Some things are indeed inappropriate to say in front of these villagers. They won’t react like true NPCs to trivial matters; judging from Wu Xuehua’s questions, they are just as curious as normal people.
So, Xin Meng borrowed a room from the village chief temporarily to consolidate everyone’s information and discuss strategies.
The room was actually the village chief’s living room. The village was quite primitive, lacking modern furniture like sofas and coffee tables. There were only a few wooden stools and a low wooden table. A few people sat on the small stools, gathered around the table, which had five white cards on it.
Xin Meng naturally picked up the card next to You Yi, smiled at him, and then lowered her head to read:
[Stop looking, there is no exit.]
[You can only leave the valley by triggering specific conditions.]
“Indeed,” Dong Xiu snorted coldly, “After I arrived here, I already searched around the valley’s outskirts. Even the so-called path to the outside world mentioned by the villagers ends in darkness; there’s no way through.”
Xin Meng nodded and picked up Dong Xiu’s card.
[Pitiful people must have their faults.]
“That’s it?” Xiong Jiabao was still straining to listen, and it turned out to be just one sentence?
“Yes, just this one,” Xin Meng was also puzzled. What does this mean?
Li Yougen pushed his own card towards Xin Meng, “What’s this? Look at mine, it’s simpler.”
Xin Meng picked it up and looked:
[Pay attention to details.]
Pay attention to details? Is the key to passing hidden in the details?
Xiong Jiabao’s card had more words, which caught everyone’s attention. It read:
[There is a reason you must reach the forbidden area.]
[Ignore it, or push it down, it’s up to you to choose.]
“The forbidden area!” Xin Meng immediately said, “It really is related to that place! I’ve heard the villagers mention it.”
“Me too,” Li Yougen quickly added, and the others nodded along. It seemed this term was indeed one of the crucial pieces of information they needed to know, an important clue that everyone had been “notified” about, whether intentionally or not.
The other cards were pushed aside, and this one was placed in the center.
“It seems we need to take a look at the forbidden area,” Xin Meng pondered.
Dong Xiu shot him a sideways glance, “What about your card?”
Xin Meng didn’t mind his attitude and read the content of her own card aloud.
“The hell of carnivores? What does that mean?” Xiong Jiabao scratched his head, completely confused.
“By the way,” Xin Meng suddenly remembered, “I heard that aunt say you had dinner at their house?”
Dong Xiu nodded, and Xiong Jiabao and Li Yougen said, “We were also brought here after having dinner at a villager’s house.”
Xin Meng looked at You Yi, who also nodded. His deep brown eyes had been following Xin Meng since they met. Although it might be because he was talking, Xin Meng still felt inexplicably shy, and his heart raced. He quickly turned his gaze away, nervously saying, “The village chief used a loudspeaker to broadcast for the villagers to find you. Why didn’t they bring you here right away when they found you?”
“I don’t know,” Xiong Jiabao shook his head. “Maybe there are too many people here, and they were afraid it would be hard to serve us all, so they spread out to entertain us. These villagers are quite considerate.”
Xin Meng felt something was a bit strange, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. He could only continue the previous topic, “So, did you eat meat?”
Xiong Jiabao was the first to respond, excitedly saying, “Yes! It was so delicious! I tell you, Xin Laodi, I’ve never eaten such tasty meat before; it’s no wonder it’s from free-range pigs!”
Delicious? Xin Meng glanced at the card, feeling puzzled.
Li Yougen smacked his lips, uncertainly saying, “The taste is quite good, better than… better than the meat bought in the market.”
His family was from the countryside, and after passing exams, he entered university and became a party member. As he got better and better, he felt ashamed of his origins and rarely talked about it, even though others understood his background just by hearing his name. He pretended not to know.
Now he even claimed the pigs he raised at home were bought from the market.
“Hmph!” Dong Xiu snorted, “You’ve really never seen the world. It’s just that it was stewed a bit longer; is that worth such praise? It’s still far from the taste made by Chef Wales!”
Wales was the highest-end five-star hotel in their city and the place he frequented the most.
“Then what does this card mean?” Xin Meng frowned. “I originally guessed that the meat would be hard to eat, but since it’s delicious, why would it be described as ‘hell’?”
After some discussion, they reached no conclusion but already felt a hint of regret about eating that meat. Who knew what might happen? But they had eaten it, and now they couldn’t spit it out; they could only take it one step at a time.
While everyone was discussing, Xin Meng quietly moved closer to You Yi and whispered, “Did you eat meat too? Was there anything strange?”
He just didn’t trust Dong Xiu and Li Yougen much and wanted to confirm with You Yi again. Unexpectedly, You Yi shook his head, his lips almost touching Xin Meng’s ear, his deep voice slowly saying, “No, I don’t eat food given by strangers.”
The warm breath from the man brushed against his ear, making Xin Meng feel as if someone had licked his ear with their tongue. A wave of tingling spread through him, and even his lower back felt weak. His face turned bright red, and he quickly pulled away from You Yi, covering his ears with his hands. He stammered, almost biting his tongue, “Is, is that so? That’s great…”
You Yi looked at his slightly flushed cheeks and red earlobes, smiling faintly without saying anything, nor did he participate in the discussion.
“Do you… do you have any thoughts?” Xin Meng had just distanced himself from You Yi for a moment but couldn’t help but sneak back closer.
