41. The Ghost Village Worships Gods (7)
The mountain god is the little mute boy at the foot of the mountain.
The person in front of him stared at him with a cold gaze, which was filled with anger. As Qin Fu'an approached, the extreme sense of crisis made Xie Yunhuai feel numb all over.
[Leave here...]
Even though the boy was clearly forced into a corner, he still pursed his lips and repeated the same words in his heart.
Knowing that this might anger Qin Fu'an, Xie Yunhuai had clearly made up his mind.
Seeing his stubbornness, Qin Fu'an laughed in exasperation. He grabbed Xie Yunhuai's thin shoulder with one hand and whispered in his ear, "Xie Yunhuai, don't even think about getting rid of me."
After saying that, before Xie Yunhuai could think of anything else to annoy him, she ruffled his hair in a fit of anger and said irritably, "You heartless little thing, you believe whatever others say? If I said I was a god, why are you still afraid of killing me?"
"..." Xie Yunhuai was a little confused as he listened to Qin Fu'an's nonsensical accusation.
Is this considered being unreasonable?
Qin Fu'an didn't care whether he was being unreasonable or not. When he found Xie Yunhuai lost in thought again, he simply took matters into his own hands and led him towards the fire.
After Xie Yunhuai sat down on the only small wooden stool, Qin Fu'an placed the small pot Xie Yunhuai had placed aside on the fire, and then took a knife to slice the cleaned cured meat to prepare a meal.
Neither of them spoke.
Xie Yunhuai couldn't say, and Qin Fu'an didn't want to say for the time being.
Because he had never cooked before...
Although he had raised many cubs, Qin Fu'an had never actually cooked human food for himself.
Previously, he didn't need to eat while in a deep sleep and fasting state. After waking up, Kong Yu and his wife's family would take care of his meals, or he would order takeout. With such advanced human technology, there was absolutely no need for Qin Fu'an to show off his mediocre cooking skills.
As he frowned and chopped the meat out of shape on the wooden board, Xie Yunhuai, who had initially avoided communication, gradually became engrossed in watching with a curious gaze.
Look at the cured meat on that wooden board. There are fist-sized chunks of meat, as well as thick and thin slices, but besides that, there are also small pieces of meat and minced meat...
Xie Yunhuai had serious doubts about Qin Fu'an's motives for cutting the meat.
Why is he able to cut cured meat into every possible shape?
But besides that, Xie Yunhuai couldn't help but secretly swallow his saliva as he smelled the aroma of the cured meat.
He remembered eating cured pork before. His adoptive grandfather had cooked it several times and would always put all the cured pork into his bowl, urging him to eat it quickly.
However, the cured meat in his memory was cut into very even slices, not like the one Qin Fu'an cut.
Just as he was engrossed in watching, Xie Yunhuai suddenly smelled a peculiar odor.
He followed the smell to the fire, or more precisely, to the small pot placed on top of it.
That one glance completely shattered his avoidance and silence.
The boy grabbed Qin Fu'an's clothes urgently, urging him to look at the pot on the fire.
Qin Fu'an snapped out of his immersive meat-cutting daze and looked in the direction the man was pointing—
The bottom of the pot burned through.
This small pot had already been used by Xie Yunhuai many times, and the bottom of the pot was already very thin. After Qin Fu'an put the pot on the pot, he focused on cutting the meat and didn't even think about adding water to the pot.
And so, under their watchful eyes, Xie Yunhuai's only small pot developed many cracks, and the bottom of the pot turned a deep red, like a red-hot branding iron.
Qin Fu'an: "..."
Looking at the cracked pot and then at the flustered Xie Yunhuai, Qin Fu'an, who had just been aggressively pressuring the other party, felt a little guilty for the first time.
He rubbed the tip of his nose with the back of his hand, coughed softly, and tentatively asked, "Are there any other pots?"
Xie Yunhuai shook his head blankly, still unable to recover from the sudden change.
The pot is gone...
"I'm sorry... I've never cooked before, this is my first time."
Suddenly, a sincere apology rang in Xie Yunhuai's ears. He looked up at Qin Fu'an, paused for a moment, and then shook his head good-naturedly.
[It doesn't matter. ]
It was just a pot; compared to what Qin Fu'an had given him, it wasn't worth much.
