Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China
Healing Wounds
Feudal superstition is unacceptable.1
Judging by their figures and clothing, the three were undoubtedly Kang Yuanhuai’s group. But the brightness was low and the light was dim, making it impossible to see their faces clearly, so no one could be certain it was them.
And—their walking posture was very strange. It was as if their feet were injured, or as if they were infants who had just learned to walk, or even more like zombies that had just been let out of their cages…
Fear grew in the players’ hearts. They couldn’t help but retreat cautiously, maintaining a constant distance from the three dark figures.
As they were backing away, a familiar voice suddenly came from ahead. “What are you backing away for? I was just wondering why it was taking so long to walk such a short distance…”
It sounded like Dahai’s voice.
Just then, they had retreated out of the narrow alley and arrived at the open area before the river. The three figures walked out from the shadows, revealing their faces.
It could now be confirmed; it was indeed those three. Under the moonlight, their hair was wet and reflective, and the color of their clothes was a few shades darker than normal. Gauss even had a strand of seaweed on his head. Each of them had a pale complexion and looked extremely suspicious.
Kang Yuanhuai spoke weakly, “Could a few of you fellow students please come over and help? Give them a hand…”
No one moved for a moment. Sisi asked from a distance, “What happened to you all?”
Dahai said irritably, “Don’t even mention it. The boat capsized on the way back. Our legs were cut by a fishing net, and we had to swim back with our injuries!”
The reason was so absurd it was almost funny. In the moonlight, there were still grid-like marks on his face, clearly from a fishing net.
The players relaxed a little and went forward to support them.
Although this era still emphasized that men and women should not touch hands when passing things2, the current situation was special. Since they were all players from the modern era, no one naturally cared about this. Only Kang Yuanhuai resolutely refused to be supported by a woman, so in the end, A Nan had to support him alone, while Golden Retriever and Sisi supported Dahai, and Mingyue and An Jing supported Gauss, as they all headed towards the small Western-style building together.
As for Shen Maomao—she was still trying to figure out where the person monitoring her was, and she had already formed a preliminary hypothesis.
He Bo was naturally related to water. They had been walking alongside the river the entire way, which is why she constantly felt like someone was watching her. He Bo might be hiding in the river water, secretly observing the players… or, thinking in a worse direction, perhaps the river water itself was He Bo’s eyes. As long as there was river water, everything they did would have no place to hide its form…
…
The group returned to their residence, panting. The three injured men collapsed into chairs, exhausted to the point where even moving was an effort.
Shen Maomao asked, “Is there a first-aid kit? Your wounds should probably be treated.”
Kang Yuanhuai said, “There’s one in my room. Could someone please trouble themselves to go get it…”
The players’ heads snapped up, and they exchanged glances.
Perhaps there were clues in Kang Yuanhuai’s room, or perhaps there was some danger within. So everyone fell silent, no one willing to be the bird that sticks its head out3.
“I’ll go,” Shen Maomao said. “Someone come with me, I’m a coward.”
Golden Retriever took a step forward, and Sisi followed, saying, “I’ll go with you.”
Shen Maomao was looking for a chance to tell Sisi to be careful, so she took the initiative to link arms with her. “Alright then. Could the rest of you please figure out how to get some hot water for them? We’ll go get the first-aid kit first. Kang Yuanhuai, which room is yours?”
Kang Yuanhuai said, “The second to last room on the right.”
And so, Shen Maomao and Sisi went together.
This was Shen Maomao’s first time on this side. Compared to the second floor, the ceiling on the first floor was higher, but this height didn’t make her feel a sense of openness. Instead, it gave her a faint feeling of oppression, making her tense up involuntarily.
It was the first time someone had taken the initiative to link arms with her, and Sisi was rather receiving a favor as if startled4. She asked curiously, “Why did you choose me?”
Shen Maomao said, “Because you’re pretty.”
Sisi: “Is your taste in aesthetics different during the day than at night?”
Shen Maomao smiled, raised her index finger to her lips, and let out a soft “Shh.” “I’ll tell you when I get the chance.”
Sisi frowned, her expression gradually turning serious.
The two walked to the end of the right-side corridor. The further in they went, the more the feeling of being watched faded for Shen Maomao. By the time they stopped in front of the second-to-last room, the feeling had vanished completely.
But now was not the best time to talk. The corridor was connected to the dining room, so if their voices were even slightly raised, they could be heard clearly over there.
After confirming there was no surveillance here, Shen Maomao relaxed a bit. She preferred to say what she needed to inside the room, so she reached out, pushed open the door to Kang Yuanhuai’s room, and went inside, beginning to survey its condition.
The first-floor room was missing a dressing table compared to the second floor, but other than that, there were no other differences in the furniture. Yet, this made Shen Maomao sense that something was amiss.
It was as if this house knew in advance that the people arriving would be five women and four men…
Although one could say this was an adjustment made by the game to accommodate the players, thinking about it from another angle, perhaps it was destined from the start that the number and gender of people in this instance would be like this. This house was only ever going to host four men and five women.
The first-aid kit Kang Yuanhuai mentioned was sitting on the table. Shen Maomao took two steps forward, then realized with a start that Sisi hadn’t followed her in.
