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墨書 Inktalez
Upon hearing the words of the Death Apostle, I pondered, "Are you suggesting that the mayor's actions were not of his own volition, but rather influenced?"
"I just think there's a possibility of that, though I can't be certain. In any case, we need to see the mayor first before..."
As we spoke, our group of five stepped out of the alley and began searching along the main road. By this time, several townsfolk had already emerged from their homes. Upon exiting, they all headed towards a stone tablet, where they bowed and worshipped before dispersing to attend to their own affairs.
Watching this scene, I couldn't help but wonder what compelled them to perform such rituals day after day. Was it faith? A desire for survival? Or simply a case of following the crowd? I wasn't one of them and couldn't know their thoughts; all I knew was that this merchant was indeed causing significant harm.
Lost in thought, Li Zhisheng tapped my shoulder. "Hey, Shen Xu, don't you think that girl we met at the hospital earlier looked just like the Hu Villager's daughter?"
I snapped back to reality. "I felt that way too at first, but then I thought about how unlikely it is. There are so many people leaving this town; it doesn't seem reliable to judge solely based on similar experiences."
Li Zhisheng nodded in agreement and fell silent. By now, it was nearing afternoon, and none of us had eaten since morning; our stomachs were growling with hunger.
A loud grumble echoed from someone's belly—I'm not sure whose it was. Hearing that, Hu Fang seized the opportunity. "Shen Xu, look around; some places are open for food now. Why don't we grab something to eat before continuing our search?"
I glanced around and indeed saw several eateries had opened their doors, proudly displaying their signs.
"Alright then, it won't hurt to take a moment for food. Let's eat something first..." I gestured for Hu Fang to choose a place.
After a moment, she picked a shop that looked relatively clean, although there were no other customers inside at the moment.
As I stepped through the door and noticed the emptiness within, I called out, "Is anyone here..."
My voice echoed in the vacant room. When no one responded after several calls, my patience began to wane. Just as I was about to give up, a server appeared. He glanced at us and replied in a thick local dialect...
At this point, not only I but also the Death Apostle and Yao Long were completely lost. "Sorry," I said. "We're from out of town and don't quite understand the local dialect. Do you speak Mandarin?"
The man listened, his brow furrowing in impatience as he spoke slowly, "What... do... you... want... to... eat?"
After repeating his words in my mind a few times, I finally understood his meaning; he was asking what we wanted to eat. I opened my mouth to ask him what food was available here, but then thought better of it. "If I ask that, it might take a while again. I should just ask him for the menu..." So, I directly requested the menu from him.
We took the menu and found a place to sit down, casually ordering some dishes and rice. Moments later, the food arrived, and while it looked quite appetizing, all the dishes had a somewhat dark hue, and even the rice was yellow.
"This... must have been cooked with that murky water," I said with some concern, looking at the bowl of yellowish rice in front of me.
Beside me, Yao Long said, "We hardly brought any food on this trip; let's just make do with a little. We can't possibly starve."
Hearing this, no one else had anything to say. After forcing down some food, we settled the bill and left, continuing our search for that house with white bricks and red tiles.
After searching for over an hour, we finally spotted a three-story building in a relatively open area. The architectural style was similar to the surrounding buildings, but it was much cleaner overall, as if it were regularly maintained. In front of the house was a courtyard with various flowers and trees planted, and parked out front was a shiny silver sedan.
"Just as the villager said; it's obvious..." I muttered to myself before turning to the others. "You all wait here; I'll go take a look."
With that, I walked towards the house. However, just as I reached the courtyard, two burly men in old suits suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked my path. They sized me up before questioning, "Do you not know that you can't just come to the mayor's house? You look like you're from out of town; get lost!"
I sighed inwardly, thinking how grand the mayor's presence was if they wouldn't even let me in. I pulled some money from my pocket and held it out to them with a smile. "Gentlemen, you've worked hard. I'm here to see the mayor about something; could you please let him know?"
But to my surprise, the two men showed no interest in the money and resolutely pushed me away.
Seeing that money wouldn't work, I had no choice but to return to my companions. Li Zhisheng looked at me with a smirk as I came back looking defeated. "So? Did your act fail?"
I shot him a glare and replied, "If you have a good idea, why don't you try it? Seriously..."
Meanwhile, Death Apostle ignored our banter and pondered aloud, "This situation seems more complicated than it appears; it's not something we can figure out overnight... Now that we know the mayor's house is here, let's find somewhere to settle down first. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome trying to find it again when it gets dark..."
"Well, that's true. Isn't it said that something happens in this town after midnight? Let's see what it's all about first..."
As we spoke, everyone found an inn close to the town chief's house to stay in. Although the environment was quite poor, the rooms in this inn provided a clear view of the chief's home, allowing us to keep an eye on him.
We booked three rooms in total: Hu Fang had one for himself, Yao Long and Death Apostle shared another, while Li Zhisheng and I took the middle room. All three rooms were on the second floor and connected; Hu Fang's room was on the far left, with Li Zhisheng and me in the middle, and Death Apostle and Yao Long on the right.
Once settled in, everyone gathered in Li Zhisheng's and my room to discuss the situation in the town and the inscriptions on the stone tablet.
After a long discussion, no one could come up with a clear explanation. It was only Death Apostle who noted that while the inscriptions were meant to suppress Evil Spirits, their reverse writing left him puzzled about its true intent...
We continued our conversation until it was half past eleven at midnight. During this time, I stood by the window watching the town chief's house, but there were no lights on inside, nor did anyone come out. "Is the town chief not home?"
Just as I was pondering this, I suddenly heard a knock at the door. Curious, I walked over and opened it. The innkeeper stood at the entrance. Seeing us all inside, he got straight to the point: "This town is a bit strange; I'm sure you've noticed too. It's almost midnight now, so whatever you do, don't open any doors or windows, and it's best if you stay inside your rooms..."
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