Chapter 203
Chapter 203
The Village Head took great pride in the culture surrounding the Tree Deity. Seeing how seriously Cheng Miao was taking it made him warm to her further.
“The Lady Tree Deity is the most merciful of deities. Our village isn’t near the sea, and we don’t have much farmland, but the mountains are rich in resources. Every one of us lives comfortably, and we owe it all to the Lady Tree Deity.”
Right. This deity was female.
Then why call the instance Divine Bride?
Cheng Miao had originally thought this would be an instance where wives were chosen for some supposed deity. Now, however, it seemed things might not be that simple.
“Are there any legends in the village, Village Head?” Cheng Miao carefully wrote down what he had told her so far.
Qiudong sat beside her, watching her take notes. At the sight of her earnest expression and shining eyes, he lowered his gaze and thought, his face expressionless:
Pretty cute.
“Legends? Our most famous legend about the Tree Deity is that the Lady Tree Deity chooses people who share a bond of fate with her and marries them.”
Cheng Miao’s heart gave a jump. The other players sat up straight and listened intently too.
Were they getting to the heart of the instance already?
“How does she choose them?”
“That is for the great Lady Tree Deity to decide. We mortals don’t know.” Seeing Cheng Miao’s curiosity, the Village Head shook his head apologetically.
“Then what happens once they’re married?” Cheng Miao asked the most important question.
“Ah.” The Village Head sighed, the smile leaving his face.
“We call it marriage, but really, the Lady Tree Deity simply sees which people in the village have little time left and takes them away in peace.”
Which meant…
“Everyone who marries the Tree Deity dies?” Fang Jing had been listening to Cheng Miao’s conversation with the Village Head. Since she’d also been watching Qiudong the whole time, she hadn’t missed the way he kept looking at Cheng Miao.
The Village Head was good-tempered and didn’t get angry at Fang Jing’s interruption.
“You can understand it that way, yes. But many of the people chosen by the Lady Tree Deity discover that they’re ill when they visit the village doctor.”
“We’re all from the same village. It’s hard to watch them suffer from illness, until the Lady Tree Deity chooses them. Then their suffering disappears, and a few days later, they pass away with smiles on their faces.”
The Village Head sipped his tea. “So this idea that the Lady Tree Deity marries them comes from our village. As you know, many of the villagers have had no education and don’t know much, so they give things like this a pleasant-sounding name.”
The Village Head looked like someone who had received some education. Cheng Miao ventured cautiously, “Then what do you think it really is?”
He shook his head with a smile. “This old man only went to school for a few days himself. I think perhaps the Tree Deity can’t bear to see the villagers suffer, so she lets them leave without pain. Calling it marriage seems rather too much, though.”
He set down the enamel mug in his hand. “But the villagers all like the idea, so the name has stuck.”
“Have you seen that Lady Tree Deity?” Now that they had a rough grasp of the instance’s background, Fang Jing didn’t want Cheng Miao to do all the talking anymore. She eagerly joined the conversation, glancing out of the corner of her eye to see whether Qiudong had noticed her.
Unfortunately, Qiudong didn’t so much as look her way.
Busy with her own little scheme, Fang Jing failed to notice the displeased twitch of the Village Head’s brows. His voice cooled too. “This old man is still in good health. I haven’t had the good fortune to meet the Tree Deity.”
Only then did Fang Jing realize how rude her question had been.
Her first instinct was to apologize. But with someone as extraordinarily handsome and impressive as Qiudong sitting nearby, she simply couldn’t bring herself to lower her head.
“Please don’t take offense, Village Head. Our classmate is just so curious about the Lady Tree Deity. She wanted to know whether anyone had seen her in person and could give us a detailed description.”
Cheng Miao smoothly rescued Fang Jing from her predicament. It wasn’t that she was some saint. They were all here under the same identity, and offending the Village Head right at the start could cause problems for their subsequent exploration of the instance.
At Cheng Miao’s explanation, the Village Head stroked his beard and let it go. It wasn’t a major matter. As people grew older, though, they inevitably became more sensitive to unlucky remarks.
Cheng Miao’s explanation made sense. He could understand that.
After thinking it over carefully, he said, “There’s a fellow called Scabby at the easternmost end of the village. He lives alone, and he says he’s seen her. But everyone who has seen the Lady Tree Deity has died, while he’s still alive and well. So nobody in the village believes him.”
“You can ask him if you’re interested. But Scabby is often wandering about, so you might not find him.”
Cheng Miao noted down the important information. This instance had given them quite a lot to work with right at the start. She would need to go back and digest it slowly.
After talking a little longer, the Village Head took them to their lodgings. It was a small courtyard beside the mountain, with five rooms and a kitchen.
There were some vegetables growing in the yard, and a well.
Two round tables stood against an earthen wall, with several long benches scattered about.
“These are the facilities we have. You may have to make do.” The Village Head led everyone around the courtyard.
“A family used to live here. Later, one of them got an education and took all the older relatives to town, so the house was left empty.”
“There are vegetables in the yard and a vat of rice in the kitchen. That’s enough to feed you for more than ten days. You can drink the well water directly. As for meat, I’ll arrange for the villagers to bring you some every day.”
The Village Head patted his long gown. “Here in the village, you’ll need to cook for yourselves, light the stove, and chop your own firewood. If you have any problems, you can come to me.”
Cheng Miao looked around the courtyard. She hadn’t been inside the rooms yet, but she could already tell that the accommodations were very basic.
Still, she’d heard classmates say that the conditions they faced during fieldwork were sometimes much worse than this.
Even the lantern instance had offered poor conditions. Food had been delivered there, but cooking for themselves would be more reassuring anyway.
Having finished his explanation, the Village Head left, leaving behind a group of somewhat bewildered players.
In the instances they usually entered, food was provided. A survival instance would be harder.
This one, though, couldn’t really be said to provide nothing. Everything they needed was there. They just had to prepare it themselves.
That would have been fine if it were only their own team. But with so many people, who was going to cook?
Fang Jing disliked the place, but couldn’t really show it. Now that the Village Head had gone, she dawdled over to Qiudong.
“Hey, handsome, do you have a jacket? It’s so cold here.” Fang Jing was pretty, especially her delicate little face, barely larger than a palm.
She knew men well. Men liked delicate, vulnerable girls.
What man wouldn’t swell with confidence and then feel protective when a pretty girl wheedled him like that?
Besides, she’d observed along the way that although Cheng Miao was pretty, she was aloof and didn’t know how to speak softly and sweetly.
Men needed a little admiration to satisfy their vanity. A woman who couldn’t act coy and affectionate would become boring in time.