NFM Chapter 57

Lin Huai: …

He closed his mouth and was silently pulled up by Chu Tianshu.

When the two arrived at the village chief’s house under the guidance of the villagers, the other players had already started their dinner.

The dinner provided by the village chief was passable, though it fell short of being lavish. Just as the driver had said, upon their arrival at the village chief’s house, the village chief warmly welcomed them and referred to them as “the inspection team from the city.”

This must be the identity assigned to them by the game. While serving dishes to everyone, the village chief said, “I received a document from the city a while ago saying that you seven would be coming here. I’ve arranged three rooms for you: two double rooms and one triple room, all in the villagers’ homes, and they are clean.” He turned to a young man named Jiang Ming and added, “After dinner, you take them to their respective places.”

The young man named Jiang Ming nodded, “Okay, village chief.”

“Uh, that…” Cheng Xin felt it necessary to remind the village chief, “There are nine of us; two are still out exploring and haven’t returned yet.”

“N-n-nine people?” The village chief looked extremely surprised, “This time it’s nine people? Wasn’t it always…”

“Always what?” Ruan Tian asked.

“…Thank you, we’ve arrived, sorry for the trouble.”

A voice came from the entrance; it was Chu Tianshu. A few people saw Lin Huai and the other enter from the courtyard and breathed a sigh of relief. Upon seeing the two return, Yan Chuchu complained, “Didn’t you say you’d be back after taking a look? Why did you take so long?”

“…This…” The village chief showed a somewhat awkward expression.

“Well, since we’re short one room, what should we do?” Ruan Tian whispered, “Are there any extra rooms available?”

“How about this,” the village chief thought for a moment and said to Jiang Ming, “Go tell Ying Gang to free up a room; let these two newly arrived inspectors stay at Ying Gang’s house.”

Jiang Ming nodded and went to Ying Gang’s house. The village chief then called his wife to bring Lin Huai and Chu Tianshu an extra pair of chopsticks: “We may not have taken good care of you, but at least the food is all natural…”

Everyone ate dinner cheerfully, and Ruan Tian forgot her earlier doubts. She wasn’t the type to dig deep into things, and since no one else asked, she felt embarrassed to bring it up.

After dinner, everyone received their assigned rooms. Ruan Tian and Yan Chuchu, both being female, were assigned to Granny Sun’s house, while Cheng Xin, Zhang Mingge, and the driver were assigned to the Wang family, which was the large courtyard that Chu Tianshu had seen on the way. Ji Nanquan and Liao Guan stayed at the village chief’s house.

“Chu Tianshu,” Cheng Xin asked before leaving, “Did you see anything over by the graveyard?”

“Nothing much.” Chu Tianshu shook his head, “Just some crying graves, and there was a small grave mound that looked quite strange, with a red peach wood plaque on it. We can go take a look tomorrow at noon.”

“Peach wood plaque…” Zhang Mingge looked thoughtfully at Lin Huai.

After understanding the situation, Cheng Xin called everyone together and said, “It’s getting late; let’s all rest for now. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head back to the graveyard.”

“Why hasn’t this game assigned any tasks yet?” Yan Chuchu expressed her concern.

“Maybe they’ll assign them tomorrow morning; perhaps we haven’t reached the task trigger point yet.” Ji Nanquan shrugged.

The group chatted for a while, then each went to their rooms. Lin Huai tucked his right hand into his pants pocket and was just about to leave with Chu Tianshu when another person blocked his path.

A tall, thin figure with a cold gaze.

Zhang Mingge.

Lin Huai had noticed this tall, thin young man back in the car. He wore a white shirt and black trousers, with his entire right hand wrapped in white bandages, and he sported a pair of black-framed glasses that looked like they would last a lifetime. Amidst this unremarkable attire, the only striking feature was his sharp and indifferent aura that seemed to pierce through to Lin Huai.

An uncomfortable aura.

“You were sitting next to me during dinner, using your left hand.” Zhang Mingge stared at him, “What happened to your right hand?”

Lin Huai looked at his questioning gaze and smiled after a long pause.

“What does that have to do with you?” Lin Huai said softly.

“Is there a burn mark on your right hand?” Zhang Mingge looked at him coldly, “Not from fire, but from something burned by peach wood. If that’s the case, what exactly—”

As he spoke, he hid his right hand behind his back.

“What exactly are you?” he asked in a heavy tone.

“What about your right hand?” Lin Huai shot back, “Is it the secret powder you don’t want anyone to see?”

“From the moment we got in the car, I noticed an evil aura around you.” Zhang Mingge stared at him without blinking, “Show me your hand.”

Lin Huai narrowed his eyes: “What if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll have to take precautions.” Zhang Mingge said.

“You can try.” Lin Huai laughed, his eyes reddening, “I want to see how you plan to take precautions.”

Zhang Mingge took a step back, and the two faced off, tension thick in the air.

At that moment, Chu Tianshu’s voice rang out nearby.

“Lin Huai, what are you doing here?” He seemed completely unaware of the situation, walking over with his hands swinging, “There’s soap in the house; you should wash your hands with it.”

As he spoke, he stepped between the two: “I saw that thing at the graveyard; that peach wood plaque was fading… I forgot to mention it while rushing to eat; you should hurry and wash it off; the paint won’t come off tomorrow.”

Red paint?

Zhang Mingge froze for a moment. Then, Lin Huai shrugged and turned to leave.

“Remember to use the green one!” Chu Tianshu called out from behind.

Seeing Lin Huai leave, Zhang Mingge heard Chu Tianshu’s explanation but still harbored some doubts about the other, so he raised his foot to follow, only to be firmly grabbed by another strong hand, pinning him in place.

