Si Xiaobei followed timidly behind Sun Hai, looking somewhat uneasy.
In contrast, Sun Hai seemed much more reliable, his eyes constantly scanning his surroundings with vigilance.
Every little detail in the surroundings, and even the villagers' subtle actions, were clearly visible.
"Hey, look, this leader seems really fierce."
"He's a leader, so he's bound to put on airs. People like that usually don't find good wives."
Two middle-aged women were chatting while eating sunflower seeds.
When he heard that it wouldn't be easy for him to have a wife, Sun Hai's body stiffened instantly.
Veins bulged from his head.
"Captain, calm down. A man as good as you will definitely have a wife."
Si Xiaobei pulled Sun Hai away, offering kind words of advice.
On the other hand, Liu Xiaogang's feelings were somewhat complicated.
I felt both happy and sad.
I'm happy because I'm with Hela.
The sadness stemmed from the fact that Ye Yiqing was also there.
Hela stood between the two people, her sensitive nose detected something, and she walked towards a house that resembled a warehouse.
Liu Xiaogang and his companion followed.
Reaching the doorway, Ye Yiqing gently pushed it open.
The old wooden door was suddenly pushed open, and a unique aroma of food wafted out.
On a large table, there was a huge, tempting mound of fried rice, topped with a layer of brightly colored stir-fried meat.
There were also two large buckets filled with water placed next to it.
Hela swallowed hard and jogged over.
" Hela, this belongs to someone else, don't eat it."
Ye Yiqing also went into the house and called out to Hela.
Hela could only swallow her saliva helplessly as she looked at the tempting food.
"Rice wine?" Liu Xiaogang quickly recognized what it was after smelling the water in the wooden barrel.
But he became puzzled. Generally speaking, rice wine is stored in specially made ceramic jars.
It's not easy to preserve in wooden barrels; it's usually only stored here when you're about to drink it.
However, even two large buckets like these couldn't be finished by a hundred people in a day.
Looking again at the fried rice that resembled a small mountain, Liu Xiaogang became even more puzzled.
This looks like food prepared for giants.
"Is this used for sacrificial offerings?"
Ye Yiqing looked at the fried rice and spoke thoughtfully.
"They said they would make offerings to the gods tomorrow, and that their gods liked to eat chicken and drink rice wine."
Therefore, I think it's highly likely that this is a tribute.
Liu Xiaogang thought about it and it seemed to make sense. "But this god has a huge appetite; even Xing Lan probably couldn't eat this much."
Then he looked at Hela.
Um...
She should be able to eat that much.
"Hey! No unauthorized personnel allowed in here!"
A furious shout rang out, and a burly man with a fierce face strode over menacingly.
His expression softened a little after seeing that it was Ye Yiqing and the others.
"Leaders, the village chief's meal is ready for you. Please go quickly."
"Okay, we'll go right away. Thank you."
Ye Yiqing politely apologized again.
"No trouble at all." The burly man waved his hand heartily and led the group towards the dining area.
Upon arrival, they found that the rest of the people had been waiting for quite some time.
After chatting for a few minutes, everyone started eating.
But before eating, Sun Hai carefully checked everything and only ate it after confirming that none of it had been drugged.
Although this village is very underdeveloped, the food here is really delicious.
The rice had a unique, light fragrance, and there was more meat than vegetables, all with distinctive flavors—delicious dishes that no one had ever tasted before.
Xing Lan ate more than a dozen bowls of rice and still wasn't satisfied; she insisted on finishing all of everyone else's food before stopping.
After finishing their meal, they found a secluded spot and shared their findings with each other.
But they didn't find anything useful. The only slightly useful thing was the offerings that Ye Yiqing and the others saw.
After discussing the matter, it got dark, so they decided to rest for the night and go with the villagers to see the god they spoke of the next day.
the next day.
Suddenly, gongs and drums began to be played outside, along with joyful shouts.
Hela opened her eyes and sat up.
Xing Lan also woke up with a start, rubbing her eyes, looking like she hadn't slept well.
What's wrong?
Hela put on her coat and went straight out the door to check.
Almost the entire village gathered around a large sedan chair, offering words of advice and blessings to the bearers.
The people carrying the sedan chair smiled, nodded, and expressed their gratitude.
What was carried on the sedan chair was none other than the huge pile of fried rice that Hela, Ye Yiqing, and Liu Xiaogang had encountered yesterday, as well as two large buckets of rice wine.
Are they worshipping gods?
Xing Lan, having changed her clothes, came out and went to Hela's side.
The village chief, who was talking to the sedan chair bearers, caught a glimpse of the two out of the corner of his eye.
He immediately came over with a beaming smile to greet us.
"You two ladies have arrived just in time! We were just about to leave to call you!"
The village chief led the two to the sedan chair and introduced it to the bearers.
"These two were sent by higher-ups to help our village escape poverty, and they wanted to learn about our village's culture, so we brought them along this time!"
The lead sedan chair bearer agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"Hey, are these the only two leaders?"
The village chief waved his hand, "No, no, there are still many. I've already sent Xiaohua to call them; they should be here soon."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaohua led the others this way.
"Village chief! I've already called the other leaders over!"
Xiaohua Hua waved to the village chief, glanced at Ye Ciqing with affection, and then shyly walked to the village chief's side.
Upon seeing Hela and Xing Lan, the others quickly walked over as well.
However, when Sun Hai saw the group of people carrying the sedan chair, his expression suddenly turned serious.
He discovered that the sedan chair bearers were all highly skilled, and quite skilled at it at that.
Including Xiaohua, there are nine people in total. The lowest level among them has reached the ' High Rank ', and the average level is the ' King Master ' level.
Why would a group of people carrying a sedan chair possess such a high level of spiritual attainment?
This question arose in his mind, and he became more wary of them.
Once everyone had arrived, the village chief gave the order, and the sedan chair bearers lifted the sedan chair, which was filled with offerings, and began their journey.
"Huh? What brings you here too?"
Ye Ciqing turned his head and found that Xiaohua had also followed, raising an eyebrow.
"Because they were originally going to participate in this offering..." Xiaohua blushed, put her hands behind her back, and turned her head away.
Ye Ciqing smiled as if he could see through something, then, as if remembering something, turned to Xiaohua and asked:
"By the way, how long does it usually take us to make offerings?"
Xiaohua lowered her head and thought for a moment, "It usually takes about a day to get there, but sometimes it takes two or three days."
"Uh, it's been so long..."
Ye Ciqing's lips twitched. It seemed that the Special Investigation Squad was indeed having a tough time.
However, the scenery here is quite beautiful, so it could be considered a tourist destination.
The group then followed the sedan chair into the canyon they had described.
Although it's called a canyon, it's actually just mountains and forests.
A vast expanse of mountains, almost vertical at ninety degrees, forms a natural maze.
The path makes the walkway look a bit like a canyon.