Returning to Ye Tiancheng and his companions, although the task of finding the lake was delegated to Nie Chongyang and his team, Ye Tiancheng was not so complacent as to completely let go. After all, one shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket, nor should they place all their hopes on Nie Chongyang's group.
Ye Tiancheng carefully questioned the villager again, posing as an ordinary tourist interested in local customs and traditions. He asked a great many things, without any discernible pattern or logic, making it seem as if he had no ulterior motives, and thus managed to glean a lot of information.
The intelligence gathered was quite valuable.
He had no idea how long the parade would last, as the procession was moving extremely slowly. Ye Tiancheng pondered this for a moment, then pulled the little fox away from the crowd, gradually moving towards the edge.
The little fox was somewhat puzzled but obediently followed Ye Tiancheng.
Once they were truly away from the crowd, the little fox curiously asked Ye Tiancheng, "Brother, aren't we following the parade anymore? Why did you suddenly bring me out?"
Ye Tiancheng replied to the little fox, "I think I've gotten a pretty good grasp of things here. Although I can't fully understand the situation yet, at least I have some ideas and know where to start."
The little fox then asked, "Where should we start?"
Ye Tiancheng told the little fox, "The root of all problems, in the end, is related to the 'Mountain God' that this village worships. The truth about the 'Mountain God' is actually quite important. Whether it's real or fake will even determine how we proceed."
"If this 'Mountain God' is an imposter, it's actually quite convenient. As long as the Dragon God they originally worshipped truly exists, then it will be relatively simple to resolve. And if we're looking for the fragments of the Fuxi Qin, and a Dragon God does exist, then we'll almost certainly have to deal with him. We'll have to pay a visit, no matter what."
"And if this 'Mountain God' is the one the villagers originally worshipped, although it will be much more troublesome for us, if it's just an evil god, then ultimately it's just a malevolent spirit, and not unsolvable."
"Ultimately, as long as we figure out the truth about the 'Mountain God,' we'll know how to proceed, won't we?"
The little fox felt that it made sense, but he didn't quite understand. "But how should we verify its authenticity? We can't even find the lake! Captain Nie hasn't sent any news yet."
Ye Tiancheng patted the little fox's shoulder, glanced around to ensure no one could overhear their conversation, and then whispered, "Didn't that villager just say that their village has village chronicles?"
The little fox froze for a moment, then realized what Ye Tiancheng was talking about.
"That's right! Village chronicles!"
He hadn't thought of such a shortcut before. "And that villager also said that when the village experienced a famine in the past, the Dragon God even opened up the lake, allowing villagers to draw water and fish to sustain themselves, so it's not as if no one has ever been to that lake."
"If this is true, and the lake really exists, then the village chronicles might have a record of it!"
The little fox suddenly understood, clenching his right fist and hitting his left palm heavily.
Because he was too excited, the little fox's voice was slightly raised. Ye Tiancheng reminded him, "Keep your voice down. We definitely can't borrow the village chronicles legitimately, so we'll have to do it sneakily. Don't be too loud, lest you alert someone. If we're discovered, it'll be difficult for us to act."
The little fox realized this and quickly nodded, making a zipping motion across his lips to indicate he would be quiet.
However, after making the gesture, he still spoke to Ye Tiancheng in a low voice.
"Brother, so are we going to look for the village chronicles now? We don't even know where they are kept."
Ye Tiancheng replied to the little fox, "It doesn't matter. After wandering around these past few days, you should know where the village chief's house is."
"I remember the village chief works from his home, so the village chronicles should also be kept in his house. If nothing unexpected happens, that's most likely the case. Besides, I was paying attention earlier. The village chief is presiding over the parade, so he'll have to follow the entire procession and can't turn back halfway..."
The little fox chimed in with Ye Tiancheng in perfect understanding, "Then, during the parade, it will be our best opportunity to go to the village chief's house to find the village chronicles!"
Ye Tiancheng said, "Exactly."
The two of them hit it off immediately and decided to act without delay. They quickly avoided the crowd and used the little fox's talismans to sneak towards the village chief's house in their memory.
Fortunately, the parade was still going to last for a long time, and there was a considerable distance between the village chief's house and the procession. Ye Tiancheng and his companions quickened their pace, giving them ample time.
Since they had spent quite a bit of time wandering around the village in the past few days, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were quite familiar with the way to the village chief's house.
After all, the village chief had to handle all village affairs, so he couldn't live too remotely. He had to reside in a place that was easy to find, so that he could manage his duties. Since the village chief worked from his home, and his status in the village was undoubtedly high, his residence was naturally in a very good and conspicuous location.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox cautiously approached the village chief's house. Ye Tiancheng said to the little fox, "I don't know if there's anyone staying at the village chief's house. Although we've made preparations, if we start searching for things, it would be bad if someone noticed anything unusual."
The little fox recalled for a moment before replying to Ye Tiancheng, "It's alright, Brother. I remember that the current village chief is still single, without a wife or children. He seems to only have an elderly mother at home, and she's also deaf and blind. Even if they are home, with our talismans concealing us, it's unlikely we'll be discovered."
