Arc 3: Luodong Village
Chapter 29: Strange
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
"…We just heard Lin Fengque say there's gu poison, and you can still eat it straight, Tang Erha, you really are something."
Qin Dongwan was about to step out when she suddenly heard Tang Zihang’s grumble. After saying it with a smile, she saw his face looking like he was about to vomit, which made her worry a bit about how this guy could even live through later. Though time was tight, she still kindly explained:
"I think at least the dungeon won’t put gu poison directly in food. We have to eat anyway, or in a few days we’ll starve till we lose all strength and die, that makes no sense. But better be careful next time, this is only my guess. The sour soup fish could also be strange, don’t touch it first…"
Before the words fell, chopsticks clattered into the soup, splashing juice onto the boy’s clothes.
"Go follow Hua Qingjiu."
Qin Dongwan sighed.
Right now Lin Fengque could be said to want to cooperate with them, but in the end a set teammate was still safer.
Tang Zihang is brainless. Though his strength isn't bad, he is too easily tricked by words or caught alone, and at present he doesn't even have the ability to act on his own. She preferred working with Luo Shu, so she could only hand Tang Zihang over to Hua Qingjiu.
After arranging things for the moment, Qin Dongwan found Luo Shu on the lowest floor of the stilt house.
Stilt houses were the trademark buildings of Xiangxi. The first floor wasn't fit for living, mostly used to raise poultry and livestock or to store sundries. In the filth all over the ground, a young girl stood with grace. She frowned and bent down. The little devil–shaped earring brushed against her snowy skin. The next second, Luo Shu yanked out a chicken feather, making the rooster cry in pain and flap its wings to escape in a hurry.
On Luo Shu’s white fingertips, there was a trace of red.
"The way of using chicken blood to ward off evil usually means killing the whole chicken. Even if the rumor really works here, this little bit isn't enough."
Qin Dongwan froze for a moment, then suddenly realized Luo Shu wanted to test the chicken blood warding method, and couldn't help but laugh speechlessly. Before, the boatman had hacked a chicken’s neck when he met that strange monster in the water. This little bit surely would have very little effect.
Luo Shu’s face darkened, and she stuffed the chicken feather messily into her pocket.
Qin Dongwan carefully avoided the dirty droppings of chickens, ducks, and geese on the ground as she stepped forward. Yet in the stench she caught a whiff of rotting smell. As the distance closed, that odor grew stronger, until even the filth could no longer cover it.
The smell of earth, feces, vinegar, and rot, and even the scent of cedar wood just brushed not long ago, all tangled together into a huge map of odors that spread through the air. But the two of them still fixed their eyes on the wooden barrel in the corner.
In the backlit corner, the barrel cut a shadow across the ground covered in sunset. The wooden barrel was hidden, and part of it was deliberately covered with straw, making it difficult to find without careful searching. Luo Shu stepped forward first and lifted the lid straight away. As the stale and sour smell rushed out, a layer of greasy fat floated on top, choking her until she couldn’t help but sneeze.
Pickled cabbage were soaking in the heavy dark water, twisted around a pale severed arm. The cut should’ve been hacked off by force, and not long ago. From the slanted cross-section, pus bubbled out into the water, mixing with fresh blood and staining the whole surface. The stink of filth and rot stacked up, killing the appetite.
Pus water was salty and fishy. If you cooked food with this stuff, how could it not taste foul and salty!
Even though she had already seen all kinds of strange sights in the earlier levels, Qin Dongwan still felt sick, forcing down the urge to throw up when she saw Luo Shu slam the barrel lid shut with a look of disgust.
"Unlucky."
Without the black dress and high heels, the girl before her looked even more petite and delicate next to Qin Dongwan. Yet her pretty little face was clouded with heavy gloom.
The pickled cabbage fish had a problem, which proved the other food probably wouldn't be any better. Just thinking of staying in a place like this for days, anyone would feel sick.
But even so, since humans had to eat, in most cases food shouldn't be the direct cause of death. That means if they can’t find another food source, they still have to keep eating these dishes made from who knows what strange ingredients.
Such simple reasoning was not difficult for veteran Luo Shu. The girl knocked on the barrel lid roughly, and the hard touch of the wood made her little hand retract in pain.
At that moment, a shout from Tang Zihang suddenly came from the second floor. Qin Dongwan rushed up at once, with Luo Shu following close behind. As soon as they got up, they saw Lin Fengque sticking his arm into the hole in the bedroom door, clearly fiddling with something.
Sweat beaded on the young man’s forehead, as if it was giving him trouble.
There was only a small hole in this door, just big enough to fit an arm. Luckily he was slim and his arm wasn't thick, so he could reach in.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
When he saw the two people come up, Lin Fengque didn’t avoid them. He only turned his head and glanced at the two girls:
"Do you have a hairpin or something else small?"
Qin Dongwan’s long hair hung loose, she never liked wearing hair accessories. Luo Shu only had two earrings, and she clearly had no plan to lend them.
But after thinking for a moment, the girl suddenly pulled out the chicken feather she had plucked downstairs. She waved it in front of him with open provocation. On her usually blank little face, a trace of amusement showed as she stared straight into Lin Fengque’s eyes.
