The Origin of the Harvest Festival

Liu Xing had already guessed how this player had been injured. After all, kpcao had just mentioned that some items could not be brought into this Advancement Game. Clearly, the bloodstained scalpel on the ground was among those prohibited items. If he insisted on bringing that scalpel, he would have to make the appropriate check.

As always, the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG was a game that valued realism. The setting for this Advancement Game stated that all the players were online friends who had decided to attend the Harvest Festival together for an offline meetup, so there was no suitable reason for anyone to carry a scalpel.

Moreover, scalpels came in many sizes, and this one was relatively long. Since kpcao had set this Advancement Game in summer, this player, like Liu Xing, had been forcibly "changed" into short sleeves and light clothing. To conceal the scalpel, he could only tuck it into his waistband.

Just now, this player had shared Liu Xing's idea of entering the temple to gather information. Kpcao had presumably made him roll a Luck Check, and he had failed. Perhaps he slipped and fell. The scalpel tucked into his waist had no sheath and was exceedingly sharp, so, thanks to kpcao's twisted sense of humor, it naturally sliced off that indescribable, unspeakable object...

In the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, the KP held tremendous authority. In a situation like this, several possible developments could have been available for kpcao to choose from. For example, the scalpel might have merely stabbed the player's leg, or it might have fallen out directly. But kpcao chose the most terrifying outcome, making it likely that this player's Character Card would henceforth have its gender changed to eunuch...

Just as Liu Xing was considering whether he should go over and administer First Aid to the player, he saw several people dressed as doctors and nurses rush out from behind the temple at Immortal Crane Temple carrying a stretcher. They carried the player away. Of course, the doctors and nurses did not forget to take that indescribable, unspeakable lump from the ground as well. It seemed they were going to perform a reattachment operation.

"Alright, player Kite forcibly carried a prohibited item. After failing two Luck Checks, he was severely injured. That luck is truly dreadful. With such terrible luck, you still dared to court death in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG? Kid, you've got some ideas. Player Kite has now been taken to the hospital for emergency treatment by the medical staff who were already prepared for the Harvest Festival. Therefore, player Kite can no longer continue this Advancement Game. I hereby announce that player Kite has been Eliminated and has failed this Advancement Game. I hope the other players will keep working hard and perform well." After the player named Kite was carried away, kpcao did not forget to mock him before announcing his elimination.

Liu Xing stroked his chin. Sure enough, one could not court death in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. Once you did, you really died. And this player named Kite had truly awful luck. He had failed both Luck Checks, not even having luck as good as Bai He Cheng's.

Just as Liu Xing finished grumbling and prepared to return to the temple to continue studying the stone tablet while time remained, kpcao's irritating voice suddenly sounded beside his ear. "Liu Xing, because you witnessed Kite's tragic state, and because you are both men, please make an Inspiration Check. On a success, lose one SAN Value. On a failure, lose nothing."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. Was kpcao really stirring up trouble like this? Making him lose SAN Value over something like this was a little too cruel, wasn't it? However, Liu Xing suddenly felt that kpcao did have a point. After all, when he had seen Kite's miserable state just now, he really had felt a chill between his legs...

Still, Liu Xing did not want to inexplicably lose one SAN Value in a place like this, so he immediately replied to kpcao, "KP, my profession is an Emergency Department doctor, and in the previous Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, I saw corpses that had been gnawed on by Ghouls. So I could be considered well-traveled and experienced. Something like this shouldn't make me lose SAN Value, right?"

In the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, a Character Card's background was not useless. Liu Xing's current Character Card background mentioned that he worked in the Emergency Department, where he often encountered all kinds of patients. Bloody mangled bodies and severed limbs were hardly rare. In addition, during the ending scene of his previous Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, "he" had seen the corpses of Gary and Old Wayne after they had been gnawed on by Ghouls. Therefore, Liu Xing argued his case, claiming that he would not lose SAN Value over such a minor shock.

After pondering for a while, kpcao felt that Liu Xing's words made a great deal of sense and accepted his explanation. "Alright, since you put it that way, I'll let you off this time. Continue your actions."

Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. Although this kpcao had a twisted sense of humor, he was fortunately not an unreasonable KP. It seemed that in this Advancement Game, he could also use Persuasion on the KP.

After returning to the temple, Liu Xing walked straight to the stele and began reading its contents. What it recorded was precisely the origin of the Harvest Festival.

"Long, long ago, this small county had too little arable land, and the soil was not fertile enough, so it could not support many people. Whenever natural disasters struck, such as droughts or Locust Plagues, food production would decline, and the population of this small county would drop by more than half within a single year. Thus, this small county had always been known as the Barren Land."

"Over a thousand years ago, an official was ordered to come here and serve as county magistrate. This official was accompanied by a Taoist friend, and they happened to arrive during a great drought, when all the local rivers had completely dried up."

"After the official and the Taoist learned of the situation here, the Taoist said that he had a way to change it. Not only could he bring rain to end the drought, but he could also grant this Barren Land more and more fertile land, as well as bountiful harvests every year."

"Thus, the official ordered Immortal Crane Temple to be built for the Taoist. Following the Taoist's description, local carpenters carved a strange idol. The Taoist called it Sulu, a god forgotten by the world. The Taoist had received this god's legacy in a dream and obtained a ritual capable of praying for favorable weather and abundant harvests—the Harvest Festival."

"After Immortal Crane Temple was completed, the Taoist held the Harvest Festival. The previously cloudless sky was immediately covered in dark clouds, and torrential rain poured down. Just as the Taoist had said, it not only ended the drought, but after the rain, vast stretches of fertile land miraculously appeared. From then on, this small county held the Harvest Festival every year, and every year brought a bountiful harvest."

Although I am also a Newcomer, I would like to recommend a book by a new author here, The Beginning of Origins. This book focuses on depicting reality and has no cheat abilities. The protagonist strives for his choices, struggles to survive, and wanders between good and evil. It is a story about a Newcomer's growth and about encountering different people in different worlds.