Antswamp Village (18)

"Sometimes there are large-scale animal deaths in the forest, and other times animal remains suddenly appear in the river."

"They believe this is the Ant God's wrath, so the sacrificial rite must be performed as soon as possible."

"But this is the first time a human has died. After all, outsiders rarely come to the village."

Huo Fuyu frowned. "The village head says this might have been caused by us leaving the village earlier. He doesn't want us to do any more work; we're just to stay in the village."

Everyone could truly feel now that the villagers were even more afraid than they were, and were trying everything possible to protect them.

"The village head says he doesn't recommend we leave right now. There might be danger in the forest as well."

"They said we are guests of their village, and they will do their best to protect us."

While the words were kind and the people were good, the scavengers knew that although their deaths were inextricably linked to the village, it was also part of the mission.

If they could only stay in the village, they might lose out on clues. Being protected was also not conducive to finding a way to escape.

"I think Ga Ya might know something."

Nan Yue pondered for a moment. "She knows more than the village head."

Huo Fuyu agreed with her view. "As a spirit medium, she should have a deeper understanding of these things. It's just that she isn't as easy to communicate with as the village head."

If the villagers were merely strange-looking but simple and enthusiastic,

Then Ga Ya was mysterious.

She didn't seem to have any special feelings toward the outsiders; it was as if her entire existence was dedicated to the sacrificial rite for the Ant God.

"Right, Xie Roufen... has anyone seen Xie Roufen?"

If Zhou Jie Feng was in danger yesterday, then Xie Roufen had basically stood on the line of death and been pulled back.

If she was alright, it might prove that Ga Ya at least had a way to keep them from being watched by the so-called vengeful spirit of the Ant God.

Nan Yue thought about it and pulled Luo Liu over to mention this. It was only then that the long-glitched NPC remembered this person existed.

"Right, right, let's go see Xie Roufen."

Everyone followed Luo Liu across most of the village to find the place where Ga Ya lived.

Only then did Nan Yue and the others realize that Ga Ya didn't live in the village. She lived on a patch of barren ground, some distance from both the village and the forest.

Furthermore, there was no insect-repellent circle around Ga Ya's house. Her house was no longer within the village's perimeter, so logically another circle should have been spread, but she hadn't done so.

Not only was there no insect-repellent circle, but there was also no trench around the outside of Ga Ya's stone house, and not even any hooks for hanging lanterns.

She followed none of the village's customs.

Was Ga Ya not afraid of the so-called wild beasts, or did she know something else?

Luo Liu pounded on the door. Ga Ya opened it; no lights were lit inside, and it was very dim.

Luo Liu explained their request to Ga Ya. She waved her hand impatiently, and Luo Liu turned to say, "Ga Ya says we can go look for ourselves. Little Xie will be fine."

Nan Yue stepped forward and forced a smile.

"We also wanted to ask about the Ant God. As you know, we can't leave the village right now, and two of our companions have already died."

"What is the Ant God's revenge, and what can we do?"

Ga Ya looked at Nan Yue for a moment, then her gaze suddenly moved past Nan Yue to look behind her.

Ga Ya stretched out a finger as thin as a withered branch and pointed at Zhu Xi Ning, her meaning clear: she wanted to speak with her.

Nan Yue stood in front of Zhu Xi Ning with a cold face, leaving no room for negotiation.

The others had originally wanted Zhu Xi Ning to go scout for information, but seeing the hostility rising from Nan Yue, no one dared to speak.

Zhu Xi Ning squeezed Nan Yue's hand firmly, her eyes reassuring.

She stepped forward and walked up to Ga Ya. "You want to speak with me?"

Since it was Zhu Xi Ning's own decision, Nan Yue couldn't interfere. However, she and Gu Xiang Kai each took a side, standing with cold faces like bookends between Ga Ya and Zhu Xi Ning.

"Good grief, those two look like Rakshasas."

Chen Bin whispered. He was now completely terrified of them.

It wasn't practical for everyone else to wait here, so Huo Fuyu led the others to find Xie Roufen first, leaving only Nan Yue's group of four by Ga Ya's house.

Ga Ya seemed unable to feel Nan Yue's hostility. Her fingers touched Zhu Xi Ning's face and moved down inch by inch.

"Dual souls, perfectly aligned soul position. Good, good!"

Nan Yue suppressed her temper as she watched Ga Ya feel all over Zhu Xi Ning. Just before her patience ran out, Ga Ya withdrew her hand.

"The Ant God is a god of revenge. Hatred will not dissipate; it never compromises, life after life."

"This is a curse, the curse of our village."

Ga Ya's voice was old and low, sounding like an ancient nursery rhyme coming from a very distant place.

"No one can escape it, not even in death."

After saying that, Ga Ya closed the door, leaving the four of them standing there in a daze.

"What does that mean? She felt someone up and didn't give any information!"

Nan Yue was indignant, mostly because Zhu Xi Ning had been touched.

Zhu Xi Ning found it funny; Nan Yue was like a protective mother hen.

Nan Yue quickly calmed down. "Ga Ya means this is a so-called curse, likely from when the villagers of Antswamp Village ate the ant queen."

"But that sentence of hers was very interesting," Wen Xiang Yuan said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "'No one can escape it, not even in death.'"

"She seems to be implying that the people of this village can't escape it either."

Nan Yue thought a bit deeper. "She's implying that the villagers' protective measures are actually useless."

Their hearts sank. "No wonder she doesn't use them herself."

"This also fits the mission's characteristics. The difficulty increases in the later stages. At first, the insect-repellent circles might work, but by the second day, those things could enter the houses. There's no telling what it will develop into later."

"Is the village going to be wiped out?"

Wen Xiang Yuan felt a bit distressed; the villagers were all quite nice and had taken good care of them.

Nan Yue understood her feelings and patted her head.

"We can only protect ourselves. If we can resolve the curse, that's obviously for the best, but if not, don't force it."

Wen Xiang Yuan's soft-heartedness lasted only a moment. She nodded. "About what she said regarding Xi Ning's dual souls..."

Nan Yue's brows shot up. "She was talking nonsense."

Wen Xiang Yuan suppressed a smile. "I actually have another thought."

"I've read about a condition that was also called dual souls in feudal times."

Wen Xiang Yuan turned to look at Zhu Xi Ning. "Xi Ning, do you ever have experiences where you lose a period of time or suddenly find yourself in a place for no reason?"

Zhu Xi Ning's eyes widened. "How did you know! I haven't even told A-Nan!"

Nan Yue's face darkened. "Haven't told me what?"

Zhu Xi Ning chuckled and rubbed against Nan Yue's side fawningly. "Because it wasn't a big deal! You've heard what Old Gu said, right? My nickname is the Mad Woman. Actually, I don't know where that nickname came from."

"It was after coming out of a mission once that the nickname started spreading. The problem is, I don't remember how I got out at the end."

Zhu Xi Ning fell into her memories. "I just remember the situation was very urgent at the time, and then I lost consciousness... I thought some high-level player saved me, so I didn't take it to heart."