Chapter 136
When Jiang Liu and Yang Caisi appeared, the situation had already reached a boiling point.
Jiang He, with his neck stiff, was arguing with the muscular man in the lead, the broom in his hand threatening to rise again.
Tang Rui, still possessing some rationality, was trying to calmly ask them what they wanted. The mixture of various discussions and arguments was starting to irritate Jiang Liu.
“Want a fight?” For a rare moment, she felt annoyed. Seeing that this group of people was not amenable to reason, she rolled up her sleeves and stood at the very front.
Just three words, spoken in a voice that wasn’t particularly loud, yet combined with her striking face, they carried an unexpected authority. It actually made the lead muscular man give her a second look, and for once, he didn’t open his mouth to curse.
Jiang He’s face lit up with excitement, as if he had finally found his backer. He raised his broom, snorted coldly, and sidled up to Jiang Liu like a lackey. “Sister, they want to take Brother Zhao.”
Jiang Liu rolled her eyes. “I heard.”
The commotion was so loud, and she wasn’t deaf.
Jiang He gave a sheepish grin and very nimbly hid behind Jiang Liu.
The intimidation was only momentary. The muscular man opposite them soon recovered, his triangular eyes sizing up Jiang Liu, as if weighing whether she truly had the guts for a group fight.
After a moment, he tilted his head and spoke, “You’re the leader? You should also want to get out of this godforsaken place quickly, right? Hand him over, and we can clear the level right now.”
As he spoke, he even chuckled a couple of times, the flesh on his face twitching strangely, as if to say, You don’t want to make a big scene, do you?
Jiang Liu sneered. “Hand him over, and then what? Throw him in a well so you can clear the level?”
Not to mention that Zhao Ziming was a friend who had been through life and death with them, even if it were any other player who became the target of public criticism, she would not tolerate herself doing such a thing.
Her mocking attitude immediately displeased the muscular man. His mouth twitched, and he was about to start cursing.
But someone was faster than him.
Yang Caisi stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Liu, her voice cool. “You have no say here.”
As she spoke, her gaze swept through the crowd, accurately pinpointing the village chief who was hiding with his head down. Yang Caisi narrowed her eyes slightly. “Village Chief, aren’t you going to come out and explain?”
They had already agreed to give them some time. Why had he gone back on his word in just one morning?
Being called out in public like this, the village chief could no longer stay out of it. He could only give an awkward smile and slowly squeeze out of the crowd.
“Dr. Yang, here’s what happened.”
He held up his hands, signaling for the players and villagers to calm down, and walked forward to speak with Yang Caisi like an honest man.
“You’re young and don’t know much about the village’s Curse. It’s not that I’m forcing you to do anything, but that Zhao boy has already been chosen by the Curse! If you keep delaying his burial like this, it won’t do any of us any good!”
He sighed three or four times during his speech, as if he were also very troubled by it. His face turned two shades paler.
“Curse?” The group exchanged glances, all of them confused.
Perhaps seeing his gentle attitude toward Yang Caisi, the muscular man grew impatient, shouting for them to stop wasting time and hand the person over.
Yang Caisi shot him a sharp glare, and the warm summer breeze seemed to turn into an icy blade. The muscular man couldn’t help but shiver, and his shouting immediately weakened.
“If you say one more word of nonsense, I’ll dig out your eyeballs.”
It seemed that having been to the back mountain had given him courage. Jiang He spat, standing behind Jiang Liu and Yang Caisi and taunting them brazenly, his back suddenly straight.
Seeing that the situation was about to escalate into another argument because of his words, Tang Ruo helplessly pulled him back and chided, “Just say a few less words.”
She could see clearly that this was not the time for arguments or fights.
On one hand, Yang Caisi had already negotiated with the villagers. Why had they suddenly changed their minds?
On the other hand, these players had never had any dealings with them. Even if their rescue of Zhao Ziming had caused some commotion, not everyone had seen it. Why would they suddenly gather to demand someone without any warning?
How could they be so sure that sending Zhao Ziming away would allow them to clear the level?
Tang Ruo couldn’t help but recall the scene of the players pointing at them not long ago, and she suddenly understood.
Had they been planning this since then? Then what was the reason for their sudden action?
A few guesses flashed through her mind. She subconsciously turned to look at Jiang Liu and happened to meet her gaze, instantly feeling a connection.
The development of events was not right. Logically, they and the other players should not be in an adversarial relationship.
At least not so quickly, and not so intensely.
While the two were pondering, Yang Caisi had already focused on questioning about the Curse. The village chief seemed reluctant to mention it, hesitating repeatedly, and the scene fell silent.
“Let’s talk inside. Tell them all to leave.” Yang Caisi found the massive crowd an eyesore and unintentionally adopted the tone of a superior giving an order.
The villagers were clearly unhappy with his attitude, but after a moment of struggle, the village chief let out a long sigh, as if he had finally made up his mind.
“You all go back first. I’ll talk to them.”
After all, he had been the village chief for decades. His words still carried authority. The villagers hesitated for a moment before dispersing, leaving only a dozen or so dissatisfied players.
“This has nothing to do with them. No matter what, I’m taking Zhao Ziming!” The muscular man was adamant, clearly having run out of patience during the conversation. He strode toward them, intending to force his way into the house.
Jiang Liu frowned, naturally not giving him the chance.
