40. The Ghost Village Worships Gods (6)
Stay away from Xie Yunhuai, stay away from misfortune and death.
“Well… because he’s an outsider…” the village chief stammered in response.
However, he realized his mistake as soon as he said it, because the person in front of him was also an outsider.
The next second, amidst Qin Fu'an's mocking smile, he hurriedly changed his tune: "Of course he's different from you. He's a lost soul. He can't even become an important participant in the Mountain God's ritual... Every time he appears, the Mountain God angrily drives us away!"
The village chief seemed to have opened up, angrily recounting many disasters caused by Xie Yunhuai. Whenever Xie Yunhuai appeared in their haunted village, all sorts of unfortunate things would happen.
"The youngest son of the third son's family had a high fever for three days and three nights after he talked to that mute man for a few extra minutes. Even drinking the talisman water made from burnt paper money in the mountain god's temple didn't help, because the mountain god wouldn't bless those who got close to that mute man!"
"And then there's Liu Laosi from the village. He was perfectly healthy most of the time, but because he was kind-hearted, he threw a piece of food to the little mute girl, and he died at the village entrance early the next morning. He must have been affected by the curse on the mute girl and that's how he lost his life!"
"besides……"
After recounting all the strange events that had happened to the little mute boy, the village chief picked up his teacup and took a big gulp, his eyes filled with hatred: "If only he hadn't appeared in our village back then! If it weren't for him, our ghost village, under the protection of the mountain god, would definitely be living a better and richer life than it is now!"
"It is because we accepted this little mute that the Mountain God has despised us for so many years, ensuring that the people of our Ghost Village will never be able to leave this mountain again for all eternity!"
Qin Fu'an sat opposite him, listening quietly as he finished recounting everything about the little mute boy, before thoughtfully asking, "From what you're saying, the Ghost Village was doing quite well under the protection of the Mountain God, but ever since you took in the little mute boy, the Mountain God has hated him and cursed you as well?"
"Then why don't you just get rid of him? If you get rid of him, everything will be fine, won't it?"
"You think we haven't tried?!" the village chief said fiercely. "We've not only tried to drive him away, but we've tried many other methods, but he's an unkillable monster!!"
Qin Fu'an's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but he quickly concealed it, feigning curiosity as he pressed on, "Could you tell me more specifically? What kind of monster is he? After all, I'm living with him, and if he's too dangerous, I really won't feel at ease..."
His worries were genuine, and his curiosity seemed to be silently enticing the village chief's growing desire to pour out his heart. Communicating with him felt so gentle and harmless, like a tipsy confidant with whom one could freely express their innermost thoughts.
However, unbeknownst to them, those beautiful green eyes had already transformed into cold, sinister vertical pupils while the village chief was lost in thought.
The village chief was completely unaware of all the changes. Under Qin Fu'an's guidance, he whispered many things about the strange village and the little mute.
To be precise, it was the method the ghost village used to kill the little mute boy countless times.
“We took him as a sacrifice to apologize to the mountain god, but even though the fire burned him to ashes, he would reappear in the same place the next morning.”
"...If you tie stones to him and sink him into the well, he will appear the next day unharmed."
“He was tricked into eating a lot of rat poison and pesticides. Even though he was dead, he would still quietly come back to life in places that couldn’t be seen.”
“We even tried cutting him into many pieces with an axe and saw, burying them in different places, and offering his head as a sacrifice before the statue of the mountain god. Even so, he still managed to come back to life…”
The more he spoke, the thinner the anger in the village chief's eyes became, replaced by an increasingly intense fear, a deep-seated hatred and dread. He swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he said, "We didn't want to do this to him, but he just won't die! He's an unkillable monster! That must be why the mountain god cursed us to be trapped in this haunted village forever. We let the monster in; it's all our fault, but we're trying our best to make amends!"
He suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his eyes bulging and swollen, wide open, his expression filled with despair as he cried out in a hoarse voice, "He's done so much harm to the Ghost Village! He's done so much harm to our whole village!!!"
