"This can be considered a way of survival, only it falls under the category of interpersonal relationships," Su Cheng replied with a faint smile. Li Ren had been to the special instance five times, so he must have a lot of experience. Wang Zhichao and the other two were novices, so it was normal for them to subconsciously seek Protection.
"Hi you guys." Yaya suddenly greeted the two of them, saying with a hint of envy, "You two seem to have known each other before. That's great; having a trustworthy partner in a dungeon is a very lucky thing."
Yaya's bright smile, revealing two adorable little tiger teeth, makes her exceptionally cute, and her sudden conversation is never off-putting.
It's obvious that she approached us with the intention of forming a collaborative group.
Before she could say anything more, the old man at the bow suddenly shouted, "We're almost at Red Lotus Village, get ready to disembark!"
The white mist dissipated amidst the joyful shouts.
On the opposite bank of the river, rows of houses appeared, arranged in neat rows with black eaves and white walls. The carved windows gave them a particularly rustic look, as if they had been decorated this way for aesthetic purposes.
Two figures, one tall and one short, stood on the plank leading ashore, waving enthusiastically at the wooden boat as if they had been waiting for them.
Su Cheng looked up at the sky above, where a thick black aura enveloped the entire village.
She had seen it before in the [ Coffin Keeper ] instance, but the black mist above Red Lotus Village seemed much denser, and it was mixed with something that looked like red threads.
Su Cheng wasn't sure if she was seeing things, so she widened her eyes slightly to try and see more clearly, but suddenly her eyeballs stung.
A sharp tinnitus sound rang out.
Su Cheng closed her eyes uncomfortably, losing her sight and hearing for a moment. When she recovered, she was the only one left who hadn't disembarked.
" Su Sister Cheng?" Hao Ruoxue, who had already reached the shore, turned around and called out to her.
"Coming," Su Cheng replied, jumping ashore.
The moment she stepped onto the land of Red Lotus Village, her heart suddenly raced, and a strong sense of being watched sent a chill down her spine; something unseen had locked onto her.
A thin red rope hung down from the sky, landing only 20 centimeters above the heads of the people in Liba.
It remained untainted by any aura, made no attack, and simply hung motionless, attracting no attention whatsoever.
Besides the eight people, the mother and son who were talking to Li Ren also had red ribbons on their heads.
It seems that as soon as you enter the territory of Red Lotus Village, a red rope will quietly descend upon your head.
Because of the stinging pain in her eyes earlier, Su Cheng didn't look at it closely anymore.
The jade pendant didn't heat up to give her any indication, but she was certain that she also had a red string above her head.
" Su Sister Cheng? What's wrong?" Hao Ruoxue gently tugged at Su Cheng's sleeve. Su Cheng's expression was even more unpleasant than before, but nothing had clearly happened.
"It's nothing, I'm just a little dizzy."
Now was not the time to talk to Hao Ruoxue about the red ribbon on her head, so Su Cheng could only gloss over it.
She glanced back and saw the old man calmly sitting at the bow, drinking water as he tied the wooden boat to a post.
He was the only one who didn't go ashore, and he didn't have a red rope above his head.
The mother and child waiting on the shore were villagers from Red Lotus Village, who had come specifically to welcome the eight people.
For some reason, the mother and son seemed to believe they were tourists and were exceptionally warm and friendly.
"Let me take you to your accommodations to rest first. You must be very tired after your long journey here."
"Okay, okay, thank you." Li Ren bowed Li Ren.
Aunt Jin smiled and said, "Oh, your village is so hospitable! They even came all the way to pick you up."
Wang Zhichao inwardly grumbled, "Why are they suddenly trying to curry favor with the indigenous people?" But outwardly he echoed, "Yes, yes, it's rare to find such enthusiastic people these days."
The group left the riverbank. The old man at the bow of the boat looked away from the corner of his eye at the calm river surface, a slow smile spreading across his lips.
"Lord River God, the offerings this time are of even better quality; I'm sure you'll like them..."
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 108
"My name is Yulian, and this is my son Heilian. The room we've arranged for you is next to the village chief's house. The village chief will come to see you after he finishes his work at the lotus pond."
Lotus Pond?
The eight men were subtly moved, all keenly grasping this crucial point.
"Thank you, you've worked hard." Li Ren thanked him politely and gently with a smile.
Then he looked at Heilian, who was holding a paper windmill, and took out some colorful candies from his pocket. "Little girl, you're so cute. How old are you? Uncle will give you some candy, okay?"
Heilian looked at the candy sparkling in the sunlight, her dark eyes suddenly brightening, but she didn't take it. Instead, she obediently replied, "I'm eight years old this year."
Li Ren patted his head. "Good boy. Here, take it. It's just a little candy."
Heilian looked up at her mother, and only after seeing her nod did she happily reach out and take the candy. "Thank you, Uncle."
Yulian smiled sheepishly, "The child is greedy, thank you so much. If you need any help, just let me know. My house isn't far from your yard."
Li Ren naturally agreed with a smile, as he had intended to improve the impression of Yulian and her son.
