Simple Folk Customs

Looking at the quest prompt that appeared before him, Xiao Ran was only stunned for a second. He felt surprised, yet it also seemed within reason.

If he wasn't tasked with dealing with this evil ghost, what would be the point of him being here?

However, he couldn't help but curse under his breath, clearly displeased with being forced into this situation.

"Alright, I agree!"

Despite his inner grumbling, Xiao Ran readily agreed. His tone shifted, and a helpless expression crossed his face as he said, "But... to be honest, Grandma, with my current physique, forget subduing a female ghost; I probably can't even last three punches against a village farm wife."

Seeing Xiao Ran nod in agreement, the Old Woman's face bloomed into a smile. She quickly patted Xiao Ran's hand and said, "Good child, don't worry. We're not asking you to fight this evil ghost to the death. After so many years, we've figured out a way to deal with her. We just need a helper with strong yang energy. There's no time to waste. Before that evil ghost discovers you, we'll make our move tonight."

"Then... alright!"

Seeing Xiao Ran nod in agreement, the Old Woman smiled and gestured for Xiao Ran to rest there for a while, saying she would go back to gather people and make preparations.

"Oh, right!" As she reached the doorway, the Old Woman suddenly remembered something. "If you need anything, just tell Zhang Mazi."

The Old Woman pointed to a middle-aged woman with a limp, who was hiding by the kitchen door.

Hearing the Old Woman call her, Zhang Mazi quickly came out of the kitchen. Without a word, she repeatedly nodded at the Old Woman and Xiao Ran.

Seeing this, the Old Woman nodded with even more satisfaction before slowly leaving, supported by two women.

After the Old Woman left, Zhang Mazi walked out from the kitchen.

Xiao Ran quickly invited Zhang Mazi to sit down and eat with him, but Zhang Mazi shook her head. She pointed to a room next to them, opened the door, and then pointed at Xiao Ran, seemingly indicating that the room was prepared for him.

Seeing that Zhang Mazi remained silent, Xiao Ran thought, Is this Zhang Mazi mute?

His hope of getting some information from Zhang Mazi was dashed.

After hastily eating a few mouthfuls, Xiao Ran decided to go out for a walk.

Just as he reached the door, Zhang Mazi hobbled out, clutching Xiao Ran's backpack tightly with both hands, looking at him with a terrified expression.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran quickly waved his hands and explained, "I'm not leaving. I'm just going out for a stroll to digest my food. Um... I'll leave my backpack here. I'll be back soon."

As he spoke, Xiao Ran put down his backpack and handed it to Zhang Mazi.

Zhang Mazi took the backpack, and only then did she let go of Xiao Ran. However, she didn't go back inside. Instead, she stood at the doorway, watching Xiao Ran's retreating back, as if afraid he would disappear if she looked away for even a moment.

Following the bluestone path, Xiao Ran wandered around the village. When he occasionally saw some villagers, they would proactively approach him and surround him with warm greetings before he could even say hello.

What they asked about the most was what the outside world was like.

It was evident that they had been trapped in this village for a very long time, completely disconnected from the outside world for an entire era.

Xiao Ran casually mentioned a few things, such as streetlights, paved roads, and cars. He didn't say too much, but the villagers listened with rapt attention.

An old man, fearing Xiao Ran would get tired of talking, specifically brought him a bowl of clean water.

"The outside world is so wonderful. We want to go out and see it too."

"I've never left the village in my entire life. When the time comes, we'll see what these 'iron horses' that can travel a thousand miles in a day look like."

Even a boy of about seven or eight, wearing a traditional bib, looked up with a delighted expression and said, "Then I want to go to school too, meet more good friends, and play with them."

Hearing the child's tender voice, everyone burst into laughter. "Niuwa, you only know how to play!"

Xiao Ran's arrival seemed to have brought back some color to their otherwise dull world.

The villagers' simple smiles were radiant. Xiao Ran sat there, smiling along, but his eyes scanned the faces of these villagers. He felt that their smiles were genuine, yet their expressions... he couldn't quite place it. Something felt off.

They chatted and laughed, and the morning passed quickly. Xiao Ran got up to leave, taking the opportunity to circle the village.

Standing on a dirt slope on the east side of the village, Xiao Ran surveyed the village from above, his brow furrowing deeper.

It was noon, and although the entire village was still shrouded in a layer of white mist, the visibility was much better than in the morning. At a glance, he could make out the village's outline.

The village consisted of only a few houses with broken bricks and tiles. Most houses had probably collapsed and been rebuilt with stones.

