When Nan Yue finished washing up and headed back, Gu Xiang Kai was crouching by the door, staring at something.
"What is it?"
Gu Xiang Kai kept his eyes fixed on the water in the drainage ditch. "I think... this water smells like the rain from this afternoon."
This would have been normal, as the ditches collected rainwater.
But Nan Yue understood what Gu Xiang Kai meant. "You're saying they're the same thing."
Gu Xiang Kai nodded. "If this ditch really can keep certain things away, then the rain can too."
Gu Xiang Kai looked into Nan Yue's eyes and spoke deliberately. "If that's the case, then why do the villagers and we need to hide from the rain?"
Nan Yue's heart sank slightly. She remained silent for a long time before suddenly reaching out her left hand and dipping her index finger into the drainage ditch.
Gu Xiang Kai didn't have time to stop her, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Nan Yue was truly reckless.
After a moment, Nan Yue pulled her finger out and shook off the water droplets.
Her hand wasn't injured, and she didn't feel anything. She sniffed her arm and said hesitantly, "...It seems like there's a scent of sulfur?"
She held her finger under Gu Xiang Kai's nose. Gu Xiang Kai frowned. "There is a bit of sulfur... or some kind of acidic smell. It's quite pungent."
The two fell into confusion. What was this? Why did it have such a smell?
Nan Yue went to ask Wen Xiang Yuan, who was the most knowledgeable among them. Wen Xiang Yuan sniffed it and thought for a moment.
"I don't know what this substance is, but if it's a pungent smell, could it be some kind of acid rain?"
"Acid rain?"
Wen Xiang Yuan spoke slowly as she thought. "Corrosive rain is often referred to as acid rain. Usually, it's due to environmental impact and pollution, causing chemical elements to enter the atmospheric cycle."
"So if it really is a type of acid rain, it would make sense that it could ward off insects. This is a mission, after all, and nothing that appears here would surprise me anymore."
Nan Yue asked, "Is this kind of rain harmful to humans?"
Wen Xiang Yuan tilted her head. "To some extent, but it shouldn't be too severe. At least not severe enough that you can't touch a single drop."
Wen Xiang Yuan was speaking theoretically. In a mission, it was naturally better to be cautious.
"They must use the drainage ditches to collect this rain to ward off those so-called insects and ants."
Gu Xiang Kai rubbed the short stubble on his chin. "That makes sense, but the oil lamps have this smell too."
The four people in the room all looked at him. "Are you sure?"
Gu Xiang Kai nodded. "I couldn't tell before because the smell changed when the lamps were lit, but I'm certain now. The substance in the ditches, the oil lamps, and the lanterns is the same."
Nan Yue looked at Wen Xiang Yuan. "Can this kind of rain be ignited?"
Wen Xiang Yuan looked bewildered. "No, it shouldn't be."
"Regardless of anything else, one thing is certain: this water is indeed useful for keeping certain things away. However, its effectiveness might weaken as the time for the sacrificial rite approaches."
Wen Xiang Yuan understood and added, "But this stuff is also somewhat harmful to people. We just don't know if that's a superstition of the villagers or if it's actually true."
Nan Yue nodded, her gaze subtly shifting toward Zhu Xi Ning.
Zhu Xi Ning had been acting a bit off for a while. Though she seemed easygoing, she was actually quite stubborn. Since she wasn't speaking up, Nan Yue couldn't force her.
Zhu Xi Ning sat on the bed in a daze, not noticing Nan Yue's gaze. She was still thinking about the hallucination she had suddenly seen during dinner.
It was a vision of her, Nan Yue, and the others running fast. Behind them, something was surging toward them like a tide. Zhu Xi Ning felt like her throat was on fire.
They were running for their lives.
"Xi Ning!"
Nan Yue's voice was sharp and panicked. Zhu Xi Ning had never heard Nan Yue sound so terrified before.
Then, a piercing pain shot through her leg. She looked down to see something dark and dense swarming over her.
She felt herself fall, being covered, her entire body in agonizing pain. Her nose and mouth were filled with a clicking sound.
The final image was Nan Yue rushing toward her, only to be held back by Gu Xiang Kai as they fled.
"She's already dead! Nan Yue!"
Gu Xiang Kai's voice sounded choked.
Zhu Xi Ning opened her mouth, wanting to say she wasn't dead yet, but something poured into her oral cavity...
Zhu Xi Ning thought blankly, was she going to die in this mission?
In the middle of the night, Zhao Ke'er tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Beside her, Shang Xi was already breathing steadily.
She nudged Song Sisi. "Sisi, I'm a little hungry."
Song Sisi rolled over and patted her groggily. "I told you to eat more at dinner. It wouldn't have been a problem."
Zhao Ke'er sighed and tried her best to close her eyes and sleep.
She would have to eat more tomorrow, or at least eat her fill.
Meanwhile, inside the ancestral hall, Li Jiao clutched her blanket and walked into the depths of the hall with Xie Roufen.
"This place just looks so eerie."
Li Jiao grumbled from behind. "I wonder where this place actually leads. Is this village really that big?"
Xie Roufen comforted her in a low voice from ahead. "I actually think it's quite nice here. If you think so too, help me persuade Zhu Xi Ning and the others to come here tomorrow."
Li Jiao laughed. "Why do you want them to come so badly?"
Xie Roufen sighed. "I'm not capable enough myself. They clearly look like high-level players."
Li Jiao understood and didn't say more.
When they reached the area with the stone coffins, another coffin was already filled with Ant-red Flowers.
"You sleep right next to me."
Li Jiao nodded and put her blanket inside. She lay down to test it; it wasn't as uncomfortable as she had imagined.
"It's quite ominous."
Xie Roufen leaned against the stone coffin and looked at her, smiling when she heard that. "It's nothing. Just think of it as a rebirth."
Li Jiao talked with her for a while before realizing something. "Hey, why is my coffin lined with Ant-red Flowers too?"
Xie Roufen's stone coffin had been lined with them because Ga Ya had given her the flowers and water after she fell into the ant nest, saying it was for an exorcism.
But Li Jiao hadn't fallen in.
"I don't think I need this."
Li Jiao sat up, wanting to clear the Ant-red Flowers away. She hadn't been very bothered by it at first, but after Jiang Mingfu's mysterious death, she felt a bit of aversions to these things.
"Hey, don't touch them."
Xie Roufen stopped her, looking at Li Jiao tenderly. "Do you know what the true purpose of the Ant-red Flower is?"
Li Jiao paused. "You know?"
Xie Roufen leaned in mysteriously. "Ga Ya told me."
Li Jiao sat up straight, feeling a bit anxious. "Why didn't you say so before? What is it?"
"Stabilizing the pregnancy."
Li Jiao froze for a few seconds. "Sta... stabilizing the pregnancy?"
The function was such a huge leap from what they had imagined. It had nothing to do with attracting monsters or healing.
Li Jiao couldn't process it for a moment.
Xie Roufen's smile was eerily gentle in the flickering light of the oil lamp.
"Stabilizing the pregnancy."
"Jiang Mingfu took it upon himself to drink it, so naturally, there would be side effects."
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