"Is it a sacrifice?"
Xie Nanzhou distinctly remembered the smug look on Axu’s face at that moment.
"No, but this method is very risky."
When Axu had previously thought his plan was going to succeed, he had indeed said some harsh, provocative things. But now, thinking that this might be the way to get them to take him out of here, he didn't mind telling them.
"No way! If we don’t let the Lake Lady be reincarnated, the mission is a failure, and then this whole trip was for nothing."
Zhao Ming suddenly stood up and voiced his strong opposition.
On the way to Mocun Village, Xiaoyou and Zhao Ming had already more or less explained the concept of Merit Value to the others. Everyone understood the importance of this number. However, Zhao Ming’s habit of interrupting people at critical moments was truly infuriating.
"Can you stop interrupting? Let him finish explaining what this method is first!"
Kong Que grabbed Zhao Ming and pulled him back, urging Axu to speak quickly.
"I know the lake connects to an underground river outside. We can swim out through the lake when the water level rises during a heavy rainstorm."
As soon as he said this, the room fell into a deathly silence. After a while, Kong Que clapped his hands and burst into laughter.
"Brother, you’re suggesting in a roundabout way that we should be the ones to be sacrificed!"
"The lake! Do you have any idea what’s in that lake?!"
"The Lake Lady favors you, so you have nothing to fear, right?! But what are we supposed to be? Heh!"
Indeed, this method was incredibly risky—it was as good as no plan at all. If one could actually get out, all the lunatics in this village would have run away long ago. They wouldn't still be staying here, performing collective shamanistic rituals every few days!
"Where did the village chief and the others go?"
Thinking about the entire village of people who had vanished, Xie Nanzhou remained uneasy. Now, the enemy was in the dark, and they were in the light. This was very disadvantageous for them.
"I don’t know. After the sacrifices in the past, it was never like this. But this is the first time a sacrifice has failed, and I have no idea why everyone disappeared."
Axu didn’t know either; after all, the previous sacrifices had always gone smoothly.
"And what about Foolish Sister? Was she faking it? I’m an old man, and I actually felt sorry for that girl. I never expected she’d nearly cost me my life!"
Uncle Zhang was so angry that his beard was twitching.
Axu scratched the back of his head, feeling guilty.
"The name 'Foolish Sister' was just for you people. Her name is Huang Ying. She’s my eldest aunt and my third aunt by marriage. But sometimes she really isn't mentally sound, and she always calls me 'little brother,' so it’s not really faking it."
As expected, Foolish Sister—or to be precise, Huang Ying—was a wife shared by two brothers in the family. Kong Que couldn't hide the shock in his eyes; he hadn't expected this place to be so backward.
"It was your family that forced her to marry those two brothers, wasn't it!"
Seeing Axu bow his head, everyone understood everything.
"The village chief said it was to continue the family line. Huang Ying couldn't get pregnant, and both my eldest uncle and my third uncle were cruel to her."
Continue the line?
"What do you mean by 'continue'?! Why is your crappy village so disgusting?! Who the hell is going to continue your line for you?! What right did you have to make Huang Ying do that for you?! Your backward place is rotten to the core! What is there worth continuing?!"
"Your pathetic village isn't sitting on a mountain of gold, nor are you trying to restore a fallen dynasty! There are only a few of you left; clearly, heaven wants to finish you off! Even heaven couldn't stand it anymore and sent the Lake Lady to enforce justice! Just wait to die! It serves a whole village like yours right to be wiped out!"
Kong Que was furious. He didn't even stop to take a breath, pointing at Axu’s nose as he cursed. He might as well have been cursing his ancestors for eighteen generations. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that in this day and age, such backward, filthy ideologies still existed. Are women not people? Should women only exist to give birth? If you’re all so capable, do it yourselves!
Kong Que was the group’s official mouthpiece; when he started cursing, his brain never lagged.
Jiang Younian’s anger hadn't faded yet, but a piece of information flashed rapidly through his mind. Wait!
"Axu, you said Foolish Sister is called Huang Ying. Is it the 'Huang' with the grass radical?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Nanzhou reacted quickly, pulling the student name tag that Jiang Younian had left with him out of his pocket.
Axu thought about it. He hadn't written in a long time, so he had forgotten a bit. After being thoroughly berated by Kong Que, he was a bit dazed. He traced a character on the ground with his finger and nodded, confirming, "Yeah... it’s this character."
Kong Que’s angry brain suddenly snapped back, and he shouted, "Ah! I know now! That’s why she was muttering 'Huang' when she was acting foolish!"
"I told you it was 'Huang,' but you insisted it was 'Fang'!" Xiaoyou remembered how Kong Que had argued with her all afternoon over the pronunciation of the pinyin 'h' and 'f'.
