57: Chapter 57: The Festival of Sacrifice (Part Two)

Xie Hong's face turned red. She looked a bit dazed and was quite flattered.

"Tha... Thank you."

Even though she didn't want to continue... looking at the delay she had caused, the sky had grown even darker, and night was one step closer.

Hearing her thanks, Qian Ye was somewhat surprised. She had thought she was an NPC with the image of a pampered, arrogant young lady.

Turns out, the arrogant one was herself.

Hee hee.

Because of Qian Ye's actions, the NPC Xie Hong's favorability toward her clearly soared.

Xie Hong walked beside Qian Ye. "I heard them call you Yu Chen Xi, so can I call you Chen Xi?"

"Sure." Qian Ye smiled slightly. She was always tolerant and generous toward a beauty.

"Did you guys also see the wonders of Changsheng Village online and come here for a tour?"

Qian Ye's expression remained unchanged as she nodded.

"Yes, Changsheng Village is truly miraculous. I just had to come and see it."

Xie Hong strongly agreed with Qian Ye's words, and the two chatted quite well along the way.

Mainly, Qian Ye was fishing for information. Xie Hong's group was simply here for tourism, while Zhang Yan's group didn't look like simple tourists no matter how you looked at them. However, there wasn't much of a chance to talk to them for the time being.

"How much longer? Why haven't we arrived yet?" Mei Mei was the first to express dissatisfaction. After walking for so long, her feet were blistered, yet she still hadn't seen a single village.

"Soon, soon."

Qian Ye heard the Tour Guide's voice getting further and further away, but when she looked up, the person was still right in front of her eyes.

The sky grew darker and darker until finally, flickering firelight could be seen in the distance.

"Are we almost there? Is that the light from the village?" Mei Mei leaned against her boyfriend. At this moment, all the luggage was being carried by Song Hao, leaving Mei Mei completely unburdened.

"Tour Guide? Are we almost there?"

Mei Mei asked again, but there was still no response from the Tour Guide.

"Tour Guide?"

The others also noticed something was wrong. They called for the Tour Guide for a long time without any response. They looked at each other; there was no sign of the Tour Guide anywhere.

"Where did the Tour Guide go?" Mei Mei's voice was a bit sharp.

Seeing this, the players' first reaction wasn't to look for the Tour Guide, but to look around vigilantly, fearing something might suddenly leap out of the night.

"Maybe the Tour Guide went ahead to scout the path for us."

Qian Ye carried her luggage, her steps light and swift. Seeing the people standing still and indifferent, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you waiting for the Tour Guide? Not moving?"

"Going, going, going."

With Xie Hong leading the way, the people behind slowly began to move as well.

Walking at the very back were that girl named Mei Mei and her boyfriend.

"It's way too dark. There isn't even a street lamp?"

"Did you think you were in the city?" Xie Hong rolled her eyes. Could she use her brain when she spoke?

"I was just complaining. Do you need to be so sarcastic?"

"I was also just stating a fact."

"You just can't stand me, can you?"

"You're right. Whatever you think is what it is." Xie Hong rolled her eyes, too lazy to argue with her.

"Don't touch me!" Mei Mei swung her arm. Someone had been poking her incessantly.

"Xie Hong, are you sick? Why do you keep poking my arm!"

Xie Hong looked bewildered upon hearing this. She looked at her hands, which were quietly dragging her luggage. When had she touched her?

"Why would I touch you for no reason! Open your eyes and see how far I am from you first, okay?" Xie Hong was speechless. If she wanted to frame her, she should at least find a decent reason.

"Still poking, who is it?" Mei Mei turned her head impatiently but saw nothing. Looking at the pitch-black night, she instantly felt a chill down her spine.

"Song, Song Hao, I-I'm a little scared." Mei Mei tightened her grip on Song Hao's arm, looking around suspiciously.

Song Hao looked at the quiet surroundings and comforted her, "There are so many people here."

"I-I'm not mistaken, someone is tapping me."

"Jiang Mei Mei, can you stop being so paranoid? There are so many people here, yet you're the only one who feels someone touching you."

"If you want to scare people, could you at least put some effort into it?"

Xie Hong really couldn't take it anymore. All she had heard the whole way was her wailing.

Jiang Mei Mei didn't want to argue with her anymore. Someone was still poking her shoulder, and the movements were getting heavier.

"Who exactly is it?"

Filled with anger, Jiang Mei Mei turned around again and met a pale face that grinned at her, the flesh on its face splitting open. "You're too noisy."

"Ah!!!"

"Ghost!"

Jiang Mei Mei was so terrified that she collapsed to the ground, her pupils shrinking. She tightly covered her mouth, looking as if she had lost her soul.

Hearing the commotion, everyone looked back, but there was nothing but a patch of darkness.

There wasn't a hint of sound in the surroundings; her scream was exceptionally piercing in the silence.

"Jiang Mei Mei, do you have some kind of serious problem? Why do you have to scare us!"

Xie Hong felt her heart still thumping wildly. That sudden scream had really given her a huge fright.

"Sob... I-I didn't, I-I really saw it..."

"Really!"

"Song, Song Hao." Subconsciously, Jiang Mei Mei's voice dropped several tones. She tightly gripped Song Hao's arm and closed her eyes, not daring to look anywhere.

"Baby, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Song Hao knelt down to coax her.

Jiang Mei Mei was trembling all over. That ghostly face was deeply etched in her mind, impossible to shake off.

"Young people are just so much trouble. Are you guys moving or not?"

"Ignore them, we'll go first. We're about to enter the village." Zhang Yan moved her stiff neck, her face full of disdain.

"I really don't understand what a bunch of kids are doing here." Zhang Yan waved her hand and sneered.

The group in windbreakers up front finally lost their patience.

The speaker was a Short Man whose facial features seemed compressed and tight, making him look strange.

"Let's go, why wouldn't we?" Xie Hong rolled her eyes at Jiang Mei Mei and continued walking forward with Qian Ye.

"Hey, tell me, do those things really exist here?" Xie Hong leaned in next to Qian Ye and asked in a low voice.

Seeing Jiang Mei Mei like that, it didn't look like she was acting; she looked like she had truly been scared by something.

Thinking this, she instantly felt a chill on her back.

"Where are there ghosts in this world?"

"The road is getting narrower; maybe she just bumped into some branches."

"Look, didn't I just run into one?"

Smiling, Qian Ye snapped a branch that had appeared in front of her at some point and threw it away.

"See, I almost got poked."

Vines slowly stretched out from the ground, inching closer to their feet.

Qian Ye looked down at the wriggling things on the ground. A red light flashed through her eyes as she stomped down hard, and the vines instantly recoiled.

"What was that noise?"

Qian Ye curled her lips. "Nothing, just lost my footing for a second."

The branch Qian Ye had broken and tossed aside was now oozing a thick green liquid from the break.

In the darkness, no one could detect anything unusual.

Because Qian Ye was leading the way, her actions intimidated the eerie things on the road; they became cautious and didn't dare to act rashly.

Jiang Mei Mei followed quietly beside Song Hao, not daring to speak again. The group soon arrived safely at the village entrance.

Two trees were planted on either side of the village entrance, their foliage lush. The circumference of the trees looked like it would take three or four people standing together to encircle them.

Because it was late, it was impossible to tell what kind of trees they were.

On the left side stood a sign. Zhang Yan, who was behind, stepped forward and took out a small flashlight to see the words on it: Changsheng Village.