IAmABanana Freshie Translation

[Banana: Minor cliff alert. Don’t jump if you can :v]

“Have you guys gotten any information?” Lou Fan changed the subject from Ah Feng’s description, “When you guys found anyone, just ask for their name first. As for the appearance, it doesn’t matter.”

Lou Fan’s perplexed look made everyone laugh.

Chen Shuyang threw a glance at Nie Feng but Nie Feng only looked lazy, with drooping eyelids as if he is about to fall asleep. So, Chen Shuyang had to say what they found out himself.

“Nie Feng and I heard that the city lord has arrested a lot of people recently, and they have all been imprisoned. Many people are worried.”

As usual with great powers, people will do whatever they want. Lou Fan and others also think it is understandable, but there are only so few citizens left in Holy Lake City. Moreover, there is a ghost village next door. What is the city lord trying to do by arresting people?

There is no solution to this problem for the time being so everyone turned to Gao Yi, expecting him to find out some other news.

Being looked at by 4 pairs of eyes, Gao Yi felt a little embarrassed. He had planned to go to the gate of the city to find information as many people are gathering and there are also city guards there. Unexpectedly, everyone acted like they are mute and didn’t talk with Gao Yi at all. Hence, he went to the guards at the gate for a chat. He took some universal currency such as gold and silver with him, but he didn’t expect that not only he didn’t get any information, he got questioned by the guards a few times. Afraid of being exposed, he could only mumble a few words to fool them. Feeling embarrassed for a moment, Gao Yi then returned to normal, and said, “I didn’t find out anything but I have a feeling that the people here seem to be very secretive about their city lord.”

Gao Yi only said a few nonsense words, but he didn’t expect that he guessed it right. Because of what he said, everyone had doubts about the city lord. They felt that there must be a problem with him, so they paid attention to the city lord.

Qin Tan began to plan, “The topographical layout of the City Lord’s mansion is unclear. We can only talk about it after checking it out. Upon entering the mansion, we will act separately to avoid being discovered. If there is an abnormal situation, immediately withdraw. At most at 2 hours, even if nothing is found, we must come out immediately.”

Both Nie Feng and Gao Yi listened intently. Gao Yi stopped taking the initiative to take the lead after his team members disappeared, and instead let Qin Tan call the shots. Except for him, everyone here is the intermediate team’s people. Even if he wants to take the lead, it still depends on whether these team members listen to him or not. Now, he feels that Qin Tan is very thoughtful. He has careful plans and is very considerate of the members.

Qin Tan thought about it for a long time, but couldn’t think of anything else to pay attention to, so they just have to take one step at a time when something happens.

Soon, night arrived and the 3 members are ready to explore. Lou Fan stood outside the door and told them to be careful. Suddenly a fluffy head popped out of Lou Fan’s pocket. Furball chirped twice at Qin Tan, it sounds like it is reluctant to part.

Qin Tan laughed. He took Furball out and rubbed it in the palm of his hand. Then he instructed, “Stay with him obediently and help me watch him. I will be back soon.”

“Jii jii.” – (Don’t worry, I’ll watch over him for sure.)

Lou Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They talked as if he is going to make trouble while Qin Tan is away. It makes him feel speechless about these two.

The 3 men disappeared into the night and Lou Fan returned to the room with Furball and Chen Shuyang. Because only the two of them are left in the inn tonight, it is more convenient for them to stay in a room together. At the moment, Chen Shuyang is still drawing amulets. Even though there is already a thick stack of amulets in his bag, Chen Shuyang still would draw a few sheets every day, so he feels at ease. Chen Shuyang gave Qin Tan and Nie Feng each a large stack of amulets before they left, so now he is restocking his inventory.

“Shuyang, go to bed soon, I’ll go to bed first.” Lou Fan lay on the bed and yawned.

Chen Shuyang nodded, “Go to sleep, Brother Lou. I’ll go to sleep in a while.”

Originally, Lou Fan planned to have a good night’s sleep but unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, he got shaken awake by Chen Shuyang. Chen Shuyang held a finger on his lips and said, “Brother Lou, there’s someone outside.”

…

The 3 figures ran quickly on the street, and after being careful to hide their presence, they quickly approached the City Lord’s mansion. The wall of the mansion is not too high. Taking a few steps back, Qin Tan then ran quickly and leaped. He held onto the mansion’s wall and glanced inside. There’s no one around. With a push from his waist, Qin Tan kicked at the wall and jumped onto the mansion’s wall. Immediately after, he jumped into the yard.

A soft whistle sounded briefly, and Nie Feng and Gao Yi also quickly climbed up the wall and jumped down.

In the dark, by the moonlight, Qin Tan nodded to the men, and the 3 quickly dispersed and ran away in different directions.

The City Lord’s mansion is not as heavily guarded as they had imagined in advance. It is unexpectedly quiet, not even a single person can be seen. Qin Tan still moved forward vigilantly, not making a sound even if there is no one around. As he is walking toward the very center of the mansion, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a black robe. Immediately, Qin Tan leaned against the wall and waited. Seeing that the other party didn’t notice him, he quickly followed behind.

The figure in front is somewhat familiar. The figure is wearing a large black robe with a tightly covered hood, it is the ‘village chief’ who brought them here. Qin Tan followed closely behind the figure. The ‘village chief’ walked into a room and pressed the wall lamp a few times. Next, a secret door opened silently.

Qin Tan didn’t even think about it and immediately rushed to follow when the secret door is about to close. Down the long steps, there are dark prison cells. Qin Tan didn’t dare to get too close, so he could only fall behind the ‘village chief’. There are men and women locked in the cells. Adding together, there could be a dozen of them here.

Originally, Qin Tan thought that the ‘village chief’ is going to do something, but he only patrolled inside and left. Qin Tan hid in the shadows and only came out after the ‘village chief’ had left. He glanced around and saw that all of the prisoners are either leaning or lying in an apathetic state.

“Ah Feng, Ah Feng…” Qin Tan whispered.

A short and stocky woman raised her head and looked around in confusion, “Who, who is calling me?”

Sure enough, Qin Tan is able to meet the Ah Feng that the old woman said. Qin Tan walked over quickly and said to her, “Your granny asked me to rescue you out, you…”

Qin Tan is about to explain a few more words. If the girl didn’t believe him, he would tell the old woman’s address and details of her home to get the trust, but he didn’t expect to be interrupted by the girl as soon as he uttered the first sentence.

“Hurry up, quickly open the door. It’s suffocating me here, and I miss my rabbits…”

Qin Tan: … This NPC is acting a little too familiar with him.

All of a sudden, Qin Tan thought of something when he is holding the lock. Stopping what he is doing, he turned and ran to look at the hidden door he came down from. He went to the door and pressed around the spots, and found that it couldn’t be opened – he got trapped here.

Qin Tan is not in a hurry. Since the ‘village chief’ came to inspect the prisoners just now, he will definitely come again. The trouble is, he set a time to meet up with Nie Feng and Gao Yi. If he didn’t go back by then, Lou Fan will be anxious. Thinking of Lou Fan, Qin Tan feels that he is more anxious than Lou Fan. He is not there with Lou Fan, he can’t help worrying about what bizarre thing Lou Fan might do.

…

As Nie Feng is running quickly down the corridor, he suddenly a high-pitched cry that made him turn around and follow the sound. The sliding door has a gap so he pushed it open gently, and probed inside lightly. The room is very dark. There is no light, and the moonlight outside is blocked by the clouds. After getting used to the darkness, Nie Feng could see the outline of an object. Taking a few steps inside, he heard rapid gasps and small whimpers from someone being covered by his mouth.

There is more than one person in this room.

His spirit weapon, the scissors are held in his hand firmly. It will only take 1 movement to block in front of him when needed.

The smell of blood tickled the tip of Nie Feng’s nose. The smell became stronger as he approached nearer which made him frown uncomfortably. But after a moment, he returned to his former expression. The moonlight is half exposed from behind the dark clouds, and gradually there is a little bit of light shining into the house. Nie Feng immediately hid behind the curtains. When the whole moon appeared behind the clouds, he could see the scene not far away.

A nekid man crouched on the ground, his skin festered and pitted with holes. In front of him is a person lying on the ground. The nekid man is currently using a tool to do something to the person and blood slowly seeped out from under the person. Nie Feng doesn’t think the person is still alive at this moment. As the nekid man is doing his thing, he keeps scratching at his own skin. When he scratched, the skin fell off like paint on a wall.

Nie Feng quietly exited the room. At the last moment when the door is closed, the squatting man suddenly turned to look over in the direction.

…

2 hours later, Nie Feng and Gao Yi meet up and waited for a while, but they still don’t see Qin Tan.

“Team leader Qin won’t be in trouble, right? Why hasn’t he come yet?” Gao Yi is a little anxious and kept looking around.

Nie Feng stayed silent for a while and said, “I’ll go in and have a look.”

Gao Yi grabbed Nie Feng, “I’ll go in too. But if we can’t find him, don’t force it. We’ll  go back and discuss it with Lou Fan.”

Nie Feng nodded and immediately ran into the mansion without a word.

Gao Yi sighed. In this intermediate team, everyone looked normal from the outside, but they all turned out to be reckless. All just ran away without a word, they are the kind who speaks with their actions. With a sigh, Gao Yi quickly entered the city lord’s mansion again. He didn’t find anything when he first entered the mansion. So this time round, thinking of going to look for Qin Tan, Gao Yi went to a more remote place, but he didn’t expect to find something useful.

In a silent space, even the slightest voice can be loud.

In a dimly lit room with only 1 candle illuminating the area, a man in a black robe is sitting in front of a masked man.

“You are too impatient. You shouldn’t do it yourself, let alone do it here.” said a slightly old and familiar voice.

The masked man reached out and touched his face, not minding the words. He replied, “There is no one else in this City Lord’s mansion, so do not worry about it. You should take the people you caught and leave tomorrow. Hurry up, this human skin is becoming more and more useless.”

The two exchanged a few more words, and Gao Yi listened frightfully. Afraid of being discovered, he was very careful when he left.

At Nie Feng’s side, it didn’t go so well this time. Suddenly some people are moving around at the place where there was no one just now. Nie Feng got found by one person. He immediately took out an immobilizing amulet and stick it on the person. When the person returned to his senses, there is no one in sight and it made him think that he saw things wrongly. This enables Nie Feng to escape safely. However, he couldn’t find Qin Tan.

The two meet up again. Gao Yi hurriedly pulled Nie Feng and said, “I didn’t see Qin Tan, but the city lord in this mansion should be a ghost, and the ‘village chief’ is in a cohort with him.”

Nie Feng doesn’t look surprised so Gao Yi got stunned and asked, “You knew?”

“I saw him skinning someone just now.” Nie Feng calmly replied.

Gao Yi stayed dumbfounded for a moment, then said, “Let’s go back to Lou Fan to discuss first. Qin Tan should be fine, maybe he’s trapped somewhere.”

Nie Feng also felt the same way. The two returned to the inn together and knocked on the door. It’s Chen Shuyang who came to open the door. Lou Fan is not seen in the room.

Chen Shuyang glanced outside and asked, “Where’s Brother Qin?”

“Where’s Lou Fan?” Gao Yi asked at the same time.

Raw word count: 3027

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Just like what he heard from the black-robed man, the holy lake and the ghost lake were once a whole lake, and no one knows when they suddenly got split into 2 lakes. The water of the holy lake nurtures the people of Holy Lake City, making them prosperous and happy, while the ghost lake is predictably miserable. In the beginning, the people of ghost lake village needed to go to the holy lake to fetch water to drink. Later, gradually no one came to fetch water.

The old woman sighed, “I’m older, so of course I know a lot more. On the ghost lake’s side are all the people who were expelled from Holy Lake City. When someone makes a mistake, commits a crime, or angers the city lord, they will be expelled to the ghost lake’s side. The name is called ghost lake, of course, ghosts exist there. My aunt is also over there.”

When the old woman said this, Lou Fan immediately looked at her. Her face looked calm and her eyes are expressionless.

“If the ghost lake and the holy lake can be connected, the two lakes will be integrated again… then, the people of the ghost lake village will be able to come back.”

The old woman stopped and looked at Lou Fan.

Lou Fan asked anxiously, “Then do you know how to connect the 2 lakes?”

“Child, of course I know. If you can help me with something, I’ll tell you how to connect them.”

This is it! Lou Fan immediately replied, “Just said it, we will do our best.”

“Go to the City Lord’s mansion and rescue my Ah Feng.”

…

The group of 7 people hid behind the wooden house, watching as the ghosts took off their human skins and sank into the water one by one. When there is no more figures on the shore, they came out and began to prepare to enter the water.

Wen Lang’s breath-holding skill is alright but Jiang Dong is a bit bad at it. Fortunately, Wen Lang still had a small pearl in his hand so he handed it to Jiang Dong. Jiang Dong refused, and Wen Lang pretended to be angry, “I still have a few more of this thing. Don’t force yourself to endure. The moment you can’t hold back down there, you’ll drown. Then, won’t you become a drowned ghost?”

Jiang Dong wanted to laugh but after thinking about it, he felt that what Wen Lang said is quite right so he held back. In fact, as Tong Fei and the others said, they don’t need to dive too far so he just endures a bit and it’ll be fine, but Wen Lang’s kindness means he is caring about him.

