Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Big Trouble
Liu Wei looked at Wu Chang in confusion and asked, "Wu Chang, have you met me before?"
Wu Chang smiled and said, "I haven’t met you before, but when I first saw you yesterday, I found you familiar and couldn’t remember why. Just now, when I heard you speak, it reminded me of an old acquaintance."
While Liu Wei mumbled that indeed all capable people are strange, he suddenly understood, "I see."
To avoid further entanglement with Liu Wei, Wu Chang quickly asked:
"I heard from the village chief that you all came to discuss the matter of advancing the exorcism festival?"
Liu Wei nodded and said, "That’s right, Uncle Shan said that Wu Chang also agrees to bring the festival forward."
"The evil spirit’s seal is still intact, but if we delay another month, it will completely break free, and it will be difficult to subdue then." Wu Chang said.
"You have extraordinary insights, as expected of a young hero." Liu Wei cupped his hands and said.
"You’re too kind, too kind." Wu Chang smiled back.
Liu Wei changed the topic naturally and said, "There’s something I need to trouble you with, I wonder if I should say it."
"Uh..."
Wu Chang’s fake smile twitched slightly as he knew Liu Wei wasn’t up to any good.
"Feel free to say it."
Liu Wei and Liu Shan exchanged a glance, confirming their thoughts, and Liu Wei said:
"Uncle Shan should have told the hero that a year ago, a scholar passed by and improved the exorcism festival."
"Indeed, it was mentioned."
"When the scholar left, he left a palace lantern, which is the core of the improved festival. Without the lantern, the ceremony cannot begin."
Wu Chang understood Liu Wei’s implication, "The lantern is not in the village?"
Liu Wei’s face showed worry, saying:
"We lent it to the neighboring Chen Family Village, and according to the agreement, they should have returned it the day before. However, there’s been no news since then."
"We would like to ask you, Wu Chang, to visit Chen Family Village to see if they are in trouble. If everything is fine, please bring the lantern back with you."
Wu Chang asked, "Is it possible that the people of Chen Family Village ran off with the lantern?"
"Absolutely not." Liu Wei denied.
"The Four-sided Palace Lantern is integrated with our village’s protective array, which supplies oil to the lantern. Without the array, the lantern will lose its effectiveness in half a month."
If Liu Shan had asked, he might not have thought too much, but since Liu Wei was the one entrusting him with the task, he had to be cautious, lest Liu Wei harbor any ill intentions.
"If they don’t have a protective array, why borrow the lantern?"
"The Four-sided Palace Lantern can control fire and repel demons. Chen Family Village uses it to escort their women and children to safety, leaving only the strong to guard the village, just like us."
Wu Chang was silent for a moment, contemplating several times, but ultimately decided to agree to Liu Wei’s request.
At that moment, he suddenly understood the various RPG game protagonists.
In the past, he never understood why, as a great hero in games, he was always ordered around by various NPCs, fetching water, chopping wood, or running errands.
He used to wonder, didn’t those NPCs have hands?
Now he got it, when the protagonist needs NPCs to achieve a certain goal, even if it’s just running errands, he doesn’t dare let them do it themselves.
For instance, even if Liu Wei wanted to bring the strong men of the village with him, Wu Chang worried they might attract demons on the way.
To minimize variables during the quest, even errands must be done personally by the hero.
After getting the map from Liu Wei, Wu Chang said, "In that case, there’s no time to lose, I’ll set off now."
Wu Chang retrieved his horse, and just as he descended the mountain to hit the road, he heard a commotion from the woods at the base.
Following the sound, he found a group of youths from Huai Valley Village.
The youths were mostly eleven or twelve years old, forming a circle, tossing a rabbit back and forth.
In the middle of the circle was the village guard youth he saw last night, smiling foolishly as he ran after the flying rabbit in the circle.
Each time he was about to catch the rabbit, the tallest and strongest leader of the youths would kick him back to the center, continuing the mockery.
"Bang!"
A huge gunshot exploded in the woods, the leader’s woolen cap burst on the spot, the bullet grazing his scalp, leaving a charred bald streak.
"What game is so much fun, count me in." Wu Chang sprinted forward, caught the rabbit flung by the startled leader, and joked.
"Oh no, it’s the hero, run!"
Someone shouted, and the village youths scattered like birds and beasts, leaving the leader alone, still in kicking posture.
Wu Chang shot him a sidelong glance, "Not leaving, planning to continue playing?"
The leader hurriedly shook his head, crying as he ran back to the village, leaving a trail of yellow stains on the path.
Wu Chang shook his head, thinking about what not to learn, but bullying, as if the dungeon’s plane had a juvenile protection law.
The village guard youth didn’t even realize he was being bullied and still smiled foolishly, calling after the leader, "Why aren’t you playing, don’t go."
Wu Chang handed the rabbit to the village guard and said, "They have something urgent, play another day."
"Oh." The village guard replied dejectedly, stroking the rabbit in his arms.
The boy stroked it while whispering, "Don’t be afraid, they were just playing with you."
The rabbit, initially curled up in fear, quickly recovered under the youth’s soothing.
Wu Chang’s eyes showed surprise; is this boy a Druid?
Seeing the boy in tattered clothes, with chilblained hands and feet, using straw wraps to keep warm, Wu Chang untied the thick cotton coat Liu Shan prepared for him from the horse and draped it over the boy.
"It’s not safe recently; find a place to hide."
The village guard stared straight at Wu Chang, "Can you come and play with me?"
"Not today, I have matters to attend to." Wu Chang said perfunctorily.
The village guard pointed to the furthest mountain edge of Huai Valley Village, "I live there, you can find me there to play."
"Next time for sure."
After a brief interlude, Wu Chang left Huai Valley Village, heading straight for Chen Family Village according to the map.
Huai Valley Village is twenty miles from Chen Family Village, but these twenty miles consist of mountain roads, with several dangerous mountain areas that require detours.
By the villagers’ normal pace, reaching Chen Family Village takes three days, and a round trip nearly a week.
The complex roads of Huai Mountain often confuse outsiders, rendering them lost without a detailed map.
Once lost, they would not know where they might end up.
The scattered player grievances at various points of Huai Mountain demonstrated the cost of getting lost there.
However, thanks to these grievances, Wu Chang found guidance no matter where he went.
Through these grievances, he could see information predecessors obtained through trial and error, enabling him to foresee demon rules in advance and not waste time bypassing dangerous areas.
Swiftly moving, by Shen Hour, as the sun began to dip west, he reached the area of Chen Family Village.
Chen Family Village was built against a mountain, near the intersection of two mountain roads.
Though it didn’t have vast farmland like Huai Valley Village, its convenient location made it a trade hub of Huai Mountain, with conditions not inferior to Huai Valley Village.
Their complementary terrains and similar scales kept the two villages close, to the point of lending the Magic Artifact Palace Lantern.
But despite such closeness, Chen Family Village delayed returning the lantern, worrying the people of Huai Valley Village about a possible mishap.
Standing at a high point, Wu Chang verified the map Liu Wei gave him.
The area where Chen Family Village should be was shrouded in grayish-white smoke, obscuring even the village’s outline.
Liu Wei and the others guessed right, Chen Family Village encountered trouble, big trouble.
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