jdhmnovel Chapter 107 Village Chief
Chapter 107 Village Chief
Just when the two of them had just come up with the idea of going to the village ancestral hall to look for the village chief, the originally calm air suddenly radiated an extremely weak fluctuation of spiritual power.
Although this fluctuation was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible, to the sensitive Lin Qiqi, it was like a strong wind blowing past her ears.
She looked around quickly and alertly, and then her eyes widened in surprise - the scene before her left her dumbfounded.
The villagers of Baiyun Village had all changed! It was as if a completely unfamiliar soul had been forced into each villager, and no one's skin and soul could match each other.
What is even more horrifying is that these so-called skins are not ordinary flesh at all. If we strictly define them, they are nothing more than shadow puppets of similar human size.
When viewed from the front, these shadow puppets may still barely appear to be human; however, once viewed from the side, one can clearly see the thin bodies, as thin as cicada wings, which seem to shatter with the slightest touch.
Such a strange and bizarre scene, even someone as brave and careful as Lin Qiqi couldn't help but feel a chill running down her spine.
"Ah Qing..." Lin Qiqi subconsciously tugged at Yun Qing's sleeve, stretched out her finger and gently tapped his eyelids, lowering her voice and saying, "Look..."
Yun Qing felt a cool sensation on his eyelids. He raised his eyes and looked forward as Lin Qiqi had instructed. In an instant, he froze in place as if under a spell, his face filled with disbelief.
With his rich experience and broad knowledge, this was the first time he had witnessed such an incredible scene in his life. It was truly horrifying.
"Tian Tong, what's going on?" Lin Qiqi couldn't help but ask Tian Tong.
"Master. Ice Cream Cone can't find it. But this village has no ill will towards you." Ice Cream Cone replied.
No ill intentions? That's quite strange.
What made the two men even more dumbfounded and terrified was that the sun hanging high above their heads, as if it was cast under some mysterious spell, or as if someone had pressed the fast-forward button, was rapidly setting in the west at an extraordinary speed.
In the blink of an eye, the originally scorching and dazzling sunlight quickly receded like a tide, and the last ray of afterglow completely dissipated from the village in an instant.
At this strange moment, the villagers who were originally busy and lively suddenly stopped all their movements as if the pause button was pressed at the same time.
The expressions on their faces also changed drastically at this moment. First they showed an expression of disbelief, and then deep fear and despair. Everyone's face became extremely pale and ugly.
The man, who had just been strolling leisurely along the cobblestones, suddenly, as if under an irresistible command, unleashed the belt tightly wrapped around his waist without hesitation. He staggered to the foot of a large, leafy tree by the roadside, tossed the belt high in the air, and firmly tied it to a stout branch. Then, grasping both ends of the belt with both hands, he suddenly leaped forward, his entire body dangling from the tree. A moment later, his legs gave way, and his life ended.
Meanwhile, the man leading the ox slowly forward suddenly let go of the reins and charged straight towards the nearby millstone. With a loud bang, his head slammed hard against the incredibly hard millstone, breaking his neck instantly and splattering blood. The scene was horrific.
Over here, a woman, intently sewing, suddenly went mad, dropping her exquisite embroidery. She quickly fumbled for a pair of sharp scissors. Without hesitation, she raised them and stabbed her own fair neck. Instantly, a stream of crimson blood gushed out like a fountain, splattering the face of the woman next to her.
Yet, the woman showed no fear, not even the slightest sign of retreat. Without a flicker of emotion, she reached into her bosom and pulled out a small bottle. Upon closer inspection, she discovered a bottle of deadly arsenic! Without a word, she uncapped the bottle, tilted her head back, and drank the entire bottle in one gulp, not even blinking, as if it weren't a deadly poison but a glass of ordinary water.
Others chose even more brutal ways to end their lives. Some poured buckets of oil over their bodies, then resolutely ignited the flames, instantly transforming into a blazing fireball. Others, armed with sharp knives, stabbed themselves frantically, leaving blood and flesh flying everywhere. Some even rushed to the village well and jumped in.
.......
The whole village seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious and terrifying force. People seemed to have received death orders from the depths of hell, and ended their lives in all kinds of weird, bizarre and horrifying ways.