Seeing that it is almost time, Tong Fei took the lead and stepped into the water. Soon, her whole body sank and disappeared. The other 6 people followed suit. This is the first time Wen Lang enter the water after the Lao Ye Temple mission world. Wen Lang felt that this lake is a teeny weeny little better than Lao Ye Temple’s lake.

Sure enough, just like what Tong Fei said, about 10 minutes after they got into the water, they saw something like the mouth of a cave. They couldn’t see anything further down, it is pitch black. After swimming into the cave, Wen Lang’s feet stepped on the ground, and after swimming forward for more than 10 meters, the water stopped coming in. Wen Lang twisted the water from his clothing and looked back. He felt that the lake is really strange. There is a hole in the lake but the water couldn’t get in, how strange.

“Be careful with those ghosts.” Tong Fei and the rest leaned against the stone wall vigilantly. She reminded Wen Lang, who is still standing in the middle.

Hearing that, Jiang Dong pulled Wen Lang, and he immediately slammed into Jiang Dong’s arms, making Wen Lang feel like his ribs are about to break. The pain made Wen Lang bared his teeth, “Damn it, are you made of steel?!”

Jiang Rou smirked, and Tong Fei also curved the corners of her mouth.

Feng Zhi is still very indifferent, “Don’t waste time and follow our initial plan.”

Wen Lang is a little afraid of people like Feng Zhi as she reminded him of the dean of the school when he was a student. Immediately, he behaved himself and didn’t dare to grimace too much.

The main purpose of the group is to find a way to the holy lake so that they can go to meet Qin Tan and the others. Because it is the 2nd time she came down, Tong Fei found a hidden place with some familiarity. They silently observed the ghosts and found that they are just wandering in the cave. Soon, they will disappear somewhere else after a while, and they didn’t know what the ghosts are actually doing. However, the group doesn’t care too much. The important thing is not the ghosts, but to find the way.

Chen Man and Fan Dayong passed here with the ‘village chief’ once. Several people analyzed the cave. Since they can come into this cave from the lake, why the ‘village chief’ has to come in through another entrance and have to ring the bell? The reason is probably that the ‘village chief’ must keep wearing human skin, which means he can’t take off the human skin and enter the hole from the water. Another point is that the bell must be a very important tool. If there is no bell, it may be difficult to get through.

But anyway, finding the way to the holy lake first is the most important thing.

Those ghosts are very familiar with the cave, so the group has to be careful. They don’t dare to make a sound when the ghosts passed by and stick closely to the stone wall. Cold water seeps out of the stone walls, and they gathered into puddles on the ground.

Crap. Wen Lang’s heart sank[1].

A soft sound rang out from the hole. To the group, it sounded like the sound is magnified countless times. They don’t dare to breathe and can only hope that the ghosts passing by don’t hear it. Regrettably, 6 or 7 ghosts immediately gathered around.

Tong Fei ran away into a fork without saying a word, followed by Jiang Rou. On the other hand, Feng Zhi ran to the other direction of the fork and Wen Lang immediately chased after her, followed by Jiang Dong. Chen Man’s reaction is also immediate. He pulled Fan Dayong and ran, their speed is fast.

In the cave, the ghosts seemed to have a buff in their ability. They chased after the 3 teams for a while, with a sharp sound from their mouths. Soon, other ghosts followed behind.

The 3 teams all ran very fast, and the weapons in their hands kept swinging out. Jiang Rou’s vines rolled up the ghosts blocking their way and threw them behind, slowing down those ghosts who are behind. Feng Zhi’s umbrella opened and kept spinning. The edge of the umbrella is extremely sharp. With Wen Lang’s poker and Jiang Dong’s bandages that seem unlimited, the 3-people team has the least amount of ghosts in their way.

In comparison, Chen Man and Fan Dayong’s luck is very bad as many ghosts are chasing after them. Chen Man held an axe to open the way in front. Although Fan Dayong’s gun is also an intermediate spirit weapon, it is a long-range weapon after all. When they turned into a fork in a panic, a large group of ghosts came oncoming.

“ARGH!” Chen Man ruthlessly charged, holding his axe and desperately slashing at the ghost. When he managed to slash a gap in front of him, Chen Man gritted his teeth and grabbed Fan Dayong who was behind him, and pushed him forward to the gap. After that, he turned to face the ghost behind them and continued slashing. Then he shouted while slashing, “Da Yong, hurry up, be sure to follow the team leader.”

Fan Dayong gritted his teeth and wanted to step forward. He held his gun and kept shooting. However, the steel balls are not very effective on the ghosts, so they kept pouncing on Chen Man. Chen Man let out a low roar, and shouted again while enduring the pain, “Go, quickly!”

The group of ghosts gathered around Chen Man. Seeing that he is about to lose his hold, Fan Dayong said “I’m sorry”, turned around, and ran away with red eyes and gritted teeth. Soon, his figure could not be seen anymore.

“I’ll fight you guys to death!” Chen Man yelled, raised his axe, and rushed towards the ghosts.

…

“Are you all right?” Wen Lang asked.

Tong Fei and Jiang Rou looked a little bit in a sorry state. As for Feng Zhi, Wen Lang, and Jiang Dong, they looked normal as usual.

Jiang Rou said with a smile, “It’s okay, Sister Fei’s big sword is very powerful.”

Tong Fei didn’t see the other two people and asked, “Did you see Chen Man and Fan Dayong?”

All 3 people shook their heads.

Tong Fei felt helpless, but after thinking about it, she said, “Let’s look for them along the way.” It’s pure luck that the 5 people managed to meet up again from randomly running around.

Turning a corner, an unusual-looking hole appeared in front of them, and there is actually a ray of light shining from there. The group of 5 people walked in slowly, with Jiang Dong on guard at the end.

There are glowing beads on the stone walls inside the cave and 2 rows of poles like clothes drying poles in the middle. A row of hangers hangs from each pole, neatly drying a row of human skins.

Except for Jiang Dong who is still behind and hasn’t seen anything, the other 4 couldn’t help bursting into a cold sweat. This is like a factory, producing human skins. Seeing those caused chills to run down their back.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Rou’s voice is trembling and her face is pale. She looked like she is about to vomit in the next second.

Tong Fei nodded and took her out immediately. Wen Lang also grabbed Jiang Dong and walked out. He didn’t want to stay for a moment longer. This scene is making goosebumps stand up all over his body.

Feng Zhi is the calmest among them. She even went in for a walk and found that the human skin is really a complete state, from head to toe.

“Where did these human skins come from?” Feng Zhi calmly analyzed, “And what are they used for? They won’t belong to the villagers because their skins are all on the shore.”

…

Lou Fan and Qin Tan walked from the old woman’s yard to the door and found 3 people waiting at the door. When the other team members saw Lou Fan and Qin Tan coming out, they immediately greeted them. They are relieved to see that both men are in good condition.

Gao Yi glanced inside and whispered, “Why did you stay there for so long? We couldn’t knock on the door, and couldn’t get in. We almost wanted to try breaking down the door.”

“Why can’t you knock on the door?” Lou Fan wondered.

Gao Yi also looked inexplicable as he replied, “I don’t know. No one answered when I knocked, and I couldn’t push it open.”

Nie Feng was leaning against the wall earlier, but now he straightened up and said lazily, “It should be the restriction of the NPC, you can’t force the door.”

Qin Tan is very satisfied with his team member and said with a smile, “Nie Feng’s analysis is good. Let’s go back to the inn first. You should have also gotten some news, right? We will summarize it when we go back.”

The group of 5 people gathered in Lou Fan’s room, and Lou Fan and Qin Tan told the members what happened today.

“I knew it, Brother Lou would definitely be able to find the key NPC. See, this is an important clue.” Chen Shuyang’s flatters are coming out smoothly.

Gao Yi didn’t expect the old woman to be really a key NPC and also gave them an important clue. Since he had missed it before, this time he couldn’t screw it up again. He immediately said, “Count me in to save the girl.”

Nie Feng also opened his eyes and thought seriously for a few seconds. Then he said, “I’m going to save the girl too. Lou Fan is tired from today’s NPC mission, so he should take a rest.”

Qin Tan glanced at the 2 men, nodded, and said, “Okay, then the 3 of us will go save the girl.”

Chen Shuyang didn’t say anything. He isn’t someone who should be charging into battle. The military advisor of the team doesn’t have to be at the front line. This is what everyone agreed with so Chen Shuyang doesn’t uncomfortable at all (of not helping out with battles).

Lou Fan put his arms around Chen Shuyang and said, “Alright, Shuyang and I will wait for you guys to come back. We will go out for a walk along the way.”

Gao Yi asked, “Then, what does Ah Feng look like? Did the old woman tell you where she is locked?”

Lou Fan looked helpless as he answered, “The old woman said that her Ah Feng is very good-looking. She has a mole on her face and is quite tall and strong. En… anyway, she’s pretty.”

With such a description, he couldn’t imagine how good-looking Ah Feng will be. In summary, she is just a tall and strong girl which has nothing to do with being good-looking.

Raw word count: 3037

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[1] Not sure if author missed out something and didn’t write it or just trying to make it mysterious, but he/she didn’t state what/who made the soft sound. Banana is guessing someone accidentally stepped onto a puddle :v

The couple in the inn looked quite honest, the owner quickly boiled the water and made the tea while his wife tidied out 3 guest rooms. The group of 5 people didn’t have the strength to say more and went to their rooms to rest. Gao Yi has a room by himself.

Lou Fan put down his bag and wiped himself clean with the hot water. Then he went to bed.

Qin Tan tidied the quilt for Lou Fan. He stared at his partner for a while with a smile on the corner of his mouth. After that, he spent some time analyzing the information and incidents that happened before. Then, he washes up and goes to sleep. On the bed, Qin Tan pulled out the person who had rolled further into the bed. He hugged Lou Fan into his arms and snuggled against him, peppering kisses on Lou Fan’s face. When Lou Fan waved his hand in dissatisfaction to drive the nuisance away, Qin Tan smiled and closed his eyes.

En, it’s really comfortable to hold someone to sleep.

The next morning, Lou Fan remembered that he forgot to tell his teammates that he will be going to help the old woman feed the rabbits today. Everyone got up early and are eating the plain noodles made by the lady boss. Then they heard Lou Fan saying that he would feed the rabbits later.

Chen Shuyang blinked and asked with a smile, “Brother Lou, is your aura of luck showing again?”

Lou Fan poked the noodles in the bowl and said helplessly, “I’m just going to feed the rabbits. I don’t know if I found the clues or not. You guys still have to look around, maybe I missed something last night because it was too late. Look for clues more carefully today and I’ll go to the old woman’s place first. Who knows, what if…”

Chen Shuyang has complete trust in Lou Fan and is very confident, “Go ahead, Brother Lou. Just call me if you need help. We will wait for your good news.”

Lou Fan couldn’t help laughing when he heard Chen Shuyang’s words. What kind of friendship was this? It is very touching.

Gao Yi didn’t take Lou Fan’s words seriously. In his heart, he felt that Lou Fan is doing useless work, and he didn’t plan to participate. He is just going to figure out where to go to inquire about news, how much time is left, how their progress is a little slow, etc.

After a satisfying breakfast, the group split up. Lou Fan went out with Qin Tan, Gao Yi went out alone, and Nie Feng went out with Chen Shuyang. The task is to inquire for clues.

Following his plan, Gao Yi walked towards the city gate with a very clear goal. There are guards and some villagers gathered there. Plus, at the side of the city gate, there are villagers fetching water by the lake.

Lou Fan didn’t care where Nie Feng took Chen Shuyang, they just walked toward the old woman’s residence. When they reached the front of the house, they saw the old woman wiping her tears with her head down. Her wrinkled face is full of tears, which made people feel sympathetic.

Lou Fan walked over with a smile and said to her, “Granny, I’m here to help you feed the rabbits. Where are the rabbits?”

Hearing this, the old woman raised her head and glanced at Lou Fan. Then she pointed towards the house, “The rabbits are in the yard, and their food is on the side. You have to feed all 5 rabbits.”

Lou Fan nodded and agreed, “Okay, leave it to me.”

Just 5 rabbits, so it’s not difficult. Lou Fan estimated that it will be done in half an hour at most. This task is quite simple.

This small farmyard yard is paved with bluestone slabs and is very large. There are sheds on the left and right. 5 rabbits are kept on the right, and chickens and ducks are on the other. There are many flowers in the surrounding area. They are blooming nicely and colorful. It looks very nice and has a breath of life on it.

Lou Fan and Qin Tan walked to the rabbit shed and found that the rabbits are much bigger than the average rabbit they had ever seen. If they need to compare them, the rabbits are about the size of a corgi, and they are all fat.

“Aren’t these rabbits a little too big?” Lou Fan swallowed and glanced left and right. Not seeing the old woman, he whispered to Qin Tan, “If we make a pot of mala steamed rabbit, I wondered how delicious it would be?”

Qin Tan chuckled and said to Lou Fan, “Okay, I’ll make it for you when we returned. You can eat as much as you want.”

Lou Fan immediately raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, “Okay, let’s make spicy rabbit, stir-fry rabbit, pickled pepper rabbit…” After that, he swallowed and forced himself to shift his attention from the rabbit meat. Otherwise, he might unconsciously eat the rabbit raw.

Rolling up his sleeves, Lou Fan found that Qin Tan is already moving the grass from the side. That pile of grass would take a lorry to load everything, and it formed a hill in the yard.

“Don’t tell me this is all for the rabbits?” Lou Fan is a little dumbfounded.

