Chapter 210
Chapter 210
After breakfast, Cheng Miao led the others straight to the Village Head’s house without delay.
When they arrived, the old man was still practicing tai chi outside his door. The sudden arrival of a dense crowd left him rather at a loss.
“Village Head, we’ve only been here two days, and half our teammates have received these.” Cheng Miao handed him Qin Musong’s bracelet.
“We’re not from the village, and we haven’t been here long. Surely we aren’t supposed to marry the Tree Deity?”
The Village Head took it and examined it carefully for a long time, surprise appearing in his eyes. “This isn’t a marriage bracelet. It’s the Tree Deity’s Blessing Bracelet.”
Seeing Cheng Miao’s anxiety, he gestured for her to calm down and led them inside.
“Don’t worry just yet. Long ago, people in our village would receive the Tree Deity’s protection, usually newcomers to the village or newborn children.”
He sipped his tea and sighed. “These protective ornaments bless their recipients with peace and safety. But we haven’t seen any in the last two years. You must all be good people to have gained the Tree Deity’s approval.”
Cheng Miao took the bracelet and returned it to Qin Musong. She felt along their wrists, confirming that both Qin Musong and Lin Zhu were in good condition.
“Then… is there a difference between the protective ornaments and the marriage ones?” She still couldn’t relax. The various explanations surrounding this village’s beliefs were so complicated that she couldn’t make sense of them.
The Village Head smiled kindly. He understood their fear.
To people who didn’t believe in the Tree Deity, receiving something like this wouldn’t feel like a blessing. It would only inspire terror.
“First, your companions are healthy. There’s no possibility of their marrying the deity. Second, and most importantly, the marriage ornaments can’t be removed.”
He gestured at his chest. “Someone in our village married the Tree Deity. His ornament was on his chest, as though it had grown out of his flesh. It couldn’t be taken off at all.”
The description frightened everyone a little. The Village Head lowered his hand. “The marriage ornaments are like betrothal gifts. They mark that person, so naturally they can’t be removed.”
Cheng Miao managed a strained smile. “Thank you.”
The Village Head shook his head. “Even if someone gets a headache or a fever, there’s no need to worry too much. We have a doctor in the village.”
Cheng Miao knew he was trying to reassure her. After expressing her thanks, she led everyone back to the courtyard.
“Why don’t we try leaving the village? The Village Head never said we couldn’t.” Having received an ornament, Chang Qing was anxious.
Miao Jie belonged to an ethnic minority. He didn’t. He didn’t believe in these things.
He didn’t consider it a blessing. To him, it was a mark of death.
“Don’t panic, Chang Qing. Villages have plenty of legends like this. It’s possible for things in the mountain forests, for trees, to become spirits, but they won’t mean any harm.” Miao Jie spoke softly, comforting her boyfriend.
Her hometown had similar legends about a river deity.
The river at the entrance to her village supported many people. She believed in these things, so thus far, this instance hadn’t frightened her. It even felt familiar and welcoming.
But Chang Qing wouldn’t listen. Holding his ring of woven grass, he didn’t know what to do.
“You live in mountains like these. You know the paths. You can find a way out, right?” His hands began to tremble. He looked at Miao Jie with an anxious, jittery gaze.
Miao Jie was speechless. She didn’t know how to persuade him.
“You can’t leave.” A cool female voice interrupted their argument. They both turned and saw Cheng Miao a short distance away.
“The prompt for this instance says to complete fieldwork, not to leave the village.” Looking at the dispirited group, Cheng Miao sighed.
“You should all have one of these in your bags, right?” Cheng Miao took out the tablet-like electronic device from her backpack and held it up.
Everyone nodded. They all had one and had turned it on to look.
The tablet did seem to be a research device. It was full of research materials.
The others had found it daunting at first sight. Some with more patience had spent ages browsing without finding anything useful, then set it aside.
“So what if we do? You think you’re the only one who noticed it?”
Fang Jing taunted her from behind Zhu Cong. His tolerance had gradually made her lose all sense of limits. Receiving the grass bracelet had brought her already taut nerves even closer to breaking.
Cheng Miao didn’t so much as glance in her direction. Still looking at Chang Qing, she said, “Look at the end of the file called ‘Tree Deity Research.'”
Somewhat dazed, Chang Qing took the tablet from his bag and scrolled to the last page.
“Research findings: What is the Tree Deity? The truth about the Tree Deity’s marriages:”
Beneath it was a gray button labeled “Submit.”
Cheng Miao had gone through everything on the tablet last night. With the experience of the previous instance behind her, she was fairly adept at finding keywords in vast amounts of information.
First, she’d carefully read the material about the Tree Deity and confirmed that it offered no help.
Working on the principle that an instance wouldn’t give them a useless item, she had doggedly read through all the material before discovering the secret at the end of the file.
“To clear this instance, we have to submit the final answers. Otherwise, even if you walk out of these mountains, you’ll still be inside the instance.”
Having said that, Cheng Miao didn’t explain any further. She had shared every clue she could. If someone still intended to try leaving by another method, that was their own business.
She carried a little folding stool over to the well and sat down, with the other four members of her team gathered around her.
“Sister Miaomiao, we’re going out to have a look around. We’ll be back in a bit.” Freckles scampered over to Cheng Miao and earnestly reported their plans.
Cheng Miao nodded and watched the pair leave, reflecting that both of them were growing quickly.
In the apartment instance, Yang Ke had been a cling-on who never left their side. Now the two of them could look for ways to solve the mystery themselves without relying on her group.
Cheng Miao turned her gaze back. She kept feeling there was some pattern to who had received grass bracelets. She just didn’t know what it was.
Looking at Zu Gehan, who lay leisurely on the straw nearby, basking in the sun, she shifted her gaze to Shi Biao, who was keeping far away from him.
Zu Gehan had received one. Shi Biao hadn’t.
She, Qiudong, and Qi Jiajia hadn’t received any. Qin Musong and Lin Zhu had.
…
Cheng Miao’s sharp gaze swept over everyone present. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
“I think I know!”
Zhu Cong had been watching Cheng Miao all along. He could sense how strong this team was. When he heard her speak quietly to her teammates, he no longer cared about the embarrassment of eavesdropping and asked in a subdued voice, “What have you figured out, Miss Cheng? Could you share it with us?”
That one sentence drew the attention of everyone who hadn’t heard Cheng Miao. Wang Yang and the others looked a little embarrassed but came closer anyway. Fang Jing was much more impatient.
“If you know something, just say it. Why act all mysterious? Trying to keep it to yourself?”
Before Zhu Cong could stop her, the words were out. Everyone present could see that the game had already twisted Fang Jing somewhat. This latest development had only made her more unstable.
Cheng Miao looked at her without expression.
Forget it, she’s practically insane already, don’t bother… like hell!