Chapter 91

Looking at their ferocious faces, a chill went down Jiang Liu’s spine.

Before understanding the reason for their hostility, Jiang Liu wisely chose not to provoke them again. Instead, she took two steps back, gradually moving away from the church’s vicinity.

She then discovered that as she moved away, the people seemed to be placated by something, their expressions slowly softening.

By the time Jiang Liu had completely retreated to the middle-aged man who had attacked her, the passersby had all regained their senses, continuing about their business as if nothing had happened.

This transformation was extremely strange, like a passively triggered event. It was much like the aggro range of monsters in a game; as long as you didn’t approach, you generally wouldn’t be attacked.

Compared to the many characters she had met in previous instances, these people were more like personified NPCs.

Jiang Liu mentally noted this strange place and sized up the man who had attacked her. “Who are you?”

The middle-aged man had a beefy face and a body that looked like it was all muscle. His sturdy frame was almost twice the size of Jiang Liu. Now that he had relaxed, his tone was much friendlier.

“You must be the new doctor the mayor found, right? You can’t go near the church. You’ll be cursed,” he advised earnestly, proactively identifying Jiang Liu’s role.

“I’ll be careful next time,” Jiang Liu said, showing little remorse.

The man seemed to believe her and took the lead, introducing himself. “I’m Qiaose, the town guard. I was sent to welcome you. Come back with me for now.”

Jiang Liu glanced around but saw no sign of anyone else. She couldn’t help but ask, “I have five companions. Have you seen them?”

Qiaose shook his head but said in a somewhat stiff accent, “Don’t worry. If the town residents see them, they’ll guide them back to my house.”

Although he looked imposing, he gave off the impression of not being very bright. Jiang Liu followed behind him, observing the streets. Not forgetting her role as a doctor, she couldn’t resist inquiring, “What illness do the people in town have?”

“We don’t know either.” Qiaose shook his head again, simply listing a few symptoms. “When it acts up, the person is in great pain. They become progressively thinner, refuse to eat or drink, and even try to escape like they’ve gone mad.”

As he finished, he couldn’t help but shiver. “It’s all this church’s fault.”

The church again.

Jiang Liu raised an eyebrow imperceptibly, stroking her chin as she observed his unwavering conviction.

“How do you know? Are you sick too?”

“Not yet, because I’ve never gone to the church to pray,” Qiaose answered with extraordinary patience, which didn’t quite match his large frame.

Before they had chatted much longer, Qiaose had already led Jiang Liu through a series of turns and stopped, pointing to an earthen house in front of them. “We’re here.”

Someone inside seemed to have heard the noise outside. Before the person appeared, their voice preceded them. “Qiaose, are you back?”

It was a gentle female voice.

Upon hearing it, Qiaose hurried forward and lifted the curtain, his tone filled with delight. “Anna, this is the doctor from outside. With her, the residents will definitely…”

He trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly freezing as he stared at the scene inside the house with a frown.

Jiang Liu followed closely behind and glanced inside, seeing the already small house packed with people. Zhao Ziming sat awkwardly in the very center, fidgeting, with Jiang He and Tang Rui squeezed in beside him. All three of them looked extremely uncomfortable.

The woman boiling water by the stove was blonde with blue eyes. She studied Jiang Liu for a moment with a probing gaze, then offered a friendly smile before nodding at Qiaose. “Thank you for your hard work.”

Jiang Liu took two steps forward and generously extended her hand. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Jiang Liu. I’m the new doctor.”

Anna smiled, looking a bit reserved. She quickly wiped her hands on her apron before shyly extending her hand. “A pleasure to meet you. I’m Qiaose’s wife.”

After speaking, she pointed somewhat embarrassedly at the three men. “We just caught a few thieves this morning and haven’t had time to send them to the mayor yet. I’m so sorry.”

Hearing the word “thieves,” Jiang Liu couldn’t help but twitch her lips, casting an indescribable look at Zhao Ziming.

The three of them were awkwardly huddled on small stools, looking as if they were glued together, sitting in a row.

Receiving Jiang Liu’s questioning gaze, Zhao Ziming felt his face burn. His expression was complicated, and he didn’t know how to explain. Only Tang Rui’s eyes lit up as if he’d seen his savior.

“We’re not thieves! We’re together!”

He had had enough of this treatment. Finally seeing a familiar face, he couldn’t hold back and shouted, not forgetting to cast a pleading look at Jiang Liu. “Sis! It’s all a misunderstanding!”

Jiang Liu understood the situation. She put on an appropriately surprised expression. “Miss Anna, could there be some misunderstanding? These three are also doctors traveling with me, but we got separated on the way.”

Anna couldn’t help but frown. She first shot Zhao Ziming a hostile glance before turning to Jiang Liu for confirmation, as if unwilling to believe they were really companions. “Are you telling the truth? But this… sir…”

She pointed at Zhao Ziming, her tone indescribable as she forced out a sentence, “This… gentleman appeared in my yard this morning for no reason, holding the fish I just bought yesterday…”

It was important to know that for a household like theirs, it was rare to eat meat. Even that fish had been bought at a great expense to nourish her husband, which was why she had acted.

