Volume 2: The Days of Playing with Monkeys in the Village
Apology
He apologized and made amends to the Monkey God!
Is this copy toxic? Every time she relaxes a little, something has to happen to shake her up. Are they afraid she’ll become too engrossed in playing and not complete the game properly?
Lou Jingmo turned her little head back: “Don’t keep staring at it.”
Shen Maomao immediately looked straight ahead as she walked forward: “Sister Lou, what should we do next? Should we regroup with the main team?”
“There’s no need for that.”
Shen Maomao glanced at her expressionless profile and smacked her lips. When the goddess says she won’t cooperate with others, she just won’t. That’s how stylish she is.
However, if she had that level of skill, she definitely wouldn’t cooperate with others either.
They didn’t return for the entire afternoon. Lou Jingmo even took her to find the fruit orchard behind the mountain that the old lady had mentioned, though they only looked around the outermost area without going deeper.
When the sun was about to set, they returned to Zhang Jianshe’s house to prepare for dinner.
A peculiar fragrance lingered in the Zhang family’s courtyard. It smelled quite pleasant and was probably incense used for offerings.
Shen Maomao had developed a habit and voluntarily entered the kitchen to help.
Zhang family’s aunt smiled and shooed her out: “How can we let guests wash vegetables? Child, go out and play. The kitchen is already small, and I can’t move freely with you here.”
So Shen Maomao returned to the courtyard, brought a small wooden stool, and sat in the shadow of the house to observe the statue of the Monkey God.
The statue was always covered with a red cloth. The cloth was very long, with part of it spread flat on the table surface, and the bottom edge extending to the corner of the table. Compared to when they left in the morning, there was now an incense burner on the table, with three completely burnt incense sticks in it. Next to the incense burner were four plates of fruit. She took a quick glance: there were apples, bananas, oranges, peaches, and pears. Regardless of size, there were only four of each type of fruit on each plate.
Shen Maomao really hoped a strong wind would blow up now, preferably lifting the entire red cloth, so she could see what this so-called “Monkey God” actually looked like.
Lou Jingmo brought another small stool and sat beside her, staring at the statue together. She explained in a low voice: “Fruits are yin, pastries are yang. When making offerings to gods, it’s taboo to have quantities of four.” However, this was all based on real-world practices. Once in the game, no one could be certain if these rules still applied.
While they were talking, the two school-age children of the Zhang family had already returned from school.
These two children were girls, one nine years old and the other eight. The two girls first politely greeted them, sweetly calling them “big sisters.” Then the nine-year-old stood in the courtyard and shouted loudly, “Xiaoyao!” A small boy pushed open a door on the first floor and quickly ran out.
It was that child…
Shen Maomao inconspicuously moved back a bit, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.
The little boy took the piece of candy from his sister’s hand, happily unwrapped it, and stuffed the entire piece into his mouth. Only then did he mumble a greeting to his big sister.
He looked very normal, completely unlike the terrifying appearance from this morning.
The two older sisters carelessly tossed their schoolbags in the courtyard, then held their little brother’s hands and ran out to play, brushing past Wang Xiaoming and Wei Yu who had just returned.
Wei Yu walked straight over and said concisely: “Something’s happened.”
Lou Jingmo stood up immediately: “Where?”
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“Come with us.”
Someone had recklessly lifted the red cloth from the Monkey God.
Shen Maomao initially thought this troublemaker would be that girl called Shao Mei, but when they arrived and saw, she realized the culprit was actually the veteran player who was staying with Yun Shengjin.
Liu Zhuangshi’s small courtyard was crowded with people. The veteran player was kneeling before the statue with his hands tied behind his back, while Liu Zhuangshi stood beside him, cursing loudly.
Shen Maomao squeezed through from the outermost layer of the crowd and finally saw the true face of this Monkey God.
In the center of the courtyard was a square table, beneath which lay a dirty red cloth. Incense ashes and fruits were scattered on the ground. Four red pillars were erected at the corners of the table, supporting a small rain-sheltering eave. Under the eave was the statue of the Monkey God—it looked like a small monkey carved from stone, sitting very obediently on its base. However, this monkey had no face.
Could the village really be worshipping the Great Sage Equal to Heaven? With a stone monkey already here, could a certain Pilgrim Sun be far behind? (Two of Sun Wukong’s titles)
The surrounding villagers were indignant, while the twelve players were mixed among the crowd.
Wei Yu explained to them in a low voice: “You’ve been out all day and don’t know, but that person took advantage of when Liu Zhuangshi’s family was out to secretly lift the red cloth, then covered it back up as if nothing had happened. But as soon as Liu Zhuangshi returned, he immediately knew someone had disrespected the deity. Yun Shengjin turned him in.”
“Make him apologize to the Monkey God!” Someone shouted this first, and others followed, yelling—
“Apologize!”
“Apologize!”
“Apologize!”
The voices grew louder and louder each time, more and more deafening, soaring to the sky. It was as if whoever shouted the loudest was the most devout believer.
The atmosphere turned eerie. In the twilight, the villagers raised their arms and shouted, their eyes glowing red in the setting sun.
Liu Zhuangshi said angrily: “Since everyone thinks this way, let him kowtow and apologize until he receives forgiveness from the Monkey God!”
