The appearance of that girl is exactly the same as Lisa’s!
The clues provided by this investigation are sufficient to address Shen Ling’s doubts. Lisa is almost certainly the sacrifice lost years ago. However, in Shen Ling’s childhood memories, Lisa’s appearance is not much different from now. It’s as if her time has frozen in the look of fifteen or sixteen.
However… Shen Ling recalls that the girl he encountered in his memories had golden hair and blue eyes, while Lisa’s eyes are violet.
According to the current clues they have, Lisa, an outsider, should not be able to live in Moon-sinking Town for long. Her body should undergo deformation, but in reality, Lisa remains as healthy and young as ever, with no changes in her physique.
Perhaps the curse doesn’t necessarily develop in a negative direction; it could also develop in a positive direction. Shen Ling contemplates that biological evolution is about survival of the fittest. Maybe Cain couldn’t adapt to the environment of Moon-sinking Town, resulting in negative changes, while Lisa, during her time as a sacrifice, accidentally witnessed a miracle, hence receiving the blessing of the town’s deity and undergoing positive changes.
Her eyes turned into a vibrant purple, and her appearance no longer changed with age.
But then again, would the deity truly protect its sacrifices?
Shen Ling is silent, his mind rapidly trying to align all the branches of this event back to their original positions.
Ten years ago, Haino’s heir, Velyn Haino, along with his brother Dorena Haino, fiancée Princess Louise, and six sacrifices, including Lisa, arrived in Moon-sinking Town. Something happened during the period, causing the loss of Lisa, one of the sacrifices, leading to the failure of the ritual.
Velyn Haino suffered the repercussions of the ritual failure, being bitten to death by eerie evil forces at home. Princess Louise, deeply affected by Velyn’s death, went mad after the ritual to conceive their child and died.
Returning with Velyn, Dorena , after ten years of silence, brought the sacrifices back to Moon-sinking Town, holding the ritual as per tradition.
He was even more outrageous than his brother Velyn, directly losing all six sacrifices.
Shen Ling: “KP, are you sure your setting makes sense?”
KP: “…”
Lisa, one of the sacrifices, survived and thrived in Moon-sinking Town, receiving blessings, changing her appearance, and living peacefully to this day.
What does she want? How did she escape as a sacrifice back then?
Shen Ling still has areas he can’t figure out; he needs more clues.
But he believes Lisa’s nature is kind. At least, the way she presents herself appears kind. His words to Lisa today weren’t just to please an NPC; they came from his heart.
Lisa is a good girl.
Early the next morning, Lisa got up, prepared breakfast for Mrs. Anne and Shen Ling. With limited supplies, each person only got a small amount of food, but Lisa didn’t show any favoritism.
After breakfast, Lisa tied her hair with a cloth, carrying a basket, and headed out.
Shen Ling said, “Let’s follow her.”
KP asked, “You want to track Lisa?”
Shen Ling nodded.
KP: “Then do a perception check first.”
Shen Ling rolled the dice, succeeded.
“Come on, cute blonde.” The old lady’s call came from behind; it was Mrs. Anne calling him.
Shen Ling turned around and saw Mrs. Anne lying on the bench, looking frail and almost on the verge of death. The bald parrot beside her looked at Shen Ling with a tilted head.
She was indeed too old, much older than any other elderly person Shen Ling had encountered. She was crunching on a soft pancake with a sunken mouth, leaving crumbs all over.
Shen Ling walked over, wiping off the crumbs for her.
Mrs. Anne blinked, then smiled at Shen Ling, “You really are a good kid.”
Shen Ling sat next to her and asked, “Mrs. Anne, is there anything I can help with?”
“I want to chat with you,” Mrs. Anne looked kindly at Shen Ling, her thin, wrinkled fingers grabbing Shen Ling’s, giving him a feeling of being caught in tree branches. “You remind me of how Lisa looked when she first came.”
Shen Ling asked softly, “What was she like when she first came?”
“As beautiful as you, with golden hair and blue eyes. Later, she had a fever, almost died. After the fever subsided, her beautiful green eyes turned into the purple you see now. Still beautiful, a sacred color,” Mrs. Anne said, her voice unexpectedly gentle, “I prayed for her then. It must be the deity hearing my prayers.”
“You’re amazing,” Shen Ling said. “I’m getting curious about what happened back then. How did you manage, Mrs. Anne?”
“She was almost dead at that time,” Mrs. Anne leaned back in her recliner, tremblingly opened her lips, “She cried a lot. Her parents didn’t want her, the wet nurse didn’t want her. She was about to die, and she was so small.”
After saying this, she seemed very tired. Shaking, she finished the last piece of pancake, then lay on the recliner and didn’t want to speak any more.
Shen Ling patiently chatted with her for a while, unable to extract any information. Mrs. Anne fell asleep.
He stood up helplessly, looked around, and said, “Let’s do an investigation.”
He rolled the dice.
35/31, success.
So, he quickly discovered something strange in the kitchen—a hidden spot. The kitchen was too narrow, and when he stepped in, there was a small and hard-to-detect blind spot behind him, where there seemed to be a crack resembling a door.
Yan Xiu moved aside the wooden frame blocking the crack, revealing a locked door.
