The three of them went back inside to change into clean clothes.
The moment Su Cheng closed the door, the lotus seed in her pocket suddenly floated out and jumped straight into the large water vat next to the bed.
"Splash!"
The water rippled.
The lotus seeds floated gently on the water's surface, like fish entering the water.
In a short while, the water in the tank was reduced by a third, and the lotus seed swelled from the size of a ping-pong ball to the size of a baseball, turning bluish-white in color.
"What on earth is this thing...?"
Su Cheng drew out the White Qi and examined the lotus seed again, confirming that there was no soul hidden within.
"Did you notice anything? I feel like the atmosphere in this instance is very chaotic," Mu Ling suddenly spoke from inside the bracelet.
Zizai Boat the moment Su Cheng discovered the red thread on the ship, she locked the bracelet and told Mu Ling not to come out for the time being.
As Ghost Entity, Mu Ling's sensitivity to auras is far greater than that of humans. "The human aura, ghostly aura, and resentment in this instance are all mixed together."
"And that red line above your head, I feel extremely uncomfortable looking at it for even a second longer."
Hearing Mu Ling say this, Su Cheng felt even more acutely the danger of this instance.
We need to finish the mission and leave quickly; the longer we stay, the more unknown changes we'll face.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. You stay inside the bracelet for now; I can handle the situation."
Mu Ling: "Okay, I'll keep an eye on the red line above your head for you, and I'll let you know if anything happens."
Su Cheng responded, stopped looking at the water tank, quickly changed her pants, opened the door, and walked towards Hao Ruoxue's room.
Hao Ruoxue encountered the same situation as Su Cheng: the lotus seed flew into the water tank on its own, absorbed water, and began to grow.
However, her top-grade red lotus seed absorbed most of the water in the jar at once, expanding to the size of a ball, with the holes on the bone surface magnified proportionally, making it no different from a round human head.
And it's not cyan; red veins cover the entire surface of the sphere.
A black aura of resentment connected the lotus seed and Hao Ruoxue.
"Now I finally know what this water tank is for..." Hao Ruoxue smiled bitterly.
Su Cheng guided the White Qi, attempting to destroy the black qi between Hao Ruoxue and the lotus seed.
But if one strand of White Qi is severed, a new one will be formed.
The Vengeful Ghost within the lotus seed seemed to receive some kind of Protection, preventing the White Qi from locking onto it.
Just as Su Cheng was about to briefly tell Hao Ruoxue about the situation, there was a noise outside. It was Li Ren and the other two returning.
"Let's go out and take a look."
After Li Ren and the other two entered the courtyard, they closed the door. Their expressions were just as solemn as when Su Cheng and the other two returned.
Aunt Jin looked around. "Where are Wei Guhua and Yao Yue?"
Yaya: "I don't know, we didn't see them when we came back."
Li Ren: "Never mind them for now. I've found a new clue. Let's exchange what we know."
To avoid being overheard, the six people chose to talk in the room with the door closed.
Su Cheng, Hao Ruoxue, and Yaya each shared their experiences at the lotus pond.
Their experiences were largely the same; the difference lay in the different choices they made, which led to different outcomes.
After finishing her speech, Su Cheng also shared her thoughts on the existence of the red thread and her speculations about the rules governing identity.
She explained that the reason only she could see the red line was because of the aid of a prop.
Apart from Hao Ruoxue, the others had different expressions after hearing about the red line attack.
Currently, only Su Cheng, Hao Ruoxue, and Li Ren have not yet been attacked by the red line above their heads.
Aunt Jin, Wang Zhichao, and Yaya have one more chance left.
Aunt Jin's face turned pale. " Wang Zhichao, Yao Yue, and I all had our minds pierced by the red thread because we didn't drink the fish soup?"
Wang Zhichao clenched his fists, complaining, "Why did you all copy me smashing bowls? If you hadn't, maybe I could have gotten away with it."
Aunt Jin knew she was in the wrong, but being publicly berated by a junior still made her feel embarrassed. "I didn't know it would turn out like this..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zhichao became even angrier and wanted to continue arguing, but Li Ren interrupted him, saying, "Your personal grudges can wait; now is the time to exchange information."
Li Ren was skeptical about the red line that only Su Cheng could see.
But regardless, I felt relieved to hear that I hadn't been infected.
He did not go out with Aunt Jin or Wang Zhichao.
He visited Yulian and her son alone.
Based on his experience, he believed that the locations marked on the map all harbored hidden dangers, and that using villagers as a starting point would be safer.
He also successfully obtained a lot of information from Yulian and her son.
" Red Lotus Village was formerly known as Green Mountain Village. Due to its remote location and scarce resources, the boys in the village were given the mission of leaving the mountains."
It wasn't until five years ago that the village produced its first college student.
"Shortly afterward, the villagers began to worship the river god, and good fortune came to Green Mountain Village. The villagers dug up top-quality red lotus seeds in an abandoned silt pond."
Green Mountain Village gained fame for its top-quality red lotus, attracting many tourists. Tourism boosted the economy, and Green Mountain Village underwent a complete transformation, changing its name to Red Lotus Village.