Ever since he helped the Indigenous people obtain crucial information during a dungeon raid, he has intentionally maintained a relationship with them.
This scene caught the attention of others, and some tried to imitate it, but Yulian refused to let Heilian accept the gift, leaving them only to feel a pang of regret.
We encountered many villagers along the way to our accommodation.
They were all carrying hoes and bamboo baskets, their trousers rolled up high, chatting with smiles on their faces.
"Our Red Lotus Village is becoming more and more famous; people from other places even come specifically to see the lotus flowers."
"Of course! The red lotus from our village is top-notch!"
"Hopefully, I can dig up a top-grade red lotus seed by the end of this month."
Most of the villagers are young and middle-aged, and they also have a red line on their heads. When you pass by them, you can smell a heavy, muddy stench.
They had clearly returned from the " Yulian had mentioned.
Through these villagers' casual conversations, it can be learned that the village takes pride in lotus, and the finest red lotus is considered the king of lotuses in the eyes of the villagers.
And this is the time to dig up the best red lotus seeds.
Task 1 is closely related to the Red Lotus. To complete the task, you must go to the lotus pond and see the top-quality Red Lotus.
As Su Cheng was thinking, she heard Li Ren ask, "Did they come back from the lotus pond?"
Yulian nodded. "Yes."
Wei Guhua had been observing from the shadows, rolled her eyes. Seeing that Li Ren did not react abnormally after asking the question, she felt relieved and stepped forward.
He had already missed his chance to build rapport with Yulian earlier, so he seized the opportunity to chime in and make his presence known. "Are all the lotuses in the lotus pond red? And what is the highest grade red lotus?"
Yulian's smiling face froze. She stopped, her turning motion stiff, her tone questioning:
"You've come all this way for sightseeing, and you've never even heard of the exquisite red lotus seeds of Red Lotus Village?"
Her gaze was fixed, and there was something strange about it.
Wei Guhua's breathing became slightly labored, and the inexplicable feeling of suffocation made him stammer, "I was just asking casually, of course I know, I was just trying to lighten the mood."
Yulian wasn't easily fooled; her smile deepened. "Then tell me, what information do you know about the top-grade red lotus?"
The atmosphere seemed to freeze at that moment.
The villagers who had been chatting idly along the road stopped. They still had smiles on their faces and were talking, but their eyes were all looking this way.
The people closest to Wei Guhua subtly took two steps back.
Wei Guhua was sweating profusely. He glanced at the group but they avoided his gaze. He cursed them inwardly for their lack of loyalty.
He steeled himself, reaching into his pocket as he said, "The finest red lotus from Red Lotus Village is the best lotus in the world! Poets have even written about it before—'rising from the mud yet remaining unstained, washed by clear ripples yet not seductive'—it's all in textbooks, everyone knows it by heart!"
Wei Guhua spoke in one breath, saying whatever came to mind, until he didn't even know what he was saying anymore.
The gaze shifted away, and Yulian's eyes returned to a genuine smile.
"Oh my, even our village's red lotus has been written into a poem? When was that poem published? It seems you know our village quite well."
Yulian turned around with satisfaction and continued walking. "I knew tourists couldn't possibly not know the symbol of Red Lotus Village."
Wei Guhua breathed a sigh of relief; this hurdle was over. He felt fortunate and admired himself for his quick thinking.
The rest of the people who had hoped to extract more information from Yulian all shut their mouths.
No one could fail to notice Yulian's strange behavior just now.
It seems that if Wei Guhua can't explain herself clearly, she and the villagers will turn their backs on her.
That gaze was like it could devour you.
Su Cheng watched the whole thing, her gaze briefly lingering on the red line inserted right in the center of Wei Guhua's head.
Just as Yulian stopped and asked a question, the red thread on Wei Guhua's head stretched out and wrapped around his neck.
His answer satisfied Yulian, but the red thread did not return to its original position; instead, it pierced his head.
Two new red lines fell down and gently stopped above his shoulders.
Su Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Did the extra red lines mean that if Wei Guhua did what happened before, they would pierce his shoulder?
Could the villagers be the ones manipulating the red thread? That's why the red thread launched an attack when Wei Guhua was questioned.
But if that's the case, why are there red lines on the villagers' heads as well?
If the villagers weren't manipulating things behind the scenes, then what does the red line represent? And what will happen to Wei Guhua once it completely controls him...?
More importantly, what is the triggering mechanism for its attack?
Su Cheng followed at the back of the group, her face showing her observation of the surroundings, but her mind was already replaying the events that had occurred since Wei Guhua spoke.
His question didn't say anything bad about Lian, and Yulian's first reaction wasn't anger, but rather a counter-question.
Su Cheng pondered deeply, drawing on her previous dungeon experience, and a conclusion slowly emerged.
--Yu Yulian questioned Wei Guhua's status as a tourist!
Even if Wei Guhua managed to get away with it, it doesn't change the fact that he did indeed act in a way that was inconsistent with his status as a tourist.