Just 5 rabbits could eat so much? Sure this is not a joke?

Qin Tan’s arms are bulging as his arms are full of green grass. His nose is full of the smell of green grass and he turned his face to the side. Spitting out 2 stalks of grass, he said, “I’m not sure but let’s feed them first. With these many grasses, the rabbits will take a long time to eat.”

Lou Fan glanced at the ‘mountain’ of green grass and then glanced at the heap in Qin Tan’s arms. Qin Tan’s arms are full, but the grass pile didn’t decrease. Lou Fan sighed. He is probably dreaming earlier, the quest given by the NPC is not as simple as he thought!

Welp, can’t say anything. Just roll up his sleeves and do it!

The 5 rabbits are kept together in a shed. Qin Tan threw the heap of grasses into the feeding trough and turned around to carry more again. Lou Fan was following behind Qin Tan and he stopped in front of the trough, stunned for a moment.

“Qin Tan, did you just put the grass in?” Lou Fan’s voice sounded dry.

Qin Tan is puzzled, but replies, “I just put it in, what’s wrong?”

Lou Fan: “There’s no more left. I was following behind you. You just put down the grasses a few seconds, and these rabbits finished them already? Are these rabbit monsters?”

Qin Tan: …

Lou Fan put down the grasses in his arms and is still muttering, “Eating so fast and so much, no wonder it grows so big…”

Then, Lou Fan saw it. The moment the grasses are put down, the rabbits rushed forward. He watched the grasses disappear, in the blink of an eye.

“Frick…”

Not enough to curse, the old woman’s voice sounded faint from afar, “Young man, you have to feed them quickly, or the rabbits will be angry.”

Lou Fan: …

Qin Tan: …

Both men felt helpless and quickened their speed, but no matter how fast they are, the speed of the rabbit’s grazing is not slow at all. Until half of the green grass hill disappeared, they still continued to eat quickly. Lou Fan rubbed his sore arm, feeling that his feet could no longer be lifted, but he didn’t dare to relax.

“I’m frickin exhausted!” Lou Fan fell to the ground, out of breath.

The ‘mountain’ of grass has disappeared alas, and the rabbits finally seem to be full and no longer guarding the trough, but spread out to do their own thing. Qin Tan is also very tired. He unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to Lou Fan. Next, he opened another bottle himself and downed everything in one breath.

The sound of light footsteps sounded. Lou Fan opened his eyes and met the smiling eyes of the old woman. He sat up and said, “Granny, we have fed the rabbits.”

The old woman walked to the rabbit shed and looked around, nodded with satisfaction, “Okay, well fed.”

After speaking, her face changed immediately, and she looked sadly at the flowers around the wall. She said sadly, “My poor Ah Feng, she likes these flowers the most. If they died, I don’t know how sad she would be!”

With this emotional expression, Lou Fan felt that she should be awarded an Oscar for Best Actress. He sighed and asked with a good temper, “Granny, do you need our help?”

The old woman turned her head and said with kindness, “It’s the best if you can help. Just water all the flowers until they become energetic again.”

The flowers around the wall are drooping and looking listless. Lou Fan thought about what granny said. She wanted them to water the flowers to make them more energetic. What kind of bizarre request is this?

Qin Tan winked at Lou Fan and whispered, “She should be the key NPC without a doubt.”

Lou Fan nodded, and he is sure too. Only key NPCs can have so many extraordinary requests, he has seen it a long time ago. But he is really tired now and is about to lose his strength, so he requested, “Granny, can we rest for a while?”

The granny is very friendly and said, “Okay, take a rest when you’re tired. Let’s not rush. Do you want to drink some water? I collected them from the holy lake early in the morning.”

The water of the holy lake? Lou Fan nodded immediately, “That’s great. Thank you, granny.”

The old woman waved her hand and walked to a water tank. She scooped it with a ladle, turned around, and handed it to Lou Fan, “Drink it, the water in the holy lake is delicious.”

Lou Fan took the ladle while thanking her. Then he took a big gulp from the water ladle and handed it to Qin Tan. The water is sweet and clear, it flows into his mouth like a clear spring. When it went down the throat, the water instantly cleared up the exhaustion. Qin Tan obviously felt the same way and looked at Lou Fan with disbelief eyes. The water of the ghost lake is not drinkable at all, and the water of the holy lake is like holy water.

Lou Fan pursed his lips and asked, “Granny, do you know about the ghost lake?”

The old woman glanced at Lou Fan, and there seemed to be a flash of light in her eyes. She took back the water ladle, and immediately sighed, “Aiyo, my poor granddaughter. She got taken away by the bad guys. The flowers in this yard are her favorite, I hope they don’t die……”

Lou Fan: …

Granny, can we act a little more genuinely? Are you ditching the emotional act after we got familiar? How insincere.

Though complaining in his heart, Lou Fan still got up slowly to work. His exhaustion seemed to be taken away by the water of the holy lake, and he could continue to ‘move bricks and work’ now. Looking at the time, it turned out that it is already afternoon, they must move faster.

However, watering the flowers is not much easier than feeding the rabbits. Qin Tan picked up buckets of water from the well, and he carried the buckets to water the flowers, pouring them one by one. The flowers are like the rabbits, like a bottomless pit. Even a few buckets of water could not fill up a pot of flowers. When he decided to ask the old woman for more information, water finally seeped out from the bottom of the flower pot. Next, the flowers became ‘energetic’ at a speed visible to the naked eye. After he finally finished watering a pot, he looked at the rest of the flowers around the wall… he felt like wanting to die.

…

The bright moonlight sprinkled on the small yard, giving the yard in the night a sense of tranquility.

Lou Fan slowly poured a ladle of water on a pot of yellow flowers, and when he saw the flowers become energized, he exhaled a breath. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he made an OK gesture to Qin Tan. Looking along the wall, the flowers are all in good spirits. There are water droplets on the petals and leaves, which occasionally slide down from above, looking bright and dewy.

Rubbing his sore arm, Lou Fan took a sip from the unfinished water ladle. The water quality is good, but unfortunately, it is not as good as the ones from the holy lake.

The old woman came out of the house. She walked slowly like she is taking a walk.

“Granny, can you give us some more water from the holy lake?” Lou Fan doesn’t think he is being thick-skinned at all.

“Help yourself.” She sat on a small stool and began to speak, “This holy lake and ghost lake, it used to be the same lake…”

Raw word count: 3067

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[Banana: Finally, we have reached the last 10 chapters of the novel. Thanks for following the translation yo~]

There are 3 big characters written on the huge city gate plaque, Holy Lake City. Lou Fan curled his lips. The ghost lake village on the other side didn’t even have a name, while this one here directly named itself Holy Lake City. Ain’t they despising the ghost lake village too much?

As soon as the group entered the city gate, several people left the ‘village chief’ group. They glanced in the direction where ‘he’ is going but didn’t know where he is heading. The ‘village chief’ simply turned the corner and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Lou Fan turned his head back, only to find that there are fewer people on the team. Qin Tan found out too and asked Gao Yi, “What about the other two? Why are they gone?”

Gao Yi looked helpless and sighed, “I don’t know either. I suddenly felt wrong and they already disappeared. At that time, I couldn’t possibly say it out and I couldn’t see them anywhere, so I could only continue to follow the group.”

How can someone even get lost even if they hold on to the corner of your shirt? Lou Fan looked at Gao Yi in disbelief but didn’t say anything. However, Chen Shuyang is different. Practicing the principal of ‘Ask if don’t understand’, he asked, “Can they get lost even by holding the corner of your shirt? Did they get into trouble?”

Gao Yi: “Probably… maybe.”

Chen Shuyang blinked. He had a feeling that Gao Yi is somewhat a little insincere.

Qin Tan stopped the meaningless guesses and began to assign tasks, “Let’s split into groups first and take a look at the situation in the city. Pay attention if there is anything special, or a place where you can inquire for news and information. We shall meet here in an hour.”

There are 5 people in total, and it’s not good to leave Gao Yi alone. Lou Fan glanced at Nie Feng and took the initiative to say that he will go with Qin Tan and Gao Yi, while Nie Feng will take Chen Shuyang. Strength-wise, Nie Feng is not weak. He has a clear mind and is a strong person. On the other hand, Lou Fan didn’t want Gao Yi to follow them, and wanted to have private time with Qin Tan, but who ask Gao Yi’s 2 unlucky teammates to get lost? And while holding onto his clothes? It’s really making him speechless.

The awaited couple time is gone, and Qin Tan’s face turned dark like the bottom of a pot. Seeing that, Lou Fan almost laughed out loud. This person (QT) looked more depressed than him, and it is making Gao Yi confused.

Holy Lake City looked big, but the population is not too large. Most of them are concentrated in the most prosperous streets at the gate of the city. The further back they go, the lesser people they can see. There is a very majestic and antique house in the center of the city. But further back, although there are houses, most of them are vacant.

The group of 3 wandered around the city and walked to the lower half of the city, where there are fewer people. There are so few pedestrians on the road that no one could be seen at the moment. It is not easy to find the key NPC to start with so Lou Fan is not in a hurry. He simply searched slowly and searched every place.

Gao Yi also knew the importance of key NPCs, but although he is a patient person, he couldn’t help feeling a little anxious at this moment.

Then, a burst of crying sounded from a distance. It’s a miserable cry, with the slightest wailing.

“My poor granddaughter! How could you be taken away by those bad people!”

Following the voice, Lou Fan walked over and saw an old person lying prostrate on the ground. She is tearful, constantly slapping the ground, and looking very miserable.

“My poor Ah Feng!”

Lou Fan’s eyes lit up. He winked at Qin Tan and walked over immediately. He bent down and lowered his head then asked in a low voice, “Old woman, what’s wrong with you? Why are you lying on the ground? Let me help you up.”

The old woman ignored Lou Fan, still lying on the ground and crying. Lou Fan is patient, so he squatted down and said slowly, “Old woman, the ground is very cold. You can tell me if you have any difficulties, and I can help you.”

The old woman raised her head and glanced at Lou Fan. Her aging face is miserable and helpless, and she lowered her head to continue crying.

A smile appeared on Lou Fan’s mouth. He thought to himself, this old woman must be a key NPC, so he continued to persuade her.

But Gao Yi, who is standing behind Qin Tan, is a little impatient. He couldn’t see Lou Fan’s expression, but based on his past experience and the information he had collected in the intermediate-level club, the key NPCs are generally like this: Once the passenger finds the right one, they just have to talk to the NPC to get the clues they need, instead of talking over and over again like now and the other party ignores it.

From this belief, this old woman is not a key NPC at all.

“It’s a waste of time to go on like this.” Gao Yi said, “Team leader Qin, how about you wait here and I’ll go around to see if there are any other clues.”

How could Qin Tan not know that Gao Yi is impatient? So he nodded and agreed that Gao Yi would come back in half an hour.

Lou Fan spoke very patiently for 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, the old woman straightened up. Half-sitting on the ground, she watched Lou Fan while slowly wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, “Young man, my poor granddaughter has been taken away by the bad guys. You said that you want to help me?”

Lou Fan became happy in his heart and nodded immediately, “Yes, if you have any difficulties, I can help you.”

The old woman supported herself with the stool on one side and struggled to stand up. Lou Fan immediately got up and gave her a hand, allowing her to lean at him to stand up. The old woman stood up properly and straightened her clothes. There are no more tears left on her face. Although she had no expression, she looked kind.

By now, the sky is completely dark, but Holy Lake City is brightly lit, and there are lights everywhere.

“Ah Feng is taken away. If you really want to help me, come and help me feed the rabbits early tomorrow morning.”

Feed the rabbit? Lou Fan blinked. This quest is sure special, but you can’t talk about conditions with NPCs. He nodded, “Okay, I’ll come early tomorrow morning.”

After speaking, the old woman yawned and turned to enter the door, regardless of whether they are still standing at the door.

When Gao Yi came back, Qin Tan and Lou Fan are sitting on the stone steps at one side, waiting, and he didn’t see the old woman from before. Gao Yi didn’t ask, and the two didn’t elaborate, so they headed to the agreed place to meet Nie Feng and Chen Shuyang.

Chen Shuyang and Nie Feng are already waiting there and saw them. Nie Feng showed no expression and said to Qin Tan, “Team leader, we didn’t find anything.”

Qin Tan responded and said, “Let’s find a place to rest first.”

They haven’t rested since they entered the forest (to search for Gao Yi and clues). Then they planned to rest at night after they returned. But the full moon came early, and they ended up following the ‘village chief’ to Holy Lake City. It’s late at night now so everyone is very tired.

Lou Fan thought for a while and asked, “Have you guys seen any inn or place that provides accommodation just now? Maybe there will be clues there.”

Gao Yi shook his head, and Chen Shuyang also shook his head. Nie Feng’s sleepy eyes drooped. And after a while, he said, “I seem to have seen one, but I’m not sure. That word is really small.”

Qin Tan didn’t hesitate and said, “Let’s go over and take a look.”

Nie Feng led the way. Chen Shuyang followed behind, tilted his head, and asked, “When did you see that, Nie Feng? Why didn’t I see it? And you didn’t tell me about it.”

“Because you’re silly.” Nie Feng said lightly, “I’m here with you, still need to tell you? You should just follow me[1].”

There’s nothing wrong with this statement at all. Chen Shuyang thought about it for a second, and felt that what Nie Feng said is very reasonable, “That’s right, I’ll just follow you. I’m really a bit stupid, sigh, when can I become smarter?”

