A Red Lotus Planted on Book-Listener

As they entered the village, they looked towards the center of the village.

As night fell, the White Building was brightly lit and decorated, and a huge bonfire was piled up outside the courtyard, covering an area of more than ten feet, with bright red flames shooting into the sky.

Men and women, dressed in festive colorful costumes, each draped in red and purple, gathered around the bonfire, some sitting at a distance, others holding hands and singing and dancing.

The sounds of reed pipes, suonas, xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument), drums, and the striking of wooden planks echoed throughout the village.

Flames illuminated joyful faces, filling the night with a festive atmosphere.

The Sunshine Boy looked towards the third floor of the White Building, where two of the white lanterns had gone out.

"You seem to have something on your mind?" the listener whispered.

The Sunshine Boy nodded and said, "I feel like something's not right, but I keep getting distracted when I think about it, and it's been like this all day."

"Me too," said the listener.

The two exchanged a glance.

The Sunshine Boy glanced down at his left wrist; thankfully, there was nothing there.

As the nineteen Night Guard approached the campfire and were about to turn towards the communal quarters, the dancing young women and girls swarmed around them, smiling and taking their Night Guard, softly singing.

"The guests sing folk songs together, and after singing, they dance..."

"Singing folk songs to welcome the goddess, joy fills the village..."

The women gently shook the Night Guard's arms, making a move towards the campfire, their bright eyes filled with longing.

The Night Guard walked slowly, glancing at the Commandant as they went.

Two bright-eyed girls, each wearing multiple silver collars around their necks, held his hands on either side.

The Commandant hesitated for a few moments, then smiled and said, "Everyone has been working hard for the past few days, so let's have some fun tonight. However, we'll only play until midnight at the latest, and then we'll rest immediately!"

"Thank you, Commandant!"

The Night Guard shouted in unison, and surrounded by the women, they walked towards the campfire, where they danced hand in hand.

Several Martial Cultivator even started practicing their punches, drawing cheers from men, women, and children of all ages.

Of the four people who were with Good Fortune Born, two also went to dance and sing.

The Sunshine Boy and the storyteller refused to dance, and then stared at the Foodie together.

The Foodie gritted his teeth, suppressing his grievances, and refused the girl beside him.

Finally, only the three Sunshine Boy and the three Good Fortune Born stood at a distance from the campfire, watching the people celebrating nearby.

Listen carefully while listening to the audiobook.

After a long while, the storyteller suddenly pointed to the four red round lanterns at the entrance of the White Building and said, "Look at the four lanterns at the entrance. I remember when we first entered the village, there were no lanterns at the entrance, only on the third floor."

The Foodie said, "You must be mistaken."

The Sunshine Boy looked closely and said, "There were no lanterns then, only three guards in red. I was wondering why there weren't two guards. And those white lanterns, I couldn't see them in the daytime, but now I can see two of them are out. Wait, there seems to be something hanging on those red lanterns."

The Sunshine Boy first cast a spell to Obscuring Eye, his eyes surging with magical power, activating his Dragon Appears Spirit Eye, and the lantern seemed to instantly zoom in on him.

The bright red lantern with gold trim swayed gently in the wind. The lantern cover was different from that of ordinary red cloth lanterns; it was thicker, with a delicate surface, and a few short hairs protruded from the corners, like body hair.

A sprig of mugwort hangs on the left side of the lantern, and a jade pendant with a double fish design and red tassels hangs on the right.

The golden tassels beneath the red lanterns swayed gently in the wind, dripping with blood, drop by drop...

In every drop of falling blood, a distorted face is imprisoned.

The face contorted, its mouth agape, screaming desperately.

Four lanterns swayed in the wind, and whispers could be heard coming from inside. It was unclear what they were saying, but the sound lingered in my ears for a long time.

It was like a small brush constantly brushing against the Sunshine Boy's earlobe.

The Sunshine Boy felt a chill run through his body, and his previously confused mind instantly cleared.

The Sunshine Boy suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.

When you encounter that Wang Laoshi, you should clearly Fate Observation and Qi Gazing and assess the situation, but you suddenly forget.

When encountering strange things or hearing taboos, even though I wanted to think deeply, I forgot.

I clearly wanted to count the number of people, but I forgot...

The person listening to the audiobook exchanged a glance with the Sunshine Boy, and saw endless depths and darkness in his eyes.

It's a trick.

Good Fortune Born rushed over with the two men and whispered, "I heard what you said. There's something wrong with that lantern. It's very likely Yun Zhigao... no, no, no, I mean the cowherd. The jade pendant on the lantern is his."

Good Fortune Born panicked, his mouth tightly shut, his face pale.

He said from behind Climber, "It's alright, only we heard it."

Good Fortune Born nodded slightly, bowed his head a little, and looked deep in thought.

The Sunshine Boy looked at his wrist and saw nothing there. He suddenly remembered what the Night Guard in the Imperial Prison had said: the wrists and arms were indeed the most common sites of possession by monsters, but other places were also quite common.

The Sunshine Boy said in a low voice, "Listeners, we need to look for the mark."

The listener nodded vigorously and said, "Look at mine."

The Sunshine Boy immediately searched the person listening to the audiobook, looking at their face, neck, behind their ears, back of their neck, and so on, but found nothing.

The person listening to the audiobook loosened their clothes, opened their coat, and exposed their abdomen.

Everyone was stunned.

Below the navel of the person listening to the audiobook, there was a red lotus flower branded.

"I didn't originally have this..." the listener whispered.

The Sunshine Boy and the others immediately checked their abdomens.

Everyone had a red lotus flower printed on their abdomen.

"I've been tricked." The Sunshine Boy hesitated to utter the word "tricked."

The gazes of the crowd trembled slightly as they followed the flickering, bright red campfire.

The Sunshine Boy felt a chill in his heart. He thought he had some experience from being tricked once before, but he didn't realize that the two tricks were completely different.

"We were affected by that thing; I've experienced something like that before," the listener whispered.

"What to do?"

"You absolutely must follow the rules first, then break them. I'm going to find the Commandant."

After finishing his story, the man quickly walked towards the campfire, pulled the Commandant aside, and said a few words.

The Commandant's expression changed slightly. He left the campfire, looked at his abdomen from outside, stared at the mark, and cursed something amidst the noise.

After a brief discussion, the two split up and rushed into the campfire to bring out all the Night Guard.

Nineteen people gathered at the entrance of the public housing, away from the campfire.

After the Commandant finished recounting the story of the ghost, the Night Guard panicked. They checked their abdomens, and several of Night Guard felt their legs go weak, their faces turned deathly pale, and their lips trembled as they couldn't utter a word.

The Commandant surveyed everyone, his face growing even more somber under the cover of night, and slowly said, "Before we entered the village, there were twenty-one of us. Now, only nineteen remain. The cattle herders were probably made into lanterns, and the water carriers are nowhere to be found."

"Then... what should we do?" a young Night Guard asked, his voice trembling with tears.

The Commandant sighed and said, "Listener, you're an experienced person, what are your thoughts?"

Everyone looked towards the person listening to the audiobook.

The storyteller slowly said, "Without a doubt, we've been cursed. I've just encountered a lot of things; when it comes to deciphering this, I'm not as good as Sunshine Boy. The cowherd and the water carrier clearly broke the rules, which is why they disappeared. So, we must remember two rules: no mentioning names, and no saying anything unlucky. Besides that, there must be other 'taboos.' Also, protect Sunshine Boy; he's Fate Arts Master, our greatest hope for solving this mystery."

Everyone looked at the Sunshine Boy.

"Sunshine Boy, what do you have to say?" the Commandant asked.