Secret Rumors

For a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, the KP was undoubtedly a godlike presence, playing a crucial role in advancing the plot.

However, the KP was still human, so everyone understood the role differently. KPs could roughly be divided into two types. The first was the lawful good type, who tried their best to ensure the plot developed normally and, when necessary, provided Players with accurate information to guide them down the right path. The other type was the chaotic evil KP, like kpcao. As a KP, they naturally could not openly screw over the Players, but they would use all sorts of methods to steer them toward the wrong plotline. Just like before, kpcao had deliberately revealed a true piece of information, luring Liu Xing and the others into choosing the route with the lowest returns. And constrained by the rules of the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, Liu Xing and the others had no way to turn back.

Of course, the chaotic evil KPs' favorite tactic was to provide Players with ambiguous information. That way, they could quietly lead Players astray while shifting the blame onto them. Liu Xing remembered a KP with the online handle 4 who particularly loved using this trick.

Thus, a joke was popular in Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPGs: a KP told the Players, "You just need to follow my line of thought." The Players all replied, "Isn't a KP's line of thought just finding every possible way to kill the Players?"

Therefore, in a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, Players not only had to face all kinds of Mythical Creatures and supernatural phenomena, but also had to stay constantly alert for the KP stabbing them in the back!

Having thought this through, Liu Xing silently made up his mind. At most, he would believe half of what kpcao said!

Liu Xing, Tina, and Ming Shi Xiang brought Minami Kotori to the Children's Lost and Found Center and found its person in charge.

"Hello, this little girl got separated from her mother. Could you make an announcement asking her mother to come here?" Ming Shi Xiang stepped forward and asked.

The person in charge of the Children's Lost and Found Center nodded and smiled at Minami Kotori. "Of course. But little girl, what is your mother's name?"

Minami Kotori thought for a moment before saying, "Um, my mom's name is Li Xue."

The person in charge smiled, then said a few words to a staff member beside him. The staff member left. "Immortal Crane Temple's broadcast station is in the rear side hall. I've already arranged for someone to make the announcement, so please sit here and rest for a while. I think the little girl's mother will be more than willing to thank you in person."

After exchanging glances for a moment, the three of them sat down without prior agreement, because this was a good opportunity to gather information.

"Oh, you can call me Brother Lei. Judging from this lady's appearance, you must be tourists who came here together from out of town, right? After all, there are practically no foreigners living long-term in our little county." The person in charge of the Children's Lost and Found Center brought over several cups of tea and handed them to Liu Xing and the others with a smile.

Liu Xing accepted the tea and said with a chuckle, "Brother Lei, you really have a sharp eye. We came all the way from Chengdu because we heard the Harvest Festival here is very lively."

Tina took advantage of being a foreigner and said to Brother Lei with an expectant look, "Brother Lei, I've loved Chinese culture since I was little, especially festivals like this. Could you tell me some stories and legends about the Harvest Festival?"

Naturally, Brother Lei would not refuse a request from a beautiful foreign woman. "Of course. I think you must already know the origins of the Harvest Festival, so let me tell you a secret tale about it. Only a few people involved knew about this secret, and even among the locals in this county, not many know it now. I was fortunate enough to hear it from an old man."

Looking at Brother Lei's mysterious expression, Liu Xing grumbled inwardly, Was Brother Lei trying to show off in front of Tina?

After all, this was a world that judged by appearances...

That was what Liu Xing thought, but he put on an eager expression and said, "Brother Lei, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us already—what kind of secret is it?"

Brother Lei chuckled. "To be honest, I can't guarantee this secret is true, because it happened forty or fifty years ago. The Harvest Festival was being held at the time, but the weather suddenly changed. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a torrential rain began to fall. So the Abbot of Immortal Crane Temple, who was responsible for presiding over the festival at the time, decided to suspend the Harvest Festival temporarily and continue it after the rain stopped."

"Therefore, the ordinary people who had come to attend the festival all went home first. The Abbot of Immortal Crane Temple instructed his disciples to put away the incense burners, Offering Tables, and other items that had been set out for the festival and return them to the shrine. But the youngest of the Abbot's disciples was mischievous by nature. Whether he was greedy or hungry, no one knew, but while no one was paying attention, he secretly picked a peach from the offerings and took a bite."

"Right before everyone's eyes, that little disciple who had stolen the offering instantly turned into skin and bones. Without saying a single word, he died just like that. When the Abbot of Immortal Crane Temple went over to examine him, he discovered that the little disciple had starved to death!"

"The Abbot of Immortal Crane Temple believed this was the gods' punishment for the little disciple, since he had stolen offerings dedicated to them. But in order to avoid causing panic, the Abbot ordered all the Taoist Priests who had witnessed the scene to keep their mouths shut. He then secretly had the little disciple's body taken to the back mountain and buried, while publicly claiming that the little disciple had renounced the priesthood and gone to work in the provincial capital."

"Fortunately, that little disciple had been an orphan adopted by the Abbot of Immortal Crane Temple, so his sudden departure did not cause much of a stir in this small county. The matter was eventually forgotten. The old man who told me this secret was one of the Taoist Priests from Immortal Crane Temple who had witnessed it firsthand. But honestly, I don't really believe this story. It's far too superstitious."

After finishing, Brother Lei seemed to suddenly remember something else. "But strangely enough, the old man who told me this secret also told me one more thing: during every cycle of the Harvest Festival, there would be one mysterious child disappearance. I'm a police officer by profession, so I looked through the relevant case files and found that it really was true."

PS: Continuing the daily book recommendation: League of Legends: Eagle Strikes the Sky, a story about using champions in bizarre positions.