Peach Haven Village (3)

After assigning their identities, the village chief glanced at the Plum Blossom Watch on his wrist. "It's eight thirty. You can wander around the village this morning. Go home for lunch at noon."

Ding Shi asked, "Village Chief, am I eating at your house?"

The village chief nodded. "My daughter-in-law is an excellent cook."

The villagers left and dispersed first. The players were not very familiar with one another, so after a few polite exchanges, they each headed into the village.

Peach Haven Village was roughly shaped like a crescent moon. A small stream ran through its center, with villagers living along both banks. There was a two-meter-wide dirt road beside each bank. This area was the village's core. Another thirty percent of the villagers lived scattered around the outskirts. The straight-line distance between the southernmost and northernmost households exceeded four kilometers, while the actual route was seven kilometers, including two kilometers of hilly mountain paths.

At the center of the village were a barbershop, a bicycle pumping and repair shop, a restaurant, an elementary school, the village office, a supply cooperative branch, and the village chief's home. The elementary school stood near the village chief's house, with the library between them.

Ding Shi was quite surprised. Though the library was small, villages with libraries were exceedingly rare in this era. It had only one floor, with a bookshelf against the wall. Only after browsing the catalog did Ding Shi learn that the library was specially provided by the system.

Ding Shi pulled out Peach Haven Village Chronicle: The Third Lady's Tale, sat down on a bench, and began reading. The book recorded people and events related to Peach Haven Village, Third Lady, and the sacrifices.

In the early years of the Republic of China, a man-eating giant snake appeared in Peach Haven Village. At first, it only ate livestock, but later it began devouring living people. The villagers initially revered and worshipped it, but eventually they became determined to fight it to the death. At the village chief's plea, the county militia sent twenty riflemen to locate the giant snake's lair and ambush it there. Yet the bullets could not even pierce its hide. Instead, two members were swept into the snake pit. That was how the tale of the snake demon began.

Daoists came, and Daoists died. Monks came, and monks died. They tried fire, poison, lime, and every other method they could think of, but the people of Peach Haven Village could never deal with the snake demon. As for realgar? Snakes were not actually that afraid of it. It was said to work even less effectively than garlic.

There was a girl in the village named Third Lady. She was sixteen and in love with a man from the county town. They had become engaged. Who could have expected that when the groom came to fetch his bride, his procession would be attacked by the giant snake, and the groom would be swallowed whole?

When Third Lady heard the Bad News, she wept tears of blood. At that time, a beggar happened to pass through Peach Haven Village. He begged for a bowl of water at Third Lady's home, and after hearing of her misfortune, he gave her a packet of medicinal powder before leaving.

That night, Third Lady put on her bridal dress, swallowed the powder, crawled into the snake pit, entered the giant snake's lair, and buried herself in a small hole.

Seven days later, Third Lady transformed into a zombie under the moonlight and burst from the hole, engaging the giant snake in a bloody battle. The snake could not strangle Third Lady to death, while Third Lady's sharp claws could not pierce its body. They fought for a day and a night, alarming all the villagers of Peach Haven Village. When everyone came with torches to watch, they saw that the giant snake's head had been severed from its body. Third Lady had bitten through its vital spot with her teeth. Her bridal gown had turned into strips of cloth, and she lay silently on the ground, without a breath.

The villagers were grateful for Third Lady's kindness, so they placed her in a coffin. Unexpectedly, a few days later, Third Lady burst out of the earth and bit many poultry to death. Just when everyone was at their wits' end, the master of the deceased Daoist who had come searching for him arrived in Peach Haven Village. This Daoist possessed profound powers. He sealed Third Lady inside a coffin, then submitted a memorial to the Heavenly Court, asking that Third Lady be granted the title of Earth God. He then built Third Lady Temple to gather incense offerings for her, resolving the problem.

The Daoist's primordial spirit was greatly damaged by this ordeal, so he settled on the mountain. This was the origin of White Cloud Temple on Peach Haven Mountain.

In short, it was the story of Third Lady turning into a zombie to avenge herself.

To commemorate Third Lady and soothe her, the Daoist left behind a method of sacrifice. The Divine Maiden was the crucial link in dispelling Third Lady's resentment. According to the Daoist, during the six days in which the Divine Maiden married in Third Lady's place, Third Lady's soul would remain at the Divine Maiden's side, gradually dissolving the vicious aura within it. After a hundred years, Third Lady would truly become the local Earth God, blessing Peach Haven Village with favorable weather and thriving descendants.

Even in the hardest years, Peach Haven Village still carried out the sacrificial rites in secret.

Ding Shi closed the book, unsure how to judge the story. It was not a conventional tale of grudges and revenge, because Third Lady became a menace after eliminating one. Nor did it have any educational value. There was nothing worth learning from and nothing worthy of admiration.

After putting the book back, Ding Shi was drawn to another book titled Treatise on Ghosts. Just as he was about to pull it out for a look, a commotion sounded outside. When he went out, he saw Li Si being blocked on the road by several villagers.

Li Si held a woodcutter's machete, while three villagers carried shoulder poles and hoes. The two sides faced off as villagers who had come to watch gathered around.

From a height difference of two meters, Ding Shi crouched at the edge of a stone platform and looked down. Li Si was growing increasingly flustered. The villagers, on the other hand, were merely blocking his path and had not made a move. Yet their expressions were strange, seeming both fearful and angry.

A middle-aged woman grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and crouched beside Ding Shi, craning her ears curiously as if trying to hear what they were arguing about. When she noticed Ding Shi looking at her, she dropped a handful of seeds into his palm. "Roasted them myself. They're tasty."

So Ding Shi began cracking sunflower seeds as well. When Sun Qi and the others arrived after hearing the commotion, they saw several villagers preventing Li Si from leaving, while Ding Shi crouched above them watching the show.

Sun Qi crouched beside Ding Shi, looked down, and asked, "What happened?"

"Don't know." Ding Shi split half his handful of sunflower seeds with Sun Qi.

Before long, a whole row of people was crouched above, with several players among them.

The people involved below neither fought nor argued. They only repeated one sentence: "You're not allowed to leave. Wait until the village chief gets here."

After quite a while, the village chief arrived at the scene with difficulty and determination, leaning on his cane with one hand. He looked up, spotted Ding Shi, and pointed at him. "Little Ding, come down."

Ding Shi spat out a sunflower seed shell. "Village Chief, I'm not on duty yet."

The village chief said, "You are now."

Mission issued: As the village chief's assistant, you must help the village chief resolve his worries and difficulties, and follow the village chief's arrangements. Village Chief Satisfaction: 0.

First mission: Dispute.

Ding Shi descended the stairs at the side to the road, went to attend the village chief, and stood by him. The village chief nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the parties involved. "What happened? A Cai, you tell me."

A Cai was a young man around thirty. He stammered and hesitated. The village chief was instantly enraged and raised his cane to strike him. A Cai stepped back to dodge. Ding Shi immediately snatched the cane, stepped forward, and struck A Cai twice across the back and lower waist. Then he respectfully placed the cane back into the village chief's hand. "Village Chief, how could we let you tire yourself with something like this?"

The crowd marveled: What a shameless bootlicker.

Village Chief Satisfaction: 10.

As someone from the jianghu and an undercover lackey, Ding Shi had done plenty of bootlicking work. The essence of a dog using its master's power was that the master wanted the dog to bite someone, but could not act himself because of his status. Naturally, a lackey had to learn to read the room.

Was it humiliating? It was. But Ding Shi did not know any of these people. What benefited him was the village chief's satisfaction. There was a saying in the jianghu: as long as someone has no interests tied to yours, you can refuse to treat them as human.