Lin Jin'an took out a small knife from his pocket and was about to cut his arm when Ye Jiu stopped him.
She handed over a dagger. "Use this. It's sharp and the wound is big, so it won't heal easily."
Lin Jin'an pouted, "Don't you feel sorry for me at all?"
Ye Jiu gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Is that okay? Hurry up and stop dawdling."
Lin Jin'an was satisfied, and he cut the wound even more nimbly. He seemed to feel no pain, and the bright red blood dripped down his wrist and seeped into the soil.
Lin Jinan's forearm was covered with countless scars of all sizes. Ye Jiu glanced at them and looked away, finding it hard to believe that he could get a reward for self-harm.
Then, she saw the light at the entrance to the 'domain' grow brighter and brighter, "This monster is about to lose its temper."
Ye Jiu took out a band-aid and wrapped it around Lin Jin'an's wound. "I'll put some medicine on it when we get back."
Lin Jin'an obediently wiped the blood from her wrist with a tissue. "Can I still get the reward?"
Ye Jiu rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"
"I think it's okay, after all, I've put in a lot of effort, and iodine disinfection is very painful!"
"That's enough, the ghosts are about to make their move."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lake bottom shone brightly. Ye Jiu's vision blurred, and when he opened his eyes again, he was already at the entrance of a small village.
"Hey, you must be the new tourists. I've been waiting for you for ages. Come with me."
A stiff-walking man with a deathly pale face, like a zombie, and an expressionless expression stood in front of Ye Jiu and Lin Jin'an, saying words that were completely inconsistent with his expression.
Ye Jiu squeezed Lin Jin'an's restless hand, signaling him to calm down.
"Yes, sir, we don't know this place at all, and we got lost for a long time before we finally found it."
"Oh, oh, it's my fault. I should have picked you up. I'm so sorry."
This was the first time the two of them had encountered a situation where there was still a storyline inside the "domain" after entering so many times. Since the ghosts hadn't shown up yet, it was best not to rush into a fight.
"It's alright, we've found it now. Let's not talk about this anymore, uncle, please take us inside."
"Yes, let's go in, go in, go in."
The man turned his head stiffly, like a rusty robot, and led the way for Ye Jiu with extremely slow steps.
"I will first take you to pay homage to our Water God. Only with the Water God's approval can you stay and tour the village."
Ye Jiu and Lin Jin'an exchanged a glance, their eyes shining in unison. It wasn't impossible for a ghost to portray itself as a god within the "domain," and this water god was most likely this ghost!
After walking along the dirt road in the village for a long time, I finally saw a building that looked like an ancestral hall.
Stepping over the high threshold of the main gate, one sees another tightly closed door inside, with the words "Water God Temple" written on it.
The man led them to the tightly closed door. “The Water God is inside. You, go in, go in, and then—kowtow three times and wait for the Water God’s response.”
Ye Jiu noticed that the man's tone was particularly stiff and strange when he said the word "go in".
"So how do you know if you've been approved by the Water God?" Ye Jiu pressed. "Can the Water God speak?"
The man grinned, his lips showing signs of tearing. "No, being recognized by the adults without anything happening is different. If someone has a corrupt heart, they will become... become the adults'..." The man paused for a few seconds, then abruptly changed the subject, "...be expelled by the adults."
Ye Jiu understood; if she went in, she would be eaten by this monster.
So you'll become nourishment for ghosts and monsters?
I wonder if this man is a victim of being eaten by a ghost. He said that it was very strange when he went in. Could it be because he subconsciously knew that something bad would happen if he went in, so he kept repeating it?
Lin Jin'an noticed that Ye Jiu's gaze lingered on this man for too long, so he walked in front of Ye Jiu and blocked her view. "What's so interesting about him? Look at me, I'm handsome."
Ye Jiu: ...
"Lin Jin'an, do you know where you are? Don't make me slap you."
Lin Jin'an pouted, "I know, but don't look at him, look at me instead, he's so ugly."
(Man: ...Am I also part of your play?)
Ye Jiu turned her gaze back to the man. "Continue."
The man stepped back a few paces, gesturing for Ye Jiu to go inside, "Go see the Water God."
Ignoring Lin Jin'an, Ye Jiu strode forward and pushed open the door. As the door opened, the accumulated dust flew everywhere. Ye Jiu covered her mouth and nose and fanned the dust in front of her with her hand. "I should have brought a mask. Even your water god is no good. No one has worshipped you for so long. You are the one who is not sincere."
The man did not respond to Ye Jiu's provocative words, but mechanically repeated, "Go in, go in, go in."
Okay, let's go in.
Ye Jiu beckoned to Lin Jin'an, "Come here, let's get down to business."
Lin Jin'an jogged over and hooked his finger around Ye Jiu's finger that was hooking his, saying, "Hold my hand, and I'll forgive you."
"You're acting all wronged."
Lin Jin'an ignored her and put her hand in Ye Jiu's hand, saying, "Okay, you've taken my hand, I forgive you."
Ye Jiu hesitated, then decided that it was fine for him to be able to cheer himself up.
Ignoring the other hand in her hand, Ye Jiu turned her gaze to the ancestral hall, where a wooden statue of a deity was enshrined in the dimly lit center.
Ye Jiu carefully examined the statue. It was much more exquisite than she had imagined, with an even more clearly defined face. She had thought it would be a faceless statue.
After all, if a ghost dared to depict its excessively ugly body realistically and display it in this ancestral hall, wouldn't it seem too blatant?
"This statue is quite handsome." Ye Jiu muttered unconsciously. The wooden statue was so lifelike that it seemed as if the person had just closed his eyes.
Ye Jiu could see the figure's delicate jawline and high nose bridge. She even noticed that the figure seemed to have eyelashes carved into it, as if the person had been turned into a wooden sculpture.
Lin Jin'an's ears picked up the key signal. He widened his eyes and carefully examined the wooden statue. After looking it over from head to toe, he said with disdain, "What is this? Its eyebrows aren't as good-looking as mine, its eyes aren't as big as mine, its nose isn't as high as mine, its lips are thicker than mine, and its body is like a barrel. How can you say it's good-looking?!"
Ye Jiu looked at the wooden statue and then at him, "You even want to compare yourself to the wooden statue."
Lin Jin'an narrowed her eyes and stared intently at the wooden statue. "I'm just more aware of the danger."
Ye Jiu continued to look around. Apart from the wooden statue and the wooden table where offerings were placed, there was nothing else in the ancestral hall.
There wasn't even a futon for kneeling in front of the wooden table, and the ground was covered in thick dirt. Ye Jiu was a little disgusted. "We don't need to kneel, but this water god statue is probably not a ghost. The clue has gone cold."
Lin Jin'an naturally agreed to whatever Ye Jiu said, but the more he looked at the wooden statue, the stranger it seemed, and he couldn't help but move closer to examine it more closely.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