Nie Feng raised his hand and rubbed Chen Shuyang’s hair, “You are okay, not silly.”

Chen Shuyang glared at Nie Feng, so is he silly or not?

The place Nie Feng said is located in a small alley on the other side. There is a canvas hanging on it with a word written: Inn. The name is very short and concise.

A group of people walked over and saw wilting flowerpots haphazardly placed around the entrance of the inn. A layer of mud and ash has gathered on the bluestone bricks at the door. The wooden door is half closed.

Nie Feng stepped forward and pushed open the wooden door, making a creaking sound, “Anyone here? Seeking accommodation.”

No one answered.

“Anyone here?” Chen Shuyang stuck his head in and called out after Nie Feng.

“Who is it?” A woman came out of the room wiping her hands. She didn’t seem to expect someone to come for accommodation. She got stunned for a while before she responded and said, “Do you want accommodation? Aiya, come in quickly, take a seat first.”

Saying that, the woman hurriedly opened the door and dragged a few long benches over. Then she stretched her neck and shouted inside, “Old man, there are guests coming to stay. Quickly boil water to make tea.”

A middle-aged man inside leaned out to take a look and immediately responded. With a smile, he went to boil water.

“I’m really sorry. Very few people here would come to stay at the inn so we are not well prepared. Guests, please wait a moment.” The woman kept rubbing her hands, her face full of guilt.

Lou Fan said with a smile, “It’s okay, we’re not in a hurry. Take your time.”

“Eh eh, alright, then I’ll tidy up the guest room first. Please wait a moment, I’ll make tea for you in a while. Just wait a minute!”

Lou Fan nodded and smiled. He said, “Okay, you can go to work first.”

When the woman left, Lou Fan sighed, “It seems that usually, no one comes to stay here.”

Qin Tan unloaded his bag and instantly felt relaxed. He replied, “The Holy Lake City and Ghost Village are relatively closed. Both the villagers are self-sufficient, so very few outsiders will come.”

Lou Fan nodded thoughtfully, then why is there such a place for outsiders to stay?

…

Tong Fei came out of the lake and wiped the water off her face. At this moment, the moon is in the middle of the sky. The huge full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the whole village clearly. She didn’t even look at the human skins on the shore and went straight to the shore.

Immediately after, 4 heads appeared from the lake, and they landed on the shore one after another. A group of dripping people walked towards the house, and the sky gradually turned brighter. 10 minutes after they landed, many black figures appeared from the lake.

“Sister Tong Fei?” Wen Lang came out immediately when he heard the sound, and is very surprised to see Tong Fei.

Tong Fei smiled, “I know you guys are waiting for us, so I came back.”

Wen Lang didn’t care that Tong Fei is dripping wet and jumped up. He gave her a hug and said, “It’s great that you are all right.”

Tong Fei pushed Wen Lang away and joked, “Kiddo, don’t take advantage of me.”

Wen Lang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. When he let go of her and looked back, he saw Chen Man and Fan Dayong. Then, Wen Lang had a weird look on his face.

“Why did you guys come back? Didn’t you follow along with the group?” Wen Lang wondered. Why did these 2 come back not long after leaving? Also, they came back with the girls.

Jiang Dong is more understanding and asked, “Did something happen? Did you get hurt?”

Hearing that, Chen Man’s expression is a little unnatural. It seems that he needs to repeat the explanation of his stupid action, and he really didn’t know how to say it.

Fan Dayong answered first, “We accidentally got separated from team leader and the others. Team leader and the others should have already arrived at the holy lake. Then we met Tong Fei and the others, so we can only follow them back.”

Wen Lang felt a bit suspicious. This Chen Man dude must have a secret, but he didn’t ask too many questions. He doesn’t really care much about the two of them, as long as Brother Qin and the others are okay.

Jiang Dong also turned his head and looked at the girls up and down. They are wet all over, but he is relieved to see that none of them are injured.

After Tong Fei and the others rested for a while, they talked about the underwater cave. Hearing that, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong looked at each other with thoughtful expressions.

Feng Zhi glanced at the 2 and rarely opened her mouth to say, “I think there should be clues in the cave below, so we should go down again.”

Raw word count: 3191

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[1] That sounded really egoistic in English but it doesn’t sound like that in Chinese (at least for me). Here’s the raw for those who wanted to know – “有我在，告诉你做什么，你跟着就行了。”

Hearing that, Fan Dayong got stunned for a moment. Then, immediately realizing what Chen Man just said, he grabbed Chen Man’s arm and asked, “What happened? Didn’t you follow them properly? You didn’t grab onto team leader’s clothes?”

Chen Man looked annoyed at himself and explained as he scratched at his hair, “I was trying to wipe the water off my face, and my hand unconsciously…”

Fan Dayong gasped violently and clenched his teeth tightly. He turned his head to look around but it is pitch black everywhere and he couldn’t see anything.

“What should we do now?” Fan Dayong whispered, “The man in black robe warned us not to lose the sound of bell.”

…

The moment the pulling force behind him suddenly disappeared, Gao Yi’s heart tightened. He turned his head to see and… there isn’t anyone behind him. Chen Man and Fan Dayong could not be seen at all. The sound of the bell in front of him continued, and he couldn’t bear to think more about it, so he could only turn his head and continue to walk forward.

Having 2 teammates suddenly disappeared, Gao Yi couldn’t describe how he felt. Originally, his team and Tong Fei’s team formed a 6-member senior team, but now some went missing while some got lost. He is the only one left following the intermediate team. No matter what, it makes him feel a little uncomfortable in his heart. Though he felt heavy in his heart, Gao Yi didn’t say anything to the person in front of him.

…

Chen Man and Fan Dayong stood there for a while, discussing what to do next.

“Chen Man, what should we do now?”

Fan Dayong came from the countryside and is not very cultured. To be able to get to this point, it’s all thanks to Gao Yi who carry him along. If asking for manpower, Fan Dayong can contribute. But if asking for brain power, he can only rest at the side.

Chen Man’s mind is a mess at the moment, but he is trying his best to sort out his thoughts. If he couldn’t find a way to calm himself down, the two of them would just wait here and die. After thinking for a while, Chen Man took out the light from his backpack and turned it on. He adjusted it to the lowest brightness and shone it around, but he could see nothing but the stone walls.

“We can’t just stand here, the bell won’t come back to us. We have to find a way out.” Chen Man said calmly, “Let’s walk around first and be careful.”

Fan Dayong has no comments and immediately nodded in agreement, “Okay, I’ll take the lead.”

Chen Man stopped Fan Dayong and said, “Wait, I’ll take the lead first. Your gun is a long-range weapon and can’t react quickly in case of danger. If we can go back to the village, we’ll join up with Wen Lang and Jiang Dong.”

Fan Dayong’s spirit weapon is a gun, and the bullets inside are steel balls, which can be regarded as long-range attack weapons. On the other hand, Chen Man’s spirit weapon is a big axe. But still, Fan Dayong is moved by his initiative to go ahead. The two relied on the weak light source to grope forward, not daring to go too fast. There is a lot of water vapor wafting from the stone wall. They seeped out from the stone wall and dripped, forming a small pool of water on the ground.

“It’s clammy and cold here. Why does it feel like we are underground?” Fan Dayong pressed his hand against the stone wall and whispered to Chen Man in front of him.

Chen Man reminded, “Be careful. You better hold onto me instead. Don’t touch anything that shouldn’t be touched.”

Fan Dayong immediately retracted his hand and rubbed at his clothes, as if he really touched something terrible. Listening to Chen Man’s words, he felt that his hand didn’t touch a stone wall seeping with water, but a cold python instead.

After walking carefully for a while, forks began to appear in the path, and the dark holes looked particularly terrifying. Chen Man’s face is sullen, and he could only choose a path randomly by fate. At this moment, he only hoped that he could have the same good luck as Lou Fan. Turning around a stone wall, Chen Man immediately stopped. Fan Dayong, who is walking behind, almost collided with him, but fortunately stopped in time. Chen Man immediately grabbed Fan Dayong and ducked to the back.

“There are people in the cave and someone lying on the ground. Let’s take a look first.” Chen Man said to Fan Dayong in a low breath.

Fan Dayong wanted to look inside, but Chen Man pulled him back and mouthed the word ‘Be careful’. Fan Dayong stretched out half of his body and saw that the figure is very dark, kind of like the ghostly being they saw taking off human skin on the shore before. There is a figure on the ground, it’s human indeed as their skin is pale white. That ghostly being is squatting in front of the human, doing something to his limbs.

Fan Dayong had a thought in his heart and couldn’t help feeling agitated all over his body. He turned around and asked Chen Man, “That thing is… skinning people?”

Chen Man’s face is solemn and he nodded with difficulty.

Fan Dayong is an honest man, so hearing that cause a surge of anger to rise from his heart at this moment. He raised the gun in his hand and aimed at the ghost. Suddenly a hand stretched out from the side and stopped him. Then with a clever twist of a hand, the gun is moved to point down instead. Chen Man reacted immediately and raised his axe to slash at the newcomer. A green vine instantly wrapped around his wrist and axe, making him unable to move for a while.

“You two want to die?” Feng Zhi’s cold voice sounded.

Chen Man and Fan Dayong saw that it is Tong Fei’s team of 3.

Tong Fei whispered, “If you want to die, don’t get us involved. There is only 1 ghost here but there are more than a dozen ghosts in the cave next door. According to preliminary estimates, there are nearly 100 ghosts here.”

100 ghosts? If surrounded, even if 1 takes a bite at a time, they can be devoured without leaving a single bit.

Jiang Rou took back her vines, and Fan Dayong took back his gun. Tong Fei made a gesture and took the lead to walk to a nearby cave hole. Feng Zhi and Jiang Rou followed without a word, and Chen Man and Fan Dayong immediately followed.

Seeing Tong Fei’s team here, Chen Man and Fan Dayong immediately settled down in their hearts. They stopped panicking and looked relaxed.

The 5 people walked to a recessed stone wall. The position of this concave wall is very good. They can see the surrounding situation very well and it is not very conspicuous from a distance, so it is not easy to be found at first glance.

Tong Fei looked at Chen Man and asked, “Why are you two here?”

Chen Man paused for a while, then told what happened after they followed Gao Yi into the woods. Then, he talked about what happened after Lou Fan and the others went in to find them, and what happened after they met the black-robed man. Finally, when he reached the part where he lost Gao Yi, his face showed a little uncomfortable expression.

This is indeed his problem.

Tong Fei let out a soft En.

Chen Man asked the girls again how they got here, “Everyone looked around the village and didn’t see you. We only saw your bags in the house and thought you girls went missing. Wen Lang and Jiang Dong are waiting in the village for you.”

Hearing that the 2 members are waiting for them in the village, Jiang Rou smiled and said happily, “Brother Lou and his team are so loyal. Wen Lang actually stayed and waited for us.”

Tong Fei laughed, “These people are too unrestrained. If we’re not in the village, wouldn’t they have waited there in vain and can’t get on the train when the mission ends?”

Although Tong Fei is complaining about the intermediate team, her eyes are full of gentle smiles.

Seeing that the girls are perfectly fine, Chen Man asked strangely, “How did you 3 get here? Because we followed the sound of the ‘village chief’ bell.”

There is a sound in the distance, and the five of them became vigilant. Tong Fei quickly said, “Don’t make a sound for now, we’ll talk about it later.”

The five people stuck close to the wall. After a while, a group of figures walked through the cave not far away. They are all dark figures, and they are the ghostly things in the village.

Chen Man suddenly felt that he seemed to know how Tong Fei’s team got here. When the ghosts disappeared, Chen Man asked in a low voice, “Did you girls follow those things into the water, from the lake to this place?”

Tong Fei raised her eyebrows to look at Chen Man and praised, “I didn’t expect you to be smart this time.”

Hearing that, Fan Dayong’s eyes widened, “You 3 are too daring. To follow those ghosts to the lake…”

Although in Lazuli, risks have always coexisted with benefits, this risk is also a little too great.

“How can we find their lair if we don’t come down?” Feng Zhi asked coldly, “Also, the ‘village chief’ has to pass through here, it means that this place is very important to them. Finding this place is one of the clues. It’s just that right now, should we kill these ghosts or wait first? That’s the question.”

Tong Fei recalled what Chen Man said and thought for a moment. Then she said, “I think it’s better to wait until Lou Fan and the others get the clues and come back. Let’s go back to the village to meet with Wen Lang and Jiang Dong.”

After Tong Fei’s team first entered the cave, they deliberately left a mark along the way so it is easy to find the way back. Besides, this place is crawling with those ghostly things so they have to go ashore first before the ghosts go back. In case the situation happens where the way back disappears after the sun rises, it will be bad for them.

…

At Lou Fan’s side, they followed the ‘village chief’ through twists and turns for a long time and finally came out of the cave. As soon as they went out, a person is standing on each side of the entrance of the cave, with a long weapon, fiercely guarding the entrance. At a glance, they looked like the ancient door gods. The ‘village chief’ stood in front and keep ringing the bell in his hand. After shaking it several times, the 2 ‘door gods’ put down their weapons and gave way.

Lou Fan was a little nervous, but Qin Tan in front is very calm and followed with a steady pace. Lou Fan breathed a sigh of relief after he passed in front of the two guards smoothly. The next moment, he wondered what would happen if one approaches without the bell of the ‘village chief’.

