They didn't utter a sound, but the fervor surging in their eyes seemed to say:
"Dig it up!"
"Hurry up!"
"Hurry up and dig, hurry up and dig..."
Su Cheng's hands sank into the mud, stirring the sticky sludge.
His hands reached deeper and deeper, his waist lower and lower, until his face was no more than five centimeters from the mud.
It wasn't as if she was acting on her own initiative; rather, it was the mud pulling her down.
Her heart quickened slightly; something below was drawing her in, tempting her to approach.
A burning pain shot through her neck, and she hissed softly, snapping back to reality.
A hard, round ball was already in his palm.
What is that?
The answer came to mind—it was a top-quality lotus variety prepared for tourists.
The hard ball has a smooth feel, but upon closer inspection, you'll discover it's not an ordinary sphere; it has symmetrical circular indentations and uneven, granular surfaces...
The more Su Cheng felt, the more uneasy she became.
As if confirming her guess, the arranged granular surface suddenly opened up and bit her fingertip.
The sudden stinging pain made her expression change slightly, and she forcefully suppressed the urge to fish it out and see what it was.
What did you touch?
An excited voice rang out from behind.
Su Cheng did not answer.
"Tell me quickly, what did you dig up?!" The voice behind me became urgent, eager for an answer.
Su Cheng remained silent.
The people behind him became even more anxious, repeating the same thing over and over again.
The red thread swayed slightly as it heard the question, moving closer to Su Cheng's head and stopping about 1 centimeter away from her hair.
An eerie, dark light flowed, as if waiting for something.
The Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant was getting hotter and hotter.
Su Cheng felt a burning pain from the intense heat, her breath hitched, and she realized that the jade pendant was giving her a warning.
She must answer this question.
A boning knife appeared in her left hand, and she slashed at her right hand with incredible speed—or rather, at the "lotus seed" that was tightly gripped in her right palm.
"Ah!!!"
A piercing scream rang in Su Cheng's ears.
At the same time, she whispered in reply, "I've found lotus seeds."
The burning sensation on my neck dissipated the moment I uttered those words.
"I see. Then take it out and let me see."
She put the boning knife back into her bag, and Su Cheng slowly lifted the "lotus seed" out of the mud with both hands.
She opened her palm; it was a human face bone the size of a ping-pong ball.
She turned her head, but there was no one behind her.
The blurred surroundings became real again, and the villagers all looked at Su Cheng, who was standing upright.
Hao Ruoxue and her companion, who were originally on the shore, were now found in the mud.
The two men bent over, heads down, searching intently in the mud, their expressions unreadable.
The villagers closest to Su Cheng were the first to gather around.
"Ah... it's just a regular lotus seed? You're really unlucky."
The villagers, who had been eagerly anticipating the event, were greatly disappointed, shaking their heads and lamenting Su Cheng's bad luck.
They dispersed from around Su Cheng, landing on either side of Hao Ruoxue and Yaya, awaiting the outcome.
Su Cheng walked step by step toward the shore, but no villagers paid any attention to her.
It seems that Su Cheng has already been labeled as "not chosen by the River God" and is no longer worth their attention.
Only after getting out of the mud did the chill that had been clinging to my calves finally dissipate.
Su Cheng took the lotus seed out of her pocket again; the snow-white human-faced skull looked rather sinister.
Although the bone surface is anthropomorphic, its size does not conform to the human skull; even a premature infant should not be this small.
If the boning knife hadn't destroyed the lurking Vengeful Ghost inside, it might have been the "top-grade red lotus seed" the villagers were talking about.
Although it's still unclear why the Vengeful Ghost would reside within the red lotus seed, it's certain that their target is visiting tourists.
If she wasn't mistaken, only tourists could dig up the top-grade red lotus seeds.
The vengeful spirits dared not or could not attack the villagers, so they could only target outsiders from other places.
"Ah!"
A shout interrupted Su Cheng's thoughts.
Suddenly, Yaya, who was lying in the mud, was terrified and abruptly straightened up.
Her arm was pulled out of the mud and waved in the air.
Yaya spread her hands, her face pale, and shouted behind her, "Get away from me! I didn't find anything!"
After realizing there was no one behind her, she paused, "No, no one's here?"
Amidst Yaya's still-shaken gasps, the red thread slowly pierced her skull, and Yaya, as if sensing something, trembled, her lips drained of all color.
"If you didn't find anything, you didn't find anything. Why are you making such a fuss?" The villagers looked at Yaya's empty palms, disappointed and very dissatisfied.
Su Cheng clenched the lotus seed in her palm, finally understanding why the jade pendant had been burning hot and urging her to answer the question behind her.
If she releases the lotus seed and denies digging it up, the red thread will attack her.
"I... I dug it up..." Hao Ruoxue's voice was weak. She seemed to be frightened and hurriedly pulled her hand out of the mud.
With the help of the light, she could see clearly what was biting her index finger and wouldn't let go.