Ye Tiancheng had limited knowledge in this area. After hearing the little fox's explanation and thinking about it, he chose to trust the little fox's judgment. They were already committed, with no turning back, and had to go regardless.
"Then let's go. Just be careful with your movements."
The two of them tiptoed closer to the village chief's house. The main door was closed, but the wall was not very high. In special circumstances, special measures must be taken. Ye Tiancheng led the little fox over the wall of the village chief's house and into the courtyard.
The village chief's courtyard had a cowshed, a chicken coop, and a doghouse. With cattle, chickens, and dogs, if not for the talismans they possessed, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have dared to barge in directly.
Ye Tiancheng wiped a bead of non-existent cold sweat from his forehead. However, trespassing into the village chief's house, even though it wasn't for malicious purposes, made him feel inexplicably guilty. Looking at these small animals, he felt as if they were watching him.
He tried to reassure himself, thinking he was probably overthinking it.
In reality, the dog was asleep, the cattle were awake, and some of the chickens were asleep while others were not. But Ye Tiancheng just felt that their eyes seemed to be fixed on him.
However, self-reassurance was useless. Ye Tiancheng felt that his intuition might be correct.
He couldn't help but tug at the little fox. "Little fox, look at that cow, those chickens. Are they looking at us?"
The little fox, following beside Ye Tiancheng, glanced towards the cowshed and chicken coop upon hearing this. He wasn't particularly surprised.
He told Ye Tiancheng, "They probably can see us."
Ye Tiancheng blinked, then exclaimed in surprise, "Ah? They can see us?!"
The little fox quickly explained to Ye Tiancheng, "Yes, they can see us, but it doesn't matter. They can't speak, so they can only see. And right now, they're not causing a fuss. As long as the dog doesn't wake up, it's not a big problem."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but ask him, "What if the dog wakes up?"
The little fox said, "If the dog wakes up?"
"The dog can't speak either. It's just guarding the house. If it's a loyal dog, even though it can't speak, it would definitely come to chase us away, right?"
The little fox propped his chin on his hand, pondering.
Ye Tiancheng was speechless. Seeing that the dog didn't seem like it was about to wake up, he felt a little relieved. He asked, "How can they see us? Did the talismans fail? It doesn't seem like it... You didn't mention this before."
The little fox then told Ye Tiancheng, "Oh, oh, we were in the city before, and it wasn't relevant, so I didn't mention it. Besides, this matter isn't really a big problem."
"It's not strange at all that these cows, chickens, and dogs can see us. Brother, you must have heard of such sayings."
The little fox paused and continued, "If a person wants to see spirits, they can smear cow tears on their eyelids. Dogs are spiritual and can see things that human eyes cannot. As for chickens..."
"Brother, look at the rooster in the coop. Is it the one that can see us? Roosters can also ward off evil and break spells."
"..." Ye Tiancheng understood. "You must remember to tell Nie Chongyang and the others about this. What if they encounter this special situation during their mission? Wouldn't they be in trouble?"
The little fox gave an "ok" gesture.
He said, "I know. I'll tell Captain Nie about it later. I just forgot before because this matter isn't really that serious."
Ye Tiancheng understood the situation and, knowing what was going on, pulled the little fox along and immediately headed towards the house. "Alright, alright, let's hurry up. Don't linger in this courtyard. If any of the animals react and start making noise, the situation might become uncontrollable."
He hadn't known before that these animals could actually see him. Now that he realized his intuition wasn't wrong, he couldn't feel at ease staying there any longer and was eager to leave.
The little fox followed closely behind Ye Tiancheng into the village chief's house.
Since they didn't know much about the village chief's house, and they couldn't infiltrate it despite their previous investigations, they had no understanding of the house's layout and could only search room by room.
The village chief's house was also better and larger than that of ordinary villagers.
The interior furnishings were not very old. This was not apparent from the outside. Perhaps it was for economic reasons that they preserved the overall style of the village. The outer areas of the village had a more pronounced ethnic architectural style, but the interior was clearly more refined.
At least upon entering, one could see that the various modern facilities inside were quite complete.
It was understandable. This village had already opened up to the outside world and developed into a tourist resort, coming into contact with external affairs and improving their quality of life. There was no reason for the villagers not to change, and as the village chief, his home would naturally be more refined.
However, being the village chief, it wasn't excessively extravagant.
The village chief's house had three floors. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox searched floor by floor, looking into every room. They did find a study and a reception room, which seemed like places where the village chief might work, but they couldn't find any trace of the village chronicles.
This was rather strange.
Ye Tiancheng didn't believe that the villager had fabricated the story about the village chronicles. This was because it was a common practice in former villages and counties to have village chronicles and county chronicles, so it was impossible for there to be none. It could only mean that they hadn't found them.
But if they weren't in the study or the reception room, and they had also searched the village chief's bedroom with no success, where else could they be?