Zhao Ziming, having heard half of it, couldn’t help but curse with a dark face. “Who stole your fish? I was just picking it up to have a look, okay?”

How much could a fish be worth? Had this woman gone mad from poverty?

As the two went back and forth, Jiang Liu finally pieced together what had happened and felt a headache coming on. She shot Zhao Ziming a glare and spoke up to soothe Anna’s emotions.

“My friend was just curious. He absolutely had no intention of stealing. Could you please consider the sick residents and let them go?”

Jiang Liu’s tone was very polite, a stark contrast to Zhao Ziming’s cold face, and she immediately won Anna’s favor. After a moment’s hesitation, Anna nodded. “For your sake, I’ll forgive them.”

With that, she called for Qiaose to help untie the ropes.

Once freed, the three men quickly stood up to move their numb limbs. Anna looked up at the sky and then slapped her forehead. “Look at my memory. It’s time to prepare lunch. Qiaose, can you come help? We can’t keep our distinguished guests waiting.”

After saying this, she first gave Jiang Liu an apologetic smile before briskly pulling her husband and running outside.

Watching the two hurry away, Jiang Liu pulled up the curtain at the door to keep an eye on the courtyard, then raised an eyebrow at Zhao Ziming. “Quite impressive. Stealing someone’s fish as soon as you arrive.”

Zhao Ziming had been tied up all morning and was fuming. Hearing this, he quickly explained, “Don’t even mention it. The moment we got here, it was all dirt everywhere. That fish in the basin was the only thing half-dead. Of course I had to pick it up for a look, right?”

He felt utterly wronged. Before he could even identify the species of the fish, Anna had rushed out with a broom and laid into them. Her strength was completely mismatched with her physique; even Jiang He was no match for her.

“You know, that woman isn’t normal,” the previously silent Jiang He finally spoke, his tone unfriendly.

Don’t be fooled by how gentle she was with Jiang Liu. In reality, she could drag all three of them with one hand. She was a complete contradiction.

Jiang Liu frowned at his words, her gaze involuntarily shifting toward the kitchen.

The environment here was very crude. What they called a kitchen was actually just a temporarily erected shack. Most of the water buckets were left outside. Anna was directing Qiaose on how to prepare the ingredients while she herself lifted a full bucket of water from the well.

She couldn’t help but recall the attack outside the church. Although it looked menacing, it was all thunder and no rain. If Qiaose had really used his strength, the hard bread thrown by those muscles shouldn’t have failed to break down the church door.

This couple was interesting.

As Jiang Liu was pondering, she heard Tang Rui approach and ask, “Where are my sister and the other one?”

“We’re not together. We were all separated.” Jiang Liu shook her head, admitting she didn’t know either.

There was no signal here either, so their phones were useless for communication. Relying on that to find people was less effective than having Tang Rui shout into his ring a few more times; maybe he could connect with them through some psychic link.

The four of them looked at each other and fell silent. Zhao Ziming lowered his head and thought for a moment. “Didn’t you specify this instance? What are your thoughts?”

There was no need to mention healing the sick; none of them could pass for a doctor.

“We’ll wait until tonight,” Jiang Liu said, squinting at the bright midday sun. She thought to herself that they could only explore the church after this group of people was asleep.

Whether from Hou Yuqiang’s description or her own dreamscape memories, this church shouldn’t have been so taboo. Re-entering the same instance after so many years, yet the mission was completely different.

She felt that the plot’s development was a bit off.

After listening to Jiang Liu describe the reaction between the church and the pedestrians, Zhao Ziming and Tang Rui exchanged a look, both finding it strange.

Especially Zhao Ziming.

While the other two were dazed, he approached Jiang Liu alone, cautiously looking around before asking, “Sis, are you hiding something from me?”

Unlike Tang Rui and the other one, Zhao Ziming had been through the photo studio and had heard about this church from Hou Yuqiang. Now that Jiang Liu had gone to great lengths to specify entering it, there had to be a secret he didn’t know.

Jiang Liu squatted by the well and tilted her head. “You want to know?”

Zhao Ziming scratched his head. “I’m not trying to pry, but when Big Brother Gao mentioned Zhang Xiaochen, his tone felt a bit off.”

Moreover, Sister Yang had been missing since they came out this time, and Jiang Liu showed no intention of looking for her. This made Zhao Ziming a little anxious, feeling like something big was about to happen.

Jiang Liu stared at him for a long time, her gaze seeming to drift, making it impossible for Zhao Ziming to discern what she was thinking. But looking at her hesitant expression, an incredible thought suddenly popped into his mind—

Could it be that she and Sister Yang broke up?

This was a huge deal!

But what did this have to do with Zhang Xiaochen?

Zhao Ziming was startled by his own thoughts. Just then, he heard Jiang Liu let out a soft sigh. “There are many things I haven’t figured out either. But as long as you make it out of here alive, I’ll tell you.”

This was the first instance after rejecting Qiao Ke. No one could guarantee that person wouldn’t pull some strings behind the scenes.

She had to figure out the truth while bringing her team back intact, only then would she be worthy of the trust they placed in her.