Qin Fu'an, however, could not truly believe that it was unrelated.
He put down the half-cut cured meat and the wooden board, washed his hands, and got up to go outside.
Just as I took a step, someone gently tugged at the hem of my clothes again.
Qin Fu'an turned around and met Xie Yunhuai's slightly nervous gaze.
"Don't worry, I'm not leaving. I'll go find a usable pot."
Qin Fu'an patted his head knowingly, as if coaxing a child.
Under his reassurance, Xie Yunhuai obediently let go, and after watching him walk into the night, he lowered his head and silently stared at the fingers that had just grabbed his clothes.
I've already told you not to come near, I've already kept you away.
But this is your own choice to stay.
After hearing all the misfortunes and curses about the little mute, you chose to stay.
Xie Yunhuai didn't understand why Qin Fu'an would stay, nor could he tell whether Qin Fu'an's determination was genuine or not.
But he did not ignore the despicable smugness in his heart; the thief had stolen the most valuable treasure, and he was very happy.
What's even more gratifying is that the owner of this treasure doesn't seem to intend to expose the truth or demand its return.
Gently pinch your fingers, and after clenching them into a fist, unconsciously squeeze them tighter, as if this would allow you to hold onto what you want and never lose it again.
The treasure Xie Yunhuai stole was named Qin Fu'an.
Xie Yunhuai didn't want to lose Qin Fu'an.
-
When Qin Fu'an brought back a pot of a suitable size from the village, the cured meat that he had previously chopped in a mess had been cut into similar thin slices, and there was also a handful of bright green scallions and garlic slices next to it.
Qin Fu'an glanced at it, and amidst the laughter of the viewers in the live chat, decisively handed over the cooking to Xie Yunhuai.
"Teach me how to do it once, and I should be able to master it quickly."
He seemed to have absolute confidence in everything.
Even though Xie Yunhuai's pot had just been burned.
Hearing him say that, Xie Yunhuai lowered his eyes to hide the smile in them, and actually began to cook dinner under Qin Fu'an's gaze.
Stir-fried wild onions with cured pork and boiled noodles would be a simple dinner for many people, but it was the most delicious meal Xie Yunhuai had eaten in ten years.
Not only was my stomach filled with greasy cured meat, but even my nerves, which had been tense all day, relaxed considerably after the meal.
In the afternoon, he thought he was about to face the same unchanging outcome, but fate seemed to have finally decided to favor him this time.
The anxious child did not experience the expected pain, but was instead coaxed into eating a sumptuous dinner.
When it was time to go to sleep, in the dark and quiet night, Xie Yunhuai suddenly heard Qin Fu'an's voice.
"Xie Yunhuai, open your mouth."
Xie Yunhuai was lying in his sleeping bag when he heard this, and he subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction where Qin Fu'an was sleeping.
Immediately afterwards, it felt as if Qin Fu'an was feeding something to her lips.
Xie Yunhuai was stunned for a moment, then his body reacted faster than his brain and opened his mouth.
A slightly bitter taste spread across his tongue first, but before he could even frown, he tasted the increasingly rich and mellow sweetness that followed the bitterness.
He held a tiny piece in his mouth, unaware that he was eating something.
But it's delicious.
After he finished eating the candy-like thing in his mouth, Qin Fu'an, as if he could see it, handed him a bottle of water.
"Rinse your mouth, or you'll get cavities." The other person's voice, even in the darkness, was as mellow and warm as the piece of candy in his mouth, a stark contrast to the domineering coldness he displayed when he cornered Xie Yunhuai.
Xie Yunhuai had never met anyone like Qin Fu'an.
What he couldn't deny was that ever since Qin Fu'an appeared in the ghost village, Xie Yunhuai's life seemed to have been illuminated by him.
Xie Yunhuai lay back down in his sleeping bag, curled up like a pupa, turned to face Qin Fu'an, and closed his eyes with peace of mind.
"Silly boy." A soft chuckle rippled through the darkness, but the boy being addressed was already fast asleep.
Xie Yunhuai started dreaming again.
He rarely dreamed before, because his life was predictable and uneventful, and his imagination was terribly barren. Even his dreams were desolate, quiet, and gray.
Since Qin Fu'an appeared, he had two bizarre dreams in the past two days.
