Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A surge of anger rose within me. I couldn’t believe that in today’s rule-of-law society, such an absurd village still existed deep in the mountains. Once I got out of here, I was definitely calling the police to have them all rounded up in one fell swoop.

We were tied together in a line. Jiang Haoyan was at the front, and I was at the back. Xiao Hou held the lead rope, pulling us deeper into the village. As we walked, my surprise grew with every step.

These mud-brick houses were identical in appearance, each with a locust tree of roughly the same size planted at the entrance. Furthermore, the paths twisted and turned in a layout that secretly followed the Eight Trigrams Formation. If an outsider blundered in here, they might not actually be able to find their way out.

Finally, after crossing the entire village, Xiao Hou stopped in front of a red brick house at the back.

He hummed a tuneless little ditty triumphantly while untying us.

Accompanied by his humming, a rhythmic tapping suddenly echoed from a water vat by the door: “Thump-thump-thump-”

All of us turned to look at the vat. Xiao Hou ignored it and kept humming his tune. Not far away, a group of old men and women stared at us with somber faces and silent glares. The scene was incredibly eerie.

I couldn’t help but ask, “Boss Hou, what’s inside that water vat?”

Xiao Hou shot me an impatient glare.

“Don’t ask about things that are none of your business. It’s a village rule-no one is allowed to open the water vats. You got that?”

I nodded.

“Got it.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I lunged forward and kicked the wooden lid off the water vat.

What a joke. You think I’m just going to do whatever you say? Am I the protagonist here or are you?

The villagers were stunned by this sudden turn of events. The old men and women watching nearby let out a chorus of shrill, girlish screams, as if they had all suddenly regained their youth and reverted to eighteen-year-olds.

Xiao Hou’s expression shifted drastically. He rushed over with incredible speed to grab my arm.

But it was too late. I leaned over and peered into the water vat.

“Holy crap! What are you doing here?”