What puzzled Xiao Ran was the heavy, oppressive aura of death in the village. Despite such a strong deathly aura, one would expect some lingering spirits who were reluctant to leave, even if cursed by an evil ghost.

However, apart from Li Ji, whom he met upon entering the village, Xiao Ran hadn't seen a single ghost after wandering around the entire place.

As Xiao Ran slowly walked back, he saw Zhang Mazi still waiting for him at the doorway. Upon seeing him, the tense expression on her face finally relaxed. She managed a smile and beckoned him to come back quickly.

"Sorry, this village is quite large, and I took a longer stroll."

Xiao Ran entered the house and saw the cooked food already on the table. He apologized slightly to Zhang Mazi.

Zhang Mazi nodded and waved her hand, urging Xiao Ran to sit down and eat.

After Xiao Ran sat down, Zhang Mazi seemed to notice that the food had cooled. She quickly gestured for Xiao Ran to wait and then took the dishes to the kitchen to reheat them.

Watching Zhang Mazi hobble away, Xiao Ran was about to stand up and help, but at that moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his head. A small stone had hit him.

Xiao Ran flinched and saw a disheveled woman peeking out from the doorway, grinning foolishly at him.

"It's her!"

Xiao Ran recognized her immediately as the white-clothed woman from last night.

Before Xiao Ran could speak, the woman turned and ran. Seeing this, Xiao Ran hesitated for a second before standing up and chasing after her.

The woman ran fast, darting into inconspicuous corners. Xiao Ran followed, getting disoriented by the twists and turns. In the blink of an eye, the woman disappeared from sight.

His gaze swept around the surroundings, and a broken wall caught Xiao Ran's attention.

The wall had already collapsed for the most part, covered in moss and weeds, but traces of fire damage could still be seen on it.

Could this be the affluent family the Old Woman mentioned?

Xiao Ran walked around the wall and saw the collapsed houses behind it.

If this was the wealthy family the Old Woman spoke of, then his own old house could be considered the richest in the village, let alone the village chief's six-story Western-style building.

Xiao Ran circled the ruins but found nothing amiss. Just as he was about to leave, his ears twitched slightly, and a faint sound reached him.

Following the sound, Xiao Ran walked over and saw that behind the collapsed house, the woman in white was crouching on the ground. As if sensing Xiao Ran's arrival, she made a shushing gesture, signaling him to be quiet, and then pointed to the ground beneath her feet.

Xiao Ran leaned closer and saw it was a narrow, small ground-level window.

Beneath the window was something like a cellar, no, to be precise, it looked more like a dungeon.

The dungeon was deep, and he could smell a foul odor just by crouching there.

Xiao Ran looked carefully into the dungeon. It was filled with iron chains, shackles, clubs, whips, and even some tools Xiao Ran couldn't identify.

Where is this?

Xiao Ran looked at the woman beside him. Through the gaps in her falling hair, he finally saw that her face was covered in scars like a centipede.

The woman seemed to sense Xiao Ran's gaze and immediately turned her face away.

"Rustle, rustle..."

A light, quick sound of footsteps interrupted Xiao Ran's thoughts. He saw a figure walking down the stairs into the dungeon step by step.

It's him!

When Xiao Ran clearly saw who it was, he became even more confused.

The person was not tall and was wearing a red bellyband. Upon closer inspection, it was Niu Wazi, who had just been talking about going to school at the village entrance!

What was he doing here?

"Today, a person came from outside. My parents were so happy, saying they could go out from here, even if it was just to take a look."

Niu Wazi walked to a chest and muttered to himself.

He opened the chest and began taking things out one by one. Due to the angle, Xiao Ran couldn't see clearly what he was taking out.

"That big brother from outside, he's so handsome and speaks so nicely. He said the roads outside are wide and big now, and they don't get waterlogged when it rains. There are also iron horses that can travel a thousand miles a day, called... oh, cars."

A moment later, when Niu Wazi stood up, Xiao Ran could finally see clearly. It was a wooden puppet in the shape of a person.

Niu Wazi began talking to the puppet about the day's events.

Xiao Ran, hiding above, felt a bit embarrassed listening.

So, it's just a child's private conversation. He thought it made sense; he used to talk to his toys about his secrets when he was little.

We've all been through it; everyone has had a childlike heart once.

Just as Xiao Ran was about to leave, Niu Wazi slowly stood up. "From now on, I'll have new friends. I can go to school too. There will be lots and lots of children there, they must be more fun. You..."

"Not interesting anymore!"

As he spoke, Niu Wazi produced an axe. He swung it and chopped at the puppet's head.

"Poof!"

The puppet's wooden head was immediately split in two. Half of the head fell to the ground, and blood spurted from the remaining half