out an air arrow and quickly stopped Nan Huan from retreating. He signaled others to follow. At the same time, the air arrow was shot out, preventing those people from moving forward.
After all, no matter how hateful these people are, they still have to keep their consciousness to complete the mission, so Bei Xi did not kill them. The explosion only raised some dust and successfully repelled those who wanted to surround them.
However, the black air did not attack them directly as Nan Huan had expected. Instead, it dissipated again and disappeared without a trace as Bei Xi counterattacked.
After a few seconds, the whole street seemed to return to its original state, as if nothing had happened.
The president of Hongfen touched the sweat on her forehead and came to Nanhuan. "Miss, you can't absorb the black energy, right? Why didn't they take the opportunity to attack us? They just left like that? Did you find a way to deal with them?"
Although Nan Huan had already understood that the black energy was afraid of her blood, she knew that they did not give up the attack for that reason. She shook her head, "They didn't attack us because they couldn't make us believers of the evil god by attacking us, so they didn't waste their energy."
"It seems that something unexpected might happen during the sacrifice later."
President Barbie reacted the fastest and soon understood the meaning of the eldest lady's actions. "Those people only reacted to what happened before. As soon as they were provoked, the evil god took control of them again. In this state, I'm afraid they will reject the Dragon God even more. How can we complete the mission?"
"Do you find it strange?" Nan Huan did not answer President Barbie's question immediately, but asked another question, "Or do you think the evil god is so kind?"
The remaining three presidents didn't understand what the eldest lady meant, but the working-class president was the first to understand.
"I don't think so. That's why she wouldn't keep these consciousnesses here for no reason and let them enjoy everything they can't enjoy in the real world of Bailan City. So there must be things that the people here need to face that we don't know about."
Nan Huan snapped his fingers happily, indicating that this was what he wanted to express.
Judging from the previous encounters, the evil god is obviously not a good person. She has made the entire population of Bailan City become her believers. She is definitely not trapping them here to create better living conditions for them, so the current peace is just an illusion.
At the same time, a heavy bell rang from the High Priest's Palace, like some kind of signal. Before they could react, the people on the whole street seemed to have received some kind of order and moved towards the High Priest's Palace in unison.
"What does this mean? Has the sacrifice started?"
President Alice strained her neck and looked at the people in the entire Bailan City, who were moving towards the same direction from different locations in all directions.
"It should be. Come on, let's go and see what the whole sacrifice is hiding."
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