Just as Lou Fan is thinking about it, a loud shout suddenly sounded from behind. The group turned their heads and looked over, only to see a ghost coming out about 10 meters behind them. But the ghost got stopped by 2 guards. When that loud shout sounded, the guards stabbed their weapons straight into the ghost’s body. The next moment, the ghost disappeared. As if nothing happened, the 2 guards returned to their original positions mechanically, still glaring at each other.

The guards didn’t say any warning and simply stab down, it kind of hurts to look at. After returning to their senses, the group of people did not know if they had passed the customs, but they still followed closely forward.

The road is sandwiched between 2 mountains. A gentle slope goes up, and when the group reaches the top, they knew that they have arrived on the side of the holy lake.

The clear and icy blue lake water appeared in front of them. The top of the gentle slope turned out to be a lake. The fishes in the water are swimming happily, and a gust of breeze blew. It only made people feel like the clear lake water is blowing on their faces with the wind, and it is refreshing. Looking further forward, a city stands by the lake with one side adjacent to the lake, and a tall city wall surrounds a prosperous town. In the dark, bright lights are shining from the city, as bright as day.

This is very different from the situation on the other side of Ghost Lake.

The ‘village chief’ walked to the city gate with the group of people following behind him. The city gate is wide open, and the bustling scene of people coming and going inside could be seen from the outside. Everyone in the group looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Lou Fan thought to himself, wondering where to find the key clue.

Raw word count: 3053

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Banana: To those who are still reading this, thank you. I’m still alive lol, was too busy with my recent move. I underestimated it, thinking that everything will be done after I moved out from the old place but I forgot about the unpacking at the new place.

For a week, I only clear the space from the door to my bedroom. I felt too tired from coming home after work so I don’t want to do anything else _(;3/ I’ll try to be a bit more consistent next month yo.

Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang are waiting for the man in black robe to come out with some mysterious solution to let the mist disperse (so that they could go back to the village), but the man in black robe just took them to walk for about half an hour. Next, they actually arrived at the edge of the woods.

The man in black robe stopped walking and said to them, “I will send you guys until here. Be careful. If you really are able to connect the two lakes, we will be grateful to you.”

Qin Tan waved his hand and said, “We are not doing it just for you, this is what we’re going to do. We’ll meet again if there is a chance.”

The man in black robe nodded, “Goodbye.”

Lou Fan thought to himself, maybe they will be back in 2 days but now the goodbyes sounded like they will never see him again. He always has a feeling that to complete this task, the man in black must return to his own position. The man might even need their help for this.

The moment they took a step out of the woods, the group returned to the edge of the village, and the village could be seen from a distance. What is even more bizarre is that they came out during the day. When they turned around and took a step back, they didn’t see anything unusual and did not return to the woods either.

“It’s amazing. It looks like we can only go in the woods at night.”

Lou Fan shifted his backpack and walked towards the village, “Come on, let’s meet up with Sister Tong Fei and the girls. Then we need to discuss a plan.”

The group of people walked into the village. It’s still the same as when they first arrived, the village is quiet, a dead silence. Inside a house that has its door open, a figure can be seen standing in the shadows. Walking back to the house where they stayed before, Wen Lang rushed in first, “Sister Tong Fei… eh, why is there no one?”

“No one?” Lou Fan followed, and sure enough, there is no one inside. But their big backpacks are still inside the house, but the smaller bags are missing. Lou Fan frowned and looked around, “Their backpacks are still there, it means that they are still in the village and did not go to the holy lake.”

Qin Tan: “Go out and look around first, maybe they’re outside looking for clues.”

Lou Fan nodded, and the group immediately dispersed in the village and began to look for the girls.

Gao Yi followed and said to his team members, “Let’s look for them too. We’ll go to a look at the lake.”

Everyone split up in different directions. Lou Fan swiftly moved and looked around. His furrowed brows became deeper and deeper, and the bad feeling in his heart gradually rose.

Qin Tan followed behind Lou Fan and comforted him, “Tong Fei and the other 2 girls have good skills, they must be fine. Also, their spirit weapons are intermediate level, so ordinary ghosts are not their opponents.”

Lou Fan’s pace gradually slowed down and he sighed, “That’s right, maybe they found something and didn’t have time to leave a mark. Let’s look around again. If there’s still nothing, we’ll go back and make plans for the next step.” Although Tong Fei is important, he still has many companions around him to take care of. Moreover, there is still task to be done, so he can only try his best to find them. If nothing comes out, they can only wait.

“Brother Lou, have you found them yet?” Wen Lang asked eagerly, “Jiang Dong and I looked around, but we didn’t see a single person.”

As Wen Lang is talking, Chen Shuyang and Nie Feng also came back, shaking their heads at them, “No one here, and no clues are found.”

Gao Yi and the others also came back. They looked around the lake, but they didn’t see anyone.

Lou Fan cheered himself up and put down his backpack. He loosened his shoulders and said, “Okay, maybe they found some clues, but it’s too rushed to leave a mark. Let’s make a plan for the next step.”

Gao Yi didn’t say anything so Qin Tan moved in. He took the initiative to take over the planning and spread out a piece of white paper. Next, he took out a marker and started writing.

1. The man in black robe said that tomorrow night will be a full moon night, and we need to follow the bell of the ‘village chief’ to the holy lake.
2. Upon arriving at the holy lake, we need to find out about the passage and how to connect it to the ghost lake.
3. Find out the whereabouts of Tong Fei and the girls.

Qin Tan listed 3 points and Chen Man immediately said, “Wait, Tong Fei and the girls are missing, why do you still need to leave someone to look for them?”

Hearing that, Lou Fan looked at Chen Man with sharp eyes and asked with a harsh tone, “Then, why did we come to save you?”

It is probably the first time that Lou Fan showed this expression so Chen Man got stunned for a moment, unable to speak. Gao Yi pulled at Chen Man and immediately came out to calm the situation.

“It’s right to look for Tong Fei and the others. Maybe they’ve found clues already. Besides, they’re friends, so we should.”

Qin Tan gave Chen Man a cold look and continued, “Then, we should at least divide into 3 groups. One group will stay here while the rest goes to the holy lake. At the holy lake, we must be divided into groups.”

Qin Tan thought for a while, then added, “But the problem is, for anyone who chose to stay here, you may not be able to come over after the full moon. Then, you won’t know where you can get on the train when the task is completed.”

This is a rather troublesome problem.

“If the ghost lake becomes a holy lake, the two sides can be considered to be connected, so we should be able to communicate with each other.” Lou Fan thought for a while and said, “It stands to reason that we should get on the train over here.”

Chen Shuyang chipped in, “That is to say, if we can’t complete the task, it doesn’t matter which side we are.”

Lou Fan nodded, “For anyone who is staying here, go and look for Tong Fei and the girls, Also, I think there should be other paths going to the same place.” Lou Fan has the fish scale suit in his backpack. Maybe there is a channel at the bottom of the lake, he had already planned to go down.

“Who wants to stay here?” Qin Tan asked, looking around.

Lou Fan pursed his lips, he wanted to stay here to find Tong Fei, but…

“I’ll stay here and look for Sister Tong Fei.” Wen Lang said aloud, “I will be here waiting for you guys to come back to me. Don’t worry, I’ll be able to find the three of them for sure.”

Jiang Dong chuckled and immediately said, “I’m with him.”

Lou Fan laughed, “You two are conjoined twins huh.”

Wen Lang clicked his tongue, “Brother Lou, can you stop being so scary? The remark makes me think of ghost stories.”

Lou Fan stopped laughing and asked seriously, “You two really decided to stay here? In case…”

Wen Lang casually said, “Brother Lou, I believe you, don’t you know that yet? Even if we can’t find any useful clues, I believe you can connect the two lakes.”

“So confident in me?” Lou Fan chuckled.

Chen Shuyang nodded, “Yes, we have confidence in you!”

Wen Lang patted Chen Shuyang’s head gently, “I haven’t spoken yet, what are you talking about on my behalf? Go and follow Nie Feng well, and help Brother Lou and Brother Qin to come up with ideas. We will meet in a short time.”

Chen Shuyang nodded with reluctance on his face.

Qin Tan made the decision, “Then, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong will stay here. You two must be careful, Even if you can’t find any clues, it doesn’t matter, safety comes first.”

Jiang Dong agreed, “Yes, you guys need to be careful too.”

With Jiang Dong around, Lou Fan is more at ease. Wen Lang is more impulsive, while Jiang Dong is calm and reliable, so the two match up very well.

That’s the decision for now, so everyone is just waiting for the bell to ring on the full moon night tomorrow.

…

That night, when the twilight is dark, Wen Lang, who was guarding outside, jumped off the stool and rolled to the ground. Then, he cried out, “Brother Qin! Brother Lou! Come out and see!”

Wen Lang’s cry woke everyone up, and they all rushed outside to ask him what happened. Wen Lang pointed to the sky. At this moment, a round and large moon appeared in the sky covered with dark clouds, shining brightly in the sky.

Almost immediately, Qin Tan reacted and said, “Go get your bag first.” As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed into the room and grabbed his and Lou Fan’s bags. Nie Feng then grabbed his and Chen Shuyang’s. Following that, a crisp sound of a bell tinkling appeared.

“Go quickly.” Wen Lang pushed them forward and kept instructing, “Follow the bell and don’t get lost.”

A group of people ran forward following the sound of the bell, and Wen Lang and Jiang Dong followed anxiously, looking for the sound of the bell. After walking around a few houses, he immediately saw the ‘village chief’ shaking a bell as he walked, with 2 people following behind him. They immediately joined in and formed a line.

Lou Fan and the others waved at Wen Lang and Jiang Dong, and whispered, “Go back quickly, those things will come out later to go into the water, so be careful.”

Wen Lang and Jiang Dong kept nodding their heads, indicating that they understood.

Seeing that the group of people followed the bell gradually walking away, Wen Lang and Jiang Dong started to walk back to the house slowly. Wen Lang couldn’t stop looking back, and Jiang Dong pulled him.

“Alright, now. Don’t worry about them, it’s not easy for us here as well.” Jiang Dong said after soothing Wen Lang, “Let’s go to the lake to have a look first, be careful.”

…

Lou Fan pulled at Qin Tan in front of him and whispered, “Didn’t the man say the full moon is at tomorrow’s night, how did it become today?”

Qin Tan shook his head and said he didn’t know. Raising his hand to look at his watch, the time shown is 16 days and a few hours left. The time is right, which means the judgment of the man in black robe is wrong. Or maybe the timing when they were in the woods is wrong. But these are not important now, the important thing is to go to the holy lake to see the situation first.

The group kept quiet, for fear that something unexpected might happen. The fog is rising all around, and slowly they can’t tell the direction. They can only concentrate on following the person in front of them, not daring to get distracted.

Not sure how long they walked, the group finally stopped at a mountain wall. The ‘village chief’ pressed around on the mountain wall, and then quickly rang the bell. Next, a stone door suddenly opened, revealing a stone cave. When the last person, Fan Dayong, stepped into the stone gate, the stone gate closed with a ‘BANG’, and the force is so great that specks of dirt fell down on the mountain wall.

The cave is winding, but the ‘village chief’ does not need light at all, so he simply walks in the dark. For fear of being discovered, the group did not dare to take out their torchlight, so they could only pull the hem of the clothes of the person in front and walk forward.

Not sure where the water droplets came from, it fell on them drop by drop. Chen Man loosened his left hand from the hem of Gao Yi’s clothes in front of him and wiped a handful of water droplets on his face. A tinkling bell sounded behind the ear, which is not the same as the bell in front. He listened with his ears tilted sideways. Then he turned his head and is about to ask Fan Dayong about the bell, his right hand slipped and lost grip on Gao Yi’s clothes. He panicked in his heart, and immediately grabbed forward, trying to grab the hem of the clothes again, but this time he came back empty.

“Team leader?” Chen Man called out in a trembling voice.

Fan Dayong behind Chen Man asked in confusion, “Hey, Chen Man, what’s wrong with you?”

“Dayong.” Chen Man stopped and couldn’t take a step anymore. He doesn’t dare to take a step forward. His voice is trembling as he said, “We got separated from the team leader and the others.”

Raw word count: 3011

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The person in black robe who was leading the group made a stop gesture to them so they stopped walking.

As Jiang Dong leaned over with a serious expression, he saw Lou Fan’s expression and asked, “You found out too?”

Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang heard that but they looked confused, even Nie Feng turned to look at them. Lou Fan nodded.

“What’s the matter? Don’t talk in riddles.”

Jiang Dong’s voice sounded dry as he whispered, “I think they are the villagers, but they were skinned…” He couldn’t help shaking when he spoke the last few words.

“What?!”

A few of them exclaimed in a low voice, and immediately covered their mouths. Then they turned to see the people who exposed their hands while working.

The people wore black robes, and most of them also wore a pair of black gloves. Only the two of them did not wear them. The exposed hands are light red as if the flesh and blood had been exposed to the air for a long time. It felt like it has been air-dried and there are very obvious texture lines. It really looked like the kind of model that hospitals use to show the skeleton of the human body. There is no skin, only flesh, and blood.

This truth is a bit cruel. Lou Fan’s team only thought the villagers are forced to leave the village and enter the forest because the ghosts in the lake came ashore. But it would be absolutely tragic if they got driven into the forest after being skinned by the ghosts.