He turned to look at Qin Fu'an.
His eyes were bloodshot as he said urgently, "Do you know why we don't welcome outsiders? It's because of him! It's because of that monster! We're afraid that if another monster comes, our Ghost Village will truly lose the protection of the Mountain God forever!!"
This corresponds to the attitude of the people from the ghost village when they first met them.
Qin Fu'an suddenly lowered his eyes and chuckled, responding calmly, "Then it seems we really made the right choice coming here."
Under the village chief's skeptical and malicious gaze, Qin Fu'an smiled and said frankly, "As long as you can cooperate with us and compile a detailed account of the history of the haunted village and the mysterious greatness of the mountain god into a publication, the number of people who hear of the mountain god's reputation and begin to believe in and worship him will only increase..."
"What could be more atoning than proclaiming the deeds of the gods and spreading faith?"
As the village chief's expression gradually softened and even turned to surprise, Qin Fu'an's deep voice, like the murmur of a true deity, easily bewitched and captivated the listener's mind:
"Just cooperate with me, and I guarantee you a peaceful, curse-free ghost village, and a god who will no longer hold grudges. How about it?"
As if guided by some unseen force, the village chief nodded earnestly, his rough hands, which had been stained with Xie Yunhuai's life countless times, gripping Qin Fu'an's hands tightly with gratitude. "We will definitely cooperate. As long as the Mountain God can gain more believers, we will do anything!"
Qin Fu'an was very satisfied with his statement.
The young man, with his well-defined knuckles, grasped the old man's hands in return. His indifferent expression concealed the murderous intent in his eyes, and his tone was gentle and warm, "Don't worry, just give me three days, and I will definitely make the mountain god forgive your mistakes and turn the ghost village into a paradise."
Upon hearing this, the last bit of doubt and worry in the village chief's heart finally dissipated.
It only takes three days.
Three days is far too short. This also means that if Qin Fu'an lies and fails to fulfill his promise, he will have no chance of leaving the haunted village and escaping this cursed place.
If the results can be seen in just three days, the village chief is certainly patient and willing to cooperate as much as possible.
Perhaps he knew better than anyone that three days wouldn't really change anything, but being in a haunted village, worshipping the mountain god, and with a little monster that couldn't speak...
Under various circumstances, in the eyes of the village chief and the people of the ghost village, the more outrageous Qin Fu'an's actions were, the more they proved his authenticity.
After all, how could mere mortals like them possibly get involved in matters of ghosts and gods, curses and so on?
Moreover, they weren't blindly following anyone's words. If Qin Fu'an had been replaced by any of the other outsiders, the village chief would never have said a word to them.
Only Qin Fu'an, with those mysterious green eyes, isn't that proof that he was born extraordinary?
The distinguished guest mentioned by the mountain god happened to be there during the upcoming mountain god festival. He possessed a pair of rare green eyes and could spread the mountain god's faith to them...
Perhaps Qin Fu'an's appearance was just a prelude to the Mountain God's willingness to forgive them.
The mountain god initially rejected them because of the little mute's appearance, but now he can forgive them because of Qin Fu'an's appearance.
—The village chief of the mysterious village harbored such hopes.
And after Qin Fu'an left, he used the same logic to persuade more villagers in the Ghost Village.
Even if some people don't believe it, so what? They only need to wait three days to see the results, and they don't have to pay any unbearable price. It's just a matter of cooperating. Naturally, they won't have any objections and will do their best to be more polite and cooperative with Qin Fu'an within their capabilities.
-
Under the village chief's beaming and solicitous inquiry, Qin Fu'an refused his offer to rearrange his accommodation, but the reason he gave made the village chief even more grateful.
“Since the mountain god is angry because of him, I’ll take this opportunity to investigate what secrets he might have. After all, I’m an outsider, and even if I come into contact with him, the mountain god shouldn’t punish me. Moreover, I might be able to find more and deeper reasons from a different perspective than you.”
[Hurry up and stop talking! If you keep going, you'll make the village chief cry!]