If the last one was a nightmare, this one doesn't seem to be as severe as a nightmare.
In his dream, he seemed to be fed the same thing. From the dream, he learned that the "candy" he ate before going to sleep was actually called chocolate.
Just like in the previous dream, Xie Yunhuai couldn't see what the person feeding him looked like at all. Even the person's voice, which was hiding laughter, was almost distorted, sometimes near and sometimes far, making it impossible for him to tell who the person was.
"You threw away my candy."
"I went to buy it specifically."
"...We should get closer..."
The dream was as fragmented as ever, and Xie Yunhuai was unable to come to his senses for a long time after waking up.
There was no one in the small, dilapidated house, and he subconsciously turned his head to look for another figure outside.
Hearing the slight noise inside the house, Qin Fu'an scooped two eggs out of the small pot, put them in a bowl of cold water, and brought them in.
"Get up and eat something now that you're awake?" He held a bowl in one hand and a bag of milk in the other.
Meeting Xie Yunhuai's still drowsy and confused gaze, Qin Fu'an squatted down in front of him with interest, picked up a milk and placed it on his head, then asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Still having a nightmare?"
Xie Yunhuai wanted to shake his head, but the extra weight on his head made him freeze. He pursed his lips, raised his hand to support the milk, and then successfully shook his head to answer Qin Fu'an's question.
I didn't have any nightmares.
But that person who keeps appearing in my dreams...
Xie Yunhuai looked up at Qin Fu'an, rubbing the milk on his head, and tentatively asked in his mind:
[Did you eat chocolate last night?]
As he waited, unsure whether it was anticipation or nervousness, Qin Fu'an nodded decisively: "Yes, want to eat more?"
Xie Yunhuai stood there, stunned, not hearing Qin Fu'an's follow-up question.
Seeing his dazed and confused look, Qin Fu'an thought that the child really liked to eat. After all, Xie Yunhuai also liked to eat chocolate during the last dungeon, and all the chocolate he got from Nanzhu ended up in Xie Yunhuai's stomach.
Therefore, given the choice between coaxing the child to eat breakfast first and feeding him chocolate, Qin Fu'an didn't hesitate for even half a second before feeding Xie Yunhuai another piece of chocolate.
"After you finish eating, get up, wash up, and have breakfast."
Qin Fu'an didn't think he had done anything wrong. Xie Yunhuai was just a child who wanted a small snack. There was nothing wrong with eating the snack before having breakfast, right?
Therefore, Qin Fu'an was very dismissive of the series of "spoiling the child" comments in the barrage.
A bunch of single dogs who have never even raised a puppy before and know nothing!
Qin Fu'an has his own rhythm, and he will never admit that he spoils his child.
Having confirmed yesterday that Qin Fu'an wouldn't leave because of the mountain god or his own reasons, Xie Yunhuai didn't resist as strongly as he had yesterday when he heard that Qin Fu'an was leaving with the others.
After Qin Fu'an and the other outsiders left, Xie Yunhuai also quickly left the dilapidated house.
He also has his own things to do.
-
“We discussed it and decided to stick to yesterday’s group assignments. Cen Tian and I will go to the mountain temple with you, while Guo Shulin and Li Fubiao will stay in the village to investigate. That way, if anything happens on the mountain, they can find a way to help us.”
Zhong Hao gave Qin Fu'an a brief explanation.
Qin Fu'an had no objection to this. After confirming that the two were ready, he took them to find the village chief.
As Qin Fu'an said, after yesterday afternoon, the villagers' attitude towards them seemed to have undergone a complete 360-degree reversal. While they wouldn't answer every question, at least last night everyone greeted them with a smile.
The group didn't know exactly what Qin Fu'an had done to bring about such a significant change in the villagers of the Ghost Village, but they felt indebted to him and were therefore more willing to listen to his advice.
"Is there anything we need to prepare for the Mountain God Festival?" Qin Fu'an asked the village chief who was leading the way, showing concern. "Although we are outsiders, the Mountain God is spiritual. If we can show him our sincerity, things should go more smoothly."
The village chief was very satisfied with every word Qin Fu'an said, and replied with a smile, "There's nothing special to prepare. If you're participating in the mountain god festival, just come with us to offer incense and burn some paper money for the mountain god."