"A person, a head?"
"Look, everyone! It's... it's a top-grade red lotus!" A villager pointed at Hao Ruoxue, his voice trembling with surprise.
The villagers' eyes lit up immediately, and they slowly surrounded Hao Ruoxue.
"This is truly a top-grade red lotus variety; I haven't seen one in ages."
"My goodness, the River God has chosen you! You are so lucky! You must work hard to cultivate this top-grade red lotus!"
"How enviable! If only our family could dig up some top-grade red lotus seeds, the river god's favorite offering!"
Hao Ruoxue looked at the human face bone in her palm. It was clearly an inanimate object, yet she seemed to see it smiling.
Hao Ruoxue trembled all over amidst the congratulations. She gritted her teeth, searched for Su Cheng's location, pushed aside the villagers, and walked ashore step by step.
The villagers did not stop them, still immersed in the joy of the appearance of the top-quality red lotus.
" Su Sister Cheng, I..." Hao Ruoxue pointed to the top of her head in a flustered manner.
Su Cheng gripped her wrist tightly. "No."
The red line above Hao Ruoxue's head did not take root; instead, her body was locked in place by a wisp of black resentment.
Unearthing a top-grade red lotus seed won't trigger a red line attack; only denying it, like Yaya did, will.
The red line acts like a supervisor, requiring villagers and tourists to stay within the established order; if anyone deviates from it, intervention will be taken over.
It seemed unconcerned about what the Vengeful Ghost within the exquisite red lotus might do to the tourists.
They simply believe that a genuine tourist who has unearthed a top-quality red lotus seed would not discard it or lie about it.
This also made Su Cheng vaguely realize that the red line represented "identity rules" and was not from the same faction as the Supreme Red Lotus and the power behind it.
They clash while trying to merge, vying for ownership of Red Lotus Village.
Those tasked with being identified as tourists must abide by the rules of the Red Line while uncovering the secrets of Red Lotus Village without being killed by the forces behind it.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're surviving in the cracks.
Su Cheng let out a deep breath. "Let's go back first and see if the others have gathered any useful information."
Yaya: "Did you also dig up a top-grade red lotus seed?"
Su Cheng took out the lotus seeds from her pocket. "No, mine are ordinary lotus seeds."
The human face bone in Su Cheng's hand was no different from the one in Hao Ruoxue's hand, but it just didn't look as sinister.
Yaya's expression grew increasingly grim as she slowly realized a problem. "So... I'm the only one who doesn't have lotus seeds...?"
The completion of Task 1 is closely related to the lotus seed. If she doesn't have a lotus seed, can she still complete the task?
Yaya stopped and looked at the mud pool.
Su Cheng frowned, paused for a moment, and then said, "If you have any items that can counteract Vengeful Ghost or more, you can try going into the pool again."
Yaya shook her head, suddenly realizing why Su Cheng had received ordinary lotus seeds.
"Could I borrow one of your props?"
"Sorry, no."
Putting aside the fact that Su Cheng didn't want to expose the boning knife in Red Lotus Village.
Furthermore, the boning knife was so rebellious that even she, as its former master, couldn't fully control it, let alone Yaya.
If a boning knife slips from someone's hand and runs away, it can be retrieved. However, if it accidentally injures or devours the wielder, it will only make the situation worse.
Rejected outright, Yaya pursed her lips somewhat embarrassed.
She didn't want to go back into the pool, because Hao Ruoxue's pale face showed that obtaining the top-grade red lotus seed wasn't a good thing.
They could neither advance nor retreat.
Yaya was filled with regret, suddenly regretting her decision to enter the special instance; she should have waited longer.
In the end, Yaya decided to go back first. If it really didn't work out, she would have to go back into the pond to dig up some top-grade red lotus seeds.
Su Cheng looked at Hao Ruoxue, who was trembling slightly beside her, grasped her wrist, and channeled a wisp of White Qi into her body.
The White Qi flowed flexibly, quickly enveloping the black mist entangled in Hao Ruoxue's heart meridian, but it could not dissolve it.
Su Cheng sighed softly.
Hearing her sigh, Hao Ruoxue forced herself to cheer up, " Su Sister Cheng, I'm much better."
Hao Ruoxue wasn't lying. After bringing the top-grade red lotus seed ashore, she felt that she had also brought the chill unique to the silt pool with her.
After Su Cheng grasped her hand, the chill dissipated considerably.
Su Cheng nodded. "Yeah, don't think the worst. The dungeon won't leave us with a dead end."
Since they were still outside, Su Cheng couldn't tell her what she knew, so she quickened her pace and returned to the courtyard.
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 111
When the three returned to the courtyard, they found that Wei Guhua and Yao Yue were gone, but they had no time to find out where the two had gone.
"Take a break and wait for Li Ren and the others to return."
My trouser legs were covered in mud, sticking to my legs in a sticky, unpleasant way. Not only did it smell bad, but it was also very uncomfortable to walk in.