Chapter 22: The Village Banquet Begins

"What's wrong? Is there something on my back?"

Seeing the two of them fall silent, Yu Huaiyu began to panic.

Xia Wulei took a deep breath. "Don't panic yet, Huaiyu. There's an issue, but we'll figure it out."

Hearing this, Yu Huaiyu felt even more uneasy, but she could only suppress her fear.

Xia Wulei counted them; there were ten children's handprints on Yu Huaiyu's back. This meant that five children had targeted her last night. Nine children in total—five boys and four girls. The five water-aligned boys had all conspired to drown her in her dreams.

Though she felt a pang of sympathy, Xia Wulei told Yu Huaiyu the situation.

The color drained from Yu Huaiyu's face, yet she forced herself to remain calm. "These handprints... what do they mean?"

Hong Qi and Zhu Chen were also deeply concerned when they heard this.

Chu Wei looked at the handprint on her own hand and said, "It's a mark left by the ghosts on the players. When the final day of the instance arrives, the ghosts will target the marked players first."

Yu Huaiyu's already pale face turned even more ghastly.

Xia Wulei had a flash of inspiration. "In that case, does that mean five of the children are coming for Huaiyu?"

Yu Huaiyu looked miserable. "Sis, my math isn't so bad that I can't figure that out."

"That's not what I meant," Xia Wulei waved her hand. "A ghost child entered my dream last night, and I got some information from her. The Nine-Infant entity is impervious to water and fire, but if they are separated, they can be defeated one by one."

Everyone paused. Of course! If five boys were targeting Yu Huaiyu and one girl was targeting Chu Wei, didn't that mean they were split up?

"These are the names of the nine children. We will go and find out what they like and what they fear." Xia Wulei took a piece of paper and wrote down several names. "The little girl who entered my dream last night is named Erya. You don't need to worry about her; leave her to me."

The group remained silent, thinking that the little girl would likely face a terrible fate after encountering Xia Wulei.

However, after learning this, everyone felt a bit more encouraged—at least there was hope. Xia Wulei took a chicken out of her space to make some chicken soup to help them recover their strength.

Her space was now flourishing; the mature crops yielded plump fruits, the number of chickens, ducks, and geese in the pasture had increased, and a few cattle and sheep wandered leisurely. The crops grown on the level-three soil with 1% fertility, excluding what she kept for herself, could be exchanged for nearly a hundred points.

However, without letting the land lie fallow, it could only recover 1% fertility per day using the hundred or so poultry. Xia Wulei only had a little over a hundred points on hand, so after careful consideration, she decided to keep planting daily to save up points for emergencies.

She had already prepared everything needed for this instance; now, she just had to wait for the final day to arrive.

In the afternoon, the village head and others, as if afraid the players would run away, rushed directly to Aunt Wang's house with several men.

Aunt Wang tried to fool the village head into thinking they had already left, but he didn't believe her for a second. He had long arranged for people to keep an eye on these outsiders to prevent them from escaping.

Xia Wulei wasn't annoyed. She politely invited the village head and the others inside, saying, "My two sisters aren't feeling very well. Could they perhaps skip the village banquet this time?"

The people in the room couldn't sit still upon hearing this. If those two didn't go, the Mountain God's target would fall solely on Xia Wulei.

Chu Wei threw off the blanket and was about to stand up, while the village head outside exchanged knowing glances with the villagers.

"You'll feel much better once you receive the Mountain God's blessing! Come along; our villagers can carry them there if they have to!"

The village head became increasingly enthusiastic and prepared to storm into the room.

"Wait!"

Xia Wulei reached out and blocked them. "We'll go ourselves. You lot are so rough; it wouldn't be good if you bumped into them."

Aunt Wang bit her lip, looking anxious and unsure of what to do.

"Fine, let's go now then." The village head stopped pretending, staring straight at Xia Wulei, clearly implying that if they didn't leave, he wouldn't either.

Xia Wulei signaled everyone to go. Yu Huaiyu's back looked terrifying, but she was actually fine, and while Chu Wei's lungs still felt like they were on fire, it was something she could endure.

The villagers crowded around them as they headed toward the edge of the village, showing great enthusiasm for Yu Huaiyu and Chu Wei while ignoring the others.

Along the way, the village head boasted about the greatness of their Mountain God.

"Since my grandfather's grandfather's time, the Mountain God has been secretly protecting our village. One year, a flood struck, and all the other villages in the mountains were submerged, but the water turned back right at our village entrance. Isn't that miraculous?" The village head spat as he spoke, his face filled with pride.

"When enemies invaded, our village was the only one in the vicinity to escape unscathed. When a locust plague hit years ago, many people in nearby villages starved to death, but our village was perfectly fine. Every household had grain stored; life was wonderful."

The surrounding villagers chimed in. "That's right! If I lose something, I just go and pray to the Mountain God, and I find it before long."

"Exactly, my boy was misbehaving and wouldn't stop crying at night, and the Mountain God took care of that too."

"The bountiful harvests we've had in our fields all these years are all thanks to the Mountain God's protection!"

Everyone looked so pious that Xia Wulei found it unbelievable.

"We aren't near the sea, there are no reservoirs, and the nearest lake is kilometers away—where would a flood even come from? Can't you make up a better story?"

"This village is so hidden, surrounded by mountains on three sides with only one small path leading out. Isn't it normal that people unfamiliar with the area can't find it?"

"And this village is so well-hidden that by the time locusts fly here, they've already eaten their fill and gone home—that counts as the Mountain God's work? And knowing that others were starving to death while you had surplus grain, doesn't your conscience bother you at all?"

Village Head: ...You certainly have a lot to say.

After deflating the village head, Xia Wulei continued her assault on the villagers who had chimed in.

"Losing things at home is just because you forgot where you put them, right? And you, the way you 'solved' your son's behavior—did the Mountain God take him away? And the Mountain God is in charge of harvests too? Does the god have such a broad scope of work?"

Xia Wulei looked incredulous. "Are the people in this village all dropouts from the compulsory education system?"

Silence fell over the scene.

The villagers were silent because they had intended to brainwash these outsiders, but instead found themselves being labeled as uneducated.

Hong Qi and the others remained silent, wondering how to save Xia Wulei if the villagers decided to attack.

"We're here, we're here. Let's go in."

The village head finally broke the silence. The banquet was held at the Mountain God Temple at the edge of the village. Many round wooden tables were set up at the temple entrance, giving it the feel of a communal feast.

Inside the temple, a clay statue of the Mountain God sat upright in the center of the room. Its nine massive, beast-like heads seemed to be staring at the people outside, their eyes gleaming with malice.