Chapter 21: Loss Of Control
Seeing the old man who had suddenly come in and accused them, everyone was stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted.
It should be that the train had given them a legitimate identity to enter the village, so the old man would say that.
The others had similar experience and immediately reacted, while Lu Jinzhao half-guessed and half-figured that it was probably like this.
“It seems that as the train level increases, different platform difficulties mean passengers get different identities in platform missions?”
She silently listened to the conversation between the others and the old man, confirming the guess in her heart.
They were classmates of a young man in the village. Hearing that the village held a grand sacrifice every year, they followed their classmate to Qu Xiang to see it.
After hearing this, Lu Jinzhao couldn’t help but complain in her heart that this opening was too classic, so classic that she felt she could come up with several possible story developments just by thinking about it.
But would the train mission be so simple as to let them know what would happen next?
Lu Jinzhao thought not.
Therefore, when the others finished talking with the old man and were preparing to leave the ancestral hall, Lu Jinzhao kept her wits about her and didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she asked, “It seems like no one has cleaned here for a long time. Doesn’t anyone usually come to light incense?”
The old man’s complexion darkened upon hearing her question, and he replied in a meddlesome tone, “Our village’s custom is that except for the day of the sacrifice, no one is allowed in or out of the ancestral hall normally!”
Strange rules
In Lu Jinzhao’s memory, the place where she lived as a child was also a small village, but the more such places, the heavier the “rules.” They had to worship ancestors during festivals, and the offerings on the altar could not be interrupted normally. She had never seen a rule that allowed the ancestral hall to gather dust.
Could it be because of ghosts?
Because there are ghosts in the ancestral hall, no one is allowed in or out normally?
Not impossible.
“Alright! Get out quickly!” The old man impatiently drove everyone away. Lu Jinzhao took one last look and then stepped over the threshold to leave.
“Your rooms are arranged over there. A Luo is waiting for you there. Tonight is the sacrifice, so remember all the rules and taboos you need to know well. Don’t blame us for not telling you if you break a taboo later.”
The old man’s complexion was gloomy, and his gaze at everyone was turbid yet sharp: “The sacrifice is a big deal, not your city folks’ play house. If something goes wrong…”
He didn’t finish his remaining words, just scanned everyone once and then turned to leave.
“…This old man is quite arrogant.”
Seeing the old man walk far away, Wang Siyuan couldn’t help but complain out loud.
“Even if we are outsiders, his attitude doesn’t have to be like this, right?”
“Maybe because we broke a taboo first?” Xu Ruolin thought for a moment and replied.
As soon as she said this, everyone’s complexion changed slightly.
Indeed, from what the old man said, not entering the ancestral hall normally should also be a taboo in the village. They had entered the ancestral hall before the sacrifice, and it was unknown if it would trigger any consequences.
“But we were in the ancestral hall as soon as we got off the train, so there’s no way around it, right?”
“The train wouldn’t give a simple mission. This time it only said to survive 24 hours in the village. If we just stayed put obediently without breaking any taboos, wouldn’t the mission become too easy?”
Someone guessed, “Could it be that the train directly placed us in the ancestral hall to make us break a taboo at the start and increase the difficulty?”
“…Not impossible.”
“Moreover, the sacrifice hasn’t started yet. Entering the ancestral hall does break a taboo, but it’s not that serious. It means it’s not necessarily a death sentence, at most we’ll be noted by ghosts.”
After this analysis, some felt it was indeed the case, while others thought it was just one possibility.
Listening to their analysis, Lu Jinzhao confirmed that this group was indeed more qualified as passengers than the teammates in [Summon Ghosts].
Even though they might have fallen into a trap at the start, not one of them looked panicked and they could even rationally analyze various possibilities.
But this also meant… this platform would be several times more difficult than [Summon Ghosts].
“Let’s go. We’ll first meet that guy named A Luo and ask clearly what taboos there are here.”
Following behind the crowd, Lu Jinzhao carefully observed this village.
From the terrain, this should be a village slightly southwest, surrounded by mountains, quite isolated, with somewhat humid climate and probably many mosquitoes and insects.
The village wasn’t big, probably just dozens of households. Many buildings were earthen buildings. Lu Jinzhao could still smell the scent of burning firewood in the air. From the outside, it seemed like an ordinary mountain village.
The place the old man mentioned soon arrived.
Since most young people in the village had gone out to work, there were many empty houses. At this moment, the young man named A Luo was standing at the door waiting for them.
Perhaps due to the season, the mountain village’s mornings were always shrouded in a layer of mist. From afar, A Luo’s expression was obscured by the white mist and unclear. Only his figure standing motionless in the mist could be seen, like a shadow that could disappear at any time.
Only when getting closer did Lu Jinzhao see A Luo’s anxious expression.
“What’s wrong with you all? How did you disappear in the blink of an eye!”
He hurriedly came forward: “Didn’t I tell you? Once in the village, don’t run around. There are many taboos in the village these two days!”
We really didn’t hear you say that.
“Sigh, good thing the sacrifice hasn’t started yet. Come in with me, I’ll explain the taboos to you clearly first.”
Even without anyone responding, this young man named A Luo kept chattering on by himself.
Everyone followed him into the arranged courtyard. It was a large courtyard consisting of two flat-roofed houses, a two-story earthen building, and a main hall, kitchen, and firewood shed. There were enough rooms inside for ten people, though it would require two or three sharing a room.
After simply assigning the rooms, A Luo led everyone to the main hall to light a stick of incense, then began explaining the village’s “taboos.”
“Every year at this time, the old people in the village get bad tempers. You must be careful not to break any taboos.”
“First, no killing living things. I’ve told you about our village’s sacrifice—it’s to suppress some bad things. Today is when it’s most active. Killing and seeing blood might attract it.”
The scent of incense and candles drifted over with A Luo’s words.
“Second, during the sacrifice, no matter what happens, you must ensure the sacrifice continues, no matter what! Remember, if it fails…”
A Luo’s expression darkened, and his tone became especially grave: “There will be deaths!”
If this were a terror movie, someone might refute it as feudal superstition, but this was inside the platform. Everyone knew A Luo’s words were true.
“It’s fine during the day, but once night falls, try not to speak loudly, don’t turn on lights, don’t go out. Tonight will be when it’s most active—don’t get discovered!”