“This also explains why they wear black robes and gloves all the time. Black robes block direct sunlight, while gloves reduce the friction between flesh and objects. Human skin is inherently delicate, let alone flesh and blood. Even wearing black robes, I think the friction of the fabric on them will make them feel very uncomfortable.”

Just thinking about that feeling makes the team feel sore in their teeth.

When the black-robed man came back, everyone returned to their normal expressions without showing any extra emotions. The man in black robe took them to a hole in a wall next to them, and there are the same 5 people who were leading them earlier.

“Have you seen those things in the village?” One of the men in black robes asked.

The man’s voice came from under the black robe, with an indistinguishable mechanical sound and the ‘bzzt’ sound of electric current. It should be some kind of voice changer, and maybe it has been too long so it sounded a little damp.

Qin Tan walked forward and answered, “Yes, we have seen them. At night, they will enter the ghost lake and comes back at dawn. They will resume wearing the human skin and living in the village, but they don’t walk around the village during the day.”

Hearing that, the black-robed man is silent.

Lou Fan asked, “Those things invaded the village and drove you away?”

The black-robed man shook his head without explaining.

Lou Fan thought about it and said, “Actually, we still have something to ask, but before that, we can give you a helping hand. What do you need us to help with?”

At the side, Chen Man looked anxious. He tried to open his mouth to speak several times but managed to suppress it. After Lou Fan finished speaking, he couldn’t help but cut into the conversation, “2 of our companions are still with you, what did you do to them? Hurry up and hand them over.”

Lou Fan’s eyes bulged, he almost felt like knocking Chen Man’s head out. Wen Lang swiftly pulled the man back roughly and he staggered.

“What are you doing?!” Chen Man roared lowly in dissatisfaction.

Wen Lang: “You asked what am I doing? Aren’t we asking for clues here? Are you stupid?”

Chen Man gritted his teeth, “But you can’t ignore about team leader!”

“Who says we are going to ignore him? But is saving Gao Yi out the most important thing here? Do we not need clues? Are we not leaving this world anymore?”

Wen Lang continued mocking Chen Man, “Plus, Brother Lou said we will save him, so we will definitely save him. If you don’t believe us, then how about you come here by yourself? But can you even reach this place? I don’t know how many times you will fall into a trap already.”

Those words made Chen Man angry but he didn’t dare to speak. Everything Wen Lang said is correct so he couldn’t say anything to refute it. Without this team, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself, let alone save his team leader. After being criticized by Wen Lang, Chen Man closed his mouth and shrank to the back of the group.

The man in black robe heard the argument and asked, “Are those two your companions?” After he finished speaking, he went out and came back shortly after. Then he said to Qin Tan and the others, “We don’t need your help with anything. When your companions come out, you should leave.”

Qin Tan stopped the man and asked, “You should be the village chief, right? We want to know if there is a passage between the holy lake and the ghost lake, and how can we get through it?”

The black-robed men fell into silence. Though they didn’t speak, and their expressions couldn’t be seen, Qin Tan and his team members knew that the men are staring at them.

“You want to know about the passage between the holy lake and the ghost lake? What is your purpose?” The hoarse old voice seemed to be squeezed out of his throat, and every word is laborious.

Qin Tan explained calmly, “Our purpose is to help you. I think that the reason why you lost your skin and couldn’t be in the sunlight is because of the ghost lake. If the ghost lake can be turned into a holy lake, it will be a good thing for you.”

“Team leader Qin!”

Gao Yi’s voice drifted over, and he entered the cave in a blink of an eye. Seeing that everyone is there, Gao Yi breathed a sigh of relief, followed by Fan Dayong. The two appear normal, uninjured, and in good spirits. Seeing Chen Man, Gao Yi walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

“I didn’t expect you to come, Team leader Qin. Thank you so much.” Gao Yi thanked, full of gratitude.

Qin Tan smiled and said, “It’s been 2 days since you went into the forest. We don’t have any clues outside. So we have to come in and see either way. It’s all a matter of convenience. Don’t be so polite.”

Wen Lang snickered behind and whispered to Chen Shuyang, “Brother Qin is also a slippery guy now.”

What Qin Tan actually meant was, ‘We have a mission to do anyway, and it is just along the way to save you. If it’s not along the way, we will not necessarily take the initiative to save you, so there is no need to thank us.’

Chen Shuyang also laughed softly.

Jiang Dong and Nie Feng’s eyes met, and there is a hint of helplessness and doting in their eyes.

Gao Yi remained smiling as if he didn’t understand the meaning of Qin Tan’s words.

The old voice sounded again, “You guys take a rest first. Let me discuss this with the villagers, and I will come to you again.”

Qin Tan made a gentlemanly gesture and said, “Please (Go ahead).”

Seeing the 5 black-robed men leave, Lou Fan said, “It seems that that old man is the village chief.”

Qin Tan nodded, “The old man should be using his own voice.”

Jiang Dong: “They haven’t spoken for too long, which has caused their vocal cords to degenerate. I think they haven’t spoken for many years.”

Lou Fan looked out and saw that there are dozens of people in the cave. Most of them are engrossed in their work and hardly communicated, so it makes sense that they don’t speak much.

Since it took some effort to find this place, everyone sat down to eat to replenish their strength. The villagers have returned the bags to Gao Yi and he sat with his 2 teammates with a serious face. On the other side, Lou Fan’s group sat together with a relaxed and happy expression.

Not making them wait too long, the man in black who had spoken to them with a voice changer came in and stood in front of Qin Tan and the others. Then, he stayed silent for a moment.

Qin Tan and the others stood up immediately. The man in black robe turned to look at Gao Yi, who is still sitting. Next, he raised his hand and pressed down on Qin Tan and the rest.

“Just sit down and listen to me.”

The man paused and sat next to them. Then he said slowly, “After we discussed it, we decided to tell you about the legend of the 2 lakes. A long time ago, it was said that the holy lake and the ghost lake were originally connected, but they were destroyed by a curse and got divided into two. The water of the holy lake is clear, refreshing, and sweet, while the water of the ghost lake is black and unconsumable. Whoever drinks the water of the ghost lake, whether humans or livestock will die.”

“Our ancestors were expelled to live in the ghost lake because of their crimes. It is difficult to survive, but not impossible to live. However, 3 generations ago, I didn’t know what happened, and evil ghosts rose from the ghost lake and went ashore at night. After that…”

The man stopped and fell into silence.

No one bothered the man, patiently and quietly waiting for him to speak again.

“In the legend, as long as the holy lake and the ghost lake are connected, the water of the holy lake flows into the ghost lake. The golden fish and blue fish will swim into the ghost lake together, and the ghost lake will become like the holy lake. The black water becomes sweet and clear holy water, and we’ll go back to where we were…”

The man turned his head and said to the group of people, “This is all the information we know, the passage is said to be at the holy lake’s side.”

Lou Fan listened quietly and thought about it. Then he asked, “Are the golden fish and blue fish also in the holy lake?”

The man in black robe said, “We have never seen these two kinds of fish.”

As if the man is accustomed to speaking again, his speaking frequency increased, and became more proficient. Although the sound quality is still unpleasant, the sentences are coherent now.

Lou Fan tapped his fingers and pondered, “Then we need to go to the Holy Lake to investigate first.

“I wonder how long it takes to get to the holy lake from here? Have you been there before?”

The man in black robe replied, “I went there once when I was a child. You need to follow the ‘village chief’ in the village. He will ring the bell as he walked. You must follow him closely and don’t get lost. After passing the checkpoint, you can move freely. However, If you want to return, be sure to follow him too. I remember on the night of the full moon every month, he will go there once.”

Qin Tan asked, “Then when will he returns?”

“He will return in 3 days.” The man in black robe calculated the time and said, “Tomorrow will be the night of the full moon.”

The time left is too tight. Lou Fan looked at Qin Tan, “We have to hurry back to the village to meet Tong Fei.”

Qin Tan nodded and asked the man in black robe, “Is there any other important information?”

The black-robed man shook his head.

Qin Tan stopped asking, and said, “Then, we will have to bother you to tell us how to get out from here.”

The woods only appeared at night and they lost their way as soon as they entered. The fact that they found the villagers’ settlement is purely by accident.

The black-robed man nodded, turned, and left. The group of people followed immediately, and Gao Yi’s team also stood up to follow.

Chen Man whispered in dissatisfaction from behind, “Team leader, in my opinion, these people from the intermediate team are ignorant. You don’t know but that time I was trying to look for you but they only knew to ask for clues right away. I don’t see them trying to save us at all.”

Gao Yi is not a fool, having been in Lazuli for so long, he is not a naive person either. When people lend a helping hand while trying to find clues, they are very kind enough. There are too many people out there who will ignore to help or throw stones at you when you are down. If you are saved but still wanted to complain about your savior, then that is you thinking too much (of yourself). After all, no one is a Holy Mother, who must selflessly dedicate themself to save all sentient beings.

Gao Yi said lightly, “They have already done a great deed, but you still want them to put our safety above the danger? Is that realistic?”

Raw word count: 3048

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The visibility of the forest is a bit low so all they can see is a human figure hanging from a branch from a distance.

“Wait, it shouldn’t be a hanged ghost*, right?” Wen Lang said, sticking out his tongue.

*people died from being hanged

Lou Fan chuckled, “Wen Lang, why are you getting less courageous, I’m going to laugh at you.”

Wen Lang stubbornly defended, “Don’t you think the long tongue from a hanged ghost is disgusting?”

“Let’s go and see.” Qin Tan observed the figure but he couldn’t tell whether it is a human or something else. He could only roughly see the shape of a person.

With ropes tied around their waists, the group of 6 people headed toward the tree together. As they walked nearer, they found that the figure’s clothing is quite familiar. When they got close, the figure turned out to be Chen Man who went into the forest with Gao Yi. He is hanging upside down at the moment and his eyes are closed; not sure whether he is still alive or dead.

Qin Tan took a few steps forward. He reached out to check for a breath, but was pulled by Lou Fan, “Be careful.”

Qin Tan made a sound of acknowledgment and stretched out his hand. Then, he sensed a weak breath from Chen Man’s nose, it seems that he is just unconscious.

“Come and help me put him down.”

Everyone helped the man down from the tree together. After that, Jiang Dong patted Chen Man’s face and called out his name for a long time but without any response. He took out a bottle and let Chen Man gulp a few mouthfuls of water. Next, Jiang Dong broke a bar of chocolate into smaller pieces and stuffed it into the man’s mouth. With this, they have given Chen Man some necessities; water and food. However, Chen Man still didn’t respond in a while so Jiang Dong took out some medicine from his bag and fed him 2 pills.

“This medicine’s effect is a bit like a Jiuxin pill.” Seeing everyone staring at him, Jiang Dong explained. (Pic link here, can’t embed for some reason)

After a while, Chen Man finally woke up. Seeing 6 heads hovering on top of his head, he screamed out in fright and startled the people instead.

Wen Lang covered his heart, “My god, what with the weird scream? It scared me to death.”

Chen Man finally came back to his senses and sat up with his hands on his back, “It’s really you guys, why did you come in?”

Jiang Dong helped the man up and handed a bottle of water over. He said, “You guys have all been in here for a day and a night, so we thought to come in to find you and see if there are any clues by the way.”

Seeing that Chen Man is soberer now, Qin Tan asked him, “What’s the matter with you guys, what happened?”

“One day and one night?” Chen Man shook his head, frowned, and said, “After we entered the forest, we got lost and couldn’t tell the direction at all, so we could only go by feeling. When it is getting dark, we somehow fell into a trap and the fall caught us dazed. Suddenly, a group of people in black robes appeared. They were all wearing black robes and big black hats, and we couldn’t see their faces at all. They took team leader and Dayong. I yelled a few words at them, and ended up getting hung up.”

The 6 people: …

It’s a real-life version of getting into trouble from a bad mouth. If they didn’t go into the forest or didn’t see him at the tree, maybe this man will starve to death here.

Qin Tan asked, “Is that trap nearby here? Are there no sharp objects in it?”

Chen Man shook his head, “I don’t know. They tied us up and walked for a while before hanging me up. The trap is very deep, and there are no sharp objects in it.”

“Do you know where Gao Yi and Fan Dayong were taken?”

Chen Man shook his head dejectedly, “I don’t know. After I got hung up, I watched them being taken away, but I really don’t know where to go. Everywhere looked almost the same in the woods.”

The woods are indeed similar at first glance, and even the trees are similar in size.

When Chen Man had rested for a while and his physical and mental strength recovered, Lou Fan chose a direction at will. Chen Man has no objection to that. After all, if they let him choose, he would only point in a direction randomly.

Not long after walking, Qin Tan stopped Lou Fan and pointed forward. Lou Fan remained at his spot, and the people behind him didn’t move either, staring at Qin Tan who is going forward. Chen Man looked forward carefully for a long time but found nothing wrong. But he thought in his heart that it should be a trap since they got into one before.

Qin Tan took a few steps forward and stopped at a place that didn’t seem to have any abnormality with the surrounding environment. There is a small stone half a meter in front of him. After looking at it carefully for a while, he poked it with his Tang sword and then moved it to the side. After the observation is almost done, he found a large rock not far away that is about a person’s arm width and lifted it. Walking to the place where he had marked, Qin Tan slammed the stone down hard. The stone fell with a thud, and a deep pit immediately appeared where it was hit. This time, there are sharp wooden thorns in the pit, which made the hair of the people stand up.