"To thank the river god, the villagers organize a monthly Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God. They cultivate the finest lotus seeds dug from the silt, and once they bloom, they place candles on them and throw them into the river."
After Li Ren finished speaking, he continued his analysis:
"Both tasks 1 and 2 are related to lotus. To uncover the secrets of the top-grade lotus seed, we must get involved ourselves. Even if the lotus seed is strange, we should still go to the lotus pond at least once."
Wang Zhichao and Aunt Jin both agreed.
The two then began to share their discoveries from their visit to the ancestral hall.
Wang Zhichao: "The ancestral hall is very close to the village chief's house. The gate was tightly closed, but there were people talking inside. I recognized one of the voices as Village Chief Bai, and the other sounded like an old man in his seventies or eighties."
Aunt Jin pulled a blackened, cracked compass needle from her bosom. "I was planning to climb the wall to peek inside, but this supernatural artifact just exploded. There's something strange inside the ancestral hall; it's not something Xiaochao and I can handle, so we didn't dare sneak in."
She paused for a moment and continued, "Before leaving the ancestral hall, I vaguely heard Village Chief Bai say things like 'Ready,' 'Eat,' and 'It won't be long.'"
Aunt Jin had observed more comprehensive information than Wang Zhichao, and she concluded, "I suspect some kind of secret ritual is taking place in the ancestral hall!"
Secret ritual?
Everyone wore the same blank expression.
Su Cheng shook her head, dismissing the various wild guesses in her mind. "If you want to know the truth, you have to see it for yourself. Guessing is just wishful thinking."
"That's right, I completely agree." Li Ren nodded.
"Clang--"
The courtyard gate was opened.
The sound reached the room, and the six people exchanged glances.
Immediately afterwards, Wei Guhua and Yao Yue shouted in unison, "Friends, we're back!"
This one sentence alone is enough to tell that Yao Yue is no longer acting normally.
Both he and Wei Guhua have become puppets of the Red Thread.
When the six of them left the courtyard, they discovered that not only Wei Guhua and Yao Yue had returned, but also Village Chief Bai and his two sons who were following behind them.
As the six people emerged from a room, a dark glint flashed in the smiling eyes of Village Chief Bai.
Wei Guhua and Yao Yue reeked of mud and their trouser legs were covered in mud, indicating that they had just been to the lotus pond.
The two simultaneously pulled out lotus seeds from their pockets, excitedly spreading their hands to show them off. "Friends, we just dug up the village's finest lotus seeds! This is the most precious specialty of Red Lotus Village!"
Village Chief Bai chuckled and said, "I heard another guest also unearthed a top-grade lotus seed. May I ask who it is?"
He asked the question, but his gaze was fixed precisely on Hao Ruoxue.
Hao Ruoxue's face darkened, inwardly cursing Village Chief Bai for feigning ignorance. "It was me."
"Hehehe, these three guests are really lucky. Other guests who haven't been to the lotus pond before should also give it a try."
Village Chief Bai continued speaking to himself, seemingly unconcerned that no one responded. He then changed the subject, saying, "I've come here to teach our guests how to cultivate top-quality lotus seeds."
"As you can see, the water vat inside the house is used to cultivate lotus seeds. The lotus seeds only drink water from the well in the yard. As long as there is water in the vat, the lotus seeds will grow on their own and will bloom in just two days."
Wei Guhua and Yao Yue looked enlightened. "Oh, it's that simple! I'll put the lotus seeds in the jar right now!"
After saying that, the two rushed into the house.
Su Cheng asked, "Is it enough to just keep water in the container for ordinary lotus plants?"
Village Chief Bai's expression turned indifferent, and he forced out a single syllable through his nose, "Hmm."
His indifferent attitude was a complete contrast to how he was talking about the finest lotus varieties.
"I'm really looking forward to the exquisite red lotuses that our guests cultivate. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have."
After finishing his speech, Village Chief Bai led his two sons and turned to leave.
As she reached the door, she turned back as if remembering something. "Oh, the guests mentioned wanting to see the village's Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God. I forgot to tell you that you must bring your own cultivated lotus flowers to participate."
The gate closed, and the courtyard returned to silence.
Li Ren frowned, and without much thought, made a decision. "Before it gets dark, I need to go to the lotus pond to get the lotus seeds now."
According to Village Chief Bai, red lotuses are needed to participate in the Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God, but cultivating lotus seeds takes time.
It would be terrible if the lotus seeds couldn't mature and bloom before the Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God began.
Delaying the harvesting of lotus seeds may lead to problems with timing later.
I'll go too.
I'll go too.
Aunt Jin and Wang Zhichao spoke at the same time.
Yaya hesitated for a moment, then followed, "Take me with you."
Seeing the four people's resolute expressions, Su Cheng swallowed her words.
She felt that Village Chief Bai's setting of participation requirements for the Grand Ceremony of Sacrifice to the God was an intentional attempt to urge the remaining people to dig up lotus seeds.
But then she thought about it again. If she could think of this, Li Ren and the others might have thought of it too, but they just had no choice.