Chapter 36
Chapter 36
After leaving the village office, Li Que and Lin Xiaoyu followed the flagstone road to its end.
Sure enough, an old wooden house stood there alone, separated from every other building. A wooden post before the house bore a faded Five Dragons banner.
Li Que studied it for an extra moment. It was the only banner of its kind in the village.
When they reached the house, Lin Xiaoyu pushed the wooden door open without hesitation.
Li Que followed her inside with the milk and other gifts. The interior was dark, thick with cobwebs, and completely empty.
Li Que frowned faintly. This was Lin Xiaoyu’s home?
“Is anyone here?” he called.
There was no answer.
“They probably aren’t here anymore.”
Lin Xiaoyu’s expression grew complicated.
Li Que paused, set down the gifts, and looked around.
The old house had three rooms. A woodshed stood to the left, a bedroom to the right, and the largest central room served as the main hall. A painting of the Five Dragons hung above its shrine, but a thick layer of dust covered the candleholders.
No one had lived here for a very long time.
“Xiaoyu, don’t you still have an aunt?” Li Que asked curiously.
Lin Xiaoyu looked dejected. “Auntie lives in the mountains. She used to come down often, but now… she probably hasn’t visited for a long time.”
Li Que’s expression grew complicated. When he investigated Lin Xiaoyu’s family circumstances at school, he had learned that she was an orphan whose only remaining relative was Auntie Miao.
He had assumed Lin Xiaoyu lived with her.
Now it appeared the situation was even worse than he had imagined. Auntie Miao merely came to check on her from time to time. Lin Xiaoyu seemed to have carried the burden of daily life alone.
His heart ached for her. A frail girl like Lin Xiaoyu, living by herself-how many difficulties had she faced? How much hardship and bullying had she endured?
No wonder she was so withdrawn, almost completely closed off from the world.
“Then we’ll visit her tomorrow. Come on, Xiaoyu. How about I help you clean the house?”
Li Que deliberately smiled to lighten the melancholy atmosphere.
“All right. Thank you, Sir!”
Lin Xiaoyu nodded.
The two of them began cleaning together.
…
Meanwhile, night had descended over the village office.
Gongs and drums suddenly began to sound. The resting teachers streamed out of their rooms.
At some point, a stage had been erected in the courtyard!
Many wooden tables and chairs had been arranged before it, while villagers bustled around serving dishes.
“What’s all this? It’s so lively!”
“They built a stage. Are they putting on a show?”
“That smells wonderful. I’m starving!”
The teachers’ eyes lit up.
“Teachers, the village chief told me that the local troupe is staging a performance to welcome us! They’ve also prepared a village banquet. Everyone, come down and join us!”
Gao Shen was shouting through a megaphone, his excitement obvious.
The teachers grew equally thrilled.
“The villagers are wonderful! They’re treating us to all this?”
“People in the countryside really are warm and honest. This is the Peach Blossom Spring from our textbooks!”
“Come on! Let’s go watch the show!”
Everyone left their rooms, entered the banquet area, and sat among the villagers. The courtyard became extraordinarily lively.
Qin Shiyu emerged from her room as well. The moment she saw the scene before her, she frowned.
She instinctively wanted to leave at once.
“The show is beginning, Teacher. It’s time to take your seat.”
A sinister voice suddenly sounded behind her.
The old village chief had appeared without her noticing. His face had looked kind during the day; now it was deathly pale and utterly expressionless.
Qin Shiyu’s body stiffened.
“Ms. Qin, I’ve been looking for you! Come on, I saved you the best seat!”
Gao Shen approached with a broad smile. He was intoxicated by the villagers’ hospitality and had not noticed anything unusual.
Qin Shiyu glanced at the old village chief. He merely stretched his lips into a smile uglier than a sob, then gestured for her to proceed.
Qin Shiyu drew a deep breath and followed Gao Shen to a table at the very front of the stage.
The old village chief followed and sat down with them.
The table was already covered with dishes: braised pig trotters, roast chicken, beef, lamb, and every other hearty meat dish a village could offer. Their rich aroma filled the air.
At the neighboring tables, teachers had abandoned all concern for appearances and were already devouring the food.
Qin Shiyu suppressed a retch.
“Village Chief, this is far too generous!” Gao Shen exclaimed.
“These are only appetizers. Later, we’ll eat dragon meat.”
The old village chief smiled without warmth and stared directly at Qin Shiyu.
A chill crept through her heart.
Clang!
A gong sounded from the stage. Every teacher in the courtyard looked up.
Smoke rose from nowhere, and five vividly colored dragons flew out of it!
“Wonderful!”
Gao Shen cheered, and thunderous applause erupted across the courtyard.
The five dragons swam through the air without a single visible wire, as though they were truly flying. The teachers watched, utterly captivated.
Then the five dragons breathed out columns of water that transformed into winding streams. As the smoke dispersed, a miniature Five Dragons Village appeared onstage, identical to the real one.
“Wow! Five Dragons Become Water!”
“A renowned village of traditional culture really does have something special!”
“How has a performance like this never become famous outside the village?”
The teachers cried out in delight.
But then thunder cracked across the stage, and black mist descended over the mountain village.
An azure dragon charged upward against it with a furious roar. The black mist coiled around its body, and the dragon began wailing and thrashing in unbearable agony.
Its roar shook the entire courtyard. The teachers, who had been marveling at the exquisite spectacle moments before, suddenly felt their hearts tighten. Their expressions grew dazed, as though they had truly entered the play and could feel the grief of the dragon’s fall.
The other dragons surged upward to save the azure dragon, only for the black mist to entangle them all. Their scales rotted, and great slabs of flesh sloughed from their bodies.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The five dragons exploded one after another, their flesh raining down across the stage.
Only the mass of black mist remained, hovering above Five Dragons Village.
For the first time, genuine shock-and even panic-appeared on Qin Shiyu’s face.
That black mist…
Was this the history of Five Dragons Village?
Was that how the five dragons who wielded the Water God’s Authority had died?
If so, was the black mist still somewhere on Five Dragons Mountain?
But they had visited twice before and never discovered it!
A sheen of cold sweat formed across her palms.
…
Meanwhile.
“They’re just ahead.”
Inside a forest not far from Five Dragons Village, Shi Xuan and the others crept forward and looked into the distance.
Under the moonlight, five enormous stones resembling dragon spines converged from five directions, forming a great tomb at their meeting point.
A thin layer of black mist shrouded the great tomb, impenetrable even to moonlight.
A group stood outside it, led by a man in sunglasses and a long coat.
Even at night, a subordinate held an umbrella over him.
“The Eclipse Organization,” Shi Xuan said in a low voice.
“If I’m not mistaken, this grave must be connected to the Water God. It may even be the Water God’s grave itself!”
“They already possess the Water God’s Scale. If they dig up the Water God’s remains as well, turn them into an anomalous entity, and contain it, they may truly gain command over part of the Water God’s Authority!”
Xu Changjiang frowned. “What are they waiting for?”
Shi Xuan was equally puzzled.
Wang Zhong spoke softly beside them. “The ritual.”
“They don’t dare approach while the great tomb is shrouded in black mist. But once the ritual begins inside the village, the black mist will leave to feast. Then they can excavate the great tomb.”
Shi Xuan glanced at Wang Zhong without betraying any reaction, but his heart sank.
He had believed Zuo Qingting was the only mole. Why did Wang Zhong know so much as well?!
Something was wrong.
“It’s dispersing!”
Xu Changjiang suddenly cried out.
Everyone stared at the great tomb. The faint black mist seemed to come alive, transforming into a vague human figure before walking toward Five Dragons Village.
…