Ch. 404What Kind of Village Is This?
Bai Mo and his companions investigated Nanyue Village’s secretive locals and uncovered that its official institutions were fake operations run by village chief Fang Ling'an. Fang Ling'an revealed the village’s connection to the Zhenshui God and the lost key to its altar, while Lingling traced a possible lead to the key’s location.
- Bai Mo and Mu Nujiao questioned villagers about the Chariot Water Earthworm, then were taken to the Security Bureau after someone reported them.
- Bai Mo and Mu Nujiao discovered that Nanyue Village’s Starfire Net station was fake, and Fang Linghua agreed to answer questions after verifying Bai Mo’s identity.
- Bai Mo investigated the village’s institutions and found that nearly all were counterfeit operations staffed by Fang Ling'an’s relatives.
- Fang Ling'an admitted he had created the fake institutions to improve village services and employment, then told Bai Mo that the Zhenshui God slept beneath the Back Mountain Altar and that its key was missing.
- Bai Mo showed Fang Ling'an the Zhen Order and Zhenshui Bowstring, which Fang Ling'an identified as stolen items rather than the key.
- Lingling found that the Zhenshui Bowstring and Zhen Order had been sold by the same deceased man, whose family’s belongings were about to be auctioned; she suspected the lost key was among them.