Jiang Younian’s mind spun rapidly: grass radical, the first character in the name column of the student name tag is 'Huang'? What is the connection between the Lake Lady and Huang Ying?
"What is Huang Ying’s educational background? Did she go to college? She... never mind, answer these questions first."
Xie Nanzhou followed up immediately. Seeing Axu looking dazed from the barrage of questions, he decided to stop there for the moment.
"Slow down, ask slowly..."
Axu raised his head to interrupt Xie Nanzhou.
"Huang Ying, just like me, only finished elementary school. She’s only a few years older than me. There are no college students in our village."
Axu didn't understand; in what way did Huang Ying look like a college student? Didn't he look more like one? He had been looking at those foreign books at home for the past few days—even though he couldn't read them, he had at least touched a college textbook every day.
Kong Que suddenly understood why Huang Ying, who wasn't much older, looked like she could be Axu’s mother. It was the toll of the years, especially living such a miserable life. It was a miracle she was still alive.
"But aren't all the people in your village surnamed Mo? Why is she surnamed Huang?"
Xiaoyou clearly remembered that day when, trying to extract some useful information, he had chatted with the village chief for quite a while. The village chief had said that there was only one surname in the village—even the dogs had to be named Mo.
"That’s right, Huang Ying is also named Mo. She used to be called Mo Ying, but later she changed her name to that herself."
"Do you have any manners? She is your aunt, your elder. How can you address her by her first name so directly?"
Having no good impression of this rotten village—their disrespect for women and elders, their casual use of elders' names without a shred of respect—Brother Tai spoke with a booming, thunderous voice, full of pressure.
Axu waved his hands in a panic to explain.
"No, no, Huang Ying told me to call her that. She really likes the name. Every time I call her that, she’s very happy."
Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou were lost in thought, trying to organize the information. The Lake Lady is a college student, but there are no college students in this village. So, the Lake Lady is an outsider. Why did the Lake Lady come here? And why did she trap the villagers? College textbooks? Offerings? The grass radical? Huang? Mo? The Lake Lady is surnamed Huang? Then why did Mo Ying change her surname to Huang? The bed in the cellar? The shackles? Who is the person living in the cellar?
These terms floated in Jiang Younian’s mind, spinning incessantly. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him. Beside him, Xie Nanzhou’s voice followed immediately.
"Jiang Younian, whose books would be worth offering as a sacrifice?"
Something in both of their eyes silently synchronized, confirming. Then, they looked at each other and smiled. Jiang Younian felt that Xie Nanzhou was truly a heaven-sent partner. He understood him so well, even better than he understood himself, and always provided him with an epiphany at the critical moment.
The two said the answer in unison:
"A teacher."
A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and clears up doubts. Respecting teachers and the path of learning must be absolutely vital in this resource-poor little village. If the Lake Lady had come to Mocun Village as a teacher, then everything might be slightly easier to explain.
Jiang Younian decided to make one final confirmation from Axu regarding this hypothesis.
"Huang Ying, why did she change her surname? Whose surname was she taking?"
This question obviously stunned Axu. Axu’s reaction made Xie Nanzhou break into a cold sweat. If their previous deduction was wrong, or if Axu simply didn't know, where would they even start looking next?
"I... if I say I don't know, are you going to hit me?"
As expected, Axu stammered out a disappointing answer. The situation reached a stalemate again, and the group couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged.
Suddenly, a melodious "gurgle-gurgle" sound came from the air. Then, one after another, it echoed through the room. Everyone looked down at their stomachs, and then they all laughed awkwardly in unison. After such a long day of exhaustion, it was already night. No one had eaten since breakfast, and they were all starving. It was only fear that had made them temporarily forget.
"Children, since you're hungry, let's eat first. You can only think properly when you're full." Uncle Zhang laughed heartily.
"Um, I can cook for everyone." Axu’s stomach growled too, and he guiltily raised his hand to show he could cook; as long as they didn't curse him, he would do anything.
Everyone agreed—enslaving Axu was the best punishment for him.
"Fine, then tell us, what are we eating tonight?"
Getting the go-ahead, Axu stood up happily. He took a bamboo pole and poked around in the dim attic. Seeing this, everyone assumed it was cured meat. Then, the large, black, shriveled string of things Axu pulled down made everyone’s expressions instantly change.
Axu lifted the string of things happily, his bright white teeth showing almost to his ears.
"This is the fish I carefully smoked. I’ve saved it for a long time; I couldn't bear to eat it!"
Everyone: ...
Axu: It’s delicious! Tonight, we’re having a full fish feast!
Everyone (gagging): Get out!!!!!!