She whipped her head around and found Sisi standing at the doorway, her eyes fixed on the door of the adjacent room, lost in thought.
“Sisi?” Shen Maomao called out to her.
She snapped back to her senses with a jolt. Her face pale, she entered the room, closed the door behind her, and said in a low voice, “The door that was locked yesterday is open. Just now, I had a strange, strong impulse to go in and see what’s inside. Luckily, you called out to me. Thank you.”
Sisi was the one responsible for checking this side yesterday.
Hearing this, Shen Maomao took the opportunity to bring up what happened in the morning, speaking rapidly. “I think you might really have been targeted by He Bo. In the morning, you suddenly walked into the temple by yourself and bowed three times to He Bo, then you retreated back to our side as if in reverse. It seemed like you didn’t even remember what you had done. I’ve been trying to tell you ever since, but it seems I was being monitored by He Bo. I’ve only just now found the chance. You absolutely must be careful.”
“This…” Sisi’s face grew even paler. “Are you really a crow’s beak5?”
Shen Maomao: “…” Grass (a type of plant)6.
How could she be blamed for something like this?! It was clearly a certain someone’s own bad luck!
She shot Sisi a look, walked forward to pick up the first-aid kit, and revealed something behind it that resembled a typewriter.
Shen Maomao called to Sisi, “Don’t just stand there, come and see what this is.”
Sisi came closer. “What the heck is this? A mechanical keyboard?”
Shen Maomao: “Looks like a telegraph machine7? I’ve seen them on TV, I think they look like this, right?”
Sisi: “Why would this thing be here?”
Shen Maomao was silent for two seconds, then said faintly, “The atmosphere suddenly feels like a spy thriller?”
Sisi: “…You’re toxic, aren’t you8?”
Shen Maomao also felt she was probably overthinking it. Mainly, she couldn’t imagine where a ghost could fit into a spy movie. Would they rely on Sister Sadako to deliver messages?
She didn’t linger. Carrying the first-aid kit, she returned to the living room with Sisi. As she left, she gave the room at the back a deliberate look.
Not only was that room unlocked, but its door was also open a crack. Inside was pitch-black and silent, making one unable to resist the urge to push the door open and see just what kind of secrets were hidden within.
Shen Maomao withdrew her gaze and dragged Sisi, whose eyes were glued to that door, away.
…
The three men’s wounds were all over their bodies. Treating them would inevitably require removing their clothes. It was inconvenient for the girls to watch, so they went upstairs as a group. Sisi and Golden Retriever squeezed into Shen Maomao’s room, wanting to ask for more details about the time she had worshipped the god.
Shen Maomao spoke of everything she knew, and spoke of it completely9, taking advantage of the lack of surveillance to say everything that needed to be said.
After she finished, she herself began to think about the surveillance: the Western-style house was by the river, but there was no river water inside. At first, she thought He Bo relied on water to monitor people, but she had felt watched in the main hall just now, but not in the corridor… No, that’s not right. There was river water in the corridor just now. The three who fell in the water had water on them. It was very likely that He Bo was using that water to observe the surroundings.
Golden Retriever stood by the window, looking down. Suddenly, as if he had seen something, he tapped on the windowsill.
The two girls, lost in thought, shifted their gazes over and saw several people downstairs carrying food containers into the courtyard. They were probably delivery men from the restaurant.
Sure enough, a short while later, the three men below had finished treating their wounds and were shouting for them to come down and eat.
Dinner was, as usual, a table of fish, mixed with some green vegetables.
Shen Maomao ate a few bites casually, then rested her chin on her hand and watched them eat.
Today’s fish looked more fragrant than yesterday’s. Dahai and Gauss ate with great enthusiasm, seemingly wanting to vent the anger from being cut by the fishing net on the fish.
After he finished eating, Kang Yuanhuai put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and then said, “After dinner, let’s all share what we found today. It’ll be a good time for me to take notes.”
Once the last person had put down their chopsticks and the restaurant staff had cleared away the leftovers, Kang Yuanhuai was the first to speak. “The He Bo temple we went to was the one to the due north. The temple was crowded, and we asked around. The reason this place began to worship He Bo is that fifty years ago, Huai Town was suddenly hit with heavy rain for half a month straight. The river water surged, flooding farmland and homes. The people suffered so they could not live10, and official relief was slow to arrive. Just as the water line rose higher and higher and the common people fell into despair, a divine dragon suddenly descended from the sky11. It opened its great dragon mouth and sucked away all the floodwater. It then transformed into a human form, descended from the sky on an auspicious cloud12, and told the people he was He Bo, sent by the Heavenly Court13 to manage the waters. As he spoke, he raised his hand to form a hand seal14, and in an instant, he stopped the heavy rain that had been falling for over half a month. To show their respect and gratitude, from then on, the villagers all began to worship He Bo, and this custom has been passed down to this day.”
Mingyue said, “So you’re saying… He Bo is a dragon?”
Kang Yuanhuai laughed. “Classmate Mingyue, what era is this? How can you still be so superstitious? The story of He Bo controlling the waters is just a folk legend, and it might even be exaggerated. We just need to investigate it clearly; we absolutely must not take it as truth.”
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