Shen Ling pushed it, only hearing the sound of the lock shaking. The crack was dark, preventing him from peeking through to see anything.
“Do you have a locksmith?” Shen Ling asked.
Yan Xiu shook his head.
Locksmith wasn’t a universal skill; its initial value was only 1 point. Neither he nor Yan Xiu had this attribute. No matter how lucky they were, they couldn’t roll less than 1.
They needed to find a way to get the key.
He returned to Lisa’s room, attempted a perception check to find the key, but the clues provided were mostly useless. In that case, the key must be on Lisa herself. He could attempt a Sleight of Hand to steal the key, but the probability wasn’t high. His Sleight of Hand was only 10, and getting caught by Lisa would be a significant problem.
Shen Ling said to Yan Xiu, “Stay in the room. I’ll disguise myself and go out to find Freud and the others. Remember, Belle pointed out a locksmith.”
Yan Xiu remained silent, his gaze shifting from the second-floor window to the outside. Several townspeople were wandering the streets, and the events of yesterday had escalated, with Mrs. Funnell’s death acting as the catalyst for the villagers to fervently search for them, the outsiders with their sins.
Yan Xiu didn’t want him to go out alone. “It’s dangerous.”
Shen Ling uncomfortably avoided the zeal in his eyes. “…Then you disguise yourself first. If you can pass, we’ll go together.”
Yan Xiu rolled the dice: 30/3.
Great success.
Shen Ling: “???” KP said, “He has always liked the plays you perform. Sometimes, he dresses up like you, imitating your acting style. So, he has some points in disguise. But the fact that it’s a great success is beyond my expectations.”
Shen Ling: “…”
After that, Shen Ling also rolled a successful disguise.
After rolling, Shen Ling suddenly realized a problem: “What do we use for disguises?”
KP excitedly said, “Lisa has some spare clothes. You can both dress as women!”
Shen Ling: “?”
Shen Ling said, “Think about it. Mrs. Funnell might have had a son or grandson. His clothes might fit you two. You just need a stroke of luck.”
“Luck isn’t everything.”
“But not relying on luck is absolutely impossible.”
KP compromised, “You go first. After the roll, we’ll figure it out.”
Shen Ling rolled the dice, undoubtedly a success.
KP said, “Go ask Mrs. Anne for it.”
Shen Ling and Yan Xiu went downstairs. Mrs. Anne was awake, lying lazily on the bench, and the bald parrot immediately locked its gaze on them.
Shen Ling said, “Mrs. Anne, we’d like to change into some different clothes. Could we borrow a couple of outfits from you?”
Mrs. Anne lifted her head, pointing towards the wardrobe in her room.
“Thank you.” Shen Ling helped her straighten the blanket over her knees and walked into the room.
Mrs. Anne’s room was neat and tidy. Shen Ling unconsciously said, “Do a perception check.”
He rolled the dice: 35/55. Failed.
Yan Xiu followed with a roll: 80/72. Succeeded.
Yan Xiu noticed that Mrs. Anne’s room was clean and tidy. On a table in the corner, there was a photo album with pictures of Lisa.
Mrs. Anne didn’t look so aged back then. Upon closer inspection, Lisa’s pupils were indistinguishable as green or purple in the photo, but her smile was clean and bright. It was evident that they had a very close relationship.
Shen Ling turned over the back; a string of dates was written: August 19, 1925, but it was crossed out with a pen. This was three years ago.
He remembered this time; Luther mentioned that three years ago, Mrs. Anne suffered from a severe illness. Also, Mrs. Funnell’s son died unexpectedly three years ago.
Yan Xiu pulled out two sets of clothes. Surprisingly, one of them was women’s clothing.
“Oh my,” Mrs. Anne said nostalgically, “this set was worn by Lisa when she first came here. So beautiful. It still carries the scent of lilies.”
Shen Ling: “…”
KP: “Stop struggling. One of you has to wear women’s clothes.”
Shen Ling’s pride didn’t allow him to wear women’s clothes, but it was clear that the size of the clothes was not suitable for Yan Xiu. Mentally preparing himself, Shen Ling attempted to put on the outfit. Being tall, the women’s trailing skirt fit his waist perfectly, but when worn, it became a knee-length skirt, lace brushing against his calves, accentuating his long and slender legs, making his fair and delicate skin stand out.
“So beautiful,” Mrs. Anne sincerely praised, “You look just like a noble lady, elegant and charming.”
Shen Ling, with a poker face, tied the headscarf, emphasizing that he didn’t want to be seen.
Yan Xiu’s eyes deepened.
Shen Ling, with a black face, pushed him to go change clothes.
Mrs. Anne laughed, “Looking like this, you really resemble Lisa, especially those beautiful eyes. You both have excellent grooming.”
Shen Ling saw that she was in relatively good spirits, so he unfolded the old text they copied and gave it to Mrs. Anne.
He deliberately shuffled the order of the words and added some unnecessary distracting information.
Mrs. Anne looked attentively at those words. Shen Ling used a magnifying glass to highlight each one for her. Eventually, she correctly deciphered the words.
The information he needed was quite simple, the name of the deity worshiped in this town—Serg Slaggy.
