Chapter 19 Information

The villagers tried to persuade him again, but although Jiang Cheng's stomach was growling, he was very stubborn. He said he wouldn't eat, and he wouldn't. Seeing Jiang Cheng's sincerity and determination, the villagers couldn't say anything more.

"How about this, let's leave a few bowls of rice for Brother Jiang and the others. They can eat whenever they're hungry," said the man named Fuqing.

After the meal, everyone dispersed. Fuqing found Jiang Cheng, and the two walked to a stone bench in the corner of the yard to rest. "Brother Jiang, don't mind that something like this happened as soon as you arrived."

"Not at all, we're the ones who are disturbing you," Jiang Cheng said apologetically, even looking a little uneasy.

"Did you rest well last night?" Fuqing asked.

"Very well. We walked in the mountains all day, exhausted and sleepy. We fell asleep not long after lying down and closing our eyes. We're very grateful to Brother Fuqing for saving us," Jiang Cheng replied calmly.

Hearing this, Fuqing breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "That's good. The village hasn't been peaceful at night lately. You must be careful since you're new here. If strangers knock on the door at night, don't open it."

"Brother Fuqing, now that you mention it, the thing in the fog that killed our horses..."

Hearing this, Fuqing's expression became a little unnatural, but he still admitted, "You're right, it was those things. We call them xiexiu (evil cultivators). I don't know the specifics. It's all passed down by the elders in the village. It's said that they were once human, and they even cultivated some spells, but in the end, something went wrong and they became demonized, turning into something that's neither human nor ghost."

"These things lurk in the fog and kill passing travelers. Many people have died at their hands over the years. They also attack the village. We couldn't dodge in time back then, and many families in the village suffered. When we rushed over after dawn, the scene was too horrible to look at. Some families were even wiped out."

Compared to how scary the ghosts were, Jiang Cheng was more concerned about the reason. "Are these xiexiu near the village?"

"Yes, they're entrenched in the nearby mountains and forests. There are quite a few of them. You must be careful. They've been active frequently recently. Just stay here and rest. When the time comes, I'll send someone to take you away."

Brother Fuqing spoke frankly, but according to Jiang Cheng's understanding of the mission plot, if they really settled down and didn't care about anything, they basically wouldn't be able to leave. They would either be killed by ghosts or left to be fertilizer for the villagers.

But as much as he thought that, he still had to inquire. Jiang Cheng got a piece of information from the conversation, regarding time. "What, is there a time limit for those things' activities?"

Brother Fuqing took out his wine pot and took a sip, then stretched out his hand and pointed to the distant mountains and forests, which were misty and the sky was relatively gloomy. "You should have noticed that our village is surrounded by this fog. It's difficult for us to leave now. We'll encounter those things in the mountains."

"But this fog won't last long, at most five days. When the time comes, the fog will dissipate, at least giving us a gap to get out. We still have to live, we still have to hunt and fish, otherwise, we'll be trapped here, eating and drinking, and we'll starve to death."

It could be seen that although life was hard, Fuqing had a good attitude. There was vigilance in his eyes as he looked at the distant mountains and forests, but more than that, there was hope.

Jiang Cheng echoed a few times, then looked at the distant mountains and forests and praised, "Your village is truly a treasure land. The mountains and forests are dense nearby, and there must be a lot of prey. By the way, I saw a fishing boat at the entrance of the village, but I didn't see any water along the way. Where do you all go fishing?"

Brother Fuqing laughed and patted Jiang Cheng on the back. "Of course, it's Chun Shen Lake (Spring God Lake). Brother Jiang, you're from the city, how can you not even know this? Chun Shen Lake has a large area and deep water. The nearby fishing villages all rely on the Lake God. That's our lifeline."

The intelligence was deviating at this moment. Whether it was the antique shop owner or the people in the Marquis's mansion, they all said how evil Chun Shen Lake was, and the Marquis's mansion had long ordered to prohibit fishing in Chun Shen Lake, with violators being killed without mercy, but when they arrived at Wugong Village...

"Have you been fishing lately?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Of course, otherwise what did you eat just now?" Brother Fuqing rolled his eyes, completely speechless, but he quickly reacted again. "Oh right, I forgot, you didn't eat today."

Jiang Cheng thought, how extremely close. Fortunately, he was vigilant and almost ate the fish from Chun Shen Lake.

"Brother Jiang hasn't been to Chun Shen Lake yet, right? How about this, when the five days are up and the fog completely dissipates, I'll take you for a walk on the lake. Don't think that we fishermen are miserable, but once we get on the lake, and it's a cloudy day, without the scorching sun, with the lake breeze blowing, that feeling is so comfortable..."

Fuqing babbled on and on, looking happy, crossing his legs when he got excited, his eyes full of longing.

Jiang Cheng couldn't figure him out. Last night, he looked fierce with his harpoon, but now when he talked about Chun Shen Lake and fishing, he was as happy as a child.

After Jiang Cheng echoed a few words, he changed the subject at the right time. "I still don't quite understand why those things appear near the village. Did those xiexiu all gather in the mountains to cultivate before they died?"

Hearing this, Brother Fuqing hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "I really don't know about this. Anyway, there have been these xiexiu since I can remember, as well as that fog. These things have been passed down from the elders in the village, generation after generation. Hmm... It seems like that's how it is. I can't quite remember the specifics."

Whenever he was asked about key points, Brother Fuqing would avoid the topic, or use "I can't remember" as an excuse, which made Jiang Cheng even more convinced that his exploration direction was correct.

"Oh right, there's one more thing I need to remind you. During this time, the fog outside will become more and more dense, and it may even blur the line between day and night. It's very dangerous at night, but relatively safe during the day. And how to distinguish between day and night is not by looking at the sky, but by the sound of the gong."

"The sound of the gong means that the night has passed, do you remember that?" Fuqing looked very serious about this. He stared into Jiang Cheng's eyes, his face full of seriousness.

"Thank you, Brother Fuqing, I remember," Jiang Cheng replied.

After Brother Fuqing and the others left, Tang Qisheng found Jiang Cheng. The emotion revealed on his face told Jiang Cheng that things were not simple. Jiang Cheng planned to call Yao Shunyu and the others, but Tang Qisheng stopped him. "Don't call them, I'll only tell you alone."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng no longer hesitated. "What did you find?"

He saw Tang Qisheng take out a mobile phone from his pocket, his face turning ugly. "I installed a mobile phone camera in advance. I originally wanted to film the corpse, but I didn't expect to accidentally film the funeral procession."