[To be honest, if I were in the village chief's shoes, I would be moved to tears too. What kind of benevolent bodhisattva is this, always there for those in need, sharing their worries, and providing such powerful emotional support... If there weren't already a mountain god, I bet the village chief would want to build a statue of the streamer and worship it.]
[QAQ Am I the only one who thinks the streamer is dangerous? How does he manage to make his words sound 90% true and 100% false, yet people still believe him even when they know the logic is flawed? The village chief doesn't seem stupid, but he got completely fooled.]
[Honestly, the whole process was so smooth it gave me goosebumps! This is practically a lesson plan-worthy, god-tier scam, folks!!]
[No, what's even more terrifying is that all the information was revealed voluntarily by the village chief. From beginning to end, the streamer didn't reveal any of his own information, while the village chief clearly explained the motive, method, and burial procedures. If this weren't a dungeon, the streamer could already call the police and have everyone in the village arrested.]
[Actually, he almost blurted it out at the beginning, but he was still rational and tried to cover it up with his words. Even though he was so careful, the streamer still easily tricked him into revealing his secret.]
[Wow! It's really true. But I really feel sorry for the little mute boy. He's suffered so much, but he doesn't seem to remember any of those deaths...]
Besides these discussions, there were also countless donations, almost filling the entire screen of Qin Fu'an's live stream. They never stopped, ever since the village chief started calling Xie Yunhuai a monster.
Qin Fu'an ignored the presence of the live broadcast screen and walked towards the east of the village carrying the meat and rice in his hands.
I had arranged to meet and chat with a few other players here.
When Qin Fu'an arrived, the remaining players had already arrived.
The group immediately noticed what Qin Fu'an was carrying. Zhong Hao asked curiously, "Did you buy this from the villagers?"
There was a hint of surprise in his words, after all, these villagers had difficulty even communicating, so why were they willing to trade?
"It was a gift from the village chief," Qin Fu'an replied simply, then asked them, "What did you find today?"
"Not much to show for it." Li Fubiao shook his head and sighed, saying helplessly, "We didn't get any information after asking around, and we almost got beaten up. If we hadn't run away quickly, we probably would have taken a few hard hits."
Before Qin Fu'an arrived, the four of them had briefly exchanged information. Now, after Li Fubiao talked about the difficulties they had encountered, he stopped complaining and earnestly shared some of the bits and pieces of information they had gained that day.
They were all players who had successfully survived two dungeons, so although they weren't quick to gather information, they weren't completely empty-handed.
“The little mute boy you live with, some children say he’s a monster who will bring disaster, and some villagers warn us not to get too close to him. Cen Tian asked an old lady, who said that when the village took in the little mute boy, he looked only five or six years old.”
Cen Tian nodded and explained in more detail: "There used to be a family in the village who didn't have any children, so they adopted a little mute boy for a while. But after they adopted him, the family members kept dying one after another due to various accidents. The villagers believed that the little mute boy was cursed, so they drove him out of the village after the family died."
After saying that, she added, "By the way, I heard from that old lady that the little mute boy was about eight years old when he was kicked out."
Actually, she went to ask about the little mute girl on purpose. She was more perceptive than the others in her group and felt that Qin Fu'an's attitude towards the little mute girl might be different from theirs, so she put more effort into finding relevant information.
Perhaps the more detailed this information is, the better she can befriend Qin Fu'an. Cen Tian wasn't sure, but if she had a guess but didn't act on it, she would never know the answer in her lifetime.
She has always been a woman of action.
In fact, she quickly got the answer and response she wanted.
“From now on, call him Xie Yunhuai.” Qin Fu’an said to the group, mentioning the man, “Although he can’t speak, he has his own name.”
Then he nodded to Cen Tian and said, "This information of yours is very important to me. In exchange, if you encounter danger in the game, I will do my best to ensure your safety."
Upon hearing this, aside from Cen Tian's surprise, the other three felt somewhat envious or even annoyed.