You Yi shook his head, seemingly not thinking of anything.
But Xin Meng always felt that You Yi wasn’t without thoughts; he just didn’t want to share. He seemed like an outsider, standing aside with a cold gaze, watching them play house, as if it didn’t matter how the game turned out, always maintaining a sense of detached indifference.
Xin Meng felt a bit down, though he couldn’t quite articulate why. There was only a vague thought in his mind that he didn’t want to delve into.
In the end, everyone concluded: first, find Qi Xiaokui, see what her card says, and then visit the forbidden area.
Before they entered, Xin Meng had already told the village chief to continue looking for people. However, when they came out of the room, it was almost dark, and the villagers hadn’t found another outsider.
“Don’t worry, young man, I’ll gather everyone, light some torches, and we’ll go up the mountain to search. We will definitely find your people!” the village chief reassured them.
Xin Meng hesitated for a moment, looking at the simple villagers, then at the dark mountain and the barely visible mountain path, and asked, “Village chief, are there any wild beasts on the mountain?”
“No,” the village chief shook his head. “Our ancestors have lived here for countless years. In the past, we didn’t know moderation, and the wild beasts in the surrounding mountains have long been hunted out. Now there are only some deer and rabbits left.”
“Then let’s look for them tomorrow. It’s too dark now, and the mountain path is hard to navigate. We shouldn’t put everyone in danger,” Xin Meng said. “She probably won’t run around at night; let’s go look for her early tomorrow morning.”
Actually, Xin Meng subconsciously felt that the girl might be hiding from them, unwilling to be found. So even if they climbed the mountain in the dark, it would be useless.
“Let’s do it this way; no need to fuss,” Dong Xiu was already impatient. “With her like that, even wild beasts would be scared away. What danger could there be? She might come down by herself tomorrow.”
Seeing them all say this, the village chief gave up and invited them to his home for dinner. However, during this meal, everyone collectively avoided eating meat and only scrambled for the two or three plates of stir-fried vegetables, which puzzled the village chief and Wu Xuehua.
“Why aren’t you all eating meat?” Wu Xuehua was still a bit afraid of Dong Xiu, but seeing that Xin Meng and Xiong Jiabao were easy to talk to, she returned to her previous cheerful self and curiously asked, “Isn’t it only Xin Meng who believes in Buddhism? You all don’t believe in Buddhism too, do you? I heard you had meat for lunch.”
Xiong Jiabao and Li Yougen quickly laughed it off, awkwardly covering it up. Wu Xuehua then looked at You Yi, who had been silent and hadn’t touched his chopsticks. Seeing his strong profile and deep, beautiful eyes, she felt her face flush for some reason. She fidgeted a bit, her voice dropping an octave as she softly asked him, “Why aren’t you eating?”
Xin Meng felt a bit uncomfortable seeing this scene.
However, You Yi ignored Wu Xuehua. This time, Wu Xuehua didn’t feel any dissatisfaction; her face was still flushed, carrying the shyness of a girl. She lowered her head, constantly stealing glances at You Yi.
Xin Meng suddenly felt no longer hungry and put down his chopsticks. The remaining two plates of dishes were quickly finished off by the others.
“Not eating anymore?” You Yi immediately noticed Xin Meng’s unusual behavior and spoke the first sentence since he sat down at the table.
“Yeah, I’m full.” There was an indescribable blockage in his heart. Xin Meng was like this; when he was in a bad mood, he didn’t want to eat. But he didn’t want to lose his temper for no reason, so he could only silently sulk. Most importantly, he felt frustrated and couldn’t clearly articulate why he was angry.
Xin Meng pursed his lips and sulked for a while but still couldn’t help but ask You Yi, “Aren’t you hungry if you don’t eat? If you’re worried, I can borrow their kitchen and cook for you…”
His cooking was quite good, and he often kept things clean, which led people to say he was more like a wife.
By… by whom?
Xin Meng couldn’t remember for a moment, just recalling that he seemed quite angry, after all, which man would like to be called “wife”?
You Yi looked deeply at him. The troubled Xin Meng didn’t see the fleeting smile in his eyes but heard him say, “Okay.”
Xin Meng’s train of thought broke off, and he set his doubts aside, standing up to borrow the kitchen from the village chief.
But unexpectedly… he was rejected?!
“Young man, the vegetables we eat are all picked from the fields that day. The kitchen is already empty; without ingredients, how can you cook?” The village chief said, taking a bite of elbow meat and savoring the taste.
“Well, it’s not completely empty; there’s still some meat,” Wu Xuehua interjected. “Aren’t you a Buddhist? Can you cook meat dishes?”
Xin Meng was left speechless.
“How about this, Brother You, why don’t you try the dishes I made?” Wu Xuehua blushed, looking softly at You Yi. “They all say it’s quite delicious; why don’t you give it a try…”
As she spoke, she was about to serve You Yi some food, but Xin Meng was in between them. Seeing Wu Xuehua’s chopsticks reaching towards You Yi in front of him, he instinctively pushed them away without thinking, “He believes in Buddhism with me; he can’t eat meat!”
Wu Xuehua twitched her mouth, speechless as she withdrew her hand, lowering her head to eat, sulking and ignoring them.
Wu Dacheng happily ate the meat, sighing, “Our Hua Hua is also at the age to get married now.”
No one responded to him, only Xiong Jiabao glanced at Wu Xuehua several times.
