The Man-Eating Woods

Lorry paused as he reached for his money, then looked in the direction of the sound.

He saw, about twenty or thirty meters away at the entrance to the forest, an agitated, disheveled young man being dragged along by two dark-skinned, burly men.

The other person struggled desperately and yelled at the family at the Next Door in the buffet Restaurant:

Trust me, don't go in!

"The trees are alive, they'll eat you... mmm!"

His mouth was gagged by a burly man who removed his headscarf, and soon he was punched in the stomach. He stopped struggling and was dragged further and further away by the two burly men.

At this moment, Lorry noticed that the man next to the family, who also had dark skin and an honest-looking face, and who seemed to be their hired Tour Guide, was showing an indignant expression.

The man explained in a low voice for a long time before the family's expression softened.

A few minutes later.

A group of five people entered the forest.

The two ladies exchanged glances, while Lorry smiled and looked at his Tour Guide.

The middle-aged local Tour Guide took a deep breath, his face showing the same indignation as his colleagues, and muttered, "That guy is a Lunatic!"

"The scourge of Talin Island!"

"We should have voted to expel him and let him fend for himself!"

After venting his anger with a few curses, he sighed:

"This guy's name is Jansen. He used to be my colleague. You can tell from his name that Talin Island only has watchtowers and Woods. Apart from the loggers who work for the Timber Factory on the island and the guys who drive transport ships to pick up tourists and deliver goods, most people on the island do this in addition to farming."

"He was perfectly normal before, but in August or July of last year, he suddenly went crazy for some reason."

"They do nothing all day but block the entrance to the forest and shout 'The trees inside will eat people' whenever they see someone, scaring away many tourists."

"Talin Island is not big, and the population is not large. Most people are related by a few layers of kinship, so we didn't go too far. We specially cleaned up an empty room in the village, settled him in it, and hired a widow to take care of him, do his laundry and cook for him, and prevent him from running around."

"They were quiet for a while, but who knew they'd sneak out again today."

The middle-aged local Tour Guide, looking gloomy, told the three of them the whole story, then gave a smirk and looked at Lorry pitifully.

Besides farming, he also works part-time as Tour Guide. Having met so many people, he's become quite perceptive and can tell who's really in charge.

Lorry nodded slightly to Fors and Hugh, then took out six coins.

He had just used "Mind Reading" to confirm that the Tour Guide's words were basically his true thoughts and not a deliberate attempt to deceive him for money.

The middle-aged local Tour Guide took the coins, a bright smile spreading across his face. He deftly pulled out three strips of red cloth and handed the pen to the eager-to-try Hugh.

She pulled Fors aside and whispered to her, seemingly planning to discuss with her friend what wish to write down, but not wanting anyone to hear.

Lorry smiled nonchalantly and chatted casually with the Tour Guide:

"Did you make up all those stories?"

"That sounds promising, a good idea. Who came up with it?"

"Ahem... our old village chief."

The middle-aged local Tour Guide said sheepishly, "There's nothing we can do. People used to live in extreme poverty; farming alone wasn't enough to feed us."

He's quite eloquent, and fairly honest... but maybe he's playing hard to get; he sensed I wasn't easily fooled, so he chose to tell the truth...

Thinking about it, Lorry joked:

"Not a single one?"

"Aren't you afraid that disappointed tourists will turn around and report you to the church?"

The middle-aged local Tour Guide cautiously sized up his employer's face, then chuckled, touching his nose, "Don't worry, it's the problematic areas that are afraid of being reported."

"To be honest, the nuns from the church have come several times already."

"And we can't say there aren't any real cases. Who can say for sure about things like recovering from illness or finding lost or found money? There are definitely some miracles out there."

Upon hearing this, Lorry couldn't help but chuckle.

Talent...

However, while the words may be crude, the principle is sound.

If there's nothing wrong with the village, then of course they're not afraid of being reported.

With so many tourists coming and going, there's always someone who accidentally fulfills their wish; with a little publicity, the fake can become the real.

Perhaps hearing Lorry's laughter, the two women who were writing their wishes on the rocks about seven or eight meters away turned around and glanced at him warily.

"What about what Jansen said?" Lorry asked again.

The middle-aged local Tour Guide said without hesitation:

"Of course it's fake."

Perhaps sensing that Lorry meant no harm, and being rather talkative himself, once he started talking, he seemed unable to stop complaining:

"You seem like a sensible person, so I won't hide anything from you."

"Think about it, if what that Lunatic said is true, that the trees inside will eat people, wouldn't our village be the first to suffer?"

"But apart from normal birth, aging, illness and death, there have been no accidental deaths or missing persons in Talin Village for nearly ten years."

"Besides, the nuns checked it several times, how could there be a problem?"

"Don't you agree?"

The people of the Feynapotter Kingdom generally worship the Earth Mother. The nun mentioned by the middle-aged local Tour Guide is the "Battle Nun" of the Church of the Earth Mother, equivalent to the "Nighthawks" of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the "Mandated Punishers" of the Church of Storms, and the "Machinery Hivemind" of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.

Lorry nodded with a smile:

"That makes sense, but why would he do that?"

"How could I possibly know what Lunatic is thinking?" the middle-aged local Tour Guide scoffed.

"It's a shame he used to be the most successful Tour Guide in the village. He could drive away snakes and dared to take tourists to places that others wouldn't dare to set foot in to tie cloth strips."

"That way it can stay on the tree forever and not be picked by us... cough!"

A moment of silence fell. Realizing he had let something slip, he gave him a pitiful look again. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"No." Lorry shook his head, unable to suppress a laugh.

The middle-aged local Tour Guide breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "I can tell you a place where the strips of cloth won't be removed."

"... Okay." Lorry smiled and saw Fors waving at him. He nodded slightly to the Tour Guide and walked towards the two ladies.

"You're the only one left." Fors handed him the pen.

After glancing at the two ladies looking around, Lorry thought for a moment, turned his back, quickly wrote down a line of words, and then put the strip of cloth into his pocket.

At this point, he went back again:

"As per our verbal agreement, you can bring us here."

This is the remaining half of the payment.

As he spoke, Lorry took out six coins and handed them over along with a pen.

The Tour Guide fee plus the cost of purchasing three red cloths totaled 1.5 soli, which was hard-earned money, as the other party only earned that much after leading the way and giving explanations for an hour.

Of course, they are definitely better than the average worker.

The middle-aged local Tour Guide smiled broadly, once again reminding everyone not to go near the deepest part of the forest or the cliff, before turning and striding towards the pier.

A moment later, Lorry and his friends entered the forest, strolling leisurely to admire the pristine beauty and searching for a suitable place to hang their wishes.

While strolling around, I suddenly heard a puzzled voice coming from not far away:

"Really?"