Lou Fan walked to the pit and glanced down, “Tsk tsk tsk, fortunately, our brother Qin has first-rate detection ability. If we fall, we might lose a layer of skin even if we don’t die.”

Wen Lang and Chen Shuyang immediately nodded in agreement, and Chen Man is even more glad that they didn’t fall into this kind of pit earlier. Otherwise, the spikes would poke a hole in their bodies.

Looking forward, Qin Tan’s eyes are sharp, and he said solemnly, “There are still traps ahead. You guys just follow behind me. It will take too much time to find them one by one.”

Everyone looked in the direction immediately, and although they didn’t see where the traps are, they didn’t doubt Qin Tan’s judgment at all, and they all looked serious.

“Does this mean we are close to where they live?” Lou Fan said.

Qin Tan nodded, “It’s very likely. Generally speaking, the closer one is to a residence, the more traps laid to defend against beasts and enemies.”

Chen Shuyang puzzled said, “Doesn’t that means we are getting closer to the range of human activities? Then there should be traces of life, but there are none here at all.”

Nie Feng patted Chen Shuyang’s head and said, “What do you mean by none? There are there, it’s just a bit primitive.”

Chen Shuyang looked at the place Nie Feng pointed, and saw some stones and bones around the pit. Looking closely, it looked a bit like a stone knife and a bone knife.

Chen Shuyang stared and looked at Nie Feng in disbelief, “You are not talking about those, right?”

Nie Feng: “Why not? It’s just a little primitive.”

Chen Shuyang muttered, “It’s not just a little primitive, it IS primitive.”

Lou Fan looked at the tools thoughtfully and Qin Tan called him, asking everyone else to follow him. The group walked carefully on the road, everyone followed Qin Tan and walked slowly. After a few steps, Qin Tan would stop to check and then walk again. They cautiously walked for half an hour like this.

Half an hour later, a stone mountain appeared in front of them. Though they said it’s a stone mountain, it’s not exactly a mountain. The mountain is not high, but the stone wall is black. Qin Tan stopped to observe the stone wall, and the others also looked around.

There are many traces of human life around, but as Nie Feng said, these traces of life are very primitive. There are some stone stools and knives around, and there is a piece of land that has been dug out. The primitive part is just the tool, but the cultivated crop is not the primitive style.

Qin Tan walked to the place where the stone wall looked sunken in, it looked like a cave. He knocked around and crouched down to check.

“There’s an entrance here.” Qin Tan pulled open a place that is blocked by something, so he couldn’t see it from the outside.

Lou Fan looked at the entrance and guessed, “Could this be where they live? Shall we go down and see?”

Chen Man immediately said, “Of course we have to go down. Team leader and Dayong are held below. We are going to save them.”

Wen Lang sneered, “We won’t come here if we don’t want to help you. But we have to plan first if we want to go down. Or, do you want us to just rush in like this? Can that save anyone?” He really hates this kind of person who only cares about himself. Is the whole world his mother?

Hearing that, Chen Man’s face flushed from the anger, and he could only turn to look at Qin Tan. After all, Qin Tan is the team leader here, and it is the team leader who had the final say.

Lou Fan thought for a while and said, “Don’t get anxious, we have to say hello first. I don’t think those people in black robes are malicious. If they really want to do something to you, they won’t save your life.” After he finished speaking, he asked Qin Tan to pull open the entrance, revealing a hole with dug-out mud steps below.

Lou Fan cleared his throat and shouted to the entrance of the cave, “Everyone, we are strangers passing by the village outside the ghost lake and we saw the real faces of the villagers by chance. Afterward, we strayed into the woods, and our companions met you guys. I think you have encountered difficulties, so if you don’t mind, we can help you.”

Wen Lang asked in a low voice, “Brother Lou, you are simply saying that out?”

Lou Fan asked Wen Lang, “Who do you think these black-robed people are?”

Wen Lang thought about it and shook his head.

Chen Shuyang thought for a moment and asked, “Are they real villagers outside?”

Lou Fan nodded admiringly, “Yes, I wasn’t sure at first, but along the way, at first glance, these traces of life are made by people who are familiar with labor. Then, there are those primitive tools, surrounding crops, and this hole in a cave. I believe you guys have some guesses already, and I think these people should be villagers who used to live outside the village. The village got occupied by those ghosts, and they had no choice but to go into the woods to live.”

As they are talking, there is still no movement at the entrance of the cave after waiting for a while. Lou Fan asked Wen Lang to shout again, but louder. Wen Lang shouted again according to what he just said but in reality, Lou Fan simply didn’t want to shout.

This time, it didn’t take long for a sound to come from below the entrance of the cave, and then, 5 people in black robes came out. They are completely shrouded in black robes and black hoods on their heads. Not even a trace of their bodies could be seen. The person in the lead is squat and very short, but it can be seen that he is the leader among them. Then, the people stared at them for a long time without speaking.

Lou Fan could only say, “We are really here to help you. We have friends in the village by the ghost lake, and we want to ask you how to get out.”

The man in black robe waited for Lou Fan to finish speaking, then waved at them and walked down the hole first.

Everyone looked happy with the progress and looked at each other. They followed the man in black robe and walked down the stairs. The cave is so dark that there is almost no light, but the man in black robe in front seemed to be unaffected at all and walked very steadily. Lou Fan and the others could only take out their flashlights to illuminate the road and touched their way down.

The stairs are very long, the air is dull, and there is a strong smell of mud. When they felt that it is getting hard to breathe, the group finally set foot on the flat ground.

This is a cave. The cave is lit with torches, not candles. Dozens of people in black robes gather together and they are doing their own work. When they see a few strangers coming, some stop while some are still working.

Lou Fan looked down at their hands that kept moving and suddenly stopped in his tracks. A layer of goosebumps stood up all over his body.

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Lou Fan opened his mouth to say something but the words rolled around in his mouth, and he swallowed them back. He originally wanted to bring Tong Fei with him, but then he remembered that everyone here is an intermediate spirit weapon holder. The 3 women don’t look weak so their decision is not unreasonable. And so, the plan for the evening is finalized. Qin Tan and his team members will go to the woods, while Tong Fei and the other 2 females will stay back to look for other clues.

The daytime in Ghost Lake Village is gloomy even if it doesn’t rain. The ‘people’ all stay in the house. Since they are ghosts, it makes sense that there is no trace of life. However, staying indoors all day is not an option, so Qin Tan arranged for everyone to go out for a walk to see if they found anything.

“Go in groups of two or three and walk around. If the villagers appear, you can try talking to them but be careful.”

Lou Fan and Qin Tan went to the lake while Tong Fei and the females went to check in the direction of the woods. Wen Lang and the rest wandered around the village.

…

The lake water is black. Lou Fan stared at the lake with heavy eyes, not knowing what is under the lake water. The water is as calm as a black mirror. Lou Fan tentatively walked forward. He crouched down and reached out to touch the water.

“This water can’t be touched casually.” A slow and weak old voice sounded behind Lou Fan.

Lou Fan got startled. His body swayed a bit as his center of gravity is unstable from the squatting, and he looked back. He didn’t hear any footsteps just now so when did the old man get behind him? Lou Fan saw Qin Tan also looking at the old man. It’s obvious that Qin Tan didn’t hear any sound either, otherwise, he would definitely alert him.

The old man had his hands behind his back, his face is expressionless, and his eyes are fixed on the two of them. Lou Fan suddenly smiled and said to the old man, “Old man, I heard that this lake is called Ghost Lake, why is that?”

Lou Fan originally discussed with Qin Tan whether to talk to the NPC again. Although they were all ghosts, since the old man gave them information, he could be considered an NPC. They haven’t gone to the old man yet and he’s already here.

“Ghost Lake is called Ghost Lake.”

Lou Fan still smiling and asked, “Then, what’s in that water?”

The old man who was staring at the water turned his head to look at Lou Fan. It makes Lou Fan wonder if the old man would break free from the human skin and chomp at him with a big mouth in the next moment.

The scene Lou Fan imagined did not appear. The old man only cracked his mouth and smiled stiffly, “The water is full of resentful ghosts. They want to be purified, but they can only linger at the bottom of the dark lake, waiting for redemption.”

Looking at the old man’s stiff smile, Lou Fan felt that his teeth are sore. He wanted to reach out and help the old man to close his mouth.

After the old man said that, he turned around and is about to leave. Lou Fan asked behind him, “Old man, do you need us to save you?”

The old man only stopped and sighed faintly. Saying nothing, he continued to walk forward.

“Hey, such an inexplicable action. What does it mean?” Lou Fan is a little confused and turned to look at Qin Tan.

Qin Tan saw Lou Fan’s curious eyes and said with a smile, “You don’t even know, how can you ask me?”

“I don’t know doesn’t mean you don’t know.”

Qin Tan: “No, if you don’t know, most likely we don’t know.”

Lou Fan is speechless, how does one continue this kind of conversation?

“Why don’t I go down and have a look?” Lou Fan suggested, “I brought both the fish scale suit and the small pearls. I’m not sure there are any clues in the water.”

Qin Tan disagreed, “Didn’t you hear the old man say that there are ghosts underwater? There’s nothing to see, and it’s too dangerous.”

“But……”

Qin Tan interrupted Lou Fan, “Alright, can go down and see, but I’ll go.”

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

When Qin Tan said this, Lou Fan hesitated for a moment. It’s so dangerous that there are all ghosts underwater, so this suggestion definitely won’t work.

Qin Tan leaned over and kissed Lou Fan, “You worry about me, but isn’t it the same for me? Silly.”

Hence, this suggestion is put on hold for the time being. Lou Fan felt that they should go to the woods to explore first. If there is no clue, it will not be too late to go into the water.

The two walked around the lake. Seeing that afternoon is coming soon, the weather became more gloomy. The wind is howling, causing heavy waves to appear on the lake. At the wooden house, everyone has already come back, and it seemed that they didn’t obtain any new information.

Tong Fei: “We went to the place where the forest appeared yesterday. There is nothing there, no trace. The forest is like an illusion.”

Wen Lang and the rest also went around for a while, but they didn’t get any results. The villagers they met didn’t answer any questions. They are no different from dead people. They didn’t pay attention to them at all.

Lou Fan sat down and took a sip of water before saying, “We met the old man by the lake and he said that the bottom of the lake is full of ghosts.”

If Tong Fei ever wondered why Qin Tan’s team could return to Lazuli smoothly every time before this, right now she finally understood something. Everyone went out to look for clues, but almost none of them found anything. The villagers didn’t even respond to them when they asked. But for Lou Fan, they only went out and returned with clues, and it was the NPC who took the initiative to say it.

This is luck. Luck is also a type of strength, and she never doubts it.

Seeing that night is about to fall, several people are getting ready to go. Lou Fan asked Tong Fei again, “Sister Tong Fei, are you guys really not going with us?”

Tong Fei glanced at Feng Zhi beside her. Pursing her lips, she shook her head and said, “No, we’ll just wait here so that there’s someone to support you when you guys come back.”

Since Tong Fei insisted, Lou Fan stopped asking and only told them to be careful, not to worry about those ghostly things, and to wait for them to come back.

“If we don’t come back in 3 days, you guys try to find a way to go to the holy lake. There must be clues there,” Qin Tan instructed.

Tong Fei nodded, “That’s what we planned. If you don’t come out, we’ll go to the holy lake and maybe find a solution. So you can rest assured to find clues and try to get Gao Yi and the others back along the way.”

Tong Fei is not a sheltered flower in a greenhouse at all. Lou Fan thinks he may be just overly worried.

Thick fog rises from the lake, and those beings ripped open their skin and sink into the lake. After the fog enveloped the village, the woods at the back appeared.

The females are very curious about the forest so they followed over to take a look and touched the tree trunk with their hands. After realizing that the sensation is real and not a hallucination, they tutted a few times. The wood is real, but it only appears when the fog comes out, which is really strange.

Standing in front of the woods, Lou Fan is just a step from entering it. He thought about something and then took out a few amulets from his carry bag. He handed them to Tong Fei. “Sister Tong Fei, take it. You all be careful.”

Tong Fei smiled and didn’t take it, “Okay now, I’m not a child. I’ve never noticed that you are such a long-winded person. Didn’t you already give me a few amulets? That’s enough.”

Lou Fan didn’t allow Tong Fei to reject it and forced them to her, “The three of you don’t have enough spells at hand. Take these for backups, we still have more. In case we don’t get back in time, you have to continue to do the task.”

Tong Fei couldn’t refuse and accept it. Then, she started herding them, “Go now, else the fog will disperse soon.”

Wen Lang cheekily wailed, “Sister Tong Fei, are you despising us and trying to drive us away?”

Tong Fei said without guilt, “Hurry up and go, what are you being so slow?”

Lou Fan acknowledged with a smile, and the 6 people walked into the foggy woods. Tong Fei watched from behind with a worried look in her eyes and muttered, “I don’t know if they can find the clues smoothly.”

Hearing that, Feng Zhi’s cold eyes had a hint of a smile, “Your friends are very good. Since you are worried about them, tell them.”

Tong Fei shook her head, “I’m just saying it, there isn’t any problem with their strength.”

Feng Zhi snorted and laughed, “Tsk, ‘a dead duck’s beak is sure tough’ (stubborn).”

The remark caused Tong Fei to be furious and she glared at Feng Zhi. At the side, Jiang Rou covered her mouth and laughed, her shoulders shaking. Tong Fei ignored them and divided the amulets she got among them 3. Feng Zhi took it and looked at her with a surprised look. Looking at her expression, Tong Fei finally found some comfort and explained, “It’s that amulet you thought. It came from their hands, and it is said that it works well.”