Before the man could get close, she had already reached out and grabbed his collar. With a slight twist of her waist, she had the muscular man hoisted over her shoulder.
“Let go of me!” His face changed, and he struggled to get down.
A big, tall man like him being so easily lifted by a small girl left him both ashamed and angry, his words even coming out in a stutter.
Jiang Liu sneered, executed a clean shoulder throw to slam him to the ground, and looked down at him. “Get lost. You have no say here.”
She looked thin and weak, but her strength was truly not small. The muscular man felt as if his whole body was about to fall apart, and his face changed as he looked at Jiang Liu.
“What are you doing?”
Not far away, a player cried out in protest, so emotional that he almost lost his voice, and rushed over to fight Jiang Liu.
She sighed, grabbed the kid’s arm without a word, swung him around in a circle, and kicked him in the waist.
The person stumbled and fell onto the muscular man, letting out a loud cry of pain.
“Get out of here, you’re an eyesore.” Jiang Liu clapped her hands lightly, too lazy to get entangled with them any further. She pulled Xiao Si and turned to go into the house, ignoring the crowd outside who were staring at each other.
Perhaps because the leader had taken a bad fall, the remaining players were also afraid. Jiang Liu looked out the window and saw that some had already scattered and left. The rest, who knows what they were plotting, were squatting furtively outside the door, unwilling to leave.
She couldn’t be bothered with them. She first went into the house to check on Zhao Ziming’s condition. After confirming that he was fine, she returned to her chair, looked at the village chief, and waited for an explanation.
Jiang Liu’s gaze was special. Beneath her calm and striking appearance, her eyes were like a pool of deep, dark water. When she looked at someone, it was easy for them to feel a sense of scrutiny.
Although she herself had no intention of threatening, the person she was looking at would always overthink it, thus deepening the pressure.
It was the first time Village Chief Liu had felt so restless in front of a young person. Being looked at by her dark eyes made his mind turn into a mess. He rubbed his hands nervously and finally spoke his first words.
“This Curse… it’s a long story.”
According to the village chief, the Curse had suddenly appeared ten years ago.
At first, it was just a villager who fainted at home. Everyone thought it was ordinary heatstroke, but after two, then three days, he showed no signs of waking up.
“At that time, we all thought it was a strange illness. The family took him to see a doctor in town, but no one took it seriously.”
The village chief’s tone was somewhat world-weary. “Later, more and more people fainted. We tried all sorts of remedies, but many old doctors were helpless.”
In a small village like theirs, a year’s worth of farming was just enough to support a family. Not only had they lost a laborer, but the money spent at the hospital in a year was enough to give anyone a headache.
“What happened later?” Jiang He asked curiously.
“The first one to faint was the Chen family’s boy. His father died early, and the widow and orphan had a hard life. The medical fees really dragged them down. His mother actually…”
The village chief’s voice choked, clearly unable to continue.
The family couldn’t afford the expenses and saw no hope of him waking up. In a moment of impulse, the mother took her son up the mountain and committed suicide by jumping into the well.
Strangely enough, after that, the villagers gradually woke up, with no damage to their bodies, as if they had just had a long sleep.
The small mountain village was isolated, so the matter didn’t spread. Everyone tacitly agreed not to mention it again. They just set up a monument for the mother and son on the back mountain and paid their respects during festivals.
“Everyone thought it was over, but who knew that a month later, people started fainting again, with the exact same symptoms as before.” The village chief covered his face, his expression pained.
With the precedent set, the villagers’ minds started working.
At that time, there was an old man who was also getting on in years. He didn’t want to be a burden to his family or see the village suffer, so he quietly jumped into the well without a word.
“So they woke up again?” Jiang Liu found it strange.
The village chief paused and slowly shook his head. “No.”
They thought the Well God’s appetite had grown, so they organized more people to go, but the strange illness still showed no signs of improving.
“In the end, it was Elder Hu, who was more experienced, who said that the fainted people were Sacrificial Offerings chosen by the Well God.”
The village carried the person up the mountain that night. The strange thing was that the person suddenly woke up just as they were about to enter the well. Everyone thought it was effective, so they all worked together to push the person in. When they returned to the village, everyone was fine.
Tang Rui frowned at the side. “You pushed him down even after he woke up? Are you even human?”
The village chief looked embarrassed by his words but insisted, “If he doesn’t die, what will happen to the village?”
He deliberately avoided Tang Rui’s contemptuous gaze, his voice just becoming much more relaxed.
From then on, someone would fall into a coma every month. They would follow the tradition of giving the person a grand burial in the well, and the village would remain safe and sound.
“You brought that Zhao boy back, I know.” The village chief looked at Jiang Liu, then at the unconscious Zhao Ziyang on the ground.
The person chosen for this month was originally Xiao Ming, but who knew that this child, after reading a few books in the city, no longer believed in the village’s traditions and secretly ran away.
“As the day drew closer, we had no choice but to substitute Xiao Yang. I was originally worried whether it would succeed, but then Elder Hu said…”
At this point, he seemed to realize his slip of the tongue and belatedly shut his mouth.
But Jiang Liu was not willing to let him off, asking directly, “Is it the old man who was eating alone behind the memorial hall?”
The village chief’s eyes darted away. Although he didn’t speak, his attitude said it all.
Yang Caisi forced him to look at her, her sharp eyes seeming to see through all his thoughts—
“What did he say?”