As he spoke, he forcefully pressed the man’s head down, pushing him to knock his forehead on the ground.
With a dull “thud,” the man cried out in pain. When he was pulled up again, there was already a bright red bloodstain on his forehead.
“Apologize!” “Thud—”
“Apologize!” “Thud—”
“Apologize!” “Thud—”
Like a frenzied celebration, or a festival, accompanied by the villagers’ shouts and the veteran player’s screams of agony, each thud struck the hearts of every player.
Shen Maomao’s eyes widened, watching in disbelief as this scene unfolded before her. She moved half a step forward, but was immediately pulled back by Lou Jingmo.
The other players didn’t move at all. The seven newcomers were pale-faced, Yun Shengjin stared at the statue lost in thought, and only Wei Yu closed her eyes, seemingly unable to bear watching a fellow player being so cruelly tortured.
Shen Maomao turned to look at Lou Jingmo. Lou Jingmo held her hand, but not too tightly; a slight struggle would easily break free. She looked into Shen Maomao’s eyes, her usual gentleness replaced by indifference, neither nodding nor shaking her head.
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The man’s discordant screams echoed in everyone’s ears, and the smell of blood stimulated Shen Maomao’s nose. She understood what Lou Jingmo wanted to express and silently retreated to her original position.
The torture continued. In the end, the man couldn’t make a sound, his body limp like a puddle of mud, not opening his eyes again no matter how Liu Zhuangshi treated him.
Liu Zhuangshi finally let go, stood up straight and kicked the man, happily announcing to the surrounding villagers: “The Monkey God has forgiven him! That’s great!”
The onlookers began to applaud for him.
As the crowd cheered, an old man leaning on a cane pushed through the crowd and came over. It was the village chief.
The villagers automatically fell silent, waiting to hear the village chief’s arrangements.
The village chief walked shakily towards Yun Shengjin, but before he could speak, Yun Shengjin beat him to it.
“I’m very sorry, Village Chief. I promised you we’d try to avoid offending the deity, but I failed to restrain a member of our team.” As he said this, Yun Shengjin glanced at the man lying face-down on the ground, his condition unknown. “You may deal with him as you see fit.”
“Since Mr. Yun has said so…” The village chief gestured to the onlooking villagers, “A few of you, carry him to the monkey cave in the back mountain. The Monkey God is kind and merciful, and will surely forgive his ignorant actions.”
The villagers followed the village chief’s instructions, lifting the man and taking him away from Liu Zhuangshi’s home.
The crowd dispersed like a receding tide. Liu Zhuangshi knelt devoutly before the statue, kowtowed three times, then turned and went into the house. Only the twelve players remained at the scene. Except for the pool of blood on the ground, it was as if nothing had happened.
The village chief was the last to leave. He smiled at all the players and said: “He made a mistake, but we don’t believe in collective punishment here. Feel free to continue taking photos.” After saying this, he walked away with unsteady steps.
The newcomers looked at each other, still shaken by what had happened.
Wu Menghan was trembling all over. She stared at the stone statue as if looking at some terrifying ghost: “It’s not right… not right…”
Shao Mei’s eyes widened: “This is murder! We should call the police quickly!”
Ye Tingnan gently patted her shoulder and made a “shh—” gesture to her.
One of the newcomers living with Yun Shengjin angrily pointed at him and questioned: “Why did you turn him in? Didn’t you say nothing would happen if we all kept quiet?!”
Yun Shengjin curled his lips, finally revealing his true nature: “If I didn’t say it was him, should I have said it was you?”
The newcomer’s face turned pale, and he stepped back twice.
Yun Shengjin said: “If you want to survive by following me, don’t question my decisions. This is only the second day. Unless you think you can make it through the next few days on your own, you’d better listen to me carefully!”
The newcomer clenched his fists but ultimately chose to remain silent.
Wei Yu sighed: “It’s getting dark soon, and it’s more dangerous outside. Everyone should return to their lodgings.”
Just as everyone was about to head back to their respective homes, Ye Tingnan suddenly said: “Everyone! Wait a moment!”
All eyes turned to him as he spoke rapidly: “The five of us are all newcomers and don’t understand anything. Could two of us possibly switch rooms with the veteran players?”
Fearing his proposal might be rejected, he added: “I humbly request that those who are able to help us out. You’ve all been newcomers before. Please.”
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Shen Maomao glanced at Lou Jingmo, reserving her opinion.
Wei Yu seemed somewhat interested, but Wang Xiaoming beside her said: “Switching rooms might just be the trigger point for death. Who knows who might die if they switch?”
The five newcomers turned pale.
Seeing no point in staying any longer, Lou Jingmo called out to Shen Maomao: “Let’s go.”
The four veteran players walked two in front and two behind in the bright red glow of the lanterns, inevitably recalling that pool of… in Liu Zhuangshi’s courtyard.
The night wind was cool, making Shen Maomao shiver. After pondering for a moment, she still spoke up: “I’m sorry, Sister Lou.”
Lou Jingmo’s footsteps halted. She turned her head to look at her, making a questioning nasal sound.
The author has something to say:
Shen Maomao will definitely grow gradually and help others with her own abilities!
Welcome to the new readers who’ve just joined us~