Lin Qiqi and Yun Qing watched these horrific scenes, their eyes wide open and their mouths gaping, yet no sound emanated. The scene before them was so shocking that their minds went blank, leaving them completely unsure how to react to this sudden change.
At this moment, a sinister voice suddenly came from the air: "Have you seen enough? Come up." The two men trembled all over and looked in the direction of the voice, but they saw only a dark night sky and could not see the figure of the person who spoke at all.
"It's the village chief." Yun Qing lowered his voice and said to Lin Qiqi beside him.
Then, he held Lin Qiqi's hand tightly, carefully walked around the "shadow puppet corpses" that were lying in all directions and distorted in shape, and slowly walked towards the ancestral hall on the east side of the village.
Lin Qiqi couldn't help but glance back at the bloody and tragic scene. An indescribable feeling welled up in her heart, but she didn't feel sad for them at all. It seemed that the lingering resentment in the air must have been caused by their repeated suicide attempts.
Not long after, Yun Qing and Lin Qiqi finally arrived at Baiyun Village's legendary ancestral hall. Located on the easternmost side of the village, the hall exudes a certain quaint elegance. Standing out from the dilapidated, ramshackle houses surrounding it, it stands out. The entire hall is perfectly preserved, its walls as white as snow, and its roof's tiled roof arranged in a staggered pattern, creating a sense of solemnity and awe.
However, when they entered the ancestral hall, they discovered that although it appeared clean and tidy, the number of tablets enshrined inside was astonishing. The densely packed tablets were stacked up more than a dozen layers high, with some even scattered on the ground, creating a chaotic and disorganized scene.
The lights in the ancestral hall were brilliant, as bright as day, illuminating the entire space. From this dazzling light, it was clear that the people responsible for guarding the ancestral hall were very attentive and not slacking off in the slightest.
At that moment, Yun Qing, who had just reached the entrance of the ancestral hall and was about to step inside, suddenly heard a voice. "Are you satisfied?" The voice was deep and magnetic, as if carrying an inexplicable attraction.
Yun Qing looked over and saw a man in green clothes, who had his back to the door, slowly turning around. He stared straight at Yun Qing, as if waiting for her answer.
Yun Qing looked at the man in front of him with some doubt, not sure if he was asking him a question: "Is the village chief asking me?"
Lin Qiqi, standing nearby, was equally surprised. She had originally assumed the head of Baiyun Village would be around the same age as Yun Qing's grandfather, or even younger, at least in his forties. However, the head who appeared before them looked no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old—far too young.
The village chief wore a cyan robe, its sleeves fluttering gently in the breeze. Embroidered with delicate dark cloud patterns, the robe seemed to shimmer and shimmer, lending him a mysterious air. A small, delicate bell hung from his waist, attached to a snow-white, furry fox tail. This bell swayed gently with his movements, creating a striking presence.
The village chief's hair was tied high in a golden crown, revealing a smooth forehead and slender neck. His narrow, fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a subtle cunning and cleverness. His face was extraordinarily handsome, his features as if meticulously sculpted, a look truly of the highest quality.
For some reason, when Lin Qiqi gazed at the village chief, she felt an indescribable sense of familiarity. It felt as if they had known each other before, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
The village chief looked at Yun Qing's reaction, and his eyes, which were originally full of hope, dimmed in an instant. He seemed to have lost all his strength. He sighed dejectedly, and then sat down heavily on the tattered mat on the ground in a very ungraceful manner.
He slapped the ground with his hands and muttered in frustration, "Oh my! I waited so long for nothing! When I saw you guys walk in and see through this damn illusion so quickly, I was secretly happy, thinking you finally remembered everything. Who knew it would be all in vain!"
After saying this, the village chief seemed to feel that this was not enough to vent his anger. He kicked his legs a few times in annoyance and kept complaining, "How long will I be trapped here? Watching these people die and come back to life over and over again every day, I feel terrible. I feel like I'm about to get depression! Ahhhhh~~~"
Lin Qiqi, who was standing aside, blinked her bright big eyes and stared curiously at the village chief who was throwing a tantrum on the ground.
At this moment, for some reason, a wonderful picture suddenly emerged in her mind - a cute fox cub was lying on the ground with its legs spread out and rolling around. However, this fox cub was not a real animal, but an extremely realistic simulated mechanical fox.