“What are you doing?!” he questioned Chu Tianshu.

“Nothing, just wanted you to accompany me to the restroom. It’s really dark over there, and I’m scared.” Chu Tianshu said pitifully, holding onto his arm.

“You…”

“I’m really scared; come with me, please.” Chu Tianshu hugged him and, without giving him a chance to refuse, moved toward the restroom, “I’m particularly timid…”

Half an hour later.

Zhang Mingge finally forgot about Lin Huai’s matter amidst the stench of the restroom. Chu Tianshu also emerged from the outhouse with tears in his eyes, pinching his nose and saying, “I hope the next instance is a place with advanced technology…”

While complaining, he spotted Lin Huai chatting with Jiang Ming at the entrance and happily rushed over, grabbing Lin Huai’s arm: “I’m back from the restroom; let’s go.”

“Okay.” Lin Huai replied. Then he glanced back at Zhang Mingge, who was watching them: “That guy seems to be looking at us.”

“Oh, really?” Chu Tianshu waved his hand dismissively, “Thanks for accompanying me to the restroom; next time I’ll go with you, muah.”

Zhang Mingge: …

Under Jiang Ming’s guidance, the two headed toward Ying Gang’s house. No one spoke along the way.

After a while, Chu Tianshu finally heard Lin Huai’s voice. He first chuckled, then asked, “Aren’t you going to ask what I was doing with Zhang Mingge just now?”

“When you’re with me, don’t think about other men, okay?” Chu Tianshu said, “And what could be so important to worry about?”

Lin Huai: …

Lin Huai stopped in his tracks, tilting his head to look at him: “Then what is an important matter?”

Chu Tianshu: “An important matter… I don’t mind if you have an affair outside, as long as you can keep a small corner of your heart for me, that’s enough.”

Lin Huai squinted: “…Stop your scummy playboy script.”

The village chief’s house was in the east of the village, the Wang family in the north, Granny Sun’s house in the south, and Ying Gang’s house in the west, perfectly dividing the places where the players stayed. The two followed Jiang Ming for a long time before finally seeing the courtyard where Ying Gang lived.

The middle-aged man guarding the door was Ying Gang, and the middle-aged woman beside him was his wife, Yuxiu. The family looked tidy, and the house appeared to have been renovated in recent years. They seemed to have been informed beforehand and greeted Lin Huai and Chu Tianshu warmly: “The rooms are all ready for you two; Xiao Lu, take them over.”

The girl in green nodded and led the two toward the east: “We have two sets of rooms; you can stay in this eastern section.”

This eastern section was clearly much more dilapidated compared to the main house. However, Lin Huai and Chu Tianshu had no objections, as they were relying on the game for free food and lodging. The girl led them into the room, turned on the light, and said, “If you have nothing to do at night, don’t wander outside; we won’t take responsibility if anything happens.”

“What could happen?” Chu Tianshu asked.

“Don’t you know? It’s just…” The girl was about to speak when her mother scolded her. Yuxiu came over with two blankets and said to Lin Huai and Chu Tianshu, “Don’t listen to her nonsense; the village is simple and honest; what could happen? If you need to wash your face or feet later, use the basin in the room; if you need anything else, come to the main house to find us.”

“Um, Yuxiu sister,” Chu Tianshu obediently replied, causing Lin Huai to get goosebumps all over, and asked, “We saw someone being buried when we arrived in the village; who was that?”

“The burial? Oh, you mean Liu Quan from the north of the village.” Yuxiu’s face twisted a bit, “He died of an acute illness; there’s nothing much to say.”

“Acute illness?” Chu Tianshu asked, “What kind of acute illness?”

“Mom, it wasn’t an acute illness; it was—”

“What does it matter? It’s just… an infectious disease.” Yuxiu replied, “Xiao Lu, stop wandering around here; go back to the main house and get ready for bed!”

“Oh.” Ying Lu stuck out her tongue and bounced back to the main house.

Chu Tianshu then keenly noticed that the lights were on in the neighboring house and asked, “Who lives in the house next door?”

“The house next door? Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Inside lives our nephew, named Ying Xia. He’s not from our family; his mother couldn’t take care of him, so she left him here. Ying Xia, come out!” Yuxiu shouted.

There was a rustling sound from the next room, and after a while, a boy in a light blue shirt came out. He was very slender, with a pair of long, phoenix-like eyes, looking cold and delicate, with a hint of impatience that contrasted sharply with the villagers’ demeanor.

The moment he stepped out, Lin Huai recognized him.

He was the boy holding an umbrella in the alley during the day.

Upon seeing him, Yuxiu’s tone became cautious: “Ying Xia, these two are inspectors from the city; they’ll be staying here for the next few days; you see…”

“No need to ask for my opinion.” The boy said, glancing at the two, “If they want to stay, let them stay.”

“Make sure to finish your diary tonight and go to bed early!” Yuxiu called out behind him.

“Got it.”

After saying that, he closed the door and returned to his room.

“He’s quite a peculiar person.” Yuxiu smiled, “Don’t take him too seriously.”

After that, she left the room. The two tidied up their things briefly, and Chu Tianshu leaned against the window, looking toward the lit room: “I saw that person in the funeral procession.”

Lin Huai narrowed his eyes: “This person is not simple.”

“Indeed, not simple,” Chu Tianshu said, “Living under someone else’s roof, mistreated by his uncle and aunt, looking quite handsome—what a classic protagonist setup… This place is also called Jiang Village; if he could use magic, he’d be the longest-living mage.”