If they had known that getting Qin Fu'an's promise of protection was so easy, they should have asked more questions earlier...
However, it's not too late now. The instance has only been running for a day. In the time to come, they just need to pay more attention to Xie Yunhuai. Perhaps, out of respect for Xie Yunhuai, they can also get Qin Fu'an's protection.
Everyone was smart enough to know what to do, and once they had an idea, they calmed down and continued to share the remaining bits of information.
“I asked around at the Mountain God Temple. I heard that during the Mountain God Festival, the whole village goes up the mountain. It’s the most important festival of the year for the Ghost Village. These days they are preparing offerings and other important procedures. On the day of the Mountain God Festival, they will also communicate with heaven and earth and talk to the Mountain God.”
"I also learned from an old man what was chasing us. He said it was the vegetation controlled by the mountain god. If you wander around in the mountains, the mountain god will consider it disrespectful. So there is only one way to the mountain god's temple, and it is best not to go near the hillside below the mountain god's temple."
"I didn't ask about the mountain god temple, but I asked a few children. Strangely, none of the children in the village had ever been to school, nor had their parents. What I don't understand is, how did they manage to preserve their traditions in such a secluded village? Did they marry and have children only with close relatives?"
The group shared the information they had received, which, as Li Fubiao had said, was fragmented, incomplete, and even difficult to connect. However, this information was sufficient for Qin Fu'an.
Instead of sharing all the information he had obtained from the village chief with them at once, he told them, "You can take a pen and paper and walk around the village again tomorrow. I spoke with the village chief today, and the villagers should be willing to tell you more information tomorrow."
"Besides that, I will ask the village chief to take me to the mountain god temple tomorrow. You can decide for yourselves whether you want to come with me or not. Just come find me then."
After saying that, Qin Fu'an prepared to leave.
It's getting dark, and the kids at home missed lunch; they're probably hungry now.
"Wait!" Guo Shulin seemed to suddenly come to his senses and abruptly called out to Qin Fu'an.
But after Qin Fu'an turned around, he started stammering again, hesitantly covering half of his face as he stepped forward, took out a whole box of chocolates from his pocket and handed it to Qin Fu'an, saying in a muffled voice, "Um... I bought a lot when I entered the game, I'll share some with you, you can take it back to Xie Yunhuai, kids should like this kind of snack."
Although it's unclear whether Qin Fu'an recognized him or not, or whether he held a grudge, the method of ingratiating oneself has already been demonstrated by others. It's just copying homework, and last-minute cramming is just as good as doing it. Anyway, it's better to show goodwill and avoid making enemies.
Seeing this, Qin Fu'an gave him a deep look, which made Guo Shulin's heart pound. He then smiled and said, "Thanks. If there's a chance after the game, please come to my house as a guest."
The seemingly random sentence left everyone else completely bewildered, but Guo Shulin froze on the spot.
Even after Qin Fu'an had taken the chocolate and walked far away, he remained standing there motionless, as if petrified.
Zhong Hao patted him on the shoulder curiously and asked, "What's wrong? Is something wrong?"
Guo Shulin remained silent for a moment, then choked out, tears welling up in his eyes, "...No, I...I just feel a little weak in the legs and can't walk anymore."
Waaaaaah! Did he recognize me, or did he hear everything I said back then? If he's so capable, why make people live in fear? Why not just let him die knowing why?!
This feeling of being so close to uncovering the truth and seeing the ending is not good at all!
It's believed that until this instance ends, the name Qin Fu'an will remain a source of endless torment for Guo Shulin, keeping him awake at night.
It's quite a distance to walk from the east end of the village to the west end, not to mention that the road becomes increasingly remote once you leave the village.
By the time Qin Fu'an reached the vicinity of the dilapidated house, the night had completely enveloped the lush mountain forest.
Faint white mist and smoke drifted from the direction of the small, dilapidated house. As Qin Fu'an approached, he immediately spotted the boy sitting at the doorway, his arms wrapped around his knees, staring quietly into space at the fire.
The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, but sitting near the fire is undoubtedly hot.