Thinking of this, Lin Qiqi's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile. She turned her head slightly and whispered to Ice Cream Cone in a low voice, "Ice Cream Cone, please help me find some bright red amaryllis. Remember to find a few, and be quick!"
After hearing the master's instructions, the ice cream cone nodded obediently and quickly began to search its warehouse and shopping mall. A few moments later, the ice cream cone happily held five bright red amaryllis flowers that bloomed like flames and carefully handed them to the master.
After getting the amaryllis, Lin Qiqi didn't even hesitate. She put the bunch of amaryllis in front of the village chief at lightning speed.
When the village chief saw it, his pupils shrank slightly, and he rushed over with a look of surprise, holding the amaryllis and started rolling on the ground.
Lin Qiqi pulled the shocked Yun Qing back a few steps with a look of disgust on her face: "Stay away, don't let your stupidity catch your eye."
The village chief then realized that he had been tricked. He didn't know whether to throw the flowers away or keep them, so he just stood there with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Big Head. This is your name, right?" Lin Qiqi raised her eyebrows and asked.
The village chief was almost crying: "Didn't you say not to call me by that name anymore? I have a nicer name. My name is Junjun."
Lin Qiqi couldn't help but roll her eyes. This electronic fox was clearly programmed to like amaryllis, also known as the big-headed orchid, hence the name Big Head. Who knew he'd later develop a little self-awareness, insisting his favorite flower was the Clivia, and then naming himself Junjun.
But this big guy has been missing from the Air Traffic Control Bureau for a long time, and I didn’t expect him to be hiding in such a place.
Lin Qiqi tried hard to recall other information about Big Head, but found that apart from its original form and the origin of its name, other information was vague.
Lin Qiqi looked at Yun Qing beside her and asked Datou, "How long has he been bringing you here?"
Big Head didn't realize the trap in Lin Qiqi's words. He played with the amaryllis while answering, "According to the time in this book's world, it's been thirty-seven years. According to the original world...how many years has it been?"
"Okay, don't think about it." Lin Qiqi hurriedly interrupted him, lest he be silenced again due to the restriction.
"The undead spirits on these shadow puppets were brought by Aqing, right? I asked you to watch them here." Lin Qiqi still pretended to be nonchalant.
Big Head nodded: "Yes, aren't these all your enemies..." Halfway through his words, Big Head suddenly shook his head and instantly turned sad: "You are trying to trick me, I'm shocked."
Lin Qiqi smiled embarrassedly: "No, no, maybe your information hasn't been updated yet. I'm not trying to trick you. I already know a lot of the secrets here."
Big Head looked at her suspiciously: "Really? You didn't lie to me?"
Lin Qiqi held up three fingers as if swearing: "Really, really, it's just that Ah Qing's memory is a little off, so you were deemed to have violated the rules."
"Okay, can I leave now?" Big Head's eyes were filled with eagerness. He had been guarding this place for over thirty years and was getting moldy! Even a machine would find it boring.
Lin Qiqi touched her chin and said, "I don't know either. How about giving it a try? Let's leave here first."
Datou nodded quickly: "I'll follow you. If there's another thunderbolt, I'll come back."
Yun Qing was confused by what she said, but since Lin Qiqi didn't explain immediately, he didn't ask any more questions and just quietly followed Lin Qiqi towards another exit of the village.
If you go out from that exit, you will reach Luoxia Mountain.
Datou followed Yunqing nervously, looking left and right, afraid that a bolt of lightning would suddenly strike.
The three of them soon arrived at the exit of Baiyun Village. Yunqing and Lin Qiqi stood outside the exit. Datou cautiously stretched out one foot and poked out at the village boundary marker, but there was no response.
Then, Datou took a big step outside the boundary marker, but there was still no response. Datou then walked out of the village carefully, but there was still no thunder.
"I can finally leave the village!" Big Head ran excitedly.
"You used to send him gifts every year, didn't you notice anything unusual about this guy?" Lin Qiqi looked at Datou and asked Yun Qing with a complicated expression.
Yun Qing covered his face and said, "Really not. He has always acted very serious and businesslike. This is the first time I have seen a village chief like this."
"Let's go, let's leave here first, and then ask her slowly." Lin Qiqi pulled Yun Qing and chased after Datou.