Feng Zhi raised her eyebrows. These amulets are not only said to ‘work well’ in Lazuli, it has been blown out of proportion. The amulets are very popular, and as soon as it is listed, it is sold out. Big organizations have long been watching, so ordinary people can’t get it at all.

Tong Fei carried her sword and glanced at the deserted forest. Then she turned around and walked to the shore, “Let’s go, go to the lake to stand guard.”

…

The group of 6 people stepped into the woods. After walking a few steps and then looking back, they cannot see the females outside anymore. There is fog all around, mixed with tree shadows, they can’t tell the right direction at all.

Qin Tan took out the compass exchanged in Lazuli and found that the pointer on it kept spinning. “The magnetic field is disordered, and the compass is useless.”

Wen Lang is not in a hurry at all. He rubbed his hands together, a little excited, “Brother Lou, it’s time for you to show off your style again.”

Lou Fan looked at Wen Lang with a smile and crossed his hands. He said, “Oh, you are treating me as a lucky item, don’t you?”

Wen Lang hehe-ed twice, “Ain’t it because Brother Lou, you are so lucky? Your light shines in all directions, and you are the hope of our entire team.”

“Okay, stop flattering.” Lou Fan interrupted Wen Lang, “Let’s go now and pay heed to the time. Hold each other firmly, don’t get lost.”

They only gotten slightly further in, and Lou Fan can’t judge their position at all. If he really randomly points the direction, he might direct them to a cliff/ditch. Then he won’t have time to regret it.

Jiang Dong pulled a bundle of rope from his bag and handed it out, “Tie the rope around yourself. The fog is too thick here, and it’s easy to get lost. In case some supernatural beings appeared, you won’t even know you are holding the wrong person.”

Wen Lang try to imagine that in his mind and his body shook. Instantly, he tied the rope around his waist without saying a word. After that, he leaned over and whispered to Jiang Dong, “Hey, take good care of me. If I disappear, you are so dead.”

Jiang Dong chuckled, “Isn’t it better if I’m gone? Then you can go to find a better one. You don’t like me anyway.”

Just listen to that aggrieved tone, Wen Lang immediately retorted righteously, “Nonsense, who doesn’t like you? If I don’t like you, I won’t let you do… that thing?” His cheeks became hot after he said that.

Jiang Dong leaned over and said, “Hehe, for your sincere confession to me, I will hold you firmly.”

Wen Lang glared at Jiang Dong angrily. This man’s face is getting thicker and thicker. He doesn’t have the temperament of an ‘angel in a white coat’ at all (doctors and nurses).

When the rope is fastened, a group of 6 people looks like grasshoppers tied on a rope. Fortunately, the rope is long enough to move freely. Otherwise, they might stumble against each other.

“Is there someone lying down in front?” Nie Feng held Chen Shuyang beside him and pointed the other hand to a tree not far away.

Raw word count: 3011

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The village is not big, so Qin Tan and Lou Fan walked around it quickly. The rain had stopped, but the sky is still gray. Water droplets dripped from the eaves and quickly disappeared into the soil. By the time they circled around the village once, the water marks on the ground are almost dry.

“Not a single person around? It’s so strange here.” Suddenly, Lou Fan stopped and looked at the houses nearby. He pulled Qin Tan and said, “Qin Tan, there are people in the houses.”

Qin Tan looked over and probably heard their voices. There are people standing inside, behind the door of the house and every door had someone there. Those people hid in the house and looked out at them. Qin Tan and Lou Fan can only faintly glimpse at them from the little light around. Some of the people are frowning while some are grinning. But no matter how they looked, Qin Tan and Lou Fan only felt that their expressions are strange.

It’s stiff and weird. Lou Fan looked around and had this strange thought in his heart.

“May I ask who is in charge here?” Qin Tan asked. “We just passed by here, but someone in the team is sick so we need to stay here for a few days.”

After Qin Tan finished speaking, it took a long time before someone seemed to understand what he is talking about and pointed a finger in one direction. After thanking the people, Qin Tan and Lou Fan walked over in the direction.

Lou Fan asked suspiciously, “Are all the villagers unable to speak? They are not saying a thing.”

“Not exactly.” Qin Tan said, “The old man we saw earlier, didn’t he speak to us?”

That’s right. Lou Fan followed, but pursed his lips and looked around. Those villagers just now looked very thin. It is no exaggeration to describe them as a bag of bones. Their face is stiff but it’s not completely lifeless.

The two walked along the way and saw the old man that they had spoken to earlier squatting by the door and looking up at the sky. There is nothing in the sky, only thick dark clouds.

“Old man, are you the head of the village?” Lou Fan took a few steps forward and stopped 2 meters away. Then he explained himself like an obedient child, “It’s like this. We passed by here earlier and someone in the team unfortunately fell sick. It is inconvenient to travel, so we want to stay here for a few days.”

Seeing the old man look up at him, Lou Fan immediately added, “Don’t worry, as long as the person recovered, we will leave and we will not disturb you.”

The old man stared at Qin Tan and Lou Fan silently. His eyes are looking straight but there are no emotions in them, like a glass bead.

“Okay.” The old man nodded slowly and said slowly, “The village is remote, so don’t go out at night.”

The two nodded and said okay before leaving under the old man’s heavy gaze.

…

“Brother Lou, you are back?” Wen Lang is standing guard outside the door, waiting for the two to come back. When he saw them returning, he happily asked, “How is it, is there any information?”

Qin Tan nodded and said, “Let’s go in and talk.”

They left the door open so that they could observe the situation outside. Lou Fan and Qin Tan spoke in a low voice inside the house, and the two repeated the old man’s words to the rest of the group.

“Don’t go out at night.” Gao Yi touched his chin and said meaningfully, “Is this a clue for us?”

Apparently, everyone thought so. With this information in hand, everyone discussed to check out what is going on in this village at night.

“Brother Lou, what’s wrong with you?” Seeing Lou Fan in a daze, Chen Shuyang reached out and shook it in front of him.

Lou Fan came to his senses and explained, “I was trying to pinpoint the weird point of those villagers.” His index finger tapped on the table as he said it. Suddenly, his brows furrowed and he said, “Contradiction.”

“Contradiction?” Chen Shuyang is confused, “What is contradicting?”

Lou Fan said solemnly, “It’s the villagers here who give me a contradictory feeling, something is very inconsistent.”

After hearing Lou Fan’s words, everyone immediately recalled what they saw earlier. It indeed really felt out of place. But now the villagers are hiding in their houses so there is no information to obtain. They can only wait to see what’s wrong with the village after dark.

The night wind is cool, and under the dark clouds, there is not a trace of moonlight shining through. The village is dead silent. Wen Lang’s feet are numb from squatting, and none of the villagers appeared. He whispered begrudgingly, “What’s wrong with them? These people didn’t come out during the day, and they don’t come out at night as well?”

There’s a tap on his head and Wen Lang heard Qin Tan whisper, “Shut up.”

At this moment, shadows appeared and people can be seen walking out of their house but everyone looked a little stiff. They walked in the direction of the ghost lake like something is attracting them.

Seeing that no more villagers coming out of the houses, a door gently opened. A group of 12 people walked out lightly, following the villagers from a distance.

The village is not far from the lake, less than 10 meters away. The group saw the villagers standing facing the black lake. They are lined in a row before kneeling down in front of the lake, their movement is uniform. A faint mist rose from the lake, and the mist became thicker and thicker, spreading around.

The group of 12 people stared at the villagers closely, not even daring to blink, for fear of missing something important in the blink of an eye.

Surrounded by fog, the dark clouds above their heads dissipated, revealing a black moon. The villagers stood up and raised their arms as if cheering. Immediately afterwards, a horrifying scene happened that made the group of 12 people hold their breaths and dare not blink.

The villagers tore at themselves and quickly shed the human skin on their bodies as if they are simply undressing. There are no blood splatters like one would imagine. What comes out of the skin is something like a skeleton shrouded in black mist, it should be a supernatural being. The black skeleton, who had taken off its human skin, slowly walked towards the ghost lake. They stepped into the water step by step and sank to the surface of the lake.

In just a few minutes, there are only human skins left on the shore of the lake. The black skeletons disappeared into the water, and the entire village became a dead village.

In the thin mist, 12 people watched with bated breath. Finally, they released the breath they were holding and keep cursing in their hearts ‘Fck!’.

“It turned out to be a ghost in a human skin.” Gao Yi’s expression is bitter, “This mission doesn’t look easy.”

“Let’s go and have a look,” Tong Fei said.

Gao Yi is about to agree when Chen Man by his side tugged at his sleeve, “Brother Gao, look there.”

Everyone looked in that direction and saw that the place was still barren during the day, but now a forest appeared in the fog. Other than that, there is a faint shadow of a mountain behind.

“If I remember correctly, there should be no mountains there.” Tong Fei said with a frown.

There is indeed no mountain during the day, which means this is obviously a problem.

Gao Yi hesitated for a moment and said, “Let’s do it this way. I’ll take Chen Man and Dayong to have a look. You guys will stay here first to find out if there are any other abnormalities in those villagers. As you do that, remember to investigate the surrounding as well.”

Qin Tan: “Captain Gao, do you need me to follow along with you?”

Gao Yi waved his hand, “No need, the three of us will come back after we have a look inside. You guys be careful not to be discovered.”

Tong Fei paused and said, “Then you guys try to return early. This fog seems to only appear at night.”

Gao Yi nodded. After checking his small bag, he walked towards the forest with Chen Man and Fan Dayong. The three stepped forward into the woods, but after a few steps, the people behind them could no longer see their figures.

Seeing the men disappear into the woods, everyone turned their heads to look at Qin Tan.

Qin Tan pondered for a while and said, “Let’s go and check out those human skins first.”

The human skins left on the shore gave them a very uncomfortable feeling. Lou Fan touched the goosebumps on his arm. Most of the human skin looked like they are cut open from the middle, and the facial features of the skin cannot be seen properly. Even Qin Tan felt a little disgusted. After a glance, he stopped looking at it.

Tong Fei and Feng Zhi are very daring. They used their spirit weapon to pick up the human skin and looked at it, then put it down.

“Looking at these, it seems that those things from the lake are pretending to be the villagers,” said Tong Fei. “But what do they want to do? Where did they get the human skins?”

No one could answer these questions at the moment. But one thing is certain, which is these villagers are definitely weird.

Qin Tan pondered for a while, then discussed with Tong Fei and the others, “Let’s go back first. We’ll arrange the vigil and duties for the lookout, and the rest will rest first. We will talk about it when Gao Yi and the others come back.”

Tong Fei nodded in agreement.

…

Nie Feng stared at the lake, his usual lazy eyes that were drooping in the past are now as sharp as an eagle. The fog around is getting thin, and when he looked back, the place where the forest had appeared before is flickering. The fog on the lake surface gradually dissipated, and when the fog became so thin that it is about to fade away completely, the forest disappeared.

Circles of ripples began to appear on the surface of the lake water, and a group of black shadows emerged from the lake. They walked to the shore and began to put human skins on themselves. Wrapped in human skin, they stretched out their hands and feet, as if trying on clothes to see if they fit. Their heads made a creaking sound, and they even knead their facial features and ears, as if there are folds to straighten out.

The sky began to turn bright. Glancing at the time on the watch, Nie Feng took a few steps back and walked quickly towards the house.

In the house, Qin Tan is already awake. Nie Feng greeted Qin Tan and said, “The fog disappeared and those things came back. The time is 5:55. Also, the woods disappeared when the fog cleared.”

Hearing that, Qin Tan’s hand that is covering Lou Fan with clothing paused. He said, “Okay, I understand.”

Nie Feng nodded and walked to Chen Shuyang who is still sleeping by the wall. He straightened Chen Shuyang’s slightly tilted head and sat down next to him. Letting Chen Shuyang lean against him, Nie Feng closed his eyes and rested.

After an hour, everyone woke up. Qin Tan told them about Nie Feng’s discovery and Tong Fei frowned.

“Gao Yi and the others should be trapped.”

Lou Fan: “There may be clues in there.”

Qin Tan turned his head and saw the eagerness in Lou Fan’s eyes. He chuckled lightly, “Let’s go to the woods at night.”

Lou Fan nodded sharply.

There are footsteps outside the house, and everyone immediately moved to the door to see the villagers walking toward their own house. Before this, Lou Fan felt that their movements and expressions are very inconsistent. After knowing that they were just supernatural beings in human skins, the inconsistency immediately made sense.

After Tong Fei and Feng Zhi discussed something, they opened the question to the rest of the group. “Are we going into the woods together at night, or someone will be staying back to stand guard?”

Qin Tan looked at Tong Fei and asked, “What are your plans?”

Tong Fei pursed her lips. To be honest, she wanted to be with Lou Fan and the others. Feng Zhi debated that if everyone went in together, on the off chance that none of them came out, then the mission would not be completed. It is better to divide into 2 teams and Qin Tan’s team to go in and search for clues while looking for Gao Yi. On the other hand, 3 of them (the girls) will stay back in the village, maybe other clues are appearing later on.

There’s nothing wrong with this suggestion, it’s just that Tong Fei subconsciously wants to follow Lou Fan’s team. After all, their team has always survived and returned in a complete group, but what Feng Zhi said is not unreasonable.

Raw word count: 3035

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