Corrective Mechanism

What truly exasperates Zhou Yang now is not the task of guarding the fire tower.

Instead, it was Huang Shaozi who arranged this task for him, and the arrangement was too smooth.

He made many requests to the Zhou Family Jiagui, but they were rarely answered.

But just as he casually mentioned it to Huang Shaozi, Huang Shaozi immediately chimed in, telling him to go and guard the fire tower.

Let him go and die.

Huang Shaozi became closer to Zhou Yang. The paper clothes Zhou Yang wore even made Huang Shaozi occasionally let down his guard. At such a moment, he said something, and Huang Shaozi immediately sent him to an even more dangerous situation!

In Guan Village, besides these visible ghost villagers, could there be another, even more terrifying ghost?

It guides the behavior of the villagers in Guan Village and keeps a watchful eye on the very few living people in the village.

Whenever a living person has the potential to break free of control and take over, it will correct them.

Or is it that this corrective mechanism naturally exists within Guan Village?

Zhou Yang sensed a deep-seated malice.

This malice doesn't just come from the Huang Shaozi.

It also originates from Guan Village itself.

A look of panic flashed across his face, and he shook his head repeatedly at Huang Shaozi, saying, "This job is too dangerous. It requires guarding the fire tower at night. I can't do it, I can't do it."

I'm too scared to go out at night!

I'm afraid of ghosts!

The Zhou Family often warned of the dangers of nighttime, so Zhou Yang's reaction at this moment was normal.

Huang Shaozi was not surprised at all.

She chuckled mischievously and said, "What are you afraid of?"

"You're not going alone; your older brother is going with you."

"Keep the wages you earn for yourself."

"That's a pound of money! How great!"

"I dare not go, I dare not go." Zhou Yang still shook his head and refused.

Normally, at this point, Huang Shaozi would reprimand him sternly, forcing him to admit to the matter.

Zhou Yang had no choice but to accept it, even if it meant refusing to admit it.

If you refuse to accept it, the outcome is obvious—death is the only option.

However, Zhou Yang's continued refusal was actually a test of Huang Shaozi.

Let's see if its tolerance for itself has actually increased.

Based on this, we can judge how much it likes us.

Hearing Zhou Yang's words, Huang Shaozi unusually did not get angry.

But its expression had hardened. "How can children disobey their parents?"

"You were the one who begged your mother to find you work, and she did find you work, but you didn't want to do it."

What do you take your mother's words to heart?

Huang Shaozi paused, then smiled again, "You have to go."

"I have to go, no matter how unwilling I am."

"Then I'll have to ask my elder brother to help me out a bit more." Knowing that he couldn't refuse this matter again, Zhou Yang took the opportunity to make his own request.

Huang Shaozi was stunned.

He then nodded with a smile, "Okay."

Zhou Yang then left his house, walked out of the small path in front of his house, and turned into the main road. The villagers came out of their houses one after another, pretending to be busy with various tasks, and greeted Zhou Yang warmly.

The harmonious neighborly relations and the simple and honest villagers that you see before you are just an illusion.

But Zhou Yang dared not expose this illusion.

His heart tightened. What if one day, when even the corrective mechanisms of Guan Village couldn't suppress him, would the illusion of neighborly harmony and idyllic paradise surrounding Guan Village be shattered?

Will the terrifying truth beneath be revealed?

He couldn't just focus on getting through the current ordeal of the Revelation Ceremony; he also had to devise a plan to escape Guan Village.

Although the "fire tower" is dangerous, it's located at the village entrance, allowing for a brief observation of the situation outside the village.

This is also an opportunity for Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang moved his feet and walked onto a small path that he rarely took.

I followed this path to A Fu's house.

He stood before the two slightly ajar black wooden doors, reached out and knocked. "Master, I'm here to start work!"

There was no sound coming from behind the door.

Zhou Yang waited a while longer before squeezing through the crack in the door into the courtyard. He looked around but couldn't find A Fu anywhere.

A Fu is known for his elusive and unpredictable nature.

Most of the villagers in Guan Village were law-abiding, which made A Fu seem like a free man.

The question is, what gives him the right to be so free?

Zhou Yang, a living person, had to maintain his persona in Guan Village so that the ghosts around him wouldn't notice his abnormality and capture and eat him.

The ghosts here also live according to their public identities.

The Zhou Family made a living by farming, so Zhou Laogou often had to go to the fields.

Regardless of whether there was actually that much work to do in the fields during this cold winter month.

They all have to go through this process.

Even if they don't go to the fields, they'll stay at home and keep the farm tools there.

The Sun family, whose house was separated from A Fu's blacksmith shop by an alley, kept many chickens in their yard.

Even though all the chickens died from her care, and rotted and smelled bad, Sun's wife would still pry open their beaks and feed them every day.

Why is it that A Fu, a blacksmith with so much iron to forge and so much work to do every day, is able to slack off so often, and instead of being in the shed during regular working hours, he's nowhere to be seen?

If A Fu is a ghost, then among all the ghosts in Guan Village, it must be one of the higher-level ones.

If he were human, he would be an anomaly among men, more terrifying than a ghost.

Seeing that A Fu was not there, Zhou Yang went to the storeroom and carried a basket of scrap iron to the shed. He poured the scrap iron into the furnace and smelted it into iron ingots.

The blacksmith shop always followed a process of smelting iron in the morning and forging it in the afternoon.

A Fu had previously instructed Zhou Yang that if he couldn't find anyone else, Zhou Yang should go and do the work himself.

Inside the dimly lit shack.

Bright red flames leaped from the stove, casting chaotic shadows all around.

Suddenly, at Zhou Yang's feet, besides his own shadow, there was a thin shadow, hunched over, squatting motionless beside Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang glanced at the shadow, his expression showing no surprise.

Those were the "last photos" of Chang Dafeng that he had collected.

The iron still needed to be smelted for a while, so Zhou Yang sat down not far from the furnace. He didn't take the "Knife Credit Ledger" from his belt, but instead placed his right hand on his left wrist and carefully felt his own pulse.

Beyond the evenly beating pulse, there are individual, distinct fluctuations that emerge one after another.

He counted them carefully; there were eight of these unique fluctuations.

Zhou Yang's mind gradually calmed down, and he began to sort out his own situation.

At this point, his Mindfulness has reached the eighth strand.

After breaking through the "Nine" limit of Mindfulness, one can then attempt to cultivate Upright Heart.

Chang Dafeng said that Upright Heart was like a stake.

People can bind evil spirits by upholding Upright Heart!

Does cultivating Upright Heart require rituals?

Or perhaps some kind of martial art?

Chang Dafeng himself was far from reaching the level of "Upright Heart," and his understanding of this level was insufficient and vague.

Zhou Yang still needs to figure it out on his own.

He got up from the stool, lifted the curtain, and peeked out of the shed.

There was still no sign of A Fu.

A Fu, neither human nor ghost, could it be that he has already cultivated Upright Heart and restrained the ghost?

The thought flashed through Zhou Yang's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.