"Village chief, isn't the mountain god a deity? Why are we burning paper money?" Zhong Hao immediately noticed the contradiction in the statement.
With Qin Fu'an backing him up, he wasn't particularly afraid. He asked questions whenever he felt like it, and he was much bolder and more at ease than when he was acting alone.
Fortunately, although the village chief's expression was not good, he still managed to give a brief explanation, perhaps because of Qin Fu'an's presence or some other reason.
"This paper money is not burned for the mountain god. Please don't break any taboos. After we burn it, we ask the mountain god to pass it on to our deceased relatives and ancestors in the village, hoping they will be better off in the other world."
"Doesn't the Ghost Village have Qingming Festival or anything like that?" Cen Tian boldly asked.
“We don’t celebrate those festivals.” The village chief shook his head and said, “Since the day our ghost village was built, apart from the New Year, there has only been the annual Mountain God Festival. Only in this way can we ensure that our faith in the Mountain God is pure and devout enough.”
That makes some sense.
But upon closer inspection, it's all feudal superstition.
Qin Fu'an followed behind the village chief and smiled in agreement, saying, "It must have been the village's faith in the mountain god that moved Him, making Him willing to protect you all this time."
Listen to what he said. Compared to the other two, Qin Fu'an's words were much more pleasing to the ear, making it hard not to be kind to him!
The village chief glanced at Qin Fu'an, then looked critically at Zhong Hao and Cen Tian, his eyes practically screaming that they should learn from him.
"Little Qin, you'll stay by my side tomorrow. Just follow my lead and I'll make sure you don't make any mistakes!"
As the village chief spoke, he deliberately waited for Qin Fu'an to walk to his side, rather than falling behind, and happily chatted with him as they walked towards the mountain god temple.
The two people who were being looked down upon followed behind them, exchanging a silent glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.
Speaking rudely...
It also depends on the person.
For example, if Qin Fu'an had asked those questions, the village chief definitely wouldn't have reacted so strongly, and would have automatically found reasons to support Qin Fu'an and added a positive filter to his story.
So the root cause isn't that they spoke rudely, but that the people of the Ghost Village applied double standards to Qin Fu'an.
-
With the village chief leading the way this time, the group did not face the onslaught of vegetation covering the mountain. As they walked along the winding mountain path, the higher they went, the clearer the outline of the small mountain god temple became in the distance.
But just like yesterday, they still felt that the mountain god temple was excessively simple.
Once they reached the summit, the mountain god temple was fully revealed before them.
The walls were covered with mottled straw and mud, the black tiles were covered with moss, the stone bricks were broken underfoot, and weeds grew in the cracks between the bricks...
“This mountain god temple, inside and out, has one word written all over it: dilapidated.” Cen Tian muttered unpleasantly, “And yet they claim to be the most devout believer of the mountain god? If I were the mountain god, I would carry my own mountain and run away overnight.”
Zhong Hao suppressed a laugh and reminded her to keep her voice down.
Qin Fu'an was also surveying everything he saw.
As he was looking around, the door of the mountain god temple was slowly pushed open, and several young men guarding the temple came out one after another. They were not surprised to see Qin Fu'an and two other people next to the village chief.
This also indicates that the temple keeper in the mountain god temple and the ghost village communicated daily and were well aware of the arrival of Qin Fu'an and the other seven outsiders.
"Second Uncle," the young man in the lead addressed the village chief as Second Uncle, and said to him, "Tomorrow is the Mountain God Festival. Should we go and lock that little monster up tonight?"
Little monster.
Qin Fu'an listened calmly to their conversation with his eyes lowered.
"No need for now." The village chief glanced at Qin Fu'an and waved his hand, saying, "Little Qin lives with him, so we don't need to worry about him today. He'll stay away from the area near the mountain god temple on his own when the mountain god festival is tomorrow."
His tone was exceptionally firm.
Upon hearing this, the young men did not ask any further questions, seemingly agreeing with the village chief's words.
"Third son." The village chief called out his son, then pointed to Qin Fu'an beside him and instructed, "Take little Qin to offer incense to the mountain god."
Offering incense at a temple is a custom.
"Alright, come with me." The third brother glanced at Qin Fu'an and nodded to him.