The child, lost in thought, seemed oblivious to everything. Instead of moving further away, he tilted his head and stared intently at the flickering fire.
The burning flames were reflected in his clear, black eyes, appearing as a small cluster that danced gently within them, adding a touch of warmth and humanity to his appearance.
Qin Fu'an stood in the darkness outside the firelight, quietly watching Xie Yunhuai, who was in a daze, listening to the aggrieved accusations of Xie Yunhuai's souls, while recalling the village chief's hoarse voice describing how to kill Xie Yunhuai.
Xie Yunhuai had no idea how many times he had died from the agony.
Xie Yunhuai's soul entities also did not know.
But Qin Fu'an knew.
Everyone in the entire haunted village knows about it.
Their hands were stained with Xie Yunhuai's blood, and their vicious curses were full of Xie Yunhuai's image, but Xie Yunhuai knew nothing about it.
Seemingly sensing his gaze, the boy, who had been staring blankly at the fire, suddenly looked up and gazed in his direction.
When Qin Fu'an came to his senses, he saw a look of understanding mixed with disappointment in the young man's eyes.
I've packed all your things.
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied to you.
Don't be angry...
Soft, tender words reached Qin Fu'an's ears, but what he heard was not goodbye or apology, but rather a series of cautious, aggrieved attempts to keep him.
"Little Xie Yunhuai, what have I done to offend you?" Qin Fu'an raised his eyebrows and loudly questioned the boy standing in front of the fire.
Xie Yunhuai was taken aback, not understanding Qin Fu'an's meaning, but still hurriedly waved his hand and shook his head.
Then came Qin Fu'an's slightly aggrieved accusation, "Then why did you kick me out?"
Xie Yunhuai: "..."
Through the fire and the flickering flames, he stared blankly at the person opposite him. After a long while, he finally opened his mouth weakly.
Aren't you leaving?
[But I'll kill you.]
He seemed to be able to openly talk about his misfortunes and disasters.
[I am a person rejected and cursed by the mountain god; if you approach me, you will encounter many disasters.]
Qin Fu'an remained silent.
But Xie Yunhuai knew that he had heard his own words.
So while Qin Fu'an stood quietly opposite him, Xie Yunhuai was still racking his brains to describe how bad he was and how terrible the curse on him was, seemingly trying to use words to get Qin Fu'an away from him.
Stay away from Xie Yunhuai, stay away from misfortune and death.
Any normal person would know what to do, let alone Qin Fu'an, who is a god who can hear one's own thoughts and is a clever person who can be deceived with just a word.
Even though he had said so much, to the point that he hated himself, that tall and slender figure still stood there, without taking a single step back.
Xie Yunhuai was silent for a moment, then opened his mouth and used lip movements, sign language, and his inner thoughts to express directly: You should leave.
Qin Fu'an, leave this place.
"Xie Yunhuai."
The cold address no longer carried the slightest hint of a smile.
Xie Yunhuai's heart tightened, and he subconsciously looked at the other person.
But Qin Fu'an strode straight toward him, coldly stepping over the fire, easily forcing him to retreat in a panic until his back slammed heavily against the rough wall, his body completely enveloped by the other's figure.
"I didn't hear what you just said. Could you say it again?"
[Author's Note]
Anzai's Diary: Ghost Village, Night, Sunny. My wife is kicking me out, saying I'll be homeless. I'm angry, and I need her to comfort me before I'll feel better.
Yunzai peeked at the diary and blushed as he crossed out "wife" in it.
I'm so glad my dear readers comforted me. I'll be happy to work hard to make even more delicious meals!
.
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine:
I like one puppy;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution:
20 bottles of donuts for the Yangko dance;
Jiang Chengzi and Yang Meimei, 10 bottles;
Starfall, one cup of sake, five bottles;
Mu Chuan Hui, Qing Yu Gu Zhou, Shan Ye You You Wu Deng, Tang Yuan, Song Ni Yi Ke Xiao Zhen Zhu 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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