Volume 2: The Days of Playing with Monkeys in the Village
Old Deity Statue
Guess whose face is on it—mine or yours?
It’s quite ironic when you think about it.
Liu Zhuangshi’s wife gave birth to eight little monkey cubs. The midwife, Aunt Zhang, said that if such a miracle happened in her family, she would definitely enshrine the little monkeys.
However, when this situation actually occurred, Shen Maomao clearly felt the change in their attitude towards the children and Old Zhang.
The most obvious was Zhang Aiguo’s wife. The woman who used to dote on her son on the tip of her heart (to cherish dearly) hadn’t said a word to him all day after taking him downstairs in the morning.
Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo followed Aunt Zhang to try on clothes.
Perhaps because it was already the sixth day, the unusual people in the village didn’t even bother to hide it anymore. As soon as they saw the two, their eyeballs seemed to be glued to them, unable to look away.
Shen Maomao saw excitement and bloodthirst on their faces, as if anticipating the final day’s feast of slaughter.
She forcefully held Lou Jingmo’s hand, feeling overwhelmingly secure, and even dared to glare back at those staring at her: “What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a beautiful girl before?! Keep staring and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out!”
Aunt Zhang looked back at her with disapproval.
Shen Maomao said plaintively: “Auntie, those men were looking at me with leering eyes!”
Aunt Zhang: “??” Could there be something wrong with this child’s eyes?
Anyway, it wasn’t the last day yet, so Shen Maomao was fearless, vividly illustrating what it means to be both provocative and cowardly.
The journey was uneventful, but when they arrived at the village chief’s house, they found that many people had come.
Besides the five players, there were many villagers with children and elderly in tow, forming a long queue at the village chief’s door.
Aunt Zhang told them to line up at the back while she chatted quietly with other women outside the queue. Because it was too noisy, Shen Maomao could hardly hear what they were saying. But their occasional glances, as if appraising merchandise, made her uncomfortable.
Not far from them, Ye Tingnan and his companion moved from the front to the back. The person who brought them followed behind like watching prisoners, grumbling: “What’s there to chat about? Can’t you chat after getting the clothes?”
“Do we need your permission to meet our friends?!” Ye Tingnan said coldly.
The person looked displeased, clicked their tongue, and moved aside.
With the troublemaker gone, the four gathered. Ye Tingnan greeted them: “Hello, seniors.”
Shao Mei beside him also mumbled: “Hello, seniors…” in a voice as small as a mosquito’s buzz.
These two had injuries on their faces and bodies.
Ye Tingnan had a few-centimeter-long scratch on his right cheek. The wound wasn’t bleeding, but you could still see the reddish tender flesh inside. Shao Mei had some small cuts on her face and body, not like knife wounds, but more like scratch marks. However, compared to Ye Tingnan, hers were not harming the overall beauty (minor or insignificant).
Shen Maomao asked, “You were attacked last night too, right?”
Ye Tingnan nodded: “I couldn’t sleep last night. Suddenly, around midnight, I heard the sound of someone unlocking from outside. I quickly went down to find something to block the door, but it only held for a short while. Something unknown broke in from outside, though it wasn’t entirely unstoppable.”
Shao Mei had already cried all the tears she could these past few days. She choked up, but couldn’t cry anymore: “Brother Ye… Brother Ye got hurt so badly to save me…”
Shen Maomao rarely felt sympathetic, but Shao Mei was quite similar to Golden Retriever. Seeing her scared-to-death appearance, she couldn’t bring herself to say any snarky remarks. In the end, she could only offer a dry comfort: “Why are you crying? As long as you can make it out of the game alive, all the wounds on your body will disappear.”
Her words, far from helping, made the two even more desperate.
Did they… still have hope of leaving this place?
The queue inched forward. People in front received their gaudy and flashy clothes and left. The children looked curious, but the adults didn’t seem particularly happy. The two new players were also in low spirits, unable to muster even a smile.
“What crime did you commit?” Lou Jingmo suddenly asked.
Ye Tingnan’s expression froze. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
Shen Maomao quickly reminded them: “Think about the consequences of lying before you speak.”
Shao Mei bit her lip and slowly said, “What level of wrongdoing counts as a crime? The police didn’t even arrest us, so why can this game carry out vigilante justice?”
Lou Jingmo said coldly, “You’re asking the wrong person.”
Shao Mei seemed dazed, suddenly remembering that everyone here was guilty, whether dead or still alive.
Ye Tingnan said, “School bullying. The bullied person jumped to their death. Does that count?”
Lou Jingmo showed no expression and didn’t comment on their actions. Shen Maomao, unsure if there was more to the story, felt uncomfortable judging. She just took a step behind Lou Jingmo to show her stance.
Shao Mei couldn’t help but say quietly, “We did wrong, but that girl was a ‘biao zi’ (婊子, derogatory term for a promiscuous woman). She tried to seduce Ye Tingnan and failed, then spread rumors that we were bullying her. She said all that, so weren’t we just living up to her words?! What right do you have to look at me like that?! Why do you look down on us? Are you without sin?!”
Shen Maomao smiled mysteriously, not saying much.
Sorry, but being without sin really means you can do whatever you want.
She didn’t have any major sins, just a bunch of small flaws, but unfortunately not enough to meet the game’s standards for catching people. She was just a bit too unlucky.
As she smiled, she felt like crying a little.
Lou Jingmo said coldly, “Simply because we can leave here alive, and you can’t.”
Shao Mei’s face turned pale.