“…What about us?” Zhong Hao had to ask, reminding them.
Village Chief: "...You should all come along too."
The village chief looked visibly reluctant. Even after agreeing, he still worriedly told them not to talk nonsense in the mountain god temple, and even told the third brother to keep an eye on them to make sure they didn't do anything disrespectful to the gods in the temple.
His words revealed his distrust, a stark contrast to his earlier attitude towards Qin Fu'an.
If it were a player with a bad temper, they would probably have been so angry at the village chief's attitude that they would have started cursing.
But Zhong Hao and Cen Tian were both very well-behaved, at least on the surface they seemed to be able to behave themselves and swallow their anger.
The three followed the third brother inside.
The mountain god temple was very dark, and the statue of the god was strangely not in the main hall at the entrance, but in a smaller temple at the back.
As the village chief's son reached out and pushed open the closed door, Qin Fu'an looked up and saw a familiar soul within the indistinct clay statue.
These are the unique soul tentacles belonging to Xie Yunhuai.
The only difference is that Xie Yunhuai's soul at the foot of the mountain is a lively and active light black, while the tentacles of the soul in the clay statue are curled up in clumps, as if they have fallen into a deep sleep, and their color is closer to a viscous black.
Just like the soul entity Qin Fu'an first saw in the first instance, it was pitch black, carrying a huge, heavy, and deadly sense of oppression.
But no matter which one it is, Qin Fu'an will never mistake them.
The soul of Xie Yunhuai is curled up inside this clay statue.
In that instant of certainty, countless fragmented images flashed through Qin Fu'an's mind.
The village chief said Xie Yunhuai was an unkillable monster.
The year Xie Yunhuai appeared in the ghost village, the mountain god no longer protected them.
Xie Yunhuai said that he was a being cursed and rejected by the mountain god.
Xie Yunhuai...
Xie Yunhuai is the mountain god of the ghost village.
Qin Fu'an found it difficult to describe his feelings when he saw the soul within the statue.
It was very complicated, but there was no sense of ease or surprise in discovering the truth.
If I had to describe it, it would probably be thinking of the things I said to Xie Yunhuai.
Before the mountain god himself, tell him that you are another deity or something...
How about we pull these souls out of the clay statues, erase their memories as gods one by one, and then return them to Xie Yunhuai?
Many dangerous thoughts flashed through Qin Fu'an's mind.
But after thinking so much, he was only distracted for a few seconds. When he came to his senses, he followed the third brother and stepped into the small temple.
The third brother took three incense sticks from the altar and handed them to them.
Qin Fu'an held the incense in his hand, then handed it back to the other person, and said with a smile, "No need. Before I knew I was coming to the Ghost Village and the Mountain God Temple, I specially bought incense and candles at the foot of the mountain to bring with me. Using my own might make me seem more sincere."
In front of the others, Qin Fu'an took out the incense and candles he had bought before entering the game from his backpack.
The colors and the incense are of the finest quality; even before it's lit, you can smell the faint aroma of incense in the air.
The third son's eyes flickered slightly, and he finally understood why his father trusted Qin Fu'an's words so much.
This person always seems to be thorough in everything they do. Someone with that kind of character would never make promises they can't keep, right?
After all, although he is young, he seems capable and reliable.
Thinking of this, the third brother's expression softened considerably as he looked at Qin Fu'an, and he stepped aside to let Qin Fu'an offer incense to the mountain god.
Of course, if he had known that before stepping into this small temple, Qin Fu'an was thinking about how to burn the mountain god temple and the ghost village to the ground... he probably wouldn't have been so kind to Qin Fu'an.
Unfortunately, the mountain god Qin Fu'an saw was a little mute boy from the foot of the mountain.
Unfortunately, the mute boy turned out to be Xie Yunhuai, whom Qin Fu'an had been thinking about.
Therefore, this was the only incense stick that Qin Fu'an revered throughout his life, and also the one he put the most heart into.
[Author's Note]
Anzai: In all my years, this is the first time I've ever worshipped a god, and it's my wife!
Is everyone busy today? (Actually, I almost asked for leave too.)
.
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:
Qing-Dynastie 18 bottles;
Fog lights are available in the mountains and fields; Seventeen; Clear rain and lonely boat; ftugfj; Muchuan Hui 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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