"One feather, do you want it too?"
"It’s not impossible."
Even though Luo Shu’s tone was sharp with provocation, it only earned Lin Fengque’s light smile.
The young man bent over to pick the lock, yet his posture didn’t look clumsy or lowly. Instead, he took the feather from her hand with a kind of grace, then reached in again to fiddle for a moment. With a creak, the door swung open.
The sudden scene that came into view caused a huge impact on their retina.
****
"Bai something? Let's go search downstairs. Are you going or not?"
Compared to the harmony over there, the atmosphere in the home of the NPC named Binzi is already tense. The conflicts caused by different opinions have made everyone as irritable as if they had eaten gunpowder, and they look like they are about to fight at any time.
The few people who had barely reached an agreement just a few minutes ago were standing at the door, and the girl who was still sitting on the bench had tears in her eyes. Facing the impatient questioning, she just gritted her teeth and shook her head.
“I don’t dare…”
There had been precedents in previous instances where people had been killed for wandering around, which made the already timid Bai Wanwan even more hesitant to act rashly. The NPC had told them to eat before leaving, and she didn't want to leave the room, lest she run into any more misfortunes.
Not only that, she also wanted to persuade her teammates to stay, but it seemed that they had already developed a deep resentment toward her.
"Forget it," a short man spat fiercely on the ground, "It's already fucking late, don't waste time with this idiot, hurry up and leave, if she wants to die, let her die here alone, didn't you see that her boyfriend was pissed off and left?"
“Let’s go, let’s go…”
The door slammed shut with a bang. The sound of footsteps and voices faded away, and the room turned frighteningly quiet. Staring at the steaming dishes before her, Bai Wanwan recalled the NPC’s request and didn’t know if she should eat or not.
She had passed her first two levels by luck, making it to the second floor mostly thanks to her boyfriend. Fan Lin was stronger, and he had brought her all the way to this level, but he was already impatient with her.
The two of them were now on the edge of breaking up, mainly because of her inaction and dragging him down in the levels. No matter how much he talked, Bai Wanwan still refused to go along, so Fan Lin slammed the door and left to follow the NPC, not caring if she lived or died.
The NPC named Binzi seemed to be much less easy to get along with than Pingping. He was tall and strong. After returning home, he made some food for them and went out, saying that he wanted to help prepare for the bonfire party. Fan Lin followed him, leaving Bai Wanwan alone here, extremely anxious.
The other teammates wanted to search the house over and over while the NPC was out, but Bai Wanwan didn't dare to move. She just fumbled around in the room but didn't see any obvious clues.
Just as disappointment was slowly creeping over her heart, a white porcelain bottle by the firewood came into view. The body of the bottle was smooth and clean as if it had just been wiped, looking out of place beside the firewood. Bai Wanwan’s heart moved, joy at once covering the disappointment. She wiped the tears in her eyes and hurried forward to grab the porcelain bottle.
Before leaving, Fan Lin said she was a useless waste. Bai Wanwan had always held that anger inside her heart. That group also said she was a coward, but what they had not noticed was taken first by her. A subtle sense of victory surged in her heart.
She, Bai Wanwan is not a waste.
She wanted to see what this porcelain bottle was for.
The blood-like setting sun sank into the stacked mountains bit by bit. The dimming light made it hard for ordinary people to see clearly into the dark bottom of the bottle. After shaking for a while and not finding anything, Bai Wanwan felt a little disappointed. But she carelessly got her fingertip cut by the cracked bottle mouth and frowned in pain.
A burning sting and swelling soon rose at the wound, but it felt like just a fleeting illusion. Before leaving, that NPC called Binzi told everyone to eat first. The others had courage, but Bai Wanwan did not dare to openly go against orders. She sat alone on the bench, keeping alert while starting to eat.
She had to admit, though Brother Binzi looked fierce, his cooking was not bad. The warm, tasty food eased the hunger and calmed her unease.
Night slowly deepened. The people checking downstairs soon came back and also ate. She saw her boyfriend Fan Lin rush back and quickly went up to him, wanting to act sweet and make peace. But Fan Lin only gave her a harsh glare, refusing to give in.
It was like a nerve had been struck hard. The warmth in her eyes was instantly replaced by hidden venom.
Bai Wanwan clenched her fists, her gaze icy as she looked at Fan Lin striding back to his room.
Author's Note:
Qin Dongwan: Lin Fengque, this name sounds a bit familiar. He looks pretty good and yet he has not been taken into Ji Yun’s harem. Could it be he is that kind of strong passerby with little screen time? Can we bring him into the team to raise our survival rate? [serious thinking]
Luo · Vinegar Queen · Shu: Why did she stare at this guy for so long before? She said she wanted to team up with me, is one of me not enough? This one, is she straight or bent, she has not told me, right? Wait, what does it matter to me if she is straight or bent? Heh, she talked to him, huh? I will make her lose face. Wait, this guy can open doors with a chicken feather? [seriously jealous]
PS: The couple scenes are necessary to advance the plot. One of the three evil spirits of Xiangxi appears, hehehe.