Ye Tingnan pulled her behind him and said, lacking confidence, “Is Senior Xiaolou planning to make a move against us?”
“You think too highly of yourselves,” Lou Jingmo certainly disdained to make a move against these two little shrimps (insignificant people).
Shen Maomao clung tightly to her big thigh (powerful backer) and said proudly, “If you’re seeking protection, you should have the attitude of someone asking for help. With such poor communication skills, aren’t you afraid of offending people?”
The two sides had another unpleasant exchange. Shen Maomao felt that they might have some aura (or vibe) incompatibility, otherwise why would there be such a strong gunpowder smell (tension) every time they met?
The two newcomers didn’t have much strength, just a body full of pride. She wanted to force them to put down this pride that would only harm them, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, and felt it wasn’t her place.
This was their way of life, and she couldn’t interfere with others’ lives under the banner of doing what’s best for them. Perhaps they would rather die proudly than bow their heads to survive. This was precisely what she lacked, which made it all the more precious in her eyes.
(LP: I forgot that Maomao wasn’t even supposed to be a player 💀)
Ye Tingnan and his companion were in front of Shen Maomao and received their two pieces of clothing first. They didn’t have time to say another word to them before being dragged away by the person who brought them.
Next, it was Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo’s turn.
The person responsible for giving them clothes was the village chief’s daughter-in-law.
The woman only glanced at them once before picking out two pieces of clothing from the pile and handing them over: “Try these on.”
The clothing was a large overcoat, ankle-length, mainly green with other colorful and vibrant colors dotted throughout. If it were laid on the ground, Shen Maomao would believe it was a patch of flowers.
Shen Maomao unzipped it, grabbed the collar, and swung it behind her, instantly feeling like the most beautiful kid on the street.
“It’s all dusty,” Lou Jingmo said disapprovingly, moving two steps away.
When they put on the clothes, they fit perfectly, though they were gaudy and flashy.
The village chief’s daughter-in-law instructed: “Take the clothes back and place them near the old deity statue. Put them on again when the ceremony starts in the afternoon.”
Shen Maomao grasped the key point.
What’s the deal with the “old” deity statue? The Zhang family’s statue was intact, not even a chip of paint had fallen off, so why did it need to be replaced?
On the way back, she tentatively asked Aunt Zhang: “Auntie, does your village often replace the deity statues?”
Aunt Zhang replied with a smile: “It’s not too often. The ceremony is a big deal, so families who can afford it usually replace it with a new one to show respect.”
Something’s not right.
If that were really the case, the village chief’s daughter-in-law wouldn’t need to emphasize the “old deity statue.” She could have just said to place it under the statue, unless every household participating in the ceremony needed to replace their statue…
Why replace the statues so frequently? Is there something behind this?
Shen Maomao thought about the different faces on the Liu family and Zhang family statues, and a terrifying idea formed in her mind.
When they returned, they happened to run into the Zhang family men carrying a new deity statue into the house.
The new statue was covered with a large red cloth, obscuring its appearance. While the family was busy around the statue, Lou Jingmo leaned close to Shen Maomao and whispered: “Guess whose face is on it—mine or yours?”
Shen Maomao’s hair stood on end: “Wo cao, are you addicted to scaring me?”
After the new deity statue was placed, the old one was carelessly tossed into a corner of the courtyard. Aunt Zhang neatly folded the two pieces of clothing and placed them in front of the old statue, then paid no more attention to them.
Shen Maomao, diligently pretending to be a hundred thousand whys (very inquisitive), asked: “Aunt Zhang, why aren’t you wearing these clothes?”
Aunt Zhang replied: “These clothes can only be worn by those receiving the Monkey God’s blessing. You’re not believers, so to enter the ceremony, you need to wear these clothes.”
“That’s too precious!” Shen Maomao exaggerated, “This won’t do, Aunt Zhang. How can we two take up your family’s spots? Only one person needs to take photos anyway, so let Xiaolou go. I’ll return the clothes to you, okay?”
Aunt Zhang became anxious: “No, no, we’ve already received compensation from the village chief. How can we go back on our word? Girl, please don’t put this auntie in a difficult position.”
Shen Maomao knew when to stop: “If that’s the case, never mind then. Thank you, Auntie, for giving us the opportunity to receive the blessing~”
Aunt Zhang wiped the cold sweat from her brow: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
Her words were full of holes and not credible. But even so, they had to venture into this dragon’s pool and tiger’s den (a dangerous situation).
For a moment, Shen Maomao felt a surge of bravado, itching to immediately summon that Monkey God for a one-on-one duel.
The busy and tense afternoon quickly passed. As time approached 5 PM, the sun was setting, and the sky was filled with brilliant fiery clouds. The ceremony was about to begin.
Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo changed into their clothes. Zhang Aiguo’s daughter-in-law had braided Shen Maomao’s short hair into several plaits, each with a colorful and vibrant feather inserted, making Shen Maomao feel like a peacock in its mating season.
— Oh, they weren’t as beautiful as peacocks.
Except for the elderly and children, all members of the Zhang family participated in the ceremony, including two young girls. The whole family wore white clothes, standing at the doorway ready to depart. With the sound of a bell ringing from somewhere unknown, they surrounded Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo, moving along the village path towards the village entrance. Along the way, they merged with other families, and the procession grew larger and larger.
The author has something to say:
Shen Maomao: Perhaps they would rather die proudly than bow their heads to survive.
Ye Tingnan and Shao Mei: That’s not us, we’re not like that “55555” (五五五五五, internet slang representing crying sounds, similar to “waaah” in English)
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